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Through an analysis of 7, semi-structured, one-on-one, open-ended interviews and relying on methodological principles from interpretive social science (ISS) and critical social sciences (CSS) this graduate thesis uncovers the voices of youth who have been suspended and/or expelled from a public secondary school in Ontario. Youth in this study spoke to the impact that being suspended and/or expelled had on school climate through describing the adverse changes that they experienced in regards to their relationships with their peers, and school professionals. A unique contribution from my study is a participant’s description of an experience of suspension, which I interpreted as being caused by, the behavioural targeting of a student living with a disability. Many of the participants also explained how the use of disciplinary procedures that rely on sending a student home from school for x amount of days can affect students’ academic progress and success. Furthermore, the similarities between the treatment of disciplined students in the education system, and the treatment of criminal offenders in the justice system found in this study, included: the use of punitive discipline, increased surveillance, and the involvement of the police in disciplinary processes. The youth in this study recognize that the use of suspension and expulsion does not dig beneath the surface and address the root of the problem, and agree that this approach to school discipline is ineffective in regards to correcting behaviour. Finally, all of the youth in this study suggested the development and implementation of more supportive approaches to addressing and preventing unsafe and inappropriate behaviour in schools that aim to keep students in school while resolving the problem. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

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Parent-child interactions during joint reading play an important role in young children's cognitive and language development. However, contemporary digital book formats---such as e-books or audiobooks---often overlook the role of the parent in reading the text, by either dubbing voice narration over it or reading it aloud automatically. With the advancement and prevalence of voice-based conversational artificial intelligence (AI) agents, AI reading an e-book emerges as a novel reading experience, yet reducing the role of parents in the reading process similarly. When the reading experience becomes less of a joint activity between children and parents, the potential benefits children can gain from reading may diminish. In this study involving 11 parent-child pairs, we aimed to explore how voice agents (VAs) could be used to create an interactive digital space to 1) promote parental engagement in joint e-book reading with children and 2) enhance parents' and children's joint reading experiences. We developed and evaluated TaleMate, an interactive joint reading app that allows parents and children ages 3-6 years to assign different AI voices to the characters from a book while enabling parents to embody one of the characters to read the book with the voice agents. We found that the system supported children's engagement and story comprehension. Parents reported that they found value in the interactivity of the system and enjoyed a participatory, joint reading experience, where both they and their children could choose which characters to embody. These findings offer insights into design considerations for researchers interested in developing applications that facilitate collaborative reading experiences involving parents, children, and voice agents. / Master of Science / In today's digital age, the traditional practice of joint reading between parents and children is evolving. E-books and voice agents (VAs) are becoming more prevalent, but often reduce parental involvement in the reading process, potentially diminishing the benefits for children's cognitive and language development. This study introduces "TaleMate," an innovative app designed to enhance the joint reading experience. TaleMate allows parents and their children (ages 3-6) to engage interactively by assigning roles and voice agents to different characters in a story. Our research involved 11 parent-child pairs, focusing on evaluating the app's ability to maintain parental engagement and improve the reading experience. The findings reveal that TaleMate effectively supports children's engagement and story comprehension while providing a more interactive and enjoyable reading experience for both parents and children. This exploratory study suggests that digital reading formats, when designed thoughtfully, can successfully incorporate voice agents to not only preserve but enhance the valuable interactions in joint reading sessions.

The journey for my thesis wanted to be romantic and fantastic like our lives. We can maintain daily life in any given day with short compositions of memories. Every time you think about a moment, the memory reveals a different color and odor. The memory cam improve and become more romantic in its recollections as it becomes more significant in our lives. I think that architecture has the similar logic with life. In the beginning we don't know what to expect. As our experiences grow, the images we absorb and imagine blink with the poetry of sense and imagination. The true image comes alive in a moment. In order to have such short and meaningful moments in architecture, I interpreted and adopted notions from the book "Air and Dream: Imagination of Movement." by Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962). Dynamic Imagination was the key to my exploration. I dreamed and flew through the air with his poems and ideas.Watercolor was the main media I used to explore the moments of understanding between Bachelard and myself. Drawings and images from Bruno Taut and Yves Klein inspired me and lifted me higher and higher. Louis Sullivan was a nice guest to join in my journey and keep me close to the ground. Most of all, after struggling with material and structure, I could convert my imaginary space for oneric flight into a place to reside. Sun and moon, river and wind, fairytales from my mother, these things came together to finally give birth to my project. Now I am telling you about a building, which is located in Georgetown, in Washington DC. It is a place to record your voice, to write and read letters from your friends and to store personal belongings with the letters. / Master of Architecture