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Medieval Acts from Normandy, 1308 and 1365
Get PDFA pair of two 14th century Latin medieval acts from the Normandy region in France, handwritten on parchment in the years 1308 and 1365, from the reigns of Philip IV and Charles V of France. The charters have been stitched together. There is a small signum at the end of the first charter, and a larger, ornate signum at the end of the second. These charters have been written in a 34-line and 25-line format
Drawing on the Lived Experiences of Peer Support Workers in the provision of Substance and Addiction Services: A Case Study of ABC Health Center
Get PDFSubstance and drug abuse can have long-term effects on the physical, social, and mental well-being of people, and can lead to death. The highest percentage of drug users in Canada can be found among youth and young adults. The use of substances such as alcohol, tobacco or cannabis may lead them into vulnerable situations and risk of addiction.
I conducted a qualitative research study where six (6) peer support workers (18 to 50) working with ABC Health Center were recruited and interviewed to obtain diverse information on their lived experiences in the provision of substance and addiction services in a city in Niagara Region. One (1) FGD was conducted among clinicians and/or counselors who work with and support the peer support workers. Data was collected in January 2023. The semi-structured interviews and FGD were audio recorded, transcribed, de-identified, and analyzed thematically.
Many of the peer support workers have previously been clients with ABC Health Center and their greatest motivation is the desire to help other youths who are going through similar situations that they have recovered from. Some of the day-to-day activities conducted by peer support workers include: conducting one-on-one sessions with clients, facilitating group discussions, and providing referrals for information and services. One of the benefits associated with peer support is being in a position to support other people recover from substance and addiction challenges. Some of the challenges faced by peer support workers include: the feeling of being vulnerable; not knowing when to draw the line in oversharing and fear of being put into compromising situations.
Peer support workers play a critical function in being role models in the recovery process among their fellow youths and young adults. This is done by establishing mutual relationships based on trust. Their biggest desire is to give back through sharing their lived experience and helping others overcome challenges with substances and addiction
St. George’s Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 15 fonds, 1846-1985
Get PDFSt. George’s Lodge was founded around 1814 in what is now St. Catharines, but at the time was known as the Twelve or Shipman’s Corner. In 1855, when the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario was formed, St. George’s Lodge was assigned the number 15, which it retains to this day. A lack of interest in Masonry from 1826 to 1845 caused operations to close temporarily. The lodge resumed activities in 1846, shortly after the Third Provincial Grand Lodge was formed. Many of the founders of the lodge were officers in Butler’s Rangers who subsequently settled in Niagara. Many prominent community leaders and businessmen were active in Freemasonry. Some early and well-known members of St. George’s Lodge include Samuel Zimmerman, Dr. Theophilus Mack, W.H. Merritt (grandson of William Hamilton Merritt), Lucius Oille (mayor of St. Catharines in 1858) and William Bartlett Burgoyne (founder of the St. Catharines Standard).
Some of the early meeting places of the Lodge included Samuel Dobson’s Tavern on Queenston Street and Mittleberger Block. In 1954, the Lodge moved to its present location on Centre Street, along with several other lodges and bodies known as the Masonic Memorial Temple Association. The Lodge has also been involved in the establishment of sister lodges including Maple Leaf Masonic Lodge No. 103 in 1858 and Temple Lodge No. 296 in 1873. The Lodge remains active and supports several local charities financially and through volunteer work, as well as organizing social events for its members.Fonds contains material about the activities of St. George’s Masonic Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 15 in St. Catharines. Most of the materials are minute books that record initiation of new members, advancement of existing members, financial matters, funeral services for deceased members, charitable donations and social occasions. Some attendance registers and financial ledgers are also included. Some of the entries make reference to prominent community members who belonged to the lodge including Samuel Zimmerman, Dr. Theophilus Mack, W.H. Merritt (grandson of William Hamilton Merritt), Lucius Oille, William Bartlett Burgoyne, and several members of the Woodruff family.
Some books have papers enclosed including annual reports, Treasurer’s reports, Secretary’s reports, membership forms, news clippings about Masonic events, obituaries for Lodge members, and annual programs
Distributed MAP-Elites and its Application in Evolutionary Design
Get PDFQuality-Diversity search is the process of finding diverse solutions within the search space which do not sacrifice performance. MAP-Elites is a quality-diversity algorithm which measures n phenotypes/behaviours of a solution and places it into an -dimensional hypercube based off its phenotype values. This thesis proposes an approach to addressing MAP-Elites' problem of exponential growth of hypercubes. The exponential growth of evaluation and computational time as the phenotypes/behaviours grow is potentially worse for optimization performance. The exponential growth in individuals results in the user being given too many candidate solutions at the end of processing. Therefore, MAP-Elites highlights diversity, but with the exponential growth, the said diversity is arguably impractical.
This research proposes an enhancement to MAP-Elites with Distributed island-model evolution. This will introduce a linear growth in population as well as a reasonable number of candidate solutions to consider. Each island consists of a two dimensional MAP which allows for a realistic analysis and visualization of these individuals. Since the system increases on a linear scale, and MAP-Elites on an exponential scale, high-dimensional problems will show an even greater decrease in total candidate solution counts, which aids in the realistic analysis of a run. This system will then be tested on procedural texture generation with multiple computer vision fitness functions. This Distributed MAP-Elites algorithm was tested against vanilla GP, island-model evolution, and traditional MAP-Elites on multiple fitness functions and target images. The proposed algorithm was found, at the very minimum, to be competitive in fitness to the other algorithms and in some cases outperformed them. On top of this performance, when visually observing the best solutions, the algorithm was found to have been able to produce visually interesting textures
Investigating Drill Constraint Kinematics in Male Baseball Pitchers
Get PDFPitching requires the development of high forces (Werner et al., 1993; Fleisig et al.,
1995) to be generated in short periods of time (Werner et al., 1993; Seroyer et al., 2010). The
ecological dynamics approach can be used to enhance these qualities through the use of
constraint drills (Wilk et al., 2002; Wilk et al., 2009; Brady et al., 2020; Gray, 2020). In this
framework, coaches aim to implement a variety of appropriate constraints to help facilitate an
effective search for successful movement solutions (Renshaw et al., 2010).
This study aimed to use pitchAITM (Dobos et al., 2022) to 1) determine kinematic
differences that pitching constraint drills (e.g. medicine ball shot put drill, pivot pickoff drill,
foot-up rocker drill, walk-in drill, towel drill, janitor drill, drop step drill, and long toss) elicit
compared to a typical baseball pitch, and 2) determine the effect of experience, fatigue,
intensity, height and weight on kinematics. 25 male baseball pitchers with average height
(183.16 ± 6.28 cm), weight (87.48 ± 9.38 kg), and pitch velocity (34.57 ± 2.89 m/s) were
included in this study. pitchAITM videos of pitches and drills were captured, and demographic
information, prior drill experience, pre and post-testing fatigue collected at two different
baseball training facilities. Extracted pitchAITM data included five joint angles, four
maximum joint angles, five maximum rotational velocities, and nine timing related metrics.
Multiple linear fixed effects models revealed a total of 127 unique significant
kinematic differences in response variables across all measured pitching constraint drills
compared to the pitching delivery. Prior drill experience, fatigue, intensity, height and weight
also had significant influence on measured kinematics.
This work demonstrates the first collective approach to studying the biomechanics of
common constraint drills, in which coaches can refer to when choosing appropriate drills for
effective practice design
Exploring the Perception of Leadership Networks in a U SPORTS Basketball Team
Get PDFThere is no “one size fits all” approach to leadership, as each leadership network is unique. These complex leadership networks rely on interdependent relationships to build trust and cohesion to align to a single vision of success.
This study looked to build on Fransen et al.'s (2014, 2015a, 2015b, 2020) research by implementing a mixed methods approach. This study’s purpose was fulfilled using the quantitative Social Network Analysis (SNA) tool used by Fransen et al. (2014, 2015a, 2015b, 2020) and adding qualitative methodology to the inquire on the leadership networks in a basketball team. Furthermore, the researcher aimed to determine the relevance of the Integrated Leadership Model (ILM) in the study’s network. This study follows a singular case study approach to leadership in SNA, rather than aggregate analysis, that is consistent with the recommendations provided in Flemington et al. (2023). To guide this study, the following research questions were used to address the purpose of the project:
(1) What aspects of the top-down, bottom-up and shared leadership models exist within the context of a U SPORTS basketball team?
(2) How do U SPORTS basketball team members experience the network of leadership within a U SPORTS basketball team?
The analyzed quantitative and qualitative data revealed the present network demonstrated varying levels of top-down, bottom-up and shared leadership. Such core directional leadership was represented through variable vertical and lateral influence throughout the network. However, the ILM as constructed by Locke (2003) does not encapsulate the full scope of complexity that was present within this study’s network. Therefore, the researcher proposed using a new model for leadership (Integrated Shared Leadership Model) rooted in the ILM that acknowledges the complex hierarchical structure of a leadership network in a U SPORTS basketball team. The methods and results of the present study can help practitioners identify leadership structures within their present network and operationalize leadership actions that may drive success of the team. In so doing so, this will allow coaches and athletes to approach the day-to-day activities of their team confidently as they search for success in the complex and beautiful world of team sport
Taking the Lead: Understanding Student Leadership in Atlantic Canadian Secondary Schools
Get PDFParticipation and student voice are important components of childhood and adolescence. Leadership, when described as individuals with specific motives and values mobilizing others towards a common goal, is one form of participation and student voice (Kort, 2008; MacNeil, 2006; Thomson, 2012). Often, students’ first platforms for leadership opportunities and active participation are through extracurricular activities like student councils; however, there is limited research on youth leadership (Karagianni & Montgomery, 2017). Using the Social Change Model of Leadership, as well as Transformational and Transactional Leadership theories, this research project examines and questions the role that secondary school student councils play in the development of leadership in Atlantic Canada: nineteen secondary school students from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador contributed their leadership perceptions in a thirty-six question, online, qualitative survey. The survey poses questions about social identifiers, experiences in student government, and understandings of leadership and student leadership. What emerges is a spectrum of lived experiences within leadership, the prevalence of binaries in participants’ thinking about quality leadership and identified inequalities within the practice of leadership. Overall, leadership is understood by the participants as being positionally-based and centered within discovering, establishing, and maintaining relations with followers. Participants’’ definitions of what a leader is are incredibly situational. This topic warrants further research and deeper opportunities for young people to directly share their experiences
Charles Mittleberger letters, 1829-1839
Get PDFCharles Mittleberger died 18 December 1845 in Hartford, Connecticut, and his brother John Mittleberger, on 12 February 1847, in St. Catharines. Henry Mittleberger, who arrive in Niagara ca. 1817, was born in Montreal in 1802. He served as a magistrate for Lincoln County. During the 1837-38 rebellion he commanded the 5th Lincoln militia as was instrumental in establishing the fire department in St. Catharines. He died on 25 December 1879.
Reels M-1010(d) and M-1010(e) form part of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal collection, MG 23, G III 25. The whole collection includes extensive records of merchants, lawyers, educators, and persons prominent in the business and social life of the city. Approximately a third of the Society’s collections were microfilmed. This material is located on microfilm and is available from Library and Archives Canada.
A partial finding aid is attached.Two reels of microfilm [M-1010(d) and M-1010(e)] containing upwards of 70 pieces of correspondence to Charles Mittleberger of Montreal by his various family members.
These family members include brothers William Henry, John, George and father John. The letters were written from various locations including: Smith Falls, Brockville, Prescott, St. Catharines, Quebec [City], Toronto and Cleveland. Most of the letters deal with business transactions. Some of the letters from St. Catharines deal with the purchase of Merritt’s mill, the new bank to be established in St. Catharines and other various family matters.Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal collection
Jack Patterson / Ford Niagara Glass Plant Fonds, 1964-2006, n.d.
Get PDFThe Ford Motor Company of Canada opened a glass plant in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 1961. It was located in a rural area south of the Welland River and west of the QEW. The plant specialized in manufacturing windshields, lights and windows for Ford’s vehicles. Plate or sheet glass was purchased from outside vendors and then transformed into specialized products at the plant.
A major expansion to the plant was added in the early 1970s. Business fluctuated over the years, sometimes resulting in layoffs or expansions. The plant was noted for its safety record and productivity, but the Free Trade Agreement in 1988 led to layoffs. In early 1993 Ford announced that it would be permanently closing the plant. Many employees opted to retire or accept severance packages, while others continued their employment with Ford at the Oakville Assembly Plant. The Ford Niagara Glass plant was subsequently sold to E.S. Fox Ltd.
Jack Patterson was an employee at the Ford Niagara Glass plant. When it was announced in January 1993 that the plant would be closing, employees were presented with several options. One of these options was a job at the Ford Oakville Assembly Plant. Patterson decided to accept this offer with the assurance that his benefits would transfer with no break in seniority. In October 1998, he received written notice from the Ford Motor Company that in the event of a job loss, his eligibility for a special allowance would be based on his date of entry at the Oakville plant and not his date of entry with the Company. This was contrary to his understanding of seniority and benefits surrounding the transfer. Patterson pursued the matter with the CAW and the Ford Motor Company of Canada, which eventually resulted in a hearing before the Ontario Labour Relations Board.Fonds contains material related to the Ford Niagara Glass Plant in Niagara Falls compiled by Jack Patterson. Patterson was an employee at the plant who became involved in a dispute with the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers) union after the closure of the Niagara Falls plant. Most of the material concerns this dispute, which was taken to a hearing before the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Some of the material concerns the Niagara Ford Glass Plant and its closure. Other general material about labour disputes and the CAW is also included
Pre-Service Teachers using Social Media: Self-Concept in Online Spaces
Get PDFWith the expansion of personal interactions to online spaces, specifically through social media, individual identity and self-concept development can be subjected to a variety of interactions, experiences, and comparisons. For pre-service teachers (PTs), interactions through social media can be experienced through a personal and professional lens. This research aimed to understand better the relationship between PT self-concept and social media use. A survey design method with Likert scale instruments was used to determine potential correlations between PT self-concept clarity and self-presentation across personal and professional spheres online. Univariate correlational analyses were run between the four Likert scale tools, and results indicated a weak, positive relationship between self-concept clarity and self-presentation. Self-concept differentiation was addressed by analyzing the open-ended questions at the end of the survey, using a thematic qualitative approach. Results of the qualitative analysis suggested that PTs exhibited a high level of self-concept differentiation as they considered the content of what they posted and presented online for both personal and professional accounts, meaning they accurately utilized the desired self-concept traits for the differing environments. The findings showed that PTs’ self-presentation in online spaces often aligned with their understanding of who they are and who they want to be, and they consider a variety of scenarios when presenting themselves online, including future careers, self-image, and the professionalism of teaching. The findings also showed that PTs compare themselves to others within the program, often feeling a sensation of intimidation, competitiveness, and perfectionism. An implication for teacher education is for programs to provide additional support for PTs who struggle to navigate the competitiveness of a professional program, their own professional identity, and the concept of moral and ethical duties within their roles as PTs and future teachers