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Responding to Mental Health Challenges in an Ontario University Athletic Department: An Institutional Analysis
Get PDFIt has been well-documented that student-athletes experience additional mental health challenges compared to their non-athlete peers. Universities can play an integral role in mitigating these challenges. Using an Institutional Ethnographic (IE) approach, this study examines an Ontario university athletic department’s institutional practices and responses to student-athlete mental health. Specifically, this study elucidates the institutional organization and structure of the athletic department and university responses to student-athlete mental health challenges. By adopting the perspective of a student-athlete, difficulties that the student-athlete experiences when pursuing help for their mental health challenge are identified. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven institutional workers and one student-athlete along with the analysis of institutional texts present in the process of help-seeking. The data demonstrated the process of a student-athlete navigating a triage model of mental health care - highlighting the influencing ruling and social relations, a highly team dependent and collaborative process, varying levels of responsibility for institutional workers, and a lack of funding and staffing. There was also an emphasis placed on the university being a leader in mental health, often leading institutional workers and student-athletes to have certain expectations regarding the mental health services offered. The thesis concludes with a discussion of strategies to reform the process of student-athletes receiving help for their mental health challenges, which include: 1) establishing clearer responsibilities for workers’ roles and more straightforward paths for student-athletes to navigate, 2) employing a mental health professional for athletes, who is available and accessible for student-athletes to receive timely care, and who could help to eliminate the need for a complicated and inconsistent triage
system, 3) proactive screening for mental health challenges with student-athletes rather than the use of a reactive model, 4) integration of a training readiness survey to help integrated support teams monitor and identify the wellbeing of student-athletes, 5) required training for all coaches and athletics office staff related to mental health first aid, 6) better, more realistic communication about the university’s standing as a leader in mental health, and 7) overall better integration of mental health services into athletics
Evaluating Child and Caregiver Outcomes Following Caregiver Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Training
Get PDFThe Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is commonly used among children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, as it is designed to teach functional communication skills. While PECS use is common within community settings, there is minimal research on training programs for caregivers to support their child’s PECS use. Similarly, of this minimal research, there is little known about whether caregivers generalize these skills across settings and reinforcers after the completion of training. As caregivers play an integral role in children’s communication skill development and are often children’s most common communication partners, strategies to engage and train caregivers are critical. The purpose of this research is to study both child and caregiver outcomes following participation in a PECS caregiver training program. With a growing need for telehealth services, this study was also designed to examine the difference in the effectiveness of a telehealth caregiver training model compared to a hybrid training model that included both face-to-face and telehealth components. Data collected from a pilot evaluation of the PECSperts Caregiver Training Package were analyzed. A total of five caregiver and child participants completed this training through the hybrid model, while three caregiver and four child participants joined via telehealth. The researchers used behaviour skills training (BST) to teach target PECS skills from phases I through IIIb. General case training (GCT) strategies were also used to promote generalization. A pre-post research design with follow-up was used to measure caregiver treatment integrity as well as child PECS accuracy. Improvements in caregiver and child PECS outcomes were seen in both the telehealth and face-to-face groups
Can Phonological Working Memory Be Improved Through Perceptual Training?
Get PDFThis study investigates whether phonological working memory (PWM) can be improved through perceptual training, specifically high variability phonetic training (HVPT). PWM plays a critical role in second language (L2) acquisition, influencing vocabulary size, grammatical ability, and speech perception. Twenty native Farsi-speaking females (mean age: 24), enrolled in upper- intermediate to advanced English courses in Iran, participated in this quantitative study. Pre- and post-test serial minimal-pair recognition tasks, which included both real words and non-words in hVd frames, were administered using the Gorilla platform to assess PWM, alongside forced- choice identification tasks for 10 English vowels. Participants completed eight HVPT sessions on English Accent Coach (www.englishaccentcoach.com). Results showed significant improvements in both vowel recognition and PWM capacity following training, suggesting that cognitive processing and L2 fluency were enhanced through targeted perceptual interventions. This study provides empirical evidence supporting the connection between perceptual training and PWM, highlighting implications for more effective language teaching strategies and L2 development
Is It Better to Be Known?: Understanding the Vulnerability of Autistic Individuals in Registry-based Programs Used by Police Services in Ontario, Canada
Get PDFRegistry-based programs have been adopted by many police services in Ontario, Canada, as a voluntary opportunity for vulnerable persons or their caregivers to provide personal information to police in case of crisis or emergency. The overall goal of this dissertation was to provide a foundational understanding of these programs using a grounded theory methodology. This dissertation is comprised of three separate studies that reflect the different forms of grounded theory coding. Study one explored the programs promoted on official police service websites in Ontario, Canada, using inductive qualitative content analysis. This content analysis revealed that sampled police services promote four programs on their websites to address encounters between police and autistic individuals. By examining the content of these programs, it was determined that autistic individuals are labelled vulnerable persons due to the perceived relationship between inherent autistic traits and behaviours and the risk of harm or victimisation when they are without the supervision of a caregiver. Study two analysed a subset of the programs promoted on official police services websites, Autism Registries, using the What is the Problem Represented to Be? framework for discourse analysis. From this analysis, the suggested problem solved by Autism Registries is the risk of harm and victimisation resulting from autistic traits and behaviour. Constructing autistic individuals this way in the materials for the Autism Registries reproduces ableist discourses, which suggest that these individuals are incapable of risk management and, therefore, should be relegated to the care of others. It also obscures the contributions of broader social conditions contributing to encounters between police and autistic individuals. Finally, in Study three, officers from seven police services across Ontario, Canada, were interviewed to understand how they conceptualised the vulnerability of autistic individuals and the role registry-based programs played in their encounters with them. Sampled police officers recognised that the vulnerability of autistic individuals was complex and resulted from multiple contributing variables. They described how registry-based programs could be used for search and rescue operations, navigating encounters requiring de-escalation, and justifying accommodations made to policies and procedures. Combined, the results from these studies suggest that registry-based programs in police services can benefit both officers and autistic individuals during crisis encounters; however, by focusing on these encounters, the broader social conditions that are contributing to elevated police contact in the first place are left unexamined and unaddressed. This includes ableist assumptions that contribute to stigma and discrimination towards autistic individuals and the austere government spending that has left the gaps in service for police to fill
Offside: An International Comparison of Group Sexual Assault in Competitive Young Men’s Ice Hockey
Get PDFAthlete-perpetrated sexual violence within hockey has historically been concealed and
rarely acknowledged within academic literature and public discourse in Canada and
internationally. To analyze group-sexual assault cases in young men’s hockey in Canada and the
United States at the high-school, intercollegiate, and junior level, this study utilized an
unobtrusive case-study approach, revealing the relative prevalence in which group sexual
assaults occur, the common characteristics of these cases, and how institutions such as hockey
organizations and the criminal justice system have responded to this form of gender-based
violence. Two primary sources of unobtrusive data were used within this study, including: 1)
documentation accessed through the online legal document repositories vLex, CanLii, and
WorldLii, and 2) documentation accessed through online media article archives Access Word
News, Google News, and Canadian Newsstream. In total, 30 cases, including 20 in Canada and
10 in the United States, were analyzed.
Through the analysis of 30 cases of group sexual assault, there were seven key findings,
including: 1) accused players are rarely held accountable, 2) Canadian Junior hockey players are
disproportionately represented in reports of athlete-perpetrated group sexual assault, 3) accused
players often receive support from their coaches, team management, and the community, while
victims often do not, 4) Canadian and American hockey organizations respond comparatively
differently when players are accused of sexual assault, 5) disciplinary responses were lower
among Canadian Junior hockey cases, compared to American cases, 6) in many cases, players
who faced charges of sexual assault could advance their careers to higher professional playing
levels (such as the National Hockey League), and 7) with increased media attention, public outcry, and disciplinary responses more recently, a significant shift in tolerance and responses to
these incidents has occurred over time
Lincoln County Clerk of the Peace Office Records, 1852-1889, n.d.
Get PDFThe County of Lincoln was formed in 1798. It was comprised of the townships of Clinton, Grimsby, Saltfleet, Barton, Ancaster, Glanford, Binbrook, Gainsborough, Caistor, Newark (Niagara), Grantham, Louth, Stamford, Thorold, Pelham, Bertie, Willoughby, Crowland, Humberstone and Wainfleet. The County boundaries were revised over the years, and the formation of Welland County in 1856 left only 7 townships in Lincoln County (Niagara, Grantham, Louth, Clinton, Gainsborough, Caistor and Grimsby). A County Council was also established at this time, which consisted of a Clerk, Warden, and a representative from each township. In 1862, the County Seat was moved from Niagara-on-the-Lake to St. Catharines. In 1970, Lincoln and Welland Counties were amalgamated to form the Regional Municipality of Niagara.Records from the Lincoln County Clerk of the Peace Office dated from 1852 to 1889. The records include a bond between Peter Grant & Elias Hoover; a list of Constables costs; opinion of P. McCarthy, misdemeanor; bond between Nathan Johnston and Henry Culp; printed correspondence from the Office of the Peace sent to local Justices of the Peace; a complaint by Robert Lambert against Robert Moot; a complaint by Robert Wilson; a statement by Matthias Misener against James Blanchard; an oath by John Sparbeck; an oath by William Anderson; complaint of Thomas Scanlon; a warrant to apprehend Thomas Ullman; an oath by James Smith; complaint of James Anderson; oath of Andrew Parker; summons to John Chambers; oath of Lewis Shoalts; oath of Eli Robins; oath of Lafayette Dennis; oath of Nancy Ann Robins; oath of L.W. Dennis; oath of Walter Cavers; oath of John Johnston; oath of A.E. Thomas; oath of George Castle; oath of Alfred Wade; oath of Jeremiah Smith; oath and examination of John Smith; oath of William Walker; oath of Michael Johnson; oath of William Walker; oath of Christopher Misener; a series of motions in 1886 written on small scraps of paper; oath of Ella House; conviction of George Pitman for assault of Ella House; and oath of Charles Scott
Dwelling in the In-Between: A Self Study of Moving into a Classroom with Unconventional Learners
Get PDFThe impetus for this research project stems from an enduring commitment to comprehend, enhance, and innovate pedagogical principles underpinning my teaching practices. Experiencing a transition from preparing teachers to work more expressively in movement settings with neurodiverse youth to directly working with neurodiverse adults in a non-movement-based college setting marked a pivotal moment. Recognizing this novel shift in teaching contexts, an inherent need arose for a naturalistic, flexible, and emergent approach to delve deeper into my evolving teaching practice.
In employing a Self-Study approach, I followed LaBoskey's (2004) recommended features of establishing an improvement-aimed, self-focused, self-initiated, interactive, and reflective/reflexive research design, where the study employed qualitative data characterized by thickness and richness, fostering questioning and wonderment. The analysis embraced an inductive approach, generating detailed descriptions and narratives by engaging with critical friends, journals, notes, recordings, and continuous reflective writing and self-questioning.
Three overarching thematic statements emerged from this immersive analysis: How did I not see that coming/who will it be today; Teaching is hard; The many faces of anxiety. These encapsulated the essence of my evolving teaching practice. Composite narratives were constructed, highlighting trajectories and storytelling arcs that illuminated turning points and critical incidents within each thematic statement. This research endeavor sought to contribute valuable insights into the emergent pedagogical practices when practitioners transition to the college educational sector as contractual faculty and work with a range of complex and unconventional student learners
Orchids, Tulips, and Dandelions: Exploring Sensory Sensitivity, Anxiety, and Cognitive Distractibility in Children and Adolescents
Get PDFAnxious individuals and those with sensory processing sensitivity-a temperamental trait characterized by heightened sensitivity to both internal and external stimuli- exhibit hypervigilance in non-threatening environments. This study examines how the relationship between anxiety, sensory sensitivity, and cognitive distractibility in children and adolescents without clinical diagnoses. Data were collected from 47 children aged 8-17, who completed two visual oddball (VO) tasks, including one with distracting background noise of multiple voices speaking simultaneously. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) Scale assessed anxiety symptoms and sensory sensitivity. Results indicate that sensitivity moderates the relationship between anxiety and performance, with high sensitivity linked to higher reaction times (cognitive distractibility) at low anxiety levels. Conversely, low sensitivity corresponds to faster reaction times. At high anxiety levels, sensitivity has minimal impact on distractibility. These findings highlight the importance of sensitivity in understanding anxiety’s effect on cognitive performance
Environmental and Sustainability Education in Teacher Education Research: An International Scoping Review of the Literature [CSSE-SERG]
Get PDFOur slideshow was presented at CSSE 2024 for SERG-GRES - "Environmental Education and Evidence in Teacher and Undergraduate Education" as a "Multi-paper" PresentationAs we reach halfway into the United Nations sustainable development goals timeline, we deemed fruitful an injunction into current teacher education (TE) practices at higher educational institutes (HEIs). Our spatiotemporal study adopted a scoping review as an investigative tool to probe current research trends on environmental education and sustainability education in teacher education (ESE-TE) with respect to thematic research topics and research methodologies. Our scoping literature review also utilised all known English nomenclature interrelating to environment, sustainability, development, and education as regards TE. Our aim was to elucidate a grander picture of the trends-as-patterns of ESE-TE research in HEIs and potential contributions to come. We screened 2,142 research articles spanning five decades, 152 journals, and 96 countries . Of the 788 articles deemed eligible, data from 638 studies have been included in our study. We identified comprehensive trends in the international literature through the Flourish software that gave rise to geographical patterns visible through time. Research topics and methodologies were subsequently analysed exposing gaps and macro-challenges in the history of ESE-TE research which hinders the maturity the of the subfield. Macro-challenges, we argue, is addressed by theoretical and philosophical research outlining abstractions of abstractions in the ESE-TE field of inquiry
Representations of Black Female Bodies in Contemporary Caribbean Art: A Model for Responding to Art
Get PDFDrawing on critical race theory, intersectionality, and gender, I examine representations of Black female bodies in contemporary Caribbean art by examining three paintings by Barbadian artist
Sheena Rose: (a) Black Beauty, (b) Anxiety, and (c) Mental Illness, Don’t Laugh!!! It Isn’t
Funny!! Shouted the Angry Artist. I aim to encourage students and educators to consider their perceptions on issues such as race, gender, and mental health when viewing art by Black
female artists. Due to the tension between observation in formal analysis and the focus on lived
experiences and feelings in phenomenology, I created a Self-Reflective Model for Art Criticism Featuring a Pedagogy of Identity Exploration, resulting in a teaching unit for visual arts by Black female artists using Sheena Rose’s artwork. Due to the current and historical racialized, sexualized representations of Black Female bodies, my research is significant because of its relevance to art history, pedagogy, and studio art settings beyond Trinidad and Tobago and Canada. It also allows students to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for diversity and cultural knowledge in high school classrooms and other art settings