Research reports
Are we aware of the extent of rural youth homelessness?
It is sometimes hard to look beyond the association of homelessness and urban cities. The primary goal of the evaluation of this Youth Homelessness Campaign was to determine whether the goal of raising awareness of local rural youth homelessness was achieved in the community. The focus of this evaluation was to determine the extent of awareness, the effectiveness and impact of the campaign, as well as ways to improve the campaign’s presence within the community.
It is uncomfortable for many to think that food insecurity is prevalent amongst student populations…
This project provided a snapshot of the self- reported food security of student patrons, including international students, at an Ontario university a few months after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. This research was conducted to understand the role of the campus Food Bank during that time period, and the report offers further recommendations for a future follow-up evaluation of the program.
What can nature teach our children that we can’t on our own?
This research project explored and established a set of relevant indicators to measure Pro-Environmental behaviour as part of the development of a Utilization Focused Evaluation (UFE) framework for a Youth Reforestation Program. The evaluation was developed to gauge how ecological restoration and conservation programming can lead to changes in individuals’ attitudes, feelings, knowledge and behavior.
Are we valuing lived experience sufficiently? Is it ok to expect folks to teach us hard-earned life experience without compensation?
This Best Practices Review identified equitable and inclusive methods for engaging and compensating people with lived experience (PWLE) who provide work for community organizations. Findings supported efforts to develop community guidelines and standards for equitable peer engagement and compensation.
When we say we want our youth to have a valuable student experience, are we keeping in mind the diversity of the student experience?
This policy research project mapped Ontario universities’ strategies, programs, and services for international students (IS) . In mapping these programs, we aimed to understand the opportunities, challenges and gaps that exist in supporting IS. We focused on services at various levels, including from the first year of study all the way through to graduation, the job search process, entry into the labour market, and students’ transition to permanent resident status. Our research addressed the three key policy concerns for Ontario’s higher education system: quality and global competitiveness, student experience and success, and educational outcomes and labour market pathways.
We acknowledge land stolen, but do we fully understand the implications on food insecurity? How can go about finding out while utilizing methods that honour traditions and aren’t extractive?
This research project informed community-based food system planning and evaluation processes within four remote Ontario First Nations communities. The review specifically offered foundational insights with regards to Indigenous Food Self-Determination as well as Indigenous Community Based Participatory Action Research. This work informed the research framework, training documents, and reports for the ongoing project with the First Nation communities in the territories.
What is the experience of loneliness and what are the associated needs at every life stage?
This evaluation assessed the effectiveness of a newly formed training program that trained community members about issues that vulnerable, at-risk older adults experience. Specifically, the evaluation focused on to what extent knowledge around issues seniors faced, as well as knowledge on how to appropriately refer seniors to relevant support networks was increased. Results from this report were provided to help tailor future training sessions and for the goal of expanding the program to other regions.
Peer-reviewed articles/Theses
How does it feel to live at borders of identities as immigrants who navigate borders everyday?
In this book chapter I delve into the negotiation of multiple, often what seems to be paradoxical, identities in a creative piece I wrote based on lived experience and inspired by 10 wonderful participants who confided in me. Stories and autobiographical narrations have particular importance in society, whether they are told, shared or just listened to. This book, overall, presents 19 narrations (one of which is my own) of authors about lived experiences as migrants. This book is for readers interested in transcultural stories, creative writing and identity development in cultural and transcultural contexts. Here is an excerpt from the book chapter and there you will also see the link to order the entire book.
How do intersectional identities interact with one another post-migration?
This exploratory qualitative research delved into the experiences of lesbian and gay first generation immigrants to Canada by conducting semi-structured interviews with 10 wonderful and brave participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed. Experiences pertaining to the negotiation of sexual identity and other central identities post- immigration in the context of diverse, and at times, contrasting cultural influences and social belongings were the focus. This study also inspired the creative piece mentioned above.
Do we look beyond the immigrant label when exploring experiences, barriers, and needs of newcomers?
Most research on bias towards immigrants has engaged itself with the generic immigrant, lacking ethnicity, gender, and/or sexual orientation. This research examines stereotypes towards heterosexual, gay and lesbian immigrant men and women from four leading source nations to Canada (i.e., Britain, China, Iran, Nigeria) per two studies, using the Stereotype Content Model (SCM). Results show the importance of intersectional and multidimensional frameworks for intergroup bias research.
Are human discriminatory experiences just about humans?
The area of intergroup bias and, specifically attitudes towards ethnic minorities and/or immigrants, has received a great amount of investigation by (cross-cultural) psychologists, spanning many theories and perspectives However, one perspective rarely taken in mainstream psychology is one that acknowledges the inter-linkage of bias towards ethnic minorities and/or immigrants and that towards non-human animals (NHAs), despite relatively substantial literature outside of psychology emphasizing it. In the present paper, we draw from relevant literature outside and inside of psychology that speaks to the connectivity between attitudes towards marginalized human outgroups and NHAs, focusing on the mechanism of dehumanization in intergroup bias.
Is what’s on the skin also under it? Is clothing just fabric? Or is it a way to play out one’s identity?
One of the most visible and universal ways that people express themselves is through their clothes. Clothing communicates information about an individual’s personality, group membership, and even context of social situations. Research suggests that clothing is part of a dynamic social process, linked to ethnic identity, religious identity, and self-esteem. The present studies examine links between clothing preference, acculturation strategies and cultural identity among immigrants. Overall, our findings suggest that immigrants’ clothing choices are influenced by who they interact with. Immigrants choose clothing as a dimension to manifest their values and represent their adaptation to their society of settlement.
How can we ensure our collective research efforts are moving towards a mosaic that is comprehensive and inclusive of the human experience?
Certain social groups are often difficult for researchers to access because of their social or physical location, vulnerability, or otherwise hidden nature. This unique review article based on both the small body of relevant literature and our own experiences as researchers is meant as a guide for those seeking to include hard-to-reach, hidden, and vulnerable populations in research. Topics covered include participant mistrust of the research process; social, psychological, and physical risks to participation; participant resource constraints; and challenges inherent in nonprobability sampling, snowball sampling, and derived rapport.
How does gender play out in family court?
In this paper, we conducted a critical community-engaged Ontario family law case review of cases where intimate partner violence was identified. We explored the extent to which judges identified and addressed intimate partner violence and whether the gender of judges impacted on trial outcomes and judges’ parental assessments. We found that judges de-gendered the language of violence, which impacted trial outcomes (e.g., more rulings of unsupervised access for fathers despite them having been violent) and a mutualisation of responsibility by referring to the violence as ‘conflict.’ We also found that male judges were more likely to negatively assess the mothers as both parents and witnesses. We call for more research that explores whether the changes to the Canadian federal Divorce Act (which includes ‘family violence’) will have an impact on the manner in which intimate partner violence is identified and/or referred to by family law judges, and if and how this influences the weighting of salient outcomes in Ontario family court cases.
Miscellaneous/Not published publicly
An evaluation was conducted on a Grief Centre’s Youth Support Program, specifically a peer and leadership-based program established to support the needs of bereaved adolescents of ages 13-18 who had experienced the death of a parent, parental figure, or sibling. The program combined multiple treatment modalities, such as therapeutic activities (including artistic modes) that encouraged communication, self-expression, and coping within the context of group and facilitated peer support. In addition, youth leaders fostered leadership skills and, after the completion of the program, utilized these to support bereaved peers at camp. The evaluation report highlighted program details and key relevant literature before delving closer into detail with regards to two evaluation objectives, namely outcome and process evaluation objectives.
An exploratory analysis of patient interviews at an Ontario Family Health team was conducted to present to the health care providers the pressing needs, potential barriers to effective and efficient care, and other crucial factors beyond the traditional Western medical terrain that are implicated in patients’ overall well-being. For care providers, this research informed future coordinated plan of care needed. Themes were presented, together with recommendations to honour the needs and resilience of senior community members with mental health challenges.
An evaluation plan was developed for the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes of a community mental health programs for outpatients at an Ontario Hospital. Detailed steps were outlined for healthcare staff and other partners to be able to measure the effectiveness of modules related to knowledge about mental health and relapse prevention, as well as various relationship and life skills.