Human Studies and Interdisiplinarity - Doctoral Theses
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Item 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, AliasMalgré 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.Item Évolution des exportations et développement en Haïti : une analyse néo-institutionnelle (1804 -1915) Pour une nouvelle lecture de l’évolution des exportations haïtiennes(2024-05-17) Altenor, AchetonSi le problème de la pauvreté a une longue histoire en Haïti, au cours des quatre dernières décennies, on a assisté à une accélération de la dégradation de la situation socio-économique du pays. Il faut dire que la question des causes des malheurs d’Haïti, plus spécifiquement de son sous-développement, est au centre des débats en études haïtiennes depuis au moins une cinquantaine d’années. De nombreuses explications ont été proposées ; il est possible de résumer les travaux recensés sur le développement historique d’Haïti en trois catégories d’explication : la perspective marxiste, la perspective des facteurs cumulatifs et la perspective économique. Partant des limites de ces trois perspectives, nous avons voulu proposer dans cette étude une nouvelle lecture de l’évolution des exportations haïtiennes et de son impact sur le développement historique du pays à partir de l’approche northienne des institutions. En confrontant le cadre théorique de l’étude avec l’histoire socio-économique d’Haïti, nous avons proposé un modèle explicatif qui constitue une autre voie possible pour appréhender son histoire économique en général et l’évolution de ses exportations en particulier. Pour tester la première période du modèle (1804 -1915), nous avons opté pour une méthodologie « intégrative » qui comprend des analyses qualitatives (contenus de documents textuels) et quantitatives (comme l’analyse en composantes principales et la classification ascendante hiérarchique). En empruntant la voie institutionnelle, cette étude permet de mieux appréhender le fait qu’aujourd’hui l’économie du pays est contrôlée par un petit groupe « d’étrangers » en mettant en évidence le rôle que pourrait avoir joué le cadre institutionnel du 19e siècle et l’indemnité de l’indépendance dans la construction historique de cette réalité. En outre, grâce à l’analyse de nouvelles séries de données sur le commerce extérieur, elle améliore notre compréhension des relations commerciales franco- haïtiennes au 19e siècle et surtout de l’orientation des exportations haïtiennes vers la France. De plus, en proposant un modèle explicatif de l’évolution des exportations, cette étude permet de mieux cerner les effets à long terme de certains événements historiques sur la performance économique du pays.Item Question everything: a critical examination of faculty beliefs concerning learning strategy and learning styles(2023-09-29) Newman, DerekStudents make many questions and decisions in academia concerning learning. One of the most critical among them is what learning strategy to use. In this study, faculty members from various Ontario (Canada) colleges and universities were surveyed to examine their opinions on learning strategy effectiveness and on whether learning styles exist as an advantage for learners. This study compares the opinions of faculty members on learning strategy to the evaluation of learning techniques outlined by John Dunlosky’s research team (Dunlosky et al., 2013) and to the best evidence concerning learning styles as an advantage for learning (Pashler et al., 2008; Massa & Mayer, 2006). While several key factors were examined (for example, the faculty’s highest degree, employment status, number of years teaching, and institution type), the results produced mixed evidence for faculty opinions against the best evidence. As well, demographic differences among the groups of teachers were not meaningful predictors of their opinions. Even though faculty opinions were not in line with recognized evidence, learning is a complicated situation, and theories will be presented to examine the disconnect between the instructors’ opinions and the best evidence.Item Illuminating novel predictors of psychosis: Investigations of environmental and bioelectromagnetic predictors of psychosis symptoms in healthy adults(2023-06-29) Hossack, VictoriaSchizophrenia is a debilitating disorder, which often results in irreversible tissue loss in the brain, making it a difficult disorder to treat. The defining feature of schizophrenia is psychosis, which also occurs in schizoaffective disorder, substance use disorders, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, and dementia. We are slowly getting a better understanding of schizophrenia as novel biomarkers are discovered and we learn what influences its prevalence rates. For example, many studies have shown that schizophrenia is positively correlated with latitude. This knowledge compliments our understanding of the importance of inflammation and vitamin D deficiency as risks for schizophrenia. The purpose of the current thesis was three-fold: first, to determine seasonal variability of background photons as a novel environmental variable to use as a psychosis predictor. Second, to determine if the relationship with latitude was present with psychosis symptoms in healthy adults. And third, to investigate a novel biomarker, biophotons, as a predictor of psychosis/schizotypy symptoms in healthy adults. There were three different studies completed to investigate these questions. The first measured background photon over the course of a year to understand seasonal variations and correlations with other geophysical variables. In the second study, online psychological questionnaires were administered to a global sample. The results suggested the symptoms of psychosis were negatively correlated with latitude, opposite of the previous findings with schizophrenia. Negative correlations were present in spirituality and hypomanic scores, but not depression or anxiety. Additionally, regression analysis revealed that in females but not males, components of the Earth’s electromagnetic field were better at predicting psychosis symptoms. In the third study, biophoton emissions from the hands (BPEs), quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG), electrocardiographic (ECG), and psychological questionnaires were measured from participants in Sudbury, ON, Canada. The psychological questionnaires used were the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-IV) and the Temperament Character Inventory (TCI-R). The results suggested that biophotons showed some specificity, with overall BPEs from the hands predictive of affective scales in females, and the absolute difference between hands predictive of Schizotypal, Paranoid, and Schizophrenic Spectrum scores in females. Surprisingly, there were very few significant correlations in males. We also found that BPE and QEEG variables combined were able to predict scores on a Depression/Somatic Symptom factor. These results demonstrate that biophotons could be a potential biomarker for mental health disturbances. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of investigating the environmental electromagnetic and bioelectromagnetic variables to predict and understand psychosis.Item Exploring the feasibility, suitability, and benefits of an arts-based mindfulness program for adolescent mothers(2023-06-14) Oystrick, VivianThere is a growing interdisciplinary body of research on adolescent motherhood that offers perspectives from sociology, social work, education, psychology, and health disciplines. Researchers have highlighted that many adolescent mothers experience high levels of psychological distress which is often attributed to the challenges of parenting with daily stress, limited support, and cumulative disadvantage. As a result, achieving maternal sensitivity can be a challenge for many adolescent mothers due to their developmental stage, and the stresses in their lives. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are increasingly being used to help improve parenting, prevent chronic parenting stress, and break the cycle of dysfunctional parenting patterns and behaviors. However, there is limited research that explores the suitability of this type of intervention with this population. The aim of my research was to explore the feasibility and benefits of an arts-based mindfulness intervention program for adolescent mothers. My research process began with a scoping review of the literature to explore how mindfulness and arts-based methods have been studied with the adolescent parenting populations. The search did not yield any articles that described the use of MBIs with the adolescent parenting population. However, I identified 10 articles in which authors described arts-based parenting interventions with adolescent mothers. Participants from these studies reported that engaging in arts-based activities enabled them to develop ways to positively interact with their children, resulting in greater attunement to their children. The second phase of this research project involved exploring the feasibility and suitability of an online arts-based mindfulness program for adolescent mothers during the COVID19 pandemic. This paper describes my experiences, challenges, and thoughts on the suitability of offering arts-based mindfulness programs online to adolescent mothers. Several challenges were encountered with respect to engagement and facilitation including high attrition rates and numerous disruptions during programming. The last phase of my research explored the feasibility, suitability, and benefits of offering an arts-based mindfulness program to adolescent mothers in person. In the third paper, I describe the experiences of nine adolescent mothers who attended an 11-week arts-based mindfulness program. From my findings, I concluded that arts-based mindfulness group programs are an effective way to engage adolescent mothers in interventions that help them develop supportive relationships, positive coping strategies, and improved awareness of themselves and their children. My research has direct implications for service delivery and for the development of care models for adolescent mothers that go beyond a focus on physical health, to a more holistic approach to assessment and intervention.Item Women, mining and gender: experiences in Greater Sudbury(2022-12-09) de Blois, Sarah LynnMy interdisciplinary research explores the gendered work experiences of women in mining. Statistics Canada confirms women’s unequal participation in the industry, and the Mining Industry Human Resources Council reports that only about fifteen percent of the Canadian mining labour force are women. The literature attests that women often face challenges of acceptance in male-dominated, blue-collar industries. They disproportionately experience discrimination and harassment in industries in which they are the minority, yet the literature does not fully address women’s work experiences in this industry and it is important to do so given mining’s important place in Canada’s economy, both nationally and regionally. My study explores narratives about women’s experiences in this male workplace culture. In 2020, I interviewed 35 people who work in the mining industry in the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario to ask women (N=24) about their direct work experiences and workplace interactions, and men (N=11) about their work experiences and workplace interactions with women. I used methods of analysis that “bricolaged” approaches of thematic and critical discourse analysis. My findings support the need for further initiatives toward equity, diversity, and inclusion, not only in mining, but in other gender-imbalanced industries. Women described how they experienced resistance to the achievement of acceptance and respect at work. Many experienced harassment and discrimination, and spoke about the masculine organizational culture present in their work environments. Nevertheless, they also described job satisfaction in the work that they perform, and described bonds of kinship with peers. However, these bonds were usually described in gendered terms. Women revealed that the camaraderie they seek most to achieve is to be “one of the boys” or “one of the guys.” At the same time, they spoke about bonds of “sisterhood” in mining, and how the mining industry offers a space where they celebrate alternate expressions of femininity, such as being a “tomboy.” Men confirmed that resistance toward women in mining exists, and that notions of gender essentialism continue to impact perceptions about traits linked to men and women. In sum, my study reveals that the masculine organizational culture of the mining industry is complex. The purpose of my interdisciplinary, community-based study was to understand this complexity and offer solutions for creating more equitable, diverse and inclusive work cultures within the industry for all workers.Item Our posthuman present: thinking through ableism, disability, and untethered norms(2022-08-29) Boucher, MartinThis dissertation aims to show, through the example of disability studies, how changes in the modes of normalization in our contemporary society have affected how abnormality is perceived and controlled. The purpose is to explore, promote, and contribute in some way to the more critical currents of Disability Studies, but also to use these more nuanced critical currents as roadmaps to how we may destabilize dominant narratives that affect, or are slated to affect, an increasing number of people in the near future. I argue that to understand the situation of disability today is to understand our shared posthuman condition. In Part 1, I describe the ways in which biomedicine and neoliberalism as technologies of control have mutated beyond the historical limits of modernist thinking. Practically speaking, it is argued that we can think of optimization and maximization as fundamental orienting norms in a de facto posthuman world. In Part 2, I describe transhumanism as the dominant framework through which we develop our ideas about the future, and oppose it to a disability informed critical posthumanist perspective. I conclude the work with some preliminary political and ethical considerations about our relationship to technology, the value we place on alternative embodiments, and the need to include alternative voices in choosing an acceptable future. These remain preliminary because the purpose is not to offer a definitive vision of the future but offer some enabling conditions for those marginal and minoritarian voices to contribute to our shared project of world-makingItem The impact of finance and political ideology on income inequality: empirical analyses(2022-11-24) Safavi, MohammadIn order to better understand how finance causes income inequality and to comprehend the ontology of this relationship, I started the ‘minor’ part of this thesis with the fundamental assumption that the knowledge sphere exists independently of our knowledge and regardless of personal subjective experience. The overall (minor plus major) objective of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of the relationship between finance and income inequality. To achieve this objective, I examine both the theoretical and a large empirical literature on the subject. At the level of theory, the thesis combines the orthodox and heterodox mechanisms through which finance generates income inequality in modern capitalist countries. Empirically, the thesis develops a Dynamic Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model that controls for indicators of globalization, rising monopoly power, business cycles, and other variables in an attempt to isolate the unbiased causal effects of financial variables on income inequality. I estimate the ARDL model against two-panel datasets. I use the first dataset (48 countries from 1993 to 2017) to study how financial development, financial liberalization, and financial structure affect the Gini- measure income inequality across high, middle, and low-income countries. I employ the second dataset (14 OECD countries from 1980 to 2017) to study the long-run effects of financialization and neoliberalism on several alternative measures of income inequality across countries classified as neoliberal (the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia); Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway) and social-corporatist (France and Germany). The primary finding of this research is that financial indicator variables exert a significant effect on income inequality in the long run across high, middle, and low-income countries. Second, countries with a more market-based financial structure promote more equitable income distribution, while countries with faster growth tend to generate greater income disparity. Third, increased trade openness leads to increased income disparity, while lower competition helps to reduce inequality. Our evidence does not support the inverted “U-shape” theory1 concerning financial development and income inequality. Finally, neoliberalism and financialization have increased disposable income disparity in the upper-tail and the lower-tail of income distribution within countries.Item Finding friends in fiction: fan writing, parasocial relationships and social belongingness(2022-09-29) Arora, TwinkleConsistent with the Social Surrogacy hypothesis (Derrick, Gabriel & Hugenberg, 2009), it is possible that, like television and interactive video games, writing fan-fiction may impact social functioning by way of parasocial interactions. This study explores this phenomenon using a mixed methods approach, involving a statistical analysis of data collected through a cross-sectional survey with fan-fiction writers, and a qualitative analysis of the semi-structured interviews describing participants experiences and motivations. Participants (n = 526) were recruited using a combination of the convenience and the snowball sampling methods. Quantitative findings indicate that those who spend more time writing fan-fiction experience significantly higher levels of parasocial interactions and social belongingness. Results of the correlation analyses further indicate that both greater social presence and belongingness are associated with higher levels of parasocial interactions. Finally, it was hypothesized that parasocial interactions would have a mediating effect on time spent writing fanfiction and social belongingness, but the results were non-significant. In the qualitative phase of this study, ten individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using a thematic analysis, following the guidelines of Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings indicate that the act of fan writing supports positive coping strategies especially during stressful situations (e.g., the current pandemic). Although the qualitative data brought attention to the various motivations for writing fan-fiction, fan writers engaged with the characters they wrote about using two main processes: parasocial interactions/relationships and identification. Participants’ interview responses confirm that favoured media characters can mimic friendships, possibly alleviating loneliness, especially when they experience rejection or social loss. Conversely, some responses indicate that identification functions to increase self-knowledge, alter beliefs/attitudes, and guide them. These findings suggest that fan writing can give individuals the opportunity to unconsciously express personal feelings and thoughts and provide a healthy outlet to release stressors, suppressed emotions, motivations and desires through fictional characters.Item Student and community insights on interprofessional health education(2022-01-26) Adams-Carpino, GayleIn Northern Ontario, interprofessional education (IPE) is offered at the undergraduate level to improve collaborative healthcare delivery and access to services for vulnerable people. However, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) expressed concern about the lack of convincing evidence of the beneficial effects of IPE interventions leading to enhanced patient care. The IOM also noted an absence of comprehensive explanations regarding how students experience collaborative learning. My study aimed to understand whether the teaching of six interprofessional competencies to undergraduate students attending a northern academic institution enhances 1) perceived interprofessional collaboration and 2) students' awareness and sensitivity regarding the needs of vulnerable people. This mixed-methods study, integrating certain principles of action research, was conducted within the context of an IPE program involving 67 participants from two cohorts, 2019 and 2020. The sequential explanatory mixed-methods design included a retrospective prepost self-assessment survey and interviews with students and community members. The results showed that the IPE program supported an understanding of IPE within both classroom and community settings. Following participation in the IPE program, statistically significant differences in pre-post scores were identified for each of six interprofessional competency domains. Three forms of qualitative data supported the analysis; these included interviews with students, interviews with two community partners and students’ anonymous written reflections. Qualitative analysis revealed that classroom and community experiences enhanced the understanding of competencies and supported collaboration as well as connection amongst students from diverse disciplines. The analysis also revealed an enhanced awareness of community members' lived realities. The results demonstrated that students and the community benefitted from the educational IPE program. The participants showed increased collaboration and motivation to work with vulnerable populations. Participation in the IPE program also increased awareness, sensitivity, and advocacy for the diverse needs of community members. Student-led health promotion organizations emerged as a sustainable and flexible experience that enabled students to integrate various IPE experiences, advance collaboration and enhance their ability to work with underserved populations. Key limitations of the study stem from the impacts of COVID-19 which limited access to community partners. In addition, relatively small sample sizes for the quantitative surveys (n=44) limit the generalizability of these findings. Moreover, the study design did not allow for an examination of gender, age or cultural differences. Future studies could address these issues as well as examine the long-term effects of IPE education on post-graduation experiences.Item 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.Item Marché du travail et immigration au Canada à l’ère de la mondialisation : Relationalité et interdisciplinarité(2021-06-14) Maïna, Ali ALe phénomène du marché du travail et de l’immigration à l’ère de la mondialisation présente, malgré ses avantages, des défis qui peuvent s’expliquer aux niveaux individuel et collectif, national et international des défis difficiles à surmonter sans comprendre fondamentalement les facteurs économiques, mais aussi sociaux et politiques, difficiles à séparer, impliqués dans le processus de recrutement, d’intégration et de la rétention sur le marché du travail. La recherche d’une solution durable consiste, cependant, avant tout, à reconnaître la complexité qu’englobe la problématique du marché du travail et de l’immigration à l’ère de la mondialisation. L’organisation du marché du travail des pays doit étayer cette réalité afin de promouvoir et d’engager pleinement les forces productives sur le marché du travail. Cette thèse examine, dans une perspective interdisciplinaire, ce phénomène au-delà de la conception purement économique, régie par la loi de l’offre et de la demande. Grâce aux contributions de 423 participants (natifs et immigrants, travailleurs et employeurs), la thèse a permis de mieux comprendre, sur la base d’une approche quantitative, les divergences et les similitudes entre les différents groupes sur divers facteurs liés au marché du travail et à l’immigration en Ontario. Elle propose des pistes pour permettre une prise de décision efficace devant la problématique du marché du travail et de l’immigration à l’ère de la mondialisation. Elle mène à des conclusions qui intègrent la modélisation trialectique en s’inspirant de la théorie de la « circulation des biens, des idées et des personnes » ; cela a permis de comprendre les relations dialectiques entre les trois catégories analytiques qui dépendent les unes des autres. Ce travail de recherche contribue donc, à bien des égards, à une meilleure compréhension de la complexité du marché du travail et de l’immigration à l’ère de la mondialisation où une grande diversité sera simplement la réalité.Item Influence and social networks(2022-01-10) Shapiro, SidneyStudying large-scale social networks can be a complex and challenging task when considering social media's rapid development. Mapping large networks and studying interactions present barriers in terms of access to data, limitations on analysis, and an approach to identify unseen influencers in the network. This study examines how connections between data points and users in a network can be mapped and understood. This method of mapping connections can allow a researcher to identify influencers within a network and find optimal routes through which content can be distributed to a broad group of connected users. This is accomplished by comparing the role of network groups to that of users. This is done by mapping organizations and connected groups of students on social media networks over time to identify influential network members. The project involves studying several campus and community-based pro-Israel student groups organized into four geographically themed clusters. Data was collected from Twitter using various methods, including Python language code and NodeXL. Once the data was collected and analyzed using network link analysis and statistics for interconnections, visualizations and sociograms were generated using Gephi. Through analyzing network data for users and organizations, network statistics and metrics can be calculated to identify network influencers. The study shows that otherwise unseen influencers can be mapped within a social network and that their relative social influence can be identified. Studying organizations and exponential mapping layers of connected users reveals new connections and patterns. The relative social influence, position, and communication patterns within a network generate new insights into network members. Hidden influencers were identified and show a connection between users and otherwise unknown clusters of the network. The study results show that influencers can be identified and mapped within large and complex networks and that their relative social influence can be quantitatively calculated. This has implications for disseminating information within a network, mapping complex interactions within a social network, and understanding the structural communication pathways of social networks. This approach can be used in market analysis, research, and other social networks.Item Stories of athlete maltreatment and revictimization: media data from three elite gymnastics teams(2021-11-17) Seanor, MichelleMedia headlines have recently brought to our attention a stark duality present in elite athlete development. Although elite sport has often been portrayed as a positive developmental context (Coakley, 2015), current media coverage is ripe with sinister stories of athlete maltreatment. The outcries from elite athletes have encompassed a range of abuses including sexual harassment and abuse, physical violence, emotional abuse, financial abuse, and neglect. These stories have triggered researchers to hypothesize that athlete maltreatment is present across all levels of sport, however most prominent within elite sport (Ljungqvist, et al., 2007). Elite gymnasts have been one of the most vocal groups of athletes calling for change and demanding protection from a sport culture that has sacrificed athletes’ physical and emotional well-being (Weiss & Mohr, 2018). Despite acknowledgements by athletes, media sources, and researchers that athlete maltreatment is a pervasive issue, little is known about the long-term consequences that plague athlete survivors. Researchers have identified that elite athletes do experience ongoing challenges with their mental (Gouttabarge, et al., 2017; Schinke et al., 2017) as well as their physical (Mountjoy et al., 2016) health resulting from elite athletics. Comparatively, the longterm consequences for survivors of maltreatment in non-athletic contexts are better understood. Researchers from other disciplines know all to well that one of the most dubious outcomes for survivors of maltreatment is their propensity for revictimization, a cyclical phenomenon wherein survivors of maltreatment have a pervasive increased risk of future victimization compared to others who have not experienced interpersonal trauma (Tseloni & Pease, 2003). I engaged in this research project to answer three research questions: 1) How does athlete maltreatment (including physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse and neglect) occur in elite gymnastics and why are elite gymnasts victimized as derived from media (re)presentations? 2)What revictimization pathways are foreshadowed in the interpretation of media (re)presentations of elite gymnasts’ stories of athlete maltreatment and why might this be the case? And 3) Does the media change the framing of athlete’s stories of maltreatment in relation to the characters (i.e., the victim or perpetrator gender), setting (i.e., country) and story line (i.e., type of abuse) and why does the media change their (re)presentations accordingly? Addressing the research questions necessitated a novel application of media data to develop our understanding of the phenomenon of athlete maltreatment. I explored media data of athlete maltreatment narratives from three elite gymnastics teams across three unique cultural contexts: the Brazilian Men’s Gymnastics Team, the Australian Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team, and the British Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics Teams. Each case study culminated in nuanced interpretations that contributed to four overarching conclusions from this project. First, I present athlete maltreatment as culturally constructed and recommend that researchers and practitioners improve their understanding of culturally constituted risk factors for athlete maltreatment. Second, I present athlete abuse as a chronic phenomenon that demands we elongate our understanding of athlete abuse timelines and further consider abuses that both do and do not cross the threshold for criminality. Third, I conclude that athlete maltreatment extends outside athletes’ sport domain and recommend researchers and practitioners broaden their scope to include non-sport mechanisms and consequences of abuse. Fourth, I interpret the media as an active agent in the cycle of abuse and present considerations to protect survivor athletes through carefully harnessing healing narratives.Item Make(over): an integrated rhetorical analysis of masculine transformation in Disney animated film(2020-11-04) McKee, Kristeen M.This thesis analyzes patterned constructions of paternal, hetero-masculine heroism in three contemporary CGI animated Disney films: Wall-E (2008), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), and Big Hero 6 (2014). Wall-E the robot, Ralph the avatar, and Baymax the automaton, are maleidentified “artificial figures” who are positioned as inferior and insufficiently masculine because of their flawed physiques or social anomalies (Kakoudaki 2-3). Through processes of transformation, these seemingly unconventional males learn to present and perform their gender in ways that comply with hegemonic ideals of hetero, patriarchal masculinity. There are three main rhetorical strategies used in each film to map the male characters’ transformations. Juxtaposition, discipline, and reward are employed to project a set of ideals about gender, to correct deviance from these ideals, and to reward conformity. The artificial figures in the three films analyzed in this study reveal the latest trend in male-focused Disney animated makeover narratives. All three Disney animated films employ the makeover motif to reinstate dominant conceptualizations of masculinity despite occasional attempts to counter some of the male body types, gender role stereotypes, and male/female power dynamics found in previous Disney animated stories featuring male characters. Wall-E appears to be a fragile, dirty, broken lowclass labourer; Ralph is emotionally stunted and banished from his community; Baymax is fat, androgynous, and desires to care and nurture, which are traditionally “feminine” characteristics. However, although these animated films present slightly revised versions of masculinity by incorporating postfeminist characteristics into the narrative fold, as a whole, the films do not alter, in any significant way, conventional presentations of masculine physical supremacy, traditional gender roles, as well as patriarchal and hetero-normative structures. As my analysis demonstrates, it is more accurate to view these films as promoting the illusion of progress, particularly through the transformation narratives featured in each film. Thus, this dissertation answers a broad question about Disney’s masculine makeovers: what type(s) of male bodies and masculine roles are considered ideal according to these animated films? To answer this guiding question, I address the following sub-questions: how do the films through their visual, aural, and kinesic modes give preference to particular models of masculinity and how do these accounts of masculinity act upon audiences in a combined sensorialideological way? Drawing on concepts and methods from gender scholarship within Disney Studies, postfeminism (Angela McRobbie and Rosalind Gill), gender order theory (R.W. Connell), rhetorical criticism (Kenneth Burke), rhetorical materialism (Carole Blair), social semiotics and multimodality (Carey Jewitt), structural Marxism (Louis Althusser), cine-psychoanalysis (Laura Mulvey), cultural materialism (Mikhail Bahktin), and cultural studies (Stuart Hall), this study examines the symbolic choices and patterns used by Disney filmmakers not only to characterize the gender of their artificial figures but also to uphold particular idealizations of masculinity. The communication of ideology through film is not limited to the literal meaning of the narrative. It also occurs through emotional appeals enacted by the aesthetic elements of the films. The affective dimensions of these films and their capacity to instruct (in an ideological sense) and arouse (in an embodied, material sense) can shape the audience’s perceptions of gender and social relations. This study thus engages in a modified approach to ideological rhetorical criticism that accounts for the sensorial and affective dimensions of film. I call this method integrated for it attends to both the individual and collaborative functions of three symbolic modes: visual, aural, and kinesic used to promote hegemonic constructs of masculinity as well as to provoke embodied reactions in audiences that strengthen their identification with the characters and their makeover journeys. As a whole, this thesis uncovers how meanings about paternal, heteromasculine heroism emerge in the interaction of these three symbolic modes and what types of messages these films articulate, reinforce, or suppress to the embodied and emotionally-involved audience.Item Profitability and organic farming in the province of Ontario(2021-10-21) Ghoreishi, YasserThis research intends to identify the fundamentals of organic farms' profitability structure in the Province of Ontario with an interdisciplinary focus, which includes small and medium-sized farms that provide organic food directly and indirectly through intermediaries to consumers. Hence, organic farmers need to remain profitable to stay in their non-profit-driven businesses and contribute to environmental sustainability, socially responsible farming and achieve its prosocial and pro-environmental goals. I used a questionnaire; consisting of four sections: company or farm-related information, general socio-economic questions, financial information for threeyear periods (2015 – 2017), and environment and public health-related information containing open and closed-ended research questions. First, I sent a hard copy of the questions and then collaborated with the Organic Council of Ontario and used the SurveyMonkey platform to increase the number of participants. My findings show that organic farm products are critical to enhancing the health of Canadians. Additionally, organic farming plays a vital role in protecting the environment by reducing soil erosion and water pollution, among other benefits, thus being critical to national development. It also was established that the government should ensure that the assistance offered to organic farmers reaches each farm and develops financial instruments to support the farmers. My Ph.D. thesis provides researchers with an overview of the profitability of organic agriculture in Ontario to inform future studies. In addition, it offers policymakers vital information applicable in formulating regulations towards boosting organic farming in Canada. Government support likely plays a role in the success of a lower-cost sustainable organic food system. My study established that politicians should ensure that the assistance offered to organic farmers reaches each farm and develops financial instruments to support the farmers financially. Finally, this research will be useful for farmers considering organic food growth, policymakers trying to determine whether organic farmers require subsidies, and scholars who would like to know more about the profitability structure of organic farms.Item Observations of environmental interactions with the human organism(2021-04-30) Vares, David A.E.The recording and diffusion of ideas provides future generations of humanity the opportunity to further the advancement of understanding. This dissertation will begin the investigation of understanding ‘What influences of the Earth’s environment exist on human behaviour?’ The phenomena comprising the thesis involve the human organism, environmental stimuli, and societal customs. This investigation will consider the large degrees of variability due to the large number of interactions within the defined local environmental system. Review of research literature has introduced opportunity for identifying current limitations of the knowledge acquired. Novel interdisciplinary research is presented, including the relationship between the sun and earth, the ability correctly identify the human organism from background photon measurements, effects of population density on disease incidence, and the corresponding relationship between the sunearth interactions and the global behaviour of the human organism. The presented research accounts for the large degrees of variability between humans by utilizing global, big data analysis. The implications propose future health and well being awareness on a planetary scale.Item 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, SheilaThe 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.Item An exploration of four ecovillages through the ecoresilient lens of spirituality(2020-10-14) Koziol, Carol AnnEcovillages worldwide continue to develop processes and solutions to face the known and unknown, social and ecological, climate-related challenges confronting communities. After a review of resilience concepts, the term ‘ecoresilience’ is defined. This research explores ecovillages through the lens of ecoresilience, specifically, the under-studied aspect of spirituality. Spirituality is framed as the simple conviction that there is more to life than we can materially observe. The exploration of four ecovillages develops through mixed data collection methods of site visits, interviews, guided tours, and a historical review. A case study approach comparatively evaluates and analyzes the ecoresilience of the four ecovillages La Cité Écologique in Quebec, Whole Village Ecovillage in Ontario, The Park at Findhorn in Scotland, and The Federation of Damanhur in Italy. A significant finding uncovered how spirituality positively impacts ecovillage ecoresilience. Beginning with the purpose of an ecovillage, and continuing through individual and collective activities, spirituality supports and builds spiritual capital in communities. Spiritual capital creates a shock absorber to help community members manoeuvre through adverse events. The case studies displayed many unique examples of building spiritual capital through the three spiritual themes, including connection to the web of life, engaged spirituality through social-ecological efforts, and the arts. Spirituality ensures a strong connection to the web of life, builds community cohesion, and both are essential ingredients for future ecovillage ecoresilience. Other mainstream lessons gleaned from this research are intergenerational governance, cooperative living, low-impact lifestyles, nature-based education, the ability to adapt to change, and the importance of individual and communal spiritual activities to ecoresilience.Item Contribution de l’approche relationnelle à la compréhension de la conversion religieuse(2020-10-30) Bouguerra, InesLa 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.