Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring The Relationship Between Group Cohesion And Compassion In Varsity Athletes, Theo Chu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Compassion is a prosocial behaviour characterized by kindness and a non-judgmental attitude to reduce one’s suffering. Typically, it is thought of as a behaviour we express outwardly to others, but compassion can also be directed internally toward ourselves. This is known as self-compassion. The benefits of having compassion for other people have been largely studied in employment settings and everyday life behaviours. Moreover, research has shown self-compassion is also related to many positive outcomes. Compared to compassion for others, self-compassion has been studied in sport, however it is still in its infancy. Although research has demonstrated the importance of both …

Boundaries Of Fostering Happiness: Implicit Theories Of Happiness Predict Reactions To Positive Psychological Interventions, Esther Abel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) are activities designed to facilitate greater psychological well-being through building cognitive and behavioural habits and skills (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). However, there may be individual differences that play a role in the effect PPIs have. The present research evaluated how individuals’ implicit theories regarding happiness as being controllable or not controllable (Howell, Passmore, & Holder, 2016) may predict their responses to and participation in PPIs, and in turn if those beliefs may be linked to the positive outcomes of the activities. In four online studies, the relationship between implicit theories of happiness and PPIs …

The Role Of Indicators In Promoting Gender Equality Through The Millennium And Sustainable Development Goals, Sara Rose Taylor

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

With the global rise of evidence-based policy, indicators have become an increasingly important part of governance. Indicators are statistics that represent social experiences, turning complex norms into simplified representations. Although seemingly objective, indicators reflect the values and beliefs of the actors who create them. An indicator’s normative underpinnings have significant consequences for social governance and policy because of an indicator’s power to shape understanding. This multi-manuscript dissertation analyzes the impact of governance by indicators as seen in the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs and SDGs), two major United Nations initiatives in the field of global social governance. The focus …

The Hold Me Tight Program For Couples Becoming Parents: A Mixed Methods Study, Debbie Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory has made substantial contributions to the understanding of close relationships. The purpose of this study was to inquire whether an attachment-informed psychoeducational program is a feasible and effective intervention for couples expecting their first child. The overarching question was: Is an attachment-informed relationship enhancement program, such as Hold Me Tight^® (HMT), helpful to couples in strengthening their relationship and increasing their confidence in becoming first-time parents? The research question was addressed using a mixed-methods approach.

In the first phase, the Hold Me Tight^® program developed by Dr. Sue Johnson was modified for use with couples …

Moving Forward With Self-Compassion: An Examination Of Self-Compassion, Social Anxiety, And Post-Event Processing, Rebecca A. Blackie

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Post-event processing (PEP) refers to a negative and prolonged rumination following anxiety-inducing social situations and is posited to maintain social anxiety. Because PEP is characterized by thoughts that are judgmental, recurring, and preoccupying, those who engage in PEP appear to lack self-compassion. Self-compassion can be conceptualized as a supportive and open attitude toward negative experiences, with the recognition that these experiences are universal. The purpose of the present research was to examine self-compassion in the context of PEP. In the first manuscript, we found support across two, separate samples (N = 156 undergraduates; N = 150 individuals from the …

Criminal Heroes In Television: Exploring Moral Ambiguity In Law And Justice, Amy Henry

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Criminal justice is a popular theme in both news and entertainment media. How crime and justice issues are framed can actually legitimize corruption in a society. As research reveals the public’s dissatisfaction with the current failing retributive justice system, popular television series’ are confronting its flaws (Jerre, 2013). Utilizing a cultural criminological and social constructionist orientation, the following research examines anti-hero narratives in two highly rated crime-drama series, Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy. The main research questions examine: How the criminal protagonist or anti-hero is constructed in television crime procedurals? What claims about crime, criminality, law and justice …

Recovering From Workplace Offenses: Understanding The Roles Of Resilience And Forgiveness, Francisca Saldanha

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Workplace transgressions have been shown to have pervasive and detrimental consequences for employees and organizations. Given these negative consequences, past research has examined how managers and organizations can prevent transgressions from occurring in the first place (i.e., preventive approaches) and how transgressions can be fixed when they do eventually occur (i.e., remedial approaches). However, it is unlikely that transgressions can ever be fully eradicated from organizations and it is doubtful that providing remedies can fully redress the harm that was caused. Accordingly, it is important to complement the preventive and remedial approaches with a deeper understanding of how employees can …

Learning To Read In English: Vocabulary Knowledge, Phonological Awareness In Relation To Oral Reading Fluency In Chinese-English Bilinguals, Michelle (Ruyun) Huo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Second language (L2) acquisition has received increasing interest due to the large number of people immigrating or learning an L2 (e.g., Statistics Canada, 2016). Word reading fluency has been found to be a strong predictor of text reading fluency and comprehension (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp & Jenkins, 2001). For people learning to read in L2, skills such as oral reading fluency serve as an indicator of overall reading competence in their L2. The current study examined oral reading fluency in relation to vocabulary knowledge, rapid naming (RAN) and phonological awareness in English and Mandarin in Chinese-English bilinguals. Participants included 40 Chinese-English …

Understanding Emotions In The Workplace: A Critical Examination Of The Role Of Emotions In Justice And Negotiation, Annika Hillebrandt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The central role of emotions in organizations, once underrecognized and underappreciated by organizational scholars, has attracted a great amount of research interest in recent years. Despite this important development, I argue that a number of critical questions have remained unaddressed, which limits our ability to predict the outcomes of emotions for individuals and organizations as well as describe employees’ subjective experiences at work. In this dissertation, I contribute to the understanding of the role of emotions in the workplace by identifying critical gaps in the emotions literature, integrating theories from different literatures to address these gaps, empirically comparing the interpersonal …

Do Socially Anxious Individuals Lack Behavioural Mimicry? Examining The Relationships Among Social Anxiety, Self-Focused Attention And Mimicry, Kayleigh Abbott

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines behavioural mimicry – defined as the unintentional alteration of one’s behaviour to match that of an interaction partner – within individuals with high social anxiety. Reduced mimicry behaviour among individuals with high social anxiety has been demonstrated in past research using a virtual environment and interaction partner (Vrijsen, Lange, Becker, & Rinck, 2010; Vrijsen, Lange, Dotsch, Wigboldus, & Rinck, 2010). The following studies further examined the relationship between high social anxiety and mimicry behaviour in several contexts. In Study 1 (N = 81), the Automatic Imitation Task (AIT) was used to examine motor resonance, the tendency …

Professional Relationships: Bifurcations, Threshold Concepts, And Msw Student Voices., Todd Adamowich

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative study explored MSW student perceptions of the concept of professional relationships. The research question was: “What does the concept of professional relationships mean to MSW students?” The study was epistemologically rooted in social constructionism and Foucauldian theories, which inform how meaning is created and the notion of “professionalism” is deconstructed, while two-person psychologies were utilized to conceptualize the worker/client relationship to which I refer. Utilizing a constructivist grounded theory modality, 15 participants were recruited from the student body at Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener, ON. Through the analysis of individual interview data, two overarching categories emerged: (a) the …

A Grateful Mind: The Impact Of Felt Fluency On Subjective Well-Being, Renee Hunt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The practice of gratitude has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture as a self-help intervention aimed at improving individuals’ happiness and overall well-being. Although a great deal of empirical work has promoted the benefits of practicing gratitude (see Davis et al., 2016 for a review), less work has been conducted examining the conditions under which the traditional gratitude interventions are less effective, or even entirely ineffective. One potential boundary condition that may be associated with the benefit individuals report after engaging in the practice of gratitude is fluency – an individual’s subjective experience of ease or difficulty. When tasks are …

Hepatitis C Testing And Treatment Access Among People Who Inject Drugs, Monika Roerig

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Hepatitis C (HCV) remains a global issue as it affects 2-3% of the world’s population. Despite Canada’s universal access to healthcare, barriers to accessing testing and treatment for HCV has contributed to approximately 250,000 Canadians living with chronic HCV. People who inject drugs (PWID) account for about 60% of all HCV cases in Canada, making them the primary target for public health interventions, namely prevention and harm reduction. Harm reduction efforts have proven effective to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases and to prevent overdoses, but there remains a large proportion of individuals living with the virus who are unaware …

Social Positioning In Social Work Practice: Stories Of Hopes And Struggles Among Racialized Minority Workers, Utamika Cummings

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The primary purpose of this qualitative research is to understand the experiences of racialized social workers and social services workers and how social positioning plays out in their practice. What are the experiences of racialized workers in their work places? How do they position themselves in terms of their age, gender, race and professional identity in the various contexts of their practice? Do they experience self-doubt? How are they recognized or misrecognized for how they position themselves? How do they deal with these experiences? What are their stories? These were the main questions that this narrative research sought to capture …

Forensic Markers Of Lampricide Toxicity In Oncorhynchsus Mykiss, Chris White

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) has been used for decades to control invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) populations in the Great Lakes, normally with little harm to other fish populations. However, due to the nature of lampricide treatments and the chemical properties of TFM, adverse effects to non-target fishes and non-target mortality occasionally occur. However, investigations of non-target mortality can be complex, particularly if fish deaths are not noticed immediately, due to decomposition of the carcasses. The objectives of this thesis were to expose rainbow trout (Oncorhynchsus mykiss) to TFM in order to: (i) identify forensic markers …

Narratives Of Baby Boomers: Envisioning Late Life Spiritual Resources, Jane A. Kuepfer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT:

In this narrative inquiry, first-wave baby boomers (six males and six females born between 1946 and 1955) reflected on their lives and envisioned living into old age. While literature has focused on trends in baby boomer spirituality, issues of aging, and spiritual needs and tasks among elders, this study listened for “spiritual resources.” Initially defined broadly as that which has sustained a person throughout their life and will sustain them in the future, spiritual resources came to be understood as those things, both internal and external, that address deep human need for such spiritual values as love, hope, peace, …

Gasping For Breath: Women’S Concerns And The Politics Of Community Development In Rural Ghana, Charles Gyan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This transnational feminist study described and interpreted the experiences of women within the context of community development in rural Ghana. The purpose of this study was to empirically ascertain the barriers faced by women within the community development processes in rural Ghana. With this goal, women from three randomly selected rural communities in Ghana were sampled and interviewed. A concurrent triangulation mixed method research design was adopted. The main instruments used were a questionnaire and an in-depth interview for the collection of the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. A total of two hundred women participated in the study.

The findings …

Investigating The Roles Of Mechanoreceptive Channels In Tactile Apparent Motion Perception: A Vibrotactile Study, Phill Kim, Philip Servos Dr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Tactile apparent motion (TAM) is a perceptual phenomenon in which consecutive presentation of multiple tactile stimuli creates an illusion of motion. Employing a novel tactile display device, the Latero, allowed us to investigate this. The current study focused on the Rapidly Adapting (RA) channel and Slowly Adapting I (SAI) channel on the index finger. The experiment implemented vibrotactile masking stimuli to target the mechanoreceptive channels with the goal of gaining better insight into the involvement of mechanoreceptive channels in the perception of TAM. Masking stimuli were used because previous studies have used them to differentiate between different channels; a …

A Qualitative Study Of Families’ Experiences With Food Insecurity In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Elias Omer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Ethiopia has shown considerable progress in alleviating the decades-long food insecurity problem, but still, in the context of urban areas such as Addis Ababa families continue to struggle to make ends meet. The overall purpose of this research is to explore families’ lived experiences and coping mechanisms with food insecurity. Framed with the narrative-empowerment theoretical framework this ethnographic study outlines the findings of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion of 35 adults and children and observational notes. Participants were able to tell their perception, causes, and impacts of food insecurity in their families. They outlined the daily strategies they employ …

Arriving Somewhere, Not Here: Exploring And Mapping The Relationship Between Border Enforcement And Migration By Boat In The Central Mediterranean Sea, 2006 To 2015, Kira Williams

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The European Union (EU) implemented a maritime interdiction network using search and rescue which interdicted at least 462,813 “illegal migrants” in the Central Mediterranean Sea between 2006 and 2015. This involved 15 discrete, militarised and semi-secret maritime interdiction operations (MIOs) at a minimum cost of 126.9 million 2014 Euros. In this dissertation, I will explore and map these operations and their geographies between 2006 and 2015.

First, and based on the given existence of the European Patrols Network, I examine how this network came into being in the first place. This serves to show that the EU purposely created regular …

Stories As Sites Of Resistance: Reclaiming Men’S Narratives Of Concurrent Substance Use And Intimate Partner Violence, Stephanie Baker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines men’s experiences and perceptions of concurrent substance use and intimate partner violence using qualitative methodology. Previous research on the relationship between these concerns has been primarily quantitative in nature and situated within two dominant perspectives (the medical model and feminism). The aim of this study was to explore men’s stories within social constructionist and postmodern frameworks to develop a more comprehensive understanding of their lived experiences with concurrent substance use and intimate partner violence.

Narrative methods were employed to collect and analyze the data. Purposive sampling located twelve men living in the Niagara Region, St. Mary’s, and …

Narcissistic Intolerance: Verbal Hostility And Dismissiveness In Response To Subjective Disagreement, Wan Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

We examine the novel proposition that disagreement on matters of opinion may threaten narcissists’ self-esteem and cause them to express dismissiveness of differing opinions and hostility toward the dissenter, a phenomenon we refer to as narcissistic intolerance. In three studies, participants ostensibly read about an earlier participant’s opinion on a painting (Studies 1 & 2, MTurk samples) or TV show (Study 3, undergraduate sample) that agreed or disagreed with the participant’s own opinion. Participants then wrote a response to the opinion, as though they were responding on an anonymous Internet message board. We coded participants’ responses, finding that participants higher …

Social Anxiety And Interpersonal Interactions: Investigating The Impact Of Anxiety On Interpersonal Behaviours, Perceptions, And Processes, Kelly Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Interpersonal theory suggests that the most important variations in people’s interpersonal behaviours can be captured by just two major constructs, dominance and affiliation. Despite the admirable parsimony of interpersonal theory, in the current thesis, we argue that a key influencing variable has been absent from discussions of interpersonal behaviour and dynamics. People’s levels of social anxiety during interactions has been acknowledged as an influencing factor within the interpersonal space, yet a systematic investigation of its impact on behaviours and interpersonal processes has been sparse. Thus, in the current work we consider the impact of people’s social anxiety levels during an …

It Takes A Village-Schooling Out Of Place: School Experiences Of Black African Youth In Waterloo Region, Olufunke Oba 5726040

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examined experiences of alienation among Black African youth in Waterloo region schools. This study is timely and relevant considering the rapid influx of Black Africans into the region in response to government initiatives to redirect immigrants to smaller communities. The research addressed the dearth of scholarship on experiences of Black Africans outside the major metropolitan areas by employing Afrocentric and critical race theories to explore relationships between race and youth experiences of alienation. The dissertation study utilized elder facilitated youth dialogue forum (adaptation of focus group) and in-depth storytelling (which honours African orality) to access the meanings seventeen …

Shame In The Presence Or Absence Of God In Stephen Ministry, Richard Tamas

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This hermeneutical phenomenological study explores the lived experience of shame in relation to the presence or absence of God in the caregiving process of Stephen Ministry. Stephen Ministers are trained Christian caregivers who walk side-by-side with those who are struggling in a congregation. Stephen Ministers are trained by Stephen Leaders who have completed the Stephen Ministry Leadership training program. A concern for an assurance of quality of care led to the research question: what is the lived experience of unacknowledged or unprocessed shame in the presence or absence of God experienced by Stephen Ministers who offer Christian care? The foundations …

Navigating Risks Across Borders: The Lived Experiences Of Central American Women Migrants, Carla Angulo-Pasel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The journey for ‘unauthorized’ migrant women from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) through Mexico dangerous and violent. In hopes of achieving safe passage to the United States (U.S.), women migrants will have to navigate borders. In this dissertation, I use the concept of borders to reveal the gendered experiences of (im)mobility. I argue that navigating borders throughout the migratory journey is not simply about experiencing the risks and vulnerabilities associated with restrictive border enforcement policies and practices implemented by the nation-state. (Im)mobility for women migrants is equally about the boundaries and/or barriers that are created by oppressive systems …

A Phenomenological, Arts-Based Study Of Art Therapists’ Self-Reflective Practice, Laurie Ponsford-Hill

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This phenomenological, arts-based study examined the experiences of 15 art therapists using five-minute, full-bodied self-portraiture with 55 minutes of self-reflective journaling once a week for four weeks at the end of each work week. The therapists determined the location for this practice. Subsequently, the four artworks, as a serial, were explored with each participant in a one-hour telephone or Skype interview to understand their lived experience through art, and its signs, and symbols. This process enabled the therapists to act as witness to their respective self/selves, deepening their insights and connections about self. The transcribed audio-taped interviews were manually coded …

Capitals, Climate Change And Food Security: Building Sustainable Food Systems In Northern Canadian Indigenous Communities, Andrew Spring

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

For many Indigenous communities in Canada’s northern boreal forest, the impacts of climate change are directly affecting their ability to access the land they rely on for traditional foods to support their food systems and livelihoods. However, climate change is merely one stressor for communities that have undergone dramatic social, cultural and political changes during the past decades. This research examines case studies in the communities of Délı̨nę and Kakisa, Northwest Territories (NWT), and identifies community-based solutions to build more sustainable food systems with a focus on food security and climate change. Using participatory action research methods to ensure the …

Examining Parental Scaffolding In Computer Based Contexts As A Function Of Task Difficulty And Mobility Of Computer Device, Domenica De Pasquale

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Technology is part of everyday life for most adults and children. Digital technologies allow children to engage with technology and the digital world earlier in their development than previously experienced (Orlando, 2011; Plowman, Stevenson, Stephen, & McPake, 2012). Two studies were conducted to explore joint media-based interactions of parents and their children. Parental views, age, gender, experience and familiarity with technology were considered in conjunction with parent-child interactions when engaged with stationary and mobile computers and when engaged with easy and difficult to navigate software. Study 1 employed self-report measures consistent with the wider body of literature available regarding early …

For Better Or For Worse? Investigating The Meaning Of Change, Jaslyn English, Anne Wilson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

For most, change makes a regular appearance in everyday life and has the capacity to usher in excitement, growth, and chaos. Due to the variable nature of change, people may hold subjective definitions of what “change” typically means. Across four studies, we examine the possibility that there are meaningful individual differences in the dominant subjective definitions people hold about the nature of change. Study 1 and 2 investigated the spontaneous associations participants make when asked to think about change, and found that holding a positive or negative general view about change (as measured by the Nature of Change scale, developed …