Indigenous women who are single parents and who have had involvement with social services such as child welfare or social assistance have had to be strong and courageous to maneuver through these large institutions. Over the course of this research, I examined the concept of strength by asking the question “how do Indigenous women perceive their own strengths". This research is grounded in Indigenous methodologies through the worldview that all things are interconnected, all people and things have a soul, and that we have a physical effect on our surroundings as our surroundings affect us. The focus of my research interest is to gain a better understanding of Indigenous women’s strengths through their own lived knowledge and by contextualizing it within the experiences of oppression that they have had as a result of colonization. I undertake a literature review as well as field research to address my research question. For my field research I ask one simple question with probes to better understand their view of the strengths they possess: “Tell me your life story beginning with your earliest memories”. I use the research methodology of storytelling. Storytelling is another form of narrative methodology. Storytelling is about sharing stories from the past and present. To hear stories from the past is vital to our understanding of who we are as Indigenous people as this is how we learn where we come from and who we are. Storytelling is essential to re-claiming our histories. Data was collected from three Indigenous women who I interviewed twice. Two themes emerged from analyzing the data. One theme was oppressions and within the theme of oppressions emerged: assimilation, loss of traditional gender roles in the family, financial systemic oppression, physical and sexual abuses, and addictions. The second theme was strengths. The themes that emerged within strengths were: women being active and having agency, women as protectors of family and community, reconnecting with Spirit – Soul work, and women as keepers of tradition. Indigenous women’s voices and their experiences must continue to be researched and included in today’s education. / Graduate / 0452 / 0453 / 0740 / dfklaws@gmail.com

This thesis addresses the confluence of the issues of drug use and migration. Using data that explores the needs of new communities, it argues that members of new minority communities who use drugs suffer double discrimination as migrants and as drug users. In failing to address this intersection of need, drug policy and practice compound this discrimination. The data for this submission was drawn from three empirical research projects undertaken for Peterborough Drug Action Team and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. These research projects addressed previously unreached communities and gathered new data. I published my work among peer-reviewed literature in the form of two journal articles and a book chapter. The research reports and published works inform my thesis. This submission reanalyses the research, using an intersectional lens to understand problems emanating from drug use in the context of migration. Black and minority ethnic people form a small proportion of problem drug users and their needs were under-researched until the late 1990s. A growing body of research has focused on established minority communities, while the drug treatment needs of members of new groups of migrants, whether economic migrants or refugees, remain hidden. My research addresses the impact of policy and practice on new communities. Engaging with members of hard-to-reach groups via community-based researchers, I gathered views about the attitudes and needs of new minority groups and developed a fresh perspective. My work demonstrates that while drug misusers suffer very real discrimination and stigma they also have strengths that could be assets for their recovery. I offer an analysis of the reasons why these strengths are underutilised by a policy agenda that perceives drug misuse as the main feature of the lives of service users in new minority communities. This perception dates back to the first phase of modern drug policy. During the 1980s drug use spread throughout the country, driven by the availability of cheap heroin. The demography of drug users shifted towards white, younger unemployed men and the drugs/crime nexus became the focus of attention. This determined policy development. The context and profile of drug use has changed since 1980; however the decisions of the past affect those taken in the present, and I argue that policy continues to view other issues in individuals' lives as subsidiary to drug use and its treatment. My work has had an impact in practice and in the academic literature and presents significant new knowledge. In order to respond effectively to drug use in new minority communities, policy and practice must employ an intersectional viewpoint, sharing power and developing coalitions of interest.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2004-02-10Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:10:17Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 gois_am_me_arafo.pdf: 658823 bytes, checksum: 0abf0aa96e870eb9a4ad26842cbc521f (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Este estudo avaliou a resistência adesiva de microtração em reparos de resinas compostas, novas e envelhecidas, após tratamento da superfície usando irradiação a laser de Er: YAG, ponta diamantada e abrasão a ar. 36 blocos de resina composta híbrida Z100 (3M) com 5mm de comprimento e 6 mm de lado foram confeccionados com auxílio de uma matriz. Metade desses blocos foram reparados após 24 horas, e a outra metade foi reparada após envelhecimento artificial com luz ultravioleta. Cada grupo foi subdividido em 6 subgrupos e as superfícies experimentais foram submetidas a diferentes tratamentos: (G1) desgaste com ponta diamantada; (G2) jateamento com partículas de óxido de alumínio de 60 mm; (G3) ablação com laser de Er: YAG a um nível de energia de 100mJ; (G4) ablação com laser de Er:YAG a um nível de energia de 200mJ; (G5) ablação a laser de Er:YAG a um nível de energia de 300mJ; (G6) controle- ausência de tratamento de superfície. Após tratamento da superfície, o agente adesivo (Single Bond 3M) foi aplicado e os blocos foram reparados com a resina composta Point4 (KERR). Reparados, os blocos foram seccionados em espécimes de 1.0 mm2. A resistência adesiva de microtração foi medida em uma máquina de teste universal MTS. No grupo que foi reparado 24 horas após, não houve diferença estatisticamente significante na resistência adesiva interfacial entre os subgrupos. No grupo que foi envelhecido, os subgrupos G1 e G3 tiveram as maiores médias de resistência adesiva de reparo. Significantemente, os menores valores foram achados para os subgrupos G2 e G6. As médias da resistência adesiva de reparo foram estatisticamente similares para G3, G4 e G5. O exame em SEM indicou que a fratura adesiva foi o tipo predominante de falha. Os resultados desse estudo indicam que os maiores valores de resistência adesiva foram achados para o desgaste da superfície com... . / This study assessed the microtensile bond strengths of composite repairs, new and aged, after surface treatments, using Er:YAG laser irradiation, diamond bur and air abrasion. 36 blocks of hybrid composite resin Z100 (3M) with 5.0 mm length and 6.0 mm of side were made in mold. Half of these blocks were repaired after 24 hr and the other half was aged in an artificial aging chamber with exposure to a total ultraviolet irradiation. Each group was then divided into six subgroups and the experimental surface was exposed to a different treatment: (G1) grinding with diamond burs; (G2) air-abraded with 60mm aluminum oxide particles; (G3) ablation with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 100 mJ; (G4) ablation with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 200 mJ; (G5) ablation with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 300 mJ; (G6) controle - with no surface treatment. After the resin treatment on the surface, the bonding agent (Single bond, 3M) was applied and the blocks were repaired with the resin Point4 (Kerr) composite. Repaired, the blocks were sectioned into specimens (stick) of 1.0 mm2. Microtensile bond strength was measured in a universal testing machine MTS. The group repaired after 24 hours did not present statistically significant differences on interfacial bond strengths between the subgroups. On the aged group, the subgroups G1 and G3 presented the highest mean of repairing bond strenght. Significant lower values were found for subgroups G2 and G6 .The mean of repairing bond strenght was statistically similar for G3, G4 and G5. SEM examination indicated that adhesive failure was the predominant mode of failure. The results of this study indicate that the highest bond values were achieved by grinding the surface with diamond burs and ablating the surface with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 100mJ... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2004-02-27Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:51:31Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 freitas_crb_me_arafo.pdf: 1243419 bytes, checksum: 9b17396cab68dbc46f7018d3bc8aec44 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o procedimento de hibridização imediata em restaurações indiretas de resina composta. A hipótese nula foi duplicada: os resultados dos adesivos de condicionamento total e auto-condicionante são similares; e a hibridização imediata produz microinfiltração e resistência adesiva similares à cimentação convencional. Foram selecionados 20 terceiros molares humanos recém extraídos e isentos de cárie, nos quais foram realizados preparos cavitários MOD, padronizados para restaurações indiretas. Os dentes foram divididos aleatoriamente em 4 grupos experimentais: (G1) hibridização com adesivo de condicionamento total (SB, Single Bond, 3M ESPE) imediatamente após o preparo cavitário e antes da cimentação, (G2) hibridização com adesivo de condicionamento total antes da cimentação (SB), (G3) hibridização com adesivo auto-condicionante (AP, Adper Prompt, 3M ESPE) imediatamente após o preparo cavitário e antes da cimentação, (G4) hibridização com adesivo auto-condicionante (AP) antes 157 da cimentação. Os espécimes foram restaurados com inlays de Targis (Ivoclar/Vivadent), cimentados com cimento resinoso Rely X ARC (3M ESPE). Todos produtos foram manipulados de acordo com as instruções do fabricante. Após termociclagem, os espécimes foram imersos em solução de nitrato de prata 50%, seccionados para avaliação da microinfiltração com escores pré-determinados de 0 a 3. Em seguida, os espécimes foram novamente seccionados com 0,8mm x 0,8mm para realização dos testes de microtração. Os resultados obtidos foram submetidos à análise estatística (p<0,05). Os escores da microinfiltração foram submetidos ao teste de Mann-Whitney indicando nenhuma diferença na técnica de hibridização (p>0,05). Os resultados da microtração foram submetidos à análise de variância que revelou... . / An analysis was carried out to determine the behavior of immediate hybridization on indirect composite resin restorations. The null hypothesis was two fold: were whether total etch or self-etch (SEA) adhesives result in similar; and whether immediate hybridization produces similar microleakage and æTBS than conventional cementation. Twenty sound extracted teeth were selected and 20 standardized MOD inlay preparations were made. The prepared teeth were randomly assigned in four experimental groups: (G1) hybridization with total-etch adhesive (SB, Single Bond, 3M ESPE) immediately after preparation and prior cementation, (G2) hybridization with total-etch adhesive prior cementation (SB), (G3) hybridization with SEA (AP, Adper Prompt, 3M ESPE) immediately after preparation and prior cementation; and (G4) hybridization with SEA (AP) prior cementation. The specimens were restored with Targis (Ivoclar/Vivadent) inlays, cemented with composite resin cement (RelyX ARC, 3M ESPE). All products were used according with manufacturer's instructions. The specimens were 160 thermocycled and immersed in 50%w/w silver nitrate. The specimens were sectioned and the microleakage evaluated with predetermined scores (0-3). Then, the specimens were sectioned in 0,8mm x 0,8mm and æTBS tested in a MTS-810 machine. The obtained data were submmited to statistical analysis (p< .05). The microleakage scores were submmited to Mann-Whitney non-parametric test showing no statistical differences among the adhesives and technique (p> .05). The æTBS results submitted to ANOVA parametric test reveled that G1 performed better than G2, and G3 superior to G4. The null hypotheses were partially rejected. None of the adhesives eliminate microleakage. Hybridization immediately after the preparation is done and before cementation improved the bond strengths with... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below).

Orientador: Marcelo Ferrarezi de Andrade / Banca: Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato / Banca: José Eduardo Pelizon Pelino / Resumo: Este estudo avaliou a resistência adesiva de microtração em reparos de resinas compostas, novas e envelhecidas, após tratamento da superfície usando irradiação a laser de Er: YAG, ponta diamantada e abrasão a ar. 36 blocos de resina composta híbrida Z100 (3M) com 5mm de comprimento e 6 mm de lado foram confeccionados com auxílio de uma matriz. Metade desses blocos foram reparados após 24 horas, e a outra metade foi reparada após envelhecimento artificial com luz ultravioleta. Cada grupo foi subdividido em 6 subgrupos e as superfícies experimentais foram submetidas a diferentes tratamentos: (G1) desgaste com ponta diamantada; (G2) jateamento com partículas de óxido de alumínio de 60 mm; (G3) ablação com laser de Er: YAG a um nível de energia de 100mJ; (G4) ablação com laser de Er:YAG a um nível de energia de 200mJ; (G5) ablação a laser de Er:YAG a um nível de energia de 300mJ; (G6) controle- ausência de tratamento de superfície. Após tratamento da superfície, o agente adesivo (Single Bond 3M) foi aplicado e os blocos foram reparados com a resina composta Point4 (KERR). Reparados, os blocos foram seccionados em espécimes de 1.0 mm2. A resistência adesiva de microtração foi medida em uma máquina de teste universal MTS. No grupo que foi reparado 24 horas após, não houve diferença estatisticamente significante na resistência adesiva interfacial entre os subgrupos. No grupo que foi envelhecido, os subgrupos G1 e G3 tiveram as maiores médias de resistência adesiva de reparo. Significantemente, os menores valores foram achados para os subgrupos G2 e G6. As médias da resistência adesiva de reparo foram estatisticamente similares para G3, G4 e G5. O exame em SEM indicou que a fratura adesiva foi o tipo predominante de falha. Os resultados desse estudo indicam que os maiores valores de resistência adesiva foram achados para o desgaste da superfície com... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo). / Abstract: This study assessed the microtensile bond strengths of composite repairs, new and aged, after surface treatments, using Er:YAG laser irradiation, diamond bur and air abrasion. 36 blocks of hybrid composite resin Z100 (3M) with 5.0 mm length and 6.0 mm of side were made in mold. Half of these blocks were repaired after 24 hr and the other half was aged in an artificial aging chamber with exposure to a total ultraviolet irradiation. Each group was then divided into six subgroups and the experimental surface was exposed to a different treatment: (G1) grinding with diamond burs; (G2) air-abraded with 60mm aluminum oxide particles; (G3) ablation with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 100 mJ; (G4) ablation with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 200 mJ; (G5) ablation with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 300 mJ; (G6) controle - with no surface treatment. After the resin treatment on the surface, the bonding agent (Single bond, 3M) was applied and the blocks were repaired with the resin Point4 (Kerr) composite. Repaired, the blocks were sectioned into specimens (stick) of 1.0 mm2. Microtensile bond strength was measured in a universal testing machine MTS. The group repaired after 24 hours did not present statistically significant differences on interfacial bond strengths between the subgroups. On the aged group, the subgroups G1 and G3 presented the highest mean of repairing bond strenght. Significant lower values were found for subgroups G2 and G6 .The mean of repairing bond strenght was statistically similar for G3, G4 and G5. SEM examination indicated that adhesive failure was the predominant mode of failure. The results of this study indicate that the highest bond values were achieved by grinding the surface with diamond burs and ablating the surface with an Er: YAG laser under the energy level of 100mJ... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below). / Mestre

Abstract The daily coping of ageing people at home will be a challenge to society as the proportion of elderly population increases. In order to be able to respond to this challenge, we will need to know about the health and functional capacity of ageing people and their subjective experiences of the social and health care services that may help them to cope at home. The purpose of this study was to describe self-evaluated health, functional capacity and subjective need for and use of social and health care services among people aged over 65 and living in the Siurua area of Pudasjärvi in Finland. The basic study population consisted of the Pudasjärvi residents aged over 65 years, of whom all those (N = 157) aged over 65 and living in one village were included in the population sample studied. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire also included open-ended questions pertaining to health and psychic functioning. The results were expressed as mean values and deviations. The inter-variable connections were analysed using cross-tabulation, scatter diagrams, and contingency and Spearman's correlation coefficients. Discrimination analysis was used to evaluate the use of health care services. The responses to open-ended questions were analysed with inductive content analysis. The average self-evaluated physical and psychosocial health of the people aged over 65 who participated in the study was good. Men evaluated their health as slightly poorer than women, and they were also more depressive. Feelings of well-being were associated with subjective experiences of good health. For both men and women, well-being was manifested as a rich diversity of everyday life, such as activity and social relations. Most of the ageing people were aware of the importance of taking care of their health, and their health care seemed to be based on knowledge of the impacts of various health-promoting factors and habits on their health status. The study subjects had certain chronic diseases, of which cardiovascular diseases were most common. Three-fourths off the study subjects took some medication daily. In both age groups, both men and women reported independent management of the basic activities of daily living. Men aged over 75 needed more help than the others in their daily activities. Over the past few years, both men and women had had good rather than satisfactory functional capacity. They described the best part of their lives in largely the same way. For women, life had been and still continued to be full of challenges despite the hardships. Men tended to reminisce about the hardness of life, and many still had bitter and unpleasant memories of the wartime. The major resources of women were religion, family and a positive outlook. Men derived strength from their responsibilities, expectations of a better future and religion. On an average, the social functional capacities of both men and women were good. The study subjects used social services very rarely, and health was not related to their use. Men and the subjects aged over 75 used slightly more health care services than women. Subjective health was the best discriminator of the use of health care services. The findings of this research can be used to develop social and health care services to support the coping of ageing and elderly people at home and the social and health care education. They can also be used to plan methods and studies to promote the health and functional capacity of ageing people.

Social anxiety disorder has several impairments (including attention bias in ratings of facial expressions). Character strengths has been seen to increase well-being and functioning among healthy individuals. With this in mind, three aims were stated; Is there a relation between SAD and VIA, can this relation be explained by confounding’s and does ratings of faces tell anything about the relation? Data were collected through a survey from 41 participants (13 men) with a mean age of 30 years. Correlation and regression models were performed to see if these constructs were related. The findings showed that character strengths and social anxiety were correlated, and that the regression model did not predict SAD. The regression model for Via were significant with all confounding variables. Ratings of facial expression were not related to any variables. Further studies need to look more into this correlation to see the underpinnings of these constructs.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / This research study employs a strengths perspective. This means that, instead of the traditional deficits or pathology-based approach of focusing on weaknesses, the focus is on positive outcomes. Fortitude, more specifically, is the strength gained from appraising oneself, one’s family, and one’s social support,in a positive manner. This strength equips people to cope successfully in stressful situations. Fortitude as a construct in the strengths perspective promises to give insight into student success because it takes more than one level of analysis into account. The current research study investigates whether there is a link between fortitude and academic achievement in first year students at the University of the Western Cape / South Africa

Many homeless youth come from foster homes, group homes, and other forms of substitute care. For young people in the child welfare system, elopement represents a major problem as it places them at risk for a number of troubling outcomes. Three studies were undertaken examining elopement among young people living in substitute care in Canada and the United States. The first study explored strengths and needs in a sample of 5,011 children and youth housed in a variety of substitute care settings including foster homes, group homes, residential treatment centres, emergency shelters, and juvenile justice facilities. Results indicated that needs, but not strengths, predicted running among children, while both needs and strengths predicted running among adolescents. Problems with school attendance, substance abuse, and delinquency also predicted running among both children and adolescents, with the exception of young children, for whom substance abuse was not a significant predictor. The second study explored the relationship between trauma, strengths, and elopement in a sample of 2,296 adolescents living in substitute care. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, school violence, and traumatic grief/separation were found to predict elopement. In addition, family violence and community violence predicted running among younger but not older adolescents. Educational strengths predicted a lower risk of running away for all adolescents, while well-being and relationship permanence predicted a lower risk of running among younger and older adolescents, respectively. The impact of strengths on the relationship between trauma and elopement was evaluated, with results suggesting that elopement was not predicted by an interaction between strengths and trauma. The third study was qualitative in nature and explored the perspectives of youth who had run away from substitute care at least once in their lifetime. Youth provided information about their experiences as well as suggestions designed to reduce the prevalence of running away among youth in substitute care. Findings for all three studies were discussed in relation to the literature with implications for research and prevention.

Previous research, mostly on HIV-positive Aboriginal women (PAW) instead of with them, has focused primarily on their HIV-illness experience and the gaps and needs that arise from living with HIV. This has, arguably, allowed us to develop policies and programs to meet these needs; however, it has also contributed to dominant and disempowering representations of Aboriginal women living with HIV as troubled, vulnerable and in need of outside assistance. To counter-balance these negative representations and to co-create new strengths-based, culturally-relevant and gender-specific knowledge that can inform policies, programs and services for PAW, I partnered with PAW and Aboriginal community partners to develop a project that would provide PAW with an opportunity to tell a different kind of story about themselves than has previously been told by others. Using an Indigenist Intersectional Population Health framework that was underpinned by a strengths-based, arts-informed, culturally-grounded and decolonizing community-based participatory approach to research, we engaged 13 PAW across three sites (Toronto = 5; Montreal = 4; ‘Virtual’ group = 4) in individualized group research processes to better understand PAW’s perceptions of health instead of illness and the intersecting roles that culture and gender can play in supporting the self-defined health of PAW. We also engaged in innovative, culturally-relevant and participatory knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) and developed policy and practice recommendations from our research. Findings from Visioning Health suggest that PAW have a holistic and relational view of health that is grounded in their individual and collective identity as HIV-positive Aboriginal women. Health for PAW co-researchers has physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions, and is fundamentally about ‘connecting’ and ‘feeling connected’ at multiple levels including self, others, community, culture, environment and Creator. Each of these levels is interrelated and each is grounded in Aboriginal cultures and ways of knowing that see all elements of the world as interconnected. This is consistent with previously published health concepts for Aboriginal peoples; however, this is the first articulation of PAW’s perspectives on health in the literature. PAW co-researchers also identified health-enabling strategies that they use to support their self-defined health, including understanding and resisting the broader context of colonization, reclaiming their voice and identity, creating safe spaces for themselves and their peers, and (re)connecting to Spirit. Given that the vast majority of policies and programs for PAW are based on Western concepts of health as predominantly physical, findings from this study can be used to inform strengths-based, culturally-relevant and gender-specific policies and practices that better fit the needs of PAW. One of the most significant and unexpected findings of our study, however, is that the process of participating in our research was, in itself, health enabling. Consistent with their perspectives on health, PAW co-researchers reported that participating in Visioning Health helped them feel connected to themselves, to others, to their communities, and to their cultures. PAW co-researchers also referred to their participation in Visioning Health as ‘a healing journey’ and ‘damn good medicine’. While we did not design our project as an ‘intervention’, it is clear that Visioning Health worked as a holistic and integrated action for social change on several levels that are mutually reinforcing. Policy and practice recommendations that flow from this research include: privileging PAW’s perspectives, grounding policy and practice in local Indigenous knowledges, highlighting PAW’s strengths instead of weaknesses, and incorporating a colonial analysis.