MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Phytochemical plant extractions using switchable-hydrophilicity solvents
No full textEssential oils extracted from plants contain phytochemicals that are useful for a number of applications, such as the food industry, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Traditional methods of extracting these oils can involve using harmful solvents, which are typically removed using distillation and considered waste after each extraction process. Recently, an alternative class of solvents, called switchable-hydrophilicity solvents (SHSs), have been identified as an alternative to traditionally used solvents. SHSs can switch between being immiscible with water in its natural form, to miscible with water when mixed with dissolved carbon dioxide. Theoretically, SHSs can be used as a solvent to extract phytochemicals from plants and can be removed from the product of interest through switching rather than distillation. Additionally, a SHS could be readily reusable for sequential cycles of an extraction process. This presentation compares the use of N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine (DMCHA) as a SHS in oil extractions against traditional methods (steam distillation and Soxhlet extraction) of extracting Lavandula vera (L. vera) essential oils. The chemical composition of essential oils and selectivity to compounds of interest were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The findings of this project can be used for future contributions studying the sustainability of using SHSs as solvents in phytochemical plant extractions.
Department: Biological Sciences
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Tina Bott and Dr. Roland Le
Carbonate sedimentology of coral reefs in Sumba Island, Indonesia
No full textThe Island of Sumba, Indonesia, comprises several reef terraces formed by episodic tectonic activity. Volcanic-derived sediment has been found to have been incorporated into reef fabrics without impacting coral growth, which contradicts the theory that coral reefs do not survive under significant clastic input. However, it is unclear whether intervals of increased clastic content affect coral growth strategies or whether the immature nature of the volcaniclastic sediment explains why clastic input does not choke corals. This study employs various thin sections from Pleistocene-age fossil reefs to document and characterize the sediment’s size and circularity, which is a measure of sediment maturity. The study involves taking images of each thin section. The thin section have stained with alizarin red to turn the calcite/aragonite grains red without affecting other grains. Then, the images were colour-indexed to black and white, with clastic grain appearing as white. The images underwent thresholding to isolate the white grains to measure their circularity and sizes. A range of grain sizes in these sections have revealed that some of the grains detected are small enough to enter corallites and pores in the coral skeleton, while others are much larger and would not impact the coral growth.
Department: Physical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hilary Corlet
Arts engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a challenging time for students’ mental health and well-being. Numerous countries have imposed nationwide lockdown measures to control the spread of the virus. Studies have shown that while these measures can be effective when strictly implemented, it comes with a cost, affecting people’s social well-being. The restrictions have made it difficult for people to access and engage in their preferred activities/hobbies. One previous study examined the changes between preferred vs. substituted activities involving nature and its association with perceived stress during the pandemic (Pearson et al., 2021). However, little is known about the changes in engagement with arts-related activities.
One purpose of the current exploratory study is to examine the changes in the patterns of engagement with art activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic in students. Another purpose of the study is to determine whether engagement in preferred vs. substitution activities and the motivation to engage in these activities are associated with well-being. The proposed study will have participants indicate their engagement with different arts-related activities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, participants will be asked to rate their motivations for engaging with their preferred and substituted activities. We predict that intrinsic motivation to engage in activities (i.e., doing them because they are interesting or enjoyed) will predict higher well-being than external motivation (e.g., doing them for reward or pressure from others). Moreover, participants will complete measures of pandemic-related emotional well-being, COVID-related stress, general coping strategies, general well-being, personality, and demographics.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kathleen Corrigal
How respondent intoxication influences university staff\u27s perceptions of risk and sanction recommendations in an on-campus sexual assault scenario
No full textThe present research will focus on how perpetrator intoxication influences perceptions of risk to reoffend as well as sanction recommendations in an on-campus sexual assault scenario. It is hypothesized that perpetrators who are intoxicated will be deemed lower risk and will be assigned less severe sanctions. Additionally, it is hypothesized that those that are under the influence of MDMA will be seen as higher risk than those under the influence of alcohol. University staff members will be presented with a vignette depicting an on-campus sexual assault, where perpetrator intoxicamation (sober, alcohol intoxication, and MDMA intoxication) will be varied. Respondent will then be asked to rate the likelihood that the perpetrator will go on to commit another sexual offence that is less, equally, or more severe than the one depicted in the scenario. Respondents will also be asked to select from a list of several sanctions all that they believe are appropriate given the scenario. Past research has shown that offender intoxication can have a strong influence on how people assign blame and culpability in a sexual assault scenario. However, whether this translates to perceptions of risk has not been explored. As disciplinary actions are often, if not always, left to the discretion of university staff members, it is important to understand how this factor could be influencing these decisions. This is especially important when we consider that substance abuse has been found in previous research to be associated with increased risk of sexual recidivism, albeit with offender samples.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sandy Jun
Criminogenic and Non-Criminogenic Needs of High-Risk Offenders and Reintegration Success
No full textThere is limited research about individuals incarcerated until the end of their sentence without being supervised in the community through parole. When they are assessed to be a high risk for committing sexual or violent offences, they can be placed on Section 810 peace bonds to restrict their movements and behaviours (Harris, 2001). The present study examines high-risk individuals’ basic needs, criminogenic needs (i.e., dynamic risk factors), and responsivity issues and how these predict their reintegration success. Specifically, it assesses whether these factors contribute to missing an appointment, violating conditions, and reoffending. The files of 45 individuals were coded for the first year of post-release supervision to explore challenges and performance while under supervision for each 4-month time period. The area under the curve statistic was calculated to evaluate the predictive accuracy of each total for basic needs items, criminogenic needs, responsivity issues, and three community outcomes. The findings indicated that criminogenic needs consistently predicted violations of conditions and reoffending across time periods. However, basic needs and responsivity were not predictive of missed appointments and reoffending for all time periods. These findings suggest that supervision and monitoring of these factors play an essential role in stabilizing and effectively reintegrating these individuals into the community. However, a greater emphasis should be placed on criminogenic needs to reduce criminal behaviour. Future research is needed to examine the predictive validity of individual criminogenic risk factors and the association of basic needs, criminogenic needs, and responsivity issues regarding long-term reintegration success.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sandy Jun
Men are Bad, Women are Mad: The Influence of Race, Gender, & Crime Variables on Perceptions of Criminal Responsibility
No full textPast research has shown that the way people perceive a crime depends on a variety of extralegal factors, especially when determinations of Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD) are at stake. In particular, the Canadian criminal justice system has a demonstrated bias against people of colour in relation to guilty verdicts and punitiveness. Further, mental illness is often interpreted differentially in light of the gender of the perpetrator and their criminal history. As such, this study was designed to assess how participants interpret a case of homicide where the following variables have been manipulated: (1) perpetrator race (Indigenous, Black, Caucasian), (2) perpetrator gender (man or woman), (3) perpetrator-victim relationship (stranger v. known), and (4) criminal history (none, NCR, CR, NCR+CR). Participants will be presented with crime and trial summaries, and information pertaining to the defendant’s mental health (i.e., diagnosis of schizophrenia with ambiguous influence on the commission of the crime). They will also complete several measures of bias and a judgment questionnaire. Data analysis is currently underway. We anticipate that defendants of colour and men will be more likely to be deemed criminally responsible and sentenced more harshly, however previous NCR or CR determinations will sway prospective jurors’ views in the same direction as the information provided. Further, we predict that NCR designations will be more common when the victim is a stranger. This study has important implications for judicial bias and how extralegal factors continue to exert large influences on our judgments.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kristine Peac
Differences in Criminogenic Needs and Risk Prediction Based on Sexual Assault Typology
No full textTypologies have the potential to help us better understand the motivations and behaviours of individuals who commit sexual offences; however, there is limited research about the practical applications of typologies in sexual offender intervention and risk assessment. Using a well- established typology by Knight and Prentky (1990), we examined whether there were differences in criminogenic needs and predictive accuracy of two well-validated actuarial risk tools. Using a sample of 300 individuals who have been investigated for sexual assault, we categorized them into one of the five types of sexual offenders. Consistent with our expectations, our analyses revealed significant differences in the prevalence of six central criminogenic needs examined among the types. Also, in examining the predictive validity of the Static-99R and Static-2002R, it was found that the risk tools were not consistently accurate across the different types of offenders and recidivistic outcomes. These results suggest that individuals with different motivations and patterns of behaviour have unique criminogenic needs that contribute to their offending that should be considered in interventions. Furthermore, considering an individual’s sexual offending behaviours and motivation may prove useful in identifying the most accurate risk assessment tool for that offender. Although these results do not offer a complete picture of the application of typologies to sex offender treatment and risk assessment, it provides empirical evidence that supports criminal justice professionals considering offender motivations and patterns of behaviour when addressing individuals who sexually offend.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sandy Jun
Is “Just-Get-Started” an Effective Self-Management Tactic to Improve Flossing?
No full textHealthy behaviours are often maintained by how habitual, or automatic, the behaviour has become. Repeated initiation and repetition of a behaviour has been shown to result in an activity becoming more automatic. Thus, this study experimentally investigated the efficacy of the often recommended “Just Get Started” (JGS) tactic, which increases the likelihood of initiating a behaviour, and assessed whether it increased participants’ frequency and automaticity of flossing. Undergraduate students (n = 44) completed baseline surveys before being randomized into one of two groups: (1) a control group in which participants were only told to floss each day for four weeks, and (2) and a JGS group that was additionally given the recommendation to use the JGS tactic, that is, whenever they did not feel like flossing, to pick up the floss and floss one tooth before deciding whether or not to continue. Participants reported their frequency and automaticity of flossing after 2 and 4 weeks. Results showed that although both automaticity and flossing increased over time, there was no significant difference between the JGS and control group on these measures, suggesting that the JGS rule provided no extra benefit. Participants who made use of the JGS tactic, however, reported that the rule helped them initiate and continue flossing, which suggests that the JGS rule may be perceived as more useful than it actually is. Limitations of the study include a small sample size and the over- reliance on self-report measures.
Keywords: Just-Get-Started, habit formation, behaviour frequency, automaticity, flossing
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Russ Powel
Storytelling Abilities of Children with Cochlear Implants (CI)
No full textThe purpose of the present study is to assess the storytelling abilities of children with cochlear implants (CI). This creative delivery combines both linguistic and cognitive skills, providing an indication of children’s social-communicative development. Insight into the macro and microstructure level features of CI children’s stories can reveal aspects of a child’s language grammar development. CI children’s storytelling abilities, along with age-matched normal hearing (NH) peers, were assessed in topics on personal events (autobiographical memory) and in topics on novel fictional events (semantic memory). The child selected a story topic among four options then told a story in relation to the topic, creating a total of four stories. Audio recordings were transcribed and the narratives were analyzed for overall structure, conjunctions, and referents. Preliminary findings reveal that CI children’s narrative ability was similar to that of their NH peers in personal stories. However, their narrative abilities were lower in fictional topics than in personal story topics. This was attributed to their difficulties in the use of conjunctions. The findings will assist parents, educators, and practitioners in identifying learning conditions that can optimize CI children’s language outcomes through creative language activities.
References
Crosson, J., & Geers, A. (2001). Analysis of narrative ability in children with cochlear implants. Ear & Hearing, 22, 381-394.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tara Vongpaisa
Importance of Symbolism in the Russian War on Ukraine
No full textUkraine is a country with an extensive history of war and oppression. As such, a large part of their collective culture revolves around patriotic symbolism. Patriotic symbolism refers to symbols representing a nation\u27s history, heritage, and culture. This type of symbolism has recently been emphasized over the world\u27s media as the country fights for sovereignty once more during the Russian Ukrainian Conflict. This presentation will demonstrate the importance of symbolism within Russia\u27s invasion of Ukraine and how Ukraine has utilized symbols to inspire and rally the masses through collective representation. In addition to how collective representation and collective effervescence can elevate the effectiveness of propaganda materials.
Department: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Gulayet