Digital Commons Network^™

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. …

Adventures In Time And Space: What Shapes Behavioural Decisions In Drosophila Melanogaster?, Heather Malek, Tristan Af Long Dr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Variation in behaviour can be observed both between individuals, based on their condition and experience as well as between populations due to sources of heterogeneity in the environment. These behavioural differences have evolved as a result of natural and sexual selection where different strategies may be favoured depending on the costs and benefits associated with those behaviours. In this thesis I examine two sources of heterogeneity within the environment and their behavioural consequences: how spatial complexity mediates sexual selection over time, and how inter and intraspecific signals and individual condition influence social oviposition behaviour. By increasing spatial complexity, we were …

Access To The Healthcare System For Acb People Living In Waterloo Region, Ontario: A Racial And Socio-Ecological Examination, Tiyondah Fante-Coleman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Little research has investigated the barriers and facilitators to accessing healthcare for African, Caribbean, and Black people in Canada. This thesis identifies barriers and facilitators using a socio-ecological framework in two papers. Five focus groups were held with 22 ACB participants in Waterloo, Ontario. Thematic analysis guidelines informed the analysis of focus group data. The first paper identified barriers at the social (racism and employment, immigrant status) and institutional (wait times, out-of-pocket expenses) levels. Community connections was the sole facilitator at the social level. The second paper identified four barriers at the interpersonal level: physicians’ style of care, lack of …

Using Paleolimnology To Establish Baseline Conditions For Metal Contaminants In Advance Of Proposed Mining To Inform A Northern Community-Led Aquatic Monitoring Program, Tłı̨Chǫ Lands, Northwest Territories, Canada., James Telford

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Marian Watershed Stewardship Program (MWSP), a community-driven aquatic ecosystem monitoring program, was developed by the Tłı̨chǫ Government to address concerns regarding the cumulative impacts of multiple potential stressors. In particular, the MWSP aims to develop methods that will be effective for detecting potential pollution from the proposed cobalt-gold-copper-bismuth NICO mine within Tłı̨chǫ Lands. In collaboration with the MWSP, paleolimnological methods and geochemical normalization are used to establish pre-mine baselines of lake sediment metals concentrations in the Marian River watershed prior to mine development. This baseline framework can be used to assess for pollution from surficial sediment once the mine …

“Invisible” Parent Experiences Of Homelessness And Separation From Their Children In Canada, Rachel A. Caplan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Family homelessness includes a sub-group of individuals whose experiences remain largely hidden or “invisible” within Canadian homelessness systems: parents who have been separated from their children. Yet, to date, little research has focused on the experiences of “invisible” parents who have experienced homelessness, mental illness, and separation from their children in Canada. The purpose of this dissertation was to help fill this notable gap in the literature, as well as to inform community psychology and family homelessness theory, research, practice, and policy in Canada.

The Canadian At Home/Chez Soi (AHCS) research demonstration project included a subset of parents with mental …

The Ghost Story Of The Great War: Spiritualism, Psychical Research And The British War Experience, 1914-1939., Kyle Falcon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the role of the Great War in shaping British spiritualism and psychical between 1914 and 1939. Spiritualism can be defined as the belief in the survival of the human personality and the possibility of communication with the dead, particularly through the séance. Psychical research represented a more scientifically oriented and research focused approach to the supernatural. These movements originated in the nineteenth century as traditional religious authority waned. Meanwhile, scientists had harnessed unseen forces to make wireless communications possible, while others probed the mysterious world of the unconscious mind through trance. Spiritualism and psychical research flourished in …

Towards Secure And Fair Iiot-Enabled Supply Chain Management Via Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts, Amal Eid Alahmadi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Integrating the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) into supply chain management enables flexible and efficient on-demand exchange of goods between merchants and suppliers. However, realizing a fair and transparent supply chain system remains a very challenging issue due to the lack of mutual trust among the suppliers and merchants. Furthermore, the current system often lacks the ability to transmit trade information to all participants in a timely manner, which is the most important element in supply chain management for the effective supply of goods between suppliers and the merchants. This thesis presents a blockchain-based supply chain management system in the …

Spinal Motor Neuron Excitability During Fatigue, Nathalie Cecire

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Fatigue during sustained or repeated muscular contractions can be from contractile failure within the muscle or reduced excitability in the supraspinal and spinal motor neurons. However, spinal motor neurons can also compensate for fatigue. We speculate that one way the spinal motor neuron compensates for fatigue is through an increase in excitability via the activation of persistent inward currents (PIC). In other conditions where there is a reduction in descending drive, such as during spinal cord injury and aging, there are adaptions of the spinal motor neurons to have elevated PIC amplitudes or towards a greater prevalence of PIC, respectively. …

The Mockery Of Things: Material Culture And Domestic Ideology In The Detective Fiction Of Anna Katharine Green, Claire Meldrum

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Mockery of Things: Material Culture and Domestic Ideology in the Detective Fiction of Anna Katharine Green examines how a popular genre author like Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935) uses objects to articulate middle-class identity and social constructions in late-nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century America. During that era, the home as both a physical space and an ideological signifier was a central tenet in American middle-class identity. Focusing on domestically situated objects – clothing, household furnishings and domestic architecture – this dissertation considers how such items, which have tended to be read in support of domestic identity, instead function within the context …

The Experience Of Mindful Self-Compassion, Erika Ristok

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Given the benefits seen in the literature with regards to mindful self-compassion, embodiment of positive emotion, and the efficacy of brief interventions, this study sought to advance an understanding of the experience of mindful self compassion. Eight participants were taught a brief self-compassion exercise along with a step that embodies a feeling of comfort. The participants were drawn from a wait-list for counselling services at a Family Health Team site. They were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format following training and practice with the self-compassion exercise. Qualitative phenomenological analysis was used in order to gain an understanding of the essence …

A Family Affair: Growth Within Injured Veterans And Their Support Network, Shelby Rodden-Aubut

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the potential for growth within injured or ill Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans, as well as members of their support networks. Growth is most commonly understood as perceived positive changes experienced by individuals following a stressor, which propel them to a higher level of functioning (Salim, Wadey, & Diss, 2015). Guided by the work of Roy-Davis, Wadey, and Evans (2016) and through the lens of Organismic Valuing Theory (Joseph & Linley, 2005), this study sought out a context-specific understanding of the concept of growth within CAF. An additional focus was on the impact of veterans’ …

The Social Arena Of Mental Health Act Apprehensions: An Examination Of Partnership Between Police And Hospital Services, Amanda Boyd

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Improvement in the collaboration between police and emergency hospital services in responding to citizens in mental health (MH) crisis has been identified as vital by researchers and service organizations alike (Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee, 2013). Research suggests that collaboration between these two services is inhibited by a lack of clear communication, protection of patient privacy, insufficient training, siloing of services, and safety concerns for patients and staff (Cotton & Coleman, 2010). Consequences of inadequate cooperation between police and hospital services has resulted in lengthy emergency room (ER) wait times for those apprehended by police officers under the Mental …

Moral Development In The Online Context, Sarah Mitchinson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Past research has found strong evidence that individuals behave differently when they are online compared to when they are in face-to-face interactions. These differences may be caused by factors such as anonymity, remoteness from interactions and reduced empathy. The current study attempts to expand on these past research findings by examining moral development and specifically the relationships between moral emotions, moral identity and antisocial behaviour in the online context. In total, 392 participants were placed into three separate age groups: early adolescence (n = 99, aged 12.42-14.33), late adolescence (n = 180, aged 17.17-22) and early adulthood (n = 113, …

Processing Youth Adventure Wellness Experiences: Poetic Representations Of Youth’S Peace Bus Experiences, Ty Th Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This narrative inquiry explored how youth are processing their Peace Bus program experiences two and a half years after program completion. The purpose was to gain an understanding of (1) what program components the participants reflect on, (2) how they conceptualize their program experiences, and (3) what factors contribute to their reflection processes. This research sought to address the gap in literature where little is understood about the ongoing experiences of program participants of adventure wellness programs and the processes that lead to positive changes. As the researcher, I conducted a qualitative study using narrative inquiry and poetic representation methods. …

Riparian Zone Soil Microbial Community Dynamics: Interactions With Nutrient Loadings, James Bannister

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Riparian zones are a type of wetland described as the interface between land and a body of water such as a river or stream. Riparian zones are effective buffers against anthropogenic pollutants and nutrient loads from non-point sources that can greatly diminish water quality. Riparian zones can host a variety of plant species and associated microbial communities. The combined biological processes of plants, bacteria, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are key to nutrient cycling and nutrient removal in riparian zones. As such, understanding the factors that influence them is critical for watershed management. This research is targeted at obtaining a …

Potential Impact Of Northern Resource Development On Aquatic Biota: Toxicity Of Chromium And Rare Earth Element Processing Reagent, So Yeon Choi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Chromite and rare earth element development was identified in the 2015 Canadian Federal budget as a significant opportunity, however, key data gaps exist regarding the environmental concerns related to these resource developments. Chromium is essential in the production of stainless steel, and no suitable substitute is known. Rare earth elements (REEs) are a series of metals that are composed of 15 lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. Uses for REEs range from electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, computers, televisions) to magnets and controlling nuclear reactors. While commercial production of REEs signify a great economic opportunity for Canada, key data …

Vertex Coloring With Forbidden Subgraphs, Yingjun Dai

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Given a set $L$ of graphs, a graph $G$ is $L$-free if $G$ does not contain any graph in $L$ as induced subgraph. A $hole$ is an induced cycle of length at least $4$. A $hole$-$twin$ is a graph obtained by adding a vertex adjacent to three consecutive vertices in a $hole$. Hole-twins are closely related to the characterization of the line graphs in terms of forbidden subgraphs.

By using {\it clique-width} and {\it perfect graphs} theory, we show that ($claw$,$4K_1$,$hole$-$twin$)-free graphs and ($4K_1$,$hole$-$twin$,$5$-$wheel$)-free graphs are either perfect or have bounded clique-width. And thus the coloring of them can be …

Role Commitment And Team Cohesion In Youth Interdependent Sport, Taylor Coleman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Team sport participation is highly prevalent for Canadian youth (Canadian Heritage, 2010; ParticipACTION, 2018). As such, it is important to understand how youth sport teams develop and function as well as how team membership influences individual sport experiences. Group cohesion (i.e., team unity) is an important aspect of group functioning that has been proposed to be related to an athlete’s perceived commitment to his/her role (i.e., role commitment; Benson et al., 2013). However, the majority of role related research is cross-sectional and conducted with adult samples. Cross-sectional research limits the amount of information researchers can obtain concerning the relationship between …

Hooking In, Activating And Extending: An Institutional Ethnography Of The Family Violence Project Of The Waterloo Region, Ian Degeer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Domestic violence (DV) is a significant social issue requiring a thoughtful and dedicated response. At present, many social service agencies and governmental bodies have a responsibility to provide a response to DV. Increasingly, innovative service delivery models are being used to construct more coherent responses to the violence. One such model, originates from the United States is entitled the Family Justice Centre model. This model of service delivery consists of the agencies responding to DV residing within the same building. The goal of this model is to improve the access to service for victims and to improve collaborative efforts between …

Nanoscale Building Blocks: Bridging The Gap Between Potential And Realized Applications, Nicole Ritter

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The vast potential of nanoparticles and nanotechnology remains largely untapped; the crucial bottleneck being the knowledge gap between making and using nanoparticles (NPs). This PhD work bridges this gap by focusing on synthesizing nanoparticles with applications at the forefront. Four peer-reviewed publications are presented in Chapters 3-6, a safety and toxicological perspective is given in Chapter 7, and current work and future progress are summarized in Appendix 1. Bimorphic silver nanoparticles were prepared, presenting an innovative method to synthesize diverse nanostructures using polymeric surface blocking to break symmetry in seeded regrowth (Chapter 3).¹ Silver stars with D_5h symmetry …

The Social Construction Of A Disaster Typology To Enhance Operational Emergency Planning For K-8 Public Schools In Southern Ontario, Patricia Martel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation outlines the development of a disaster typology that could be used as a tool for developing operational emergency plans for K-8 public schools with the potential to be applied more generally to other facilities that host vulnerable groups. The theoretical framework used to inform this study is the theory of the social construction of disasters. This theory conceptualizes disasters as being the result of the interaction between social factors, such as risk perception and vulnerability, and the hazards.The author of this dissertation is an emergency management practitioner and brought a perspective informed by both theory and practice of …

The Effect Of Loading Rate On Annulus Fibrosus Strength Following Endplate Fracture, John Mcmorran

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Low back pain is the most prevalent cause of chronic pain for North Americans, and its correlation with endplate damage, and deficient mechanical properties in the annulus fibrosus (AF) makes this injury particularly concerning. To date, biomechanical alterations in the AF following endplate fracture have not been well described. Owing to the AF’s collagenous composition, and the intrinsic biomechanics of intervertebral discs (IVDs) during compression, it was hypothesized that the mechanical properties of AF specimens would show rate-dependent alterations in their tensile and adhesive strengths following endplate fracture. The purpose of the present study was to quantify the mechanical properties …

Perceived Social Support And Identity Formation In Bereaved University Students, Katherine Ottley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The experience of death-related loss is almost universal, which makes it an important area of study. The experience of death-related loss can cause a re-evaluation of identity (Hibberd, 2013), but this has not been widely studied in emerging adults. The lack of research into bereavement experiences in emerging adulthood leaves many questions unanswered, in particular regarding identity. This is the case, despite identity consolidation being considered an important task of emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2006; Erikson, 1959). I examined the relationships between bereavement, identity and social support, using a sample of 98 university students, many of whom were White and female. …

Team Member Hormone Profiles And Group Cohesion, David Webster

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Group cohesion in sport is associated with many positive outcomes for the team as a whole, as well as for the individuals. Hence, it is important to understand the antecedents of cohesion in various contexts, including sport. One antecedent that has yet to be examined in a sports context pertains to biological factors; specifically, the interaction of testosterone and cortisol levels. The dual-hormone hypothesis posits that testosterone levels are associated with status attainment for both individuals and groups, but only amongst those with low cortisol levels. Based on previous literature, a high testosterone-low cortisol hormonal profile should be associated with …

Characterization Of The Red Complex Bacterial Biofilm, Alena Pratasouskaya

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Commonly associated with severe inflammation and destruction of the tooth-supporting tissue is bacterial consortia Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, collectively referred to as the red complex. The red complex uses the common bacterial strategy of producing and embedding itself in extracellular polymeric substance, which contributes to the recalcitrance of periodontitis and was therefore of interest in this study. The red complex static cultures were grown in combination with different chemicals in order to establish what changes accompany these chemical challenges. This research established that extracellular polymeric substance carbohydrate yields increased with time. Interestingly, carbohydrate composition …

The Task At Hand: Fatigue-Associated Changes To Corticospinal Excitability During Writing, Kezia Cinelli

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Corticospinal excitability as measured via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is highly dependent on the task being performed at the time of stimulation. As such, this study sought out to measure corticospinal excitability during the relevant, daily task of writing and compare it to the conventional abduction task often utilized. We used single-pulse motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to provide a measure of corticospinal excitability and cortical silent period (CSP) duration, and paired-pulse conditioned MEPs to assess short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous (FDI) of 19 participants on two randomized and counter-balanced days. …

Exploring Case Variables Predictive Of Histories Of Mental Illness In Incidents Of Police-Involved Firearm Fatalities In Canada, Michael Ouellet

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The tragedy of police-involved fatalities resulting in the death of individuals with serious mental illness has been brought to the forefront by recent high-profile incidents that have galvanized public concern and criticism that law enforcement organizations must improve their response to people in psychiatric crisis. This thesis employed descriptive and hierarchical logistic regression analyses to understand cases of police-involved shooting fatalities in Canada between 2006 and 2015. More precisely, this research focused on determining whether particular variables predicted group membership between victims with and without a history of mental illness. The General Aggression Model (GAM; Allen, Anderson, & Bushman, 2018) …

Manipulating Sensory Information: Obstacle Clearance Strategies Between Middle-Aged Children And Young Adults, Victoria Rapos

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Individuals constantly navigate through a complex environment, stepping over and around obstacles in order to reach an end goal. Successful adaptive locomotion involves the integration of information from the three primary sensory systems: vision, somatosensory, and vestibular, in order to successfully reach an end goal. Obstacle crossing is a form of adaptive locomotion that demonstrates a clear relationship between perception and action integration, ensuring proper foot placement, step length, and walking speed. Moreover, the addition of a second obstacle within 1m from the first obstacle requires proper motor planning and anticipatory strategies in order to be successful. Previous research has …

Characterizing The Cellulose-Modifying Enzyme Bcsg From Escherichia Coli, Alexander Anderson, Joel T. Weadge

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Microbial biofilms are communities of microorganisms that exhibit co-operative behaviour, producing a matrix of exopolysaccharide that enmeshes the community. The well-studied human pathogens Escherichia coli and Salmonella entericaproduce a biofilm matrix comprised chiefly of the biopolymer cellulose, along with amyloid protein fibers termed curli. This biofilm matrix confers surface adherence and acts as a protective barrier to disinfectants, antimicrobials, environmental stressors, and host immune responses. Pertaining to this research, the bcsEFG operon, conserved in the Enterobacteriaceae, encodes an inner membrane-spanning complex responsible for the addition of a phosphoethanolamine (pEtN) modification to microbial cellulose, essential for extracellular matrix assembly and …

Exploring Psychological Readiness To Return To Sport After Injury, Scott Donald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Athletes are often cleared to return to sport with little emphasis on psychological readiness in relation to physical readiness. This is important because athletes who are not psychologically ready to return to sport (RTS), despite being physically cleared, may lack motivation to compete and lack confidence in their abilities (Podlog, Banham, Wadey, & Hannon, 2015), drop out of sport, fear re-injury (Ardern et al., 2014), worry about future performance (Podlog & Eklund, 2006), experience anxiety and feel depressed (Tracey, 2003) or incur further injury (McCullough et al., 2012). Remarkably, there is no definition of psychological readiness consistently used in the …