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POSTER: How Do Students Choose Elective Courses?
Get PDFThis study will use survey data from business students to examine how they choose elective courses. The study will focus on following three characteristics: professor characteristics, teaching style characteristics and course characteristics. In particular, this study will aim to identify the information sources that students use while selecting elective courses. The results of this study will benefit both faculty and administrators. Faculty will know what teaching style changes they need to make to attract more students to their courses. Administrators will know what kind of information they need to provide so that students can make informed choice about elective course
Buy, Sell or Hold? Valuing the Stock of a Mid-Cap Canadian Company: CAE Inc.
No full textThere are two main ways to value a stock price, through technical analysis (which involves looking at charts and statistics to track the movement of a stock to determine its future share price) and fundamental analysis. The latter involves research into the company’s financial statements, economic conditions, and other market factors, to find the intrinsic value (or true market value) of the business. The intrinsic value can then be used to determine the fair price of a share. Once a fair price has been calculated, it can be compared to the current price on the market to determine whether or not that price is overvalued or undervalued.
The main purpose of this poster is to look at some of the qualitative and quantitative data of a Canadian simulation company, CAE Inc., to determine whether or not the underlying business fundamentals support the actual price that is trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. We began by calculating the firm’s capital structure, which after finding the cost of debt and cost of equity helped us calculate the weighted average cost of capital of the firm. We then used different valuation methods, including the Free Cash Flow to Equity method and the Market Multiples approach, to come up with a share price that we felt fairly reflected the company’s true value over the next 12 months. Our newly determined share price provided us with the ability to make a Buy, Sell, or Hold recommendation
Positive Alternative Outcomes Increase Counterfactual Affect With No Moderator Effects
No full textFollowing negative experiences, individuals commonly engage in counterfactual thinking (thinking about different outcomes) to make sense of an event. We aimed to replicate Boninger et al.’s research on counterfactual thinking, which employed a story-reading paradigm to test the influence of outcome change, temporal focus, salience of learning, and Consideration of Future Consequences on ratings of negative emotion. They found that feelings of regret and self-blame could be ameliorated when individuals focused on the future, were prompted to learn from the experience, and had a trait tendency to consider future consequences after reading a positive alternative outcome. The present study was completed by two hundred and three undergraduate psychology students on a device of their choice. Participants read one of two scenarios (outcome change or no change) describing an athlete losing a race. Temporal focus and salience of learning were manipulated, and participants completed measures of consideration of future consequences and counterfactual emotion. Consistent with the original research, results indicated a main effect of outcome change. There was a significant interaction between outcome change, temporal focus, and salience of learning on ratings of feeling bad. No other effects were significant. The findings highlight difficulties with replicating psychological research. In contrast to the original study, more stringent manipulation checks, online delivery of the study, and questionable relevance of the scenario to today’s participants may have contributed to lower engagement. Future research would benefit from considering the challenges of conducting contemporary replications of past studies
Biomineralization by Bacteria Isolated from Iron Curtain Cave Popcorn Speleothem Samples
No full textCaves are home to a wide variety of microbes which are able to survive and thrive in hypogenic environments. Caves present an extreme habitat to many species, with low levels of organic matter, cold temperatures, no light, and high mineral content. However, the unique conditions in caves may support microorganisms with uncommon metabolic pathways, including some microbes that can precipitate calcium carbonate and other minerals as a by-product of their distinctive metabolic activities. Through the precipitation of minerals onto their surfaces, microbes contribute to the formation of many cave structures, like speleothems (secondary mineral deposits). The objectives of this research are to isolate the microbes in popcorn speleothems and characterize their ability to precipitate calcium carbonate in a lab setting by growing them in B4 medium, a precipitation medium. So far, the isolation of bacteria from the popcorn speleothem has yielded 35 bacterial isolates. In addition, chemical analysis of the cave speleothems by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry is used to determine what minerals are present in the environment the microbes are living in. As cave bacteria are representative of early life on Earth, understanding the role they play in the carbon cycle shows us how they may have facilitated the development of other lifeforms by reducing carbon dioxide in the environment. In addition, studies of biomineralization may provide evidence for potential heavy metal bioremediation practices, as many bacteria and fungi have high heavy metal tolerance. Furthermore, microbial mineral precipitation has potential applications in the development of biocements for building materials
Reducing Disaster Vulnerability in the Rural-Urban Fringe
No full textUrban growth can often result in people and property moving to places where they will be at risk when disaster strikes. This research discusses how to apply improvements that boost the ability of a region to reduce its own vulnerability in the event of a disaster, to provide some sort of resilience to a neighboring region, and to reduce the difficulty of mobilizing support between two other regions. Our principal conclusions are that cost effective improvements can be made on the Rural-Urban Fringe to reduce vulnerability to disaster for a region. We further conclude that improvements in the RUF have positive impacts in adjacent areas. Our methods were based on literature review. We examine case studies such as the fires that have troubled many Australian communities, as well as the recent fires and related incidents in California. For each case study we discuss the policies that lead to losses, how city planners and policy makers have adapted since the incident occurred, and what still needs to be considered for future adaptations. Our results are a series of ideas, processes, and checklists that can be used by planners and stakeholders to develop disaster resilience
Effective Policies to Ensure Healthy Urban Sprawl
No full textUrban sprawl can be described as a natural response to modern technologies and changing lifestyles. It has been stimulated in part by the general perception that sees rural areas as idyllic, by an overall increase in household wealth, and by the accessibility to the central city that massive public investments in road construction have afforded suburban residents. Sprawl, however, comes at a price for urban populations and for the physical environment, and it is vital to develop policies and follow planning practices that lead to more sustainable forms of urban development. Case studies on major urban centers will assist me in critically examining the consequences of urban sprawl on the environment, on quality of life and on public infrastructure. Over the last 70 years, Vancouver and Seattle show examples of both effective and deficient policies and planning practices. New, innovative urban policies and planning practices proposed to alleviate the negative impact of sprawl are reviewed
Why Birds Cheat: Do Female American Redstarts Choose Extra-pair Partners to Increase Offspring Heterozygosity?
No full textIn many bird species, females form monogamous social bonds with their mates; however, in approximately 75% of these species, females will “cheat” on their partners and sire offspring with extra-pair males. One theory suggests that females genetically similar to their social partners will mate with extra-pair males in order to produce higher quality offspring that are more heterozygous (genetically diverse). Heterozygosity has been linked to traits, such as immune response and feather colouration, that increase reproductive fitness in birds. Our study focussed on the American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), which has up to 40% of nestlings fathered by extra-pair males. Breeding males have patches of bright orange feathers produced by carotenoid pigments which may be used by females to determine the sexual attractiveness of the male. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not American redstart females engage in extra-pair mating to sire extra-pair offspring that are more heterozygous than within-pair offspring. In addition, we investigated the relationship between heterozygosity and carotenoid plumage colouration, a trait associated with fitness in redstarts. Genotype data was previously collected for American redstarts over the years 2004-2011, and was analyzed using R software to determine parameters related to heterozygosity. I used JMP statistical software to examine relationships between the heterozygosity parameters, extra-pair paternity, and carotenoid plumage colouration. Our results should give insight into why female American redstarts chose to have extra-pair offspring with certain males and if these offspring are of higher quality than within-pair offspring
City Environment - Crime Prevention in Outdoor Urban Spaces
No full textCrime has been occurring in our urban centres since cities were first formed. From pick-pocketing on the streets of London to murder in the heart of Rome, each form of crime has a different root cause and subsequently, each requires a tailored solution. This presentation focuses on “outdoor” crime, which is a crime where the outdoor environment plays a dominant role in how and when a crime takes place. The main question asked is: is it possible to design safe outdoor places by simply altering the physical environment and changing our urban design? This presentation reviews the literature on how forward-thinking urban planning and innovative site design can contribute to deterring ‘outdoor’ criminal behaviour in our urban places. By reducing crime opportunities and creating a heightened sense of risk for the offender, it is possible to build communities in which everyone, no matter the age, gender, or ethnicity, feels valued and safe. People that feel safe are more likely to use amenities near their homes, walk the streets, and let their children play in the parks. A happy community is a safe community
Closing Remarks
No full textJoin us in the IB foyer as we thank everyone who made the conference possible. Have a final coffee and cookie, finish those research discussions started in earlier sessions, and join us in congratulating everyone on a job well done
Examining Social Media Panel: The Role of Influencers in the Digital Era
No full textStudents from Lecturer Blair McDonald\u27s CMNS 3210: Digital Communities, provide an in-depth examination of today\u27s leading social media influencers. As part of these presentations, students will discuss their impact, popularity and persuasive impact on a variety of audiences and demographics. Furthermore, students consider the ways in which these influencers play a role in re-shaping how contemporary audiences engage, follow and participate with media online outside of traditional, broadcast platforms