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The role of shame in interpersonal violence
No full textThis practicum thesis explores the role that shame plays in healing from interpersonal violence.
The practicum took place at Health Sciences North (Violence Intervention and Protection Program) and
at the Voices for Women Sexual Assault Centre. This culmination of the learning experience describes
the practicum environment, work experience, learning goals, academic and clinical supervision process,
and activities involved in the learning process. It considers the empirical research on the relationship
between shame and trauma and provides a theoretical framework that includes both psychological and
meta-theories related to social work practice, through which the learning process was informed. This
thesis considers the relationship between shame and healing from interpersonal trauma in three work
environments: in the direct support of clients accessing the treatment facilities, in group therapy work
with survivors, and in one-to-one trauma counselling sessions with sexual assault survivors. It considers
the importance of addressing shame and shame triggers by social workers in the course of their reflexive
practice. Additionally, it examines valuable methods for addressing shame within the practice
environment, including the important role social connection plays in the healing process, the
significance of depathologizing traumatic responses, strategies for increasing survivor empowerment
and the importance of addressing shame within the therapeutic relationship. Finally, it explores the
course of disclosure and the value and risks involved in the disclosure of interpersonal trauma in both
group and individual therapeutic session environments.Master of Social Work Progra
La pensée critique dans l’enseignement de l’EPS : perspectives des enseignants des collèges de Brazzaville en République du Congo
No full textLa présente étude porte sur la perception des enseignants d’EPS des collèges (premier cycle de
l’enseignement secondaire) de Brazzaville à l’égard de la nature et du rôle de la pensée critique, de même que
des stratégies didactico-pédagogiques de son développement en EPS chez les élèves des collèges. À partir
d’entrevues individuelles menées auprès de neuf enseignants d’EPS et d’un focus group avec neuf autres
enseignants d’EPS, l’analyse du corpus recueilli révèle que les enseignants ont plusieurs conceptions de la
nature et du rôle de la pensée critique en EPS. Elle présente aussi plusieurs visions relatives aux moyens
didactico-pédagogiques de développement de la pensée critique des élèves en classe d’EPS
Adaptation of microalgae bioprospected from stressed environments in Northern Ontario for the production of lipids
No full textPhotosynthetic green microalgae are a promising bio-feedstock that can be used to generate
lipids for transesterification into biodiesel and/or various human health products such as
polyunsaturated fatty acids. Unfortunately, due to their cultivation requirements, such as high
energy requirements and carbon dioxide (CO2) as a carbon source, large-scale biomass
production generally remains uneconomical. To address this issue, the use of industrial flue gas
as a low-cost source of CO2 and a biorefinery approach to help mend the economic burden of
microalgae-based products with an emphasis on creating co-products from lipid-extracted
biomass (LEB) are assessed in this thesis.
Microalgae’s ability to sequester CO2 through photosynthesis is also advantageous in mitigating
harmful industrial emissions. While these flue gases can have high concentrations of CO2, they
also can contain numerous contaminants (e.g., heavy metals, particulate matter) that discourage
microalgae growth, and therefore their ability to fix CO2. But, the most significant issue can be
high nitrous oxide (NOx) and sulphuric dioxide (SO2) concentrations within a flue gas that cause
acidification when bubbled through liquid media. It is due to this acidification that finding the
productive microalgae species to grow in those systems can be problematic.
To address this, bioprospecting acid-tolerant microalgae from low pH environments in active and
non-active mining sites was explored and the acidophilic species present identified through DNA
sequence analysis. Bioprospected algal species were then grown in acidic conditions similar to
those created by bubbling flue gas from a nickel smelter into water (pH 2.5). From this work, it
was found that the acid-tolerant green microalgae in the genus Coccomyxa acclimated to the acidic conditions with suitable growth rates (0.136 day-1) and biomass production (25.71 mg L-1day-1).
However, anabolic production of target biochemical molecules, such as lipids, is the key step in
the bio-product process. It is known that microalgae have the ability to accumulate bioactive
compounds when placed in stressed environments, such as high illumination and low nutrient
availability, but little is known an about the impact of low pH and in particular the lipid
composition of acidophilic microalgae. Research confirmed that the lipid compositions of
bioprospected acid-tolerant microalgae was in the target range (13%). However, further work
showed that an increased total lipid content (up to 27%), with a desirable rise in the relative level
of health beneficial higher polyunsaturated fatty acid, could be achieved by applying dark stress
at the end of the exponential growth phase. It is, therefore, proposed that this approach could be
an easy, low-cost method to enhance lipid productivit
On the Time Decay constant of AEM systems: A Semi- Heuristic Algorithm to validate calculations
No full textThe time decay constant or “tau” of airborne EM systems (AEM) is commonly used to indicate
the presence and the relative conductivity or conductance of conductors in the survey area. In
fact, it is not a constant since it depends on: the system; the survey design and the method of
calculation. The system dependence is a consequence of parameters relating to the acquisition
and pre– and post– processing of the signal. Here we propose a method for calculating tau,
which is simply the time at which the transient voltage decays to 37%, or V37, of some initial
value. The model utilises a semi-heuristic algorithm that estimates V37 for each transient in the
database and then it calculates the delay time that voltage is measures, which is the estimates
tau value. No calculation is involved with the data, instead tau is given by a weighted average
of the delay times associated with the windows either side of the V37 value. We illustrate how
this algorithm works using data collected by MEGATEM II in the Reid-Mahaffy test site.
Results shown a good agreement between tau-grids reported in previous studies and those
calculated with our V37 – method. To account for all effects coming from the acquisition and
processing of EM data, the algorithm allows the emphasis to be shifted from early to late time
parts of the transient. It is envisage that since this method does not apply any mathematical
operation to the data it may serve as a robust means of for validating other methods
Effect of doxorubicin and/or natural killer cells on RNA disruption in K562 chronic myeloid leukemia cells
No full textIt has recently been observed that a variety of mechanistically distinct chemotherapy
agents and cellular stressors induce ribosomal RNA (rRNA) degradation in tumour cells, a
phenomenon termed RNA disruption. The RNA disruption assay (RDA) has been developed to
quantify RNA disruption in a manner that can predict pathologic complete response and
improved disease-free survival early in treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) drugs are
novel anti-cancer agents that can result in significant improvement in patient survival, but not all
patients respond to these drugs. Thus, the RDA may be able to identify early in treatment ICI
non-responders in order to avoid the continued costs and harmful side effects of this class of
drugs and to consider alternate treatments. Since ICI drugs function by enhancing the efficacy of
endogenous immune cells, this study assessed the ability of the RDA to quantify and monitor
immune cell-mediated destruction of tumour cells in the absence or presence of the cytotoxic
chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (DOX). This involved using the RDA to determine the RNA
disruption index (RDI) for a particular sample via capillary gel electrophoresis and a proprietary
algorithm. Loss of membrane integrity was also used to measure the cytotoxicity of immune
cells towards tumour cells.
In the K562 chronic myeloid leukemia cell line, RNA disruption was induced by a
variety of chemotherapy agents, including DOX. Freshly isolated primary human natural killer
(NK) cells also induced RNA disruption and loss of membrane integrity in K562 cells in a cell
number-dependent manner. Pre-activation of NK cells with IL-2 augmented K562 cell RNA
disruption and loss of membrane integrity in a dose-dependent manner. Preliminary studies
suggested that pre-treatment with DOX may also augment NK cell-mediated RNA disruption in
K562 cells. NK cell-mediated RNA disruption and loss of membrane integrity appear to correlate
in a strong, positive manner in K562 cells. The pattern of rRNA degradation fragments induced
by NK cells was very similar to that induced by chemotherapy agents. Taken together, these
findings suggest that the RDA may have clinical utility in monitoring immune cell-mediated
destruction of tumour cells induced by ICI therapies (prior to or after chemotherapy)
The impact of medical instructors' attitudes towards patients with developmental disabilities on undergraduate medical students in Northern Ontario
No full textThe attitudes possessed by health care professionals are an important factor in patients with
developmental disabilities’ (DD) ability to access services, particularly in rural and remote
regions, such as Northern Ontario. Despite the expressed need for greater education in medical
school on DD, students and providers often report discomfort when working with these patients.
This major paper aimed to answer the question: What impact do instructors and preceptors have
on medical students’ attitudes towards patients with developmental disabilities? Social Power
Theory (French & Raven, 1959) was used to explore the themes in the literature. A total of 56
articles published between 1980 and 2019 were identified and reviewed for this analysis. Three
main themes were identified in the literature including: (1) Barriers to accessing health care,
including both providers’ and students’ knowledge and attitudes; (2) Gaps in the health care
curricula and formal education; and (3) the power dynamic and culture of medical education.
The results of this review indicate that there is a lack of formal education and few clinical
opportunities for students to learn about DD. Patients with DD have expressed a desire to be
included in medical education in a professional capacity as an educator; this position of power
may provide them with an opportunity to improve students’ knowledge while reducing potential
biases. Although medical educators are experts in their field, they are often not formally trained
as educators. The implications of this lack of formal training are that much of preceptors’
teaching styles are left to their discretion, which may include negative teaching approaches such
as “ritual humiliation
Including Indigenous perspectives in policy-making processes: natural resource development in Northern Ontario
No full textThis research seeks to understand the experience of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek with
the Ontario Government, specifically with consultation on legislation pertaining to natural
resource development (NRD). It also seeks to build an understanding of whether or not the
experiences of Atikameksheng, an Anishnawbek Nation whose territory includes the Sudbury
Basin, are applicable to NRD policy-making contexts surrounding Indigenous communities
in Treaty 9 near the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is located in remote Cree and Ojibway
territories in the Northwest of Ontario. Economic and environmental interests there have
resulted in new legislation for natural resource development and land-use management and
these remote First Nations are having to interact with the resource development sector for the
first time. Following an Indigenous research methodology based on Anishnawbek
relationship building principles, qualitative data was collected via semi-structured interviews.
Participants came from three groups: Atikameksheng Anishnawbek employees and
community members, Ontario Government employees, and/or a mining company. There were
five participants in total. Key informant interviews with research participants established that
there is a clear gap in terms of consultation for legislative policy making. It is commonly
misunderstood that consultation is continually occurring within the NRD sector as it is only
happening formally for specific projects, but not for the development of legislation that
mandates consultation. The results of this research suggest that the demands of regulatory and
consultation processes established by the Crown do not align with the expectations of First
Nations. These demands often also outweigh the required resources available for First Nations to effectively participate in this engagement
UV/Photocatalyst based photoreactor design for water treatment
No full textA germicidal ultraviolet (UV-C)/photocatalyst based advanced oxidation process (AOP) has
potential to disinfect and mineralize waterborne organic pollutants without generating
disinfection by-products. But low efficiency has hindered application of this technology. In this
study, I have looked to improve the AOP process through use of enhanced photocatalytic
surfaces and reactor design. The intention is that the resulting improvements will help in
combating the effects of water eutrophication due to global warming, which is often
accompanied by accelerated cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) growth and waterway
contamination by their toxins.
An acidic anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) slurry doped with tungsten oxide (WO3) or rutile TiO2
was coated onto stainless steel plates, and annealed at 460, 500, and 540°C in a muffled furnace.
The coatings were ~10 µm thick and demonstrated good durability. This method enabled
bandgap reduction to the visible light spectrum for all coatings, with the smallest bandgap being
2.48 eV. The higher annealing temperatures resulted in rougher coated surfaces, which had
negative effect on photocatalytic activities. Methylene blue (MB) degradation tests under UV-C
showed that the coatings annealed in 460°C had the best performance and with a rate constant of
5.59 h-1.
An UV-C/TiO2 based photocatalytic reactor with a corrugated configuration was designed to
accommodate a larger photocatalytic surface per unit volume. With TiO2 coated corrugated
plates, a 70 % MB solution was degraded within the first 10 minutes with the highest photonic
efficiency of 2.83 %. A light absorption model was developed and validated with light intensity
measurements. A set of corrugated photocatalytic reactors with the same surface area, but different geometries were analyzed and the one with flatter configuration showed better energy absorption capacity.
A household scale UV-C/TiO2 reactor was then designed for drinking water treatment. A 3D
UV-C absorption model, that agreed well with light intensity measurements, was used to predict
light energy absorbed by the photocatalyst coatings and to optimize reactor design. The system
degraded a synthesized raw water pollutant (uracil) and the organic matter in lake water by 34.2
% and 33.2 % respectively in 24 minutes, and also concurrently inactivated Escherichia coli
L’expérience que les étudiant(e)s francophones inscrit(e)s au baccalauréat en sciences infirmières ont à intégrer l’offre active dans des milieux de stages majoritairement anglophone étude phénoménologique
No full textL’offre active de services de santé en français s’avère une action pour proposer de manière constante et permanente des services en français à la population francophone (Consortium national de la formation en santé, 2013 ; Commissariat aux langues officielles, 2019 ; Office des affaires francophones, 2014). Le consortium national de la formation en santé (CNFS) reconnaît l’importance de l’offre active. Grâce à une subvention du CNFS, l’offre active a été intégrée au programme de baccalauréat en sciences infirmières (B.Sc.Inf.) de l’Université Laurentienne. Les étudiantes* inscrites à ce programme reçoivent une formation en offre active tout au long de leurs études afin d’être capables d’offrir des services en français à la population francophone. En revanche, la majorité de leurs expériences cliniques se déroulent dans des milieux majoritairement anglophones. C’est ainsi que l’objectif de cette étude est de décrire les expériences vécues par des étudiantes francophones d’un baccalauréat en sciences infirmières ayant obtenu une formation en offre active en lien à l’intégration de cette offre lors de leurs expériences cliniques dans des milieux de stages majoritairement anglophones. Cette étude va permettre d’acquérir des connaissances pour mieux planifier l’intégration courante de l’offre active dans le curriculum du B.Sc.Inf. et préparer davantage les étudiantes à offrir des soins de santé en français dans des milieux de stages majoritairement anglophones
A new approach to examination scheduling with allowable constraints for post-secondary institutions using GRA+
No full textExamination scheduling has been a hard problem highlighted in most post-secondary
institutions due to its complexity and limitation, and it may take overwhelming time
and effort for educational administrators to organize a satisfactory exam timetable
with trial and error. Traditional techniques such as graph-based heuristics could not
always guarantee an optimal solution, and constraint-based methods, i.e., mixed linear programming (MLP), however, are usually computationally intensive and may
need human intelligence involved during the scheduling process. Role-Based Collaboration (RBC) methodology is found to be an innovative theory to tackle such
examination scheduling issues. It enables us to comprehensively capture miscellaneous constraints in extended integer linear programming (x-ILP) expressions in
correspondence with its Environments - Classes, Agents, Roles, Groups, and Objects (E-CARGO) model as well as the sub-pattern, i.e., Group Role Assignment
plus Constraints (GRA+). A feasible optimization solution is proposed in this research to deal with such well-formalized models with the technical support of IBM
ILOG CPLEX
R
, an advanced optimizer that is verified to be significantly superior
against other optimizing approaches in terms of both efficiency and accuracy. By
means of considerable case studies, the results convince us that our approach to examination scheduling is capable of obtaining optimal solutions respecting multiple
constraints in less computational time, and thus this research is believed to have
significant contributions to post-secondary practice