Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Teachers’ Work: Communicating On Difficult Knowledge In Ontario Schools, Zsofia Agoston Villalba

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines how K-12 teachers in Ontario navigate the complexities of teaching "difficult knowledge"—topics such as racial and ethnic injustices, Indigenous perspectives, immigration experiences, and gender issues—within the parameters of the school and the curriculum. Utilizing an institutional ethnography approach, the study examines the curriculum as an institutional text that coordinates and shapes teachers’ practices. Working with and against the curriculum, teachers find innovative ways to engage their students on difficult knowledge topics. Based on interviews with 12 K-12 teachers, this research explores teachers’ work and pedagogical approaches. They employ diverse teaching methods like storytelling, open dialogues, and collaborative …

Young Arabs In Canada: Ethnic Identity And Intersectionality, Rama Eloulabi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Arabs make up almost 2% of the population in Canada, and their numbers are growing rapidly. Yet, literature on Arabs in Canada is sparse, both from academic and governmental sources. Using ethnic identity and intersectionality frameworks, this study explores the meanings of Arab identity for youth in Ontario, Canada, and the interactions between their Arab identity and their other identities. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in Arabic and English with 30 participants (ages 18-30) who are from, or whose background is from, the Arab world. Findings highlighted the diversity of the population, and the themes that emerged regarding self-identification with …

“Return To Play”: The Impact Of, And Changes To, Ontario Children’S Physical Activity During Covid-19, Monika B. Szpunar Ms.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation explored parents’ and their children’s perspectives of returning to play/sport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, and assessed how children’s physical activity levels changed during COVID-19. To understand the initial impact of the pandemic, Study 1 (August 2020) explored the influence of family sociodemographic factors (e.g., housing type) and risk tolerance (using the validated Tolerance of Risk in Play Scale) on parents’ return to play/sport attitudes. Via interviews with parents (n = 9) and children (n = 12), Study 2 (December 2020 – January 2021) gathered participants’ experiences of getting active …

Partners In Education: Leveraging School Social Workers To Support Transformative Equity And Well-Being Work In An Ontario K-12 Public School Board, Stefani F. Burosch

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

School social workers (SSWs) have been an integral part of Ontario’s K-12 public education system for over one hundred years. Their unique training, skill set, and practice perspectives enables provision of comprehensive services benefitting the whole school community. The social work profession is grounded in a code of ethics committed to the advancement of social justice for all and draws from a rich history of critical theorizing and evidence-based practice to further this goal. These features of the profession ideally position SSWs to serve as leaders and partners in the school mission, particularly at a time when the need for …

Parents’ Attitudes Regarding Their Children’S Play And Sport During Covid-19, Monika B. Szpunar, Leigh M. Vanderloo, Brianne A. Bruijns, Stephanie Truelove, Shauna M. Burke, Jason Gilliland, Jennifer D. Irwin, Patricia Tucker

Geography & Environment Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have interrupted the daily routines of parents and children. The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ attitudes regarding their children’s play/sport during COVID-19. A secondary objective was to explore the influence of parent demographics and parent-reported physical activity levels and risk tolerance on these attitudes. Ontario parents of children aged 12 and younger completed an online survey (August—December 2020) that assessed their attitudes (grouped by support, safety and socialization-related attitudes; n = 14 items) regarding their child(ren)’s play/sport, their physical activity levels (n = 2 items), and demographic details …

Community Attitudes And Wind Energy Development Types: A Comparative Study In Ontario And Nova Scotia, Sara M. Wilson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Wind turbines will continue to be an important part of the green energy transition in Canada. However, opposition to onshore wind projects from potential host communities has increased over time, and install rates are flattening. Dimensions such as NIMBYism, place, distance from turbines and connections to landscapes have proved relatively inadequate for explaining community attitudes. The value of community-based development models over developer-led models has had recent traction, however limited empirical investigation has been done. I used a mail-out mail-back survey in Ontario (n=192) and Nova Scotia (n=170), to communities with (n=172) and without (n=190) a community-based development model. Using …

Energy Access And Extreme Heat Events: A Case Study Of Seniors In Ottawa, Ontario, Samantha N. Doris

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Energy poverty, or not having access to sufficient energy to meet one’s needs, is a serious problem in Canada and around the world. While the current literature on energy poverty largely focuses on the experiences of people utilizing energy services to stay warm during cold winter temperatures, little is known about experiences of energy poverty during summertime heat. This gap is especially urgent since current climate models suggest that cities are likely to experience extreme heat conditions more frequently in the future. This research investigates how people use energy services, such as air conditioning and fans, among other strategies to …

Treasure Amongst The Ruins: The Policy And Practices Of Adaptive Reuse Of Urban Industrial Buildings In Ontario, Marcello Vecchio

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The practice of adaptive reuse is a unique concept of city building, where demolition and traditional brownfield redevelopment have been common practice. Though an already established method, adaptive reuse is becoming increasingly popular due to a greater intensity to protect heritage, reuse materials and structures, and offer unique architectural spaces. To achieve this, there must be sufficient policy in place to incentivize and mitigate the increase cost and risk which are usually associated with this type of development. This thesis combines a province-wide content analysis of Official Plans in Ontario’s 51 cities, with a more in-depth case study investigation on …

The Effects Of Race And Gender On Income And Workplace Position Of Professional Engineers In Ontario: Can Homophily Preferences Help Explain Barriers?, Jayzer E. Flores

MA Research Paper

Canada has an extensive history of anti-discrimination legislation to reduce inequality for minority groups, yet, they continue to experience disadvantage. Recent literature has suggested that barriers for minority groups into and within work persists in part because of subtle processes like homophily as individuals develop a preference for similar others. Studies of professions are important because previous studies suggest homophily preferences along dimensions of race and gender are high within professions, contributing to widening inequalities. Engineering provides an excellent case for analysis of homophily within professions, since Statistics Canada data suggests that engineering is among the most common professions for …

Gender And Sexuality-Based Bullying: Student Experiences And Educator Responses, Elizabeth Torrens

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Drawing on qualitative interview data, this dissertation critically examines the issue of gender and sexuality-based bullying (GSB) in the context of Ontario schools. GSB is explained through a theoretical perspective that situates bullying as a mechanism employed by students as they navigate gendered and heteronormative school status structures. Because the status-based structures are so entrenched in educational contexts, a resilience perspective is also adopted to determine best next-steps for mitigating the negative effects of GSB. Further, resilience in this case is viewed through a critical sociological lens that requires the consideration of broader social forces, rather than reducing resilience to …

International Students’ Earnings In London, Ontario, Amna Wasty

MA Research Paper

While there is an abundance of literature on the labour outcomes of immigrants, there is limited research on the earnings of former international students. This study uses the 2016 census to compare the earnings of new labour market entrants who were international students, and are now permanent residents, to those of domestic students and foreign-educated immigrants in London, Ontario. The results found that former international students had slightly lower earnings than domestic students, despite being more likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree, have studied a STEM field, and be working in a NOC skill level A occupation. Former international …

Assessing The Importance Of Cve Strategies In Ontario, Matthew Murray

MA Research Paper

For several years now, countering violent extremism (CVE) strategies have existed as a core component of police agency mandates and governmental policy directed toward reducing radicalism. However, little is known about what specific skills and attributes are necessary for police officers to successfully perform these duties. In this paper, we draw upon in-depth interviews with 6 individuals that have performed CVE-related duties within Ontario to discover which core competencies they perceive to be crucial to effectively work in such an environment. Additionally, an environmental scan is utilized to survey the contemporary CVE landscape in Ontario. The respondents described how CVE …

School Shouldn’T End When The Bell Rings: An Exploratory Homeschooling Study, Mackenzie Dukelow

MA Research Paper

Homeschooling has experienced significant growth over the last several decades, yet little to no research has explored the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system. Being the first to explore this relationship, the current study collected and examined data from 3 semi-structured interviews and 15 online homeschooling blogs in order to understand the growth of homeschooling in Ontario and the relationship between homeschooling and the public education system. The results of this study reveal the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system varies significantly over time and locale, the challenges within each system and the difficulty of transitioning …

Higher And Lower Order Factor Analyses Of The Temperament In Middle Childhood Questionnaire., Yuliya Kotelnikova, Thomas M Olino, Daniel N Klein, Sarah V M Mackrell, Elizabeth P Hayden

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire (TMCQ) is a widely used parent-report measure of temperament. However, neither its lower nor higher order structures has been tested via a bottom-up, empirically based approach. We conducted higher and lower order exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) of the TMCQ in a large ( N = 654) sample of 9-year-olds. Item-level EFAs identified 92 items as suitable (i.e., with loadings ≥.40) for constructing lower order factors, only half of which resembled a TMCQ scale posited by the measure's authors. Higher order EFAs of the lower order factors showed that a three-factor structure (Impulsivity/Negative Affectivity, Negative …

Predictors Of Re-Accessing Mental Health Services For Children And Adolescents, Catalina Sarmiento

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The natural history of mental health disorders suggests that a substantial number of children experience persistent or recurrent problems and may need more than 1 episode of care. However, there is a paucity of research on recurrent service use. The present study examined the rates and predictors of re-accessing community-based care. Secondary data analyses were conducted on administrative and chart review data from 5 mental health agencies in southwest, eastern, and central Ontario. Approximately a third (30%) of children who had an episode of care re-accessed services again within 4 years; the median time to re-access was 13 months. Social …

Transitioning From Children's Mental Health To Adult Care: Stakeholder Perspectives And Tracking Service Use Into Adulthood, Kyleigh E. Schraeder

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Transitioning youth from Children’s Mental Health (CMH) services to adult care poses a major challenge for our mental health and health care systems. This dissertation used a mixed-methods approach to explore the challenges of caring for youth with ongoing mental health problems into young adulthood. A Grounded Theory qualitative study consisted of interviews with youth (i.e., ages 12 to 15) treated in CMH, their parents, CMH providers, and family physicians. Using administrative health record and CMH data in the province of Ontario, a complementary quantitative study examined the likelihood of receiving mental health services within the medical sector after the …

Municipal Resource Guide To Leading Practices In Cost Savings, Martin Horak, Andrew Sancton, Rachna Goswami, Umera Ali

Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance – Publications

Ontario municipalities of all sizes face pressure to “do more with less.” Commissioned by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs, this Resource Guide provides municipal officials with single-source information about a range of current leading practices in cost savings in small and mid-sized Ontario municipalities. Municipalities across the province are continually developing innovative practices that save costs without incurring service level reductions. Most of these practices involve small-scale initiatives that result in modest savings. Yet even modest savings add up over time, and multiple small initiatives in a single municipality can make a big difference. In addition, by providing an …

Creating And Sustaining Community: An Analysis Of Lgbtq Community In London, Ontario, Geoff S. Bardwell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There has been an increase in literature over the last decade on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer (LGBTQ) communities. However, aside from health-related studies, little has been published pertaining to LGBTQ communities in London, Ontario. This dissertation seeks to answer the following research questions: what are the constitutive elements that make up London’s LGBTQ communities? What forms of community-making prove to be viable and effective in a smaller urban setting? Does the practice of aesthetics/artistic performance lead to socio-political change among members of London’s LGBTQ communities? This is a multidisciplinary research project that utilizes archival, theoretical, and ethnographic-informed qualitative research …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Bevacizumab Concomitant With The Standard Of Therapy For Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma, Aren Fischer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), a glioma – cancer of the brain’s glial cells – is the most common and deadly malignant primary central nervous system tumor in developed countries. Two recently completed clinical trials investigating the use of bevacizumab (BEV), a monoclonal antibody, to treat newly diagnosed GBM concomitant with the standard-of-care (SOC) showed mixed survival and quality of life outcomes. In this study, a cost utility study was conducted to investigate if BEV should be used to treat newly diagnosed GBM. A three stage time-dependent Markov model was built using survival estimates from the two clinical trials, costs from Ontario …

Maize Provisioning Of Ontario Late Woodland Turkeys: Isotopic Evidence Of Seasonal, Cultural, Spatial And Temporal Variation, Zoe Morris, Christine D. White, Lisa Hodgetts, Fred J. Longstaffe

Earth Sciences Publications

The isotopic composition (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) of bone collagen from Ontario Late Woodland archaeological turkeys was compared with that of modern Ontario wild turkeys, and archaeological turkeys from American Southwestern, Mexican and other Woodland sites to determine whether Late Woodland Ontario peoples managed wild turkeys by provisioning them with maize, the only isotopically distinct horticultural plant at that time. Despite the fact that humans from Late Woodland Western Basin and Iroquoian traditions consumed equal amounts of maize, wild turkeys utilized by the two groups exhibit different diets. Western Basin turkeys reflect a C₃-only diet, …

Wind Energy Development In Ontario: Factors Influencing Deployment And Policy Outcomes, Emmanuel T. Songsore

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The goal of this thesis is to gain an understanding of the factors promoting and hindering wind energy development (henceforth WED) from the perspective of communities and developers in Ontario. Ontario arguably has one of the most ambitious policies for WED in the world, centered on the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009 (henceforth GEA). Despite progressing to become Canada’s leading province in installed wind energy capacity, various conflicts and roadblocks to deployment remain evident.

In response to gaps identified in literature seeking to understand the factors that impact the (un)successful deployment of wind power, the current thesis provides …

Neighbourhood Context And Youth Mental Health: The Role Of Local Community Programming In A Mid-Sized Ontario Urban Centre, Monica Christine Bochus

MA Research Paper

Existing research indicates that neighbourhood disadvantage takes a cumulative toll on mental health across the life course beginning in childhood. This study used a qualitative approach to explore the role of local community resources on buffering the harmful effects of adversity for youth in a mid-sized Ontario urban centre. The following questions were addressed: 1) What role do youth-centered community resources play in child and adolescent mental health promotion and awareness, particularly for at-risk children? 2) How can they serve to improve child and adolescent well-being? By interviewing key informants, the study found that affordable youth-centred programming has the potential …

What Comes From The Crypt, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

What Is A Meeting? Municipal Councils And The Ontario Ombudsman : Draft, Andrew Sancton

Political Science Publications

Recent decisions by the Ontario ombudsman suggest that informal meetings of small groups of municipal councillors in which municipal business is discussed are in violation of Ontario’s Municipal Act. In this province the Municipal Act provides that, except in certain specified circumstances, municipal council and committee meetings must be open to the public. If a municipality has not appointed its own “closed meeting investigator,” the provincial ombudsman is charged with investigating complaints from the public about municipal meetings that have allegedly been improperly closed. Much hinges on the definition of a meeting. If “meeting” is defined too formally, then a …

Sacred Heart: A Stable Isotope Analysis Of Childhood, Diet, And Mobility At A Nineteenth Century Ontario Cemetery, Emily Wells

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis uses stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen derived from bone collagen and tooth dentin to study infant feeding behaviour, diet, and mobility at the 19^th century Sacred Heart Cemetery in Ingersoll, Ontario, in use from 1848 to 1880. d¹⁵N and d¹³C bone values indicate a diet high in protein with a mix of C₃ and C₄ plants. The most significant source of dietary C₄ plants is through secondary consumption, via livestock raised on maize fodder. The dietary profile of the Sacred Heart population is similar to two contemporary Ontario populations. …

Multi-Sector Service Use By Children In Contact With Ontario Mental Health Agencies, Christian M. Hahn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Children and youth frequently receive services for mental health issues from multiple service sectors but little is known about the rates of multi-sector involvement over time. Thus, the prevalence of multi-sector service use for children in contact with Ontario mental health agencies, and the influence of demographic, familial, and need variables on child multi-sector involvement, were examined. Secondary data analyses were performed on chart reviews of clients (N=355; 67% boys; ages 4 to 13) from six mental health agencies. Approximately two-thirds of clients had multi-sector involvement. In cross-sectional analyses, risk factors predicted increased likelihood of multi-sector involvement, whereas protective factors …

The Reciprocal Influences Of The Old Order Mennonite Community And Tourism In St. Jacobs, Ontario, Mingyuan Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research examines the reciprocal influences of the Old Order Mennonite community and tourism in St. Jacobs, Ontario. It is an ethnographic account of encounters between tourists and the Old Order Mennonite community who have both benefited from and been challenged by tourism development for four decades in the area of St. Jacobs. Cultural generalization and different ways of over-representing and misrepresenting the Old Order Mennonite identity has triggered tourists’ curiosity to seek the nostalgic past and social interactions with the Old Order Mennonite community. Even though tourism in St. Jacobs has been initiated and managed with the purpose of …

Economic Development In The Contemporary Global Environment: The Role Of Place Branding As A Tool Of Local Economic Development In Ontario, Canada, Evan P. Cleave

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Over the past three decades, place branding has emerged as a strategy for local economic development for municipalities in Canada and globally, as communities seek to (re)assert themselves in a dynamic global economic market. Due to the infancy of the research domain – as it has only been in the last 15 years that place branding has received critical academic attention – there are several major lacunae within the existing scholarship: (i) current research is primarily focused on Europe; (ii) research has mainly focused on nation branding and the largest urban centres, so place branding within ‘typical’ municipalities is not …

Structural Variation And Local Service Delivery: Comparing Municipal Governments And Special Purpose Bodies, Joseph R. Lyons

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the debate over the governance of metropolitan areas, consolidationists favour single, area-wide, general purpose jurisdictions, while polycentrists make arguments in support of multiple, scale-specific, specialized jurisdictions. This dissertation contributes to this debate through comparisons of municipal and specialized service delivery in two Ontario cities. The cities of London and Hamilton represent positions along a continuum of fragmentation and consolidation, with London being more fragmented and Hamilton more consolidated. Comparisons are undertaken for three local government services: public health, economic development, and watershed management. In London, independent special purpose bodies deliver all three of these services, while in Hamilton the …

Cultivating Change: Aspirations, Realities And Limits Of Community Gardens In Windsor, Ontario, Brian Edward Venne

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis, based on ethnographic research carried out in the summer and fall of 2012, focuses on three community gardens created post-2009 in the city of Windsor, Ontario, a time when the city faced serious economic and food security challenges. Specifically, this thesis investigates how the goals of community building, knowledge transmission, and food security are variously enacted at Windsor community gardens. Beyond illustrating the varied nature of community garden projects, the analysis presented draws attention to some of the factors that influence the success of individual gardens. The neoliberal context may frame garden projects but it does not fully …