Mount Royal University: MRU Journal System
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The Evolution of DNA and its Impact on Sexual Assault Case Prosecution
Full text linkThe evolution of DNA technology has revolutionized forensic science and the identification of violent offenders. For decades, recidivist offenders terrorized communities across the globe with little chance of ever being identified. The discovery of PCR testing, STR DNA profiling, and the creation of the CODIS system have changed the forensic and law enforcement landscapes, making offender identification across state lines possible. In 2018, FGG burst onto the scene, creating a new tool in the forensic toolbox to help identify unknown DNA profiles and solve cases that would otherwise be unsolved. It has helped to take violent offenders off the street and provided justice to victims and their families across the globe. While there are still limitations to its use and ethical considerations to be considered, the use of FGG continues to be pivotal in the investigation and prosecution of violent offenders
The Comfort of Madness: How Society\u27s Need to Pathologize Violence Undermines Justice and Stigmatizes Mental Illness
Full text linkThis conceptual analysis examines society\u27s reflexive attribution of violent crime to mental illness, a phenomenon that profoundly shapes forensic nursing practice. Through composite case studies, the paper explores how psychological defense mechanisms, media dynamics, and diagnostic politics converge to create false narratives about the relationship between mental illness and violence. The analysis reveals that society\u27s rush to pathologize criminal behavior serves multiple defensive functions: protecting just-world beliefs, maintaining psychological distance from human capacity for harm, and avoiding uncomfortable questions about systemic issues. The misapplication of trauma research, diagnostic hierarchies favoring "sympathetic" conditions, and the neuroscience mystique further distort forensic assessment. Evidence consistently demonstrates that individuals with serious mental illness are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence, and that personality pathology, substance use, and ordinary human motivations are more common drivers of criminal behavior than psychiatric illness. For forensic nurses operating at the intersection of healthcare, law enforcement, and public sentiment, these societal patterns create unique challenges in maintaining diagnostic integrity while facing pressure from attorneys, families, media, and institutional stakeholders. The paper provides frameworks for forensic nurses to navigate these pressures through "diagnostic courage"—the willingness to deliver accurate assessments despite conflicting preferred narratives. By understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying society\u27s pathological need to pathologize, forensic nurses can better advocate for accurate understanding of both violence and mental illness, ultimately serving justice while protecting the dignity of those with genuine psychiatric conditions
L’intime au coeur du politique : le cas de Dominique Celis
Full text linkDans Ainsi pleurent nos hommes (Paris, Philippe Rey, 2022), premier roman de Dominique Celis, née en 1978 au Burundi, d’une mère rwandaise et d’un père belge, on lit les lettres qu’Erika, qui vit à Kigali, écrit à sa sœur, Lawurensiya, restée en Belgique, du 2 janvier au 31 décembre 2018. Cette étude montre d’abord l’amalgame entre l’histoire personnelle de la narratrice (voire de l’autrice) et le destin tragique d’un pays, entre le fictif et le témoignage, l’intime et le politique. L’horreur du génocide touche tous les personnages mais s’inscrit particulièrement douloureusement dans le corps des femmes. Quant à l’amour impossible entre Erika et Vincent, ancien guérillero Inkotanyi, il semble figurer l’impossibilité du vivre-ensemble exigé par les autorités rwandaises pour reconstruire le pays. L’analyse explore les techniques d’écriture permettant à Celis de dire l’horreur, tout en inscrivant l’œuvre dans une démarche décrite comme la « marche du cavalier » (Geneviève Brisac), propre au féminin. Le corps, ce cœur de l’échiquier, semble bien le seul lieu d’où l’autrice et ses personnages féminins peuvent considérer le monde, et d’où leurs attaques seront le plus efficace
Avoir un corps de femme – corporéité et espace dans le roman au féminin marocain : le cas de Leïla Slimani
Full text linkLa question du corps se pose dans tous les écrits de l’écriture féminine marocaine et demande une analyse particulière des frontières qui séparent l’espace masculin (espace public) de l’espace féminin (espace domestique). En s’appuyant sur l’œuvre de Leïla Slimani et la notion du harem invisible de Fatima Mernissi, cet article vise à interroger l’importance esthétique de l’espace au sein du roman au féminin et le lien intime entre les lois qui régissent la division spatiale des sexes et l’image patriarcale du corps féminin. Traditionnellement représenté dans l’imaginaire social comme un objet à posséder, le corps de la femme a longtemps été confiné à l’espace domestique tandis que la sexualité féminine a constitué la base de l’honneur familial. Slimani, comme ses consœurs, politise et remet en cause une telle image de la femme à travers des personnages féminins qui luttent pour se faire une place en dehors de la maison et de leurs rôles domestiques. Ainsi, les écrivaines marocaines contribuent à la création d’une nouvelle image de la femme qui ose dépasser les limites patriarcales imposées au corps féminin
Reconstructing Past Settlements through Soil Characterization: Vessagiriya, Sri Lanka
Full text linkInformation on soil layers deposited in different archaeological contexts can be used to explore past human settlements and activities. The objectives of this study were to characterize soils in the Vessagiriya archaeological site in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka and to study the variation of soil properties within different cultural phases identified in excavations. The artifacts recovered from different strata at Vessagiriya were chronologically positioned from prehistoric to Late Historic times in Sri Lanka. Soil samples were collected from five main soil strata that suggested anthropogenic activities. Soil texture, fine and medium sand fractions, soil organic matter, soil’s total and inorganic Phosphorus (P) proportions were determined for each layer. Relative proportions of inorganic P fractions significantly varied among the soil horizons. Specifically, stratum L5 showed a remarkably different relative proportion of inorganic P fractions indicating that it has been developed under different cultural phases. Fine sand/silt and medium sand/silt ratios at the Vessagiriya site were significantly different among soil layers indicating that the development of the soil profile had been impacted by external factors often associated with human activities
The Times of Ceylon Christmas Number Periodicals as Archaeological Artifacts for Examining the Colonial Era in Sri Lanka.
No full textAbstractThe Times of Ceylon Christmas Number (TCCN) publications, released each year from 1909 to 1979, serve as essential artifacts for piecing together Sri Lanka’s colonial history. By employing methods from archaeology, media studies, and historical analysis, this interdisciplinary research investigates these publications as complex representations of British colonialism. The study sheds light on the TCCN\u27s role in mediating colonial ideologies, hybridizing cultural identities, and documenting socio-economic transformations through an analysis of textual content, visual imagery, advertisements, and material features (such as typography and paper quality). The insights into print culture, consumerism, gender roles, and cross-cultural exchanges revealed by the periodicals position them as essential resources for historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists. This research promotes the incorporation of ephemeral print media into postcolonial studies, highlighting their importance in safeguarding intangible heritage and contesting Eurocentric historical narratives
Connections in a Liminal Space
Full text linkThis reflective paper is both a partial response to Dr. Julie Rattray’s opening keynote presentation, Travels in a Liminal Space: The Need for Guardians and Guides in SoTL, at the 2023 symposium, and an account of my journey to connection and revitalization through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). After burning out mid-career, I found myself struggling with my identity, not only as an academic but also outside of work. I was at a crossroads heading into the last decade or so of my career. In this reflection, I will explore SoTL identity, threshold concepts, and liminal spaces from my perspective as an instructor and educational developer in the college and polytechnic sector
AFN Journal Club Winter-Spring Reviews
Full text linkThis article summarizes the reviews of recent research completed by the AFN Journal Club. Articles are critiqued for quality and level of evidence
International Special Interest Group-SIG
Full text linkThis update is from the international Special Interest Group, outlining their current activities and welcoming new members
