14589 research outputs found
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Seeking harmony after harm : exploring factors influencing victim-to-perpetrator forgiveness
Get PDF1 online resource (134 pages) : graphsIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 82-105).Although the concept of forgiveness has been well-researched across various disciplines,
there remains a significant lack of research examining forgiveness within the criminal context. Experiencing a criminal offence is unique, in comparison to an everyday transgression, given the vast array of psychological and physical consequences that can arise following victimization. As a result, the present study aimed to explore the influencing factors of forgiveness between an individual who experienced violent victimization and the individual who committed the crime. An exploration of attitudes toward restorative justice was also conducted. Results indicated that strength of religious faith and cultural orientation may influence forgiveness toward an individual who caused harm, while cultural orientation and empathic concern were found to predict attitudes toward restorative justice. Results from this research have broad implications for theory (i.e., developing robust forgiveness models), policy (i.e., informing restorative justice and
victim services), and practice (i.e., developing effective intervention strategies)
“To come out of jail, it’s like, you’re lost” : psychological barriers women experience during community reintegration after incarceration
Get PDF1 online resource (145 pages) : colour illustrationsIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 103-126).As the fastest-growing prison population worldwide, women face distinct barriers to
community reintegration after incarceration. Gender disparities substantially impact mental and emotional wellness, overlapping with negative coping strategies (e.g. substance use) and, therefore, involvement with the legal system. The current thesis includes two studies that examined the obstacles and distinct needs that women experience after incarceration. Using survey responses, study one explored the relationship between psychological barriers (i.e. selfesteem, self-stigma, social support, loneliness, and trauma) and prosocial reintegration and community connection. Results showed that self-esteem, social support, self-stigma, and loneliness are associated with reintegration and community connection. Through conducting interviews, study two investigated women’s experiences and the barriers to reintegration. Results showed four overarching themes: connection as a pillar of healing, individual barriers, structural and systemic barriers, and ways forward. These findings demonstrate the need for additional resources and an improved release plan recognizing the obstacles women face during reintegration
Effects of sweet fennel, Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce, essential oil on the microsporidian pathogen Vairimorpha adaliae and its host, the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)
Get PDF1 online resource (iv, 39 pages) : colour charts, colour graphsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 36-39).The two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata L., is commercially available for biological
pest control in Europe and North America. It is susceptible to the microsporidium Vairimorpha adaliae, a spore-forming fungal pathogen which prolongs larval development. Sweet fennel essential oil, Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce, is known to have antifungal properties and has been used for the management of both the microsporidium Nosema ceranae in honeybees and the late blight pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, in tomato and potato plants. However, sweet fennel essential oil has not been investigated for the management of V. adaliae in A. bipunctata. In this study, the effects of sweet fennel essential oil on larval development time, larval mortality rate, adult sex ratio, and microsporidian infection (spore counts) in V. adaliae-infected A. bipunctata were examined. Development time, mortality rate, and sex ratio of larvae fed green peach aphids, Myzus persicae, and water did not differ significantly from larvae fed aphids and 10%, 20%, or 30% fennel, respectively. Although spore loads did not differ significantly, heavier infections were observed in increased fennel concentrations with an increase of 12.83%, 61.33%, and 58.24% in the 10%, 20%, and 30%, respectively. This study suggests that fennel essential oil is safe to use on A. bipunctata and may provide additional energy to the host beetle to withstand the effects of the microsporidian pathogen as larval development time was unaffected, despite heavier infections.
Understanding the role of plant secondary compounds on pathogens in lady beetles will help to ensure that beneficial insects remain effective biological control predators as an alternative to synthesized pesticides
Learning disentangled representations of point clouds via alpha complexes for 3D shape classification
Get PDF1 online resource (viii, 50 pages) : illustrations (some colour), charts (some colour), graphs (some colour)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 45-50).Three-dimensional computer vision tasks have gained much attention in recent times, both in academic and industrial research. One of the key tasks of 3D computer vision is object classification. Various approaches based on the representations (e.g., point clouds, voxels, multi-view images and graphs) of the objects have been put forward for object classification. Recently, few works have used graph neural network for point cloud classification and have achieved promising results. In this thesis, we explore the use of a dual-stream graph neural network combining the alpha complexes constructed on the feature and non-feature regions of the point cloud object. The disentangled representation of the point cloud into feature and non-feature regions is achieved through a gradient structure analysis procedure and a Corner and Edge detection technique. Our experiments on ModelNet40 benchmark dataset indicate that the proposed graph-based method achieves higher or comparable accuracy to other state-of-the-art methods
Cannabis legalization impact
Get PDF1 online resource (159 pages)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 119-137).In 2018, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis. As legalization plays out, investigation of changes in public health outcomes related to cannabis use and impaired driving is required. The current thesis aimed to identify groups, attitudes, and behaviours related to cannabis-related risks, and determine if prevalence of higher-risk behaviours changed after legalization. An online survey of behaviours, attitudes, and demographics was developed and completed by 608 post-secondary students. Comparative analysis showed relations between attitudes and higher-risk behaviours exist, including associations between impaired driving attitudes and cannabis-impaired driving behaviours. Regression analysis accurately predicted higher-risk cannabis use and impaired driving behaviours. Novel cannabis-related attitudes were predictive of higher-risk behaviours and in some cases more predictive than demographic variables. Analysis of variance revealed that changes in higher-risk behaviours occurred after legalization, but no significant increases were identified. Implications for researchers, law enforcement, policymakers, and consumers are discussed
Food insecurity experience of African immigrant lone parents in Nova Scotia
Get PDF1 online resource (122 pages)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 94-107).Food insecurity is a social determinant of health, defined as inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints. Lone parents, migrant and racialized populations, have been identified to have elevated risk for household food insecurity. This study used a
phenomenological approach and Radimer’s model of food insecurity to investigate the experience of African immigrant lone parents in Nova Scotia. Ten lone parents who migrated from Africa to Canada within the last ten years were interviewed from April-June 2023 and verbatim transcripts analyzed using directed content analysis. Corroborating past studies, participants’ major constraints in food acquisition were income, cost, and availability of preferred food. Participants engaged in coping strategies such as eating for survival and bulk buying on sales to manage their food situations, emphasizing perceived autonomy. This research adds to the evidence to address food insecurity among racialized lone parents, which could reduce health consequences of this phenomenon
Baidoo’s Thesis
Get PDF1 online resource (v, 135 pages) : colour maps, chartsIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 118-124).International development organizations have been argued to be sites of contestations where power is invoked to maintain the othering of developing countries. Guided by Western liberal feminist ideas, international development projects are argued to situate in the othering of African women. Critiques have called for an alternative development that ensures accountable practice. The study used critical discourse analysis and in-depth interviews to examine how power is invoked and assumed when development projects are implemented in Ghana and how African feminist scholars and Ghanaian women development workers navigate and interrupt such power relations. Informed by a transnational, intersectional African feminist theoretical framing, the study found that
international development was perceived as a social control mechanism through its hierarchy, governance, rhetoric, political positioning, and conceptualization. It highlighted how women resisted, negotiated, and strategized within international development spaces. The study recommends synergizing African feminist scholarship and development practice to ensure accountable development
The influence of victim impact statements and offender character on sentencing and parole decisions
Get PDF1 online resource (177 pages) : colour graphsIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 87-103).Victims can provide evidence at sentencing and parole hearings that describe the physical, emotional, and financial harm they have suffered due to the offence. Similarly,
offenders can provide evidence of their good character or resources that support rehabilitation. This thesis aimed to examine the roles that evidence from victims and offenders have on judicial decision-making at sentencing and parole board outcomes. Study one analyzed 1992 Canadian sentencing decisions and found that victim impact statements and offender character evidence predict incarceration. The effect of victim impact statements was greater when offender evidence was absent than when it was present. Study two examined 55 Parole Board of Canada parole decisions to investigate victim statements and letters of support but found no relationship with parole outcomes. These results provide insight about which variables may influence decision makers in the justice system. Implications for offenders, crime victims, judges, and parole board
members are discussed
Purpose-grown biomass crops in Nova Scotia : statistical predictive modeling and real-world verification
Get PDF1 online resource (287 pages) : colour illustrations, charts, graphsIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-249).The bioeconomy of Nova Scotia could be stimulated by the increased production of purpose-grown biomass crops grown on marginal agricultural lands. Biomass yields of four crops of interest (switchgrass, miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus L.), coppiced hybrid-poplar and willow) were predicted using linear mixed-effects models created from published data in areas with similar climates to Nova Scotia. These models were validated and refined using yields from five field sites established across the province. Two locally sourced, low-cost soil amendments (pulp and paper mill effluent residue and liquid anaerobic digestate) and one plant biostimulant (Ascophyllum nodosum extract) were applied to the crops during the establishment year to evaluate effects on crop establishment and early yield. This research focuses on two of the five aforementioned local field sites, Bible Hill and Nappan. The grasses were harvested annually, while the trees were harvested after one 3-year growth cycle post-coppicing. Mean miscanthus biomass yield three years post-establishment (Year 4) across two sites was 7,200 kg ha-1 year-1, while switchgrass yield was 1,800 kg ha-1 year-1. The mean predicted yields across field sites, based on the developed models, were 6,700 kg ha-1 year-1 and 4,000 kg ha-1 year-1 for miscanthus and switchgrass, respectively. Mean hybrid-poplar and willow biomass yields across sites after one growth cycle were 1,200 kg ha-1 year-1 and 1,700 kg ha-1 year-1, respectively, while yield models predicted biomass yields of hybrid-poplar (3,300 kg ha-1 year-1) and willow (4,900 kg ha-1 year-1 ) across Bible Hill and Nappan field sites. Biomass yields reported in the field are likely lower than predicted due to the infancy of the field trials; these crops have likely not reached their maximum yield potential yet. Minimal differences were reported between amendment treatments and management factors during establishment have also been identified as important influences on early yields of these crops
Understanding genetic limitations to population recovery in endangered marine mammals
Get PDF1 online resource (viii, 238 pages) : charts (some colour), graphs (some colour)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 20-29, 46-51,90-102, 134-142, 162-167, 174-175).In small populations, genetic factors can both inhibit their recovery and provide insight into their past. Genomic tools can therefore provide a way to better understand limitations to population recovery in endangered species. In my dissertation I present four clear examples of how genomic tools can directly address questions outlined in recovery planning documents for endangered marine mammals in Canada. I used methylation patterns at genomic positions that have been previously found to respond differently to stressors to demonstrate that methylation patterns may be a tangible means to quantify cumulative effects of stress in wildlife populations using resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) as a case study. I used whole genome sequencing to demonstrate that North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) have lived for thousands of years with smaller effective population sizes than southern right whales (E. australis) from the Southwest Atlantic. These results suggest that basing recovery goals in the North Atlantic on the successful recovery seen in the Southern Oceans may not be appropriate. I used ddRAD sequencing to show that in North Atlantic right whales, a female’s inbreeding coefficient did not correlate with her reproductive fecundity, however all individuals had higher heterozygosity than expected suggesting inbreeding may be leading to increased fetal loss in the population – potentially limiting the growth of the population as a whole. Finally, I designed a GTSeq panel to improve ongoing genetic monitoring of North Atlantic right whales and demonstrated its increased power to resolve familial relationships in the species. Genomic tools can provide invaluable insight to directly address knowledge
gaps outlined in recovery planning documents in Canada. While these provide just a
few examples for a pair of endangered species, the utility of genomics to inform conservation should be better acknowledged and incorporated in recovery planning for
Canada’s Species at Risk