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Microplastics are intricate plastic particles (<5 mm in length) with complex chemical mixtures that are pervasive globally. Nonetheless, our understanding of microplastic contamination in the Canadian Arctic is limited. Therefore, this thesis aimed to investigate the concentration and characteristics of microplastics in and surrounding the community of Iqaluit, Nunavut. Our findings suggest Iqaluit is a local source of microplastics in the Arctic based on their concentration in road dust (2.83 ± 3.72 µg/g). Microplastic concentrations were comparable to those in metropolitan areas and given their abundance in parking lots it is suggested that these are temporary reservoirs for microplastics and tire wear particles. Further, lakes predominately upwind of Iqaluit had a greater concentration of microplastics (134 ± 204 µg/L) than lakes downwind (30.8 ± 55.5 µg/L). These findings underscore the importance of assessing both local-scale and long-range sources when examining microplastic contamination in the Arctic.

Author Keywords: Atmospheric microplastics, Biomonitoring, Canadian Arctic, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Plastic pollution

This dissertation sought to examine how reactionary influencers on YouTube are able to create 'gateways' towards audience tolerance and even desire to enact violence against marginalized groups, particularly those groups relating to gender performance. for the purposes of YouTube moderation. This dissertation uses the perspectives of affect theorists Ahmed, Berlant, and Tomkins, and the gender theories of Connell and Butler to divide the examined influencers into two categories, gurus and prophets. Prophets, such as Tucker Carlson or the Prager U platform, presented already existing hegemonic narratives about gender norms as ontological truths that were key to the coherence of both society and individual identity. Meanwhile, gurus like Andrew Tate presented themselves as teachers whose ability to embody hegemonic masculine norms gave them both the wisdom and authority to convert loyal viewers into successful men like them. Both categories of reactionary influencer were examined with a focus on both rhetoric and modelling of masculinity and the performance thereof. While both categories worked to align viewers with fascist ideology through emphasizing hatred, fear, and anger towards real-world events while connecting feelings of hope, joy, and desire to quasi-gnostic mythic perspectives around masculine sovereignty, they presented significant differences in method and target audience. This has significant implications for attempts at deradicalization and resistance to the increasing tide of fascism in mainstream society. Another significant finding was that affective connections to reactionary beliefs were almost all found to originate with mainstream narratives around gender norms, particularly with regards to masculine success and authority under capitalism. Overall, this dissertation's findings strongly counter mainstream assumptions that extremist reactionary ideology comes from a discrete fringe source rather than as a direct result of existence within a vicious capitalist social system that prioritizes White male comfort over the ability of ethnic and gender minorities to express any shred of agency.

Author Keywords: Affect, Extremism, Fascism, Internet, Masculinity, Performativity

This thesis analyzes the processes and rationales of ritual creation among contemporaryGermanic Neopagans (Heathens). It is based on ethnographic fieldwork from May– September, 2023 at Raven's Knoll, a campground near Eganville, Ontario that hosts Heathen festivals. I identify selection criteria used to determine which cultural practices to adopt, adapt, or omit from rituals. I analyze both rituals and selection criteria as configurations or collections of interchangeable components that I call cultural configurants. Leaders and participants assembled rituals at the Heathen festival, Stone and Flame Gathering, guided by five criteria: inclusivity, Lore accuracy (ancient Germanic aesthetics), resonance (feeling right), woo (religious experience), and pragmatism (circumstantial adjustment). Inclusivity and pragmatism dominated, while Lore accuracy determined an omnipresent aesthetic.

Author Keywords: Cultural Dynamics, Germanic Neopaganism, Ritual

This study examines the intersection between nuclear energy in Ontario, Canada, with popular forces acting upon it between the 1940s and the mid-1980s. It finds that nuclear energy was the target of changing epistemology as society shifted to a post-modern framework in its perception of technology. Technology was irreparably associated with potential encroaching governmental Technocracy. Nuclear was additionally impacted by a societal misunderstanding of the engineering design philosophy, success through failure, as a negative aspect. These factors then combined with the common psychological phenomenon of affective heuristics to produce a society that was fundamentally opposed to nuclear energy on intellectual principles, safety principles, and base psychological principles. It is the finding of this paper that these factors almost assuredly contributed to the cancellations of and shift away from nuclear power in Ontario. This study offers a rebuttal to the overarching popular misconceptions of, and apprehension toward, nuclear energy.

Author Keywords: nuclear, Ontario, post-modern, risk, technology

Research indicates that approximately one-third of post-secondary students experience food insecurity. However, there is limited research on engagement with those who organize alternative food support systems which seek to address post-secondary student food insecurity. Past studies on student food insecurity prioritize the experiences of those experiencing food insecurity, the barriers to food security and the consequences of food insecurity. Although important, research leaves out the voices of those who are attempting to support students. In this study, I aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how alternative food support services (AFSS) within Ontario post-secondary institutions seek to address student food insecurity through their programs. From six semi-structured interviews, I found that the most common barriers and facilitators to running the programs connect to key themes of neoliberalism. Specifically, responsibilization, institutional inaction (hands-off approach), and dependency on altruism/charity are evident in the experiences of program operators.

Author Keywords: Campus food systems, Charity model, Neoliberalism, Student food insecurity

Institutional claims of university-community engagement in support of the public good and planning for teaching, learning, and research have largely remained in the realm of rhetoric. This thesis analyzes the 2019-2021 Trent University Lands and Nature Areas Plan and public consultation process, which at times was marked by the complete absence of consultation and at other times, wholly inadequate consultation with regards to developments affecting its on-campus food growing system and correlate pedagogy. Using methods from Institutional Ethnography, Participatory Action Learning and Action Research, and the BIAS FREE Framework, I explore how Trent University manages its approach to land-use planning and public consultation, revealing that it is ultimately working at cross-purposes with its foundational principles. I advise that Trent University's current land-use planning model, lacking critical examination and intervention, puts the institution's academic reputation, campus ecological functions, and university-community relations at risk. If perpetuated, this model will be detrimental to the university's capacity to generate new knowledge for teaching, learning, and research, as well as context-specific solutions for its land-use planning. My findings define a new concept of fait accompli planning to describe how and why Trent's public consultation process fell significantly short of both its institutional mandate and claims of robust and comprehensive engagement. I conclude that post-secondary institutions (and beyond) need to implement dialogic approaches to planning that abandon predetermined outcomes and instead foster genuine dialogue toward a collaborative milieu of shared, informed, and deliberate planning practices.

Author Keywords: consultation, fait accompli planning, higher education, land-use planning, organizational behaviour, university-community engagement

This thesis creates an adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest that reshapes the play through a focus on queer identities. Specifically, through setting the play at a Drag club and changing the characters accordingly a nuanced view of how gender roles shape the interactions we have with ourselves, our society, and our environment. The chapters that proceed the adaptation provide evidence and supporting clarification for the ideas brought up in the adaptation.

Author Keywords: Adaptation, Drag, Gender, Queer, Shakespeare

We studied the physiological and molecular responses of lab-grown Daphnia pulex to shifts in dietary (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and cyanobacteria) and growth media (calcium) nutrient supply using a set of potential biomarkers via qPCR. Each examined nutrient had a strong effect on Daphnia mass-specific growth rate, and we found significant dose-dependent effects of treatment level (medium and low) on the gene expression of selected indicator genes. Furthermore, linear discriminant analysis models using different combinations of treatment levels could separate the animals between nutritional treatments with 86-100% prediction accuracy. This would suggest that Daphnia appear able to respond to nutrient limitation by adjusting their growth rate and associated molecular pathways to deal with an insufficient supply of nutrients. While this study provides valuable information regarding Daphnia's ability to adjust physiological and molecular processes under controlled laboratory conditions, more validation needs to be conducted before applying these potential biomarkers to wild populations to assess the type and intensity of nutritional stress.

Petroleum coke (petcoke) is a waste by-product of the upgrading process in the oil refining industry. It has limited utility in other areas of application.1 High carbon content (over 85 wt.%), low ash content, and softness make petcoke a potentially valuable precursor for graphitization, where amorphous carbon can be transformed into graphitic carbon. The synthetic production of graphite is gaining more interest due to the increasing demand for battery materials.2,3 Without metal moderators, achieving graphitization requires significantly high temperatures (> 2500 °C). Magnesium (Mg) has been identified as a promising reactant because of its efficacy in promoting graphitization and its relatively simple removal from the final product.3–5 The optimized conditions of magnesium-assisted graphitization showed an electrical conductivity of (3552.0 ± 78.5) S/m at 10 mA. Furthermore, bimetallic metal mediators can exhibit improved catalytic activity in graphitization due to the synergistic effect.3,6,7 Raney nickel alloy (Ni-Al alloy) contains 50 wt.% nickel and 50 wt.% aluminum. Individually, nickel and aluminum have shown efficacy in graphitization.8 However, no research has been conducted on the efficacy of Raney nickel alloy as a metal mediator in petcoke graphitization. We present our work on the graphitization of petcoke and its derived activated carbon using magnesium and Ni-Al alloy at 1000 °C and 1500 °C, respectively. This study assesses the effects of heating time, temperature, and precursor particle size on the degree of graphitization. Additionally, magnesium was completely removed after the graphitization process, and the residual Raney nickel alloy percentage was minimal.

Author Keywords: activated carbon, magnesium, Petroleum coke, Raney nickel alloy, synthetic graphitization

Population cycles are characterized by predictable temporal oscillations in population size and are influenced by densities of both predators and prey. These oscillations are influenced by the predator functional response, i.e. the influence of prey density on predator kill rate. The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a predatory mammal with cyclic northern populations driven by snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) density. Despite some understanding of the drivers of lynx cycles, we lack understanding of how lynx hunting behaviour, including kill site selection, is influenced by the spatio-temporal distribution of prey. These concepts are explored in chapter one of this thesis.

In chapter two, we (coauthors and I) built on work in Kluane region of the Yukon where lynx and hare populations have been tracked through several population cycles. Over six winters, we deployed GPS collars on >40 individual lynx, some of which were fitted with satellite transmitters, accelerometers, and audio recorders. We validated the use of these technologies for identifying hare kills with an accuracy of >87%. This validation is the foundation for chapter three of this dissertation.

In chapter three, we investigated the drivers of spatial variation in lynx kills. Using snow track transects through four winters of declining hare density, we developed a robust model of habitat-specific hare abundance over time. Using model predictions, in combination with lynx Utilization Distributions derived from GPS locations and related habitat associations, we determined the importance of hare abundance, lynx spatial use, and landscape characteristics such as vegetation density in determining patterns of lynx kills and space use. Lynx kill sites were most strongly predicted by lynx space use, followed by the relative abundance of hares, an index of tree cover density, and elevation. Lynx space use itself was not strongly predicted by hare relative abundance, but rather by a shift to the use of more open habitats when hares were abundant to higher use of denser habitats as hare populations declined; this apparently corresponded to temporal changes in hare distribution. This thesis helps to disentangle the drivers of spatio-temporal variation in predator foraging behaviour, with important implications for understanding predator-prey dynamics.

Author Keywords: animal behaviour, biologging, foraging, habitat selection, Lynx canadensis, predator-prey dynamics