A postcolonial queer analysis of aboriginal queer clients' experiences of health care services in St. John's, Newfoundland

This thesis examines the gaps between health care services aimed at Aboriginal queer individuals living in St. John’s, Newfoundland and their health care needs. I used a multi-methods research design that includes interviews and demographic surveys, unobtrusive observation and qualitative content analysis. I conducted semi-structured interviews with institutional representatives from selected health related organizations – Eastern Health, Planned Parenthood Newfoundland and Labrador, the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador, and St. John’s Native Friendship Center; as well as a transgender activist and three people who identify as Aboriginal and queer. I conducted observational research at two public seminars on Aboriginal people and health. Finally, I carried out qualitative content analysis of organizational reports and webpages of the selected community organizations. Using a postcolonial queer framework that analyzes how Newfoundland and Labrador’s colonial history is reflected in current health care realities I argue that the lack of appropriate services and culturally insensitive delivery of services reproduce the historical marginalization of an already vulnerable group.

Knowledge and perceptions of domestic violence services among women in Ghana

Support services are important to the mental and physical well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence. However, researchers and service providers note that survivors seldom report violence to formal domestic violence services in Ghana. Despite calls from service providers for Ghanaians to report domestic violence, few studies have focused on women’s knowledge and perceptions of formal domestic violence services in Ghana and how these perceptions influence their help-seeking behaviour. This thesis presents qualitative findings on Ghanaian women's knowledge and perceptions of formal domestic violence services. Also, challenges to service delivery are explored. Results revealed that awareness among respondents of available services was low. Additionally, most respondents had negative perceptions of these formal services. This study demonstrates that more educational campaigns need to be carried out to raise awareness among Ghanaians on domestic violence and the formal interventions available in the country. Additionally, service providers and policy makers must formulate programmes and policies that are better suited to the uniqueness of the Ghanaian situation.

The current state of /L/ allophony in St. John's English

This project examines the use and evaluation of light post-vocalic /l/ in St. John's, Newfoundland. The city, which was primarily settled by the Irish, traditionally did not conform to the Standard Canadian pattern of /l/ allophony. That is, it was reported to have light /l/ in all positions, in contrast to Canadian English, which has dark /l/ in codas and light /l/ in onsets (Clarke 2012). There have been, however, several major social and economic changes in Newfoundland since the mid-twentieth century, which have impacted local dialects (Clarke 2010). In terms of postvocalic /l/, data collected by Clarke in St. John's in the 1980s shows that the light variant is declining in use and being replaced by the dark variant, and that little overt awareness is accompanying this change (2012). This study addresses the decline and awareness of this feature, through production and perception experiments, respectively. This work follows that of Clarke in that it looks at younger age groups that have been born since Clarke's study was conducted in the early 1980s. The results of these experiments suggest that the light post-vocalic /l/ has continued its decline in St. John's English, and that the dark variant is a stable norm. In fact, it is light /l/ in initial position that is experiencing social variation, in that younger speakers are using darker /l/s in this position than their older counterparts. Women, though they display a more standard /l/ allophony pattern overall than men, also show more dramatic initial-/l/ darkening in apparent time. Additionally, there is a significant style shift between word list and interview tasks in this position. The perception experiment shows that there is awareness and stigma associated with the light variant in coda, which could extend to light /l/s in general.