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An exploration of four ecovillages through the ecoresilient lens of spirituality
Get PDFEcovillages worldwide continue to develop processes and solutions to face the known
and unknown, social and ecological, climate-related challenges confronting communities. After a
review of resilience concepts, the term ‘ecoresilience’ is defined. This research explores
ecovillages through the lens of ecoresilience, specifically, the under-studied aspect of spirituality.
Spirituality is framed as the simple conviction that there is more to life than we can materially
observe. The exploration of four ecovillages develops through mixed data collection methods of
site visits, interviews, guided tours, and a historical review. A case study approach comparatively
evaluates and analyzes the ecoresilience of the four ecovillages La Cité Écologique in Quebec,
Whole Village Ecovillage in Ontario, The Park at Findhorn in Scotland, and The Federation of
Damanhur in Italy.
A significant finding uncovered how spirituality positively impacts ecovillage
ecoresilience. Beginning with the purpose of an ecovillage, and continuing through individual
and collective activities, spirituality supports and builds spiritual capital in communities.
Spiritual capital creates a shock absorber to help community members manoeuvre through
adverse events. The case studies displayed many unique examples of building spiritual capital
through the three spiritual themes, including connection to the web of life, engaged spirituality
through social-ecological efforts, and the arts. Spirituality ensures a strong connection to the web
of life, builds community cohesion, and both are essential ingredients for future ecovillage
ecoresilience. Other mainstream lessons gleaned from this research are intergenerational
governance, cooperative living, low-impact lifestyles, nature-based education, the ability to adapt
to change, and the importance of individual and communal spiritual activities to ecoresilience
Utilization of a rural hospital in Ontario, Canada: understanding reasons for repeat emergency department visits and multiple admissions over a fourteen-month period
No full textThis study highlights the most common reasons for repeat emergency
department (ED) visits and diagnoses of repeat hospital admissions at the Smooth Rock
Falls Hospital, located in a rural community in Northern Ontario, Canada. The aim of this
study was to help hospital administrators identify patients at high risk of frequent hospital
resource utilization (ED visit or admissions) so that if appropriate, they may be redirected
to alternative services available in the community. Therefore, the two main research
questions for this study were: (1) Which types of patients are more prone to having repeat
ED visits and hospital admissions; and (2) What types of services could help improve the
health of these patients
Effects of captivity, diet, and relocation on the gut bacterial communities of white-footed mice
No full textMicrobes can have important impacts on their host's survival. Captive breeding programs for endangered species include periods of captivity that can ultimately have an impact on reintroduction success. No study to date has investigated the impacts of captive diet on the gut microbiota during the relocation process of generalist species. This study simulated a captive breeding program with white-footed mice (Peromyscus
leucopus) to describe the variability in gut microbial community structure and composition during captivity and relocation in their natural habitat, and compared it to wild individuals. Mice born in captivity were fed two different diets, a control with dry standardized pellets and a treatment with nonprocessed components that re- flect a version of their wild diet that could be provided in captivity. The mice from the two groups were then relocated to their natural habitat. Relocated mice that had the treatment diet had more phylotypes in common with the wild-host micro-biota than mice under the control diet or mice kept in captivity. These results have broad implications for our understanding of microbial community dynamics and the effects of captivity on reintroduced animals, including the potential impact on the survival of endangered species. This study demonstrates that ex situ conservation actions should consider a more holistic perspective of an animal's biology including its microbes
The impact of family dynamic on perceptions of marriage and divorce
No full textIt has been found that individuals with a non-intact family dynamic often report a lower
level of well-being, relationship confidence, decision making, relationship satisfaction, and a
more external locus of control than those raised in an intact family dynamic. Furthermore, young
adults from a non-intact family can have a more negative attitude toward marriage than young
adults from an intact family. The current study sought to support previous literature findings in
examining individual levels of well-being, locus of control, deciding, as well as relationship
confidence and satisfaction. Individual attitudes toward marriage and divorce were also measured
in order to determine if there were variances in attitudes of those raised in differing family
dynamics. Additionally, the current study used narratives describing characters from an intact and
non-intact family dynamic, to determine the perception the participant had of the character in the
narrative. This can be used to understand whether previous personal experience reflects on or
influences the participant’s attitudes and perceptions of family dynamic forms.
The results showed that females from a non-intact family dynamic reported lower levels
of well-being than females from an intact family dynamic, whereas males were found to have
lower levels of relationship confidence, deciding, and relationship satisfaction compared to
females regardless of their family dynamic. Additionally, attitudes toward marriage were
significantly higher than attitudes toward divorce overall. Finally, the non-intact family dynamic
was perceived as significantly more negative than the intact family dynamic regardless of the
participant’s own dynamic.
This study helps to develop a better understanding of how being raised in an intact versus
non-intact family household could influence an individual’s perspective of themselves, narrative
characters, attitudes toward differing family dynamics, and their confidence in interpersonal
relationships
CROSH COVID Conversations: Mechanisms of COVID-19 and Why Vaccination Matters for the Workplace
No full textIn the fifth and final installment of CROSH COVID Conversations, Dr. Sandra Dorman of Laurentian University and Dr. Caitlin Mullarkey of McMaster University discuss the biological mechanisms of COVID-19 infection, herd immunity, how vaccines work, and why vaccination is important for the workplace
Suburban subsistence agriculture: an Investigation of a suburban agriculture on the peripheral edge in the Greater Toronto Area
No full textThe geographical expansion of large populated urban centres raises many environmental
preoccupations, among which, the fact that it severely affects the way cities can rely on locally
produced food. Suburban development makes cities grow outward from city centres, creating an
expanding edge condition. Considered as a global phenomenon, the process of urban sprawl
and expropriation generally take over prime agricultural land, thus making it difficult to implement
environmentally sustainable conditions for large cities, particularly in regard to food production.
Conceiving that agriculture and suburban areas can coexist with one another, this thesis investigates
how architecture can contribute to the creation of subsistence agricultural conditions for food
production within a suburban context. The suburban edge condition of Toronto, Ontario, offers a
great terrain of investigation, and more specifically the town of Brooklin, where a suburban wall
seems to move through the land, engulfing productive farms. If we learn how to design for this edge
condition, we will, in consequence, develop solutions to the problem of urban growth and the loss of
agricultural land. As the increasing demand for land impacts on the natural landscapes, farmland,
and its people, a sustainable form of urban development should be considered. First, awareness
needs to be raised about the unsustainable rates that agricultural lands are being consumed due to
the expansion of cities. When cities take over the lands that fuel and feed them, the consequences
are deeply problematic, both to city centres and suburban areas. For this reason, it is urgent to
investigate how architecture can contribute to the introduction of subsistence agriculture for food
production within larger suburban centres. In order to tackle this complex issue, different scales
were addressed, ranging from the region to the scale of an object, trying to develop for each
scale a strategy to connect experimental practices of agriculture to the site, its infrastructure and
buildings. To create autonomous conditions, suburban farming and permaculture can be part of the
urban infrastructure, which will have the potential to stimulate local food production at the domestic,
neighbourhood, and city scales. The design of a new suburban edge will introduce a hub dedicated
to food production, while relevant forms of housing were investigated as essential components for
the suburban development model. Through the connection of these scales, this project probes how
the edges of the Greater Toronto Area can become a model for a sustainable suburban subsistence
agricultural community
Les mère de nouveau-nés atteints syndrome d’abstinence néonatale
Get PDFThis advanced practicum thesis paper highlights my experience in a Master of Social
Work (MSW) practicum at the Children’s Aid Society in the Nipissing District (CASNPS). The
report draws attention to theory and practice concerns and explores how to better align current
practices with research. The work is dedicated to bridge the gaps of services for pregnant
women, mothers with newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome, and their children. The
advanced practicum experience at CASNPS in early intervention services and child protection
strengthened my knowledge of child welfare, and of existing gaps in services that affect the
helping relationship with parents. Reflectivity guided my practice to identify some of my
limitations as a social work practitioner and brought awareness to my privilege. It is my
observation that the Children’s Aid Society of Nipissing and Parry Sound has enriched families
by implementing attachment theory in programming. The thesis identifies areas that can further
assist families struggling with substance misuse by bridging child welfare concerns and helping
empower parents. The thesis includes various forms of learning such as program shadowing,
supervisory consultation, research participation, reflexive journaling, confidentiality training,
case conferences with service users, internal meetings, individual case planning, and family
home visits. The report concludes with reflections on the Canadian Association of Social
Workers Code of Ethics, the implications for social work practice, and potential opportunities for
the Nipissing District. = La présente thèse met en lumière mon stage de perfectionnement effectué auprès de la
Société d'aide à l'enfance du district de Nipissing et de Parry Sound dans le cadre du programme
de maîtrise en service social. Ce rapport fait état de différentes préoccupations en rapport à la
théorie et la pratique et explore comment mieux aligner les pratiques actuelles sur la recherche.
Les travaux effectués visent à combler les lacunes des services destinés aux femmes enceintes,
aux mères de nouveau-nés atteints du syndrome d'abstinence néonatale et à leurs enfants. Cette
expérience pratique en services d'intervention précoce et de protection de l'enfance a renforcé
mes connaissances en matière de protection de l’enfance et en ce qui a trait aux lacunes
existantes dans les services affectant la relation d'aide avec les parents. La réflexion ayant guidé
ma pratique m’a permis de définir certaines de mes limites en tant que praticienne du travail
social en plus de me faire prendre conscience des privilèges dont je jouis. Selon mes
observations, la Société d'aide à l'enfance du district de Nipissing et de Parry Sound a contribué
au renforcement des familles en appliquant la théorie de l'attachement à ses programmes. La
thèse précise les domaines ayant la capacité d’appuyer davantage les familles aux prises avec
l'abus de substances en comblant certaines des lacunes soulevant des préoccupations en matière
de protection de l'enfance ainsi qu’en aidant à habiliter les parents. La thèse fait également état
de diverses formes d'apprentissage auxquelles on a eu recours dont l’apprentissage par
observation, la consultation de supervision, la tenue d'un journal, la participation à des recherches, à de la formation en matière de confidentialité, à des conférences de cas avec des
utilisateurs de services, à des réunions internes et à la planification de cas individuels, ainsi que
la réalisation de visites de familles à domicile. En conclusion, le rapport propose une réflexion
sur le code de déontologie de l'Association canadienne des travailleuses et travailleurs sociaux présente certains des enjeux en ce qui a trait à la pratique du travail social et examine des occasions possibles pour le district de Nipissing.Master of Social Wor
The nature of the Cadillac – Larder Lake Fault: Implications for gold mineralization along the KerrAddison-Cheminis segment
No full textThe Cadillac-Larder Lake Fault (CLLF) is a major fault system that controls the location of gold
deposits in the southern Abitibi greenstone belt. Over a distance of 250 km from Matachewan in
Ontario to Val d’Or in Quebec, it marks the contact between mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks of
the Piché/Larder Lake group and younger metasedimentary rocks of the Hearst, Timiskaming and
Cadillac sedimentary assemblages. In the Larder Lake area, the contact between sedimentary rocks
of the Timiskaming assemblage to the north and volcanic rocks of the Larder Lake group to the
south defines the CLLF. This contact is typically sheared and deformed by two generations of
folds but locally, in areas of low strain, an unconformity is preserved, expressed by a pebbly
sandstone which youngs away from the underlying ultramafic rocks and contains detrital clasts of
the ultramafic rocks. The sandstone stratigraphically overlies older volcanic rocks of the Larder
Lake group suggesting that the unconformable contact between the Timiskaming assemblage and
Larder Lake group is a primary feature that was later structurally modified. The structural history
of the CLLF and surrounding rocks began prior to the deposition of the Timiskaming assemblage
with the juxtaposition of the Larder Lake and Blake River groups during an early thrusting and
imbricating D1 deformation event. Both the Larder Lake group and the Timiskaming assemblage
were then deformed during a D2 deformation / mineralizing event, which produced regional F2
folds, a regional S2 cleavage, and ductile shearing along the contact between the Larder Lake group
and the Timiskaming assemblage. Reactivation of this contact during and post the D2 event
localized the distribution of gold deposits and formed the present day manifestation of the CLLF
Neoliberal bodies: ideology and obesity
Get PDFRecent reconsideration of the history of 20th century obesity research suggests that the etiology1 of obesity has been fundamentally misunderstood or misrepresented (Gard & Wright, 2005; Guthman, 2011; Phinney & Volek, 2011; Taubes, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2016; Teicholz, 2014). The reasons for this are manifold and one is that 20th century obesity research is fraught with bias. There is a temporal overlap between the establishment of the modern theory of obesity and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in Western countries. I posit that the evidence of the influence of neoliberalism is discernible when considering both how the etiology of obesity has been [mis]understood and how the obese are characterized. Further, I argue that neoliberal policy and governance have contributed to increased levels of obesity. Through discourse analysis (Foucault, 1972) and institutional ethnography (Smith, 2005), I consider the ways in which neoliberalism and the social organization of scientific
knowledge have influenced obesity science. I also identify how the resultant conceptualization of obesity that appears in Canadian public health reports reflects neoliberal ideological bias
Une empreinte alimentaire : un réseau d’apprentissage, de transformation et de partage des aliments à Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik
No full textL’objectif de cette thèse est d’engager une réflexion sur les besoins spatiaux
et architecturaux des communautés nordiques pour le développement de
leur sécurité alimentaire, un enjeu clé pour leur identité sociale et culturelle
et leur bien-être. Le travail prend comme point d’appui la communauté de
Kangiqsualujjuaq, qui se trouve en bordure de la rivière George, au Nunavik,
où certains Kangiqsualujjuamiut ont exprimé leurs inquiétudes quant à la
préservation de leurs pratiques alimentaires traditionnelles.6F La thèse explore
ainsi comment l’architecture peut supporter une vision plus holistique et
durable de la sécurité alimentaire dans les communautés inuites du Nunavik.
Afin de répondre à cette question, des recherches sur les pratiques alimentaires
des Inuits, ainsi que de l’observation de terrain a été effectuée. La thèse suggère
que c’est en revoyant le cadre de la sécurité alimentaire, habituellement
centré sur les questions de production et de distribution, pour y inclure les
pratiques locales que l’on pourra commencer à développer des infrastructures
alimentaires plus durables du point de vue environnemental et culturel. Ainsi,
la thèse se concentre sur trois actions, au cœur de l’alimentation, dans les
communautés inuites : s’approvisionner, préparer et partager. Par des scénarios
architecturaux, la thèse imagine et illustre ainsi une conception différente de
la sécurité alimentaire, qui tente de donner une voix à la communauté, ses
aspirations et sa culture. Elle vise à rétablir un équilibre entre l’alimentation
importée et la production locale durable par une mise en valeur des pratiques
d’alimentation traditionnelle, un fondement identitaire important pour les Inuits