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The Macartney Embassy and Representations of China: Forging British National Identity at the Onset of Modernity
No full textThis transnational study investigates the representations of China related to a British diplomatic delegation to China known as the Macartney Embassy (1792-1794), arguing that they are intricately linked to the discourse of British national identity at the onset of modernity. The study examines three key areas: travel accounts by the embassy members, periodical writings about the embassy, and visual depictions of the embassy. Through textual, contextual, and historical analysis, it explores three key aspects: firstly, how knowledge of China was produced, disseminated, and circulated via the Macartney Embassy; secondly, how China was represented as “unmodern” or “anti-modern” in contrast to a modernizing Britain; thirdly, how these representations of China contributed to shaping a modern British national identity. By analyzing the engagement of travelers, painters, editors, reviewers, and readers, this research reveals the dynamic and contested representations of China related to the Macartney Embassy, which ultimately contributed to forging an unmodern China. By examining these representations of China in the different literary genres, particularly through forms of modernity—objective, contested, and self-reflexive—these writings reveal efforts to frame a new image of China within principles of modernity, such as national progress, personal liberty, diplomatic equality, commercial freedom, compassion, universalism and so on. By portraying China as unmodern, these depictions ultimately contributed to shaping British modern national identity through a process of paralleling, differentiating, contrasting, and transcending. The analysis of how knowledge of China was produced, via the Macartney Embassy, and both responded to and contributed to British modernity provides valuable insights. It enables a reevaluation of the discourse of modernity shaped by the embassy in the development of British national identity, which was framed as modern and superior to other nations
Tatiana Penconek - Abstract 44 - Innovate Conference 2025
No full textManagers are essential to sustaining the Continuing Care Home (CCH) workforce and to ensuring that family and resident needs are addressed. However, managers exhibit persistent reports of mental, emotional and physical strain and high levels of intention to leave their jobs
Theorizing Gender Minority Arts-Based Resilience in the Context of Three Transmasculine Young Adults’ Arts-Based Coping
No full textMy doctoral research explored how transgender (trans) artistic creation can be theorized as a resilience process by adapting an existing resilience theory and then elaborating the adaptation through a qualitative multiple case study on the arts-based coping of three transmasculine young adults. Four objectives structured the exploratory theorizing detailed in this dissertation. They were to (a) build a working concept that describes artistic creation as a source of resilience, (b) build a working theory that explains trans artistic creation as a resilience process, (c) interpret three transmasculine young adults’ experiences of individual artistic creation through the theory, and (d) improve the theory based on their experiences.
My theorizing unfolded as follows. To implement the first objective, I constructed an arts variant of the resilience concept—arts-based resilience—with conceptual sources from the psychology literature on resilience. To implement the second objective, I turned a broad account of sexual and gender minority resilience—minority stress theory—into a theory centered on a stress-and-coping variant of my concept. The adaptation is called the theory of gender minority arts-based resilience.
I executed the third and fourth objectives by applying my theory in and refining it through a qualitative multiple case study, which served as a theory elaboration strategy. My research design consisted of three single case studies and a cross-case analysis of their findings. The three studies framed my participants as cases of transmasculine arts-based coping, examined whether their visual arts activities had the core features of gender minority arts-based resilience, and inquired into the features of artistic creation behind those coping strategies. My research activities focused on collecting and analyzing interview data. I used serial semistructured interviewing with elicitation devices to gather the participants’ accounts of arts-based coping and two participants’ feedback on my initial reconstructions of their recounted experiences. The elicitation devices were artifacts associated with the participants’ arts-based coping and my analytical flowcharts of two participants’ experiences. Using multiple analytical methods in the single case studies, I reconstructed the arts-based coping under consideration from the interview data. The process resulted in three case profiles. Each profile describes an instance of transmasculine arts-based coping and evaluates its alignment with my theory. One participant was a case of gender minority arts-based resilience, two were cases of arts-based resilience, and one showed neither type of resilience. The cross-case analysis compared the case profiles and generated a case set profile that identifies similarities and differences among the three participants’ experiences of arts-based coping.
While writing the case profiles and the case set profile, I derived new theoretical insights on gender minority arts-based resilience from some of my single- and cross-case findings. They are presented in the profiles alongside my empirical findings. These insights revised the theory of gender minority arts-based resilience and together established an elaborated version of it. The elaborated theory is the key outcome of my qualitative multiple case study
Mineral Resource Estimation and Classification: An Analysis of Current Industry Practices with a Focus on Optimal Capping and Technique Selection
No full textA review of 175 recent Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC), National Instrument 43- 101, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission technical reports is conducted to study pre- vailing practices in mineral resource estimation (MRE), mineral resource classification (MRC), and treatment of extreme values in the mining industry. The goal is to discover trends in current practices, examine differences between reporting jurisdictions and deposit types, and provide guidance for estimation and classification. Ordinary Kriging (OK) is the predominant estimation technique in reviewed reports (45.4%), but inverse distance weighting (IDW) is used in 34.5% of reports. Drill hole spacing (DHS) accounting for 49.4%, and search neighborhood (34.5%) strategies are the most common classification methods, whereas statistical metrics such as Kriging variance, slope of regression, or confidence intervals are rare. JORC reports often use DHS for classification, while National Instrument 43-101 reports showed more diversity in classification techniques.
Based on the review, the two most common estimation methods (OK and IDW) were used to estimate grades into blocks across 114 2D datasets and 3D simulated datasets. OK consistently outperforms IDW regarding estimation accuracy, evidenced by higher R-squared values. However, the estimated total resource tonnages for both methods are comparable with minimal differences, which may explain the continued use of IDW in technical reporting despite its lower R-squared values compared to OK.
The study also shows that the IDW power impacts estimation accuracy. Contrary to the observations in the reports, optimal powers determined for each dataset indicate that IDW powers between 2 and 4 yield improved accuracy for low-nugget deposits. In contrast, lower powers yield optimal results for high-nugget deposits. The frequent use of standard powers such as IDW² and IDWS reflects a reliance of industry practitioners on convention rather than fine-tuning parameters to suit each deposit or commodity type or ignoring optimizing the power parameter.
A data-driven approach is proposed to prioritise decision-making factors for MRE, MRC, and capping strategies. The decision tree (DT) classifier considers deposit type, commodity type, drilling pattern, variogram range, and nugget effect as input variables. The DT model predicts the most commonly used MRE, MRC, and capping strategies with accuracies of 82.6%, 83.6%, and 84.7%, respectively. This model is not intended to replace practitioner decision making in method selection, only to allow the practitioner to quickly assess what other practitioners have considered for similar deposits.
The lack of consensus on capping before or after compositing in the reviewed reports motivated a capping workflow to clarify the appropriate time for applying capping. Overestimating resources in the presence of extreme values prompts many practitioners to implement strategies to mitigate their impact. Capping remains the most common extreme values management approach among industry MRE practitioners. However, the capping of extreme values before or after compositing has been a longstanding issue among MRE practitioners. A capping workflow is proposed in this thesis utilizing thresholds derived from probability plots, decile analysis (Parrish method), and exhaustively sampled thresholds. RMSE and metal content are assessed for different capping values on synthetic and real datasets. The results show that capping after compositing results in lower RMSE and better resource tonnage accuracies. The sensitivity analysis showed this approach’s robustness to varying DHS, drill pattern, sample support, and nugget effect. Comparing the three capping threshold selection methodologies employed in this study, the exhaustive threshold method, where a range of thresholds are generated, offered flexibility by allowing threshold adjustment depending on project dynamics. The Parrish decile analysis method produces lower RMSE values than the probability plot method but tends to underestimate the resource tonnages. The probability plots provide a trade-off between estimation accuracy and resource tonnages, but selecting a probability to cap is quite subjective and challenging, especially where multiple inflection points are observed in the upper tail of the distribution
Pre-Commercial Thinning in Boreal Mixedwood: Change in Site Resource Availability and Modelled Growth
No full textPre-commercial thinning is a silvicultural treatment that can increase stand merchantable timber production and resistance to drought. Despite these benefits, its use in Alberta remains limited.
Processes driving growth response to density management are poorly understood but important when applying thinning to stands that will grow under future warmer and drier conditions. Consequently, we evaluated microclimate and resource availability in operational scale pre-commercial thinning trials of young (19 year old) boreal trembling aspen/white spruce/paper birch mixedwoods in northern Alberta, Canada. Thinned stands in this study experienced more frequent temperature extremes, higher soil moisture, and greater heat sum when compared to unthinned stands. Soil nutrient supply rates were not different between treatments, nor was soil moisture during wet periods, soil temperature in the early and late parts of the growing season, or quantity of extreme low soil moisture values. Regeneration of broadleaf trees species in thinned stands was substantial. Pre-commercial thinning created an improved but also more extreme tree growing environment, highlighting a need to evaluate the treatment from a risk perspective.
Available tools to evaluate growth response caused by pre-commercial thinning include two growth models, MGM and GYPSY. We evaluated the consistency of projected thinning effects within and between estimates by both models to gauge their reliability. GYPSY’s projected thinning effect was greater than MGM’s projected effect, and significant differences between models were found in both the magnitude and direction of projected thinning effects. Still, neither model showed a significant average treatment effect. While these results cannot be used to determine model accuracy, their variability highlights limitations in interpreting any single model projection
Plenty of flowers in the field: the roles of resource availability and habitat type in the conservation of flower-visiting insects
No full textThe conservation of flower-visiting insects is a necessary and worthwhile endeavor given their critical role in the pollination of wildflowers and crops. A lack of flowers is often cited as one of the reasons for declines of important flower-visiting taxa such as bees, so conservation and restoration efforts often revolve around the planting of native wildflowers. Given the wide variety of native wildflowers available to choose from and the expense of sourcing local seed, selecting the most preferred (i.e., the most widely visited) flowers is of the utmost importance. Flower abundance obscures preference because neutral processes, which are thought to be an important determinant of flower-visitor interactions, suggest that an abundant flower is more likely by chance to receive a visit than a rare flower. Therefore, to control for flower abundance and remove the effect of neutral processes on the data, many researchers use preference metrics to select the most preferred flowers from flower visitation data. There are a wide variety of metrics to use, and when I compared five of them using the same flower visitation dataset, I found that they produced wildly different results. The contrasting results were likely due to the varying extent to which each metric controlled for flower abundance and how strongly each metric responded to undersampling. When I experimentally controlled for flower abundance using potted plants of the five most and five least preferred plants as calculated by each metric, I found that the metrics that least controlled for flower abundance best predicted flower visitation. Furthermore, I conducted the potted plant trials in two adjacent natural regions (Grassland and Parkland) and found that insect-flower preferences changed between them, likely due to the differences in the insect communities in each natural region. However, flower abundance in the original Grassland dataset predicted flower visitation better than any metric in both regions. Thus, abundant flowers were preferred by flower-visiting insects, but not because they were abundant, and the effect of neutral processes on flower-visitor data may be overestimated.
Understanding how flower-visiting insect communities and flower-visitor interactions vary among already established flower communities and habitat types will help guide flower-visiting insect conservation efforts. In agricultural systems, mass-flowering crop bloom causes the amount of floral resources on the landscape changes dramatically throughout the flight period of many insect species, which can change how they interact with other flowers and how they move about agricultural fields. When I compared flower-visiting insect species composition and flower-visitor interactions within and in field borders adjacent to canola fields in central Alberta, I found that field border type (herbaceous or treed) ultimately drove flower-visiting insect and flower-visitor interaction diversity in agricultural systems. In fact, mass-flowering crop bloom generally had a negative effect on flower-visitor interactions as interactions decreased significantly during canola bloom compared to before or after. However, that result was not consistent in 2022 as it depended on border type. I also found that hoverflies, and particularly one species, Toxomerus marginatus, are integral insects in agricultural systems in central Alberta because they were common crop visitors, especially compared to wild bees which rarely visited canola. When I measured hoverfly movement into and out of canola crops using bi-directional Malaise traps set in the borders of canola fields, I found that field border type and not mass-flowering crop bloom affected hoverfly movement. Finally, from my Malaise trap sampling, I found new Alberta records for a hoverfly species (Platycheirus varipes), along with multiple rare species that were previously either of conservation concern, rarely found (< 15 records across their entire range), or only found via iNaturalist records.
Overall, my thesis demonstrates that habitat type (through the comparison of natural regions and field border types respectively) matters more than the quantity of floral resources in shaping insect-flower visitation and insect communities. Flower-visiting insect conservation should focus on diversifying resources, even on a relatively small scale, to conserve the broadest number of species possible. Finally, I also demonstrated the prevalence and likely importance to ecosystem services of hoverflies in agricultural areas in central Alberta
Exploring more Equitable Pathways to Work Integrated Learning: A Pilot Study to Create a Field Experience Initiative for Racialized and Equity-Denied Preservice & Mentor Teachers
No full textSimulations of Internal Wave Excitation by Stratified Turbulent Shear flow
No full textWe perform three-dimensional, fully nonlinear simulations of a turbulent, stratified shear flow, to explore the excitation of internal waves by turbulence. Some current theories assume that the waves are generated at the turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI), the layer where the turbulent fluid meets the non-turbulent ambient fluid. Laboratory experiments have shown that the waves generated from stratified turbulence are released in a narrow frequency band in proportion to the buoyancy frequency, in contrast to the broad frequency range of the turbulence itself. We first outline the fluid dynamics solver used, and the set-up and initialization of these simulations. We describe how the equations of motion are adapted in order to optimize the development of turbulence and narrow in on the generation of internal waves.
In the second part, we describe analysis methods which are designed to help determine the generation mechanism of the waves. We describe diagnostics to quantify the turbulent region bounded by the TNTI, extract the frequency of the waves, and to analyze the energetics of the turbulent region. We use Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD), a matrix decomposition algorithm, to determine the spatial structures of turbulence and overlying stratification which correspond to the calculated frequency of internal waves.
We then detail results of simulations of a turbulent, stratified shear flow for wide-ranging buoyancy frequencies. We find that, consistent with laboratory experiments, the waves are generated in a narrow frequency band in proportion to the buoyancy frequency, approximately 0.8 +/- 0.1. We also find that the energetics of the shear layer remains qualitatively consistent regardless of the buoyancy frequency applied. Finally, by performing a DMD analysis, we find that the waves are excited from deep within the turbulent region, and not at the interface
Conceptualizing a Strategy to Improve Transitions between Healing and Recovery Services for People with Spinal Cord Injuries in Alberta
No full textSpinal cord injuries (SCI) result from damage to the spinal cord and may result in chronic conditions that require ongoing management. Each person experiences a unique set of impairments or disabilities after SCI, depending on the spinal level and severity of their injury.
Individuals with complex chronic health conditions such as SCI frequently require care across multiple healthcare settings and from a diverse array of healthcare providers. However, these interactions are often fragmented and lack coordination, resulting in significant challenges during transitions in care and increasing the risk of suboptimal health outcomes. Consequently, people living with SCI are vulnerable to experiencing gaps during their transitions between the healthcare system and the community throughout their lifespan. For instance, one of the most critical gaps experienced by people with SCI is the lack of availability and or access to rehabilitation interventions that foster healing and recovery, such as activity-based therapy. My PhD thesis aims to build a comprehensive understanding of the current Transitions in Care practices in Alberta and propose a way forward for the transitions related to services focused on healing and recovery. The objectives of my thesis are:
Objective 1: To identify needs to improve the Transitions in Care for people living with SCI in Alberta through understanding their experiences, along with perceptions from their family members and providers.
Objective 2: To identify and describe key elements to facilitate the creation
and implementation of a Transitions in Care model for SCI in Alberta through the implementation of a community-based participatory research strategy guided by the U process. Objective 3: To engage SCI stakeholders through a community-based participatory research strategy guided by the U process to: (a) Explore perspectives on how programs delivering healing and recovery services, especially activity-based therapy, are being delivered and accessed in Alberta. (b) Define a strategy to improve access and continuity of activity-based therapy services for people with SCI in Edmonton.
These objectives are addressed by the three papers included in the dissertation. The first paper (chapter 2) identified nine overarching themes that encompass the TiC experiences for people with SCI, their family members and care providers. These themes allowed us to identify key areas of opportunity to improve the transitions of people living with SCI in Alberta, ultimately helping improve their Transitions in Care experiences.
The Second paper presents the result of a community engagement process with a diverse group of SCI stakeholders, who worked together to successfully identify five elements to inform the development of a SCI system of services to improve the TiC for people living in Alberta. These elements include: 1) resources, 2) person-centred care, 3) building a community of practice, 4) training to build life skills, and 5) transitional housing. These key elements will inform the development of a TiC model that integrates an SCI system of services and improves their continuity and integration in Alberta.
The third paper revealed that advancing healing and recovery after SCI through practices such as adapted exercise, especially activity-based therapy, requires a fundamental shift towards a recovery-oriented, patient-centred approach, integrated through a strong learning organization system. To unlock the full potential of activity-based therapy, healthcare providers must move beyond fragmented, compensatory rehabilitation models and embrace integrated, collaborative networks that ensure continuity of healing and recovery interventions across all settings, thereby enabling people with SCI to achieve the highest possible quality of life.
The work completed as part of this dissertation marks a significant step forward towards improving the SCI healthcare system in Alberta. It is the first effort of its kind to improve TiC experiences for people with SCI and will serve as a blueprint for other regions within Canada and internationally. At the system micro level, the work on this thesis empowered people with SCI and their caregivers by enabling their experiences to inform improvements in the current Transitions in Care. At the system meso level, it supported SCI healthcare and community organizations by providing avenues to recognize their collective strength and opportunities for better integration. Finally, at the system macro level, this work helped re-conceptualize the current state of SCI programs and services as a system capable of taking concrete steps to become an efficient learning organization, thereby enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness
Alyssa Mae Domingo - Abstract 68 - Innovate Conference 2025
No full textWestern mental health frameworks impose an individualistic and biomedical lens that often erasing the relational ways Filipino older adults experience distress, healing, and resilience. These dominant paradigms which are rooted in detachment and objectivity often fail to capture the deeply interconnected and reciprocal nature of Filipino well-being. As a nurse and researcher working alongside Filipino communities, I have witnessed firsthand the epistemic violence embedded in these models and their inability to reflect the lived realities of those they claim to serve. This reflection emerges from discomfort, questioning, and an urgent need to reclaim Indigenous ways of knowing as central to mental health research