MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Worth the Risk: Narcissism and Risky Health Behaviour
No full textGrandiose narcissists (i.e., individuals who are self-focused, egotistical, and vain) are more likely to eat healthily and exercise due to their concerns with physical appearance. However, they also make riskier health decisions (e.g., binge drinking). In two studies, we examine whether those high (vs. low) in narcissism are more willing to risk their long-term health for short-term appearance enhancements.
In Study 1 (N = 286) and Study 2 (N = 277), we measured participants\u27 narcissistic admiration (i.e., extraversion, charisma) and narcissistic rivalry (i.e., aggression, hostility). All participants viewed three advertisements for appearance-enhancing products (e.g., workout supplements) with the presence or absence of side effects. Participants indicated their willingness to use these products to be admired by others, improve their health, and be more competitive. In Study 1, men (but not women) who were high (vs. low) in narcissistic admiration were more likely to endorse products to be more admired by others and improve their health when side effects were absent (vs. present). Study 2 did not replicate these results. Findings suggest that those high in narcissism may not be more interested in appearance-enhancing products. However, knowing potential side effects could help them make better health decisions if they are.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Miranda Giacomin 
Individual Differences in Inhibitory Control: The Associations Between the “Automatic Pilot,” Executive Function, and Executive Attention
No full textPrevious research has demonstrated that the visuomotor system can rapidly correct ongoing movements following abrupt changes in a target\u27s location. These “online corrections” can precede conscious awareness, and can occur even when participants are instructed not to correct. This “automatic pilot” is controlled by the dorsal visual stream, which plays a critical role in visually guided actions. These inadvertent corrections commonly occur during the Automatic Pilot Task – a procedure sensitive to errors in movement inhibition. Response inhibition is a component of executive function, which is governed, in part, by the right inferior frontal cortex, and a series of fronto-basal-ganglia networks. Response inhibition, however, is not a unitary construct, and has various facets. It is currently unclear whether the mechanisms that inhibit automatic movement corrections in the dorsal stream share common cognitive and neural substrates with other aspects of executive attention or executive function. Therefore, this study will investigate whether unintended corrections in the Automatic Pilot Task are related to other measures of executive attention, such as the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), as well as measures of executive function such as the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function for Adults (BRIEF-A). If the mechanisms that inhibit the “automatic pilot” share common substrates with executive attention and executive control, then increases in unintended corrections in the Automatic Pilot Task should be associated with increased errors on the SART, and poorer scores on the ASRS, CFQ, and BRIEF-A.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christopher Striemer 
A methodological exploration of drug dosage time in Zebrafish behavioural pharmacology research
No full textA lack of standardization, and proper reporting, has led to methodological concerns in neuropsychological and neuropharmacological zebrafish research. Of these concerns, those with actionable and relatively easy solutions are the administered drug dose and the dosing time (the time the fish spends in a drug solution) for a given drug. The current study aims to systematically investigate these concerns in an attempt to standardize research methods related to zebrafish drug administration in the future. The current study used a well-validated measure of zebrafish behaviour, the open field test (In press in Scientific Reports). A well-validated anxiolytic substance was also used to ensure robust study results; lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was thus used (Grossman et al., 2010; Kyzar, Collins, Gaikwad, et al., 2012). A three-by-three dose (50ug, 100ug, 250ug) and dosing time matrix (10, 20, and 30 minutes) was implemented to determine the interactive effects of the two variables. Results from the study indicate a significant difference in swimming velocity (F= 4.039, p<0.001), distance moved (F= 3.414, p=0.003), and cumulative time spent in the thigmotaxic zone (F= 2.543, p=0.021) across the matrix. These results indicate the necessity to include detailed accounts of these variables in all studies and not to assume that two studies are identical if these values are not identical.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Melike Schalomon 
Parasocial Relationships and Materialism in the Media: The Moderating Role of Motivation
No full textThe literature has identified a positive relationship between materialism and social media intensity, as well as between materialism and celebrity worship. However, the literature on the relationship between materialism and parasocial relationships needs to be more thorough. Parasocial relationships are characterized by the one-sided online relationship audience members experience with media influencers, and materialism is when individuals hold values that prioritize image, popularity, making a lot of money, and having a lot of possessions. Previous studies have identified how materialism is related to the processes engaged in during extensive media consumption, as well as the attitudes involved in the increase in materialism as a function of celebrity worship, particularly envy. This study is aimed at expanding on a recently developed social comparison framework and determining whether the differing attitudes consumers hold regarding the fortunes-of-influencers (FOI) and their differing motivations behind media usage (process and social) are related to parasocial relationship intensity (PSI) and resulting materialistic outcomes. We will employ a correlational analysis using a sample of MacEwan first year students, the majority of which aged 18-24, who report frequent activity on social media, assessing the relationship between social comparison engagement, social media processes, FOI, PSI, and materialistic outcomes. The results and conclusion will be reported at a later date once the data has been collected.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David Watson 
From Global Practices to Global Mindedness: Utilizing Reflexivity and Cultural Relevance Towards a Global Indigenization of International Social Work
No full textThe importance of the decolonization of social work curriculum around the world has increased in the past 10 years. Due to its strong colonial legacy, Social work education, practice, and research are called to break free from Eurocentric western value based theories and methods of practices in the social work profession. Our poster focuses on the concept of global mindedness and reflexivity as the results of a scoping literature review about the development of concepts and related culturally grounded practices in the field of International Social Work in Germany and Canada. Our poster presents the nature and scope of International Social Work in both countries in the context of internationalization, glocalisation, and indigenization. The purpose of our poster is to explore Indigenous Beading as an example to articulate mindedness-reflexivity as locally and culturally relevant practices to Indigenization in the context of International Social Work. Our poster will discuss how practices around the world and existence of global indigeneity that is not essentialized but rather contextualized to be relevant on a micro and macro level of practices can enhance the decolonization of International Social Work practice.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Somnoma Valerie Ouedraogo 
Perceptions of Dairy Farms on the Environment: A Content Analysis of TikTok Comments
No full textThis study examined the public perceptions of dairy farms on the environment by viewing comments to a TikTok video, which presented a claim that the dairy industry has had a decrease in its environmental impact. A content analysis was conducted with initial and secondary evaluations, finding 5 broad categories which included positive and negative perceptions of the dairy industry, as well as a further 6 themes including informative, clarification, blaming humans, veganism, critical, and education. The most common theme was informative, encompassing 38% of the relevant comments. The findings indicated proficient use of scientific research, critical considerations of the video, and reflected the biases and influences found in social media and popular culture.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Diane Symbaluk 
Student Experience of and Reactions to Online Learning on Facebook: A Content Analysis of Remote Learning Issues during COVID-19
No full textThis study examined the complications of remote learning experienced by MacEwan University students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Content analyses of 125 comments to a Facebook post about remote learning revealed 5 key themes including: work overload, professor issues, disorganized system, burnout, and a concern with fees. The most prevalent themes were work overload (35.2% of comments) and professor issues (28.0%). Further analyses showed that students were most challenged by weekly assignments and readings occurring in all of their classes simultaneously. This study sheds insight into student experiences with at-home learning and suggests instructors need to modify their approaches to remote learning practices to ensure the workload is not beyond the capacities of what students would typically experience in person
Cross-Border Tensions Affecting Sports: A Content Analysis of Reactions to Extreme Decisions Made by Ramiz Raja on Twitter Due to Politics Being Exposed to Sports
No full textThis study aimed to explore cross-border tensions affecting sports and how people reacted to the decision made in the wake of those tensions. Fifty Twitter comments were sampled using a purposive method to gain knowledge about the themes in reactions to bold decisions made by Ramiz Raja. Results revealed 11 main themes. The literature suggests that disputes are brought up by politicians, which reflects the general population. The results show that the public does not hold the same views as the politicians, and people are more accepting of moving past conflicts. People are very protective of cricket in both nations. Current events have shown that despite politicians working hard to keep nations apart, the people do not completely agree
Mapping the Police-Media Institutional Relationship
No full textThe relationship between police and media has been and remains one of the most significant for both institutions. The modern police and modern newspaper developed contemporaneously, each influencing the form, function, and popular appeal of the other. Theories of media and power, however, often address the police as part of larger power structures and ignore the unique police-media institutional relationship.
This research paper establishes essential characteristics of the police-media relationship and identifies frequent sites of interaction between them, with a focus on crime reporting. Media effects, dominant ideology, and institutional approaches are then assessed as interpretive frameworks, concluding that institutional theory provides the strongest theoretical model for analyzing internal and interorganizational behaviours.
The professional norms and practices that compose police and media institutional logics are defined, and their historical origins and evolutions are investigated. These long-established logics continue to direct how police and media construct and respond to crime, and consequently how crime is perceived by the public and treated by legal authorities. Because the habits of crime reporting shape policing practices, altering routine media coverage of crime and police issues may help address systemic problems in policing
Conversations About Indigenous Language Revitalization: Urban Edmonton Strategies and Methods
No full textThis study examines how the indigenous ways of knowing are implemented within community- based language teaching programming within Edmonton. Some Indigenous languages are still learned at home from birth, and in others, daycare and schools play a larger role in introducing the language to children; here, through a local case study, this project investigates how Indigenous languages are being taught to adults in community programs in urban Edmonton. Through interviews with participants who teach Indigenous languages (e.g., Plains Cree, Nakoda) to adults, I present methods and strategies for revitalizing their language and teaching language within urban settings such as Edmonton.
Department: Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenanne Ferguso