Evidence for a Big Brother Effect in Survey-Based Fear of Crime Research

The objective of this study was to determine whether sibling sex and birth order have any influence on individuals' reported fear of crime levels. Based on literature relating to gender, socialization, vicarious fear for spouses and children, and sibling influence, three hypotheses were formed. It was expected that a) having siblings would be protective against fear, b) male fear of crime would increase with the number of younger sisters and c) female fear of crime would decrease with the number of older brothers. A total of 83 McMaster University undergraduate students completed a survey that included demographic questions and a fear of crime index. Results indicated the existence of a "big brother effect", whereby females with older brothers exhibited less fear of crime than other females. There was no statistically significant difference in fear of crime among those with and without siblings and no sex-specific sibling effects on fear of crime in males. Explanations of this result focused on female vulnerability, socialization and the particular influence of older brothers on their sisters' behaviour and characteristics. This study highlights the influence of siblings on fear of crime and provides impetus for future researc

Athletics, Music, Languages, and Leadership: How Parents Influence the Extracurricular Activities of their Children

In this study, we explore the impact that parents have on the participation of their children in extracurricular activities (ECAs) in a sample of Canadian parents with children between the ages of four and 17. Employing a concurrent, nested, mixed methods strategy, we use the insights gained through semi-structured interviews with parents to inform the creation of four regression models with which we investigate four types of activities (athletics, music, languages, and leadership). Our findings reveal that, depending on the type of activity, ECA participation by children varies by parental education. Values and experiences held by parents with the lowest educational attainment were stronger predictors of participation in specialized music programs, and those of parents with advanced degrees were stronger predictors of participation by their children in specialized language programs. We conclude by discussing the equity implications of our study for Canadian children

Parent-Adolescent Storytelling in Canadian-Arabic Immigrant Families (Part 1): A Grounded Theory

Interviews with 20 mothers, fathers, adolescent sons and daughters from Arabic immigrant families elicited descriptions of participants’ experiences of storytelling in their families. Constructivist grounded theory analysis of interview data provided an initial conceptualization of intergenerational storytelling during adolescence that both reflects and serves to influence parent-adolescent relationships as well as the broader cultural domain through story content, storytellers’ intentions, and responsive interaction. This preliminary substantive theory presents storytelling in immigrant families during adolescence as relationally grounded, influenced and expressed through a cultural/language “prism,” responsive and active in moving relationships toward or away from connection, and dependent on story content/context as well as the storyteller’s delivery and listener’s response. These findings have implications for extending theoretical conceptualization of family interactions during adolescence beyond conflict, monitoring, and peer influences. In addition, practical implications for supporting and understanding the day-to-day interactions that support parent-adolescent relationships and cultural minority families are highlighte

Parent-Adolescent Storytelling in Canadian-Arabic Immigrant Families (Part 2): A Narrative Analysis of Adolescents\u27 Stories Told to Parents

This paper is the second of two papers presenting the results of a qualitative analysis of interviews inviting Arabic-Canadian immmigrant adolescents and parents to reflect on the stories they tell each other in the context of everyday family life. The first paper provides the results of a Grounded Theory Methodology and proposes a substantive theory of intergenerational storytelling during adolescence. This paper augments these results by presenting Narrative Analysis of a separate part of the interview inviting adolescents to tell a story to the interviewer as if telling it to their parents. Based on the stories told by 10 adolescents (5 male, 5 female), this analysis provides an initial representation of how the broad projects of acculturation and collective identity, as well as changes in parent-adolescent relationships, are brought directly into parent-adolescent day-to-day interaction in the form of small stories. These small stories present teens as performing in their day-to-day lives, with friends and strangers, and in the face of challengers and strange or familiar circumstances. The stories provide a context in which parent-adolescent interactional voices are prominent, and wherein understanding of unusual events, co-construction of self and family identities, broader social influences, and autonomy/connection dialectics emerge

Understanding care transitions from the perspectives of persons with dementia and their caregivers: A grounded theory

Introduction: The proportion of the Canadian population living with dementia is rising. Since persons with dementia are intensive health care service users, they have many contact points with various health care providers and settings. Consequently, they may be required to navigate through an often-fragmented care system. Transitional care, which involves the coordination and continuity of care for patients moving within or between care settings, has the potential to improve transitions for persons with dementia and their caregivers. Despite being recognized as a policy and research priority, transitional care for persons with dementia and their caregivers is poorly understood. Objective: This study aimed to fill gaps in the understanding of care transitions from the perspectives of individuals with dementia and their informal caregivers through the development of a theoretical framework outlining factors that contribute to the processes care transitions in this population. Research questions addressed what was important to persons with dementia and their caregivers as they moved throughout the health care system as well as the challenges that they faced during health care system transitions. Methods: Constructivist grounded theory methods were used to build an understanding of the care transitions of persons with dementia and their caregivers. Individual or dyad interviews were conducted, recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Through initial and focused coding, themes and relationships between themes emerged and framework development began. Data collection and analysis occurred iteratively until saturation was reached. Results and Discussion: A three-part theoretical framework outlining the context, processes and influencing factors of care transitions emerged from the data. Elements of context included the existence of multiple realities and goals among those involved in transitions, the broader community, and the parallel experiences of others navigating the system. Phases of transition processes experienced during the dementia journey were a transition into the dementia care system, a continuous process of management and follow-up, and the adjustment to a new home. Four categories of influencing factors were described by participants: catalysts (causes of transitions), buffers (intermediary actions to ease future transitions), facilitators (factors that help transitions), and obstacles (factors that hinder transitions). This study suggests that transitions are complex; there is no single, simple remedy for the challenges of transitions. However, gaining an in depth understanding of the care transitions of individuals with dementia is an important step in improving transitions for this population. Knowledge translation and significance: The results of the study may be useful in the creation of recommendations for improving the care transition experiences of individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Furthermore, the consultations contributed to dementia strategy development in Ontario. Transitional periods represent a time of risk for adverse events and a high level of caregiver stress; therefore, this study has the potential to improve the quality of care and quality of life of persons with dementia and their informal caregivers

Efficient Runge-Kutta Based Local Time-Stepping Methods

The method of lines approach to the numerical solution of transient hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs) allows us to write the PDE as a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in time. Solving this system of ODEs explicitly requires choosing a stable time step satisfying the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition. When a uniform mesh is used, the global CFL number is used to choose the time step and the system is advanced uniformly in time. The need for local time-stepping, i.e., advancing elements by their maximum locally defined time step, occurs when the elements in the mesh differ greatly in size. When global time-stepping is used, the global CFL number and the globally defined time step are defined by the smallest element in the mesh. This leads to inefficiencies as a few small elements impose a restrictive time step on the entire mesh. Local time-stepping mitigates these inefficiencies by advancing elements by their locally defined time step and, hence, reduces the number of function evaluations. In this thesis, we present two local time-stepping algorithms based on a third order Runge-Kutta method and the classical fourth order Runge-Kutta method. We prove these methods keep the order of accuracy of the underlying Runge-Kutta methods in the context of a system of ODEs. We then show how they can be used with the method of lines approach to the numerical solution of PDEs, specifically with the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) spatial discretization. Numerical simulations show we obtain the theoretical $p+1$ rate of convergence of the DG method in both the $L^2$ and maximum norms. We provide evidence that these algorithms are stable through a number of linear and nonlinear examples

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Suicidal Behaviour in Children and Adolescents Accessing Residential or Intensive Home-Based Mental Health Services

Objective: There is a dearth of Canadian research with clinical samples of youth who self-harm, and no studies could be located on self-harm in children and youth accessing residential or intensive home-based treatment. The purposes of this report were to explore the proportion and characteristics of children and youth identified as self-harming at admission by clinicians compared to youth not identified as self-harming, compare self-harming children to adolescents, and to compare caregiver ratings of self-harm at intake to clinician ratings at admission. Method: This report was developed from a larger longitudinal, observational study involving 210 children and youth accessing residential and home-based treatment and their caregivers in partnership with five mental health treatment centres in southwestern Ontario. Agency data were gleaned from files, and caregivers reported on symptom severity at 12 to 18 months and 36 to 40 months post-discharge. Results: Fifty-seven (34%) children and youth were identified as self-harming at admission. The mean age was 11.57 (SD 2.75). There were statistically significant differences on symptom severity at intake between those identified as self-harming and those not so identified; most of these differences were no longer present at follow up. Children were reported to have higher severity of conduct disorder symptoms than adolescents at intake, and there was some consistency between caregiver-rated and clinician-rated self-harm. Children were reported to engage in a wide range of self-harming behaviours. Conclusion: These findings suggest that youth who were identified as self-harming at admission have elevated scores of symptom severity, self-harm can occur in young children and while many improve, there remains a concern for several children and youth who did not improve by the end of service. Children engage in some of the same types of self-harm behaviours as adolescents, and they also engage in behaviours unique to children

Lithuania : the rebirth of a nation, 1991-1994

The thesis Lithuania: the Rebirth of a Nation, 1991-1994 examines the first years of the rebirth and regeneration of Lithuania in the face of the legacy of the Soviet Occupation. It studies the essential components of rebirth: the creation of domestic, foreign and security policies and the revitalising of the economy as Lithuania broke away from the USSR. The Soviet Occupation grafted the mentality of homo sovieticus onto the Lithuanian people and its effect is charted when observing the processes surrounding Lithuania's rejuvenation. An additional chapter examines the evolution of homo sovieticus itself, studying bureaucratic societies, such as the Habsburg Empire and the USSR. The chapter also shows the manifestation of homo sovieticus in works of literature, art, music and humour and explores the concept of 'internal exile'. The thesis commences with a condensed history of Lithuania, as this history has created the distinct national identity which sustained the Lithuanian people during the decades of occupation. After the chapter on the evolution of homo sovieticus, its legacy is studied in a survey of Lithuania's domestic politics between 1991-1994. This chapter, however, extends until 1996 to demonstrate the changing political fortunes during the first post-Soviet years. Interlinking chapters on foreign and security policy appraise Lithuania's attempts to rejoin the international community and acquire an effective security guarantee. The influence of the presence of homo sovieticus is again noted both here and in the final chapter, devoted to Lithuania's transition to a market economy. The thesis concludes that while enormous strides were taken between 1991-1994 to return Lithuania to her pre-Occupation status, the damage caused by fifty years of the Soviet Occupation had created unforeseen obstacles which led to complications in the process of rebirth, many of which will be unsurmountable in the immediate future

Engaging older adults in healthcare research and planning: a realist synthesis

Background The importance of engaging the community in healthcare research and planning has been widely recognized. Currently however, there is a limited focus on older adults, Canada’s fastest growing segment of the population and biggest users of the healthcare system. Objective This project aimed to develop an understanding of engagement of older adults and their caregivers in healthcare research and planning. Method A realist synthesis was conducted of the available knowledge on engagement in healthcare research and planning. The search methodology was informed by a framework for realist syntheses following five phases, including consultations with older adults. The synthesis included theoretical frameworks, and both peer-reviewed and grey literature. Results The search generated 15,683 articles, with 562 focusing on healthcare research and planning. The review lead to the development of a framework to engage older adults and their caregivers in healthcare research and planning. The 5 stages environment, plan, establish, build, and transition are accompanied with example context, mechanism, and outcomes to guide the use of this framework. Conclusion We have identified a framework that promotes meaningful engagement of older adults and their caregivers. We are continuing to collaborate with our community partners to further develop and evaluate engagement strategies that align with the presented framework.This work was supported by a Knowledge Synthesis Grant from the Technology Evaluation for the Elderly Network (TVN), grant # KS2013-08, which is funded by the Government of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program