Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring How Parents Influence Role Acceptance Of Youth Athletes Through Multiple Perspectives, Michael J. Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Role acceptance refers to the willingness of an athlete to fulfill expected role responsibilities (Benson, Eys, Surya, Dawson, & Schneider, 2013). Researchers have proposed several potential antecedents of role acceptance, one of which emphasized the influence of parents in this process (Eys et al., in preparation). With this in mind, the general purpose of the present study was to examine how parents influence the role acceptance process through multiple perspectives (e.g., parents, athletes, and coaches). To achieve this objective, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 participants (7 parents, 7 athletes, and 5 coaches) from four different types of interdependent team …

Agents Of Change: The Role Of Foreign Financial Institutions In China’S Financial Transformation Since The Early 1990s, Anton Malkin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

What role have foreign financial institutions (FFIs) played in China’s financial evolution since the early 1990s? My research finds that FFIs, which include foreign commercial and investment banks, as well as private equity (PE) firms, have played a role in China’s financial evolution in three respects. First, US financial institutions have leveraged their influence in the US government, their ties to other business groups, and mobilized connections with the Chinese elite, to help China to join the World Trade Organization in 2001. This outcome created a relatively open formal, legal environment to foreign actors—helping in the cause of liberalizing China’s …

The Tale Of Soulmates Or A Marriage Of Convenience? Tying The Knot Of Human Rights With Development And Its Goals Through Donor Programs And Projects. The Case Of The Canadian International Development Agency (Cida), Taguhi Dallakyan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of the dissertation was to examine whether globally agreed development goals (Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with a specific focus on poverty reduction) were operationalized in human rights, access to justice and rule of law programs/projects of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and of its executing partners. The analysis of the CIDA’s reports to Parliament and programing documents indicates that from the first years of the launch of MDGs, they were operationalized within the CIDA’s programing architecture and remained as a macro- level goal of the agency. MDGs, with the focus on poverty reduction, were treated as an ultimate …

Responses To Change In The Global Political Economy Of Innovation – The Role Of Sub-National States In Industrial Transition, Dan Herman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation seeks to explore how sub-national levels of the state promote the development of new industrial sectors. To do so this dissertation builds on a series of theoretical perspectives on the role of the state in the economy and develops a unique view of how sub-national states coalesce and contrast within these perspectives. It does so through a series of empirical case studies focused on sub-national jurisdictions in North America that highlight diverse varieties of state actions that contribute, if not lead, industrial transitions and the development of new innovation-oriented industrial sectors. In so doing, the dissertation presents a …

Investigative Inadequacies Or Investigative Corruption? Exploring The Role Of Police Misconduct Within Canadian Wrongful Conviction Cases, Michelle L. Lovegrove

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The phenomenon of wrongful convictions has begun to attract the attention of the public and scholars alike within the past few decades. However, despite this recent fixation the issue of wrongful convictions is not new, as research on the subject dates back to 1932 with the work of Edwin Borchard. Most of the research on the subject of wrongful convictions has focused largely on identifying the factors that contribute to these injustices. For the most part academics are in agreement when it comes to the causes of wrongful convictions, which include, eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, police & prosecutor misconduct, use …

Holding Canada Accountable: An Evaluation Of Canada's Compliance To The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Jackson A. Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Compliance of human rights norms requires the application of pressure from a multitude of directions and levels. It takes individual advocacy, micro-system/organizational/community-level pressure, and macro-level pressure from other nation-states and international organizations and governance bodies. This MA study focuses on the mechanisms employed by the United Nations to monitor the compliance of signatory nation-states to the standards established in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), with particular focus on Canada. A crucial goal of this study is to translate the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNSRRIP), James Anaya’s, findings on the …

Caring In Transition: Home Care Workers’ Experiences Of Care Relationships In Shanghai, China, Liu Hong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation reports a qualitative study of 23 care workers in the home care program for older people in Shanghai, China. Using grounded theory methodology, a model was developed to account for care workers’ experiences of relationships with older clients. Care workers were found to resist the image of care work as demeaning labour performed by lowly migrant workers and re-construct care as valuable work for those in need accomplished by a caring self. As a mechanism of care relationship formation, care workers engage in tuning, a dynamic process of identity negotiation that shifts in between two contrasting states: …

An Examination Of The Factors That Dictate The Relative Weighting Of Feedback And Feedforward Input For Speech Motor Control, Nichole E. Scheerer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Speech is arguably the most important form of human communication. Fluent speech production relies on auditory feedback for the planning, execution, and monitoring of speech movements. Auditory feedback is particularly important during the acquisition of speech, however, it has been suggested that over time speakers rely less on auditory feedback as they develop robust sensorimotor representations that allow speech motor commands to be executed in a feedforward manner. The studies reported in this thesis recorded speaker’s vocal and neural responses to altered auditory feedback in order to explore the factors that dictate the relative importance of auditory feedback for speech …

The Nature Of Resident Participation In The Exploration And Installation Stages Of The Implementation Of A Community-Based Primary Prevention Program For Young Children, Jessica S. Noble Ms.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Resident participation is a vital factor and key prerequisite to the planning, development and implementation of community-driven projects. Early implementation evaluations, especially during the planning stages of project development, are critical to ensuring effective resident participation. Understanding the nature of resident participation, including the activities involved, facilitators, barriers, and outcomes of engagement, is essential for laying the foundation for program success and sustainability. This study was an implementation evaluation of a small community-based initiated project that examined resident participation, varying by degrees of involvement throughout the early stages of implementation. The sample (N = 11) consisted of three service-providers, …

The Influence Of Real-Time Visual Feedback Training On Vocal Control, Justeena N. Zaki-Azat

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Trained singers have better vocal control when compared to singers without vocal training. The development of precise vocal control, like any motor skill, requires practice with some form of feedback, such as auditory feedback. In addition to auditory feedback, singing training programs use online visual feedback to improve performance accuracy. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the recent body of literature concerning the cognitive processing of vocal control, and apply this knowledge practically to develop an effective real-time visual feedback training program that enhances vocal control. In the first of two studies, non-singers and singers were randomly assigned …

Japanese Encephalitis: Assessing Disease Risk Due To Landscape Factors At Multiple Scales, Julia E. Metelka

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease and is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in Asia. In many Asian countries, the geographical distribution of JE is dependent on a variety of human-environment interactions that can be conceptualized as a complex social-ecological system. The JE transmission cycle is influenced by a few primary human-landscape factors; the abundance and the spatial configuration of rice paddy fields (which provide habitat for the vector), the distribution of pig farms (which position the virus' amplifying host), and the location of a susceptible human population. Our models integrate population dynamics, landscape characteristics, and weather variables that …

Exploring Women’S Perspectives Of Living With Mental Illness, Stigma, And Receiving Community Services, Alexa L. Stovold, Magnus Mfoafo-M'Carthy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) (2015), one in five individuals will experience mental illness personally, which means that all Canadians will be indirectly (or directly) influenced by mental illness at some point in their life. Unfortunately, due to historical trends and negative stereotypes mental illness has become heavily stigmatized (Camp, Finlay, and Lyons, 2002; Chernomas, Clarke, and Chisholm, 2000; Link, Struening, Neese-Todd, Asmussen, and Phelan, 2001; Sands, 2009; Szeto, Luong & Dobson, 2013). Although many studies have assessed the relationship between mental illness and stigma, little research has included a gender lens when exploring these topics. Therefore, …

Climate Change And Social Work: Our Roles And Barriers To Action, Tina Cumby

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative research project was conducted using a grounded theory research methodology and was approached with the theoretical underpinnings of social constructivism and pragmatism. The purpose of this research was to assess what role, if any, that social workers can play in dealing with environmental issues such as climate change and what barriers, if any, they will likely experience as they engage with these issues. It is important to explore these roles and barriers because social work is a profession that is well equipped to mitigate environmental issues like climate change, yet there is virtually no social work presence in …

Let's Talk About (Consensual) Sex!, Eleanor M. Mcgrath

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Legal, moral, and health-related issues around sexual consent have become prominent in the media in recent years. The public debate surrounding these news stories indicates a large discrepancy in people’s understanding of sexual consent and its legal implications. Motivated by the fact that university students are sexually victimized at rates exceeding the general population, this study explores factors that influence knowledge of legal aspects of sexual consent and confidence in using such knowledge of students/alumni, under 30 years old, from two southern Ontario universities. This quantitative study used an online survey design, and is grounded in a heuristic paradigm, with …

More Than Stone And Iron: Indigenous History And Incarceration In Canada, 1834-1996, Seth Adema

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, and Inuit) history as played out in Canadian prisons. It argues that in the prison, processes of colonialism, decolonization, and neocolonialism took place simultaneously. In the nineteenth century, the prison was built as part of a network of colonial institutions and polices. It was imagined, designed, and built by representatives of the Canadian state alongside other colonial institutions, drawing on similar intellectual traditions. It maintains the imprint of this colonial origin. Prisons also became arenas for Indigenous cultural exchange and cultural creation, which in most cases subverted the logic of the prison. This …

Moral Identity From Cross- And Bi-Cultural Perspectives, Fanli Jia

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Researchers in moral psychology have initiated projects to investigate moral identity; however, they agreed that a precise definition and methodology of moral identity has been lacking in establishing the value of this new area. One of the challenges is that cultural explorations of moral identity are absent. Moral identity may take different forms in different cultures, or play an important role in morality in some cultures but not in others (Hardy & Carlo, 2005). The present dissertation was aimed at investigating how Western Canadian and Eastern Chinese cultural orientations relate to moral identities. Three studies were conducted.

In the first …

The Feasibility, Practicality And Uses Of Detecting Crop Water Stress In Southern Ontario Apple Orchards With A Uas, Thomas S. Tiidus Mr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) are becoming more common place in agricultural sites around the world. While the accuracy of achieving NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) from a UAS is well understood, few studies have attempted to acquire other plant health attributes such as CWSI (Crop Water Stress Index), particularly in horticulture such as apple orchards. In addition, no academic studies up to the time of this writing have explored the perceived usefulness of data obtained from a UAS for the average farmer. This study explored the practicality and feasibility of using UAS for apple orchards in Southern Ontario. This study …

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (Mcda) For Agricultural Sustainability Assessment, Byomkesh Talukder

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT), Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) and Elimination methods of Multi-Criteria Decision analysis (MCDA) are tested to assess and compare the sustainability of different agricultural systems. Indicators and composite indicators are derived from data gathered using the agricultural sustainability categories of Productivity, Stability, Efficiency, Durability, Compatibility and Equity (PSEDCE).

Agricultural systems around the world face challenges from current agricultural practices, over-exploitation of natural resources, population growth and climate change. As a result, understanding agricultural sustainability has become a global issue. Assessment is a first step in benchmarking and tracking agricultural sustainability and …

Leadership Practice, Organizational Culture And New Managerialism: Strengths, Challenges, Variations And Contradictions In Three Children's Service Agencies, Rosemary E. Vito

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to explore how social work leaders conceptualized and practiced leadership and how their leadership practice influenced, and was shaped by, organizational culture. The relevance and viability of a participatory leadership approach and a collaborative learning culture were also explored. As well, leadership satisfaction and development and the impact of external changes were sought. A qualitative research approach, multiple case study and multi-method design were employed. Forty-one directors and supervisors in three children’s mental health and child welfare agencies in Ontario participated in this study. Research methods included interviews, focus groups, observations and …

Twerking, Alcohol, And Fame: The Construction Of Disney Celebrities In The Media, Carla R. López

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The mass media expanded intrusion of cameras into the public and private lives of celebrities has contributed to the public's fascination with Hollywood celebrities. Specifically, this cultural obsession has been increasingly centered on female celebrity's increased deviancy and criminal behaviours. Although numerous studies have been completed discussing the cultural fixation of Hollywood celebrity culture and the audience’s attachment to these celebrities, few have provided insight into the media construction of cultural narratives surrounding Disney celebrities. To fill the gap in the literature, I will assess how female celebrity deviance and sexuality is constructed in the media by examining the media …

Sexual Orientation Microaggressions On Campus: Prevalence And Outcomes Among Lesbian/Gay And Bisexual Students, Pamela Sariyannis Ms.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Microaggressions are subtle, often-unintentional forms of discrimination that convey negative messages about targeted individuals. While empirical attention to sexual orientation microaggressions is growing, little is known about their prevalence among specific groups of sexual minorities. Using data (n = 438) from the US-based National Study of LGBTQ Student Success, this study examines: (1) the prevalence of both general sexual orientation microaggressions and erasure of sexuality and hypersexualization microaggressions among bisexual college students and their gay/lesbian peers; (2) the relationship between each type of microaggression and sexual orientation on student outcomes (depression, substance use, and social acceptance); (3) the role of …

You Will Be Punished: Media Depictions Of Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women, Caitlin Elliott

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The following thesis focuses on media depictions of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women, a list that carries upwards of 1,200 names. The news coverage of these stories is reminiscent of television crime dramas in their depictions of minority victims of crime, specifically in regard to victim blaming. In order to examine this relationship, the present study compares coverage of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canadian news articles to depictions of victims, particularly minority female victims, within crime procedural television shows. An ethnographic content analysis (ECA) was conducted in order to parse out common themes between news articles featuring …

Hiv Testing In The Context Of Hiv Stigma And Minority Stress, Mallory C. Harrigan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The HIV test is highly valued for its role in promoting personal health, aiding in HIV prevention, and enabling the epidemiological tracking of the virus. However, relatively few scholars have critically examined the social and cultural implications of testing practices (Scott, 2003). These implications are of particular concern because the groups targeted for testing (referred to as service priority groups) are marginalized communities, and have historically been further marginalized by many public health HIV prevention efforts (Waldby, 1996). This thesis examines the experience of receiving an HIV test from the perspective of individuals in service priority groups, which include gay, …

Pregnancy, Birth, And Mothering Behind Bars: A Case Study Of One Woman's Journey Through The Ontario Criminal Justice And Jail Systems, Sarah Fiander

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As more people come under the direct or indirect control of the carceral nation state, it is important to analyze those systems and bodies that contribute to its construction and conservation. Moreover, it is necessary to assess the ability of these social institutions to meet the needs of the individuals under their supervision, as well as to establish a standard of care to which operators of jails, prisons, and other carceral facilities may be held accountable. Criminalized women represent an acutely marginalized segment of the prison population whose distinct gendered needs have been habitually overlooked. The present study aims to …

Acculturation And Post-Immigration Changes In Obesity, Physical Activity, And Nutrition: Comparing Hispanics And Asians In The Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada., Michele Vitale Mr., Sean Doherty

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

OBJECTIVES: The acculturation hypothesis speculates that as new immigrants get exposed to more obesogenic environments, they progressively acquire the unhealthy lifestyles of the host society, and their obesity risk gradually increases since time of arrival. However, the consistency of the presumed acculturation effect across immigrant groups and gender, and the reasons behind individual changes in lifestyle behaviors remain unclear. Thus, this study investigated the acculturation hypothesis in the Canadian context by comparing two foreign groups, Hispanics and East/Southeast Asians, which present contrasting post-settlement obesity patterns and behavioral trends.

Methods: A 41-item questionnaire (including open-ended questions) was administered with 100 first-generation …

Experiences Of Victimization And Health Care Access Among Non-Metropolitan Lgbtq+ Individuals, Ashley-Ann Marcotte

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals report substantial rates of violence, discrimination, and negative life events due to homophobia and transphobia and these experiences impact access to health care services and programs (Bauer et al, 2009; Grant, Mottet, Tanis, Harrison, & Keisling, 2010) These experiences result in LGBTQ+ communities needing services, programs, and social supports to provide safer spaces. Although it is well recognized that health care services are not a major determinant of health outcomes and yet use more than 60% of health spending (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2014; Muzyka, Hodgson, & Prada, 2012). As such, …

Representations Of Stranger And Non-Stranger Homicide: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Canadian News Media, Gabriella L. Leone

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The news media play a significant role in shaping public narratives about homicide by the particular incidents that journalists choose to report – or not report – on. Newspapers, in particular, lack the benefit of constant imagery, special effects, and live-action reporting that T.V. news reports have, and, as a result, forces newspapers to construct sensational and newsworthy homicide stories in order to be competitive and gain readership. To achieve this, newspapers often disproportionately report on bizarre and atypical homicide incidents, which most frequently involve a stranger or unknown assailant. While there is substantive literature surrounding the newsworthiness of homicide …

Children’S Ability To Identify An Unusual Occurrence Of A Repeated Event, Mckenzie K. Vanderloon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Research on script memory shows that individuals have a difficult time isolating single instances of a repeated event because a generic script (e.g., one has a generic script for typical grocery shopping; grab a cart, gather items, then pay) has formed over time. Scripts capture the “gist” of what usually happens and allow individuals to predict what probably occurred based on the robustness of the script. Thus, individuals are able to identify details of what occurs; however, piecing which details came from a particular incident poses its challenges, especially for children. Source monitoring is the ability to accurately differentiate …

Analysis Of The Geosocial Landscape In The City Of Toronto, Courtney J. Jones

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Microblogging on geosocial platforms is a popular form of online communication where users post information about their daily lives and challenges. Since the launch of Twitter in 2006, information sharing through social media has become a largely unused data repository. Tweets often convey content about the users sentiment as it is happening. As such, Tweets can be viewed as a proxy of public mood. In this thesis, I performed a sentiment analysis of all public geo-located Tweets posted by a variety of Twitter users between September 2013 and October 2014. Each Tweet was processed through a custom algorithm to extract …

Social Problems, Biomedical Answers? How Causes Of Social Problems Affect Choice Of Solutions, Bianca C. Dreyer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

With rapid advances in behavioural genetics, scientists are identifying an increasing array of genetic influences on human behaviour. Public misconceptions about the function of genes often lead to the oversimplification of the role of genes in behaviour (Dar-Nimrod & Heine, 2011). To date, no study has systematically investigated whether simply learning about genetic causes of behaviour affects people’s preferred solutions to problematic behaviours. The present research program includes three studies that were designed to examine the psychological effects of exposure to genetic etiology for problematic behaviour, in particular aggression, and investigated how this information influences endorsement of solutions, rating of …