Ballantyne, Peri

I drew on Bourdieu's theory of capital and theorized that different forms of economic, cultural and social capital which injured workers possessed and/or acquire over their disability trajectory may affect certain outcomes of permanent impairments. Using data from a cross-sectional survey of 494 Ontario workers with permanent impairments, I measured workers' different indicators of capital in temporal order. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the unique association of workers' individual characteristics, pre-injury capital, post-injury capital, and the outcomes of permanent impairments. The results show that factors related to individual characteristics, pre-injury and post-injury capital were associated with workers' perceived health change, whereas pre-injury and post-injury capital were most relevant factors in explaining workers' post-injury employment status and income recovery. When looking at the significance of individual predictors, post-injury variables were most relevant in understanding the outcomes of permanent impairment. The findings suggest that many workers faced economic and health disadvantages after permanent work injury.

Author Keywords: Bourdieu, hierarchical regression, theory of capital, work-related disability, workers with permanent impairments

This thesis reports the outcomes of a mixed methods exploratory study on young children's spatial reasoning and mathematics involving unplugged (offline) coding with young children (JK-Grade 2). Intrigued by the increased push for coding in schools, teachers and researchers worked together in a collaborative research process to design a sequence of unplugged coding activities and document student thinking. Qualitative results include the mapping of a hypothetical learning trajectory for unplugged coding focused on location and movement, as well as an analysis of the computational, spatial and mathematical thinking in unplugged coding. The grid was found to be a fundamental spatial structure that supported student thinking across all domains. Quantitative data included a range of spatial and mathematics measures that were administered pre-post with a subsample of 55 students. Findings showed strongest gains in mental rotations/visualization and magnitude comparison, suggesting this as a promising area for further study.

Author Keywords: Early Years, Learning Trajectories, Spatial Reasoning, Unplugged Coding, Young Children

Background: Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) claims people with mental illnesses/addictions need improved care/overuse emergency departments. MOHLTC expects Coordinated Care Planning (CCP, teams of mental/physical health professionals, social workers and informal caregivers) to improve care and lower emergency department returns/healthcare costs. CCPs are directed by policies, Smith's "problematics," or Deleuze's "expressions," supposedly reflecting "contents"/"everyday worlds."

Research Question: How do Ontario health/allied professionals come together with a person with mental illness/addictions and informal caregiver(s) to address health needs through a CCP?

Method: 1) Analyzed CCP policies; generated questions about creation/implementation. 2) Interviewed eight professionals about interpreting/enacting policies. 3) Connected interview data to policies.

Findings: Opportunities for fragmentation exist in gaining consent; determining eligibility; persons in care, informal caregivers and professionals' participation; person-centeredness; "shame-free" environments; health literacy; records of medications.

Conclusion: CCP participants need to minimize fragmentations which takes time, space, money; creates contradictions in lowering costs/improving care.

Author Keywords: Addiction, Dual Diagnosis, Health Care Policy, Institutional Ethnography, Integrated Health Care, Mental Illness