Open Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collection
This collection is the result of a joint project between the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Libraries and Cultural Resources which provides Graduate students with the opportunity to archive their thesis with University Archives in our digital repository.
If you are a Graduate student submitting your final thesis to PRISM, please ensure you have read and submitted all required documents: http://grad.ucalgary.ca/current/thesis
If you require assistance submitting your thesis please contact thesis@ucalgary.ca
The electronic theses and dissertations on this site are for the personal use of students, scholars and the public. Any commercial use, publication or lending of them in libraries is strictly prohibited.
Browse
Browsing Open Theses and Dissertations by Department "Anthropology"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 103
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemOpen AccessA Choice under Constraints: Child Labour in Hong Kong from 1950 to 1971(2016) Lau, Nga Yee; Smart, Alan; Adorjan, Michael; Jameson, ElizabethThis is the untold story of child labour in Hong Kong from 1950 to 1971. Based on 31 interviews conducted mostly with former child labourers and archival research, this thesis examines the many facets of child work from former child labourers’ perspectives. This study aims to broaden our understanding of the post-war economic miracle, child work experiences, and why children worked and contributed to the household economy. While the world was eager to stop child labour, the influx of Chinese newcomers kept it alive. Although some children chose to work out of filial motivations, they made their choices under duress and debased socioeconomic conditions. Family circumstances, limited education access and the lack of poor relief were among the constraints that reinforced their choices. This research enriches the mainstream narrative of Hong Kong’s economic success by documenting the toil and sweat of the post-war generation that built contemporary Hong Kong.
- ItemOpen AccessA Sensitivity Analysis on the Airborne Conflict Rate in a Free Flight Concept(2018-11-15) Costa, Larissa Moreira; De Barros, Alexandre Gomes; Wirasinghe, Sumedha Chandana; Waters, Nigel M.; De Barros, Alexandre GomesThe Free Flight (FF) concept is a potential alternative to improve route efficiency and airspace capacity (17). This research aims to evaluate how gains in airspace capacity correlates to losses in airspace safety within a FF scenario. The variables chosen to indicate airspace capacity are the airspace size and the number of aircraft within this airspace. For a 2-D scenario, the simulation results indicate that the averages time, distance or speed (time and distance) flown by the aircraft impacts on the average conflict rate per aircraft per hour.
- ItemOpen AccessThe Acoustic Structure and Ontogeny of Vervet Monkey Vocalizations(2019-11) Dubreuil, Colin; Notman, Hugh; Pavelka, Mary McDonald; Henzi, Peter; Hare, James; Fedigan, Linda Marie; Barclay, Robert Malcolm RuthvenVervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) vocalizations have been the subject of considerable research, most notably for their putative language-like qualities. While this focus has inspired a productive research effort investigating vocal communication in non-human primates, it has diverted attention away from other, non-linguistically inspired mechanisms by which vocal signals exert their effects on receivers. My research focuses on two vocal classes, grunts and alarm calls, and how their acoustic structures vary according to sender-specific attributes, including age, sex, body size, and identity - all of which have the potential to influence receiver response. I recorded calls from three wild groups of vervet monkeys over a 7-month period on the Samara Game Reserve, South Africa. I used random forest models to determine whether grunts varied in structure in relation to caller age, sex, identity and context, and whether alarms varied with sex and caller identity. I performed a cluster analysis to determine whether alarms segregated into different call types based on variation in acoustic structure. Finally, I used a series of mixed effects models to determine whether call structure in males and females correlated with overall body size (using body weight as a proxy). I found grunts varied in structure with age and sex, but not among individuals or contexts. Alarm calls varied with both sex and identity. My cluster analysis identified two qualitatively distinct alarm call types corresponding to the calls of males and females respectively. My analysis demonstrated that the relationship between body weight and the distribution of acoustic energy throughout alarm calls differed between the sexes. Relative to females, acoustic energy in the calls of males was concentrated at disproportionately lower frequencies. These results suggest that alarm calls may be under selection to exaggerate caller body size and/or extend the effective range of these signals in males. My results highlight that vocalizations can vary in structure along a number of dimensions simultaneously. While it is possible that in some instances, vocalizations convey specific information surrounding their context of production, it is likely that the mechanisms by which vocal signals exert their effects on receivers are more numerous and diverse.
- ItemOpen AccessAlternative Albertan Agriculture(2022-11) Cannon, Nathaneal; McKay, Ben; Apentik, Rowland; Walls, MatthewHumanity is facing multiple crises. We are simultaneously experiencing a climate crisis, ecological degradation, rising inequality, and issues in access and distribution of nutritious food. While there is no panacea for these problems, the way we use ecosystems to produce food, the type of food produced, and how food is distributed are important questions in addressing these crises. Alternative methods of agricultural production, or alternative farming methods (AFM), can be a set of tools that help societies address these intersecting environmental and socio-economic injustices. While a body of literature is growing on alternative farming methods as a tool to promote ecosystem services, reduce the climate emissions of the agricultural sector, and sustain the livelihoods of small and medium sized farms, a gap remains as to the social, economic, and political dimensions of the lived experiences of alternative farmers in Alberta, Canada. To address this deficit, the proposed study asks: how and why do farmers in Alberta choose to pursue alternative agricultural practices vis-à-vis the dominant mode of industrial agricultural production. The “how” subcomponent of the research question centres on themes such as the farmer’s experience accessing land, interfacing with capitalist markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), marketing, “cheap food,” networks, and knowledge. The “why” subcomponent of the research question seeks to explore the farmer’s journey to their chosen farming practice, focusing on such themes as their relationship to the land, environmental stewardship, farmer identities, (competing) meanings of regenerative agriculture, and political identities and aspirations. The thesis explores these topics through three case studies, one urban and two rural farms, spanning central and southern Alberta. Under a political ecology analytical framework, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and visual ethnographic methods were employed. In addition to this written thesis, a 30-minute film was produced to deepen the reader’s understanding of alternative agriculture in Alberta and expand the audience for this research to include members of the public for whom a written academic thesis would be inaccessible. Overall, this research seeks to bring a greater awareness to alternative farming and help inform public debate on local food systems in Alberta.
- ItemOpen AccessAn Examination of the HEXACO Model of Personality in Alcohol Use Disorder, Cannabis Use Disorder, and Gambling Disorder(2018-09-05) Rash, Christina Lee; McGrath, Daniel S.; Hodgins, David; Lee, KibeomResearch within the field of addictive behaviours has found that personality traits as measured by the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality are predictive of engaging in substance use and gambling at problematic levels. However, the structure of the FFM has been criticized as being incomplete, with recent lexical studies identifying a sixth personality dimension. The aim of the present study was to examine this six-factor (HEXACO) model of personality in relation to disordered engagement in three addictive behaviours: alcohol (AUDs), cannabis (CUDs), and gambling (GDs). Four groups of participants (AUDs, CUDs, GDs, and healthy controls; N = 308) completed the 100-item HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised. Scores on the six subscales (honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) were compared across groups. Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed lower levels of honesty-humility among AUDs and GDs and higher levels of openness among CUDs relative to control participants. AUDs and GDs also reported lower levels of honesty-humility when compared to CUDs. Results support the utility of the HEXACO model in the field of addictive behaviours and highlight the potential role of honesty-humility in the development and maintenance of substance use disorders and behavioural addictions.
- ItemOpen AccessAssessing Genetic Adaptations for Ethanol Metabolism using Comparative Genetics(2022-04) Pinto, Swellan; Melin, Amanda; Cote, Susanne; de Koning, Jason; Barclay, RobertEthanol naturally occurs in fermenting fruits and nectars consumed by mammals. To avoid harmful side effects of ethanol consumption, natural selection might have favoured the persistence and spread of genetic variants that improve ethanol metabolism in frugivorous and nectarivorous mammals. Variation in humans and other primates has fueled debate over adaptive hypotheses, which will be informed by a better understanding of comparative variation across mammals. Ethanol is primarily metabolized via enzymes encoded by ADH and ALDH genes. I studied these genes along with the CAT gene across a range of mammals with diverse diets. I used bioinformatics tools to look for evidence of positive selection in species with high dietary ethanol exposure due to reliance on fruits and/or nectars, relaxed selection in species with low dietary ethanol exposure, and convergent evolution among diverse frugivorous and/or nectarivorous species. Among genes of interest, the ADH7 gene is critical for ethanol metabolism in humans. I additionally investigated amino acid variation at a site (294) within the ADH class IV enzyme (encoded by ADH7) that is important for enzymatic function. I found no evidence of positive selection or of excess non-random convergent substitutions across ADH, ALDH, and CAT genes. However, I did find evidence that several ALDH genes and the CAT gene are under intensified or relaxed selection in lineages with low dietary ethanol exposure. Finally, I found that several leaf-nosed bats, a flying fox, and several opossums vary with the amino acid they possess at site 294. I also identified premature stop codons along ADH7 in two leaf-nosed bats, a rodent, a shrew, two sloths, and two opossums. Intensified selection on the ALDH genes and CAT gene suggest these genes are involved in important bodily processes that have led to their maintenance. Variation at the critical site of ADH7 in bats may indicate increased efficiency for ethanol metabolism in these species. My findings suggest variation in the strength of selection pressures acting on genes underlying ethanol metabolism and potentially adaptive variation in the ADH7 gene. Together these findings extend our understanding of molecular variation in the context of dietary ecology.
- ItemOpen AccessAUSIA Framework to Improve On-Site Communication in the Commercial Construction Industry(2014-01-17) Silva, Andarage; Ruwanpura, Janaka; Hewage, KasunInformation has the best value when it is delivered to the correct place at the correct time in the required format. Many scholars have noted information and communication chaos in the construction industry. Inadequate communication and non-availability of information were well observed in almost all the construction projects, which caused low productivity. Further, workers also emphasized about inadequate communication in their working environment as a cause for low productivity. Construction companies, with the help of technology developers, are trying to incorporate numerous software/hardware systems to achieve better productivity and competitive advantage. However, these isolated systems may create more confusion in construction projects, due to the mismatch of the software and hardware systems. Site observations reveal that supervision staff lose more than two hours a day as a result of ineffective information management. The AUSIA framework discussed in this PhD thesis is a communication platform based on information integration and field automation with an information hub called the i-Booth. This framework integrates several other information/communication technologies. There have been extensive pilot site implementation for prolonged periods in commercial construction settings with very satisfactory results. AUSIA framework is developed to improve accessibility of information while enhancing the end user satisfaction and usefulness of the data through information integration. This automated systems ensures that workface and office can communicate real-time to minimise the time waste and productivity loss due to ineffective information management. Framework was implemented in a commercial construction project for one year and level of communication was measured before and after implementation. Field staff judged improvement in communication through a survey instrument. Statistical analysis was performed to determine enhancement in communication. Communication was judged on ten information categories and analysis revealed that overall communication was improved by roughly around fifty percent compared to earlier state, while increasing information integration and field automation significantly. Field staff appreciated integration of virtual design and construction with field level by providing infrastructure to interact with models with minimal training. With the conclusion of the research AUSIA framework was successfully commercialized and the first kiosk was sold in early 2013 to a general contractor.
- ItemOpen AccessAwana niyanaan?/Who Are We?(2018-06-05) Tucker, Angela Danielle; Peric, Sabrina; Voth, Daniel; Hayashi, NaotakaIn Canada, colonial perspectives have been privileged over Indigenous knowledge and has affected the connections that many contemporary Indigenous individuals have to their pasts. Yet today, the Canadian government continues to restrict the ways in which society is able to think about and engage with Indigenous people. These parameters are evident in policy discourse. The discourse that has been maintained about Indigenous identity and of inclusion has created a landscape that is difficult for all Indigenous people to navigate. Furthermore, the discourses surrounding land and land-use restricts the Indigenous knowledge of land. Métis are a unique group with specific definitions of selfhood who were historically restricted from their physical landscapes and diverse kinship systems. Despite this, their identification continues to be couched in policy and social understanding of ‘mixed-blooded’ backgrounds rather than by the ways in which Métis people are capable of defining themselves. Awana niyanaan? Who are we? The complex attachments that my father’s family has had to their own Métis ancestry provided me the landscape to approach the community of Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement. I wanted to know if a collective land-based community could be a catalyst for understanding or decolonizing Métis identity, including my own. I hoped to understand how my family’s attachments to place and identity began to fracture, resulting in the silencing of our Métis history. As the antidote to silence, I listened to Elders. These encounters at Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement provided the basis of my research. This, in turn, created a methodology that promotes listening, and the movement and mobility across landscapes, in both physical and temporal ways. Family and connection to all of your relations provides a strong basis for Métis understanding, an epistemology that extends beyond the realms of non-Indigenous world-views. This is a teaching that I today understand as wahkotowin, the fundamental spiritual concept that ties together land with identity, and selfhood within the context of a broader community. I argue that the connections to land and Métis identification have been continually manipulated by the State, and found evident in the ways that Métis people not only engage with the land, but also with one another.
- ItemOpen AccessBacterial and parasitic microbiome of mantled howler monkeys: interactions and implications of human disturbance(2021-04-28) Macfarland, Colin Evan; Melin, Amanda; Buret, Andre G.; Kutz, Susan J.; Wasmuth, James; Pavelka, Mary Susan; Poissant, Jocelyn; Peric, SabrinaThe gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome plays a significant role in contributing to the digestive health of the host. The community of bacteria, parasites and other microorganisms that make up the GI microbiome are known to change in response to external and internal factors including diet, stress, infection, and other environmental conditions. GI parasites are typically harmful organisms that affect hosts through triggering inflammatory response, reducing nutrient availability, and change mutualistic bacterial communities in the gut. However, they have been found to benefit the host in some circumstances. For example, helminthic parasites may have a role protecting the host from chronic inflammation caused by pathogenic bacteria or inflammatory bowel disease. In this thesis, I study the gut bacteria and parasites of populations of mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in northwestern Costa Rica. I examine the extent to which the bacterial microbiome of howler monkeys is different in the presence of infection by helminths, and if howlers living in areas of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation have observable differences in the bacterial microbiome or helminth parasites. I used coprological examination of fecal flotations to assess parasitism, and 16S high-throughput sequencing to assess bacterial abundances. I found evidence of several helminth taxa infecting these howlers, including from the genera Controrchis, Strongyloides, Enterobius, and an unidentified Trematode. Howler monkeys infected with helminth parasites did not show a significantly different bacterial diversity; however, helminth-positive howlers have significant differences in relative abundances of Clostridiales and Bacteroidales bacteria. Furthermore, I found that howlers living in areas with anthropogenic habitat fragmentation had significantly lower diversity of gastrointestinal bacteria than howlers living in continuous forest. Lastly, I found that the howler populations within Sector Santa Rosa had a higher density of parasite infection, compared to those living in anthropogenically fragmented habitats. My research on the gastrointestinal and parasite microbiome of howlers provides new insights into the health and ecology of wild primates; further research that compares phenomena occurring in human populations and non-human primates is likely to be fruitful. My work provides new data on the impacts of habitat fragmentation that can inform primate conservation efforts, health monitoring efforts, and management decisions.
- ItemOpen AccessBehavioural Responses to Habitat Fragmentation in the Frugivorous Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata): Implications for the Conservation of a Critically Endangered Species(2022-08) Petersen, Melody; Johnson, Steig; Pavelka, Mary; Ruckstuhl, KathreenWith sustained deforestation occurring globally, large tracts of continuous forest are increasingly divided into small forest fragments. The edge effects that accompany forest fragmentation (e.g., increased wind speed and light intensity) result in alterations to plant communities, and ultimately food availability for primary consumers. The abundance of large, fruiting trees has been found to substantially decline in forest fragments, challenging frugivorous species in obtaining adequate food resources. Black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) are among the most frugivorous of all lemur species, which may be a contributing factor to their Critically Endangered conservation status and sensitivity to habitat disturbance. In this thesis, I investigate the behavioural responses of V. variegata to forest fragmentation through comparing populations across three forest fragments – Sangasanga (71 ha), Vatovavy (232 ha), and Tsitola (597 ha) – in the Kianjavato region of southeastern Madagascar. I found that both fragments <500 ha have a lower availability of fruit than the largest fragment, Tsitola. Interestingly, individuals in Sangasanga had the highest dietary diversity and maintained a high degree of frugivory year-round. In contrast, individuals in Vatovavy had the lowest dietary diversity and consumed the largest proportions of flowers of all three fragments, consuming the nectar of Ravenala madagascariensis for more than 40% of the diet over 17 months. In investigating long-term trends of R. madagascariensis consumption by V. variegata, I found that consumption is strongly correlated with availability in both Sangasanga and Vatovavy, and suggest that this may be a preferred food resource at Kianjavato. V. variegata thus appears able to respond flexibly to the habitat alterations induced by forest fragmentation through exhibiting contrasting dietary strategies. However, R. madagascariensis is likely to be an important component of these populations’ continued survival in this anthropogenically modified landscape.
- ItemOpen AccessBlack African and Caribbean Youth Inclusion Practices: The Role of Hip-hop(2017) Lewis, Stefan; Madibbo, Amal; Godley, Jenny; Apentiik, RowlandIn this thesis I explore the ways in which Black African and Caribbean immigrant youth in Calgary, Alberta, use Hip-hop culture to foster feelings of inclusion in Canadian society. It is projected that by 2016, 25% of the youth population in Canada was immigrant. While some immigrant youth are on par socio-economically with their Canadian-born counterparts, others face barriers that make inclusion strenuous. First and second generation Black African and Caribbean immigrant youth in particular face social and economic barriers in Alberta. I argue that in addressing the problems faced by these youth, the potential of Hip-hop culture as a strategy to counter these barriers has been historically under-explored. Based on this data, my thesis identifies the racial and cultural barriers that these youth encounter in contemporary Canadian society, as well as the role that Hip-hop plays in shaping their inclusion process.
- ItemOpen AccessChasing Giants: An Ethnography of Developments in Speed Skating(2021-01-14) Jacobs, Sarah Elizabeth; Mather, Charles M.; Hatt, Doyle G.; Perić, SabrinaIn this ethnography I examine the many developments of speed skating, from the history of the sport, to the construction of the Olympic Oval and the development of young athletes seeking to make the Canadian national team. I also survey the development of sport studies, situating my research within almost a century of scholarship on play, games and sport. I account for these developments with an overarching interest in continuity and change, considering the processes and events that deliver particular historical moments, and the ways in which the past becomes a resource for the future. Throughout, I explore relationships between people, practices, ideas, material objects and formal organizations. In so doing, I draw on classical oppositions within social theory and the study of sport, such as structure and agency, or ritual and record. These contradictions serve as productive tensions, enabling and enriching one another, and framing the specific transformations of times, spaces and bodies that I document. Lastly, I conclude by offering some commentary on sport as it relates to play, routine practice and modernity, arguing that for those who chase giants, both their work and their world remains unfinished.
- ItemOpen AccessThe Colourful World of Platyrrhine Monkeys: Skin Colour Variation and Its Potential Role in Communication(2022-09) Alves Antonio Moreira Pacheco, Lais; Melin, Amanda; Higham, James; Pavelka, Mary; Notman, Hugh; Smith, Andrew; Vamosi, JanaUnderstanding the evolution of human communication has been a longstanding goal of anthropologists and has spurred many lines of research. Studying our closest living relatives, the non-human primates (NHPs), provides an opportunity to better understand human communication, by placing it in a comparative context. Among NHPs, use of colour signals is common and widely distributed across the Order. Catarrhines have trichromatic colour vision and exposed skin colouration plays an important role in their interactions. In platyrrhines, exposed skin is less common, but some genera have widely exposed body regions, suggesting that skin colouration might also be used for communication. Intriguingly, platyrrhines have polymorphic colour vision, in which some individuals are dichromats while others are trichromats. This polymorphism may affect signal perception by conspecifics and shape some aspects of communication. However, we currently lack studies measuring colour (hue, saturation, chroma) variation in their skin. In this thesis, I provide several studies that seek to explore the potential for colour signals in platyrrhines. I provide the first analysis of the distribution and evolution of facial skin exposure and colour in platyrrhines in Chapter 2. I then report in Chapter 3 variation in facial skin colour of golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) in the context of breeding status, reproductive condition, and age. In Chapter 4, I investigate if female genital skin colour of two species of wild tamarins [saddleback (Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator)] vary between developmental classes. Finally, I study the hypertrophied and pendulous clitoris of female black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) and investigate if its colour and shape varies within and between individuals. My results suggest that among platyrrhines there is extensive variation in skin exposure and colouration and that colour seems to be linked to breeding status, reproductive condition and age in some species, and colour variation occurs within and between individuals. These results show potential for convergence in some functions of bare-skin signaling in catarrhine primates. My Doctoral Thesis makes contributions to the understanding of primate communication by adding new comparative data to illuminate the selective pressures shaping the sensory and communication systems across our order.
- ItemOpen AccessComparing the Fission-Fusion Dynamics of Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) From Day to Night(2014-09-23) Brown, Meredith R.; Pavelka, MaryEnvironmental resource and risk both constrain grouping patterns, but may be weighted differently between day and night. Primates with high fission-fusion dynamics may change their grouping patterns and behavior in tandem with a shift from resource competition to risk avoidance. Using scan data (January 2013-August 2013), I compared subgroup size, stability, cohesion, behavior, and sleeping tree reuse patterns of black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) at day and dusk at Runaway Creek Nature Reserve, Belize. At dusk, subgroup size significantly increased, and the monkeys rested and engaged in actively social behavior significantly more than during the day. Individuals clustered into family groups at dusk, increasing their distance from presumed non-relatives. Some sleeping trees were preferentially reused over others. Predation risk may make a larger, more cohesive subgroup optimal at night, but the limited quantity and fixed location of preferentially reused sleeping trees may keep subgroups from dramatically changing.
- ItemOpen AccessConceptualizations of Children with Disabilities among the Bulsa of Northern Ghana(2019-07-19) Achuroa, David Akanpentiba; Mather, Charles M.; Gerlach, S. Craig; Bouchal, Shelley RaffinAcross the world, people meet their healthcare needs using a variety of approaches. The Bulsa located in Northern Ghana are no different. They have historically relied on both contemporary healthcare and traditional healthcare to address their health-related problems. This research explores how children with disabilities (CWDs) are conceptualized in Bulsa traditional healthcare, in the context of a system that many anthropologists have studied with reference to shrines. The shrine system, which encompasses governance, illnesses, belongingness, health in general, and inheritance in some African societies, has long been a subject of anthropological investigation (Mather 2003, Kirby 1993, Rattray 1932, Fortes 1967). As valuable as these studies have been, the investigation of disability in the context of the shrine system has at best only been treated in a peripheral way. As a way to uncover what CWDs signify in the shrine system, the research entailed interviewing fifty informants and conducting five household group discussions. Some individuals interviewed were parents of CWDs. The thesis research was also informed by my own lived experience with disability in Bulsa society. The investigations found that the role of the shrine system in disability and illness management in Bulsa society included two dimensions: ingestion of herbs and drugs; and reverence for invisible agencies, such as wen, jadok, and their associated processes. Moreover, we observed that people mostly use the term kikiruk in the context of CWDs and the term jadok for some adult acquired disability. Both terms carry with them a certain degree of humiliation and discrimination with respect to their victims, but the kikiruk term carries the greatest consequence for CWDs and their families.
- ItemOpen AccessCultivating School Food Community: An Ethnography on Nutritional Wellbeing in a Calgary Public School(2019-01-18) Cottle, Tamara; Hayashi, Naotaka; Smart, Alan; Elliott, Charlene; ellThe nutritional health of Canadian children has declined over the last 30 years. Public health campaigns and health education programs have been developed to address increased rates of obesity and overweight in young people. Schools are popular sites for health education programming in this regard. Although policies and initiatives have been used to improve student nutritional health, low-nutritional value foods (LNVFs) continue to proliferate in the school food environment (SFE). Critical Medical Anthropology (CMA) considers the social, political, economic, and environmental factors that interact with the body to impact overall health and may help shed light on why young people continue to consume LNVFs in school. CMA is both a theory and practice that can be used for improving health and wellbeing in communities. This thesis utilized CMA in an ethnography at a school in Calgary to better understand what factors influence food choice among students. Interviews, group discussions and participant observation were conducted between January 2015 and June 2015. Through collaborative initiatives including a garbology study and a cookbook project, students, teachers and researcher uncovered valuable information to help inform future food programming in schools.
- ItemOpen AccessDifferential Effects of Stress on Maternal and Infant Health Amongst Canadian Ethnic Minorities(2013-10-02) Robinson, Alexandra; Cairns, Sharon; Benzies, KarenThe aim of the present study was to identify specific types of maternal psychosocial stress experienced by women of ethnic minority status (Asian, Arab, Other Asian, African, First Nations and Latino) in relation to pregnancy and infant health. A secondary analysis of variables that may contribute to maternal psychosocial stress was conducted using data from the All Our Babies prospective study where questionnaires were completed at less than 24 weeks of pregnancy, between 34-36 weeks of pregnancy, and at 4 months postpartum. Questionnaires included standardized measures of perceived stress, anxiety, depression, physical and emotional health, and social support. Socio-demographic data included immigration status, language proficiency in English, ethnicity, age, and socio-economic status. Findings from this study indicate that women who identify with an ethnic minority experience greater levels of psychosocial stress during pregnancy and have significantly poorer pregnancy and birth outcomes than those who identify with the dominant culture. Preterm birth, low birth weight, small or large for gestational age, extended hospital stay, and Apgar scores < 7 were used in the outcome assessment. From these findings, counselling interventions that target the most detrimental stressors faced by women of minority status in Canada are also discussed.
- ItemOpen AccessDigging Droughts: Maasai and Palaeoanthropological Knowledge, Subsistence, and Collaboration in Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania(2018-04-16) Lee, Patrick; Mather, Charles; Mercader, Julio; Hayashi, Naotaka; Oetelaar, Gerald A.; Thomas, Melanee LynnTanzania’s Oldupai Gorge is a flagship human origins research destination, yet less recognised is that the Maasai inhabit the region. This thesis uses actor-network-theory to ethnographically compare palaeoanthropological and Maasai epistemology and ontology in Oldupai, and to understand why collaboration between the groups has been sporadic. Researchers and locals constructed knowledge in equally logical forms, combining established facts and artefacts with novel data to produce new facts and artefacts. Instead of fundamental epistemic disparities, the content of each group’s knowledge differed, and this content was tied to subsistence strategies and culture. Scientists and the Maasai acquired resources in non-scientific and non-pastoral worlds to support their respective livelihoods, and multiplied ontologies by enacting composite – yet conflicting – versions of hybrid drought. Even though both groups dug in Oldupai, palaeoanthropological and Maasai subsistence exigencies have precluded meaningful collaboration. However, mutually beneficial partnerships are emerging in the birthplace of humanity.
- ItemOpen AccessDiscrete Fourier Transform Techniques to Improve Diagnosis Accuracy in Biomedical Applications(2018-01-08) Adibpour, Paniz; Smith, Michael; Fear, Elise; Frayne, Richard; Nielsen, JohnTransforming acquired data in time or space is necessary for many applications, due to practical constraints on time-domain sampling at high data rates or the requirement for algorithms to process frequency-domain data during the image reconstruction procedure. Therefore, the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) plays an important role in many fields for preprocessing, reconstruction or data analysis stages of algorithms. The hardware or physical constraints also necessitate acquisition of limited length raw data which results in DFT-imposed distortions after data processing for which low pass filters are considered as general solution. Through this thesis, fundamental DFT properties are investigated and an optimization method is introduced to take advantage of these properties. This method is a potential alternative to low pass filters which impose resolution loss to processed data. The formalized method is examined and validated using preliminary observer metrics for two magnetic resonance imaging reconstruction approaches and a microwave imaging technique.
- ItemOpen AccessEconomic Strategies of Terminal Classic Households in the Northern Maya Lowlands: Multicrafting and Economic Diversification of a Mid- Elite Residential Compound at Xuenkal, Yucatan(2013-01-30) Alonso Olvera, Alejandra; Reese-Taylor, Kathryn V.; Raymond, ScottThe rise of Chichen Itza is associated with a period of changes and economic growth in the northern Lowlands during the Terminal Classic (A.D. 800-1000) and Early Postclassic (A.D. 1000-1200) periods (Andrews et al. 2003:151). Although some sites continued to grow, many sites were abandoned or had drastic declines. However, communities that continued to be occupied show visible shifts in ceramic and architectural styles, and settlement patterns that most likely reflect modifications in their political and economic organizations. Based on their ability to support Chichen Itza political and economic frameworks, elite life and activity in surrounding communities did not come to an end during the Terminal Classic. Examining elite life in areas that managed to carry on during difficult times allows a closer evaluation of specific strategies employed by elite groups to cope with a fluctuating economy and an innovative, yet short lasting, complex level organization. Xuenkal was one of Chichen Itza’s secondary centers that managed to operate under Terminal Classic conditions; therefore it presents a perfect case to examine economic structures that hypothetically originated from Chichen Itza’s integrative policy. Regional secondary centers have been overlooked when evaluating the impact Chichen had on local economies and how they were incorporated into the regional economy. Xuenkal offers several advantages for investigating such questions. An examination of Xuenkal elite contexts provides a means for examining elements that best represent levels of integration, affiliation, or submission endorsed by Chichen Itza. The archaeological exploration of one of Xuenkal’s Terminal Classic Platforms offers an opportunity to investigate domestic economic strategies implemented during times of economic change. The assessment of one mid-elite household provides evidence to evaluate the premise that control over production was necessary to guarantee economic interaction and economic intensification. New configurations of domestic and productive spaces are predicted to reflect particular activities related to multricrafting and intermittent crafting as particular strategies that were not previously employed by prominent elites in the Classic period. Mid-elite material culture would reflect redundancy in craft production necessary to be included in the political economy structure and within market and redistribution systems sponsored and controlled by Chichen Itza.