Interdisciplinary Studies
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Item Open Access The Phenomenology of a Simple Song: Expression, Creativity, and the Recovery of Aesthetics(2014-07-09) Breit, Susan Patrick; Balfour, Ian G.; Steigerwald, Joan; Coghlan, MichaelAbstract By placing aesthetics as art back within the phenomena of experience, this work seeks to recover philosophical aesthetics from the marginal position into which it has been relegated. Merleau-Ponty’s thought and the perception of music lay a groundwork for ontology and epistemology less conditioned by Cartesian biases. Musical thinking highlights the rich content of thought, the dimensionality of meaning, and the need to place language back within the phenomena of expression. A phenomenology of expression by way of songwriting reveals a complex creative process, a good portion of which is not transparent (neither rooted in reflective thought nor consciously determined). There emerges a notion of subjectivity and intentionality that transcends and subtends the “I” with which we ordinarily identify. The lyre of Orpheus opens the doors of the unreflective life, the aesthetic dimension, the intimacy of the world that transcends us, and the generosity of the subjectivity that subtends us.Item Open Access Visualizing the Zoo Visitor Experience, Intersecting Space and Meaning-Making(2014-07-09) Bentley, Kelly; Alsop, Steven JohnThis study explores how the educational intentions of a site of informal science education, the Toronto Zoo, as well as, its potential for meaning‐making, are translated in the lived experience of its visitors. It explores these experiences geographically by tying the spatial and physical environment to the interpretations made by visitors. It cartographically juxtaposes "objective" investigations of space, namely space syntax and wayfinding analyses, with "subjective" measures of the visitor experience, obtained through an on‐site Visitor Study, which revealed possible links between space and visitors' use of the site and meaning-making experiences. The value of geographically representing visitors’ experiences to a cultural institution through the unique use of mobile digital technology is discussed. Conclusions are drawn about the connection between space and the visitors’ meaning‐making experiences, and about how an institution’s educational intentions might be better realized or even re-defined with reference to the insights gained in this thesisItem Open Access A Creative Exploration of the Use of Intelligent Agents in Spatial Narrative Structures(2015-01-26) Roth, Andrew Christian; Hosale, Mark-David; Marchessault, Janine; Allison, RobertThis thesis is an interdisciplinary study of authoring tools for creating spatial narrative structures– exposing the relationship between artists, the tools they use, and the experiences they create. It is a research-creation enterprise resulting in the creation of a new authoring tool. A prototype collaborative tool for authoring spatial narratives used at the Land|Slide: Possible Futures public art exhibit in Markham, Ontario 2013 is described. Using narrative analysis of biographical information a cultural context for authoring and experiencing spatial narrative structures is discussed. The biographical information of artists using digital technologies is posited as a context framing for usability design heuristics. The intersection of intelligent agents and spatial narrative structures provide a future scenario by which to assess the suitability of the approach outlined in this study.Item Open Access "I Can Hear Her Breathing…": Second-Generation Sri Lankan Tamil Womyn Reflect on the 2009 Toronto Tamil Protests(2015-08-28) Thiyagarajah, Nayani; Ford-Smith, HonorPublic activism in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora was demonstrated by the mass protests held in Toronto in 2009, in the months leading to the end of civil war Sri Lanka. Following the protests, research focusing on increased transnational participation, public performance of Tamil identities, and personal post-war feelings has emerged. Still, very little attention has been given to self-identified womyn’s narratives and reflections. This paper and film focus on the experiences of second-generation Sri Lankan Tamil womyn , speaking specifically to gendered diasporic imaginations, subjectivities, and possible transformations produced through participation or non-participation in the 2009 protests. It argues how both protest and silence, in a transnational context, work to disrupt narratives of nationhood suggested by Canada, Sri Lanka, and the former de-facto state of Tamil Eelam.Item Open Access Architectural Consumption in Los Angeles: Modernism, Power, and the Aesthetic of Plenty(2015-08-28) Busgang, Alexandra; Foster, Jennifer J.This paper examines the economy produced by modernism as the site for developing an aesthetic grounded in opulence and consumption. While early modern architects aimed to break with tradition and create a new language of architectural forms, the call for new architecture has exploded into sites of what Glen Hill calls “aesthetic waste” in his article, “Aesthetics of Architectural Consumption” (2011). In Los Angeles, this aesthetic obsolescence results in developments being demolished at an alarming rate. As the idea of beauty is valued by its proximity to cleanliness or novelty, massive homes are turned to “junk” in pursuit of the ‘new’.Item Open Access Exciting Instrumental Data: Toward an Expanded Action-Oriented Ontology for Digital Music Performance(2015-08-28) McLeod, Ian Charles; Bailey, Steven C.; van der Bliek, Rob; Sinclair, DonMusical performance using digital musical instruments has obfuscated the relationship between observable musical gestures and the resultant sound. This is due to the sound producing mechanisms of digital musical instruments being hidden within the digital music making system. The difficulty in observing embodied artistic expression is especially true for musical instruments that are comprised of digital components only. Despite this characteristic of digital music performance practice, this thesis argues that it is possible to bring digital musical performance further within our action-oriented ontology by understanding the digital musician through the lens of Lévi-Strauss’ notion of the bricoleur. Furthermore, by examining musical gestures with these instruments through a multi-tiered analytical framework that accounts for the physical computing elements necessarily present in all digital music making systems, we can further understand and appreciate the intricacies of digital music performance practice and culture.Item Open Access All of Us? Marginalizing Dissent in Toronto's Jewish Community(2015-08-28) Katz, Amy Sarah; Taylor, Patrick D. M.Mainstream Jewish institutions like the Canadian Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B'nai Brith Canada largely communicate the impression of community-wide support for Israeli government policies and actions to the broader society. When Jewish individuals and groups in Toronto who do not uniformly support Israeli government policy and actions attempt to make their voices heard as Jews they can encounter discursive techniques used by institutions and more broadly to marginalize their points of view. These discursive techniques are not limited to Jewish institutions or to the Jewish community, but, rather, can be characteristic of some processes that serve to 'naturalize' specific ideas and marginalize others. I use elements of Critical Discourse Analysis to explore recent public communications reflecting responses to dissenting Toronto Jews and narratives to identify some of these discursive techniques. I also explore how aspects of selected mainstream Jewish Canadian histories can serve to marginalize present-day dissent.Item Open Access Ontario’s Electricity Supply Industry After the Restructuring: An Economic and Environmental Impact Analysis(2015-08-28) Gluck, Lawrence; Eberlein, BurkardThe Government of Ontario set out to restructure Ontario’s electricity industry in the late 1990s. Through the enactment of the Energy Competition Act, 1998 and the subsequent Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004, Ontario’s electricity sector changed from a traditional “public utility” model (i.e. a state-owned vertically-integrated utility) to a “hybrid model”, which includes both regulated and competitive aspects. This thesis paper seeks to answer the question: from an economic and environmental perspective, how have Ontario’s electricity consumers been impacted by changes resulting from the restructuring and post-restructuring policies of government? To answer this question, the prices paid for electricity service (commodity, transmission, and distribution) prior to the restructuring are compared to the prices paid for the same service after the restructuring. The analysis reveals that prices are rising more rapidly in the post-restructuring era. The question becomes what changes in the sector are driving the price increases and are consumers benefitting from these changes? This paper evaluates the changes to the sector resulting from the restructuring, and from other post-restructuring government policies, in a qualitative manner to determine whether consumers are receiving any benefit from these changes. The analysis highlights that some changes have impacted customers positively (i.e. shift to more environmentally-friendly energy sources, conservation, distributor amalgamation, etc.) and other changes simply added costs with no real benefits to consumers (i.e. facilitation of a competitive market for electricity supply, retail electricity markets, etc.).Item Open Access Cross-Sectoral Policy Coalitions: A Case Study of Sustain Ontario: The Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming’s Efforts to Reform Policy. How a Policy Coalition's Choices Contributed to its Legitimacy and Influence(2015-08-28) Lee Trillo, Sandra; Gainer, Brenda J.This paper is a case study of the formation and early development of one civil society organization (CSO), Sustain Ontario, the Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming (Sustain, the Alliance, the Network). Sustain is an example of a non-governmental, cross-sectoral policy coalition . In an era of complex problems and constrained resources such policy coalitions or networks appear increasingly common in Canada, yet there has been limited research into their approaches. This paper investigates the choices Sustain made related to structures, strategies and processes; it presents integrative research on the relationships between Sustain’s choices, and the Alliance’s ability to cultivate legitimacy and influence policy in Ontario, Canada. Sustain’s network organizational structures and membership enabled Sustain to engage and leverage requisite skills and knowledge. The Alliance employed five core strategies that enabled it to facilitate widespread member engagement, develop and disseminate research and other materials, and establish constructive relationships with policy makers. While I appreciate the limitations of a single case study, I think Sustain’s experience and choices may be of interest to provincial food networks and cross-sectoral policy coalitions addressing similarly complex challenges.Item Open Access Politics, Practices, and Potentials: Analyzing the Role of Diaspora-Owned Businesses in Ethiopia's Development(2015-12-16) Gebretsadik, Sarah Mariam; Idahosa, Paul L. E.In 2010, under the guidance of its developmental state planning, Ethiopia launched its Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) aimed to achieve accelerated economic growth and middle income country status by 2020-2025. In an attempt to realize its GTP, the Ethiopian government has strategically engaged its diaspora population as ‘development partners’. Existing policies and proclamations outlined by the Ethiopian government speak to the institutionalized attempts to attract diaspora capital for the development of the country. Through an exploratory case-study of small and medium sized businesses in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, this paper interrogates the complexities surrounding Ethiopia’s state-led engagement of its diasporas and explores the potential of the Ethiopian diaspora to contribute to the country’s development. While the politics of engagement and challenges with Ethiopia’s business environment emerge as salient issues, findings indicate that diaspora business owners possess a unique potential to contribute to human capability transformation in the country.Item Open Access Purveying affect: Canadian newspaper coverage of the Diana Spencer and Karla Homolka chronologies(2016-06-23) Alaton, Salem; O'Neill, John; Dowler, Kevin; Lalonde, RichardThis thesis examines two major news chronologies in Canadian newspapers to see if through selective emphasis and language use they have been constructed to prompt affective response in readers. Key categories of longstanding press mechanisms to purvey affect are scrutinized within the material: creating a sense of intimacy with the news protagonist; sexualizing story content; and depicting the content as comprising scandal. Following respected Canadian broadsheets on the ostensibly contrasting stories of Diana Spencer and Karla Homolka, this work employs a discourse analysis to seek patterns of text-embedded affect prompts which correspond to press practices of some two centuries. It strives to contextualize the presence of these through the academic literature of sociology, communications theory and psychology. The effort brings into a contemporary and mainstream Canadian news media context practices more fully described in American and British press histories and associated more closely with the sensationalism of tabloid reporting.Item Open Access Girls' Schooling Experience in Frankadua, Ghana: A Case Study(2016-09-20) Rouhani, Leva; Derayeh, MinooFor the last three decades, girls education has been at the forefront of international development discourse on education. Despite all the available evidence that underscores the gains that accrue to society from women's education, gender disparities in education still persist. Using a critical feminist lens, my research project explores qualitatively the elements that pose as barriers to gender equality for girls in the formal schooling system of Frankadua. My research project seeks to understand the causes of gender inequality and to engage in and with the literature to identify strategies that may be effective in reducing or eliminating them. By examining factors such as spatial dimensions, culture, and institutions in general and curriculum development, school structure and classroom practices in particular, my research emphasizes the need for initiatives to move beyond measuring parity to adequately address the issue of gender equality in primary schools throughout Ghana.Item Open Access Teen Moms Talk Back: Young Mothers Strategizing Supportive Communities(2016-09-20) Bergen, Heather Anne; Haig-Brown, E. CeliaThis thesis centers the expertise of ten young parents that have been involved with child protective services; what they identify as challenges and what would support their parenting. (De)colonizing, intersectional and transformative justice theories are used to frame the thesis. Using a written and an online, knowledge-mobilization component (teenmomstalk.ca) this thesis focuses on their agency and strategies as they parent in the face of stigma and systemic violence like poverty, colonization, racism, ageism, sexism and ableism. The written portion highlights parents identification of poverty, isolation and stress as key challenges, their strategies to address them and necessary structural changes. The online component uses videos of the parents sharing their advocacy, money management, community-building, and wellness strategies with other parents. Together the two components highlight parents insights into what would truly be in the best interest of their children, families and communities.Item Open Access The Political Communications of Iranian Green Resistance Movement of 2009: A Critical Discourse Analysis(2016-09-20) Karimi, Maral; Derayeh, MinooIn 2009 Iran witnessed the Green Movement, a popular uprising that challenged the status quo of the socio-political structures of the Islamic Republic. In this research, I attempt to develop an understanding of the conditions that contributed to the demise of the movement. This study takes a Critical Theory approach, and the theoretical foundations of this work are the Theory of Structuration of Giddens and the Theory of Communicative Action of Habermas. The data is drawn from YouTube videos and analyzed through Critical Discourse Analysis. This research identifies the key stakeholders of the movement and investigates weather their aspirations regarding the uprising were aligned or stood in contrast. My investigation uncovers evidence of systematic communication distortion in the public discourse of the leaders of the movement which greatly impacted demobilization and led to its failure. The results of my study also disprove the viability of the Reform philosophy as a pragmatic political path to democracy.Item Open Access The Social and Cultural Alienation of First and Second Generation Immigrant Youths: Interrogating Mainstream Bullying Discourse(2016-09-20) Khayambashi, Shila; Jacobs, Marle A.Bullying is a multidirectional and a multileveled social problem, which affects every member of a community, thus it requires a diverse and multidisciplinary method to be addressed. Even though immigrant youths are as much prone to this phenomenon, if not more, as their native-born peers, the advertisements, media and news outlets have portrayed youth bullying as a white subject. The socio-cultural differences, past experiences of political, social and domestic violence, and the difficulties of integration and accommodation with the unfamiliar lifestyle of the new country heavily affect the vulnerability of the ignored young immigrant populations. If the bullying experts, bullying prevention activists and the justice system brackets their prejudices and look at every incident involving youths violent carefully and analytically, regardless of the victims socio-cultural backgrounds and the colour of their skin, it might uncover many other fatal bullying cases. In this thesis, I would like to have a closer look at three students fatal cases: Kiranjit Nijjar, Hamid Aminzada, and Zaid Youssef and Michael Menjivar, as examples of this faulty view on the characteristics of the bully and the bullied.Item Open Access Decolonizing Technology through a Tipi: Creation of an Indigenous Mobile Application at York University(2016-11-25) Banos, Alejandro Mayoral; Chen, Stephen Y.This research explores the possibilities of how Information technologies can be designed and created by/for/with Indigenous peoples in order to be potentially decolonized. Indigenous members of the Centre for Aboriginal Student Services at York University participated in the design of a mobile application to address the needs of, and challenges faced by Indigenous students within a largely non-Indigenous university environment in Canada. The interdisciplinary design of said application integrated Indigenous knowledge of Tipis into a software development methodology in order to create a safe space and include some fundamental cultural elements. The analysis of current cases in the context of Indigeneity and technology around the world provided the principles to design this integrated software design methodology.Item Open Access Chasing Vapors within a Disappearing Mist: Conceptualizing Dementia Narratives(2016-11-25) Francis, Keith John; Murtha, Susan; Keeping, Joseph; Scadding, DavidThe built environment within healthcare institutions is of critical importance to persons with dementia, as the characteristics of the interior environment, the lived experience within, and the reciprocal nature of that exchange can be directly related to their well being. Yet the role of the environmentand more importantly, the role of the patient as a primary author towards conceptions of what that physical environment should look and feel likerarely feature in routine dementia patient satisfaction assessments. This research sought to understand whether patients with dementia have the capacity to perceive the institutional space and place around them, and if so, how. Participants with mild to moderate dementia living in an institutional setting who could provide consent were asked a number of lived experience questions. The responses were videotaped and scored qualitatively. The results suggest that patients with dementia are aware of the institutional space around them, and can be active agents when contributing to thoughtfully designed environments that promote the health and well being of its residents. If persons with dementia are thought of as active participants within the design of the built environment, then this can lead to new reconceptualization of spatial domains and ultimately impact care.Item Open Access "Ask the Colonial Ghosts": Intimate Histories, Harmful Complicities, and the Search for an Accountable Relationship with the Past(2016-11-25) Lewis, Johanna Madeleine; Haig-Brown, E. Celia; Creet, Julia; Mongia, RadhikaI take episodes from my life and my familys past as sites through which to explore connections between individual lives and larger structures, between the ways we tell our stories and the ways that histories are constructed, between colonial pasts and colonial presents. By researching and contextualizing the lives of my ancestors who homesteaded in Saskatchewan and those who participated in the British Raj, I analyze the lived practice of particular colonial structures and racial logics, and the consequences of our relationships with these histories. I then explore my contemporary participation in settler colonial seizure and amnesia, and my connection and responsibility to the Indigenous peoples who have lived (and continue to live) in relation with this land we now call Toronto. Grounded in a decolonial analysis, I aim to challenge both the erasure of unpalatable histories and the denial that these histories have any bearing on our world today.Item Open Access Shadeism: Exploring Inequalities Within a Historicizing Agenda(2016-11-25) Suchit, Caroline Rita; Visano, Livy A.This thesis examines implications attached to skin colour, and will examine how shadeism effects societies, gender, and social standing, and how it is attached to skin colour. As well, it explores the effects of societies on women and how this plays in their social standing. In exploring shadeism, this study found it is not only an outgrowth of colonialism but also can be seen within religions and history. This research project questions the roots of shadeism, as many at this academic juncture correlate the perpetuation of this issue from the beginning of colonialismItem Open Access Examination of the Transitioning of the Book from Print to Digital: Inspiration, Possibilities & Application(2017-07-26) Tait, Ruth Wellington; Marchessault, Janine MicheleMy principal research question is: what future/s might there be for the book as it shifts away from paper volumes and into an ebook protocol, as regards marginal epistemologies, inclusivity, multiple authors, interdisciplinarity and alternative narratives? My research takes the form of both a thesis and a research-creation EPUB3 ebook. I chose the subject of bees as the content of the book. This subject offered me both an alternative narrative and a way to showcase the capabilities of the EPUB. Working with disciplines of Design, Film and Computer Science, I traced a trajectory through the history of the printed book to the present day finding a natural place for the self-published ebook. The thesis speculates on the genesis of the ebook as a recuperative medium in the evolution of the knowledge commons. It navigates a path toward progressive accessibility standards coexisting with a visual design paradigm.