Saint Mary's University

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    14589 research outputs found

    Foster care and criminality in women

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    1 online resource (140 pages)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 72-81).Research has shown that adults who were placed in foster care (FC) as youth are more likely to engage in offending behaviour in adulthood than adults who were not involved in FC as youth. The current study aims to understand the factors that may drive the association between foster care involvement and criminality by comparing the experiences of 49 criminalized and 126 non criminalized women who have spent time in FC. Participants were asked via online survey about their offence history, their experiences in FC, and the circumstances that led to their placement in FC. Results suggest that adverse childhood experiences, underage alcohol use, and out-of-school status were associated with offending behaviour for women who had been involved in FC. However, contrary to the study’s hypotheses, social bonds and placement characteristics were not found to be associated with offending for this population

    Contemporary aerial material capabilities : the implications of drone use in multilateral peace operations

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    1 online resource (54 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-54).Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used by nation-states for decades to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) in addition to lethal operations; however, they have recently entered the humanitarian sphere by being incorporated in multilateral peace operations (MPOs). This thesis seeks to complement the growing body of literature on drones in the context of MPOs. Drawing from a theoretical framework that seeks to consider the potential human and societal benefits of UAVs, it will argue that drones can be effectively used to achieve some of the specific objectives of MPOs. This thesis will first situate its analysis in the historical generations of peacekeeping and aerial power, followed with a literature review and a case study of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). This thesis will conclude with a reflection on the next steps for the use of drones in MPOs

    Documenting recent human influences using remote sensing techniques on the Tekes River alluvial fan, Xinjiang, China

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    1 online resource (vii, 63 pages) : colour maps, charts, graphsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 60-63).The Tekes River alluvial fan is located in Xinjiang Province which has an arid to semi-arid climate as well as a historically unpredictable precipitation rate. Further, increasing population and urbanization means that all water resources must be used efficiently. The Tekes River alluvial fan has had a vast amount of human influence in recent decades in the form of dam construction, irrigation and agriculture expansion. Although development on and surrounding the Tekes River alluvial fan is apparent, there is a lack of research on how these human impacts have affected the fan. The primary objective of this project is to use remotely sensed image analysis to document the human influence that has occurred to the Tekes River alluvial fan. A 31-year time series (1990-2021) was created using Landsat imagery from 1990 – 2021. The results have found that four dams have been constructed upstream from the fan, irrigation canal length had increased by approximately 400 km, and agricultural fields had increased by approximately 250 km2 between 1990 to 2021. Average seasonal NDVI values were calculated on agricultural fields and compared to natural vegetation in the area for seven dates in 2021. The results do not show great observable differences between agricultural field and natural vegetation cover. However, these results are limited temporally and spatially. It is possible that human influence will be affected seasonal NDVI variation on the fan but there has not been enough time between development and the time of the research. Further research should continue to document and test NDVI as well as consider measuring groundwater levels to build upon this research and provide a greater understanding of the anthropogenic impacts on the fan

    Human lives vs economic growth: understanding environmental injustice through industrialization and peri-urbanization, using the case of cancer villages in Jiangsu Province, China

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    1 online resource (iv, 90 pages) : colour maps, colour chartsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 70-90).Cancer village, also known as aizhengcun in Chinese, refers to the villages that show extensive high cancer rates. These villages tend to locate in peri-urban areas around cities, and this issue is more serious in east coast China compared with other regions. Cancer village is not only a public health issue caused by water pollution, but also a social justice issue whose root causes include income gap and the systemic inequality created by hukou system. This thesis uses the lens of environmental justice to show that cancer village is a form of environmental injustice caused by pollution and social stratification by using the case of Jiangsu Province, China. Empowerment of the vulnerable communities is considered as a critical solution to this issue

    The effects of fictibacillus enclensis and biochar on plant growth

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    1 online resource (73 pages) : colour illustrations, chartsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 65-73).Food insecurity is an emerging concern in the world, as global populations are increasing and the yield and quality of crops are declining. Excessive use of agrochemicals designed to improve plant growth is very damaging to the environment, which warrants the need for sustainable alternatives. The exploitation of plant growth-promoting bacteria is one alternative being considered due to the inherent relationship between plants and beneficial bacteria within the soil. The use of biochar provides its own benefits to plants in addition to acting as a carrier for bacterial inoculum. Here we investigated the effects that a formulation of Fictibacillus enclensis and biochar had on the vegetative growth of collard greens, carrots, and barley. Carrots treated with the F. enclensis and biochar formulation exhibited little benefit in terms of carrot root weight and length; however, collard greens treated with the F. enclensis and biochar formulation displayed improvements in leaf weight. In the barley trial, the formulation of F. enclensis and biochar did improve some aspects of the vegetative growth of barley when compared to F. enclensis by itself. However, these results can not be relied upon. The positive controls did not produce any benefits to the vegetative growth of the plants. Therefore, any results that are obtained do not accurately showcase the effects that the F. enclensis and biochar formulation has on the vegetative growth of plants; something is wrong in the system being used to grow the plants. The growth of the plants is being restricted by certain limiting resources/factors. Consequently, any interpretation of the results is deemed inaccurate and unreliable

    Helmholtz’s cognitive psychology and quinean epistemological naturalism : Is Hermann von Helmholtz an epistemological naturalist?

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    1 online resource (67 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 65-67).As a scientist and philosopher writing in the nineteenth century, Hermann von Helmholtz attempts to use the emerging findings of physiology and his own theories of learning, memory, and perception (what we would now call cognitive psychology) to answer questions of epistemology. In his theories of cognitive psychology, Helmholtz concludes that our understanding ultimately operates by representing causal structure. Through this claim, Helmholtz attempts to justify a principle of causation that warrants our entitlement to inductive inference. Not widely popularised in epistemological discussion until the latter half of the twentieth century, epistemological naturalism is the view that science is a legitimate and autonomous discipline that does not need a grounding in a priori first philosophy. According to the epistemological naturalist, explaining the phenomena of knowing using the tools of science itself (in particular, through the use of psychology) is the true role of the epistemologist. This paper tries to answer whether or not Helmholtz’s use of cognitive psychology to answer questions of epistemology makes him an epistemological naturalist. In particular, I characterize epistemological naturalism according to Willard Van Orman Quine’s formulation in his widely read and canonical “Epistemology Naturalized.” The paper concludes that Helmholtz is in fact a thoroughgoing epistemological naturalist

    Wellington Settlers - by lot from Pockwock west toward Sherwood

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    These tables identify soldiers who served in various units of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars and subsequently settled along the Annapolis Road. This document shows the established area named after commander Wellington (toward the Halifax end)

    Bias in parole decision-making

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    1 online resource (131 pages)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 74-83).It has been well-established that Indigenous peoples in Canada are overrepresented in every level of corrections, including provincial/ territorial and federal, in youth, male, and female populations. Despite the national attempts to address the overrepresentation, success has been limited. One factor contributing to the overrepresentation is that Indigenous offenders are less likely to be granted parole than non-Indigenous offenders (Office of Correctional Investigator, 2020). The current study examined racial and political biases that may contribute to racial disparity in parole decisions. Results indicate that while there was not a main effect of offender race on parole decision, there were significant associations between conservative attitudes, Indigenous resentment, and parole decisions. Findings suggest racial bias may be introduced through conservativism, and influence parole decisions indirectly

    Transition between stand-alone and grid connected solar photovoltaic microgrids

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    1 online resource (viii, 59 pages) : charts (some colour)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 52-59).In this study, conversion of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy to increase sustainable energy and increase system efficiency is being studied. During the process, both stand-alone mode and grid connected mode microgrid with energy storage system (ESS) have been tested in a simulation environment. Their transition from one mode to another have been discussed for research purpose. Solar photovoltaic PV modules, energy storage devices (Battery), power electronics converters are used to validate the desired results. The study of stand-alone to grid-connected systems will be analyzed and tuned for a stable system performance. During the tuning, the voltage and the frequency are the key driving parameters to be controlled and evaluated. Also, the study of grid connected configurations will be conducted and then both systems will be compiled together using a switching property. The aim is to work on control system for creating the transition in the systems. The study is tested with MATLAB/Simulink platform-based simulations. The major focus will be on the control mechanism of the inverters in both modes, specifically for this study

    Unpacking burnout intervention effects

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    1 online resource (96 pages) : charts, graphsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-96).The primary purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of empathy styles and the mediating role of self-care activities, recovery experience, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) process behaviors in effectiveness of a successful burnout intervention trial, namely, Burnout Recovery. The current study conducted a secondary data analysis on a pooled population from the original Burnout Recovery trial and a replication study. Participants were 93 home care nursing leaders across Nova Scotia and Ontario provinces, from which 69 people were assigned to intervention group and 24 people were assigned to control group (partially at random). Data were collected via Maslach Burnout Inventory, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, Recovery Experience, and ACT process questionnaire. Results showed intervention effectively combated increasing burnout over time. However, empathy styles did not show significant effects on intervention effectiveness. As to the underlying process, behavioral awareness as one of the ACT process subconstructs was the only mediator that showed significant sequential explanation of the Burnout Recovery effect such that in time of increased burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion), people in intervention group could combat reaching higher burnout over time by engaging in behavioral awareness. These results contribute to understanding the burnout alleviation process in the Burnout Recovery and lead to the program improvement in terms of reinforcing components, activities, and measurements for future implementations, which will make it more promising in improving healthcare leaders’ well-being and the whole workplace's healthy engagement with the work, ultimately, benefit healthcare systems as well as patients’ quality of care

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