Graduate Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
- ItemAffective Democratic Discourse and Lisa Hanna: The Representation and Treatment of a Jamaican Woman Politician on Social Media(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2023-09) Atkinson, EsrickThis graduate project was conducted to get a better understanding of how women, specifically women politicians in the Global South, are treated on social media. The unique case of Lisa Hanna was chosen and 167 posts were extracted from her Facebook page during the period of March and October 2022. A Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was undertaken, in order to get a better understanding of how Hanna self- presented personally and politically on Facebook. The CDA was also instrumental in helping the researcher to highlight the manner in which the discourse from the comments section on Hanna’s posts represented her as well as the role played by affect in determining how Hanna was treated on Facebook. Eight major themes were extracted from the discourse and interpreted based on the theories of intersectionality and affect. The findings were also discussed within the Jamaican context from which they emerged, and my experiences and personal observations as a Black Jamaican man, who studied political science, were incorporated into the interpretation of these findings.
- ItemRe-setting the Table: Exploring the Counter-stories of Racialized Dietitians in Canada(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2023-09) Dhami, Gurneet KaurOn the first day of orientation at the School of Nutrition at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in August 2012, I was told that only some people in the room would become dietitians going into this nutrition program. I thought to myself, “What a discouraging thing to say before we even start, right?!” Looking around the room, I will not say I was not judging, but we were all judging; I felt it. Although I was shy and quiet since day one, I made it a mission to chase this title I dreamed of in my high school’s home economics class. As a resourceful child of immigrants, I knew I would have to forge a unique path like the movie characters that taught me about university life. My parents immigrated from Panjab, India, and like many folks in my Etobicoke North suburbs of Rexdale, worked in blue-collar jobs to afford a working-middle-class lifestyle. The students in my orientation class were a mix, but now that I think of it, I was naive not to name the difference in economic and racial class representation since day one. Also, never did I think these small moments would lead me to stir the pot and question dietetic diversity in the profession I am about to join as a dietitian. During my undergraduate studies, many small moments made me internally question the lack of diversity and race conversations in dietetics. Over five years, certain exchanges with colleagues and educators made me feel odd, and I often would equate that to not being seen as “dietitian material”. The nicest way I could rationalize that feeling was the unconscious bias towards me. One of the few stand-out moments is my interaction with my course counsellor. I often see them giving pep talks to white students, which would cut into my meeting time which was never appropriately booked on their end. I still sought help despite the judgmental interactions with the course counsellor surrounding my potential- I knew deep down I would return and share the program I got into so the counsellor would see my value. However, today I was not as important as the white student with their problems. I hated being overlooked and almost switched out of the program until my friend convinced me otherwise on our commute home. Because I saw the dietetics profession differently, I would seek out events and activities outside the program. Most of my university friends came from various sociology electives- something I was advised not to pursue as a minor. Understanding how society functions through pop culture, relationships, and theory opened my mind to many intersections we did not explore in our nutrition program. How can I support racialized communities to eat healthily despite economic and social hardships? How does colonialism impact our relationship with Indigenous communities? These questions and intersectional conversations were missing from nutrition courses. I felt the privilege reflected in the student’s behaviours in some nutrition class presentations around health promotion activities in neighbourhood improvement areas and raised questions. My peers did not have much to share, and an educator later shared that my questions were good, but everyone was too competitive at this stage in the program to engage in discussion. I felt discouraged and never uncomfortable fitting into the mould, so I attended business, political and art events on campus. Whenever I asked nutrition peers to join, I was asked, “Is that nutrition-related?” because they did not see the point, and that is what made me gravitate towards having friends in fields outside of my study. Beyond the program, volunteer commitments in my Rexdale community and around Toronto kept me busy. I tried to get into any small area that I could, be it a food bank, kids’ program, health promotion, events, you name it, I tried it out. Although I faced resistance, I found the best time to be spent with people outside of nutrition sharing their thoughts on nutrition, which in the long run, helped me craft a better idea of my career goals. I never stopped researching. I always tried to get a certificate, meet with someone cool and work on my resume. In my final year of the program, I decided on a few internships I wanted to pursue and master’s programs. My networks came through during this challenging time to provide me with references and guidance for the interview process. By March 2017, I got two offers fulfilling my dietitian dream and one belligerent comment from a peer reminding me that I still did not belong in dietetics. As much as you do not want word to go out on not getting into a program, the harshest comments are from those who got into a program. I was away at a business conference when we heard back from dietetic internship programs, so I do not know what that atmosphere was in class the day everyone found out. A week or so later, when I was with a classmate discussing our extra-curricular activities, they hesitantly told me about an incident they felt bad holding back. A classmate commented on whether peers would sink or swim during internship or master’s programs. My classmate was present at the time of the discussion, which was cruel and honestly just unprofessional from my understanding. When my name came up, the person said something along the lines of “It is going to be hard for Gurneet to fit in” to my rural internship or East Coast master’s program, which is where my classmate interjected and said, “Gurneet’s not that dark”…and things were just left at the moment. When sharing this story, they got emotional and feared I would too. I was taken back by a classmate who said this is also racialized…like why ?! I laughed it off and replied, “I knew my social location before I applied to these places,” to soften the blow…which again took me back to the isolating feel I felt on day one. Despite getting in, I still felt like I did not belong. Ultimately, I chose the master’s program over the internship because I wanted to research. And the very topic I was going to research was chosen when I shared this story with my thesis advisor over a Skype call. I felt like I would be able to rewrite a wrong and explore dietetic diversity at Mount Saint Vincent University. The Fall of 2017 was a massive transition to a new province and university, where I did not know anyone. Although I was welcomed, this doubtful feeling I had from my undergrad program still lingered concerning whether or not people would support my multifaceted and non-conventional approach to dietetics. It became clear that although anti-racism discussions were happening and I could be more open with faculty, the same issues were presented when I tried to befriend and get to know dietetic students, especially the white students. I look back and still laugh at how much I just went with the flow because everyone seemed progressive. The moment white classmates said they wanted to “wash the whiteness of their skin” and that “more diverse students accepted into internship will prevent them from getting in” were my ah-hah moments. This is also where I gravitated to a few racialized students in the program from the graduate and undergraduate levels to provide me with the company I needed to belong. These social obstacles deflected me from my dietitian goal, so the more I went anywhere and everywhere else but my thesis. There is a lot in between to celebrate that I don’t want to discredit, such as mentorship, counselling, interdisciplinary events, programs and funds that made me find joy when I needed it most. Those who helped me at my lowest know who they are as I became self-consumed in the pain of my participants through my thesis journey. Thank you for the laughs, caring messages and memorable advice that got me through the last five years. As I reflect on my master’s experience, there is a good reason why a racialized dietetic student just getting their Registered Dietitian designation will not jeopardize their career by speaking out against racism and injustice in the profession with a thesis. It has not been done since dietitians have researched in Canada, so why? I learned this the painful way, but I am still here as an almost dietitian, and, to be honest, I do not know if I want the title as I once did. My most significant achievement today is supporting a cause more prominent than the dietitian title, and that is finally finishing up this thesis for the dietetics community in Canada and beyond! The opportunity to make off the table comments surrounding the experiences of racialized dietitians as table topics is a pivotal moment in the dietetics field. We must address racism, discrimination and professional culture that continues to sideline individuals from entering and being welcomed into the profession. This is only the beginning and a journey we must take together in breaking down barriers with anti-oppression at the forefront. Reading the following hundred pages will inform you about what I learned so we can have nutrition orientations that bring us together in the profession with a sense of community rather than competition. It is time to put the talk into paper and paper into policy and action in 2023 and beyond!
- ItemSuicide of Older Adults: A Sad Ending to an Untold Story(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2023-10) White, Catherine MayMany older adults enjoy healthy aging while others face a range of losses (health, companions, resources, meaning in life) that can result in social isolation, loneliness, and fear that one will become a burden. The challenge of accepting a declining quality of life, lack of a sense of purpose, and increased dependence on others may become too great, contributing to the risk for suicide. While risk factors and protective factors are identified, each suicide is different. There is a lack of consensus on how suicidal ideation arises and little existing research to illuminate the lived experience of how older adults move from ideation-to-action. The purpose of this study was to create an opportunity for people over the age of 50 who have recently attempted suicide to share their personal experience. A better understanding of what leads older adults to attempt suicide may help to develop approaches to suicide prevention that better address their needs. Narrative Inquiry was chosen as the methodology for this study as it lends well to sharing stories of lived experience and accounts of specific events or actions, specifically ones with a turning point. Four participants engaged in two interviews. The first provided each person the opportunity to share their story, with minimal prompts provided. The second allowed them to review the preliminary findings and clarify as needed. Although the findings revealed alignment with the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide which posits that suicide is the result of simultaneous existence of thwarted belonging and perceived burdensomeness, accompanied by hopelessness, there was great diversity in the ways they did so. Some carried burden while others feared becoming a burden. Thwarted belonging was evident in the ways participants evaluated their role in the family. Some were socially excluded from family events, while others felt a general lack and having something to offer in the world. The Critical-Ecological Framework added an additional lens through which to view the findings. The intertwined ecological levels of the environment (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem) added a depth of understanding that illuminated the challenges inherent with maintaining an exclusive focus on mental health issues as strictly an individual issue, as is often the case in mental health services. Participants wanted more than another prescription. They wanted to be included and valued, and to feel that they had something to offer. Mental health services could benefit from the knowledge that interventions such as social prescribing and occupational therapy could be a good fit for supporting people to supplement symptom management with finding meaningful activities in which to engage. Community responses to create welcoming, accessible and inclusive environments and opportunities for intergeneration participation could also be helpful. In conclusion, there are many pathways to suicidal ideation, requiring a multi- pronged approach when it comes to prevention. The biomedical approach is not enough to support older adults who are considering ending their lives. People need a sense of purpose. Battling ideologies such as agism and helping people to overcome barriers to inclusion and find activities that are meaningful are required.
- ItemSupporting EAL Students with Learning Disabilities: An Exploration Through Self- Evaluation of the Ability of Teachers to Organically Implement Targeted Learning Strategy Supports into the General Classroom(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2023-08) Lopez Valerio, Joanne L.Literature reveals that supporting English as additional language students is complex on its own. However, there is a sub-population, English as an additional language students with learning disabilities, that can slip through the cracks. The co-existence of the language challenges and the neurological challenges in this population make supporting this population a unique challenge. This thesis is based on qualitative research and aimed to investigate how teachers perceive their ability to naturally apply learning strategies to assist students with special needs in regular classrooms. A total of 6 teacher participants took part in this qualitative research project and explored their participation in three self-reflective questionnaires and one online training. Through a reflexive thematic analysis, the research yielded 4 culminating themes that impact the participants’ potential ability to support English as additional language students with learning disabilities through targeted learning strategies in the general education classroom. The study found that the problem of not having enough time, freedom and expectations in the profession of teaching, teachers’ own personal and professional capabilities, and their beliefs regarding the general educator’s role in supporting these students are the greatest commonalities impacting teachers’ ability to use specific learning strategies to support English as an additional language students with learning disabilities in the general education classroom. In conclusion, the researcher identified that while 6 participants might not be ideal, the diversity of the 6 participants lends to an intriguing picture of internal and external variables that might ultimately be affecting many teachers’ ability to support this unique population in the general education classroom.
- ItemActivism: Does it fall within the roles and responsibilities of all physicians? Perspectives of Atlantic Canadian physician-activists(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2023-08) Bromley, Alexandra EHealth advocacy is an expectation of all Canadian physicians according to the CanMEDS framework, which defines necessary competencies for medical practice in Canada. Whether advocacy work specifically as activism is a professional responsibility is debated by physicians and is not adequately addressed in previous literature.