MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
Not a member yet
2252 research outputs found
Sort by
Examining the role of the cerebellum in visuospatial attention: Can cerebellar lesions lead to spatial neglect?
No full textPrevious studies examining patients with cerebellar damage, and functional brain imaging in healthy adults, suggest that the left cerebellum plays an important role in visual attention through its connections with the fronto-parietal attention network in the right cerebral hemisphere. Damage to the right temporal-parietal cortex often results in spatial neglect – a disorder in which patients are unable to attend to objects on the contralesional side. Given the known connections between the cerebellum and attention networks in the cerebral cortex, the aim of the present study was to determine if cerebellar lesions might also result in symptoms of spatial neglect. To answer this question, we analyzed data from 25 patients with focal cerebellar stroke (9 left; 12 right, 4 bilateral) who completed three classic neglect assessments – line bisection (LB), cancellation, and figure copying. These data were compared to 81 age-matched healthy control participants from a previously published dataset. At the group level, there were no significant overall differences in LB or figure copying performance. However, patients with left cerebellar lesions missed significantly more left than right sided targets on star cancellation, compared to controls. A voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analysis indicated that increased omissions on the left side of the star cancellation task were correlated with damage to in lobule VII/Crus I of the left posterior cerebellum. These results suggest that damage to the left lateral cerebellum can result in an increase in neglect-like symptoms that are indicative of dysfunction in the right fronto-parietal attention network. Keywords: cerebellum, visual attention, fronto- parietal attention network, spatial neglect.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christopher Strieme
Increasing Independent Self-Care in Autistic Children through Telehealth Parent Coaching
No full textAutistic Children can struggle to perform independent self-care behaviours and can overexert caretakers as a result. The long-term effect of this overexertion is burnout. To address this problem, we will recruit between one and three child-parent dyads to participate in a six to eight week long clinical trial as informed by the practice of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). The children in these dyads will have a deficit in the frequency of the independent performance of one of the following self-care behaviours: hygiene, sleeping, or eating. Then, we will use telehealth parent coaching to teach parents to implement chaining interventions with their children. We will guide parents and children through the chaining intervention for one hour per week for six to eight weeks while taking data on the child\u27s independence across steps and taking data on the parent\u27s correct implementation of the intervention. Between sessions, parents will continue to implement the intervention. Upon session cessations, the data will be organized into graphs which will demonstrate the change in frequency of independent self-care behaviours performed by the children over the course of the study, and these graphs will be analyzed. We expect that this chaining intervention will increase the frequency of the respective independent self-care behaviours from each of the children. If possible, an across-participants analysis will be performed to better conceptualize the effectiveness of the performed interventions, and a relevant conclusion will be provided.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Russ Powell and Miranda Macaule
Racially Bias Media Representation of the War in Ukraine and the Impact on our Empathetic Responses
No full textThis study examines the media representation of the war in Ukraine and compares it to media representation of other global conflicts. This research recognizes the influence that media can have on society\u27s reactions to global events and sought to examine the responses of Canadians to the war in Ukraine. Two primary themes were identified within the media content that highlight significant racial discrepancies. These discrepancies exist in the way this war is covered and discussed in comparison to wars where we do not see white civilians as the primary victim.
These themes are outlined and referred to throughout this study as “shock value” and “a focus on personal stories”. Canada\u27s response and levels of empathy for the victims of the war in Ukraine also differ significantly from that of other wars, both on the individual and institutional levels.
Department: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Gulayet
The Hundred Homes Initiative - “Attempting to end poverty; starting with 100 loving Homes”
No full textPoverty can be thought of as not having enough money, funds, or income to afford the basic necessity of life. Optimistic individuals claim there have been many successes in addressing and improving poverty around the world. This can be credited to the great effort of economic, political, social and even environmental solutions that have been implemented globally to address the issues of poverty. However, pessimistic individuals question the millions of individuals that have been left out of the economic growth and poverty alleviation. Some go as far as addressing the winners of administering unfair, exploitative measures to reach their levels of comfortability. A multitude of literature and research purposes: major funding of government programs, wealth redistribution and equity are the main solutions. However, what are the roles and responsibilities that the family, community, and the overall middle class must play in order to address the issue of poverty as well is further explored in this report. The main purpose of this research paper is to address the failures of the past, the improvements that are needed and how society can overall re-imagining the social welfare system.
Department: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Chris Hancoc
The Patriation of Canada\u27s Constitution by Pierre Trudeau
No full textThis article explores the events leading up to Constitution Act, 1982, in relation to the patriation of Canada\u27s Constitution. Pierre Trudeau had been determined, ever since 1968, to remove the Canadian Constitution from Westminster and bring it home to Ottawa. It was viewed as a final step in the century-long journey towards Canadian independence from Britain. Shortly after coming to power, however, Trudeau found it increasingly difficult to alleviate the federal-provincial struggles that halted patriation. The failure of the Victoria Conference in 1971 eventually ceased any serious constitutional negotiations between Trudeau and the provinces for nearly a decade. However, the February 1980 victory that granted Trudeau a majority government renewed his confidence, and constitutional talks resumed. They culiminated in the Ottawa Conference held in November, 1981, which was successful in producing an agreement between 9 out of 10 provincial delegates and the federal government. Québec under René Lévesque was the only participant who declined to sign on to Canadian patriation after they had been exlcuded from a night of negotiations, known as the Night of Long Knives. So while Trudeau had achieved patriation, it was done at the cost of further alienating Québec. Ultimately, Trudeau pursued patriation to strengthen national unity. While this was successful to a degree, it failed with regard to Québec. 
"Man is driven in total by his insecurities": Tony Soprano\u27s Castration
No full textHBO’s massively successful and influential crime drama series The Sopranos helped to usher in a new wave of complex, boundary-pushing narratives by confronting audiences with a fresh and subversive portrait of crime, family, and the legacy of Freud in American culture at the turn of the 21st century. The series centers around the daily life of mobster Tony Soprano as he navigates the challenges posed to his business by the RICO Act, to his family and marriage by his double life, and to his mental health by his deteriorating sense of power and identity. Previous analyses of the series have recognized that Freudian psychoanalysis is a major theme in the series as Tony visits psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi to find the root causes of his depression and anxiety, but few have produced psychoanalytic readings of the series itself. Through a scene-by-scene analysis of the series pilot through a Freudian lens, this essay examines how the characterization of Tony (and others) engages with the Freudian themes of castration anxiety and the Oedipus complex in a self-conscious manner and comes to the conclusion that Tony’s neurosis is driven by an unconscious resentment of his mother. 
The Country\u27s Wealth: State-Owned Enterprises in Apartheid and Post-Apartheid South Africa
No full textState-owned enterprises (SOEs) have played a foundational role in the political and economic history of South Africa since the Dutch East India Company first established a trading post at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Throughout the following centuries, South African governments of various stripes have each used state ownership of resources and industry to restructure the country’s economy in the service of their own perceived interests. In this comparison of apartheid and post-apartheid SOE strategies, I draw from a wide range of scholarly work to assess the relative failures and successes of state ownership policies since 1948, with an eye to the implications for present-day policymaking.
Department: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chaldeans Mensa
The Decoupling of Industrial Sulfur Dioxide Emissions from Gross Regional Product Per Capita in Beijing
No full textThrough the use of a case study, I explore the relationship between industrial sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and gross regional product (GRP) in Beijing between 2001 and 2018. By using data from the China Statistical Yearbook, I show that GRP per capita grew while industrial SO2 emissions fell. Further, I show how expansions of the technique and composition effects of economic activity contributed to this decoupling process. More specifically, I explore the significance of changes like increased desulfurization and the growth of the tertiary industry and how these factors led to a decrease in industrial SO2 emissions while GRP grew. I also explore how key events and experiences in Beijing’s history influenced the motivation to improve air quality and how these changes in motivation contributed to the decoupling process.
Department: Economics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ergete Fered
Cloning and Purification of a glycerol-specific alditol oxidase for biosensor construction
No full textWine production is dependent on ethanol, but also on optimal glycerol concentrations, both of which are produced by S. cerevisiae fermentation. Wine characteristics like sweetness levels are influenced by glycerol concentrations. Additionally, elevated glycerol levels can be an indication of abnormal blood sugar levels. In both situations, close observations of glycerol levels are essential. One proposed method of measuring glycerol concentrations is through enzymatic oxidation with a glycerol biosensor. Alditol oxidase (AldO) is a recently discovered carbohydrate oxidase in S. coelicolor. Despite specificity for longer-chained polyols, studies have proposed that AldO can be used as a glycerol oxidase. Using random point mutations, an AldO mutant was isolated and had increased specificity for glycerol. These results suggest that potential for AldO with glycerol biosensor development. This project aimed to produce a glycerol specific alditol oxidase to be used as a biosensor. A synthetic alditol oxidase (AldOG) gene was used to produce AldOG via cloning methods. The method will also be utilized in conjunction with Dr. Samuel Mugo’s work in biosensor construction. Finally, the resulting cloning techniques optimized for AldOG will be used in a future laboratory for a 300-level Biochemistry course currently under development by Dr. Bernstein.
Department: Biological Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nina Bernstei
Synthesis of Novel Thiazole Inhibitors of Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase
No full textAlkaline phosphatases (APs) are a group of homodimeric metalloenzymes that hydrolyze monophosphate esters. The overexpression of Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase (IAP) is associated with a variety of diseases. By inhibiting IAP these diseases can be more effectively treated or prevented. Thiazoles are aromatic heterocycles containing sulfur and nitrogen, with a wide range of pharmacological properties. This study focused on synthesizing thiazole derivatives and testing if they can inhibit IAP. Enzyme inhibition was tested by measuring the Km and Vmax of the enzyme reaction. Km and Vmax were derived from Lineweaver-Burke plots created from the reaction rates of a series of reactions. Reaction rates were determined by measuring the absorbance of p-nitrophenoxide produced by the enzyme in a spectrophotometer. Overall, we were successfully able to synthesize the thiazole derivatives and found they uncompetitively inhibited IAP.
Department: Biological Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tina Bot