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.
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Recent Submissions
Illegality, exploitability, and precarity: repressive migration policies, carceral borders and their impact on migrant lives
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2025-05-07) Fraser, Hannah; Chattopadhyay, Sutapa; Forestall , Nancy
Borders in the Global North are becoming increasingly militarized, monetized, and deadly, disproportionately prohibiting the freedom of movement of migrants travelling from the Global South. The deployment of neoliberal migration policy, which prioritizes market benefits and economic contribution, enforces the temporality of migrants in the host country and the exploitability of migrant labour for economic gain. Movement from state to state is readily accessible for some, and criminalized for others, showcasing how priority is placed on white, wealthy, and Global North travellers while criminalizing, exploiting, and endangering racialized migrants and migrants from the Global South or from places that are severally impacted by global economic restructuring, Structural Adjustment loans, global trading policies, political crises and environmental destruction. Closed-border practices and policies garner public support through fear-mongering and anti-migrant rhetoric found prevalent in media from the Global North (Butcher, Neidhardt, 2022). Normalized xenophobic rhetoric, such as the use of terms like ‘aliens’ or ‘illegals’ fosters a tolerance for migration policies that endanger migrant lives (Robinson, Su, 2023). Popular discourse that labels migrants as security threats provide nations with the power to manage migrants and militarize borders, playing into the hands of security corporations who profit off of the proliferation of closed border practices. Huysmans (2006:50) states that securitization institutes political solidarity for border protection. In the field of EU politics, there is a latent political will to constitute European unity that ties the EU perception of 9/11 as a terrorist attack and migrants associated to terrorism with a need to harden borders. The EU and Frontex (EU border and coastal guard agency) are problematic as far as securitization and militarization operations are concerned because they legitimize violent and dehumanizing policies that are otherwise contentious. Current migrant contract worker programs such as Temporary Foreign Worker program and Live-in Caregiver program in Canada disproportionately impact racialized migrants and contribute to cheapening their labor. Short term contract works, chances of being illegal if the workers stay back after the contract expires, exploitation at work, coupled with securitization and militarization of borders and repressive immigration policies, manifest and maintain the state of illegality that shapes certain migrants’ everyday life. Moreover, migrants, regardless of citizenship status, are made especially vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and in many cases death due to policies that prioritize border control over humanitarian concerns. In this context, migration policy regimes shaped by neoliberal market-driven policies refer to an overarching system of laws, regulations, and institutional practices that govern and manage current-day migrants while prioritizing economic efficiency. Following these practices and policies around migrants and immigration, my Honors thesis objectives are to analyze: 1) how the border industrial complex links to the migration industrial complex through looking into the privatization of prisons, immigrant enforcement and labour market regulations 2) Can border and immigration policies force periods of waiting for jobs, stable living conditions, access to healthcare and food, and conditions of illegalized movement through the change and temporality of permits, visas, or immigration status, thereby endangering migrant lives in myriad ways. 3) Do strict border controls and repressive immigrant policies contribute to the precarity and vulnerability of migrant women to Gender Based Violence (GBV).
A’ tarraing Gàidheil Ghlinne Garraidh bho thobair Mhic-Talla
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2021) MacPherson, Chelsey; Linkletter, Michael
This thesis investigates the Gaelic heritage of Glengarry County, Ontario, by analyzing contributions made by or about Gaels of Glengarry County in Mac-Talla (1892–1904), a historically and culturally significant all-Gaelic newspaper published in Sydney, Nova Scotia. While Glengarry County has long been recognized as a major Gaelic settlement in Canada, no study to date has systematically examined Gaelic narratives concerning the Gaels of Glengarry in Mac-Talla. This research uses a textual analysis to explore the themes and values present in news items, including letters, song-poems, and articles. It examines how these texts reflect the Gaels of Glengarry County’s perceptions of their community, language, and cultural identity. The findings reveal that the Gaels of Glengarry County placed particular emphasis on ancestry, agriculture, hospitality, and military experience. Moreover, evidence suggests that Mac-Talla played a key role in fostering Gaelic literacy and sustaining a sense of collective belonging amid language decline. By foregrounding these Gaelic narratives, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of Gaelic heritage in Glengarry County at the turn of the 20th century.
Exploring psychological skills use in interventional cardiologists
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2025) Barton, Kylie; Harenberg, Sebastian
Psychological skills are explored in a variety of high-performance contexts. In medical fields such as emergency medicine and surgery, psychological skills have been linked to better performance. However, certain medical subdisciplines, for example cardiology, have received less attention than others. For example, cardiology is a growing, interventional medical specialty that requires strenuous training and the precise execution of clinical and psychological skills under pressure. Yet, the development of psychological skills in interventional cardiologists remains underexamined, which was the purpose of the present study. Five interventional cardiologists from across Canada participated in virtual interviews averaging 39 minutes. A semi-structured interview rooted in a theoretical model developed by Spoon and colleagues (2020) was used. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and a hybrid thematic analysis was applied. Generally, participants agreed with previously hypothesized psychological skills in cardiology. The results revealed five main themes which included “Interpersonal Skills”, “Self-Regulation Skills”, “Applied Skills”, “Self-Care Skills” and “Cognitive Skills”. This paper explores these themes in detail, addressing how they are important for performance in interventional cardiology. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of expanding knowledge on psychological skills in interventional cardiology to better support the unique psychological demands faced in highly stressful medical situations.
Clinicians’ perspectives on procedures for implementing wearable movement sensors into primary care
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2025) Keyes, Claire; Reid, Ryan; Kolen, Angie
Canada’s 24-hour Movement Guidelines (24hrMG) are underutilized in health care. This study explored what type of wearable movement sensor (WMS) information would be best utilized by physicians, and what 24hrMG variables could be best integrated into primary care. Canadian physicians were included in this study (n=5). This study utilized a phenomenological approach to guide the research process. Virtual semi-structured interviews (~30 min) were conducted following an interview guide with 11 questions. Reflexive journalling was used throughout this study to record the principal investigator’s thoughts and decision making. The research supervisors acted as critical friends, providing feedback to improve trustworthiness. A thematic analysis of the data revealed three main themes: Benefits of WMS in Patient Care, Integration Considerations and Data Logistics. Benefits of WMS in Patient Care highlights the various benefits, presented as subthemes, that physicians believed WMS could provide to their patients in overall patient care. The subthemes of this theme include 24Hr MG, Target Population, Type of Monitoring, Pharmacare, and Empowerment. Integration Considerations considers the facilitators and barriers regarding WMS implementation into primary care from a physician’s perspective. The subthemes of facilitators of integration considerations include Current Use of RPM, Timeline and Lifestyle Management. The subthemes contributing to the barriers of WMS integration into primary care include Access, Education, and Lifestyle Management. Data Logistics encompasses the logistical aspect of obtaining WMS data from the perspective of a physician, with subthemes including Data Intake, Data Summary, Most Important Data, and Workload. In conclusion, for interested physicians, WMS provide an opportunity to enhance patient primary care with the 24hr MG mainly through objectively monitored time spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity.
Comparing CO2 and CH4 fluxes in prevailing saltmarsh zones in the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence
(St. Francis Xavier University, 2024) Kennedy, Angus; Garbary, David
Tidal saltmarshes are unique coastal ecosystems that have historically provided important ecosystem services, including efficient carbon sequestration. In the northwestern North Atlantic, salt water adapted vegetation species organize saltmarshes into vegetation zones distributed along a tidal gradient. In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, saltmarshes’ primary low marsh vegetation zone is dominated by Sporobolus
alterniflorus. Recently, significant community structure change has been observed in several southern Gulf of St. Lawrence saltmarshes. Particularly, an expansion of saltmarsh area bare of dominant vegetation has been observed. I have called these areas dead zones. Given that vegetation is a controlling factor in the flux of greenhouse gasses into and out of the soil environment, I compared the fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in S. alterniflorus zones and dead zones. Simulating daytime (light) and night-time (dark) conditions, I collected 43 dead zone soil gas flux measurements between June 16 and September 25, 2023, and 24 S. alterniflorus zone soil gas flux measurements, between August 17 and September 25, 2023, using a soil gas chamber and a mobile gas concentration analyzer at five different saltmarshes. Following the analysis of my measurements, I found that the mean dark CO2 fluxes of late growing season S. alterniflorus zones (𝑥̅ = 963.3 ± 626.2 mg1m-2hr-1) was significantly greater (Fstat = 7.161,
P-value = 0.001250) than that of dead zones (𝑥̅ = 200.1 ± 259.9 mg1m-2hr-1), but I found no significant difference between the mean light and daily net CO2 fluxes of the two groups (𝑥̅ = -168.7 ± 710.7 mg1m-2hr-1, Fstat = 1.474, P-value = 0.2466; 𝑥̅ = 89.03 ± 382.7 mg1m-2hr-1, Fstat = 0.3313, P-value = 0.8028; respectively). I also found no significant differences between the mean light, dark or net daily CH4 fluxes of late growing season S. alterniflorus zones and dead zones (𝑥̅ = 0.02832 ± 0.4635 mg1m-2hr-1, Fstat = 0.06789, P-value = 0.9765; 𝑥̅ = 0.009973 ± 0.2602 mg1m-2hr-1, Fstat = 2.033, P-value = 0.1349; 𝑥̅ = 0.01434 ± 0.2858 mg1m-2hr-1, Fstat = 0.4226, P-value = 0.7385; respectively). I did however observe seasonal normal-resembling magnitude curves of the light and dark CO2
fluxes, and to lesser extent, light and dark CH4 fluxes. Both light and dark CO2 fluxes trended to be positive at the end of August and in September, after S. alterniflorus had senesced. As climate change warms autumns in Nova Scotia, this period of S. alterniflorus and dead zones being net sources of CO2 may lengthen and intensify. My work characterizes dead zone CO2 and CH4 fluxes over the majority of one growing
season. The greenhouse gas fluxes of dead zones should continue to be studied, along with how they change the community structure ecosystem function of saltmarshes.