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Desperately seeking kindness : an epistemological paradigmatic adventure
Get PDF1 online resource (234 pages) : colour chartIncludes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (pages 194-234).This thesis studies the concept of kindness. The study of kindness is limited in
management and organizational studies and this research problematizes the concept of kindness,
shows how kindness research is represented in other academic fields and offers ways forward to
understand and engage in new thinking on kindness as a concept for individuals at work and for
organizations.
To expand understanding of kindness at work, thirty-two public servants in Nova Scotia
were interviewed. Using Weick’s (1995) sensemaking properties these workers’ understandings
of and resistance to the concept of kindness were analyzed. From this analysis, themes were built
to take these individual conceptualizations of kindness and engage with the theories and theorists
of Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) paradigmatic framework. This research allows us to better
understand barriers to kindness and offers ways for organizations to get to work on integrating
the concept of kindness within their workplace.
Key contributions of this research include: A unique methodological approach of fusing
Weick’s (1995) sensemaking properties and Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) paradigms leading to
multiple understandings of the same phenomena.
The ontological and epistemological perspectives of kindness interpreted through the four
paradigms of Burrell and Morgan contributing to kindness theorizing in organization and
management studies.
Exploration of kindness as an expression of love in action and its potential impact on
psychological health and safety and employee well-being through greater understanding of
individual, relational and organizational enactment of the concept of kindness
Thermochemical oil formation and the search for a subsurface biosphere hydrocarbon fingerprint in hydrothermal vent sediments at Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California
Get PDFx, 178 leaves : illustrations (chiefly colour), colour maps ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references.For this study a biomarker survey and multi-molecular chemometric analysis was performed on petroleum-rich sediments from the Cathedral Hill hydrothermal vent site in Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. The objective of this study was to monitor the progression of petrogenesis, biological activity, and migration of hydrocarbons along a natural geothermal gradient (spanning 0–155 °C) intersected by a push core transect. Biodegradation increases down-core to variable degrees across the transect, while decoupled ratios of bacterial-sourced lipids such as hopene and hopane mark the transition zone of subsurface bacterial habitability. Various proxies show maturity increases with depth and proximity to the vent-center. These parameters, along with chemometric models, subtracted chromatograms, and hydrocarbon diversity measurements reveals that hydrocarbon generation likely begins where vent temperatures surpass 110 °C. This results in even shallower, 8-10 centimeters below seafloor, generation from what is predicted by kinetic models. The results suggest the vent temperatures may vary over time or that other applied geochemical factors (e.g. vent chemistry) may influence catagenesis. Overall, the results indicate marked spatial diversity and complexity in this sedimented hydrothermal site
Hope in the face of climate change, existential meaning, and social connectedness
Get PDF1 online resource (32 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 30-32).This study approaches responses to the threat of climate change through a focus on hope concerning climate change as it relates to existential meaning, identification with environmental activism, and social connectedness. Hope is conceptualized in terms of personal and collective dimensions in line with Li and Monroe’s (2018) Climate Change Hope Scale (CCHS), and existential meaning is conceptualized in terms of comprehension, purpose, and mattering according to George and Park’s (2017) multidimensional view of meaning in life. Social connectedness is explored with regard to peer-age and intergenerational friendships, alongside quality of friendship function. While the literature on intergenerational friendships is limited, this study aims to explore how such relationships relate to social connectedness and contribute to well-being broadly, and more specifically how they may influence hope concerning climate change. A series of positive intercorrelations are found between hope, meaning in life, connectedness, quality of friendship function, and intergenerational friendships, but unique contributors to hope concerning climate change prove to be fairly elusive in this study. The paper concludes with a review of related variables that may impact hope concerning climate change and potential directions for future research
The impact of Albanian transnational migration to Greece on socio-economic development in Fier, Albania : a case study
Get PDFx, 141 leaves : colour illustrations, colour map ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-137).This study attempts to assess the impact of Albanian transnational migration to Greece on the socioeconomic development of post-communist Albania focusing on the town of Fier. Adopting a gender-based perspective and a qualitative research design of semi-structured interviews on eighteen Albanian transnational migrants in Fier, Albania and Athens, Greece, I found that Albanian migrants, settled in Greece and returnees to Albania, contributed through economic and social remittances to the survival of their families and well-being of their communities in Fier. Such contributions hold the potential of fostering socio-economic transformation for both the municipality of Fier and Albania. Moreover, transnational migration encompassed family strategies and relationships between Albanian immigrants in Athens and their families in Albania, which most likely generated development and increased well-being in Fier. Finally, transnational care was mutually shown, between Albanians in Athens and their families in Fier. Such care involved financial, emotional and symbolic dimensions
Reconceptualizing de-stigmatization : a content analysis of the term ‘Minor-attracted person(s)’ on the internet forum reddit
Get PDF108 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-95).The term “non-offending pedophile” describes persons who, while sexually attracted to children, have not committed, a sexual offence against a minor (Cantor & McPhail, 2016). the term minor-attracted person (MAP) grounded in recognition and personhood was implemented by psychologists to aid in the de-stigmatization of these non-offenders. A content analysis was performed to assess the perception of how users of Reddit perceived the term minor-attracted person. The analysis explores how the perception of the term minor-attracted person specifically regarding personhood, monstrosity, and the notion of the public self through a precarious and post-structuralist informed lens. The results demonstrated negative perceptions of the term MAP, based on high levels of stigma and low levels of personhood. Reddit users perceived the term minor-attracted person to be more stigmatizing, expressing the view that the term minor-attracted person is an attempt to hide and mask the true monstrous identities
Predictive modeling of sandstone reservoir distribution in the SW Scotian Basin
Get PDFx, 197 leaves : colour illustrations, colour maps ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-125).Forward stratigraphic modeling has been performed on the SW Scotian Basin in order to understand the geological evolution, sediment distribution, and deep-water clastic reservoir quality in the area. The SW Scotian Basin is hampered by complex salt tectonics, sparse seismic data, and its location on a transform jog. In all simulated models, sand is typically found on the shelf behind the carbonate reef front, and progrades into deep-water in the areas of the Shelburne Delta and canyon system near Mohawk B-93. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the main parameters controlling sand distribution in the basin are the geographic location of the sources, the water discharge volume of each source, and the diffusion coefficients for sand. Nevertheless, the best place to find deep-water clastic sediments is immediately down-dip of the Shelburne Delta, close to the shelf edge
Search for the excited states of neutron-rich krypton isotopes
Get PDF1 online resource (vii, 42 pages) : illustrationsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (page 42).The complex nature of nuclear structure is governed by strongly interacting nucleons. As described by the nuclear Shell Model, the building blocks of atomic nuclei, protons and neutrons, arrange themselves in discrete quantized orbitals that group into shells. These shells are considered closed when the number of protons or neutrons equate to the magic nucleon numbers. In neutron-rich nuclei which are created via the r-process in nature's neutron-rich environments, expectedly, potential changes in shell structure and magic numbers is discussed theoretically. Identifying shell closures in neutron-rich isotopes would help constrain theoretical models for r-process nucleosynthesis. Krypton isotopes are of interest as current experimental evidence points towards changes in shell structure taking place in the neutron-rich region of N=50-60. Following the trend of the neighbouring elements, Sr and Zr, there is potential of shape coexistence manifesting in these Kr isotopes. Such a discovery will help provide further information on the nuclear force which governs the evolution of nuclear structure. Therefore, the excited states of select Kr nuclei were investigated to provide further data on the shell structure of neutron-rich isotopes. To investigate this neutron-rich region, a beam of 93Kr was received at the IRIS reaction spectroscopy station located at TRIUMF. Through the use of a solid deuterium target, both the reaction channels 93Kr(d,d)93Kr and 93Kr(d,p)94Kr were investigated
Examining diversity of ground dwelling terrestrial invertebrates on Sable Island
Get PDF1 online resource (41 pages) : colour illustrations, colour mapIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 38-41).Islands are often in remote locations, yet these areas can gain species and increase their overall diversity due to the dispersal of organisms. Sable Island is unique not only for its biodiversity but also because it is the only part of a sand bar not submerged by the North Atlantic Ocean. Knowledge surrounding invertebrates on Sable Island is limited, with the last known inventory occurring in 2016. I investigated invertebrate abundance and composition on Sable Island to determine the effects that two different vegetation communities (marram grass and heath) had on these species. Five sites with nine pitfall traps at each site were set up in each of the vegetation types located across Sable Island. Trapped invertebrates were collected every two days for a total of six days, although this thesis focuses only on the first collection. Invertebrates were first identified to family level, and then to species level when possible. Overall, invertebrates were significantly more abundant and species rich in heath vegetation than marram grass. Additional findings showed variability among the types of species identified at each vegetation, most often only occurring on one or the other. Out of the 38 invertebrates successfully identified to species level, four were reconfirmed after going undetected for over forty years and two were new records on Sable Island: the ant Myrmica americana Weber and the lady beetle Nephus ornatus ornatus Leconte. The information gained has provided a quantitative, up to date list of the invertebrate species currently inhabiting heath and marram grass vegetation on Sable Island. Overall, this study has provided more insight into the types of ground dwelling invertebrates that live on the island and I conclude that with the large difference between the two vegetation types that invertebrates are more abundant and diverse in heath than marram grass vegetation
Down the rabbit hole : a case study on Russell Williams and severe sexual sadism
Get PDF1 online resource ( iv, 100 pages)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-97).In 2010, Russell Williams was a senior officer in the Canadian Forces and a respected figure of the community. He was also a serial rapist and sexual killer whose crimes shook those few closest to him and the nation itself. Of particular interest, his assaults contained tangible elements of sadism grounded in themes of control and domination; yet, in other ways he expressed pseudo-sympathy towards his victims thus representing a behavioural enigma. Moreover, at 44 years of age, his apparent late-onset of extreme sexual deviancy along with no apparent catalyzing factors make Williams a unique and even rarer type of offender. This study qualitatively assesses Williams’s sadistic nature through a contemporary measurement scale and attempts to ascertain its aetiological basis through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Motivational Model of Sexual Homicide. Analysis confirmed the presence of sadism within Williams to a level comparable with other severe sadistic offenders. An analysis of Williams formative developmental experiences, however, showed them to be significantly inconsistent with those proposed by the Motivational Model
Analysing and predicting chaos from shocks and radiative cooling in simulations of cosmic structure formation
Get PDFxvi, 99 leaves : colour illustrations ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-93).It has long been appreciated that galaxy formation involves physics that can be subject to chaos. Numerical simulations introduce an additional source of noise in the form of approximations and floating point arithmetic errors. To date, there have been preliminary investigations into quantifying and characterizing the effects of both physical and numerical factors on simulation results, however, focusing on individual physical processes, such as shocks or radiative cooling, has been somewhat overlooked. In this thesis, we provide an analysis of the impact of shocks and radiative cooling in simulations of cosmic structure formation, by investigating a combination of phase space separation and density-phase space correlation. We have turned off other processes, such as star formation and feedback, to be able to focus on hydrodynamics with cooling alone. We find that regardless of cooling, galaxy mergers exhibit chaotic properties, however, cooling enables faster and stronger response to small initial changes. An initial hypothesis that high density regions should be more chaotic than low density regions is also shown to breakdown, especially at later times during the merger. Overall the development of differences in solutions is complex and involves distinct physical processes as well as mass scales