Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dancing Around And Through Harm: Examining The Lived Experiences Of Women Of Colour With Gender-Based Violence In The Toronto & Kitchener-Waterloo Latin Dance Communities, Lexi Salt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Given the systemic nature of gender-based violence in Canada, as well as the increasing popularity of Latin dance, it is important to better understand the particular and culturally-specific ways gender-based violence manifests itself within the Latin dance community. This research study examines the lived experiences of women of colour with gender-based violence in the Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo Latin dance communities. Two groups of participants took part in semi-structured interviews: 14 women of colour dancers, and six “Power Players”, leaders in the Latin dance community who are in a position of power (e.g., instructors, organizers, DJs). The data was analyzed using …

Workplace Wellbeing And Sense Of Mattering Among Small And Medium Enterprise Workers In Canada, Kyle Smilovsky

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) are an under researched area when it comes to workplace wellbeing in Canada. The current research used the Job-Demands Resource Framework (JD-R) to study how a Community Psychology concept, sense of mattering, relates to workload, and indicators of wellbeing (i.e., burnout and flourishing). Specifically, this study tested whether sense of mattering moderates the association between workload and both burnout and flourishing. Moderated mediation models were also tested to see if workload is indirectly associated with burnout and flourishing through distress, while being moderated by sense of mattering. Questionnaires were administered to 2,500 Canadian SME workers …

Experiences Of Peer Interaction Amongst Autistic Lgbtq+ Youth In Secondary Institutions, Brianna Comeau

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study uncovered the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth on the autism spectrum in Ontario secondary institutions and examined how their interactions with peers shape identity, mental health, well-being, and social belonging. This qualitative research involved interviewing six autistic LGBTQ+ youth across Ontario over Zoom. The study was guided by constructivism, critical theory, neurodiversity, and intersectionality. Results suggest that participants faced discrimination through microaggressions, peer victimization, and stereotyping, which led to feeling less safe in their school environments. Participants also had positive, affirming experiences relating to other peers standing up for them and recognizing their identities, as well as through supporting …

Leadership And Emergent Faith Communities In Canada: A Phenomenological Study, Anne Anderson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study is to explore how participants within emergent faith communities in Canada experience leadership. Through a phenomenological approach, members from five emergent faith communities across Canada have been interviewed in a semi-structured format. Emerging themes of transformational leadership, community along with belonging, and possible future areas of research will be discussed.

Predictors Of Canadians’ Psychological Well-Being In Retirement: A Mixed Methods Approach, Jessica Miller

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In prior decades, retirement research focused on the negative effects of the life transition—such as negative psychological well-being caused by factors such as difficulties adjusting to retirement, feelings of a role loss, or the financial effects of retirement. However, there is considerable agreement across recent research studies that post-retirement years are marked by positive psychological well-being due to a variety of factors. For example, retirees often spend more time in roles (such as volunteer positions) that provide life satisfaction. The present study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine factors related to well-being in retirement among individuals living in …

The Influence Of Visual Perspective On The Cognitive Effort Required For Mental Representation, Jeffrey P. Hong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mental representation is the process by which an individual simulates an event in their mind’s eye. This process is the foundation of the ability to remember the past, engage in prospective thinking, or imagine fictitious scenarios. An individual can mentally represent any event through their own eyes—the first-person perspective or from the viewpoint of an external observer—the third-person perspective. The perspective of representation influences outcomes related to memory, visuospatial processing, affect, social cognition, clinical diagnoses, and language processing. In turn, an individual’s tendency to favour either perspective is shaped by related factors.

The current research consists of four experiments, designed …

"The Most Important Thing In Ipv Right Now": The Intersection Of Intimate Partner Violence And Brain Injury, Halina (Lin) Haag

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) and brain injury (BI) has been almost entirely overlooked in research, practice, and policy, despite the known risks associated with the two conditions. Individually, IPV and BI are associated with elevated rates of unemployment, poverty, and homelessness, as well as increased mental health challenges. These social determinants of health, employment status, and income impact women’s wellbeing through access to safe accommodations, food security, and (dis)ability supports. These determinants are also related to an increased likelihood of experiencing addictions, mental health challenges, and physical danger, potentially leaving women vulnerable to ongoing violence. This qualitative …

Exit Through The Giftshop: Claims-Making And The Construction Of A Countercultural Brand, Cecil Mcglynn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Independent, online microcelebrity influencers are increasingly many people’s source of news. A popular group of these influencers, called the Alternative Influence Network (AIN) has come under scrutiny in recent years for collaborating with radical, far-right political actors to advance particular viewpoints (Lewis, 2018). While those within the AIN claim these outputs represent their freedom of speech, some researchers have voiced concern around the possibility of these influencers proliferating or even popularizing radical political ideals. Steven Crowder is among the most popular influencers in the AIN. He performs a daily show, ‘Louder with Crowder’, to his 5.8 million YouTube subscribers. In …

Mapping With The Land: Co-Developing A Cumulative Impact Monitoring And Land Stewardship Framework With Sambaa K’E First Nation, Northwest Territories, Canada, Michael S. Mcphee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Across the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, Indigenous populations are striving to achieve effective environmental protection, whilst navigating complex methods, policies, and research relationships within co-management contexts. This thesis seeks to identify how differing cultural systems, environmental change, and fractured partnerships may be unified to align with the needs of the Sambaa K’e First Nation (SKFN), a remote Dehcho Dene community. Indigenous methodologies guided co-development of research questions with SKFN leadership which yielded objectives a) develop a GIS-based method to manage, organize and mobilize cultural and environmental data; b) develop a new stewardship monitoring procedure so that users can apply the …

Advancing The Implementation Of Connectivity Conservation In Canada: A Case Study Of The Policy And Management Environment Of The Chignecto Isthmus Region, Rachel Hodgson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Connectivity conservation is a means to enable the unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes to sustain life. Understanding how connectivity conservation functions between parks and protected and conserved areas is a key component of addressing the global biodiversity crisis. The governance and associated policy environment of protected and conserved areas is often complex, and it is challenging for practitioners to understand how connectivity conservation practices can function. In this case study, protected and conserved areas practitioners working in the Chignecto Isthmus region of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada were interviewed assist in better understanding the …

Examining The Mental Health Experiences Of Lgbtq+ Identifying Muslim Students In Ontario’S Post-Secondary Institutions, Bushra Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative study explores the unique mental health experiences of Ontario’s LGBTQ+ Muslims in post-secondary settings. The study looks at how LGBTQ+ Muslim students’ mental wellness (i.e., sense of belonging, feeling affirmed in their intersecting identities of being Muslim and belonging to LGBTQ+ community) is affected as they try to navigate systemic barriers and make space for themselves in various settings (i.e., academic, LGBTQ+ affirming spaces, Muslim-specific spaces, student services) on campuses in Ontario, Canada. The study sample consists of four LGBTQ+ identified Muslim students across post-secondary institutions in Ontario and participants discussed their emotional, mental, and sense of belonging …

Grammatical Aspect, Temporal Adverbs, And Situation Models, Valerie Hemeon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Grammatical aspect and temporal cues have been shown to impact discourse processing. To explore this further, we contrasted temporal adverbs that move narrative timelines forward or backward. Although previous research has examined timelines independently, it was yet to be explored how timeline adverbs impact discourse processing when grammatical aspect and temporal cues are also manipulated. The experiment involved a sentence-completion task which allowed us to measure availability of target discourse concepts in situation models. Results showed main effects for grammatical aspect, temporal shifts, and narrative timeline directions. Three two-way interactions were found. The results demonstrated support for the iconicity assumption …

Understanding The Dynamics Of Food And Economic Development In The Community Of Kakisa, Northwest Territories, Canada, Laura Rodriguez Reyes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

For Indigenous Peoples, the land embodies a source of cultural and spiritual well-being that is linked to their way of life and identities through divine and traditional connections. Unfortunately, colonial powers, the global food system, socioeconomic inequalities and environmental degradation are impacting northern Indigenous lands and food systems, leading to food insecurity. Nevertheless, communities are still thriving in the face of adversity. In the Northwest Territories, on the lands of Ka’a’gee Tu First Nations (KTFN) in the community settlement of Kakisa, people are growing food through vegetable gardens and greenhouses to support their vision of a resilient food system.

Through …

Mainstream Media Portrayal Of Banishment And Nation-Imposed Punishment, Keely Ormond

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

“In a traditional village, we wouldn’t have a teepee with no door on it and throw somebody in there. We wouldn’t cast them out, because banishment meant death. What we had to do was restore relationships” – Ryan Beardy (Thorpe, 2022).

The following project examines the representation of Indigenous traditions, customs, and issues in Canadian mainstream media. Specifically, this project is interested in the portrayal of banishment as an Indigenous practice in Canadian mainstream news outlets. This project is based on an interpretive paradigm informed by grounded theory and concepts of media framing, postcolonialism, settler colonialism and restorative justice. Nineteen …

Shifting Perspectives On Crime: Empathy, Cognitive Reappraisal, And Media Sources, Gillian Sherman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

When reporting crime, media sources can influence public perception of the crime, the victim, and the perpetrator. They can also influence the justice policies that people endorse. With support growing for more community-oriented justice policies that allow for perpetrator reintegration (Maruna & King, 2009), it is important to understand how portrayals of crime may soften public judgements toward perpetrators without reducing concern for victims. In two studies drawing from empathy-attitude effect research (Batson et al., 1998) and emotion regulation theory (Gross, 1998) this research examines how media portrayals of a crime may cause people to change their perceptions of those …