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Improving the response to intimate partner violence experienced by First Nations people in the primary care setting: provider perspectives on Manitoulin Island
Get PDFIndigenous women and men living in Canada experience disproportionately high rates of
intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to non-Indigenous women and men, which is best
explained within a colonial context. Despite the wide range of adverse physical, sexual and
psychological outcomes of IPV, a coordinated approach to the phenomenon has yet to be
established in the healthcare and social services system on Manitoulin Island, a region in
Northeast Ontario. This project was aimed to address that gap at the primary care level through
community based participatory research. Using a Grounded Theory and qualitative research
approach, primary care providers (n=31) participated in focus groups and interviews to discuss
their perceptions of what is required to improve the response to IPV in the primary care setting.
The analysis focused on elucidating the barriers and facilitators that exist within current
practices, those of which prevent or ease the delivery of care to First Nation patients who are
experiencing IPV. Suggestions for culturally relevant improvements at a health care provision
and community level are discussed. Further studies should include knowledge translation back
into the communities on Manitoulin Island as well as the perspectives of the survivors of
intimate partner violence and their perception of what can be improved within current provider
practices
A new centre for civic engagement in architecture
No full textHow connected are residents to the development of architecture in their respective
communities? This inquiry precipitates from the growing concern that the degree of
engagement between the greater public and the discipline of architecture is dismally
minute. At a local level, residents are left largely uninformed of the swift expansion
that often radically alters their surroundings. Architecture centres attempt to address
this divide by hosting a variety of programmes—such as lectures, exhibitions and
workshops—that enable those not versed in architectural discourse to question and
contest their built environment. Drawing from communication theory and the field of
graphic design, this thesis explores the architecture centre as a locus of community
engagement and participative debate fueled by information made accessible through
rigorous visual communication strategies.
From an in-depth study of architecture centres, globally and nationally, emerges five
distinct types of centres: the "institution", the "centre", the "hub", the "temporary" and
the "digital". Case studies of each type reveal that reanalysis of the operative functions
of architecture centres is necessary to envision even further salient methods of engaging
the public. This thesis argues that architecture can be made accessible by learning from
systems of communication employed by contemporary communication agencies and
graphic designers. Experimentation-through-making of print media such as zines and
posters assists in understanding how best to convey messages to the target audience.
The thesis posits that an architecture centre sited in a community that is projected to
see rapid, unprecedented growth will act as a proactive means of spurring a dialogue
between architects and residents to ensure all voices are being accounted for in their
prospective built environment. The design of an architecture centre further develops the
proposition that democratizing architectural ideas and planning processes can aid in
elevating the quality of future development in a community; and ultimately act as an
example of a single centre that would compromise a much larger network of analogous
centres working in tandem across Canada
An analysis of claim frequency and claim severity for third party motor insurance using Monte Carlo simulation techniques
Get PDFThe purpose of this thesis is to introduce the reader to Multiple Regression and Monte
Carlo simulation techniques in order to find the expected compensation cost the insurance
company needs to pay due to claims made. With a fundamental understanding of probability theory, we can advance to Markov chain theory and Monte Carlo Markov Chains
(MCMC). In the insurance field, in particular non-life insurance, expected compensation
is very important to calculate the average cost of each claim. Applying Markov models,
simulations will be run in order to predict claim frequency and claim severity. A variety of
models will be implemented to compute claim frequency. These claim frequency results,
along with the claim severity results, will then be used to compute an expected compensation for third party auto insurance claims. Multiple models are tested and compared
Older adult mistreatment, dementia, and the family caregiver in the Northeastern Ontario home: the influence of context on professional agency
No full textThis integrated-article thesis presents the findings of a qualitative critical inquiry with three related aims: to understand the experience of formal care practitioners who encounter mistreatment of an older adult with dementia by their family caregiver in the home; to explain the influences of the domestic, health care, geographical, and socio-political contexts upon that experience; and to facilitate empowerment and collective action to improve policy, practice and care outcomes. Viewing this experience through a Critical Social Theory lens, data collection methods consisted of interviews, reflective journals, and inquiry and action focus groups. Practitioners representing 23 organizations providing care to older adults in their homes in urban and rural Northeastern Ontario participated over the course of two phases of Understanding and Empowerment. In this thesis, Chapter 1 will review the literature, identifying gaps in knowledge and describing the critical theoretical underpinnings, methodology and theoretical thematic analysis which were instrumental to facilitate self-reflection of past cases, critique of socially dominant ideologies and structures, dialogue with other practitioners also encountering these cases, and dialectic reasoning, a process of examining contradictions of what is, versus what should be in cases of older adult mistreatment and dementia. Chapter 2 presents the findings on the experience of practitioners with these cases. More specifically, practitioners described a lack of professional agency defined as the ability to control outcomes and act in a meaningful way in their cases. Next, Chapter 3 examines the home, familial, health care, geographical and socio- political contexts and their influences on professional agency. Those findings describe the oppression of these contexts on practitioners who could not control the outcomes of older adult mistreatment [OAM] within them. Chapter 4 then presents the process of empowerment during which practitioners shared their concerns related to these oppressive contexts and collaborated towards collective action projects to improve policy, practice and outcomes. Chapter 5 situates the significance of the findings within the field of OAM and dementia and discusses cross- cutting themes linking the papers. Limitations of the study will be reviewed as well as recommendations for policy, practice and research
Connecting architecture and nature at the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area
No full textThis thesis explores how a matrix of architectural interventions
at a variety of nested scales can elaborate on existing site conditions
and integrate nature to mitigate their impact on a protected ecological
landscape. The Nickel District Conservation Authority is the governing body
that oversees all activities and projects within the 9.5 square kilometers
of the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area in Sudbury, Ontario. Through
extensive empirical site research and documentation of ecological and
human elements within this site, a network of systems was analyzed. It
was found that a number of existing interventions such as benches,
bridges and stairs were designed and fabricated to serve a functional and
practical purpose without incorporating the characteristics of their natural
surroundings. Thus, a set of design guidelines have been developed and
tested through potential architectural interventions that include a pavilion,
a lookout and a bench. These interventions are located at various regions
of the site and demonstrate how architecture can mitigate its impact on
nature so the two can co-exist in a symbiotic manner
Body therapy and the built environment
No full textIn trying to decide whether theory and practice should be amalgamated, a lot of people fail to
account for the fact that this debate is the luxury of those mainly unaffected by the factors outside of architecture that define its social structure. Critical theory as it pertains to feminism is
necessary because of the disparity of violence faced by women in society both historically and
currently; Many of these sites of violence are mundane until a person is forced to confront it consciously after an assault. This brings up the question of what architecture can do to prevent such
assault and how an architecture or typology may start to form for the rehabilitation of survivors.
Through addressing the failures of the current typologies for sexual assault preventative design,
this thesis aimed to uncover opportunities for modifying already-existing architectural styles to
have safer qualities for assault prevention. It also aimed to find ways to educate the public in
hopes that it could evolve the community past sexual shame and lessen sex related crimes. I believe that by exploration and consideration of the connections between design and sexual safety,
we may be able to create a more open conversation about sexual violence and a safer communit
A study to determine the effectiveness of augmented reality to increase comprehension and decrease cognitive load while studying protein structure
No full textProteins are essential components of biochemistry, cellular biology, and medicine. Some
students however may struggle with the representations of proteins found in the classroom. In
this thesis , we present a novel augmented reality (AR) application that renders channel proteins
and provides animations and lessons for students to learn from. This software was programmed
using Unity C# scripting, as well as making use of open-source files from the protein database
(RCSB PDB). The application was designed as a tool to help students learn about channel
proteins structure and function. We recruited 30 undergraduate students for a study using the AR
app and traditional methods. These students were then given a test on channel proteins, as well as
a questionnaire on mental effort and enjoyment. The AR group did significantly better on their
test scores, had lower cognitive load scores, and rated the experience more exciting than the non-
AR group
Structural complexity inferred from anisotropic resistivity: Example from airborne EM and compilation of historical resistivity/induced polarization data from the gold-rich Canadian Malartic district, Québec, Canada
Get PDFThis paper is © 2019 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. The posting is available free of charge and its use is subject to the SEG terms and conditions: https://seg.org/Terms-of-UseStructurally complex zones within orogenic terranes typically correspond to areas where there is interference between multiple fold generations and are known to be favorable pathways for fluid flow because of their higher permeability. In the Canadian Malartic district, gold anomalies have been linked with zones of structural complexity that have been quantified by outcrop bedding orientation measurements and calculation of bedding variance maps. In this work, historical apparent resistivity and induced polarization data in the Canadian Malartic district were reprocessed and combined with new surveys to create a compilation
of inverted chargeability and resistivity, which were then interpreted together with airborne electromagnetics and outcrop structural data. The results indicate chargeability anomalies, up to five times the background value, associated with the sulfide mineral content in monzodioritic dikes that are thickened in folds and hydrothermally altered. Although the airborne apparent half-space resistivity is mostly sensitive to conductive surficial cover, the inverted ground resistivity method is sensitive to deeper structure and likely represents bedrock signal at depths greater than 25 m. Inverted ground resistivity exhibits strong anisotropy in areas of subvertical bedding, where measured resistivities can vary by up to a factor of two, over the same location, depending on whether the survey lines are perpendicular or parallel to the strike of bedding. This result is observed at scales of 50 cm up to 100 m. Analysis of inverted ground resistivity together with bedding variance indicates a strong correlation between structurally complex zones with high bedding variance and a decrease in resistivity at depths greater than 25 m. This suggests that in places where the presence of disseminated gold cannot be directly detected, or where the outcrop exposure is limited due to overburden cover, geophysical data may still succeed in identifying structural complexity zones that could potentially host mineralization.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Mining Innovation Council (NSERC-CMIC Mineral Exploration Footprints Project Contribution 178
Centre d'hébergement : traits de personnalité et attitudes de préposées aux bénéficiaires ayant l’intention de rester dans leur milieu de travail
No full textLe vieillissement de la population canadienne a un impact sur les organismes de santé, le
nombre de personnes âgées qui ont besoin de soins augmente. Les centres d’hébergement en
Ontario ont de la difficulté non seulement à attirer, mais aussi à retenir les préposées aux
bénéficiaires (PAB). La présente étude va déterminer les traits de personnalité et les attitudes des
préposées qui décident de rester au travail dans les centres d’hébergement. Cinquante préposées
de six centres d’hébergement du Grand Sudbury ont complété les questionnaires : le 16
personnality factor de Cattell (16 PF) et le Kogan’s Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (KAOP).
De manière générale et selon l’administration de ses deux outils, les PAB de l’étude sont
chaleureuses, concrètes, réactives, soumises, spontanées, consciencieuses, timides et objectives.
Elles sont vigilantes, perfectionnistes, pratiques, intériorisées, appréhensives, traditionnelles,
perfectionnistes et décontractées. Elles sont extraverties, anxieuses, fermées, contrôlées et
dépendantes. Tout compte fait, les PAB ont des attitudes positives envers les personnes âgée
Human health and environmental risk assessments: politics or science?
Get PDFHuman Health and Environmental Risk Assessments are being used by both governments and
industries to determine whether or not existing and/or proposed pollution levels are safe for
human populations and/or the natural environment. My personal experiences with a “Community
Based Risk Assessment” in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, left me rather doubtful as to the validity
of both the science involved and the level of community involvement in the process. After
meeting other people who had participated in the same kind of process in other communities, I
came to the conclusion that these three risk assessments needed to be analyzed and chronicled,
not only for historical purposes, but as a reference to how the process was carried out in the three
communities in question: Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, and Belledune, New Brunswick.
The risk assessment in Sudbury, Ontario, resulted in the highest permissible levels of ambient
nickel air pollution in the province to become the norm only for Sudbury. Of note, extensive
water pollution of multiple heavy metals was left out, at the insistence of the mining industry
polluters, who not only funded the process, but were allowed to be involved. The Government of
Canada would later charge one of the polluters, Vale, for allowing exactly this kind of pollution
to occur. Areas of the Belledune fishery are now unfit for human consumption after being
subjected to “risk free” pollution; however, rather than close the lobster fishery, all lobsters
caught within a 4-mile radius of the smelter in Belledune, are bought by the polluter, and then
incinerated, rather than face the public relations fallout of having to close the fishery. Another
case in point concerning contamination levels being increased to match local levels, as opposed
to recognized standards, is the case of the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. The accident
occurred while research into the three CBRAs mentioned was being carried out. These cases
clearly indicate human health and environmental risk assessments are a political process, not a
scientific one, and meant to match whatever form and level of local contamination was
occurring, in order to keep corporate profits and government tax revenues flowing, despite the
very real risks to human health and the environmen