Students currently enrolled in certain graduate programs here at Brock University submit an electronic copy of their final major research paper to this repository as part of graduation requirements.

Completing this process requires only a few steps

  • Login using your Brock Portal Account Information
  • Click on the appropriate link under 'Collections in this Community'
  • Click 'Submit a new item to this collection'
  • Fill in enter the required data, and upload your PDF

Once your MRP has been accepted in the Repository you will receive an email confirmation along with a link to your work.

Copyright of Brock Student Theses and Major Research Papers (MRPs)


Students retain the copyright of their theses and major research papers. Under the terms of the “Thesis and Major Research Paper Copyright Licence” students grant Brock University the right to preserve and disseminate theses and major research papers via the Brock University Digital Repository, Library and Archives Canada and in other third party thesis databases.

Collections in this community

Recent Submissions

  • Supporting Mental Health Education in Ontario Secondary Schools: A Cross-Curricular Handbook for Ontario Secondary Teachers

    Robinson, Mackenzie
    It has been almost two full years since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019), the effects of which are currently being seen in Ontario today within the education system, with a profound escalation in mental health challenges among children and youth. Educators are noticing an increase in mental health issues brought forward by students, and the increase in mental health issues continues to be at the forefront of conversations held by secondary school teachers because of the pressures they face as role models and caring adults. Teachers, however, have identified they are not comfortable helping students who come forward with mental health issues because they, too, lack mental health literacy; they do not feel equipped with the knowledge and understanding of mental health, and feel ill-prepared because they have not received adequate education, training, or professional development on the topic. Some teachers are also avoiding conversations in classes related to mental health because they are unaware of the available and accessible resources, services, strategies, and tools. To address this gap, the researcher developed a mental health handbook in alignment with the Aligned and Integrated Model (AIM) framework from School Mental Health Ontario (2023) that offers a solution to improve secondary teachers’ readiness in supporting students’ mental health and well-being. Focusing on Tier 1 of AIM, the handbook is designed to improve educators’ mental health literacy through understanding early identification, prevention, and early intervention, ensuring a holistic approach to address the varying mental health needs within the school setting. The handbook is also intended to help educators recognize, respond to, and support students who might be experiencing mental health challenges. Implementing the handbook within secondary schools throughout Ontario might hold the potential to enhance teachers’ confidence and comfortability in assisting students who come forward with mental health concerns and, ultimately, foster an environment where students feel supported and empowered to navigate their mental health challenges with both efficacy and dignity.
  • The Shifting Constitution of Space, Gender, and Mobility in a Context of Social and Infrastructural Change: A Case Study of Swat, Pakistan

    Khan, Idris
    Feminist geographers argue that gender and mobility are co-constituted. However, few studies focus on this relationship empirically, and even fewer in the global South. Against this backdrop, this study aims to analyze the ways in which space, gender, and mobility are mutually constituted in Swat Valley, Pakistan, in a shifting historical context of (a) traditional Pukhtun culture involving a syncretic religion, (b) Islamic fundamentalism and the takeover by the Taliban, and (c) post-Taliban modernization in its various forms, including a new market economy and tourist-based infrastructure development. This study temporally maps these particular spatial, gendered, and mobility changes over a period of time (16th century to present), showing that (a) gendered spatiality in traditional Swat evolved in such a way to constitute culturally designated women’s spaces that allowed them to perform their womanhood and practice their mobilities; (b) more recently, Islamic fundamentalist ideologies fundamentally controlled women’s mobilities to erase them from both public space and certain types of private space that had formerly been accessible to women (e.g., shrines); and (c) modernization and infrastructure development created material sites of mobility that provide spaces for middle-class families to perform their modern gender subjectivities.
  • A Novel DDoS Detection and Multi-Class Classification Method: A Graph Convolutional Network Approach

    Saunders, Braden
    Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is an attack that overwhelms the cyber critical infrastructure system with malicious packets causing it to become unresponsive, which precludes legitimate users from accessing the target system. This work leverages a deep learning method known as Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) to empower DDoS detection systems. The proposed GCN model consists of three hidden layers, each with 128 neurons. Considering the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity CIC-IDS 2017 dataset, the proposed model achieves an overall accuracy of 99.95%, along with a value of 99.95% for each of the precision, recall, and F1-score metrics for the binary DDoS classification problem. For the multi-class DDoS classification problem, the model scores an overall accuracy of 98.94% and precision, recall, and F1-score values of over 93% for all classes. These results support the use of the proposed GCN DDoS detection method in practice.
  • Spotting Potential Threats: A Tool to Inform the Proactive Management of Invasive Insects on a Regional Scale

    Isaac, Erin
    Invasive insects present a complex modern global crisis with the potential to have dire consequences. Proactive management is considered the most effective management approach, but conservation managers often face many barriers to engagement. This study introduces a tool for managers to identify invasive insects that hold the potential to expand their range northwards on a regional scale. The tool utilizes community science, horizon scanning, and a mixture of peer-reviewed and grey literature. It is applied using a case study on the potential for Lycorma delicatula, the spotted lanternfly (SLF), to spread to the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The findings affirm that the SLF demonstrates an ability to spread to the Niagara Region due to the proximity of recently established populations, the warming effects of climate change, and viable invasion pathways. The tool demonstrates the potential to be used by managers to identify other range-expanding insects and inform proactive management.
  • A Flood Tale of Two Cities: St. Catharines and London, ON

    Burmy, Anmol
    The world's growing state of climate change has caused natural disasters to increase significantly. Flood disasters have risen in Ontario and require municipalities to implement flood-resilient measures to create a safer environment for their residents. This research follows a mixed methods approach to compare flood resiliency and determine if the Government of Ontario’s Five Flood Resilience Priorities are being implemented in St. Catharines and London. Four findings are highlighted: firstly, neither municipality satisfies the five flood resiliency priorities the provincial government set out. Secondly, St. Catharines is more vulnerable to flood disasters. Thirdly, London’s basement flooding program is executed exceptionally well compared to St. Catharine’s. The latter needs many improvements to create a more flood-resilient community. Lastly, homeowners in each municipality have varying perspectives on where responsibility for flooding lies. These findings show that, while both cities need to work towards improving their flood resiliency, St. Catharines needs additional improvements.
  • Coding as a Literacy Practice in Adult Learning Communities

    Smith, Eleanor
    This study considered how computing courses for adult learners might be customized to effectively address their reasons for learning to read and write computer code. The view of coding as a literacy practice is the key theme in this study. Street’s (2006) ideological model of literacy along with the perspective of computational participation, are theoretical models used to explore coding as a literacy practice (Kafai & Burke, 2017). Through the vehicle of action research, this study focused on analyzing the delivery of an introductory web languages coding course for female immigrants. This study drew from both the student and teacher perspectives. The study used student feedback collected from online class survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The study also incorporated the teacher’s field notes, a course summary report, and the Teaching Perspectives Inventory survey results (Collins & Pratt, 2011). Findings from this study include these areas of insights: 1) students’ views on the benefits of learning coding, 2) the language and communication challenges students faced, and 3) an overview of some effective teaching tools and approaches. Based on these findings, there is a discussion that considered possible issues related to student engagement in learning web language coding. Included are sections on implications for practice and future research.
  • Understanding the Dimensions of Climate Change Misinformation

    Rodenburg, Evan
    Climate change misinformation (CCM) is emerging as one of the most pressing barriers to climate action. Referring to false or inaccurate information about climate change, CCM threatens to cast confusion on both the severity and existence of climate change. As CCM has permeated into mainstream news and social media platforms, it can now reach larger audiences and decrease support for climate change mitigation practices and policies. To combat CCM effectively, more work is needed to understand it as one unified concept. This major research paper focuses on filling this gap by identifying the dimensions of CCM through an inductive content analysis of peer-reviewed literature. Utilizing an inductive approach, five overall dimensions of CCM were synthesized: attributes, psychology, politics, disinformation, and responses. These dimensions establish the necessary foundation to understand CCM as one concept, increase global resiliency to CCM, and develop strategies that focus on eliminating CCM in the future.
  • Bias, Barriers, and Discrimination: Treatment of Indigenous Peoples in Wellness Courts

    Guiho, Maria
    Major Research Paper (MRP) focused on Indigenous knowledge systems compared to Wellness Courts, engaging a critical literature review that integrates insights from professional practice experiences as a Registered Social Worker. As a result, reflexivity was used as a key method in the research and facilitated an in-depth analysis of current literature. This MRP is positioned to contribute to understanding the impact of Wellness Courts concerning the needs and goals of Indigenous communities.
  • STEAM Pedagogy to Promote 21st Century Skills: A Poetry Unit Plan for Grade 9 Ontario English Classrooms

    Sarkar, Samita
    The purpose of this research project was to create a handbook for Ontario-based English teachers interested in incorporating STEAM-based pedagogy (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) to promote students’ 21st century skills. The handbook is a Grade 9 poetry unit plan that meets the curriculum expectations of Ontario’s Grade 9 English course, ENL1W, as well as curriculum expectations in other Ontario Grade 9 courses across the STEAM disciplines. A review of curriculum documents, along with a comprehensive literature review on STEAM pedagogy revealed a gap regarding translating the theory of interdisciplinary integration into practice in secondary subject areas, where courses are typically taught as discrete subjects. Therefore, this handbook was created to address this literature gap by providing high school teachers with a hands-on resource they may use to implement an integrated, STEAM-based unit. The unit plan was reviewed by Ontario English teachers and found to be helpful in both teaching and assessing English, STEAM subjects, and 21st century skills. Future research projects may build on this work by creating similar resources for other grade levels or disciplines, and exploring their impact on teaching and learning experiences.
  • Some Families of Elliptic Curves

    Shah, Sudev
    Elliptic curves, intricate mathematical structures, form a nexus between number theory, alge- braic geometry, and cryptography. This paper offers a thorough exploration of these curves, delving into their foundational properties, historical origins, and diverse applications. Beginning with an introduction to the basics of elliptic curves, including their Weierstrass form, group theory, and fundamental concepts such as the group law and torsion points, the paper traces the historical evolution of elliptic curve theory, recognizing the contributions of mathematicians like Abel, Jacobi, and Weierstrass. The crux of the paper by G. Walsh lies in extending prior research by effectively proving that for sufficiently large values of m, elliptic curves expressed as y^2 = f(x) + m^2, where f(x) is a cubic polynomial splitting over the integers, have a rank of at least 2. This result stands as an effective version of Shioda’s theorem, marking a significant advancement in the field. Moreover, the paper delves into the pivotal role of elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) in modern secure communication systems. ECC provides robust encryption, digital signatures, and key exchange protocols, leveraging the security and efficiency advantages inherent in elliptic curves. The paper emphasizes ECC’s prominence in contemporary cryptography, illustrating its preference in securing digital data transmission. Additionally, the paper explores recent developments, including endeavours to address the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture. It also highlights the relevance of elliptic curves in solving complex mathematical problems, such as Diophantine equations and Fermat’s Last Theorem, underscoring their broader significance in number theory. In essence, this paper serves as a comprehensive guide to elliptic curves, illuminating their mathematical elegance and practical utility. It underscores their indispensable role in modern cryptography while acknowledging their enduring impact on the realm of mathematics. By unravelling the theoretical intricacies and real-world applications of elliptic curves, this paper invites readers to appreciate the profound interconnection between pure mathematical concepts and their transformative influence on contemporary technology.
  • Can the Finnish Way to Reduce Homelessness Work in Canada? The Limits of Power Resource Approaches in a Time of Economic Crisis

    Dekker, Tara
    Widespread homelessness is at crisis levels amongst advanced capitalist nations, indicating that the promise of neoliberal prosperity is deeply flawed. While Canada’s Liberal tradition is ineffective in combatting homelessness, Finland, a Social Democratic tradition, has successfully decreased its homeless population. This research paper evaluates the possibility of policy adoption between liberal and social democratic traditions to reduce homelessness by employing a political-economy-informed, comparative welfare state analysis. I argue that we must proceed with caution as policies do not always travel well because of the varying political and economic contexts arising from the histories of class struggle. I also argue that policies to solve homelessness are relatively limited because of the crisis-prone and contradictory nature of capitalism and the subsequent welfare state. My findings suggest that Finland’s robust working-class power resources, expressed in parliamentary and extra-parliamentary power, have been vital in homelessness reduction policy development but will inevitably meet their limits.
  • A Document Analysis on Bullying Policies and Procedures at the Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board

    Spytkowsky, Adelia
    This study examined bullying within schools and school bullying policies with a focus on the Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB). Conducting a critical policy and document analysis of eight documents on the HWCDSB website, this study sought to answer the following research questions: How does HWCDSB board policy contribute to how bullying is understood and addressed in HWCDSB schools? How does HWCDSB’s bullying policy compare to the best practices identified in the literature? Working within the framework of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, four themes emerged. The themes were analyzed to explore how bullying policy acts as an intervention within schools. This MRP adds to the body of work surrounding critical policy and document analysis, and school bullying policy. Recommendations for improving HWCDSB policies and recommendations for future research were presented. This research can inspire and promote an ecological approach to policy implementation and management of bullying behaviour.
  • Educational e-Leadership: A Review of Literature

    Zarei, Foroogh
    Studies have shown that e-learning seems to be a more established scholarly field in educational studies, both theoretically and practically, while the interface of educational leadership and technology remains relatively unexplored by comparison. This literature review aims to find out to what extent educational e-leadership has created a valid theoretical framework for the field and aims to synthesize previous research into a conceptual framework for educational e-leadership, based on the advances in both the field of education and e-leadership. Upon study, it became apparent that there remain various similar terminologies around e-leadership, which has caused a lack of unity among scholars—hindering development in the field of study. Five important topics were chosen to discuss including philosophy and pedagogy, competencies or growth of an educational e-leader, and models of quality management and trust.
  • The Political Influence and Changing Roles of the Vestal Virgins from the End of the Roman Republic through the Julio-Claudian Dynasty

    Fisher, Samantha
    This study examines the influences and roles of the Vestal Virgins during the tumultuous periods of the late Republic (82-28 BCE) and early Empire (27 BCE-14CE). During the late Republic, the Vestal Virgins continuously used their prestigious position in society to influence events. Individual Vestals such as Fonteia and Licinia actively worked to aid their relatives in being acquitted from criminal charges and gaining the consulship. Together, the Vestals also helped in saving Julius Caesar’s life from Sulla’s proscriptions. Through the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the Vestals assumed new ritual roles due to the efforts of Augustus and became increasingly important to the domus Augusta rather than their own families. The Julio-Claudians continued this connection that Augustus began between the cult of Vesta. Monuments such as the Ara Pacis Augustae, the Palermo Relief, and the Sorrento Base are examined as instruments in projecting the new imperial religious and political program together with the Vestal Virgins as the protectors of Rome.
  • A Study of Soccer Space Gain in Pass Sequences using Logistic Regression

    Salim, Christopher
    Some pass sequences open up more space on the pitch than others. Several studies about space gain in soccer have been performed in the past, but the relationship between space gain and the ability to score a goal has not been established yet. This research aims to predict goal occurrence by using total space gain for each pass sequence as the explanatory variable in logistic regression. Combining event and tracking data from the 2019 regular season of Chinese Super League (CSL), space quality can be calculated. We implemented space quality calculation from for 237 matches in the 2019 CSL dataset. Space quality is defined as the product of likelihoods that a team can gain control at a given location and time and the defending team can impede scoring attempts. The research demonstrated that for every unit the total space gain increased in a given pass sequence, the scoring odds increased by 23%. This finding showcases that pass sequences that create space are more likely to help in scoring, which is consistent with real-life soccer events. Combining the space occupation gain and probability of scoring a goal in every pass sequence, a team could make an informed decision of how they should position each player in a given scenario.
  • ACS-IoT: A CNN-BiLSTM Model for Anomaly Classification in IoT Networks

    GUAN, YUE
    This work proposes an Anomaly Classification System for IoT (ACS-IoT). The proposed system contains a pipeline of machine learning and deep learning algorithms for the effective classification of anomalies and their sub-types. Machine learning algorithms are adopted to distinguish between normal data and anomaly data. The deep networks, on the other hand, are used to perform anomaly-type classification. We propose the use of the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) to address the data imbalance problem and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) as a feature selection mechanism to improve accuracy as well as execution time. The proposed system proved to be accurate as well as precise when tested on a publicly available IoT dataset.
  • The Risk of Greenwashing in Corporate Social Responsibility Communications

    Cotrufo, Alexandra
    There is a growing expectation from consumers that companies recognize the environmental impact of their businesses and engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. While the demand for CSR has increased, so has the prevalence of greenwashing, which has caused consumers to be more skeptical about a company’s motives when CSR is promoted. Marketing practitioners are faced with the challenge of balancing the demand for corporate responsibility with the skepticism of greenwashing. This study consists of a survey of 22 marketing practitioners in Canada to explore their experiences when developing CSR-related communications and how they establish trust with audiences to reduce the perception of greenwashing. The results illustrate that practitioners manage the risk of greenwashing by developing messages that do not self-promote, showcasing concrete action and evidence to support claims, relying on positive marketing appeals such as pride and compassion, and tailoring messages based on the audience and industry a company belongs to.
  • Educational Programs and the Ontario Disability Support Program: A Critical Literature Review

    Anderson, Erica
    My major research paper (MRP) is a critical literature review of educational programming available to Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipients. Specifically, I review financial literacy education (FLE) programs and ODSP employment training programs. The purpose of my research was to gain a critical understanding of how these programs incorporate learners’ experiences with governmental institutions that impact financial wellbeing and employment. I analyze the literature through the lens of two critical theories: critical pedagogy and critical disability theory. Previous literature indicates that involvement with the social assistance system in Ontario influences recipients’ sense of identity related to disability (Crooks et al., 2008; Lightman et al., 2009). The impact on recipients’ identity is influenced by the binary categorization of able/disabled within social assistance institutions. Some ODSP recipients identify as neither able-bodied nor disabled, rather on a spectrum of illness and wellness. Research into these types of educational programming can support educators and policymakers in identifying the barriers ODSP recipients encounter while pursuing personal goals related to financial security and employment. In this MRP, I report on findings that indicate the presence and the usefulness of critical pedagogy and critical disability theory to improve FLE and employment training delivery. Through this research, I aim to understand the gaps in current FLE and employment training delivery and offer recommendations for future program development.
  • Machine Learning Approaches for Estimating Prevalence of Undiagnosed Hypertension among Bangladeshi Adults: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey

    Siddiquee, Tanjim
    In South Asia, hypertension is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disorders. Comparing machine learning to statistical approaches, it has been found that it performs better at identifying clinical risk. This study utilized machine learning techniques to estimate undiagnosed hypertension. We created a single dataset out of individual-level data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (2017-18). The JNC-7 and ACCAHA criteria were used to define hypertension. We used two well-known ML approaches logistic regression and log-binomial regression to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension. A considerable number (16%) of hypertension cases in Bangladesh are still undiagnosed. Young people and the divisions of Sylhet and Rangpur were found to be more at risk for undetected hypertension. ML models performed well at identifying undiagnosed hypertension and its contributing factors in South Asia. Future studies incorporating biological markers will be necessary to improve the ML algorithms and determine their applicability.
  • Impacts of an Inclusive Education Program for Adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Within a Postsecondary Environment

    Forbes, April
    Over the last two decades, postsecondary institutions in Canada and globally have created programs to include persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) in higher education. These programs vary in their scope but generally aim to provide an inclusive opportunity for persons with IDD to attend postsecondary education alongside their same-aged peers. This research study focused on one program at a university in Southern Ontario that has been providing an inclusive campus experience for over 25 years. The study was guided by the research question, “What are the impacts realized by former program participants, their parents/caregivers, former student volunteers, and university partners from involvement with an inclusive education program within a postsecondary environment”? Interview data were derived from 17 semi-structured interviews across four stakeholder groups and were examined using thematic analyses. Findings indicated three major areas of impact: friendship, growth, and belonging. Implications describe steps for broader implementation and a call-to-action for postsecondary institutions to push for greater inclusivity of persons with IDD within higher education.

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