Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Underemployment, Unemployment, And Mental Health, Heather L. Maddocks

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Inadequate employment, through unemployment or underemployment is expected to have consequences for the health and well-being of Canadians. This dissertation presents three studies centered on the relationship between underemployment and mental health. In the first study, ideal indicators for underemployment are described, and the stress process model is proposed as a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between underemployment and adverse health outcomes. The second and third studies use data from a community-based survey conducted in London, Ontario, Canada in 1994/5 and 1996/7. Four indicators of underemployment are used including: lower income or benefits than in a previous job, involuntary …

Sensing Commute Spaces And Automobilized Places By Foot, Bike And Car In Vancouver, Bc, Denver V. Nixon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Some scholars argue that different modes of mobility produce different ways of knowing the world. Automobiles and their associated physical and social constructs are accused by some of alienating their drivers and those outside the car, whereas others see the human-machine hybrids they create as inherently connecting. Bicycling and walking are often seen as providing a more connected experience of places traversed, though the “automobilization” of these environments may conversely alienate cyclists and pedestrians through a host of social and environmental injustices, both local and global. Little empirical research has attended to this debate. This dissertation research is founded upon …

Hearts And Minds: Examining The Evolution Of The Egyptian Excerebration And Evisceration Traditions Through The Impact Mummy Database, Andrew D. Wade

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Egyptian mummification and funerary rituals were a transformative process, making the deceased a pure being; free of disease, injury, and disfigurements, as well as ethical and moral impurities. Consequently, the features of mummification available to specific categories of individuals hold social and ideological significance. This study refutes long-held classical stereotypes, particularly dogmatic class associations; demonstrates the apocryphal nature of universal heart retention; and expands on the purposes of excerebration and evisceration implied by synthetic and radiological analyses.

Features of the embalming traditions, specifically the variable excerebration and evisceration traditions, represented the Egyptian view of death. Fine-grain analyses, through primary imaging …

When Voters Decide: Causes, Correlates And Effects Of The Time-Of-Voting-Decision, Robert M J Mcgregor

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Why do individuals make their vote decisions at the point in time at which they do, and what impact does the time-of-voting-decision (TOVD) have upon other important political variables? Through a series of integrated articles, this dissertation explores the causes, correlates and effects of TOVD in Canada. The first two articles explore the relationships between TOVD and political attitudes, employing TOVD as both an independent and dependent variable. The first examines the impact that consistency, intensity and direction of summary political attitudes have on TOVD, and introduces a new measure of attitudinal ambivalence. The second article employs cognitive dissonance theory …

Making Sense Of Document Collections With Map-Based Visualizations, Olga Buchel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As map-based visualizations of documents become more ubiquitous, there is a greater need for them to support intellectual and creative high-level cognitive activities with collections of non-cartographic materials -- documents. This dissertation concerns the conceptualization of map-based visualizations as tools for sensemaking and collection understanding. As such, map-based visualizations would help people use georeferenced documents to develop understanding, gain insight, discover knowledge, and construct meaning. This dissertation explores the role of graphical representations (such as maps, Kohonen maps, pie charts, and other) and interactions with them for developing map-based visualizations capable of facilitating sensemaking activities such as collection understanding. While …

Intellectual Property And Its Alternatives: Incentives, Innovation And Ideology, Michael B. Mcnally

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This dissertation examines the ability of intellectual property and its alternatives to both facilitate and impede innovation. The thesis begins by positing that a more detailed and nuanced understanding of alternatives to intellectual property is required so that such alternatives can be effectively used to mitigate the problems of the expansionary intellectual property regime. The thesis is that substantive alternatives to intellectual property utilize a broader range of incentive structures to encourage the production and distribution of intellectual goods, facilitate greater access to such goods and their informational content and engender innovative outcomes that go beyond the narrow, instrumentalist goals …

The Role Of Valence In Construct Dimensionality Debates, Chun Seng Kam

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There continues to be debate about the dimensionality of important psychological constructs (e.g., anxiety; job satisfaction). The standard procedures for determining whether a construct is unidimensional or two-dimensional have been to (a) conduct factor analyses and (b) test for differences in the nomological network of correlations with other variables. I argue, and demonstrate empirically, that these approaches can sometimes mislead researchers to draw incorrect conclusions. In Study 1, I examined how item valence (i.e., favorability of item content) can affect factor analyses and nomological network analyses with two separate samples of undergraduate students. Results consistently showed that item valence can …

Inclusive Fitness, Reciprocal Altruism And Emotion: Testing A Social-Functional Model Of Anger And Gratitude Across Kin And Non-Kin Relationships, Harris Rubin

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Guided by the theories of inclusive fitness (Hamilton, 1964) and reciprocal altruism (Trivers, 1971), two studies tested hypotheses related to the notion that emotions are part of an evolved psychological system that functions, in part, to regulate social exchange. Emotional experience and exchange behaviors were predicted to vary based on both the structure of the situation and the type of relationship one has with a partner. Due to an absence of inclusive fitness effects, interaction with non-kin (compared with kin) exchange partners was expected to trigger more intense emotional responses. Study 1 found that, as expected, unfair offers led to …

Changes In The Hydrological Regime In The Upper Bow And Upper Athabasca Watersheds During The 20th Century, Heather A. Haines

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines 20^th century regime changes for the headwaters of the Bow (1911-2005) and Athabasca (1971-2005) Rivers. Changes in precipitation and temperature associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation dominate the Bow streamflow record. Higher snowfall, lower mean temperatures, and greater annual discharges occur during the “cool” PDO phase (1947-1976) with lower snowfall, higher mean temperatures, and lower annual discharges during the “warm” (1925-1946, 1977-2005) phases. Any long-term linear trends in the Bow record are masked by these multidecadal trends. The Athabasca record is too short to compare to the PDO but available data show patterns similar to the …

School Closures In Ontario: A Case Of Conflicting Values?, Richard Wm Irwin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Responding to financial pressures and declining school enrolments, the Ontario government in 2006 developed a new policy on school-closures establishing specific criteria to determine the value of a school to a community and requiring every school board to involve the local community in any school-closure decision. Despite these provisions, the implementation of this policy at the local level created anger and active resistance from community members.

Focussing on two school-closures within an Ontario school board, using ethnographic methods, this study explores how one board implemented the provincial-policy, specifically the impact this had on those directly affected. Informed by neoliberalism-communitarianism debates, …

A Critical Historical Analysis Of The Public Performance Right, Louis J. D'Alton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The legislation of a public performance right in musical works in the late 19th created the opportunity for the formation of an initial copyright collective within the Anglo-American legal tradition. The subsequent widespread expansion of Performing Rights organizations marked an early successful example of trans-national capital. Despite the widespread expansion and subsequent acceptance of copyright collectives since their inception, there has been very little scholarship in this area generally and almost none that attempt to critically pursue the issue beyond simple economic or legal analysis.

This thesis traces the historical establishment and expansion of the public performance right in musical …

Deliberate Self-Persuasion And Forgiveness, Irene Cheung

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

After being hurt by a romantic partner, individuals may feel ambivalent towards their partner. Specifically, individuals’ feelings about their partner after a transgression (current attitudes) may be discrepant from how they want to feel about their partner (desired attitudes). When individuals are aware of such a discrepancy, they may be motivated to resolve it by using mental strategies (e.g., focusing on the positive characteristics of the partner or focusing on events that are not related to the transgression) that bring their current attitudes more in line with their desired attitudes, a process that has been labeled deliberate self-persuasion (Maio & …

Parental Relocation: Factors Present In Judges’ Decisions, Emily A. Reddick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

The present study examined multiple factors that may account for Canadian judges’ decisions in relocation cases where one parent contests a move away by the other parent and children after separation. The decisions were collected from a stratified random sample of judgments consisting of 50 cases where the relocation was approved and 50 where it was denied. The cases reviewed took place between 1996 and 1999 and followed the highly criticized Supreme Court decision in Gordon v. Goertz.

Cases were analyzed to determine the extent to which child, parent, judicial, move, and legal factors predicted court outcomes. All identified …

Heavy Handed: A Multi-Level Approach To Understanding Regional Variation In The Use Of Force By Police, Zachary R. Young

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Using data from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004 (ICPSR 4572) from the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, the goal of this paper is to determine whether or not there are regional variations in the way in which American police officers use force at the time of arrest. Specifically, this paper suggests that lower levels of police-suspect violence are present in the Southern United States owning to a culture of violence. Conversely, higher levels of police-suspect violence are likely to be found in the Northern United States as a result of …

The Changing Nature Of Homicide And Its Impact On Homicide Clearance Rates: A Quantitative Analysis Of Two Trends From 1984-2009, Lauren Korosec

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The following analyses uses the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data from 1984 to 2009 to examine factors that predict whether a homicide will be cleared or not (N=439,542). Two theories inform the current study: 1) Black’s theory of law (discretionary variables) proposes that characteristics of the victim, such as age or race, influence how diligently police work to solve a homicide; and 2) non-discretionary theories propose that characteristics of the homicide act, such as geographic location and weapon use, are more important to the solvability of a homicide. Preliminary analyses of clearance rates indicate decreasing …

Hearing Women’S Voices: Understanding Women's Stories Of Violence From The Perspective Of Strength, Kayla M. Janes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to understand women's experiences of violence from the perspective of strength. Women who had experienced woman abuse participated, identifying common themes that emerged relating to their strengths and resilience that helped them survive their traumatic experiences, as well as their posttraumatic growth. Interviews were conducted with women who were involved in an adult education program for women who had experienced woman abuse. All of the women in this study were suffering distress and mental health concerns related to their experiences of violence; however all of them showed resilience and posttraumatic growth in areas of …

Profiles Of Children And Youth Displaying Inappropriate Sexual Behaviours: Relevance For Assessment For Sexual Offending Patterns, Julia M. L. Rick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a specialized assessment program with a sample of children/youth (n = 80) who were seeking intervention for inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) at a tertiary mental health facility in London, Ontario. The primary goal was to identify predictive factors in participants with offending behaviour—both sexual and non-sexual—in order to prioritize treatment needs and to address strategies for reducing the risk of sexual offending against others. As participant ages increased by 1 year, their odds of sexually offending someone increased by approximately 27%. Also, males were found six times more likely to sexually …

Coping Experiences Of 911 Communication Workers, Sarah G. Horsford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research explored coping experiences among emergency communications personnel. Ten individuals from a communication centre of a policing unit in Ontario participated in semi-structured interviews. Seven themes emerged to form the content analysis including Meaning-Focused Coping, Emotion-Focused Coping, Problem-Focused Coping, Reappraisal, Comm Centre Culture, Occupational Dimensions and Organizational Structure. Themes were compared to workplace stress, coping and burnout literature in addition to literature regarding organizational interventions and emergency responders. Implications were presented for counselors working with communications personnel and emergency responders.

Cultural Connectedness As Personal Wellness In First Nations Youth, Ben Davis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adolescent development involves changes in self-concept and identification with different groups or cultural norms. Many First Nations adolescents have additional difficulties due to disconnections with family, schooling and cultural background, as a legacy of colonisation and social marginalisation. The present study used data from the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey, Youth, Phase 2 to test the hypothesis that connectedness to social and cultural factors would predict lower rates of reported depression in First Nations youth, using a logistic regression analysis. The findings indicated that connectedness to family and school, as well as having a sense of control over one's …

The Transformation Of Conjugal Partnerships: Union Transitions And Trajectories In Canada, Ching Jiangqin Du

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Conjugal partnerships have undergone unprecedented changes in Canadathroughout the past several decades, especially with regard to the flexibility in entry and exit from intimate relationships. The development of longitudinal datasets and advanced methods further facilitates analyses of partnership transformations from a life-course theoretical perspective and in a wide analytical scope. This dissertation investigates partnership transformations in Canadaby examining conjugal partnership trajectories and by exploring the risk factors associated with these partnership transformations.

Employing dynamic analytical approaches (e.g., LIFEHIST analysis and survival analysis), this dissertation examines data from the retrospective General Social Survey (GSS) on Family Transitions, conducted by Statistics Canada …

Motivation In Goal Orientation And Motivational Climate In Elite Wheelchair Tennis Players, Laurence M. Zalmanowitz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research explored motivation in relation to goal orientation and motivational climate among elite wheelchair tennis players in Canada who were asked to recall their experiences from early development to the highest levels of competition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three Canadian wheelchair tennis players via Skype. Each represented Canada in international competition during their career. An ethnographic collective case study method was followed. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed by the researcher. Four themes emerged from the data, including involvement, process, impact/support of others and measures of success. Results were compared with existing research. Similarities and differences were discussed. …

The Aftermath Of Intergenerational Trauma: Substance Use Risk And Resiliency, Laurel E. Pickel

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The present study explored resilience factors to substance use within Canada’s First Nations adults. This was explored through a lens of historical trauma experienced as a group through the Residential School establishments. Secondary data from phase II (2008/10) of the Regional Health Survey were analyzed in coming to determine the effects of resiliency factors in the lives of abstainers/low substance users, moderate users and heavy users. Analysis of variance tests revealed some significant differences in experience with resilience factors in the lives of abstainers/low users versus heavy users; no significant observations were had for the moderate group. Logistic regression analysis …

The Relative Influences Of Knowledge, Beliefs And Preferences On Adherence To Asthma Medication, Naomi J. Gryfe Saperia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: Patients’ decisions about whether or not to adhere to their prescribed regimens are shaped not only by their knowledge and beliefs about their condition and its treatment options, but also by what they value in these domains. This study represents an integration of theory and methods from nursing/public health, psychology and economics to explore the additive effects of knowledge, beliefs and preferences on adherence to preventer medication in a sample of patients with asthma. It was hypothesized that knowledge, beliefs and preferences pertaining to long term outcomes would independently predict improved adherence. Method: 140 patients with asthma were asked …

Essays On Financial Return And Volatility Modeling, Jing Wu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

My dissertation consists of three essays focusing on modeling financial asset return and volatility.

The first essay proposes a threshold GARCH model to describe the regime-switching in volatility dynamics of financial asset returns. In the threshold model the switching of regimes is triggered by an observable variable, while volatility follows a GARCH process within each regime. We establish theoretical conditions, which ensure that the return process in the threshold model is strictly stationary, as well as conditions for the existence of finite variance and fourth moment. A simulation study is further conducted to examine the finite sample properties of the …

Psychological Contracts In The Workplace: A Mixed Methods Design Project, Kate J. Mcinnis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Employee perceptions of psychological contracts were explored in a mixed methods design project. Although psychological contract research has been popular since its inception over 50 years ago, the field makes a number of assumptions about how employees truly experience psychological contracts (Conway & Briner, 2009). The primary goal of the present research was to identify how psychological contracts should be measured and theorized to reflect the natural experiences and language of employees. In Study 1, I examined a number of the theory’s assumptions by asking employees in interviews about their psychological contract experiences. A descriptive phenomenological approach allowed me to …

Investigating The Necessary Components Of A Sarcastic Context, John D. Campbell

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This research is designed to investigate the contextual components utilized to convey sarcastic verbal irony, testing whether theoretical components deemed as necessary for creating a sense of irony are, in fact, necessary. A novel task was employed: Given a set of statements that out-of-context were not rated as sarcastic, participants were instructed to either generate discourse context that would make the statements sarcastic or meaningful (without further specification). In a series of studies these generated contexts were shown to differ from one another along the dimensions presumed as necessary (failed expectation, pragmatic insincerity, negative tension and presence of a victim) …

An Institutional Explanation Of The Formation Of Intergovernmental Agreements In Federal Systems, Jeffrey T. Parker

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Intergovernmental agreements are a common and useful instrument in federal systems, serving a variety of purposes from establishing new social programs, regulating agricultural practices, and even changing a country's constitution. Despite their importance, there have only been limited attempts to understand agreements in a comparative context or to provide a theoretical framework for their study. This dissertation addresses both of these deficiencies by comparing the use of agreements in seven federations and considering why certain federations form more agreements than others.

In order to understand these differences in intergovernmental agreement formation, this thesis proposes an institutionalist approach with two components. …