Graduate Theses
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- ItemCommunicating Imminent Safety Threats: Understanding the Use of Emergency Alerting by Canadian Law Enforcement(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025) Maier, MandyMandatory emergency alerts distributed via Canada’s National Public Alerting System (NPAS) notify of imminent safety situations and are used by police to support public safety. This mixed-methods study investigated how Canadian police navigate challenges, utilize tools and meet public expectations when communicating via emergency alert and what forms public awareness, trust and expectations regarding police communication methods during imminent safety situations. Eight interviews with Canadian police service representatives were conducted, and public survey data were collected (n = 486). Interview results indicated that police preparedness and experience affect alerting approach, alert strategy and risk impacts police decision making, alerting is influenced by external factors and alerting approach differs across police services. Survey results linked public trust in the police to communicate when an urgent threat impacts their safety and whether local police do a good job educating the public about alerts. Targeted, police-driven alerting education campaigns are recommended to expand public understanding and build trust and preparedness.
- ItemPrenatal iron supplementation in Nova Scotia: an exploratory cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitudes and practices(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-08) Goldberg, DevoraIron demands rise during pregnancy, and deficiency can lead to anemia, increasing the risk of preeclampsia, preterm delivery, cesarean section, postpartum hemorrhage, transfusion, and maternal death. For the fetus, anemia increases the risk of low birth weight, neonatal intensive care admission, and mortality. Beyond health effects, anemia imposes medical expenses and reduces productivity, burdening individuals and national economies. To meet the recommended dietary allowance (27 mg/day), Health Canada advises pregnant individuals to take multivitamins containing 16–20 mg of elemental iron. However, in 2023, 15.1% of pregnant women in Canada were anemic, and little is known about the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding anemia and iron supplementation in high-income countries like Canada.
- ItemUniversity Students in Canada and Contextual Considerations: A Rapid Scoping Review(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-09) Long, Rachel P.The complex needs of university students are (and have been) present across the (globalized) Canadian landscape and continue to rapidly evolve with conditions and dynamic contextual settings in which students (and instructors) are situated. Although the importance of context is widely accepted and commonly emphasized across education literature (e.g., in bridging theory and practice), the complexity of context as a concept is evident through fragmented contextual discourse and understanding. Considering the complexities of context and its interrelated nature with other variables, a fragmented literature landscape and clarity issues surrounding terminology, distinct landscape in which university students in Canada are situated, along with diverse and evolving student needs: the aim of this study is to provide a preliminary exploration into what is known (and what is not known) about the concept of contextual considerations relating to students enrolled in Canadian public university institutions, and the practical application of these considerations in university teaching practice. This review was modified from the standard scoping review process with the implementation of a rapid approach and structure which caters to a master’s thesis project. The theoretical framework critical social theory and conceptual frameworks (1) adult education and lifelong learning discipline and (2) Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory (process-person-context-time [PPCT] model) has been utilized. Scholarly literature has been primarily considered for this review (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles), those of which were available in English and published between 2015 to 2025. Included sources offer discourse surrounding ideas of context and university students in public universities across the Canadian provinces. With only one reviewer for this study, a few consultations were made with the project supervisor and a research librarian to support the project. A broad Novanet catalogue search was conducted and titles, abstracts, and full-text sources were screened. Data from included sources were extracted utilizing an extraction form in Excel. Data analysis was conducted through descriptive statistical analysis and descriptive content analysis, presented in tables added to the appendices. The PRISMA-ScR reporting criteria with updated guidance by Peters et al. (2020) supported in the structure of the following thesis.
- ItemLearning from Nova Scotia Career Development Professionals: A Futures-Oriented Theoretical Framework Developed through a Critical Realist Approach(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-09) Murphy, Joel S.In a rapidly changing world, sectors across society are investing heavily in anticipating and preparing for future disruptions; however, the field of youth career development has received comparatively little attention. This dissertation addresses this gap by exploring the possible futures of youth career development in Nova Scotia, Canada, with a time horizon of 2030. Career development professionals (CDPs) are increasingly facing complex challenges, including volatile labour markets, evolving educational models, and emerging generations with distinct values and expectations. Through the adoption of an engaged critical realist scholar approach, this study embedded iterative futures research methods (modified Delphi, environmental scan, and rapid realist review) within a realist-informed paradigm. The resulting Futures-Oriented Theoretical Framework was composed of five middle-range theories particularly relevant to the context of 2030. The theories identified and selected after the nine phases of data gathering and analysis are Critical Digital Literacy, Intersectionality Theory, Basic Psychological Needs Theory, Emotional Intelligence Theory, and Possible Future Selves Theory. This framework aims to support CDPs in critically and creatively designing programs, services, and interventions for Generation Z and the older members of Generation Alpha. Grounded in the Nova Scotian context, the framework is designed to be generalizable across Canadian career development settings, offering a strategic tool to help CDPs anticipate, adapt, and lead in the future of accelerating change.
- ItemThe Intergenerational Impacts of Military Service-Related Moral Injury(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-07) Reeves, KathrynMoral injury, defined as the psychosocial and spiritual distress resulting from actions or events that transgress deeply held moral beliefs, is increasingly recognized as a risk of employment within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). While much of the existing literature focuses on the internal experiences of morally injured service members and Veterans, there remains a critical gap in understanding the intergenerational experiences of moral injury in families, particularly children raised in military families. This study explores the retrospective experiences of adult children of CAF Veterans who participants perceived to have incurred a military service-related moral injury. Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach within interpretive and critical paradigms, this research centers the lived experiences of 11 adult participants through semi-structured interviews. Framed by the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model, a military-sensitive life course perspective, and a critical ecological lens, the findings reveal the long-term emotional, relational, and identity-based consequences of a parent’s moral injury, as well as adaptive strategies developed in response to moral injury-related family dynamics. The study highlights the need for inclusive policies and support systems that acknowledge moral injury as a family experience. Recommendations are offered for research, policy, and practice aimed at improving the health and well-being of military-connected families.