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Emotional geographies: curating a relationship between grief architecture and the Niagara escarpment
No full textThrough the creation and development of one’s personal story,
an individual pursues their beliefs and passions. The life of an
individual is intrinsically shaped by the experiences defned by
one’s place, relationships, and surrounding culture. However,
the inherent duality of life and loss is often suppressed in
the normalization of the pursuit of notions of happiness.1
Specifcally, this can be experienced upon the loss of a loved
one, as one enters a state of grief: a psychological response
to bereavement. This can lead to a state of melancholy
which is a psychological experience caused by a subjective
reaction to the emotional, physical, and cultural processes
of bereavement. During grief, the well-being of an individual
can deteriorate afecting the body, mind, and spirit. Often, a
person in a state of mourning avoids social interaction due to
pressing negative thoughts and emotions. Society can foster
such unhealthy coping methods by encouraging private or
psychological remedies that neglect regional, social, and
cultural contexts.2
Arguably, dealing with negative emotions in
isolation is not a sustainable experience, nor does it support
the well-being of an individual. Exploring and understanding
why and how people think, and respond to these situations in
life has become a growing concern in organized psychology,
resulting in an increased dependency on psychiatry.3
Humans
are curious and we seem determined to understand ourselves
as a species. From this, human experiences and conditions
have been scrutinized and the emergence of grief as a topic
worthy of psychological study solidifed, popularizing the
understanding that normal occurrences and situations are
part of medicalized psychiatry. The occurrence of grief has
transitioned from a natural phenomena to a constructed theory,
becoming a pathology to be monitored, managed, and treated
by mental health professionals. Over time, psychologists have attempted to defne grief, arguing
that grief is a transitory melancholy that afects everyone at
some point in their life and that this experience interferes with
day to day life, disrupting the ideal.5
The categorization of grief
has led to the development of active processes that involve
intense struggles to give up the emotional attachment to the
loss, requiring time and energy on the part of the mourner in
an attempt to prevent prolonged social or medical alterations
for an individual. As a result, psychologists seek to defne the
mourning process as they believe that bereavement contravenes
the obligatory pursuit of happiness. It is apparent that grief
theory has become decontextualized from experiencing one’s
own emotions and has been completely psychologized.
Having a place to explore the innate emotions of life is thus
imperative to sustain the well-being of society. Supporting those
disorientated by bereavement requires a shift away from the
psychological realm, allowing grief to become an sensorial and
experiential process for people to actively navigate together.
This thesis proposes a means through which mourners are able
to process their grief through a public built form.
An interpretive experience can ofer a means to explore an
individual’s grief by framing it in relation to the vulnerability
of the landscape. The Niagara Escarpment is an underlying
condition of the human experience that transcends time,
boundaries, and culture, forming the construct of human life.
However, due to the impact of the human species, this sacred
entity is becoming endangered, causing society to collectively
grieve its loss. The atmospheres embedded within the Niagara
Escarpment can therefore act as a more comprehensive way
to engage grieving individuals, aligning with the vivid emotions
present in bereavement. Manifesting the thesis’ response in
relation to the site’s atmospheres enables mourners to project,
relate, empathize with, and be inspired by the landscape.
Perceptions of vulnerability, remembrance, resiliency, and hope
embedded within the site embody the emotions of bereavement
to establish a therapeutic environment for people to navigate
their own narrative. As a result, architecture can be recognized
as a pedagogical means to curate grief as a living experience
Recovery in community mental health: thesis report
No full textThe 450-hour advanced practicum took place at Canadian Mental Health Association
Muskoka-Parry Sound (CMHAMPS) in Parry Sound, Ontario, in the counselling program and
the early intervention program. CMHAMPS has set out to integrate mental health recovery into
mental health services as urged by the Mental Health Commission of Canada in an attempt to
reform the mental health system. The advanced practicum project was directed by the concept of
mental health recovery, as originally conceived of and envisioned by psychiatric
consumer/survivors; in light of how recovery is conceived of, and delivered in community
mental health services. This entailed research and understanding of the origin of recovery and the
original intentions of the paradigm in comparison to how mental health recovery has been
implemented in mental health practice with the medical model. The utilization of anti-oppressive
social work practice, structural social work practice and anti-sanism helped guide learning on
how to form an alliance with mental health service users for personal and broader social change
as a social worker without lived experience of madness. Narrative therapy and mindfulness
practice were interventions utilized during the advanced practicum through one-to-one
counselling and group sessions and are interventions that may complement recovery as
envisioned by psychiatric consumer/survivors.Master of Social Work Progra
Cognitive behavioural therapy in corrections: an advanced clinical practicum with Correctional Service Canada
No full textThis advanced practicum research report describes my practicum experiences within a federal
correctional facility, the incorporation of cognitive behavioural therapy in corrections, group
work within the correctional environment, clinical discharge planning, social work supervision,
and the role of clinical social workers as members of an interdisciplinary team. The literature
review will provide a summary of cognitive behavioural therapy in a criminal justice setting in
Canada, incarcerated individuals with mental health problems, the role of social workers in
criminal justice settings, discharge planning in criminal justice settings, social work practice with
groups in criminal justice settings, social work clinical supervision, and clinical discharge
planning. Following this, a discussion of the practicum process will occur. Next, a discussion of
my reflections and critical analysis related to my practicum experience will provide a discussion
of major themes demonstrating the growth of my theoretical knowledge and clinical skill sets
throughout the practicum process. Throughout the report, I will highlight the major themes
revealed within my reflective practice, divided into five various categories: the cognitive
behavioural therapy model in clinical corrections practice, social work group practice in
corrections, social work clinical supervision in the correctional system, awareness of the
responsibilities of clinical social workers as members of an interdisciplinary team in the
correctional system and discharge planning in the correctional system. The report will then
conclude with a summary of my experience as a clinical social worker in the federal correctional
system and a discussion relating to implications for social work practice.Master of Social Wor
Relocating for specialized care: exploring First Nation patient experiences
No full textThis thesis explored the experiences of patients from the Moose Factory and Moosonee
area who travel to larger urban cities for medical appointments. The main objectives of this
project were to have a greater understanding of the patient experience in having to travel for
medical appointments, as well as understand the strengths and challenges that patients face
before, during, and after a trip to a larger city for a medical appointment. The study also provided
participants an opportunity to envision approaches to improve patient experiences.
Through open-ended interviews with 10 participants, a number of themes were explored
in relation to a patient’s experience prior to attending an appointment, during an appointment,
and returning home from an appointment. Most notably, the themes that were discussed in great
length by many of the participants included issues with travel arrangements, transportation
services, and food arrangements.
The results of this study were translated from patient experiences in travelling for
medical appointments into recommendations that could be used by the local First Nation
leadership to advocate for improvements to the healthcare system that affects their community
members. These recommendations also are helpful to the local health authority that currently
serves patients in the Moose Factory and Moosonee region
Sulfide textures, geochemistry, and genesis of the Komatiite-Associated Eagle’s Nest Ni-Cu- (PGE) Deposit, McFaulds Lake Greenstone Belt, Superior Province, Ontario, Canada
No full textThe Eagle’s Nest nickel-copper-(platinum-group element) deposit occurs within the 2.73 billion-
year-old Double Eagle intrusive complex of the Ring of Fire intrusive suite, in the McFaulds Lake
greenstone belt in northern Ontario. It contains 11 million tonnes of proven and probable
mineralization grading 1.68 wt.% nickel, 0.87 wt.% copper, 0.89 g/t Pt, 3.1 g/t Pd, and 0.18 g/t
Au, and 9 million tonnes of inferred mineralization grading 1.0 wt.% nickel, 1.14 wt.% copper,
1.16 g/t Pt, and 3.49 g/t Pd. Mineralization occurs along the northern margin of a subvertical blade-
shaped dike~500 m wide (N-S) x ~85 m thick (E-W) x >1500 m deep composed of harzburgite,
lherzolite, and wehrlite. It is interpreted to have been emplaced as a subhorizontal blade-shaped
intrusive body into tonalitic rocks below the Double Eagle intrusion and rotated into its present
subvertical orientation. Four sulfide textural facies have been defined spatially and geochemically
through detailed core logging, petrography, and whole-rock and mineral geochemical analyses: 1)
disseminated (fine-grained olivine and pyroxene with <15 wt % uniformly distributed interstitial
sulfide), 2) net (fine-grained olivine and minor pyroxene with 15-35 wt% semi-continuously to
continuously distributed interstitial sulfide), 3) semi-massive (50-80 wt% sulfide with 20-40%
anteliths and gabbroic xenoliths), and 4) massive (>80 wt% sulfide with <20% xenoliths). There
are relatively few areas containing 35-50 wt% sulfide mineralization. Five subfacies of net texture
have been identified: 1) bimodal olivine bearing leopard-net texture (most common), 2) fine-
grained patchy-net texture with irregular patches of sulfide (uncommon), 3) orthopyroxene-
bearing pinto-net texture (coarse altered orthopyroxene similar to white spots on pinto-coloured
horse), 4) inclusion-net texture, each characterized by different peridotite inclusion populations,
and 5) localized zones of ‘disrupted-net texture” containing 3-5 cm thick zones of amoeboid cross-
cutting barren pyroxenite. All textural facies are characterized by a typical magmatic sulfide
assemblage of pyrrhotite – pentlandite – chalcopyrite with minor platinum-group minerals.
Massive sulfides are localized in two embayments along the basal contact that are separated by a
topographical high, grading upwards to rare semi-massive, laterally more continuous net texture,
and disseminated sulfides, with gradational contacts between textures except with massive sulfide.
The similar mean ore tenors of the different sulfide textural facies, Ni100 ~7.5 and Cu100 ~4.8,
suggest that the majority of the mineralization formed from similar magma compositions at similar
magma:sulfide ratios, but the presence of different inclusion populations (peridotite, gabbro,
chromitite) and the presence of disrupted-net texture indicates that the olivine, inclusions, and
sulfide melts accumulated from multiple pulses in a dynamic system. The smaller, blade-shaped,
sulfide-rich, chromite-poor Eagle’s Nest body does not appear to be the feeder to the overlying
larger, oblate, sulfide-poor, chromite-rich Double Eagle body. This highlights the need to
understand the fluid dynamics of entire plumbing systems when exploring for these deposit types
and the significance of smaller, more dynamic magmatic conduits as environments favourable for
nickel-copper-(platinum-group element) mineralization and of larger, less dynamic
chonoliths/sills, as environments favourable to chromite mineralization
Antibacterial activity of green microalgae from stressed environmental conditions
No full textBacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing problem in worldwide health care. The
discovery of new antibiotics has been less successful in recent years which have so far not
proven to be as successful or safe as natural products. Photosynthetic fresh (non-saline) water
green microalgae have, however, been recently shown to be a promising source of compounds
with antibacterial activity. Extracts from microalgae from a variety of environments have
inhibited growth of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. By investigating untapped
microalgal species that thrive in stressed environments, most likely through the production of
protective secondary metabolites, there is a greater likelihood of discovering strains capable of
producing bioactive compounds with antibacterial activity. In this study, microalgal species
obtained from environments with low pH, high metal concentrations or municipal wastewater
were tested against a variety of bacterial species. The results confirm that microalgae from
stressed environments are a promising source of compounds exhibiting antibacterial activity
The roles of H2S on hepatic acetyl-CoA and lipid metabolism
No full textHydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a novel gasotransmitter that is endogenously produced in the
liver by cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE). The CSE/H2S system dysfunction has been linked to various
liver diseases such as fatty liver diseases. Hepatic acetyl-CoA is a key intermediate from the
metabolism of glucose, amino acid, and lipid in most species, but the roles of H2S in the regulation
of hepatic acetyl-CoA and lipid metabolism have not been explored. Here, we found that
incubation of human liver carcinoma (HepG2) cells with a mixture of free fatty acids (FFAs) or
high glucose reduced CSE expression and H2S production and promoted intracellular
accumulation of acetyl-CoA and lipid. Supply of exogenous NaHS (an H2S donor) or cysteine (an
H2S precursor) reduced acetyl-CoA content and lipid accumulation, while blockage of CSE
activity by DL-propargylglycine promoted intracellular lipid accumulation. Furthermore, H2S
blocked FFAs-induced transcription of de novo lipogenesis, inflammation, and fibrosis-related
genes. In vivo, knockout of CSE gene stimulated more hepatic acetyl-CoA and lipid accumulation
in mice induced by high-fat choline-deficient diet. The expression of lipogenesis, inflammation,
and fibrosis-related genes were significantly higher in liver tissue from CSE knockout mice when
compared with wild-type mice. In conclusion, the CSE/H2S system is indispensable for
maintaining the homeostasis of acetyl-CoA and lipid accumulation and protecting from the
development of inflammation and fibrosis in liver under excessive caloric ingestion, and CSE/H2S
system constitutes an interesting target for the prevention and treatment of fatty liver disease
Modulation of antimicrobial activity by liposomal antibiotics for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from cystic fibrosis patients: potential role of the efflux pump inhibitor Phenylalanine Arginine-β-Naphthylamide
Get PDFCystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease that stems from mutations in the CF
transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Chronic pulmonary infections are the main
cause of death observed in patients with CF, as they can bring about pulmonary exacerbations,
inflammation and eventually lung and respiratory failure. Eradication of Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, the principal pathogen found in CF patients, is extremely challenging due to its
numerous resistance mechanisms, namely efflux pumps and reduced permeability. In the race
against antibiotic resistance, there is a pressing need to develop new ways to revive existing
antimicrobials and enhance their activity. Indeed, liposomal formulations of antibiotics were
shown to revitalize the drugs by increasing their activity against pathogens and reducing associated
toxicity. Similarly, phenylalanine arginine-β-naphthylamide (PABN) is a potent efflux pump
inhibitor that demonstrated great activity against bacteria like P. aeruginosa by inhibiting drug
efflux. In this study, liposomal gentamicin and erythromycin were prepared with the dehydrationrehydration vesicle method and their effects on biofilm formation, quorum sensing, virulence
factors production and motility in the presence and absence of PABN were evaluated against
clinical and laboratory isolates of P. aeruginosa. Liposomes and PABN combinations potentiated
antibiotics and reduced the production of biofilms, virulence factors and motility in the bacteria.
These results indicate that both liposomal gentamicin and erythromycin combined with PABN
show good promise in keeping P. aeruginosa infections under control in CF lung infections
Canada’s history with Indigenous peoples: do reminders of ingroup wrongs and ingroup identification influence collective guilt, moral shame, and reparation intentions?
Get PDFResearch suggests historical accounts of past harm committed by an ingroup toward an outgroup
have elicited emotions such as collective guilt and moral shame. The present experiment
examined whether an explicit account regarding abuse committed against Indigenous peoples in
the residential school system elicited collective guilt, moral shame, and reparation endorsement.
Ingroup identification was assessed as a potential moderator of these predicted effects. 108 nonIndigenous students from Laurentian University were randomly assigned to excerpts derived
from high school history textbooks were explicit or evasive and completed self-report
questionnaires. Results showed ingroup identification was a significant moderator whereby high
ingroup identifiers demonstrated greater levels of guilt and monetary support for Indigenous
Canadians when exposed to the explicit text. Low ingroup identifiers had greater shame when
exposed to an evasive text. Therefore, ingroup identification had an important influence on the
moral emotions and reparation intentions following exposure to an explicit vs. evasive account of
their group’s past wrongdoing. Implications are discussed in relation to promoting a sense of
responsibility and intentions to repair ingroup wrongs, and how this might be facilitated in an
educational context