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<p>Increasingly over the last few decades, funders and academic institutions have promoted the idea of interdisciplinarity as a way of harnessing new knowledge and fostering innovation in science. This dissertation of 4 papers sought to articulate how interdisciplinarity is experienced by health researchers involved in interdisciplinary research and to develop and implement a literature-based, researcher-informed framework for assessing interdisciplinarity. Findings from Paper 1 suggested that interdisciplinary teams tend to be formed based on who can contribute tangible skills needed for answering the research question, however interpersonal factors (e.g. previous positive working relationship) also drive how teams are formed. Paper 2 involved the development of the Framework for Interdisciplinary Research Assessment (FIRA). The literature revealed limited empirical work related to interdisciplinary evaluation, however, a detailed list of issues and possible metrics for evaluation was compiled, and characteristics common to the structure-process-outcome framework of quality were used to conceptualize interdisciplinary health research evaluation. In Paper 3, interviews and a survey were used to populate the FIRA model. Overall, there was a sense that skills, personality, and knowledge were greater considerations than disciplinary affiliation. Paper 4 involved the application of social network analysis in order to understand knowledge sharing in an interdisciplinary team and results highlighted the important role of staff as conduits of information. Overall, findings indicated that though interdisciplinarity is valued conceptually, it can be challenging to operationalize in practice. The FIRA model offers a viable structured approach for teams to engage in formative and summative assessment of interdisciplinarity.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This exploratory study investigated variables that have received scant attention in the field of second language acquisition. Four research questions were addressed concerning academic capital, achievement orientations, efforts to learn English, and perceptions of the impact of globalization on English. A fifth research question tested these variables in a model of language learning. The final research question investigated the participants L2-English goal stability over one academic year. The longitudinal study used a mixed-methods, QUAN+qual approach. The primary group of participants (n = 748) were Japanese postsecondary students from 12 institutions. To address the first five research questions, data were gathered with questionnaires and vocabulary tests at three intervals in one academic year. A secondary group of participants, the Goal-Setting group (n = 192), was composed of participants from seven institutions. To address Research Question 6, written responses were collected on three occasions from the Goal-Setting group. Lastly, there were two interview groups, a Student Group (n = 16) and a smaller group, the Worker Group (n = 5), was composed of young Japanese adults who had never attended university. Data from the interviews were used to provide additional insight into several factors in this study. For Research Question 1, the quantitative data results revealed differences on certain components of Academic Capital between participants at different institutions, and no differences on other components. For example, there were large differences found on Family Aspirations and Family Background but no differences found on Study Behaviors. The interview data revealed more striking unequal disparities, in particular on Family Background and School Experiences. Differences in family background likely account for large disparities in educational opportunities, both past and present, and point to potentially uneven futures. For Research Question 2, the results revealed that the four-factor structure of Achievement Orientations at each time interval was similar to previous research; however, rank order and stability of the orientations were different from previous results. In particular, unlike previous research with students in math and psychology classes, Performance-Approach and Performance-Avoidance orientations were generally higher and more stable. These results might need to be considered in light of the important gatekeeping role that language tests play in Japan. For Research Question 3, the results for the Perceptions of the Impact of Globalization on English Survey revealed two factors related to an instrumental, career-related factor and an intrinsic, contact-related factor. These findings connect with contemporary discourses regarding the role of English and with findings from earlier motivational research in Japan. Participants at female-only institutions generally had higher scores than participants at co-educational institutions. This latter finding might be viewed in relation with the way English is marketed in Japan. For Research Question 4, the results revealed that Efforts to Learn English are multidimensional; however, in previous L2-motivational research, the dimensionality of items representing different temporal efforts was not investigated. Participants at female-only institutions generally scored higher on Past Efforts and Present Efforts than participants at co-educational institutions. In all, these findings suggest that greater care needs to be taken when operationalizing Efforts to Learn English. In addition, gender differences need to be explored further. For Research Question 5, the measurement models were generally acceptable; however, the structural equation model testing the paths between the above exogenous variables and vocabulary scores did not perform well. Even though few paths in the final model were found to be significant, the findings add to body of literature in SLA and introduce new concepts to our field. Finally, for Research Question 6, the analyses revealed four goals that were most frequent and stable. These goals relate to using English, English for tests, English for going abroad, and English for career. Learners with the latter instrumental goal had the largest vocabulary sizes, and career goals correlated with many other variables in this study. The strength of career goals should be considered in relation to current motivational theories in SLA. / Teaching & Learning

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for older adults (≥65 years) that is associated with reduced quality of life and risk of institutionalization. This convergent, mixed methods research study, informed by a model of clinical complexity, explored the complexities for older adults living with UI and T2DM, and home-care nurses providing care to this population in Ontario. In the quantitative strand, the most recently completed Resident Assessment Instruments for Home Care from 2011-2016 for older home-care clients with diabetes were analyzed to determine the prevalence and correlates of UI. The qualitative strand used interpretive description methodology to explore the experiences of 18 older adults living with T2DM and UI receiving home-care services and the experiences of 15 home-care nurses caring for this population. These data sources were converged to describe the factors that contributed to complexity for older adults with UI and T2DM: (a) challenges of living with multiple chronic conditions (MCC), medical instability, and high care needs; (b) financial barriers; (c) lack of understanding of older adults’ values and preferences by health-care providers; (d) caregiver burden; and (e) functional impairments. The health-care system contributed to this complexity through: (a) inadequate and minimal provision of nursing and interprofessional home-care services; (b) task-focused structure of home care; (c) minimal interprofessional collaboration; (d) lack of an integrated communication system; and (e) lack of navigation to community resources. Providing health-promoting care for older adults with UI and T2DM requires a system-wide enactment of integrated care that takes both a person- and family-centred care and social determinants of health approach. Interventions for older adults with MCC should involve standardized and comprehensive assessment, care coordination, enhanced nursing service provision, and interprofessional team collaboration to attend to the dimensions of complexity and ensure the needs of older adults and their caregivers are met. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Many older adults with diabetes have urinary incontinence that is emotionally and physically bothersome. These older adults also receive home-care services. In this study, older adults were asked about how they care for their diabetes and incontinence and how their home-care workers help them with this care. Nurse participants were asked how they help older adults with diabetes and incontinence and the challenges they face. The results of home-care assessments done in Ontario were also analyzed to learn how common incontinence is in older adults with diabetes and factors associated with having incontinence. The study found many factors, such as living with many chronic conditions and lack of finances, as well limited home-care service provision and the task-focus of home care created challenges for these older adults. The findings can help in making changes to home-care service delivery to improve care for older adults and their caregivers.