StFX SCHOLAR
StFX Scholar is the official repository of St. Francis Xavier University (StFX), offering a secure and free platform to share publications, academic outputs, and other works of StFX faculty, staff, and students.
StFX Scholar is also the hub for exploring our digitized and digital collections. Our mission is to preserve and highlight the intellectual and creative achievements of the StFX community and the broader Antigonish region.
Start exploring today!
Communities in StFX Scholar
Select a community to browse its collections.
- StFX-affiliated works, including open-access (aka free) journal articles, books, and more!
- Digitized or born-digital theses and dissertations completed at StFX.
- Materials about StFX.
- The library's digitized and digital collections.
Recent Submissions
Oncology self-management support education in a baccalaureate nursing program: An exploratory case study
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2025-06) MacDonald-Liska, Carrie; Mitton, Jennifer
Background: As the largest cancer care workforce, nurses are well situated through daily interactions to provide effective oncology self-management support to improve the quality of life and health outcomes for cancer survivors. Self-management support education for nurses is very limited, and international oncology nursing experts have implored an urgent need for research in baccalaureate nursing education to ensure nursing students have the requisite knowledge, skills, and competencies when entering the workforce to enable persons with cancer to better manage the effects of cancer as a chronic disease.
Aim: Grounded in Caring Theory, Self-Directed Adult Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Learning Theory, and guided by the Self- and Family Management Framework and the Competency Framework for Cancer Nurses Providing Self-Management Support, this study aimed to explore the extent and impact of oncology self-management support education being taught and learned in a baccalaureate nursing program.
Design: A qualitative exploratory case study was conducted at a baccalaureate nursing program.
Methods: Purposeful sampling technique recruited three faculty professors with teaching responsibilities, two nurse educators, and five fourth-year nursing students, for one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Additional data sources included documents (course syllabi, class lectures, textbook(s), readings) from four courses within the nursing program, and reflective journaling notes. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the participant interview data to identify themes that represented the data and a deductive analysis approach was used to analyze the course documents.
Results: Three overarching data interpretations emerged from the study: 1. The inadequate curriculum coverage of critical performance criteria and requisite competencies to prepare nursing students to provide oncology self-management support. 2. The need for curriculum and instruction on cancer as a disease, cancer being considered a unique chronic illness, and self-management support for persons with cancer and 3. The need for the integration of oncology self-management support teaching and learning across all program areas (i.e. classroom curricula, lab simulations, and clinical preceptors).
Conclusion: This study makes a novel contribution by exploring oncology self-management support education in undergraduate nursing education. The study has shown that undergraduate nursing oncology self-management support education is insufficient and makes the following recommendations: 1. Integrate curriculum on cancer as a unique chronic disease. 2. Integrate self-management support performance criteria. 3. Integrate oncology self-management support and coaching curricula program. 4. Prepare academic educators in oncology. 5. Collaborate and coordinate oncology clinical preceptors and 6. Collaborate with nursing organizations to build oncology education capacity.
Examining mineral-associated soil organic carbon pool dynamics following clearcut harvesting in a temperate red spruce forest chronosequence
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2018-04) MacIntyre, Stephanie; Kellman, Lisa
Clearcut forest harvesting is a common practice in temperate forests. Whereas the mineral soil contains a substantial proportion of total forest carbon (C), little is known about the effects of harvesting disturbance on the quantity and character of mineral-associated C pools. This thesis documents changes in the size and chemical character of four pools (water soluble, organo-metal, poorly crystalline, and crystalline) within the organo-mineral fraction through 50 cm mineral soil depth (0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-35, and 35-50 cm) profiles from a chronosequence of Podzol soils representing important stages of forest development (1yr, 15yr, 45yr, 80yr post harvest and a 125+yr reference stand). At all sites, the dominant C pool was the organo-metal complexed, and significant losses were documented following disturbance, particularly in the deeper (>20 cm) mineral soil. Trends of decreasing C concentration, along with chemical character and isotopic data support the hypothesis that increased microbial processing is responsible for C losses following disturbance. These findings suggest that soil C associated with minerals can become destabilized with a change in soil environmental conditions, and that this can increase susceptibility to microbial decomposition. The sheer size of the mineral C pool, as well as the observation that deeper soil dynamics appear to drive trends at these sites, warrants further investigation.
AccessAbility: an exploration of the perspectives of educators who use digital tools to support students' learning
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2025) Kawaja, Nancy; Carter, Ellen
This thesis explores the role of assistive technology in supporting Universal Design for Learning principles in K-12 education. The intersections of disability, advancements in technology and Universal Design for Learning served as a background and focus of this inquiry. The purpose of the study is to better understand the perspectives of educators who use digital technologies to support student learning. To investigate this, a narrative inquiry approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually with four educators who use technology to support students with exceptionalities, and work in K-12 publicly funded schools in Ontario. Central to each narrative were themes of the necessity of assistive technology in true inclusion and the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, an educator perception of assistive technology supporting transferrable skills and holistic growth for students supporting both academic and social well-being, and the importance of professional learning for educators. An unexpected finding was a central theme of perceived stigma for students with disabilities. These findings suggest that assistive technology is critical for student learning and that it is timely to consider the role of stigma in the experience of students with disabilities.
Whose land, whose voice? Indigenous rights and the corporate pursuit of a social license in the Ring of Fire
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2025-04-04) Head, Emily; Long, Brad
This thesis investigates the complexities surrounding the pursuit of a social license to operate (SLO) by mining companies in Canada's Ring of Fire region, particularly in the context of Indigenous relations and environmental stewardship. Through a content analysis methodology focusing on news articles, media reports, and public documents, the research critically examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts and evaluates how these initiatives align with Indigenous communities' expectations and legal frameworks such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and Canada's constitutional duty to consult. Findings reveal significant gaps between industry actions and community expectations, highlighting the challenges companies face in achieving meaningful engagement and genuine reconciliation. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that despite notable CSR investments and government incentives, the lack of true participatory processes and informed consent continues to impede sustainable development and community acceptance in the Ring of Fire. The research underscores the necessity of transitioning from transactional interactions to authentic partnerships to secure lasting social licenses.
Desertification trends following the cessation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2)
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2025) Silva, Violet; MacDougall, Andrew
Desertification remains a global issue, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) influence plant-water dynamics. This study examines the impact of CO2 stabilization and decline on desertification risk using climate model data from the Zero Emissions Commitment Model Intercomparison Project. Data from multiple Earth system models were analyzed under two scenarios: the 1pctCO2 experiment, which simulates a gradual CO2 increase followed by stabilization, and businessas-usual scenarios with continued emissions. Results indicate that while CO2 fertilization initially increases plant water use efficiency, a subsequent decline in CO2 concentration increases water stress, particularly in dryland regions. The study further reveals that differences in various variables between the two scenarios may affect ecosystem stability. These findings suggest that desertification risk may become a more prevalent issue even after emissions cease, highlighting the need for adaptive land management strategies in a post-emissions world.