Digital Commons Network^™

Dynamic Assessment Of Early French Immersion Literacy Learning Competencies, Alexandra Bellissimo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

French Immersion programming in Canada is not always an inclusive environment for all learners. Students with language disabilities or delays are often placed into English-only programming when difficulties arise in French immersion programming. This study aimed to establish a method of identification of reading difficulties, in either language, early in the reading process. Such an assessment would allow educators to intervene and assist these students, and all students, with reading and vocabulary development in their second language of French before these language issues can negatively affect learning.

Essential to language learning in immersion programs is the development of speech perception …

Young Leader's Sustained Engagement In Environmental Action: A Narrative Inquiry, Sara Wicks

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Young people have been identified as key stakeholders in taking a leadership role in addressing environmental issues, but more research is required to find out how to sustain young people’s motivation for environmental action over time. The present study investigated this through narrative interviews with eleven environmental leaders who attended a conference called IMPACT! Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership in 2009 or 2011. Drawing upon the literature on life paths to environmental action (Almers, 2013; Chan, 2009; Chawla, 1998, 1999; Harré, Tepavac, & Bullen, 2009) the interviews incorporated an exercise that asked participants to plot important events in their lives …

The Social Self-Compassion Scale (Sscs): Support For A Multi-Domain View Of The Self-Compassion Construct And Its Relevance To Anxiety, Alison Flett

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Self-compassion refers to the tendency to be kind and understanding towards oneself in times of failure rather than responding to such situations with harsh self-criticism. There is reason to believe on the basis of existing research that self-compassion is particularly relevant within the social domain. As such, this thesis is focused on describing and evaluating the Social Self-Compassion Scale (SSCS), which was developed for the purposes of this research and measures the degree to which individuals tend to be kind and understanding towards themselves when confronted with social adversity. This thesis begins by describing Studies 1 through 3, which were …

Reading In Arabic Script: A Cross-Linguistic And Cross-National Study, Asma Amin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current study examined within- and cross-language predictors of word reading and reading comprehension among groups of Arabic-English bilingual children in different language learning environments. A total of 80 children were tested, forty Arabic-English bilingual children recruited from Saudi Arabia and forty Arabic-English bilingual children were recruited from Canada. Both groups completed parallel measures of word-level reading, reading comprehension and vocabulary in Arabic and English. Results indicated that the underlying components related to within- and cross-language word reading and reading comprehension varied across groups. Within-language results demonstrate that English morphological awareness was significantly related to English word reading in both …

Relationship Commitment As A Moderator Of The Effects Of Promotion Focus On The Pursuit Of Change And Stability Relationship Goals, Sarah Wall

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

According to regulatory focus theory, promotion-focused people should experience stronger engagement toward goals which are framed as leading to advancement. However, because situations can afford or constrain people’s regulatory preference, the present research investigates how promotion-focused individuals’ preference for change and advancement may be altered by the affordances offered by the broader contextual environment (i.e., their romantic relationship). I hypothesized that among participants in romantic relationships, those with a promotion focus (chronic or induced) would engage less in relationship goals when they reflected on how completing these goals would positively change their romantic relationship from its current state, compared to …

Spicing Things Up: How Regulatory Focus Affects People’S Willingness To Try Novel Activities With A Romantic Partner, Jill Prince

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

While spending time together is an important interpersonal goal for most romantic couples, “spicing things up” through participation in novel activities is a route commonly recommended and used in order to enhance relationship quality. However, relationship research has yet to focus on whether some people may have a greater proclivity toward pursuing these types of activities than others. The present research examines whether people’s motivational states – specifically, their regulatory focus orientation – may influence their desire to pursue novel activities with their romantic partners. In Study 1, participants (N = 110) indicated their regulatory focus, relationship quality, and …

An Examination Of Imagined Contexts: The Unreliability Of Context-Dependent Memory Effects In Recall, Caitlin J. I. Tozios

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

It is generally accepted that the environmental context present during memory encoding serves as an effective cue for recall if reinstated during retrieval. Participants who perform a free recall test in the same context as that during which they learned a set of words, often remember more words than participants who experience a context mismatch from encoding to retrieval. This is referred to as the context-dependent memory effect and forgetting due to a change in context is referred to as context-dependent forgetting. Recent evidence suggests that contexts need not always be physical but can be mentally generated or imagined and …

Exploring The Middle Path: Effects Of Ethical And Secular Mindfulness On Well-Being And Prosocial Behaviour, Siyin Chen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mainstream mindfulness programs generally remove Buddhist ethics, causing some to worry they may encourage self-indulgence and have limited capacity to promote well-being. We compare the effects of secular and ethical mindfulness (incorporating principles of non-harm and interdependence) on well-being and prosocial behaviour. Participants (N = 621) completed six days of ethical or secular mindfulness or active control exercises. Secular and ethical mindfulness practices both reduced stress and self-image concerns, and increased life satisfaction and self-awareness. Ethical mindfulness also enhanced personal growth. Participants were also invited to donate to a charity. Both mindfulness practices potentiated effects of trait empathy on …

Investigating The Effects Of Mindfulness On Children’S Executive Function, Emotional Regulation, Stress, And Academic Performance Compared To A Control Condition, Lerna Hanceroglu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mindfulness is a growing field in the study of psychological well-being, with reports of individuals experiencing increases in resilience and reduced stress. The current research on mindfulness lacks information on a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between mindfulness and executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and subsequent academic performance for children. Additionally, studies contain methodological issues, such as the absence of active control groups. Hence, the current study assessed the effects of mindfulness training on children’s executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and academic outcomes compared to an active control group. There were 51 younger children from grades 2 to 4 (Mean …

Children's Letter Learning: The Effect Of Manipulating Visual Complexity On Children's Letter Learning, Bahar Amani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As a growing presence in homes and schools, technology plays an important role in the way that children learn in their environment. The early integration of technology within education reflects the promise of computer-based educational tools to facilitate early learning in children (Grant, Wood, Gottardo, Evans, Phillips, & Savage, 2012). Young learners are reported to be challenged with high levels of distractibility that can hinder their ability to learn in particular conditions and contexts (Fisher, Godwin, & Seltman, 2014). This can be a problem when considering that educational materials are often designed to be elaborate to keep young learners interested. …

The Experiences Of Athletes, Parents, And Coaches With The Long-Term Athlete Development Model (Ltad) In Youth Soccer Academies, Kody Watson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Long-Term Athlete Development Model (LTAD) has been developed to allow children the best chance of engaging in lifelong sport and physical activity. The LTAD focuses on long-term development, not short-term success, which allows for the best opportunity of sport participation and optimal sport potential throughout life (Balyi, Way, & Higgs, 2013). Research surrounding the LTAD model has stated that there is a lack of empirical evidence of the model being utilized within sport, as some researchers believe that it is more theoretical than practical (Lloyd & Oliver, 2012). However, even with this criticism of the LTAD model, Canadian sport …

Neural And Social Mechanisms Behind The Social Transmission Of Food Preference, Chelsey Damphousse

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Research on the social transmission of food preference (STFP) has shown that preferences for specific foods can be transmitted between conspecifics (Bilkó et al., 1994; Wrenn et al., 2003; Hikami et al., 1990; Galef et al., 1984; Galef & Wigmore, 1983; Lupfer et al., 2003). Although these findings provide an understanding of how food related information is shared, none explore the influence that personality may have on various factors of STFP, as well as how this transmission may occur in a naturalistic foraging setting. In the current thesis, individual personality was assessed and rats were placed into …

An Evaluation Of Older Adults’ Perceptions Of Psychological Well-Being When Participating In Community Centre Programs, Kayla Rellinger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Multi-purpose organizations, such as community centres, provide opportunities for individuals to participate in various physical and social activities. Although, it has been well established that community centres provide the opportunity and environment to promote health behaviour changes among older adults (Jones et al., 2013; Stewart, 1997; Wallace et al., 1998), there is a dearth of research differentiating between physically active and non-active community centre programming. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate whether participating in community centre programming influenced four key measures of perceived psychological well-being, as well as, to evaluate whether the perceived psychological well-being of community …

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 …

Meeting The Needs Of Victims: An Examination Of Victims' Coping Strategies And Victim Services In Canada, Jenniffer Olenewa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Victimization creates harms that can take an emotional and financial toll on victims and their communities. As a result of the trauma, many victims will have physiological, safety, and emotional needs that require support. All community members benefit when victims can receive support that meets the needs generated by the harms of a victimization. This mixed-methods study using Canadian data examines what factors contribute to victims engaging in behavioural changes to meet their safety needs, and explores how Victim Service workers view their role in assisting victims to meet their needs. Using data from the 2014 General Social Survey, Study …

Ambivalent But Not Indifferent: Consumer Motivations To Seek Versus Avoid Professional Advice, David Lewis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

An under-explored dimension of consumer decision-making is the motivation for seeking professional advice. While extant research in marketing describes some antecedents to seeking advice (e.g. complexity, risk), it is not known how these factors combine to influence consumer intentions to seek advice. Given the general consumer reluctance to obtain professional advice, the current research examines the factors that influence the motivations to seek advice. Professional financial advice is selected as the empirical context to investigate this issue.

The first of two studies involved exploratory qualitative research and revealed the factors affecting the motivation to seek advice. It was observed that …

Theories Of The Self, Race, And Essentialization In Buddhism In The United States During The “Yellow Peril,” 1899-1957, Ryan Anningson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation is an intellectual history tracing developing notions of the Self in Buddhism through Buddhist publications during the years from 1899-1957. I define this time period as the Era of the Yellow Peril, due to common views in the United States of an Asian “other” which formed a larger clash of civilizations globally. 1899-1957 was marked by pessimism and dread due to two World Wars and the Great Depression, while popular and academic cultures argued for the validity of race sciences, and the application of these “sciences” through eugenics. Buddhism in the United States was created through a global …

Sedentary Behaviour, Physical Activity, And Mobile Apps Among University Students, Emily E. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Prolonged sedentary behaviour (SB) poses health risks independent of physical activity (PA) levels (Owen et al., 2010). University students in particular are at risk of engaging in prolonged SB due to the demands of school. Due to the pervasiveness of smartphones, and ability of mobile applications (apps) to target SB (Bond et al., 2014), apps may be used to encourage less SB in this population. Apps for PA have been coded for behaviour change techniques (BCTs) (Conroy et al., 2014; Middelweerd et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2015), however, apps for SB have yet to be assessed for BCTs.

The …

The Relationships Of Role Conflict With Role Ambiguity, Role Efficacy, And Task Cohesion: A Study Of Interdependent University Sport Teams, Brennan Petersen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Roles, important structural components in groups, delineate group members’ jobs and responsibilities. Through this division of labour, group members must function interdependently to achieve shared group outcomes. A critical perception that individuals hold regarding their role is the degree to which incongruent expectations are present (i.e., role conflict). This perception is divided into several dimensions: intra-sender conflict, inter-sender conflict, person-role conflict, and inter-role conflict. Previous research has demonstrated that role conflict can negatively affect individual- and group-level variables (e.g., other role perceptions, task cohesion). However, two limitations pervade this research. First, role conflict is generally assessed unidimensionally. Second, the dimensions …

Going Beyond The Best Insufficient Option: An Exploration Of Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives Within Two Non-Profit Social Welfare Organizations In Ontario, Amy Joyce Shuttleworth

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Facing a backdrop of decreased government funds and an increasing need for services, social service non-profit organizations are struggling to survive and provide services to their communities. One proposed solution to this financial struggle is to generate revenue through social entrepreneurship and social enterprise. Two non-profit organizations in Ontario have engaged in social enterprise and they form the basis for this case study. Adopting a hybrid social enterprise model, Organization X and Housing Corporation A receive revenue from three main sources: government funding, private donations, and profits created through social enterprise activities.

These organizations have managed to broaden their service …

Shifting Pedagogy For Adolescent Refugees With Limited Or Interrupted Formal Education: A Case Study Of The Professional Experiences Of A Secondary English Literacy Development Teacher, Stephanie Ledger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In recent years, there has been a large influx of refugees into settlement countries worldwide. In Canada, this displaced population includes many adolescent students of limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Consequently, secondary school teachers are challenged to meet the print literacy needs of SLIFE within traditional ESL instructional settings.

The literature reveals an urgent desire and need for the use of early literacy instructional practices to address the print literacy needs of SLIFE. Despite this acknowledgement, many ESL/ELD secondary school educators are reluctant to shift their pedagogy from traditional ESL to early literacy pedagogy (Dooley, 2009; Dooley & Thangaperumal, …

Task-Dependent Modulation Of Cortical Excitability And Balance Control In Individuals With Post-Concussion Syndrome, Kristen Kaster, Jayne M. Kalmar Ms., Michael E. Cinelli Mr

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In most cases, symptoms resolve between 7-10 days post-concussion. However, in 10-15% of the concussed population, symptoms can remain unresolved for months to years following the head injury. The purpose of this thesis was two-fold, and was broken up into two studies, where the same individuals participated in both studies. The purpose of the first study was to quantify the differences in balance control between individuals with PCS (i.e., had been experiencing symptoms for <30 days) and non-concussed individuals during a lower-limb reaching task. Participants completed a static balance assessment before and after a lower-limb reaching task, which incorporated a Go/No-Go paradigm. Results from this study revealed no differences in the static stability assessments, however, individuals with PCS demonstrated increased medial-lateral COP displacement as well as greater trunk pitch during the reaching task. Overall, the findings reveal persistent balance impairments in individuals with PCS, which may put this population at an increased risk of further injury. The purpose of the second study was to assess task-dependent modulation of cortical excitability prior to planned index finger abduction contractions comparing a non-concussed population to a population with PCS. The protocol in this study consisted of both single and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which was applied prior to the beginning of 3 different tasks (i.e., a rest condition with no plan to contract, a precision contraction, and a powerful contraction). In addition to the three tasks, participants also had to respond to a Go/No-Go cue. The results of this study revealed an increase in excitability prior to a precision contraction in both non-concussed and PCS groups. No differences in task-dependent modulation were found between the two groups with respect to intracortical facilitation and inhibition, however a negative correlation between number of symptoms reported (SCAT3 symptom evaluation) and intracortical facilitation was revealed. The increase in corticospinal excitability prior to a precision contraction was not explained by the two cortical mechanisms we assessed and may therefore be due to spinal modulation or a different cortical mechanism. Overall, based on the results from this thesis, it appears that individuals with PCS have balance impairments, which may be a result of an inability to maximally activate their postural muscles. Furthermore, it appears that those individuals who reported a higher number of symptoms had greater reductions in intracortical facilitation, likely reflecting the heterogeneity of this clinical group.

Loose Coupling And Defining Deviance Down: Correctional Officers’ Perceptions Of Organizational Responses To Mental Health And Well-Being., Victoria M. Baker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Correctional work is characterized by high rates of occupational stress, which can produce a plethora of negative outcomes for the officers employed within such institutions. The present study examines Canadian provincial correctional officers’ perceptions of how occupational stress is created within the context of their employment. Through in-depth interviews with 11 correctional officers, I examine the political, organizational, and cultural factors that are perceived to negatively affect employee stress and well-being. From this analysis, I present three principal arguments. First, I uncover how correctional officers perceive ministerial policies to be loosely coupled from frontline practices. I argue that this loose …

“Serial Killers Are Interesting, They’Re Not Heroes”: Moral Boundaries, Identity Management, And Emotional Work Within An Online Community, Michael Spychaj

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research project examines the functioning of one specific serial murderer fandom community present online. Using ethnographic content analysis, the fandom was shown to undergo the creation, reinforcement and subversion of its own moral boundaries, undertake strategies of identity management in relation to their fan identity, and undergo emotion work to cope with the realities of serial murderers.

From Brain Drain To Brain Train – A Transnational Case Analysis Of Nigerian Migrant Health Care Workers, Sheri Adekola

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study involves a micro-analysis of the experience of Nigerian-trained health professionals in Canada and is designed to understand the experiences of these skilled migrants, the impact of their migration, and how further migration might be stimulated or reduced through engagement in transnational activities with workers still in Nigeria. The research questions asked, (a) Which discourses of skill exchange are most meaningful to Nigerian health care workers in Canada? (b) How is this process of value exchange and extraction structured by transnational connectivity? (c) How does this research contribute to current concepts regarding skilled migration?

Framed by the Integrative Model …

The Making Of Astate In Waiting: The Lives Of Fatah Political Prisoners, 1967 To 1985, Rebecca Granato

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A State in Waiting? The Lives of Fatah Political Prisoners, 1967-1985 looks at the evolution of a Fatah prisoner movement inside Israeli prisons intended for Palestinian political prisoners. An under-researched area in Palestinian studies, this project relies on a combination of oral sources and anonymous documents drafted by prisoners during their internment housed at the Abu Jihad Museum in Abu Dis, Palestine. The dissertation argues that beginning in the 1970s and lasting into the 1980s a kind of collectivity emerged and came to define prisoner interactions and their day-to-day activities. Prison, and later system-wide hunger strikes are addressed in an …

Negative Intergroup Contact: Self-Distancing Facilitates Wisdom For First-Generation Immigrants, Hajer Al Homedawy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Negative intergroup interactions can be utilized for the collective good if reasoned through wisely. An effective mechanism for facilitating wise reasoning is the empirically well-established self-distancing perspective. First-generation immigrants were recruited because their position in society makes them susceptible to a different set of challenges than second- or third-generation immigrants. Negative intergroup interaction memories were conjured by either the distanced-why or immersed-why perspective. The distanced-why perspective proved ineffective at reducing explicit negative affect but marginally increased wise reasoning (p = .057) when compared to the immersed-why perspective. The effect of condition was significant for the “search for compromise and …

Capturing In-Situ Feelings And Experiences Of Public Transit Riders Using Smartphones, Rafik Said, Rafik Said

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

High-density urban environments are susceptible to ever-growing traffic congestion issues, which speaks to the importance of implementing and maintaining effective and sustainable transportation networks. While transit oriented developments offer the potential to help mitigate traffic congestion issues, transit networks ought to be safe and reliable for ideal transit-user communities. As such, it is imperative to capture meaningful data regarding transit experiences, and deduce how transit networks can be enhanced or modified to continually maintain ideal transit experiences. Historically speaking, it has been relatively tricky to measure how people feel whilst using public transportation, without leaning on recall memory to explain …

Correctional Officers "Through The Looking Glass": Understanding Perceptions And Their Impact On Personal And Professional Identity, Emma Mistry

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

The external and institutional stressors that correctional officers face while performing their duties, such as managing a demanding workload, staffing shortages, and monitoring potentially dangerous inmates, have received some attention in the literature. However, researchers have not examined correctional officers’ perceptions of how others view their role and professional identity—whether prisoners, their families, or members of the general public—and how these perceptions are believed to influence an officer’s perspective of their work and their well-being. To explore this gap in the literature, this project seeks to analyze whether or not correctional officers sense these perceptions while performing their duties …

Using Social Disorganization Theory To Explore Neighbourhood Effects On Violent Crime: A Case Study Of The City Of Brantford, Ontario, Ni-Shan Ho

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was to explore neighbourhood characteristics related to social disorganization theory and to ascertain whether socioeconomic disadvantage, family disruption, residential instability and young population structure were predictive of neighbourhood violent crime in the city of Brantford, Ontario, as a case study. A two-step analysis was conducted using data derived from the National Household Survey (NHS), the 2011 census and the Brantford Police Service records management system (BPS-RMS). A descriptive analysis of Brantford’s 21 census tracts (CT) was conducted to explore patterns of social disorganization variables and violent crime in each of the city’s 21 CT neighbourhoods. …