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Professional Identity in Nursing: Constructions of the Student and Novice Nurse
No full textNurse scholars have consistently reported that identity represents a cornerstone to understanding nursing recruitment, retention, and leadership capacity. However, research has fallen short in critically examining the concept of identity and its relationship with key workforce indicators. New graduate nurses represent a particularly vulnerable group, as entry-to-practice education and the transition to practice exert a profound impact on the ways in which new graduate nurses identify with the profession, internalize core values, and enact their identity in practice landscapes thereafter. As the profession faces critical challenges related to recruitment and retention of nurses, it is imperative to understand the ways in which new graduate nurses construct a professional identity and how this impacts the work that they do. The research questions that guided this work included: how does nursing's professional identity evolve during the first six months of the transition to nursing practice? And, what are the internal and external discourses that influence its construction in relation to job satisfaction and intent to remain in the profession?
Using poststructural feminism, a qualitative case study was done with 2023 graduates from a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in British Columbia. An online survey of demographic data and the Professional Identity Scale for Nursing Students was administered to new graduate nurses in British Columbia (n=24). Six participants participated in three follow-up interviews throughout the first six months of their transition to practice. Documents mentioned by participants during interviews were also collected. Survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Interview transcripts were analyzed using critical discourse analysis, followed by an analysis of two professional documents, the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives Professional Practice Standards and the Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics.
Professional identity scores ranged from 26 to 79 (M = 65). Four primary discursive units of professional identity construction emerged: Institutional Constitution, Conditioned Tolerance, Constitution of Self, and Agency. Document analysis supported interview narratives highlighting core challenges associated with professional identity in nursing and the duty to provide care. Results gave rise to key implications for nursing education, practice, policy, and research. These included: developing politically foregrounded curricula, re-examining employment models for nurses as a means of increasing professional authority, establishing nurse-led clinical governance models, and conducting longitudinal research that examines professional identity development from a critical perspective
NextGen Decision-Making for Health and Environmental Risks
No full textRisk decision-making has evolved from specifying the main steps involved in risk assessment and how this links to the overall analysis and governance of risks, to complex and fully integrated risk science frameworks. With the advancement in science and technology, there has also been a significant change in the types of evidence available for identifying and characterizing hazards, determining potential exposure profiles, and evaluating the probability of health and environmental risks. These efforts have resulted in several publications focused on providing precision on specific areas within the risk assessment-management process and new approaches for undertaking risk assessments. There has also been a transition to more complex and holistic risk science frameworks, methodologies, and guidelines. The term next generation risk decision-making is used to capture these contemporary approaches. Further, while there is specific guidance for a particular approach, limited attention has been paid to the underlying considerations for developing these contemporary and more complex and holistic approaches to risk decision-making.
In this thesis, we address this knowledge gap through an embedded research model designed to determine the ongoing modernization efforts and approaches to next generation risk decision-making within both the Canadian and international regulatory context (national and federal level). The embedded research model is coupled with an independent knowledge mobilization and transfer strategy that relies on the engagement and collaboration, with diverse experts and thought leaders, to determine fundamental risk and ethical principles for risk decision-making. Further, a scoping review provides a mechanism to visualize the evolution in risk science over the last fifty years, and characterize best practices and ten key attributes for risk decision-making. To help integrate our findings, we rely on a realist paradigm to generate an a priori theoretical construct and kaleidoscope model, which translates the principles, best practices, and attributes into key considerations for developing an approach to next generation risk decision-making. Our findings are widely applicable to any organization or governmental body interested in learning about next generation risk decision-making, including adapting or developing their own approach to risk decision-making, informed by the results presented in this thesis. The embedded research model, knowledge mobilization and transfer strategy, realist paradigm, and publication in open science, peer-reviewed journals ensures that our findings are available for the broader community interested in next generation risk decision-making
Improving Inclusivity and Accessibility in the Performing Arts
No full textThis Open Educational Resource (OER), Adaptive Performance Resources, Practices, and Learning Materials, provides a comprehensive and practical toolkit to support inclusivity and accessibility in the performing arts, with a particular focus on music. Designed for undergraduate students, instructors, and independent learners, the resource addresses a significant gap in free, adaptable educational content that supports inclusive artistic practices for disability and neurodiverse communities.
Structured as four modules—including an introductory pre-module—this OER covers foundational knowledge of disability and neurodiversity, broad inclusive and accessible practices, and in-depth approaches to adaptive performances in contexts such as dementia and palliative care. It incorporates diverse formats such as PowerPoint presentations, learning activities, quizzes, readings, videos, and case studies, enabling flexible use across disciplines and institutions.
By offering tools that support the creation and delivery of inclusive performances, this OER empowers future artists, educators, and arts leaders to foster equitable cultural participation. It advances students' understanding of emerging inclusive practices while contributing to their employability, creativity, and critical engagement with the arts in a changing society.University of Ottawa Library OER Gran
Exploring Associations Between Employment History and Risk of Adverse Reproductive Health Outcomes
No full textThere is an increasing prevalence of adverse reproductive health outcomes, such as infertility and abortive outcomes in Canada and the United States. While risk factors are attributed to biopsychosocial determinants, there is a growing concern about the role of occupation as a risk factor. With more women entering the workforce, particularly in manual occupations, they are exposed to various occupational hazards that affect their reproductive health. This thesis aims to provide an overview of industry as an etiological risk factor for these outcomes through two studies using a population-based cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014 cycle. The findings revealed that women employed in specialized industrial sectors are more likely to experience adverse reproductive health outcomes. These findings highlight the impact of workplace hazards on women's health, thus emphasizing the need for future research to investigate exposures in these sectors that contribute to adverse reproductive health outcomes
Improving Bifacial Photovoltaic Models by Quantifying the Impact of Racking, Artificial Reflectors, and Varying Solar Spectrum
No full textThe deployment of photovoltaic (PV) energy is expected to rise exponentially in the next few decades, driven by decarbonization, electrification, and record-low system costs. Furthermore, bifacial PV modules, which generate electricity from both front and rear surfaces, are projected to make up 70\% of the PV market share within the next ten years due to their increased generation capacity, more efficient land use, and reduced levelized costs. However, irradiance incident on the module rear is more variable than front-incident irradiance, resulting in higher uncertainty in bifacial energy yield models than in monofacial models.
PV energy yield models inform a wide range of stakeholders, including policy makers, lenders, grid operators, system owners, and system designers. Energy yield predictions are subject to uncertainty caused by weather fluctuations, input uncertainty, and necessary approximations. Reductions in these uncertainties and approximations promote PV adoption, reduce financing costs, increase design efficiency, facilitate maintenance, and improve grid integration.
This thesis aims to improve bifacial PV models by quantifying the impact of system design and environmental conditions on energy yield. The work is focused on three factors: (1) structural shading and reflection, (2) artificial ground reflectors, and (3) solar spectral irradiance. I combine field measurements with model results to identify the conditions where these effects are most impactful and when they are negligible.
Firstly, I present a method for quantifying the effect of racking shading and reflection on the rear irradiance, energy yield, mismatch losses, and bifacial gain of a bifacial PV system. I demonstrate that: (1) racking reflection is a significant structural effect on PV performance, and (2) structural effects vary seasonally, by time of day, and with albedo. In an example case with two-in-portrait single-axis-tracked modules in Livermore, California, incorporating racking reflection reduces the average structural rear shading by up to 9.1% per year compared with absorptive racking structures.
Secondly, I quantify the impact of artificial reflectors with 70% reflectivity on a bifacial one-in-portrait single-axis-tracked PV system in Golden, Colorado. Relative to natural albedo, I found a reflector power gain of up to 6.2% before inverter clipping from field experiments and up to 4.5% after inverter clipping in energy yield models. I demonstrate that: (1) the ideal placement of the artificial reflector is directly under the torque tube, (2) clipping effects must be considered when optimizing artificial reflector systems, and (3) artificial reflectors are most viable in locations with low energy yield and high system costs.
Finally, I demonstrate the importance of spectrally-varying solar irradiance in bifacial PV energy yield. The solar spectrum is constantly changing, causing errors in PV models due to deviations from the reference spectrum. I quantify the spectral error in bifacial PV model predictions for a range of North American locations (39.7-69.1°N). I demonstrate: (1) annual spectral irradiance impacts on energy yield from +0.7% to +2.7% and (2) spectral effects are most important for diffuse irradiance and ground-reflected irradiance. I then compare five parameterized spectral correction methods and two measured spectral irradiance correction methods in Roskilde, Denmark. These demonstrate that long-wavelength irradiance cannot be neglected in PV spectral correction.
This work supports bifacial PV model improvement by quantifying the effects of various environmental and system factors with the goal of reducing bifacial PV model uncertainty and increasing PV adoption worldwide
Ultracataclastic Vein Evolution Within a Granodiorite Along the Naxos Detachment System
No full textUltracataclastic and pseudotachylytic veins are interpreted as direct evidence of coseismic slip, reflecting the conditions and mechanisms associated with fault rupture. Although the Naxos granodiorite, Greece, is known for its pristine pseudotachylyte exposures, these features remain largely understudied in terms of their microstructural evolution and implications for middle crust seismicity. We examine a suite of well-preserved veins hosted in the deformed Miocene granodiorite, historically described as examples of melt-origin pseudotachylytes, but here are re-interpreted as dominantly ultracataclasites, produced from the comminution of host rock. The veins occur in the immediate footwall of the fluid-rich Naxos-Paros Detachment System, active between c. 12-9 Ma, and possess a similar composition as the surrounding host rock of primarily albite (35%), quartz (25%), orthoclase (16%), and biotite (12%). Structural field observations from the highest strain zone reveal three distinct crosscutting vein sets. Electron backscatter diffraction mapping of host rock porphyroclasts of albite, orthoclase, and quartz crosscut by ultracataclastic veins demonstrates that cataclasis is the dominant deformation mechanism. Variations in microstructural maturity of vein fragments suggest episodic emplacement, with rupture exploiting pre-existing slip planes. Cuspate phase boundaries between orthoclase and albite, initially observed in optical and scanning electron microscopy, are confirmed by electron microprobe analyses as a result from dissolution-precipitation reactions. These features indicate deformation by dissolution-precipitation creep. The results suggest that fluid-mediated reactions localized at vein tips contributed to weakening, generating a mechanical-chemical feedback loop that promoted ultracataclastic vein propagation along the detachment
Exploring the Association Between Mental Health and Cooking Practices in Canadian Young Adults: A Cross-sectional Study
No full textHome cooking has declined in recent years, with households spending less time preparing meals, cooking less frequently, and eating out more often. This shift occurred alongside an overall rise in mental health concerns. Prior research has found that limited cooking skills and greater reliance on processed foods were associated with poorer mental health in Canadians. These trends raise important questions about the relationship between mental well-being and cooking practices. To address this, the present study explored the associations between symptoms of depression and anxiety and cooking intensity (which is a product of cooking frequency and duration) among Canadian young adults. The inclusion criteria were adults aged 18 to 29 years, residing in Canada, possessing a valid postal code, and being fluent in either English or French. A web-based survey collected demographic data, information on cooking practices, dining-out practices, and mental health symptoms. The Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) assessed anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. Ordinal logistic regression model was used to assess the association between mental health symptoms and cooking intensity, while controlling for sociodemographic and eating-out variables. The analytical sample consisted of 1,310 participants, predominantly female (70.5%), students (96.9%), non-racialised (49.7%), and high school graduates (75.4%). Most (88.2%) participants reported cooking regularly. The mean PHQ-9 score was 9.9 (SD = 6.4), classified as mild severity, with 30.5% experiencing mild symptoms and 7.1% experiencing severe symptoms. The mean GAD-7 score was 9.2 (SD = 5.7), indicating a moderate level of severity, with 28.0% experiencing minimal symptoms and 16.5% experiencing severe symptoms. Regression results were significant for PHQ-9 (R² = 0.008, P = 0.01) but not for GAD-7 (R² = 0.005, P = 0.09). Similarly, in fitted models, cooking intensity showed a weak but significant association with PHQ-9 scores (β = 0.01, P = 0.03), but not with GAD-7 (β = 0.01, P = 0.06). Depression symptoms explained only a small portion of the variability in cooking intensity, indicating that other factors also play a role. Thus, future research should focus on exploring other psychological variables, such as self-efficacy and motivation, to better understand the influence of mental health factors on cooking practices
The Presumption of Imputability and the Presumption of Innocence: Two Presumption in Conflict?
No full textIn CIC/83, c. 1321, §1 states the principle often referred to as the presumption of innocence, yet §4 of the same canon states that, once an external violation of a penal law or penal precept has been proven, imputability is presumed. Though the presumption of imputability is less rigorous than the presumption of dolus in CIC/17, c. 2200, §2, some authors consider the presumption of imputability to be incompatible with the presumption of innocence.
By thoroughly examining the history of presumptions, the concept of the imputability of delicts, and the historical development and content of the presumption of innocence, the Author clarifies the nature of these presumptions and how they function in penal processes. Further insights and clarifications are achieved by analyzing and responding to objections to the presumption of imputability made by J. Provost, T. Green, L. Eusebi, N. Bartone, and P. Skonieczny.
This analysis leads the Author to various conclusions concerning the nature of the presumptions of innocence and imputability and how they are compatible. It is demonstrated that the presumption of innocence is not a true presumption, in the sense of a probable conjecture about an uncertain matter (see c. 1584). Rather, it is a favour of law and/or what E. Labandeira describes as a regulatory precept. It stands above the shifting burden of proof in a penal process. The Author also argues that this favour of law is not contradicted by the presumption of imputability, or even by the earlier presumption of dolus, which is still included in CCEO, c. 1414, §3. The Author further argues that the presumption of dolus in fact remains implicitly in the CIC/83.
Dans le CIC/83, c. 1321, §1 énonce le principe souvent appelé la présomption d'innocence, mais le §4 du même canon stipule que, une fois qu'une violation externe d'une loi pénale ou d'un précepte pénal a été prouvée, l'imputabilité est présumée. Bien que la présomption d'imputabilité soit moins rigoureuse que la présomption de dol dans le CIC/17, c. 2200, §2, certains auteurs considèrent que la présomption d'imputabilité est incompatible avec la présomption d'innocence.
En examinant en profondeur l'histoire des présomptions, le concept d'imputabilité des délits et le développement historique et le contenu de la présomption d'innocence, l'auteur clarifie la nature de ces présomptions et la manière dont elles fonctionnent dans les procédures pénales. Des éclaircissements supplémentaires sont obtenus en analysant et en répondant aux objections à la présomption d'imputabilité formulées par J. Provost, T. Green, L. Eusebi, N. Bartone et P. Skonieczny.
Cette analyse conduit l'auteur à diverses conclusions concernant la nature des présomptions d'innocence et d'imputabilité et leur compatibilité. Il est démontré que la présomption d'innocence n'est pas une véritable présomption, au sens d'une conjecture probable sur une question incertaine (voir c. 1584). Il s'agit plutôt d'une faveur de la loi et/ou de ce que E. Labandeira décrit comme un précepte réglementaire. Elle se situe au-dessus du renversement de la charge de la preuve dans un processus pénal. L'auteur soutient également que cette faveur de la loi n'est pas contredite par la présomption d'imputabilité, ni même par la présomption antérieure de dolus, qui est toujours incluse dans le CCEO, c. 1414, §3. L’auteur soutient en outre que la présomption de dol demeure en fait implicite dans la CIC/83
Inconsistency detection in cancer data classification using explainable-AI
No full textAbstract Background Accurate classification of cancer-related text data is essential for early diagnosis and effective treatment. However, conventional classification methods often suffer from confusion in error analysis due to data inconsistencies, semantic misalignment, and unreliable labeling. Manual error analysis is labor-intensive and prone to oversight, which limits the clinical utility of these approaches. Aim This study aims to develop a robust and explainable framework that automates and justifies error analysis by detecting inconsistencies—including potential mislabeling—in classification outcomes through a dual-perspective algorithmic approach. Methods We propose a novel dual-perspective framework that integrates unsupervised semantic clustering with supervised classification. Specifically, our approach combines BERT-based BERTopic clustering with SVM classification on Node2Vec embeddings to decouple semantic and structural perspectives. It introduces an Explainable Inconsistency Detection (EID) module to automatically surface and remove inconsistencies between the clustering and classification outputs. Additionally, a collaborative filtering recommender system aligns clusters with ground-truth labels to adaptively refine results, with performance validated through rigorous statistical testing. Results Experimental evaluations on cancer datasets demonstrated substantial improvements in both classification performance and the clarity of error analysis. The optimized framework improved accuracy from 46% to 91% and increased the F1-score from 50% to 89%. Statistical analysis confirmed that these gains were significant (p-values ) and directly attributable to the targeted removal of inconsistent instances rather than random data exclusion. Conclusions The integration of BERTopic, SVM, and the Explainable Inconsistency Detection (EID) framework enhances both performance and interpretability by addressing semantic contradictions and structural anomalies in biomedical data. This semi-automated, explainable pipeline offers actionable insights into underlying data errors, presenting strong potential for integration into clinical decision support systems. Future work will focus on refining the EID for broader generalization and exploring real-time applications in healthcare
Space Age Schools: SUPRAD and Integrated Quality Education
No full textEstablished in 1957, Harvard University's School and University Program for Research and Development (SUPRAD) was a school reform project that brought together Harvard's Graduate School of Education and three Boston-area school systems. Over a fifteen-year period, SUPRAD educators developed a distinctive pedagogy that cohered around dual promotion of flexibility and differentiation, whether in school design, teacher deployment, or instructional practices. Initially intended to alleviate a perceived teacher shortage, SUPRAD evolved into a wide-ranging school reform project that took aim at many aspects of the traditional grammar of schooling, targeting in each case an element premised on there being one best system for all students. The Space Age was a time of great uncertainty, as technological and social advances heralded new possibilities in many fields, including education. Excited by these new possibilities, SUPRAD educators designed schools (including educational parks) whose design features and instructional practices were seen to promote delivery of integrated quality education. Drawing on documents archived at Harvard University and elsewhere, this thesis argues that SUPRAD was an important school reform project, noteworthy for both in its enlistment of elite actors and its promotion of a vision of schooling where egg-crate schools with interchangeable students and regimented staff would be replaced by free-form facilities built for maximum flexibility. Intent on remaking American schooling, SUPRAD educators such as Francis Keppel, Harold Gores, Neil Sullivan and Robert Anderson directed a succession of projects in a series of cities (Boston; Newton; Farmville; Fort Lauderdale; Berkeley), aspiring each time to construct Space Age schools