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Convicting the Innocent: An Analysis of the Effects of Wrongful Convictions and Available Remedies
No full textThroughout North America, thousands of individuals have been incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, or crimes that never occurred. The literature on wrongful convictions has largely addressed how eyewitness testimony, tunnel vision, forensic errors, and false confessions contribute to wrongful convictions. However, this growing body of research largely neglects the experiences of exonerees and their re-integration into the society that turned on them. This study addresses this deficit in the literature by analyzing case characteristics and demographics of the dozens of known exonerees in Canada. By analyzing demographics such as race, education, age, and gender, we can begin to determine risk factors, how incarceration and wrongful conviction impacts this unique group of people, and what factors lead to successful, or unsuccessful reintegration. A greater understanding of exoneree characteristics and reintegration is imperative in addressing the failures of the criminal legal system and to protecting exonerees.
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Gail Anderson, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser Universit
Design, Synthesis and Characterization of Quantum Paraelectric Modified Multiferroic Materials
Get PDFThere are three ferroic properties: (1) ferromagnetism, a material’s ability to be attracted to magnets (iron), (2) ferroelasticity, a material’s ability to remain stable in multiple different structures and (3) ferroelectricity, a material’s ability to become reversibly polarized when an electric field is applied to it. Multiferroics have all three of these properties. These materials show great potential technological applications in data storage systems, sensors and transducers.
The materials which exhibit ferroic properties crystallize into a perovskite crystal structure. This presentation discusses the magnetic and electrical properties of the multiferroic material BiFeO3. This research project involves modifying BiFeO3 with EuTiO3 to create BiFeO3-EuTiO3 (BFET) ceramics with EuTiO3 content varying from 1.0-12.5%. Structural analysis shows that the prepared BFET solid solutions crystallize into a perovskite structure. With 10% and 12.5% EuTiO3 content, the structures are rhombohedral (a=b≠c sides of cube) and pseudo-cubic (a=b=c sides of cube), respectively. The dielectric properties of a material can be used as a metric for its ability to store energy. Our work showed that as the EuTiO3 content increases, the dielectric properties also increase, meaning that BiFeO3-EuTiO3 is able to store more electrical energy than BiFeO3. This trend correlates to a decreasing grain size in the ceramic.
Also, compared to pure BiFeO3 these materials show improved ability to withstand an external electric field without becoming depolarized. Furthermore, magnetic measurements indicate that the substitution of EuTiO3 induces ferromagnetism at room temperature, thus making BiFeO3-EuTiO3 a true multiferroic material.
Faculty Supervisor:Dr. Zuo-Guang Ye, Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser Universit
Sound Event Detection and Recognition in Autonomous Robot Navigation
Get PDFWhile many elders of our communities live alone or do not have constant support of a person watching over them, an artificially intelligent navigator robot can potentially patrol the living environment to provide consistent activity detection and recognition to alert them of any threats or dangers, call for emergency support if needed, as well as becoming customized to provide assistance or reminders for the user’s daily routines and activities. The focus of this presentation is the process of utilizing various engineering tools with a multidisciplinary approach to the concept of sound activity detection and recognition, as the aural layer of a multi-modal AI-based sensing system developed for elderly care. Therefore, how sound behaves in a physical and natural sense, and its signals through the tools of technology will be first discussed. The knowledge of how the world of AI uses these precisely quantifiable behaviors of sound to detect and recognize various sound events are then presented to build the foundation for the more hands-on side of the research. The Oculus Prime Navigator Robot which is equipped with various sensors such as RGB and depth cameras, as well as a directional microphone array, allow the active real-time detection of human activities in the living environment, which can also be demoed to the audience.
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Shahram Payandeh, School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser Universit
Mixed Expression of Body and Self Love
No full textWe all are uneasy for whatever reasons and is afraid for the future.
What we’ll become, what our life will become.
How all things will transform into different shapes, and at some point and we simply cannot stop it because that is life.
We are humans but are we really self conscious?
What is life?
How do we define our selfs?
There are too many ways to describe the life you’re having. Your own personal reality, and so I wanted to express the angst inside me on a piece of paper
Exploring the correlation between obesity and cardiovascular health in two countries with different development levels: The United States of America and India
No full textBy conducting research on the correlation between obesity and cardiovascular health in two countries where there is a large variety in the populations, effects one variable has on another can be noted. Even though obesity is solely one of many risk factors for cardiovascular disease, it has recently received high levels of medical attention in recent years and some of that attention has transferred over to the public eye. It has been noted by scientists that excess abdominal fat can impact the structure and function of the heart. Obesity triggers the inflammatory processes to harm the cardiovascular system through structural and functional changes. These risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol abnormalities. The inflammation increases plaque formation which can eventually lead to blood clots to cause heart-related complications. Obesity can also enlarge the heart due to untreated high blood pressure. The public will gain valuable knowledge and benefit from being informed on potential causative agents of obesity and cardiovascular disease from this essay. This epidemic is mainly caused by lifestyle, involving eating habits, and exercise. Obesity poses a risk for several cardiac events which can be life-threatening. Instead of age, genetics, and gender which are three of the most prominent, non-modifiable risk factors, focus will be placed on modifiable risk factors including BMI values. This essay raises awareness among the general public on this potentially lethal issue. There will most likely be readers who do not have advanced education in the human body and do not understand how significantly the heart can be affected by a poor diet and weight gain. This essay aims to explain complex concepts about the biology of the heart and the factors affecting its health in simple and interesting techniques which would be fascinating for laymen
A Place of Resistance: Oppenheimer Park, East Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
Get PDFThis paper was originally written for Dr. John Irwin’s Geography 100 course Our World: Introducing Human Geography. The assignment asked students to describe an urban landscape, its history and development, and the ways that people have used and continue to use it, tying it in with a clear thesis and concepts discussed in the course. The assignment includes photos from the urban landscape and uses APA citation style
Playing God: Parallels Between Ithaca’s Royal Family and their Patron Goddess
Get PDFThis paper was originally written for Dr. Ken Seigneurie’s World Literature 100 course What is World Literature? The assignment was to write a literary paper on a course text, with little to no outside research. The objective of the assignment was to develop close-reading abilities in the context of an argumentative academic essay. The paper uses MLA citation style
recipes for when you are (home)sick: embracing my home for the first time, in another country.
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Assassinating “the muscular hook of my cock”: Hayes Condemns White Supremacy
Get PDFThis paper delves into the intricate literary and poetic techniques Terrance Hayes uses in his rhetoric against the state of America’s administration and ideological stance as of 2018, primarily such an ideology’s uncanny reflection of its bleak slave histor