MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Traditional Agropastoralism and Ecological Knowledge in Western Poland
No full textTraditional agro-pastoralism in rural Poland is shaped by historical factors, such as Operation Vistula, which was the forced movement of Ukrainians to Western Poland. The study highlights the differences of traditional agro-pastoralism between East and West Poland. Moreover, it highlights important aspects of contemporary organic farming in Dobrogoszcz, and takes into consideration how the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has impacted local farmers and pastoralists. In the end, the research shows that previous ecological knowledge has helped farmers during times of crisis, that traditional ecological knowledge is still valuable today, and that the EU’s CAP has influenced the traditional agro-pastoralist lifestyle. Overall, historical and contemporary factors have shaped the opportunities, life chances, and overall agricultural success in rural Poland.
Discipline: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Franca Boa
Using the P300 and ERN brain potentials to understand the effects of prism adaptation on attention.
No full textDuring prism adaptation (PA) a participant is asked to reach to targets while wearing glasses that shift their vision in one direction. Initially, the participant misses in the direction of the prism shift. However, after a number of reaches the participant recalibrates their movements in the opposite direction to compensate for the visual shift. Rightward PA has been used for many years as a method of rehabilitating patients with left visuospatial neglect (VSN), a leftward spatial attentional disorder, by shifting the patient\u27s egocentric reference frame leftward, towards their neglect field. Similarly, left prisms, which result in a rightward shift in the egocentric reference frame, can be used to induce neglect-like behavior in healthy adults. Prior research involving event-related potentials (ERPs) has shown that, during PA, there are two brain potentials that are elicited: the P300, and the error-related negativity (ERN). The P300 is thought to index the role of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in context updating and learning, whereas the ERN is suggested to occur as part of an error processing system in the medial-frontal cortex (MFC). In the proposed study we will examine the roles of these brain potentials in creating the beneficial effects of PA on attention through recording ERPs while healthy adults adapt to varying degrees of leftward shifting prisms. The magnitude of these ERPs will then be correlated with behavioural changes on attention tasks that are induced following leftward PA. Ultimately, these findings may help us better understand how PA influences patients with VSN.
Discipline: Psychology Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christopher Strieme
An Investigation of the “5-Minute Rule” to Reduce Procrastination
No full textThe present study examined the efficacy of the commonly recommended self-management strategy called the “5-minute rule.” This is the notion that initially setting a very small goal for working on an assignment when one does not “feel like it” will reduce procrastination. Participants (n=10) were students enrolled in two sections of a social psychology course led by the same instructor and with the same final assignment. The students were divided into two groups based on their respective sections. Following a 2 week baseline period in which both groups were told to simply monitor how much they worked on their assignment, one group (n = 6) received instructions to also schedule their work sessions, while the other group (n = 4) received instructions to also schedule their work sessions plus employ the “5 minute rule” if they did not feel like working at a scheduled time. Following another 3-week period, the initial group also received the 5-minute rule. The hypotheses are that students who utilize the 5-minute rule will have more frequent work sessions, more satisfying work sessions, and spend more total time on the assignment. Implications of the study will be discussed.
Discipline: Psychology
An Investigation of the “5-Minute Rule” to Reduce Procrastinatio
Effects of Histamine Antagonists on Anxiety in Zebrafish
No full textThe main objective of this research is to assess the effects of histamine antagonists on anxiety in zebrafish. Zebrafish are a popular model organism for biopsychology, as their neurochemistry is similar to that of humans (Best & Alderton, 2008), and the histaminergic system is being investigated more because of its links to neurodegenerative disease (Shan, Bao, & Swaab, 2015). Research in rats has shown that the histaminergic system is related to anxiety (Zarrindast, Moghadam, Rostami, & Roohbakhsh, 2005), and that histamine antagonists may have effects similar to SSRIs (Miyata, Hirano, Ohsawa, & Kamel, 2009). A particular drug of interest in rats is chlorpheniramine, however, its effects on anxiety in zebrafish have not yet been tested. Based on results in rats, I hypothesize that treatment with chlorpheniramine will lead to decreased anxiety in zebrafish. Anxiety will be measured using three behavioural tests. In the light/dark test, anxiety is indicated by a preference for dark environments; in the novel tank diving test anxiety is indicated by a preference for swimming near the bottom of a deep tank; and the shoaling test, in which anxiety is indicated by a preference of fish for swimming in a tight group (shoal).
Discipline: Psychology Honours
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Melike Schalomo
Alberta Historical Cemeteries Project
No full textCemeteries are not only repositories of the dead: they reflect individual and group identities and attachment to place. Moreover, they play a central role in the social and political history of local communities. Although numerous community organizations are working to locate and document Alberta\u27s cemeteries, each group has its own focus, e.g., headstone photos, genealogical information, or transcription indexes. As such, these records contain only limited information on the social, historical, and environmental contexts of the graves and cemeteries, making the data useful for genealogical research but of limited value for the investigation of how burial practices reflect patterns of settlement, kinship, and economic prosperity. In addition, the record formats from different organizations are often incompatible, and many records have been collected in file formats and on media that are becoming obsolete. Through collaboration between university researchers and students, the provincial government, and numerous community organizations, the Alberta Historical Cemeteries project is creating a centralized digital database of Alberta\u27s historical cemeteries. This database will (a) enhance the ability of researchers and students to investigate the important social role played by Alberta\u27s historical cemeteries and (b) serve as a centralized repository of information that can be used to shape policies and activities related to the management, protection, preservation, and commemoration of Alberta\u27s cemeteries.
Discipline: Computing Science
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Boer
The Power of Language as Integration Barriers for Refugees
No full textThe issue of the power of language as Integration Barriers is what my poster is illustrating. My work is inspired from the three-educational forum and the online postings discussion during the Interdisciplinary Dialogue on Global Refugee Crisis which were related to my bachelor social work course on Intercultural Practice in Social Work. How do we depart that umbrella that promotes English Language as the superior language and one everyone should speak, into a much wider box that embraces diversity, differences, and equality?
According to Statistics Canada, in 2011 about 111 different languages were reported being spoken at home, a number that may have increased as of today. Amongst all the recognized languages, there isn\u27t one I recognize from the few African languages I have heard spoken here in Canada. What I found most interesting in this research is that all the indigenous languages are included in the "other languages spoken at home" category rather than the "primary languages" category. If this was about speaking the language of the owners of the land, shouldn\u27t we be stressing about the importance of learning Cree instead of English?
Since English language is being imposed on all refugees and newcomers, should we then safely assume that we are just experiencing another form of colonization? Asking people to suppress all 111+ languages that form a big part of their identity when they step out of their homes, fuels racism and segregation, promotes isolation, prejudice, identity loss, and suppresses the integration process. Trying to meet them somewhere along the way, showing interest in their cultural ways, languages, and individual views, says you care and value their individual identity.
Discipline: Social Work
Faculty mentor: Dr. Valerie Ouedraog
Immense Suffering and the Journey of a Refugee: Analyzing Candide
No full textVoltaire’s Candide is a novel that explores how individuals suffer from moving from one place to another. The objective of this essay will be to analyze Candide the main character who suffers enormously by not being able to find a home and Cunegonde his beloved from the novel Candide and, to examine how their experiences are similar to the life of a refugee. Candide relates to the journey of a refugee because a refugee must escape from chaos in his or her country to sustain life itself. Candide also shares a similar experience in that he endures this kind of suffering as well. Similarly, Cunegonde also suffered enormously in the hands of the Bulgars who invaded the Castle of Thunder-Ten-Tronckh which led to her getting stabbed and more. Ultimately, Candide and Cunegonde finally settle in the Garden of Eden which is a peaceful and safe place for them to live and their suffering ceases in this place.
Discipline: English
Faculty mentor: Dr. Asma Saye
Worlds Apart: Gender disparity in the immigration experience in Voltaire’s Candide, or Optimism
No full textThe world we live in has become increasingly global in nature. As world citizens, the phenomenon of international migration affects us all. An individual may be forced to leave their homeland due to war, political persecution, a search for new economic opportunities or a need to reunite with family. Once in a new country, they are faced with the challenges of integrating into a new society. Integration into a new community may require human and social capital such as learning a new language and cultural acclimatization (Donato, Piya and Jacobs, S340). Often, an inability to communicate effectively, or adapt culturally, affects on one’s ability to create ties in the community. Some researchers have suggested that there may be a disparity in the successful integration of an immigrant based on gender (Donato, Piya and Jacobs, 1).
Discipline: English
Faculty mentor: Dr. Asma Saye
If You Want to Get Away with Murder, Use Your Car: A Discursive Content Analysis of Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities in News Headlines
No full textThe persistently high rate of pedestrian and cyclist road deaths in Canada is a major public health concern and a serious impediment to encouraging active transport. Despite empirical evidence that cyclist- and pedestrian-targeted policies like helmet laws and jaywalking tickets do not decrease fatalities, popular discourse continues to put the onus on vulnerable road users, often blaming them for their deaths. The negative effect of victim-blaming on vulnerable communities has been well established in the critical and feminist traditions, while recent studies have begun to examine the effects of negative discourse on cycling uptake and safety. To examine how public discourse reflects and affects the perception of blame in vulnerable road user deaths, this paper critically analyses news articles of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in Edmonton in 2016. [results and analysis] Policy implications and avenues for future research are also discussed
Carbonate mounds of the Green River Formation represent hydrothermal fluids within an ancient lake from Eocene Wyoming
No full textThe Laney Member of the Green River Formation in Wyoming contains localized carbonate mounds that have a questionable origin. The purpose of this study is to explain the origin of the mounds and interpret the conditions associated with their deposition. The Green River Formation is ancient 50- million-year-old lacustrine system in western United States. The Laney Mounds are interpreted to have formed primarily by epithermal hydrothermal processes based on, petrographic, and hand-sample analysis. Mounds of similar appearance are also present in surrounding areas and within other members of the Green River Formation. Those mounds are interpreted to have formed by the accumulation and layering of microbes (cyanobacteria) and sediments, interacting with calcium carbonate within the water; therefore, they are considered stromatolites. Travertine, which is associated with hot-spring deposition, is seen in the samples in bulbous forms and laminar forms, surrounding massive carbonate. Microscopically, dendritic travertine is apparent, signifying hydrothermal influences on the margins of the lake basin, with microbial influences on precipitation. The study of these carbonate mounds improves our understanding of this ancient lacustrine system, and the effects of localized thermal fluids on paleoenvironments of the Green River Formation.
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