Lakehead University Knowledge Commons

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Deformation processes in a mid-crustal strike-slip shear zone: insights from the Archean Quetico Shear Zone, Superior Province, Canada
(2026) Tiitto, Hanna; Stephan, Tobias; Phillips, Noah
The Quetico Shear Zone serves as an excellent analogue for active strike-slip shear zones at seismogenic depths. The Quetico Shear Zone is a right-lateral, strike-slip shear zone located at the boundary between the Wabigoon and Quetico subprovinces and has a strike length of at least 400 km. This research focuses on the eastern extent of the shear zone, north of Thunder Bay, and aims to constrain the kinematics, structures, conditions, and timing of deformation processes within the shear zone and adjacent paleo-earthquake surfaces. We found that Quetico Shear Zone deformation is characterized by increased mylonitization and brittle deformation with increasing proximity to the shear zone trace (within 500 m) where paleo-earthquake surfaces (i.e., pseudotachylite veins) were found. Mylonitization produces recrystallized quartz ribbons and a strong foliation unique to the Quetico Shear Zone (stronger than regional Quetico subprovince transpressional structures), particularly in granitic units. Non-granitic rock units within the core of the shear zone display pervasive brittle deformation with numerous faults. The recrystallized quartz grain sizes do not correlate with increased mylonitization and proximity to the shear zone. Recrystallized quartz grain sizes remained constant within error, with a median stress value of 80 MPa. The temperatures of quartz recrystallization also show no clear evolution with increasing proximity to the Quetico Shear Zone trace, with a median value of 487°C. The quartz recrystallization temperatures correlate to retrogressive temperatures from stable mineral assemblages, which are lower than estimated peak metamorphic temperatures from stable mineral assemblages (up to 700°C). The slip systems within the samples show an overprint from a higher-temperature prism slip distal to the shear zone core to a lower-temperature rhomb slip within the shear zone core. The calculated strain rates for the shear zone (3.9E-10 to 9.5E-12 s-1) are comparable to those in active shear zones. Apatite and titanite provided the best ages for deformation, mainly producing interpreted ages younger than the Quetico subprovince metamorphism. The interpreted Quetico Shear Zone deformation ages are 2618 to 2596 Ma. The exhumed Quetico Shear Zone appears to consist of an increasingly localized zone of deformation with proximity to the shear zone trace, though the shear zone records constant stress conditions across the shear zone core, indicating another weakening mechanism (e.g., fluid infiltration or fabric intensity) may be localizing deformation. The timing of this event is shortly after the Kenoran orogeny and may be related to the Sacred Heart Orogeny in the Minnesota River Valley.
Pride flags in every classroom, but they didn’t teach us queer sex ed: a qualitative exploration of 2SLGBTQIA+ students’ experiences with sexual health education in Ontario
(2026) Knight, Sara; Murphy-Oikonen, Jodie; Chisholm, Jennifer; Miller, Katherine Kortes; Sanders, Chris
The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how 2SLGBTQIA+ secondary students experience Ontario’s sexual health curriculum, and how those experiences shape their ability to navigate sex, relationships, and identity. Although Ontario’s Health and Physical Education Curriculum formally includes content related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and healthy relationships, there remains limited research on how 2SLGBTQIA+ students themselves interpret and experience this education in practice (Gowen & Winges-Yanez, 2014; Ontario Ministry of Education, 2019). Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, this study centred the lived experiences of 12 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and young adults who attended secondary school in Ontario and received school-based sexual health education. Participants were recruited through purposive and snow ball sampling, and data were collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews. Interview data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Four central themes were identified: 1) cisheteronormativity as the curricular baseline; 2) teaching sexual health: tone, comfort, and classroom control; 3) curricular influence on relational scripts and identity development; and 4) filling in the gaps: peers, pornography, and the internet. Overall, findings suggest that Ontario’s sexual health curriculum was experienced as inconsistent and often disconnected from 2SLGBTQIA+ students’ lived realities. This research has implications for sexual health education policy, educator training, classroom implementation, and social work practice with 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.
Effectiveness of headgear for children with cerebral palsy: a simulation study
(2026) Mehr, Shaghayegh Kiani; Zerpa, Carlos; Sinden, Kathryn; Sanzo, Paolo
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a lifelong neurological disorder that affects movement, posture, and balance in children, making them vulnerable to falls and subsequent head injuries. Falls are one of the most common causes of head trauma in children with CP. One major concern associated with these falls is concussion, a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) that can result in cognitive, emotional, and physical complications. Although protective headgear may be prescribed for children with CP, there is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of these helmets in mitigating head injury risk and concussion when interacting with ground surfaces. The current study aimed to address this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of a helmet for children with CP in mitigating concussion risk across different impact locations of the head and ground surfaces. The researcher performed the dynamic tests using a child-sized surrogate headform fitted with a CP LYCRA® headgear. The headform was attached to a mechanical neckform mounted on a vertical monorail drop rig. Impact measures were analyzed using mixed factorial ANOVAs. Significant interaction effects were observed between impact location and ground surface on the concussion risk measures. The influence of impact location varied across biomechanical measures, with the greatest reductions observed at side impacts for linear acceleration and front impacts for rotational acceleration when using the foam surface. The foam surface consistently demonstrated lower injury risk measures across impact locations compared with stiffer surfaces. These findings provide biomechanical evidence to support the development of safer headgear and playground surfaces for children with CP.
Reconstruction site: excavating and elevating place-based education in Winnipeg K-12 teacher practice
(2026) Burton, Will; Field, Ellen; Greenwood, David; Pluim, Gary; Karrow, Doug; Younghusband, Christine Ho
Many K-12 students who attend public school in Canada will spend their day learning about the world outside of the school, while remaining in their classroom. The rich potential provided from learning in, with and for places, and people that live and work in them, remain severed from their lessons. This has been the model of public schooling for most Canadians since the standardization of the common school over a hundred years ago. In recent years, educational reform movements, such as 'place-based education' (PBE) (Anderson, 2017; Gruenewald, 2003a, 2003b; Gruenewald & Smith, 2010; Vander Ark, et al., 2020), have sought to reconceptualize what, where, how and why learning takes place in an effort to reconnect youth to the communities in which they live, in a social, cultural, historical and ecological sense, while simultaneously bringing to life the curriculum teachers are tasked with facilitating. However, the ways in which K-12 educators utilize the school neighborhood as a site of ongoing learning remains unclear. If, how and why teachers utilize 'places' in their practice is under-researched in Canada (Webber, 2021), and yet, there is no research on the role of place in Manitoba teacher practice. This dissertation comprises a mixed methods research method to understand the current landscape of PBE in the K-12 Winnipeg public education system and specific practices of a group of K-12 teachers. Firstly, a survey on PBE distributed to three school divisions provided four findings: that teachers across the K-12 system, disciplines and locations are utilizing place in their instructional design; that the use of place is focused on cultural appreciation over critical investigation; that place is used to supplement classroom instruction rather than a starting or end point; and, that most survey informants were using constructivist pedagogies, offering a foundation from which to expand PBE practices. Secondly, Greenwood and Levin's (2007) 'Cogenerative Model' of action research (AR) and operating as a 'reciprocal collaboration' (Herr & Anderson, 2012) was undertaken between the lead researcher and three Winnipeg K-12 teachers. The AR study documented the experiences and reflections of the researcher and participants as they designed and facilitated place-based education units between two weeks and five months. Data was collected throughout the project through 'arenas' (Greenwood & Levin, 2007) such as ongoing conversations, pre- and post-interviews and member checking. Findings from this study included participants expressing that place-based education was a powerful pedagogical that aligned with their philosophy of teaching, simultaneously increasing student engagement and inclusion, and offering particularly strong impacts on student understanding the numbered treaties and reconciliation. When Winnipeg is both considered by scholars as "ground zero for reconciliation" (Sinclair, 2024) and facing a number of broader challenges around attendance, engagement and teacher recruitment and retention, the findings of this study suggest that place-based education offers a powerful lens through which to understand, organize and facilitate teaching and learning in the K-12 system, in particular to offer a response to addressing the 94 Calls to Action.
Wind load evaluation of modular housing structures for Canadian Indigenous regions
(2026) Brown, Tristen; Elshaer, Ahmed; Issa, Anas; Wang, Jin; Liu, Kefu; El-Gendy, Mohammed
Indigenous communities across Canada face a persistent housing crisis characterized by housing shortages, overcrowding, dwellings requiring major repairs, and housing costs that exceed 30% of household income. These challenges are exacerbated in remote and northern regions, where communities experience pronounced climate change impacts, including stronger wind events, colder temperatures, and increased environmental uncertainty. Geographic isolation, limited access to construction resources, and harsh climate conditions make it difficult to construct, maintain, and sustain conventional housing throughout its service life. Accordingly, resilient and cost-effective housing solutions suited to these environments are urgently required. This thesis investigates modularly constructed (MC) housing as a sustainable solution for Indigenous communities in northern Canada. MC structures offer advantages in constructability, transportation efficiency, and adaptability to remote conditions while providing opportunities to improve durability and reduce material waste. Although interest in modular systems is growing, previous research has focused primarily on mid- and high-rise structures, with comparatively little attention paid to low-rise MC configurations. Research addressing the combined challenges of extreme wind loading and limited climate data in northern regions is also scarce. To overcome these limitations, this research develops an integrated framework that combines climate data reliability assessment, advanced extreme wind prediction methodologies, and structural performance evaluation of the MC configurations. The first objective (Chapter 2) of this research is to review the ongoing challenges that Indigenous communities throughout Canada face in housing. It explores the structural and socio-environmental challenges affecting Indigenous housing, including climate impact, material deterioration, and constructability limitations. This study proposes modular housing as a sustainable and adaptable solution. Next (Chapter 3), the thesis examines the spatial relationship between Indigenous communities and nearby weather stations to assess data availability and reliability. The analysis identifies significant gaps in meteorological coverage and demonstrates that limited record lengths and spatial variability can substantially influence extreme wind predictions. Third, Chapter 4 applies the Up-Crossing Rate (UCR) analysis to estimate extreme wind velocities using limited wind datasets. Unlike traditional extreme value analysis methods, which require long-term records, the UCR approach utilizes the full wind speed time history to provide reliable predictions for shorter datasets. The method is validated against established statistical approaches, showing strong agreement for long-term return periods while maintaining applicability in data-scarce environments. The fourth objective (Chapter 5) introduces a record length coefficient to correct for the systematic bias associated with short-duration datasets. Using data from over 200 meteorological stations across Canada, the study quantifies the influence of record length on extreme wind predictions and develops a record length coefficient to account for limited datasets. This approach improves the reliability of predictions derived from limited data and supports their use in engineering designs. The final objective of this thesis (Chapter 6) is to investigate the aerodynamic performance of modular housing configurations evaluated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Experimentally validated simulations were used to analyze single- and multi-module low-rise structures subjected to wind loading. The results indicate that modular configurations, particularly those involving stacking and overhangs, can generate significantly higher localized pressure coefficients than those predicted by current design codes. Comparisons with the National Building Code of Canada reveal potential underestimation of critical wind loads.