Master Theses & Projects: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 111
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Easy skins, easy life: a chronological case study of loot boxes and transferable cosmetic items in the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
(2022-12-01)Video game publishers have continually developed novel methods of maximizing revenues from video game titles. Modern gaming customarily involves paid downloadable content that further monetizes a base game. Loot boxes, ... -
#RodneyReed: a content and thematic analysis of a trending innocence campaign
(2022-12-01)Having spent 23 years (and counting) on death row for a murder conviction which is believed to be wrongful, Rodney Reed’s innocence campaign was shared on social media by celebrities, news organizations, and the public ... -
Parents’ perceptions of their children’s lie telling in the context of sibling relationships
(2021-08-01)Familial influences on children’s deception are understudied. This thesis examined children’s lie telling in the context of sibling relationships by surveying parents on the types of lies told by children in the sibling ... -
Impact of terrorism awareness training on civilian likelihood to report pre-incident behaviours
(2020-08-01)This study investigated whether terrorism awareness training impacts the likelihood to report pre-incident behaviours associated with terrorism using infographics from the U.S. “See Something, Say Something” campaign. ... -
Gendered pathways: family violence as a primary pathway into homelessness for women
(2022-08-01)This thesis analyzes secondary data from a study done on 30 homeless men and women in a region in Southern Ontario to assess the gendering of homeless pathways between each group. Qualitative and quantitative methods were ... -
Perceptions of police use of force: the role of context-specific factors, police legitimacy, and belief in a just world
(2022-09-01)This thesis explores various factors that could explain variations in how acceptable police use of force is perceived to be among a Canadian sample. Four text-based vignettes depicting a police use of force encounter were ... -
“Taking a chance and striking out”: an exploration of homelessness, housing pathways, and ‘self-sabotage’
(2022-08-01)Homelessness remains a prevalent social issue in Canada, though limited research has sought to explore the process of transitioning from homelessness to housing. Exits from homelessness are rarely straightforward and are ... -
Connecting neoliberal ideology and incel ideology
(2022-08-01)Incels are an online transgressive subculture holding misogynistic views of women, including the belief that women unfairly refuse them sex. While there have been few heinous physical attacks by individuals self-identifying ... -
The impact of thin(ner) slicing on deception detection
(2022-08-01)I examined whether the length of thin slices (i.e., observations of behavior less than five minutes) affected deception detection. Participants (N = 262) were randomly assigned to one of seven exposure length conditions ... -
Mock jurors’ perceptions of children testifying via a language interpreter
(2022-08-01)Language interpreters will increasingly be used in our globalized world. However, their impact on fact finders' perceptions is yet to be understood. The current research examined adults' perceptions of youth testifying via ... -
Individuals’ empathic responses to exonerees’ emotional and physical suffering
(2022-06-01)In exploring avenues to combat the stigma exonerees experience, a study was conducted to examine whether exposure to an exoneree’s suffering increases empathy and helping, and whether different empathic responses (e.g., ... -
The effects of rapport building on information disclosure in virtual interviews
(University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2022-06-01)Rapport-building has been identified as an effective tool when interviewing victims and witnesses of events that may be sensitive in nature. The objective of this study was to examine the rapport-building process within a ... -
Measuring cues to deception: a multitrait-multimethod analysis
(2021-12-01)Cognitive load and arousal are constructs typically included in theories of deception, but they are often measured using a range of unvalidated techniques. Using a multitrait-multimethod analysis, I assessed the reliability ... -
Youth and at-risk behavior: the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean Island of Dominica
(2021-09-01)Hurricane devastation in the Caribbean has become a very common phenomenon over the past decades, and the destruction that follows comes with severe implications for the people directly affected by it. This study aims to ... -
Youth homelessness: an exploration into the desire for family reunification
(2021-08-01)With family conflict serving as the predominant underlying factor that leads to youth homelessness, family has often been framed as “the problem.” As such, many youth services have ignored the role of family as potential ... -
A content and thematic analysis of Reddit discussions about When They See Us
(2021-08-01)As the number of wrongful conviction media productions increases, an understanding of their impact on viewers is prudent. In this thesis, I investigated the effect of watching When They See Us – a dramatized miniseries ... -
Perceptions of crime changes, well-being, and personal safety during the COVID-19 pandemic
(2021-08-01)Ontarians have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of their personal safety, well-being, and stress. As such, data was collected in January 2021 and surveyed 258 Ontarians to determine the effects that ... -
Exploring the interactional theory: a theoretical exploration of the dark web’s impact on delinquent behaviour
(2021-08-01)Throughout the years, modern issues of delinquent behaviour have evolved and shifted from the advancements of technology and the development of the virtual world. Despite the possibility for this connection, research has ... -
Willingness to help: how the portrayal and perception of a wrongfully convicted individual affects people’s willingness to help exonerees
(2021-08-01)Currently, in Canada there is no legal requirement to compensate exonerees (Roach, 2012), and despite research suggesting Canadians would be supportive of this government assistance for exonerees (Angus Reid, 1995; Clow, ... -
“Feeling like Rapunzel, you know?”: A narrative inquiry of youth, boredom, and deviance
(2021-08-01)In a late modern society, the presence of placelessness and meaninglessness can be overwhelming to individuals, especially youth. Jock Young’s theory of human behavior suggests that individuals engage in crime to rid ...