oURspace (Univ. of Regina)
Not a member yet
15455 research outputs found
Sort by
Le français en Sierra Leone : apprentissage et développement du capital humain
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in French and Francophone Intercultural Studies, University of Regina. viii, 135 p.After a brutal civil war, different Sierra Leone governments prioritized education, launching different education policies and programs to provide quality basic and secondary education, reduce poverty and enhance resources in public and government-assisted schools. This research aims to answer the following questions: What is the status of French teaching/learning in basic and secondary education in Sierra Leone? How can learning French contribute to the development and strengthening of human capital in Sierra Leone? Using the approaches developed within human capital development theory, this qualitative method study prioritizes semi-structured interviews. An overview of French language teachers' views, beliefs, and experiences with teaching and learning French is given by the study. It demonstrates that schools deal with instructional challenges, insufficient government initiatives, and unfavorable attitudes toward the French language. Teachers are conscious of the dearth of possibilities for professional growth as well as financial and logistical resources. However, the study shows that with inclusive and successful educational policies and practical steps, human capital development through French teaching/learning is achievable in Sierra Leone.
Keywords: Language in education policy, French as a Foreign Language in Anglophone Africa, curriculum, task-based approach, communicative approach, human capital developmentStudentye
Community-based programming for families and children with disabilities
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina. vii, 80 p.Leisure and recreation are known to positively impact families and children with disabilities.
Leisure is defined as an activity that participants take part in when they are free from the
demands of other responsibilities. However, opportunities for individuals with disabilities to take
part in leisure activities in the community can be limited. The purpose of this research is to
explore the experiences of families and children with disabilities in community recreation
programming. To obtain participants’ perspectives the study was done using a constructivist
viewpoint, and a qualitative descriptive design. Data were collected from four families using
both one-on-one interviewing and larger connection groups. Thematic analysis was used to
analyze the qualitative data. Three main themes were identified as the largest barriers to
inclusion: attitudes, opportunities, and acceptance. Participants experienced barriers based on the
views of other attendees, their caregivers, their self-doubts, and their coaches. The participants
expressed the need for intervention and expressed how assistance in accessing community-based
recreation could reduce these barriers.
Keywords: disability, inclusion, family, acceptance, opportunity, attitudes.Studentye
Archer Library Award 2025 Photographs
No full textAward 2025 2.jpg: Brett Waytuck presents the Dr. John Archer Library Award certificate to Addisen Nelson
Award 2025 5.jpf: (left to right) left to right are: Gillian van der Ven (Music Librarian), David Dick (Dean, Faculty of MAP), Brett Waytuck (Dean, University Libraries Archives), Addisen Nelson (Dr. John Archer Library Award 2025 recipient), Barbara Reul (Professor, Department of Music), Melissa Morgan (Head, Department of Music)
Award 2025 6.jpg: Addisen Nelson with the Dr. John Archer Library Award plaque
Award 2025 7.jpg: Addisen Nelson with the Dr. John Archer Library Award trophy
Award 2025 8.jpg: Addisen Nelson and Barbara Reul (Professor, Department of Music
Neurophysiological mechanisms of dual-tasking in people with multiple sclerosis
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina. xii, 90p.Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) globally, affecting approximately 4,000 people within the province. An emerging topic of study within MS rehabilitation is dual-tasking (i.e., the performance of two tasks simultaneously). Reports on dual-task performance among people with MS (PwMS) vary in the literature, with past research limited by methodological differences and minimal consideration of the underlying neurophysiology. Studies suggest that changes in inhibitory neural activity in the motor cortex may support dual-task performance in healthy adults, as assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) techniques. Other TMS work indicates that MS alters corticospinal inhibition, but how and whether it is modulated during dual-tasking in PwMS is unknown. The primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether changes in corticospinal inhibition that occur during dual-tasking are different in PwMS compared to non-MS controls. Six PwMS (4F; 45.17 ± 15.74 years) and three non-MS controls (2F; 42.33 ± 16.62 years) participated and performed motor and cognitive tasks under single-task and dual-task conditions. Each dual-task included a core motor task, which involved maintaining a pinch grip at a steady-force level. Performance of this core motor task allowed for assessment of corticospinal inhibition during task performance via measurement of the cortical silent period elicited by TMS. Tasks combined with the core motor task included holding a string of numbers and/or number letter combinations in working memory and a foot-tapping task. Several versions of these tasks were presented alongside the core motor task, each providing different levels of task novelty and complexity. Dual-task performance was measured as a dual-task cost with consideration of task performance and cortical silent period duration. Several key findings emerged from this exploratory study: i) PwMS demonstrated only minor negative impacts to cognitive performance under dual-task conditions, with some indication of a ‘cognitive-first’ prioritization strategy, ii) both PwMS and non-MS controls generally displayed some level of an interference effect on force-grip performance indicated by negative dual-task costs; and iii) PwMS displayed greater changes in cortical silent period dual-task costs that were particularly apparent under the motor-motor dual-task conditions. Findings from this study indicate that while PwMS and non-MS controls may experience similar performance changes during dual-tasking, it appears that the neurophysiological mechanisms may be different. Future work should continue to investigate the impact of MS-related changes in the corticospinal system on dual-task performance.Studentye
Evaluating the Before Operational Stress on-demand asynchronous online training for public safety and healthcare personnel
No full textPublic safety personnel (PSP) experience frequent exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events, increasing their likelihood of developing several mental health disorders. The Before Operational Stress (BOS) program was designed as a proactive psychological intervention to build resilience and improve interpersonal relationships among Canadian PSP. Previous mixed-methods evaluations of the BOS program evidenced small but statistically significant improvements associated with BOS Intensive (in-person) training. A new delivery modality was developed to provide asynchronous online access to program content (i.e., BOS On-Demand) to improve accessibility.© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.T
his is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Occupational Stressors and Mental Health Disorders: A National Study of Correctional Service Providers in Canada’s Provincial and Territorial Systems
No full text© 2025 Georgia State University. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).Correctional workers (CWs) experience organizational (e.g., staff shortages, administrative burdens) and operational stressors (e.g., exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events [PPTEs]) when completing their occupational responsibilities. In the current Canadian study, we assessed the average stress levels for diverse organizational and operational stressors among CWs across occupational groups (e.g., institutional operational, correctional officers, community operations, management, and administrators), provincial and territorial jurisdictions, and pre versus during COVID-19. We examined the relationships between 40 work-related stressors, including PPTE exposures and prevalence of positive screens for several mental health disorders (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, alcohol use disorder). Results further evidence organizational and operational stressors beyond PPTE as being correlates of mental health challenges among CWs. Reducing organizational stress by increasing staffing and leadership training, improving communication and access to specialized treatment resources, mitigating PPTE exposures, and supporting collegial relationships may all potentiate improvements for the mental health of CWs.Tracie O. Afifi's research is supported by a CIHR Foundation Scheme Award and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience. This research was also funded in part by a CIHR Catalyst Grant (FRN: 162545)
Assessing a new teaching method for Point-of-Care Ultrasound
No full textA Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 49 p.Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) uses small ultrasound devices that can be used at patients’ bedsides. POCUS can lead to faster diagnoses and treatment but requires extensive training to use effectively. This study evaluated whether eye tracking can differentiate between experts and novice POCUS users to help develop better teaching methods. Ten novices (medical students) and 1 expert (ER physician) had their eye movements recorded while they viewed POCUS lung videos of three different types: Pneumothorax (collapsed lung), Healthy Lung, and Potential False Diagnosis (pseudopneumothorax) to determine the presence of Pneumothorax. The expert had 100% accuracy but the novices’ accuracy did not go above 60%. Novices’ performance was best on the Pneumothorax videos. The expert had high confidence in their decisions while the novices had low to moderate confidence levels. Heat maps showed that the expert had a much more focused gaze on the area of interest (AOI) while novices missed the AOI or had more scattered gaze patterns. This study showed that gaze patterns and accuracy did not always match, where often a participant showed a gaze pattern associated to accuracy but gave an incorrect response, or vice versa. Instead of inferring skill only from gaze, this observation can tell about the specific level of both ultrasound knowledge and visual search strategies, and provide personalized feedback to learners. It also tells expert gaze involves fixating only the correct area, then making the correct diagnostic decision, and novices need training on both to advance towards expertise
Automated aerial detection of spruce tree crowns through YOLOv5 and watershed segmentation
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Industrial Systems Engineering, University of Regina. xiii, 81 p.The spruce tree, a key species in Canada, is crucial to industries like timber and pulp. Effective management of these resources relies on monitoring forest parameters to ensure long-term forest health and productivity. Tree crown dimensions contribute valuable insights into these parameters. This study investigates an automated approach for detecting and measuring spruce tree crowns using the YOLOv5 machine learning model combined with watershed segmentation. The method enhances the accuracy of crown measurements from aerial drone images. Over 2,000 spruce trees in a limited forested area of Saskatchewan, Canada, are analysed using top-view images captured by a DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone, which is sufficient for this project as the model trained well. The YOLOv5 model is initially employed to detect trees, following by watershed segmentation to refine the tree crown boundaries. In the forest measuring area, some regions contain closely spaced trees with overlapping crowns that cause challenges for accurate recognition of tree boundaries. Although feeding watershed segmentation with YOLO-detected individual trees addresses this issue, tuning the IoU threshold in the NMS stage, applying data augmentation, and utilizing high-resolution images further enhance detection accuracy.
One issue in predicting tree crowns is the underestimation of diameters, often resulting from systematic errors in image capture, measurement methods, environmental conditions, and limitations in image resolution. To address this issue, a linear regression model is applied to adjust the predicted crown diameters, aligning them more closely with the actual field measurements. This approach demonstrates an acceptable accuracy of 89.1% compared to prior research and existing methodologies, which reported accuracies ranging from 67.72% to 95.4%, particularly in complex forest environments.
Although the primary focus of this research is on measuring tree crowns, the findings have broader implications for forestry management activities, such as biomass estimation and forest health monitoring. Future research could explore further improvements to the model for real-time forest management applications, as well as expand its use to detect and measure other tree species in mixed forests and agriculture plants.Studentye
‘My spirit is fed’: Exploring land-based, culturally appropriate active living strategies to facilitate holistic well-being among on-reserved youth: A Smart Platform study
No full textA Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy, University of Regina. xii, 146 p.A constructivist grounded theory approach with an Indigenous lens was used for a qualitative analysis of questions on culture, mental health, physical activity, and land-based activities. This analysis was undertaken as a part of the Smart Platform: Smart Indigenous Youth (SIY) project. The goals of the SIY were to increase physical activity using a cultural land-based active living intervention along with a technological component through an app. This thesis focused on the impact of the intervention on the mental health of on-reserve Indigenous youth in southern Saskatchewan; eleven on-reserve Indigenous youth shared their perceptions in focus groups before and after participating in the land-based intervention and thematic data analysis was performed. Themes included keeping culture going, community and cultural aspects of physical activity, and the importance of schools as key locations for reconnecting with culture. A theory of Indigenous identity was developed to provide insight into the complicated aspects in reconnecting with culture, especially the pressure, obligation, and responsibility that Indigenous youth feel towards passing on Indigenous culture. A notable finding was the improvement in mental health reported by participants after participating in the land-based intervention. Policy recommendations include the importance of early childhood access to cultural programs, the necessity of a mental health component as a part of land-based programs, and the need for inclusivity in land-based program teachings.Studentye