Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The American Social Gospel And Korean Minjung Theology Look At Labor: A Comparison, Kee Hyang Ro

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Today, current global economic crises are forcing us to examine what the capitalist, industrial economy has done to workers and to explore alternatives to the prevailing concept of labor. For Koreans, who are involved with the Korean Labor Movement, their American counterpart that played a significant and an important role fighting the capitalists for the rights of laborers has taught them many lessons.

The Social Gospel Movement in America was started to fight "the real powers of darkness"—the economic corruption in high places and grinding poverty among lower sectors—both arising from industrialization and urbanization. Seeing that the labor movement coalesced …

Government And Interest Group Relations: An Analysis Of The Canadian Association For The Advancement Of Women And Sport, Susan Lesley Forbes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport (CAAWS) is a non-profit feminist advocacy organization established to work towards enhancing the position of women and girls in sport in Canada. Imbedded in a sport system which reflects societal values, CAAWS has undertaken activities to eliminate gender inequity, such as lack of acknowledgment, inadequate financial support and limited opportunities for participation, in Canadian sport. This study has addressed the question of whether or not CAAWS has been coopted as a result of its relationship with the federal government agencies responsible for sport in Canada (i.e., Sport Canada and Sport …

User Fees For Residential Waste Disposal: Issues, Feasibility And A Case Study Of Decision-Making (Ontario), Pietro Bertollo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Canadian society generates huge quantities of solid waste, for which disposal is becoming more difficult. Landfill space is becoming scarcer and municipal jurisdictions are having to allocate greater and greater financial resources to this problem. The ultimate solution to the waste problem lies in reducing waste generation. Iii this area, there is considerable disagreement on how to achieve this goal. One school of thought advocates economic instruments such as user fees to induce people and societies to become more sustainable. This thesis examines the user-pay concept as a waste management tool. This thesis consists of a detailed examination of the …

Hearing The Voices Of The Silent: Alternative To The Problem Of Blaming Mothers For The Occurrence Of Incest, Josephine Sui-Fun Fong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The problem of intra-familial child sexual abuse has been studied over the past few decades, but the problem of blaming mothers for the occurrence of incest has not been adequately recognized. This study is a documentation of the experiences of mothers of incest survivors. Six women whose daughters were sexually abused by their fathers or step fathers were interviewed for approximately 60 to 120 minutes. Results demonstrated that in their process of dealing with the problem of child sexual abuse, mothers experienced a great deal of pain and hardship. While they were indeed also victims of the incestuous relationship, they …

Gender Differences In The Perception Of Rape: The Role Of Ambiguity, Terence Patrick Humphreys

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Past research in the area of rape has focused on rates of acquaintance or date rape (Koss. 1985), the perception of rape victims (Shotland & Goodstein, 1983; Tieger. 1981) and the prevalence of rape myths (Burt, 1980; Gilmartin-Zena, 1988; Larsen & Long, 1988). Findings from Gilmartin-Zena (1988) suggest that most college students recognize obvious rape myths, but are uncertain about "subtle" ones. Other research indicates that males are more likely than females to perceive that forced intercourse was consensual (Abbey, 1982; Malamuth, Haber, & Feshback, 1980). In this vein, the present study tested the hypothesis that there are gender differences …

An Outcome And Process Evaluation Of The Pamscad Supplementary Food Program At Ayeredee In The Brong Ahafo Region Of Ghana, West Africa, Kofi Bobi Barimah

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research was an evaluation of the impact of a nutrition program on women at Ayeredee in the Nkoranza district of the Brong—Ahafo region of Ghana, west Africa. As a part of Ghana's emphasis on primary health care, the program is aimed at improving children's nutritional status and preventing malnutrition, disease and death. Specifically, the Program of Action to Mitigate the Social Cost or Adjustment (PAMSCAD) supplementary food program was examined to determine whether the goals of the program are being met. An empowerment agenda which focused on both process and outcome was used as the conceptual framework for the …

Citizen Participation In The Development Of Religious Communities As Extended Health Care Centres, Theresa Connie Dunn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Citizen participation was encouraged through the use of a needs and resource assessment. The assessment accomplished: 1) a process of involving rural citizens in community decision-making and 2) gathering data useful to the planning of a community chaplaincy program. Seventy participants completed a questionnaire through one of three methods: 1) self-administered by mental health service users, 2) a phone survey of residents in remote rural areas, and 3) a nominal group process involving congregational members. I focused the analysis of the data on: 1) the actual and suggested resources the participants reported for the four needs: personal, spiritual, social and …

The Relation Between Empathic Listening Styles And Moral Reasoning Development In Adolescents, Susan Elizabeth Curror

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The focus of this study was to investigate developmental changes in thinking about relationships and the listening attitudes of males and females from middle to late adolescence. Gilligan’s (1982) analysis of the distinctions between care and justice moral orientations was presented as a possible explanation for the development of a gender difference in listening behaviour. Thirty-two middle (15-16 year old) and 30 late (18-20 year old) adolescents were interviewed concerning a disagreement they had experienced with a friend. Two additional standard scenarios were also presented to students which involved a conflict between a parent and child. Responses were scored for …

A Developmental Evaluation Of Frequency Information In Lists, Scripts, And Stories, Deborah Ann Connolly

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In three experiments, the age-invariance hypothesis of frequency memory of Hasher and Zacks was tested. Children and adults listened to atypical actions presented in lists, or embedded in stories that described activities that are scripted, or in stories that described unfamiliar activities. Results from the list-conditions supported the age-invariance hypothesis. Age differences were found in the story conditions; however, they appeared at high, not at low, presented frequencies. The findings are discussed in terms of a developmental change in ability to retrieve the information needed to accurately judge frequency. The results are also discussed in relation to the Script-Pointer—Plus-Tag theory …

Ontario's Mental Health System: The Experience Of Families And Their Perspective On Reform, Eric Laite Macnaughton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Over 100 family members were interviewed—individually and in focus groups—to gain a picture of their lived experience and their perspective on reform of Ontario's mental health system. The thesis looks at needs of families in two ways. first, by examining the common themes of their experience with the mental health system and with supporting "consumers" in the community; and second, by asking families directly about their satisfaction with existing supports, and about needed additional supports. Focus group participants were asked to make suggestions about innovative models to meet unmet need, and about how families could participate more fully in the …

An Investigation Of Transformational And Transactional Leadership Styles In Personal Social Service Organizations, Dieter Ernest Kays

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The dissertation examines the applicability of transformational and transactional leadership style to personal social service organizations. The Executive Directors and their subordinates from 92 Children’s Aid Societies and Children’s Mental Health Centres in Ontario participated in the study. The results indicate significant positive relationships between transformational leadership (TFL) and job satisfaction, commitment, leader effectiveness, and satisfaction with the leader. While not as robust, significant negative relationships were found between transactional leadership (TAL) and job satisfaction, commitment, leader effectiveness, and satisfaction with the leader. It is pointed out that TAL and TFL are derived by averaging eight discrete factors into two …

Gender And Self-Care In Undergraduate University Students: A Qualitative Study, Anne Johnston Munroe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although there has been more interest in home health care, self-care, or "lay" initiatives in health care in recent years, most research is from the perspective of the researcher. The researcher names and defines the important issues and also generally makes use of structured questionnaires that force responses into predetermined categories. My research project was a departure from this approach. Grounded in the interpretive paradigm, this research sought to better understand the ways in which men and women experience their physical and mental health and the methods they employ to augment or maintain their health. Another purpose of the research …

Voronoi Diagrams As A Visualization Technique For Spatial Autocorrelation In Point Data Sets, Martin A. Cassel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis explores a new way of visualizing spatial autocorrelation in a GIS environment. It explores some relationships between spatial autocorrelation models, spatial interaction models and weighted Voronoi diagrams. Since the weighted Voronoi diagram is equivalent to a form of spatial interaction models, any GIS with the ability to generate a gravity model can be utilized to perform this new technique of exploratory spatial data analysis. This thesis demonstrates how the cross product form of‘ spatial autocorrelation models like the Geary and the Moran statistics is equivalent to the form of a multiplicatively weighted distance utilized in the definition of …

Theoretical And Empirical Examinations Of Spatial Scale And Aggregation Effects On The Principal Axis Factoring Technique When The Observations Are Areal Units, Len Michael Hunt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous assessments of factor analytic invariance to scale and aggregation effects have led to discrepant results. To determine the true effects, this study comprehensively examines the influence of scale and aggregation on factorial ecologies. This investigation is completed for three data sets, four scales, and thirty aggregations at each scale. Of these three data sets, two are artificial. These two data sets differ only by levels of spatial autocorrelations as one data set contains independent areal unit observations while the other set includes modest positive spatial autocorrelations. The third data set consists of variables from the 1986 Saskatoon enumeration areas. …

Visible Minorities With Physical Challenges: A Study Of Their Experiences In Integrating Into Canadian Society, Thersiah L. Lubis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis is the result of a qualitative research study exploring the experience of visible minority persons with physical challenges in trying to integrate into Canadian society, in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and Toronto. To capture the larger picture regarding the particular conditions of the challenged visible minority persons in this community, l also examined the experiences of those providing services to them. Another objective of this research was for me to learn to incorporate the values of community psychology into a research process. Using two partia|ly-structured interview guides, one set for the physically- challenged visible minorities and the other for …

The Impact Of Social Support On Acculturative Stress, Depression, And Life Satisfaction Among Japanese Immigrant Women In Canada, Mariko Kimura

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Various aspects of social support appear to interact with acculturative stress, depression, and life satisfaction for Japanese post-war immigrant women. This study examined 1) the acculturation and level of stress experienced by Japanese immigrant women, 2) the mental well-being in relation to bouts of depression, 3) the life satisfaction, 4) the social support networks, and 5) the degrees to which perceived social support work to moderate the acculturative stress and depression and enhance life satisfaction in Canada. One hundred and twenty-one Japanese immigrant women, who immigrated to Canada after World War II, and living in Southern Ontario, were taken as …

A Comparison Of Metamemory Judgements And Forgetting Rates For Item And Associative Recognition For Normal And Closed-Head Injured Populations, Kathy Bharrath Singh

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Metamemory, in particular memory monitoring during a memory task, was investigated in a closed—head injured (CHI) population and a normal (control) population. Prediction ratings were used to determine memory monitoring at time of encoding, and postdiction ratings were used to determine memory monitoring at time of retrieval. Item and associative information for concrete and abstract words were tested using a forced—choice recognition test procedure. Forgetting rates for these two types of information (item and associative) were examined by analyzing immediate and final recognition memory performance. Results indicated that the CHI group had a lower overall level of recognition performance, however …

An Analysis Of Canadian International & Interprovincial Manufacturing Export Flows: 1974-1990, H. Lillian Kucsma

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis examined the changing internal and external export patterns of Canadian manufactured products in the years 1974, 1979, 1984, and 1990. Hechscher—Ohlin's comparative advantage trade framework was used to guide the analysis. Internally, provincially biased shipping patterns were found over the four time periods analyzed. The percentage of intraprovincial shipments increased, and interprovincial shipments decreased through time. This suggests that the provinces exhibited signs of increasing provincialism. Externally, except for 1990, primary export flow destinations to the USA as a percentage of total exports increased over time while those to the other OECD countries decreased. Secondary export flow destinations, …

The Cultivation Of Neighbourhood Centres: A Life Cycle Model, Barbara Anne Derksen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study focused on the lifecycle of four neighbourhood organizations located in Cambridge, Ontario. The key question in the study was: “How do the various stakeholders in the neighbourhood organizations experience the life cycle of these organizations”? Participants and staff described their experiences and their relationships with each other, staff, the sponsoring agency, the neighbourhood and the social service agencies that interact with neighbourhood organizations. Their responses helped to build a model of community development grounded in their own experiences that will be helpful in education, planning and evaluation. To answer both the key research question and related questions, an …

In Search Of A Place To Call Home: A Qualitative Evaluation Of A Transitional Housing Program For Refugee Families, Colleen Marcia Wiltshire

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Refugees are often faced with insurmountable barriers (such as marginalization and underemployment) as they try to become integrated into their adopted countries. Sand Hills Community Development Inc. (SHCD) devised a transitional housing program to circumvent these barriers, by bolstering newcomers through providing housing and support. The program was located within a residential area and a multicultural housing cooperative, and housed refugee claimants and government-sponsored refugees, respectively. The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the degree of success SHCD had in providing a supportive environment for refugee families. Data for the evaluation were based on qualitative interviews which were conducted …

The Measurement Of Effective Parenting In Native Communities, Adje Van De Sande

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In Native communities across North America, there are initiatives currently being taken by Native people to develop culturally relevant child welfare programs to deal with the problems of child maltreatment. One example of such a program is Cherish the Children, a training program developed by the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Centre to teach “parenting skills to Indian mothers with young children” (Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, 1988). It was developed by Anishnabe (Ojibway) people and encourages Anishnabe parents to return to “the old ways” of parenting. The purpose of this study was to develop a culturally-sensitive instrument that would measure …

Transition To Parenthood: The Role Of Self-Complexity, Margo Michelle Gallant

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Becoming a parent is a significant event in the adult developmental cycle. Researchers agree that all couples experience at least some form of stress during this transition. The present study investigated the role that self-complexity plays in a couple’s adjustment to becoming first-time parents. Self-complexity, which is defined as the number of roles or activities that an individual uses to describe himself or herself, was previously found to buffer the impact of stressful events among college students (Linville, 1987). Block (1961), however, found that individuals with higher levels of self-complexity were more maladjusted. The main purposes of this study were …

Does Religion Teach Empathy And Helpfulness? The Role Of Fundamentalism And Target Of Need In The Religion-Helping Relation, Lynne Marie Jackson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The empathy-altruism hypothesis predicts that when social expectation for helping is low, empathy will facilitate, and distress will attenuate, helping (Batson, 1991). Based on this prediction, this study explored the relations among religious fundamentalism, emotional reactions of empathy and distress, and helping behaviour, for differing targets of need. One hundred thirty-three introductory psychology students (38 male, 95 female), of varying levels of religious fundamentalism, read a letter ostensibly written by a person hoping to attend university during the coming academic year. The letter indicated that the author had concerns about coping with the demands of university studies. The potential student …

Gender Differences In Perceptions Of Sexual And Nonsexual Cues In Dating, Christine Alksnis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study was an initial attempt to understand how people evaluate their dating experiences. The primary objective was to determine whether males and females have different views about the behaviours that constitute positive, negative and typical dating experiences. Undergraduate students (50 males, 70 females) were asked to rate the likelihood of different sexual and nonsexual events in "good", "bad" and "typical" date contexts as well as to provide written descriptions of their own best, worst and typical dates. For good and typical dates, many of the same events were identified as likely to occur by both men and women. However, …

Agro-Climatic Hazards And The Political Economy Of Food Insecurity In West Africa: A Case Of A Rural Food Economy, Raphael Lawer Djabatey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Variability and declining food production and accessibility in West Africa have characterised the food system in the region’s rural economy. These phenomenon have contributed to the fluctuation and declining per capita food supply and calorie intake, falling wages of farmers, rising food prices and increasing reliance on food imports and food aid by the governments and people of West Africa. The cause of the problem still remains an illusion and continues to baffle policy makers. Very often the problem is attributed to drought. However, to reduce the problem of household food insecurity to natural forces is to miss the centre …

Barriers To Achieving Sustainable Development In North America: Historical Naivety, Media Limitations And Non-Anticipatory Governance, Blair Wayne Feltmate

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis addresses three critical problems affecting the implementation of “sustainable development”: historical naivety, media limitations, and non-anticipatory governance. Emphasis is placed on North America--primarily the United States complemented with a global perspective towards the latter aspect of the presentation. Foremost (Chapter 2) in the thesis is the focus on contemporary society's lack of appreciation for its environmental past, and the assertion "to be ignorant of history is to repeat it" is corroborated by reviewing many "modern" (circa 1990's) problems of environmental degradation and placing them in a historical North American context. For example, George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)--the father of …

Pandemic Influenza: An Analysis Of The Spread Of Influenza In Kitchener, October 1918 (Ontario), Niall Phillip Alan Sean Johnson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Influenza remains one of the major killers in modern society. In addition to the mortality it causes, it exacts a huge medical, social and economic toll. Due to its propensity to undergo change, through antigenic drift and shift, this disease continues to torment humankind. These changes are the driving force that enables influenza to periodically become epidemic and pandemic. The study of past pandemics thus may provide useful insight to comb-it the disease now and in the future. The 1918-19 pandemic is one of the three worst outbreaks of disease in recorded history, with only the Justinian plagues and the …

Organizations And Attitudes In The Local Economic Development Process: A Case Study Of The West Parry Sound Area (Ontario), Darin Gregory Tucci

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of the obstacles and catalysts to the local economic development (LED) process. The central issues under examination deal with multi-community and multi-organization integration at the subregional level. These issues are explored though a case study of West Parry Sound Area (WPSA). The difficulties associated with integration and the differences among member municipalities and organizations were evaluated in two ways. First, the agencies involved in the WSPA LED process were examined to assess the organizational structure resulting from overlapping objectives and representatives. Second, the attitudes of key actors within these agencies …

The Foster Care Crisis And Management Practices In Public Child Welfare Systems: An Issue Of Partnership. Philosophy And Practice In Temporary Foster Care, Kenneth A. Barter

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Temporary foster care is a vital and essential resource and service in facilitating the interventions on the part of public child welfare agencies when such intervention requires the temporary removal of a child from his/her natural family. Despite the necessity of having a comprehensive, viable, and responsive temporary foster care program in place, foster care continues to be fraught with problems. These problems are such that foster care is considered to be in a state of crisis. This crisis state poses critical challenges for public child welfare administrations. This thesis reviews the issues related to the crisis in foster care …

Four Decades Of Child Welfare Services To Native Indians In Ontario: A Contemporary Attempt To Understand The 'Sixties Scoop' In Historical, Socioeconomic And Political Perspective, Joyce Barbara Timpson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research seeks to understand the high rates of Indian children in the care of Ontario’s Childrens Aid Societies from the 1950s to the 1970s. It examines historically the interaction of public policy, child welfare services and First Nations’ social, economic and cultural change. The author uses interview data from Native persons, CAS workers and public servants. In addition, government archives and the records of one child protection agency are used as data sources. The research examines in-care rates of Reserve Status Indian children from 1955 to 1976 in Ontario and admissions rates in one agency. It uses financial reports …