Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Grounding Diaspora In Experience: Niagara Mennonite Identity, Cynthia Anne Jones

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative case study grounds theoretical notions of diaspora in personal accounts of Russian Mennonites living on the Niagara peninsula of Canada. The focus is on successive, complex interrelationships with ‘place’ (in a fixed sense, and a globally connected sense), with attention to gender, generation, and life-stage. How have these individuals experienced diaspora, and how has this influenced their culture and identity? Interrelationships with place are examined within an analytical framework composed of three key elements as identified in diaspora literature: cultural hybridity, social heterogeneity (internal divisions), and responsibility flows. The results are both descriptive and theoretical, featuring first person …

Strategies For The Scientific Progress Of The Developing Countries In The New Millennium: The Case Of Serbia In Comparison With Slovenia And South Korea, Vuk Uskoković, Milica Ševkušić, Dragan P. Uskoković

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The underlying premise of this essay is the hypothesis that quality and significance of scientific research in any given society could be used as mirrors reflecting its true prosperity. By comparing the two cases of comparatively prosperous scientific management of South Korea and Slovenia, with the example of Serbia, illustrating the poor scientific and industrial productivity typically faced by the developing countries, a few general guidelines for the evolution of a society towards higher scientific and social prominence are outlined. It is argued that the most favourable pattern of growth should be based on the parallel progress in control of …

Raising An Issue In A Relationship: I’Ll Tell You What’S Wrong, But Only If I Think It Will Help, Megan H. Mccarthy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

When we become dissatisfied with the actions of a close partner, we face a decision: to disclose our concerns to the other person (voice), or to instead remain silent. Past research suggests that degree of dissatisfaction and issue importance are not important predictors of this decision, however, research on communication in relationships points to the potential importance of outcome expectancies. Previous research has primarily focused on expectancies for relationship outcomes, however, and has yet to consider the relative contribution of expectancies for instrumental outcomes. Four studies assessed the hypothesis that instrumental expectancies are most important for how much a person …

What Pushes Your Buttons? How Knowledge About If-Then Personality Profiles Can Benefit Relationships, Charity A. Friesen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Past research has debated the benefits of having accurate knowledge about a close other’s personality. However, this research has examined personality knowledge solely in terms of trait knowledge. We hypothesize that within close relationships, accuracy about personality profiles—a person’s “if-then” pattern of responses to situations—may often be more useful than accuracy about personality traits. We provide the first studies of if-then accuracy in close relationships, investigating trigger profiles, which describe a person’s unique pattern of reactivity to various potentially aversive interpersonal situations. For our studies, we first developed the Trigger Profile Questionnaire, consisting of 72 descriptions of potentially bothersome interpersonal …

Investigating The Relationship Between Motor Resonance And Nonconscious Mimicry, Jeremy Hogeveen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Motor resonance refers to the mirroring of observed actions in one’s own motor system. It is possible that motor resonance is the neural mechanism underlying nonconscious mimicry (NCM)—the ubiquitous phenomenon wherein people mimic the behaviour of interaction partners (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999). Previous research has shown that priming interdependent selfconstrual (interSC) increases mimicry (van Baaren et al., 2003). If motor resonance is the mechanism underlying NCM, then a manipulation known to facilitate mimicry (i.e. interSC) should increase motor resonance. In experiment one, we variably primed independent selfconstrual (indSC)—known to inhibit mimicryv—and interSC in a motor priming paradigm. Participants observed videos …

Moustachioed Men And Marathon Moms: The Marketing Of Cancer Philanthropy, Jenna Leigh Jacobson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis is a theoretically based feminist critical analysis of the politics, problems, and differences around the philanthropy related to breast cancer in comparison to prostate cancer with a focus on the Canadian reality. It is an analysis of the leading national volunteer-based organization dedicated to breast cancer philanthropy: The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and the only national foundation dedicated to the fight against prostate cancer: Prostate Cancer Canada. The concrete grounding is an in-depth analysis of the primary fundraising event for each charity: the CIBC Run for the Cure and Movember Canada. Breast cancer and prostate cancer attack a …

Exploring The Concepts Of Partnership And Their Implications For Hiv And Aids Prevention And Care In Two Ghanian Communities, Jonathan Lomotey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study was an exploration of the concepts of partnership in the La and Nsawam-Adoajiri communities of Ghana and their implications for HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. Using qualitative data gathering methods, this study sought to discover what is referred to as a partnership, how it is initiated, why it is initiated, the meanings ascribed to it, and its structure and processes in either community. The study further sought to understand how the concepts of partnership in each community could facilitate the development of an effective community-based initiative for HIV and AIDS prevention and care in either …

Bringing Medicine To The Hamlet: Exploring The Experiences Of Older Women In Rural Bangladesh Who Seek Health Care, Md. Abul Hossen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of older women in rural Bangladesh who seek health care. Qualitative methods were used to collect data from 17 older women in Bibirchar Union, Sherpur District, Bangladesh in June 2006. The study is intended to generate findings to help policy makers plan appropriate strategies to improve the health of this highly vulnerable population group.

The findings reveal that women’s culturally and socially determined roles greatly impair their health and play an important role in health-seeking behaviour through a complex web of social, economic, religious/cultural and behavioural interrelationships and synergies that …

Conjunction Search Onset Following Single-Feature Preview: Equating Visual Transients, Wafa Saoud

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

What happens to visual selection if the features of objects in a scene are viewed incrementally rather than simultaneously? According to Olds et al. (2009), it depends upon which feature is presented first. Olds et al. (2009) used the feature-preview search paradigm to cue conjunction search items by presenting observers with a preview display that contained 1 of 2 features for all of the search items. Prior exposure to some features facilitated subsequent visual selection more than prior exposure to others; overall, size-preview offered the greatest search facilitation, followed by color-preview, and lastly, orientation-preview. Some feature-preview conditions, however, contained luminance …

Understanding Academic Success For Onkwehonwe (Indigenous) Students Through The Use Of An Onkwehonwe'neha (Indigenous Methodology), Ashley Victoria Dorothy Johnson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

School-retention rates for Indigenous (Onkwehonwe) students are disproportionately lower than the non-Indigenous population in Canada (Mendelson, 2006). Currently, few studies on Native education acquire the perspectives and knowledge from successful OS. Many nonpersistence factors for OS have been uncovered, but few studies have offered solutions. Additionally, there is minimal (re)search using an Indigenous methodology (Onkwehonwe’neha) in the exploration Onkwehonwe education. This search (study) focused on the perspectives and experiences of six successful OS (i.e., five graduate students and one entering a graduate program). Two of the six participants were Aboriginal student-services coordinators at accredited universities within Ontario, Canada. Through the …

Spatial And Spatial-Temporal Analysis Of Grizzly Bear Movement Patterns As Related To Underlying Landscapes Across Multiple Scales, Barbara Lynn Carra

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Studying the movements of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in Alberta is imperative for scientifically informed management practices. To properly balance industry requirements with conservation imperatives, it is necessary to understand the spatial and spatial-temporal movement patterns of grizzly bears as they relate to underlying landscape properties. As part of the Foothills Research Institute Grizzly Bear Research Program, this dissertation explored both fine and largescale movement patterns generated from global positioning system (GPS) radiotelemetry data.

Between 1999 and 2005, grizzly bears were captured and radio-collared across western Alberta. The temporal resolution of GPS data collection had a large impact …

Tundra Snow Cover Properties From In-Situ Observation And Multi-Scale Passive Microwave Remote Sensing, Andrew Rees

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Tundra snow cover is important to monitor as it influences local, regional, and global scale surface water balance, energy fluxes, and ecosystem and permafrost dynamics. Moreover, recent global circulation models (GCM) predict a pronounced shift in high latitude winter precipitation and mean annual air temperature due to the feedback between air temperature and snow extent. At regional and hemispheric scales, the estimation of snow extent, snow depth and, snow water equivalent (SWE) is important because high latitude snow cover both forces and reacts to atmospheric circulation patterns. Moreover, snow cover has implications on soil moisture dynamics, the depth, formation and …

Predicting Resilience In Young Adult Turning Point Stories: A Narrative Approach To Understanding Well-Being, Norah Love

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

One way to understand well-being is through the examination of narrative turning point stories, which are stories about an event or episode that represents an important change in one’s life. To better understand what contributes to the well-being of young adults, this study examined predictors in adolescence of dimensions of turning point stories in young adulthood. Standardized measures of youth’s prosocial behaviour, hyperactivity, selfesteem, family functioning and sense of community in Grade 9 were used to predict the following narrative dimensions of Grade 12 youths’ (n=96) turning point stories: affect transformation, specificity, ending resolution, personal growth, meaning-making and …

Reconstructing Sex: Women Having Sex With Women, Alixandra Holtby

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines the experience of exclusion from the dominant understandings of sex for women who have sex with women, including queer, pansexual, bisexual, and lesbian women. Using ideas of the constructed nature of sex, particularly the use of sexual scripts (Simon & Gagnon, 1973), as well as the (hetero)sexist context in which these scripts are formed, qualitative interviews with 11 queer, pansexual, bisexual, and lesbian women were analyzed regarding their development of their understandings of what constitutes sex, their expectations and experiences of sex, their negotiation of desire and sexual identity, and their perspectives on sex between women and …

Moral Emotion Expectancies In Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Fanli Jia

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Cross-cultural research on moral development has documented reliable cultural differences in people’s evaluations of moral and immoral actions. Prosocial actions are typically viewed as more obligatory and less discretionary in collectivistic cultures relative to individualistic cultures. While past research mostly focused on moral judgments, it largely neglected moral emotions. The present study was aimed at investigating self- and other-evaluative emotions following (im) moral actions in different situational and cultural contexts. It investigated moral emotion expectancies of Canadian and Chinese adolescents and young adults across different situational contexts. For each culture, 179 Canadian and 193 Chinese adolescents from grade levels 7-8, …

The Effects Of Associative Interference, Stimulus Type, And Item Familiarity On Associative Recognition Memory, Fahad Naveed Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study investigated whether recognition memory requires two retrieval processes (i.e., familiarity and recognition) as stated by the Dual process theory or requires one retrieval process (i.e., familiarity) as stated by the Single process theory. The first experiment investigated the effects of A-B, A-C, A-D-, A-E interference on both word and picture pair recognition. As expected, it was found that a picture superiority effect was present in the baseline condition, but was reduced in the interference condition. Moreover, in the baseline condition, a non-mirror pattern (i.e., hits higher for picture pairs, but false alarm rates were the same) was present …

Forestry-Based Livelihoods In Central Vietnam: An Examination Of The Acacia Commodity Chain: A Case From Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam, Robert Pietrzak

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Forestry-based livelihoods in remote Vietnamese communities have been influenced in recent years by forest land allocation schemes, changes to property rights, and forest management devolution initiatives. Examples include the Five Million Hectare Reforestation Program, Project 327, and official “Red Books” that grant long-term land use rights and access rights to villagers. Major challenges to forestry-based livelihoods include disputes over land tenure, conflict between different levels of government, illegal logging practices and harvesting of NTFPs and competition over land for natural versus plantation forests. As a result, forest degradation and rural poverty continue to be debilitating obstacles to development in Central …

Place And Food: A Relational Analysis Of Personal Food Environments, Meanings Of Place And Diet Quality, Ellen Desjardins

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study investigates the relational layers of meanings that people experience at places in their food environment, and how individuals express a sense of place through their collective interactions with, and understandings of, food places. It also explores the patterns of difference among these meanings of place and sense of place in terms of their potential association with dietary quality. The context of this inquiry was two-fold: first, the need identified by several population health researchers and to re-imagine place as relational and include it in the study of behavioural responses to the changing food environment; and secondly, my interest …

To What Extent Is The Spirit Of Motivational Interviewing Present In The Experience Of Alcoholics Anonymous Members?, Mark Williams

Theses : Honours

More people tum to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in an attempt to recover from alcohol dependence than any other intervention. AA has historical links with confrontational approaches to alcohol treatment, and motivational interviewing (MI) was conceived by Miller in the 1980's as an alternative to these confrontational approaches. There are divided opinions on whether AA is confrontational; therefore, the primary aim of this qualitative study was to gain an insight into how the spirit of AA is experienced by its members. Ten members of AA were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Thematic analysis from a constructionist perspective was utilised in …

The Impact Of Information Retrieval Skills Training For Nurses: A Case Study Of Ken-Ahila/Inasp Course In Nairobi, Kenya, 2009, Symphrose Ouma, Nasra Gathoni

Libraries

Introduction: Nurses would normally seek for information for three basic reasons: Patient care; practice development and lastly for professional/personal development. In this study, KEN-AHILA identified nurses as the largest group of healthcare providers who are in dire need of skills to know when they need healthcare information, where and how to find it and efficiently and effectively put it into use.. The HIFA2015 challenge for 2009 spelling out the need for nurses to have access to the information they need for diagnosis, appropriate care and treatment and save lives, gave KEN-AHILA the added incentive to source for funding and eventually …

The Effects Of Owi Victim Impact Courses On Offender Recidivism, Sarah Emily Johnson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examines the effectiveness of victim impact courses, a court mandated intervention program, for 2nd OWI offenders (individuals with a second conviction of operating while intoxicated) in the first, fifth, and sixth districts of Iowa. Victim impact courses are intended to teach offenders about how drinking and driving can come to affect others in various different ways. The course is intended to lower reoffending rates for those who participate. Data was obtained through the ICON database. The ICON database is utilized by the Department of Corrections in Iowa to track information concerning offenders and their offenses. A bivariate analysis, …

Body Type And Perceived Physical Competence In College Female Dancers, Brenna Marie Vogel

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The relationship between body type and perceived physical competence was determined among college female company dancers. Participants were from one of four technique based dance companies at a midwestern university. They were questioned as to their perceived physical competence in seven different styles of dance, all of which had been offered at the selected university over the previous academic year. Body type was calculated using both the Body Mass Index Scale and the Body Composition Analyzer, which is a bioelectrical impedance analysis of one's body fat percentage, total body water, and body weight. A total of 44 participants took part …

Peer Mentoring In Higher Education: Mentees' Perceptions And Experiences, Jaye Barclay

Theses : Honours

Due to Federal Government policy reforms in the 1990's, equity and access to higher education (McKenzie & Schweitzer, 2001), has resulted in a major shift from elite to mass education (McKenzie & Schweitzer, 2001). Increased participation in higher education has subsequently led to increased attrition rates, especially among first year, first semester undergraduate students (Krause, Hartley, James, & Mcinnis, 2005). Over the past 15 years, the introduction of peer mentoring programs in Australian universities, have been recognised as an important step in addressing transitional issues (McLean, 2004), improving academic performance (Jacobi, 1991), and decreasing attrition rates (Drew, Pike, Pooley, Young, …

Autonomy Support In Australian Higher Education: A Review Of Contextual And Situational Applications Of Self-Determination Theory, Nicolas Connault

Theses : Honours

Self-Determination Theory (SDT, Deci & Ryan, 2000) is a macro-theory of motivation that has received much support from empirical research in the last twenty years. One of its main tenets is that the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs-autonomy, competence and relatedness-is universally required for the attainment of optimal psychological well-being, health, growth and self-determined behaviour. Higher education in Australia, through its outcomes-based approach to academic success, is not typically designed to promote student autonomy. Self-Determination Theory posits that promoting students' autonomy should lead to better quality of learning, higher intrinsic motivation to study, lower attrition and enhanced subjective well-being. …

The Experiences Of Incarceration On Indigenous Parents And Primary Care-Givers Of Juvenile Detainees, Simone Reid

Theses : Honours

Incarceration impacts on a number of people, not just the person sentenced. It has been suggested that the family of the prisoner can experience the prison sentence just as much, albeit differently, as the prisoner themself. Families remain important, as those prisoners who return to strong family networks are at less risk of recidivism. National research has been used to inform policy-makers, but every State has unique characteristics. The overrepresentation of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal juveniles in juvenile detention, especially in Western Australia, has been well-documented. However, research examining the experiences of incarceration on family members is limited. This …

Studies Into Cytauxzoon And Helminth Infections Of Bobcats (Lynx Rufus) Of Northwest Arkansas, Emily Hickman, David Kreider, Chris Tucker, Jana Reynolds, Jeremy Powell, Tom Yazwinski

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis and gastrointestinal helminth infections in bobcats (Lynx rufus) of Northwest Arkansas, an area known to have numerous cases of cytaux in domestic cats. Sixty bobcat carcasses were collected from trappers located in Mulberry and Decatur, Arkansas. Blood samples from the hearts were used to isolate Cytauxzoon DNA. Next, a polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) procedure coupled with gel-electrophoresis assay for the 18s region of extracted DNA were used to determine the presence of the protozoan in the bobcats at the time of harvest. Out of the 60 …

No. 53: Migration-Induced Hiv And Aids In Rural Mozambique And Swaziland, Jonathan Crush, Inês Raimundo, Hamilton Simelane, Bonaventura Cau, David Dorey

Southern African Migration Programme

South Africa’s gold mining workforce has the highest prevalence rates of tuberculosis and HIV infection of any industrial sector in the country. The contract migrant labour system, which has long outlived apartheid, is responsible for this unacceptable situation. The spread of HIV to rural communities in Southern Africa is not well understood. The accepted wisdom is that migrants leave for the mines, engage in high-risk behaviour, contract the virus and return to infect their rural partners. This model fails to deal with the phenomenon of rural-rural transmission and cases of HIV discordance (when the female migrant is infected and the …

No. 01: The Invisible Crisis: Urban Food Security In Southern Africa, Jonathan Crush, Bruce Frayne

African Food Security Urban Network

Over 1 billion people in the world are now undernourished. The current international food security agenda focuses almost exclusively on the food insecurity of rural populations and ways to increase smallholder production. The plight of the urban poor is marginalised in this agenda leading to neglect of the ‘invisible crisis’ of urban food insecurity. This paper argues that the future of Southern Africa is an urban one and that urban food insecurity is therefore a large and growing challenge. The causes, determinants and solutions for food insecurity are not the same in rural and urban settings. This paper suggests that …

No. 04: Urban Food Production And Household Food Security In Southern African Cities, Jonathan Crush, Alice Hovorka, Daniel Tevara

African Food Security Urban Network

Optimism about the role of household food production (urban agriculture) in improving the food security of the urban poor has given way to pessimism and even scepticism. This paper critically examines the views of advocates of urban agriculture and suggests that it cannot be isolated from a broader consideration of the changing nature of urban food supply systems in Southern African cities. Urban food production by poor households is currently very limited across the region and even fewer produce for market. While food production is a useful livelihood supplement in some cities and a source of income to some wealthier …

No. 02: The State Of Urban Food Insecurity In Southern Africa, Bruce Frayne, Wade Pendleton, Jonathan Crush, Ben Acquah, Jane Battersby-Lennard, Eugenio Bras, Asiyati Chiweza, Tebogo Dlamini, Robert Fincham, Florian Kroll, Clement Leduka, Aloysius Mosha, Chileshe Mulenga, Peter Mvula, Akiser Pomuti, Ines Raimundo, Michael Rudolph, Shaun Ruysenaa, Nomcebo Simelane, Daniel Tevara, Maxton Tsoka, Godfrey Tawodzera, Lazarus Zanamwe

African Food Security Urban Network

The number of people living in urban areas is rising rapidly in Southern Africa. By mid-century, the region is expected to be 60% urban. Rapid urbanization is leading to growing food insecurity in the region’s towns and cities. This paper presents the results of the first ever regional study of the prevalence of food insecurity in Southern Africa. The AFSUN food security household survey was conducted simultaneously in 2008-9 in 11 cities in 8 SADC countries. The results confirm high levels of food insecurity amongst the urban poor in terms of food availability, accessibility, reliability and dietary diversity. The survey …