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Dan Livermore Brock University collection, 1967-2024
Get PDFDaniel Livermore served as a Canadian diplomat for more than 30 years. He graduated from Brock University in 1969 with a degree in History and Politics and obtained a Ph.D. from Queen’s University. He began his career in the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1975 and was involved with issues of human rights, peacekeeping, and worked in the Privy Council Office. Subsequent postings involved work with the United Nations in New York; Santiago, Chile; Washington, D.C. and Guatemala, where he was Ambassador from 1996-1999. From 2002-2006, he was Director General of Security and Intelligence. He is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.The collection mostly consists of correspondence, photographs, news articles, and programs related to Brock University. Some of the subjects covered include athletics, awards ceremonies, and Dr. James A. Gibson’s 90th birthday celebration
An Examination of Perfectionism and its Relationships With the Gambler’s Fallacy, Small World Propensity, Sleep Deprivation and the P300 Waveform
Get PDFPerfectionism has historically been linked to superior performance, but in reality, it is also often
associated with multiple negative outcomes. Research on how perfectionistic facets relate to
performance monitoring and brain function under sleep deprivation has been limited. Cognitive
biases have been shown to be exacerbated when experiencing a sleep-deprived state. One such
bias is the Gambler’s Fallacy, a cognitive bias where people believe that previous outcomes will
have an effect on future independent events (the odds of an event occurring). Two self- report
measures of perfectionism, self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed
perfectionism (SPP), were investigated through two electrophysiological measures (P300 and
Small World Propensity) collected from 15 participants (10 females, 5 males, Mage = 22 years,
age range: 18-44 years) during a gambling task in both alert and sleepy conditions. The P300
component is a positive deflection event-related potential component thought to represent an
aspect of performance monitoring, the attention or evaluation allocated to a stimulus. No
significant correlations were observed between either type of perfectionism and the P300
amplitudes in either the alert or sleepy state; however, P300 amplitudes were reduced in the
sleepy condition overall. No other interactions or main effects were observed for P300
amplitudes. If a person were susceptible to the Gambler’s Fallacy, then the P300 amplitude
should increase with each consecutive win or loss because these increasingly unexpected events
should result in increased performance monitoring (attention/evaluation). The measure of
susceptibility to the Gambler’s Fallacy was taken as the magnitude of the residual when the
second consecutive win or loss was regressed from the fourth consecutive win or loss. Multiple
regressions revealed a diminished susceptibility to the Gambler’s Fallacy for those higher in SOP
measures but only in the sleepy condition. The results indicate that those higher in SOP were
associated with lower P300 residual amplitudes, which may indicate reduced susceptibility to the
Gambler's Fallacy when sleep deprived. The Small World Propensity (SWP) model is a measure
of the connectivity of the brain. There were also no significant differences in the SWP model
between alert and sleepy states nor with respect to the two facets of perfectionism. Future
research should consider using alternate paradigms that do not involve gambling to improve the
generalizability of the findings
War-Trauma Informed Teaching Practices for Elementary School Students
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to develop a practical handbook with relevant information, classroom strategies, and resources to help classroom and school teachers understand and respond to multi-language learner students with war trauma; and 2) to help raise consciousness of war-trauma effects on children and to address the importance of appropriate classroom practice while attending the specific needs of students affected with war trauma. This study aims to bridge the existing educational frameworks and theories and the specific needs of war- affected students, ensuring that educators are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to continue creating a nurturing and supportive classroom environment
Leveraging the Latent Space for Model Understanding and Optimization
Get PDFIn recent years, the field of machine learning has seen massive growth in both the size
and quality of models and performance on tasks such as classification or image generation.
However, these models are typically limited by two key factors. First, models such as those
used in tasks of text-to-image generation lack interpretation. Second, models that leverage
the latent space to represent data struggle to capture high-level details. This often results in
reconstructions which do not accurately represent the original data. First, to address the issue
of interpretability in text-to-image models, we introduce WINOVIS, a novel dataset designed
to probe models in their ability to interpret textual prompts. This approach reframes the task
of pronoun disambiguation from a single mode of natural language to a multi-model problem
involving both visual and textual understanding. Second, we turn our focus to models in
image generation such as the VQ-VAE which often struggle to reconstruct images capturing
the finer details of the original input image. By introducing lightweight and straightforward
modifications to the VQ-VAE’s loss function and dictionary selection process, we enable the
reconstruction of images that retain high-level details often absent from the reconstructions
produced by the traditional VQ-VAE
Autistic Youth Experiences of Coerced Assimilation in the Context of Enforced "Social Skills" Practice: Findings and recommendations from a mixed-methods participatory analysis project
Get PDFAutistic youth are driven by people around them (peers, educators, authorities) to perform “normality” overtop of themselves to avoid ostracization and punishment — this is Autistic Masking. Sometimes, masking of Autistic traits is formally taught through “Social Skills” classes or therapies. This thesis project delves into the relationships between development of masking, social self-esteem, and autonomy in Autistic youth who have undergone “social skills” programming (SSP), using a mixed-methods survey, interviews, and participatory analysis. Study design allowed for complex analysis of participant experiences with Autistic-targeted SSP and other social-behaviour-based services, which helped to locate the target phenomena in settings where neuroconformity is enforced. Key themes in each phase were gathered, revealing most prominently widespread harm caused by behaviour-focused “supports” among participants, and universal opposition to Applied Behaviour Analysis in all interviews and participatory sessions, particularly pronounced in those who have undergone it. Themes also include oppression against Autistic people, consequences of enforced social masking including loss of autonomy and sense of self, and desire for Autistic-affirming spaces where social traits are not judged or surveilled. Findings were plotted into thematic constellations, and synthesised into recommendations for Researchers, Facilitators, and Policy-Makers whose work impacts Autistic young peoples’ lives. This study was designed through a novel methodological pathway, the Critical Autistic Lens (CAL), which investigates targets through consideration of a variety of Autistic experiences and bodyminds, while scrutinizing environmental and social contexts of oppression, misrepresentation, and dehumanization.
Keywords: autism, social skills, youth, neuronormativity, behavioural interventio
Carving the Line: A Critical Examination of Women Athletes’ Experiences of Maltreatment in Freestyle Skiing
Get PDFThe purpose of this feminist narrative study was to understand the experiences of Canadian women athletes in freestyle skiing to uncover potential aspects of maltreatment in sport. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1986, 1999) ecological systems theory, this research examined individual, social, organizational, and cultural level influences that contributed to the formation of maltreatment in freestyle skiing. Using critical feminist narrative inquiry, three rounds of interviews were conducted with six women freeskiing athletes. Through interpretation of the participants’ stories, five themes developed: 1) sexism: in plain sight; 2) enduring harassment and conforming to misogyny; 3) coach’s only job is technical coaching; 4) coach’s recipe for success erodes athlete agency; and 5) coaches pressuring athletes leads to injuries. These findings revealed the normalization of physical, psychological, and sexual maltreatment, neglect, bullying, and discrimination in freestyle skiing, which had profound impacts on the participants’ well-being. This study underscores the urgent need to dismantle systemic barriers, challenge harmful cultural norms in sport that contribute to maltreatment, and carve a definitive line for safe sport in freestyle skiing. By amplifying athletes’ voices and addressing the interconnected nature of individual, social, organizational, and cultural influences shaping their experiences, this research provides valuable insights into factors that contribute to abuse and the need to foster safer, more inclusive, athlete-centred sport environments that are free of abuse. This study calls for a cultural shift in freestyle skiing and beyond, where safety, equity, human rights, and well-being become foundational elements in all athletes’ journey
Letter to Mrs. Hill from her niece B.A. Tom, January 1, 1861
Get PDFA letter to Mrs. Hill, Smithville, Gainsborough, District Niagara, Upper Canada, America, dated at Lank St. Breward [Cornwall, England], January 1, 1861, from her niece B.A. Tom. The letter is 6 pages and contains mostly family news. The author writes a great deal about the health of family members and the deaths of many of them. She also comments on the weather and the harvest. The envelope contains postmarks from Bodmin, London, Hamilton, and Smithville. There is also a stamp that reads “insufficiently stamped”. The postage stamp is six pence
Determining the Roles of the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Enzymes 5 and 6 during Icewine and Table Wine Fermentation in a Commercial Wine Yeast Using CRISPR-Cas9.
Get PDFCanada is known for Icewine which is fermented from grapes naturally frozen on the vine. Grapes are harvested below –8°C and pressed while frozen, trapping ice crystals inside the
berries and releasing juice highly concentrated in sugars and acids. The high sugar juice environment (40°Brix) causes hyperosmotic stress for yeast, resulting in water loss, triggering
glycerol production to act as an internal osmolyte to draw water back into the yeast cell, resulting in an NAD+ imbalance. Icewine has significantly higher acetic acid versus table wine, where acetic acid production may be used to reduce NAD(P)+ to NAD(P)H via NAD(P)+-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase proteins (Aldp). Previous research linked the NAD+ redox imbalance during Icewine fermentation with ALD gene expression patterns indicating a role of Ald3p encoded by ALD3 in elevating the acetic acid whereas in table wine, ALD6 expression
dominated. In the overall research program from our laboratory, the goal is to remove all five of the ALD genes, individually and in combination, from a commercial yeast genome using
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. The objective of this project is to remove three (ALD6, ALD5, and ALD4) of the five ALD genes individually from the genome of a commercial wine yeast K1
V1116 using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to assess the roles of the aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes in acetic acid production in both Icewine and table wine using these commercial yeast
deletion strains. All copies of ALD6 and ALD5 were successfully knocked out of K1-V1116. The ald6Δ yeast had a significant impact on the acetic acid production with an 86% decrease in acetic acid production during Icewine fermentation and an 85% decrease during table wine fermentation in comparison to the wild-type control yeast. The ald5Δ had a significant but
minimal impact on acetic acid production during table wine fermentation and no impact on acetic acid during Icewine fermentation. Under table wine conditions, ald5Δ had a 16% decrease in acetic acid production. One allele of the ALD4 gene was successfully knocked out of K1-V1116, creating a heterozygous ALD4 mutant. This heterozygous mutant was not evaluated in
fermentations
The Development of Future Thinking in Childhood
Get PDFHumans’ ability to represent future possibilities, known as future-oriented cognition, encompasses several skills, including saving, prospective memory, episodic future thinking, planning, and delay of gratification. Developmental research has primarily focused on preschool and school-aged children and examined the development of future-oriented cognition in relation to cognitive and language abilities. The current studies contribute to the literature in three ways by examining (a) the early emergence of future-oriented cognition in toddlerhood (Study 1), (b) how children’s home environment relates to their future-oriented cognition (Study 2), and (c) whether three candidate cognitive mechanisms (i.e., constructive episodic simulation, scene construction, and self-projection) can explain school-aged children’s episodic future thinking (Study 3). Study 1 (N = 205 parents of 2- to 3-year-olds) used parent-report questionnaires to show that 2- and 3-year-olds could engage in future thinking skills in their everyday lives (i.e., prospective memory, episodic future thinking, planning, saving, and delay of gratification). Children’s episodic memory and use of time metaphors in daily talk further explained individual differences in children’s future thinking skills. Study 2 (N = 325 parents of 2- to 6-year-olds) also used parent-report measures and found that parents’ future-oriented cognition – but not family socioeconomic status – was related to children’s future-oriented cognition, even after accounting for children’s age, cognitive abilities, and behavioural factors. Study 3 (N = 150 8- to 10-year-olds) used behavioural measures to assess children’s episodic future thinking and other abilities that may rely on the same cognitive mechanisms as episodic future thinking, including episodic memory, episodic thinking for present events, imagination, perspective-taking, and spatial navigation. Structural equation modeling showed that children’s episodic future thinking, episodic memory, episodic thinking for current events, imagination, and spatial navigation shared significant variance, aligning with the constructive episodic simulation and scene construction accounts. However, the data did not support the self-projection account because perspective-taking was unrelated to the other abilities. Together, these studies shed light on the developmental trajectory of future-oriented cognition from the age of 2 to 10, identify its correlates and illuminate potential cognitive mechanisms of episodic future thinking
An Act to incorporate the Town of Niagara, March 29, 1845
Get PDFThe Town of Niagara was originally settled around 1780 when United Empire Loyalists began arriving in the area. It was first known as Butlersburg in honour of Col. John Butler, the commander of Butler's Rangers. The name was later changed to West Niagara to distinguish it from Fort Niagara. In 1792 John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, renamed the settlement Newark and made it the first capital of Upper Canada. In 1797 Simcoe made York the new capital and in 1798 Newark was renamed Niagara. Around 1880 the name was once again changed. In order to distinguish the town from Niagara Falls, the name Niagara-on-the-Lake was adopted as a postal address. This change was made official in 1970 when the Town of Niagara and Township of Niagara formally merged.An Act to incorporate the Town of Niagara, and to establish a Police therein, March 29, 1845. A royal coat of arms is on the cover, and below reads “Anno Octavo Victoria Reign. CAP. LXII.” Printed in Montreal by Stewart Derbishire and George Desbarats. The Act describes the organization and government of the Town including elections, by-laws, infrastructure, and commercial activities