Brock University Digital Repository
Brock University's Digital Repository is an online archive showcasing and preserving the Brock community's scholarly output as well as items from the Library's Archives & Special Collections. Researchers can disseminate their work by depositing it in this Open Access repository, which provides free, immediate access to users while also allowing Brock scholars to track downloads and views of their scholarship. The Digital Repository is also the home of the Brock University E-Thesis Portal.
For more information, see the repository's policies and procedures.
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Recent Submissions
Assessing Barriers and Facilitators in Parent-Implemented Behavioural Programming
(Brock University) Wallbank, Samantha; Thomson, Kendra; Center for Applied Disability Studies
Parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities may face competing demands and other barriers when attempting to implement behavioural strategies to support their children; therefore, understanding how to best support them is highly warranted. A function-based approach to behaviour programming considers the impact of environmental variables and is known to be effective when supporting child behaviour. However, clinicians often measure parent adherence and accuracy in implementing programming without exploring what environmental variables may serve as barriers and facilitators to their success. This study aimed to address this important gap in the research by formally assessing barriers and facilitators to parent-implemented programs through a comprehensive functional behaviour assessment, including experimental functional analysis (EFA). Three participants (1 clinician and 2 parents) were recruited and completed indirect assessments to evaluate barriers and facilitators impacting parent implementation of two behavioural programs. Through these indirect assessments and direct observation response acquisition was hypothesized to be impacting implementation, and a synthesized barrier-matched support was designed. The impact of the synthesized barrier-matched support on one parent’s treatment integrity was evaluated using an alternating treatments-multi-element design. Treatment integrity scores were increased from M=25% within initial observations to M=100% across an extended barrier-matched support phase. Results from this novel application of EFA aimed to equip clinicians to better assess parent implementation in an individualized manner. This research extends the EFA literature beyond challenging behaviour to identifying barriers and improve parent training outcomes.
mKdV Loop Travelling Waves and Interactions of Loop Solitons
(Brock University) Maan Jaskaran; Anco Stephen; Department of Physics
The modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation is an integrable nonlinear evolution
equation which has applications in modeling various physical phenomena. It also describes
the curvature of curve which undergoes a certain non-stretching geometrical evolution
in the Euclidean plane. This curve motion finds applications in various areas, such
as describing the dynamics of inelastic rope, modeling the evolution of the boundary of
vortex patch (swirling region) in thin, sheet-like layer of incompressible fluid, and understanding
the behavior of electrons quantized in thin-layered materials by studying the
boundaries of electron cloud densities under strong electromagnetic fields.
This study focuses on mKdV curve motions called loop solutions. One class arises
from soliton, heavy-tail (rational), and periodic solutions of the mKdV equation. These
loop solutions exhibit intriguing symmetrical shapes: the soliton and heavy-tail cases
describe a single loop which is open, and asymptotically straight or circular, respectively;
the periodic case describes both open and closed loops which can have multiple crossings.
Additionally, a class of colliding loop solutions are obtained from the 2-soliton solution
of the mKdV equation. The collisions show interesting interaction patterns. A summary
of different types of patterns will be given by categorizing the various shapes that occur
during the interaction, which depend on the speed ratio of the initial two loops.
Analytical and numerical methods are employed to determine the loop solutions for
both classes, as well as the conditions determining interaction type in the case of collision.
These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the mKdV equation and solitons.
Seeking Solidarity: Challenging the Binary of the Librarian/ Staff Divide
(2025-05-07) Monica Rettig; Alicia Floyd
We invite attendees to critically reflect on the library’s internal power dynamics and consider: How do you understand the ‘librarian/ staff divide’? Co-presenters Alicia (staff) and Monica (librarian) will share insights from the literature alongside personal observations. By historicizing the professionalizing of librarianship, we can better reckon with the ‘zero sum game’ fallacy which pits Us versus Them. Organized labour and feminism have the goal of a more just society for all: We argue that reinforcing the workplace binary undermines solidarity while working against shared values. Three topics which reveal this tension include work-from-home, the impact of AI, and decision-making bodies.
#Fitspiration and Body Dissatisfaction: Application of the Tripartite Influence Model in Men
(Brock University) Hutchinson, Alexandra; Dr. Kimberley Gammage; Applied Health Sciences Program
Fitspiration is a social media trend that aims to inspire people to engage in exercise through photos and/or videos. While evidence suggests that it can lead to increased exercise motivation, it has also been shown to have negative effect on body image, including self-objectification and body dissatisfaction. However, the majority of studies have investigated the impact of Fitspiration on body image experiences in women, with few examining the impact of Fitspiration on men’s body image. This study examined the effects of viewing Fitspiration images on young men’s self-objectification and body fat dissatisfaction and muscularity dissatisfaction. Additionally, appearance comparisons and muscular-ideal internalization were examined as potential mediators of these relationships. This study employed a between-subjects pre-post experimental design with men (n = 188) aged 18-29 years, recruited online through Cloud Research Connect. They were randomly assigned to the Fitspiration or scenery (control) condition where they viewed 20 images (formatted as Instagram images) on Qualtrics. State body image measures (self-objectification, body fat dissatisfaction, muscularity dissatisfaction) were assessed immediately before and after viewing the images; potential mediators (appearance comparisons, muscular-ideal internalization) were assessed after. Participants assigned to the Fitspiration condition reported higher self-objectification, F(1,182) = 5.05, p = < .026, ηp2 = .027 compared to those in the scenery condition. Additionally, appearance comparisons fully mediated the relationship between viewing Fitspiration images and self-objectification; viewing Fitspiration led to higher social comparisons (B = .80, t = 3.35, p = .00, 95% CI [.33, 1.26]), which in turn led to higher self-objectification (B = .47, t = 2.39, p = .02, 95% CI [.08, .86]). However, social comparisons did not mediate body fat dissatisfaction or muscularity dissatisfaction. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature showing that exposure to idealized body images in Fitspiration content can increase negative body image (specifically self-objectification) among men. However, the results also show that body fat dissatisfaction and muscularity dissatisfaction may not be directly influenced by brief exposure to Fitspiration images. Further, appearance comparisons may play a key role in body image concerns among men; viewing Fitspiration led to higher social comparisons, which were associated with higher self-objectification. There is a need for further research on the impact of Fitspiration on men’s body image experiences (e.g., body shame) and the potential role of appearance comparisons on these outcomes. The findings of this study indicate the potential need for developing a social media literacy intervention to mitigate the negative effects of idealized media portrayals in young men.
Validation of a dynamic local muscle function test and its response to local muscle temperature
(Brock University) Ljubanovich, Johnathan; Cheung, Stephen; Applied Health Sciences Program
Current single joint isometric and isokinetic tests used to assess muscular performance are limited by the very testing-condition specific nature of the results, leading to a low to moderate correlation to in-vivo performance during sprinting and jumping. This study aimed to develop a single-joint plantarflexor test consisting of 30 s of maximal repeated dynamic contractions from 5° of dorsiflexion through 30° of plantarflexion at 70% of pre-testing isometric MVC. Twelve recreationally active healthy volunteers (9 male, 3 female) completed two different visits where they performed the isotonic plantarflexion test (IPFT). Session 1 aimed to establish its repeatability and variability during thermoneutral muscle temperature (36.6 ± 0.3°C). Across 4 bouts of IPFT with 30 min separation, no significant differences or pairwise differences were observed across measures of power, torque, work completed, time-to-peak torque or rate of torque development while average measures intraclass correlations ranged from 0.935 – 0.996. Session 2 assessed the sensitivity of the test to passive heating and cooling of the lower leg across thermoneutral (TN, 36.5 ± 0.3°C) Hot (38.3 ± 0.2°C) and Cold (33.3 ± 1.2°C) muscle temperatures. Aside from peak torque Hot had no effect on IPFT performance compared to TN, while Cold had a differential effect on IPFT performance. Compared to TN Cold led to significant increases in time-to-peak torque (Δ ↑ 0.14 s) and decreases in total work (Δ ↓ 10.02 J), average power (Δ ↓ 16.92 W) number of repetitions completed (Δ ↓ 4.90), average rate of torque development (Δ ↓ 65.30 Nm∙s-1) and peak torque (Δ ↓ 6.40 Nm). Changes in performance in Cold were likely due to the effects of cooling on rate processes and contractile characteristics, while we may not have heated muscle enough to impact performance in Hot.
Keywords: Isotonic Plantarflexion Test, Muscle Temperature, Muscular Power, Performance