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DOES CANADA NEED A DEDICATED INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY?
Full text linkOn November 13, 2023, Dr. John Gilmour presented Does Canada Need a Dedicated Intelligence Strategy? for this year’s West Coast Security Conference. The key points discussed were the magnitude of religiously motivated violent extremism as a global threat, the magnitude of domestic-based terrorism or ideologically motivated terrorism as a threat to North American state security, and the implications and increased likelihood for radicalization that may occur due to Canada’s response to global security conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war.
Received: 12-11-2023
Revised: 01-26-202
RUSSIAN INFORMATION WAR
Full text linkOn November 14, 2023, Dr. Maria Miron presented the Russian Information War for this year’s West Coast Security Conference. The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer period with questions from the audience and CASIS Vancouver executives. The key points discussed were the origin of the Russian information war, Russia’s objectives, and the actors involved in Russia’s information war.
Received: 01-14-2024
Revised: 01-26-202
THE RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND THE WEST?
Full text linkOn November 16, 2023, Dr. Ibrahim Muradov presented The Russo-Ukrainian War: What Does it Mean for Russia, Ukraine, and the West? at this year’s West Coast Security Conference. The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer period with questions from the audience and CASIS Vancouver executives. The key points discussed were that Ukrainian society's push for a pro-Western policy has shaped its foreign relations, despite international reluctance to integrate Ukraine into Western structures; Ukraine's strong protest culture, especially in western regions, has significantly influenced its political direction and resistance to Russian dominance; and Ukraine developed a long-term strategy for economic, military and identity strengthening and this long-term strategy precipitated the full-scale invasion and forced the Kremlin to act before the strategy was complete.
Received: 01-07-2024
Revised: 01-26-202
Han Father, Minzu Children: Gender and Family in China’s Ethnic Governance
Full text linkThe People’s Republic of China recognizes fifty-six distinct nationalities (minzu) including the Han, who constitute 90% of the population, as well as fifty-five ethnic minorities. Understanding this enumeration of minzu as a recent phenomenon designed to meet state goals, I argue that the Han-dominated Chinese state has posed ethnic relations in starkly gendered terms. As seen in state communications from the Mao era to the present, the Chinese government represents ethnic minority subjects in feminized and infantilized poses in relationship to a masculine Han state. As a result of this, the Chinese government has encouraged particular forms of state-compatible minority femininity while minimizing minority masculinities yet posing Han men as natural extensions of the state. 
Assessing Marine Turtle Bone as a Viable Material for Radiocarbon Dating: Insights from Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry and Stable Isotope Analysis
Full text linkMarine turtles have significant cultural relevance in the Caribbean archaeological record, especially evident at sites like Sabazan on the Grenadine Island of Carriacou. Despite abundance allowing for expediency with regard to dating material within the archaeological record, marine turtle bone is rarely selected for radiocarbon (14C) dating due to a phenomenon known as the marine reservoir effect (MRE) and the impact that it has on carbon-based materials. The marine carbon reservoir not only sees high degrees of spatiotemporal variability but is also subject to slower rates of 14C activity compared to that of the atmospheric carbon reservoir. This results in deleterious discrepancies between the apparent 14C ages of contemporaneous materials of marine and terrestrial origin, the former yielding relatively older dates than the latter, thus giving rise to the MRE. This research aims to quantify the MRE through the determination of a local deltaR (∆R) correction factor, establishing marine turtle bone as a suitable material for 14C dating. Zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) has identified six specimens to species, comprising four hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and two green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Challenges lie in accounting for the respective ecology of each species and the unique influence that ecology can have on 14C assay. The application of stable isotope analysis (SIA) unveils intricate ecological relationships, further informing the reliability of previously established cultural chronologies in addition to improving the temporal resolution of prehistoric marine turtle population dynamics, having direct applications to modern marine turtle conservation.
Faculty Supervisor: Christina Giovas, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
Profitable Addictainment: The Intersection of Entertainment, Hate Speech, and Radicalization on Kick.com
No full textThe research investigates the case of Kick, a new online livestreaming platform owned by the recent rapidly growing crypto-gambling company Stake. The project demonstrates how livestreaming platforms are capitalizing on the role of entertainment, and the rise of hyper visible gambling content online. Investigating how hate speech and hegemonic ideologies get constructed, consumed, and circulated in an online live-streaming platform by creators and users through the consumable object of entertainment. Highlighting the controversial and deeply neoliberal profit-driven practices of digital labor by creators and audiences. Entertainment always occupies a dominating ideological place within media structures (Postman, 1985; Frith, 1999; Sun, 2002; Han, 2019), and here the role of entertainment is investigated to show how entertainment deprives a ‘regular’ form of consumption. Analyzing how intersections of entertainment, hate speech, and gambling converge into the roofied cocktail of uniquely damaging content—one which becomes salient in the profit-making cycle of the platformed entertainment in the digital culture and economy.
Through utilizing the walkthrough method of analysing 10 highest viewed livestreams over a period of 3 months. The walkthrough method (Light et al., 2018), which involves documentation of the affordances of the app—with the goal to slow down the hyperactive nature of digital apps to digestible analyses of the forms of habitual consumptions and ideal users.
I argue that Kick’s unique milieu exerts an alienating and addictive effect on its users through the mix of hateful radicalized discourse and hyper visible hardcore gambling content, constituting a specific form of entertainment
Strategies to gender-sensitize health promotion interventions for men
Full text linkBackground: Men are less likely than women to engage in help-seeking health behaviours. To support men, health promotion interventions must be designed to engage them in the first place. Gender-sensitive strategies consider men’s needs and preferences and the influence of gender norms on their engagement with health promotion interventions. The purpose of our study was to identify gender-sensitive strategies that could be applied to design or adapt health promotion interventions for men.
Methods: We used a two-pronged approach to identify gender-sensitive strategies. First, we searched MEDLINE for peer-reviewed articles reporting on health promotion interventions for men. Second, we interviewed 6 academic experts in men’s health promotion via Zoom calls. We summarized data from the literature review and interviews and then coded the recommended strategies using an established adaptation coding framework.
Results: We identified 11 recommendations for gender-sensitive strategies across intervention design and implementation, participant recruitment, and staff training. Recommendations included: co-designing the program with men, incorporating humour and informal communication, adding elements of competition, making the program men-only, promoting and delivering in spaces where men already gather, having a champion to endorse the program, using masculine-friendly language in program and recruitment materials, using health checks as a recruitment strategy, and providing gender-competence training for intervention staff.
Discussion: Men choose health promoting behaviours that are shaped by masculinity and gender norms. Thus, health promotion interventions for men require a nuanced understanding of the barriers they face and a commitment to engaging them in ways that are gender-sensitive, accessible, and relevant.
Research Team Members: Samantha M. Gray, School of Medicine and Public Health, College of Health Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, AustraliaAngelica Baniqued, Aging and Population Health Lab, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser UniversityDawn C. Mackey, Active Aging Research Team, University of British Columbi
Synthesis and Applications of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Based Ionomers in the Catalyst Layer of CO2 Electrolysers
Full text linkWith the rise in global warming, carbon dioxide conversion into valuable chemicals and fuels becomes a higher priority. CO2 electrolysers are able to produce carbon monoxide, which can in turn be used in the synthesis of various hydrocarbons or alcohols. A key component of zero-gap CO2 electrolysers is the triple phase boundary (TPB) formed at the catalyst layer. This is where the gaseous phase (CO2), ion conducting phase (electrolyte), and the electron conducting phase (Ag/C catalyst) come into contact, allowing the reduction of CO2 into CO, known as the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). The problem is, a competing reaction at the Ag/C electrocatalyst is the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), producing H2. As it is more thermodynamically favourable at the overpotential used for the CO2RR, this side reaction reduces the overall Faradaic efficiency (FE) of the cell. It is noteworthy that, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) can form stable covalent bonds with various metals and would be suitable ligands in electrolysers. Through affecting the TPB by binding the NHCs to the Ag/C catalyst, a favourable environment for key intermediates in the CO2RR can be achieved. Corollary, novel NHC-ionomers synthesized will be incorporated into the catalyst layer as binders in order to increase the Faradaic efficiency of CO2 electrolysers
Ancient DNA Identification of Salmon Remains
Full text linkIdentifying the species of animals represented by zooarchaeological remains is essential in studying past human and animal interactions. Salmon bones are tiny and often fragmented in archaeological contexts, causing difficulty in determining identification to the species level using only the morphological approach. Salmon harvesting practices can be illuminated through the identification of salmon species using ancient DNA (aDNA). This pilot study analyzed aDNA from eight vertebral salmon bone samples that were excavated, in north-central British Columbia, from conditions promoting excellent DNA preservation. These samples were prepared through various laboratory processes in order to clean and extract ancient DNA, which involved procedures that were conducted according to protocols to minimize as much contamination as possible. Sequence results were aligned and two phylogenetic trees were constructed using cytochrome b and D-loop (control region) sequences. Both phylogenetic trees showed consistent results. Current phylogenetic analysis reveals that of the eight samples, seven clustered with sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and one clustered with chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytcha), demonstrating that ancient DNA analysis can serve as a powerful tool in providing an important line of evidence that helps to identify ancient fish remains and to reconstruct past fishery strategy. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (cytochrome b and D-loop control region) were successfully recovered from all ancient remains, indicating a promising preservation condition for further studies
The Genetic Dissection of Shieldin
No full textMultiple DNA repair pathways have evolved over the course of cell evolution. Homology-directed repair (HDR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) are two known pathways that can act in an antagonistic manner when facing DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs). BRCA1 and 53BP1 are DNA repair proteins of the HDR and NHEJ pathways, respectively. In the event of BRCA1 mutation, HDR is rendered defective, allowing the accumulation of carcinogenic mutations that lead to PARPi-sensitive breast and ovarian cancers. PARPi chemotherapeutic drug toxicity in BRCA1-deficient cancer cells is mediated by 53BP1, which in addition to its role in NHEJ, suppresses HDR. Here, we set out to investigate the genetics of shieldin, a four-subunit protein complex downstream of 53BP1 in NHEJ. Specifically, the gene interaction type between individual shieldin subunits, as it relates to their role in HDR suppression, is probed. It is hypothesized that each subunit has a distinct role in contributing to shieldin function, and hence necessary for HDR suppression. The approach involves utilization of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity, and RAD51 focus formation assays. Altogether, the present study aims to assess the mechanistic basis underlying shieldin function and contribution to HDR suppression in PARPi-sensitive BRCA1-deficient cells.