Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ideology Over Evidence? The Place Of Values Within The Safe Streets And Communities Act, Alyssa Holden

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the context of Canadian policymaking, the alleged ‘punitive turn’ demonstrated by the Harper government from 2006-2015 was extraordinary. Under this turn, punitiveness coincided with a rejection of empirical evidence (Kelly and Puddister, 2017; Doob and Webster, 2015 2016; Marshall, 2015; Newell, 2013 Mallea, 2010). The controversial bill, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, has been regarded as one of the most poignant examples of this rhetoric (Marshall, 2015; Newell, 2013). This thesis investigated the role of evidence and penal populism in policymaking through a content analysis of the legislative debates of the SSCA. Drawing on a neo-Weberian framework this …

Cardiodynamic Associations With Resilience In Undergraduate Students And The Effect Of A Mentorship Intervention, Rachel J. Knetsch

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The National College Health Assessment (NCHA) indicates that a majority of Canadian university students report feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious during their undergraduate studies. Resilience refers to positive adaptation, or the ability to maintain or regain mental health, despite experiencing adversity (Herrman et al., 2011). While autonomic indices have been used to describe chronic physiological stress, the role of heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of resilience remains unclear. This research tested the hypotheses that (1) there is a relationship between HRV and resilience scoresand (2) a mentorship intervention will improve HRV and resilience outcomes. Fifty-seven first year students …

"I Have A Seat In The Abandoned Theater": Post-Foundational Subjects, Inoperative Teleologies, And The Aesthetics Of Dispossession, Averil L. Novak

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

What is the nature of political ‘reality,’ and in what ways are we capable of affecting it? Who (or what? and where?) is the subject of democratic politics? Of revolutionary politics? Are they opposed to one another? The grand narratives that ‘ground’ this project and the resistances that unground them form the basis for a post-foundational analytic of the subject of politics, of identity, and of community, which constitutes a mobilization of democratic resistance as a commitment to persistent (and in some cases, relentless) contestation, interruption, and disruption. These questions are explored through the argument that modern politics is …

The Effect Of Sub-Facet Scale Geometry On Vertical Facet Temperatures In Urban Street Canyons, Rainer V.J. Hilland

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Surface temperature plays a key role in many micro-scale urban processes. Walls comprise a significant percentage of the urban surface, yet are under-represented by many methods of thermal remote sensing and not considered in detail by micro-scale surface temperature mod- els. This thesis presents a novel method of mobile thermal observation performed in urban street canyons in London, ON that uses a thermal imager as well as a visual spectrum camera to provide dense spatial and temporal resolution of micro-scale wall temperature distributions. Images are manually classified by a series of nominal variables and the resulting data set discusses the …

The Development And Validation Of A Preliminary Meditation Intentions Questionnaire, Daniel Kharlas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Meditation programs and mindfulness interventions have become increasingly popular over the last 30 years in both clinical and non-clinical populations. However, challenges such as motivating participants in 8-week programs and adherence rates are issues in many mindfulness meditation interventions. The Meditation Intentions Questionnaire (MIQ) was developed as a measure intended to guide participants to set their own goals and intentions for meditation. The MIQ has six subscales with 8 items each. The subscales assess intentions for participating in meditation programs in the following domains: cognitive enhancement, increased emotional control, greater positive affect, stress relief, spiritual discovery and psychological discovery. Items …

Petrographic Analysis Of Inuit Ceramics, John F. Moody

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation investigates the manufacture and use of Inuit ceramics through ceramic petrography. It uses an approach that expands traditional ceramic petrographic descriptive methodologies to more fully document characteristics related to organic inclusions. Changes focus on the description of voids, organic inclusions, and estimation of the amount of organic material in pastes. Organic inclusions were an important component of Inuit ceramic traditions. This methodology allows us to not only identify the types of organics used in archaeological specimens, but also quantitatively and qualitatively assess them alongside other components of the ceramic paste to build a more complete picture of ceramic …

From Buried Treasure And Risky Adventure To Sobering Matters Of Concern: The Ring Of Fire Discourse In Ontario Mining Events, Brianne L. Vescio

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Ontario Ring of Fire is a potential mining project that is located in the far north of the province, within Matawa First Nations homelands and traditional territory. My thesis examines how the Ring of Fire is continually shaped by the conflicting discourses that surround it. To study this, I observed how the Ring of Fire was situated within five mining events. Events were held by different organizations, for different audiences, and had different purposes; varying widely in size and scale. While some actors deployed spectacularly streamlined messages to entice investors and propel the project towards a predetermined future, others …

Making Occupations Possible? A Critical Analysis Of Social Assistance Policy In Ontario, Nedra R. Peter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis reports on a two-part study exploring the occupational possibilities of people receiving social assistance in Ontario. The research conducted in this thesis was guided by the research question: How does social assistance in the form of Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program influence occupational possibilities for adults living in poverty? Guided by a governmentality perspective, Laliberte Rudman (2010) proposes that social and political processes shape expectations and possibilities for occupations. Occupational possibilities refer to the occupations that are supported and promoted by various aspects of the broader systems and structures in which lives are lived (Laliberte …

SahuhlúKhane’ UkwehuwenéHa They Learned To Speak It Again: An Investigation Into The Regeneration Of The Oneida Language, Rebecca Doxtator

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the significance of the Oneida language to two groups of Oneida speakers and learners in the Onʌyota’á:ka’ Oneida Nation of the Thames community. This study’s research questions included: (1) What is the significance of Oneida language to Oneida adult language learners who are seeking to acquire the language and what are they doing to regenerate the language? (2) What is the significance of Oneida language to Oneida adults who are conversationally fluent in Oneida language and what are they doing to regenerate the language? (3) What does an investigation into my personal relationship with Oneida language reveal? …

Intelligible Variability: Narratives Of Male Sex Work In London Ontario Canada, Nathan Dawthorne

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Compared to women, there is limited knowledge concerning men working in the sex trade in Canada. London (Ontario) in particular has been the epicentre of campaigns and lobbying against the sex industry for its alleged exploitation of women. In this environment, most policymakers and service providers argue that men-who-sell-sex are non-existent or are so rare that they are not worth consideration, if they are acknowledged in the first place. Yet other gendered configurations of the sex industry do exist. Given the city’s lack of comprehensive inquiry, this dissertation sets about finding these men and documenting their life histories. This allows …

"Being Chinese" In Madagascar, Mingyuan Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This PhD dissertation explores how the meaning of “being Chinese” is culturally and socially constructed in northern Madagascar, focusing on identity-shaping encounters between Mandarin-speaking Chinese and Malagasy people in three particular contexts: 1) a sugar plantation managed by a Chinese stated-owned corporation; 2) networks of Chinese and Malagasy private businessmen who enable the movement of cheap Chinese commodities from Guangzhou, China to northern Madagascar; and 3) the classrooms of the Confucius Institute - a worldwide educational project sponsored by the Chinese government aiming to promote Chinese language and culture. The dissertation provides an ethnographic account of Chinese-Malagasy encounters by discussing …

Skills And Student Affairs: A Discourse Analysis, Shannon Mckechnie

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Media, industry, and other public actors have claimed that a ‘skills gap’ exists in students exiting post-secondary education and entering the workforce. The Ontario provincial government has developed policy, the Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy, to provide directives to universities in the province to provide skills development to students to aid in closing the gap and providing a workplace relevant education. In this study, I explore the experiences of student affairs and services (SAS) staff responsible for enacting provincial policy related to skills development at the university level by investigating the discourses that shape policy and practices of these staff …

Transgender Youtubers And The Power Of Coming Out: Existentialism, Gender Performance, And Self-Actualization, Meghan Miller

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The transgender community has historically faced discrimination and oppression. However, the internet has emerged as a preeminent resource for transgender people to seek community and visibility, with YouTube acting as an especially valuable visual repository of self-representation. The present research is concerned with examining how transgender YouTube creators use the platform for self-actualization through the lens of existentialist and gender performance theory. Employing a qualitative content analysis of gender disclosure videos to explore this problem, this study shows how transgender YouTubers seek personal authenticity and self-disclosure, especially with the help of and in relation to their audiences. Further, having come …

Factors Influencing Collective Co-Production Of Services At The Municipal Level: A Case Study Of The City Of Hamilton’S Neighbourhood Action Strategy, Brian Kreps

MPA Major Research Papers

The nature of public governance has changed over the past few decades which has led to increased interest in the study of governments working with residents to co-produceservices. The literature identifies different types of co-production including individual, group and collective and it also identifies factors associated with co-production. This paper explores the factors associated with co-production of services at the municipal level. This study uses a case study methodology focusing on the City of Hamilton’s Neighbourhood Action Strategy. The case study was conducted through review of publicly available planning documents, media reports and key informant interviews. The study finds that …

Space-Time Analysis Of Breast Cancer In Middlesex County Between 2003 And 2013, Jenny T. Tjhin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in Canada and the incidence rate continues to increase despite improved screening programs and advanced cancer treatments. Some studies have linked breast cancer with risk factors such as genetics, the age of first menstruation, parity, and environmental exposures. This study investigated the spatial distribution of breast cancer cases between 2003 and 2013 in Middlesex County using geospatial techniques. Point data were analyzed with SaTScan and aggregated data were observed at two geographical units, census sub-divisions and dissemination areas using Moran’s Index to detect clusters. Both analyses showed consistency in the cluster locations …

Tensor-Based Hyperspectral Image Processing Methodology And Its Applications In Impervious Surface And Land Cover Mapping, Boyu Feng

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The emergence of hyperspectral imaging provides a new perspective for Earth observation, in addition to previously available orthophoto and multispectral imagery. This thesis focused on both the new data and new methodology in the field of hyperspectral imaging. First, the application of the future hyperspectral satellite EnMAP in impervious surface area (ISA) mapping was studied. During the search for the appropriate ISA mapping procedure for the new data, the subpixel classification based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) achieved the best success. The simulated EnMAP image shows great potential in urban ISA mapping with over 85% accuracy.

Unfortunately, the NMF based …

Social Identities In Chimu Times: A Bioarchaeological Analysis Of Burials From Chayhuac Walled Complex In Chan Chan Site, Peru, Katya Valladares

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a bioarchaeological study of a sample of Chimu individuals from the site of Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimu polity (900-1470 AD) on the north coast of Peru. This study analyzes the funerary treatment, material culture and osteological remains of 30 individuals buried in three different funerary settings within the Chayhuac Walled Complex in Chan Chan, to explore the hypothesis that the individuals were part of a singular social group that shared similar dimensions of identities, and it seeks to understand why they were interred there after the Chayhuac Walled Complex’s original function ended. This thesis …

Guided By Smoke: A Comparative Analysis Of Early Late Woodland Smoking Pipes From The Arkona Cluster, Shane Mccartney

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis undertakes a comparative analysis of ceramic and stone pipes recovered from eight archaeological sites located near present day Arkona, Ontario. Commonly known as the Arkona Cluster, these sites date to between 1000 and 1280 A.D. during the early Late Woodland Period and are thought to be part of a borderland region between distinct cultural groups known as the Western Basin Younge Phase and the Early Ontario Iroquoians. Using a combination of distribution and attribute data from each site’s pipe assemblage, I explore how the similarities and differences observed can be used to draw insights into the potential relations …

Essays On Parental Leave And Family Labour Supply, Youjin Choi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis studies married couples' decisions regarding labour supply, fertility, and take-up of parental leave. Importantly, it emphasizes household interactions in a family labour supply framework where husbands and wives jointly make decisions.

In Chapter 2, I describe how differences in married individuals' time allocations between Canada and the U.S. may be related to different parental leave policies in the two countries. First, I document background information on parental leave policies and take-up behaviour in the two countries. Second, I analyze married individuals' time allocations using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) for Canada and American Time Use Survey …

'We Are The Big Six:’ Maasai Perceptions And Organization Of Cultural Tourism In Kenya, Kara D. Kelliher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Kenya’s wildlife has long been considered an international treasure. Travelling to the renowned Masai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) to capture the ‘big five,’ those five large wild animals considered to be Africa’s greatest, with their camera lenses, visitors will also see or even meet local Maasai living and/or working in the area. Employing ethnographic methods this research examines three sites: the Enkang Oloirien Village Homestay, Olapa village and the main entrance to the MMNR where Maasai women sell souvenirs to explore Maasai perceptions and organization of cultural tourism. Responding to literature which considers benefits from tourism to accrue when hosts …

Leading Canada's Cities? A Study Of Urban Mayors, Kate Graham

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

How powerful are Canada’s big city mayors? Do mayors have the power to lead in Canada’s cities? What does mayoral power in Canada look like, and what can we learn about Canadian urban politics by examining it?

This project explores these and other questions by engaging in the first broad study of urban mayors in Canada. It is often said that Canada has “weak” mayors, or a “weak mayor system” – terms borrowed from an American context referring to the limited executive power of Canadian mayors relative to many of their American peers. This study examines the Canadian mayoralty in …

Essays On Crime, Education, And Employment, Maria Antonella Mancino

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

My thesis consists of three chapters that are motivated by policy-relevance and contribute to the study of crime choices among young individuals.

Chapter 2 studies the determinants of youth crime using a dynamic discrete choice model of crime and education. We allow past education and criminal activities to affect current crime and educational decisions. We take advantage of a rich panel dataset on serious juvenile offenders, the Pathways to Desistance. Using a series of psychometric tests, we estimate a model of cognitive and social/emotional skills which feed into the crime and education model. This allows us to separately identify the …

Bad Comic, Good Comic: The Social Construction Of Brownness In The Racial And Ethnic Humor Of South Asian Comedians, Tasmeea Islam

MA Research Paper

The current study aims to compare how South Asian comedians Russell Peters and Hasan Minhaj use racial and ethnic humor to articulate their understandings of Brownness, a tenuous space of both privilege and persecution in North America. Racial and ethnic humor inhabit a contentious continuum that includes exclusionary racist humor, which naturalizes and reiterates racial ideologies, and emancipatory racial humor that exposes and resists dominant power structures. I employ a thematic content analysis of the stand-up comedy shows Comedy Now!(2004) and Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King (2017) to argue that the social construction of Brownness in the material of South Asian …

Comparing Geospatial Approaches To Delineating Children’S Interactions With Their Physical Environments: A Case Study Of Children In Rural Northwestern Ontario, Katherine L. Schieman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Researchers from a variety of disciplines have produced a large body of evidence indicating that the environment a child lives in can profoundly impact their overall health in a multitude of ways. Among this growing body of literature, there is a wide diversity of methodologies and general inconsistency in how the physical environment is conceptualized and delineated. The primary purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how the physical (natural and built) environment is conceptualized in children’s health studies and to quantify how children engage with their environment. Using a multi-tool protocol, 128 children in grades …

Divorce And Health: Does Educational Attainment Matter?, Sara Quinn-Hogan

MA Research Paper

This study examines the relationship between divorce and women’s health, looking at whether the negative effects of divorce on health remain controlling for one’s educational attainment. Using data from the 2011 cycle of the Canadian GSS, a logistic regression was conducted to examine the relationship between divorce and health controlling for educational attainment. First, it was hypothesized that divorced women are more likely to report poor health than women who are married, single, or widowed. As expected, being divorced increased the odds of poor health. The second hypothesis was that controlling for educational attainment would reduce the negative consequences of …

Assessing The Importance Of Cve Strategies In Ontario, Matthew Murray

MA Research Paper

For several years now, countering violent extremism (CVE) strategies have existed as a core component of police agency mandates and governmental policy directed toward reducing radicalism. However, little is known about what specific skills and attributes are necessary for police officers to successfully perform these duties. In this paper, we draw upon in-depth interviews with 6 individuals that have performed CVE-related duties within Ontario to discover which core competencies they perceive to be crucial to effectively work in such an environment. Additionally, an environmental scan is utilized to survey the contemporary CVE landscape in Ontario. The respondents described how CVE …

Understanding How To Make Physical Activity Pleasurable, Cassandra L. Ellis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand how specific factors can be manipulated to affect participant’s experience with physical activity (PA). Three studies were conducted. Study 1 was a comprehensive review, examining specific factors and measures that can be used to study the affective experience of PA participants. For Study 2, several focus group interviews were conducted, and a questionnaire distributed to Kinesiology students (n = 113) to determine how music affects PA participants. The qualities of songs provided were analysed. Finally, the purpose of Study 3 was to use the motivational playlist from Study 2 and determine whether …

The Political Power Of Carlos Chávez And His Influence Upon Silvestre Revueltas And Blas Galindo, Yolanda Tapia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This monograph examines the political power of Mexican composer Carlos Chávez (1899–1978) during the first half of the twentieth century in Mexico, and his influence upon the careers and lives of composers Silvestre Revueltas (1899–1940) and Blas Galindo (1910–1993). I show how Carlos Chávez acquired institutional power through various cultural organizations such as the Orquesta Sinfónica de México, the Conservatorio Nacional, Departamento de Bellas Artes, and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, and how his desire to bind music and culture with politics positioned him as the head of the cultural committee of Miguel Aleman’s presidential campaign of 1945. Chávez’s …

The Economic Integration Of Lgb Immigrants: The Role Of Social Relationships, Sagi Ramaj

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Using the 2008 and 2013 Canadian General Social Survey, I analyze economic outcomes—employment, income, homeownership—of Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) immigrants compared to their heterosexual and/or native-born peers. I explore how LGB immigrants differ from others in terms of sociodemographic traits, human capital, and social relationships, and how this produces car disparities by sexual orientation and nativity status. Gay immigrants are faring as well, or better, in the labor market compared to heterosexuals and Canadian-born gays. Bisexual immigrants have a labor market disadvantage relative to heterosexuals and Canadian-born bisexuals. LGB immigrants are disadvantaged with regards to their homeownership attainment. Socio-demographic …

Exploring The Process Of Statistical Language Learning, Nicolette B. Noonan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, I investigated the process of statistical word segmentation using a combination of behavioural, clinical, and neuroimaging approaches. Prior research has largely focused on the outcome of statistical learning approaches, with little research attention paid to the process of learning. In this body of research, I sought to address this issue. In Chapter 2, I examined how domain-specific and domain-general working memory interference effects on a statistical word segmentation task. I found that when completing a concurrent visuospatial or verbal working memory task, statistical language learning was impaired. Thus, this study provided some evidence that domain-general working memory …