The Mirror Has Many Faces: Recognizing Gender Identity in Canadian Anti-Discrimination Law

Owing to our failure to acknowledge the complexity and diversity of gender identity, gender and gender politics are contentious subjects in Canadian anti-discrimination law. On the one hand, Queer theorists continue to challenge the rigidity of the male/female binary, while on the other hand, Canadian law insists that identity is invariably determined by one’s biological sex. The result is a power struggle, pitting those who fit neatly into rigid male/female categories against the marginalized Other—the transgendered community. Transgendered persons have encountered many barriers in their search for equality in the law, partly owing to a lack of a proper legal foundation on which to base their discrimination claims. This paper argues that the failure of the already established grounds of discrimination to fully protect and represent transgendered persons requires Canadian anti-discrimination law to incorporate gender identity as a new ground of discrimination

Duality and Models of Supersymmetry Breaking

Duality is often most clearly manifest in supersymmetric theories, where the rigid mathematical structure affords good control over the behaviour of the system. In many real-world applications, and particularly in particle physics at the TeV scale, supersymmetry can only be present as a broken symmetry. In this thesis we explore various situations in which duality can continue be important when supersymmetry is broken spontaneously, or even explicitly. We first focus on the AdS/CFT correspondence, and consider the effect of instantons in a non-supersymmetric gauge theory obtained via a marginal deformation of N = 4 super Yang-Mills. This gauge theory is expected to be dual to type IIB string theory on a background that is the product of five-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime and a deformed five-sphere. By performing an instanton calculation in the deformed gauge theory we extract a prediction for the dilaton-axion field in dual string theory. In the limit of small deformations where the supergravity regime is valid, our instanton result reproduces the expression for the axio-dilaton of the supergravity solution originally found by Frolov, thus supporting the validity of the correspondence. We then go on to look at how supersymmetry breaking in a metastable vacuum allows one to build simple and concrete models of gauge mediation. In the prototypical model of Intriligator, Seiberg and Shih (ISS), Seiberg duality plays an important role in ensuring the longevity of the metastable vacuum. In a move to construct more realistic models we deform the ISS model by adding a baryon term to the superpotential. This simple deformation causes spontaneous breaking of the approximate R-symmetry of the metastable vacuum. We then gauge an SU(5) flavour group and identify it with the parent gauge symmetry of the supersymmetric Standard Model. This implements direct mediation of supersymmetry breaking without the need for an additional messenger sector. A reasonable choice of parameters leads to gaugino masses of the right order. To further explore the phenomenology of metastable susy breaking we distinguish different types of models by the manner in which R-symmetry is broken in the metastable vacuum. In general, there are two possible ways to break R-symmetry: explicitly or spontaneously. We find that the MSSM phenomenology can be greatly affected how this breaking occurs in the Hidden Sector. Explicit R-symmetry breaking models lead to fairly standard gauge mediation patterns, but we argue that in the context of ISS-type models this only makes sense if B = 0 at the mediation scale. This leads to high values of tan beta as a generic prediction. If on the other hand R-symmetry is broken spontaneously, then R-violating soft terms tend to be suppressed with respect to the R-symmetry preserving ones, and one is led to a scenario with large scalar masses. These models interpolate between standard gauge mediation and split SUSY models. We provide benchmark points for the two scenarios, which serve to demonstrate that the specific dynamics of the Hidden Sector - the underlying nature of supersymmetry and R-symmetry breaking - can considerably affect the mass spectrum of the MSSM

The distribution and abundance of Wolf Spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) on Chapel Fell in the Northern Pennines

The study is introduced with some background information on the Pennine moors and their animal communities with particular reference to spiders and general information on w o lf spiders, in particular. The study was carried out by pitfall trapping at 20 sites on Chapel Fell, 14 selected for differing vegetation and soil type, at around 600m in altitude and 6 on an altitude transect, with a wet and a dry sites at each of three altitudes. Eight species of lycosid were caught. The numbers were approximately a quarter to a third of the all spiders caught during the early summer, but there was considerable variation (30%) between years. The catch of lycosids varied over the study period, rising from single figures in early May to a peak of 637 in 1991 and 980 in 1992 during June or July, after which the numbers dropped again. Catches from 1991 were examined for a six month period. These showed three peaks in abundance/ activity; the major one in July and two smaller ones in June and September. The total numbers of each individual species caught varied between 65% of all lycosids to 0.1%. There were significant changes in the numbers of most species, between years. Species richness for each site was worked out and a maximum of six and minimum of one species per site was found. Species diversity was calculated using Simpson's Index. Both of these measurements showed a tendency to increase between 1991 and 1992. Their distribution between the sites was analysed by Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DECORANA) which suggested that species show preferences between sites, which are based on soil moisture variation and vegetation differences. Altitude is also shown to affect species distribution; some species only occur in very small numbers at high altitudes, which are caught in hundreds lower down. Other species show no significant variation. The wet and dry site on the altitude transect demonstrate that five out of seven show significant preferences with regard to moisture. The lycosid Alopecosa pulverulenta was shown to have varying preferences with regard to soil moisture, depending on the soil type. The ratio of males to females caught was approximately 9:1. There was an increase in the proportion of males caught in 1992 for most species, which could be related to activity occurring earlier in the seas that year. The timing of the appearance of juvenile forms suggests two spiders Alopecosa pulverulenta and Pirata piraticus could have two year life-cycles in the uplands In view of controversy, the value of using pitfall traps is discussed and it is concluded from studies that have been carried out that it was the best method available. Suggestions are made to account for the patterns of distribution and abundance of lycosids on Chapel Fell, particularly interspecific competition or alternatively climatic factors. A longer study would be needed to reach any firm conclusions, because neither explanation can be ruled out by the resuUs obtained

Student Persistence and Success

Organizations of higher education are under increasing pressure to provide and validate student attrition data, particularly for funding sources and accreditation bodies. Simplistic attrition formulas comparing the number of students admitted to a program to the number of students graduating in the traditional program length problematizes both students and the organization. Approaches to student retention in higher education have evolved to focus on increasing student enrolment numbers, and subsequent funding often depends on this information. However, in taking this strategic, neoliberal approach, organizations fail to address the multifactorial nature of student attrition and the supports needed to maximize student success. This organizational improvement plan provides an alternative approach to the complex issue of student attrition by focusing on student persistence using decolonized and strength-based language. This plan calls for culturally congruent education, particularly important to an organization seeking to decolonize in light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (2015) Calls to Action. This organizational improvement plan addresses a gap at a remote Canadian college; namely, the absence of a student and persistence plan and the need to reconnect the organization with its mission of supporting student success. Connective leadership is pivotal to this cultural change, particularly for its relationship focus and shared leadership approach. This leadership style can unite College departments to work collaboratively through professional learning communities, to support student persistence. A detailed monitoring and evaluation plan can yield the necessary data for continuous quality improvement, with the ultimate goal of increasing student success, resulting in potential long-term societal and economic benefit

2017 Annual Report: State of Nonprofits in San Diego

The 2017 State of Nonprofits in San Diego report showcases current statistics on what nonprofits and philanthropy look like in the San Diego region, as well as the critical trends in organizational readiness, workforce development, fundraising, and public policy directly related to the sector’s ability to fulfill their social purpose mission.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-stateofnp/1013/thumbnail.jp

Interprofessional Education and Practice: Perspectives from Students in Speech-Language Pathology and Recreational Therapy

Interprofessional education and practice (IPE/IPP) are important components for undergraduate and graduate students to experience during their programs of study in speech-language pathology and related health professions. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) is a member organization of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) which promotes four core competencies required for effective practice: values/ethics, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork. The purpose of this study was to gather the lived experiences from eight pre-professional students, four from speech-language pathology (SLP) and four from recreational therapy(RT), during focus groups and discussion forums conducted before, during, and after a 14-week IPE/IPP clinical experience. Students shared perspectives about providing collaborative therapy services as part of a team supporting adults with stroke or other acquired neurological conditions. Thematic analysis conducted from pre and post focus group transcripts revealed six primary themes: roles and responsibilities; interprofessional communication; collaborative teamwork; values and mutual respect; challenges to IPE/IPP; and benefits & impact of IPE/IPP. Students shared their clinical experiences engaging with students from SLP and RT, but also working with students from physical and occupational therapy. The qualitative data from this study provides important information to assist future students, educators, and clinical supervisors how to effectively access and engage in IPE/IPP learning experiences with a specific focus in the areas of teamwork, leadership, and conflict resolution