MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Risk Assessment and Criminogenic Needs Based on Sexual Assault Typologies
No full textTheoretical and empirically-based typologies for criminal behaviour, including sexual assault, are typically based on the premise that those who commit sexual assault have different individual characteristics. Greater knowledge to identify diverse groups of these individuals may help to understand the criminogenic needs that contribute to their offending and how they can be accurately assessed for risk of reoffending. The current study examines the typology proposed by Knight and Prentky (1990). The Massachusetts Treatment Center Rapist Typology, Version 3 (MTC: R3) identifies five general categories of rapists. These categories include opportunistic, pervasively angry, vindictive, sexual, and sadistic types. Using a sample of 300 individuals who have been investigated for sexual assault, the current study will categorize these individuals into one of these typologies. This research will identify potentially unique criminogenic needs and the predictive validity of validated risk assessment tools for each subtype. It is predicted that these subtypes will present with different criminogenic needs and validated risk tools that assess for recidivism risk will have better accuracy depending on typology. The practical implications of this study will allow criminal justice professionals, such as police, to better assess risk and address the criminogenic needs of individuals who have committed sexual offences based on typology.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sandy Jun
Sample Size Determination for Skewed and Heavy-Tailed Distributions
No full textIn this article, we propose methods to determine adequate sample sizes for applying the classical central limit theorem to skewed and heavy-tailed distributions. In doing so, we review the properties of an α−stable distribution and its domain of attraction. Then, we apply the general Edgeworth expansion for regularly varying distributions to t−distributions with at least three degrees of freedom. Motivated by the observed results, we propose a mathematical formula for determining adequate sample size. The formula is valid for distributions with at least fourth moments. Then, we propose an algorithm to apply this formula to a data set from general distributions. For distributions with infinite/undefined skewness/kurtosis, such as some heavy-tailed distributions, we could use the Monte-Carlo simulation method to determine adequate sample size. As an example, we propose an empirical method to determine the sample size for Pareto distributions. Both the algorithm and the empirical method are tested on simulated data.
Department: Mathematical Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rui H
Between Eternities: A Visual Representation of Einstein\u27s Dreams, by Alan Lightman
No full textBetween Eternities is a project of DESN231 Typography II, a course in the Bachelor of Design in the Faculty of Fine Arts & Communications. Students were asked to visually translate an assigned section of the novel “Einstein’s Dreams”, by Alan Lightman (1993) into a two-page layout that explores concepts of time and challenges convention. With the overall goal of enhancing the meaning of the written text students focused on featuring the nuances of language through visual devices. Students were encouraged to explore linguistic deconstruction (semantics, syntax, grammar), alternative ways to organize the page, and to experiment with non-traditional grids, all while maintaining legibility and readability of the text. Informative callouts were added throughout the publication to give conceptual or factual context to the piece.
Department: Design Studies
Faculty Mentor: Constanza Pache
Share Your Voice!
No full textThe Share Your Voice project is a collection of Arts and Cultural Management students\u27 reflections on how the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected and continues to affect their lives and how it forced them to reimagine relations artistically, personally, and professionally during this time of crisis. Opening up submissions to Arts and Cultural Management students, the Share Your Voice project encouraged them to think creatively and use their method of choice to create a reflective piece that summarized their experiences, triumphs and challenges over the past year. Share Your Voice project provides a place for students to share all of their thoughts and emotions and be heard during this difficult time. 
Efforts, Past and Present, to Stop the Spread of a Disease: A Comparison of Cholera and COVID-19
No full textBefore scientific understanding was fully realized, the common belief about the causes of sickness were misunderstood and were often attributed to supernatural forces. Thanks to the efforts of doctors in London during the cholera outbreak in 1854, people now have a better understanding of what causes diseases, how they spread, and how that information can be used to save lives. This paper will show how Dr. Jon Snow’s contributions to epidemiology are just as relevant today regarding COVID-19 as they were when they were first proposed in 1854 for cholera.
Discipline: HistoryFaculty mentor: Dr. Aidan Fort
Technology as portrayed in popular culture: An analysis of the film Her
No full textThe internet has completely reconfigured social relationships. As information and communication technology continues to change and evolve in ways that were previously unimaginable, films like Spike Jonze’s Her seem not so far from future technological developments. The purpose of this paper is to depict how Jonze’s work does a substantive job in portraying the disconnection from the world individual undergoes when they overly depend on technology for affection and meaning. One may think the idea of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming so personable as unachievable, however, most of our smart technology is already customized to suit our personal needs and gives us quick information such as Siri or Alexa. This paper discusses some relevant aspects of this problem
Stereotypes and Microaggressions: Racist Subtleties in the Healthcare Setting
No full textRacism in the clinical setting is a complex, and often overlooked, reality that affects minority patients\u27 health in varying degrees. From blatant bigotry to elusive forms of prejudice, clinicians can exhibit personal biases that often result in dire consequences for the patient. This paper explores some of the subtler forms of discrimination experienced by patients of colour, namely, stereotypes and microaggressions. Clinical examples of these phenomena are discussed, along with possible solutions, directed towards both clinicians and patients, that can lead to improved health outcomes of racial minorities in the healthcare environment.
Closing the Social Distance: Mitigating Gender Inequality in Organizations Using Complexity Theory in Response to Remote Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textThe following paper is centered around the potential for organizational change in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper argues that the disruption of “business as usual” during the COVID-19 pandemic provides opportunities to both highlight gendered organizational practices during remote work and explore how organizational actors might contribute to a more equitable restructuring of gendered communication practices once employees return to in-person work. First, the paper contextualizes the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of writing. Next, the literature review examines the notion of organizations as inherently gendered, the history of organizational change from Lewinian Planned Change to models of non-linear change, and bureaucratic organizational structures using a feminist lens. The discussion section then argues that complexity theories offer significant opportunities for improvement due to the destabilization of current workplace practices. This argument is followed up by examples of how organizations can successfully engage complexity theories to reduce gender inequality in the post-pandemic world. The paper concludes that by emphasizing consensus and autonomy, improvements to network communication and the merging of public and private spheres should be the first steps towards the ultimate goal of reducing gender inequality through the deconstruction of bureaucracies
Isolation of Microsatellites from Cypripedium passerinum by FIASCO
No full textWith the current rate of biodiversity loss in plants, it is essential to develop and combine in situ and ex situ methods for an integrated approach to plant conservation. Central to integrated conservation approaches is the necessity for assessing genetic diversity within the threatened population. Among the tools available to assess genetic diversity is microsatellite analysis. Microsatellites are variable number tandem repeats, or short repetitive sequences, that are useful due to their abundance within the genome, high mutation rate, and high levels of polymorphism. This project aimed to develop microsatellite markers for the vulnerable orchid, Cypripedium passerinum, for the purpose of assessing genetic diversity in populations within the Wagner Natural Area, Alberta, Canada. Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing Repeats (FIASCO) was used to generate an (AC)n microsatellite enriched library from DNA samples of C. passerinum. A total of 84 clones from this library were isolated for sequence analysis to identify inherent microsatellite sequences. Primers designed to amplify the identified microsatellite sequences will be useful tools in assessing the genetic diversity of C. passerinum populations and can be applied to closely related species such as C. pubescens. Such genetic diversity assessment will inform conservation efforts of this threatened terrestrial orchid species.
Department: Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David McFadye
Rattle calls as individual identifiers in the North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).
No full textThe rattle calls of North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) have been theorized to serve as signals of aggressive territorial intent. These calls are produced by males and females periodically when another is trespassing within the territory or in response to another rattle. However, sometimes individuals rattle in the absence of any obvious stimuli. An alternative explanation for the red squirrel’s rattle call is the need to self-identify, which is often crucial to minimize costly encounters with neighbour and stranger conspecifics, as well as potentially identify intruders and mates. Individual squirrels were trapped and released, at Whitemud Creek, in various locations both within and outside of territory boundaries. Upon release squirrels were monitored for 10 minutes and all rattle vocalizations were recorded. Results indicate that squirrels reliably produced calls, within 10 minutes of release, both within and outside of their territory. These results suggest that the rattle call may function as a form of self identification and not predominantly as an aggressive territorial call.
Department: Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shannon Digwee