Royal Military College Of Canada Research Articles

Thwarted belongingness and empathy's relation with organizational culture change.

In response to several high-profile cases of senior leaders in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) being accused of various forms of sexual and professional misconduct, the organization has committed to culture change. Drawing on the group engagement model and empirical evidence, we propose that CAF members' experience of thwarted belongingness reduces their capacity to show empathy, which in turn affects their support for culture change. Participants were 139 Naval and Officer Cadets from the Royal Military College of Canada who were predominantly male (61%), between 18 and 21 years old (80%), and not members of a visible minority group (68%). Data was collected via an online self-report survey assessing thwarted belongingness, empathy, and attitudes toward culture change. Whether participants experienced thwarted belongingness was not directly related to their level of support for culture change. Individuals' thwarted belongingness was indirectly and negatively associated with support for culture change, through its impact on empathy. Taken together, the results demonstrate that cadets' experience of belongingness contributed to their level of empathy, which together predicted their support for culture change initiatives. Efforts to change the culture of the CAF may need to consider improving members' levels of belongingness and, by extension, their levels of empathy. Implications for inclusion efforts are discussed.

Kîyokêwin (Visiting), leadership, and consenting to learn in public: indigenizing social sciences and humanities at the Royal Military College of Canada

ABSTRACT Espousing Indigenous Research Methods including Kîyokêwin/Visiting, beadwork as an embodied pedagogical and research practice, and storytelling, this article explores the authors’ experiences working in senior academic leadership positions to support indigenization at the Royal Military College of Canada. The authors consent to learn in public and discuss opportunities for role-modeling individual leadership in institutional contexts and for building small ‘safe enough’ spaces that generate energy and momentum that have the possibility of supporting broader-scale indigenization efforts. The authors understand the call to indigenize education as a non-negotiable imperative, and argue that it is an ethical responsibility for all who live in Canada to engage intentionally in concrete acts of reconciliation – in (re)building relationships with Indigenous Peoples.

Masculine Conformity and Social Dominance’s Relation With Organizational Culture Change

While the workforce is becoming increasingly more modernized and diverse, masculine norms are prevalent among certain organizations that remain male-dominated. Namely, the military is an institution that promotes masculine stereotypes and a culture where such stereotypes form a normative system of hierarchy. This study, surveying 145 military cadets at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), found that social dominance orientation, or preference for in-group superiority and out-group inequality, was associated with higher conformity to masculine norms. Moreover, higher levels of social dominance explained the relationship between masculine conformity and less acceptance toward cultural reforms in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). These findings suggest that achieving true organizational culture change in the military involves challenging not only masculine norms but, more importantly, the dominant and nonegalitarian attitudes of social dominance.

Chemical Engineering at the Royal Military College of Canada

Chemical Engineering at the Royal Military College of Canada

Are equitable physical performance tests perceived to be fair? Understanding officer cadets’ perceptions of fitness standards

ABSTRACT In the last few decades, the armed forces in Western countries such as Canada and the United States have accepted women into virtually all military occupations. Despite this, a growing body of research confirms that female service members face prejudiced treatment while conducting their work in these organizations that continue to be predominately masculine and male-dominated. In particular, women attending the Canadian Military Colleges (CMCs) experience gender-related conflicts arising from the dissimilar fitness test standards between male and female cadets. There have been, however, few studies that scrutinize the psychological mechanisms of these tensions. The aim of this study was to unpack the existing biased perceptions against women pertaining to physical fitness through ambivalent sexism, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism. Officer and naval cadets (n = 167, 33.5% women) at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) completed survey measures. Indirect effect analyses showed that cadets who viewed the fitness standards to be unfair expressed more hostile rather than benevolent sexist outlooks against women, and these negative feelings were connected to greater levels of social dominance and right-wing authoritarianism. These results indicate that sexist beliefs, competitive worldviews, and authoritarianism are underlying attitudes that should be addressed by militaries striving to fully integrate women into their forces.

The Indirect Effects of Right Wing Authoritarianism and Ambivalent Sexism in Cadets' Opinions on the Fairness of RMC's Physical Performance Test

In an effort to create an inclusive culture, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has been attempting to eradicate sexism within its ranks (Scoppio, 2019). Despite these efforts, female soldiers continue to face discrimination in the CAF. At the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), cadets must complete a physical performance test (PPT), in which male and female cadets are scored differently according to sex due to biological differences. Evidence shows that the separate marking scheme creates a divide between the sexes, as female cadets feel that their PPT scores are taken less seriously than male cadets and male cadets denigrate the PPT scores obtained by female cadets (Scoppio, 2019). Right wing authoritarianism (RWA), ambivalent sexism (AS), and its two subscales, benevolent sexism (BS) and hostile sexism (HS) may help explain attitudes regarding gender fairness of PPT scores. Results from a sample of 169 cadets' revealed that the relationship between RWA and BS and RWA and AS do not significantly predict opinions on the PPT and the indirect effects were not significant. However, the indirect effects between RWA, HS, and attitudes regarding the PPT were significant.

What Do You Think About Change? The Influence of RMC Students’ Conformity to Masculine Norms and Social Dominance Orientation on Embracing Culture Change in the Canadian Armed Forces

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has recently committed to improving its organizational culture after several sexual misconduct allegations were made against its senior leaders (Government of Canada, 2021). Currently, the general goal of cultural reform has been frequently mentioned and used as a notion to inspire CAF members to look forward to the prospective transformations that will come about (Eyre, 2021). On the contrary, research in this area suggests that the military’s institutionalization of uncompromising masculine standards may be an obstacle in the way of true ‘culture change’ (Pendlebury, 2020; Richard & Molloy, 2020). This study evaluated whether service members’ openness to the culture change in the CAF is hindered by their personal endorsement of masculine norms and a dominant social worldview. Military students (n = 145) at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) took part in this research by completing measures of Social Dominance Orientation, Masculinity, and Attitudes towards the CAF culture change. The results of an indirect effects analysis indicated that higher conformity to masculine norms was associated with less acceptance toward the CAF’s movement towards culture reform, which was explained by one’s preference for out-group superiority and inequality. These findings suggest that achieving culture change is not only a matter of ending sexual misconduct, but perhaps more importantly, involves challenging the implicit attitudes of hyper-masculinity and social dominance in the Canadian military.
 Keywords: masculine conformity, hegemonic masculinity, masculine norms, social dominance orientation, culture change, military, Canadian Armed Forces

The Effects of Sexist Attitudes on Sexual Harassment at the Royal Military College

Abstract
 The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has frequented the news headline as more and more stories come to light about issues of sexual harassment and misconduct within the Canadian military. The CAF has attempted to change these attitudes through the implementation of training and Operation Honour. However, despite these efforts, sexist attitudes continue to exist within this military context (Scopio, et al 2020). These attitudes are apparent at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) where future officers of the CAF attend university (Statistics Canada, 2020). Incidents relating to sexual harassment and sexual assault occur and are an established problem for the College (Statistics Canada, 2020). Previous research demonstrated a relationship between feminist identity and rape myth acceptance (RMA), between feminist identity and sexual harassment, and between RMA and sexual harassment (Begany & Milburn, 2002; LeMaire et al., 2016; Scopio., et al 2020). This study aimed to examine whether rape myth acceptance mediates the relationship between feminist identity and sexual harassment attitudes at the Royal Military College. Using a sample of n = 144 officer cadets at RMC, it was determined that RMA demonstrates partial indirect effects on the relationship between feminist identity and sexual harassment.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 References
 Begany, J. J., & Milburn, M. A. (2002). Psychological Predictors of Sexual Harassment: Authoritarianism, Hostile Sexism, and Rape Myths. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 3(2), 119–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.3.2.119
 LeMaire, K. L., Oswald, D. L., & Russell, B. L. (2016). Labeling sexual victimization experiences: The role of sexism, rape myth acceptance, and tolerance for sexual harassment. Violence and Victims, 31(2), 332–346. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-13-00148
 Maxwell, A. (2020, October 8). Experiences of unwanted sexualized and discriminatory behaviours and sexual assault among students at Canadian military colleges, 2019. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00011-eng.htm
 Scoppio, G., Otis, N., Yan, Y. (L., & Hogenkamp, S. (2020). Experiences of officer cadets in Canadian military colleges and CIVILIAN UNIVERSITIES: A gender perspective. Armed Forces & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327x20905121

Advanced Mathematics for Engineering Students: The Essential Toolbox, 1st ed.

The authors of this text have abstracted and summarized in this text their offering of a third-year two semester course in advanced mathematics in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the Royal Military College of Canada. Some applied mathematics matter from related engineering courses has also been added here. With these additions, the text is also purported also to be of value to most other engineers post-graduation. The text was selected for review here as it may be of value to you as a reference or as a foundation teaching text. Some knowledge of COMSOL and MAPLE is needed to fully utilize this text.

Great Leadership is Timeless

On November 26, 2021, Dr. Michael Hennessy, Professor of History and War Studies at Royal Military College of Canada, presented on Great Leadership is Timeless: Lessons from Outstanding Military Leaders. The presentation was followed by a question and answer period with questions from the audience and CASIS Vancouver executives. The topics discussed included gaps in military leader development, valued traits of successful military leaders, and examples of great senior leaders.

C&EN talks with Simon Smith, respirator filter expert

Simon Smith has a long history of developing personal protective equipment (PPE) for industrial, health-care, military, emergency response, and other applications. He specializes in respirator filters and says he finds great satisfaction in the opportunity to apply “dry” science to products that improve health and safety and sometimes save lives. Smith, 60, earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from what is now Imperial College London, then a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1985. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Royal Military College of Canada, he joined Racal Health and Safety. The company was purchased by 3M in 1998. Smith retired from 3M in late 2019 but remains active in standards development with the International Organization for Standardization, the CSA Group (formerly the Canadian Standards Association), and other national and international health and safety organizations. Jeff Johnson spoke with Smith about developing

RMCSat: An F10.7 Solar Flux Index CubeSat Mission

The F10.7 solar flux index is a measure of microwave solar emissions at a wavelength of 10.7 cm or 2800 MHz. It is widely used in thermosphere and ionosphere models as an indicator of solar activity and is recorded at only one terrestrial observatory in Penticton, Canada during daylight hours. The lack of geographical and temporal coverage of F10.7 measurements and no external redundancy to the existing system has led to the development of the RMCSat mission, which seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting microwave solar flux emissions from a space-based platform. RMCSat is the first CubeSat mission by the Royal Military College of Canada. It offers a training environment for personnel in space mission analysis and design, satellite assembly, integration and testing, and satellite operations. This paper introduces the mission concept and preliminary design of a space-based solution that captures solar density flux measurements during each orbit as the Sun passes through the boresight of the primary payload antenna. In addition to two channels recording the 2800 MHz frequency (2785 MHz and 2815 MHz), a third channel records 2695 MHz using the same calibration standard to determine if the United States Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) could be leveraged to supplement the existing F10.7 solar flux measurements and improve solar flux approximations. The RMCSat mission, satellite design, and system budgets are demonstrated here as being viable. Future design considerations pertain to the payload antennas and achievable launch orbits.

Three-dimensional finite element analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls with turning corners

The paper presents in-depth three-dimensional finite element analyses investigating geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls with turning corners. Validation of the 3D numerical procedure was first performed via comparisons between the simulated and reported results of a benchmark physical modeling built at the Royal Military College of Canada. GRS walls with corners of 90°, 105°, 120°, 135°, 150°, and 180° were simulated adopting the National Concrete Masonry Association guidelines. The behaviors of the GRS walls with corners, including the lateral facing displacement, maximum reinforcement load, factor of safety, potential failure surface, vertical separation of facing blocks, and types of corners were carefully evaluated. Our comprehensive results show (i) minimum lateral displacement occurs at the corner; (ii) lower strength of reinforcements are required at the corner; (iii) higher corner angles lead to lower stability; (iv) potential failure surface forms earlier at the end walls; (v) deeper potential failure surfaces are found at the corners; (vi) larger numbers of vertical separations are found at walls with smaller corner angles. The paper highlighted the salient influence of the corners on the behaviors of GRS walls and indicated that a 3D analysis could reflect the required reinforcement length and the irregular formation of the potential failure surfaces.

Promoting greater mental health awareness and resilience: A successful collaboration with the Royal Military College of Canada

Promoting greater mental health awareness and resilience: A successful collaboration with the Royal Military College of Canada

HSR: A History of New Beginnings and a Tribute to Founding Editor Nándor F. Dreisziger

<i>HSR</i>: A History of New Beginnings and a Tribute to Founding Editor Nándor F. Dreisziger

An Efficient Ultra-Tight GPS/RISS Integrated System for Challenging Navigation Environments

The Global Positioning System (GPS) provides an accurate navigation solution in the open sky. However, in some environments such as urban areas or in the presence of signal jamming, GPS signals cannot be easily tracked since they could be harshly attenuated or entirely blocked. This often requires the GPS receiver to go into a signal re-acquisition phase for the corresponding satellite. To avoid the intensive computations necessary for the signal re-lock in a GPS receiver, a robust signal-tracking mechanism that can hold and/or rapidly re-lock on the signals and keep track of their dynamics becomes a necessity. This paper augments a vector-based GPS signal tracking system with a Reduced Inertial Sensor System (RISS) to produce a new ultra-tight GPS/INS integrated system that enhances receivers’ tracking robustness and sensitivity in challenging navigation environments. The introduced system is simple, efficient, reliable, yet inexpensive. To challenge the proposed method with real jamming conditions, real experiment work was conducted inside the Anechoic Chamber room at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). The Spirent GSS6700 signal simulator was used to generate GPS signals, and an INS Simulator is used for simulating the inertial measurement unit (IMU) to generate the corresponding trajectory raw data. The NEAT jammer, by NovAtel, was used to generate real jamming signals. Results show a good performance of the proposed method under real signal jamming conditions.

Advanced MCNP Simulation of the Neutron and Photon Flux and Absorbed Dose Rates for the SLOWPOKE-2 Nuclear Reactor at the Royal Military College of Canada

For irradiation experiments (e.g., of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), values of nuclear particle flux and absorbed dose rates were obtained for the Safe LOW-POwer Kritical Experiment-2 (SLOWPOKE-2) nuclear reactor at the Royal Military College of Canada using extensive simulations of the reactor core via the Monte Carlo N-Particle code, version 6 (MCNP6). Calculations from this work were compared to data from previously conducted experimental and simulation work to ensure simulation fidelity. In addition, reactor core burnup calculations were conducted using the fuel-depletion capability in MCNP6.1 to address the 30+ years of SLOWPOKE-2 reactor use. The combined absorbed dose rate in the inner irradiation sites was simulated to be 36 ± 1 kGy h−1 at a 10-kW(thermal) power setting, specifically, 20 ± 6 kGy h−1 from neutrons and 16 ± 5 kGy h−1 from photons.

The royal military college of Canada: Responding to the call for change

&lt;i&gt;The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) has a very proud history of producing quality officers for over 140 years, delivering excellence in education, research and military training that is responsive to the needs of Canada, the Defence community and the ever-changing global security environment. RMC is unique as it is a military unit that is also a recognized university. The primary mission of RMC is to support the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP) by educating, developing and inspiring bilingual and fit, ethical leaders to serve the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Canada with distinction. Since RMC opened its doors in 1876 to the fi rst 18 cadets, there have been a number of studies that have examined the RMC program and that have been the catalyst for positive change. T ese pivotal moments in history have been indispensable for RMC to remain relevant and continually improve. Of late, there has been a significant amount of attention placed on RMC again, defi ning another pivotal moment in RMC’s history that has become the catalyst for change once again. In October 2016, the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), General Jonathan Vance, initiated a Special Staff Assistance Visit (SSAV) to ensure the high standards expected of RMC are upheld and the Auditor General (AG) of Canada, Mr. Michael Ferguson, completed an audit of the ROTP at RMC, the results of which were presented to Parliament in November 2017. Many changes are already in place, but there is more work to do. With a look at governance, the four-pillar program and the call for change, this paper outlines what steps RMC has and will be taken to posture this ‘university with a difference’ for success for years to come.&lt;/i&gt;

A Thoria and Thorium Uranium Dioxide Nuclear Fuel Performance Model Prototype and Knowledge Gap Assessment

Thorium-based fuel cycles can improve fuel sustainability within the nuclear power industry. The Canadian supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR) concept uses this path to achieve the sustainability requirement of the Gen-IV Forum. The study of thorium dioxide/thoria ThO2-based fuel irradiation behavior is significantly less advanced than that of uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel, although ThO2 possesses superior thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, higher melting temperature, and oxidation resistance that may improve both fuel performance and safety. The fuel and sheath modeling tool (FAST), a fuel performance model for UO2 fuel, was developed at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC). FAST capability has been extended to include thoria (ThO2), thorium uranium dioxide (Th,U)O2, and thorium plutonium dioxide (Th,Pu)O2 as fuel pellet materials, to aid in designing and performance assessment of Th-based fuels, including SCWR (Th,Pu)O2 fuel. The development and integration of ThO2 and (Th,U)O2 models into the existing FAST model led to the multipellet material FAST (MPM-FAST). Model development was performed in collaboration between RMCC and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). This paper presents an outline of the ThO2 and (Th,U)O2 MPM-FAST model, a comparison between modeling results with postirradiation examination (PIE) data from a test conducted at CNL, and an account of the knowledge gap between our ability to model ThO2 and (Th,U)O2 fuel compared to UO2. Results are encouraging when compared to PIE data.

The Linguistic and Ethnic Transformation of the Church in Quebec since the Mid-1960s

Research Article| October 01 2017 The Linguistic and Ethnic Transformation of the Church in Quebec since the Mid-1960s Roy A. Prete; Roy A. Prete ROY A. PRETE is an emeritus professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, where he taught modern European and Canadian history and published on World War I. He has also edited three books on Latter-day Saint studies and a forthcoming history of the Church in Canada. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google G. Eric Jarvis; G. Eric Jarvis GEORGE ERIC JARVIS is an associate professor of psychiatry at McGill University. He publishes and presents at international conferences on topics of culture and mental health and the history of psychiatry. His current research evaluates the effect of culture, language, and religion on the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Jonathan A. Jarvis Jonathan A. Jarvis JONATHAN A. JARVIS is an assistant professor of sociology at Brigham Young University. In his research, he examines how globalization shapes the educational strategies of Asian families in their home countries and abroad and how international variations in family background and structure affect educational outcomes. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Mormon History (2017) 43 (4): 155–184. https://doi.org/10.5406/jmormhist.43.4.0155 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Roy A. Prete, G. Eric Jarvis, Jonathan A. Jarvis; The Linguistic and Ethnic Transformation of the Church in Quebec since the Mid-1960s. Journal of Mormon History 1 October 2017; 43 (4): 155–184. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/jmormhist.43.4.0155 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressJournal of Mormon History Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright 2017 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois2017 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.