14589 research outputs found
Sort by
Validation and application of CRT-WP
Get PDF1 online resource (260 pages) : illustrations (some colour), graphsIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-205).This compilation of studies is focused on refining and applying the Conditional Reasoning Test for Workplace Psychopathy (CRT-WP). Building on the previous research of Cook and Roulin (under review), there are three areas for development, (1) investigating potential concerns with using the CRT-WP in practice such as language equivalence and potential adverse impact; (2) developing a faking-detection subscale; and (3) determining whether the CRT-WP works with real applicants undergoing a real selection process. These are the topics of Chapters 2 through 4 in the current research. Chapter 2 explores the potential factor structure of the measure and potential demographic and language equivalence differences through Item Response Theory. Chapter 3 is focused on developing a faking-detection sub-scale to the CRT-WP, since previous research shows CRTs can be faked when participants are aware of how the test works. Through three studies, this research explores how easy it is to identify faking-detection items developed for the CRT-WP, whether the faking-detection sub-scale can accurately identify fakers, and whether criterion-related validity is limited by fakers but restored for the sample when these people are removed. Chapter 4 was designed to use the CRT-WP in a longitudinal study with a large retail organization to demonstrate predictive validity with newly hired managers. Unfortunately, the original design and sample size for the study were unable to be met, leaving the remaining data as more of a proof-of-concept for how to conduct such a study rather than a definitive and conclusive exploration of predictive validity
Comparing the provision of ecosystem services of an anthropogenically modified salt marsh to a natural salt marsh
Get PDF1 online resource (xiii, 144, 12 pages) : illustrations (some colour), charts (some colour), graphs (some colour), colour mapsIncludes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-100).Natural marshes are valued for their biodiversity and ecosystem services. This research quantified the functions of ecosystem services (wave energy dissipation, habitat, primary productivity, blue carbon) of a natural salt marsh in the Acadian Peninsula, New Brunswick, and compared them to those of an anthropogenically modified salt marsh pre-restoration on the Chiasson Office Spit, adjacent to the Shippagan Gully. This is a habitat offsetting project to mitigate unavoidable alterations to Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) Critical Habitat. Maximum wave heights were measured from August – November 2022, vertical biomass distribution was analyzed using binarized images. Vegetation surveys were carried out and sediment cores were collected for carbon content and soil nutrient analysis. Key findings indicate that seasonal vegetation variability impacts wave energy dissipation, with the natural marsh exhibiting higher annual net primary productivity and greater carbon content than the modified salt marsh. This research provides essential data for coastal restoration and protection strategies
2024-02-16 Senate Minutes and Agendas
No full textMinutes and agenda for the February 16th, 2024 meeting of Saint Mary’s University Senate
The political imaginary of the protection of civilians (PoC) : the tension between militarism and humanitarianism in NATO and UN policy
Get PDF1 online resource (54 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 49-54).As a relatively new concept, Protection of Civilians (PoC) has only recently begun to be labelled as an explicit objective of interventions involving armed conflict. With its central focus being the protection of the lives of those not party to hostilities, PoC establishes itself as a fundamentally humanitarian concept. However, challenges to this humanitarian foundation emerge as PoC is coupled with interventions comprised of military components, i.e. militarism. This essay endeavors to shed light on the tension between humanitarianism and militarism within the concept of, and policies on, PoC. It advances the argument that these aspects of armed conflict and PoC clash against one another, each striving for prioritization in policies on protection. Moreover, it argues that militarism often takes precedence over humanitarian approaches to civilian protection through the dominance of the use of force. This essay employs relevant literature on PoC and
international intervention to offer an examination of the implications that evolve out of the
dynamic between militarism and humanitarianism. This examination is pursued through a case study of the PoC policies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN). The case study brings to light the challenges posed to PoC’s humanitarian credentials, which are instigated by the political imaginaries of PoC that are centered on the use of force
Point-JEPA : a joint-embedding predictive architecture for self-supervised learning on point cloud
Get PDF1 online resource (vii, 53 pages) : colour illustrations, charts (some colour)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 47-53).Recent advancements in self-supervised learning in the point cloud domain have
demonstrated significant potential. However, these methods often suffer from drawbacks, including lengthy pre-training time, the necessity of reconstruction in the input space, or the necessity of additional modalities. In order to address these issues, we introduce Point-JEPA, a joint embedding predictive architecture designed specifically for the point cloud domain. We introduce a sequencer that orders point cloud tokens to efficiently compute and utilize tokens’ proximity based on their indices. This allows shared computation of proximity for point cloud tokens, allowing the efficient selection of spatially contiguous context and target blocks. Experimentally, our method achieves competitive results with state-of-the-art methods while avoiding the reconstruction in the input space or additional modality. Specifically, it outperforms other self-supervised learning methods on linear evaluation and few-shot classification on ModelNet40, showing the robustness of the learned representation. The results show that Point-JEPA is an alternative efficient pre-training method to pre-existing methods in the point cloud domain
An x-ray timing analysis of NGC 6814
Get PDF1 online resource (vii, 42 pages) : charts (some colour), graphs (some colour)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 40-42).We perform an X-ray timing analysis of the type 1.5 Seyfert galaxy NGC 6814 to
characterise its variability as a means of understanding the structure and properties
of its active galactic nucleus (AGN). Using data from five observations by the XMMNewton and NuSTAR observatories, we employ a number of X-ray timing analysis techniques to investigate the relationships between the different components of the AGN. We find that variability in NGC 6814 during the 2016 eclipse was dominated by changes in the absorption, and that at all other epochs behaviour was similar to that of normal AGN. Our analysis of hardness ratio against flux confirms that NGC 6814 follows the “softer when brighter” trend observed in other AGN, and, from the fractional variabilities, the amplitude of these variations is found to decrease with increasing energy. No significant frequency or energy dependent lags are detected in any of the observations, indicating that the inner-disc blurred reflection component is quite weak in this source. We discuss the implications of these findings and how they support previous works that suggest a compact source of high-energy X-rays and the possibility of a non-standard accretion disc
Personal reflections on representations of rape and women's rage in rape and revenge films
Get PDF1 online resource (104 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 97-104).The rape and revenge narrative is a not a new sub-genre of film, but rather has appeared
throughout Hollywood for decades. However, the emergence and recognition of more
progressive methods for depicting this narrative in film is a recent development. As a rape
survivor and a personal consumer of rape and revenge films, I approached this research with the intent to explore and challenge my own response to this narrative. This thesis examined the following seven films: Ms. 45 (1981), Promising Young Woman (2020), American Mary (2012), M.F.A.(2017), The Accused (1988), Violation (2020) and Revenge (2017), with a specific focus on their portrayals of rape culture, female agency, trauma, consent, rape, and consequences of revenge
‘The last nice guy in New York’ : unraveling toxic masculinity in Netflix’s <i>You</i>
Get PDF1 online resource (52 pages)Includes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (pages 44-49).This thesis approaches Season 1 of Netflix's You to unravel the interaction between toxic
masculinity and the framing of romantic courtship in relationships. Through a feminist and
framing theory lens, this research explores how the protagonist, Joe Goldberg, rationalizes forms of controlling coercive violence as a behaviour that stems from love. Through a thematic analysis, this study identifies three stages in Joe's relationship with Beck that demonstrate patterns of obsession, control, and victim blaming. It uncovers the show's implicit endorsement of Joe's actions as romantic gestures. Moreover, it digs into the framing of other characters and the show's ambiguity in depicting Joe as a feminist figure despite his misogynistic behaviour. By engaging with literature on stalking and media influence, this research criticizes the societal implications of blurring the lines between toxic masculinity and romantic pursuit, ultimately advocating for more nuanced portrayals of gendered violence in popular culture
