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Faculty members’ use of artificial intelligence to grade student papers: a case of implications
Get PDFThis paper presents the case of an adjunct university professor to illustrate the dilemma of using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to grade student papers. The hypothetical case discusses the benefits of using a commercial AI service to grade student papers—including discretion, convenience, pedagogical merits of consistent feedback for students, and advances made in the field that yield high-quality work—all of which are achieved quickly. Arguments against using AI to grade student papers involve cost, privacy, legality, and ethics. The paper discusses career implications for faculty members in both situations and concludes with implications for researchers within the discourse on academic integrity.The Brock Library Open Access Publishing Fun
Intimate Deathscapes: Examining Alternative Discourses of the Dead Body and Death Care Spaces
Get PDFOver the last two centuries Western death care has undergone a gradual process of defeminization,
professionalization, and medicalization. It has also grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry and is now
facing criticism for practices that are financially exploitive, environmentally harmful, and contribute to
the invisibilization of death. Over the last decade, alternative understandings of death and death care
practices have begun to emerge in response to these criticisms. Some of these alternative
understandings come from death care workers who espouse the benefits of engaging with death. In this
thesis I examine the spaces of the dead body and death care spaces, which I refer to as intimate
deathscapes. To consider the formation of subjectivities and knowledge production within intimate
deathscapes, this thesis examines three autobiographies from death care workers (Doughty, 2014;
Nadle, 2006; Wilde, 2017). The authors make compelling claims about the positive influence that can
come from more engagement with death, which differ significantly from dominant discourses that
pathologize death and cloak it in negativity and fear. Alternatively, they propose embracing mortality as
a way of improving one’s life. I conclude that their material engagement with dead bodies, as
represented in these texts, effects an epistemic shift in relation to death. Employing a material feminist
framework, I argue that the spatiality and materiality of deathscapes influences the formation of
subjectivities, and it is the relational and emergent subjectivities of the living and agencies of the dead
that together produce an alternative knowledge about death, and consequently life. This knowledge
contests the pathologization of the dead body and instead considers the potentially beneficial effects of
more engagement with death. Therefore, in arguing that deathscapes are spaces from which these
alternative death epistemologies can emerge, I echo challenges to dominant death care practices and
support emerging discourses that propose more robust communication about death and call for changes
to death care as a means toward more meaningful engagement in intimate deathscapes
Analyzing Twitter Sentiment and Hype on Real Estate Market: A Topic Modeling Approach
Get PDFThis study examines the relation between sentiment and hype (intensity of coverage) on Twitter and the local housing market prices across 10 U.S. cities of the S&P/Shiller-Case Composite Home Price index from 2010 to 2021. Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling algorithm, we identify seven unique topics related to the housing market based on people's tweets: Households, Economic policy, Commercial real estate, Price and rate, Residential housing, Investing, and Future trends. We gather and analyze data on house price indexes, fundamental economic factors, and sentiment and hype scores for the discovered topics. The study finds that the sentiment of Price and rate, Residential housing, and Future trends are significantly and positively related to future house price changes. In contrast, the lags of sentiment of Commercial real estate and Investing have a negative relation with house price. Moreover, we document that hype scores not only have a positive relation with house price changes for all topics but also outperform sentiment scores for forecasting housing market prices. Overall, the study highlights the potential benefits of integrating social media data into existing economic models to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors driving fluctuations in the housing market
Joan Nicks Research Collection, 1910-2023, n.d.
Get PDFJoan Nicks is a retired faculty member in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture, and Film at Brock University. Her main research interest is the local popular culture of Niagara Falls. In 2002 she co-edited a book with Jeannette Sloniowski titled Slippery Pastimes: Reading the Popular in Canadian Culture, and in 2010 she co-edited a book with Barry Grant titled Covering Niagara: Studies in Local Popular Culture. In 2022 two books that she authored were published, titled Lost Movie Theatres, Niagara Falls, Ontario: movie-going in a cross-border city and Disappearing Motels, Niagara Falls, Ontario: cultural decline of a post-war travel icon.The collection contains material compiled by Joan Nicks while conducting research about local popular culture in Niagara Falls, Ontario. She is the author of two books, titled Lost Movie Theatres, Niagara Falls, Ontario: movie-going in a cross-border city and Disappearing Motels, Niagara Falls, Ontario: cultural decline of a post-war travel icon. Most of the material consists of video and audio cassettes of interviews, photographs, and slides. Some of the photographs show performers in blackface. Some promotional material and legal documents concerning Niagara Falls theatres is also included, as well as a map of “Little Italy” in Niagara Falls (1922)
Heterozygous SOD2 deletion selectively impairs SERCA function in the soleus of female mice.
Get PDFThe sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) restores intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+ ]i ) to resting levels after muscle contraction, ultimately eliciting relaxation. SERCA pumps are highly susceptible to tyrosine (T)-nitration, impairing their ability to take up Ca2+ resulting in reduced muscle function and increased [Ca2+ ]i and cellular damage. The mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), converts superoxide radicals into less reactive H2 O2 . Heterozygous deletion of SOD2 (Sod2+/- ) in mice increases mitochondrial oxidative stress; however, the consequences of reduced SOD2 expression in skeletal and cardiac muscle, specifically the effect on SERCA pumps, has yet to be investigated. We obtained soleus, extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and left ventricle (LV) muscles from 6 to 7 month-old wild-type (WT) and Sod2+/- female C57BL/6J mice. Ca2+ -dependent SERCA activity assays were performed to assess SERCA function. Western blotting was conducted to examine the protein content of SERCA, phospholamban, and sarcolipin; and immunoprecipitation experiments were done to assess SERCA2a- and SERCA1a-specific T-nitration. Heterozygous SOD2 deletion did not alter SERCA1a or SERCA2a expression in the soleus or LV but reduced SERCA2a in the EDL compared with WT, though this was not statistically significant. Soleus muscles from Sod2+/- mice showed a significant reduction in SERCA's apparent affinity for Ca2+ when compared to WT, corresponding with significantly elevated SERCA2a T-nitration in the soleus. No effect was seen in the EDL or the LV. This is the first study to investigate the effects of SOD2 deficiency on muscle SERCA function and shows that it selectively impairs SERCA function in the soleus.The Brock Library Open Access Publishing Fun
Letter by Josiah Hill to Thomas Stovall, March 13, 1814
Get PDFA letter by Josiah Hill, Sacketts Harbor, March 13, 1814, addressed to Thomas Stovall, Lincolnton, Georgia. Hill writes that “…I am stationed at the damned[?] place that ever was, the Yankees here is the Greatest[?] villains that I ever saw. I have went through a thousand scenes since I saw you. I made my escape from Niagara, the enemy is within 30 miles of us, their soldiers desert from them every opportunity, they are obliged to keep a guard to prevent them…There is 3 vessels at this place that will be ready by the time that the ice brakes up…
J.A. Léon Bassot fonds, 1864-1910, n.d.
Get PDFJean Antonin Léon Bassot (1841-1917) was a French General, astronomer and geodesist who spent most of his career in the French Army. He served in the War with Germany in 1870, was taken captive, and remained in Hamburg as a prisoner until the end of the war. Bassot then worked as a geodesist with the French Army before moving into more senior positions including assistant to General Francois Perrier (Head of the Geographical Service of the Army), then Head of the Geodesy Section in 1882, and finally director of the Geographical Service in 1898.
Bassot was involved in many important projects during his career. From 1870 to 1894 he remeasured the Paris Meridian with Perrier in France and Algeria. In 1882 he travelled to St. Augustine, Florida, as part of a mission by the Academy of Sciences to observe the transit of Venus. The expedition was led by Francois Perrier. Scientists were sent to different parts of the world to view this important event, which is a rare occurrence that happens approximately twice in an 8-year interval every 120 years. It most recently occurred in 2004 and 2012. Observations from the transit were used to determine the solar parallax and calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun. For this work, Bassot was awarded the Lalande Prize by the Academy of Sciences in 1883.
Bassot was also involved in politics, representing Mirebeau-sur-Beze to the General Council of the Côte d’Or from 1884 to 1892. In 1904 he was appointed Director of the Nice Observatory and remained in this position until his death in 1917. He was also President of the International Geodetic Association from 1903 to 1917 and presided over their conferences in 1906, 1909, and 1912.The fonds contains material related to the work of French geodesist and
astronomer J.A. Léon Bassot. Most of the material is correspondence written in French to his wife while travelling for his professional projects from 1881 to 1884, including the Academy of Science expedition to St. Augustine, Florida to observe the transit of Venus in 1882. He travelled through New York, Niagara Falls and Montreal, and wrote a letter from the Clifton House describing his experience of observing the Falls. There is also a menu from the Clifton House. Several letters describing the transit of Venus are also included. Other correspondence covers his geodesic activities in Paris and Nice in 1881 and 1882, as well as his campaign for regional political office in 1884
Growing up Gay in Vietnam: Seeing and Experiencing the World through Multimodal Visual Autoethnography
Get PDFIn this multimodal visual autoethnography, I examine my experiences as a gay child and student,
and later on as a scholar in Vietnam, a heteronormative society. Framed by visual identity
constructs, I focus on landscapes of being, belonging, and becoming in my family life and at high
school. Visual identity constructs refer to how I constructed and performed my non-conforming
identity visually as a gay boy in Vietnam through a clothed and accessorized body. My dissertation
work contributes to a growing body of scholarly literature on the experiences of Vietnamese gay
people, including young men’s visual identities and gender performances in social, cultural, and
educational contexts, such as schools and in the popular media.
I draw on identity construction theory, gender hegemony theory, queer theory, and
intersectionality to build the theoretical framework. Data was collected from my memories via
multiple methods: art-journaling and writing-stories. I viewed writing as a method of inquiry and
analysis together with thematic analysis to unpack my memory data. The findings are narrative
worlding vignettes arranged into key themes, which indicate the framing and reforming of my
visual identity constructs. The theme-based vignettes show the vulnerability and danger of
contested conventions I encountered and the influence of social; familial; and cultural factors,
including my parents, especially my father and grandfather, my gay friends, and Asian male pop
stars on my performativity. My study serves as a call for young gay people to be represented in
education settings, especially in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam. Schools should become more
accepting and inclusive for this community
Investigating the role of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor content and signalling on Amyloid Precursor Protein processing
Get PDFAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, multifactorial, neurodegenerative disorder putatively linked to aging. The major pathological hallmark of AD is amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, which is regulated through the activity of beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1). As such, understanding BACE1 regulation is crucial in the development of AD preventive strategies. It has been demonstrated that an acute bout of exercise can reduce BACE1 activity and content; however, the mechanism behind this regulation is unknown. One potential mediator of the exercise-induced reductions of BACE1 is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Studies indicate that exercise-induced changes in cognition and neuronal health require the synthesis, release, and binding of BDNF to its receptor. However, in AD, there is a reduction in synaptic plasticity, cognitive function, and BDNF content. The purpose of this thesis was to determine a viable method to elevate BDNF levels to modulate BACE1 activity and to determine the exact mechanisms by which BDNF can elicit this effect. In study 1 we aimed to determine if subcutaneous injections of recombinant BDNF would elicit a similar effect on amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing as observed with exercise. I found that peripheral BDNF injections improved cognitive performance, reduced BACE1 activity in the prefrontal cortex. In study 2, we explored a potential dietary intervention that may influence BDNF levels. Elevated beta-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) levels were previously established to elevate BDNF through epigenetic modifications. Therefore, we examined the effect of oral β-OHB supplementation on BDNF and (APP) processing. I determined that β-OHB supplementation was ineffective at elevating BDNF levels and did not improve cognition. However, β-OHB supplementation did reduce BACE1 activity. Finally, despite demonstrating a link between BDNF and BACE1 activity, the exact mechanism connecting them has remained elusive. The final purpose of this thesis was to examine how BDNF can modulate BACE1 activity. I conclude that BDNF appears to be eliciting a regulatory role on BACE1 activity through GSK3β inhibition. Taken together, this thesis highlights potential therapeutic strategies to target BACE1 modulation and elucidates a mechanism by which BDNF acts, thus allowing for more targeted therapeutic approaches in the future
The Ultimate Power of Religiosity-Local Religiosity and CEO Gender Pay Gap
Get PDFIn this study we focus on the effect of local religiosity on the probability of hiring female incoming CEOs while transitions, and how local religiosity relates to female CEO compensation. Given that all major religions facilitate patriarchy contributing to gender stratification, justifying men’s hierarchical superiority to women, we predicted that local religiosity is negatively related to appointing and remunerating female CEOs. We found no evidence that local religiosity relates to the probability of appointing a female incoming CEO. Moreover, using both a longitudinal as well as propensity scored matched sample, results indicate that local religiosity slightly negatively relates to the level of CEO compensation for male CEOs as opposed to the positive and significant association with the level of female CEO remuneration. Contrary to predictions, local religiosity shifted pay discrimination against female CEOs in secular states to their favor in religious states