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The Acadian Expulsion of 1755 as an Expression of British Imperial Interests
No full textThis paper seeks to answer the question “why did the British Empire expel the Acadians from their homeland in 1755?” Despite the simplicity of the question, the answer is decidedly more complex. This essay goes through the many factors contributing to their deportation, from historical equivalents that proved the expulsion was not an isolated event, the Acadians’ inability to comprehend what was coming and respond accordingly as well as their refusal to sign oaths of allegiance, and the British designs for Acadia as a potential Protestant colony suitable for economic growth and defence against the French Empire. This paper also discusses the significant roles individual actors like William Shirley and Charles Lawrence played by acting on their own accord, and how the British justified an act many considered reprehensible, even in the 18th century, due to it being part of a wider Imperial attitude.
Canadian Veteran\u27s Headstones and What They Can Tell Us
No full textThis paper was an exercise that stepped outside of my comfort zone, as an undergraduate history student, by gathering data in the field before contextualizing it with a healthy dose of library research. This task involved visiting a cemetery, determining a research question and then answering it by gathering data on site before contextualizing the findings with existing sources. The synthesis of gathering one’s own data and supporting it with a more traditional exploration of secondary research before expressing unique findings was an exhilarating experience. This paper explores the information gathered from Canadian Veterans headstones found in the Victoria Lawn Cemetery in St. Catharines, Ontario while focusing on key variables such as age at death, distribution of service branches, and religious affiliations present on the headstones.
On Transhumanism by Stefan L. Sorgner
No full textThis is a book review of Stefan L. Sorgner\u27s "On Transhumanism" (2020). The paperback version of the book has just been released
Risk and Uncertainty in Youth Sport: A Philosophical Look at Specialization
No full textAn increasing number of children playing sports face pressure (both parental and societal) to specialize at an early age, to focus exclusively on one sport with the hope of securing a college scholarship. So-called “travel teams,” once the domain of tweens and teens, now extends to the very youngest children, with athletes (and parents) traveling exceedingly long distances, and spending large sums of money, virtually year-round.Through the course of this paper, I glean from both American philosophical themes, and current literature related to social change, to help at least partially answer this question regarding youth sport specialization. I contend that these conceptual ideas help provide language for us to think more clearly about some of the issues surrounding youth sport specialization.To begin, the potential downsides of youth sport specialization are patently clear. Focusing on one particular sport at a young age presents latent hazards. At an appropriate point, however, this specialization holds the potential for exploring the notion of commitment in extremis. After engaging in multiple sport options during elementary school years, the adolescent soccer player, for example, may decide to pursue the “beautiful game” to see what potential it may bring.My aim is to examine sport participation, specifically during the process where youth become committed to a particular sport. In this way, I move from issues of early exploration with youth sport to issues related to commitment and immersion. My contention is that youth sport participants who choose to focus on a particular sport, to make it their own, and make this decision (largely) on their own – act in a way which is consistent with the language of American philosopher, William James. James is fitting here, as Ilundain-Agurruza (2015) explains, because his works are “suited for a holistic conception of enactive performance . . . [and include a focus on] asceticism and risk, and those regarding cognition and action” (p. 259)
African International Teaching Assistants’ Experience of Racial Microaggressions in a Canadian Higher Education Institution
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Pervasive racial microaggressions (subtle and everyday racist acts) continue to challenge African international teaching assistants (AITAs) who strive to create conducive learning environments for students in a Canadian university. This qualitative study drew from racial microaggression theory and gathered data through semi-structured individual interviews to examine seven former AITAs’ experiences of racism in their teaching assistant (TA) duties. Findings indicated that non-Black students doubted AITAs’ subject-matter expertise, undermined their English communication skills, and often exhibited aggressive behaviours. Suggestions were made for current and future AITAs, course instructors, and universities that hire them to help improve the quality of AITAs’ duties and their students’ learning experiences. As previous studies largely overlook AITAs’ experiences with racial microaggressions, this study makes significant contributions to the literature that, in turn, can inform policy.
Designing Professional Development for Sustainable Educational Technology Usage: Lessons Learnt from Utah K-12 Teachers
No full textProfessional development (PD) programs do not always reach the teacher or allow for sustained usage of technology. However, recent studies show that teachers are more open to use technology after increased technology dependence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivated by that new openness to technology integration, we used interview and survey data to examine teachers’ current practices for learning technology, features of PD that they consider effective and technologies that they want to learn in the future. We found that teachers learn technology in both formal and informal ways, through district-organized PD, independent learning and or by asking for help from peers. We also learned what kinds of technologies teachers want to learn more about, and that active learning and lack of cognitive overload are two of the most important features of PD for teachers in our study. Based on those findings, we offer three concrete recommendations for PD program designers.
The Human Age in Education
No full textAmerican society is riddled with political corruption variously called graft, scams, scandals, or other description. In fact, misfeasance is so widespread a majority of our citizens believe that all optimistic predictions for the human race are examples of Pollyanna thinking. However, in spite of ubiquitous mischief, it is possible to identify clear-cut positive trends in our society. That is, despite the broad road of deviousness there remain constructive events that can lead to healthy outcomes. We need to remember the old truism, "It is an ill wind that blows no good." The purpose of this writing is to describe a path of hope that could become a viable alternative for a sig
Examination of the Effectiveness of Male and Female Educational Leaders: Who Made Use of the Invitational Leadership Style Of Leadership
No full textThe purpose of this inquiry was to examine the effectiveness of male and female educationalleaders who made use of the invitational leadership style of leadership in their k-12 schoolsettings. Study participants consisted of 14 principals (7 female and 7 male) and 164 teachers.While quantitative findings revealed a statistically significant difference between the usages ofinvitational leadership qualities in effective schools versus less effective schools, there were nodifferences based on gender. Follow-up interviews with teachers and principals established thatteachers believed that the invitational qualities of respect and trust were the most influentialleadership qualities, while principals viewed trust as the predominant influencing factor