MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Understanding the Literacy Rates of Indigenous Children on Reserves in Canada
No full textThe detailed research project our team has completed was focused on literacy levels within first nations communities in Canada. As well, we identified a lack of educational initiatives for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people across Canada. We first identified the challenges and problems that Indigenous people faced when trying to enhance their literacy skills and educational levels. Then we completed a local and global study of programs and opportunities currently available to enhance literacy and learnings. After that, we completed a study of the current gaps in the system and the levers of change that our team decided would be most beneficial. We believe that indigenous people in Canada deserve the same educational funding and levels as the rest of Canadians.
Faculty Mentor: Leo Wong
Department: Interdisciplinary Dialogue Projec
Craft Entrepreneurialism: An Analysis of Branding in Craft Micro-Enterprises in Calgary, Alberta
No full textCraft is at the centre of discourse and discussion in areas relating to art, design, and business. This research presents a qualitative analysis of interviews with three participating creative producers in Calgary, Alberta. This research explores the ways in which individuals who work in craft focused media have developed their craft practices into sustainable businesses. By examining creative producers that use their artistic practice as a keystone in their corporate image, we can understand more clearly how they operate their businesses.
Faculty Mentor: Annetta Latham
Department: Arts and Cultural Managemen
Color recognition and spatial memory in North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
No full textPrevious research on Eurasian red squirrels indicates relatively poor retention ability for food related caching. As this species does not rely on cached food as heavily as the North American red squirrel we expect that these squirrels will have better memory ability. In addition to spatial location, squirrels may also rely on color to identify food items. Using an associative learning task individual squirrels will be trained and tested on their ability to remember the correct location of a valued food item as well as to recognize and distinguish color. We will test their memory for reward (based on location and/or color), in a field setting, at two, four and six day intervals.
Faculty Mentor: Shannon Digweed
Department: Psychology (Honours
An Immodest Demand
No full textThis paper explores the "outlaw text" status of SCUM Manifesto, written in 1967 by Valerie Solanas, through its lack of impact upon the culture in the time it was published and now. Solanas and her manifesto have largely been left behind in the turbulent wake of second-wave feminism. This paper, written for one of the inaugural classes of Gender Studies 219, argues for increased visibility and analysis of the manifesto in feminism, academia, and popular culture.
Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Holland
Department: Gender Studie
The Personas of Donald Glover: Black Minstrelsy and the Badman in the 21st Century
No full textIn this essay, I argue that Donald Glover takes on the personas of the minstrel and the badman in order to fully encapsulate black personhood. By taking up these historical personas in new ways, Glover humanizes black personhood by commenting on the distinction between “artist” and “black artist” while embodying both ideals at the same time. In Community, Glover’s earliest work, his character Troy Barnes plays on the ideals of the minstrel, while in “This Is America,” Childish Gambino plays both with the ideas regarding the minstrel and the badman by both taking part in the tradition and signifying on it. However, in Glover’s recent show Atlanta, his character Earnest Marks enters new territory that moves beyond the tropes of either the minstrel or badman. In this way, Glover’s work not only embodies black entertainment but also provides a meta-commentary on both its past and its future by demonstrating the central paradox of this enterprise: that black entertainment relies on the very racist stereotypes that it aims to reverse.
In this context, Glover subverts the racism of the white mainstream through his minstrel and badman personas while also pointing a way beyond these tropes. Through this subversion of the white mainstream, Glover shows that black artistry and artistry need not be mutually exclusive; instead, Glover’s performances as both black artist and an artist who is black show that black entertainers can inhabit and portray both identities simultaneously. By joining these portrayals, Glover creates mainstream media with a complexity that fully encompasses the personhood of Blackamericans, acknowledging the impacts of systemic racism while also representing them beyond the reductive tropes of the minstrel and the badman.
Faculty Mentor: Jillian Skeffington
Department: English (Honours)
 
Collective memory formation in Post-Maidan Ukraine
No full textAs a post-soviet nation Ukraine has historically struggled to create its own historical memory and identity. However, the 2014 Euromaidan revolution can be considered as an event which ruptured the existing rhythm of Ukrainian memory, providing an opportunity for moral entrepreneurs to negotiate collective remembrance of the Euromaidan and Ukrainian identity. Although memory formation occurs through numerous mediums, this presentation will focus how journalism creates collective memory, drawing heavily on narrative theories. It should be noted that this presentation is meant to define the theoretical foundations which will guide the author\u27s honours thesis, which asks the question: how is journalism shaping collective memory of Ukraine’s Euromaidan?
Faculty Mentor: Jeffrey Stepnisky
Department: Sociology (Honours
New Chemical Tools for the Synthesis of Sesquiterpenes Natural Products.
No full textSesquiterpene lactones are a family of natural products that have been found to have anti-tumor, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. As molecules with potential therapeutic benefit, there is a great deal of interest in finding new ways to generate these molecules synthetically, as their abundance in nature can be very low. In this project, we investigated the use of silylglyoxylates as precursors to these natural products. Silylglyoxylates are an underutilized class of molecules that can be photochemically activated to generate carbenes. Carbenes are reactive chemical intermediates that have the ability to undergo a C-H insertion reaction and form a five-membered lactone, which is the key structural element of a sesquiterpene lactone. In this experiment, phenethyl (tert-butyldimethyl)silylglyoxylate was converted into a carbene using photochemical activation with a 254 nm lamp. The progress of the reaction was monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography and column chromatography. Initial results suggest this molecule is a promising candidate to form a carbon-carbon bond under our reaction conditions. Overall, if our silylglyoxylate precursor is successful in forming this carbon-carbon bond, it will lead the way in replacing other existing methods or carbene formation, which are not amenable to large-scale synthesis.
Faculty Mentor: Tina Bott
Department: Chemistr
Stolen Sisters
No full text“Stolen Sisters” is a powerful digital story which outlines the colonial impacts on Indigenous people which has contributed to the contemporary issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). “Stolen Sisters” provides information about current colonial perspectives of Indigenous women and how they need to be addressed, reflected upon, and challenged. Through Indigenous Knowledge surrounding the traditional roles of women, the meaning of the word ‘woman’ in the Cree language, and telling the stories of Indigenous women, “Stolen Sisters” aim is to provide education to the collegial public. A research poster will also be presented. This research poster, as a part of the Bachelor of Social Work Program, will yield the results of a qualitative study which utilized a critical science approach to gain data regarding 3rd year undergraduate social work student’s knowledge surrounding MMIWG campaigns. The data gathered will be used to critique structural barriers that exist in providing adequate knowledge surrounding Indigenous issues such as MMIWG campaigns. The research poster will compliment our digital story as we will be able to provide data that acknowledges our hypothesis that structural barriers do exist in our institutions which prevent adequate knowledge of MMIWG campaigns. We will combat this barrier by providing an educational digital story and calling individuals to action.
Faculty Mentor: Leslie Dawson
Department: Interdisciplinary Dialogue Projec
Comprehensive Falls Analysis at a Long-Term Care Facility: Trends and Recommendations
No full textFalls among seniors 65 years of age and older have become a significant health issue in Canada. Residents living in long-term care facilities are a population of particular concern. This issue has emphasized the need for quality improvement initiatives aimed at falls prevention to enhance the quality of life and care for those directly impacted. For my NURS 479 leadership course, I conducted a comprehensive 2018 falls analysis for a long-term care facility in Edmonton. Data was collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel looking into trends and recommendations for improvement. A falls tracking tool that aligned with Alberta Health Services reporting requirements as well as current best practices was also developed. This project was concluded with a presentation to relevant stakeholders and final products were intended to improve the facility’s fall reduction program and inform future quality improvement projects at the site. In this presentation, I will be sharing my project findings and final deliverables. This project was developed in collaboration with my coaches (director of care and nurse educator) and other health care staff at the site as well as my course faculty mentor.
Faculty Mentor: Tanya Paananen
Department: Nursin
Investor State Dispute Settlement: A Detriment to Canada?
No full textThis presentation will argue that, contrary to the claims of those opposed to investor state dispute settlement such as the Canadian Council for Policy Alternatives, the Chapter 11 ISDS mechanism of NAFTA does not pose a substantial challenge to Canadian Governments in being able to regulate in the public interest. This claim will be primarily argued on a close examination of two particular ISDS cases, as well as a brief overview of other relevant claims which have been concluded under Chapter 11.
Faculty Mentor: John Soroski
Department: Political Science (Honours)