http://hdl.handle.net/10294/2899 Doctoral and Master's level Theses and Dissertations 2013-05-21T21:41:24Z http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3687 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 http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3650 Dietary Niche and Foraging Ecology of a Generalist Predator, Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Auritus): Insight Using Stable Isotopes Doucette, Jennifer Lee The ability of predator populations to expand their ranges and adapt to new environments is often attributed to having a generalist dietary strategy, which is thought to be represented both at the population and individual level. Cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.) are considered to be opportunistic generalists capable of using a wide variety of aquatic prey. This reputation is partially responsible for the global conflict between piscivorous cormorants and fish harvesters, which is one of the most widespread wildlife management issues in history. Despite the persistent belief that cormorants adversely affect economically important fish populations, relatively little is known about their trophic ecology and habitat use. Stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes are popular tools for studying food webs, and offer a comprehensive assessment of diet, trophic position, and ecological niche when combined with traditional diet analyses. However, the interpretation of isotope data may be confounded by variation in the lipid content of sample tissues. No validated lipid-normalization procedures are currently available for any cormorant species, or any fish-eating birds. As such, I first determined the effect of lipids on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) values in cormorant tissues, and tested three published lipid-normalization models on stable isotope signatures in double-crested cormorant (P. auritus) muscle and liver tissues. The presence of lipids in cormorant muscle and liver altered the stable isotopes values, indicating corrections were required. However, the effects of lipids in cormorants were unpredictable and thus violated a major assumption of published lipid-normalization models. As a result, lipids must be chemically removed from cormorant muscle and liver tissue. I then examined the diet and trophic position of breeding populations of double-crested cormorants from three different lakes. The results revealed that cormorants generally occupied top-predator positions and relied heavily on pelagic prey in all food webs examined. The isotopic values of cormorants and pelagic predatory fish were sometimes similar, suggesting that dietary overlap is possible. To determine whether cormorants are true dietary generalists I studied double-crested cormorants from breeding colonies spanning three major ecoregions. Analyses of stomach contents revealed that at the population level cormorant diet varied widely by location, likely reflecting local food-web structure. However, within populations individuals were much more specialized than expected. Temporal shifts in δ13C and δ15N values in cormorant tissues with different turnover rates (muscle vs. liver) indicated that foraging varied among populations. The dietary niche occupied by cormorants will affect their interactions with fish, highlighting the importance of understanding their impacts to fish populations both at the population and individual level. Ultimately, my research has shown that cormorants do not consume prey indiscriminately, and instead may have more specific and uniform dietary niche requirements than previously considered. From a management perspective, cormorants should not be assumed to have negative effects on fish in all situations; however, further attention is required to determine the impacts of dietary overlap with sport fish. Ecologically, I have shown that generalist species can be much more consistent and specialized than previously considered. Further, individuals within generalist species may be highly specialized, which will change the overall effects of the population on other species in the food web. A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biology, University of Regina, xvi, 199 p. : maps 2012-04-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3649 The Work of Work-Related Learning: An Institutional Ethnography Zurawski, Cheryl Diane This is a study of how texts shape and determine what employees think and do as they work to meet employer expectations about the way in which and the extent to which they are to participate in continuous or lifelong work-related learning as a requirement of their jobs. The study’s problematic arose out of the everyday experiences of employees as they do the “work of work-related learning” associated with the texts that are integral to the administration of employee development planning as a work process embedded in a widely used type of performance management system known as the balanced scorecard. Institutional ethnography is the method of inquiry used to explicate how employees’ knowledge of the work they do as participants in the work process is socially organized through their participation in text-mediated relations of ruling in which and through which they come to know how their employer expects them to understand and conduct themselves as work-related learners. Revealed by the analysis of interview transcripts and company texts are the ways in which the work process organizes and mobilizes employees to align their consciousnesses and actions with company expectations. Employees who align their consciousnesses and actions with company expectations implicate themselves in a project by which their employer advances its interest to cope with and capitalize on the conditions of contemporary commerce by managing their employees’ work-related learning as an inescapable form of labour at the heart of on-the-job activity (Zuboff, 1988). The study traces how the alignment of employees’consciousnesses and actions happens; what the alignment accomplishes; and what are the implications of the alignment for employees, their employer, and the theory and practice of human resource development (HRD). A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Education University of Regina, x, 239 l. 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10294/3648 Optical Transitions in Amorphous Semiconductors Orapunt, Farida In this thesis, a quantitative analysis of the optical response of an amorphous semiconductor is presented. The entire analysis is cast within the framework of an empirical model for the valence band and conduction band density of states functions, that captures the basic features expected of these functions. A novel aspect of this analysis is the introduction of the density of localized valence band and conduction band electronic states and the establishment of a means of evaluating these densities from knowledge of the density of states functions coupled with the locations of the valence band and conduction band mobility edges. The determination of the contributions to the joint density of states function attributable to the various types of optical transitions, as a function of the location of these mobility edges, is another novel feature of this analysis. This formalism is then applied in order to determine the spectral dependence of the normalized dipole matrix element squared average corresponding to such a semiconductor. A means of determining the spectral dependence of the optical absorption coefficient is also provided. Finally, this formalism is applied to the specific case of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon, this being the most widely used amorphous semiconductor at present. It is found that the mobility gap value suggested by Jackson et al. [Physical Review B, vol. 31, pp. 5187-5198, 1985] is discordant with the experimentally measured optical response. It is also found that the effective masses associated with the electrons and holes within plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition are greater than those that occur in crystalline silicon. The prospects for future work in this field, that builds upon the results presented herein, are commented upon. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, University of Regina, xlii, 211 l. 2012-04-01T00:00:00Z