Journals at Carleton University
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Caspase Activation in an In-Vitro Model of Parkinson’s Disease
No full textParkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder worldwide with a key hallmark of its pathology being the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SNc) due to intraneuronal accumulation of Lewy bodies. Lewy bodies form through the aggregation of the monomer alpha-synuclein protein (aSyn), which can misfold into toxic fibrils that disrupt cellular homeostasis and cause apoptosis. While there is no cure for PD, establishing good in-vitro models is essential to further research of the disease and to developing possible treatments and therapies. This study’s goal was to develop an in-vitro model of PD using SH-SY5Y cells that would allow us to test the properties of our DNA-aptamer, a-syn-1, in preventing aSyn aggregation and development of pathology. This model was created by differentiating the SH-SY5Y cells into N-type neuroblast-like cells using retinoic acid following either Protocol A (full media with 10% FBS) or Protocol B (reduced media with 1% FBS) before adding aSyn filbrils. The cells were then stained with a Caspase-3/7 Green reagent and a NucBlue counterstain and were imaged at 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h time points. We found that Protocol A showed no significant caspase activation at any of the timepoints and became overgrown with S-type epithelial-like cells after 94 h. Protocol B showed less cell proliferation and less S-type cells at the 94 h time point. Future studies will perform caspase testing on Protocol B to determine if it is the ideal in-vitro PD model before adding a-syn-1
User Experience and Design in a First Year Brightspace Course
No full textPower of Persuasion is a first year seminar (FYSM) course in Rhetoric. Student resources are important in this course because FYSMs are meant to introduce new students to university and develop academic skills. In this FYSM, students practice their reading and analytical skills in the context of rhetorical concepts with current examples of persuasion and argument. Therefore, much of the course content is renewed annually to stay relevant with events and student interests. Subsequently, the Brightspace course site has become overwhelmed with course material, becoming cluttered and distracting. Our project worked to improve the user experience (UX) of the Brightspace page by updating the content and design.
Addressing the content-related needs, we provided rhetorical analysis material by sourcing up-to-date opinion articles of relevance to students, and strategized how to guarantee the students would gain knowledge and give informed agreement to the Academic Integrity policies before beginning the course. Particularly, the student-partner was able to offer a valuable student and peer lens in searching for articles with a range of topics.
For the design, we resolved to improve the UX for both the students and the instructor. To do so, we decluttered the interface so the students could find what they needed with more ease, and organized the platform and backend of the course site to create a simpler experience for the instructor. The student-partner’s role was to generate and test possible solutions to the design problems, and to implement the ones that best suit our goal to improve UX
Disclosing Evidence in Investigative Interviews: What Can the Research Tell Us and What Does it Mean for Training?
No full textResearch shows that attempting to pressure and overwhelm interviewees to align with evidence by, for example, disclosing too much evidence at the earlier stages of an interview often results in unreliable statements and can facilitate opportunities for deceptive interviewees to deceive convincingly.
By encouraging interviewees to address the available evidence before disclosing it (late timing of disclosure) or drip-feeding the evidence throughout an interview (gradual method of disclosure), it becomes easier to elicit and explore statements that contradict available evidence; and these disclosure methods may encourage interviewees to reveal information that facilitate more accurate credibility assessments.
Due to the uncertainty and unpredictability of operational interviews compared to laboratory studies, training on evidence disclosure should focus on appropriate adaptive use rather than pure implementation of theoretical frameworks and protocols
A Rule of Thumb for Deception Detection: Focus Only on the Details
No full textPeople, including the police, are poor at detecting lies.
The level of detail in a statement speaks to its credibility – truthful statements contain more details than false statements.
Focusing solely on the level of detail in a statement, rather than considering multiple indicators, may improve lie detection abilit
Developing a Competency Framework for Police Incident Commanders
No full textThe competency framework developed from this study involves seven thematic categories with distinct and interrelated concepts essential for effective police incident command.
The selection and training of Incident Commanders (ICs) should consider both technical skills and also traits such as humility, emotional stability, and approachability, which are challenging to teach but vital for leadership and teamwork. To that end, traditional police training or years of experience are insufficient for the specific demands of incident command. Scenario-basedtraining is necessary to prepare ICs for situations they manage in this role.
Understanding how stress affects decision-making and providing stress management training can help improve the performance and well-being of ICs during incidents. 
The Hidden Cost: Mental Health Absences in Policing
No full textThe source article highlights the increasing trend of psychological illnesses and stress-related absences of officers in frontline and ‘Response’ roles in England and Wales.
Figures recorded between 2019 and 2023 indicate that absences related to psychological illness were rising at rates at least double those of other sickness absences.
Officers are facing significant challenges due to work-related stress, trauma, and psychological strain, which may be attributed to an increase in demand and a decrease in resourcing.
The findings emphasize the need for better mental health support, targeted interventions, and the development of policies aimed at mitigating workplace stress and its impacts on police officers’ wellbeing
Weaving Emancipatory Methodologies with Rights-based and Decolonial Threads? Critical reflections for participatory research with children
No full textIn the field of international development, the broad consensus amongst international NGOs about the meanings and methodologies covered under the umbrella term “child participation” overshadow ongoing debates in the field of critical childhood studies about rights-based approaches to child participation. In parallel, the importance of decolonial paradigms is increasingly acknowledged as being necessary dismantle the colonial and liberal worldviews that dominate child-focused theory and practice in international development and humanitarianism. This article seeks to explore the tensions in how child participation is understood and practiced in international development, particularly by international NGOs, and to inquire about the questions that emerge at the encounter between decolonial theory and rights-based child participation discourse. It presents critical analysis of key literature on participatory research in international development in general and child participation in particular, alongside auto-ethnographic reflections that highlight the experiences of co-authors who have taken part in child participation research and advocacy initiatives with international NGOs. The article concludes with reflections that invite a reimagining of child participatory practice in international development through a decolonial, pluriversal lens
From Ibadan, Nigeria to Canada: Intersections of colonialism, racism, and decoloniality
No full textAbstract
This reflection examines how colonialism and ongoing coloniality continue to shape children’s rights, language, and identity across African and diasporic contexts. Drawing from my lived experiences as a Nigerian born migrant, educator, and community development strategist, I explore the intersections between colonial education systems, racial discrimination, and the erosion of cultural continuity. Using the frameworks of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC, 1990), I analyze how systemic inequalities, from the suppression of the Yoruba language in Nigeria to racialized exclusion in Canada, constitute violations of children’s rights to culture, dignity, and non-discrimination. Through the lens of decoloniality, I frame education and child development as spaces for reclaiming identity, resisting Eurocentrism, and fostering justice oriented praxis. Ultimately, this reflection positions decoloniality as both a theoretical and lived practice, calling for the reimagining of childhood through anti-racist, culturally affirming, and rights based approaches that uphold children’s voices, agency, and knowledge across global and local contexts.
 
Exploring Data-Driven Approaches to Pattern and Form Development in Design
No full textThis study examines the potential of data-driven design in pattern-making and form development. It shifts the focus from traditional cultural or aesthetic influences to data itself, using visualization techniques like violin plots, Sankey diagrams, and heat maps to inform design. Artificial intelligence is employed to analyze sketches and identify patterns without cognitive biases, offering a repeatable method for translating abstract data into tangible design elements. A case study involving a furniture design project demonstrates how data visualization can guide form development, creating a coffee table inspired by a bar graph that captures the essence of a Canadian cottage experience. The research contributes to broader initiatives in computationally driven craft and product design, aiming to refine methodologies for systematically translating data into physical forms