Office of the University President Sous fonds: Dr. James A. Gibson

Dr. James A. Gibson was born in Ottawa on January 29, 1912 to John W. and Belle Gibson. At an early age the family moved to Victoria, B.C. where John W. Gibson was a director of the Elementary Agricultural Education Branch, Department of Education. Gibson received his early education in Victoria, receiving a B.A. (honours) at UBC in 1931. In 1931 he was awarded the Rhodes scholarship and received his B.A., M.A., B.Litt and D. Phil at New College, Oxford. This was to be the beginning of a long and dedicated relationship with the Rhodes Scholar Association. Upon his return to Canada, Dr. Gibson lectured in Economics and Government at the University of British Columbia. In 1938 he was married to Caroline Stein in Philadelphia, and the same year joined the staff of the Department of External Affairs as a Foreign Service officer. Within twenty minutes of his arrival he was seconded to the Office of the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for External Affairs, W. L. Mackenzie King in charge of War Records and Liaison Officer. This was a critical time in the history of Canada, and Dr. Gibson experienced firsthand several milestones, including the Royal Visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939. Dr. Gibson was present at the formation of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945, being part of the Prime Minister’s professional staff as well as attending conferences in Washington, Quebec and London as an advisor to the Canadian delegation. Gibson contributed many articles to the publication bout de papier about his experiences during these years. After his resignation in 1947, Gibson joined the staff of the fledgling Carleton College, as a lecturer. In 1949 he was appointed a professor and in 1951 became Dean of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Gibson acted as President from 1955 to 1956 upon the sudden death of Dr. MacOdrum. In 1963 Dr. Gibson accepted the invitation of the Brock University Founders’ Committee, chaired by Arthur Schmon, to become the founding president. Dr. Gibson guided the new University from a converted refrigeration plant, to an ever expanding University campus on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment. Dr. Gibson remained firmly “attached” to Brock University. Even after official retirement, in 1974, he retained the title President Emeritus. Gibson’s final official contribution was an unpublished ten year history of the University. In retirement Gibson remained active in scholarly pursuits. He was a visiting scholar at the Center of Canadian Studies, University of Edinburgh; continued his ongoing research activities focusing on W. L. Mackenzie King, the Office of the Governor General of Canada, and political prisoners transported to Van Dieman’s Land. He remained active in the Canadian Association of Rhodes Scholars, becoming editor from 1975 to 1994 and was appointed Editor Emeritus and Director for Life in 1995 in honour of his dedicated and outstanding service. In 1993 he was awarded one of Canada’s highest achievements, the Order of Canada. Gibson retained close ties with Brock University and many of its faculty. He maintained an office in the Politics Department where he became a vital part of the department. In 1996 Brock University honoured Gibson by naming the University Library in his honour. James A. Gibson Library staff was instrumental in celebrating the 90th birthday of Gibson in 2002, with a widely attended party in the Pond Inlet where many former students, including Silver Badgers. The attendees also included former and current colleagues from Brock University, Canadian Rhodes Scholars Association, family and friends. Gibson was later to remark that the highlight of this event was the gift of his original academic robe which he had personally designed in 1964. In 2003 Dr. Gibson moved to Ottawa to be near some of his children and the city of his birth and early career. In that year “two visits to Brock ensued: the first, to attend a special celebration of the James A. Gibson Library; his late to attend the 74th Convocation on Saturday, October 18, 2003. A week later, in Ottawa, he went for a long walk, returned to his residence, Rideau Gardens, went into the lounge area, took off his coat and folded it up, put it on the back of his chair, sat down, folded his hands in his lap, closed his eyes, and died”. With sources from: Carleton University The Charlatan, Gibson CV, and Memorial Service Programme

The elderly : reminiscing, coping with loss, accepting death

This study investigated loss, death and dying, reminiscing, coping and the process of adaptation from the sUbjective perspective. A number of theories and models of death and dying were reviewed in the background literature search with the focus on reminiscing as a coping phenomenon. The format of the study was audio-taped interviews with ten sUbjects and the recording of their memories and reminiscing of life stories. The sUbjects were required to complete an initial questionnaire in a demographic data collection process. Two separate interviews consisted of a primary data collecting interview and a verification interview four to eight weeks later. An independent chart review completed the data collecting process. Data analysis was by the examination of the emerging themes in the subjects' personal narratives which revealed the sUb-categories of reminiscing, loss (including death and dying), acceptance, hope, love, despair and belief. Belief was shown to be the foundation and the base for living and reminiscing. Reminiscing was found to be a coping phenomenon, within the foundation of a belief system. Both living and reminiscing revealed the existence of a central belief or value with a great deal of importance attached to it. Whether the belief was of a spiritual nature, a value of marriage, tradition, a work ethic or belief in an abstract value such as fate,it gave support and control to the individuals' living and reminiscing process. That which caused despair or allowed acceptance indicated the sUbjects' basic belief and was identified in the story narrations. The findings were significant to health care in terms of education, increased dignity for the elderly and better understanding by society. The profiles represented an average age of 86.3 years with age showing no bearing on the life experiences associated with the emerging themes. Overwhelmingly, belief was shown to be the foundation in reminiscing. A Judeo-Christian cultural value base supported the belief in 90% of the sUbjects; however, different beliefs were clearly shown indicating that belief is central to all thinking beings, in everyday life and in reminiscing. Belief was not necessarily spiritual or a practised or verbalized religion. It was shown to be a way of understanding, a fundamental and single thread tying the individual's life and stories together. The benefits were the outcomes, in that knowledge of an individual's belief can optimize care planning for any age group, and/or setting. The strength of the study was the open question format and the feedback process of data verification. The unrestricted outcomes and non-specificity were significant in a world where dying is everybody's business.

Death anxiety and experiences of transcendence : peak experiences of skydivers

Terror Management Theory (TMT) suggests that human beings battle to protect ourselves from the potential terror resulting from the juxtaposition of our need for selfpreservation and our unique human ability to realize that we cannot avoid death. Over 150 studies have shown that when people are primed with the awareness of mortality they grasp onto their cultural world view more tenaciously than when they are primed with another unpleasant stimulus (i.e., show "cultural world view defense"). Applying the principles ofTMT, the first purpose of the present research was to examine whether the amount of peak experiences reduce the tendency to show cultural world view defense (an indicator of unconscious death fear) after a death prime. The second purpose was to examine a new model of implicit spirituality, by testing proposed relationships between implicit spirituality, peak experiences and intrinsic religiosity, and by testing whether peak experiences and/or intrinsic religiosity mediate the relationship between implicit spirituality and conscious and/or unconscious death fears. Skydivers were chosen as the primary participants for this research because of their unique characteristics in the context of TMT research. Previous research suggests that veteran skydivers have peak experiences as they skydive, and I assumed that their peak experiences would not be influenced by intrinsic religious beliefs. Novice skydivers may have their implicit spirituality brought forth because of their proximity to possible death. The willingness of both groups to place themselves close to death allowed their reactions to unconscious and conscious death fears to be assessed in a real setting. Novice skydivers' proximity to death made them an ideal group to study to see whether intrinsic religiosity mediated the relationship between their implicit spirituality and conscious and/or unconscious death fears. One hundred and twenty-five people participated in this research: 38 veteran and 46 novice skydivers, as well as 41 people who accompanied them to the drop zone. Of these, 23 veterans, 19 novices, and 22 friends returned a follow-up packet of questionnaires three weeks later. As expected, the veterans' unconscious death fear scores remained stable from pre-jump to post-jump (after the death prime), and three weeks later, whereas the novices' scores increased, but only marginally. As predicted, the novice skydivers' implicit spirituality was significantly higher than the veterans' and was negatively correlated with their conscious death fear, which was not mediated by their intrinsic religiosity. Only the novices' follow-up (trait) implicit spirituality correlated negatively with their pre-jump unconscious death fear. Among both groups of skydivers, there were significant relationships between implicit spirituality and peak experiences, and although the novices were significantly higher on peak experiences after the jump, peak experiences did not mediate the relationship between implicit spirituality and unconscious death fear for either group. In both groups follow-up intrinsic religiosity correlated with implicit spirituality. Peak experiences and intrinsic religiosity were not related with one another, suggesting that these are different ways of accessing an implicit spirituality. Results imply that implicit spirituality was brought forth (in the case of novice skydivers who were consciously close to death) and can be accessed through both peak experiences and intrinsic religiosity.

Beyond child's play : wealth, status, and the death of children in the MH-LH I periods of the Argolid, Greece

This study explores the mortuary remains of children from the MH-LH I periods of the Argolid, Greece. This examination concentrates on how the child in death acted as a tool for wealth and status display. Here, children are understood to have perpetuated, maintained, and reinforced status distinctions between families in their community. The analysis of one hundred child burials that date to these periods illustrates how the burials of children were important opportunities used by the families of children to display wealth and status. Thus, children can be viewed as important factors in the reorganization of social structure in the transition from the Middle to Late Helladic.

The relationship between body mass index and breast cancer recurrence/progression and breast cancer-specific death

The aim of this study was to describe the nonlinear association between body mass index (BMI) and breast cancer outcomes and to determine whether BMI improves prediction of outcomes. A cohort of906 breast cancer patients diagnosed at Henry Ford Health System, Detroit (1985-1990) were studied. The median follow-up was 10 years. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model breast cancer recurrence/progression and breast cancer-specific death. Restricted cubic splines were used to model nonlinear effects. Receiver operator characteristic areas under the curves (ROC AUC) were used to evaluate prediction. BMI was nonlinearly associated with recurrence/progression and death (p= 0.0230 and 0.0101). Probability of outcomes increased with increase or decrease ofBMI away from 25. BMI splines were suggestive of improved prediction of death. The ROC AUCs for nested models with and without BMI were 0.8424 and 0.8331 (p= 0.08). I f causally associated, modifying patients BMI towards 25 may improve outcomes.

A List of Officers of the reduced Independent Companies who are to receive half pay from the days hereafter mentioned, to the 24th of December 1791, both days inclusive, or to the days of their death or Provision respectively.

Sir George Yonge (1732-1812) was a baronet, politician and colonial governor. He was a Member of Parliament for Honiton from 1754-1761 and 1763-1796, British Secretary at War from 1782-1783 and 1783-1794, and Governor of the Cape colony from 1799-1801.

The Death of Brock at Queenston Heights, 1812: Imperial Tobacco Company silk card

General Isaac Brock was a British Army officer and administrator who was promoted to Major General. He was responsible for defending Upper Canada against the United States. He died at the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812. Bartholome Houde and George E. Tuckett (Tuckett was mayor of Hamilton Ontario in 1896) manufactured and sold tobacco before Confederation. In 1841, the company was called B. Houde and Grothe. When Houde retired in 1822 his son in law, Francis Xavier Dussault took over the company. In 1903, the company was called B. Houde and Company Ltee. and it was run by Dussault’s two sons J.A. Dussault and J.E. Dussault. The B. Houde Company had become part of American Tobacco Ltd. which merged with Empire Tobacco Co. Ltd. to form the Imperial Tobacco Company in 1908 in the St. Henri district of Montreal. In 2008, the company celebrated their centennial. Cigarette silks were either enclosed in packets of cigarettes or were redeemable by mail. People would sew these silks together to create quilts or table covers. Some cigarette packages even included instructions for making these items.

Canadian Expeditionary Force Death Certificate - Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff

Canadian Expeditionary Force Death Certificate stating that Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff was killed in action on the 13th of July, 1918, dated Sept. 20, 1919.

Clippings - Death

Clipping of the obituary for Amy Constance Woodruff Miller, daughter of the late W. Henry Miller and Amy Woodruff Miller. The funeral was at St. George’s Church and Interment at Victoria Lawn Cemetery on Feb. 8, 1949.

Clippings - Engagement, Death

Clipping of the obituary of Francis Woodruff, n.d. Clipping of the announcement of the engagement of Gladyse Wanita Palling to Lieut. Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff of the 176th Overseas Battalion, n.d.