MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Labour of Love
No full textIn 2013 the Supreme Court Of Canada struck down laws related to prostitution in the case Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford and as a result, there are now interesting implications that affect both federal and provincial jurisdictions. This paper advances two constitutional theories about the future of legislation surrounding prostitution. The first, and likely most controversial theory, is that the principles as set out in the Bedford decision move legislation on prostitution from the Criminal Code of Canada, the federal domain, to labour law, an area of provincial jurisdiction. Also discussed in this paper is that Bedford also advances the theory that the federal and provincial governments each have substantive roles to play in terms of legislating prostitution.
Discipline: Political Sciences (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Sorosk
A Collective Action logic of Land Reform: Comparing the Philippines and Chilean Land Reform Experiences
No full textScholars see land inequality as a major plague that stifles the development of universalistic institutions in both economic and political realms (Alesina & Rodrick 1994; Answell & Samuels 2017; Acemoglu, Naidu & Robinson, 2015; Faguet, Sanchez & Villaveces 2016). Land reform may be necessary to meet the ‘doorstep conditions’ for open access social orders (North et al. 2013). However, the resistance to land reform often inhibits progress on land redistribution to the extent that small groups of landed elite with shared interests have an immense advantage over the dispersed interests of society at large (Olsen 1965). If land reform is important for the development of inclusive institutions, and the resistance to redistribution of land presents a tremendous obstacle, then, a thorough analysis of the reasons leading some countries to success or failure in land reform is of the essence. What institutional features, and indigenous factors are conducive to successful implementation of large scale land reform, over the objections of the politically powerful landed elite? This paper compares Chile’s land reform between 1960-72, and Philippines\u27 experience from 1964-1971. In both countries, a powerful landed elite historically dominated political and economic power (Navia, 2012, Kaufman 1972, Monhnola, 2012). But in Chile, land reform resulted in a transformation of rural relations (Barrclough, 1999, 25), while Philippines\u27 botched attempts further emboldened the power of its domestic landed elites. (Hutchcroft, 1998). What factors explain this difference?
Discipline: Political Sciences (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrea Wagne
A Markov Chain Analysis of John K. Samson\u27s Music
No full textMusic is an important part of the human experience. Artists may have a tendency towards certain chords due to their vocal range, the mood of certain chords, or just habit. We study the progression of one chord sequence to another within two albums by the Canadian group The Weakerthans, written by John K Samson. Based on the movement between chords we construct a finite Markov chain. We analyze the properties of this Markov chain, and we interpret the results in musical terms.
Discipline: Mathematical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cristina Anto
The Self, The Other, and The Good
No full textThe problem of self-hood arises as a epidemic of modern liberal society in Alasdair MacIntyre’s "After Virtue", José Ortega y Gasset’s "The Revolt of the Masses" and Walker Percy’s "Lost In The Cosmos". The problem is that the notion of self is unproblematic to the liberal man who suffers, along with a lack of concern for the self, the loss of the Aristotelian notions of happiness and virtue. All three authors attribute this phenomena of the “ghostly” or “nought self” to a certain disconnect with the past and a disconnect with others that is caused by the advancement of technology and a privileging of positivism and scientific thinking as a means of production. It is not clear, however, what exactly is being referred to as the self, a basic understanding of which is necessary to grasp the argument that the self is somewhat lost or is in need recovery, nor is it clear that these authors refer to the same self in each case. In this essay I will explore the conditions wherein the problem of the self arises in each of these texts in order to narrow down the notion of self that each of these authors suggest requires recovery
Discipline: Political Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gaelan Murph
The Weight of Thoughts and Beauty: A Study of the Book "Love Enough" by Dionne Brand
No full textThe poster series illustrates excerpts from Lia’s reflections on the weight of thoughts and beauty. Thoughts have weight, allowing them to linger, yet beauty has no weight and is inherently fleeting. Each poster states a different fact about the weight of thoughts, beauty, or both. The posters can be viewed individually or as a unified series. The poster series is unified through identical typeface, its size and colour. The images also unify the series, through their subject and style. These images illustrate the beauty of nature; frost on the normally mundane grass and bare branches. However, frost inevitably melts away, it is fleeting just like beauty. Poster 1 shows the text falling down the poster, as if weight is causing the words to cascade down and pile up. The first word begins as horizontal, but it begins to fall as well. It is as if the words are weighted thoughts. Poster 2 represents the fleeting nature of beauty as the text and image disappear towards the outsides. Poster 3 illustrates the damage that Lia would like to be subjected to through gradual increase and decrease in broken words, where “damaged” is the most broken, and “Lia” and “beauty” are intact which indicates their unbroken states.
Discipline: Design Studies
Faculty Mentor: Constanza Pache
Recruiting Challenges and Students’ Involvement in a Project to Understand Civic Engagement of Aging Asian Immigrants in Edmonton
No full textSupporting aging immigrants to fully engage in mainstream social and political life is a significant challenge for policy makers, service providers, and communities in Canada. Asian immigrants constitute the largest majority of immigrants in Canada over decades. A contextualized understanding of civic participation in aging Asian immigrants is of critical importance to support broad, active aging and social integration goals. Based on the research rationale, objectives and gaps identified in the literature review, this study will present a research project that aims to explore civic participation of aging immigrants from Asia, specifically China, India, and Philippines, living in Edmonton, Alberta. This research draws on the Civic Voluntarism Model and on Bourdieu\u27s Theory of Practice, which views civic participation as a multi-dimensional concept influenced by individual social positions, family and community, and historical, cultural, political, and societal factors. Mixed methods research will be adopted, and will involve in-depth interviews with aging immigrants, focus group with immigrant and Canadian-born older adults, and a survey of aging immigrant participants in focus groups. This presentation will overview the research project and identify the multiple challenges in recruiting targeted participants from different ethnic groups in the initial stage and strategies adopted to solve these challenges. This presentation will inform future directions and approaches in the research of diverse ethnic aging immigrants. This presentation will also contribute to research method education and training for in undergraduate students at teaching-focused universities.
Discipline: Social Work
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hongmei Ton
The Relationship Between Health Anxiety and Thought-Action Fusion
No full textIndividuals with health anxiety (HA) frequently believe that they have a serious illness, or may develop a serious illness, despite having no clear medical issues. HA has been found to be comorbid with both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Underlying cognitive distortions associated with these disorders may help explain their overlap. One cognitive distortion that has previously been found in OCD and GAD is thought-action fusion (TAF). TAF consists of Likelihood-Self TAF, Likelihood-Other TAF, and Moral TAF. Likelihood TAF is the belief that if you think about an event it will make the event more likely to occur, either to yourself (Likelihood-Self) or to someone else (Likelihood-Other). Moral TAF is the belief that an immoral thought is equivalent to an immoral behaviour. The present study used self-report questionnaires to assess the relationships between HA, OCD, GAD, and TAF in a non-clinical university sample (N=230). Using hierarchical regression analyses, Likelihood-Self TAF, p < .001, and Likelihood-Other TAF p < .001, uniquely predicted HA when controlling for OCD and GAD symptoms. Moral TAF, p = .26, was not a unique predictor of HA. These results indicate that both researchers and clinicians may wish to further explore the role of Likelihood TAF in the development and maintenance of HA.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alexander Penney
 
Partisan Allegiance and Sentencing Decisions in Legal Cases Involving Sexual Assault
No full textThe proposed study will evaluate the potential presence of partisan allegiance in 400 Canadian legal cases from English speaking provinces. Written judiciary sentencing decisions on sexual assault cases will be retrieved from the public domain website of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (https://www.canlii.org/). Search terms will include “sexual assault” and “risk assessment” and each sentencing decision will be reviewed and a series of variables will be coded. Further criteria to determine inclusion in the sample comprise that legal proceedings must include a risk assessment by a psychologist or psychiatrist retained by the defense, prosecution, or both. Although the type of risk assessment will not be considered in this study, only cases that indicate a risk measure has been completed and either a level of risk (low, moderate, or high-risk) or a numerical value (e.g., percentile rank) was reported. There are two primary objectives in this study. First, the potential presence of partisan allegiance will be examined. The researcher will code relevant and available information within the cases and apply a validated, actuarial risk measure (Static-99). This approach will be taken to obtain an objective evaluation of risk level and to determine whether discrepancies exists in evaluators’ assessments. Second, the association between the sentencing outcome and the risk evaluation will be assessed to determine whether judges rely upon the information provided by risk assessments. Also, judges’ preference upon expert reports provided by the defense or prosecution will be examined.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sandy Jun
Creating A Fitting Function for Exoplanet Detection
No full textRough Copy, will be revised later on: The purpose of this project is to create an accurate fitting function for transiting stars. Data from these transiting stars will ultimately be used to identify new exoplanets. It is very apparent that a fitting function that addresses multiple environmental parameters affecting brightness measurements is needed as exoplanet identification can be a cumbersome and time consuming process. Utilizing computer code will streamline the process of exoplanet identification and can then allow researchers to focus their energies solely on data collection. It should be duly noted that in order to collect data from transiting stars; one can use amateur equipment but, for the sake of maximum accuracy; a high powered telescope would be more suitable (“Exoplanet Transit Parameters”, 2008). Previous students at Macewan that collected transiting star data utilized the Athabasca University Robotic Telescope (AURT) (“Defining the Transit Method”, 2017). This telescope requires booking periods thus, in order to maximize utility and efficiency; more energy should be spent on data collection and result analysis.
Discipline: Physical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stefan Cartledg
Globalizing Human Trafficking in Canada: A Sociological Analysis
No full textCanada, like many other countries, has to deal with the issue of human trafficking, a problem that is a both a product of or response to forces of neoliberal globalization. This presentation will examine, at the theoretical level, the relationship between globalization and human trafficking in Canada. Addressing both the domestic and global dimensions of human trafficking, the presentation will focus on two specific issues. First, the question of labour rights of trafficked individuals as part of a broader discussion of the commodification of labour. Second, the presentation will also engage with the complexities of labour rights and ethnicity in human trafficking.
Discipline: Sociology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Korbla Puplampu