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Forget Me Not: Defending the Right to Place for People Experiencing Dementia and Ageing in the Newtonbrook West Neighbourhood in Toronto
No full textHow can we confront the ableist and ageist-built environment through the lens of dementia? Dementia is an umbrella term for the cognitive condition that affects memory, behavioral reactions, and daily tasks that can lead a person to feel isolated from the rest of the world. It is a condition that progressively worsens over time with no cure. For those with dementia and aging, it is the norm to send them to institutions, removing them from their familiar environment. What if the neighborhood could adapt so those with dementia did not have to be displaced? This thesis is grounded in my personal experience of a loved one, intergenerational memory, and examining the built world as barriers. Through speculative neighborhood interventions, a more inclusive neighborhood can be explored that embraces interdependent living while also protecting people’s rights to their community and home
From science to story: Communicating permafrost concepts with data comics
Get PDFWe are creating data comics that use graphics, narratives and visualization to explain permafrost and its interaction with climate change. Despite the increasing attention to permafrost change due to its local impacts and interactions with global climate, many people without scientific background or lived experience related to permafrost do not understand what permafrost is or why it is important. This knowledge gap reduces public consideration and risk perception. We are exploring new ways to present this information to a wider audience, including policymakers, scientists from other fields, school teachers, and the general public. A major communication challenge we face is that many scientific articles are not easily comprehensible and understanding concepts such as permafrost thaw and its effect on land use and infrastructure can be challenging. To address this challenge, we are developing new ideas in creating data comics, a new format that integrates data visualization and storytelling to deliver insights from data in a new format. We are exploring the use of relatable examples and analogies to make scientific information more comprehensible to the public. We are creating data comics collaboratively with experts in data visualization, narrative construction, data comics, and permafrost science. The data comics are designed to be both scientifically informed and verified, using the best and most current scientific information available. We prioritize data transparency, working towards more understandable and engaging presentations of scientific concept
Facing the Artillery of Free Trade: How Japan and China Responded to US Trade Pressure
No full textThis thesis provides a comparative study of how Japan and China responded to US trade pressure. Using comparative case studies of the US-Japan trade conflicts that occurred in the 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s, as well as the US-China trade conflicts in the 1990s, 2010, and 2018 mainly arising out of Section 301of the US Trade Act, it shows how trade wars interact with and help shape trade policy while providing a window into statecraft and strategies of economic development. It demonstrates how China learned from Japan’s experiences while also implementing practices that differ significantly from Japan’s. Drawing from Polanyi’s double movement template, the study frames US pressures as part of a broader dynamic involving the expansion of market forces. As both Japan and China transitioned from embedded to disembedded economies, they found it easier to accept US demands to stimulate growth. However, when internal or external crises created imbalances between markets and society, trade policies were questioned, making US demands harder to accept. Both countries leveraged US trade pressure to advance domestic political goals, demonstrating the complexity of state-market interactions during trade wars. The thesis looks at how economic and security concerns shape responses to trade wars and enriches our understanding of how trade wars operate. More broadly, it presents a framework for understanding global trade dynamics, challenging rationalist theories that focus solely on material trade interests. Instead, the dissertation emphasizes the constructed nature of these interests and highlights the dynamic interplay between state, market, and society in shaping trade conflicts
Opacity in Car Augmented Reality Head-up Displays: Users’ Preferences, Visual Attention, and Situation Awareness
No full textCar augmented-reality heads-up displays (AR-HUDs) superimpose driving information on the outside view. However, there are concerns that AR-HUDs may be distracting and questions remain about how best to present AR-HUD imagery. This thesis explores people’s opinions about AR-HUD opacity and its effects on driver distraction. Videos of driving scenes were created and navigation-related AR-HUD imagery was added at different levels of opacity. Twenty-seven participants watched a set of videos while their eye movements were tracked. Participants had to answer questions related to the opacity of the AR-HUD imagery and to their situation awareness. Results suggest that opacity affects how people look at and perceive the roadside environment, an opacity level of 60% is the best option for central AR-HUD imagery, and the effects of AR-HUD opacity are different for different types of AR-HUD imagery. Thus, the AR-HUD opacity level needs to be further investigated to maximize driving safety
The Spectrum of Accessible Architectures: Designing for Neurodivergence
No full textIn the field of architecture, “accessibility” all too often addresses only “physical accessibility.” Consequently, the sensory barriers facing neurodivergent individuals as they navigate the built environment beg to be considered and addressed. This thesis embraces truly inclusive accessibility via an exploration of sensory perception and its relationship to architectural experience. From this exploration there emerges a neuro-inclusive design methodology that promises to close the gap between the built environment and sensory impairment. The use of the term “spectrum” refers to the span extending from hyper- to hypo-sensitivity and encapsulates the diversity of sensory ability experienced by the neurodivergent population. As an architectural approach, the spectrum construct is well-suited to welcoming flexibility and adaptations and holds promise in inclusive architectural design. To showcase the potential of a “spectrum design” methodology in a real-world context, this thesis concludes in an architectural proposal for a neuro-inclusive student centre on Carleton University’s Campus
Undrained Simple Shear Response of Stratified Layers of Sand and Clay
No full textFailure in heterogeneous soil is dependent not only on the strength mobilization in each of the soils, but also on the interaction between them. An experimental study is conducted on specimens of a uniform loose sand, an “undisturbed” clay, and on sand–clay composites. Both undrained monotonic and cyclic response of layered samples were assessed and compared against the response of homogeneous samples of sand and clay. The results of this research demonstrate that the presence of a layer of clay within the sand matrix affected the shear strength and strength development characteristics. The response was both confining stress level and clay percentage dependent. It was found that the response is not simply governed by weakest material, but rather the interactions between the material and their effect on the local drainage. The cyclic resistance of the sand is significantly affected by the presence of a clay layer
“I Have Kept it a Secret My Whole Life”: Sexual and Gender Minority Identity Concealment, Secret Keeping, and Minority Stress
Get PDFSexual or Gender Minority individuals (SGMs) report more symptoms of depression and anxiety than those who identify as cisgender heterosexuals (non-SGMs). This study assessed factors contributing to elevated rates of anxiety and depression among SGMs. According to the Minority Stress Theory, these elevated rates are due to exposure to distal stressors and their proximal manifestations that are disproportionately experienced by SGMs, relative to non-SGMs. From a sample of 476 SGM and 171 non-SGM adults, I assessed minority stress experiences, secret-keeping, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Findings confirm that SGMs report significantly more anxiety and depression symptoms than non-SGMs; further, both proximal stress and distal stressors significantly predict these symptoms. SGMs also reported greater secret-keeping patterns, such as preoccupation, than non-SGMs. These findings suggest that identity concealment plays a more pivotal role in the occurrence of elevated rates of depression and anxiety symptoms among SGMs than previously established
Investigating the Relationship between Sleep Duration, Symptom Burden and Cerebral Blood Flow in Pediatric Concussion Recovery
No full textThis thesis investigated sleep duration in behavioral and neurophysiological recovery of pediatric concussion. N=291 concussed youth wore an accelerometer and completed daily sleep logs throughout 2-weeks, and completed self-report questionnaires on personal and injury characteristics throughout 4-weeks. A subsample (n=81) completed a perfusion neuroimaging session at 72+/-48-hours post-injury. Mean sleep duration beyond 9.9-hours throughout the first 2-weeks of recovery was associated with increased symptom burden at 1-week, 2-weeks, and 4-weeks, and predicted risk of persistent symptoms at 4-weeks. Increased sleep duration predicted reduced hyper-perfusion volume at 72-hours, and a negative trend between sleep duration and symptom burden was observed at 72-hours. The negative relationship between sleep and hyper-perfusion may suggest an influence of increased sleep duration on acute neurophysiological recovery. However, long sleep durations throughout 2-weeks were associated with increased symptom burden. Therefore, increased sleep duration may be required in the first few days following injury, but not thereafter
Lonely and scrolling during the COVID-19 pandemic : understanding the problematic social media use and mental health link among university students
Get PDFIntroduction: Undergraduate university students experienced many academic and non-academic stressors during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, putting them at a greater risk of negative mental health outcomes. Reports worldwide have shown high incidences of depressive, anxiety, and stress scores among university students at the beginning of the pandemic. Emerging evidence also suggests that to cope with the stress and loneliness of the pandemic, many youth and young adults increased the amount of time they spent on social media platforms. Methods: Undergraduate students participated in an online study aimed to understand the link between time spent on social media, coping through the use of social media and problematic social media use (PSMU) with mental health symptoms, such as stress, depression, anxiety, and loneliness, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: While time spent on social media was only weakly associated with stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness scores, PSMU more strongly mapped onto these outcomes. Additionally, students who were coping highly using social media displayed elevated stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness levels in comparison to those reporting low levels of coping with social media. Finally, students who reported high levels of coping using social media displayed higher PSMU scores, with this relationship appearing more pronounced in students who had higher levels of loneliness. Conclusion: These data support evidence that it is not necessarily time spent on social media but rather PSMU that is relevant for mental health symptoms, and that PSMU is exacerbated by loneliness. Moreover, the current results highlight the effects of maladaptive coping on mental health symptoms and PSMU among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic
Examining the Link Between Moral Minimization and False Confessions
No full textPolice interviews are crucial for criminal investigations but sometimes involve the use of coercive tactics. One such tactic is moral minimization, where investigators provide face-saving excuses or rationalizations to justify a suspect's actions. The current study hypothesized that moral minimization increases the risk of false confessions due to pragmatically implying that a lenient sentence is forthcoming. Using a sample of 88 university students accused of cheating on an anagram task, my study examined if moral minimization led to false confessions, determined by participants signing a written confession. The results found that moral minimization was a significant predictor of false confessions (χ² = 4.47, df = 1, p = 0.03, BF10 = 4.12). This finding suggests that moral minimization may cause innocent individuals to falsely confess, urging police to discontinue its use until further research is conducted