Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sapere Aude: Critical Ontology And The Case Of Child Development, James Wong

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This paper argues that Foucault’s proposed positive program of practical critique in his later work, which he calls ‘critical ontology,’ provides a response to his critics. The goal of critical ontology is to “separate out, from the contingency that has made us what we are, the possibility of no longer being, doing or thinking what we are, do, or think.” However, it may be objected that, since Foucault emphasizes going beyond contingencies, it appears that he is guilty of committing a kind of genetic fallacy. I will defend Foucault against such a charge by using concepts and practices in child …

The Importance Of Care Irrespective Of Cure: The Daily Living Realities And The Service Experiences Of Families With Children With Complex Mental Health Problems, Nick Coady

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

This report summarizes the results of in-depth interviews conducted in the Summer of 2001 with parents from 12 families that had children who were or had been involved with an intensive, community-based service for children with complex mental health problems. This study had a dual focus: (a) to learn about the daily living realities of families with children who have complex mental health problems, and (b) to learn about families’ experiences with the mental health service. Qualitative analysis of the interviews yielded themes pertaining to each of these two areas of focus. The themes related to daily living realities paint …

Is Your Child’S Brain Potential Maximized? Mothering In An Age Of New Brain Research, Glenda Wall

Sociology Faculty Publications

Claims about the potential of early education and stimulation to enhance brain capacity have recently gained a prominent place in child rearing advice. This paper places the discourse that surrounds the new imperatives in its historical and sociological contexts and examines its implications for the experience and social expectations of mothers. In this light, the connections to the trend of increasingly child-centred and intensive parenting are explored as is the way in which these current claims fit within a neoliberal rationality where individual self-management, self-enhancement, and personal responsibility are seen as key.

No. 1: Towards The Harmonization Of Immigration And Refugee Law In Sadc, Jonathan Klaaren, Bonaventure Rutinwa

Southern African Migration Programme

The MIDSA project on legal harmonization of immigration and refugee law in the Southern African Development Community had four main objectives: (a) to collect and collate information on national legislation in a single publication as a resource for policy-makers; (b) to identify points of similarity and difference in national immigration law between SADC-member states; (c) to investigate the possibilities for harmonization of national immigration policy and law; and (d) in the interests of good governance and regional cooperation and integration to make specific recommendations for harmonization. A second, parallel, SAMP study is investigating the issue of harmonization of migration data …

No. 12: Nepad, The City And The Migrant: Implications For Urban Governance, Caroline Kihato

Southern African Migration Programme

Migration is a growing phenomenon internationally. Between 1960 and 2000 international migrants in Africa increased from 9 million to 16 million. Although Africa has experienced a drop in the number of international migrants over the last two decades, it has more than double the number of migrants than Latin America and the Caribbean, and between a half and a third of the number in Asia. Flows of people from country to country across the continent are increasingly significant. Migration between cities across the continent is becoming a common phenomenon, as households attempt to secure their livelihoods.

In addition to cross-border …

No. 14: Policing Migration: Immigration Enforcement And Human Rights In South Africa, Jonathan Crush, Vincent Williams

Southern African Migration Programme

This paper examines reported incidents of human rights abuses and violence directed towards foreigners where government employees have been the perpetrators. We discuss both direct human rights abuses and incidents of violence (with examples drawn from policing exercises such as “Operation Crackdown” and from the detention of undocumented migrants) and institutional violence (such as migration policy development and other executive actions promoting or at least failing to prevent victimisation of foreigners). In many of the reported incidents, law enforcement officials have been the direct perpetrators of the human rights violations.

The South African government is legally responsible for ensuring adherence …

No. 13: The Rise Of African Tourism To South Africa, Jonathan Crush, Vincent Williams

Southern African Migration Programme

South Africans display considerable ambiguity if not outright hostility towards Africans from other countries (Crush 2000). The extent of xenophobia was officially recognized in the Immigration Act of 2002 which gives government a statutory obligation to eliminate the phenomenon in its own ranks and amongst the citizenry. Foreign Africans in South Africa are regularly stereotyped as criminals, job-stealers, consumers of scarce public resources and carriers of disease. There is very little recognition of the positive economic benefits of the presence of other Africans in the country.

Africans come to South Africa for a variety of purposes and this needs to …

No. 30: Regionalizing Xenophobia? Citizen Attitudes To Immgration And Refugee Policy In Southern Africa, Jonathan Crush, Wade Pendleton

Southern African Migration Programme

The negative attitudes of South Africans towards non-citizens, migrants and refugees have been documented in several recent studies. Xenophobia has been officially recognized as a major problem by the state and steps have been taken by government and the South African Human Rights Commission to “roll back xenophobia.” Since anti-immigrant intolerance is a global phenomenon, should South Africans be singled out in this regard? This paper seeks to contextualize the South African situation by comparing the attitudes of South Africans with citizens from several other countries in the SADC; namely, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

In practical policy terms, …

When The Advantaged Become Disadvantaged: Men’S And Women’S Actions Against Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Stacey Arnt, Jill Honloka

Psychology Faculty Publications

Intergroup theories suggest that different social identities will either discourage or encourage the taking of action against discrimination (Bartky, 1977; Jost & Banaji, 1994). However, research (e.g., Branscombe, 1998) has shown that discrimination is a less negative experience for men than for women. As such, it is possible that men may take greater action than women, regardless of identity. However, men’s responses to their perceived disadvantage has not yet been tested. Among those induced to ascribe to a gendered stereotype identity, men endorsed more action than women did.Among those induced to ascribe to an identity based on a gendered social …

The Role Of Hardiness In Moderating The Relationship Between Global/Specific Attributions And Actions Against Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Kenneth L. Dion

Psychology Faculty Publications

In this study, we proposed that individual differences in hardiness may moderate the relationship between global attributions and actions against discrimination. Specifically, global attributions were expected to predict decreased endorsement of actions to combat discrimination among low hardy women. In contrast, global attributions were expected to predict increased endorsement of actions among high hardy women. High and low hardy women were exposed to a laboratory situation of discrimination, and their attributions for, and responses to, discrimination were then assessed. Results showed the expected interaction, but in the opposite direction: among low hardy women, global attributions predicted stronger endorsement of action.Among …

Minimizing The Pervasiveness Of Women’S Personal Experiences Of Gender Discrimination, Mindi D. Foster, Lydia C. Jackson, Ryan Hartmann, Shannon Woulfe

Psychology Faculty Publications

Given the Rejection-Identification Model (Branscombe, et al., 1999) which shows that perceiving discrimination to be pervasive is a negative experience, it was suggested that there would be conditions under which women would instead minimize the pervasiveness of discrimination. Study 1 (N = 91) showed that when women envisioned themselves in a situation of academic discrimination, they defined it as pervasive but when they experienced a similar laboratory simulation of academic discrimination, its pervasiveness was minimized. Study 2 (N = 159) showed that women who envisioned themselves experiencing discrimination minimized its pervasiveness more so than women reading about discrimination …

Reparations To Africa And The Group Of Eminent Persons, Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann

Political Science Faculty Publications

In the last ten years, a worldwide movement has emerged for reparations to various previously subordinated groups for past wrongs. This paper discusses the movement for reparations to the continent of Africa. It begins with a discussion of the United Nations-sponsored World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in September 2001. It then traces the discussion of reparations to Africa back to the Group of Eminent Persons (GEP) established in the early 1990s by the Organization of African Unity to pursue reparations for slavery and (perhaps) other wrongs perpetrated on Africa. Only …

Creating An Internal Content Management System, Greg Sennema

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing A Digital Archive With Limited Resources, Greg Sennema

Library Publications

This article describes how a small liberal arts college library created a digital library using existing staff and financial resources. The Hekman Digital Archive (HDA) was created using a digital media archive module of the library’s ILS, and is maintained by one library staff member with the help of numerous student assistants.

Growing Up Overseas: Perceptions Of Second Language Attrition And Retrieval Amongst Expatriate Children In India, Steve Sider

Education Faculty Publications

This study involves expatriate children whose first language (L1) is English and who learned Hindi as their second language (L2) while their parents worked in India. The purpose of the study was to investigate the linguistic experiences of the children after they had left India, particularly experiences with L2 attrition. Through semi-structured interviews, subjects shared their stories of L2 acquisition and attrition. Common experiences which contributed to the attrition of the L2 included periods of non-use of the L2, social responses to the use of the L2, the lack of development of Hindi literacy and subjects’ attitude toward using the …

Safe Sex Practices: Identity Style, Sexual Communication, And Hiv/Aids Knowledge, Kathia Marie Hallal

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The focus of this research was to gain a better understanding of the factors that potentially enhance safe sex practices, given the aggressive spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) namely in the adolescent population. Despite the substantial amount of research that has been done in this area, no findings seem substantive enough in nature to satisfactorily shape effective programs for the prevention of STIs, including HIV/AIDS. Two Ontarian Universities were sampled and a total of 264 students between the ages of 18 and 22 (inclusively) were subsequently included in …

Perception Of Empty And Filled Time Intervals In Pigeons: An Attentional Allocation Explanation Of The Empty Interval Illusion, Stephanie Hornyak

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Studies with humans and non-human animals have established how stimulus properties play an important role in the subjective duration of time. A phenomenon referred to as the Filled Interval Illusion has been found with humans, which demonstrates that filled intervals are perceived to be longer than empty intervals of equivalent duration. Recently, it has been demonstrated that pigeons judge empty time intervals bounded by two 500-ms light markers to be longer than an equivalent filled interval of light. Experiment 1 was able to replicate the Empty Interval Illusion with pigeons. Experiment 2 attempted to determine whether the Empty Interval Illusion …

Residents' Attitudes And Perceptions Toward National Parks And Ecotourism Development In Ghana: The Case Of Dome Community In The Digya National Park, Paul Owusu Boi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The mode of park establishment generally conflicts with the use of natural resources as traditionally demanded by resident communities. These conflicts become compounded as a result of the process of land acquisition. Consequently, the process leads to formation of varied attitudes and perceptions that residents have towards national parks. The impacts of this attitude formation spread to any developments in the parks. There are many studies on attitudes of park residents toward tourism development in parks, however, only a few have examined attitudes and perceptions in the pre-development stage of tourism. This research uses a case study approach to examine …

A Media Literacy Intervention: Using Self-Objectification As A Tool For Identifying Changes In Well-Being And Internalization, Becky L. Choma

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

According to objectification theory, females are socialised to internalize a third person perspective of their own physical appearance (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), which in turn serves to decrease well-being (Sands & Wardle, 2003). In our culture, one of the biggest culprits for portraying a negative perspective of women's bodies is media (Thompson & Heinberg, 1999). In an effort to combat the harmful effects of media, researchers have suggested that being able to critically evaluate (i.e., media literacy) such messages may be helpful (Tiggeman, Gardiner, & Slater, 2000). Past research has failed to measure trait self-objectification (TSO: high, low) and its …

Housing The Low-Income Elderly In Geneva. A Case Study (Switzerland), Martine Freedman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In Geneva (Switzerland), some of the elderly live in housing built especially for this category of the population. Most of this housing is located in the city centre, is close to all services, and has good access to public transportation. However, we observe spatial and social segregation between the elderly who live in retirement housing and the population of their neighbourhood. The aims of this research are to examine the barriers and meeting-points between the elderly who live in these apartments and the population of their neighbourhood, to identify the factors that lead these elderly to be segregated, and to …

Using Gis And Spatial Statistics To Explore And Model Demand For Emergency Medical Services In The City Of Sudbury, Ontario, Marc Lefebvre

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this research is to examine the nature of the relationship between EMS ambulance call volume and demographic, socioeconomic and geographic (urban structural) forces in the City of Sudbury, a medium sized city of approximately 100,000 persons in Ontario, Canada. As in past research in the area of EMS demand, linear regression is used to model this relationship. However, unlike previous work, spatial autocorrelation inherent in real world data is addressed to mitigate violation of the assumption of independence required for classic regression. Using a Geographical Information System (ArcView 3.2) EMS data are geolocated onto a spatial framework …

Women's Agency In The Development Of Hybrid Social Spaces: The Trials Of Sarah Ballenden And Maria Thomas In Canada's Red River Colony, 1850 And 1863 (Manitoba), Sharron A. Fitzgerald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In 1850 and 1863, the British Hudson's Bay Company's Red River colony (current day Winnipeg) witnessed two sensationalized lawsuits. These lawsuits focused on two women of mixed First Nations and British extraction, namely Sarah Ballenden and Maria Thomas. Using these legal cases as a backdrop, this study aims to destabilize the notion that British claims to power and authority in the "contact zones" in the Red River colony were "fixed" and that women were the passive victims of history. I argue that British women developed defensive strategies based on their situated knowledges of social and spatial relations in that place. …

Tackling The Issue Of Access: Situating Place Within Immigrant Women's Experiences Of Health And Health Care (Ontario), Jillian C. Paul

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Access to health care services is an essential element to immigrant women receiving the care that they need. However, there are barriers that women face as immigrants in a new community. Language, cultural awareness and household responsibilities are issues that a significant number of immigrant women encounter when accessing health care services. There are significant gaps within geographic literature pertaining specifically to marginalized populations and health care experiences. More recent work is beginning to emerge that examines the social and behavioural aspects of health and health care. This study intends to contribute to this growing body of literature aimed at …

Circulation Mapping Of The North Atlantic Ocean During The 1990'S And From 1974 To 1984 As Determined From The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (Woce) Eulerian Current Meter Moorings, Roger Palmini

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Study of the ocean presents many challenges due to its vast size and the difficulty in representing such a system with the availability of few data measurements. The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) is the largest oceanographic experiment ever conducted. Data collection has been completed and we are now in the analysis, interpretation, modeling and synthesis phases (AIMS). An analysis and interpretation of the North Atlantic Ocean was conducted using a subset of the WOCE data. In the pre-WOCE period between Apr-11-74 and Sep-03-84 a total of 272 records were obtained having a spatial range of 23.2˚- 60.2˚N and …

Social Interaction And Attitudes Towards Computers In Seniors, Melanie Jennifer Webb

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Sixty-eight participants were introduced to computers through 5 workshops. Seniors worked in dyads with either one shared computer or a computer for each participant. Social interactions while working on the computers between partners were examined. In addition, participants completed a total of five surveys across the sessions to determine whether the introduction of the computers had any impact on their attitudes towards computers and technology. Differences were found for the types of social interaction engaged between the one computer and two computer conditions. Specifically, participants in the one computer condition engaged in a significantly greater amount of problem-solving, as well …

Investigating Age Factors In Cross-Language Transfer Of Phonological Processing Across English And Chinese Languages, Yan Gu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current study compared the reading and phonological performance of younger and older Chinese-speaking children who learned to read English as a second language in Canada. Parallel measures of reading, phonological processing, orthographic processing, and oral language proficiency were administered in English and Chinese to 25 younger children (Grades 1 and 2) and 26 older children (Grades 5 and 6). Phonological processing skill in English and Chinese were intercorrelated and correlated with English reading performance in both age groups. For the younger children, English phonological processing skill was a unique predictor of English reading performance. Conversely, for the older children, …

Parents' Perceptions Of Children With Learning Disabilities: Asian Indian And Caucasian Cultural Perspectives, Henareet Singh

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Past literature on parents' identification of children with learning disabilities is very limited. Within the existing literature, the possibility of differences between cultures in parents' perceptions of children with learning disabilities has scarcely been examined. Two cultural groups were examined in the present study: Asian Indian (Sikh, collectivist culture) and Caucasian 1 (individualistic culture). Parents with children without learning disabilities (and some with children with learning disabilities) were examined. Both groups were given a survey to explore how they would identify children with learning disabilities. Population proportions were calculated on how the entire sample (i.e., Caucasian and Asian Indian participants …

Effect Of Ondansetron And Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol On The Establishment Of Lithium-Induced Conditioned Taste Avoidance In The House Musk Shrew (Suncus Murinus), Magdalena Kwiatkowska

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Recent evidence suggests that toxin-induced taste avoidance in the non-emetic rat is not mediated by conditioned sickness. In contrast, it appears that toxin-induced taste avoidance in an emetic species is mediated by conditioned sickness. The present experiments evaluated the potential of the anti-emetic agents, ondansetron [OND; a serotonin receptor (5-HT3) antagonist] and Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC; a cannabinoid (CB 1) agonist] to interfere with lithium chloride (LiCl)-induced taste avoidance in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus). In Experiment 1, shrews were pretreated with OND (1.5 mg/kg) or saline 30 min prior to drinking 0.1% saccharin solution then they were injected with LiCl …

Improving Preschoolers' Memories For The Sources Of Events: A Comparison Of Two Source-Monitoring Training Techniques, Francine M. Pilon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Preschoolers have a tendency to confuse the sources of events when recalling information. Two source-monitoring training (SMT) techniques were compared to see whether source confusions can be reduced in 3- to 4-year-old children (N = 37). After watching a puppet-show and story, children were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: two SMT conditions (explicit and implicit) and one control condition (memory training) where they were trained on non-target puppet-show and story events. The explicit method consisted of a clear mention of both sources (story, puppet show) and their modality (hearing and seeing, respectively) during training, specific instruction to utilize …

Story Telling: A Narrative Based Evaluation Of Supported Housing For Consumers At Waterloo Regional Homes For Mental Health, Inc., Sarah L. Peddle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A qualitative, narrative approach was used to evaluate a supported housing program for formerly homeless people with serious mental health problems. The housing organization hosting the research is currently providing supported-living, single-occupancy apartments funded under the Phase II Mental Health Homelessness Initiative by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The study was designed to gather the stories of those who have been recently homeless or at risk for homelessness, have a serious mental illness, and have been housed within the past year in this housing, as well as to provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of supported housing …