Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Central Ontario Centre'

In this work, snow data, collected at the Centre for Atmospheric Research Experiments (CARE) site during the winter of 2005/06 as part of the Canadian CALIPSO/CloudSat Validation Project (C3VP) were analyzed with various goals in mind: 1) investigate the effects of surface temperature and system depth on the snow fall velocity and particle size distribution, 2) find the variables that control the relationships between snow fall velocity and size (control variables), 3) retrieve the coefficient and the exponent in the power-law mass-size relations used in snow reflectivity, 4) estimate vertical air motion and 5) describe the shape of snowflakes that can be used in polarimetric studies of snow. It also includes considerable calibration work on the Hydrometeor Velocity and Shape Detector (HVSD); as well as sensitivity testing for radar calibration and Mie-scattering effect on snow density.
Snow events were classified into several categories according to the radar echo vertical extent (H), surface and echo top temperatures (T s, Tt), to find their effects on snow fall velocity and particle size distribution. Several case studies, including situations of strong turbulence, were also examined.
Simple and multiple correlation analyses between control variables and parameters of the power-law size-velocity relationship were carried out for 13 snow cases having a high R2 between their mean snowflakes fall velocity and the v-D fitted curve, in order to find the control variables of power-law v-D relations. Those cases were all characterized by single layered precipitation with different echo depth, surface and echo top temperatures. Results show that the exponent "b" in v-D power-law relationship has little effect on the variability of snow fall velocity; all control variables (T s, Tt, H) correlate much better to the coefficient "a" than to the exponent "b", leading to a snow fall velocity that can be simulated with a varying coefficient "a" and a fixed exponent "b" (v=aD0.15) with good accuracy. Coefficient "a" and exponent "b" for a generic snow v-D relationship were also examined. The results indicate that coefficient "a" of generic snow represents the most frequent coefficient "a" during the events, while the exponent "b" does not show any representative.
Retrieval of the coefficient "a" and exponent "b" in a power-law mass-size relation, which eventually affects the snow reflectivity, was conducted by minimizing the root mean square (RMS) of differences in reflectivity between Vertically pointing McGill X-band Radar (VertiX) and HVSD. Minima of reflectivity differences lay on a diagonal direction of a diagram of the coefficient "a" (x-axis) versus exponent "b" (y-axis). It is shown that as the system deepens, the slope gets less steep. In addition, coefficient and exponent for this mass-size relation change with time, and snow density derived from several combined snow events does not explain the average snow density of the period.
A method to retrieve vertical air motion with good accuracy using VertiX and HVSD is suggested. Several snow shape parameters and relations between the area ratio (Ar) and size of snowflakes (Ar-D relation) are investigated with snow dimensions defined in various ways. These Ar-D relations will be used as a guideline in snow density models.

La modernisation d'une minorite culturelle genere d'importantes tensions qui expriment une opposition continuellement reactives entre individualisme et communautarisme. L'identite culturelle se definit dans le processus qui allie conservatisme et intergration et fait donc appel a une redefinition du principe de "communaute". Comment alors les acteurs peuvent-ils batir une "communaute" qui puisse culturels constitue l'une des reponses apportees par les francophones de l'ontario pour resoudre ce dilemme. L'implantation de ces institutions localement, leurs transformations dans une collectivite traversee par la modernite et surtout, leur participation a la creation d'un espace social specifique sont revelateurs d'importants changements. L'etude monographique de quatre cas typiques illustre le passage de l'ontario francais a la modernite
The modernization of a cultural minority generates massive tensions that stress the on-going opposition between individualism and communitarism. The cultural identity is being defined in the process that ally conservatism and integration. It relies on a redefinition of the "community" principle. How then could the actors build a "community" capable of dealing properly with those confronting situations? the growth of the "community centres" network is part of the answers brought forward by francophones of ontario to solve that dilemma. The local implantation of these institutions, their participation to the creation of a specefic social space is revealing the presence of significant changes. The monography of four typical cases illustrates how modernity is being shaped within the franco-ontarian society

In a study we conducted with Ontarian women about their abortion experiences (OAS), one third of participants expressed a desire for post-abortion support. Yet, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that organizations offering these services are using judgmental frameworks. In order to rigorously investigate this, we explored what post-abortion support services are offered across the province of Ontario. This multi-methods study included an analysis of OAS data, creating a directory of post-abortion support services in the province, conducting an analysis of how these services represent themselves online, and carrying out mystery client interactions. We found that the majority of organizations offering post-abortion support services in Ontario are crisis pregnancy centers. The services offered at these organizations are built upon frameworks that are both shaming and stigmatizing of abortion experiences. Efforts to increase the online visibility and overall accessibility of non-judgmental, medically accurate post-abortion support services in Ontario appear warranted.

There is the desire amongst elderly Canadians to remain living at home, maintaining their independence. As the population ages, the health care system is faced with the challenge of allocating limited resources. Home care in Ontario is provided through Community Care Access Centres (CCAC) or Community Support Agencies (CSA). This study made comparisons among CSA clients (using the interRAI-Community Health Assessment, n=796), a sub-population of CCAC clients with lighter-care needs (n=8163) and all other CCAC clients (n=31,078), both using the Minimum Data Set-Home Care (MDS HC). The majority of clients in all groups were female, widowed, and spoke English as their primary language. CCAC clients had more health conditions than did CSA clients. Light-care CCAC clients received less hours of formal support than other CCAC clients and were less likely to have informal support caregivers who reported caregiver burden. Between 1998 and 2005, Ontario provided services to an increasingly impaired home care population, although overall impairment among home care client remained low. For the purposes of benchmarking, MDS HC data from Ontario was compared with MDS HC data from 11 European countries and was found to fall within the range of the other countries in terms of average impairment level of home care clients. Logistic regression was used to predict the likelihood of receiving CCAC services. Not being self-reliant, having decline in activities of daily living, having experienced falls, self-reporting one's health to be poor and reporting less loneliness were all correlates for CCAC service use. Implications and direction for future research were discussed.

This study investigated international medical graduates (IMGs), registered between January 1, 2007 and April 14, 2011, at the Access Centre for Internationally Educated Health Professionals in Ontario. By way of logistic regression in a cross-sectional design, it was found that permanent residents who were recent immigrants had lesser chances of being employed full-time at registration (baseline). By way of survival analysis in a cohort design, it was found that younger IMGs who have been in Canada less than 5 years and who have taken the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Exam (MCCEE) have the greatest chances of securing residency positions in Canada or the US, whereas IMGs from Eastern Europe, South Asia and Africa have lesser chances. It was revealed that registered IMGs are a vulnerable population, and certain groups may be disadvantaged due to underlying characteristics. These groups can be targeted for specific interventions.

Robot assisted therapy is becoming increasingly popular. Research has proven it can be of benefit to persons dealing with a variety of disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and it can also provide a source of emotional support e.g. to persons living in seniors’ residences. The advancement in technology and a decrease in cost of products related to consumer electronics, computing and communication has enabled the development of more advanced social robots at a lower cost. This brings us closer to developing such tools at a price that makes them affordable to lower income individuals and families. Currently, in several cases, intensive treatment for patients with certain disorders (to the level of becoming effective) is practically not possible through the public health system due to resource limitations and a large existing backlog. Pursuing treatment through the private sector is expensive and unattainable for those with a lower income, placing them at a disadvantage. Design and effective integration of technology, such as using social robots in treatment, reduces the cost considerably, potentially making it financially accessible to lower income individuals and families in need. The Objective of the research reported in this manuscript is to design and implement a social robot that meets the low-cost criteria, while also containing the required functions to support children with ASD. The design considered contains knowledge acquired in the past through research involving the use of various types of technology for the treatment of mental and/or emotional disabilities.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

Centred in Motion presents a strategy for adapting the existing suburban development of Pickering, Ontario to accommodate contemporary needs. The cultural and geographical conditions that generated Pickering, along with similar suburbs in the Toronto area and across North America, are vastly different from current conditions. An adaptive response addressing these suburbs is necessary to foster intelligent future growth in the Greater Toronto Area. The thesis proposes the design of a mixed-use complex that builds on existing infrastructure and adds density in centrally located, underutilized space within Pickering. A key element is an “inhabitable bridge” that connects the Pickering Town Centre mall in downtown Pickering to commuter services at the GO Transit station and lands to the south. The project embeds a variety of residential, commercial, and civic programs within this infrastructure, providing new services to existing residents, and creating expanded living options with a reduced dependency on personal automobiles within Pickering.

This thesis considers how statistics about adult literacy have produced a new transnational norm of what it means to “be literate” and asks what has been produced by demarcating a calculable threshold of capable literate conduct. Analyzing literacy as a form of conduct enables investigation of the political dimensions of governmental interest in literate conduct and consideration of what subjects, relationships and forms of power are produced by various problematizations. Genealogical analysis of the currently dominant governing rationality, what is termed the psychometrological regime, revealed that Level Three of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) has been constructed as a threshold between people who can act as autonomous, entrepreneurial subjects and those who cannot. In the case of Ontario, this threshold becomes an indicator of “employability” and produces a singular and problematic population who are subjected to coercive educational interventions. Tactics and techniques in the province’s Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) policy construct literacy programs as sites responsible for transforming subjects below the threshold into human capital assets; this represents a significant departure from the original mission of community-based agencies. Data from interviews with educators in these programs indicate that adult literacy workers occupy an uneasy position between the demands of policy, their pastoral relationships with learners, and the complex realities faced by adults who struggle with print. While these educators may choose to disobey some policy imperatives they nonetheless act, at times unwittingly, as agents of governance. By highlighting the impossibilities produced by the neoliberal problematization of literacy, and the negotiations that literacy workers perform in the face of such dilemmas, this research contributes to thinking through how to transform coercive and authoritarian tendencies currently governing literate conduct.

This research examines the process of memorialisation around the Indian Residential School System in Canada to draw connections between the fields of transitional justice and professional urban planning. For over a century, government and churches in Canada operated a system of residential schools that removed Indigenous children from their families and communities. Today, many Indigenous communities struggle with the intergenerational impacts of this system, and as a society we are attempting to heal the damaged relationships that have resulted. This research presents a comparative case study of two processes of memorialisation surrounding the residential school system. Through site observations, interviews, and analyses of documents, this research examines the transformation and memorialisation of the Mohawk Institute, a former residential school, into the Woodland Cultural Centre, a First Nations-run centre located in Brantford, Ontario. I compare this example with the national Commemoration Fund, set out in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (2006), which settled lawsuits filed by residential school survivors against the federal government of Canada and several church organisations. This research underlines some tensions inherent in memorialising the human rights abuses experienced in the residential schools. A significant difficulty is establishing balance between leaving ownership of stories of the residential school experiences with survivors, while acknowledging the responsibilities that the whole of society must carry if reconciliation is to be achieved. I conclude that the process established through the Commemoration Fund does not adequately reflect this balance, leaving a heavy burden on survivors and their communities without providing adequate support. I further argue that the timelines established through this fund do not allow for the longer-term evolution that may characterize effective memorialisation projects. These themes link to theories around collaborative planning, and considerations of social justice and procedural fairness. In recent decades, collaborative planning has been seen as a way to make planning practices more inclusive. However, in the context of planning with Indigenous Peoples, collaborative processes may not be a sufficient response to rights claims. This has important implications for professional planners, as we work towards decolonization, reconciliation, and establishing just-relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Canada.
Thesis (Master, Urban & Regional Planning) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-08 13:19:55.027

Background: Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a method of delivering high-dose radiation to tumours while sparing surrounding healthy tissues. Despite its wide availability IMRT utilization varies across Ontario. The study’s objective was to examine key steps in the implementation process and identify factors that facilitate or impede IMRT implementation. Research Methods: An embedded multiple case study design, utilizing document analysis and key-informant interviews, was employed. Four cancer centres were selected and key-informant interviews were conducted with radiation oncologists, physicists, radiation therapists, and administrators. Results: Eighteen of 21 invited key-informants participated (86% participation rate) providing a range of insights on the factors influencing IMRT implementation. Overall, three cases made progress in the implementation of IMRT, while one case had limited implementation over the same time period. Conclusion: These findings help explain the observed variation in IMRT implementation across Ontario, which is multifaceted and reflects ongoing processes of change and reinvention.

Using a critical feminist approach, and with attention to participants’ broad life experiences, this qualitative study explores seven women’s challenging, transformative decisions to give birth at home with midwives in Ontario, Canada. To make this choice, the women had to draw on their own strength, take responsibility for their decisions, and resist the dominant view of birth as inherently risky, and of women’s birth experiences as unimportant and incompatible with more narrowly defined good outcomes. As participants became informed decision-makers, resisted medicalized birth, and envisioned more woman-centred possibilities, they were empowered as active agents in their births. They were able to trust that with the care of their midwives, and the support of their partners or close family, they could have satisfying and safe births at home.

There is compelling evidence for the effectiveness of home-based occupational therapy and physiotherapy rehabilitation for community dwelling elderly who may struggle with basic activities and the functions of daily living and mobility. Nonetheless, an estimated 2% of home care’s elderly clients receive these therapies. Ontario’s home care data indicates that 78% of clients that could benefit from these specific therapies are not receiving them. The study examined a subset of elderly clients receiving home care following a hospital discharge during 2009-2010. The aim of this study was to: understand the difference between those home care clients who received occupational therapy or physiotherapy and those who did not; and determine if receiving these therapies impacted the utilization of hospital emergency departments and inpatient admissions. A retrospective cohort design and multivariate and survival analysis of hospital and home care administrative data structured the study. Results suggest that home-based rehabilitation is offered to a minority of the home care population. Distinct client characteristics and process variables significantly associated with the increased likelihood of receiving home-based occupational and physical therapies included: clients who were older, females, admitted to home care from hospital inpatient units, assessed as non-acute for clinical and service needs and required more home making support and assistance with activities of daily living. Almost one quarter of the total sample returned to hospital. Visits to emergency departments accounted for the greater part of hospital utilization and primarily for sub-acute general symptoms and signs, post-procedural complications, infections or acute episodes from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and renal failure. Slightly over half of the clients returning to hospital did not receive home-based rehabilitation. Clients who received occupational therapy returned to the hospital sooner following their home care admission whereas clients receiving physiotherapy spent the longest time before rehospitalizing. The majority of the clients receiving occupational therapy were admitted to home care having just resolved sub-acute conditions or symptoms, many of which are known to influence functional and physical decline. Moreover, analysis of process variables indicated that the wait time for a referral to occupational therapy was two times longer compared to physiotherapy. These same clients also waited, on average, over one month before an occupational therapist’s first visit. The need to discriminate who receives home-based rehabilitation is essential to understanding how specific therapies contribute to improving systems outcomes. This study is the first examination that focuses specifically on home-based occupational therapy and physiotherapy rehabilitation and the client characteristics and process variables associated with receiving/not receiving these therapies and the impact these factors have on the time-to-rehospitalization.
Thesis (Ph.D, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2013-06-27 12:24:53.085

Dans un contexte de globalisation et de profusion des discours identitaires, la thèse examine le concept d’identité, ses définitions et ses usages dans les débats et les pratiques de la ville, de l’architecture et du patrimoine. Les interventions sur un bâtiment historique révèlent autant le rapport identitaire de la société avec son histoire que celui avec le monde contemporain. La recherche traite de concours d’architecture dans deux villes canadiennes qui aspirent à se positionner à l’échelle internationale, l’une focalisant sur l’aspect contemporain global et l’autre sur l’aspect historique et local. L’objectif de la recherche est d’une part de contribuer au dévoilement du processus de construction identitaire des villes contemporaines à travers les projets d’architecture. D’autre part, il s’agit d’analyser le processus d’identification et l’identité architecturale dans son rapport à l’histoire et à la contemporanéité dans la pratique au sein de bâtiments historiques. La ville devient un objet de communication, qui use de marketing urbain, pour augmenter sa visibilité. L’architecture devient un moyen de communication utilisé pour transmettre une identité visuelle. La méthodologie combine l’analyse des discours, ainsi que l’analyse de l’architecture et de sa représentation. Le choix du concours du Centre d'accueil et d'interprétation de la Place-Royale à Québec (1996) et de l’agrandissement du Musée royal d’Ontario (2001) à Toronto permet d’appréhender les différentes facettes du concept d’identité et de révéler les enjeux locaux et internationaux. Le fait qu’il s’agisse de concours donne accès à un corpus de discours qui comprend les programmes, les politiques de la ville, les présentations des architectes et la réception. L’histoire de chaque concours ainsi que l’analyse sémantique des discours de la commande éclairent le rapport entre les processus et les intentions et permettent de mettre en lumière les enjeux locaux. L’analyse des discours textuels et visuels des architectes dévoile le processus d’identification des projets, les différents types de référents impliqués ainsi que les stratégies de communication employées. L’analyse des projets rend compte des caractéristiques de l’identité de l’architecture contemporaine et son rapport avec le patrimoine. La recherche dévoile l’importance des discours et de la communication dans la construction identitaire des villes en amont des concours ainsi que le débat sociétal que la question pose. Durant le processus d’identification architecturale, le biais induit par la commande amène une emphase et une surenchère des discours historiques par les architectes dans le cas de Québec. Les projets proposés misent sur une mise en scène de la ville historique et du patrimoine et focalisent sur l’expérience visuelle des visiteurs. Dans le cas de Toronto, l’intérêt pour l’aspect global et spectaculaire dans la construction identitaire de la ville en amont du concours, génère un engouement pour une représentation attractive des projets et pour une architecture iconique.
This thesis examines the concept of identity, its definitions and uses in the debates and practices of the city, architecture and heritage. Interventions on historic buildings reveal as much the relationship between the identity of society and its history as with the contemporary world. This research studies architectural competitions in two Canadian cities that aspire to be international, one focusing on the contemporary and global aspect (Toronto) and the other on the historical and local aspect (Quebec City). The objective of this research is on the one hand, to unravel the process of identity construction of the contemporary city through architectural projects. On the other hand, it is to analyze the process of identification and the architectural identity in its relation to history and contemporaneity in architectural practice of historic buildings. The methodology used in this study combines discourse analysis and analysis of the architecture and its representation. The choice of the competition of Place-Royale Interpretation center in Quebec City (1996) and the competition for the expansion of Royal Ontario Museum (2001) in Toronto reveals the concept of identity’s different facets. The history of each competition and semantic analysis of the documentation clarify the relationship between processes and intentions and help to highlight local issues. The analysis of both textual and visual discourses of architects’ proposals reveals the process of identification of the projects, the different types of references involved and the communication strategies employed. The analysis of the projects reflects the identity characteristics of contemporary architecture. This research reveals the importance of discourses and communication in the construction of cities’ identity, and the societal debates that these questions provoke. During the process of architectural identification, the specific approach of the brief, in the case of Quebec City, prompts a discourse with a historical focus by the architects. The proposed projects are presented within the historical setting and focus on the visual experience of visitors. In the Toronto case, the interest on the global and spectacular in the city’s identity construction generates enthusiasm for an attractive representation of the projects and for iconic architecture.

Service provision in veterinary oncology in Ontario was examined using a mixed methods approach. First, an interview-based qualitative study explored the service expectations of oncology clients at a tertiary referral centre. Next, a survey-based quantitative study established an understanding of oncology service in primary care practice and investigated the treatment recommendations of practitioners for dogs diagnosed with cancer. The first study, which involved 30 individual and dyadic interviews, identified “uncertainty” (attributable to the unpredictable nature of cancer and its treatment) as an overarching psychological feature of clients’ experience. Consequently, “the communication of information” (both content and process) was the foremost service expectation. For clients, it enabled confidence in the service, the ability to make informed patient care decisions, and preparedness for the potential outcomes of those decisions; it also contributed to creating a humanistic environment, which enhanced client resiliency. Findings suggest that services can support client efforts to manage uncertainty through strategic design and delivery of service, and incorporate intentional communication strategies to support clients’ psychological fortitude in managing the cancer journey. The second study, a vignette-based survey of primary care practitioners across Ontario (N=1071) which investigated veterinarian decision-making in relation to oncology care, determined that 56% of practitioners recommended referral as their first choice of intervention, while 28% recommended palliative care, 13% in-clinic treatment, and 3% euthanasia. Recommendations were associated with patient, client and veterinarian factors. Specifically, referral and treatment were recommended for younger dogs, healthier dogs, and dogs with lymphoma versus osteosarcoma; for strongly bonded clients, and financially secure clients; and by veterinarians who graduated from a North American college, had experience with treating cancer, felt confident in the referral centre, and believed treatment was worthwhile, with variation in relation to practitioner gender and the type of medicine practiced. The human-animal bond appeared to be the primary factor associated with practitioners’ advocacy for quality of medical care for patients. Through a blend of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, this thesis contributes to the evidence upon which best practices may be built so as to enhance the quality of patient and client care in veterinary oncology.
Ontario Veterinary College Pet Trust Fund 049406 and 049854