19614 research outputs found
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Different self-damaging behaviours, similar motives? Testing measurement invariance of motives for nonsuicidal self-injury, disordered eating and substance misuse
No full textObjectives: Theory and research suggest that distinct self-damaging behaviours (SDBs; e.g., nonsuicidal self-injury [NSSI], restrictive eating, binge eating, drug misuse, alcohol misuse) share similar motives. However, few studies have used a common self-report inventory to investigate the shared relevance and relative salience of motives for SDBs. Accordingly, the present study: (1) examined whether self-report scales assessing intrapersonal motives (i.e., relieving negative emotions, enhancing positive emotions, punishing oneself) and interpersonal motives (i.e., bonding with others, conforming with others, communicating distress, communicating strength, reducing demands) have invariant factor structures across SDBs; and (2) compared the salience of these motives across SDBs.
Methods: 1018 adults (54.6% men, Mage = 35.41 years) with a history of SDBs were allocated to the following groups: NSSI (n = 213), restrictive eating (n = 200), binge eating (n = 200), drug misuse (n = 200) or alcohol misuse (n = 205). Participants reported on their motives for engaging in their allocated SDB. Measurement invariance analyses compared the factor structures and latent means of the motive scales across SDBs.
Results: The motive scales had comparable factor structures across SDBs. Intrapersonal motives were most strongly endorsed for NSSI and drug misuse. Interpersonal motives were most strongly endorsed for drug and alcohol misuse. All motives were least salient to restrictive eating.
Conclusions: Results suggest that common motives underlie distinct SDBs and that they can be adequately assessed using a single self-report inventory. However, certain motives are more relevant to some SDBs than others, with restrictive eating being the most motivationally distinct SDB. This knowledge can inform transdiagnostic models and interventions for SDBs.This project was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) doctoral award to the first author, a SSHRC doctoral fellowship to the third author and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar award (#18240) to the fifth author. The funding sources were not involved in research design, data collection or manuscript preparation.FacultyReviewe
Dressing for Success: The Impact of Clothing on Somatosensory Processing
Get PDFThis research project aimed to investigate how clothing conditions influence somatosensory experiences and neural activity during standing and walking tasks. Six healthy, physically active individuals participated in experiments where they wore either minimal or functional clothing while performing tasks on a treadmill. EEG measurements were collected to assess neural activity across different frequency bands. Despite significant topographical differences suggested by independent components analysis, multiple comparison t-tests did not support these findings. The absence of notable differences may be attributed to factors such as sensory gating mechanisms, individual variability, and the dynamic nature of motor tasks. Future research should address these limitations by increasing sample size, diversifying participant pools, and incorporating advanced neuroimaging techniques. Ultimately, this study underscores the need to refine our understanding of sensory processing dynamics to optimize performance outcomes and rehabilitation interventions.Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)UndergraduateReviewe
Groundwater-connected systems: A social-ecological framing, global data-driven applications, and sustainability implications
No full textGroundwater systems and groundwater science are both at critical moments characterized by rapid change. Human activities continue to transform the land surface and climate, pump groundwater at rates beyond physically renewable limits, and attempt to govern and manage the resource. In recognition of this, groundwater science has broadened in recent decades to account for the interactions between people, ecosystems, Earth systems, and groundwater. Separately yet simultaneously, sustainability science has emerged as a problem-oriented field aimed at understanding interactions between social and natural systems within the contested and normative contexts of sustainability. In this dissertation, I integrate leading sustainability science concepts and methods with groundwater science and demonstrate the utility of this approach through global studies that combine large, multidimensional datasets with spatial data science methods. This work makes contributions under two overarching themes: to support a more comprehensive understanding of large-scale groundwater systems as social-ecological systems, and to explore possible uses of these insights in support of global groundwater sustainability.
The fundamental contribution of this study is the development of the groundwater-connected systems framing that provides a language, conceptual foundation, and pathway to consider groundwater systems as social-ecological systems (Paper I). This framing centers a relational understanding of groundwater where groundwater systems are explicitly considered on the basis of biophysical and socioeconomic system interactions rather than on the basis of the resource’s hydrogeological characteristics or physiographic setting. I argue that this framing has useful implications across data collection, scientific investigations, education, governance, and management. The remainder of the dissertation begins to explore some of these opportunities through global-scale data-driven applications.
As all global analyses I conduct (Papers III-VI) are based on open-access datasets, I first perform a scoping review of the existing open data landscape to study groundwater systems as social-ecological systems (Paper II). Over 130 datasets are identified and reviewed, and 40 unique datasets are used to generate findings across Papers III-VI.
I first apply the groundwater-connected systems framing to develop a global classification and mapping of groundwater’s large-scale (order of 104 km2) biophysical and socioeconomic functions (Paper III). The resulting groundwaterscapes (n = 15) are landscape units that represent specific and broadly occurring configurations of groundwater functions across Earth systems, ecosystems, food systems, and water management systems. The groundwaterscapes are derived using an iterative, two-stage self-organizing map clustering algorithm. Groundwaterscapes contrast with existing groundwater resource maps as all large aquifer systems of the world are characterized by multiple groundwaterscapes. Thus, groundwaterscapes offer a new lens and spatial tool to study groundwater dynamics, inform groundwater data collection priorities, and manage groundwater resources based on an understanding of groundwater systems as social-ecological systems.
I subsequently investigate the groundwater sustainability implications of the groundwaterscapes. I do so by developing a complementary global classification of groundwater system risk types, informed by an Anthropocene risk framing. This approach includes both conventional risks such as groundwater storage loss and land use change in addition to unconventional and increasingly prioritized risks such as gender development inequalities and hydro-political tension. Overlaying groundwaterscapes with groundwater risk types generates a spatially explicit mapping of hundreds (n = 270) of unique groundwater sustainability challenges, providing the most comprehensive social-ecological evaluation of the global groundwater crisis to date (Paper IV). Conceptualizing and mapping the global groundwater crisis in this way provides a tool to support solution transfer and network development between regions.
I conclude by conducting two studies that demonstrate the broad applicability of the groundwater-connected systems framing in contexts where groundwater considerations are often overlooked or omitted. In Paper V, I assess the social-ecological vulnerability of river basins to experience impacts from the linked threats of freshwater stress and freshwater storage loss, which embeds representation of groundwater storage trends, and identify a set of most vulnerable basins as hotspots for global prioritization. In Paper VI, I delineate the groundwater catchments of the world’s protected areas to highlight how groundwater flow can transmit human impacts occurring outside protected areas to ecosystems within protected area boundaries.Graduate2025-06-2
Enchanted Avians
Get PDFFrom dragons to fairies, otherworldly and enchanting creatures fill Medieval Welsh literature. Among these fae-like creatures, there is one species all readers of the material are familiar with: birds. Birds fly between the magical and mundane forests, and unique to The Mabinogion, flit between constructions of human and animal. The Mabinogion is a collection of eleven Medieval Welsh prose tales that highlight cultural and folkloric practices in Medieval Wales. Throughout these tales, birds appear as agents of enchantment, curses and blessings, and Ovidian transformations. My research catalogues Welsh bird species and situates their meanings in Medieval Welsh literature and culture. Beyond a fascinating glimpse into birds across time, this analysis illustrates how Medieval Wales’s nature and magic enrich our understandings of Medieval Welsh culture and ourselves.Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)UndergraduateReviewe
Mind Matters: Neural Differences in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Get PDFMild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an early stage of cognitive decline that affects a growing number of older adults worldwide. MCI decreases neural contextual processing, which uses the environment to adjust thoughts and actions. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a technique to measure changes in brainwave activity, and within it, the P300 event-related potential (ERP) plays a crucial role in processing and identifying stimuli. The relationship between contextual processing, P300 amplitude, and MCI has yet to be fully explored. Therefore, we investigated the difference in P300 amplitude between individuals 60 or older diagnosed with MCI and age-matched controls. Mobile EEG data was collected while participants completed a one-response visual oddball task. Here, we show a decrease in P300 amplitude measured at the right electrode (TP9) for the MCI group compared to the control group during the oddball task. No difference was observed at the left electrode (TP10). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological State (RBANS) diagnostic tests showed no correlation with P300 amplitude. Our results demonstrate the impact of MCI on detecting and processing new environmental information. Further, our findings suggest that decreasing P300 amplitude could be a potential MCI biomarker, revolutionizing early diagnosis and intervention.Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)UndergraduateReviewe
Transient dynamics in electromagnetically induced transparency
Get PDFElectromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) has proven to be an invaluable resource for numerous applications in quantum technology, specifically in quantum memories, quantum repeaters, and quantum sensors. EIT also has significant applications in fundamental physics and nonlinear optics. Given that EIT is a foundational component of future quantum technology, a comprehensive understanding of its parameters is essential for the development of future devices.
This thesis focuses on the transient dynamics of EIT, specifically examining oscillations in the absorption of the Probe Field (PF) as a means to determine the decoherence of the ground states. Transient EIT has been explored in previous theoretical and experimental studies across various systems, including Cold Atoms (CAs) and hot vapor media. Here, transient EIT is studied theoretically, numerically, and experimentally. Parameter exploration has been conducted to understand the effects of different parameters on the transient behavior of EIT and to identify which decoherence mechanisms have the most significant impact on the quality of EIT. Experimentally, we explored a hot atomic vapour of, naturally abundant Rubidium (Rb) atoms. Additionally, progress towards constructing a CAs system, using a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) from scratch was made, opening the door to future studies of this system.Graduat
Three-Phase PWM Schemes and Impacts on Motor Condition Monitoring
No full textElectric motors are susceptible to various faults over time, compromising their performance and reliability. Common issues include rotor eccentricity, magnet faults, and faults in stator windings such as open circuits and short circuits, as well as overheating. Detecting and monitoring these faults is crucial to prevent costly downtime and equipment damage. Current signature analysis provides a non-intrusive method for detecting abnormalities in motor operation. However, most current monitoring methods are studied and developed using three-phase sinusoidal pulse-width modulation (PWM) to control the power fed to the motor. Different PWM techniques influence factors such as harmonic distortion, torque ripple, efficiency, and motor performance under varying conditions. This project investigates the impact of different three-phase PWM schemes on motor condition monitoring techniques reliant on inverter and motor current data. The study involves simulating various PWM techniques in Simulink and implementing them on a microcontroller.Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)UndergraduateReviewe
Comparing visualizations and text on smart watches while running in realistic environment
No full textIn today’s digital age, smartwatches have become popular tools for millions of runners, providing metrics like pace, heart rate, and distance. Despite the widespread use of text-based displays on these devices, research suggests that visualizations could offer a more effective alternative. However, little is known about how visualizations perform in real-world running scenarios. This study addresses this gap by investigating how visualizations compare to text is aiding runners’ performance and experience. Through a study involving 20 runners completing running tasks on an outdoor track, we found that visualizations significantly outperformed text, with runners completing tasks 1.5 to 8 times faster. Moreover, participants expressed a strong preference for visualizations and indicated a willingness to use them during their runs if available on their smartwatch. These findings highlight the potential of visualizations to enhance the usability and effectiveness of smartwatches for runners.Graduat
Feeding Our Spirit: Connecting Plants, Health, Place and Identity. Renewing Ethnobotanical Knowledge in the Skwxwú7mesh First Nation
No full textIn a time of Indigenous Resurgence, interrelationships with culturally important plants are key to the health and well-being of Canadian Indigenous Peoples. I work with my home community of Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) First Nations in British Columbia. My research is conducted within the context of the Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) crisis in Indigenous communities across Canada. Type 2 Diabetes is five times higher than the general population and diagnosis is happening at younger ages. Drawing on theoretical and methodological approaches in ethnobotany, ethnobiology, and Indigenous Studies— and framing health and wellness from a Skwxwú7mesh perspective that considers physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health—I answer four interrelated questions:
How might developing an indigenizing and decolonizing approach to ethnobotany move the field forward to the benefit of the communities we work with, and situate the discipline as a positive contributor to Indigenous cultural-political resurgence in Canada? How can culturally important plants help connect a person’s sense of health (physical, spiritual, and emotional) to place? What do the connections between plants, health and place mean to the participants themselves? What role do culturally important plants play in developing approaches to addressing T2D from an Indigenous conceptualization of health viewpoint? These questions emerge from overarching themes and priorities that have Skwxwú7mesh expressed in initial discussions and consultation.
The results of this study will inform the Skwxwú7mesh First Nations practices on culturally rooted approaches to health through rebuilding Indigenous plant relationships. The results of this work also provide a framework for other Indigenous communities interested in reconnecting with their traditional plant practices and addressing Type 2 Diabetes in a culturally relevant way.Graduat
Milk, honey and the dying willow tree
No full textAn award-winning work of non-fiction with the theme of equity, diversity, and human rights created by undergraduate student Ruby Harris, selected by celebrity judge Thembelihle (Thembie) Moyo.2024 On the Verge Writing Contest non-fiction honorary mentionUndergraduat