SFU Library Digital Publishing (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver)
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A Review of Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
No full textAnnie Jacobsen’s book is simultaneously a linear account of a nuclear decapitation strike on the United States, a historical account of the development of fission and fusion weapons and the doctrines that inform their development, deployment and use and a scientific account of the consequences for life on earth of a global thermonuclear war. Jacobsen’s bestselling book is both gripping and helpful to those seeking a clearer understanding of the role that nuclear arsenals play in today’s turbulent geopolitics
Ensuring Canada's Prosperity During a Time of Economic Uncertainty
Full text linkOn March 20, 2025, Dr. Adam Chapnick presented Ensuring Canada’s Prosperity During a Time of Economic Uncertainty for the CASIS Vancouver March 2025 Digital Roundtable. 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 strengths and weaknesses of the Canadian economy; the evolving nature of Canadian trade relations and the resulting security implications; and the potential future challenges Canada will encounter in a shifting global economy
“Grandma says I am a little scientist.” Apprenticeship, Photo-Storytelling, and Identity
No full textTo participate in everyday STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) andperhaps aspire to be a STEM professional, children need to develop a “STEMperson” identity as welcome and capable investigators. This identity developmentcan begin at home where a family lives its culture of values, attitudes, and inter-ests. In this two and half year case study, I used auto ethnography to explore mydual identities as a science educator and grandmother to guide my granddaughter’sexplicit early STEM identity development as she baked Sabbath bread with me. Imodeled and mentored her through activity, conversation, and a photobook/read-ing technique. The book became a memory support and an identity artifact as arecord of what we did. It also allowed for her voluntary revisiting of the experience to repeat the storytelling of herself as an emergent, able STEM participant. The study suggests that I did contribute to my granddaughter’s science identity development, learning to adapt to her growth. The photo stimulated storytelling, now readily available to most families, might be a transferable technique to support STEM identity building in welcoming children into our community of practice as everyday scientists. Critically, family photos are images of a family’s culture, as were mine
Learning From Sustainability Enactment Grounded in Māori Worldviews Within Education Settings in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textRecent events have highlighted multiple crises of related to social justice, environmental sustainability, and the wider wellbeing of humanity. Education for sustainable development (ESD) has been a key plank of the United Nations’ endeavours towards social, cultural, economic, and ecological justice. Indigenous peoples have served as guardians of biodiversity and have developed time-honoured values systems and practices that preserve environmental wellbeing. In this paper we report on a recent study in Aotearoa New Zealand that aimed to identify approaches that reflect the pedagogical principles of ESD, with a particular focus on incorporating values and practices of Māori, the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa. Three education settings participated in this study: an Enviroschools kindergarten and primary school, and a wharekura, a Māori secondary school. The methodology was grounded in kaupapa Māori theory, qualitative and narrative. Findings highlighted ESD pedagogical principles of criticality, empowerment, and inter-disciplinarity as well as the embedding of te ao Māori (Māori worldviews) with a particular focus on kaitiakitanga (environmental stewardship) evident across the settings
Making, Materiality & Power
No full textEngaging minoritized youth in making to produce 3D or digital artifacts using a range of material tools in makerspaces have been deemed promising in democratizing STEM education. We problematize this assumption through reframing what it would mean for minoritized youth to author a Rightful Presence in STEM-rich making (making that draws on and further builds STEM knowledge and practices). Drawing on the Rightful Presence for justice-oriented teaching and learning framework and on longitudinal critical participatory ethnography across four community-based youth maker programs, this study unpacks the relationships between the materiality of making and the artifacts youth produce. Using four illustrative vignettes, we unpack how youth engaged in making to create artifacts necessary for their and their communities’ well-being, leveraging STEM-rich making toward a more rightful presence now and in the future. The sociopolitical interactions between materiality and relationality in youth making programs are discussed. 
Environmental Impact, Successes, and Challenges of a Statewide Green Schools Program
No full textThis paper evaluates the affect that Green School programs have on their local environment. The design of this study includes the assumption that Green School programs not only benefit students and teachers—while developing their environmental literacy and environmental stewardship—but that the program also provides essential ecological improvements. To perform this assessment, data excel sheets submitted by Maryland Green Schools (MDGS) from 2014-2019 were assessed to quantify environmental parameters and to demonstrate environmental advantages produced by this Green School program. Additionally, representatives from exemplar Greens Schools and random Green Schools across the state of Maryland were interviewed in order to identify factors contributing to the success of the Green Schools program as well as any challenges or barriers green schools are facing
Engaging the Urban Classroom with the Natural World
No full textIn this paper, the authors discuss an environmental education learning framework which was developed for an experiential course (an “[Un]Class”). Lessons learned are shared from teaching the course in an unintended blended in-person/online format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which occurred in Spring 2020. Impressions were developed from classroom observations along with an analysis of course assignments and a follow up focus group interview with students. Our continued work explores whether or not an urban university-level course, such as this [Un]Class, which brings preservice teacher candidates and biology majors out into nature in an experiential manner, impacts their likelihood to include such activities into their future (formal or informal) science instruction and more fully engage their own students in urban environmental learningscapes. 
Intergenerational Emotional Flourishing: Conceptualizing the Continuity of Positive Emotion Socilization Strategies Across Generations
No full textEmotion socialization (ES; i.e., strategies that minimize, dismiss, magnify, or reward emotions) is influenced by parents’ own understanding and expression of emotions—factors that are shaped by their socialization history (i.e., strategies used by their parents). The present discussion first summarizes parental ES strategies and discusses how these strategies differ between the socialization of negatively valenced and positively valenced emotions. Next, we review extant research on the intergenerational continuity of parenting practices in general, which focuses on maltreatment. We expand on this literature by highlighting the importance of considering the intergenerational continuity of ES strategies for positively valenced emotions (i.e., emotions that feel good to experience; e.g., pride, joy) and identify two mechanism that may play a role in the transmission of ES strategies pertaining to positively valenced emotions across generations: (1) parental expressivity of positively valenced emotions; and (2) children’s emotion schemas that are shaped by parental expressivity and, in turn, serve to inform children’s use of similar ES strategies with their own children down the line. A shift in focus from negatively valenced to positively valenced emotions in the area of intergenerational continuity may support family functioning and flourishing across generations.
Keywords— Emotion Socialization, Parenting, Positively Valenced Emotions, Parental Expressivity, Schemas, Emotional Flourishing
Impact of Optogenetic Activation of the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus on Sleep Architecture in Mice
Full text linkAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions worldwide and is often accompanied by significant sleep disturbances, such as sleep fragmentation, early awakenings, decreased sleep efficiency, and insomnia. It has been suggested that the alterations in activity of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) are closely associated with sleep disruptions in AD. Evidence suggests that activating neurons expressing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) within the TRN may enhance sleep quality and potentially ameliorate neuropathology associated with AD. However, the precise mechanisms through which TRN influences sleep disruptions and AD pathophysiology remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether activating GABAergic TRN neurons could alter sleep architecture in wild-type mice. Utilizing optogenetic stimulation, we observed that activation of these neurons did not significantly alter sleep state durations or delta wave power, a key indicator of Slow Wave Sleep (SWS). Furthermore, the application of a two-virus strategy inadvertently led to non-specific opsin expression beyond the targeted TRN area. We discuss the potential factors that contributed to these outcomes, providing directions for future investigations to better delineate the role of the TRN in sleep and AD.
Keywords— Thalamic Reticular Nucleus, Sleep, Alzheimer's Disease, Optogenetics