Theses (Interdisciplinary Graduate Program)

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Journeying to be in a good way: Lessons in gift-reciprocity relations from the Choctaw Nation and the Irish
(2024) Quilty, Ethan Connor; Mainprize, Brent; Thiessen, Susanne
Almost two centuries ago, a Nation in need was offered a hand in solidarity from another Nation an ocean away. The resulting relationship formed by this gift of support has since resulted in a longstanding, diplomatic and equitable Nation-to-Nation relationship, founded in the principles of gifting and reciprocating. This thesis explores the ongoing gift-reciprocity relationship between the Choctaw Nation and the Irish, its origins, history, and impacts. Using a storywork methodology, this thesis weaves together personal and shared stories to provide a practical guide to being in a good way. A terminology connected to the processes of reconciliation and reconstruction, being in a good way represents a means by which individuals can learn, reflect, and act upon their positionality to be better allies, advocates, and collaborators. Through the exploration of personal and shared stories, in addition to historical examples, this thesis confirms that the ongoing relationship between these Nations is unique and important for relationship-building efforts for other Nations, individuals, communities and organizations. From this relationship, this thesis offers several key actions that could guide readers to begin their own journeying in a good way.
Vocal recognition between mothers and pups in the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) and northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus)
(1989) Insley, Stephen James
I have described vocal recognition between mothers and their offspring in two species of pinnipeds that differ fundamentally in their breeding behaviour: Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) females and offspring are normally together throughout the nursing period; Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) females regularly separate from their offspring while nursing. The objectives were (1) to describe recognition behaviour generally, (2) to describe recognition vocalizations in particular, and (3) to compare the structural variation of recognition vocalizations in the two species. There were two predictions: (1) recognition vocalizations should be individually distinct in females and pups of both species, and (2) because individuality should be more pronounced in a species where female-pup separations are common, the Northern Fur Seal female-pup recognition vocalizations should be more individually stereotyped than those of the Northern Elephant Seal. Tape recordings and behavioural observations were made at Ano Nuevo Island, California, and St. Paul Island, Alaska, during the 1988 breeding seasons. A sample of 20 calls per seal from each of 12 Northern Elephant Seal and 8 Northern Fur Seal female-pup pairs was analyzed using 15 acoustic variables. Baseline information is provided for females and pups of both species through descriptive and quantitative accounts of both mother-pup recognition behaviour and recognition vocalizations. Analyses of variance showed the calls of individual seals to be acoustically distinct in all cases. Measurements of within- and between-individual variation ( coefficients of variation, added variance components, and stepwise discriminant analyses) revealed that Northern Fur Seal recognition vocalizations are more stereotyped than those of the Northern Elephant Seal, as predicted. Principal components and cluster analyses were used to compare the structure of calls between females and pups and across species. The results indicate that selective pressure to develop vocal recognition exists in both species but is greater in the Northern Fur Seal.
"Something that would have shed itself in nature" : ecological politics, ecocriticism and the poetry of Don McKay and Jorie Graham
(2001) Forster, Sophia Ella
This thesis reads the unconventional "nature" poetry of Don McKay and Jone Graham in relation to ecological politics by means of a critique of the emerging field of literary ecocriticism. I argue that ecocriticism's elaboration of the relationship between ecological politics and poetics is limited by its relatively underexamined commitments to the particular version of eco-politics known as radical ecology. This movement's identity politics paradigm limits ecocriticism's ability to reveal the political dimensions of poetry which problematizes the idea of transparent experience and knowledge of nonhuman nature. I suggest that an ecological politics of performativity which emphasizes the instability and contingency of both the meanings that we assign to nonhuman nature and our relationships to it offers a context for considering as profoundly ecological the comedy of Don McKay's poetry and the phenomenological bent of Jone Graham's Materzalzsm (1993).
Autecology, ethnobotany and agronomy of Balsamorhiza sagittata : Northwestern Plateau, British Columbia
(2001) Chambers, Kimberlee J.
This research examines an edible and medicinal plant species, Balsamorhiza sagittata Pursh (Nutt) (balsamroot, or spring sunflower). Included are: 1) a study of literature concerning previous uses and potential agronomic applications of B. sagittata; 2) an ecological study to assess the general habitat requirements of B. sagittata at three populations in the Northwestern Plateau of British Columbia; and 3) an agronomic study of B. sagittata, the main purpose of which is to explore the development of the species in a cropping system or as a horticulture plant. Ethnobotanical literature confirms that B. sagittata has a long tradition as a highly significant food and medicinal resource on the Northern plateau. A review of botanical and range literature indicates that the species is an ecologically important forb in sagebrush ecosystems. Ecological data collected was significantly different between the field sites. The only variable that was statistically similar at the Pavilion Mountain, Hat Creek Valley and Botanie Valley research locations was the number of blooms on the B. sagittata plants. Furthermore the data did not indicate significant correlations to explain variation in the number of B. sagittata plants between sample plots. Preliminary agronomic experiments indicate that B. sagittata can be propagated by seed, both in a greenhouse and at a field location. Treating seeds with ethylene before stratification significantly increased seed germination.
The Second Wave: The Impact of Digital and Open Practices on Faculty Scholarship in Higher Education
(2024) Kehoe, Inba; Irvine, Valerie; Siemens, Raymond George
One of the noblest duties of the university is to enable and encourage “intellectual endeavour, valuing scholarship for its own worth and fostering a collaborative spirit in the furtherance of society” (Enabling Open Scholarship, 2016). The advent of the World Wide Web and ancillary advancements in technology have not only opened up scholarship for greater access, but created a transformation in the scholarly practice. The challenges faculty experienced in adopting new practices were examined and whether they straddled all domains of scholarly practice (e.g., research, teaching, and service), how universities measured impact and quality in this new publishing landscape, and what benchmarks existed for evaluating these forms of non-traditional scholarship. In this study, a phenomenographical approach was employed to understand the impact open scholarship practices have had on academic scholars employed at a university in Western Canada. An embedded triangulation mixed methods design approach was used for this multiphase study to obtain different but complementary data on the lived realities of scholars at the University. Phase 1 included a survey using an explanatory sequential design. After the data collection and analysis were completed, individual in-person semi-structured interviews were conducted. Phase 2 of the study included the analysis of a selection of primary university documents related to tenure and promotion. Finally, a joint analysis approach was used to present the findings from the mixed methods study (i.e., quantitative and qualitative studies). Six themes emerged from the study that highlighted ways participants conducted research (access to research and tools used), their adoption of open intentions and initiatives and use of social media platforms and social networks, accountability and transparency of university policies and guidelines, types of research outputs produced, and criteria for faculty evaluation. Based on the implications from these findings, five recommendations were offered for enacting change: establish administrative accountability, make all tenure and promotion documents openly accessible, broadly define scholarship, broaden the scope of impact, and develop a values-based framework model for assessment.
Fostering inclusion for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in Northern Canada through research in drama education and Applied Theatre
(2024) Mailloux, Jena; Kandil, Yasmine; Prendergast, Monica
The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which theatre can be applied in educational settings to foster inclusion and safety for 2S/LGBTQIAP+ youth located in remote communities within Northern Canada. The research took place in a remote community within the Northwest Territories (NWT), through a collaboration with teachers who lead the Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) club. By using methods of Community-Based Participatory Action Research, the study posed the following questions: (1) What are the experiences of inclusion and exclusion that 2S/LGBTQIAP+ youth have in a remote community within the NWT and how can theatre empower these youth to communicate the ways they feel accepted and safe within their school environment? (2) How can theatre serve as an effective training tool for educators located in remote communities to understand how to foster a school culture of inclusion for 2S/LGBTQIAP+ students? (3) According to the youth participants and their experiences, what are some ways of thinking that might lead to stigma surrounding gender identity and sexual diversity in remote communities, and how can theatrical interventions begin deconstructing these paradigms? To answer these questions, a series of theatre-based workshops were facilitated with youth participants who were active members of the collaborating secondary school’s QSA club. With information from the youth workshops, a theatre-based professional development workshop was also facilitated separately with educator participants who worked at the collaborating school or the school district. This thesis outlines the background information, relevant fieldwork details, and final research findings of the study.
The Art and Science of the Electroacoustic Steelpan
(2023-04-28) Malloy, Colin; Tzanetakis, George; McNally, Kirk
Hailing from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, the steelpan is one of the most significant acoustic instruments invented in the 20th century. Despite en- joying international popularity and attention from acoustics researchers, the steelpan has not received as much attention as an electroacoustic instrument. This disserta- tion presents my work in the field of music technology as it relates to the steelpan. The contributions presented here can broadly be put into three categories: acous- tics, digital signal processing, and electroacoustic steelpan composition/performance. Relating to the acoustics of the steelpan, I present two research projects. First is a computation analysis that characterizes the timbral differences between mallets on the tenor steelpan. The other is a steelpan-specific audio dataset and pitch detection system that outperforms the available state-of-the-art methods. I then present two audio effects plugins I developed. Realstretch is a realtime time-stretcher—an audio effect that had previously never been implemented as a realtime effect. HarmonEQ is an audio equalizer that reframes how the equalizer’s controls in terms of musical notes and chords rather than abstract frequency. HarmonEQ’s change in control scheme allows it to be paired with a chord detection system so the equalizer can update its own settings based on the harmony of the incoming audio signal. Next I discuss approaches to using the steelpan as an electroacoustic instrument. The prac- tical considerations of electroacoustic performance are discussed through summary and analysis of three new solo compositions for electroacoustics steelpan that were premiered on March 26, 2022 as part my of Ph.D. recital. These various contributions combine to progress the art and science of the electroacoustic steelpan.
Ni'kma'jtut Mawita'nej -My People Let Us Gather Spirit in the Fringes: Reframing Through Relationality, Trans-conceptual Spaces, Creative Practice, and Intervention
(2023-04-28) Rhude, Sarah; Hunt, Sarah Tłaliłila’ogwa; Stark, Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik
Situated in my experience as an Indigenous educator, I have witnessed and experienced Indigenous people, knowledge, and relationships being systemically pushed to the fringes of Western education systems. Utilizing a specific circle framework which invites the reader into the role of witness, this thesis acts as a guide to understanding the Indigenous, art-based, research-creation (Loveless, 2019) methodologies and knowledges that were revealed to me over the period of four seasons. This research highlights how Indigenous, trans-conceptual (“The Bush Manifesto”, 2017) space in various emplaced locations of gathering and intervention, allows for the enactment of our natural agency (Maracle, 2021), where we are able to share our stories outside the grasp of the settler colonial systems we are in relationship with, but not of. In these spaces, we honour our laws, ways of knowing and being as Indigenous peoples who are away from our homelands, waters, and relatives. In these spaces, the sovereignty of host nations is affirmed. At the site of cross-cultural relationship, we bear witness to each other’s lives (Hunt & Holmes, 2015) and through the generation of shared knowledges, we are drawn closer to our own cultural locations. Creatively articulating and centering Indigenous freedom, hope and joy, and envisioning worlds outside the confines of colonialism and Western systems shifts perspective and allows for revisioning and reframing (Martineau 2014). Within these articulations, the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the systems they work within but are not of, are reframed and self-determined Indigenous spaces are recuperated from the fringes, “allowing them to dance in a new light” (Hunt, 2021). Through this reframing of relationality and vision sharing, a particular, situated intervention into systemic racism can be had. This work is done in relationship with and recognizing the authority of lək̓ʷəŋən law, ancestors, wind, peoples, land, plants, animals, and waters, as well as my responsibility to them.
Bridging Ethnobotany, Autecology and Restoration: The Study of Wapato (Sagittaria latifolia Willd.; Alismataceae) in Interior British Columbia
(2023-03-02) Garibaldi, Ann Catherine; Turner, Nancy J.; Allen, Geraldine A.
The goal of this research is to explore the cultural and ecological restoration of an aquatic perennial, wapato ( agittaria latifolia Willd.: Alismataceae) in the Salmon River Delta, Salmon Arm, British Columbia. Wapato has been extirpated from this area, a traditional Secwepemc (Shuswap) gathering site, within the past 80 years. This research explores some of the repercussions of this loss as well as methods for this plant's restoration. I conducted a series of interviews that provided information on landscape and ecological characteristics of this area from the 1920s when Secwepemc elder Mary Thomas was a child. The Salmon River Delta has experienced significant changes over the past century that have resulted in a decline of some native plant species and an increase in exotic ones, as evidenced by interviews and literature research. I also experimentally investigated the effects of animal herbivory and water depth on Sagittaria latifolia growth in the Salmon River Delta. My results show that herbivory significantly (P = 0.00) limited S. latifolia growth in this study; plants showed prolific growth when planted in a wire exclosure. Water depth had a smaller but still significant (P = 0.016) effect on S. latifolia growth for plants inside the exclosure. I surveyed wapato populations to assess the current distribution of S. latifolia in the region and a traditionally harvested congener, S. cuneata. I located 16 patches of S. latifolia and S. cuneate at 10 sites in the southern interior of British Columbia. I found no new populations of Sagittaria and failed to locate Sagittaria at four sites that have documented populations. Research objectives facilitated the development of a model of cultural refugia as a parallel concept to that of ecological refugia. Just as ecological refugia are havens from disturbance for various species and can serve to retain "resource populations to promote conservation and resource protection, I propose that cultural refugia can take on a similar role. These refugia can serve as centres for the maintenance and expansion of traditional ecological knowledge. Restoration, within a cultural context, can facilitate this expansion thereby augmenting the knowledge system associated with a cultural refugium.
"Know When to Hold 'em, Know When to Fold 'em": Navigating the more-than-dual roles of Indigenous leadership in post-secondary colonial institutions
(2022-05-02) Young, Ruth; Stark, Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik; Allan, Billie
This work examines the characteristics of Indigenous leaders and the situational contexts in which they work that enable them to effect institutional change in the Canadian public post-secondary education environment. Drawing on my own work and interviews with Indigenous leaders in mainstream insitutions, this research examines topics of culture, identity, teachings, maintaining balance, racism, challenges and opportunities, and success. Knowledge gathered through the interviews revealed themes, highlights and caveats that offer important considerations for Indigenous people who are contemplating taking on leadership positions in post-secondary institutions. Wise practices and ways forward are posited in two areas: 1) self-care and self-preservation – being well so that we can do well; and 2) considerations for non-Indigenous students, staff and faculty in supporting their Indigenous counterparts and in engaging in the important work of decolonizing and Indigenizing post-secondary institutions.
Collaborative learning via mobile language gaming and augmented reality: affordances and limitations of technologies
(2022-04-05) Perry, Bernadette; Damian, Daniela; Caws, Catherine
This research explores collaborative second language (L2) learning in gamified environments, and specifically examines affordances and limitations of mobile gamified language systems and augmented reality (AR) in supporting collaborative L2 learning. Therefore, this design-based research entailed the development and evaluation of two L2 AR gamified collaborative learning tools, Explorez and VdeUVic. At different locations on campus, players interact with characters that give them quests including clues or options to further the storyline. The gameplay interactions were designed to take place either in the form of written text or audio and video recordings, encouraging students to practice both oral and written language competencies. Three cohorts of FL2 university students playtested both gamified systems, and 58 students chose to participate in the study. The evaluation of the AR language tools was implemented by means of mixed-method case studies, collecting data of both a qualitative and quantitative nature, through pre- and post- play questionnaires, interviews, and video recordings of student gameplay interactions for analysis. This research examined the learners’ perceptions of their learning experience and in what ways students collaborated to complete the tasks. Additionally, the adaptation of Volet et al.’s (2009) collaborative learning framework permitted the examination of the learners content processing and social regulation during gameplay. The findings suggested the potential of AR gamified environments to facilitate high levels of interaction and collaboration. The analysis showed distinct patterns of collaborative learning across groups and sessions. Additionally, the findings identified patterns in the emergence of learners’ high-level co-regulation, as well as factors that assisted students in sustaining engagement of high-level co-regulation during gameplay.
Unframing and reframing shanshui
(2022-01-07) Liu, Yang; Wright, Astri; King, Richard
This dissertation explores the philosophical and aesthetic continuities and changes of the shanshui genre and the ongoing relevance of Chinese philosophy, in particular Daoism, within a subfield of modern and contemporary Chinese art. This dissertation has been created in dialogue with these traditions. Reflections on how this research has impacted my own art practise is intertwined with the historical and analytical discussion. This multi-threaded, multi-disciplinary dissertation has been written as a form of dialectical discourse which employs both analytical and personal writing. As such it combines elements of visual art-making as both artistic expression and research process; art historical research and analysis; and, ongoing self-reflections around both practices. In addition to the analysis of the art of a selection of contemporary Chinese artists, my art-based research led to the creation and discussion of a series of artworks, including the core painting series and exhibition titled, For a Moment, Silence in 2016. My research led me to the conclusion that shanshui is much more than a traditional visual form in Chinese art history for it offers a unique modality of thinking, perceiving and engaging. This, in turn, is based on a fundamental and dynamic perception of the interrelatedness of all things in the world, a perception which is embedded in a classical Chinese worldview. I demonstrate from various angles that by connecting the personal with the art historical, as well as with a philosophical and a pragmatic understanding of traditional Chinese philosophy, the experience of shanshui can be internalized through contemporary art practice as a method of reflective and experiential learning.
The Story Wheel: an ethnographic study of autistic adults exploring a story-drama curriculum
(2021-12-23) Curry, Nancy J.; Dobson, Warwick; Prendergast, Monica
The clinical diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (APA, 2013) include difficulties with social communication and social cognition. Decades of autism research have been devoted to developing and implementing social skills training programs, some of which include drama as an instructional strategy. This dissertation project set out to contribute to that body of research, creating and testing a social skills program that used drama based on fictional stories to provide examples of social behaviour choices. The critical analysis of the research findings, using ethnographic methodology and the dual lenses of weak central coherence theory (Frith, 2003) and context-blindness theory (Vermeulen, 2012), extends the clinical, medical model of autism to create a por[trait of authentic, forthright individuals who are concerned with issues of social justice, who learn by making analogies to build context, whose conversation is associative and collaborative, and who stepped into the fictional worlds of the story-dramas and into the minds of the characters with empathy and commitment. The Story Wheel curriculum is built on Northrop Frye’s archetypal literary theory (Anatomy of Criticism, 1957) using the dramatic conventions approach of applied drama (Neelands & Goode, Structuring Drama Work, 2015) as a pedagogical strategy. Each of the four archetypes – romance, tragedy, irony, and comedy – are represented by three workshops based on Western literature, chosen to align with the culture and knowledge base of the participants, for a total of twelve drama workshops in the research project. This dissertation includes the curriculum outline, the literary choices, and recommendations for drama practitioners to create a successful and inclusive experience for their autistic participants.
The true transsexual and transnormativity: a critical discourse analysis of the wrong-body discourse
(2021-12-21) Dominic, Kimi; Holmes, Cindy; Devor, Aaron H.
How did the wrong-body discourse (WBD) become the dominant medicalised discourse in Canada and the United States? What ideological effects did this dominance have? To address these questions, I conducted a critical discourse analysis informed by Foucauldian genealogy. I analysed texts written in, or translated into, English for a medical-expert audience from the earliest mentions of wrong bodies in 1864 to the institutionalisation of the WBD in the DSM-III diagnosis of transsexualism in 1980. I argue that through the medicalisation of gender variance, the three tenets of the WBD—wrongness of the body; disjuncture between sex and gender; surgical and hormonal solution—developed individually and were brought together by medical experts into a coherent discourse in the mid-1960s. Two main factors likely contributed to the dominance of the WBD: the lack of dependence on any particular etiology that made the WBD compatible with a wide variety of explanations, and the very small number of medical experts responsible for the majority of publications on gender variance all using the WBD. I further argue that medical experts, faced with challenges to their treatment of gender-variant people, turned to the idea of true transsexualism to stabilise the newly-formed WBD and legitimate their treatment of gender variance. In addition to the three tenets of the WBD, true transsexualism also included characteristics and assumptions that medical experts expected gender-variant people to embody if they wanted access to treatment. Through these expectations, medical experts produced a set of norms against which all gender-variant people were judged as legitimate or not, namely, one of the first iterations of transnormativity.
Fair governance and Islamoexploria: the interaction of government administrators and the marginalized
(2021-12-15) Khorramipour, Masoumeh; ; Schmidtke, Oliver; Zhou, Min
This study addresses the concept of fair governance based on an empirical study with marginalized groups, primarily Muslims, and their interaction with government agencies as its salient locus of investigation. Employing the research method of in-depth interviewing, I present a qualitative analysis of 35 semi-structured interviews with Muslims and government administrators. The methodological framework based on which these interviews are interpreted is rooted in the tradition of social constructivism as manifested in the grounded theory perspective of Charmaz. My examination of the hitherto unspoken political visions of the study participants and their shared perspectives offers pragmatic solutions to create greater equity and fairer inclusion of the marginalized in civic and political dialogues and in the administrative practice of government. Remarkably, the cultural changes towards justice and inclusion in the Government of British Columbia manifest that fair government is committed to creating a fundamental transformation in favour of marginalized groups. I find the most promising approach for such transformation occurs where bottom up and dynamic approaches of civil society are aligned with top down approaches of government to justice. The findings suggest that fair governance enhances its functionality and capacity through reflecting universal universalism in its policies and practices, heartening public spirituality and moving towards a more humane modernity rather than the extant western model of modernity. Thus, fair governance calls for diversity in expression of religious identity and challenges the mistaken images of Muslim women. Subsequently, fair government welcomes female religious actors, who act upon religious values, to its administration and respects their choice of clothing encompassing the scarf. Fair government, at all levels, ameliorates the ethical standards of its employees and employs authentic leaders, who act in a virtuous manner, care about employees’ deeply held values, and implement direct communication with staff. Such government supports legislative and constitutional reforms to consider a different outlook of the marginalized on political and social concerns, respects religious practices, honours Muslims’ identity and interpretation of life, and supports individuals who aim to improve humanity in Canada and its occupational settings. Rethinking Islamophobia in the context of the distinct need of government administrators for the institutional education about Islam, as a key finding of the study, depicts the emergence of “Islamoexploria”, as a new expression, which I coin. In my study, there is ample evidence to suggest that a sample of government administrators in British Columbia is in the age of post Islamophobia since they, as pioneers, have passed the stage of Islamophobia and entered a new era of “Islamoexploria”. Thus, they have produced the profound socio-cultural changes towards understanding Islam by shifting from fear of, ostensibly, the unknown to knowledge about the unknown and to approaches that are more sympathetic to Muslims. This finding suggests that fair government facilitates the journey from western Islamophobia, a demonstration of old racism, to “Islamoexploria”, a contemporary thirst for knowledge about Islam. Concurrently, Muslims remain responsible to contribute to fairness at large by role modeling their religious values, which greatly promote justice, compassionate attitudes, and humanitarian actions.
The synthesizer programming problem: improving the usability of sound synthesizers
(2021-12-15) Shier, Jordie; Tzanetakis, George; McNally, Kirk
The sound synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that has become commonplace in audio production for music, film, television and video games. Despite its widespread use, creating new sounds on a synthesizer - referred to as synthesizer programming - is a complex task that can impede the creative process. The primary aim of this thesis is to support the development of techniques to assist synthesizer users to more easily achieve their creative goals. One of the main focuses is the development and evaluation of algorithms for inverse synthesis, a technique that involves the prediction of synthesizer parameters to match a target sound. Deep learning and evolutionary programming techniques are compared on a baseline FM synthesis problem and a novel hybrid approach is presented that produces high quality results in less than half the computation time of a state-of-the-art genetic algorithm. Another focus is the development of intuitive user interfaces that encourage novice users to engage with synthesizers and learn the relationship between synthesizer parameters and the associated auditory result. To this end, a novel interface (Synth Explorer) is introduced that uses a visual representation of synthesizer sounds on a two-dimensional layout. An additional focus of this thesis is to support further research in automatic synthesizer programming. An open-source library (SpiegeLib) has been developed to support reproducibility, sharing, and evaluation of techniques for inverse synthesis. Additionally, a large-scale dataset of one billion sounds paired with synthesizer parameters (synth1B1) and a GPU-enabled modular synthesizer (torchsynth) are also introduced to support further exploration of the complex relationship between synthesizer parameters and auditory results.
Exploring the role of digital technologies for social connectedness, outcomes and experiences with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) community: A transformative mixed methods research study
(2021-10-04) Antonio, Marcy; Lau, Francis; Sheilds, Laurene Elizabeth
Prior to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were already experiencing social isolation due to the complex intersection of symptoms, and perceptions towards the illness. COPD is a chronic lung illness characterized by progressive shortness of breath, and decreasing lung function, with influenza and other respiratory illnesses more likely to have fatal consequences for this population. Societal beliefs and assumptions around behavioural risk factors, and in particular smoking, contribute to perceptions that COPD diagnosis, outcomes and experiences are self-inflicted and an individual responsibility. This is a perspective that fails to take into the account the complex contextual factors of the social determinants of health, where structural inequities result in higher smoking rates among populations with lower socioeconomic status. Further, these underlying societal values may compound the isolation experienced with COPD in which ongoing stigma towards the illness discourages people from identifying with a COPD diagnosis. The lack of identity may discourage developing a community where people can share experiences and strategies in living with COPD, and form a collective group that can advocate for change. Digital technologies (DTs), such as Facebook and Zoom offer new avenues to support social connectedness. However, little focus has been given on how people with COPD may (or may not) be using DTs to support their illness. This study explored the role DTs could serve in addressing social connectedness and experiences and outcomes for the COPD community. The study was informed by Mertens (2003, 2007) transformative approach where the knowledge of people living with COPD was prioritized in finding out what DTs they may be using to maintain social connectedness and to support their illness. The three stage mixed methods research design consisted of interviews, patient-reported outcome measures, patient-reported experience measures and a DT survey. Bazeley's (2018) approach was used to guide the integrative mixed analysis on data collected across the three stages. The overall findings were: 1) Participants’ experiences in living with COPD had uniquely prepared them for the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was the community that lacked capacity; 2) Dominant discourse around technology may be creating further harms to the COPD population that extend beyond the digital world; 3) Current digital health monitoring strategies for other chronic illnesses do not fully translate to the interests and needs for people living with COPD; 4) People living with COPD are using DTs, but prefer to keep their virtual world separate from their illness world; and 5) Considerations for DTs for COPD should move beyond managing outcomes, and include supporting experiences of living. Conducted between December 2018 and July 2020, and concurrent with the COVID-19 pandemic, the study demonstrated even greater importance with the onset of the pandemic in understanding how DTs may support social connectedness for people living with life-limiting chronic lung conditions.
Aged by Popular Culture
(2021-09-13) Outcalt, Linda; Kerr, Mary; Chappell, Neena L.
Aged by popular culture is a research project designed to investigate how our perceptions of age and aging are shaped by two specific aspects of North American culture – Western media and popular culture – which have advanced and reinforced ageism though their celebration of the ‘cult of youth‘ and negative depictions of aging and old age that form the foundation of the anti-aging industry. This combination of factors has pushed older adults out into the margins of society where they have largely become invisible, resulting in an ageism that has become normalized and largely internalized by the general population. Sixteen participants (5 between the ages of 20-35 years of age, and 11 between the ages of 65-80-years of age) contributed to this research in 2017-2018. Each participant created photographs or collage images based on specific interview questions that focused on media and popular culture’s depiction of aging and older age in contemporary society, which were then discussed during a recorded qualitative interview. Participant photos, images and audio clips are included in the dissertation which is in a website format that was specifically designed as a teaching tool to be used in K-12 schools, post-secondary institutions, and other organizations and senior’s centres. This website dissertation has the objective of promoting critical thinking that may generate a positive change in attitudes towards aging, build more positive intergenerational connections, and help to reduce the harmful effects of ageism in contemporary society. Seven theme topics were created based on an analysis of the participant images and interviews which can be accessed through ‘Themes’ on the Website Menu. I suggest using these themes as your navigation tools through the website. Each section contains a discussion and analysis of the topic, plus participant photos, text and audio clips. Links within pages provide access to detailed information on the various statistics, concepts and definitions connected to each theme topic. Additional information on Aged by popular culture and the research process is available through links on the ‘Research’ section of the ‘Website Menu.’ (See ‘Table of Contents’ for the complete list of website menu sections and topics.) The Literature Review and Copyright information are also included in a PDF format, as part of this submission. Please note: The dissertation (‘Aged by popular culture’) was created as a website. The current URL link is: https://agedbypopularcultureoutcalt.uvic.ca .The website dissertation has also been archived as a URL and can be accessed through this link: https://wayback.archive-it.org/17458/20210908235329/https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/outcaltl/
Social media reviews as a supplement to traditional quality survey in the Canadian context
(2021-09-13) Talusan, Christopher; Marcellus, Lenora; Courtney, Karen L.
Measurement for quality improvement in health care can be difficult. Measuring patientcentred care ensures both patient, health care professionals and health system perspectives are accounted for. Unfortunately, obtaining meaningful data is challenging as traditional surveys, while necessary for longitudinal comparison, often fail to capture the changing perspectives of patients. The use of natural language processing to mine free-text reviews can supplement data obtained from traditional quality surveys and identify new areas of concern that patients find important. This work used natural language processing of Google user reviews of hospitals in British Columbia to identify topics relevant to the Canadian Patient Experience Survey – Inpatient Care (CPES-IC) and topics that the CPES-IC did not contain. The results also compared the output from computer-coded topics to ones that were manually identified. Of the 23 topics in the CPES-IC, six in the computer-coded and manual analyses were not found. Seventeen topics not in the CPES-IC were found in the computer-coded analysis, whereas 23 topics were identified in the manual coding. Of the newly identified topics, 12 were shared between the manual and computer-coded analyses. The implications of utilizing computers to make data readily accessible can improve decision-makers' ability to access data.
Beasts in the Garden City: animals, humans, and settlement on Canada's west coast
(2021-09-08) Cunningham, Tim; Colby, Jason M.; Lutz, John S.
This thesis examines the numerous roles that nonhumans (and especially livestock) played in the creation, maintenance, and reproduction of settler space in the colonial city of Victoria, British Columbia, and details the gradual processes by which city space paradoxically became designated as such through the selective removal of animal life over the turn of the twentieth century. I use extensive archival material, newspaper coverage, and secondary analysis to explore the varied roles nonhumans played in the establishment of settler society, and investigate the ways that animals were paradoxically fundamental and antithetical to modernizing and industrializing settler space across nearly a century of urban history. In the earliest days of colonial settlement, when Victoria was established as a fur-trading post and depot for the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Columbia Department, animals played crucial dispossessive roles in forcibly reorganizing Indigenous territory and establishing settler space, and were indeed vital to the broader British colonizing project. As the city experienced dramatic demographic growth and tightening urban space across two gold rushes in the mid-nineteenth century, Victoria’s livestock faced increased scrutiny from legislators and citizens through the application of the common law category of “public nuisance.” Urban subsistence strategies such as pig-keeping and free-range grazing began to encroach on settler property and offend nascent middle-class ratepayers as the city grew in population and density, causing a selective process of removal, even as some livestock (such as milk-producing cattle) remained vital to many of the city’s households. Yet new understandings of disease transmission and sanitation sparked the gradual removal of domestic milch cows from Victoria’s backyards and lots, as medical scrutiny began to view the city’s dairy supply as a potential vector for the spread of the “White Plague,” bovine tuberculosis. The resulting consolidation of privately-owned and co-operative dairies would largely spell the end to urban livestock husbandry in the city, relocating nonhuman bodies out of sight and out of mind. Meanwhile, the extension of a cattle frontier into the mainland Interior Plateau continued a process of dispossession instigated on Lekwungen territories in Victoria, inflicting devastation on grassland ecologies and Indigenous livelihoods in the arid interior of British Columbia, while the injection of outside capital and advances in transportation, retail and supply chain infrastructure placed consumers at a greater and greater spatial and conceptual divide from the animals with whom they had formerly shared their urban spaces.

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