LU|ZONE|UL Community:
https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/481
2024-03-28T05:33:40ZQuestion everything: a critical examination of faculty beliefs concerning learning strategy and learning styles
https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/4093
Title: Question everything: a critical examination of faculty beliefs concerning learning strategy and learning styles
Authors: Newman, Derek
Abstract: Students make many questions and decisions in academia concerning learning. One of
the most critical among them is what learning strategy to use. In this study, faculty members
from various Ontario (Canada) colleges and universities were surveyed to examine their opinions
on learning strategy effectiveness and on whether learning styles exist as an advantage for
learners. This study compares the opinions of faculty members on learning strategy to the
evaluation of learning techniques outlined by John Dunlosky’s research team (Dunlosky et al.,
2013) and to the best evidence concerning learning styles as an advantage for learning (Pashler et
al., 2008; Massa & Mayer, 2006). While several key factors were examined (for example, the
faculty’s highest degree, employment status, number of years teaching, and institution type), the
results produced mixed evidence for faculty opinions against the best evidence. As well,
demographic differences among the groups of teachers were not meaningful predictors of their
opinions. Even though faculty opinions were not in line with recognized evidence, learning is a
complicated situation, and theories will be presented to examine the disconnect between the
instructors’ opinions and the best evidence.2023-09-29T00:00:00ZIlluminating novel predictors of psychosis: Investigations of environmental and bioelectromagnetic predictors of psychosis symptoms in healthy adults
https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/4079
Title: Illuminating novel predictors of psychosis: Investigations of environmental and bioelectromagnetic predictors of psychosis symptoms in healthy adults
Authors: Hossack, Victoria
Abstract: Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder, which often results in irreversible tissue loss in the
brain, making it a difficult disorder to treat. The defining feature of schizophrenia is psychosis,
which also occurs in schizoaffective disorder, substance use disorders, bipolar disorder, delusional
disorder, and dementia. We are slowly getting a better understanding of schizophrenia as novel
biomarkers are discovered and we learn what influences its prevalence rates. For example, many
studies have shown that schizophrenia is positively correlated with latitude. This knowledge
compliments our understanding of the importance of inflammation and vitamin D deficiency as
risks for schizophrenia. The purpose of the current thesis was three-fold: first, to determine
seasonal variability of background photons as a novel environmental variable to use as a psychosis
predictor. Second, to determine if the relationship with latitude was present with psychosis
symptoms in healthy adults. And third, to investigate a novel biomarker, biophotons, as a predictor
of psychosis/schizotypy symptoms in healthy adults. There were three different studies completed
to investigate these questions. The first measured background photon over the course of a year to
understand seasonal variations and correlations with other geophysical variables. In the second
study, online psychological questionnaires were administered to a global sample. The results
suggested the symptoms of psychosis were negatively correlated with latitude, opposite of the
previous findings with schizophrenia. Negative correlations were present in spirituality and
hypomanic scores, but not depression or anxiety. Additionally, regression analysis revealed that in
females but not males, components of the Earth’s electromagnetic field were better at predicting
psychosis symptoms. In the third study, biophoton emissions from the hands (BPEs), quantitative
electroencephalographic (QEEG), electrocardiographic (ECG), and psychological questionnaires
were measured from participants in Sudbury, ON, Canada. The psychological questionnaires used were the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-IV) and the Temperament Character
Inventory (TCI-R). The results suggested that biophotons showed some specificity, with overall
BPEs from the hands predictive of affective scales in females, and the absolute difference between
hands predictive of Schizotypal, Paranoid, and Schizophrenic Spectrum scores in females.
Surprisingly, there were very few significant correlations in males. We also found that BPE and
QEEG variables combined were able to predict scores on a Depression/Somatic Symptom factor.
These results demonstrate that biophotons could be a potential biomarker for mental health
disturbances. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of investigating the
environmental electromagnetic and bioelectromagnetic variables to predict and understand
psychosis.2023-06-29T00:00:00ZExploring the feasibility, suitability, and benefits of an arts-based mindfulness program for adolescent mothers
https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/4074
Title: Exploring the feasibility, suitability, and benefits of an arts-based mindfulness program for adolescent mothers
Authors: Oystrick, Vivian
Abstract: There is a growing interdisciplinary body of research on adolescent motherhood that offers
perspectives from sociology, social work, education, psychology, and health disciplines.
Researchers have highlighted that many adolescent mothers experience high levels of
psychological distress which is often attributed to the challenges of parenting with daily stress,
limited support, and cumulative disadvantage. As a result, achieving maternal sensitivity can be a
challenge for many adolescent mothers due to their developmental stage, and the stresses in their
lives. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are increasingly being used to help improve
parenting, prevent chronic parenting stress, and break the cycle of dysfunctional parenting patterns
and behaviors. However, there is limited research that explores the suitability of this type of
intervention with this population. The aim of my research was to explore the feasibility and
benefits of an arts-based mindfulness intervention program for adolescent mothers. My research
process began with a scoping review of the literature to explore how mindfulness and arts-based
methods have been studied with the adolescent parenting populations. The search did not yield any
articles that described the use of MBIs with the adolescent parenting population. However, I
identified 10 articles in which authors described arts-based parenting interventions with adolescent
mothers. Participants from these studies reported that engaging in arts-based activities enabled
them to develop ways to positively interact with their children, resulting in greater attunement to
their children. The second phase of this research project involved exploring the feasibility and
suitability of an online arts-based mindfulness program for adolescent mothers during the COVID19 pandemic. This paper describes my experiences, challenges, and thoughts on the suitability of
offering arts-based mindfulness programs online to adolescent mothers. Several challenges were
encountered with respect to engagement and facilitation including high attrition rates and numerous disruptions during programming. The last phase of my research explored the feasibility,
suitability, and benefits of offering an arts-based mindfulness program to adolescent mothers in
person. In the third paper, I describe the experiences of nine adolescent mothers who attended an
11-week arts-based mindfulness program. From my findings, I concluded that arts-based
mindfulness group programs are an effective way to engage adolescent mothers in interventions
that help them develop supportive relationships, positive coping strategies, and improved
awareness of themselves and their children. My research has direct implications for service
delivery and for the development of care models for adolescent mothers that go beyond a focus on
physical health, to a more holistic approach to assessment and intervention.2023-06-14T00:00:00ZWomen, mining and gender: experiences in Greater Sudbury
https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/handle/10219/4002
Title: Women, mining and gender: experiences in Greater Sudbury
Authors: de Blois, Sarah Lynn
Abstract: My interdisciplinary research explores the gendered work experiences of women in
mining. Statistics Canada confirms women’s unequal participation in the industry, and the
Mining Industry Human Resources Council reports that only about fifteen percent of the
Canadian mining labour force are women. The literature attests that women often face challenges
of acceptance in male-dominated, blue-collar industries. They disproportionately experience
discrimination and harassment in industries in which they are the minority, yet the literature does
not fully address women’s work experiences in this industry and it is important to do so given
mining’s important place in Canada’s economy, both nationally and regionally. My study
explores narratives about women’s experiences in this male workplace culture. In 2020, I
interviewed 35 people who work in the mining industry in the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario
to ask women (N=24) about their direct work experiences and workplace interactions, and men
(N=11) about their work experiences and workplace interactions with women. I used methods of
analysis that “bricolaged” approaches of thematic and critical discourse analysis. My findings
support the need for further initiatives toward equity, diversity, and inclusion, not only in mining,
but in other gender-imbalanced industries. Women described how they experienced resistance to
the achievement of acceptance and respect at work. Many experienced harassment and
discrimination, and spoke about the masculine organizational culture present in their work
environments. Nevertheless, they also described job satisfaction in the work that they perform,
and described bonds of kinship with peers. However, these bonds were usually described in
gendered terms. Women revealed that the camaraderie they seek most to achieve is to be “one of
the boys” or “one of the guys.” At the same time, they spoke about bonds of “sisterhood” in
mining, and how the mining industry offers a space where they celebrate alternate expressions of
femininity, such as being a “tomboy.” Men confirmed that resistance toward women in mining
exists, and that notions of gender essentialism continue to impact perceptions about traits linked
to men and women. In sum, my study reveals that the masculine organizational culture of the
mining industry is complex. The purpose of my interdisciplinary, community-based study was to
understand this complexity and offer solutions for creating more equitable, diverse and inclusive
work cultures within the industry for all workers.2022-12-09T00:00:00Z