Ethical Dilemmas And Moral Distress In Companion Animal Veterinary Medicine: Mental Health Implications, Bronwyn Dickson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mental health concerns are a significant problem in the veterinary community, and studies suggest that veterinarians working in Western countries are at higher risk of suicide compared to the general population and other healthcare professionals (Bartram et al., 2009; Bartram & Baldwin, 2010; Platt et al., 2012). Additionally, veterinary medicine is an occupation inundated with complex ethical and moral dilemmas. However, current studies are limited in their ability to contextualize the risk and contributing factors fully; therefore, they offer limited insight into effective preventative and support strategies. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), eight companion animal veterinarians were interviewed about their …

The Untended Garden: How Adoptees Navigate Relationships With First Family Members, Dawn Michele Mccormick Tracz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research explores how people who were adopted over the age of 6 years old in open adoption arrangements navigate ongoing relationships with first family members. It explores perceptions of how a connection with both adoptive and first family members impacts self-concept. Using an interpretivist-constructivist lens, the narratives of four women are presented and analyzed. In addition to qualitative interviews, each participant was invited to create images that represented relationships with significant family members. The narratives are re-presented in detail adhering closely to the teller’s organization and emphases. In the analysis, themes related to relationships with first family members and …

Who Is The Stranger Really? A Reluctant Autoethnography Of The Strange Situation Procedure, Tara Yazdani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper aims to review the cross-cultural application of attachment theory as a western model of thought and practice. That is, this research aimed to recognize and question how embedded attachment theory has become in programming and education within North American academic and practical arenas. In applying the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to a limited sample of Eritrean dyads, important considerations and questions arose regarding the cross-cultural application of this protocol. The aims of this research shifted toward further exploring these considerations and questions, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the new research aim emphasized how to inform future …

Beneficial Mourning By Inmates Who Have Lost A Significant Person, James Bradley Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Incarceration is already replete with loss before someone of significance to an inmate dies. The prison environment challenges every aspect of grieving, and failing to effectively mourn pathologizes grief, reduces quality of living, and results in behaviours that cause recidivism. It is a poignant interaction between this researcher in his role as a chaplain and a particular inmate that provides the impetus for this study. This study begins with a qualitative meta-synthesis that examined 10 qualitative articles and dissertations published over the last 30 years to explore how some inmates manage to effectively grieve the loss of a significant person. …

The Hold Me Tight Program For Couples Becoming Parents: A Mixed Methods Study, Debbie Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory has made substantial contributions to the understanding of close relationships. The purpose of this study was to inquire whether an attachment-informed psychoeducational program is a feasible and effective intervention for couples expecting their first child. The overarching question was: Is an attachment-informed relationship enhancement program, such as Hold Me Tight^® (HMT), helpful to couples in strengthening their relationship and increasing their confidence in becoming first-time parents? The research question was addressed using a mixed-methods approach.

In the first phase, the Hold Me Tight^® program developed by Dr. Sue Johnson was modified for use with couples …

A Phenomenological, Arts-Based Study Of Art Therapists’ Self-Reflective Practice, Laurie Ponsford-Hill

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This phenomenological, arts-based study examined the experiences of 15 art therapists using five-minute, full-bodied self-portraiture with 55 minutes of self-reflective journaling once a week for four weeks at the end of each work week. The therapists determined the location for this practice. Subsequently, the four artworks, as a serial, were explored with each participant in a one-hour telephone or Skype interview to understand their lived experience through art, and its signs, and symbols. This process enabled the therapists to act as witness to their respective self/selves, deepening their insights and connections about self. The transcribed audio-taped interviews were manually coded …

Uncovering The Processes And Consequences Of Egyptian Immigrant Parental Involvement In Their Children’S Education: Bridging Cultural Differences, Hend Shalan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

For more than a decade, researchers have concluded that immigrant parents face several barriers to becoming involved in their children’s education. All studies agree that language and cultural differences are the most significant barriers to immigrants’ involvement in their children’s education, yet we know little about what these cultural differences are and how these cultural differences influence the school involvement of immigrant parents. This study integrates theories of cultural differences, acculturation, and culture shock and the corresponding literature to investigate the lesser involvement of immigrant parents in school-related activities.

A focused ethnographic design was employed and a thematic analysis …

Experiences Of Racialized Service Providers Who Work With Racialized Clients: Functions And Constraints Of Master And Counter-Narratives Of Helping, Racism, And Vicarious Racism, Prapti Giri

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

What are the experiences of racialized frontline workers? How do they experience vicarious racism? I interviewed 8 frontline workers who were involved in counseling racialized individuals. The narrative paradigm, constructivist self-development theory (CSDT), and critical race theory (CRT) were the theoretical frames that guided the interviews and data analysis in order to answer these questions. I conducted a structural narrative analysis, which revealed how participants utilized assumptions from master narratives and at other times countered them. Interviewees occasionally stepped outside of the master narrative entirely, for example, by rejecting the categorization of race. According to CSDT, our meanings are determined …

Social Justice And Worker Cooperatives, Gurveer Shaan Dhillon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social Justice (SJ) is an organizing principle of contemporary community psychology (CP); however, the concept and understanding of social justice in community psychology is undertheorized and narrow. Specifically, the concept of distributive justice, which has been a popular notion of social justice in community psychology discourse, does not translate well into transformative action. In order to address this issue, the research uses a qualitative approach to explore the understanding of social justice from the perspectives of worker-members of 5 worker cooperatives in Ontario, with the aim to contribute to an understanding of SJ that has transformative implications. A worker cooperative …

A Heart-Based Sufi Mindfulness Spiritual Practice Employing Self-Journeying, Faruk Arslan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Spiritual Psychology is the study and practice of the art and science of the human evolution of consciousness. The heart occupies an important place in Sufism and is considered to contain the divine spark that leads to spiritual realization. Fethullah Gülen’s action-oriented Sufi methods described in his book series “The Emerald Hills of the Heart” provides the basis for a heart-based therapeutic intervention through self-journeying, which is the objective of this thesis. These self-purification and mindfulness-related transpersonal methods generate a form of treatment that is culturally sensitive. Through my reflections in this research, I transformed my personal experiences into …

Children's Cognitive Processing Of Abuse As Described In Investigative Interviews., Kayleen A. Willemsen, Kim P. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A great deal of research has examined ways in which investigative interviewers can elicit accurate information from children. More recently, research has studied children’s own thoughts or comprehension of abuse, and how these types of statements relate to disclosure, others’ perceptions of child witnesses, and psychological trauma. However, little research has investigated multiple types of children’s thoughts about abuse as they occur in an actual investigative interview. The current study examined seven types of statements children made about their abuse in a sample of 86 transcripts of investigative interviews conducted by Child Protective Services and a police department in a …

Exploring The Inequalities Between Men And Women In Relation To Marriage: A Feminist Analysis Of Women In Social Work's Experiences Of Marriage, Natalie Mccormac

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this thesis I explore the inequalities between men and women in relation to marriage and the impact ofexternal pressures on women and their choices within their marriages. I interviewed five married women and one woman in a common-law relationship about the story of their marriage. I used narrative analysis to interpret the verbatim transcriptions of each interview. In the findings I present portions of each woman’s story in her words along with my own interpretative comments. The findings indicated that women are experiencing indirect pressure from extemal sources within regard to their individual choices and their choices within their …

Lessons Learned In The Heart Need To Be Changed In The Heart': The Development And Evaluation Of A Primary Prevention Intervention Of Men's Violence Against Women, Patrick Fisher

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis presents an evaluation of primary prevention intervention working towards ending men’s violence against women. In 1995, a committee was created by the Waterloo Regional Public Education Committee for the Prevention of Violence and Oppression Against Women and Children to develop a presentation kit on the topic of men’s violence against women. The presentation kit is to be used by staff and volunteers from the local agencies in talking to groups of men about violence against women. The presentation kit provides background materials about violence against women, the philosophy behind the development of the kit, instructions on how to …

Qualitative Evaluation Of Processes And Outcomes Of A Home Visiting Program For Developmentally Handicapped Preschoolers And Their Families, Nancy Lapointe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A variety of programs reflecting a diverse array of philosophical approaches to early intervention for developmentally handicapped preschoolers have been developed over the past 30 years. Evaluations of these programs report that early intervention is effective for these children. Yet considerable controversy continues about the validity of most of these studies. A number of researchers have expressed the need for different methods of evaluation but to date few researchers have attempted to evaluate these programs with more appropriate methods or to examine aspects of the program other than child outcomes. This study assessed an early intervention program that involved home …

Housing And Social Support For Current And Former Psychiatric Patients: A Process And Outcome Evaluation Of Supportive Community Living, Janice E. Mccarthy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the current era of deinstitutionalization, community-based residential programs for people with chronic psychiatric disabilities have mushroomed in Canada and the United States. While many researchers have documented the beneficial effects of supportive housing programs on resident’s work productivity and length of community tenure, few evaluations have included an examination of resident’s housing environment and the quality of life in the community, particularly from the perspective of the residents themselves. This paper describes such an evaluation. The study’s first objective was to ascertain those housing environment characteristics that are most strongly related to residents’ perceived quality of life. To accomplish …

Community Residential Environments For Mentally Retarded Adults: Staff Attitudes And Practices Regarding Resident Dependence And Independence, Diane Conway

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A study was conducted to investigate staff attitudes and everyday behaviors and their relationship to the independence of mentally retarded adults in four community residences. Questionnaires administered to 15 front-line staff persons measured their perceptions of the amount of external control (situations in which staff assume control over residents’ environments), personal control (situations in which staff encourage of allow residents to exert control over their own environments), and shared control (situations in which staff encourage shared responsibility between staff and residents in exerting control over the environment). The questionnaires tapped staff perceptions of the degree to which each of these …

Residential Care For The Mentally Retarded: A Systemic Analysis Of The Creation Of A Community Residence And How Its Development Was Viewed By Members Of The System, David G. Hallman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study, placed in an historical context of care for the mentally retarded, examines the creation and development of a Community Residence for retarded adults. The Residence is described as a system of interrelating groups (the retarded adults, the director and staff, the parents, the Advisory Committee members) whose patterns of communication and interaction affect the nature of the program. The primary sources of data are the observations of the author who was a participant in the develop[ment of the facility and the results of a survey of each of the system’s groups. The survey results indicate some differences …