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Another fork in the road: the experiences of retired teachers and nurses living in Northeastern Ontario.
No full textCanadian women born after the Second World War, between 1945 and 1964, were both
credited and criticized for their roles in challenging traditions and forging life pathways that were
different to those before them. In recent decades, this cohort has been entering their retirement
paths. This qualitative study explored stories about how some women were living the transcendent
stage of later life in rural and small towns in Northeastern Ontario. Using a feminist narrative
approach, twenty-one primarily boomer women were interviewed by telephone, using semi-
structured questions. The women had retired from teaching or nursing, accomplished professional
designations in their jobs, and lived in the target areas. Braun & Clarke’s (2022) reflexive thematic
analysis was followed to generate codes and themes. Ten themes emerged: 1) how do I feel at this
stage of my life?, 2) it’s my life, my time., 3) where did my identity go?, 4) what do I do now?, 5)
the impact of gender roles on participants’ stories., 6) options for retirement and feelings about
this life event., 7) expectations for the next fork in the road., 8) connection and purpose., 9) the
importance of health-financial, mental and physical., and 10) let go, take the plunge.
The results of this study supported the literature regarding retirement pathways; however,
this group mainly identified with transitional or continuity models. Freedom to make choices,
unencumbered by the rules of a job, resonated throughout the results. Data highlighted the
importance of community and family involvement for overall health and wellbeing. This resilient
group determined that they would learn new things and adapt to ongoing physical and mental
health issues through staying busy and maintaining relationships with family and friends.
Key words: Women, Retirement, Baby Boomers, Professional, Northeastern Ontario,
Retirement pathways.Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Rural and Northern Healt
The fight for change: redevelopment of Toronto’s yellow belt to address the housing crisis
No full textThis thesis investigates a hidden component found in many North America cities that may be the key to solving
the housing crisis. Through the research of Missing Middle housing in the Toronto, Ontario context, a new
proposal is created that aims to be a possible solution to the housing crisis. Careful understanding of the transit
line that runs through the Yellow Belt region reveals three potential sites for a new housing proposal. Through
the process of iteration, a final site and design is created with the guidance of the fundamentals of lighting and
street safety. An investigation into key case studies under these fundamentals brings new ideas in the creation
of the final proposal. By challenging the current methods of urban design and returning to a more people focused
approach, Toronto can fix its situation in the housing crisis and provide what all people deserve, a place to call
home.Master of Architecture (M.Arch
Distinct religious primes and evaluations of religious and non-religious others: the moderating roles of religious quest and fundamentalism
Get PDFResearch has shown that priming religiosity can have differential effects on attitudes
towards religious and non-religious others. However, recent work has suggested that these
differential effects may depend on aspects of religiosity that are made salient during the priming
task. The present research applied construal level theory to evaluate the effects of abstract and
concrete religious priming on evaluations towards religious and non-religious others. The
moderating roles of religious quest and fundamentalism were evaluated in the entire sample (N =
197) and for a subsample of Christian participants (n = 125). Multiple moderated regression
showed that individual differences in religious quest and fundamentalism significantly interacted
with the priming manipulation to predict evaluations towards religious others in the Christian
subsample. The findings of the present study suggest that the effects of abstract and concrete
religious priming may depend on individual differences in religious quest and fundamentalism.Master of Arts (MA) in Psycholog
Remembering home: creating a village for individuals living with dementia and their caregivers
No full textThe number of individuals diagnosed with dementia is
on the rise globally. There is a dire need for suitable housing
that responds to the symptoms of dementia while also
providing spaces where individuals can thrive without being
isolated from the greater community. In Canada, most places
designed specifically for individuals living with dementia
are institutional settings that separate individuals from their
community. Residential settings may offer comfort but are not
adequately designed to meet the challenges of dementia. This
thesis studies dementia care design to create a more suitable
living environment for individuals living with dementia and their
caregivers. A house community model style of residence is
designed to accommodate individuals who live with dementia
and caregivers in Sudbury, Ontario. The larger community and
residents can interact through arts-based programming to
benefit both. These efforts are made to provide more dignity
and comfort to all involved in the dementia process.Master of Architecture (M.Arch
Biocybernetic closed-loop system to improve engagement in video games using electroencephalography
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper was to determine the level of engagement with a specific
stimuli while playing video games. The modern video game industry has a large and wide
audience and is therefore becoming more popular and accessible to the public. The interactions
and rewards offered in video games are a key to keep player engagement high. Understanding
the player’s brain and how it reacts to different type of stimuli would help to continue improving
games and advance the industry into a new era. Although studying human engagement had
started many years ago, the application of measuring it in video game players has only been
applied more recently and is still an evolving field of research. This thesis will be taking an
objective approach by measuring engagement through electroencephalogram (EEG) readings and
seeing if it will help improve current dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) systems for video
games leading to more engaging and entertaining games. Although statistically significant
findings were not found in this experiment, the technique for future experiments were laid out in
the form of classifiers comparison and program layouts.Masters degree in Computational Scienc
Finding friends in fiction: fan writing, parasocial relationships and social belongingness
Get PDFConsistent with the Social Surrogacy hypothesis (Derrick, Gabriel & Hugenberg, 2009), it is possible that, like television and interactive video games, writing fan-fiction may impact social functioning by way of parasocial interactions. This study explores this phenomenon using a mixed methods approach, involving a statistical analysis of data collected through a cross-sectional survey with fan-fiction writers, and a qualitative analysis of the semi-structured interviews describing participants experiences and motivations.
Participants (n = 526) were recruited using a combination of the convenience and the
snowball sampling methods. Quantitative findings indicate that those who spend more time writing fan-fiction experience significantly higher levels of parasocial interactions and social belongingness.
Results of the correlation analyses further indicate that both greater social presence and
belongingness are associated with higher levels of parasocial interactions. Finally, it was
hypothesized that parasocial interactions would have a mediating effect on time spent writing fanfiction and social belongingness, but the results were non-significant.
In the qualitative phase of this study, ten individual, semi-structured interviews were
conducted and analysed using a thematic analysis, following the guidelines of Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings indicate that the act of fan writing supports positive coping strategies especially during stressful situations (e.g., the current pandemic). Although the qualitative data brought attention to the various motivations for writing fan-fiction, fan writers engaged with the characters they wrote about using two main processes: parasocial interactions/relationships and identification.
Participants’ interview responses confirm that favoured media characters can mimic friendships, possibly alleviating loneliness, especially when they experience rejection or social loss. Conversely, some responses indicate that identification functions to increase self-knowledge, alter beliefs/attitudes, and guide them. These findings suggest that fan writing can give individuals the opportunity to unconsciously express personal feelings and thoughts and provide a healthy outlet to release stressors, suppressed emotions, motivations and desires through fictional characters.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Human Studies and Interdisciplinarit
Stepping lightly: a rural site approach for habitat restoration
No full textIn light of the global decline of biodiversity, this thesis seeks to
address local issues threatening species which could lead to greater
positive global impact. The local issues experienced within the Lake
Erie-Lake Ontario Ecoregion, located in Southwestern Ontario, reveal
habitat loss as the key threat to biodiversity. The majority of habitat was
lost as a result of deforestation caused by the logging industry and the
clearing of the landscape for agricultural use. Forests were once all-
encompassing entities covering Southwestern Ontario, today they sit at
the margins of agricultural space. To address habitat loss, this thesis
argues a design approach to connect the existing fragmented habitat
is required. These connections are established through ecocorridors,
natural spaces which link existing habitats. A specific site in the rural
land to the west of London, Ontario is selected to develop a strategy for
reforesting. A site approach developed from the natural forest succession
of deciduous forests is established to guide the growth of corridors
and architectural interventions. A forest center as well as a number of
small-scale interventions seek to support the programmatic needs of
reforesting while also integrating themselves into the forest, acting as
supports for the wildlife. This thesis seeks to develop a site strategy
supported by an architectural intervention which connects fragmented
habitat and discovers new strategies to support wildlife habitation with
architecture
Optimizing monitoring of harvested moose (Alces alces) in Ontario, Canada
No full textMonitoring of widely distributed wildlife species across multiple discrete management
units presents challenges for the optimal allocation of monitoring effort. By balancing value in
new information gained through monitoring with costs, monitoring effort can be optimally
allocated to maximize benefit to wildlife management. The main research objective of this thesis
was to identify factors affecting the optimal allocation of monitoring effort for moose (Alces alces)
across multiple Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) in Ontario, Canada that have variable moose
population densities and dynamics. Moose are a harvested species across their range in North
America and require monitoring to ensure sustainable harvest and that population management
objectives are met. The main approaches used to monitor moose in the study area included aerial
surveys and hunter harvest information, and I used both sources of data collected by the Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. In this thesis, I determined (1) the utility of harvest
data as a proxy of moose population abundance under a selective harvest system; (2) the role of
synergistic climate-habitat relationships in shaping spatio-temporal variation in moose population
dynamics; and (3) the monitoring design that optimized the use of aerial surveys to estimate
population abundance, while balancing the needs and monitoring costs of multiple discrete
WMUs. My findings revealed that restricted harvest of adult moose reflected spatial variability in
moose abundance better than less restricted calf harvest; but this effect was impacted by high levels
of both hunter effort and landscape disturbance that can influence the detectability of moose to
hunters. Further, my work revealed that moose population response to climate was variable at local
(i.e. WMU) scales and was mediated or exacerbated by habitat conditions that can alter ecological
links, including parasite transmission and predation. I incorporated my findings of drivers of
moose population variability into population models to evaluate how prioritizing alternative management criteria, in addition to using model-based estimates to replace information-gaps,
impacted WMU-specific population and trend estimates. Also incorporated in the decision
framework were WMU-specific costs and annual budget constraints. I further evaluated how the
utility (based on minimizing population estimate uncertainty) of using a model-based estimate
rather than conducting a survey was impacted by population density, severity of environmental
stressors, and years since the last survey. My results showed that interval-based monitoring and
incorporating model-based estimates that accounted for previous survey uncertainty captured
population trends for the highest number of units across a 10-year period. The utility of conducting
a survey increased with time since the last survey and was greater for low population densities
when the severity of environmental stressors (i.e. winter severity) was high, while being greater
for high population densities when winter severity was low. My thesis findings can be applied to
other widely distributed and harvested species that are managed and monitored using multi-unit
frameworks spanning environmental gradients that contribute to variability in population
uncertainty.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Boreal Ecolog
Stress, anxiety, and depression among mining workers: understanding the correlates of mental health and wellbeing
No full textBackground: Mental health problems are among the leading causes of disability. The
consequences of poor mental in the workplace are numerous and well-documented. Despite this,
mental health research specific to the mining industry remains scarce, especially in Canada
where mining plays a significant economic role. What is more, workers in male-dominated
industries have been found to be at greater risk for mood and anxiety disorders, and the limited
existing literature depicts higher rates of mental illness among mining workers. This is relevant
in Canada because the mining industry is a major employer of Canadians.
Objective: Our research team conducted a study at a large mining company in Ontario, Canada
to better understand the mental health and wellbeing of their workforce by assessing symptoms
of various mental health problems and illnesses, as well as work and non-work-related factors
that may be associated with these symptoms. As part of this study, my thesis examines the
prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in this sample of Canadian mine
workers, as well as the demographic, health-related, psychosocial, and work-related predictors of
stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms for these workers. Methods: 2,224 mining workers across 25 worksites at one company in Ontario, Canada
completed a self-reported questionnaire. The survey included assessments of symptoms of stress,
anxiety, and depression, demographic questions, and assessments of psychosocial and healthrelated factors associated with stress, anxiety, and depression. Results: While stress levels were found to be comparable to the general working population,
symptom prevalence of anxiety and depression were greater in this workforce than in the general
working population of Canada. Significant correlates of these workers’ mental health and wellbeing were grouped into the following 8 categories: individual characteristics, interpersonal
relationships, lifestyle, and the overlap between physical and mental health (see Chapter 6), as
well as work schedule and demands, effort-reward imbalance and recognition and reward, job
insecurity and job satisfaction, and the physical and psychological work environment (see
Chapter 7). Conclusions: Findings are consistent with previous research and confirmed our hypotheses.
Recommendations for addressing significant predictors of mental health and wellbeing for these
workers are presented in Chapter 8.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Rural and Northern Healt
“These two alibis seem equally as weak compared to those” contrast and condensation effects in inferential judgments
No full textDo contrast and condensation effects exist in the cognitive, inferential realm? This study examined
the possibility using an existing experimental model designed to assess these effects in the sensory
and hedonic fields, replacing hedonic stimuli (juice tasting) with inferential judgment stimuli (alibi
strength ratings). In the first experiment, testing for contrast, both test alibis were rated weaker
after the participants had read strong context alibis, although only one was significantly affected.
In the second experiment, testing for condensation, the inferred difference in strength between the
two test alibis did not change after participants read the strong context alibis from when they only
rated the test alibis. However, when examining the data from the first experiment, the absolute
difference between the two test alibis diminished significantly when the strong alibis were first
considered. This provides plausibility that contrast and condensation effects both occur for
inferential judgments.Master of Arts (MA) in Psycholog