Human Studies / Sciences humaines

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Auditor professional skepticism – a cross-cultural study in the global International Financial Reporting Standards environment: the case of Canada and Brazil
(2020-03-19) McGillis, Sheila
The global financial reporting environment is undergoing significant change, with a global trend toward more countries adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards for public companies. Concerns exist as to potential barriers to harmonization, such as culture; therefore, it is important to draw on institutional mechanisms, such as auditing, to encourage compliance and harmonization. With this, there is a need to better understand the factors affecting the quality of such audits. Auditors’ professional skepticism is a key factor in ensuring audit quality. This exploratory quantitative study explores an area that is not well researched: specifically, the cross-cultural professional skepticism of auditors. Through a correlational design, the study provides insights as to whether auditors from different cultures make different skeptical judgments and decisions. This study also investigates whether prior research linking skeptical traits to increased professional skepticism in auditors is exportable from one culture to another. The major finding of this study is that there is no significant difference in the professionally skeptical judgments and decisions of entry-level auditors from Canada and Brazil. Culture is not associated with the professional skepticism of these auditors. The study also highlights that skepticism, as a trait does not correlate with professional skepticism of auditors across all cultures, specifically in Canada and Brazil. This study fills a major void in the literature concerning the study of cross-cultural professional skepticism and it extends prior research regarding the associations between skepticism as a trait and auditors’ professional skepticism by investigating auditors from two very different cultures. This study provides insights that are relevant to practitioners such as regulators, auditors and auditing firms, as well as academics in auditing, accounting, psychology and cultural studies.
Baking power: French-Canadian and Franco-Ontarian cultural identity as defined by evolving traditional foodways in Astorville, Ontario
(2017-04-10) Weiskopf-Ball, Emily
Questions about cultural identity and allegiance are complicated. What makes a person French, French-Canadian or Franco-Ontarian? What is the difference between these various labels? How do demographics, gender, and age impact the ways in which cultural allegiance is created, maintained, or discarded? What defines a person’s membership in a cultural group? Is it one’s ability to speak the language? To make and/or eat cultural foods? If one of these fails to be present, can the person still be a part of the group? In our multicultural country, and especially in rural communities in Northern Ontario where Francophones find themselves to be part of a minority, such questions do not have simple answers. Studying cultural retention in such communities necessitates paying attention to more than just who is speaking French and/or to who is an activist for French rights. It also requires understanding how individual attitudes and behaviours are like and/or unlike those of others and of the larger group. Foodways are one of the specific cultural practices that can tell us about the group. Indeed, traditional foods have been shown to be very political expressions of personal values and opinions. What power does French-Canadian food have over those who make it? What does it tell us about those who claim allegiance to this cultural group? This interdisciplinary case study of Astorville, Ontario, relates to the fields of food studies, cultural studies, history, gender studies, material culture studies, performance studies, and autoethnography. By studying foodways, which are closely connected to heritage, language, religious practices, and rituals, this project seeks to understand how minority groups resist and/or acquiesce to societal pressures to conform to the culture of the majority. Knowing that modernisation and urbanisation have changed the lifestyle of once agricultural communities, that women now participate in the workforce, and that an individual’s personal history is an important factor in determining how one subscribes to cultural norms, this is an important time to understand the cultural evolution taking place in communities, like Astorville, Ontario, where the French population has gone from a majority to a minority since it was established.
Biometeorology: review and analysis with regard to traumatic brain Injury acquisition in professional football, as well as traditional and digital economic markets
(2019-07-09) Juden-Kelly, Lyndon
This research explores Biometeorology, which is the relationship between the environment and human behavior. Previous research has indicated that meteorological events such as lunar cycles, solar activity, temperature, and humidity have been extensively documented to affect human psychophysiology through systemic variation. The purpose of this document is to explore the effects of environmental factors on typical everyday aggregate behaviors in distinct, unique and separate investigations that relate to participation in sporting events and economic activities in order to determine if these naturally occurring influences are genuine. For example, local weather related and extra-terrestrial phenomena were collected during timestamped Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) acquisition in the National Football league (NFL) for 645 concussed players from 2012-2015. Components of the Earth’s geomagnetic field were also documented in relation to global search tendencies for highly emotional states in addition to stock market indices. Furthermore, solar and lunar cycles were recorded during the monumental rise in the cryptocurrency market in order to identify if these cyclical background patterns systemically altered interest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) or influenced their price index in-and-of-itself. The results indicate that intrinsic capacities of the game of football inherently impacted injury severity and return to play considerations. TBI’s did however, vary as a function of geo-coordination and were most pronounced in the Northwest U.S. Injury severity was also found to be greatest during increased geomagnetic intensities. Lunar contributions also appeared to play a central role in injury acquisition insofar as TBI player height weight and injury severity were predicted by solar and geomagnetic variables of interest during the full moon. Aggregate search behavior on the Internet of Things (IoT) was found to correlate with magnetic variability, geomagnetic intensity as well as Dow Jones price movement and trading volume. Finally, traditional technical analysis indicators closely followed cryptocurrency price. However, Bitcoins Aroon up and down was found to cycle with the Moon, while Ethereum’s Heiken Ashi displayed a relationship with the Sun. Internet interest in Ethereum was found to have significant associations with the Earth’s geomagnetic field, the Sun and the Moon which was enhanced during specific alignments of these heavenly bodies. In summary, seemingly random events and aggregate group behaviors are intimately associated with external interconnected dynamics.
The black sun of boredom: Henri Lefebvre and the critique of everyday life
(Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2013-07-31) Gamsby, Patrick
This dissertation examines how boredom can be understood in the context of Henri Lefebvre’s (1901-1991) critique of everyday life. Through an integration of the boredom literature, both the fully developed studies as well as fragmentary passages, I argue that Lefebvre’s critique of everyday life adds an important dimension to understanding boredom in modernity. One of the leading strands in boredom studies today argues that boredom is an historically specific experience unique to the rhythms of life imparted with the onset of modernity. Viewed in this light, boredom is a relatively recent phenomenon that can be linked to what Lefebvre calls the ‘double process’ of industrialization and urbanization. Although the mass profusion of boredom has left a seemingly indelible mark on society, it has received relatively little attention in both everyday life and academia. First coined in the middle of the 19th century, boredom is a relatively new word for what today is an all too pervasive experience. Writing throughout most of the 20th century, Lefebvre makes numerous references to boredom, yet, despite claiming that a study of boredom would be a significant contribution to his critique of everyday life, he never developed an in-depth and sustained analysis of this experience. Lefebvre did, however, identify an internal dialectic of mass culture as being an integral component for understanding boredom. It is argued that Lefebvre’s theory of a dialectical process inherent to mass culture is a key for understanding boredom as an historically specific phenomenon. In organizing this dissertation, a constellation of themes are presented in order to articulate this dialectic. After exploring boredom’s relationship to modernity, I then discuss what Lefebvre considers as the verso of modernity, everyday life. Following this, I consider the contradictions of space that give rise to boredom in urban centres and suburban peripheries by critically analyzing both the production of those spaces as well as how they are consumed in everyday life. Finally, I consider the escape from boredom offered in select sounds and images of the culture industry and its opposite, the embrace of boredom in certain 20th century avant-garde art movements. Through a reading of Lefebvre’s critique of everyday life and complementary texts, this interdisciplinary dissertation is a contribution to understanding the mass phenomenon of boredom in modernity.
Caractéristiques et logiques des musiques populaires
(Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2013-07-31) Lemieux, Suzanne
L’objet de notre thèse de doctorat concerne les caractéristiques et les logiques des musiques populaires. D’une façon générale, nous nous demandons : quelles sont les logiques qui déterminent le thème de l’oeuvre dans la musique populaire ? Quelles caractéristiques découlent de ces logiques ? Les ouvrages recensés ont été classés dans trois ensembles selon que les musiques populaires sont définies comme standard, comme standard et originales ou comme hétérogènes. La thèse veut vérifier laquelle de ces tendances (standard, standard/originale, hétérogène) explique le mieux l’oeuvre de musique populaire. Pour y parvenir, la recherche d’une explication des oeuvres de musique populaire a dû passer par une opérationnalisation et une vérification empirique des oeuvres de musique populaire. Les hypothèses spécifiques liées aux thèses standard, standard/originale et hétérogène, ainsi qu’une hypothèse générale permettant une articulation entre ces trois thèses ont été soumises aux résultats de notre analyse qui a porté sur 110 chansons à succès canadiennes-françaises et françaises qui appartiennent à la période qui va de 1995 à 2005. Les résultats montrent que l’hypothèse des hétérogénistes est grandement confirmée. Cependant, nos analyses ont repéré des données marginales qui vont dans le sens des attentes des standardistes et des dualistes. Pour dépeindre l’ensemble des musiques populaires, nous proposons une nouvelle hypothèse hétérogène, inclusive de ces quelques représentations standard que nous avançons sous le concept de « tendance hétérogène ».
Cataract surgery: impact on activities, time use and gender and power relations in rural Andhra Pradesh, India
(2015-12-21) Hewage, Neville
Social customs and the patriarchal structure of Indian society determine women’s intrahousehold status. Vision loss due to cataracts and post-surgery recovery of vision may contribute to changes in the manner in which women experience societal norms and practices, and may have an impact on gender and power relations and socio-economic status within the household. No studies which take into account socio-cultural factors and economic status have examined the impact of cataract surgery (i) on activities and (ii) time use, and (iii) on gender and power relations in rural households in Andhra Pradesh, India. This project determines what changes if any occur in gender and power relations in families in rural households in Andra Pradesh after a member has undergone cataract surgery. Qualitative analyses were performed to explore participants’ perspectives and understand the extent to which gender and power relations may change after cataract surgery. The narrative analysis showed that the profiles of the women and men in the younger and older age groups were quite different, yet there were also similarities. Certain patterns emerged following cataract surgery. While decision-making patterns did not change substantially, all participants stated that their mobility had improved after surgery and this led to a corresponding improvement in their quality of life. In addition, the quality of relationships improved for two of the women and two of the men. In addition to the narrative analysis, qualitative data from the participants assisted with understanding the complex issues related to gender and power relationships through a thematic analysis. For the most part, family composition and living arrangements did not change much as a result of cataract surgery. These matters were largely determined by customs and norms. Indeed, many of the participants described how they were able to perform various tasks, once again due to improvement in their vision. Both men and women spoke about their ability to engage in household work after the surgery. However, as women performed most of this work, cataract surgery had a greater impact on this aspect of life for women. Cataract surgery and improved vision did not have a substantial impact on gender and power relations within the context of intra-household matters as broader gender roles were more influential in this domain. Cataract sufferers were more satisfied with their lives and the benefits from surgery. Improvements in quality of life and in the activities of the participants are supported by my research findings.
Cinema Derrida: the law of inspection in the age of global spectral film and video
(2016-06-30) Stewart, Tyson
My contribution in the interdisciplinary field of film studies involves expanding the concept of spectrality from its linguistic, deconstructive context to articulate new cinematic subjectivities and visual forms of mourning. Spectrality emerges as a key theme in Derrida’s cinematic collaborations, like Ghost Dance (1983), D’ailleurs Derrida (1999), Derrida (2002), and has gained traction in the postmodernist cinema of Jean-Luc Godard and contemporary documentary. Unlike many of his generation, Derrida made it a critical point to experiment with film from the early 1980s onward by exploring and exposing the archival, haunting nature of film. This dissertation studies the cinematic collaborations of Jacques Derrida through the lens of both primary and secondary Derrida literature with a view to critically examine the evolution of this idea that became so central in his philosophical project and important for his legacy. With postmodernism there is a break from the past and all we are left with ostensibly is history without the foundations that would make it a teleological process. Deconstruction’s critique of the transcendental signifier helped pave the way for much of this shift in thinking. Hauntology comes into high relief with post-modernism and poststructuralist philosophical movements to articulate the haunting of the sign. Poststructuralism is the last great philosophical attempt to explain this sense of flickering between presence and absence, and how spectrality stages an encounter with the other and with the law of another time. I draw out the main tenets of spectrality from Derrida’s seminal texts Of Grammatology and Specters of Marx and other writings, like Echographies of Television, in order to fill a gap in studies of Derrida and film. For this project, I draw on communication, media, and film theorists, including Jaimie Baron, Barthes, Edgar Morin, Mulvey, Michael Naas, and John Durham Peters.
Comparaison entre les étudiants de première génération et de seconde génération : engagement, rendement et persévérance
(2017-05-01) Mayer, Denis
Cette thèse s’inscrit dans l’interdisciplinarité ; elle recourt aux données de l’Enquête nationale sur la participation étudiante (NSSE) de 2014 et y exploite des variables scolaires pour chaque répondant afin de vérifier s’il y a des différences entre les étudiants de première et de seconde génération dans une université bilingue et triculturelle du nord de l’Ontario. Une recension des écrits sur le thème fait remarquer des contradictions, soulève des questions et note l’absence d’études sur le sujet en Ontario français. Les analyses quantitatives comparent 514 étudiants en première année d’études sur les facteurs d’engagement, de rendement et de persévérance dans les études ainsi que sur la langue d’usage. Nous avons trouvé peu de différences en ce qui a trait au profil des répondants et noté un nombre limité de divergences entre les deux groupes concernant l’engagement dans les études. Les analyses sur la langue d’usage ont fait voir passablement plus de différences entre les groupes sur le facteur d’engagement dans les études : les étudiants inscrits dans des programmes de langue française présentent un meilleur rendement scolaire pour les crédits accumulés. Toutefois, le facteur persévérance dans les études n’a fait voir aucune différence entre les catégories d’étudiants, ce qui soulève des doutes sur ce résultat. Soixante-seize individus ont livré des remarques sur la qualité de leur expérience universitaire que nous avons classées en neuf thématiques et analysées en lien avec les questions de l’outil. Les commentaires signalent un nombre de convergences et quelques inconsistances dans les données quantitatives. Bien que cette recherche signale plus de différences entre les deux groupes d’étudiants que nous l’avions prévu, les divergences relevées sur le facteur d’engagement corroborent celles des recherches repérées dans la littérature, sauf pour la dimension de la langue d’usage qui suscite d’autres questionnements. Cette recherche souligne des similitudes et des divergences entre les deux catégories d’étudiants et propose des enquêtes ultérieures dans le but de trouver où conduisent les nouvelles avenues qui se sont présentées.
A comparative evaluation of Canadian physical activity play-based programs for children with different abilities and its transferability to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(2019-10-08) Mutawally, Shuaa
Children with different abilities have been shown to have limited participation in play and physical activities, thereby placing them at higher risk for developmental health problems. Previous research has suggested that participation in play and physical activity program may benefit these children, the outcome of such programs potentially impacting their physical, social, and cognitive well-being. Given these links, it is important to understand how these play-based programs work and which of their specific features are responsible for positive outcomes. A comparative case study was applied to conduct the three phases of this inquiry: (1) the completion of comparative case studies of three similar play-based programs in Canada; (2) the identification and selection of useful and applicable patterns and features across all three playbased programs; and (3) the adaption and customization of a Canadian framework of play-based programs into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s culture and context. To complete the first two phases, interview data and unobtrusive data were collected from 40 Canadian program team members. The data were deductively and inductively analyzed via thematic analysis. The data were analyzed deductively and inductively via thematic analysis. The results included an indepth picture of three examples of Canadian play-based programs and their evidence-based successful factors. Important themes included: (a) the quality of the program (adequate program theory, implementation, material delivery, team, and facilities), (b) meeting needs, and (c) lessons learned from experts and practitioners. The third phase was completed by engaging 61 Saudi intended users in an open-ended questionnaire and SWOT analysis with the aim of increasing the likelihood of successful implementation. The result included a customized KSA play-based program based on the Canadian framework.
Compétences linguistiques et cognitives des enfants bilingues en situation linguistique minoritaire
(Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2013-07-30) Mayer-Crittenden, Chantal E.
Au Canada, l’évaluation langagière des enfants franco-ontariens s’avère une tâche complexe pour les orthophonistes en raison d’une carence d’outils et de normes régionales. Le problème s’accentue lors de l’évaluation langagière des enfants bilingues (anglais-français) qui fréquentent des écoles de langue française. L’étude que nous proposons ici a d’abord réitéré auprès de 26 enfants francoontariens une recherche québécoise (Thordardottir et coll., 2010) dans laquelle on a évalué la performance d’enfants franco-québécois avec une batterie de tests qui sert à mesurer les compétences linguistique et cognitive. Ces enfants ont été répartis en trois groupes d’âge : 4;6, 5;0 et 5;6 ans. Notre étude a ensuite évalué la performance d’enfants bilingues (47 français-anglais et 31 anglais-français) du même âge sur cette même batterie de tests à laquelle elle a ajouté un ensemble de tests de langue anglaise. Les enfants ont été appariés selon l’âge, le statut socio-économique et la cognition non verbale ; ils différaient selon la quantité d’intrants (input) dans chaque langue et selon le statut linguistique des langues (minoritaire/majoritaire). Les trois groupes linguistiques ont été créés selon le niveau d’exposition aux langues ; nous avons ainsi distingué les monolingues, les franco-dominants et les anglo-dominants. En outre, des enfants identifiés par les orthophonistes scolaires comme ayant un trouble primaire du langage (n = 20) ont été évalués à l’aide des mêmes tests afin de confirmer ou d’infirmer la présence de trouble primaire du langage. En outre, a été examiné l’effet de l’intrant langagier dans l’acquisition d’une langue minoritaire, puisque cet apprentissage a lieu au contact d’une langue majoritaire qui, au demeurant, exerce son influence aussi sur les enfants monolingues (francophones) et bilingues (français-anglais et anglais-français). Les résultats montrent que, au plan linguistique, les Franco-Ontariens monolingues réussissent moins bien que les Franco-Québécois. Les franco-dominants réussissent encore moins bien que les monolingues et les anglo-dominants réussissent moins bien que les monolingues et les franco-dominants à l’âge de 4;6 ans et de 5;0, mais cela n’est pas toujours le cas pour les enfants anglo-dominants de 5;6 ans. En fait, pour certaines épreuves de langue française, les anglo-dominants obtiennent des scores supérieurs à ceux des monolingues et des franco-dominants. Les résultats montrent aussi que plus l’anglo-dominant reçoit d’intrants en français à l’école, meilleure est sa performance linguistique en français. Chez les franco-dominants, c’est l’inverse qui se produit puisque plus l’enfant vieillit, plus il reçoit d’intrants en anglais. Les résultats ont aussi montré que, parmi les 20 cas de trouble primaire du langage, 16 ont été confirmés. Somme toute, ces résultats témoignent de la différence importante entre les Franco- Québécois et les Franco-Ontariens, de sorte que l’emploi des normes québécoises pour les Franco-Ontariens est remis en question. De plus, l’effet de l’intrant est accentué chez les groupes bilingues, ce qui met en évidence le rôle incontestable de l’intrant langagier et aussi celui du statut des langues lors de l’acquisition d’une langue seconde.
Constructing life narratives: how novels and policy discourses represent and respond to life stories about people with mental disabilities
(Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2011-11-16) McCauley, Karen
This dissertation explores how an interdisciplinary analysis may contribute insight into how literary and policy discourses construct the life experiences of people who have mental disabilities that impair their ability to communicate their own life stories. Chapter One explains why a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural construction of mental disability may be achieved by exploring interdisciplinary relationships between social work, disability studies and literary theory. Subsequent chapters examine theoretical assumptions and frameworks associated with these contributing disciplines in greater detail, across systematic and interpretive analytic approaches. In addition, key concepts and questions relevant to constructing a vocabulary that facilitates collaboration between the contributing disciplines are considered. This literature review informs a methodology for undertaking an interpretive discourse analysis of pertinent policy and novels that depict disability within the context of Ontario's 'Institutional Cycle'. Specifically, the research attempts to answer the following questions: What is the relationship between the representation of mental disability in literary narratives and public policy discourses about mental disability; and, how may an interdisciplinary analysis of literary and policy discourses inform policy planning and the provision of services for people with mental disabilities in Ontario? Chapters 6-8 analyze the literary and policy data across Establishment, Reform and Dismantlement phases of the Institutional Cycle to arrive at a set of findings and recommendations that explain relationships between policy and novels across the phases of the Cycle. Finally, key themes for consideration in policy planning for people with mental disabilities are identified as priorities for action in an emerging 'post-institutional' era, in Ontario.
Contribution de l’approche relationnelle à la compréhension de la conversion religieuse
(2020-10-30) Bouguerra, Ines
La conversion religieuse est un objet de recherche complexe qui a suscité l’intérêt de plusieurs disciplines. Ces connaissances monodisciplinaires semblent nécessaires pour comprendre un tel objet. Par contre, elles demeurent insuffisantes pour restituer la conversion religieuse dans sa réalité. Ce découpage a occulté sa conception dans sa réalité complexe. Il a en outre conforté un pouvoir à des catégories qui rappellent les approches holistique ou individualiste. L’approche interactionniste a contribué à la compréhension de la conversion religieuse. Elle a, en revanche, réduit la temporalité à une linéarité qui laisse conjecturer une éventuelle conversion religieuse. Dans la recension des écrits, nous avons constaté que la complexité de cet objet de recherche a été soulignée, mais elle n’a pas été pensée. Sans incliner cette étude vers un système religieux en particulier, nous avons entrepris une réflexion intégratrice sur la conversion religieuse. Pour y aboutir, nous avons adopté la théorie relationnelle (Donati, Laflamme et Vautier). L’objectif de cette étude est d’observer la relation de la psyché à la religion. Pour ce faire, nous avons eu recours à l’appareil conceptuel de Laflamme, à savoir : historicité, socialité (micrologique et macrologique) et émoraison. Nous avons adapté le modèle trialectique de Vautier à la conversion religieuse afin de décrire le champ relationnel qui découle des relations dialectiques : converti-système religieux, système religieux-événement et événement-converti. L’analyse des données qualitatives en provenance de 34 sujets interviewés (17 convertis, huit réaffiliés et neuf croyants non pratiquants) a confirmé une relation de la psyché à la religion. Pour les convertis et les réaffiliés, la relation a évolué du dogmatisme vers un dynamisme. La relation des croyants non pratiquants à la religion a évolué du dogmatisme vers un pragmatisme. Cette évolution est confortée par une auto-éco-organisation de cette relation. L’analyse qualitative des données qui proviennent des convertis et des réaffiliés par le modèle trialectique a mis en évidence une relation événementielle. La temporalité observée est donc propre à la conversion religieuse. Cette étude empirique a permis d’émanciper la compréhension de la conversion religieuse de l’hégémonie de la logique causaliste et de considérer la relation dans sa réalité en réintroduisant l’événementiel.
Critical incidents on the front-line: occupational health considerations for probation officers
(2018-12-14) Olesen-Schinke, Erin
Probation officers (PO) are considered part of the broader criminal justice system and are tasked with supervising offenders within a community setting. POs are guided by identified deliverables of maintaining public safety, fostering offender rehabilitation, and ensuring court ordered sanctions are enforced (Pitts, 2007). The organizational climate of probation work requires these goals be achieved within the confines of increasing workload and administrative demands, in conjunction with decreasing budgetary supports, coupled with a changing offender population who are regarded as increasingly more high-risk and multineed (Gonzales, Schofield & Hart, 2005; Pitts, 2007). Probation work is considered a highrisk occupation (Gonzales et al., 2005; Parsonage & Bushey, 1987). POs are exposed to direct trauma (Gonzales et al., 2005; Linder & Bonn, 1996; Lindner & Koehler, 1992; Parsonage & Bushey, 1987; Rapp-Paglicci, 2004) and indirect trauma (Lewis, Lewis & Garby, 2013; Severson & Pettus-Davis, 2011) within their workplace. Exposure to such occupational hazards can result in negative psychological impacts for POs (Lewis et al., 2012; Parsonage & Bushey, 1987). Front-line occupations such as police and fire services, emergency response, military, and correctional work have been notably studied within the research in relation to the occupational health risks associated with their employment (McFarlane & Bryant, 2007; O’Donnell & Stephens, 2001), yet probation work remains under investigated. This lack of knowledge about the contextual realities of probation work is significant considering the potential psychological impacts of probation work as experienced by POs (Gayman & Bradley 2013; Lewis et al., 2013; O’Donnell & Stephens, 2001; Severson & Pettus-Davis, 2011). Through this research I focused on investigating mental health outcomes for POs who have been exposed to a workplace critical incident (CI). The purpose of my study was to shed light on the phenomena of CIs and to better understand the numerous complexities associated with this phenomenon. The intersection of PO exposure to psychosocial occupational hazards and CIs and POs adaptations was investigated utilizing a grounded theory methodology.
Critically exploring the acculturative journeys of forced immigrant youth and the role YMCA sport programs can play in providing support during re-settlement
(2021-04-14) Middleton, Thierry R. F.
The number of people worldwide who had been forced to flee their home country at the end of 2019 was 26 million (UNCHR, 2019). Canada has a history of providing a home to those in need and the number of asylum seekers and refugees (i.e., forced immigrants) who have been offered safe haven has steadily increased (GOC, 2018). Forced immigrants arriving in Canada, and other countries of re-settlement, face numerous challenges, including the task of acculturating to a new society. Forced immigrant youth are often the most in need of help, as they are often the ones who suffer the most from conflict. Sport has been recognized as one method of helping newcomers with social integration, but it is not a context that is always free of exclusionary and discriminatory practices. The aim of the project that underpins this dissertation was to use a community based participatory action research (CBPAR) approach to engage forced immigrant youth in the process of bringing about transformative change to sport programs they were involved in so that community sport programs could become more meaningful and inclusive for all participants. The research presented in this dissertation stems from my role in the CBPAR process of working with forced immigrant youth and YMCA settlement staff members to develop a deeper understanding about the meaning of sport in youths’ lives and the way they storied their involvement in community sport programs in Sudbury, Ontario. The research process began with a meta-synthesis of qualitative research conducted with forced immigrants engaged in sport and physical activity from which we drew upon synthesized lessons related to understanding forced immigrants’ acculturative journeys from a critical lens and the importance of psychological and cultural safety during this journey. Arts-based conversational interviews and a collaborative reflexive thematic analysis were used to develop two polyphonic vignettes that (re-)storied the changing meaning of sport in forced immigrant youths’ lives and the role sport played in helping them feel a sense of belonging (or not) in Sudbury. Polyphonic vignettes which featured multiple composite characters were used as the method of sharing forced immigrant youths’ stories so that the anonymity and confidentiality of the youth was preserved, while bringing new co-generated knowledge to a diverse range of audiences in an evocative and engaging manner. The reflexive and interdiscipinary approach to this project enabled me to ensure disciplinary, as well as my own personal, assumptions were not privileged, but rather that I remained open to the insights and directions provided by the community members I worked with. Centralizing forced immigrant youth and YMCA Settlement Services staff members meant knowledge developed through the vignettes was locally relevant and meaningful. Finally, the collaborative process engaged in with forced immigrant youth, YMCA Immigrant Services staff members and academic project team members in the development of the two vignettes was critically examined. Lessons are shared from the twists and turns that defined the research process and led to the development of a community of practice between forced immigrant families and the YMCA that will be sustained beyond the involvement of the academic team.
The current university focus: an emphasis on providing customer service over engagement?
(2014-11-19) Wardley, Leslie J.
Given the economic constraints placed on many higher education institutions, some universities have started to implement customer service orientation strategies in their marketing activities in order to solidify value exchange perceptions, differentiate themselves from their competitors and improve retention rates. However, the student as a ‘customer’ model can cause universities to start viewing students as sources of revenue, treat faculty as providers of a service and students can be cast in the role of consumer with students taking on many customer behaviours. If students are to get the most out of their academic experiences, they need to become meaningfully and psychologically involved in their studies. Using multiple steps and different statistical techniques, this thesis investigated the dangers of institutions of higher education viewing students as “customers” and the importance of getting students more involved in the co-creation of their university experiences through the use of two phases of research. The findings from Phase One offered new insight into some key areas that are emerging as meaningful such as: college transfer students’ problems with transitioning to university, the impact of helicopter parenting practices, students not finding their classes intellectually stimulating and issues created by not severing ties to prior support systems, among others. While the ensuing conceptual Student Engagement Work Design Model (SEWDM) and the empirical findings discovered as a result of the Phase Two testing provides a roadmap of how the engagement elements of autonomy, feedback, skill variety, task identity and customer services can be utilized by universities when attempting to predict institutional commitment and personal growth needs.These findings are important as information about which factors help to predict postsecondary student institutional commitment and personal growth needs can assist with the development of targeted student recruitment strategies and the development of support systems. Being able to assess these outcomes could help to reduce funding outlays to lower impact areas so synergies can be encouraged and resources can be concentrated on critical factors.
Demonstrating Anishinaabe storywork circle pedagogy: creating conceptual space for ecological relational knowledge in the classroom.
(2016-06-07) Peltier, Sharla
Aboriginal education reform policies, Truth and Reconciliation initiatives, and climate change indicators signal opportunity and an urgency for action to effect positive change through relationship with Aki1. Aboriginal peoples’ ancient and wholistic ways of knowing, being, doing, and feeling are touchstones to support timely transformative processes in education and Canadian society. Current educational initiatives emphasize learning Aboriginal content and the integration of historical perspectives and contemporary arts into the Ontario curricula. This case study of 17 participants in a grade 4/5 classroom explores a research journey in northeastern Ontario demonstrating how the oral tradition and an Anishinaabe storywork Circle pedagogy create conceptual space for Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge within the urban public school classroom. An Anishinaabe shared learning process devoid of power imbalance draws on the life experience of each student and educator in a culture and land-based approach. This study addresses the following research questions: What is Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge and what principles and concepts of Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge are made visible in a public school classroom? How is Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge socially enacted in the classroom? How does the teacher's perception of Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge transform their pedagogy? A critical Indigenous2 research theory and qualitative methodological approach bring forward a narrative inclusive of teacher and elementary student voices and participant researcher reflections and query. 1 Aki is the Anishinaabemowin term for "Land". Anishinaabemowin refers to the Aboriginal languages of the Anishinaabek people, spoken by the Algonquin, Chippewa, Delaware, Mississauga, Odawa, and Ojibway and Pottawatomi people of the Great Lakes Region. 2 The term Indigenous refers to the first peoples that occupied the continents of the world and is used in this research context to refer to all first peoples-unique in our own cultures-but common in our experiences of colonialism and our understanding of the world (Wilson, 2008, p. 15). Anishinaabe cultural ecological relational knowledge refers to a specific area of Indigenous knowledge that suits the study's local context regarding Anishinaabe cultural origins, linguistic family, and community traditions. An animated learning process and experience incorporates life experience, relational collectivity, and inner knowing for Anishinaabe cultural ecological relational knowledge regarding the self in relationship with Aki and each other. The ‘school yard as classroom’ is utilized and this is especially supportive for First Nation students in transition to the city. Students’ and educators’ engagement in an inclusive community of respect and mutual understanding supports exploration of biophilia (the love of nature) and balanced relationships. The incorporation of Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway language) conveys worldview perspectives and exemplifies the Indigenous paradigm and ways of knowing. The Anishinaabe storywork Circle process builds identity and supportive relationships which are strongly associated with school success of particular relevance for Aboriginal student engagement in school. Classroom teacher praxis is stimulated in response to Anishinaabe ecological relational knowledge and an Anishinaabe storywork Circle pedagogy. A robust process for change emerges through an examination of ecological systems theory. The impacts of relationshipbuilding, creation of a kind, respectful and inclusive classroom environment to interrupt systemic hegemony and racism are discussed.
Développement des habiletés de pensée critique dans les pratiques pédagogiques des enseignant- e-s universitaires de l’École Normale Supérieure (ENS) d’Abidjan exerçant en formation initiale des futur-e-s intervenant-e-s au secondaire général en République de Côte d'Ivoire.
(2024-05-27) Kablan, Alias
Malgré un large éventail de définitions et de conceptualisations, le concept de pensée critique (PC) demeure insuffisamment opérationnalisé dans l’enseignement supérieur (Abrami et al., 2015b; Bezanilla et al., 2019, 2023a; Dwyer, 2023; Schendel et al., 2023). De plus, peu d’études fournissent des informations empiriques quant à la manière dont cette compétence est enseignée ainsi que les représentations et l’attitude des enseignant-e-s universitaires à l’égard de son développement/enseignement. Cependant, la majorité de ces recherches se concentre dans les pays membres de l’OCDE (Europe et États-Unis) et en Asie (Antonova et al., 2020). Ainsi, la réalité du développement de la PC dans les structures de formation initiale des futur-e-s enseignant-e-s en Afrique subsaharienne est insuffisamment documentée. Or, plusieurs décennies après l’implémentation du LMD, des pratiques magistrales issus de l’enseignement traditionnel persistent dans un contexte mondial où la compétence de PC est exigible des formateurs et des apprenant-e-s. L’objectif de cette étude est de décrypter l’épistémologie pratique des enseignant-e-s universitaires de l’ENS d’Abidjan afin de découvrir comment ils conçoivent et développent la PC. Cette recherche qui abrite deux axes a convoqué une dizaine d’enseignant-e-s universitaires. Le premier volet a permis de décrire, expliciter et interpréter leurs conceptions de la PC par le biais des entretiens semi-structurés. Le deuxième utilise l’observation in situ non participante, ainsi que des entretiens semi-structurés pré et post-classe. Ce privilège rare que nous avons eu de combiner pratiques déclarées et pratiques effectives des enseignant-e-s a permis d’appréhender les processus didactico-pédagogiques mis en place en situation réelle. Les données recueillies ont été analysées, discutées et interprétées à partir d’une approche qualitative de type herméneutique qui a permis la construction de sens en lien avec le contexte historique, politique, social et culturel. À l’issue de cette approche, il ressort que les conceptions de la PC des enseignant-e-s universitaires de l’ENS d’Abidjan, sont riches et variées conformément aux données de la littérature. En revanche, ils adoptent des stratégies pédagogiques qui ne développent pas efficacement la PC de leurs étudiants en raison de plusieurs facteurs institutionnels, socio-historiques et psychologiques.
Differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women engaged in street prostitution in Sudbury.
(2017-04-12) Walicki, Bernadette
This study identifies differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women engaged in street prostitution in Sudbury, Ontario using an Indigenous Research Paradigm. A sample of twelve women engaged in street prostitution were interviewed using the Prostitution Questionnaire developed by Dr. Melissa Farley of Prostitution Research & Education. Additional questions of regional and cultural relevance were added. A comparison group of nine marginalized women without experience in prostitution was also interviewed with an abbreviated interview tool. The results indicated that Aboriginal women engaged in street prostitution differed from non-Aboriginal women in the following areas: stronger desire for the legalization of prostitution, more experience with discrimination, more physical assaults, higher alcohol consumption, more criticism from others about alcohol consumption, stronger desire to reduce alcohol consumption, more prolonged substance use, stronger desire for treatment of substance use, family with residential school experience, more interest in deepening cultural connections, more active within their faith, greater contact with family and more trusting relationships. Like Aboriginal women engaged in prostitution, Aboriginal women with hardships differed from non- Aboriginal women with hardships in their family experience with residential schools, in being more active within their faith and having greater contact with family. Furthermore, Aboriginal women with hardships also had more family and friends living in a First Nations community, had lived in a First Nations community at some point and had more knowledge of Aboriginal teachings. Additional results outside of identified differences were also included to help define the local populations. The findings, in relation to Aboriginal women engaged in street prostitution, are discussed within the context of historical antecedents, community development and political policies.
Économie informelle et analyse relationnelle
(Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2013-07-30) Kabatakaka, Bululu
Cette thèse de doctorat a pour objet la connaissance du processus de formation d’une culture de l’économie informelle et sa reproduction chez l’élite dans les pays en développement. Son questionnement de base est : comment étudier l’économie informelle dans les pays en développement dans une perspective relationnelle ? Elle a mis à profit la complémentarité des connaissances de l’économie et de la sociologie dans la compréhension des dimensions rationnelles et non rationnelles des comportements et attitudes de l’élite dans les pays en développement face à cette économie. Nous avons considéré les fonctionnaires comme indicateurs de l’élite. Cette thèse apporte deux contributions majeures 1) l’élargissement du modèle Laflamme et de l’analyse compréhensive de Weber grâce à l’opérationnalisation du concept de socialisation et 2) l’identification de quelques éléments porteurs de l’économie informelle sur lesquels il faut asseoir la dynamique de la réduction de la pauvreté. Cette contribution doit être inscrite dans les limites géographiques de l’étude. L’application de la méthodologie dans d’autres villes du pays et dans d’autres capitales des pays en développement permettrait d’en vérifier la généralisation.
Environmental attitudes of homeschoolers in Canada
(Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2013-07-31) McMillan, Emily Elizabeth
Environmental attitudes are shaped by a variety of factors including our educational history, cultural background, childhood and life experiences, and past and current interactions with nature. This research set out to examine attitudes toward the environment in an understudied but growing segment of the Canadian population, homeschoolers. The purposes of this study were to investigate whether environmental attitudes in Canadian homeschoolers differ from those of people involved with public school and to acquire a greater understanding of the factors that affect the development of these attitudes. The mixed method, follow-up explanatory research design utilized the New Ecological Paradigm Scale and the Connectedness to Nature Scale in an internet survey. The survey was sent to homeschooling and parent groups across Canada. Subsequently, interviews were conducted with a subsample of respondents. The results of the survey showed that demographic variables were not significantly related to environmental attitude scores with the exception of locale and religion. Urban respondents had slightly stronger environmental attitudes than rural respondents. The confluence of homeschooling and religiosity emerged as the key factor influencing environmental attitudes. There was no significant difference between environmental attitudes of homeschoolers and public schoolers until importance of religion was taken into account. As measured by the scales, religious homeschoolers exhibited the weakest environmental attitudes, public schoolers were in the middle, and not-as-religious homeschoolers had the strongest environmental attitudes. The qualitative data supported these results, with religious homeschoolers expressing weaker iv environmental attitudes, particularly in terms of climate change and the need for a more sustainable lifestyle. Religious homeschooling respondents favoured a more structured back to basics style of schooling which also correlated with lower environmental attitude scores. Unstructured homeschooling respondents tended to choose a child-centred philosophy of education which was correlated with stronger environmental attitudes. During the interviews, respondents were asked to reflect on what in their lives had influenced their attitudes toward the environment. Consistent with other literature, unstructured outdoor time as a child remained the most significant factor, cited by a majority of respondents. Other important factors included religion, parents, school, teachers, TV/media, economic necessity, and negative experiences with environmental pollution. The results of this study highlight the importance of considering variables associated with religion when exploring the development or level of environmental attitudes or when conducting a study of homeschooling. Religious beliefs are complex and highly personal in some cases, as is their corresponding influence on environmental concern. Potential exists for environmental concern and action from a group of spiritual people with strong community bonds and often political involvement. The key may be finding common ground and learning to communicate, while resisting expectations of complete agreement. This dissertation showed that stepping outside of the educational system does not necessarily have a direct impact on environmental attitudes, as they are mediated by a complex array of variables. Homeschooling may not directly generate a different level of environmental attitudes than public school; however, religious v homeschoolers definitely have a different set of attitudes toward the environment that deserve further in-depth study.

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