Native Americans experience a higher rate of homicide, suicide, and injury, on average, than do others in the United States. There has been little research, however, on turning point and epiphany experiences as factors that contribute to resilience in Native Americans. The purpose of this study was to add to this body of knowledge, and promote social change such as greater engagement and dialogue within Native American communities. The theory that informed the study was resilience theory. Two questions were answered: (a) the ways in which turning point life experiences have correlated with resilience in Native American individuals, and (b) the manner in which characteristics (e.g., gender, age, socioeconomic status, spirituality, disability, and sexual orientation) are influential with respect to the turning point experiences that Native Americans report relative to resilience. Inclusionary criteria were purposefully broad in order to encourage participation in the process. Narratives were invited that detailed life histories, for a psychological study. Snowball methodology was also employed in an area where census records indicated that Native Americans resided, resulting in a sample of 4 adult individuals (2 men and 2 women) of Native American descent. Data from the autobiographical narratives were analyzed for themes. These participants experienced a pivotal experience or group of experiences that led them to engage in behavior that produced beneficial results impacting career prospects and producing subjective life satisfaction. Findings support the theory that certain turning point experiences (specifically, interactions with supportive family and community members) enhance resilience in Native American individuals.

The focus of this research is the stress placed on a child when a sibling in the family has a chronic illness or disability, and analysis of what factors may buffer this stress and be associated with well child resilience in the face of family illness. Several major studies from other countries (Cadman, Boyle, & Offord, 1988; Houtzager, Grootenhuis, Caron & Last, 2005; Laufersweiler-Plass, Rudnik-Schoneborn, Zerres, Backes, Lehmkuhl & von Gontart, 2003; Sharpe & Rossiter, 2002; Williams, Williams, Graff, Hanson et al., 2002) suggest that there may be deleterious outcomes for well children in such families, for example higher rates of anxiety, depression, aggressive behaviour and rule breaking behaviour. However there is a lack of clarity about the processes which lead to these negative outcomes. The current study had two major research aims. The first was to describe social, family and personal characteristics of a group of well children with siblings who have a chronic illness or disability. The second aim was to examine relationships between adjustment problems in these well children and factors relating to the family (income, number of children in family, respite availability and utilisation), parents (stress, parenting style, maternal education, access to support) and children (ill child behaviour, amount of care required, well child age, well and ill child participation in social activities). Adjustment in well-children (n=102) was assessed using child self report, child projective and parent rating measures. Parents rated well children with ill siblings as significantly higher in externalising and internalising behaviour than age and gender matched population norms. Children did not rate their behaviour problems higher than norms but did indicate quite high rates of emotional problems on a projective (drawing) test. Parent-rated behaviours of well children were associated with parental, family and ill child variables, including (high) parental stress (daily hassles), (low) family income and (high) ill child internalising and externalising behaviours. Relationships between the well child's perception of having a sibling with a chronic illness or disability and various parent, child and family variables were also explored. Well children who listed more negative (than positive) attributes about having a sibling with a chronic illness were more aggressive and rule breaking in their behaviour. Well children with emotional problems, as assessed by the child family drawings, did not differ significantly from children without emotional problems in any of the parent, child or family variables however both the emotional problems index and the use of scribble drawings were associated with several measures of well child maladjustment. The results were discussed in terms of family systems and resilience theory. Implications for well children and their families including practical applications for existing interventions which target well children, ill siblings and parents were discussed and ideas for future directions for interventions to improve outcomes for well siblings were presented.

The purpose of this research was to explore the phenomenon of resilience as described by consumers of mental health services in Australia who have experienced mental illness. In keeping with Colaizzi's (1978) approach to inquiry, information in this study was gathered through in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews. Information analysis was undertaken using Colaizzi's (1978) seven-step approach, with the inclusion of two additional steps- making this study's analysis a nine step process. Emergent themes were explicated from the findings of this study as follows: Universality; Acceptance; Naming and knowing; Faith, hope and being the fool; Striking a balance; Having meaning and meaningful relationships; and 'Just doing it'. The emergent concept which encapsulated the themes was 'viewing life from the ridge with eyes wide open'. In respect of this concept, participants described resilience was achieved by choosing to walk through the darkness all the while knowing the risks and dangers ahead; Making a decision for life through the hardships. That is, following a moment of enlightenment through 'naming and knowing', participants said they were able to start making decisions and to process what was happening to them by having faith, hope, acceptance, and by 'just getting on with life'. It is suggested that resilient behaviours can be learned and interwoven with life experiences. In this context, there is the potential to guide therapeutic interventions in various clinical and educational settings.

In the past decade, events like 9/11 terror attacks, the recent financial crisis and other major crisis has proved that there is strong interaction and interdependency of a supply chain network with its external environments in various channels and thus a need to focus on building resiliency (in short, the ability of the system to recover from damage or disruption) of the entire network system. Although literature has discussed some way of improving resiliency of an individual firm which is a member of the network system, it lacked to capture a holistic view of the supply chain network. Pertaining to this observation, this work proposes to improve resiliency of a supply chain network from a systems perspective rather concentrate on an individual firm. For this purpose, this thesis proposes a conceptual framework to promote early identification and timely information of the disruptions arising in a supply chain network and timely sharing of this information among all the members of the network. The key principle emphasized in this thesis is that recovery from an inevitable disruption has a better possibility if a member of the supply chain network has an early indication or knowledge of the upcoming disruption. A discrete event dynamic system simulation tool called Petri nets is utilized to realize the proposed conceptual framework. Furthermore, the practical benefits and implications of the proposed model and tool are demonstrated with help of two case studies. This thesis has several contributions to the field of operation management and supply chain. First, a new paradigm for supply chain management to avoid large scale failures such as financial crisis is available to the field, which may be applied by governments or regulatory bodies. Second, a new framework which allows for a quantitative analysis of failures of an entire supply chain network is available to the field, which is easy to be used. Third, a novel application of Petri nets to this new problem in supply chain management is available.

This research involves conducting a resilience assessment on the Town of Caledon in southern Ontario, Canada, through the use of the Resilience Assessment Workbook authored by the Resilience Alliance. The purpose of the research is to develop a comprehensive understanding of Caledon, and identify ways to enhance its resilience as a linked social-ecological system in the context of urban growth. Urban growth pressures have brought multiple challenges to Caledon in land use, infrastructure maintenance, farmland preservation and watersheds conservation. Urban growth management in Caledon is situated in the provincial growth strategy for the Greater Golden Horseshoe areas in Ontario. Provincial legislation including the Places to Grow Act (2005), the Greenbelt Act (2005), the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (2001) and the Provincial Policy Statement (2005) aim to reconcile the needs for population increase, economic growth and environmental protection. The results of the resilience assessment of Caledon consist mainly of a cross-scalar study and interviews with twenty-six community members. The cross-scalar study examines Caledon in its social, ecological and economic domains on the provincial, regional and municipal levels. The study also identifies potential resilience threats and assets of Caledon in the context of urban growth. Interviews have been conducted to verify and complement findings of the cross-scalar study. Interviewees include Caledon municipal staff, residents, environmental group leaders, politicians, an aggregates industry representative, a social services representative and a local property developer. The results of this research reveal resilience threats and assets in Caledon, and identify ways for the town to enhance resilience against urban growth pressures. Threats to resilience are found to be associated with urbanization, agricultural land loss, aggregates mining and a lack of affordable housing. Assets of resilience in Caledon are found to be related to civic engagement, participatory planning and agricultural diversification. Based on the cross-scalar study and interview results, emerging themes of resilience and recommendations are developed. Recommendations for Caledon to enhance its resilience include: promoting continual learning and adaptive governance; diversifying agriculture; providing affordable housing; treating urbanization as an opportunity; and developing trade-off principles for the implementation of an integrated plan for resilience.

In the past decade, events like 9/11 terror attacks, the recent financial crisis and other major crisis has proved that there is strong interaction and interdependency of a supply chain network with its external environments in various channels and thus a need to focus on building resiliency (in short, the ability of the system to recover from damage or disruption) of the entire network system. Although literature has discussed some way of improving resiliency of an individual firm which is a member of the network system, it lacked to capture a holistic view of the supply chain network. Pertaining to this observation, this work proposes to improve resiliency of a supply chain network from a systems perspective rather concentrate on an individual firm. For this purpose, this thesis proposes a conceptual framework to promote early identification and timely information of the disruptions arising in a supply chain network and timely sharing of this information among all the members of the network. The key principle emphasized in this thesis is that recovery from an inevitable disruption has a better possibility if a member of the supply chain network has an early indication or knowledge of the upcoming disruption. A discrete event dynamic system simulation tool called Petri nets is utilized to realize the proposed conceptual framework. Furthermore, the practical benefits and implications of the proposed model and tool are demonstrated with help of two case studies. This thesis has several contributions to the field of operation management and supply chain. First, a new paradigm for supply chain management to avoid large scale failures such as financial crisis is available to the field, which may be applied by governments or regulatory bodies. Second, a new framework which allows for a quantitative analysis of failures of an entire supply chain network is available to the field, which is easy to be used. Third, a novel application of Petri nets to this new problem in supply chain management is available.

This dissertation study sought to explore the hidden resilience among a homeless young adult population (ages 18-24). The majority of research conducted on homeless young adults remains limited to examining their multiple challenges and risk factors. While the high rates of substance use issues, mental health problems and trauma implicit in their lives warrant attention, research on the unconventional resilience of this group may enable service providers to better understand their unique needs. Recently researchers have begun to address the strengths and unique personal capabilities of this population. This dissertation follows this trend and utilizes the social estrangement model as a conceptual framework to examine predictors of resilience. Variables were examined within the context of four domains implicit in the social estrangement model that represent the amount of estrangement that exists in the lives of homeless young adults. The four domains explored within this conceptual framework included, institutional disaffiliation, psychological functioning, human capital and identification with the homeless culture. Findings from this study revealed that homeless young adults' self-esteem and optimistic perspectives of the future predicted higher resiliency, while drug dependency predicted lower resiliency. Additionally, homeless young adults' coping served as a mediating variable between their levels of self-esteem and optimistic perspectives of the future with resiliency. Implications for professionals working with a homeless young adult population include developing and strengthening substance preventions programs tailored to uniquely address their resiliency needs. Additionally, social workers and other direct service providers may incorporate intervention strategies that focus on improving self-esteem and increasing young adults' optimistic perspectives of the future. Homeless young adults will benefit from working with professionals who have a better understanding of their lives on streets and the unique coping strategies and survival skills that enable them to persist in a dangerous environment. Recognizing the strengths and resilience that homeless young adults are capable of, and incorporating strength-based perspectives in work with this group may empower these young adults to make positive choices and increase the likelihood of transitioning out of homelessness. / text

Most low-achieving students continue to perform poorly throughout school. However, not all students remain on this achievement trajectory; a subset of initially low-achieving students appear to break this achievement pattern. This phenomenon is called academic resilience, a student’s capacity to overcome prior academic difficulty. The proposed study investigates low-income, low performing sixth-grade students, who will be classified into three groups based on their academic improvement in eighth grade: resilient (large improvement), buoyant (moderate improvement), and nonresilient (little or no improvement). The purpose of this study is to examine the differences among resilience groups on Bandura’s (1997) sources of self-efficacy as a function of sex and ethnicity, using a 3x3x2 MANOVA. The implications for the proposed study suggested the development of an intervention to cultivate the four sources of self-efficacy for low-performing students in order to increase academic resilience. This report also includes an evaluation plan, which outlines the essential components from a theoretical intervention program, a logic model for this program, and the proposed method to measure the reported outcomes. / text

This research was conducted in partnership with a Nova Scotain Mi’kmaq (First Nation) community that was interested in learning more about how exposure to violence (EV) might be related to youth alcohol use. There are many consequences of childhood exposure to violence (EV), but two of the more notable consequences of EV are posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and excessive or problematic alcohol misuse. Given the strong relationship in the literature between each of the PTS symptom clusters and alcohol problems, it was hypothesized that these symptom clusters would mediate the relationship between EV and alcohol misuse. Study 1 demonstrated that PTS hyperarousal symptoms, but none of the other PTS symptoms, fully mediated the relationship between EV and alcohol misuse, even after controlling for depressive symptoms, age and gender. The literature on EV also demonstrates that despite its numerous potential negative consequences, some youth continue to thrive. This thriving in the face of hardship is called resilience. Study 2 employed a direct measure of resilience (Child and Youth Resilience Measure; Ungar et al, 2008) to examine which if any aspects of resilience can successfully buffer youth from experiencing negative mental health consequences after EV. Study 2 demonstrated that all three aspects of resilience (i.e., individual, family, and community) moderated the relationship between EV and PTS reexperiencing symptoms. More specifically, at higher levels of resilience, the positive relationship between EV and PTS reexperiencing symptoms was dampened. Study 3 documented the collaborative-research process from beginning (i.e., research question formation) to end (i.e., implementation of action-based recommendations). It highlighted how the research questions outlined in Studies 1 and 2 were relevant to both the specific community in question, as well as some Aboriginal communities more broadly. It also highlighted how the first author participated in a research process that is described by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as Integrated Knowledge Translation (KT). And finally, it identified via qualitative and quantitative methods how the research process as a whole has helped equip the community with more tools to tackle the problems that its members have identified as important for study and change.

Little is known about what factors contribute to resilience or how resilience is experienced by survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Using in-depth semi-structured interviews, two qualitative studies examined how resilience is defined, conceptualized, and experienced by survivors of IPV. Ten adult women participated in study 1 and data was analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to identify a variety of internal and external factors and mechanisms that contributed to resilience. Sixteen adult women participated in study 2 and data was analyzed using Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenological method. Resilience was experienced as a series of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural shifts across three theme areas: toward resistance, in the experience of control, and toward positivity. Together, these studies suggest that for survivors of IPV, resilience is experienced as a personalized, ongoing, and dynamic process involving multiple internal and external pathways that facilitate shift experiences. / Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada