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  “I feel like I lost myself”: An Examination of Teachers’ Lived Experiences During The COVID-19 Pandemic

  Zarb, Vanessa; Department of Child and Youth Studies

  The current study aimed to understand teachers' lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing six main themes from their interviews and open-response questions. Key findings of teachers' lived experiences included the prevalent feeling of isolation due to a lack of social connection with students and colleagues, the struggle to balance various responsibilities, the increased workload transferring an interactive in-person environment to online learning and adhering to safety protocols. Despite these challenges, some teachers reported benefits such as improved work-life balance and enhanced technology skills. The findings also highlight differences between elementary and secondary school teachers, particularly in implementing safety measures, and how these varied based on years of teaching experience. Elementary school teachers faced unique challenges in maintaining young students' engagement and adherence to safety measures, whereas secondary school teachers experienced challenges related to subject-specific teaching demands. Additionally, teachers have demonstrated resilience and dedication, adapted their roles as advocators, educators, and support systems to ensure educational success throughout the various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study fills a gap in existing research by specifically examining the distinct challenges and benefits experienced by teachers during this unprecedented period. By providing nuanced insights into teachers' experiences, this research contributes to understanding the broader impacts of the pandemic on educational practices and teacher well-being.
• Impact of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Cognition and Inflammation in Aging Male and Female Rats: A Longitudinal Approach

  Qureshi, Sunny; Department of Psychology

  Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is a serious global health concern that can have long-lasting detrimental effects on the developing brain and behaviour. However, less is known about the effects of PAE as an individual ages into middle and old age. Here, we investigate the long-term effects of PAE on cognitive functioning, immune system dysregulation, and neuroinflammation in aging rats with a focus on sex-specific differences. Using a well-established rat model of PAE, spatial learning and memory, recognition memory, serum cytokine levels and Iba-1 cell expression in the dentate gyrus (DG) were assessed at two different time points in the same animals: 6 months (6M) and 12 months (12M) of age. Key findings indicated that PAE leads to cognitive domain-specific impairments, with more pronounced deficits observed in recognition memory. These impairments in recognition memory were exacerbated with age and were more prominent in females. PAE animals also displayed altered immune profiles, characterized by lower levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13), suggesting chronic lowgrade inflammation with decreased healing and protection. Notably, these alternations in immune profiles were more pronounced in PAE females, indicating more vulnerability to immune dysregulation. Furthermore, neuroinflammation was assessed by examining microglia cells in the DG; results showed an increase in expression but only in the PAE females. Overall, this research underscores the complex interplay between PAE, aging, cognition, and immune dysregulation. Our findings suggest that PAE accelerates aging profiles, leading to earlier onset of cognitive impairments and heightened inflammation, particularly in females. These insights are crucial for developing targeted interventions to help mitigate the long-term adverse effects of PAE and help improve the quality of life for individuals affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs).
• Beliefs about life unfolding over time predict and impact intentions to make the world a better place

  Beaucage, Melissa; Department of Psychology

  Many individuals view their lives as getting better over time. Such beliefs motivate individuals to work toward an improved personal future life. However, societal-level issues suggest that individuals may view life as getting worse for people in their communities, country, and all of humanity. Further, it is unclear whether these societal-level beliefs are linked with individuals’ willingness to engage in actions geared towards improving the lives of others (i.e., well-doing). To address these issues, I conducted two pre-registered studies. In Study 1 (N = 963 online participants; M age = 40.83 years; 48.2% female), individuals reported their beliefs about how life is unfolding over time for people in one of four conditions: self, community, country, or all of humanity. In Study 2 (N = 947 online participants; M age = 39.52; 51.4% female), an experimental design evaluated the impact of an individual’s beliefs about how life is unfolding over time using a narrative direction manipulation (three levels: better, stable, worse) for each target (four levels: self, community, country, humanity). In both studies, participants rated the overall perceived quality of life in the past, at present, and in the anticipated future for their assigned target condition and their intentions to participate in well-doing activities. Identification was tested as a moderator. In Study 1, participants viewed life as getting better over time for the self, but not for the other targets. Further, those who reported believing that life was getting better (vs. worse) over time also reported stronger well-doing intentions. Such links were observed collapsing across conditions, and in the self and country conditions. In Study 2, participants in the better (vs. worse) narrative direction condition reported stronger general motivation but not stronger specific well-doing intentions. The impact of narrative direction was stronger in the self condition than for the other target conditions. In both studies, identification did not reliably moderate the relationship between beliefs about life unfolding over time and well-doing intentions. Thus, the present studies suggest that beliefs about life getting better (vs. worse) over time are associated with and impact individuals’ well-doing intentions regardless of one’s level of identification.
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  The relationship between movement reinvestment, balance confidence, and clinical balance performance in older adults

  McKay, Kaitlyn; Applied Health Sciences Program

  Movement reinvestment is a personality trait that may confound clinical balance performance. It is assessed using the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS) which has a conscious motor processing (CMP) subscale (tendency to consciously attend to and control movement) and a movement self-consciousness (MSC) subscale (tendency to be self-conscious about movement). The thesis objectives were to 1) explore relationships between movement reinvestment, balance confidence, and clinical balance outcomes, and 2) determine whether movement reinvestment explained variation in clinical balance performance over and above that of other established predictors of balance like age and balance confidence. Two hundred and forty-three older adults living independently in the community (173 females, mean (SD) age = 66.79 (7.31) years) completed the MSRS, Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, and three trials (best trial taken) of a single leg stance (SLS) test (duration), timed-up-and-go (TUG) test (duration), functional reach (FR) test (distance), and obstacle course (OC) test (duration + error). First, bivariate correlations were conducted among all measures. Next, four separate hierarchical linear regressions were performed to predict clinical balance outcomes. In all regressions, age, sex, fall status, health status, and balance confidence were entered simultaneously on the first step, followed by CMP and MSC together on the second step. The results showed that higher CMP and MSC were associated with lower balance confidence. Higher MSC was associated with poorer clinical balance performance including shorter SLS durations, longer TUG durations, and higher OC scores. CMP was unrelated to clinical balance outcomes. Age and balance confidence were significant predictors of clinical balance outcomes. However, only the final regression model predicting OC score showed significant change from the initial model (R2 change of .018). MSC and not CMP was significantly positively related to OC score on the final step, after controlling for demographic variables and balance confidence. The results provide novel evidence of a relationship between greater self consciousness concerning movement style and poorer clinical balance outcomes in community-living adults over the age of 55 years of age. MSC can provide added insight into performance on a challenging obstacle course over and above that of other commonly used predictors including age, sex, fall status, health status and balance confidence. The results suggest that trait movement reinvestment and specifically MSC may be important to consider in clinical balance assessment protocols especially for complex adaptive gait tasks.
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  Exploring secondary transfer generalization effects from Black and gay contact

  Puffer, Hanna; Department of Psychology

  Intergroup contact has come to be known as one of the most influential ways to reduce prejudice (Hodson & Hewstone, 2013). Contact effects can be categorized as primary (i.e., the effect of contact on attitudes toward the group individuals are in contact with) or secondary effects (i.e., the effect of intergroup on attitudes toward an uninvolved secondary outgroup). Here, we explore primary contact effects on outcomes toward the secondary outgroup through outgroup humanization, assessing White, heterosexual Americans’ contact with both Black and gay people. In Study 1 (N=471; 52.7% men; Mage=44.90, SD=14.75), path analyses were conducted on four fully-saturated models that included intergroup contact (quantity, quality), humanization, and intergroup outcomes (attitudes, collective action intentions) using cross-sectional data. Direct generalization was consistently observed from gay contact to Black intergroup outcomes. Only one indirect generalization pathway was statistically significant: greater quantity of gay contact humanized Black people, which itself predicted more positive attitudes and stronger collective action intentions toward Black people. However, Black contact did not predict direct or indirect intergroup outcomes toward gay people. Study 2 assessed the effects of contact over time through four waves of data (T1 N=456; 48.4% male, 51.6% female, Mage=46.71, SD=15.30; T2 N=405, T3 N=371, T4 N=350). We used multilevel modelling to parse apart the within-person and between-person effects of contact on intergroup outcomes. We found consistent evidence of primary contact effects, for both Black and gay contact, regarding both within-subjects and between-subjects relations. However, the gay-to-Black generalization pattern found in Study 1 only occurred at the between-subjects level in Study 2, suggesting that the results from Study 1 reflect between-subjects differences (i.e., associative generalization). Within-subjects Black-to-gay generalization was observed: quantity of contact with Black people predicted increased collective action intentions toward gay people, and quantity of contact with Black people humanizes gay people (i.e., process generalization). Contrary to recent concerns in the field, Study 2 promisingly showed that contact with the primary outgroup can change individuals in ways that lead to positive outcomes towards primary, and even secondary, outgroups. Implications for these findings in terms of the contact hypothesis and future research directions are considered.
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  Golf Fandom since the Creation of LIV Golf and Announced Merger with the PGA Tour

  Dick, Joseph; Applied Health Sciences Program

  According to Davis et al. (2023), golf fans needed to be researched to understand the impact of LIV Golf’s creation and the announced merger between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour. As a result, the purpose of the research was to understand how PGA Tour fans were influenced by the creation of LIV Golf and the announced merger with the PGA Tour. To fulfill this purpose, an interpretive approach to semi-structured interviews was undertaken. Ultimately, 20 interviews were conducted with adult highly identified fans of the PGA Tour, in which 19 qualified for analysis. With this open-ended approach, greater complexity and nuance of factors influencing fandom can be captured. Ultimately, the findings were situated within literature around the sacred and profane (Belk et al. 1989; Schindler & Minton, 2022) and communitas (Turner, 1969). These theories helped to explain how golf was formed and grew as a social group through participation first, indoctrinating those within the group to perform certain behaviours. As the norms surrounding participation transferred to fandom through contagion (Belk et al., 1989), fans were plotted into the Sacred Conditions of Sport, a conceptual model to illustrate a group’s conception of communitas and structure. Before LIV’s creation, most fans desired for strict behaviours associated with normative communitas and the structure as other-worldly, making the group’s norms collectively moral. Through LIV Golf and the announced merger, fans often shifted their perspective and saw the group as a manufactured structure and, therefore, unimportant to uphold beyond personal preference. Fans also often tended to desire more lenient behaviours associated with ideological communitas after LIV and the announced merger. While many desired this, few transcended to view the structure of the group as other-worldly, limiting the collective morality of the lenient norms. These findings add to literature and practice around sport fans and social groups primarily through the applicability of the Sacred Conditions of Sport to conceptualize the perception of a given groups’ norms. The present research is also relevant to illustrate how professional sport may operate in the modern, commercialized world, illustrating the impacts of commercialization on sport.
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  Hidden Laplace-Runge-Lenz symmetry groups of transformation in Classical Mechanics and General Relativity

  Gol Bashmani Moghadam, Mahdieh; Department of Physics

  For central force motion, the complete dynamical symmetry transformation group is derived from the known complete set of conserved integrals: energy, angular momentum, Laplace-Runge-Lenz (LRL) vector, all of which are local constants of motion, and a temporal quantity related to the LRL vector, which explicitly involves the time coordinate. The method uses Noether's theorem in reverse to obtain the infinitesimal symmetry generator associated to each conserved integral. For energy and angular momentum, the generators consist of a time-translation and rotations, which are well known. These generators describe infinitesimal point symmetries, which have a simple geometrical meaning given by symmetries of Newtonian space-time. In contrast, the generators for the LRL vector and the related temporal quantity are not infinitesimal point symmetries but instead describe infinitesimal dynamical symmetries that are not connected to space-time. Their physical meaning is discussed for the example of Kepler orbits. The first main result is a derivation of the explicit form of the finite symmetry transformations generated from the LRL vector and the temporal quantity. The derivation involves going to an extended space of variables and using a gauge freedom in the form of infinitesimal symmetry generators in this space. For a suitable choice of gauge, the generators take a fairly simple form which allows finding the finite transformations by an explicit integration of the corresponding flow equations in the extended space. These finite transformations describe new hidden dynamical symmetry groups. The second main result consists of applying a similar method to find the complete symmetry transformation group of the timelike geodesic equations in Schwarzschild spacetime. The transformations include a counterpart of the dynamical symmetries in central force motion arising from the locally conserved LRL vector and the related temporal quantity. The corresponding dynamical symmetries of the timelike geodesic equations have not appeared previously in the literature.
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  Regions and Provincial Sport Organizations in Ontario, Canada: A Case Study

  Losardo, Dante; Applied Health Sciences Program

  Canada is a large country with a complex political landscape that has evolved over time. Regionalism has been vital in shaping Canada's political and economic development since its inception. Although the implications of regionalism are widely discussed in fields such as economic geography and rural development, little discussion of regions and regionalism (in Canada or abroad) has taken place related to sport policy and management. To date, much of the work in sport management in Canada has been focused on sport at either the national, or community level. As a result of this, much of the established literature to date does not touch upon provincial sport organizations (PSOs), particularly in relation to the understanding of regions and the spaces that fundamentally constitute these organizations. To address this gap, I analyzed how regions are understood and managed by actors within the field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the theoretical and practical implications of regions within sport governance in Ontario, Canada. This research answers the following key questions: 1) how do PSO-affiliated actors understand and construct regions? and 2) how do institutional pressures impact the management of regions within PSOs in Ontario? To answer these questions, an instrumental case study methodology was used to explore these questions within the province of Ontario. Data were collected through document analysis of organizational strategic plans and semi-structured interviews with decision-makers within PSOs. Thematic analysis (TA) was utilized in the analysis of data for this thesis. The dual frameworks of institutional theory and theories of space were utilized as the theoretical backdrop for analysis. Through analysis, three themes were identified in relation to how PSO-affiliated actors understand and construct regions: Recognition of the Province as a Region; Regions are Informally Constructed; and Regions are Formally Structured. This research highlights that regions are understood and managed differently by actors within PSOs, and that institutional pressures (coercive, normative, mimetic) impact organizations differently and ultimately contribute to this understanding and management. This work contributes to the sport management literature through an exploration of how space is constructed, understood, and managed by actors within an institutionalized environment.
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  Investigating the Relationship Between Self-Confidence and Burnout for Professionals Supporting Adults with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities Engaging in Challenging Behaviour

  Cormier, Kayla; Center for Applied Disability Studies

  Professionals supporting adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities who engage in challenging behaviour (CB) are at increased risk for burnout, which contributes to the workforce crisis in the developmental services sector. Research on factors influencing burnout for professionals in this field comprises a growing body of literature, but the relationship between self- confidence and burnout remains unclear. This convergent mixed methods study aimed to explore support professionals’ conceptualization of self-confidence and potential factors associated with it and quantify the relationship between self-confidence and burnout. An online survey containing the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a self-confidence instrument, along with other closed- and open-ended questions, was distributed to 156 types of direct support professionals and 46 leaders in developmental services across Ontario, Canada (N=202). A preliminary model of self- confidence was constructed that contains several person-related, social, knowledge, and situational components. Length of time in the field, level of support from others, and types of CB exposed to were acknowledged factors reported to influence self-confidence. Furthermore, increased self- confidence significantly predicted lower burnout scores characterized by decreased emotional exhaustion, R2 = .048, F(1, 146) = 7.29, p = .008, decreased depersonalization, R2 = .026, F(1, 146) = 3.92, p = .049, and increased personal accomplishment, R2 = .097, F(1, 146) = 15.68, p < .001. Results may increase understanding of burnout and reduce burnout risk, thus enhancing the quality of supports provided. Additionally, the model of self-confidence may inform pertinent staff training targets for organizations in this field.
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  Monitoring Psychotropic Medication Influence on Disruptive Behaviour in Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

  Dimopoulos, Andreas; Applied Health Sciences Program

  Demographic research suggests that up to 50% of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities engage in disruptive behaviour (Sheehan et al., 2015). Psychopharmacological interventions are an oft applied treatment approach. Unfortunately, efficacy research on this topic is relatively limited, especially applied behavioural pharmacology research aimed at monitoring and evaluating the behavioural effects of psychotropic medication in this clinical population (Khokhar et al., 2023). Behaviour analysts often conduct a functional analysis to uncover behaviour function as this assessment approach permits the systematic examination of the relationship between disruptive behaviour and environmental events. Theory around how psychotropic medications may be affecting behaviour suggests that functional analyses may facilitate revealing drug-behaviour interactions. Thus, the proposed study explored the behavioural effects of clinically-indicated psychotropic medication changes in 10 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who engaged in disruptive behaviour and were prescribed psychotropic medication. Repeat functional analyses were conducted across regular and PRN phases to monitor changes in behaviour function and rate. Evidently, 47.82% of the regular medication phase comparisons were associated with function stability, while 36.36% of the PRN phase comparisons were associated with function stability. An odds ratio coefficient of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.14-2.73) indicated function changes across PRN medication phases were more likely. Effect sizes were generated to examine the magnitude of change in disruptive behaviour. Mean absolute effect size results for the PRN and regular medication phases (0.32 and 0.67, respectively) suggest there may be a noteworthy difference across the two conditions. Clinical implications, study strengths and limitations are discussed.
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  Orchids, Tulips, and Dandelions: Exploring Sensory Sensitivity, Anxiety, and Cognitive Distractibility in Children and Adolescents

  Stepien, Lauren; Department of Child and Youth Studies

  Anxious individuals and those with sensory processing sensitivity-a temperamental trait characterized by heightened sensitivity to both internal and external stimuli- exhibit hypervigilance in non-threatening environments. This study examines how the relationship between anxiety, sensory sensitivity, and cognitive distractibility in children and adolescents without clinical diagnoses. Data were collected from 47 children aged 8-17, who completed two visual oddball (VO) tasks, including one with distracting background noise of multiple voices speaking simultaneously. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) Scale assessed anxiety symptoms and sensory sensitivity. Results indicate that sensitivity moderates the relationship between anxiety and performance, with high sensitivity linked to higher reaction times (cognitive distractibility) at low anxiety levels. Conversely, low sensitivity corresponds to faster reaction times. At high anxiety levels, sensitivity has minimal impact on distractibility. These findings highlight the importance of sensitivity in understanding anxiety’s effect on cognitive performance.
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  Application of L-Fuzzy Relation to Social Choice Theory

  Osei, Clement Frimpong; Department of Computer Science

  In situations like voting, decisions are made based on individual preferences. The majority rule might not always be the best choice for aggregating individual preferences, and individual preferences may be uncertain or partial. For example, someone may prefer a candidate over another, not absolutely, but only up to a certain degree. The objective research of this proposal is to investigate this kind of L-Fuzzy Social Choice Theory, focusing on mathematically modeling personal preferences with uncertainty. It includes implementing visualizations and computations of the three common approaches for modeling individual preferences. The goal is to provide the most general framework in which these three common models of L-fuzzy preference are equivalent.
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  Regulation of social behaviour via oxytocin receptor signaling in the caudodorsal lateral septum in Long-Evans male and female rats

  Pirri, Fardad; Department of Biological Sciences

  The oxytocin receptor (OTR), a class A G-protein coupled receptor, is highly expressed in the lateral septum (LS), a brain region that regulates social behaviors in rodents. This thesis investigates whether OTRs within the LS modulate social approach-avoidance behavior, acquisition of long-term social recognition memory, and anxiety-like behavior in adult male and female rats. In the first experiment, L-368, 899, a selective OTR antagonist, was infused locally into the caudodorsal lateral septum (LSc.d), resulting in the attenuation of social approach, enhancement of social vigilance, and reduction in social novelty preference in male and female rats, with no effect on locomotion. In the second experiment, carbetocin, a biased OTR/Gq agonist, was locally delivered into the LSc.d, leading to reduced social approach and social novelty preference (a measure of social memory), with no effect on social vigilance or locomotion. Intriguingly, carbetocin increased latency to consumption of a highly palatable food only in male rats in the novelty-induced hypophagia test, indicating the sex-specific anxiogenic effects of the OTR/Gq signaling pathway in the region. In the third experiment, a selective full agonist of the OTR, (Thr4,Gly7)-Oxytocin, was infused into the LSc.d of male rats, resulting in a slight, but non-significant increase in social approach. Unlike the antagonist and the biased agonist, (Thr4,Gly7)-Oxytocin-treated rats showed social novelty preference 24 h after familiarization. Moreover, (Thr4,Gly7)-Oxytocin decreased latency to consumption of a highly palatable food compared to vehicle-treated rats, suggesting anxiolytic effects of the OTR full agonism. In conclusion, the findings suggest that OTR signaling in the LSc.d regulates social approach-avoidance, acquisition of social recognition memory and anxiety-like behavior depending on the activation of a specific upstream signaling arm of the receptor. I demonstrated that the OTR/Gq signaling pathway within the LSc.d promotes social avoidance in both sexes and triggers anxiogenic effects only in males, contrasting with the effects induced by the full agonism of the receptor.
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  Digital Horizons: Faculty and Student Perspectives on ChatGPT and the Future of English Studies

  Hendriks, Jessie; Departmetn of English

  The growing body of literature on the uses, challenges, potentials, and ethics of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) is rich and nuanced; however, such research rarely examines faculty and student perspectives comparatively or in the context of discipline-specific issues and concerns. Since both faculty and students are implicated in shaping a future for their discipline of study, and both are deeply affected by disciplinary policies and standards of practice, it is crucial to situate faculty and student perspectives as a part of a shared discourse rather than two related but distinct conversations. This thesis investigates the specific expectations, concerns, ambitions, and desires for the future that circulates among and between English faculty and students in the wake of the widespread availability of generative AI applications like ChatGPT. It employs mixed-methods to compare and contrast the responses of eleven faculty and thirty-one students from one Ontario university’s English department to semi-structured questionnaires on the topic of generative AI, the future of English studies, and participants’ perceptions of one another. Participant perspectives are contextualized within a discussion of the imagination as a mechanism for inventing into being. This research emphasizes self-reflexivity as a method for establishing trustworthiness. This MA thesis finds that participants imagine generative AI and one another in both similar and contrasting (and occasionally contradictory) ways. In that context, the thesis ends by discussing misconceptions and mistrust among and between faculty and students as a potential cause for differences between what participants anticipate and what they desire for the future of their field.
• Exploring the Role of Knowledge Mobilization in the Adoption of Integrated Pest Management for Grapevine Viruses

  Carr, Kaitlyn; Environmental Sustainability Research Centre

  Adopting sustainable agricultural practices requires effective knowledge mobilization of research to growers to inform their decision-making. Grape growers are increasingly facing widespread viral outbreaks, causing reduced quality and quantities of grapes. Growers affected by grapevine viruses are recommended to adopt integrated pest management practices, which are complex and require substantial knowledge. Understanding how to mobilize knowledge effectively is critical to the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices; however, getting research to growers is challenging. To better understand the role of knowledge mobilization in adopting integrated pest management for grapevine viruses, a case study of the grape and wine region of Niagara, Ontario, was conducted. Study One aimed to synthesize the knowledge produced on grapevine viruses in Canada and the United States by conducting a scoping review. Eligible articles were collated and thematically analyzed to comprehensively review the literature and identify key themes. Seven themes emerged: the field of grapevine virus research is growing, research foci are shifting and responsive, knowledge of grapevine leafroll-associated viruses and future research needs, knowledge of grapevine red blotch virus and future research needs, research needs of other major viruses, primary virus management foci, and primary vector management foci. Study Two aimed to identify factors facilitating and hindering the flow of knowledge using interviews and observations of primary actors and knowledge mobilization events in the Niagara region. Data was thematically analyzed, resulting in six key themes: connectivity, intermediaries, and tailoring knowledge mobilization to growers’ needs facilitate knowledge mobilization, and lack of localized and practical knowledge, limited support and resources, and misalignments among actors hinder knowledge mobilization. Study One offers a valuable educational resource to understand what is known about grapevine viruses and where future research efforts are required while making the research more accessible to researchers, intermediaries, and growers. Study Two informs future agricultural knowledge mobilization efforts and provides scholarly input on the factors influencing knowledge flow. Together, these studies enhance Nguyen et al.’s (2017) knowledge-action framework, elaborating on existing factors and identifying additional factors influencing knowledge mobilization.
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  A Glimpse into Neuroqueer Youth #Hashtags and Posts: A Rights-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of Power, Discourse, Value, and Identity from Neuroqueer Youths’ Online Assertions

  Prince, Kira; Department of Child and Youth Studies

  Neuroqueer (neurodivergent and queer) youth internationally face significant challenges, including violence, harassment, and marginalization, both individually and systemically. This treatment “Others” them, complicating their perceived level of humanness within society, while often undermining their fundamental rights. Despite the formal documentation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (United Nations, 1989), youth rights, particularly within the neuroqueer intersection, remain relatively unexplored in research. Through a critical discourse analysis using critical disability studies, specifically adopting Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional model, this qualitative study examined 24 social media posts, investigating how neuroqueer youth assert themselves, and reviewing the implications of their representations, including the connections to their rights, specifically participation rights. It highlighted how discursive practices and hegemonic power dynamics shape the lives and rights of these youth, particularly in the realms of power, participation, identity, and value. The data revealed four prominent themes: intersectionality; harm, abuse, and trauma; protection; and youth liberation and power. These themes emphasized the significance of intersectionality and social positioning in shaping the social experiences of neuroqueer youth, the presence of harm, abuse, and trauma at both systemic and individual levels, the need to safeguard and validate their essential needs and existences, and the call for (neuroqueer) youth liberation through the recognition of their agency and humanity. This study holds the potential to advocate for the rights and value of neuroqueer youth, promoting their active participation in shaping their own lives and discourse, affirming and including their identity/identities, agency, and capacities, and illuminating the impact of discourse and power dynamics that impact their participation, safety, and perceived worth through the perpetuation of adultism, heteronormativity, and neurotypicality. Drawing from existing literature, several recommendations emerge for fostering a safer, more inclusive world for neuroqueer youth in institutional, familial, and interpersonal spheres.
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  Attention-memory interactions in children and young adults

  Davis, Emily; Department of Psychology

  Associative memory (the ability to bind parts of an event into an integrated unit) is important for encoding episodic events. Critically, associative memory changes throughout the lifespan, such that memory shows protracted development into young adulthood, then declines in older adults. In this thesis, I propose that this developmental trajectory is a result of age-related changes to attentional control, which affects associative memory performance in children and older adults. To test this, I took two approaches: 1) I tested children 8-12 years old on two associative memory tasks that differed in the demands placed on attention, and related performance on these tasks to individual differences in attentional control, and 2) I tested young adults in an experiment that measured memory for target-target and target-distractor associations and explored whether individual differences in attentional control predicted the extent that participants encoded these two types of associative pairs. The erroneous encoding of target-distractor pairs (referred to as hyper-binding) has been previously described as an effect unique to older adulthood, and so here we tested whether even young adults with poor attentional control showed these effects and to establish whether deficits in attentional control drove this effect. Our results support the hypothesis that attentional control influences associative memory performance and may be a cause of the developmental changes that we see in associative memory throughout the lifespan.
• Investigating the effects of the polyphenol, carnosic acid, in prostate cancer

  Nadile, Matteo; Applied Health Sciences Program

  Prostate cancer (PCa), accounting for 375,304 deaths in 2020, is the second most prevalent cancer in men worldwide. While many treatments exist for PCa, novel therapeutic agents with higher efficacy are needed to target aggressive and hormone-resistant forms of PCa, while sparing healthy cells. Plant-derived chemotherapy drugs such as docetaxel (DTX) and paclitaxel (PTX) have been established to treat cancers including PCa. Carnosic acid (CA), a phenolic diterpene found in the herb rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) has been shown to have anticancer properties but its effects in PCa and its mechanisms of action have not been examined. CA dose-dependently inhibited PC- 3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cell survival and proliferation (IC50: 64, 21 μM, respectively) and stimulated a dose-dependent decrease in cell migration. CA decreased phosphorylation and activation of Akt, mTOR, and p70 S6K. A notable increase in phosphorylation of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK), phosphorylation of its downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and increased levels of the upstream regulator of AMPK, sestrin-2 was seen with CA treatment. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the phosphorylation of apoptosis-signal-regulating kinase-1 (ASK1), and p38 MAPK and in cleaved PARP suggesting an increase in apoptosis. Our data indicate that CA inhibits AKT-mTORC1-p70S6K and activates Sestrin-2-AMPK-ASK1 signaling in PCa cells leading to a decrease in survival, proliferation and induction of apoptosis. The use of inhibitors and small RNA interference (siRNA) approaches should be employed in future studies to elucidate the mechanisms involved in these inhibitory effects of CA on PCa.
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  Examining proof-of-concept and acceptability for a brief reframing intervention to increase exercise for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis.

  Hill, Isabelle F.; Applied Health Sciences Program

  Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a incurable, chronic, progressive disease that affects cognitive and physical functioning, reducing the quality of life. Physical Activity (PA) may help manage MS, but individuals with MS often remain inactive. Reframing, a coaching strategy to challenge negative thoughts, could help overcome PA barriers. This thesis aimed to examine the acceptability of reframing for individuals with MS. This study used a single arm, within subject’s design. Participants (N=22) met the following inclusion criteria: (a) MS diagnosis, (b) currently exercising <90 mins/week, (c) Patient-determined Disability Score < 6. The experiment involved a single ~15-minute reframing session with pre- and post- surveys, a one-week follow-up interview with follow-up surveys and a 4-week follow up survey. Reframing included: (1) identifying biases contributing to negative thinking, (2) challenging the accuracy of these thoughts, and (3) reframing their view to be more accurate. The primary outcomes were PA, decisional struggle, and cognitive biases. Participants completed online surveys (pre/post/one week post/4 weeks post) and were interviewed about their barriers and facilitators to participation, and the perceived acceptability of reframing 1-week post-reframing. An inductive content analysis was used to analyze the interview data, while Repeated Measures ANOVA assessed changes in PA, cognitive errors, and decisional struggle. Cognitive errors significantly decreased (p=0.16, partial eta=.258) from pre-reframing (M=5.32) to 7 days post reframing (M=4.52). Light PA (p=.029, partial eta=.218) increased from pre-reframing (M=2.26) to 1 week post reframing (M=3.14). While moderate-vigorous PA (p=<0.01, partial eta=.460) significantly increased from pre reframing (M=2.76) to 4 weeks post reframing (M=5.76). Changes to PA at all levels were sustained at the 4-week follow-up. No change in decisional struggle was reported. Three overarching themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) person-centred care, (2) application of reframing for change and (3) considerations for future study conduct. Qualitative findings provided a deeper understanding of changes in thought processes and PA levels, highlighting crucial aspects of the intervention from participants perspectives. These findings outlined ways to tailor reframing more effectively for people with MS. Future research will build on these findings to refine and test this intervention further using a randomized design.
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  Developing a Transformative Approach to Destreaming for Equity in My Intermediate Mathematics Classroom During a Period of Uncertainty and Change: An Autoethnography

  Roach, Steven; Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education

  Changes in my intermediate mathematics classroom at a secondary school were necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic as Grade 9 classes became destreamed. This resulted in the development of transformative pedagogy within my classroom in terms of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. This autoethnography describes what happened over the 2019–2020 to 2022–2023 school years in my classroom, from traditional teaching at the beginning, to online learning through the pandemic, to transformative teaching after. I implemented elements of Building Thinking Classrooms (Liljedahl, 2021) and the ICUCARE framework (Seda & Brown, 2021) as I made changes to how I teach. When the Grade 9 course became destreamed in 2021, I tried to improve the level of equity provided to my students. The record of each of the courses taught through the 4 years was documented on school hard drives and was used to recollect the experiences for the autoethnography. My memories of the experiences throughout help to tell the story of what happened to my pedagogical philosophy and its effect on the culture of my classroom. The pedagogical apple that every teacher holds within them and molds to fit their approach to teaching is always under duress. Cracks in the mold ultimately occur, and teachers must decide how to continue their careers, whether in traditional or transformative ways. I have found benefits to transformative pedagogy, but work is still needed to be done to improve it. The traditional approach remains popular for teachers but it may not be better for equity.

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