In this study we focus on the effect of local religiosity on the probability of hiring female incoming CEOs while transitions, and how local religiosity relates to female CEO compensation. Given that all major religions facilitate patriarchy contributing to gender stratification, justifying men’s hierarchical superiority to women, we predicted that local religiosity is negatively related to appointing and remunerating female CEOs. We found no evidence that local religiosity relates to the probability of appointing a female incoming CEO. Moreover, using both a longitudinal as well as propensity scored matched sample, results indicate that local religiosity slightly negatively relates to the level of CEO compensation for male CEOs as opposed to the positive and significant association with the level of female CEO remuneration. Contrary to predictions, local religiosity shifted pay discrimination against female CEOs in secular states to their favor in religious states.

The motor learning literature has demonstrated that one’s focus of attention, whether internal or external should be dependent on the task objective, which is referred to as goal- instruction coupling. The present study was the first study to investigate baseball batting focus of attention strategies across different environmental conditions while also comparing the participants responses to their coaches interpreted instructions. The present experiment examined Ontario University Athletics level baseball batters focus of attention (internal, external, or ‘other’) across three different batting conditions (practice, on deck and in game), compared to their coaches interpreted instruction (interpreted by the athletes) under the practice and in game conditions. The participants completed a questionnaire identifying their focus of attention strategies under the different batting conditions as well as their coaches interpreted focus of attention instruction under the practice and in game conditions. The results showed that a condition that favours an internal focus had the participants predominately report using an internal focus of attention (practice condition), while as a condition that favours an external focus had the participants report using an external focus of attention (in game condition); therefore, supporting the goal-instruction coupling theory. A majority of coaches also preferred a focus of attention strategy depending on the batting condition and task objective, except for the coaches interpreted focus of attention strategy during the in-game at bats. Overall, these findings demonstrate the value of goal-instruction coupling for optimizing one’s focus of attention strategy selection as well as demonstrating that participants were more likely to share a similar focus of attention strategy with their coaches preferred focus of attention.

The pandemic altered the socio-contextual environment. During this time, society was exposed to structural violence experienced by Black individuals at the hands of the police. The subsequent Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests coincided with the return of professional sport in 2020 and became embedded in its programming. This thesis sought to answer how sport activism influences highly-identified fans’ lived experiences of sport. As an interpretivist, it was essential to acknowledge the importance of sociohistorical factors contributing to fans’ experiences. Therefore, semistructured interviews served to answer how fans restructure their consumption in response to changing needs, motives, and socio-contextual environments to contextualize the guiding research question. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) reflexive thematic analysis to make sense of the data. Chapter 2a utilized U&G and SDT and revealed that participants had difficulties satisfying their needs, especially their relatedness, due to the pandemic-imposed restrictions meant that participants. Sport transformed into a social activity and a means to escape the reality of the pandemic through increased sport consumption. Individuals who increased their sport consumption primarily to socialize and escape did not sustain these habits as the pandemic lessened, whereas autonomously-motivated individuals maintained their elevated consumption levels. Chapter 2b utilized social identity theory and social identity complexity to examine fans’ experiences of sport activism via their social identities. Participants interpreted the BLM protests through their multiple identities, informing their response to the intersection of sport and activism. All participants noted some form of social identity threat resulting from sport activism – either from the sender (i.e., the organization, team, or athlete) and/or the subsequent conversations that resulted from the demonstrations. Participants with less complex (i.e., less inclusive) structures faced heightened identity threats. Participants with more complex (i.e., more inclusive) group characterizations used sport activism as a vehicle to further action and typically expressed tolerance toward the outgroup. Chapter 3 synthesized the two studies' findings noting that seeking relatedness increased social identity threats or conformity behavior and that mentions of escape were used by participants as a maintenance tactic to oppose BLM in sports while distancing their white identity from their stance.

With the rich cultural diversity of Ontario’s classrooms, educators must work to ensure their teaching practices support and represent their students. This study sought to gather teachers’ perspectives of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), resources available, and how teachers can be better supported to be culturally responsive to their learners. It also aimed to engage students using texts, technology, and collaboration to help them understand diversity and inclusion. This research was built upon the ideas of Ladson-Billings (1994), Freire (2005), and Gay (2018). The study employed the generic qualitative research method to collect data on a project with two educators and three Junior students over a period of 12 weeks. Data collection included field notes, interviews, planning sessions, and one-on-one interactions with the researcher. Results indicated that educators have a good understanding of CRP but lack access to current, representative resources. Further, findings indicate a shift in teaching practices and student learning when culturally responsive practices are used. Students also possessed a good understanding of diversity and inclusion when engaged in culturally responsive texts and technology. Junior educators and students indicated a positive classroom experience when learners were represented in classroom materials and lessons. Lastly, educators are willing to learn new strategies and resources that are culturally responsive, but professional development workshops are not always accessible and applicable to their classrooms. Overall, this research suggests implications for practice, research, and theory that can all be used to effectively support Ontario educators in using CRP within their classrooms.

This dissertation consists of three empirical papers on patient experiences with symptom persistent Lyme disease in Canada. Lyme disease infection rates are rising across the country, a phenomenon attributed to climate change and the northern migration of ticks. The focus of this dissertation can advance knowledge in this area by addressing a gap in the current academic literature (a lack of patient voices). It is important that researchers continue to seek representation of patients’ embodied experiences in health research to advance equity and inclusion in healthcare. Study 1, an autoethnographic study, explores one researcher’s embodied experiences with co-occurring identities as a researcher, health professional, and patient living with chronic illness (symptom persistent Lyme disease). Study 2, a case study, explores the experiences of one young person, who is a patient with symptom persistent Lyme disease in Canada through collaborative research. Study 3, a qualitative study utilizing descriptive exploratory methodology, explores mothers’ experiences with symptom persistent Lyme disease in Canada. The findings from all three papers suggest that the government and public health agencies across the country should, on an ongoing basis, endeavor to advance public education on the risks of tick-borne illnesses. Further, the findings from each paper suggest that health professionals would benefit from continued education and training on tick-borne illness, and that ongoing collaboration between health professionals can be beneficial in the care and treatment of patients’ persistent Lyme disease symptoms. Finally, this dissertation highlights the benefits of collaborative healthcare (between alternative and Allopathic medicine) and may inform policy and decision-making focused on the prevention and treatment of Lyme disease in Canada.

Canada relies on immigration to support economic, population and cultural growth. Immigrants face unique challenges related to settlement and integration into Canadian society. Settlement services can offer opportunities to mitigate challenges related to immigration for older immigrant women. However, there is a scarcity of literature exploring the experiences of settlement workers and the needs of older immigrant women in a small urban area. This study addressed gaps in the literature by answering the following question: How do settlement workers support older immigrant women in a smaller urban region setting? A constructivist lens coupled with a qualitative description approach was used. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with settlement workers. Participants were asked about resources available to them, gaps in the services they provide, utilization of services, barriers to access, and needs of older immigrant women. Data was thematically analyzed. Four major themes emerged from the data: older immigrant women described from the perspective of settlement workers, potential barriers older immigrant women face in accessing services, the know-how of being a settlement worker, and the art of being a settlement worker. In the experiences of settlement workers, older immigrant women have more needs than other immigrant groups, such as younger and male immigrants; they also believe older immigrant women feel comfortable in seeking support from them. In the smaller urban setting, this support becomes crucial as there is usually less informal support available to them. The results of this study improved the understanding of the challenges encountered by settlement workers while working with older adult immigrant women in small urban region areas. Settlement workers identified the need for additional funding to support older immigrant women.

Our paper links the dynamics of other comprehensive income (OCI) with crash risk. Our study is motivated by the fact that crash risk research in the banking sector is sparse and the findings about the relevance of other comprehensive income (OCI) are inconclusive. We focus on AOCI because, first, it is the accumulation of different market risks that banks are exposed to, and second, it contains information about managers’ discretion and banks’ opacity. Using a sample of COMPUSTAT banks, we test whether the market risks and managers’ discretion contained in AOCI have predictive power on future crash risk. By comparing banks and non-banking firms, we find that AOCI is predictive of stock price crash risk in one-year-ahead for banking sector, whereas such association does not exist for non-banking firms. Then we show that the strength of this association varies. We find that the association between AOCI and crash risk in the banking sector is more pronounced when banks have extreme OCI or medium AOCI and when banks suffer more accumulated unrealized losses. We provide evidence that the significant association between AOCI and future crash risk only exists for commercial banks, not for savings banks. We find that the association between AOCI and future crash risk is more pronounced when commercial banks operate in extreme interest rate environment, have higher leverage ratio, and have more opacity. We further find that the association tends to be weaker when external monitoring is highly effective. Our paper contributes to a better understanding of the risk relevance of OCI and the unique effects of financial reporting on crash risk in the banking sector.

This thesis explores the relationship between a retailer's commitment to risk mitigation through adoption of web features and functionalities and its impact on online sales performance. While previous research has examined the impact of various retail service offerings on online sales performance, this study takes a focused approach by investigating the impact of transactional, logistics, and post-sales service offerings. To build a model that incorporates these three service areas, this study employs e-customer journey mapping. The resulting model proposes three major hypotheses, which are empirically tested using hierarchical multiple linear regression and further tested for robustness using binary logistic regression technique. A sample of 398 top retail companies operating in North America is used for the study. The findings of this study reveal that there is a positive relationship between a retailer's commitment to risk mitigation and its online sales performance. Specifically, the results indicate that retailers who proactively adopt risk mitigation strategies are more likely to be categorized as leaders rather than followers in the market. This study contributes to the existing literature on retail and risk mitigation by highlighting the importance of proactive risk mitigation by adoption of web features and functionalities in the context of online retail services. It also provides guidance for practitioners and managers in assessing their market position and directing their risk mitigation strategies accordingly. By adopting effective risk mitigation strategies, retailers can enhance their online sales performance, which is becoming increasingly important in today's digital age. Ultimately, this study emphasizes the need for retailers to prioritize risk mitigation to achieve success in the competitive world of e-commerce.

The hydrosilylation or hydroboration of unsaturated C-O and C-N bonds yields valuable reagents and intermediates for organic synthesis. Traditionally, these reactions have been carried out by transition metal catalysts which are generally expensive and toxic, or stoichiometric reagents which produce a significant amount of waste. As such, transition metal-free catalytic alternatives have steadily gained popularity as a more sustainable alternative. This thesis presents the use of cheap and readily available simple alkali metal bases such as KOtBu and nBuLi as powerful catalysts for the reduction of carbonyls and imines. Notably, aldehydes can be selectively obtained through the reduction of tertiary amides and esters, and amines can be produced from nitriles using a similar method. These conversions have previously been relegated to the domain of late transition metal catalysts. Variation of the silane or borane was found to be highly influential in adjusting the chemoselectivity. For example, in the conversion of amides to aldehydes, use of (EtO)3SiH resulted in overreduction to the amine product, whereas (EtO)2MeSiH allowed for selective reduction to the aldehyde equivalent. In this work, we discuss our investigations into the scope and selectivity of this straightforward yet effective system. Additionally, we introduce a new approach for achieving long-term precise control of reaction conditions at low temperatures.

Through my first professional decade as an educator, I simultaneously raised a daughter with special needs. The journey into motherhood challenged what I thought I knew about teaching and learning. This compelled me to move inwards and (re)connect with my body through Yoga. This way of being shifted my ontology and epistemology from positivist into a more interpretive critical standpoint. Researching this shift, I was drawn to autoethnography. It allowed me to understand the socio-cultural context of education in a deeper, more nuanced manner. Weaving the personal and the professional ultimately allowed me to understand the impact of these shifts on my professional identity and classroom practice. Using Freire (1970) and hooks (1994), I draw closer to the potential for liberation in education by placing my own liberation at the center of my practice. My intention in this research is to move more deeply into liberation and to offer my experiences towards the possibility of collective benefit.