Digital Commons Network^™

Alarming Literacy Rates In One Of America’S Largest Cities: What Can Be Done In The City Of Detroit?, Hermina G.B. Anghelescu

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

Regarded as a major cultural and industrial center, Detroit is known for its contributions to art, architecture, design, and music, which led to its "Motown" nickname, in addition to its ties to the birth of the auto industry, which brought it the nickname of "Motor City." Despite hosting several higher learning institutions and a national research university, Detroit has been facing a continued decline of its adult literacy rates that amount to 47.00%, meaning that half of the City's population are functionally illiterate. Low literacy skills can profoundly affect adults' ability to fully participate in daily activities and contribute to …

Geochemistry Of Rare Earth Elements In Simulated Natural Waters: Experiments And Modelling Of Precipitation, Complexation, And Bioavailability., Samantha Zulian

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Rare earth elements (REEs) are an important part of modern technology and used for many applications. Mining, agriculture, improper recycling and medical applications can increase the concentration of these elements in surface waters. Metals in the environment including REEs can be found naturally but understanding the implications increase concentrations from anthropogenic inputs is important. REE mobility, persistence and toxicity is imperative to risk assessment as Canada begins to mine REE. Ultimately, as with other metals, the impacts of REEs in the environment should be dependent on the specific physical and chemical forms of the elements. Fractionation provides a practical method …

Examining The Mental Health Experiences Of Lgbtq+ Identifying Muslim Students In Ontario’S Post-Secondary Institutions, Bushra Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative study explores the unique mental health experiences of Ontario’s LGBTQ+ Muslims in post-secondary settings. The study looks at how LGBTQ+ Muslim students’ mental wellness (i.e., sense of belonging, feeling affirmed in their intersecting identities of being Muslim and belonging to LGBTQ+ community) is affected as they try to navigate systemic barriers and make space for themselves in various settings (i.e., academic, LGBTQ+ affirming spaces, Muslim-specific spaces, student services) on campuses in Ontario, Canada. The study sample consists of four LGBTQ+ identified Muslim students across post-secondary institutions in Ontario and participants discussed their emotional, mental, and sense of belonging …

"The Most Important Thing In Ipv Right Now": The Intersection Of Intimate Partner Violence And Brain Injury, Halina (Lin) Haag

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) and brain injury (BI) has been almost entirely overlooked in research, practice, and policy, despite the known risks associated with the two conditions. Individually, IPV and BI are associated with elevated rates of unemployment, poverty, and homelessness, as well as increased mental health challenges. These social determinants of health, employment status, and income impact women’s wellbeing through access to safe accommodations, food security, and (dis)ability supports. These determinants are also related to an increased likelihood of experiencing addictions, mental health challenges, and physical danger, potentially leaving women vulnerable to ongoing violence. This qualitative …

Self-Exciting Point Processes In Real Estate, Ian Fraser

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis introduces a novel approach to analyzing residential property sales through the lens of stochastic processes by employing point processes. Herein, property sales are treated as point patterns, using self-exciting point process models and a variety of statistical tools to uncover underlying patterns in the data. Key findings include the identification and explanation of clustering in both space and time, and the efficacy of a temporal Hawkes process with a sinusoidal background in predicting home sale occurrences. The temporal analysis starts by employing the state of art techniques for time series data like regression, autoregressive, and autoregressive integrated moving …

Dancing Around And Through Harm: Examining The Lived Experiences Of Women Of Colour With Gender-Based Violence In The Toronto & Kitchener-Waterloo Latin Dance Communities, Lexi Salt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Given the systemic nature of gender-based violence in Canada, as well as the increasing popularity of Latin dance, it is important to better understand the particular and culturally-specific ways gender-based violence manifests itself within the Latin dance community. This research study examines the lived experiences of women of colour with gender-based violence in the Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo Latin dance communities. Two groups of participants took part in semi-structured interviews: 14 women of colour dancers, and six “Power Players”, leaders in the Latin dance community who are in a position of power (e.g., instructors, organizers, DJs). The data was analyzed using …

The Prevalence And Consequences Of Gender-Based Violence Among Trans And Non-Binary University Students In Ontario, Jia Qing Wilson-Yang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Community studies documenting gender-based violence (GBV) experienced by trans and non-binary (TNB) people often find differences in prevalence across TNB subgroups. Studies of TNB university students tend to treat them as a homogenous group, thus gender differences in terms of subgroups are unknown. Using data collected from TNB Ontario university students, I examined the prevalence and impacts of GBV across three TNB subgroups (trans man spectrum, trans women spectrum, and gender queer/non-binary). Specifically, reflecting subtle and overt forms of GBV, among each subgroup I explored the frequency of trans environmental microaggressions, trans interpersonal microaggressions, and victimization, and their relationship with …

"Better Equipped"? Examining The Role Of Social Work In Clinical Countering Violent Extremism, David Yuzva Clement

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Hate and violent extremism persist in communities, online environments, and societies across the globe. In addition to their most violent expressions, including hate crimes, extremist and terrorist violence, these phenomena wield severe negative, detrimental, traumatic, and intergenerational impacts. Grounded in evidenced-based policy, comprehensive prevention and intervention efforts, as well as the transfer of knowledge across scientific disciplines, a whole-of-society approach is fundamental to prevent and counter hatred, violence, and extremism. Although violent radicalization and associated societal problems are advancing at unprecedented speeds, preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) is an emerging intervention field in behavioural health and social sciences. While …

In Vivo Scanning Laser Fundus And High-Resolution Oct Imaging Of Retinal Ganglion Cell Injury In A Non-Human Primate Model With An Activatable Fluorescent-Labeled Tat Peptide Probe, Xudong Qiu, Seth T Gammon, Carol Rasmussen, Federica Pisaneschi, Charlene B Y Kim, James Ver Hoeve, Steven W Millward, Edward M Barnett, T Michael Nork, Paul L Kaufman, David Piwnica-Worms

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The optical imaging agent TcapQ488 has enabled imaging of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) injury in vivo in rodents and has potential as an effective diagnostic probe for early detection and intervention monitoring in glaucoma patients. In the present study, we investigated TcapQ488 in non-human primates (NHPs) to identify labeling efficacy and early signals of injured RGC, to determine species-dependent changes in RGC probe uptake and clearance, and to determine dose-limiting toxicities. Doses of 3, 6, and 12 nmol of TcapQ488 were delivered intravitreally to normal healthy NHP eyes and eyes that had undergone hemiretinal endodiathermy axotomy (HEA) in the inferior …

Mainstream Media Portrayal Of Banishment And Nation-Imposed Punishment, Keely Ormond

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

“In a traditional village, we wouldn’t have a teepee with no door on it and throw somebody in there. We wouldn’t cast them out, because banishment meant death. What we had to do was restore relationships” – Ryan Beardy (Thorpe, 2022).

The following project examines the representation of Indigenous traditions, customs, and issues in Canadian mainstream media. Specifically, this project is interested in the portrayal of banishment as an Indigenous practice in Canadian mainstream news outlets. This project is based on an interpretive paradigm informed by grounded theory and concepts of media framing, postcolonialism, settler colonialism and restorative justice. Nineteen …

Shifting Perspectives On Crime: Empathy, Cognitive Reappraisal, And Media Sources, Gillian Sherman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

When reporting crime, media sources can influence public perception of the crime, the victim, and the perpetrator. They can also influence the justice policies that people endorse. With support growing for more community-oriented justice policies that allow for perpetrator reintegration (Maruna & King, 2009), it is important to understand how portrayals of crime may soften public judgements toward perpetrators without reducing concern for victims. In two studies drawing from empathy-attitude effect research (Batson et al., 1998) and emotion regulation theory (Gross, 1998) this research examines how media portrayals of a crime may cause people to change their perceptions of those …

Disempowered And Disappointed Locals: The Impact Of Negative Hybrid Peacebuilding On Sociocultural Transformation Of Afghanistan, Seyed Ali Hosseini

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation conceptualizes peacebuilding in Afghanistan (2001-2021) as facilitation of sociocultural transformation of the country towards accepting the international norms important for sustainable peace, such as democracy, human rights, and gender equality. Hence, peacebuilding was highly normative and required enormous changes promoted by key peacebuilding actors to transform Afghan politics, society, and culture from a traditional society marked by fragmentation and radicalization to one that embraced these values.

The dissertation proposes that the peacebuilding effort that took place in post-2001 Afghanistan was hybrid, as the international community pursued the goals of building a state committed to these liberal principles, as …

Troglodyke's Delight: A Deep Listening Of Pauline Olivero's Troglodyte's Delight, Calum Robertson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Pauline Oliveros, renowned lesbian composer, left a legacy of experimental music and groundbreaking ideas about music and sound, both as maker and listener. She is best known for her concept of Deep Listening, the active engagement of listening to sound and being open to all possibilities, being receptive to the resonant currents emanating from the sounds, to go beyond hearing and to listen, to Deeply Listen, to the sounds, to experience fully those sounds. Deep Listening was inspired by an experience Oliveros had in a cistern in 1988, where beneath the earth she truly experienced listening and the sounds present …

Young Adult Stepchildren's Lived Experience Of Blended Family Adjustment During Adolescence: A Retrospective Descriptive Phenomenological Analysis, Azadeh Razbani-Tehrani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Blended family adjustment is a common experience for many children and adolescents, given the commonality of blended families in our current times (Arat & Poortman, 2023; Ganong et al., 2020; George & Fernandez, 2014). The 2021 Canadian Census data showed that there were more than 500,000 blended families in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2022). Stepchildren in blended families, specifically adolescents, are members of the blended family most adversely impacted by blended family formation (Papernow, 2013; 2018). Despite the volume of valuable empirical literature on blended families and stepchildren (Ganong and Coleman, 2017; Hoffmann, 2002, 2006; Jeynes, 2007; Tillman, 2007; van …

Is Trust A Zero-Sum Game? What Happens When Institutional Sources Get It Wrong, Andrew Dawson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, trust in mainstream institutions is on the decline while people are increasingly turning to alternative media and conspiracy theories. Previous research has suggested that these trends may be linked, but the exact nature of the relationship is unclear. In a fractured informational environment, is trust a neutral process, where each source is judged independently, or is it in fact a zero-sum competition, where a loss for one side is a gain for the other? Across three experimental studies (N = 2,951) we examined how people react when a source makes a serious error, …

Elucidating Mechanisms Of Enhanced Dsrna-Nanophytoglycogen Innate Immune Responses In Healthy Human Cells, Nicholas Jadaa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Immunostimulatory nucleic acids, such as long double-stranded RNA (ds)RNA, can stimulate innate immune responses in a non-sequence specific manner. These molecules are recognized by pattern-recognition receptors in the cytoplasm, endosome, and on the cell surface. Activation leads to the production of mediators of innate immune pathways, including type I interferon and proinflammatory cytokines. Although these receptors are present in all cells, their role in non-immune cells is often overlooked due to their lower level of responsiveness. Nanocarriers can enhance these nucleic acid-mediated responses, allowing for exploration of innate immune pathways in non-immune cells. Nanoparticles as carriers of nucleic acids can …

Queer Liberation In Young Adult Fantasy: An Analysis Of Rainbow Islands, Sydney Brouillard-Coyle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was to explore how the theme of queer liberation can be represented in young adult fantasy novels. I conducted an in-depth analysis of the novel Rainbow Islands (Devin Harnois) utilizing the lenses of queer, transgender, intersectional, and narrative theory. In the novel Rainbow Islands, Harnois presents a utopia in which queer people are able to counter their oppressive realities by building systems of community that support one another; yet, the novel ends up replicating systems of oppression. Thus, Rainbow Islands offers a complex opportunity for analysis when considering the theme of queer liberation and how …

Parental Evaluations And Choice Of Math Apps For Their Young Children: Exploring The Impact Of Individual Differences, Nicola Urquhart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Well-designed math apps can have positive effects on young children’s math abilities (Bang et al., 2023; Griffith et al., 2019; Outhwaite et al., 2023), but research indicates that many commercially available math apps are not well designed (Dubé et al., 2019; Meyer et al., 2021). Studies also find that parents struggle to identify relevant features from app store descriptions (Montazami et al., 2022; Pearson et al., 2023). The purpose of the present research was to investigate how parents evaluate the apps themselves, and to test whether individual differences can affect parental app evaluations and decisions. In two parts of Study …

Cyberbullying: Media Construction And Framing Tactics In Pakistan, Asma Jamal

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis critically examines the portrayal of cyberbullying within Pakistan's top three newspapers, focusing on how these media outlets shape public discourse over the past five years. Employing an integrated approach using framing analysis and Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Model, my research deconstructs how these newspapers utilize specific framing strategies to construct a narrative that not only informs but also subtly influences public perception and policy responses. The findings show that while the media highlights the roles of parents, educators, and law enforcement in combating cyberbullying, it also tends to reinforce traditional gender roles and overlook systemic solutions. I argue that the …

Language As Power: How Lgbtqia+ Gen-Z Use Language For Identity And Liberation, Kayci Resende-Abbott

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Generation Z LGBTQIA+ individuals are tasked with challenging and overcoming generations of social and systemic oppression related to their identities. One of the primary methods they use to achieve this is through the language and labels they use in their daily lives. From the inception of new acronyms to new labels and language, this new generation of LGBTQIA+ individuals is looking to break out of the mold that was set for them by past generations. This study aims to investigate how LGBTQIA+ Gen-Z individuals utilize language in their everyday interactions to articulate and affirm their gender and sexuality. Through qualitative …

The Torch: College Of Arts & Sciences Program Newsletter, Spring 2024, College Of Arts & Sciences Honors Program

Torch Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Post-Conviction Disclosure In The Canadian Context, Alexandra Ballantyne, Tamara Levy, K.C.

All Faculty Publications

It is common knowledge that the criminal justice system is fallible and prone to human error. The most egregious of such errors is the conviction of an innocent person. While wrongful convictions have been acknowledged in Canada in the last few decades, they are mostly regarded as rare and extraordinary events.16 In response to this perception, experts have identified the challenge of determining the number of wrongful convictions and their exact causes.17 A 2019 study estimates that at least 85 people have been exonerated in Canada.18 The recent advent of the Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions creates a centralized location …

The Chinese Tax System: Where It Stands And How We Should Study It, Wei Cui

All Faculty Publications

This book chapter offers an overview of where China’s tax system stands, critically assesses recent scholarship on Chinese taxation, and urges researchers to attend more to normative questions of tax design (e.g., economic efficiency and redistribution). After surveying major tax instruments deployed in China today, the chapter reviews recent studies of taxation’s impact on the Chinese economy, arguing that such scholarship often falls short of providing systematic support for policy analyses, and that ignoring normative questions in tax design leads to poor conceptual framing in positive analyses. The chapter then considers some themes at the intersection between Chinese political institutions …

Evaluation Of The Physicochemical Properties And Soil Biogeochemistry Of Fire Residues, Lingqun Zeng

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Wildland fire is a main driving force in the Earth system and affects ecosystem properties and processes across spatio-temporal scales. The burning of biomass and production of solid fire residues (conventionally termed fire ash) that are a mixture of completely and incompletely burned materials (inorganic ash and pyrogenic carbon), represent the direct and prominent changes by fires. Cycling of the fire residues is an integral component of elemental cycles and can mediate other biogeochemical processes.

This dissertation aims to fill important knowledge gaps in understanding the disturbance of wildland fires to biogeochemical processes in soils. First, this work characterized and …

Bias-Aware Gaze Uniformity Assessment In Group Images, Omkar Kulkarni

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Today, more than 5 billion photos are captured every day, with smartphones generating over 94\% of these images. However, despite advancements in technology, achieving aesthetically pleasing group photos remains challenging, especially when it comes to aligning the direction of everyone’s gaze. While current methods focus on facial features, they often fail to ensure consistent gaze direction. The introduction of the iPhone's Live mode, which captures a 1.5-second video snippet along with still images, complicates the selection of the best key photo due to its subjective nature and a lack of publicly available data, especially during the pandemic.

To address these …

The Guild House: A Mixed-Methods Case Study Of Game-Utilizing Information/Learning Design For Autonomy-Supportive Instruction In An Asynchronous Online Course, Sturdy Knight

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Gamification has emerged over the past ~10-12 years as a popular design approach to problems of motivation in online or blended learning, with a particular emphasis on distinguishing between extrinsic motivation driven by points, grades, class rank, etc, vs. intrinsic motivation driven by personal values and interest in the curriculum. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) forms the theoretical basis of much of this literature, yet the mediating constructs of learner self-regulation and autonomous vs. controlled regulatory styles, which describe the processes by which extrinsic motivators like game rewards or curriculum requirements are integrated with intrinsic goals, are under-addressed. This has led to …

Ensemble Storytelling In How To Get Away With Murder, Deidre Pribram

Communications: Faculty Publications

The usually large number of scriptwriters associated with contemporary television’s dramatic serials renders the attribution of primary creative or authorial ownership particularly difficult.  The result has been to ascribe written imprimatur for a series to the head writer/showrunner.  Yet, there are other, conflicting ways to understand authorial influence or control over a TV series, for example, through producing entities.  Thus, How to Get Away with Murder (2014-2020) is a Shondaland production, part of the Shonda Rhimes collection, and readily identifiable as a significant entry in the Rhimes compendium.

Although an executive producer for How to Get Away with Murder, but …

Gender And Nostalgia In Period Drama: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel And Mad Men, Deidre Pribram

Communications: Faculty Publications

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2023) and Mad Men (2007-2015) share a common genre, location, and era.  Both are period dramas, set in New York City, as the waning 1950s transition into the 1960s.  Additionally, both television serials address changing cultural conditions, especially surrounding gender.  Yet, when analyzed through the prism of nostalgia, the two programs deviate in significant ways.  This essay uses Grainge’s (2000) distinction between nostalgia as mood and nostalgia as aesthetic style, applying it to the two television serials.  It also incorporates concepts of nostalgia as critique (Cook, 2005), as well as imagined nostalgia as the longing “for …

Plasmid-Borne Biosynthetic Gene Clusters Within A Permanently Stratified Marine Water Column, Paraskevi Mara, David Geller-Mcgrath, Elizabeth A. Suter, Gordon T. Taylor, Maria G. Pachiadaki, Virginia P. Edgcomb

BCES: Faculty Publications

Plasmids are mobile genetic elements known to carry secondary metabolic genes that affect the fitness and survival of microbes in the environment. Well-studied cases of plasmidencoded secondary metabolic genes in marine habitats include toxin/antitoxin and antibiotic biosynthesis/resistance genes. Here, we examine metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the permanently-stratified water column of the Cariaco Basin for integrated plasmids that encode biosynthetic gene clusters of secondary metabolites (smBGCs). We identify 16 plasmid-borne smBGCs in MAGs associated primarily with Planctomycetota and Pseudomonadota that encode terpenesynthesizing genes, and genes for production of ribosomal and non-ribosomal peptides. These identified genes encode for secondary metabolites that are …

Introduction (To Emotional Expressionism), E. Deidre Pribram Ph.D.

Communications: Faculty Publications

The primary purpose of Emotional Expressionism: Television Serialization, The Melodramatic Mode, and Socioemotionality is to explore the forms, functions, and nuances of emotions in popular, mediated narratives. Clearly, emotions constitute a key means by which audiences experience and make sense of narrative media, in that mediated stories make compelling arguments or take up resonant positions through their emotional methods and meanings. The value of developing an emotional template for screen media lies in generating new analytical and interpretative approaches to narrative aesthetics, especially in terms of their pains and pleasures. As this study seeks to demonstrate, emotional analysis opens up …