title: Teaching Learners of English as an Additional Language: Re-Conceptualizing Mainstream Teacher Preparedness in the Growing Linguistic Mosaic of Ontario

subject: Teacher Preparedness

subject: Teacher Education

subject: Mainstream Classrooms

subject: Teacher Perceptions

abstract: As the population of Learners of English as an Additional Language (LEALs) has increased steadily in mainstream classrooms over the last decade, mainstream classroom teachers are challenged with teaching situations for which they are not adequately prepared. Using a Complexity Theory and Mindfulness Mindset lens, this study examined self-perceived preparedness of 15 recently graduated teachers over the course of a 10-workshop series titled Teaching LEALs in Mainstream Classrooms. The following research questions guided the study: (a) How do teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to teach LEALs change during the workshop series? (b) How did the workshops contribute to changes in teachers’ perceptions? Through datasets created from observational field notes, questionnaires, and semi-structured interview, workshop, and session documentation, this semester-long qualitative case study presents mainstream teachers’ experiences and perceptions. Rather than providing a detailed and prescribed curriculum for change, attention is on the overall direction of teacher preparedness and fostering conditions for change and learning. Study findings capture the intricacies of mainstream teacher preparedness and indicate that change depends on adequate professional development that maximizes teachers’ LEAL-related knowledge. However, in addition to knowledge, self-perceived levels of preparedness were influenced by the discomfort of disequilibrium, feedback, and embracing uncertainty. There are important implications for teacher education practice and professional certification. Ultimately, mainstream teacher training for LEALs cannot be optional. All teachers require targeted and intentional training to effectively address barriers to LEAL teaching and learning.


title: High-Nuclearity Lanthanide(III) Complexes as Single-Molecule Magnets and Luminescent Materials

subject:
Lanthanide(III) Complexes
Single-Molecule Magnets
Luminescent Materials

abstract:
The employment of the bridging/chelating Schiff base ligands, N-salicylidene-o-aminophenol (saphH2), N-salicylidene-o-aminocyclohexanol (sachH2) and N-salicylidene-2-amino-5-chlorobenzoic acid (sacbH2), in lanthanide (LnIII) cluster chemistry has afforded four families of polynuclear and dinuclear complexes with new structural motifs, and interesting magnetic and optical properties.
	Chapter 1 deals with most of the fundamental aspects within the areas of polynuclear metal complexes, molecular magnetism and optics as these are applied to 4f-metal based systems, while the research results are reported in Chapters 2, 3 and 4. In the first project (Chapter 2), the coordination chemistry of the organic chelating/bridging ligand, N-salicylidene-o-aminophenol (saphH2) in lanthanide cluster chemistry was investigated. The general LnIII/X-/saphH2/base reaction system has led to a family of (NHEt3)[Ln7(OH)2(saph)10(Me2CO)2] (Ln = Gd (1); Tb (2); Dy (3)) clusters with a new core topology that comprises two {Ln4} butterflies sharing a common metal vertex. The {DyIII7} analogue exhibits slow magnetization relaxation, whereas all heptanuclear compounds show ligand-centered blue-green emissions.
	The second project of this thesis, which is discussed in Chapter 3, comprises the first use of the Schiff base ligand N-salicylidene-2-aminocyclohexanol (sachH2; mixture of cis- and trans-analogue) in metal cluster chemistry which has afforded a new family of [Ln7(OH)6(CO3)3(sach)3(sachH)3(MeOH)6] (Ln = Gd (4); Tb (5); Dy (6)) clusters with ideal D3h point group symmetry and metal-centered trigonal prismatic topology. Solid-state and solution studies revealed single-molecule magnetism (SMM) and photoluminescence behaviors. Moreover, in order to investigate the steric and stereoisomerism effects of the ligand on the chemical and structural identity of the {Ln7} clusters, the pure trans-analogue of the sachH2 ligand was utilized. As a result, a new family of octanuclear [Ln8(OH)4(CO3)2(trans-sach)8(EtOH)4] (Ln = Gd (7); Tb (8); Dy (9); Eu (10)) clusters were obtained, while the solid-state studies revealed SMM behavior and lanthanide-centered emissions.
	In the last chapter of this thesis (Chapter 4), the Schiff base ligand N-salicylidene-2-amino-5-chlorobenzoic acid (sacbH2) was introduced for a first time in lanthanide cluster chemistry. This has afforded a family of dinuclear [Ln2(NO3)4(sacbH)2(H2O)2(MeCN)2] compounds (Ln = Gd (11); Tb (12); Dy (13)) with the Dy-analogue exhibiting SMM behaviour with a high-energy barrier for the magnetization reversal and interesting magnetization dynamics.
	All research-based Chapters (Chapters 2-4) are divided into subsections in order to facilitate the understanding of the research concepts by the familiar and non-familiar readers and contextualize the messages, goals and conclusions of each individual project. I felt it prudent to always begin with a short preface of the work that summarizes the most important aspects of the specific project, followed by the complete experimental part and discussion of the results, and finishing up with conclusions and some future perspectives.


title: The Effects of a Therapeutic Recreation Program on Overall Well-being Among Older-adults with Alzheimer Disease and Their Care Partner

subject: Therapeutic Recreation Alzheimer Disease Well-being

abstract:
Background: With the increased pressures that our aging population has on our country, this study looks at the effects that an 8 week Therapeutic Recreation infused program has on the well-being for both individuals with Alzheimer Disease and their Care Partner.

Method: Sample of the study is from a single secondary data set.  Sampling criteria for the study was individuals with early to mid-stage signs of Alzheimer Disease or other dementias and their Care Partner from across 6 different locations in Ontario, Canada.  Pre and Post data from the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale was analyzed through a repeated measures ANOVA.

Results: Care Partners indicated an increase in well-being slightly higher than that of the Persons With Dementia.  This slight increase in well-being was not statistically significant for either the Care Partner or the Person’s with Dementia. Unexpected ANOVA findings revealed that there was a significant between-subject effect as Care Partners showed a higher overall level of well-being. This further emphasizes the importance for early intervention for Persons with Dementia.

Conclusion:  Overall this program is in the early stages of development.  It is still believed that program modifications could facilitate a cost-effective intervention for communities.


title: Half-sandwich Complexes of Ruthenium Supported by N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands: Synthesis and Application to Catalysis

subject: Hydrosilylation, hydrodefluorination, H/D exchange, Half sandwich, N-Heterocyclic Carbene, Transfer hydrogenation

abstract:
This thesis presents the preparation and catalytic reactivity of novel half-sandwich ruthenium complexes supported by N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) ligands. The cationic half-sandwich ruthenium complexes [Cp(IPr)Ru(CH3CN)2]+ show interesting reactivities toward the transfer hydrogenation of different unsaturated substrates, such as ketones, olefins, N-heterocycles, and nitriles. Kinetic studies disclose that a neutral trishydride ruthenium complex is actually involved in the catalytic cycle, playing the role as a resting state.
Further investigations on the sub-class of trishydride ruthenium complexes bearing NHC ligands (Cp'(NHC)RuH3) reveal that these complexes have an unusual and great catalytic performance toward the hydrodefluorination (HDF) of fluorinated aromatic and aliphatic compounds. The combined kinetic studies, cross-over experiments and rate law analysis suggest an unusual mechanistic pathway for the Cp*(IPr)RuH3 catalyzed HDF. This study is one of the rare examples where isopropanol is employed as a reducing agent for the metal-mediated HDF reaction.
A class of silyl dihydride ruthenium complexes, derived from Cp(IPr)RuH3 are prepared. These silyl hydrido derivatives are great compounds for the study of the inter ligand hypervalent interaction (IHI), an interesting phenomenon for many non-classical silane complexes. This study also suggests that the replacement of phosphines by their isolobally analogous NHC ligands result in stronger IHI interactions in the corresponding compounds.
Another type of non-classical interaction was systematically scrutinized in a
ii
series of new cationic and neutral silane sigma complexes of ruthenium bearing different silyl moieties. These new NHC-supported ruthenium complexes allow for direct comparation with the known phosphine analogues, which reveals interplay of steric and electronic factors on the extent of Si-H complexation to metal and the extent of additional interligand interactions between Ru-Cl and chlorosilane ligand.
Finally, new trishydride ruthenium complexes bearing NHC ligands (Cp'(NHC)RuH3) catalyze the H/D exchange reaction of various N-heterocycle substrates; their catalytic performance can be considered as one of the mildest, and most efficient approaches.


title: The Impact of Road Dust on Arctic Aquatic Ecosystems, Northwest Territories, Canada

subject:
paleolimnology
Canadian Arctic
ITRAX
Dempster Highway
climate change

abstract: The Canadian Arctic is currently undergoing rapid environmental and climatic changes. Resource development in northern regions also continues to expand, which requires more infrastructure such as roads. The Dempster Highway is a potential source for calcareous road dust since construction was completed in AD1979. Along the same timeline, the regional air temperatures began increasing, with the warming beginning around AD1970. Previous research indicates that dust from gravel highways has an impact on vegetation, and that the roadbed itself can alter near-surface permafrost temperature regimes. This research aims to employ paleolimnological methods to examine the potential impact of calcareous road dust on the aquatic ecosystems close to the Dempster Highway, as well as the possible effects from a warming climate. Lake sediment cores were taken from two impacted lakes adjacent to the highway (FM02 and FM04) and from one reference lake (FM06) located a far enough distance away that it is outside the range of dust transport. Through analyses of water chemistry, it was discovered that both the dust from the Dempster Highway and retrogressive thaw slumps in the surrounding area have an extensive impact on certain water chemistry variables (i.e. conductivity, pH, Ca+2, etc.); However, elemental profiles of the sediment cores revealed no signal from calcareous road dust in lake FM02. The NPP exhibited a clear shift to genera that prefer both warmer and more humid climates, as well as increased nutrients, all products of regional warming and increased influx of calcareous road dust during construction of the Dempster Highway. This research will help the Department of Transportation and Department of Natural Resources in making regulatory decisions regarding new infrastructure in the Canadian Arctic.


title: Basketball Court Counter-Stories from Youth in Public Housing: A Critical Race Approach

subject:
Youth
Critical Race Theory
sport for development
public housing
counter-stories

abstract: This research inquiry used critical race methodology to unearth the counter-stories of young people from Liberty Village, a public housing community based in the Niagara region. The community is highly racialized, low income and possesses a lingering, though unwarranted, reputation for crime and violence. The majoritarian or traditional story of the community and its residents perpetuates a negative image, one that often goes unchallenged. The counter-stories produced by the young people of the Liberty Village community actively challenge the status quo and highlight participant experiences with racism, and its intersections with oppression and marginality. These counter-stories highlight the importance of sport and, in particular, the community basketball/sport court, as a significant place in the lives of young people in Liberty Village. Their accounts also highlight the day-to-day racism that exists and the micro-aggressions subtly produced by the racial majority. These stories produce significant knowledge to help better understand marginalized youth experiences, sport for development programs, and the impact of racialized micro-aggressions.


title: Critically Exploring the Institutional Work in Sport-For-Development: The Case of a Local Programme in Swaziland

subject: sport-for-development; institutional work; sport development; ethnography

abstract: Sport-for-development (SFD) has exponentially increased in practice, research, and policy in recent years – yet, despite this, a need for further research into the complexity of sport and development has been identified (Coalter, 2013a; Sherry et al., 2016). In particular, scholars have argued for critical research adopting a postcolonial lens and new forms of theory and concepts to be applied to studies of SFD (Darnell, 2012; Hayhurst, 2016). In this study, a critical institutional ethnographic case study approach was adopted with a postcolonial perspective to explore the institutional work and social relations of a local Swaziland sport organization (called the Sport Success Centre) implementing SFD programming. The purpose of the study was to explore and discover the role of institutional work that is shaped by and shapes the SFD and sport activities of the Sport Success Centre (SSC). Fieldwork was undertaken from May to August 2016 and involved multiple data collection strategies. The main source of data was through means of participant-observation of the daily work of the SSC. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 staff and volunteers. In addition, publicly available and organizational documents totaling 302 were also analyzed. Analysis involved an iterative process moving between the data, reflexive journal memos, and the literature. NVivo qualitative analysis software was used to support the analysis and emergent themes. Findings suggested that organizational actors were involved in a complex of social relations at the SSC that contributed to shaping (and resisting) two forms of institutional work. Additionally, the SSC as an organization was embedded in a neocolonial management style privileging Westernized ideas and white authority structures, as well as perpetuating gender inequalities in the workplace. Although SFD and sport development benefits were discussed, a blurriness between what constituted ‘sport development’ and ‘SFD’ also emerged in SSC practices. Increasing the reliance on local knowledge and working towards an equal gendered structure in the SSC is needed to improve the postcolonialized environment of the organization. Further research is needed in the field of SFD utilizing new theories (such as institutional work or the institutional logics approach) to examine organizations implementing SFD and sport development at the local level and how SFD is inherently underlined by both opportunities to contribute to and hinder social and SFD goals.


title: Scheduling Elective Surgeries with Emergency Arrivals in Operating Rooms

subject: surgery scheduling; emergency arrivals; simulation

abstract: With the growing rate of surgical expenditures, improving operating room efficiency has become one of the most important targets for health care providers. Any delays, cancellations, or no-shows, result in increased costs for a hospital. In addition, it is difficult to predict the length of surgery procedures due to the variability inherent in surgery procedure times and account for emergency cases. Effective appointment schedules, which minimize the costs of patient waiting time and surgeon idle time and overtime, play an important role in terms of improving efficiency in hospital operating rooms. This research is to develop scheduling policies for elective and emergency surgeries with the objective of reducing waiting time, idle time and overtime. Simulation-based modeling is used to formulate and evaluate different scheduling policies under different operating conditions including different distributions for surgery duration, multiple types of surgical procedures, the arrival of emergency cases and different levels of cost coefficients for idle time and overtime. These factors have not been simultaneously studied in prior studies. The modeling framework is able to account for the significant uncertainty and complexity present in this problem setting. Historical surgery procedure data over a two-year period from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) database is used to provide empirical support for the input parameters of the model and validate the efficiency of the different scheduling policies.


title: Sketching the Identity Negotiations of Male Athletes and their Coaches:  A Case Study of a CIS Men’s Basketball Team

subject:
masculinity
sport
gender
CIS
men's basketball

abstract: More than simply passive members of a hard masculine cult, male athletes and their coaches take up complex and contradictory identities within the larger athletic structures in which they operate. In this study, I explore the relations of power shaping identity and subjectivity for male athletes and their coaches. Interviews were conducted with eight key informants, six student-athletes and two coaches, of a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s basketball team and focused on sketching their experiences, perceptions, and performances of masculinities in the sport arena. The detailed stories shared by the two coaches led me to focus two analysis chapters on their narratives. My third analysis chapter broadens to include the narratives told by the larger group of participants. Drawing on the work of Foucault and feminist post-structuralist analysis, I problematize the ethical subjectivities of coaches and players and consider the implications of these findings for both critical sport researchers and anti-violence activists.


title: Keyword Segmentation, Campaign Organization, and Budget Allocation in Sponsored Search Advertising

subject: AdWords Keywords

abstract: Sponsored search advertising, where search providers allow advertisers to participate in a real-time auction and compete for ad slots on search engine results pages (SERPs), is currently one of the most popular advertising channels by marketers. Some domains such as Amazon.com allocate in millions of dollars a month to their sponsored search campaigns. Considering the amount of money allocated to sponsored search as well as the dynamic nature of keyword advertising process, the campaign budget planning decision is a non-trivial task for advertisers. Budget constrained advertisers must consider a number of factors when deciding how to organize campaigns, how much budget to allocate to them, and which keywords to bid on. Specifically, they must decide how to spend budget across planning horizons, markets, campaigns, and ad groups. In this thesis, I develop a simulation model that integrates the issues of keyword segmentation, campaign organization, and budget allocation in order to characterize different budget allocation strategies and understand their implications on search advertising performance. Using the buying funnel model as the basis of keyword segmentation and campaign organization, I examine several budget allocation strategies (i.e., search Volume-based, Cost-based, and Clicks-based) and evaluate their performance implications for firms that may pursue different marketing objectives based on industry and or product/service offerings. I evaluate the simulation model using four fortune 500 companies as cases and their keyword advertising data obtained from Spyfu.com. The results and statistical analysis shows significant improvements in budget utilization using the above-mentioned allocation strategies over a Baseline strategy commonly used in practice. The study offers a unique insight into the budget allocation problem in sponsored search advertising by leveraging a theoretical framework for keyword segmentation, campaign management, and performance evaluation. It also provides insights for advertiser on operational issues such as keyword categorization and campaign organization and prioritization for improved performance. The proposed simulation model also contributes a valid experimental environment to test further decision scenarios, theoretical frameworks, and campaign allocation strategies in sponsored search advertising.


title: Exploring the Effect of Tourism Type on Green Consumption Intentions in the Hotel Industry: The Moderating Roles of Benefit Type and Benefit Time

subject:
Green consumption
Benefit type
Benefit timing

abstract: Green consumption behaviour has been widely investigated. Scholars have suggested that a luxury tourism product type can be a negative predictor of environmentally friendly consumption intentions. However, conditions under which green practices can be most effective still need to be discovered, particularly in the tourism industry. Therefore, the objective of this present research is to explore the moderation effect of benefit type (self versus other) and benefit timing (now versus future) in the relationship between tourism product type and environmentally friendly consumption intentions, respectively. Specifically, this thesis hypothesizes that a self-benefit appeal will lessen the negative relationship between luxury product type and consumers’ green consumption intentions. In addition, a now-time benefit appeal will strengthen the weak relationship between non-luxury product type and consumers’ green consumption intentions. The hypotheses are tested using two experimental studies in the hotel industry. By understanding the moderating roles benefit type and benefit timing play in the relationship between tourism product type and consumers’ green consumption intentions, the current research advances our understanding in how different types of incentives motivate green consumption behaviours, and provides managerial implications for promoting environmentally friendly practices and programs to tourists more effectively.


title: Infrared Spectroscopy of (Nb+In) Co-Doped Rutile

subject: Rutile Spectroscopy Co-doped

abstract:
This work studied rutile TiO2 in pure form and co-doped with In (e􀀀 acceptor) and
Nb (e􀀀 donor) at 5% and 10% to explore the effect of co-doping on the infrared active
(IR) modes and the complex dielectric response function between 50 and 8000 cm􀀀1 (1.5
- 240 THz, 0.00620 - 0.993 eV). Ceramic pellets of pure, 5% and 10% co-doped TiO2
were prepared using a standard technique. Infrared reflectance (IR) measurements were
taken and these data are supplemented with data from the literature to extend the range of
frequencies beyond infrared. The dielectric function was determined two ways: (i) by fits
of the reflectance to the factorized model of the dielectric function and (ii) by Kramers-
Kronig analysis.
Co-doping rutile appears to decrease the permittivity at frequencies just below the mode
that softens. It is possible that this is due to an increase in porosity resulting from codoping.
It appears that the increase in permittivity recently observed elsewhere [1] is not
caused by doping induced changes to the phonon modes.
The overall effect of co-doping is to make the sample less reflective. The spectrum is
composed of three wide, high-reflectance bands. For all levels of co-doping the first band
is a mode that softens. The amount of doping does not affect the frequency of the mode
that softens. The second and third bands are hard modes.
Co-doping appears to introduce four new, impurity, phonon modes that increase in oscillator
strength with increasing co-doping level. These modes are centered near w   136,
447, 654 and 793 cm􀀀1 which are close to four, previously observed, Raman active modes
in rutile. It is possible that the co-doping process causes the Raman modes to develop a
dipole moment and become weakly IR active.


title: Queer Heterotopias in Higher Education: LGBTQ Student Identity in Web Logging

contributor: Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education

subject:
LGBTQ
Queer
Higher Education
Web Logging
Online

abstract: This study used a comparative case study method to explore online web logs (blogs) and vlogs of 7 higher education students who identify as LGBTQ. The researcher sought to examine (a) how higher education students who identify as LGBTQ navigate their school and daily life experiences in relationship with their identity on web logs; and (b) how these students reinforce or disrupt heteronormative assumptions regarding sexuality on web logs, potentially creating queer heterotopias online. The public domain web logs of the 7 participants were examined over a period of 1 year. D’Augelli’s (1994) lifespan model of sexual identity development served as a framework for directed textual content analysis. A theoretical framework of queer theory was used to understand how the bloggers and vloggers reinforced or transgressed heteronormative conceptions of sexuality. Seven primary themes emerged from the findings: the presence of each of the 6 lifespan stages of D’Augelli’s (1994) model, as well as a 7th theme focused on the university experience specifically. The heartfelt and courageous identity work that the bloggers shared revealed the importance of the online community to higher education students who are navigating an emerging LGBTQ life.


title: Writing Lives, Writing Loss: An autoethnography on the death of a teammate

subject: autoethnography death loss grief sport

abstract: This project began as a memorial to an athlete who died of cancer, and ended as a journey through grief. The focus of my research is to explore through an autoethnography of loss, how the death of a young athlete is experienced and how as an athlete, I make sense of loss outside of sport. Visiting and revisiting spaces of loss and grief in sport allowed me to explore more deeply my personal histories as fragmented stories of grief. Through autoethnography and meta-autoethnography, this research seeks to uncover the meanings that reside in grieving in sport, examining the language we use to talk about death and loss in a culture of grief shrouded with stories of heroics and feel-good narratives. As I continue on my grief journey, I negotiate and re-negotiate the meanings I have constructed in my experiences. I will continue to do that as I venture through life and navigate the texts, searching to find balance between writing lives and writing loss.


title: When and why is religious attendance associated with anti-gay bias? A justification-suppression model approach

subject:
sexual orientation
prejudice
religious attendance
multi-level modelling
Justification-Suppression Model

abstract: Even in relatively tolerant countries, anti-gay bias remains socially divisive, despite being widely viewed as violating social norms of tolerance. From a Justification-Suppression Model (JSM) framework, social norms may generally suppress anti-gay bias in tolerant countries, yet bias may be “released” by religious justifications among those who resist gay rights progress. I hypothesized that more frequent religious attendance would be associated with greater anti-gay bias, that this relation would be stronger in countries where anti-gay bias more strongly violates social norms of tolerance, and that the relation between religious attendance and anti-gay bias would be partially accounted for by religious justifications. In Part 1, I examined the relation between religious attendance and anti-gay bias in the US. In Part 2, I examined the relation between religious attendance and anti-gay bias across different countries. Finally, in Part 3, I examined religious justifications for anti-gay bias. Across large, nationally representative US samples and international samples (representing a total of 97 different countries), over 215,000 participants, and various indicators of anti-gay bias (e.g., dislike, moral condemnation, opposing gay rights), more frequent religious attendance was uniquely associated with greater anti-gay bias, over and above religious fundamentalism, political ideology, religious denomination, and other theoretically relevant covariates. Moreover, in 4 of 6 multilevel models, religious attendance was associated with anti-gay bias in countries with greater gay rights recognition, but was unrelated to anti-gay bias in countries with lower gay rights recognition. Google searches for a religious justification (“love the sinner hate the sin”) coincided temporally with gay-rights relevant searches. In U.S. and Canadian samples, much of the association between religious attendance and anti-gay bias was explained by “sinner-sin” religious justification, with religious attendance not associated with anti-gay bias when respondents reported relatively low familiarity with this justification. These findings suggest that social divisions on homosexuality in relatively tolerant social contexts may be in large part due to religious justifications for anti-gay bias (consistent with the JSM). Potential interventions building on these findings may include encouraging religious leaders to promote norms of tolerance and acceptance, increasing intergroup contact between frequent religious attenders and gays, and perspective-taking exercises.


title: Social Anxiety and Psychosocial Functioning: Investigating Relations Across Emerging Adulthood

subject:
social anxiety
academic achievement
alcohol use
psychosocial functioning
longitudinal analysis

abstract: The social, emotional and academic tasks associated with emerging adulthood are particularly challenging for those with social anxiety, a behavior defined as fear of negative evaluation, distress with social interactions, and/or avoidance of new or all social situations. The goal of this dissertation was to research the longitudinal effects of social anxiety on psychosocial functioning in university students, looking at various behaviors key to this developmental stage of life. In my first study, I examined the relation between social anxiety, social ties, and academic achievement in an autoregressive cross-lagged analysis across three years of university. There were two major findings: the symptoms of social anxiety directly linked to academic achievement, and social ties appeared to play a pivot role through their reciprocal negative and positive relation with social anxiety and academic achievement, respectively. Study two examined social anxiety with respect to alcohol use over three years of university through latent class growth analysis. Five classes were identified, two with social anxiety that differed in levels of alcohol use, and three with low social anxiety and varying levels of alcohol use. The heterogeneity in social anxiety was related to psychosocial functioning. While both social anxiety groups reported similar social anxiety symptomology, only the group linked to higher alcohol use exhibited a greater vulnerability to other at-risk behaviors in year one (e.g., self injury). The third study followed the previously identified five groups through latent growth analysis for a total of seven years, to determine whether there was stability or change in psychosocial functioning over the long term. The results indicated that there was stability within and among groups across time in psychosocial functioning. Notably, the differences detected between the two social anxiety groups in year one continued over the long term, indicating that the at-risk behaviors associated with the social anxiety group reporting higher alcohol use persisted. Overall, this program of research revealed that those with social anxiety in university struggled more than their peers in a variety of domains. From a developmental perspective, the findings of stability in behavior suggested it might be important for intervention and prevention programs to target younger populations with strategies that are continued in a cohesive manner across university, a time when students are exposed to the pressures of achieving in competing developmental tasks.


title: An Exploration of Teacher and Student Perceptions of Classroom Assessment

subject:
Student Perceptions
Teacher Perceptions
Formative Assessment
Student Voice

abstract: My study explores a teacher’s intentions for and students’ perceptions of formative assessment practices enacted within the classroom. Adopting a constructivist epistemology (Merriam, 2009) to explore how interactions impact the learning environment, I use the relativist ontology (Reason, 1994) to examine how different individuals experience the same assessment interactions differently due to their unique perspectives. A qualitative case study methodology allows me to simultaneously explore varying understandings of, intentions with, reactions to, and perspectives on assessment practices in one teacher’s classroom through the use of a wide range of data collection techniques. Using the story model as my framework, I offer a discussion of Ontario’s current educational context in order to highlight implications for theory, make recommendations for further study, and highlight how findings from this study may be taken into consideration for further curriculum reform.


title: Shaping Responses to Terrorism, Muslims, and Syrian Refugees: The Role of Right-Wing Adherence and News Media Exposure

subject:
anti-Muslim attitudes
anti-refugee attitudes
terrorism
right-wing adherence
news media

abstract:
Right- (vs. left-) wing adherents often hold more anti-Muslim attitudes, disapprove of Syrian refugees in their country, are more concerned about terrorism, and endorse military action to combat ISIS (Islamist terrorist group). Past research suggests that media shapes attitudes generally; however, the role of news media in explaining left-right differences in attitudes regarding Islamist terrorism has not been explored.

Study 1a asked experts (N = 22) to assess the political leaning of news sources used in Canada. Study 1b (N = 201) subsequently assessed whether use and trust of liberal and conservative sources (as determined in Study 1a) explained left-right differences in anti-Muslim attitudes, anti-refugee attitudes, and terrorism imminence beliefs. Results showed that greater right-wing adherence was associated with greater trust of conservative news and less use and trust of liberal news. There were indirect paths between right-wing adherence and attitudes through liberal and conservative news use and trust (combined), with specific indirect paths between right-wing adherence and attitudes through liberal news use.

To assess the causal effect of terrorism-related news on attitudes regarding terrorism, Muslims, Syrian refugees, and military support, Study 2 randomly assigned participants (N = 305) to watch news clips on terrorism from liberal or conservative sources, or to watch sports news (control). I assessed whether there was an indirect path between media exposure and attitudes through fear or anger regarding ISIS, and whether right-wing adherence moderates the relation between news exposure and negative affect. Results revealed that conservative-terrorism news elicited more negative attitudes relative to both liberal-terrorism and control conditions, and that liberal-terrorism news did not elicit more negative attitudes relative to the control. These relations were not explained by differences in affect elicited, nor did right-wing adherence moderate the relation between news exposure and affect. However, exploratory analyses revealed that conservative news had a particularly strong effect on attitudes when participants trusted these sources.

Overall these results suggest that conservative (relative to liberal) news increases negative group attitudes, particularly when participants trust these sources. As such, undermining trust in conservative news and encouraging use of liberal news outlets may be important avenues for prejudice reduction.


title: Music Lessons: Exploring the Role and Meaning of Music Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Dementia

subject: Community-dwelling Connection Dementia Music Qualitative

abstract:
An aging population and increasing rates of dementia point to the need for alternative strategies to allow individuals to age in place. The purpose of this multiple case study is to explore, from an insider’s perspective, the role and meaning of music in the lives of individuals with dementia who are aging in place. The following three questions guide this exploration: What does music mean to someone with dementia and if/how has this changed, over time? How does music influence the health and wellbeing of individuals with dementia? How is music integrated into the day-to-day lives of individuals with dementia aging in place?
Critical qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews, observations, and videos. All three participants were in the early stages of dementia, living in the community (not in an institution), residing in Ontario, using music in their lives in a routine capacity, and not enrolled in music therapy. The partners of each of the participants were also included in the data collection process. The qualitative data was analyzed following a 10-step process that integrated the textual, auditory, and visual data.
Analysis revealed that music plays a beneficial, yet complicated, role in these individuals’ lives. Analysis highlighted ‘connection’ as the central theme of the study with the various ‘connectors’ - self, partner, music and the study itself - as subthemes. Connection to self is discussed through present moment awareness, accessing memories, and self-expression. Connection to partner is explained in light of self-connection and spending time together. The connection to music acknowledges the self and partner as well as the need to keep things “ordinary”. Lastly, connection to the research is a methodological finding that speaks to the transformative nature of qualitative research. Findings from each sub-theme are described using examples from the data and discussed in relation to the literature.
This study provides insight into the growing body of interdisciplinary literature dedicated to dementia, music, aging in place, and contemplative practices, as well as makes suggestions for future areas of research.


title: Improvisation at the Piano: Exploring the Learning Experiences of Music Readers

subject:
improvisation
music
creativity
piano
action research

abstract: The theme of improvisation in music is garnering increased attention amongst musicians who otherwise would identify themselves as music-readers. The 21st-century musician who reads music continues to value these skills, but may show greater interest in creative or unscripted music-making. Piano teachers who work primarily within the notation-based realm and wish to explore improvisation lack a conceptual model of how to approach this type of learning for themselves or their students. This action research study explored learning experiences of 2 student learners and 1 teacher-learner as they delved into the improvisation medium. Though at different stages in their development as musicians, all 3 were first and foremost music readers. This project explored learning experiences through 2 components: (a) the student participants created an improvised accompaniment for a short segment of a Charlie Chaplin film and (b) in my dual role as teacher-learner and teacher-researcher, I embarked upon a 10-month course of lessons with 3 different expert improvisation mentors. Improvisational learning experiences were explored through video recordings of student lessons, field observation notes, transcripts from semi-structured student interviews, and a reflective researcher’s journal. Theories of creativity and the everydayness of art framed the discussion around the role and significance of improvisation for the pianist who wishes to engage in this form of music-making. Findings contribute to the literature by providing a context for teachers to begin exploring practical pedagogical processes for teaching improvisation, and a theoretical rationale for considering the importance of enhancing the traditional approach to teaching the piano.


title: Behavioural Thermoregulation and Energetics in Two Intermediate Hosts of Trematode Parasites

subject:
behavioural fever
metabolism
energetics
trematode infection
ranid tadpoles

abstract:
Infection by macroparasites, such as trematodes (flatworms), can negatively impact survival of hosts such as larval amphibians, potentially altering host energy use in response to infection, and also through alterations of host behaviour that may increase infection tolerance or instead benefit the parasite. However, physiological consequences of macroparasite infections are not well studied, despite heavy parasite burdens in the field. The purpose of this work was to examine altered thermoregulatory behaviours in two taxa (snails and larval amphibians) used as intermediate hosts by trematodes, as well
as to study the metabolism of naturally-infected tadpoles. Both infected and uninfected tadpoles (Lithobates sylvaticus and L. pipiens) and snails (Helisoma trivolvis) were placed in thermal gradients to observe thermal preferences in hosts. Oxygen consumption in naturally-infected bullfrog tadpoles (L. catesbeiana) was measured to determine whether macroparasites could impact host metabolism. The trematode-infected, L. sylvaticus tadpoles exhibited “behavioural fever” by choosing warmer temperatures by the end of the experiment compared to uninfected tadpoles, but this did not occur in L. pipiens. Active, infected snails also selected warmer temperatures relative to inactive snails and active uninfected snails. Trematode infection intensity did not affect respiration in L. catesbeiana tadpoles, but those with higher metabolic rates and larger fat bodies had lower parasite counts. These results suggest that behavioural fever may occur in ectotherms infected with macroparasites, but may be more important for species which are relatively intolerant of infection given that fever was not seen in L. pipiens. As
infected snails selected warmer temperatures, this may be a case of parasite manipulation to increase production and emergence of infectious stages in warm microhabitats to facilitate transmission. Metabolic rate increased with fat body content, and larger fat bodies were observed in tadpoles with lower parasite intensity, suggesting more heavily parasitized animals had lower energy stores. Globally, infectious diseases are known to contribute to amphibian declines, thus more research is needed to understand the possible consequences of parasitism and mechanisms by which hosts to may defend themselves.


title: Elliptic Curve Cryptography using Computational Intelligence

subject:
Elliptic Curve Cryptography
Public-key Cryptography
Genetic Programming
Evolutionary Algorithms
Pollard's Rho Algorithm

abstract:
Public-key cryptography is a fundamental component of modern electronic communication that can be constructed with many different mathematical processes. Presently, cryptosystems based on elliptic curves are becoming popular due to strong cryptographic strength per small key size. At the heart of these schemes is the complexity of the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP).
Pollard’s Rho algorithm is a well known method for solving the ECDLP and thereby breaking ciphers based on elliptic curves for reasonably small key sizes (up to approximately 100 bits in length). It has the same time complexity as other known methods but is advantageous due to smaller memory requirements. This study considers how to speed up the Rho process by modifying a key component: the iterating function, which is the part of the algorithm responsible for determining what point is considered next when looking for the solution to the ECDLP. It is replaced with an alternative that is found through an evolutionary process. This alternative consistently and significantly decreases the number of iterations required by Pollard’s Rho Algorithm to successfully find the sought after solution.


title: Verifying other-race identity in forensic settings: Increasing tolerance for variability in appearance

subject:
Face Recognition
Perceptual Expertise
Face Matching
Other-race faces
Within-person variability

abstract: When viewing unfamiliar faces, photos of the same person often are perceived as belonging to different people and photos of different people as belonging to the same person. Identity matching of unfamiliar faces is especially challenging when the photos are of a person whose ethnicity differs from that of the observer. In contrast, matching is trivial when viewing familiar faces, regardless of race. In a 1-in-30-lineup task in which participants are asked to find the image of a target from an array of 30 identities, viewing multiple images of an own-race target improves performance, reflecting rapid familiarization (Dowsett et al., 2016). Here, participants were asked to find an other-race target from an array of 30 images, and participants’ performance on this task was observed as they were provided with additional images of each other-race target. I report rapid familiarization when the target was known to be present (Experiment 1) but not when both target-present and target-absent trials were included in the task (Experiment 2). Viewing multiple images of a target-absent identity provided no benefit in reducing false alarms. Although a possible route to familiarization with other-race faces, my findings suggest caution for the use of multiple images in applied face verification settings.


title: Perception of Competition Among Social Enterprises

subject:
Competition
Organizational Identity
Perception
Rivalry
Social Enterprises

abstract: This paper examines how social enterprises – organizations that use marketplaces to create both social and economic value – compete with one another and how they perceive of other social enterprises. I conducted a study in which I interviewed key executives of social enterprises in the second-hand textile marketplaces within North America and examined their perceptions of rivalry. My findings suggest that social enterprises categorized and developed mental models for how they perceived rivalry with other social enterprises. Specifically, the categorization of the type of social value that another social enterprise creates, and a subsequent identity comparison and orientation, led to different rivalrous responses: compassionate, marketplace, and ideological. My study builds upon perceptions of rivalry and examines a growing form of organizing: social enterprises.


title: Examining Competitive Intensity and Social Enterprise Performance

subject:
Social Enterprises
Performance
Competition
Hybrid Organizations
Institutional Logics

abstract: This thesis explores how Social Enterprises’(SE) manage their economically-driven activities with their mission-related activity and how these impact their relative economic and social performance. Given the little research that has been done on external factors within SEs, competitive intensity and its impact on the performance of hybrid SEs was also examined in terms of how it might influence the above trade-offs. The authors looked at longstanding, social enterprises within the second-hand textile industry as a suitable model for SEs participating in a competitive environment.  What the authors found was that while economically-driven activities appeared to have a negative impact on social performance, counter-intuitively, mission-driven activity had a positive effect on both social and financial performance. Furthermore, while competitive intensity has a positive buffering effect between mission-driven activity and both economic and social performance, the opposite is true of economic-driven activity, where competition seems to have a negative buffering impact. These findings demonstrate the need for further research into the role competition plays within hybrid organizations and from a practical position, may inform the strategic decisions of managers who might expect a linear relationship between the type of activity engaged and outcomes.


title: A Count of Coping Strategies: A Longitudinal Study Investigating an Alternative Method to Understanding Coping and Adjustment

creator:
Heffer, Taylor
Heffer, Taylor

subject: Coping Longitudinal Adjustment

abstract: Coping flexibility – an individual’s ability to modify and change coping strategies depending on the context – may be an important but under-examined aspect of coping. The availability of numerous coping strategies may be an important precursor to coping flexibility, given that flexibility can only be obtained if an individual is able to access and use different coping strategies. Typically, studies examining coping compute means, which assess not only what strategies are used but also how much they are used. This means-based approach fails to differentiate between infrequent use of many strategies and frequent use of one or two strategies. One way to disentangle the effects of these alternative styles of coping is to count the number of strategies that an individual uses without attention to how frequently they use them (i.e., a count-based approach). The present longitudinal study compared a count-based model and a means-based model of coping and adjustment among undergraduates (N = 1,132). An autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis revealed that for the count-based approach, using a greater number of positive coping strategies led to more positive adjustment and less suicide ideation over time than using a smaller number of positive coping strategies. Further, engagement in a greater number of negative coping strategies predicted more depressive symptoms and poorer emotion regulation over time. In comparison, the means-based model revealed similar results for negative coping strategies; however, engagement in more frequent positive coping strategies did not predict better positive adjustment over time. Thus, a count-based approach offers a novel way to examine how the number of coping strategies that individuals use can help promote adjustment among university students.


title: Retinoic Acid and the Underlying Cellular Mechanisms involved in Neurite Outgrowth and Growth Cone Turning during Regeneration

subject:
Neurite Outgrowth
Growth Cone
Regeneration
Retinoic Acid
Rho GTPase

abstract: The involvement of retinoic acid (RA) in nervous system regeneration has been well documented, though the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms have not yet been fully determined. During regeneration, RA can exert trophic support for cells, as well as tropic effects to guide neurite outgrowth. Cultured neurons of the Lymnaea central nervous system (CNS) have previously been used to investigate the role of RA in neurite outgrowth and growth cone guidance. Recently however, a novel phenomenon has been identified, in which neurite outgrowth occurs from cut nerves of Lymnaea CNS “floating” on the surface of cultured medium. In this study, I examined whether RA could induce or guide neurite outgrowth from this novel preparation. Unlike previous findings with cultured neurons, there was a lack of consistent effects of 9-cis and all-trans RA in promoting neurite outgrowth from the floating CNS. However, the growth cones of these floating neurites were found to turn toward a local source of RA, indicating for the first time, that they are capable of responding to guidance cues, even in the absence of adhesion to a solid substrate. The cellular mechanisms of RA-induced growth cone turning were then conducted on cultured neurons. I demonstrated that various retinoid receptor agonists could mimic the chemotropic effects of RA, providing further evidence for a potential role of retinoid X receptor and retinoic acid receptors in growth cone turning. I also examined potential downstream effectors involved in this chemotropic response to RA and provided the first evidence that the intracellular signaling pathway likely involves the Rho GTPase, Rac. However, it was also shown that the involvement of Rac in mediating the RA-induced growth cone turning differed depending on whether the turning was induced by endogenous or synthetic retinoids, and also whether the growth cones were still attached to the cell body or not. Overall, these data provide new insights into the mechanisms by which retinoids affect neurite outgrowth and growth cone behaviour during regeneration of the nervous system.


title: Niagara Falls 1901-1911: Immigration, Industrialization and the Creation of an Ethnically Diverse City

subject:
Niagara Falls 1901-1911
Niagara Falls Immigration History

abstract: At the turn of the twentieth century, hydroelectric power development along the Niagara River rapidly transformed the Town and Village of Niagara Falls, Ontario into an industrial city. The community changed demographically as well, with large numbers of foreign immigrants arriving to work both on the massive construction projects and in the factories which were drawn to the area due to the availability of inexpensive power. In 1891, the area later incorporated into the City of Niagara Falls was overwhelmingly composed of inhabitants of British origin, but by 1911 roughly 14% of the residents originated from Southern and Eastern Europe. This paper examines the demographic transformation of Niagara Falls during this time, constructing a profile of the immigrant population using census data from 1891, 1901 and 1911. The census data reveal where distinct ethnic communities were located, as well as their composition, providing a groundwork for further exploration of the integration process of this relatively large number of “foreigners” into the British-Canadian resident population. Some segregation was imposed, as in the case of single male construction labourers, other segregation was voluntary, such as Italian immigrants forming their own distinct neighbourhood. Many Southern and Eastern European immigrants faced racial discrimination in one form or another, from institutions such as the police department, local newspapers and employers, as well as from citizens’ groups such as The Lord’s Day Alliance. This study addresses the relative silence of the historiographical record regarding this influx of new Canadians to this area at the turn of the twentieth century, and the many challenges which they faced.


title: Sustainable Food Systems in northern Ghana: Assessing the influence of International Development

subject: Food Security, Sustainable Food Systems, International Development, Sustainability

abstract: The concept of sustainable food systems gained prominence in the food security discourse as evidence from the 2007-2008 and 2010 world food and financial crisis suggested that food systems were under stress. The concept calls for a move from the production centered notion of food security towards a more socially and ecologically sensitive notion which is interested in addressing a complex array of problems that have rendered the food system ineffective. Given the continued prevalence of poverty and food insecurity in northern Ghana, this study assesses the attempts of international development agencies to improve food security in the region using the notion of sustainable food systems as the assessment criteria. Through triangulation, the study uses a combination of qualitative interview data and documentary analysis to answer the research questions. Various discourses of sustainability and concepts are used to deepen the understanding of the concept, leading to the identification of eight practical goals towards achieving sustainable food systems. Using the practical goals of achieving sustainable food systems as the assessment criteria, the study reveals that the food system in northern Ghana is unsustainable due to three categories of impediments (natural, cultural and economic, and institutional). The assessment of the World Food Programme development assistance in northern Ghana shows that international development operations remain ineffective in addressing the impediments to achieving sustainable food systems in the region. WFP’s interventions failed to achieve its potential due to institutional inefficiencies of the agency and its partners. The study contributes to development policy and practice in northern Ghana by establishing the need for development partners to improve institutional efficiency and coordination, empower marginalized groups to access their rights, and prioritize agricultural irrigation in the region.


title: Towards a New Algorithm for Event Recommendation System

subject: Recommendation Systems

abstract: We develop a recommendation algorithm for a local entertainment and ticket provider company. The recommender system predicts the score of items, i.e. event, for each user. The special feature of these events, which makes them very different from similar settings, is that they are perishable: each event has a relatively short and specific lifespan. Therefore there is no explicit feedback available for a future event. Moreover, there is a very short description provided for each event and thus the keywords play a more than usual important role in categorizing each event. We provide a hybrid algorithm that utilizes content-based and collaborative filtering recommendations. We also present an axiomatic analysis of our model. These axioms are mostly derived from social choice theory.


title: Intersectionality, Radicalism, Identity, and Community: An Ethnographic Case Study of Animal Activist Organizing in Canada

subject:
intersectionality
animal activism
social movements

abstract: This thesis is an ethnographic case study of an animal activist organization (ACT) through an intersectional feminist theoretical lens. Qualitative data regarding ACT’s demographic constitution, internal organizational dynamics, activist strategies, ethical and political principles, and relations to other animal activists in the region have been collected through participant observations, in-depth interviews with activists, and a content analysis of social media. Data gathered and analyzed through the Grounded Theory methodology demonstrate that, despite its progressive politics in terms of gender, racialization, and class, ACT reproduced some oppressive dynamics of these, such as a normative, gendered division of labour. Contrary to ACT’s principle of non-hierarchy, a co-founder became its leader due to his possession of traits valued in activist circles dominated by a white, middle-class, and masculine culture; and his politics informed by a particular radical activist subculture was adopted by ACT. Many were not allowed to join ACT for not embodying the expected activist criteria, which were exclusionary in the sense of being formulated through a white, middle-class culture. Ideological and tactical disagreements between ACT and other activists led to aggressive conflicts because of some ACT organizers’ intolerance to any aberration from the rigid understanding of ethics they upheld. As individual and organizational identities outweighed solidarity in this activist setting, the erosion of trust further severed the community. Many activists who endorse ACT’s principles of intersectionality, anti-oppression, and community-building attribute their disbandment to the failure of applying these in activist praxis, and envision a better future for animal advocacy through a flatter organizing, healthier communication, a less rigid understanding of ethics, and more respect and consideration afforded to the people in and out of the activist community.


title: Understanding the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) performance in plant alternative cropping systems

subject: pest, diamondback moth, brassicaceae, food preference, sinigrin

abstract: The diamondback moth (DBM) (Plutella xylostella) (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is one of the most widespread and harmful insect pests almost exclusively targeting plants belonging to the Brassicaceae family. Understanding of DBM’s behaviour and ecology is therefore crucial to develop novel, economically and environmentally friendly methods of control. One of the main objectives of this study was to determine whether the amount of time (# of generations) spent on a particular host plant by the DBM 4th instar larvae influences their preference, when exposed to and reared on alternative host plants. Experiments included rearing three lineages of DBM on three different plant species for three generations and exposing 4th instar larvae from each generation to the test plant species in a choice experiment. Results indicated that the amount of time spent on a particular host plant had no effect on food selection. The 4th instar larvae prefer turnip (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa) the most and kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is the least preferred plant. Another major objective of this is to examine the response of DBM to intercropping as an integrated pest management strategy and whether intercropping changes the sinigrin concentration in kale leaves. Two DBM males and females were exposed to either kale or kale grown with onions (Allium cepa) in controlled conditions to assess their performance and kale damage. Results indicated that fewer 4th instars and pupae were present in the intercropping. There was no change in the sinigrin content between the two treatments. Results suggested that the physical presence of onions may be necessary for the decreased larval numbers observed in the intercropping system.  It is hypothesized that onions may release repellent volatiles rendering the environment less suitable for DBM. Our study shows the complexity of DBM’s interaction with its host plants and adds to the mounting amount of evidence towards the effectiveness of an intercropping system in controlling pest infestation.


title: Power Relations in Early Childhood Education: A Case Study of Perceptions, Space, and Place

subject:
Philosophy
Children's geographies
Early childhood education
Power
Reconceptualist theory and practice

abstract: Shifting philosophical and pedagogical stances in early childhood settings have resulted in two binarized positions, where philosophy and pedagogy are frequently understood as either child-centred, or teacher-directed practice. These stances have ontological and epistemological implications for the power relations between Early Childhood Educators and young children. Drawing from multiple theoretical frameworks, including reconceptualist theory in early childhood education, children’s geographies, and the work of Michel Foucault, in this qualitative three-phase case study I explored how power relations are enacted within one preschool classroom in Southern Ontario, and how power relations are affected when viewing the environment through the lens of place and space. Using semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, and reflective journaling with a teaching team of two Early Childhood Educators, this study sought to answer the following two research questions: first, what are the ways in which power relations are enacted within one early learning environment? Second, how do educators’ perceptions of the environment as place and space contribute to the ways in which power relations are enacted? The findings from this study suggested that power was enacted within one early childhood setting in a multitude of ways. The findings are organized under four key themes: interrelational power; regulatory power; power and temporality; and power, space, and place. The findings suggest that power is a negotiated entity between children and Early Childhood Educators, and that viewing the environment as place may encourage a reconceptualization of traditionally hierarchical power dynamics between educators and young children.


title: Affinity for Aloneness and Shyness in Childhood and Adolescence: Differential Longitudinal Associations with Socio-emotional Adjustment

subject: affinity for aloneness, shyness, socio-emotional adjustment, developemntal

abstract: Affinity for aloneness (AFA), a tendency to prefer to spend more time alone rather than with others, is assumed to be driven by low social interest rather than by social fears. This is unlike shyness, which is underpinned by a conflict between high social interest and pervasive social apprehension and weariness. Despite the marked motivational differences between these two subtypes of social withdrawal and their potential differential impact on socio-emotional adjustment in childhood and adolescence, AFA is empirically neglected compared to shyness. Shyness was extensively studied and repeatedly linked to a host of negative socio-emotional correlates such as depression, lower social skills, lower self-esteem and peer maltreatment. However, little is known about the socio-emotional impact of AFA on children and adolescents, particularly longitudinally. Despite clear evidence, AFA was suspected as maladaptive due to its affiliation with social withdrawal, a wide umbrella term that has been tied to internalizing problem and peer difficulties. The generalization of findings regarding social withdrawal as a whole to AFA may lead to a pathologization of a normative behavior, increase instances of unnecessary intervention, and inadvertently negatively impact otherwise intact socio-emotional development of children and adolescents. The scarce available knowledge about AFA stems from several persisting gaps in the literature.  First, there is insufficient systematic differentiation among subtypes of social withdrawal, and a lack of deliberate simultaneous measurement of specific constructs such as shyness and AFA. Second, there are very few longitudinal studies of both shyness and AFA across childhood and adolescence. Third, there is a lack of contextual investigation of AFA compared to shyness in common life setting in which children tend to spend much of their time, such as organized sports activities. My doctoral dissertation specifically addressed all of the aforementioned gaps in the literature. Results of Study 1, a longitudinal study spanning from Grade 3 to Grade 5, indicated that only shyness, but not AFA, was significantly related to lower social skills and greater peer victimization across time.  Study 2 utilized Latent Class Analysis and results indicated that adolescents in Grades 11 and 12 who were high on AFA and low on shyness did not differ from adolescents low on both AFA and shyness (a non-withdrawn group) on measures of socio-emotional adjustment.  In Study 3, results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) indicated that only shyness, but not AFA, was related to lower positive activity outcomes through lower psychological engagement in the activity. In aggregate, the findings of the present doctoral studies advance the literature on AFA in meaningful ways. Most notably, AFA emerged as a largely benign form of social withdrawal across middle childhood and adolescence. Moreover, Study 2, which appears to be the first person-centered investigation of AFA in adolescence using Latent Class Analysis, provided novel evidence that AFA and shyness are distinct constructs with unique implication for socio-emotional adjustment.  These findings carry applied implication for educators and parents seeking to facilitate optimal developmental contexts for children with an AFA.


title: The Effectiveness of Infrastructure and Expertise on the Acquisition of Stickhandling and Puck Control Skills in Competitive Hockey Players

subject:
Motor Learning
Observational Learning
Physical Practice
Stickhandling

abstract: The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of two sport-specific training methodologies using a novel stickhandling and puck control (SPC) training device; physical practice (PP), and physical practice and observational learning (PP+OL), on skill acquisition and retention of SPC skills in competitive hockey players. Male (N=40), atom-aged (2005/2006 birth years), hockey players were recruited to participate and assigned to one of three groups; PP (n=16), PP+OL (n=15) and control (n=9). All groups completed one 50-minute familiarization session and two assessment sessions [pre-training (Apre) and post-training (Apost)] consisting of off- and on-ice assessments. The PP group received eight, 50-minute on-ice SPC training sessions. The PP+OL group received the same on-ice training, plus an additional 10-minute observational learning session before each on-ice session. Only PP and PP+OL completed a retention assessment (Aret) following a two-week period of no training. The off-ice assessment consisted of height (cm), weight (kg) and a modified Aggiss and Walsh (1986) coordination assessment (# of successful repetitions). The on-ice assessment consisted of two forward skating drills measuring execution time (s) and five SPC drills, measuring interval time (s), execution time (s) and execution competency. Execution competency was assessed on a 12-point scale for each device within each SPC drill by an expert rater. Multiple two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no significant interactions between groups in execution time or competency on any of the five SPC drills, combined overall total time (COTT) or total competency (COTC). Significant main effects of training were revealed across the three assessments for execution time on 3/5 SPC drills and COTT, and execution competency on 1/5 SPC drills. A Bonferroni post hoc revealed execution time for Apost and Aret were significantly faster than Apre for 2/5 SPC drills and COTT, and execution time for Apost was significantly faster than Apre for 1/5 SPC drills (p≤.05). The control group revealed no significant differences between Apre and Apost for execution time or competency. In summary, eight, 50-minute on-ice SPC training sessions elicited an improvement in execution time while maintaining competency, however, the combination of PP+OL did not reveal further training benefits.


title: On the Ball Implementation of Canada Basketball’s Athlete Development Model

subject: coaching, sport, athlete development LTAD, Canada Basketball.

abstract: The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the perceived benefits and challenges of Canada Basketball’s athlete development model (ADM)/long-term athlete development (LTAD) by administrators, learning facilitators, and coaches at Canada Basketball to better understand the barriers to and enablers of this process. The methodological approach used for the study was an exploratory case study. Methods were established that were consistent with the iterative nature of case study. In total, 5 participants who identified as administrator/learning facilitator/coach, 6 participants who identified as /learning facilitator/coach, and 1 participant who identified as a coach participated in the study. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant that provided new insight into participants’ perceptions of and experiences with ADM/LTAD relative to their positions. Analysis revealed themes related to perceived (a) benefits while using ADM/LTAD; and (b) and challenges with using ADM/LTAD. These findings provide a preliminary assessment of one sport specific athlete development model and may inform research of other sport-specific athlete development programs. Several implications of the study findings are discussed and suggestions are posed for future research.


title: Rhythm Detection and Production: Relations with Phonological Awareness Skill at School-Entry

subject:
Rhythm
Dyslexia
Reading
Phonological Awareness

abstract:
The present study examines the connection between phonological awareness and rhythm
perception and processing in early school aged children who score low on tests for phonological awareness for the purpose of providing further evidence of the connection between rhythm processing and specific learning disorders related to reading. A sample of grade one students from New Haven Connecticut with a mean age of 6 years, were examined for their perception and tapping performance of rhythm using two tasks; the first task examined rhythm perception in phonologically impaired children using a series of audio cue pairs that varied in beats per bar, notes per bar, note frequency, meter, the presence of a crocheted note and duration. Results indicated that participants with low scores on phonological awareness performed poorly when compared to the control group in cases where the audio pairs had fewer beats per bar, notes per bar and when the rhythm pair did not contain a quarter note. Results of this tasks suggest that less complex audio cues that contain fewer changes in rhythm were harder for phonologically impaired children to differentiate between. When performing on the second task participants were asked to tap their finger in time to an audio cue using a tablet. Performance was examined during four phases where changes were made to either the presence of the audio cue or pace of the rhythm. Results indicated that changes to rates of tapping (either slower or faster), and predicting the rate of tapping when there is no audio cue are all impacted by the presence of a phonological impairment. These results support previous studies which have highlighted the relationship between rhythm tapping performance and delays in reading whereby children who struggle with reading also seem to struggle to keep in time to a rhythmic audio cue. Overall this study continues to support evidence of a relationship between the neural processing of rhythm in conjunction with phonological awareness and reading challenges.


title: Gaining perspective: Evaluating links between mindfulness, temporal perspective, and subjective trajectories for life satisfaction

subject:
mindfulness
temporal perspective
life satisfaction
subjective trajectories

abstract: Mindfulness is defined as the present-focused awareness of one’s moment-to-moment experiences. Studies have found links between greater mindfulness and more positive outcomes. Such links have been interpreted as indicating that greater emphasis on the present is beneficial. However, despite the conceptual link between mindfulness and the present, mindfulness has yet to be investigated in relation to temporal perspective. Temporal perspective encompasses cognitive involvement across the subjective past, present, and anticipated future, and comprises multiple components, including temporal focus, distance, overlap, and value. Similarly, mindfulness has not been examined in relation to well-being utilizing a temporally-expanded approach – for example, based on how individuals view their life satisfaction (LS) to be unfolding over time. The aim of this Master’s thesis was to evaluate the relations between: mindfulness and LS, including beliefs about how one’s LS is unfolding over time (Goal 1); mindfulness and temporal perspective (Goal 2); temporal perspective and LS (Goal 3); and temporal perspective as a mediator of the relations between mindfulness and LS (Goal 4). A community sample of younger adults (N = 305, 55% female) completed an on-line questionnaire containing measures of trait mindfulness, temporal perspective (focus, distance, overlap, and value of the past, present, and future), and LS (recollected past, present, and anticipated future). Regarding Goal 1, mindfulness was associated with higher past, present, and anticipated future LS, but unrelated to how individuals view their LS as unfolding over time. Regarding Goal 2, mindfulness was linked with temporal perspective concerning the present (temporal focus, value), but also the past (temporal focus, distance, value), and the future (temporal focus, value). Regarding Goal 3, various aspects of temporal perspective were linked with LS, including current temporal focus, past-current temporal overlap, and current temporal value. Regarding Goal 4, temporal focus and value mediated the predictive effect of mindfulness on current LS. Together, these results suggest that mindfulness can be understood from a temporally-expanded perspective, encompassing not only how we view our present lives, but also how we view our past and anticipated future lives. Implications for existing conceptualizations of mindfulness, temporal perspective, and LS are discussed.


title: Exploring theory of mind following repeated subconcussive impact exposure

subject:
mild head injury
subconcussion
physiological arousal
theory of mind
affective theory of mind

abstract:
A link between repeated subconcussive impact exposure (SIE) and long-term impairments has been established, initiating research on these repetitive impacts in athletics. This literature has revealed that accumulated asymptomatic injury is associated with cognitive, behavioural, and emotional challenges, as well as severe neurodegeneration, such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE; Stern et al., 2011). Moreover, after mild head injuries (MHI), individuals are often characterized as self-centered, inappropriate, and insensitive, demonstrating profound social challenges and an inability to adopt others’ mental states or a lack of what is known as theory of mind (ToM; Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985; Bellerose, Bernier, Beaudoin, Gravel, & Beauchamp, 2015). Despite this, the socioemotional outcomes following repeated SIE remain poorly understood.

ToM can be differentiated into its affective and cognitive components which are thought to be subserved by distinct neural regions. In particular, affective ToM has been linked to activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC; Leopold et al., 2012) – an area that is highly afflicted by subconcussive impacts (Bigler & Orrison, 2001). Damage to the vmPFC is associated with decreased physiological arousal and impaired social decision-making in MHI participants but it is unclear if SIE produces a similar profile (vanNoordt & Good, 2011). The aim of the current study was to investigate ToM after repetitive SIE, using a SIE composite derived from self-reported athletic history. Participants with varying levels of SIE were compared across a number of ToM assessments (capturing both affective and cognitive ToM), physiological measures, and neuropsychological tests. Although greater SIE was not associated with deficits in ToM performance, it was found to be predictive of physiological underarousal. Likewise, MHI status and severity were associated with reduced arousal reflecting a lack of somatic cues that indicate that a response is socially unacceptable and, in turn, impairing affective ToM reasoning.

Interestingly, traditional ToM measures, such as the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET; Baron-Cohen, Jolliffe, Mortimore, & Robertson, 1997), were found to lack specificity when examining ToM deficits in a competent university population. These findings imply that previous research demonstrating ToM impairments after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI; see Martin-Rodríguez & León-Carrión, 2010 for a review) may be capturing deficits in other domains and should be interpreted with caution. Taken together, the results from this research indicate that the investigation of physiological mechanisms may contribute to understanding of the neurodegenerative process following accumulated trauma in sports and help identify those at risk of social challenges.


title: Nonlinear dynamics of granular assemblies

subject: granular chain, Hertz chain, solitary wave, quasi-equilibrium, equilibrium

abstract:
In this work we investigate granular chains, which are one-dimensional systems of discrete macroscopic particles interacting via the intrinsically nonlinear Hertz law. Such systems support the propagation of solitary waves (SWs), which are non-dispersive,
mobile bundles of energy. A comprehensive analysis into the dynamical behaviour of these systems and the properties of SW propagation is presented, and several interesting new results are obtained.

First, we find that the transition to the quasi-equilibrium (QEQ) phase in granular chains can be manipulated by altering the material properties of the system. We further use these results to develop a novel shock absorption device with a predictable
and tunable frequency response, making it useful also for energy harvesting applications.

Second, we show for the first time that granular chains with various nonlinearities of the contact potential can achieve thermal equilibrium at sufficiently long times, and thus QEQ is an intermediate phase of these systems. We characterize the equilibrium
phase by deriving approximate distribution functions for grain velocity and kinetic energy and system kinetic energy in a microcanonical ensemble of interacting particles. As a by-product, we derive the equilibrium specific heat, and a size-dependent
correction term, for such systems. We also show how these ideas extend to heterogeneous systems such as diatomic, tapered, and random-mass chains. Furthermore, we look closely at the transition to equilibrium by using statistical tests to show that the
long-term dynamics is ergodic, and by examining the behaviour of various correlation functions close to the onset of the transition.

Third, we solve a highly nonlinear, fourth-order wave equation that models the continuum theory of long-wavelength pulses in weakly compressed, homogeneous granular chains with a general power-law contact interaction, to characterize all travelling wave solutions admitted by the equation. This involves deriving conservation laws admitted by the wave equation, followed by a modified energy analysis. We find that the wave equation admits various types of travelling wave solutions, including SW solutions as well as nonlinear periodic wave solutions. Not only have the SW solutions not appeared before in the literature on granular chains, but they are also a new addition to the literature on SWs in general.


title: Recognizing Own- and Other-race Faces: Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Other-Race Effect

subject: Other-race effect; Perceptual expertise; Cognitive mechanisms

abstract:
Other-race faces are discriminated and recognized less accurately than own-race faces. The other-race effect (ORE) emerges during infancy and is robust across different participant populations and a variety of methodologies (Meissner & Brigham, 2001). Decades of research has been successful in characterizing the roots of the ORE, however certain aspects regarding the nature of own- and other-race face representations remain unspecified. The present dissertation attempts to find the commonalities and differences in the processing of own- vs. other-race faces so as to develop an integrative understanding of the ORE in face recognition.
In Study 1, I demonstrated that the ORE is attributable to an impaired ability to recognize other-race faces despite variability in appearance. In Study 2, I further examined whether this ability is influenced by familiarity. The ORE disappears for familiar faces, suggesting a fundamental difference in the familiar and unfamiliar other-race face recognition. Study 3 was designed to directly test whether the ORE is attributable to a less refined representation of other-race faces in face space. Adults are more sensitive to deviations from normality in own- than other-race faces, and between-rater variability in attractiveness rating of individual faces is higher for other- than own-race faces. In Study 4, I investigated whether the ORE is driven by the different use of shape and texture cues. Despite an overall ORE, the transition from idiosyncratic shape to texture cues was comparable for own- and other-race faces, suggesting that the different utilization of shape and texture cues does not contribute to the ORE. In Study 5, applying a novel continuous-response paradigm, I investigated how the representations of own- and other-race face are stored in visual working memory (VWM). Following ample encoding time, the ORE is attributable to differences in the probability of a face being maintained in VWM. Reducing encoding time caused a loss of precision of VWM for other- but not own-race faces. Collectively, the results of this dissertation help elucidate the nature of representations of own- and other-race faces and clarify the role of perceptual experience in shaping our ability to recognize own- and other-race faces.


title: The impact of grape clone, yeast strain and protein on sparkling wine quality

subject:
sparkling wine
protein
yeast
grape clones

abstract: The foaming properties in sparkling wine are an indicator of quality as it is the first quality perception consumers have upon opening a bottle of sparkling wine. Proteins, which are derived from both grapes and yeast during sparkling wine production, are known to impact the foaming properties in finished sparkling wines. The objectives of this project were to (1) understand the role and relationship that proteins have on the overall foaming properties and overall quality in sparkling wine, (2) determine the role different yeast and grape clones from different varietals have on sparkling wine quality and (3) understand how bentonite affects sparkling wine quality. The protein concentration in sparkling wine produced from Mariafeld Pinot noir appeared to impact the foaming properties. The longest elapsed time for foam dissipation was observed in the control treatment where bentonite was not used to strip protein and the shortest time was observed in the treatment where bentonite was used to remove grape and yeast proteins. In Riesling sparkling wines, the largest protein concentrations were observed in non-bentonite treated juices while the lowest were observed in the bentonite treatments. The prevalence of foam observed in both bentonite treatments, where grape proteins were completely removed, indicated that proteins derived over the course of secondary fermentation were foam forming in Riesling sparkling wine. It was also observed that different yeast, varietals, clones and soil compositions may impact the protein concentrations, chemical compositions and overall quality of sparkling wine. The results of this research aim to better understand sparkling wine quality to optimize production in the Niagara Peninsula.


title: Project M.I.A.: Motivational Interviewing in Athletics

subject: Motivational Interviewing (MI), Awareness, Use, Knowledge, Sport Coaches

abstract: Motivational Interviewing (MI) has been forwarded as an effective communication strategy for enhancing an individual’s motivation to make behaviour changes (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).  With sport coaches playing a prominent role in an athlete’s motivation (Vallerand & Losier, 1999) and continually engaging in behaviour change conversations with athletes (Amorose, 2007), MI presents a viable option that could be used by sport coaches.  However, research has yet to address MI in the context of sport despite the evidence supporting its practical use in changing behaviour in various health domains, as well as its endorsement among health professionals who are in the vocation of changing individual’s behaviour (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).  Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine Canadian university sport coach’s awareness, use, and knowledge of MI, and examine potential differences based on demographic and coaching history variables.  A non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used to collect data from Canadian university sport coaches (N = 152) from February to March 2017.  Coaches reported awareness (27.00%), use (29.80%), and knowledge of MI (77.85%).  Chi-square statistics revealed coaches with alternative certifications to those certified by the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) reported greater awareness of MI (χ2 = 4.77, p < .05), and logistic regression results indicated that coaches with more certifications reported greater awareness of MI than those with less certifications (χ2 = 5.59, p < .05) and use of MI in their coaching practice (χ2 = 6.26, p < .05).  In general, the findings suggest that MI has resonated with sport coaches, albeit minimally, but perhaps greater than anticipated, which presents an interesting avenue to further explore MI in the context of sport as a potential mechanism to improve coach-athlete communication patterns.


title: Addressing the Summer Learning Gap Among Children with Reading Difficulties

subject:
literacy
learning disabilities
summer learning gap
intervention
reading

abstract: This study explored literacy change and development in children with reading difficulties over the summer months.  More specifically, a summer literacy program called S.L.A.M., offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of the Niagara Region, was examined.  A multi-lens approach was used to examine the efficacy of the summer literacy program, and the contextual factors associated with its success and the children’s overall success in the program.   Fifteen children, ages 6-10, were administered a series of reading-based measures, while facilitators involved with the program’s implementation were interviewed in focus groups, and a daily field journal was maintained by the program Head Facilitator.  Results of the study indicated that literacy intervention during the summer months can help to alleviate the summer learning loss and support further literacy development in vulnerable readers.  Such findings hold important implications for policy and practice surrounding models of schooling and programming that support children’s learning yearlong.


title: The Development of the Children’s Future Thinking Questionnaire: Establishing Validity and Reliability

subject:
future-oriented cognition
parent-report
reliability
validity
child cognition

abstract: Future-oriented cognition, the ability to anticipate future states and needs (Bélanger, Atance, Varghese, Nguyen, & Vendetti, 2014), is a critical skill that children must develop for successful daily functioning. Research in the field of future-oriented cognition relies heavily on behavioural tasks to measure future-oriented abilities in young children, yet these tasks have several limitations such as low ecological validity and only providing information about the child on a single occasion and in one context (the laboratory). The current study sought to address the limitations of behavioural tasks by developing a parent-report questionnaire on children’s future- oriented cognition (saving, prospective memory, episodic future thinking, planning, and delay of gratification). The reliability and validity of the Children’s Future Thinking Questionnaire (CFTQ) were examined in three studies. In Study 1, the CFTQ was administered to parents online to test whether the newly developed measure was suitable for administration to parents and whether it detected age-related increases in children’s future-oriented cognition. Study 1 provided initial evidence for the reliability of the CFTQ and showed that parents could detect age-related increases in their children’s future-oriented abilities. Study 2 involved (a) administering the questionnaire to a larger sample of parents to further examine scale reliability (Study 2A) and (b) bringing a subset of these parents and their children into the laboratory to examine relations between CFTQ responses and children’s behavioural performance on future- oriented cognition tasks (i.e., validity; Study 2B). Results of Study 2A confirmed high internal consistency reliability of the CFTQ and provided further support for children’s age-related increases in future-oriented abilities. Study 2B showed some evidence for the validity of the CFTQ, suggesting that parents may be able to accurately report on their children’s future- oriented cognition in some domains. Overall, the CFTQ is a useful addition to the field of future-oriented cognition as the first parent-report measure to assess the development of future-oriented cognitive abilities.


title: Investigating a Potential Function of Belief in a Just World: Providing Purpose in Life as a Pathway to Subjective Well-Being

subject:
belief in a just world
well-being
purpose in life
meaning
justice motive theory

abstract: According to justice motive theory, individuals have a fundamental need to believe that the world is a just place where people get what they deserve, or to have belief in a just world (BJW; Lerner, 1977, 1980). There are several reasons why individuals need BJW that have been proposed in the extant literature (Dalbert, 1999, 2001; Hafer, 2000; Lerner, 1980; Lerner & Miller, 1978; Lipkus, Dalbert, & Siegler, 1996). In the current research, I examine two of these functions: to encourage investment in long-term goals (Callan, Shead, & Olson, 2009; Hafer, 2000; Hafer, Bègue, Choma, & Dempsey, 2005) and to reduce fear of death (Hirschberger, 2006; Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 1997). Moreover, I propose a new function of BJW—to provide individuals with a sense of purpose in life. Specifically, I argue that BJW provides a sense of purpose because, if individuals have BJW, then they can see the world as a place where their lives are both desirable and important. Further, having a sense of purpose in life should in turn improve subjective well-being (Ryff, 1989; Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Ryff, Lee, Essex, & Schmutte, 1994; Zika & Chamberlain, 1992). Therefore, purpose in life, or purpose anxiety, should mediate the association between BJW and well-being. I examined this proposal in four studies. For each study, I predicted that BJW would have an indirect association with positive affect, negative affect, and satisfaction with life, through purpose in life, or purpose anxiety, and that this association would be unique from those through other potential mediators in each model. My hypotheses were supported in each of the four studies. I discuss limitations, topics for future research, and implications for theory as well as reducing victim blame and supporting victims of trauma.


title: Physical training, inflammation and bone integrity in elite female rowers

subject: Elite athletes, Bone Mineral Density, Sclerostin, Inflammation, Osteoclastogenesis

abstract: This study examined whether fluctuations in training load during an Olympic year lead to changes in mineral properties and factors that regulate bone (sclerostin (SOST), osteoprotegerin (OPG)), and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL)) and energy metabolism (insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and leptin), and inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)) in elite heavyweight female rowers. Blood samples were drawn from female heavy-weight rowers (n=15) (27.0±0.8y, 80.9±1.3 kg, 179.4±1.4 cm) at baseline (T1 – 45 weeks pre-Olympic Games) and following 7, 9, 20, 25 and 42 weeks (T1-6, respectively). Serum was analyzed by Multiplex assays (EMD Millipore, Toronto, CAN). Total weekly training load was recorded over the weeks prior to each time point. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry at T1 and T6. Total BMD increased significantly pre- to post-training (+1.6%). OPG, IGF-1, and leptin were not different across all time points. OPG/RANKL was significantly higher at both T4 and 5 compared to T1 and 2. High training load (T5) was associated with the highest TNF-α levels (2.1 pg/ml), and a parallel increase in SOST (993.1 pg/ml), while low training load (T6 - recovery) was associated with significantly lower TNF-α (1.5 pg/ml) and a parallel decrease in SOST (741.0 pg/ml). Leptin was a significant determinant of bone-mineral properties in these athletes. These results suggest exercise training can lead to an increase in OPG/RANKL, and training load periodization can control the inflammatory response associated with intense training, and combined with adequate caloric intake can preserve bone mineral integrity in elite female athletes.


title: PROJECT K.T.A.P.E.: Kinesiology Tape for Athlete Performance

subject:
Theory of Planned Behaviour
treatment/training modalities
autonomous/controlled motivation

abstract: Kinesiology Tape (KT) is used to prevent or rehabilitate sports injuries, as well as to enhance an athlete’s performance. The primary aim of this study was to examine differences between athletes who use KT and athletes who do not use KT using an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework that included autonomous and controlled motivation for KT use. The secondary aims of this study were to (a) determine if KT is prevalent among competitive/recreational athletes, and (b) identify the reasons why athletes report using KT. Data was collected from a purposive sample of competitive/recreational athletes, using non-experimental (cross-sectional) design. Participants (n = 127) completed a questionnaire modified to fit the aims of this study using a secure online interface (www.surveymonkey.com). Multivariate Analyses of Variance indicated that athletes who used KT in the past 12 months reported higher subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, attitudes, intentions and autonomous motives, than athletes who did not use KT. Approximately half of the sample (49.6%) reported using KT in the past 12 months, and ‘rehabilitation’ was the main reason KT was used. Overall, the results of this study suggest a greater understanding of the psychological variables that may influence an athlete to use KT in sport. The results of this study support the use of the extended TPB in the context of understanding an athletes KT behaviours.


title: Identifying Antisocial Youth Through Broad and Specific Measures of Personality

subject: Adolescence, antisociality, personality, psychological assessment, psychopathy

abstract:
Although antisocial and psychopathic traits have been linked to predatory and violent
types of juvenile offending, much of what is known about these traits stems from adult-centered
research. Identifying antisocial youth with reliable tools early in development
could improve the prognosis of interventions. With a community sample of adolescents
(N = 396, Mage = 14.64, SD = 1.52, ngirls = 230, 58%, nboys = 164, 42%), the HEXACO-PIR
accounted for 57% of the variance in the APSD-YV. Lower ratings of Honesty-
Humility, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were associated with higher ratings of
psychopathy, F(18, 956.49) = 18.347, p < .001, Wilk’s λ = .432. The HEXACO-PI-R
was associated with a range of antisocial outcomes, including lower intensity antisocial
beliefs and attitudes, however, the APSD-YV had stronger associations with higher
intensity antisocial behaviours. Findings suggest that the assessment of youth
antisociality may benefit from the inclusion of both broad and specific measures of
personality.