MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Emotionless in Edmonton: Psychopathic Traits and Emotion Detection
No full textPast research has found that psychopathic traits are negatively related to the perception and recognition of emotion in others; however, some studies have noted an enhanced ability to detect negative emotions. In line with this, scholars have argued that psychopaths may be able to experience emotion to some degree if they evidence traits associated with emotional intelligence (EI) or anxiety, thus allowing them to possibly identify emotions they are most familiar with. While general emotion recognition has been evaluated in relation to psychopathy, few studies have examined how these variables influence the detection of real or feigned negative emotion. The present research was designed to evaluate psychopathic traits, EI, and anxiety in relation to an emotion veracity task focused on negative emotions. Participants (N = 686) completed self-report assessments of personality variables, followed by exposure to facial emotion sets that varied according to veracity (genuine/feigned) and emotion type (fear/sadness/anger/disgust). Overall, participants were more accurate at detecting feigned emotions relative to genuine expressions. Accuracy was highest for feigned sadness (74.53%) and lowest for genuine anger (35.23%). Psychopathic traits interacted with both veracity and emotion type. Those high in psychopathic traits were more accurate at identifying fake faces and more impaired at identifying real faces relative to other trait levels. Psychopathic traits were negatively related to EI but unrelated to anxiety. Higher EI scores were associated with lower accuracy, especially for anger and fear. These results are discussed in relation to emotional intensity, familiarity, affective mimicry, and attentional narrowing.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kristine Peac
Smart Monitoring of Irrigation Systems for Reduction of Water Consumption
No full textWater is essential to life both as drinking water and for growing crops. It is estimated that over 700 million people do not have access to clean safe drinking water worldwide [1]. It is critical to responsibly use water so that it remains a sustainable resource. One way to do this is to focus on optimising water usage when irrigating crops. Currently, there are three categories of irrigation methods: sprinkler, micro and surface irrigation. Sprinkler systems distribute water at a high-velocity and high-volume spray. Micro irrigation systems deliver water close to the crop either at the surface or below the soil. Surface irrigation provides water to the crops by flowing water over land [2]. These methods of watering are inefficient and wastes water due to their lack of feedback and control of soil saturation. To achieve automation of watering the project involves designing and building water soil sensors to monitor moisture levels. Each sensor would be connected to a network of sensors that are placed just below the soil (roughly 5 inches under the soil) and would accurately detect specific areas of the crops that need watering. By using technology paired with intelligent software low grade sensors can be used to monitor each watering zone determining whether that zone needs watering or not.
Discipline: Computer Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shelley Lorime
Quantitative Sea Ice Reconstruction for the Canadian Arctic Archipelago using the PIP25 Approach
No full textSea ice is an important component of Earth’s climate system; it plays major roles in albedo, carbon dioxide exchange, ocean circulation, and is an integral component of polar ecosystems. Sea ice in the Arctic, however, is rapidly declining; a decline which is projected to maintain throughout the 21st century as the annual mean global surface temperature rises. The possibility of a nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean will have negative consequences for the Earth’s climate system, such as creating positive feedbacks that will intensify warming. Reconstructing the past observational (satellite-based) records since 1979 of Arctic sea ice and sea surface conditions provides essential context for the recently observed multi-year sea ice decline. The primary objective of this project is to analyse biomarker (IP25 and brassicasterol/dinosterol) content in surface sediments of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. This calibration will then be used as a basis on which to reconstruct sea-ice histories over the historical past from longer marine sediment cores. By recovering IP25 and phytoplankton biomarker concentrations from marine sediment cores, PIP25 sea ice indices for the Northwest Passage can be calculated. This sea ice index can be used to reconstruct specific past sea ice conditions, such as first-year vs multi-year ice cover, in a specific region. Subsequently, these results can be mapped. In order to compare current sea-ice with the historical past, current PIP25 values need to be related to observed modern sea ice conditions, therefore providing a regionally appropriate calibration for the study of past conditions in the geological record.
Discipline: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Anna Pienkowski
 
Where Do Students Rest in MacEwan University
No full textIn University/College institutions, napping is a common occurrence and practice used by students to alleviate daytime sleepiness. Sleep debt up to 17 to 19 hours is on par with a drunk individual having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05 (two wine glasses), whereas most states have the BAC limit at 0.08; 0.04 for commercial drivers. Napping stops the symptoms, where there’s too little time to cure the disease. MacEwan University will be observed for nap proportions of students napping on furniture, to the proportion of total seats taken in the same area. Data was collected twice a day (once Monday) on the weekday, for 7 days. Areas were observed for an hour interval, at four different times. Furniture seating was counted through furniture design. Five areas were observed for 10-minute periods for napping individuals and total seats occupied. Sex of the individual presumed male, presumed female, ambiguous was observed. Sound level of each area was recorded by a sound app for a one-minute interval. Area description will account for furniture differences for suitability of napping area. A binary logistic regression was used to analyze the data, which showed location and time as significant to where people sat (p-value<0.05).
Discipline: Mathematical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Karen Bur
Improving survey tools for early detection of exotic and potentially invasive forest insects
No full textGlobal trade expansion has increased intercontinental introductions of exotic bark- and wood-boring insects at an alarming rate, and recent introductions of particularly problematic species has resulted in significant economic and ecological damage. It is important to detect these recently introduced species early, when populations are small, as this leads to increased likelihood of successful eradication or containment. This study aims to improve the tools available for early detection of bark and wood-boring beetles (i.e., Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Scolytinae) in two ways: choosing an effective trap type and optimizing the height at which traps are placed. Trapping studies were performed in May-August 2015, at two sites, using a 2 x 2 (trap type x trap height) factorial randomized complete block design. Traps (4-funnel or 12-funnel traps, hereafter small and large traps) were placed in either the canopy or understory. The number of species and specimens of target taxa caught in each trap was recorded. Ordination, rarefaction, and generalized linear mixed effects models evaluated the efficacy of different trap treatments on detecting exotic and potentially invasive bark- and wood-boring beetles. Results showed that the community of beetles caught was affected by trap height, but not trap type, and that small traps caught fewer species and specimens than large traps. To maximize detection of these species, we recommend that large traps be hung in both the canopy and understory. We anticipate that this research will improve our detection of invasive bark- and wood-borers, reducing the cost of managing these species and limiting their damage.
Discipline: Biological Sciences (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Leah Flahert
Spooky Action at a Distance: An Introduction to Quantum Entanglement and Resolutions of the EPR Paradox
No full textQuantum entanglement is the term used to describe a collection of particles for which the quantum state of any particular particle in the collection cannot be described independently of the quantum states of other particles in the collection. This statement, what it means, and its broader implications for both theoretical and applied physics, will be the topic of discussion. We elaborate upon and clarify exactly what quantum entanglement means, introduce and describe the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) Paradox and its essential role in motivating the development of a comprehensive description of quantum entanglement, as well as provide a general history of our understanding of the quantum entanglement phenomenon. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of some possible applications to quantum information theory, quantum computing, and quantum cryptography.
Discipline: Physics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Vahid Rezani
The Next Face of Alberta Oilsands?
No full textAs a replacement possible in the near future, solvent use in the oilsands could replace SAGD as a more efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly option. The presentation will demonstrate the steps taken in the research division to make this idea, into an eventual reality
Discipline: Engineering
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shelley Lorime
Do Musicians Have Enhanced Visual Memory?
No full textThe proposed study will explore the possible associations between music training and visual memory. Previous research has indicated that musicians have superior auditory memory, academic achievement, and linguistic abilities compared to non-musicians, however the conclusions regarding visual memory in musicians are not as clear. Some research has suggested no correlation between music training and visual memory abilities, while other researchers have found enhanced visual memory in musicians. These null findings regarding visual memory in musicians may be a result of the tasks used, as some tasks involve motor or verbal components. We hypothesize that if tasks measuring purely visual memory are used, musicians will score higher on these tasks than non-musicians. Moreover, when we control for IQ, these differences should disappear. This would suggest the possibility of pre-existing differences between those who decide to take music lessons and those who do not. Carefully selected tasks will be used to assess visual memory, with special attention focused on finding tasks which are a pure measure of visual memory abilities. One example of a task that will be used is the Faces subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale, which requires a participant to memorize a group of faces before being asked to pick them out of a new group of faces. This will be the first comprehensive assessment of visual memory in musicians.
Discipline: Psychology (Honours)
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kathleen Corrigal
Blended Learning Across the Nursing Lifespan
No full textBlended learning (BL) uses a combination of online and face-to-face instruction, with a reduction in face-to-face contact time. BL is intended to mitigate some of the challenges associated with online-only instruction, such as a lack of personalization, while improving flexibility when compared to face-to-face instruction. As the demographics of nurses and nursing students change, it is essential that nursing education is able to meet their needs. The purpose of this literature review is to examine the literature available on the use of BL as an instructional method for undergraduate, masters, and doctoral nursing programs as well as continued education of Registered Nurses (RNs) throughout their career. The results suggest that BL is at least as effective as traditional delivery methods and may offer additional advantages such as increased satisfaction and critical thinking for students. More rigorous research of BL in the field of nursing is required to further explore the effects.
Discipline: Nursing
Faculty Mentor: Keri-Ann Berga
 
The Building of an Android Application: GetGo - an Educational Entry Planner
No full textWe have created an application that provides high school students with immediate access to admission requirements at different universities in the area in a single application. Students will save time and more efficiently make appropriate judgements in regards to the educational path that they choose. This project covers many significant topics in computer science, including operating systems and web API design. It employs the use of various technologies, such as MySQL for a database system, PHP for a web server, XML to communicate data between back‐end and front‐end, and finally Java as the major language for the front‐end Android mobile development.
Discipline: Computer Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mohamad El-Haj