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Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
EXPLORING EXPERIENCES OF A PILOT INTERGENERATIONAL PLAY PROGRAM IN NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA.
(2025-12-23) MacRae, Caitlyn; Not Applicable; Master of Arts; School of Health & Human Performance; Received; n/a; Not Applicable; Dr. Son Truong; Dr. Michelle Stone; Dr. Sara Kirk
Physical inactivity and social isolation are two pressing public health concerns in Nova Scotia, particularly among older adults. Intergenerational play (IGP) has emerged as a promising community-based strategy to address these issues by promoting both physical activity (PA) and social connection (SC). This thesis describes a study designed to explore the factors that influence participation in “Free for All” (FFA), a locally developed IGP program modeled after ParkPlay in the United Kingdom. FFA offered one free drop-in session in Halifax during the summer of 2024. Guided by a constructivist worldview and framed by the Social Ecological Model (SEM), this study employed a qualitative design to understand participant experiences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with participants to explore personal experiences, barriers, and facilitators to participation in FFA. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, and three themes were generated: 1) Negotiating entry into play: ‘on ramps’ matter, (2) Play as an intergenerational equalizer: children open doors and adults walk through them, and (3) The fragile infrastructure of belonging: material conditions build social connections. The findings of this study contribute to a growing body of knowledge that IGP can serve as an inclusive, community-based health promotion strategy to promote PA and SC. Findings highlight the importance of cost-free design, child-led openness and supportive facilitation to promote participation. They also suggest that material and environmental conditions, such as accessibility and program continuity, are critical for sustaining participation and connection. Together, these insights have created a framework to implement IGP in Nova Scotia.
Access status: Open Access ,
The combinatorial game theory of Reverse Hex
(2026-01-13) Jeremiah, Hockaday; Not Applicable; Master of Science; Department of Mathematics & Statistics - Math Division; Not Applicable; n/a; Not Applicable; Richard Nowakowski; Julien Ross; Peter Selinger; Svenja Huntemann
Rex, short for Reverse Hex, is a set coloring game in which players try to avoid connecting terminals of their color. Combinatorial game theory (CGT) is the study of perfect strategy games. Until recently, both Rex and Hex were not examined through the lens of CGT. In this thesis we take inspiration from the study of normal play games by Berlekamp, Conway, and Guy, along with the combinatorial game theory of Hex developed by Selinger, to develop methods for analyzing Rex positions. We explore how to tell if one position is preferable to another, how to simplify positions, and some special properties of Rex (and antimonotone set coloring games in general). By the end of this thesis we will be able to take a position in a game of Rex, break it into smaller positions, analyze each of the smaller positions, then add the results back together.
Access status: Open Access ,
The Experience of Persistent Infertility: Beyond the Medical Model
(2026-01-09) Redgrift, Lisa; No; Doctor of Philosophy; Department of Sociology & Social Anthropology; Received; Dr. Sarah Earle; No; Dr. Fiona Martin; Dr. Brenda Beagan; Dr. Emma Whelan
This research explores the experience of persistent infertility among 15 childless Canadian women who discontinued fertility treatments when they did not work, who could not access assisted conception, and/or whose infertility is untreatable. By investigating how women understand their experience with persistent infertility and examining the parallels and divergences within and across the participants’ experiences, this analysis indicates that women’s fertility is an intricate lifelong journey, and persistent infertility disrupts this journey in ways that are biological, social, and gendered. Further, persistent infertility fractures the complex relationship between the body and the self. This research theorizes the embodiment of persistent infertility and the meaning placed on reproductive loss events (e.g., failed embryo transfer, miscarriage, and stillbirth), by the women in this study. Lastly, in the medicalized Canadian context, persistent infertility illustrates that hope for maternity is commodified, stratified, and reenforces the biological standard of normative motherhood.
Access status: Open Access ,
EXAMINING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BREAST CANCER TREATMENTS AND SELF-REPORTED SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION IN CANADIAN WOMEN: A POPULATION-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
(2026-01-09) NISHIMAGIZWE, PATIENCE; Not Applicable; Master of Science; Department of Community Health & Epidemiology; Not Applicable; N/A; No; Dr. Jennifer Payne; Dr. George Kephart; Dr. Robin Urquhart; Dr. Cindy Feng
Background The prevalence of female breast cancer survivors in Canada has increased from 1.8% to 2.1% (2007-2021). Sexual dysfunction is a common long-term side effects of breast cancer treatments. Objective To estimate the prevalence of self-reported sexual dysfunction among breast cancer survivors in Canada and examine the association between of single and combined treatment modalities and sexual dysfunction. Methodology This cross-sectional study utilized data from 3772 participants who participated in the 2016 Experiences of Cancer Patients. The outcome was sexual dysfunction. The exposures chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations. Results Sexual dysfunction was most prevalent among survivors treated with chemotherapy (48.3%). Chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, radiotherapy, and combined modalities were associated with sexual dysfunction, with the highest odds observed among those receiving all three treatments. Conclusion Sexual dysfunction is common among Canadian breast cancer survivors and is associated with all treatment modalities.
Access status: Open Access ,
Framework and Application of a Practical Robustness-Oriented Bridge Upgrade Strategy for Trusses (ROBUST): Supplementary Material
(American Society of Civil Engineers, 2026) Steeves, Edward; Oudah, Fadi
Access status: Open Access ,
A Whale With No Name: Search for an unknown long-duration beaked whale (Cetacea; Ziphiidae) signal across ocean basins
(2025-12-28) Runte, Kiersten; Not Applicable; Master of Science; Department of Biology; Not Applicable; n/a; Not Applicable; Bruce Martin; Andy Horn; David Barclay; Hal Whitehead
Beaked whales (Cetacea: Ziphiidae) are known for producing frequency-modulated (FM) echolocation signals that are characteristic of each species, yet several species still lack confirmed FM signal descriptions. A distinctive FM signal, long in duration, and occurring only at night, has previously been documented in the North Pacific, the western Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of Guinea, but its broader distribution has not been assessed. Here, carried out is a basin-wide analysis of numerous passive acoustic monitoring projects to identify additional regions where this signal is present. Our dataset comprised 19 monitoring efforts (156 total datasets) spanning latitudes from 72° N to 42° S. An automated detector-classifier (per file Precision = 1.00 and Recall = 1.00) was run on all audiofiles to identify possible detections, which were subsequently reviewed and confirmed manually. We report the presence of this FM signal in five previously unrecognized areas: along a glider transect (512 kHz) near the Canary Islands; on three bottom-mounted recorders (250–512 kHz) off Western Australia; and from a single detection on Blake’s Plateau in the southeastern United States. Across all monitoring sites, detections occurred only during local nighttime hours and were not observed at latitudes higher than 29° N or 19° S. The signal’s median centre and peak frequencies ranged from 51 to 67 kHz, its median duration from 500 to 630 μs, and its −10 dB bandwidth from 19 to 28 kHz. This FM signal remains the longest known among both identified and unidentified beaked whale FM signal types. Although the producing species has yet to be determined, the signal’s temporal and spectral features were remarkably consistent across ocean basins. These results extend the known distribution of this unique FM signal and highlight the value of broad, cross-regional acoustic collaborations in uncovering previously unrecognized regions of beaked whale vocal behaviour and biogeography.