The Relationship between Dementia Family Caregivers' Traditional Values and Beliefs about Caregiving and Well-being

Introduction: Canada’s aging population is diverse and this diversity will continue to grow for the next two decades (Government of Canada, 2002; Katz, 2005; Statistics Canada, 2010). Objective: to examine the relationship between dementia family caregivers’ traditionally-based beliefs about caregiving, their caregiving experience, and their well-being. Method: exploratory secondary data analysis of cross-sectional survey data from 76 community caregivers of persons with dementia in Ontario. Results: traditional values for caregiving was independently associated with coping resources and health status but not depression symptoms. Caregiver self-efficacy and social support both partially mediated the relationship between beliefs about caregiving and caregiver health status. Discussion: Findings from this exploratory study are consistent with stress process models of culture and caregiving. The finding that self-efficacy was associated with traditional values and that it mediated the relationship between traditional values and caregiver well-being is new to the literature.

Righteous sounds and reproductive justice : the influence of Ani DiFranco's music for reproductive rights activists

In this thesis, I explore how the folk-rock music of Ani DiFranco has influenced the activist commitments, sensibilities, and activities of reproductive rights activists. My interest in the relation of popular music to social movements is informed by the work of Simon Frith (1987, 1996a, 1996b), Rob Rosenthal (2001), and Ann Savage (2003). Frith argues that popular music is an important contributor to personal identity and the ways that listeners see the world. Savage (2003) writes that fans develop a unique relationship with feminist/political music, and Rosenthal (2001) argues that popular music can be an important factor in building social movements. I use these arguments to ask what the influence of Ani DiFranco's music has been for reproductive rights activists who are her fans. I conducted in-depth interviews with ten reproductive rights activists who are fans of Ani DiFranco's music. All ten are women in their twenties and thirties living in Ontario or New York. Each has been listening to DiFranco's music for between two and fifteen years, and has considered herself a reproductive rights activist for between eighteen months and twenty years. I examine these women's narratives of their relationships with Ani DiFranco's music and their activist experience through the interconnected lenses of identity, consciousness, and practice. Listening to Ani DiFranco's music affects the fluid ways these women understand their identities as women, as feminists, and in solidarity with others. I draw on Freire's (1970) understanding of conscientization to consider the role that Ani's music has played in heightening women's awareness about reproductive rights issues. The feeling of solidarity with other (both real and perceived) activist fans gives them more confidence that they can make a difference in overcoming social injustice. They believe that Ani's music encourages productive anger, which in turn fuels their passion to take action to make change. Women use Ani's music deliberately for energy and encouragement in their continued activism, and find that it continues to resonate with their evolving identities as women, feminists, and activists. My study builds on those of Rosenthal (2001) and Savage (2003) by focusing on one artist and activists in one social movement. The characteristics of Ani DiFranco, her fan base, and the reproductive rights movement allow new understanding of the ways that female fans who are members of a female-dominated feminist movement interact with the music of a popular independent female artist.

You get what you pay for : independent music and Canadian public policy

The aim of this MA thesis is to demonstrate how corporate concentration within the global music industry specifically affects the Canadian music industry's ability to compete for its own national audience as well as audiences worldwide. Federal public policies, regulatory regimes and subsidies are considered within the context of the structure of the global marketplace which is, in effect, an oligopoly controlled by four major corporations. Through an extensive literature review of political economy theory, Canadian public policies and music studies, as well as personal interviews conducted with Canadian musicians, entrepreneurs and public servants, I will situate my research within the body of political economy theory; present a detailed report of the structure of the global music industry; address the key players within the industry; describe the relationship between the major corporations and the independent companies operating in the industry; discuss how new technologies affect said relationships; consider the effectiveness of Canadian public policies in safeguarding the national music industry; and recommend steps that can be taken to remedy the shortcomings of Federal policies and regulatory regimes.

Limiting rights, Canadian style : the Supreme Court of Canada, American jurisprudence and section 1 of the Charter /

The addition of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms represented a fundamental shift in Canadian governance. Many saw the tabling of such a document as a further, even fmal, step towards the Americanization of the Canadian polity. While the Charter's presence has significantly altered the relationship between citizens, government and the courts, it has done so by maintaining the traditional values and experiences that has been the hallmarks of Canadian constitutionalism. This is in contrast to the fears harboured by critics suggesting that the Charter was a further Americanization of the Canadian Polity, notwithstanding the very different natures of the American Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter. Analyzing American Supreme Court precedent use by the Canadian Supreme Court has demonstrated that such an Americanization has not, in fact, occurred. In the present analysis of American precedent use in section 1 limitation of rights cases, the citation of these precedents are at best episodic, at least on the quantitative level. Qualitatively, the Canadian Supreme Court generally uses American jurisprudence to further support broad definitions of 'great rights' . As for the more intricate details of rights limitations and the process involved in detennining how Charter rights are limited, one would be hard pressed to find even cursory references to American case law.

Educators' attitudes to philosophies of music education

This study used Q methodology to measure the extent to which individuals with five educational roles (student teacher, elementary music teacher, principal, high school music teacher, and music consultant) held five proposed philosophies of music education (hedonic, utilitarian, aesthetic cognitivism, aesthetic formalist, and praxial). Twenty-seven sUbjects participated in the Q study. These subjects were a convenience sample based on their educational role, accessibility, and willingness to participate. Participants completed a background sheet which indicated their background in music, and their responsibility for teaching music. The sUbjects in this Q study rank-ordered a set of 60 Q sort items (each item representing a proposed philosophical position) twice: Sort P to reflect current practice, and Sort I to reflect the ideal situation. The results of the sorting procedures were recorded by the participant on the response page which organized the rankings according to an approximated normal distribution as required by Q methodology. The analysis of the data suggested that the comparison across philosophical positions was significant and that the results of the interaction between philosophical position and educational role were significant, although educational role alone was not significant. Post-hoc analysis of the data was used to determine the significant differences between the levels of the, independent variables used in the model: philosophical position, educational role, and music background. A model of the association of the five philosophical positions was presented and discussed in relation to the Q study results. Further research could refine the Q sort items to better reflect each philosophical position.

The impact of integrated programming on student attitude and achievement in grade 9 academic mathematics and science

This research studioo the effect of integrated instruction in mathematics and~ science on student achievement in and attitude towards both mathematics and science. A group of grade 9 academic students received instruction in both science and mathematics in an integrated program specifically developed for the purposes of the research. This group was compared to a control group that had received science and mathematics instruction in a traditional, nonintegrated program. The findings showed that in all measures of attitude, there was no significant difference between the students who participated in the integrated science and mathematics program and those who participated in a traditional science and mathematics program. The findings also revealed that integration did improve achievement on some of the measures used. The performance on mathematics open-ended problem-solving tasks improved after participation in the integrated program, suggesting that the integrated students were better able to apply their understanding of mathematics in a real-life context. The performance on the final science exam was also improved for the integrated group. Improvement was not noted on the other measures, which included EQAO scores and laboratory practical tasks. These results raise the issue of the suitability of the instruments used to gauge both achievement and attitude. The accuracy and suitability of traditional measures of achievement are considered. It is argued that they should not necessarily be used as the measure of the value of integrated instruction in a science and mathematics classroom.