Graduate Theses

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https://hdl.handle.net/10587/95

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    The Social Obligation Paradox: #BlockOut and Celebrity Silence on TikTok
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2026-12-08) Blundon, Hannah
    This thesis examines the #BlockOut movement on TikTok, a short-lived but highly visible digital activism campaign in which users blocked celebrities perceived as silent or indifferent toward the genocide in Gaza. The study investigates why audiences expect celebrities and influencers to engage in sociopolitical discourse, how celebrity silence became framed as complicity, and what this reveals about power, performance, and accountability in digital culture. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design, the research analyzed 973 comments from 11 high-engagement TikTok videos alongside follower and engagement data for the most frequently mentioned celebrities. Findings show that TikTok users positioned celebrities as moral agents obligated to speak out, transforming silence into a politically meaningful act. Seven discursive themes revealed how users negotiated responsibility and belonging within the movement. Although #BlockOut generated significant attention and momentary shifts in online behaviour, its measurable impact on celebrity status was limited, and its momentum rapidly declined. The study concludes that #BlockOut exposes a paradox at the heart of contemporary digital activism: public expectations for celebrity advocacy are intensified by parasocial relationships and platform logics, yet these same dynamics undermine sustained collective action.
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    Communicating Imminent Safety Threats: Understanding the Use of Emergency Alerting by Canadian Law Enforcement
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025) Maier, Mandy
    Mandatory 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.
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    Prenatal iron supplementation in Nova Scotia: an exploratory cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitudes and practices
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-08) Goldberg, Devora
    Iron 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.
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    University 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.