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Magpie Online
No full textMagpie Online is a new media installation that explores the migration from material public spaces to online environments, focusing on the multiplayer platform Decentraland. Much like “real” life, users create avatars and construct homes, parks, clubs, and other urban infrastructures. One user likens Decentraland to a magpie’s nest—an externalized archive of selfhood, where each digital object becomes a reflection of identity.
The installation weaves together interviews with four Decentraland users, platform footage, original animation, machinima, and archival imagery tracing the evolution of North American public space. Drawing from urban analysis, Magpie Online explores how virtual worldbuilding reshapes our sense of belonging, embodiment, and community. How is identity forged in digital realities? What do we gain—and lose—when our social lives are mediated online? And, to what extent should we distinguish between “real” and “virtual” life? Magpie Online invites viewers to consider what it means to be part of a world increasingly built on-screen
Filling in the Gap - Indigenous Caregivers of People Living with Dementia in 21st Century Canada: A Literature Review
No full textMajor Research Paper (Master's), Critical Disability Studies, School of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Health, York UniversityDementia is a neurodegenerative medical disorder of adulthood that causes a deterioration of memory and interferes with the ability to perform activities of daily living. Although many causes of dementia are not modifiable, Indigenous peoples are likely subject to modifiable risk factors, and many social determinants of health (like culture, racism and ableism) that could impact their risk of developing dementia (Alzheimer Society of Canada, 2024). Indigenous people (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) living with dementia and their caregivers within the geographical regions of Canada face challenges that are similar to those of non-Indigenous Canadians. However, they also have unique challenges that can be examined using a Critical Disability Studies framework, which include a review of the intersections of dementia (disability), identity, culture, and systemic barriers in dementia caregiving.
Thereafter, Decolonizing Theory can be used to analyze the intersections of dementia, caregiving for people who live with dementia and Indigenous identity to understand the different coping mechanisms that help Indigenous people living with dementia and their caregivers manage stress. Just as Critical Disability Studies aim to combat the marginalization and stigmatization of people with disabilities, Decolonization can oppose the ableist beliefs that colonial processes have ingrained (Roy, 2024). Furthermore, understanding how colonialism, marginalization and systemic inequities create stress for Indigenous people living with dementia and their caregivers can be achieved through Postcolonial Theory. Postcolonial Theory provides the basis for much cultural safety training and is an explanatory framework for Canadian healthcare providers practicing with Indigenous peoples. It proposes that providing healthcare to Indigenous peoples requires an understanding of the postcolonial relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian settlers (Wilmot, 2021). The framework of Two-Eyed Seeing or Etuaptmumk, can then explain how there are many ways of understanding the healthcare world, including the Western biomedical model, and the various knowledge systems used by Indigenous peoples in the development of caregiving support models
The Acute Effects of Greek Yogurt Consumption on Circulating Bone Metabolic Markers Following High-Intensity Cycling in Premenopausal Females with Overweight and Obesity
No full textThis thesis compared the bone turnover and metabolism responses of post-exercise Greek yogurt (GY) consumption and an isoenergetic carbohydrate pudding (CP) following high-intensity interval cycling (HIIC) in young- to middle-aged inactive premenopausal females with overweight and obesity. We hypothesized that GY would attenuate post-exercise bone resorption and/or amplify formation compared to CP. Using a randomized crossover design, participants completed an acute HIIC bout followed by the consumption of either GY or CP. Blood samples were collected at pre-exercise, post-exercise, 1hr and 3hr postprandially, and 24hr post-exercise. Bone turnover and metabolism markers RANKL, OPG, PTH, OPN, CTX, SOST, OC, and IGF-1 were measured from serum. Interactions were observed whereby OPG and OC were higher at 1hr and 3hr postprandially, respectively, and PTH was lower throughout the postprandial period in GY versus CP. Thus, GY consumption favourably modulated the acute post-exercise bone turnover and metabolism response in these females
A Family Album: The Growth and Evolution of Milky Way Analogues from Z=5 to the Local Universe
No full textWe present a breakdown of the evolutionary history of Milky Way-like galaxies up to redshift z=5, using multi-wavelength optical and NIR photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. We use abundance matching to find progenitors of Milky Way Analogs (MWAs) by evolving the cumulative number density of the current Milky Way backwards through time, and matching the stellar mass to the expected number density with stellar mass functions obtained from large-scale galaxy surveys. We determine resolved physical properties of MWA progenitors such as stellar mass density, star-formation rate (SFR), age, and metallicity, via SED-fitting to spatially resolved pixel bins of their photometry.
In the first part of this thesis, we use photometric data from the Hubble Frontier Fields DeepSpace catalog, a survey of six lensing clusters and their flanking fields in order to chart the mass assembly of MWA progenitors up to z=2.
In the second part of this thesis, we extend the study of the mass assembly of MWA progenitors to z=5 with the data from the Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS), using JWST NIRCam and NIRISS imaging. In the early universe, MWA progenitors show clear inside-out mass assembly with specific star-formation rates more enhanced on the outskirts than the inner regions, and more stellar mass added to the outskirts. They are also increasing in size but morphologically remain disk-dominated. Merger fractions increase with increasing redshift, pointing to hierarchical assembly at early times.
In the third part of this thesis, we examine the resolved age and stellar metallicities of the MWA progenitors in CANUCS to uncover details of their star-formation history. The slopes of the radial gradients of non-merging galaxies are in line with inside-out growth. The slopes of the radial gradients for ongoing and late stage mergers show enhanced star-formation across the entire galaxy. Metallicity evolves slowly with redshift for MWA progenitors, and mergers contribute to overall mass growth both through their added mass and their enhancement of star-formation, but do not meaningfully alter the chemical evolution history of the galaxy until z~1.5
Signaling Belonging in the Classroom: Examining Outcomes of a High School Course Designed to Deconstruct Anti-Black Racism
No full textThe current research examined the experiences of Black and non-Black adolescents enrolled in a high school elective designed to deconstruct anti-Black racism, or a comparison class. Students reported psychological well-being, academic orientation, and racial attitudes at the start (Time 1; n = 125) and end of the semester (Time 2; n = 103; n = 88 at both times). Controlling for their responses at Time 1, the only difference to emerge between classes was their curriculum knowledge. Additionally, Black students in the anti-racism course expressed greater social belonging and positive racial attitudes than non-Black students at the end of the course. Exploratory analyses conducted with Black students using their Time 1 data (n = 56) revealed that racial regard predicted their life satisfaction, partially mediated by social belonging. The results of this study support the need to revisit course design and curriculum to better support the success of Black students
Implications of Transhumanist Future Visions on Present-Day Social and Technological Innovation
No full textTranshumanism is a philosophical worldview, which has turned into a cultural movement, which is primarily concerned with the acceleration of human evolution beyond its current limitations through scientific and technological means (Kurzweil, 2005; More, 2013). Transhumanist future visions range from extensive body modifications, such as enhanced cognition, to a world dramatically changed by artificially intelligent machines (Fuller et al., 2014; Kurzweil, 2005). Transhumanists can be considered those who take seriously the subjects and endeavors of radical-life extension, post-humanity, and the development of human and superhuman level artificial intelligence.
Rather than see transhumanist future visions are extreme or dangerous, I take these visions seriously by examining their impacts on technological innovation. Transhumanist visions look optimistically towards a distant future and offer counter discourses to contemporary and popular dystopian future narratives. Although transhumanist narratives are often criticized for being overly speculative, these future visions challenge fundamental values and areas of need in of our current societies.
The future is a wicked problem, as argued by Tutton (2017), in that there is often confusing and competing information, motives and unknown ramifications about the future. The future can never be known for certain, and yet our society has never been more preoccupied with it. This social preoccupation occurs because there are increasing fears about our loss of control over what the future may hold. According to Wood (2021: 1), “Transhumanism is a vision of the future: a vision of what’s possible, what’s desirable and how it can be brought into reality.” While transhumanist future visions are criticized for being overly speculative, these future visions still have real world impacts in the present. Therefore, it is important to study futurist expectations, like transhumanist visions, because they have real social and material implications, such as the ways in which they shape research and development agendas and priorities as well as research and development funding decisions.
I draw on the theoretical framework of the sociology of expectations (SE) literature which emerged within science and technologies studies (STS) from the mid-to-late 1990s. SE examines the future as an object of inquiry, but rather than making predictions of the future SE focuses on the rhetorical and societal effects of future representations. In order to examine transhumanist discourses and their impact on research and decision making, I engaged in a study of the transhumanist movement and its influence through in-depth, qualitative interviews. Methodologically, “the future” can be studied through three different lenses: discourses, decisions, and materiality (Selin, 2008). Therefore, these three lenses aided in informing my research objectives, which are three-fold. I interview transhumanists with the objectives of identifying what future expectations underpin transhumanist discourses and future visions. Then examine how transhumanist discourses impact decisions surrounding social and financial investment within transhumanist visions. Finally, I interviewed engineers, scientists, and innovators in order to understand how/if transhumanist visions have an impact on contemporary technological development. I consider the interviews to be framed within a case study, which is best used when research questions as ‘why’ and ‘how,’ and when studies focus on contemporary phenomenon within its real-world context (Yin, 2018). I analyze my interview data using grounded theory, which relies on inductive reasoning to analyze social processes and relationships.
In the empirical chapters, I analyze the strategic use of historical narratives as well as technological progress narratives to identify what expectations underpin transhumanist future visions. Then I analyze how decisions about the future are made by addressing how expectations inform decision-making in the present. I argue that transhumanism is a flexible movement that enables diverse transhumanists to mobilize together, while at the same time it engenders fragmentation. Finally, I analyze how the material configurations of transhumanist visions enact a range of different temporalities. Across these analyses, I unpack the social and financial implications of transhumanism for technological innovation.
The main issues at stake in my dissertation are the impacts that speculative visions, like the analyzed transhumanist discourses have on decision making. Future visions and discourses are not neutral but entail social and financial investments in making those visions and discourses come to pass
The Weight of What We Carry: Shame as Survival in Two Histories of Oppression
No full textThis essay won the Department of English’s 3000-level Essay Prize in 2025. The Department of English awards prizes for the best essay written in courses at each of the four year levels. Faculty members may nominate students for this award.This essay argues that in Daya Pawar’s Baluta and Gaiutra Bahadur’s Coolie Woman, shame is not just a residue of oppression but an inherited survival technology. Across caste and indenture, it organizes speech, desire, kinship, and mobility while acting as strategic quiet that protects the vulnerable. Through close readings, it pairs Pawar’s internalized caste shame with Bahadur’s reclamation of “silence” as intentional protection. Narrating shame—via autobiography and archival
recovery—converts stigma into testimony, proposing “learned shame” as a transhistorical tool repurposed into resistance
Fitness-Based Recommender Systems for Reducing Sedentary Behaviour
No full textObesity and sedentary behaviour represent one of the greatest global challenges to good health and wellbeing. The goal of the thesis is to promote physical activity among young adults by comparing the effectiveness of content-based and context-aware recommender systems on perceived post-intervention user experience, exercise motivation, and projected behaviour performance. Gender differences are explored. A 73-person user study compares recommender systems that solely focus on generating fitness plans (control group) against alternatives that incorporate psychosocial frameworks and explainability into the generation process (experimental group). The context-aware recommender systems provided the highest level of perceived post-intervention user experience, exercise motivation, and projected behaviour performance compared to the content-based recommender systems. Among females, the experimental group which leveraged persuasive design techniques showed numerical gains in exercise motivation and projected behaviour performance compared to the control group, however, the interaction effect was non-significant. Future work should investigate hybrid recommender systems in generating personalized exercise recommendations
Toward Trustworthy Automated Data Story Generation: Benchmarking, Multi-Agent Generation and Bias Evaluation in Data Storytelling
No full textData-driven storytelling is a powerful method for conveying insights by combining narrative techniques with visualizations and text. In this thesis, we introduce a novel task for data story generation and a benchmark containing 1,449 stories from diverse sources. We propose a multi-step LLM agent framework mimicking the human storytelling process: one for planning and narration, and another for verification at each intermediary step. Results show that our proposed framework significantly outperforms non-agentic baselines. In parallel, we recognize that trustworthy storytelling must also be fair and unbiased. To this end, we conduct a largescale empirical study to uncover systematic geo-economic bias in the foundational subtask of data storytelling: producing narrative summaries of charts. We further explore inference-time debiasing strategies and highlight the need for more robust bias mitigation methods. Together, these contributions provide both a powerful generative system and a fairness-focused evaluation to ensure automated data storytelling is accurate, coherent, and ethically responsible
Urbanizing The Countryside? The Governance Of Rural Restructuring In Bancroft And North Hastings County, Ontario
No full textThis dissertation comprises a case study of local governance in the Town of Bancroft, Ontario, and the surrounding municipalities of North Hastings County. The capacity for strategic agency by local governance actors, regarding economic development initiatives and mitigation of inequality, is the central object of analysis. The contexts of economic change - from lumber production, through mining, to tourism and recreation - and political structures - considering colonial origins, Canada’s hierarchical system of government, and the recent impacts of amalgamation and downloading in Ontario in the late 1990s - are shown to be profoundly structure the agency of local governance actors. The dissertation demonstrates a resulting intensification of “urban” phenomena in a traditionally “rural” space - while new forms of work encroach, and development pressures intensify - and highlights the limitations of existing structures of local government regarding the maintenance of a cohesive and inclusive community. A fundamental social disjuncture is shown to correspond to mixed land tenures of the sub-region: public Crown Land supports a generational rural economic culture at odds with the dynamics inherent to urbanizing spaces governed by municipal corporations. Semi-structured interviews with actors in local governance and key economic sectors, alongside document analysis of plans, reports and local histories provide the methodological foundation.
To the field of rural geography, the dissertation contributes an early analysis of post-COVID 19 rural transformation, demonstrating the effects of North Hastings being brought into the metropolitan space economy of Southern Ontario to an unprecedented extent. The distinctive analytical perspective - centring structured agency - offers a new approach to rural research in Ontario. Regarding the study of local government, the dissertation contributes an important case study in intergovernmental relations under twenty first century neoliberalism. Analysis of a small municipality - in relation to horizontal and vertical governmental dynamics and with regard to the management of essential infrastructures - provides a clear demonstration of the pressures driving institutional change. Finally, the dissertation interjects into contemporary urban theory debates, presenting an empirically grounded argument that planetary urbanization is best understood as a process inherent to the particular land use and political systems of the municipal system, spread by European colonization