Graduate Theses

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

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    Understanding how long-term care organizational context affects nurses’ quality of work life in Nova Scotia: A model of workforce support
    (Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-12) Duynisveld, Amber
    Understanding how work environment in long term care (LTC) homes impacts staff quality of work life is fundamental to strengthening workforce stability. Guided by Kanter’s theory of structural empowerment, I suggest that organizational context (OC) helps explain LTC nurses’ job satisfaction (JS), a relationship potentially mediated by psychological empowerment (PE). I tested this theoretical model (OC-PE-JS) by examining how LTC work environment, measured by four organizational context (OC) variables (leadership, evaluation, culture, and social capital) associates with nurses’ job satisfaction (JS) while being mediated by PE. Data were collected in December 2021 using a convenience sample of 10 Nova Scotia LTC homes. Eligible nurses (n=138) completed the TREC survey online. I tested the validity of the four OC subscales on this sample using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. I used path analysis modelling to examine the three-part OC-PE-JS model using individual aspects of organizational context to test the PE mediation hypothesis. Results of factor analyses supported the use of the four OC subscales in this sample. I found PE to partially mediate the impact of leadership, culture, and social capital on job satisfaction, and fully mediate the impact of evaluation on job satisfaction. The results indicate that leadership, culture, and social capital each have significant direct and total impact on JS within this model, suggesting that LTC organizations and managers can provide emotionally intelligent leadership and opportunities for professional growth to maintain a stable, effective workforce
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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.