Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ascertaining The Impact Of Relativism On Moral Reasoning, Claire B. Henderson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research project is part on an ongoing effort in the social sciences to expand the understanding of those factors that may influence and promote moral development. Based on Lawrence Kohlberg’s developmental theory of moral reasoning, the main focus of the current study concerns the exploration of the relationship between moral reasoning and relativistic attitudes.

B-type moral reasoning is a more mature and developed form of reasoning at each of Kohlberg’s Stages 2 through 5. Hypotheses regarding the positive associations between the frequency of its use and scores on measures of relativism, equity, empathy, and open-mindedness were generated. Of the …

A Taste For Distinction: Food Representations In Popular Canadian Magazines, Rory A. Davis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study uses an exploratory approach to analyze the content of seventy-two individual lifestyle magazines, covering the 2010-2011 monthly publication periods for Chatelaine, Canadian Living and Reader’s Digest. Food content therein is approached from two broad, non-mutually exclusive modes of consumption. The broad-spectrum category of distinction is used to classify food content pertaining to identity, conspicuous consumption, and co-optation. Co-optation is used in a narrow sense to identify the usage of terms reflecting ‘localness’, ‘realness’, and ‘artisanry’. The plundering of these terms by mass marketers acts as a foil to the second broad-spectrum category, ethical food consumption. Ethical consumption as …

Strategies To Improve Health Coverage And Narrow The Equity Gap In Child Survival, Health, And Nutrition, Mickey Chopra

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Implementation of innovative strategies to improve coverage of evidence-based interventions, especially in the most marginalised populations, is a key focus of policy makers and planners aiming to improve child survival, health, and nutrition. We present a three-step approach to improvement of the effective coverage of essential interventions. First, we identify four different intervention delivery channels—ie, clinical or curative, outreach, community-based preventive or promotional, and legislative or mass media. Second, we classify which interventions’ deliveries can be improved or changed within their channel or by switching to another channel. Finally, we do a meta-review of both published and unpublished reviews to …

The Cross-Border Migrant Experience In Lang Son Province, Northern Viet Nam, Donald Hickerson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The crossing of national borders between nations of the developing world provides opportunities for the poor who seek sources of livelihood, while putting migrants, especially women migrants, at risk of exploitation and abuse. It is against the backdrop of these contradictory effects of migration for poor women that this thesis examines the experiences of a group of daily cross-border migrant women in northern Viet Nam. The study focuses on the role of networks in their lives. Based on 22 in-depth interviews with Vietnamese women migrants who work at the Viet Nam-China border region, I develop an analytical framework that seeks …

Health Implications Of A Delayed Transition Into Adulthood, Lisa K. Zaporzan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis considers mental and physical health outcomes experienced by young adults who live in their parents’ home during young adulthood. The life course perspective suggests that this “off-time” transition may lead to stigmatization and stress, and subsequently, health problems. This research uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative longitudinal sample of adolescents living in the United States. Wave four was primarily used, during which respondents are between 25-34 years of age (N=2776).

Although living with parents did not significantly increase CES-D or BMI, findings suggest CES-D was affected for those who have physical …

A Use-Wear Analysis Of Gravers From Paleo-Indian Archaeological Sites In Southern Ontario, Monica S. Maika

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Well-made gravers or spurred tools are one stone tool characteristic of the Paleo-Indian time period, but although many explanations have been posited as to their purpose (tattooing, hide piercing, engraving, etc), to date few typological or use-wear analyses have been conducted. This thesis analyzes a sample of gravers recovered from Early Paleo-Indian (11,000-10,400 B.P.) sites in southern Ontario. Using graver morphology and low-power microscopic examination of traces of use-wear, and guided by experiments using modern replicas, a typology of EPI gravers is evaluated, and a better understanding of their functions and roles in Paleo-Indian technology obtained. This study provides insights …

Toward A Dialogical Hermeneutic Of A Hindu-Christian: A Socio-Scientific Study Of Nepali Immigrants In Toronto, Surya Prasad Acharya

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In search of a hermeneutic that is dialogical, transcending one’s own realm of understanding to give enough space to the other, the theory of dialogical self provides a framework which is not only able to engage mutually incompatible traditions but inculcates a whole new insight into considering that the other is not completely external to the self. One of the most significant features of theory of dialogical self is that it is devised in the conviction that insight into the workings of the human self requires cross-fertilization between different fields. The thesis therefore employs social-psychology, religious studies, inter-cultural studies, theology …

"Proving Yourself" In The Canadian Medical Profession: Gender And The Experiences Of Foreign-Trained Doctors In Medical Practices, Vanessa Noelle Dolishny

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In recent years the medical profession has become feminized. Additionally, there has been an increased representation of foreign-trained professionals in the Canadian medical profession; many of which are women. Thus, there is a significant number of female medical practitioners who are foreign-born and foreign-trained. This demographic faces many barriers, which are often characterized as a “double disadvantage”. This paper investigates the experiences of foreign-trained medical professionals once they have gained access to the profession and whether the feminization of medicine has impacted the experiences of these individuals. Immigrant status was found to be highly significant to one’s experiences in the …

Poverty, Work And Social Networks: The Role Of Social Capital For Aboriginal People In Urban Australian Locales, Julie Lahn

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

In this article, I present the key findings from a project entitled “The Social Context of Indigenous Poverty”. The research involved a series of interviews with Aboriginal people in urban SE Australia on issues of poverty, social capital and social exclusion. In the article I draw together Aboriginal perspectives on the meaning of poverty to reflect on the relevance of social capital concepts for understanding Aboriginal economic disadvantage and hence, the merits of policy framed in these terms.

Ideas Matter: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Neighbourhood Regeneration Programs Associated With The Administrations Of Two Toronto Mayors Between 2005 And 2012, Kathy Wiele

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines how the neighbourhood regeneration programs of David Miller and Rob Ford in Toronto compare based on the approaches to public administration taken by each mayor. It uses a comparative analysis of the two cases with a specific focus on Miller’s Priority Neighbourhoods (PNs) and Ford’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs). The findings reveal that the two programs are based on different approaches to public administration, with Miller emphasizing the community development approach and Ford favouring the economic model of public administration.

Shared Patron-Driven Acquisition Within A Consortium: The Ocul Pda Pilot, Harriet Rykse, Kate Davis, Lei Jin, Colleen Neely

Western Libraries Publications

In September 2010 members of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) participated in a Patron Driven Acquisitions (PDA) pilot to determine how this purchasing model might be adapted to a consortium. OCUL understood that developing a model that would allow patrons to purchase titles for different collections would be complicated. Careful thought went into balancing the needs of individual members with the needs of the consortium. This paper describes the project and examines the results from three distinct perspectives in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of PDA at a consortial level.

Little Liberals: A Child-Centred Approach To The Inculcation Of Values, Alison M. Braley-Rattai

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In a liberal-democracy, the proper role of parents and of the state in forming children’s beliefs involves several separate but interrelated debates: These concern the conceptual space that children occupy within liberal theory, the basis of the ‘control rights’ adults are said to have over children, and the tension between the values of autonomy and diversity, which are foundational values for a liberal-democracy. To clarify these debates, competing paradigms are identified in political theories that address them: A dual-interest view and a child-centred view. The former ‘balances’ the interests that parents and children have in the child-rearing relationship, and the …

The Role Of The Resiliency Process In Skilled Immigrants' Job Search, Kelly Kisinger

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

For many skilled immigrants settling in Canada, the obtainment of employment is a difficult and lengthy process. The current study seeks to examine how skilled immigrants deal with the adversity of the job search by applying a process model of resiliency (King & Rothstein, 2010) to the job search of skilled immigrants. The study examined the interplay between individuals’ psychological characteristics, knowledge, and environment and their self-regulatory processes, and how those processes influenced the job search individuals performed and subsequent job search outcomes. Using a cross sectional design, 94 immigrants throughout Canada completed an online survey. The findings showed individuals’ …

Policy Implications Of The Financial Crisis And Recession: Canadian Performance In Comparison, Michael W. Carfagnini

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Global Financial and Economic Crisis involve complex interaction among diverse causal factors. This article seeks to ascertain the policy implications of countries’ exposure and responses to these twin crises. It does so by comparing five economies – The United States, United Kingdom, Iceland, Greece, and Canada - according to their economic performance through the crises. This comparison aims to discern why Canada’s performance surpassed that of the other four cases. The paper compares countries’ financial regulations and initial exposure to the financial crisis, as well as monetary and fiscal policy responses to mitigate the crisis and recession. It finds …

Narrative Tactics: Windigo Stories And Indigenous Youth Suicide, Gerald P. Mckinley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines cross-genre and cross-cultural discourse between contemporary Indigenous windigo narratives and medical narratives involving the topic of Indigenous youth suicide. The Indigenous narratives include forms that are Western in their origin, the novel, comic book and film, but contain traditional Indigenous narrative patterns, actors and themes. I draw these narratives from fictions produced by Indigenous public intellectuals. The medical narratives represent a cross-section of fields but focus mainly on Coroners’ reports, social determinants of health research and suicide research based in psychology. The goal of my research is to examine how and where these forms of discourse come …

Olympism, Ethics And The Rio 2016 Olympic Games Preparations: An Ethical Analysis, Dana Poeta

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Olympism is the underlying philosophy of the modern Olympic Games. It provides the ethical foundation of the Olympic Movement. This thesis defends the maintenance of human rights as essential for the achievement of Olympism. The problem investigated and evaluated in this thesis is the preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. A critical analysis and account of the ethical demeanor in regard to the actualization of Olympism is provided. By comparing relevant current issues with past Olympic Games, the recurring problems in achieving Olympism are identified. The conclusion emphasizing the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) responsibility for ensuring that Olympism, …

Attracting And Retaining The Highly Skilled In Medium-Sized City-Regions Of Ontario, Kyle Clemens

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Canada’s medium-sized cities have recently experienced a significant net loss in human capital growth attributed alone to internal migration. Subsequently, the largest cities in the country have received a net growth in human capital in part due to internal migration. Using mixed qualitative methods in the form of a policy document analysis and in-depth key informant interviews, this study aims to understand how and to what extent institutional relations are leveraging post-secondary education institutions in medium-sized city-regions of Ontario to attract and retain the highly skilled. The results of this study reveal that limited collaboration to leverage the post-secondary education …

Fmri Reveals The Neural Correlates Of Real And Pantomimed Tool Use In Humans, Joseph Umberto Paciocco

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be used to study the neural mechanisms underlying greatly expanded cognitive functions in humans like tool use, surprisingly little fMRI research has been done on actual tool use. In fact, due to technical constraints, most fMRI studies have used pantomimed actions as a proxy for real use. However, human neuropsychology patients who are impaired at pantomiming often improve when handling a tool suggesting potential neural differences. We used fMRI to record brain activation while 13 right-handed participants performed one of two tasks, real or pantomime tool use with one of two tools, a …

Past Tents: Temporal Themes And Patterns Of Provincial Archaeological Governance In British Columbia And Ontario, Joshua Dent

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Archaeological governance in Canada is a patchwork of provincial jurisdiction. Comparing past and present archaeological legislation, regulation and policy in British Columbia and Ontario, this thesis identifies temporal themes and patterns both common and distinct in the two provinces. Themes of process, performance and balance and the common transition from empirical archaeological values to conceptual valuations of heritage are discussed using a combination of literary review, archival research and interviews. Analysis of the past and present offers insight into the trajectory of heritage governance and the increasing role of descendant communities in managing their own heritage. The role of archaeologists …

A Seat At The Table: A Nonconformist Approach To Grassroots Participation In The Articulation Of Health Standards, Leanne Bekeris

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This paper assesses the need to articulate standard protocol in regards to decision making and monitoring of biomedical and ecosystem health in Canadian Aboriginal communities. This is critical, as standards in Aboriginal communities are applied by external regulators. Absence of collaboration between the Aboriginal community, healthcare institutions, and the federal government has perpetuated the deterioration of health among Aboriginal people through structural violence. This thesis utilizes toxicity results from the University of Western Ontario’s Ecosystem Health Team’s biomonitoring study of Walpole Island First Nation, which reveals that the absence of community input regarding health standards, combined with a fear of …

“Winds Of Change”: Explaining Support For Wind Energy Developments In Ontario, Canada, Chad Jr Walker

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis addresses a major gap in the wind turbine and risk assessment literatures. It explains local support for wind energy in some areas in spite of vocal opposition in others. Findings from Port Burwell and Clear Creek, Ontario indicate that social and contextual forces may help explain much of the difference in opinion between the two communities. The case study was focused through 21 in-depth interviews. The interviews were analyzed verbatim using NVIVO 9 software. The findings were found to be consistent with Kasperson’s theory of the Social Amplification of Risk and seem to explain why Port Burwell is …

Distinct Visual Coding Strategies Mediate Grasping And Pantomime-Grasping Of 2d And 3d Objects., Scott A. Holmes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

An issue of current debate in the visuomotor control literature surrounds whether 2D and 3D objects rely on similar or dissociable visual information in supporting goal-directed grasping. Accordingly, in Experiment One I had participants grasp 2D and 3D objects wherein just-noticeable-difference (JND) scores for aperture shaping were computed to determine the extent to which such actions adhere to the psychophysical principles of Weber’s law. Results demonstrated that JNDs scaled in accordance with Weber’s law in a time-independent and time-dependent manner for 2D and 3D grasping, respectively. In Experiment Two, I sought to further explore the cognitive demands of grasping by …

The Wounded Bricoleur: Adversity, Artifice And The Becoming Of Street-Involved Youth In London, Ontario, Canada, Mark S. Dolson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This is an ethnography of the everyday lives of street-involved youth in London, Ontario, Canada. Fieldwork was conducted throughout downtown London over the course of one year. I argue that the subjective experience of my informants, all of whom are “participants” in Ontario’s workfare programme, Ontario Works (OW), has been riven by some form of existential trauma (i.e., problems with anxiety and depression due to difficult personal histories of abandonment, substance abuse, etc.), which has led to an alternative process of being and becoming at odds with the hegemonic moral economy of the province of Ontario—specifically its rules and regulations …

Economic Development In A Changing Global Economy: Examining The Perspectives Of Practitioners In Ontario, Canada, Maxwell Taabazuing

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although economic development has been a long standing tradition within policy agenda of municipalities, it has nevertheless undergone significant changes as a way of gaining competitiveness over the years. Since the 1990s, however, economic development has become a critical component on municipalities’ agenda, partly as a result of local municipal level conditions and partly due to global economic changes. The emerging dynamics are leading to a more rapidly evolving field of economic development. In view of the recent trends, many scholars of economic development have argued that municipalities will need to substantially reconfigure and change their approaches in order to …

Phonological Priming In Japanese-English Bilinguals: Evidence From Lexical Decision And Erp, Eriko Ando

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the main questions in bilingualism is whether the representations activated from one language influence processing of the other language. The current study investigated this issue by examining masked phonological priming effects in Japanese-English bilinguals when English words (e.g., guy) were primed by phonologically related logographic (Kanji) words (e.g., 害, /gai/, “harm”) and also when English words (e.g., guide) were primed by phonologically similar phonogram (Katakana) words (e.g.,サイド, /saido/,”side”). In Experiment 1, lexical decisions to English words were facilitated when they were preceded by phonologically similar versus dissimilar primes, particularly when the primes were one-Kanji words and when they …

Examining The Relationships Between Imagery, Sport Motivation, And Athletic Identity In Curling, Nicole Westlund

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Imagery use, motivation, and athletic identity all have been investigated in sport; however, a study examining the relationships among these three constructs has yet to be conducted. The participants (N = 213) were club and competitive curlers (M_age = 49.0; SD = 15.39). Results showed that athletic identity was significantly correlated with all five imagery functions and six behavioural regulations (p < .01) except for external regulation and amotivation. Multiple regression analyses predicting imagery use from both the behavioural regulations and athletic identity were conducted for each imagery function in club and competitive curlers. Athletic identity, identified regulation, and integrated regulation emerged as significant predictors of imagery use (p < .05). These findings suggest that there is a link between imagery use, motivation, and athletic identity. Researchers and sport psychologists can use these findings to develop more effective psychological skills training programs to improve the performance of curlers.

The Quest For Universal Health Coverage: Achieving Social Protection For All In Mexico, Felicia Marie Knaul, Eduardo GonzáLez-Pier, Octavio GóMez-DantéS, David GarcíA-Junco, HéCtor Arreola-Ornelas, Mariana Barraza-LloréNs, Rosa Sandoval,, Francisco Caballero, Mauricio HernáNdez-Avila, Mercedes Juan, David Kershenobich, Gustavo Nigenda, Enrique Ruelas, Jaime SepúLveda, Roberto Tapia, Guillermo SoberóN, SalomóN Chertorivski, Julio Frenk

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Mexico is reaching universal health coverage in 2012. A national health insurance programme called Seguro Popular, introduced in 2003, is providing access to a package of comprehensive health services with financial protection for more than 50 million Mexicans previously excluded from insurance. Universal coverage in Mexico is synonymous with social protection of health. This report analyses the road to universal coverage along three dimensions of protection: against health risks, for patients through quality assurance of health care, and against the financial consequences of disease and injury. We present a conceptual discussion of the transition from labour-based social security to social …

All Prejudices Are Not Created Equal: Different Responses To Subtle Versus Blatant Expressions Of Prejudice, Karen R. Dickson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The current research examined reactions to subtle versus blatant expressions of prejudice. Across four studies, participants reported their recognition of prejudice, affective responses, and behavioural intentions resulting from expressions of subtle and blatant sexism and racism. In the first three studies, participants were presented with prototypical expressions of subtle and blatant prejudice that were not given any context. They were then asked to provide their reactions to these statements. Patterns of differential responding to subtle and blatant prejudice were observed, such that subtle prejudice was recognized as prejudice less than blatant prejudice, evoked less negative affect and less concern over …

The Question Of Legacy And The 2008 Olympic Games: An Exploration Of Post-Games Utilization Of Olympic Sport Venues In Beijing, Xiaowei Yu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The last two decades have seen more and more cities joining the competitions for hosting the Olympic Games, resulting in soaring investments, both public and private, in Olympic-related projects. The Olympic Games have become a two-week gigantic event with tremendous costs burdening host cities. Meanwhile, the last three decades have witnessed underused facilities and lack of financial support for maintenance of the Olympic venues after the Games.

Based on previous literature, the “white elephant” effect has happened in every Olympic city during the last twenty years. In terms of Beijing, scholars have yet to substantially investigate the post-Games utilization of …

Psychophysical And Neural Evidence For Emotion-Enhanced Perceptual Vividness, Rebecca M. Todd, Deborah Talmi, Taylor W. Schmitz, Josh Susskind, Adam K. Anderson

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Highly emotional events are associated with vivid "flashbulb" memories. Here we examine whether the flashbulb metaphor characterizes a previously unknown emotion-enhanced vividness (EEV) during initial perceptual experience. Using a magnitude estimation procedure, human observers estimated the relative magnitude of visual noise overlaid on scenes. After controlling for computational metrics of objective visual salience, emotional salience was associated with decreased noise, or heightened perceptual vividness, demonstrating EEV, which predicted later memory vividness. Event-related potentials revealed a posterior P2 component at ~200 ms that was associated with both increased emotional salience and decreased objective noise levels, consistent with EEV. Blood oxygenation level-dependent …