Master's level Theses http://hdl.handle.net/10294/2901 2013-05-18T09:00:43Z 2013-05-18T09:00:43Z Miazdyck-Shield, Dionne Christine http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3687 2013-03-09T07:00:15Z 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z

Disability, Poverty and Welfare Policy: A Critical Disability Theory Analysis of Alberta’s Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped and Implications for Saskatchewan Miazdyck-Shield, Dionne Christine Throughout modern history, people with disabilities have been socially and economically excluded and subject to intrusive, segregated services. The systemic exclusion of people with disabilities from mainstream society is a product of entrenched discrimination and the devaluing of their lives. The majority of people with disabilities are left with limited options, forcing them to rely on family members, charity and/or state programs to meet their financial and daily living needs. Disability activists have challenged the hegemonic belief that disability is an individual problem, labeling this the ‘individual pathology’ model of disability. They propose an alternative framework, ‘the social model’ which views disability as entirely subjective and societal, rather than a problem within individuals. This thesis examines how the underlying belief that people with disabilities are tragic and flawed, deserving of charity but not equality, may still be a critical factor that influences the construction of social policy, despite the rising popularity of social model thinking. Utilizing choice analysis, this thesis studies the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) in Alberta. The questions are asked: which model of disability influenced how and why AISH was developed; and has the AISH program evolved with the growing recognition of the social model of disability? The analysis is then used to reflect on the emerging Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program. The systemic exclusion of disabled people has been de-politicized. Alternatives to the individual pathology model, although known to policy-makers, have been ignored in mainstream policy discourse. (Oliver, 1996; Titchkosky, 2006). If positive change is to happen, the situation of people with disabilities must be re-politicized and their collective experience of exclusion acknowledged and as they define their own needs (Oliver, 1990). A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Work, University of Regina. vi, 153 p.

2012-09-01T00:00:00Z Najumudeen, Ameerudeen http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3647 2012-12-20T21:54:56Z 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z

Development of a mechanistic corrosion model for carbon steel in MEA-based CO2 absorption process. Najumudeen, Ameerudeen This work developed a mechanistic corrosion model that can be used to predict corrosion rate of carbon steel in the carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption processes using aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA). The developed model enhances the capacity of the existing corrosion model developed by Veawab (2000) by incorporating three additional features including the presence of iron carbonate (FeCO3) on the metal surface and the presence of dissolved oxygen (O2) and heat-stable salts (HSSs) in the aqueous MEA solutions. The model was developed in Matlab, and comprises three sub-models, i.e. vapour-liquid equilibrium (VLE), species diffusion through a porous film, and electrode kinetics on the metal-solution interface. Two VLE sub-models, i.e. the Kent-Eisenberg (K-E) and the electrolyte non-random two-liquid (e-NRTL), are built into the model. The inputs required for model simulation are three process variables of the CO2 absorption process, i.e. solution temperature, MEA concentration, and CO2 loading of the MEA solution. The outputs from the model simulation can be presented as species concentrations in bulk solution and at the metal-solution interface, polarization curves, and corrosion rate. Simulation results show that the model using the e-NRTL sub-model better describes the experimental polarization curves obtained from the literature than the model using the K-E sub-model. The presence of either dissolved O2 or acetic acid (as HSS) does not affect corrosion of carbon steel, whereas the presence of the FeCO3 film on the metal-solution interface retards the diffusion of oxidizing agents and, in turn, reduces corrosion rate. Sensitivity analysis for parametric effects on corrosion was also carried out to reveal primary oxidizing agents contributing to corrosion in various operating conditions. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Industrial Systems Engineering, University of Regina. xviii, 123 l.

2012-07-01T00:00:00Z Duff, Whitney Ranelle Dorthy http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3646 2012-12-20T20:24:04Z 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z

Effects of Endurance Exercise on Cerebral and Muscle Oxygenation Duff, Whitney Ranelle Dorthy It has been suggested that during exhaustive exercise both a central and peripheral mechanism of fatigue exists. Indeed, a central debate in the exercise science literature is the nature of fatigue that determines exercise performance under different conditions (Swart et al., 2009a). Hypoxia, for example, has a small but direct role on the cessation of exercise, specifically during endurance performances (Millet, Aubert, Favier, Busso, & Benoit, 2008; Secher, Seifert, & Van Lieshout, 2008). Numerous studies to date have provided new information related to the factors implicated in short-term high intensity exercise, while more studies of a longer nature (endurance time trials), measuring central and peripheral fatigue factors simultaneously, and under hypoxic conditions, are needed to add additional information to guide our understanding of the mechanisms involved in central and peripheral fatigue. This thesis represents a contribution to the much needed research within this area. Four key papers, separated into four chapters, discuss this research in this thesis. To investigate these effects, an integrative physiological approach was used by including muscle and cerebral oxygenation changes (NIRS), cardiovascular and pulmonary responses and blood biochemistry during cycling exercise in a normoxic and hypoxic environment. The primary inference of this thesis is that in hypoxia the brain is protected and the muscle is in need of a similar oxygenation and extraction to do less work; a finding that contributes to the support of previous speculations in the literature. A secondary inference of this thesis is that a difference in the pattern of oxygenation between continuous and incremental exercise exists; a finding that has not been previously identified in the literature. The findings from this study have therefore furthered our understanding of the nature of fatigue, specifically in endurance exercise under acute hypoxic conditions, and the relationship between the central and peripheral factors associated with fatigue. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina. xii, 111 l.

2012-07-01T00:00:00Z Sabir, Shamma Miriam http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3645 2013-01-05T22:24:41Z 2011-12-01T00:00:00Z

Advanced Music Training and Executive Function: A Neurocognitive Study Sabir, Shamma Miriam The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between advanced music training and neurocognitive functioning, with specific focus on executive function, working memory, and tactile interhemispheric transfer. Twenty professional musicians and a comparison group of 19 individuals with no formal music training or performance experience completed a battery of measures of executive functioning, working memory, and interhemispheric transfer. The musician group had an average of 20.4 years (SD = 9.6) of formal music training and had started formal music training at a mean age of 5.8 years (SD = 2.5). Results revealed significantly better performance of the musicians group on the Word, Colour, and Interference portions of the Stroop Test and on a test of tactile interhemispheric transfer. These findings provide support for the idea that advanced music training has a positive relationship with some aspects of executive function and interhemispheric transfer, and may have implications for the potential use of music training for therapeutic purposes, as well as for educational programming and policies regarding early music education in the classroom. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Psychology, University of Regina. vi, 81 l.

2011-12-01T00:00:00Z