MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Crazy and Caucasian? The Influence of Race, Gender, and 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. 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
Colourblind Racism Discourses in YouTube Review Videos of "Just Mercy"
No full textIn the current age of the COVID-19 pandemic with issues about race and discrimination becoming more apparent, many individuals turn towards media to learn more about race and racism in the world. Therefore, this research project aims to explore how white audiences are discussing films that depict race-based issues. “Just Mercy”, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, depicts the true story of civil rights defence attorney Bryan Stevenson as they work to free wrongly convicted African Americans on death row. Using critical discourse analysis, this study explores whether colourblind racism discourses are present in how white audiences discuss the film “Just Mercy”. To do so, this project will be using Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s four frames of colourblind racism and Jayakumar and Adamian’s fifth frame of colourblind racism to analyze movie review videos published by white YouTubers. Through the analysis of these videos, the findings indicate that Jayakumar and Adamian’s fifth frame of colourblind racism is used more commonly by white individuals in racially conscious contexts than Bonilla-Silva’s initial four frames.
Department: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kalyani Thurairaja
How Those with Close Connections with LGBTQ2S+ Talk About That Community
No full textThere has been a steady increase in North America of people who identify as LGBTQ2S+. In a 2017 survey done by GLAAD, 20% of millennials identify as LGBTQ2S+. This increase would seem to increase the odds that soon we are all going to have someone close to us who is LGBTQ2S+. With that in mind, this research was done with the idea that having someone close to you that identifies as LGBTQ2S+ could affect the way you talk about that community. Critical discourse analysis was used through the lens of qualitative research, the use of a focus group and a qualitative interview from convenience sampling were done, and from those data collection techniques, language, behaviours, attitudes, and perceptions of the participants were analyzed. While many studies focus on the negative attitudes and language of society, this study took the approach of starting from the positive aspects of having a close relationship and being a support to someone who is LGBTQ2S+. Due to the nature of my subject matter, I chose to use gender neutral pseudonyms, gender neutral pronoun references and refrained from gender binary language.
Department: Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kalyani Thurairaja
#StopAsianHate: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Anti-Asian Racism During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Online Canadian News Media
No full textIn late January 2020, the first confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus was verified in Canada (Marchand-Senécal, Kozak, Mubareka, Salt, Gubbay, Eshaghi, Allen, Li, Bastien, Gilmour, Ozaldin & Leis, 2020). In early March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the COVID-19 virus as a global pandemic at a media briefing (World Health Organization, 2020). The advent and evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a culture of enhanced public health and safety measures. In addition, a dramatic increase in anti-Asian discrimination and racism due to the COVID-19 pandemic has also materialized in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2020). At an unprecedented time, the media has become a critical and powerful mechanism in order to remain informed about emerging events, including anti-Asian discrimination and racism in Canada. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to explore the differences and similarities between the discourses of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic in online Canadian news media. A critical discourse analysis of 30 news articles from Vancouver-based and national online news sources was conducted, which revealed several themes about the relationship between Asian Canadians, racism, and media amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Department: Honours Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kalyani Thurairaja
Adapting to a virtual work using immersive audio with Copelli-AI
No full textExploring modern performative art through immersive audio in an ever changing virtual world. This research is intended to present how we may use technology in a creative way with artistic intent to help convey metaphorical content within the art. Working with the musical score in direct conjunction with per formative art, I examine artistic intent and work directly with the creative team to augment their vision using immersive binaural audio mixing techniques. The composer and I will discuss challenges we faced adapting the score for immersion and what sort of things we managed to achieve despite all the difficulties we faced in the process. We will present a live demonstration of one movement from the upcoming modern immersive ballet Copelli-AI that will premier at Edmonton Fringe Festival in 2021.
Department: Music
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Bill Richard
“Carry On”: State Censorship and Denial Of Spanish Influenza In Great Britain(1918-19)
No full textFrom 1918-20, Spanish Influenza created a mass world pandemic during the end of World War I and its immediate aftermath. Looking at Great Britain as an example of the period, it is argued that the virus has often been forgotten as a result of press censorship and state denial in a time when countries could not afford to look weak.
Discipline: History
Faculty mentor: Dr. Aidan Forth 
Isolation - Reflection - Transformation
No full textThis photo series depicts people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The photos are titled “Isolation,” “Reflection,” and “Transformation.” For many, the pandemic has been a journey of self-discovery, amidst adaptation to a new world where we are required to stay apart from one another
Life in a Bubble - Masked Emotions - Bubble Wrap Mask
No full textLife in a Bubble
After almost a year of living in a pandemic, many people miss the feeling of physical touch and connection. In this photo, the subject is reaching out, trying to break free of the bubble they’ve been stuck in.
Masked Emotions
Although someone may be smiling on the outside, on the inside they could be feeling completely different. A mask might cover a smile, but a smile might also be covering sadness. The photo was taken in black & white to emphasize these darker feelings that can be related to deteriorating mental health during the pandemic.
Bubble Wrap Mask
Covid-19 has many people feeling isolated. The subject is holding a mask made of bubble wrap to represent the feeling of being stuck in a bubble. However, the bubble wrap mask also represents protection
Empty Void
No full textA place once filled with the sounds of chatters, singing, instruments playing is now empty. Allard hall was the home of art, design, music, and many more students in MacEwan\u27s various art programs. Every corner you turned, you would see a class in session, students sitting with their friends at the many tables available in Allard socializing, students playing their instruments, and much more. There was never a dull moment in Allard Hall. Now every time you enter Allard, there appears to be a void. Going to Allard is not the same anymore, as it makes you feel like something is missing. You feel lonely because no one is around; there is an eery silence of what once used to be noises coming from the many students.
This photograph represents the void and loneliness of going to school and how Allard Hall\u27s environment changed since COVID began. The eye is meant to be attracted to the model\u27s small figure standing alone in the center of the frame, and the eye is to follow the contrast of the small figure and how big the emptiness is in his surrounding. The model is also on the main floor while I\u27m on the 5th floor capturing him from a birdseye view to show the perspective of how empty his surrounding is. I converted the image to black and white to evoke that emotion of darkness and emptiness. No one in sight within his surroundings is how Allard has been during covid, which is a heavy contrast to how Allard, and MacEwan campus, was pre-COVID. Going to Allard Hall is not the same anymore. All you can hear are the echoes of what once was
9-(2-Phosphonyl-methoxyethyl)-adenine promotes erythrocytic differentiation and disrupts cell replication in chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cells
No full textDisruption during cellular differentiation can cause hematopoietic stem cells to proliferate uncontrollably, resulting in the development of cancer. Differentiation therapies are being investigated as a type of cancer treatment which involve inducing agents that promote the differentiation of cancer cells into those with similar properties to normal blood cells. These cells can then undergo apoptosis at an accelerated and controlled rate compared to cancer cells, making this a potential therapeutic technique. In this study, the ability of human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cells to undergo cellular differentiation in response to the inducing agent 9-(2-Phosphonyl-methoxy ethyl)-adenine (PMEA) is investigated. PMEA has previously been shown to disrupt cell replication, and promote erythrocytic differentiation in K562 cells. In order to further test the effectiveness of this inducer, cell proliferation was measured with a cell growth curve, hemoglobin presence was measured with benzidine staining, and gamma-globin expression (a protein subunit of fetal hemoglobin) was measured in both induced and uninduced K562 cell cultures via RT-qPCR and western blotting. The results indicate that PMEA slows cell replication, and promotes hemoglobin (and subsequently gamma-globin) expression in treated cells. In summary, the findings support the conclusion that PMEA is able to promote erythrocytic differentiation in K562 cells, and provides information that supports differentiation therapies as a method for cancer treatment