MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Sprouting behavior of potato seed tubers (cv. Russet Burbank) after the application of different plant growth regulators
No full textThe yield of a potato crop is strongly influenced by the physiological age of potato tubers at planting. Physiological age can be defined as the stage of development of a seed tuber, which changes progressively by increasing chronological age and is modified by growth history and storage conditions (Struik & Wiersema, 1999). It is often characterized as the sprouting potential of seed. It is hard to overstate the importance of physiological age of seed potatoes to the potato industry: it strongly affects emergence of sprouts, number of stems per plant, number of tubers per stem, tuber-size distribution and tuber yield of the progeny crop (Van der Zaag & Van Loon, 1987; Van Ittersum, 1992; Struik & Wiersema, 1999; Struik, 2007). Thus, understanding the mechanisms of physiological aging and the ability to control it is crucial to maximizing crop yield and quality. Previous studies on physiological age of seed potato have been focused on environmental factors, such as relative humidity, temperature, photoperiod, and diffuse light (Struik & Wiersema, 1999; Struik et al., 2006). Tuber respiration appears to be a pacemaker of aging: the longer the respiration rate remains high, the older the seed tubers will be (Blauer et al., 2013). In addition, research has shown that plant growth regulators such as abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), cytokinins and gibberellins play a role in the control of tuber dormancy and subsequent sprout growth (Suttle, 2007). Up to date, there is still a strong need for further research to better understand their role and the effect on the physiological age (Suttle, 2004; Suttle, 2007; Kloostermann & Bachem, 2014; Wohleb et al., 2014).
In this study, different growth regulators such as Gibberellic Acid, ABA, Auxin, Cytokinin and 2.4-D were applied to the meristematic tissue of the seed tuber at three different concentrations (2.5, 5, 10 ppm) and stored at two different temperatures (5, 12°C). Afterwards, the break of dormancy and the sprouting behaviour were observed. At the time of writing, the study was not completed and thus no results can be presented at this time. The findings of this study will give indications for further research to develop new methods to control physiological age.
Key words: seed potato, growth regulator, dormancy, sprouting, physiological age, Solanum tuberosum L.
*Indicates presente
The Useful Society: A Criticism of Liberal Political Thought
No full textThis thesis explores the problems associated with classical liberal political thought, including contemporary liberal writers such as Rawls and Nozick, and therefore is a criticism of the dominant political theory that drives contemporary western societies. The thesis is divided into two parts, the first addressing the problems of the theoretical liberal subject, or the way liberal philosophy views human beings. The second part addresses the problems that emerge from this in terms of practical everyday political issues and policies. In both parts, Hans-Georg Gadamer\u27s idea of Historically Effected Consciousness is shown to drastically affect the ideas of liberal thinkers & philosophers without their realising it, to pernicious effect.
Discipline: Political Sciences (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gaelan Murph
Financial Aid Available to Adolescent, Young Adult Cancer Survivors Attending Post Secondary Education in Alberta
No full textThis study identified scholarships available to adolescent, young adult cancer survivors who are either starting post secondary or are continuing their education at a post secondary institution in Alberta. Websites for six universities in Alberta were explored along with the Kids with Cancer Society\u27s site for potential resources. Results revealed seven cancer-survivor based scholarships as well as another eighteen potentially applicable scholarships based on disability, GPA, financial need, community involvement or a combination of these factors.
Discipline: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Diane Symbalu
One Night of Pleasure or Risk: Hook-Up Culture and Sexual Violence
No full textSexual violence on post-secondary campuses is highly problematic. While sexual violence has been recognized as a health issue and social concern for many years, it is only recently that sexual violence and its concerning effects of victimization have merited closer attention from media. This media attention has, subsequently, resulted in a public outcry and has forced post-secondary institutions to implement sexual violence policies and programming. However, it has also led to an explosion of studies within academia. One of the areas that has not been studied extensively in the past but is increasing today is the study of uncommitted sexual encounters—otherwise known as hook-ups—in connection to sexual violence.Many studies concerning sexual violence discuss items that place an individual at higher risk for experiencing sexual violence, and one of the many risks is engagement in hook-ups. While engagement in hook-ups increases the risk of sexual violence victimization, it is questionable as to whether or not students are aware of this reality. With today\u27s attitudes surrounding relationships and intimacy, it is difficult to measure this, as, according to some, engagement in hook-up culture simply fills one\u27s desire for pleasure. In other words, perhaps the thoughts around engaging in hook-ups are less focused on the idea that there may be a risk for violence. Because it is unknown as to whether or not students conceptualize engagement in hook-up culture with sexual violence, this study seeks to discover the extent to which students conceptualize connections between sexual violence and hook-ups.
Discipline: Sociology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kalyani Thurairaja
Massage Therapy for Dystonia: A Case Report
No full textDystonia is a neurological disorder, characterized by involuntary muscle spasms and tremors, resulting in abnormal movements and posture. Symptoms include pain, spasms, tremors, and dyskinesia. Conventional treatments include medication, botulism injections, and surgical intervention. Many dystonia patients seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies such as massage, but the effects of treatments are not well documented. This study documents massage treatment for dystonia, in a specific case. Objective: To examine the effects of massage on pain, dyskinesia, and functional mobility in activities of daily living (ADL) in a patient with dystonia. Methods: A student massage therapist administered five treatments over a six-week period on a 51-year-old female patient diagnosed with dystonia. The patient presented with symptoms of pain, spasms, and tremors, affecting functional mobility in ADL. Treatments aimed to decrease pain and increase functional mobility, by reducing sympathetic nervous system (SNS) firing and increasing relaxation. Techniques applied included Swedish massage, hydrotherapy, myofascial release, stretching, and remedial exercise. Numeric rating scales (NRS) for pain, frequency of night pain, the Modified Bradykinesia Rating Scale (MBRS), the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, the Functional Rating Index (FRI) and the Modified Gait Efficacy Scale (MGES) were measured at the start and end of the study. Results: NRS generally remained the same or decreased. Positive outcomes were exhibited in the frequency of night pain, TUG, MBRS, and FRI. The MGES was negatively affected.Conclusion: Results suggest massage may temporarily decrease pain intensity, pain frequency, and dyskinesia, and improve functional mobility in ADL associated with dystonia.
Discipline: Massage Therapy
Faculty Mentor: Jeff Moggac
Sounds Scary: The Impact of Infrasound on Perception of Fear
No full textInfrasound is a low frequency sound below 20 Hertz (Hz). People are frequently exposed to infrasound as it can be generated by traffic, low rumbling pipes, and windmills among others. While infrasound is outside the range of human hearing, there is evidence that it may have an impact on physiological arousal. For example, infrasound has been shown to increase feelings of awe and suspense, and may partially explain why some people report seeing ghosts or experiencing paranormal events. This experiment is a continuation of a series of studies exploring the impact of infrasound on perceptions of fear. In our previous research, participants were exposed to infrasound for a set amount of time prior to exploring a commercial haunted house, Deadmonton. Participants who were exposed to infrasound spent less time exploring the frightening environment than those who were not exposed. In this study, participants were asked to explore Deadmonton for a standardized amount of time. While exploring Deadmonton, two infrasound speakers were placed such that participants would be exposed to infrasound in multiple locations. Researchers measured heart rate, time spend at each location in Deadmonton, as well as subjective self-reports of fear.
Discipline: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rodney Schmaltz
 
Prosodic and Semantic Effects on the Perception of Mixed Emotions
No full textIn two experiments, we examined the perception of mixed happy-sad emotions elicited by a combination of prosodic voice cues (pitch and tempo), and sentence content (semantics) in speech. In Experiment 1, participants rated sentences with happy, sad, and neutral semantic content spoken by a female talker on a 6-point Likert scale measuring happiness and sadness. Prosodic cues that characterize happy (high pitch, fast tempo) and sad (low pitch, slow tempo) emotions elicited the highest ratings when these cues were congruent with the semantic content of sentences. When the prosodic cues were incongruent with the sentence meaning, happiness and sadness ratings declined. Emotion ratings for mixed emotions (high pitch, slow tempo; and low pitch, fast tempo) received intermediate ratings in comparison to those signalling pure happy and sad emotions and were less affected by the semantic content of sentences. In Experiment 2, we used eye-tracking to examine the pattern of attention directed toward dynamic facial information in talker’s expressions of happy, sad, and mixed emotions. An analysis of the mean number of eye gaze fixations and the duration of eye gaze responses indicated that participants attended primarily to the eye regions and less to the mouth regions of the face. Furthermore, attention towards the eye region was affected by semantic content and prosodic pitch-tempo combinations, but attention towards the mouth region was not. The findings from the current study are expected to extend our knowledge on the mechanisms affecting the perception of basic and mixed emotions in normal populations and in special populations with social-emotional deficits.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tara Vongpaisa
Shock Deformation and Transformation Effects in Unbrecciated Lunar Mare Basalt Northwest Africa 032
No full textLunar meteorites are an important source of information about the Earth’s moon. In this study, the mineralogy and texture of lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 032, an unbrecciated lunar basalt, is characterized. Shock veins and shock melt pockets are the main foci, which gives a better understanding of the impact history of this lunar meteorite. Four types of instruments were used: the petrographic microscope, scanning electron microscope, electron microprobe, and Raman spectrometer. The microprobe quantified the abundance of elements contained in the shock veins and shock melt pockets: Si, Ti, Al, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K, P and S. SEM provide detailed high-resolution images where we are interested in. Raman spectroscopy shows the structure of minerals that crystallized from shock melt, as well as the state of igneous plagioclase, which is sensitive to shock pressure. The studied shock effects tell us that NWA 032may have experience shock pressure >23 GPa. This shock was likely the same impact event that ejected the meteorite from the Moon. The shock pressure raised the shock veins and shock melt to temperatures over 1200 °C. As a result, the partial melting took place. NWA 032 is currently the youngest dated (2.93 Ga) lunar igneous rock. The history of the lunar sample NWA 032 holds evidence that a significant number of impact events occurred in the past on the moon\u27s surface.
Discipline: Physical Science
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Erin Walto
Balanced Scheduling to Reduce Procrastination: Can Scheduling Enjoyable Activities Increase Productivity and Satisfaction?
No full textThe present research examined the effectiveness of a novel scheduling application in which the emphasis is paradoxically on scheduling leisure activities before scheduling work activities. According to the developer of this method, when we neglect to prioritize leisure activities, work activities can become tedious to the point that we begin to procrastinate. To assess this possibility, undergraduate students (n = 27) completed a two-week baseline of their study activities, during which they recorded both the duration and satisfaction level of each study session. This was followed by a four-week intervention in which the participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) a traditional scheduling condition in which they scheduled their study activities for the coming week, and (2) a balanced scheduling condition in which they scheduled their leisure activities first and study activities second. We found no significant difference between the traditional scheduling and balanced scheduling groups in either study duration or satisfaction. For the combined group, however, we did find an overall effect of scheduling, with improvements from baseline to treatment in study duration (p < .001) and study satisfaction (marginally significant, p = .07), as well as an overall decrease in scores from pre-study to post-study on a standardized measure of academic procrastination (p = .01). These findings suggest that weekly scheduling, regardless of whether it includes scheduling one\u27s leisure activities, may be an effective intervention for improving students\u27 study behaviour and reducing procrastination. Limitations of the study include a small sample size and lack of appropriate controls for possible confounds.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Russ Powel
Les aspects satiriques, l’identité, la déviance et les structures de pouvoir dans le roman Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse chinoise
No full textLe roman de Dai Sijie se déroule durant la Révolution culturelle chinoise et Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse Chinoise critique indirectement le régime communiste, mais de façon satirique. Les livres du roman jouent un rôle central dans la création et la préservation des identités personnelles des personnages par les moyens des actes de déviance. Ils ont aussi un grand rôle dans l\u27établissement de structures de pouvoir entre les personnages.
Discipline: Philosophy
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kyeongmi Kim-Bernar