Search Constraints

Start Over
Filtering by: Language English Remove constraint Language: English Resource Type Article Remove constraint Resource Type: Article

Search Results

  • Branding History at the Canadian Museum of Civilization

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Aronczyk, Melissa and Brady, Miranda J.
    Abstract:
    In October 2012, the Canadian Heritage Minister announced that the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the country’s largest and most popular museum, would be renamed the Canadian Museum of History. In addition to the new name, three strategies—a strategy of engagement, a strategy of authority, and a strategy of expansion—were elaborated by museum and government officials as part of the transformation. We examine these three strategies as an example of the Harper government’s attempt to “brand” Canadian identity and history in its own image, arguing that the strategies were designed expressly to paper over near-unilateral changes in the museum’s mandate and transformation. Ultimately, these changes have problematic implications for the democratic management of cultural production in Canada.
    Date Created:
    2015-09-01

  • University Biology Patrons in the Library Literature 2000-2010: A Content Analysis & Literature Review

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Newton Miller, Laura
    Abstract:
    The researcher conducted a content analysis and literature review of papers written from 2000-2010 that focused on university biology students, faculty, and their papers. Scholarly articles were divided into the library research domains. The largest number of papers was from the Education domain, followed closely by Collections. Only two papers were categorized as Reference/Enquiries, and no papers were found in Management and Professional Issues. This research will enable science librarians to better understand what has already been written about biology subjects in a university setting. Gaps in the literature can help other librarians who are interested in pursuing more research with biology subjects.
    Date Created:
    2011-10-16

  • Entropy, triangulation, and point location in planar subdivisions

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Langerman, S., Morin, P., Dujmovic, V., Iacono, J., and Collette, S.
    Abstract:
    A data structure is presented for point location in connected planar subdivisions when the distribution of queries is known in advance. The data structure has an expected query time that is within a constant factor of optimal. More specifically, an algorithm is presented that preprocesses a connected planar subdivision, G, of size n and a query distribution, D, to produce a point location data structure for G. The expected number of point-line comparisons performed by this data structure, when the queries are distributed according to D, is H' + O(H^{1/2}+1) where H'=H'(G,D)$ is a lower bound on the expected number of point-line comparisons performed by any linear decision tree for point location in G under the query distribution D. The preprocessing algorithm runs in O(n log n) time and produces a data structure of size O(n). These results are obtained by creating a Steiner triangulation of G that has near-minimum entropy.
    Date Created:
    2013-02-25

  • The "Xochimilco model" for managing irregular settlements in conservation land in Mexico City

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Wigle, Jill
    Abstract:
    Mexico City has long been known as one of the world’s largest mega-cities. Although, the city’s growth rates have slowed since the 1980s, this process is not manifested evenly in spatial terms. Peripheral municipalities continue to grow at higher rates, including those municipalities in the southern part of the Federal District that contain its remaining conservation land. This growth is largely, but not exclusively, driven by the ongoing search for housing among lower-income households in the form of irregular settlement. Over time, this incremental pattern of settlement expansion has fragmented conservation land and impaired its ecological functioning. Given their role in land use planning with the reintroduction of elected local governments in the Federal District in 1997, this situation has placed municipalities quite literally at the ‘‘frontlines” of this planning and sustainability challenge. This paper examines the approach for managing land use regularization processes related to irregular settlement in conservation land adopted by the municipality of Xochimilco in its 2005 urban development plan, with reference to the experience of a specific case study community. Based on a series of interviews with residents and planning officials, the paper documents the highly-negotiated nature of ‘‘normative” planning that focuses on mitigating the impact of settlement in the conservation zone rather than stopping it completely. Given the enormous social pressures to access land for housing, the paper concludes that realistic efforts to preserve the remaining conservation land must involve a more comprehensive approach that better integrates environmental and social equity issues within and among municipal and upper-levels of government.
    Date Created:
    2010-04-17

  • Social Relations, Property and 'Peripheral' Informal Settlement: The Case of Ampliación San Marcos, Mexico City

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Wigle, Jill
    Abstract:
    This article explores the complexities of informal urbanisation at the metropolitan periphery of Mexico City through a case study of Ampliación San Marcos, a former agricultural area on the city's south-eastern periphery. While the physical annexation of small towns and their environs is a common feature of Mexico City's growth, the settlement of Ampliación San Marcos is more accurately described as a two-pronged process involving the extension of a nearby pre-Hispanic town and the expansion of Mexico City itself. The case study shows that the rural periphery of Mexico City is no tabula rasa upon which urban growth simply 'takes place', rather, settlement processes are influenced by longstanding in situ social relations and practices related to property. The paper highlights the importance of considering the relationships among social relations, property and informal settlement for understanding the complexity of metropolitan growth and change in large cities such as Mexico City.
    Date Created:
    2009-03-01

  • Quebecus Horribilis: Theatricality, the «Moment of Horror» and Quebec’s «Satanist» Cinema.

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Loiselle, Andre
    Abstract:
    In their book, Grand-Guignol: The French Theatre of Horror (2002), Richard J. Hand and Michael Wilson argue that horror plays performed at the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol from the late 19th century to the theatre’s closure in the early 1960s generally oscillated in style between realism and melodrama. The former would prevail during most of the drama, as the “normal” narrative would unfold, until the “moment of horror” when the tone would switch drastically to melodramatic dread. This article argues that a similar shift operates in Quebec horror films, especially those films that deal with Satanism. At “moments of horror,” these films replicate the theatricality of stylized melodrama, breaking with the realism of secure normality. The shift from realism to theatricality is all the more unsettling in French Canadian horror films that Quebec cinema has traditionally tended towards realism and has generally avoided the “fantastique”. This break from the realist tradition of Quebec cinema parallels the films’ break from French Canada’ religious tradition, as moments of horror coincide with moments of blasphemy. Looking at three Quebec “Satanist” films from the past thirty-five years (Le Diable est parmi nous, The Pyx, and Sur le seuil), the author identifies elements of montage and mise-en-scène that represent instances of cinematic theatricality, where the set, the cinematography, the editing, the actor’s gestures and speech, through theatrical artifice, stand out as aberrations within the realistic, Catholic milieu depicted on screen.
    Date Created:
    2008-03-20

  • Publishing Graduate Student Research in Geography: The Fundamentals

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Tudin, Susan and Ballamingie, Patricia
    Abstract:
    This paper offer practical advice on publishing graduate student research within the discipline of geography, addressing the following questions: why, when, where, what, how and with whom? Section 'The paper chase' delineates the importance of publishing, identifies potential material to publish, suggests venues in which to publish and offers pragmatic advice on how to negotiate the publishing process (with regards to peers, supervisors and editors). Section 'In library resources' discusses the effective use of library resources, demystifies the significance of impact factors and elucidates the history of Open Access publishing.
    Date Created:
    2013-09-18

  • The Paradoxical Nature of the Canadian Identity

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Nimijean, Richard
    Date Created:
    2005-02-01

  • Athermal silicon waveguides with bridged subwavelength gratings for TE and TM polarizations

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Ibrahim, Marc, Janz, Siegfried, Cheben, Pavel, Xu, Dan-Xia, Schmid, Jens H., Ma, Rubin, Aleali, Alireza, Lamontagne, Boris, Bock, Przemek J., Lapointe, Jean, Densmore, Adam, and Ye, Winnie N.
    Abstract:
    In this paper, athermal silicon waveguides using bridged subwavelength grating (BSWG) structures are proposed and investigated. The realization of temperature-independent BSWG waveguides for both polarizations is demonstrated numerically and experimentally. SU-8 polymer is used as the cladding material to compensate for the positive thermo-optic (TO) coefficient (dn/dT) of silicon. We investigate the dependence of the effective TO coefficient of BSWG waveguides on both the bridge width and grating duty cycle. The BSWG waveguides have a width of 490 nm, a height of 260 nm, and a grating pitch of 250 nm. Athermal behavior is achieved for both the transverse-magnetic (TM) and the transverse-electric (TE) polarized light for a variety of bridge width and duty cycle combinations. Furthermore, the BSWGs can be designed to be athermal for both TE and TM polarization simultaneously.
    Date Created:
    2012-07-30

  • Explicit and implicit issues in the developmental cognitive neuroscience of social inequality

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    D'Angiulli, Amedeo, Lipina, Sebastian J., and Olesinska, Alice
    Abstract:
    The appearance of developmental cognitive neuroscience (DCN) in the socioeconomic status (SES) research arena is hugely transformative, but challenging. We review challenges rooted in the implicit and explicit assumptions informing this newborn field. We provide balanced theoretical alternatives on how hypothesized psychological processes map onto the brain (e.g., problem of localization) and how experimental phenomena at multiple levels of analysis (e.g., behavior, cognition and the brain) could be related. We therefore examine unclear issues regarding the existing perspectives on poverty and their relationships with low SES, the evidence of low-SES adaptive functioning, historical precedents of the “alternate pathways” (neuroplasticity) interpretation of learning disabilities related to low-SES and the notion of deficit, issues of “normativity” and validity in findings of neurocognitive differences between children from different SES, and finally alternative interpretations of the complex relationship between IQ and SES. Particularly, we examine the extent to which the available laboratory results may be interpreted as showing that cognitive performance in low-SES children reflects cognitive and behavioral deficits as a result of growing up in specific environmental or cultural contexts, and how the experimental findings should be interpreted for the design of different types of interventions—particularly those related to educational practices—or translated to the public—especially the media. Although a cautionary tone permeates many studies, still, a potential deficit attribution—i.e., low-SES is associated with cognitive and behavioral developmental deficits—seems almost an inevitable implicit issue with ethical implications. Finally, we sketch the agenda for an ecological DCN, suggesting recommendations to advance the field, specifically, to minimize equivocal divulgation and maximize ethically responsible translation.
    Date Created:
    2015-08-21

  • Forging A Template for Undergraduate Collaborative Research: A Case Study

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Graham, Debra, Couchman, Ronald, and Hempstead, Janet
    Abstract:
    Undergraduate collaborative research is highlighted in many university initiatives; how-ever there is a lack of exemplars in disciplines that do not employ the scientific method. “Pop Music Reviews” was an attempt to forge a template for Women’s and Gender Stud-ies. This paper presents a description of the pilot project and provides qualitative assess-ments by the first- and second-year students, fourth-year teaching assistant (TA), refer-ence librarian, and professor. Together, the appraisals indicate that there are two different but equally necessary components for a successful collaborative research endeavour: the structural setting and the social and emotional environment. In both these components, there were weaknesses in the areas of planning and background training. Yet, the benefits as perceived through the experiences of the various participants were significant. Report-ed gains included increased understanding of research processes and applications, en-hanced critical thinking skills, expanded disciplinary knowledge, improved student moti-vation and confidence, greater interest in graduate studies, and the fostering of collegial interactions and mentoring.
    Date Created:
    2012-09-09

  • Vividness of visual imagery and incidental recall of verbal cues, when phenomenological availability

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Zakizadeh, Jila, Runge, Matthew, Faulkner, Andrew, D'Angiulli, Amedeo, Morcos, Selvana, and Chan, Aldrich
    Abstract:
    The relationship between vivid visual mental images and unexpected recall (incidental recall) was replicated, refined, and extended. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to generate mental images from imagery-evoking verbal cues (controlled on several verbal properties) and then, on a trial-by-trial basis, rate the vividness of their images; 30 min later, participants were surprised with a task requiring free recall of the cues. Higher vividness ratings predicted better incidental recall of the cues than individual differences (whose effect was modest). Distributional analysis of image latencies through ex-Gaussian modeling showed an inverse relation between vividness and latency. However, recall was unrelated to image latency. The follow-up Experiment 2 showed that the processes underlying trial-by-trial vividness ratings are unrelated to the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), as further supported by a meta-analysis of a randomly selected sample of relevant literature. The present findings suggest that vividness may act as an index of availability of long-term sensory traces, playing a non-epiphenomenal role in facilitating the access of those memories.
    Date Created:
    2013-01-02

  • Adaptive Plasticity in Wild Field Cricket’s Acoustic Signaling

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Fitzsimmons, Lauren P., Harrison, Sarah J., Thomson, Ian R., and Bertram, Susan
    Abstract:
    Phenotypic plasticity can be adaptive when phenotypes are closely matched to changes in the environment. In crickets, rhythmic fluctuations in the biotic and abiotic environment regularly result in diel rhythms in density of sexually active individuals. Given that density strongly influences the intensity of sexual selection, we asked whether crickets exhibit plasticity in signaling behavior that aligns with these rhythmic fluctuations in the socio-sexual environment. We quantified the acoustic mate signaling behavior of wild-caught males of two cricket species, Gryllus veletis and G. pennsylvanicus. Crickets exhibited phenotypically plastic mate signaling behavior, with most males signaling more often and more attractively during the times of day when mating activity is highest in the wild. Most male G. pennsylvanicus chirped more often and louder, with shorter interpulse durations, pulse periods, chirp durations, and interchirp durations, and at slightly higher carrier frequencies during the time of the day that mating activity is highest in the wild. Similarly, most male G. veletis chirped more often, with more pulses per chirp, longer interpulse durations, pulse periods, and chirp durations, shorter interchirp durations, and at lower carrier frequencies during the time of peak mating activity in the wild. Among-male variation in signaling plasticity was high, with some males signaling in an apparently maladaptive manner. Body size explained some of the among-male variation in G. pennsylvanicus plasticity but not G. veletis plasticity. Overall, our findings suggest that crickets exhibit phenotypically plastic mate attraction signals that closely match the fluctuating socio-sexual context they experience.
    Date Created:
    2013-07-22

  • The social biology professor: Effective strategies for social media engagement

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Katti, Madhusudan and Bertram, Susan
    Abstract:
    Evolutionary biology and ecology have always been collaborative enterprises, benefitting enormously from active communication of ideas among traditional academic networks of peers. The Internet age, with its thriving online social networks, offers new tools that can help our current generation of biologists to collaborate, and communicate with the public, more effectively. Having a dynamic web presence, being part of an active blogging, Facebook, or Google+ community, and being a strategic tweeter can help your research, teaching, and service programs. Below we outline how to be a strategically savvy and active social media scientist, and discuss some of the pitfalls to avoid wasting time. We highlight some ecologists and evolutionary biologists who are active in social media to help you understand the many ways social media can help you in your academic life.
    Date Created:
    2013-07-07

  • Circannual changes in stress and feeding hormones and their effect on food-seeking behaviors.

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Holahan, Matthew, Cahill, Shaina, and Tuplin, Erin
    Abstract:
    Seasonal fluctuations in food availability show a tight association with seasonal variations in body weight and food intake. Seasonal variations in food intake, energy storage and expenditure appear to be a widespread phenomenon suggesting they may have evolved in anticipation for changing environmental demands. These cycles appear to be driven by changes in external daylength acting on neuroendocrine pathways. A number of neuroendocrine pathways, two of which are the endocrine mechanisms underlying feeding and stress, appear to show seasonal changes in both their circulating levels and reactivity. As such, variation in the level or reactivity to these hormones may be crucial factors in the control of seasonal variations in food-seeking behaviours. The present review examines the relationship between feeding behavior and seasonal changes in circulating hormones. We hypothesize that seasonal changes in circulating levels of glucocorticoids and the feeding-related hormones ghrelin and leptin contribute to seasonal fluctuations in feeding-related behaviors. This review will focus on the seasonal circulating levels of these hormones as well as sensitivity to these hormones in the modulation of food-seeking behaviors.
    Date Created:
    2013-07-23

  • Flavonol-rich dark cocoa significantly decreases plasma endothelin-1 and improves cognitive responses in urban children.

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    D'Angiulli, Amedeo, Aragón-Flores, Mariana, Mukherjee, Partha S., Cross, Janet V., Gómez-Garza, Gilberto, Zhu, Hongtu, Chao, Chih-kai, Mora-Tiscareño, Antonieta, Franco-Lira, Maricela, Engle, Randall, Jewells, Valerie, Solorio, Edelmira, Weili, Lin, Medina-Cortina, Humberto, Torres-Jardón, Ricardo, Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian, and Ferreira-Azevedo, Lara
    Abstract:
    Air pollution exposures are linked to systemic inflammation, cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality, neuroinflammation and neuropathology in young urbanites. In particular, most Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) children exhibit subtle cognitive deficits, and neuropathology studies show 40% of them exhibiting frontal tau hyperphosphorylation and 51% amyloid-β diffuse plaques (compared to 0% in low pollution control children). We assessed whether a short cocoa intervention can be effective in decreasing plasma endothelin 1 (ET-1) and/or inflammatory mediators in MCMA children. Thirty gram of dark cocoa with 680 mg of total flavonols were given daily for 10.11 ± 3.4 days (range 9–24 days) to 18 children (10.55 years, SD = 1.45; 11F/7M). Key metabolite ratios in frontal white matter and in hippocampus pre and during cocoa intervention were quantified by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. ET-1 significantly decreased after cocoa treatment (p = 0.0002). Fifteen children (83%) showed a marginally significant individual improvement in one or both of the applied simple short memory tasks. Endothelial dysfunction is a key feature of exposure to particulate matter (PM) and decreased endothelin-1 bioavailability is likely useful for brain function in the context of air pollution. Our findings suggest that cocoa interventions may be critical for early implementation of neuroprotection of highly exposed urban children. Multi-domain nutraceutical interventions could limit the risk for endothelial dysfunction, cerebral hypoperfusion, neuroinflammation, cognitive deficits, structural volumetric detrimental brain effects, and the early development of the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
    Date Created:
    2013-08-02

  • Charting the role of the number line in mathematical development

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    LeFevre, Jo-Anne, Kamawar, Deepthi, Jimenez Lira, Carolina, Sowinski, Carla, Cankaya, Ozlem, and Skwarchuk, Sheri-Lynn
    Abstract:
    Individuals who do well in mathematics and science also often have good spatial skills. However, the predictive direction of links between spatial abilities and mathematical learning has not been firmly established, especially for young children. In the present research, we addressed this issue using a sample from a longitudinal data set that spanned 4 years and which includes measures of mathematical performance and various cognitive skills, including spatial ability. Children were tested once in each of 4 years (Time 1, 2, 3, and 4). At Time 3 and 4, 101 children (in Grades 2, 3, or 4 at Time 3) completed mathematical measures including (a) a number line task (0–1000), (b) arithmetic, and (c) number system knowledge. Measures of spatial ability were collected at Time 1, 2, or 3. As expected, spatial ability was correlated with all of the mathematical measures at Time 3 and 4, and predicted growth in number line performance from Time 3 to Time 4. However, spatial ability did not predict growth in either arithmetic or in number system knowledge. Path analyses were used to test whether number line performance at Time 3 was predictive of arithmetic and number system knowledge at Time 4 or whether the reverse patterns were dominant. Contrary to the prediction that the number line is an important causal construct that facilitates learning arithmetic, no evidence was found that number line performance predicted growth in calculation more than calculation predicted number line growth. However, number system knowledge at Time 3 was predictive of number line performance at Time 4, independently of spatial ability. These results provide useful information about which aspects of growth in mathematical performance are (and are not) related to spatial ability and clarify the relations between number line performance and measures of arithmetic and number system knowledge.
    Date Created:
    2013-08-29

  • Covariation and repeatability of male mating effort and mating preferences in a promiscuous fish.

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Godin, Jean-Guy and Auld, Heather L.
    Abstract:
    Although mate choice by males does occur in nature, our understanding of its importance in driving evolutionary change remains limited compared with that for female mate choice. Recent theoretical models have shown that the evolution of male mate choice is more likely when individual variation in male mating effort and mating preferences exist and positively covary within populations. However, relatively little is known about the nature of such variation and its maintenance within natural populations. Here, using the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) as a model study system, we report that mating effort and mating preferences in males, based on female body length (a strong correlate of fecundity), positively covary and are significantly variable among subjects. Individual males are thus consistent, but not unanimous, in their mate choice. Both individual mating effort (including courtship effort) and mating preference were significantly repeatable. These novel findings support the assumptions and predictions of recent evolutionary models of male mate choice, and are consistent with the presence of additive genetic variation for male mate choice based on female size in our study population and thus with the opportunity for selection and further evolution of large female body size through male mate choice.
    Date Created:
    2013-10-03

  • Can convict cichlids (Amatitlania siquia) socially learn the degree of predation risk associated with novel visual cues in their environment?

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Barks, Patrick M. and Godin, Jean-Guy
    Abstract:
    For many animals, the ability to distinguish cues indicative of predation risk from cues unrelated to predation risk is not entirely innate, but rather is learned and improved with experience. Two pathways to such learning are possible. First, an animal could initially express antipredator behaviour toward a wide range of cues and subsequently learn which of those cues are non-threatening. Alternatively, it could initially express no antipredator behaviour toward a wide range of cues and subsequently learn which of them are threatening. While the learned recognition of threatening cues may occur either through personal interaction with a cue (asocial learning) or through observation of the behaviour of social companions toward a cue (social learning), the learned recognition of non-threatening cues seems to occur exclusively through habituation, a form of asocial learning. Here, we tested whether convict cichlid fish (Amatitlania siquia) can socially learn to recognize visual cues in their environment as either threatening or non-threatening. We exposed juvenile convict cichlids simultaneously to a novel visual cue and one of three (visual) social cues: a social cue indicative of non-risk (the sight of conspecifics that had previously been habituated to the novel cue), a social cue indicative of predation risk (the sight of conspecifics trained to fear the novel cue), or a control treatment with no social cue. The subsequent response of focal fish, when presented with the novel cue alone, was not influenced by the social cue that they had previously witnessed. We therefore did not find evidence that convict cichlids in our study could use social learning to recognize novel visual cues as either threatening or non-threatening. We consider alternative explanations for our findings.
    Date Created:
    2013-10-03

  • Neuroplasticity and the next wave of antidepressant strategies

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Hayley, Shawn and Litteljohn, Darcy
    Abstract:
    Depression is a common chronic psychiatric disorder that is also often co-morbid with numerous neurological and immune diseases. Accumulating evidence indicates that disturbances of neuroplasticity occur with depression, including reductions of hippocampal neurogenesis and cortical synaptogenesis. Improper trophic support stemming from stressor-induced reductions of growth factors, most notably brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), likely drives such aberrant neuroplasticity. We posit that psychological and immune stressors can interact upon a vulnerable genetic background to promote depression by disturbing BDNF and neuroplastic processes. Furthermore, the chronic and commonly relapsing nature of depression is suggested to stem from “faulty wiring” of emotional circuits driven by neuroplastic aberrations. The present review considers depression in such terms and attempts to integrate the available evidence indicating that the efficacy of current and “next wave” antidepressant treatments, whether used alone or in combination, is at least partially tied to their ability to modulate neuroplasticity. We particularly focus on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, ketamine, which already has well documented rapid antidepressant effects, and the trophic cytokine, erythropoietin (EPO), which we propose as a potential adjunctive antidepressant agent.
    Date Created:
    2013-10-30

  • Two-mode division multiplexing in a silicon-on-insulator ring resonator

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Dorin, Bryce A. and Ye, Winnie N.
    Abstract:
    Mode-division multiplexing (MDM) is an emerging multiple-input multiple-output method, utilizing multimode waveguides to increase channel numbers. In the past, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices have been primarily focused on single-mode waveguides. We present the design and fabrication of a two-mode SOI ring resonator for MDM systems. By optimizing the device parameters, we have ensured that each mode is treated equally within the ring. Using adiabatic Bezier curves in the ring bends, our ring demonstrated a signal-to-crosstalk ratio above 18 dB for both modes at the through and drop ports. We conclude that the ring resonator has the potential for filtering and switching for MDM systems on SOI.
    Date Created:
    2014-02-13

  • Development of a Biocompatible Layer-by-Layer Film System using Aptamer Technology for Smart Material Applications

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    DeRosa, Maria C. and Foster, Amanda
    Abstract:
    Aptamers are short, single-stranded nucleic acids that fold into well-defined three dimensional (3D) structures that allow for binding to a target molecule with affinities and specificities that can rival or in some cases exceed those of antibodies. The compatibility of aptamers with nanostructures such as thin films, in combination with their affinity, selectivity, and conformational changes upon target interaction, could set the foundation for the development of novel smart materials. In this study, the development of a biocompatible aptamer-polyelectrolyte film system was investigated using a layer-by-layer approach. Using fluorescence microscopy, we demonstrated the ability of the sulforhodamine B aptamer to bind its cognate target while sequestered in a chitosan-hyaluronan film matrix. Studies using Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry also suggest that deposition conditions such as rinsing time and volume play a strong role in the internal film interactions and growth mechanisms of chitosan-hyaluronan films. The continued study and development of aptamer-functionalized thin films provides endless new opportunities for novel smart materials and has the potential to revolutionize the field of controlled release.
    Date Created:
    2014-05-08

  • Non enim ab hiis que sensus est iudicare sensum. Sensation and Thought in Theaetetus, Plotinus and Proclus.

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    MacIsaac, D. Gregory
    Abstract:
    I examine the relation between sensation and discursive thought (dianoia) in Plato, Plotinus, and Proclus. In Theaetetus, a soul whose highest faculty was sensation would have no unified experience of the sensible world, lacking universal ideas to give order to the sensible flux. It is implied that such universals are grasped by the soul’s thinking. In Plotinus the soul is not passive when it senses the world, but as the logos of all things it thinks the world through its own forms.Proclus argues against the derivation of universal logoi from the senses, which alone can’t make the sensible world comprehensible. At most they give a record of the original sense-impression in its particularity. The soul’s own projected logoi give the sensible world stability. For Proclus, bare sensation does not depend on thought, but a unified experience of the sense-world depends on its paradigmatic logoi in our souls.
    Date Created:
    2014-05-14

  • In the company of my peers: implementation of RDA in Canada

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Grover, Trina, Riva, Pat, Andrews, Sue, Cross, Emma, and Oliver, Chris
    Abstract:
    This article describes the progress made toward implementing Resource Description and Access (RDA) in libraries across Canada, as of Fall 2013. Differences in the training experiences in the English-speaking cataloging communities and French-speaking cataloging communities are discussed. Preliminary results of a survey of implementation in English-Canadian libraries are included as well as a summary of the support provided for French-Canadian libraries. Data analysis includes an examination of the rate of adoption in Canada by region and by sector. Challenges in RDA training delivery in a Canadian context are identified, as well as opportunities for improvement and expansion of RDA training in the future.
    Date Created:
    2014-01-10

  • 70% and Climbing: E-Resources, Books, and Library Restructuring

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Sharp, David, Jones, Wayne, and Newton Miller, Laura
    Abstract:
    Within the past decade, academic libraries have seen a shift in purchasing from mostly print to mostly electronic. Although Carleton University Library (Ottawa, Canada) has experienced this shift, it had continued until recently to work within the confines of an organizational structure based on a print purchasing model. This paper will describe in detail the restructuring of the Library's collections and technical services departments to better meet growing electronic demands. Changes included dedicating more staff from print resources to e-resources, changing a librarian position to focus specifically on collections assessment, and shifting budgets to manage growing e-resources more efficiently. The authors will explore accomplishments and hurdles that needed to be overcome, cite lessons learned in making organizational shifts, and make some cautious predictions about future changes.
    Date Created:
    2014-07-03

  • Flowering and fruiting responses to climate change of two Arctic plant species, purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) and mountain avens (Dryas integrifolia)

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Panchen, Zoe A. and Gorelick, Root
    Abstract:
    In temperate regions, there are clear indications that spring flowering plants are flowering earlier due to rising temperatures of contemporary climate change. Temperatures in temperate regions are rising predominantly in spring. However, Arctic regions are seeing unprecedented temperature increases, predominantly towards the end of the growing season. We might, therefore, expect to see earlier flowering of later-season flowering Arctic plants. Parks Canada has been monitoring purple saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) and mountain avens (Dryas integrifolia) flowering and fruiting times for 20 years at Tanquary Fiord, Qut- tinirpaaq National Park, Ellesmere Island. Saxifraga oppositifolia flowers in early spring, while D. integrifolia flowers in midsummer. Over the 20-year period, Tanquary Fiord’s annual and late-summer temperatures have risen significantly. During the same timeframe, D. integrifolia showed a trend towards earlier flowering and fruiting, but S. oppositifolia showed no changes in flowering or fruiting time. Flowering time was related to monthly temperatures just prior to flowering. The number of flowers produced was related to the previous autumn’s monthly temperatures. We found no relationship between flowering time and snowmelt date. Our findings suggest that Arctic community level ecological effects from climate change induced phenology changes will differ from those in temperate regions.
    Date Created:
    2016-05-17

  • On the Importance of Training Data Sample Selection in Random Forest Image Classification : A Case Study in Peatland Ecosystem Mapping

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Millard, Koreen and Richardson, Murray
    Abstract:
    Random Forest (RF) is a widely used algorithm for classification of remotely sensed data. Through a case study in peatland classification using LiDAR derivatives, we present an analysis of the effects of input data characteristics on RF classifications (including RF out-of-bag error, independent classification accuracy and class proportion error). Training data selection and specific input variables (i.e., image channels) have a large impact on the overall accuracy of the image classification. High-dimension datasets should be reduced so that only uncorrelated important variables are used in classifications. Despite the fact that RF is an ensemble approach, independent error assessments should be used to evaluate RF results, and iterative classifications are recommended to assess the stability of predicted classes. Results are also shown to be highly sensitive to the size of the training data set. In addition to being as large as possible, the training data sets used in RF classification should also be (a) randomly distributed or created in a manner that allows for the class proportions of the training data to be representative of actual class proportions in the landscape; and (b) should have minimal spatial autocorrelation to improve classification results and to mitigate inflated estimates of RF out-of-bag classification accuracy.
    Date Created:
    2016-05-17

  • Perceptions of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Ontario Universities

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Fitzgerald, Saira
    Abstract:
    This article presents the results of the first phase of a research project on perceptions of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) in Canadian universities. Establishing explicit university recognition policies for IBDP students has been an ongoing task for the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), which conducted two studies on university perceptions of the IBDP in the UK (2003) and Australia/New Zealand (2007). The present study replicates these studies in the Canadian context, to discover how admissions officers in Ontario universities perceive the IBDP in relation to other curricula. Preliminary results reveal a high degree of uniformity in responses, consistent with the previous studies. The IBO is indicated as being the primary source of information, suggesting that it plays an important part in forming perceptions of the IBDP.
    Date Created:
    2016-05-17

  • Major Alterations of Phosphatidylcholine and Lysophosphotidylcholine Lipids in the Substantia Nigra Using an Early Stage Model of Parkinson’s Disease

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Smith, Catherine A., Hayley, Shawn, Smith, Jeffrey, and Farmer, Kyle
    Abstract:
    Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting the nigrostriatal pathway, where patients do not manifest motor symptoms until >50% of neurons are lost. Thus, it is of great importance to determine early neuronal changes that may contribute to disease progression. Recent attention has focused on lipids and their role in pro- and anti-apoptotic processes. However, information regarding the lipid alterations in animal models of PD is lacking. In this study, we utilized high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) and novel HPLC solvent methodology to profile phosphatidylcholines and sphingolipids within the substantia nigra. The ipsilateral substantia nigra pars compacta was collected from rats 21 days after an infusion of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), or vehicle into the anterior dorsal striatum. We identified 115 lipid species from their mass/charge ratio using the LMAPS Lipid MS Predict Database. Of these, 19 lipid species (from phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphotidylcholine lipid classes) were significantly altered by 6-OHDA, with most being down-regulated. The two lipid species that were up-regulated were LPC (16:0) and LPC (18:1), which are important for neuroinflammatory signalling. These findings provide a first step in the characterization of lipid changes in early stages of PD-like pathology and could provide novel targets for early interventions in PD.
    Date Created:
    2016-05-17

  • The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness : a meta-analysis

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Capaldi, Colin A., Dopko, Raelyne L., and Zelenski, John M.
    Abstract:
    Research suggests that contact with nature can be beneficial, for example leading to improvements in mood, cognition, and health. A distinct but related idea is the personality construct of subjective nature connectedness, a stable individual difference in cognitive, affective, and experiential connection with the natural environment. Subjective nature connectedness is a strong predictor of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors that may also be positively associated with subjective well-being. This meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between nature connectedness and happiness. Based on 30 samples (n = 8523), a fixed-effect meta-analysis found a small but significant effect size (r = 0.19). Those who are more connected to nature tended to experience more positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction compared to those less connected to nature. Publication status, year, average age, and percentage of females in the sample were not significant moderators. Vitality had the strongest relationship with nature connectedness (r = 0.24), followed by positive affect (r = 0.22) and life satisfaction (r = 0.17). In terms of specific nature connectedness measures, associations were the strongest between happiness and inclusion of nature in self (r = 0.27), compared to nature relatedness (r = 0.18) and connectedness to nature (r = 0.18). This research highlights the importance of considering personality when examining the psychological benefits of nature. The results suggest that closer human-nature relationships do not have to come at the expense of happiness. Rather, this meta-analysis shows that being connected to nature and feeling happy are, in fact, connected.
    Date Created:
    2016-05-17

  • Anisotropic effective permittivity of an ultrathin gold coating on optical fiber in air, water and saline solutions

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Zhou, Wenjun, Barry, Seán T., Mandia, David J., and Albert, Jacques
    Abstract:
    The optical properties of an ultrathin discontinuous gold film in different dielectric surroundings are investigated experimentally by measuring the polarization-dependent wavelength shifts and amplitudes of the cladding mode resonances of a tilted fiber Bragg grating. The gold film was prepared by electron-beam evaporation and had an average thickness of 5.5 nm ( ± 1 nm). Scanning electron imaging was used to determine that the film is actually formed of individual particles with average lateral dimensions of 28 nm ( ± 8 nm). The complex refractive indices of the equivalent uniform film in air at a wavelength of 1570 nm were calculated from the measurements to be 4.84−i0.74 and 3.97−i0.85 for TM and TE polarizations respectively (compared to the value for bulk gold: 0.54-i10.9). Additionally, changes in the birefringence and dichroism of the films were measured as a function of the surrounding medium, in air, water and a saturated NaCl (salt) solution. These results show that the film has stronger dielectric behavior for TM light than for TE, a trend that increases with increasing surrounding index. Finally, the experimental results are compared to predictions from two widely used effective medium approximations, the generalized Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman theories for gold particles in a surrounding matrix. It is found that both of these methods fail to predict the observed behavior for the film considered.
    Date Created:
    2015-05-21

  • “The Nothingness of Fame, At Least to Woman”: Felicia Hemans and the Price of Celebrity

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Grammatikos, Alex
    Date Created:
    2015-05-21

  • Mean Annual Precipitation Explains Spatiotemporal Patterns of Cenozoic Mammal Beta Diversity and Latitudinal Diversity Gradients in North America

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Gorelick, Root, Hassal, Christopher, Fraser, Danielle, and Rybczynski, Natalia
    Abstract:
    Spatial diversity patterns are thought to be driven by climate-mediated processes. However, temporal patterns of community composition remain poorly studied. We provide two complementary analyses of North American mammal diversity, using (i) a paleontological dataset (2077 localities with 2493 taxon occurrences) spanning 21 discrete subdivisions of the Cenozoic based on North American Land Mammal Ages (36 Ma – present), and (ii) climate space model predictions for 744 extant mammals under eight scenarios of future climate change. Spatial variation in fossil mammal community structure (b diversity) is highest at intermediate values of continental mean annual precipitation (MAP) estimated from paleosols (,450 mm/year) and declines under both wetter and drier conditions, reflecting diversity patterns of modern mammals. Latitudinal gradients in community change (latitudinal turnover gradients, aka LTGs) increase in strength through the Cenozoic, but also show a cyclical pattern that is significantly explained by MAP. In general, LTGs are weakest when continental MAP is highest, similar to modern tropical ecosystems in which latitudinal diversity gradients are weak or undetectable. Projections under modeled climate change show no substantial change in b diversity or LTG strength for North American mammals. Our results suggest that similar climate-mediated mechanisms might drive spatial and temporal patterns of community composition in both fossil and extant mammals. We also provide empirical evidence that the ecological processes on which climate space models are based are insufficient for accurately forecasting long-term mammalian response to anthropogenic climate change and inclusion of historical parameters may be essential.
    Date Created:
    2015-05-21

  • On the number of channels required for interference-free wireless mesh networks

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Chaudhry, Aizaz, Hafez, Roshdy HM, and Chinneck, John W
    Abstract:
    We study the problem of achieving maximum network throughput with fairness among the flows at the nodes in a wireless mesh network, given their location and the number of their half-duplex radio interfaces. Our goal is to find the minimum number of non-overlapping frequency channels required to achieve interference-free communication. We use our existing Select x for less than x topology control algorithm (TCA) to build the connectivity graph (CG), which enhances spatial channel reuse to help minimize the number of channels required. We show that the TCA-based CG approach requires fewer channels than the classical approach of building the CG based on the maximum power. We use multi-path routing to achieve the maximum network throughput and show that it provides better network throughput than the classical minimum power-based shortest path routing. We also develop an effective heuristic method to determine the minimum number of channels required for interference-free channel assignment.
    Date Created:
    2015-05-21

  • Democratization in Serbia: An Analysis of Rational Choice and Structuralist Explanations

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Apostolov-Dimitrijevic, Dunja
    Abstract:
    This paper explains political democratization in Post-Milosevic Serbia utilizing two different accounts of the democratization process: one rooted in the rational choice framework and the other in structuralism. While rational choice explains the decisive role of political leadership in overcoming path dependence, the structuralist explanations show the transnational linkages that encourage democratization in the face of domestic setbacks. This particular debate between the two types of explanations represents the larger debate concerning the role of internal factors and external linkages in propelling democratization in transitional societies. The paper concludes by integrating the two sets of explanations offered by each theoretical perspective, in order to develop a coherent understanding of Serbia's democratization.
    Date Created:
    2015-05-21

  • The impact of multiple memory formation on dendritic complexity in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex assessed at recent and remote time points.

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Wartman, Brianne C. and Holahan, Mathew R.
    Abstract:
    Consolidation processes, involving synaptic and systems level changes, are suggested to stabilize memories once they are formed. At the synaptic level, dendritic structural changes are associated with long-term memory storage. At the systems level, memory storage dynamics between the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) may be influenced by the number of sequentially encoded memories. The present experiment utilized Golgi-Cox staining and neuron reconstruction to examine recent and remote structural changes in the hippocampus and ACC following training on three different behavioral procedures. Rats were trained on one hippocampal-dependent task only (a water maze task), two hippocampal-dependent tasks (a water maze task followed by a radial arm maze task), or one hippocampal-dependent and one non-hippocampal-dependent task (a water maze task followed by an operant conditioning task). Rats were euthanized recently or remotely. Brains underwent Golgi-Cox processing and neurons were reconstructed using Neurolucida software (MicroBrightField, Williston, VT, USA). Rats trained on two hippocampal-dependent tasks displayed increased dendritic complexity compared to control rats, in neurons examined in both the ACC and hippocampus at recent and remote time points. Importantly, this behavioral group showed consistent, significant structural differences in the ACC compared to the control group at the recent time point. These findings suggest that taxing the demand placed upon the hippocampus, by training rats on two hippocampal-dependent tasks, engages synaptic and systems consolidation processes in the ACC at an accelerated rate for recent and remote storage of spatial memories.
    Date Created:
    2014-04-21

  • Robust silicon waveguide polarization rotator with an amorphous silicon overlayer

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Schmid, Jens H., Ye, Winnie N., Xiong, Yule, Xu, Dan-Xia, Cheben, Pavel, and Janz, Siegfried
    Abstract:
    We propose a robust polarization rotator based on the mode-evolution mechanism. The polarization rotation in a silicon wire waveguide is achieved by forming an amorphous silicon (a-Si) overlayer and an SiO_2 spacer on top of the waveguide. A strip pattern of a constant width is designed to be etched through the overlayer at a specific angle with respectto the Si waveguide. The asymmetry in the a-Si overlayer affects the waveguide mode by rotating the modal axis. This polarization rotator design is amenable to comparatively simple fabrication compatible with standard silicon photonic processing for integration. The length ofthe rotation section is 17 µm, and the broadband operation is achieved with a rotation efficiency higher than 90% for a wavelength range exceeding 135 nm. A maximum polarization rotation efficiency of 99.5% is predicted by calculation.
    Date Created:
    2014-02-19

  • Inquiry-based training improves teaching effectiveness of biology teaching assistants

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Ellefson, Michelle R. and Hughes, William
    Abstract:
    Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are used extensively as undergraduate science lab instructors at universities, yet they often have having minimal instructional training and little is known about effective training methods. This blind randomized control trial study assessed the impact of two training regimens on GTA teaching effectiveness. GTAs teaching undergraduate biology labs (n = 52) completed five hours of training in either inquiry-based learning pedagogy or general instructional "best practices". GTA teaching effectiveness was evaluated using: (1) a nine-factor student evaluation of educational quality; (2) a six-factor questionnaire for student learning; and (3) course grades. Ratings from both GTAs and undergraduates indicated that indicated that the inquiry-based learning pedagogy training has a positive effect on GTA teaching effectiveness.
    Date Created:
    2013-11-11

  • Interruption of Ghrelin Signaling in the PVN Increases High-Fat Diet Intake and Body Weight in Stressed & Non-Stressed C57BL6J Male Mice

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Isaacs, Albert M., Abizaid, Alfonso, Patterson, Zachary R., and Parno, Tamara
    Abstract:
    Chronic social stress has been associated with increased caloric intake and adiposity. These effects have been linked to stress induced changes in the secretion of ghrelin, a hormone that targets a number of brain regions to increase food intake and energy expenditure and promote increased body fat content. One of the brain sites targeted by ghrelin is the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), a region critical for both the regulation of the stress response and the regulation of energy balance. Given these data, we examined the contribution of ghrelin receptors in the PVN to the metabolic and behavioral changes that are seen during chronic social stress in mice. To do this, mice were implanted with cannulae attached to osmotic minipumps and delivering either vehicle or the ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor) antagonist [D-Lys-3]-GHRP-6 (20 nmol/day/mouse). Following a week of recovery, half of the animals in each group were exposed to chronic social defeat stress for a period of 3 weeks whereas the other half were left undisturbed. During this time, all animals were given ad libitum access to standard laboratory chow and presented a high-fat diet for 4 h during the day. Results showed that the ghrelin receptor antagonism did not decrease stressed induced caloric intake, but paradoxically increased the intake of the high fat diet. This would suggest that ghrelin acts on the PVN to promote the intake of carbohydrate rich diets while decreasing fat intake and blockade of ghrelin receptors in the PVN leads to more consumption of foods that are high in fat.
    Date Created:
    2013-09-17

  • Understanding the neuroinflammatory response following concussion to develop treatment strategies

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Patterson, Zachary R. and Holahan, Mathew R.
    Abstract:
    Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) have been associated with long-term cognitive deficits relating to trauma-induced neurodegeneration. These long-term deficits include impaired memory and attention, changes in executive function, emotional instability, and sensorimotor deficits. Furthermore, individuals with concussions show a high co-morbidity with a host of psychiatric illnesses (e.g., depression, anxiety, addiction) and dementia. The neurological damage seen in mTBI patients is the result of the impact forces and mechanical injury, followed by a delayed neuroimmune response that can last hours, days, and even months after the injury. As part of the neuroimmune response, a cascade of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines are released and can be detected at the site of injury as well as subcortical, and often contralateral, regions. It has been suggested that the delayed neuroinflammatory response to concussions is more damaging then the initial impact itself. However, evidence exists for favorable consequences of cytokine production following traumatic brain injuries as well. In some cases, treatments that reduce the inflammatory response will also hinder the brain's intrinsic repair mechanisms. At present, there is no evidence-based pharmacological treatment for concussions in humans. The ability to treat concussions with drug therapy requires an in-depth understanding of the pathophysiological and neuroinflammatory changes that accompany concussive injuries. The use of neurotrophic factors [e.g., nerve growth factor (NGF)] and anti-inflammatory agents as an adjunct for the management of post-concussion symptomology will be explored in this review.
    Date Created:
    2012-12-12

  • Calling, Courtship, and Condition in the Fall Field Cricket, Gryllus pennsylvanicus

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Harrison, Sarah J., Thomson, Ian R., Bertram, Susan M., and Grant, Caitlin M.
    Abstract:
    Theoretically, sexual signals should provide honest information about mating benefits and many sexually reproducing species use honest signals when signalling to potential mates. Male crickets produce two types of acoustic mating signals: a long-distance mate attraction call and a short-range courtship call. We tested whether wild-caught fall field cricket (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) males in high condition (high residual mass or large body size) produce higher effort calls (in support of the honest signalling hypothesis). We also tested an alternative hypothesis, whether low condition males produce higher effort calls (in support of the terminal investment hypothesis). Several components of long-distance mate attraction calls honestly reflected male body size, with larger males producing louder mate attraction calls at lower carrier frequencies. Long distance mate attraction chirp rate dishonestly signalled body size, with small males producing faster chirp rates. Shortrange courtship calls dishonestly reflected male residual mass, as chirp rate and pulse rate were best explained by a curvilinear function of residual mass. By producing long-distance mate attraction calls and courtship calls with similar or higher effort compared to high condition males, low condition males (low residual mass or small body size) may increase their effort in current reproductive success at the expense of their future reproductive success, suggesting that not all sexual signals are honest.
    Date Created:
    2013-03-20

  • Frontal EEG/ERP correlates of attentional processes, cortisol and motivational states in adolescents from lower and higher socioeconomic status

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Van Roon, Patricia Maria, Oberlander, Tim F., Grunau, Ruth E., Hertzman, Clyde, D’Angiulli, Amedeo, Weinberg, Joanne, and Maggi, Stefania
    Abstract:
    Event-related potentials (ERPs) and other electroencephalographic (EEG) evidence show that frontal brain areas of higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES) children are recruited differently during selective attention tasks. We assessed whether multiple variables related to self-regulation (perceived mental effort) emotional states (e.g., anxiety, stress, etc.) and motivational states (e.g., boredom, engagement, etc.) may co-occur or interact with frontal attentional processing probed in two matched-samples of fourteen lower-SES and higher-SES adolescents. ERP and EEG activation were measured during a task probing selective attention to sequences of tones. Pre- and post-task salivary cortisol and self-reported emotional states were also measured. At similar behavioural performance level, the higher-SES group showed a greater ERP differentiation between attended (relevant) and unattended (irrelevant) tones than the lower-SES group. EEG power analysis revealed a cross-over interaction, specifically, lower-SES adolescents showed significantly higher theta power when ignoring rather than attending to tones, whereas, higher-SES adolescents showed the opposite pattern. Significant theta asymmetry differences were also found at midfrontal electrodes indicating left hypo-activity in lower-SES adolescents. The attended vs. unattended difference in right midfrontal theta increased with individual SES rank, and (independently from SES) with lower cortisol task reactivity and higher boredom. Results suggest lower-SES children used additional compensatory resources to monitor/control response inhibition to distracters, perceiving also more mental effort, as compared to higher-SES counterparts. Nevertheless, stress, boredom and other task-related perceived states were unrelated to SES. Ruling out presumed confounds, this study confirms the midfrontal mechanisms responsible for the SES effects on selective attention reported previously and here reflect genuine cognitive differences.
    Date Created:
    2012-11-19

  • The rights and freedoms gradient of health: evidence from a cross-national study

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Bezo, Brent, Roberts, William L., and Maggi, Stefania
    Abstract:
    This study examined the combined influences of national levels of socioeconomic status (SES), social capital, and rights and freedoms on population level physical and mental health outcomes. Indicators of mental health were suicide rates, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use. Indicators of physical health included life expectancy, infant mortality rates, and prevalence of HIV. Using pathway analysis on international data from a selected sample of European, North American, South American, and South Caucasus countries, similar models for mental health and physical health were developed. In the first model, the positive effects of SES and social capital on physical health were completely mediated via rights and freedoms. In the second model, the positive effect of SES on mental health was completely mediated, while the impact of social capital was partially mediated through rights and freedoms. We named the models, the "rights and freedoms gradient of health" in recognition of this latter construct's crucial role in determining both physical and mental health.
    Date Created:
    2012-11-07

  • “Healthy” Food and the Production of Differentiated Bodies in “Anti-Obesity” Discourses and Practices

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Durocher, Myriam
    Description:
    This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Fat Studies on 2021-10-08, available online:  https://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/21604851.2021.1980281
    Abstract:
    In this article, I analyze various discourses held by governmental and health authorities, nutrition experts, and civil society organizations that advocate for the importance of consuming and having access to “healthy” food in order to prevent health-related risks associated with diet, such as the development of chronic diseases or conditions like “obesity.” While “anti-obesity” discourses and practices aiming to “help” the population in the fight against “obesity” connect the issue to social or even food justice considerations, I discuss how the discourse of “healthy” food plays a key role both in problematizing the fat body and in the solutions brought forward to “fix it” as well as the broader “obesity” epidemic. I argue that these two roles are closely linked together – because “healthy” food is positioned as a solution to “obesity”, it reinforces the idea that fatness can be “acted on” or solved, and thus that it should be. I mobilize works emerging in critical food and fat studies to address how these discourses and practices contribute to further marginalizing those whose bodies do not match dominant ideas of health while creating harmful and discriminatory processes that have material and health-related consequences. I contend that scholars should be attentive to the broad effectivities of ”healthy” food as arising from “anti-obesity”, or pro-health, discourses and practices as they contribute to further reproducing social injustices and can potentially materialize in damaging ways in individuals’ bodies and health.
    Date Created:
    2021

  • ‘Healthy’ for whom? ‘Healthy’ food’s effectivities, avocados, and the production of differentiated bodies

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Durocher, Myriam
    Description:
    This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s Accepted Manuscript terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available at:  https://doi.org/10.1057/s41292-022-00274-8
    Abstract:
    Current ‘healthy’ food knowledge revolves around characterizing food by its purported direct, causal effects on the body that ingests it, following a biomedical approach informed by nutritionism (Scrinis, Nutritionism: the science and politics of dietary advice. Columbia University Press, New York, 2013). As long as the focus is on the effects given foods or nutrients have on the ingesting body, a whole array of other effects that produce differentiated bodies beyond ingestion processes receive little attention. I draw on Grossberg (We got to get out of this place: popular conservatism and postmodern culture. Routledge, New York, 1992)’s notion of “effectivities” as a way of taking into account the heterogeneous ‘effects’ that ‘healthy’ food—as a discursive construct and a material object—has, and which occur in different realms (economic, political, agricultural, interspecies, health-related). Using the avocado as a means to illustrate my broader theoretical argument, I contend that ‘healthy’ foods’ effectivities can be observed in how they materialize in differentiated—here racialized—bodies. This raises the key question that permeates the critical stance of this article: whose health matters when it comes to defining ‘healthy’ food?
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Co-Created Pillars: Building Networks for the Future

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Allahmoradi, Sarah
    Date Created:
    2021-02-22

  • Organizational Characteristics of B2B Adopters in the Canadian Manufacturing Sector

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Kumar, Vinod D., Fuksa, Michael, and Kumar, Uma
    Abstract:
    This paper presents selected preliminary results from a study of B2B e-commerce adoption by Canadian manufacturing firms. The goal of the broad research project IS to describe the behaviour of Canadian manufacturers with respect to adoption of B2B technologies and to identify factors which distinguish adopters from non-adopters of B2B. The study focuses on the organizational characteristics of adopters of B2B e-commerce technologies and attempts to outline the features which differentiate them from non-adopters. Preliminary analysis shows the existence of three distinct B2B adopter types: non-adopters, partial-adopters and full-adopters. Leadership related variables appear to be the most important determinants of adoption.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • The New Age of Accounting Regulation Canada and the United States

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Pollanen, Raili and Pollanen, Eric M.
    Abstract:
    This paper reviews major differences between the accounting regulatory systems in Canada and the United States. In the U.S., the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 governs responsibilities of management, auditors, and Boards of Directors related to internal control over financial reporting. In Canada, a series of Multilateral Instruments under provincial jurisdiction serves similar objectives. As compared to the U.S., the Canadian system is more decentralized and principles-based allowing a greater degree of responsibility to the accounting profession for standard setting and oversight. The Canadian approach has resulted in weaker regulation, slower implementation, and greater influence by the accounting profession. These findings imply that accounting regulations should be tailored to fit the political and institutional structures of the adopting country.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Critical Success Factors in Technology Transfer from Government Laboratories to Private Sector

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Kumar, Uma and Uruthirapathy, Aareni
    Abstract:
    Each year the Canadian government allocates a significant amount of money for science and technology. A major portion of this allocation goes for R& D. In order to enjoy adequate return, technologies that are developed in Canadian federal labs need to be transferred to the public effectively. There are critical factors in technology transfer which play a key role in determining the effectiveness of this transfer process. This study examines the technical, organizational, and people factors which can enhance technology transfer from government laboratories.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Implementation of Quality Management Practice in E-Commerce

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Shareef, Mahmud Akhter, Kumar, Vinod D., and Kumar, Uma
    Abstract:
    Implementation of quality management practice in E-Commerce (EC) is a relatively new challenging area to researchers and managers. Proliferation of EC provides an opportunity to quality management gurus to reshape quality dimensions suitable for real sustainability, expansion, and success of EC. Based on the underpinning principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and quality management practice this paper focuses on the quality dimensions required for launching a successful EC as the competitive edge in gaining market leadership. This article postulates a model to integrate quality management in EC.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Reaching New Heights after Falling to the Depths: Recovering from a Country Image Faux Pas

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Lu, Irene, Cray, David, and Heslop, Louise A.
    Abstract:
    Surveys of Australian consumers before and after French nuclear testing in the Pacific show clear evidence of negative responses of consumers to the 1995 testing. Although evaluations of French products did not decline, evaluations of France and the French did. However, by 2005 ratings of French products and France had more than recovered. A model of effects among country and product belief sets is proposed and tested. The model is strongly supported and helpful in understanding the process of image recover.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • Climbing to New Heights: Lessons From Mount Everest on PCI and TDI Convergence

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Nadeau, John, Luk, Peter, O'Reilly, Norman, and Heslop, Louise A.
    Abstract:
    This paper applies attitude theory to assess the influence of beliefs and evaluations of Nepal with desired linkages and travel intentions. The main contribution is to connect TDI and PCI research by testing a general country image model in a tourism context. Attitude theory acts as the connection between the two fields.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • The Role of Export Processing Zones in Development and International Marketing Strategy

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Malhotra, Shavin and Papadopoulos, Nicolas G.
    Abstract:
    Export Processing Zones (EPZs) are areas within developing countries where business is offered special incentives and a barrier-free environment in order to promote economic growth by attracting foreign investment for export-oriented production. Most developing countries now have EPZs, and the number of zones, number of firms operating within them, and volume of business are growing rapidly. Yet studies of the EPZ phenomenon by business researchers are virtually non-existent, leading to poor understanding of its role in international marketing. This paper draws from the economics literature to provide an integrative review of the EPZ concept, discusses its importance for host nations and international business, and provides suggestions for future research.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • Measures of Identity Fraud

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Kumar, Vinod D., Movahedi, Bahar, Lavassani, Kayvan, and Kumar, Uma
    Abstract:
    Identity fraud (IDF) is the fastest growing white-collar crime in many countries and specifically in developed countries. IDF is not a new phenomenal in human societies; the history of IDF can be traced back to hundreds of years ago. What has made it the center of attention in the past few years is the acceleration in the frequency and the impacts of IDF to individuals and businesses. One of the preliminary steps in managing IDF as a global phenomenon is to understand the scope of the problem and measure its different aspects. By realizing the importance of developing measurement systems in this area, and the recognition of a gap in this area of research, this study presents the previous approaches in developing IDF measurement systems, and uses them as benchmarks for developing and proposing a comprehensive measurement system for assessing IDF.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Brand Extensions: The Role of Target Category Competition and Dominant Brand

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Kapoor, Harish and Heslop, Louise A.
    Abstract:
    Past research on brand extension evaluation does not incorporate the effects of the target category structure and competition from the existing brand. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory experimental study that shows the effects of competition on the evaluation of brand extensions and potential implications of the dominant brand in the target category.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • Collaboration in Combating Identity Fraud

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    de Grosbois, Danuta, Kumar, Uma, and Kumar, Vinod D.
    Abstract:
    The problem of identity theft is complex, spans the boundaries of many organizations, companies and countries, and affects numerous entities in different ways at different times. However, given the nature of the problem, it is extremely difficult and costly for an individual or an organization to fight it on its own. An increasing number of practitioners and researchers have started to indicate that the success of identity theft management relies on joint efforts of different stakeholders. Collaboration, generally defined as 'working together to some end' is believed to have the potential of delivering numerous benefits to its participants when properly executed. This paper discusses different aspects of collaboration efforts undertaken by organizations in order to fight identity theft.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • The Role of Behavioural Activation and Inhibition in Advertising Appeals

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Papadopoulos, Nicolas G. and Murphy, Steven
    Abstract:
    Advertising appeals are central to the effectiveness of advertising and have been studied extensively. However, past research has focused primarily on examining the effects of one or another type of appeal on consumers, and little is known about the concept of an advertising appeal itself. As part of a broader program intended to address this gap, this paper examines the role of underlying motivational forces in the development of consumer attributions regarding advertising appeals. More specifically, we are centrally concerned with examining under what conditions emotion states, personality traits, and underlying motivations may lead to product judgements and subsequent (purchase) behaviour.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Competitive and Value Effects of Bank Privatization in Developed Countries

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Otchere, Isaac
    Abstract:
    This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the performance of privatized banks in developed countries. Consistent with the competitive effects hypothesis which asserts that privatization could hurt rivals, we find that the rival banks reacted negatively to news of bank privatization in developed countries. The competitive effects are stronger in cases where government ownership decreases significantly. Contrary to the findings of prior studies that examine the performance of privatized banks in developing countries, we find that privatized banks in developed countries experienced significant improvements in operating performance and stock market performance in the post privatization period.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Critical Theory in MIS Research, 1990-2001 : Looking Back and Moving Forward

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Neilson, Leighann
    Abstract:
    A review of five major journals in the Management Information Systems (MIS) field reveals that the majority of research articles engaging with Critical Theory, from the period 1990 to 2001, are of a conceptual nature, focusing primarily on systems development. Two reasons are suggested for the comparatively low level of engagement with Critical Theory in empirical research efforts: lack of a critical theory method and reluctance to engage with the theory's emancipatory commitments. A critical theory method that encompasses both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods is advanced. In addition, a more practiceoriented way of thinking about emancipation is proposed.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Layers Of Discrimination: Income inequalities Between Female Minority Populations and Other Groups

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Papadopoulos, Nicolas G., Dyke, Lorraine, and Ambwani, Vinita
    Abstract:
    This paper reviews the existing evidence for dual discrimination based on gender and ethnicity for minority/immigrant women. It focuses on income inequalities between minority/immigrant women and other groups. The effects of human capital, occupational segregation, sector segregation and discrimination or stereotyping on earnings gap are identified. The paper also proposes that a preponderance of minority females in certain occupations may result in a devaluation of wages and lowering of prestige in these occupations. The unique set of stressors experienced by minority/immigrant women that may affect access to jobs as well as performance on the job are also discussed.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Income Trusts and Growth : Empirical Evidence

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Sun, Chengye
    Abstract:
    This paper provides empirical evidence on the growth, financing activity, and operating performance of Canadian business income trusts. We find that business income trusts are growing in terms of total assets and sales revenues. They frequently acquire other businesses in post-IPO period. We also find that income trusts are likely to issue third-party debt to finance acquisitions. Median operating return on total assets decreases after an business income trust IPO, indicating an operating performance inferior to that in pre-lPO years.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • A Markovian Simulation-based Model for Predicting the Breakage Factor in Loyalty Programs Industry

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Nsakanda, Aaron
    Abstract:
    One problem faced by a profit center loyalty reward program firm is that of determining the percentage of the points (the so called "breakage factor or "breakage rate" in loyalty programs industry) accumulated each year that end up not ever being redeemed by members, and that should therefore, be recognized as revenue in the establishment of the periodical financial statements. A higher breakage rate will contribute to increase the net income and profitability on the financial statements. This in turn would offer a competitive advantage to a firm in attracting and pricing new third party partners, developing company strategic plans, and managing the overall yearly reward capacity. In this paper, we propose a quantitative methodology for determining the breakage rate in Loyalty Reward Programs (LRP). The proposed methodology is a simulation-based approach in which the accumulation and redemption of "points" is modeled as a stochastic process. An application of the approach to a real-life context is discussed.
    Date Created:
    2007-11-01

  • Putting the Romance Back in Teams: Is Trust the Key to Unlock Knowledge Sharing?

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Tuer, Frances L.
    Abstract:
    One reason teams are seen to be a high-performance work practice (HPWP) is that the diversity of team member knowledge, skills and abilities, known as cognitive resource diversity supposedly brings new perspectives, information, ideas and resources to the solution of problems and the exploration and exploitation of opportunities. However, to date the performance of heterogeneous teams has been disappointing with the most common finding being increased conflict. Based on social identity and social exchange theories and building onto Mayer, Davis & Schoorman's (1995) classic integrative model of trust, this paper proposes that trust is a critical mediator in the relationship between cognitive resource diversity and within-team knowledge sharing.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • The Strategic Dimensions of Information Systems Capability: An Evolutionary and Resource-based View

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Sangwan, Hemant, Yu, Ma, and Nitin, Mehta
    Abstract:
    The paper addresses important issues regarding how consumers' purchase decisions in a product category are influenced by market mix variables in other categories. We propose a structural analysis of multi-category purchase decisions, where we simultaneously model and estimate consumers' purchase incidence, brand choice and quantity choice decisions across multiple product categories. Addtionally, we study the role played by umbrella brands in influencing the decision made by consumers. We propose a structural model where all the three decisions are derived from the consumer's global utility maximization. Such structural analysis is important from the perspective of (i) a retailer whose objective is to maximize profits over all product categories, and (ii) a manufacturer whose objective is to maximize profits over its entire product line. Our analysis highlights the importance of studying consumers' purchase decisions in a multi-category context which can not be addressed by studying each category in seclusion.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • What Are the Pay Equity Implications of Expatriate Compensation?

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Skowronski, Mark
    Abstract:
    Identification of effective and cost-efficient compensation practices for recruiting and retaining expatriate employees is becoming increasingly important in today's global labor market. This paper proposes a study to investigate perceptions of fair compensation for expatriate employment using the tenets of equity theory. Participants will specify an "equitable" monetary bonus for hypothetical overseas assignments of different lengths and locations. Relying on Konopaske's and Werner's (2002) propositions, the author predicts the following: 1) Short-term overseas assignments will require a larger "foreign service premium" (monetary bonus) than domestic relocation, 2) Long-term expatriate assignments will require a larger premium than short-term or domestic relocation, and 3) Relocation to a developing country will require a larger premium than relocation to an advanced industrialized nation or to a domestic location. A methodology and data analysis strategy are described.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • The Positive Effects of Incivility in the Context of the Armed Forces: Exploring Work Context as a Moderator of Incivility

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Rostis, Adam
    Abstract:
    In the typology of harassment and aggression in the workplace, workplace incivility is situated as a non-aggressive, low intensity form of deviant behaviour with an uncertain intent to cause harm. The importance of incivility to organizational theory and human resource management is that it may have a negative effect on organizational outcomes and more importantly it may be a precursor for more overt forms of workplace violence. Two potential influences on the effects of incivility are personality and workplace context; the latter of these two has not been sufficiently explored in the literature. This paper will take one step towards addressing this gap by examining the ways in which incivility is moderated in the context of military organizations. The result of this contextual examination of incivility will be a proposal that incivility may have a positive effect through the development of coping strategies for stressful situations encountered by armed forces.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Involuntary Downsizing: The Impact of a Labour Shortage

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Pyper, Rhonda L.
    Abstract:
    Labour shortages are imminent in a variety of different industries, particularly those that require high levels of skills. Organizations will need to plan for these shortages as many of the solutions will have fairly long lead times before an impact is felt. One area from which short-term gains may be achieved is the reduction of voluntary turnover, particularly the loss of productive employees. An area with potential for longer-term success in combating the labour shortage is in restructuring. Through restructuring, organizations can redesign the work processes so that when employees do leave, the position will have to be reworked and a replacement may not be needed. The organization will be shrinking in headcount, but it will remain as productive as it was before downsizing due to efficiencies gained; it will have successfully navigated "involuntary downsizing". The purpose of this paper is to develop the concept of involuntary downsizing" by expanding the definition of downsizing to include situations in which organizations are competing in diminishing labour markets. Similar to the current concept of downsizing, organizations will need to accomplish more, with fewer resources; however, the cause of the downsizing and the solutions that are available will be different.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Code of Ethics: A Conceptual Model and Preliminary Results

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Pawliw, Pierre
    Abstract:
    Academic research into codes of ethics has given us valuable information on the subject but has failed to provide an all-encompassing understanding of the contents of actual codes. This paper looks at what is presently known about this subject, presents a conceptual model that integrates the different elements that go into a code of ethics, describes the dynamics that explains why each company's code of ethics has a distinct content, and presents preliminary results obtained after having analyzed a cross-section of the code of ethics of member companies of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • How May I Help You? Conceptualizing the Benefits of High Performance Work Practices on Emotional Labour Pressures in the Hospitality Industry

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Murray, William
    Abstract:
    The hospitality industry relies on front-line staff members to provide high quality service experiences to encourage repeat business. Unlike the manufacturing industry that separates the production of goods from the delivery to customers, professionals in the hospitality industry realize that customers evaluate their "product" through perceived service quality levels (Ottenbacher & Howley, 2005). Although types of service may differ, industry operators and researchers agree that both customer satisfaction and service quality are critical prerequisites for customer retention (Cronin & Taylor, 1992). Consistent service quality demands a workforce with strong emotional display management skills; however, displays of unfelt feelings, or "acting", can create intense emotional strain for service providers. This paper will examine the emotional labour pressures experienced by service workers and outline theoretical mitigating influences provided by high performance work practices (HPWP). Links will be drawn between decreased employee turnover, increased customer satisfaction and customer retention.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • How Does the Stage of a Contract Affect Performance: Evidence from Professional Basketball

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Mirowska, Agata
    Abstract:
    This study uses theories of motivation to analyze how performance changes over the life of a contract. Utilizing performance data for professional basketball players in the NBA for three seasons, the results show that performance does change over the life of a contract. Factors affecting how much control a player has over his performance are found to be important in how the players' performance changes as the contract completion nears.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Theoretical Progression of Work and Life Relationship: A Historical Perspective

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Miri Lavassani, Kayvan and Movahedi, Bahar
    Abstract:
    In this study we will discuss the historical changes in the work and life relationship which resulted in development of new theories. After an introduction to work-life relationships, different theories of work and life are presented in the second section of this paper. These theories are categories intro three generations based on their characteristics in the historical evolution of work-life studies. In the third section measures of work and life spillovers are described. In section four, critiques of the current methodologies which is being used in the work and life studies are presented. Discussion section which is presented in following section includes some arguments regarding the ways to select the most appropriate theories for work-life studies. Also in this section some recommendations are presented for enhancing the commonly used methodologies of the research on work and life relationships. Finally, in the last section, some recommendations for future studies are presented.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • A Product of 'His' Time? Exploring the Construct of the Ideal Manager in the Cold War Era

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Mills, Albert J. and McLaren, Patricia Genoe
    Abstract:
    Managers are often measured against an ideal that is treated as a tangible object which is stable across generations. It is the contention of this paper that the ideal manager is, in fact, a social construct that is a product of the political and social context within which it exists. Different periods in time create unique typifications of the construct, and the ideal manager is not independent of its environment. The socially constructed nature of the ideal manager will be illustrated through the analysis of the construct at one specific point in time, the internal Cold War in the years following the Second World War and ending in 1960. While widely studied in most disciplines, the Cold War has been largely ignored in the management literature, and therefore provides us with a unique perspective from which to assess the impact of context on the standard to which managers are held.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Seeing and Unmaking Civilians in Afghanistan: Visual Technologies and Contested Professional Visions

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Wilke, Christiane
    Abstract:
    This article examines the politics of 'seeing' civilians in Afghanistan with a focus on the 2009 Kunduz air strike. Drawing on the literature on professional vision and professional knowledges, I ask how divergences in the 'ways of seeing' between different professional communities can be explained, and how they are resolved in practice. 'Seeing,' I argue, is based on talking. The vocabularies with which we describe the world and understand our relationships shape how we 'see'. As a consequence, Afghans gathered around a truck can appear an 'immediate threat' or not -- depending on the ideological prisms at work. The article suggests that we need to treat professional vision as necessarily contested and examine how professionals are socialized into accepting one way of seeing as valid. Seeing is based on talking, and we need to talk about how we see (violence).
    Date Created:
    2017-03-28

  • Towards Measuring the Personality of Performing Arts Awards: Scale Development and Theoretical Implications

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Georgie, Vincent E.
    Abstract:
    This paper will provide insight into the personality dimensions that can be attributed to performing arts awards, and thus generate a scale to measure these dimensions. This area of work rests upon the idea that there is self-concept congruency between a viewer and product or service, and that there are instances where attributes of a human nature can be, in fact, attributed to them. The study will look particularly at a mixed sample of televised performing arts awards shows (The Academy Awards, The Prime-Time Emmy Awards, The Tony Awards, The Grammy Awards and The Golden Globe Awards) and the various motivations and interests of viewers to watch, or not watch, such shows. Based upon its position in the literature and its intended contribution, this study will propose a four-step scale development process.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • The Internationalization of Malaysian Firms into Foreign Markets

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Ismail, Jannatul Firdaus
    Abstract:
    Available data indicate that economic conditions, exports performance and foreign direct investment from Malaysia increased significantly in the 1990s. Existing literature on the internationalization of firms is based on the study of firms from developed countries and does not directly apply to the case of firms based in developing economies, and Malaysia particularly. Based on this phenomenon, this study attempts to examine the process of internationalization among Malaysian firms into the foreign markets and compare the internationalization process of Malaysian firms with other developed countries. This study will contribute to the knowledge gap with empirical data from rapidly internationalizing firms, in respect of the Malaysian firms' experiences, organizational learning and capability creation that will offer fruitful approaches to understanding the dynamic of firms' expansion. The resulting model could assist policy makers to improve existed support programs for businesses to overcome barriers and enhance performance in internationalization process.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Out of the Closet: An Exploration of the Role of Work Dress

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Dyke, Lorraine and Elliot, Statia
    Abstract:
    Despite the prevalence of formal and informal standards for employee attire, research on its role is limited. Social psychological theories suggest that work attire can be a meaningful, expressive symbol associated with one's occupational identity. Organizational theories suggest that work attire can affect both individual and organizational outcomes. Bridging these perspectives, this study considers work attire's potential to influence micro and macro organizational dynamics. A framework of the dimensions influencing factors and outcomes of work dress is used to assess the results of a poll of members of the Canadian Forces, an organization whose work attire is highly conspicuous and rigidly homogeneous. Though a slight majority of participants responded that their uniform did not impact their operational focus, comments indicate both organizational influences and individual concerns with specific attributes of attire. Attitudes toward work attire may be indicative of broader issues of organizational identity.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Making Sense of Nonsense in Hong Kong

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Friedman, Perley-Ann
    Abstract:
    This paper identifies some of the challenges facing expatriates using an autoethnographic account of situations experienced by the author during her first year of work at a financial services company in Hong Kong. These experiences reveal an erratic business world of apparent nonsense and uncertainty, incomprehensible to an outsider. The challenges facing expatriates stem from the stress and anxiety affecting their work, family and social interactions within the foreign culture. Success in the new environment is dependent on the expatriate's ability to adjust to the new culture. An overview of the current research on the expatriate experience is provided to help the reader make sense of the autoethnographic situations.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • What Do We Know About Collaborative Maturity? : A Review of the Literature and Research Track

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Daoudi, Jaouad and Bourgault, Mario
    Abstract:
    Working in collaborative and dispersed (C&D) settings is now common for project teams, especially for those active in multinational companies or in international contexts. The concept of "collaborative maturity" has recently been proposed by various authors in order to identify and measure the competence of a firm working in C&D mode. Many models of collaborative maturity have been proposed, reflecting the increasing importance of this area of research. However, the existing literature is spread among multiple journals in various fields of research. For a better understanding of collaborative maturity and how it is measured, a thorough literature review is conducted and an extension of existing research is proposed. This will serve as the theoretical background for future empirical research. The results should be useful for project managers and academicians with an interest in C&D projects.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Furthering Collaborative Strategic Management Theory: Process Model and Factors Per Phase

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Clarke, Amelia
    Abstract:
    Social problems, such unsustainable development, can be too large for any one organization to tackle alone so are increasingly being addressed through cross-sector multi-organizational collaborations. One of the approaches being taken is formulating and implementing a collective (alternatively named collaborative) strategy. Despite the increasing usage of collaborative strategic management in practice, there is relatively little literature on this approach, particularly when considering the implementation of the collaborative strategy. This paper builds on existing interorganizational collaboration theory and organizational strategy implementation theory to determine: 1) a conceptual process model of collaborative strategic management; and 2) factors which affect each phase of cross-sectoral social-oriented collaborative strategic managment.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • Technology Scanning Scale Dimensions

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Alam, M. S.
    Abstract:
    The paper identifies the characteristics of firm activities that constitute its technology scanning dynamic capability, which enables the firm to translate information about customer needs into information about tangible ways to introduce new products and services to satisfy those needs. The ability to find a specific actionable way to address customer needs is proposed to be measured by a latent construct called technology scanning. Using the literature on marketing, innovation management, knowledge management, new product development, and economics, five dimensions are identified for a technology scanning scale. A strong presence of 'technology scanning' ensures that the firm's resources are targeted to find the solution of the problems that matters most, the ones that were identified as a consequence of high level of market orientation of the firm. This work would shed some light on how managers might solve the problems and needs of the customers identified through market orientation practices. When market orientation guides technology scanning activities, the outcomes are more desirable to the firm.
    Date Created:
    2007-04-01

  • IT Capabilities and Firm Performance: A Resource-based, Alliance Perspective

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Addas, Shamel and Pinsonneault, Alain
    Abstract:
    Information technology-based alliances are rapidly spreading in organizations, which calls upon researchers to develop an adequate theoretical lens to examine this phenomenon and its key associated outcomes, such as the business performance of alliance firms. However, strategic alliances are mostly examined from a transaction cost economics perspective, and the results on performance are inconclusive at best. This paper proposes an alternative lens - the resource-based view - and applies an extended version of it to explain the performance of firms in IT-based alliances. A conceptual model is developed that examines the impact of shared information technology resources on firm performance. Also, a measurement scale for these resources is developed and preliminarily validated.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • L'entrepreneuriat social, mieux connaître Ie concept

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Brouard, Francois
    Abstract:
    Entrepreneurship is a recognized concept both for research and practice. It is possible to find university courses, research published in specialized journals, associations dedicated to entrepreneurship promotion and governmental support. In a regional economic development context, a special form of entrepreneurship could achieve other objectives. Social entrepreneurship is an emergent concept earning more popularity than ever around the planet. However the concept is not well known. The objective of the paper is to present an overview of the social entrepreneurship concept.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • The Use of Affect in Positioning Strategy

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Murphy, Steven, Butt, Ifran, and Papadopoulos, Nicolas G.
    Abstract:
    This paper examines the role of affect in marketing positioning strategy and individual positioning judgements. We examine affect in both the marketing and positioning literatures and argue that vestiges of the dual mind perspective are alive and well in positioning. Viewing 'thinking' and 'feeling' as entirely separate (as in utilitarian vs. hedonic product distinctions) runs counter to advances in neuroscience and devalues individual differences and brain functioning. As a result of our own coding of positioning dimensions, we advocate for a greater understanding of the complex interplay between affect and cognition in positioning strategy and judgements.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • A Model of International Product and International Destination Relationships

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Elliot, Statia and Papadopoulos, Nicolas G.
    Abstract:
    Potential synergies between international trade and tourism are viewed optimistically by governments, yet research to assess their association is limited. To gain an understanding of trade and tourism relationships, this paper reports on a study which examines both product-related and tourism-related place image effects on consumer behavior simultaneously. Using the U.S. as the country of focus, key product and travel relationships are measured by structural equation modeling of consumer data from South Korea. Findings support the cross-over effect between one's beliefs about a country as a destination and as a producer, and one's willingness to travel to it and/or buy its products, and most strongly, that product beliefs affect views of travel destinations.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • Review of Management Control Systems in Their Organizational and Environmental Context : Managerial Perspective and Control Typology

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Pollanen, Raili
    Abstract:
    This paper provides a critical review of literature on management controls and their context. The review indicates that more emphasis has been placed on organizational than environmental factors and that the effectiveness of different controls in different contexts remains practically unaddressed. In general, research has been ad hoc and focused on results-oriented financial controls, short-term efficiency, and individual level of analysis. Even for commonly studied topics (e.g., budget controls), evidence has often been inconsistent and limited to manufacturing organizations, with little integration and refinement of previous theoretical models based on new evidence. Further research is required to investigate the relative importance of different financial and nonfinancial controls in different types of organizations in order to develop more comprehensive performance measurement and management frameworks.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • The Four or Five Barred Cage: The Consequences of Hofstede's View of Culture

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Cray, David
    Abstract:
    A study of citations in four prominent journals indicates how deeply Hofstede's conceptualization dominates the understanding of culture in international business research. The implications of this intellectual hegemony for the development of the field are examined After considering some critiques of Hofstede's approach, three diverse alternatives to the value-based approach are discussed.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • The Strategic Dimensions of information Systems Capability: An Evolutionary and Resource-based View

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Grant, Gerald and Liebenau, Jonathan
    Abstract:
    Research emphasizing evolutionary and resource-based perspectives of the firm highlights the importance of core capabilities as sources of superior performance, and views capabilities in computer-based IT systems as instrumental in leading to strategic advantage. However, the asymmetrical results from such systems present a somewhat confusing picture as to the key issues that managers should be addressing. We present an approach to IS capability development that applies a combined evolutionary and resource-based perspective. We propose that IS capability is determined along three strategic dimensions and will result from effective and sustained efforts in three complementary areas that are discussed in this paper. We use three case studies to illustrate the use of the proposed IS capability framework in analyzing information systems in organizations.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • A Critique of Partial Least Squares, and a Preliminary Assessement of an Alternative Estimation Method

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Thomas, Roland, Cedzynski, Marzena, and Lu, Irene
    Abstract:
    Partial least squares (PLS) is sometimes used as an alternative to covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM). This paper briefly reviews currently available SEM techniques, and provides a critique of the perceived advantages of PLS over covariance-based SEM as commonly cited by PLS users. Specific attention is drawn to the primary disadvantage of PLS, namely the lack of consistency of its parameter estimates. The instrumental variables (IV) /two stage least squares (2SLS) method of estimation is then described and presented as a potential alternative to PLS that might yield its perceived advantages without succumbing to its primary disadvantage. Preliminary simulation results show that: PLS parameter estimates exhibit substantial bias when the number of items is moderate; SEM-based methods yield lower bias; and IV/2SLS estimates may indeed provide a viable ordinary least squares (OLS)-based alternative to PLS.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • Relationships among Evaluative Criteria, Uncertainty, Organizational Size, and Performance: Empirical Evidence in Public Organizations

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Pollanen, Raili
    Abstract:
    This survey study of senior municipal administrators examines the use of evaluative criteria in managerial performance evaluation and extends previous findings in the public sector context. The results reveal that the use of evaluative criteria is very similar to that found in Otley and Pollanen's (2000) public-sector study, but significantly different from those reported in several private-sector studies. Substantially lower proportions of budget-based criteria are found in both public-sector studies than in private-sector studies. Performance is higher under low- than high-uncertainty conditions and in larger than smaller organizations. The findings suggest that different evaluative criteria may be appropriate in the public and he findings suggest that different evaluative criteria may be appropriate in the public and private sectors, and that uncertainty and organizational size may affect performance.
    Date Created:
    2007-02-01

  • Particle-based participating media rendering using density octrees

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Whitehead, Anthony D. and Monette, Richard
    Abstract:
    In order for computer generated imagery to recreate the characteristic visual appearance of phenomena such as smoke and fog it is necessary to compute the way in which light interacts with participating media. In this work we present a novel technique for computing volumetric single scattering lighting solutions for particle-based inhomogeneous participating media data sets. We seek to calculate volumetric lighting solutions for particle-based data sets as such data sets have the advantage of being spatially unbounded and relatively unrestricted with regard to memory as compared to uniform grids. In order to perform the calculations which are required for computing such a lighting solution, we introduce a novel octree based data structure. We refer to this new data structure as a density octree. The design of the density octree allows for efficiently computing light attenuation throughout the spatial extent. Using our data structure, we are able to produce high quality output imagery of arbitrary particle data sets in the presence of arbitrary numbers of lights.
    Date Created:
    2014-07-02

  • Utiliser des documents vidéos authentiques à tous les niveaux : possible et facile!

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Sarma, Nandini and Knoerr, Hélène
    Date Created:
    2015-02-05

  • Community Treatment Orders: The Service User Speaks. Exploring the Lived Experience of Community Treatment Orders

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Fleming, Courtney, Morel, Vanessa, Schwartz, Karen, Armstrong, Meredith, O’Brien, Ann-Marie, and Moore, Patricia
    Abstract:
    This study uses an exploratory qualitative design to examine the lived experience of one group of service users on community treatment orders (CTOs). The study was designed and completed by four graduate students at Carleton University School of Social Work. Despite the unique features of CTO legislation in Ontario, many findings from this study are remarkably similar to findings of research conducted in other jurisdictions. What is unique in our findings is the lack of focus on the actual conditions and provision of the CTO. The issue for our participants was less about the CTO itself, and more about the labels, control and discrimination associated with severe mental illness. Cette étude utilise un concept qualitatif et exploratoire pour examiner les expériences vécues d’un groupe qui utilise les ordonnances de traitement en milieu communautaire (OTMC). Cette étude a été designée et complétée par 4 étudiants de l’école de service social de l’université Carleton. Malgré les nombreux aspects uniques de la loi gérant les OTMC de l’Ontario, plusieurs résultats de cette étude sont remarquablement similaires aux résultats découverts dans de différentes juridictions. L’élément unique de cette recherche est le manque de focus sur les conditions véritables et les provisions des OTMC. La problématique encourue par les participants n’était pas au sujet des OTMC en soi, mais plus tôt au sujet de l’étiquetage, du contrôle, et de la discrimination associé aux troubles de santé mentale sévères.
    Date Created:
    2010-01-12

  • A CyberUrban Space Odyssey. The Spatiality of Contemporary Social Movements

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Lim, Merlyna
    Abstract:
    The article scrutinizes the complex entanglement of cyberurban spaces in the making and development of contemporary social movement by analyzing its imaginaries, practices, and trajectories. This issue of New Geographies, “Geographies of Information” (edited by Taraneh Meskhani & Ali Fard), presents a new set of frameworks that refrain from generalizations to highlight the many facets of the socio-technical constructions, processes, and practices that form the spaces of information and communication. In addition to Lim, contributors of the issue include prominent thinkers and scholars in various related disciplines such as Rob Kitchin (critical data), Stephen Graham (urbanism) and Malcolm McCullough (architecture/urban computing).
    Date Created:
    2015-10-20

  • A Blue Ocean Strategy Analysis of IMAX’s Move to Go Hollywood

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Becker, Hilary
    Date Created:
    2014-01-01

  • John Gilmour's Insider Art

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Miller, James D. and Johnston-Miller, Mary
    Date Created:
    2013-10-11

  • Scottie Wilson's Canadian Legacy

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Miller, James D. and Johnston-Miller, Mary Margaret
    Date Created:
    2016-04-12

  • Sustainable Energy Options for the Future of MoCreebec Eeyoud - November 2019

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Russell, Joshua, Coady, Joseph, Schott, Stephan, Duquette, Jean, Lafreniere, Keelia, and Chabot, Jean-Pierre
    Date Created:
    2019-11-01

  • The benefits of an Enrichment Mini Course for millennials in the library’s Discovery Centre

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Tudin, Susan
    Abstract:
    Every year, for over three decades, Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario has participated with other local educational institutions in providing a week-long instruction program that introduces young students to higher education. Highly motivated participants in grades 8 – 11 and numbering over 3,000 attend from several school boards in both eastern Ontario and western Quebec. The Enriched Mini Course Program has become an important recruitment tool for each institution, and at Carleton University, over 50 enriched mini courses are offered including one recent addition by the MacOdrum library staff. In this article, the author recounts how leading an enriched mini course for millennials in the university library's new Discovery Centre is an innovative initiative that demonstrates the significance of the academic library in the local community, and how staff collaboration helps to develop team building and positive vibes with the millennials.
    Date Created:
    2016-07-01

  • A Liberal China policy for Canada’s majority Conservative administration?

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Kovalio, Jacob
    Date Created:
    2001-07-01

  • Understanding Chinese Confucommunism

    Resource Type:
    Article
    Creator:
    Kovalio, Jacob
    Date Created:
    2010-10-04