3132 research outputs found
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Shifting Mindsets for Managing Complexity: A Municipal Case Study
Get PDFAt the core of this research are the City of Kitchener’s Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) and selected management staff. These administrative City leaders engaged with REFOCUS, a Canadian cooperative non-profit organization, in applying the organizational change approach Enterprise Evolution (EE) to the municipal context, a global first. Enterprise Evolution is a methodology for co-creatively working with organizational leaders to build their system leadership capacity with innovative methods for managing for complexity. The first step in the EE programming is a series of workshops intended to lead to a mindset change among leaders by developing a more holistic understanding of emergent forces of change and appreciating the risks associated with maintaining the status quo. The EE theory of change defines this as an important step before engaging in a longer-term coproduction process of adapting strategic management practices. The focus of this study was to understand this initial process, its effectiveness within the specific context of the City of Kitchener, and its impact with the corporate leadership team. While there has been much theorizing about the need for a mindset change for deep and meaningful system change, empirical research reveals few successful, practical approaches that facilitate mindset change
Pluriversal Fragments in Exhibition Structures: Radical Perception & Mental Mapping
Get PDFMeaning of artworks in galleries is often determined by the exhibition anatomy and the interpretive curatorial frameworks which guide visitors. This thesis looked into the radical possibilities of sidestepping such frameworks and harnessing the phenomenology of the art encounter to achieving a deeper connection to the work and others. Using Lacanian psychoanalysis, this thesis approached the exhibition as a language-like structure and employed the Imaginary-Symbolic-Real to quantify the intersubjective art encounter in Iman Issa’s Book of Facts. In the absence of didactic text, the viewer approached artworks as floating signifiers and “anchor” meaning through personal memories, experiences, and culture. Sameer Farooq’s A Heap of Random Sweepings and Homi Bhabha’s Third Space were channeled to probe how this intersubjectivity can expand beyond the Western space to invite cultural hybridity. This thesis proposed Dynamic Thought Articulation, an experimental mapping exercise, for understanding elusive intersubjective art encounters and engaging in collective meaning-building
We Are Connected: Collaborative Audio Archiving In Toronto’s Queer Activist Community
Get PDFThis project challenges the marginalization and misrepresentation of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in traditional archives and research endeavours by empowering queer Toronto arts-based activists to archive their own stories and experiences. This was achieved through co-creation workshops with queer artist/activists with the goal of creating an audio archive inspired by themes and topics collectively chosen by the participants. These counter-archiving practices are particularly powerful in the queer community because they build a sense of shared identity and history, fostering pride and strength in participants and community members
Unravelling the Personality Gap in Multidisciplinary Teams
Get PDFThis major research project aimed to explore how personality can be considered a dimension of diversity in improving the effectiveness of multidisciplinary teams in organizations. This exploration involved the review of existing literature and a mixed-method approach to gain insight on how organizations consider and apply personality and diversity in a multidisciplinary team context. The mixed-method approach included anonymous surveys and confidential interviews of participants from small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and large organizations.
The overall findings of the survey and interview data reveal that many value diverse personality types in the workplace and believe it could enhance team effectiveness. However, there is a gap in how organizations can maximize the personality differences of their team members to achieve better effectiveness. The findings also indicate that this gap can be closed by integrating personality as a dimension of diversity in the workplace, which will lead to a better understanding of the personality types in multidisciplinary teams.
This report recommends that organizations integrate personality as a dimension of diversity using a framework that allows employees' personalities to be continuously considered from the hiring process, performance evaluation, and throughout the team lifecycle stages. The creation of this recommended framework requires further research on various areas identified in this report's discussion and recommendation section
Breaking the cycle: A systems analysis of maltreatment, power, and inequity in Canadian sports
Get PDFReports of abuse in sports continue to emerge in the news alongside increasing calls from athletes for systemic change. Recent research and news stories highlight the continued and widespread prevalence of maltreatment across the sports system. The problem has been explored over the past several decades by athletes, researchers, and coaches among others with many recommendations for improvements being made. Despite positive strides, the problem persists.
Building on the existing body of work, the following research explores the persistence of maltreatment and inequity in Canadian sports. Asking the question how might we reconsider power to build a safer, more equitable sports system, I examine the structures and influences that contribute to the problem. I examine public cases of abuse and first-hand perspectives to identify the relationships and primary sources of power shaping stakeholder behaviours. These insights are used to uncover opportunities to rethink the current power distribution and identify influential leverage points for change. It concludes by exploring an ideal future and providing strategic recommendations to move towards it
Scrolling Through Time: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Social Media, Digital Platforms, Time, and User Well-Being
Get PDFThis research paper explores the current relationship users have with social media, and how digital platforms impact users’ well-being and time management. Strategic foresight and systems thinking are leveraged to understand the topic presently, and also to explore what that relationship could look in the future. This report presents a series of recommendations that social media companies can leverage to better serve their users and give them more tools to practice mindful digital content consumption
mix-mish_mash_short_stories_masculinity_hip-hop_bahamianness- 20220510_v10
Get PDFOn a hot, humid and blindly sunny day in The Bahamas, I sit with my nephew under the shade of my mother’s porch to talk about our experiences in becoming men. Having not spoken to him in years, I play a draft of my self produced mixtape titled mix-mix-mish_mash_short_stories_masculinity_hip-hop_bahamian-ness-20220510_v10
Exploring Hip-Hop production and assemblage as de-colonial practices, this mixtape cuts, pastes, rearranges, reconfigures, interweaves and assembles academic literature, personal anecdotes, poetry, letters, tweets, WhatsApp messages and song lyrics together to explore my ever evolving relationship with masculinity through Hip-Hop and Hood Feminisms.
As a companion to the exhibition, Mish -Mash: The Makeshift Party, this mix also expands on the details and themes within my image making and artistic practice. These moments highlight the ways in which visual, sonic, moral and ethical contradictions intersect within Hip-Hop and Bahamian culture to create unique and sophisticated spaces for self and communal empowerment
Body Literacy: Our Vital Knowledge, Our Vital Power
Get PDFThe menstrual cycle has been recognized as the fifth vital sign: a holistic health indicator that enables people who menstruate (PWM) to understand the state of their general health through physiological biomarkers. Understanding the menstrual cycle as a vital sign empowers PWM to develop their body literacy, which requires a capacity for systems thinking. While this fifth vital sign was acknowledged in the early 2000’s, it is not common knowledge among PWM, healthcare professionals, educators, menstrual health product makers, or FemTech innovators. This knowledge gap has significant implications for the holistic health, confidence, and agency of PWM to make informed health decisions.
This embodied research project aims to simultaneously develop my capabilities as a systems thinker, while developing my body literacy. By applying systems thinking methods and tools rooted in feminist participatory action research, the research objective is to gain a systemic understanding of this vital knowledge gap from multiple perspectives: the individual PWM, the community of body literacy educators, and society at large.
This study investigates the systemic factors that have created a society with this knowledge gap. It then identifies the community of actors working to close this knowledge gap. It concludes with a systems-based approach to exploring the opportunity spaces revealed through the research to promote social change to scale and emerge a new system
Creating the Vogue through Sustainability: Waste Management in the Garment Industry
Get PDFThere are considerable environmental, social, and economic implications that derive from the fashion industry. Evaluating the complexity of the industry began with the business model and using the various systems tools to provide different perspectives to the question, “How can we make the future of fashion more transparent and simultaneously promote sustainable practices?”
The textile industry involves a lot of human resources in all processes, such as raw material collection, dyeing, processing, and sewing, and the wastage of resources and energy and increase in environmental pollution are caused by the short-term waste of clothing produced during these processes. This research project will seek to explore how the waste generated by the fast fashion industry during the manufacturing of the garments is managed. Approximately 15% of fabric intended for garment construction ends up on the cutting room floor and is discarded. Textile waste is not generally considered a ‘problem’ in waste management because, although materials are made with a range of chemicals, they are generally not considered toxic, in that they do not raise problems in the same way as batteries, tires or light bulbs. This project highlights the usage of unused fabric pieces considered as tailoring waste in the fast fashion industry.
The approach for the project was to investigate the current facts which included the process in the fast fashion industry, different practices by the brands, global supply chain analytics and most importantly the waste management system. Sustainability-oriented innovation calls for thinking and the reconfiguration of several elements of a system including system capabilities, stakeholder relationships, knowledge management, leadership and culture. This study integrated a deep analysis and understanding of the waste generated during the garment construction to alternatively use that waste to develop another material for better sustainability practices. Utilizing this research data, the testing for innovatively designing a new material made out of the waste generated by the industry was created. The purpose of creating a new composite material is to make use of the unused pieces of fabric discarded by the tailors. Further evaluation and analysis of the designed material helped in building a business model around the futuristic practical use of it. My analysis shows the designed material can replace a few non-recyclable things like foam used in the fashion industry. It can be used as a primary or secondary material in developing products. I conclude that this is going to be an ongoing research project to further work on variations of the material
Intersectional Research Methods on AAPI LGBTQ Youths’ Mental Health
Get PDFNavigating early adulthood is difficult for many youths. This is especially true for those who have multiple marginalized identities. For many Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) LGBTQ individuals, the transition to adulthood is often accompanied by social oppressions like racism and heterosexism. Discrimination and aggression towards this population can cause long-lasting damage to mental and physical health. There is too little attention paid to this particular issue stemming from a lack of intersectionality surrounding race, culture, and class in LGBTQ research and resources. People with multiple marginalized identities experience more psychological distress. Most of the current literature does not investigate how these factors change the lived experience of queer people of colour. Unfortunately, even fewer studies have examined the mental health of AAPI LGBTQ youths. Research or study on this population has been limited due to the lack of acknowledgement and the difficulty in gathering a large and diverse sample size. These limits can lead to serious issues, especially as the AAPI population has been on the rise for the past few decades in North America. The lack of data and information on this population will inevitably manifest into a lack of public support for this population.
This MRP aims to propose innovative research methods to raise awareness of mental health related issues among AAPI LGBTQ youths. Through literature, and by interviewing queer youth from the Asian and Pacific Island community in Toronto and New York City, I have designed a mixed research method to capture and understand the unique experiences and mental health state of AAPI LGBTQ youths. The final research formula illustrates the following goals: Goal A: Investigate the intersection of identity and cultural values and the resulting impact on mental health. (Goal B) Learn the experience of AAPI LGBTQ Youths in the queer community. Goal C: Understanding how participants’ experiences as queer Asians affect their mental health