No description available.

This thesis is a comparative, data-based analysis of the empirical validity of three competing sociological models of the psychological impact of size of place of residence. The theories subjected to statistical investigation are: the ecological school of Wirth (1938), the compositionalist approach of Gans (1962) and the subcultural arguments of Fischer (1976). A secondary data analysis of selected variables from the 1979 Canadian Quality of Life Survey forms the core of this thesis. Two dimensions of the potential psychological impact of urban size are examined: powerlessness, measured by an index variable of a "sense of personal competence" and social isolation, measured by a reported sense of loneliness and contacts with significant others. Consistent with the compositionalist model, the analysis of variance performed in this research shows no association between urban size and powerlessness, after controlling for socio-economic and demographic factors. Loneliness however, shows a curvilinear negatively sloped relationship with urban size after controlling for factors lending partial support to the subcultural model. Neighbourhood involvement exhibited a significant negative association with urban size. This finding, is attributable to the relative lack of importance of proximity in the urban setting which reduces neighbourhood contacts in favour of trans-local ones. Finally, when controlling for distance of residence of children living away from home, the effect of the size of place of residence on the frequency of contact with children living away from home, reported by the respondents was significantly reduced thus, partly supporting the subcultural model's proposition.

The purpose of this study is to describe the geographic distribution of Aboriginal people who live in remote, isolated Aboriginal communities in Canada in terms of how geographic settings and features, particularly those that are characteristic of island dwellers, are related to and can impact aspects of culture and identity. Through this process, data was collected using a research synthesis, which allowed for a great deal of data from various sources to be analyzed, extracted, and coded. Based on this qualitative study, numerous geographic characteristics similar to those of islanders and islands emerged. Physically, islands and Aboriginal communities represent bounded, finite spaces that are located on the periphery and are impacted by isolation. These unique isolated areas allow for islanders and Aboriginal people to experience ethnic homogeneity and strong attachments to place, both of which allow for the preservation of culture and identity. That being said, islanders and Aboriginal people both experience migration as a way of life, and leaving their places of origin to experience life in larger, more diversely and densely populated areas is necessary for many. As a result of these findings, this study compares isolated Aboriginal communities in Canada and Aboriginal people to various small islands around the world as well as islanders, through various spatial metaphors.