MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Population analysis of Carcharodon carcharias in localized areas surrounding South Africa using dorsal fin identification
No full textThe great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is a marine apex predator with a global distribution. In recent years, the number of white sharks has drastically declined as a consequence of anthropogenic activities such as illegal/targeted fishing, bycatch, and habitat disruption. Until recently, research on sharks has been lacking, resulting in an information gap on shark populations. This study aims to analyze the current population distribution of white sharks in the wild, to fill the research gap on white shark data, and to use this information to inform policies makers for improvements in white shark conservation measures. White shark population distribution between Gansbaai, Struisbaai/De Hoop, Mossel Bay, and Algoa Bay, South Africa, will be estimated using dorsal fin identification, in which dorsal fin photos taken of sharks encountered in the area will be organized into a coded database for matching the presence of the same animals in different areas. The anticipated outcome of this study is an indication of the population dispersal along the South African coastline, to promote knowledge based improvement of existing marine conservation and fishing management strategies.
Department: Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ross Sha
Treat Yourself:: Food Delivery Apps and The Interplay Between Justification for Use and Food Well-being
No full textThis paper examines the relationship between justification for use and well-being in respect to mobile food delivery apps (FDA). Adopting an interpretivist qualitative approach, the study offers contributions to the FDA and food well-being literature by uncovering four groups of licensing effects that consumers use in justifying FDA use. Those licensing effects can have either positive or negative influence on consumers’ well-being depending on the degree to which consumers engage in self-regulation, awareness, and conscious managing of their relationship with food. The study also unravels the importance of dealing with the tensions between FDA use and well-being by shedding light on feelings of guilt and financial anxiety related to FDA use.
Department: Business
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Albena Pergelov
Starry Night (Album Package Design / “Going Down Slow” by Kevin Dean)
No full textThe music and a conversation with jazz musician Kevin Dean inspired the overall concept for the “Going Down Slow” album. Staring up at a beautiful night sky filled with bright stars evokes feelings of relaxation, calm, and peaceful reflection. A person even when alone can feel connected in time and space to others who may be also staring up at the same night sky and wondering about one’s place in the universe, the meaning of life, future pursuits, and past experiences. Often associated with wonder and imagination, stars inspire viewers to have hope for the future and grow from their past mistakes. The clusters of stars creating streaming rays of light across the night sky emphasize various pathways a person may take to achieve one’s dreams on life’s journey. The image of the night sky appears on the album cover, the insert, centre labels, and the drop card. Dark blue borders alternate with a night sky border to frame the image and focus the viewer’s attention on information given within the borders. The dark blue and black colours evoke a sense of mystery and calm. The contrasting white and light blue star clusters direct the viewer’s eye across the night sky to find yet another point of interest to encourage the observer to continue on a journey of self-reflection while listening to various songs on the album. To create the night sky image, a variety of light and dark coloured wax crayons were melted with an iron on wax paper to get a paper-thin consistency. Streaks and tiny holes naturally appeared in the design. A photograph of the crayon art piece being held up to a bright light added the necessary illumination to create small stars against a night sky. The image was then digitally manipulated to soften the lines and make it appear more realistic. Serif and sans serif typefaces conveyed the information in a comfortable and easily readable way to viewers. Bolding and spacing helped to create clean visual lines and reflect a clear hierarchy. With the fairly cohesive starry night sky image (with slight border variations) appearing on all of the album components, the music album takes its listener on an uninterrupted relaxing and reflective journey. In a busy and complicated world, it is often difficult for a person to make the time to simply stand still, breathe, and become self-aware. Gazing up at the starry night sky, listening to music, and thinking of endless possibilities would be a wonderful way to end any day.
Department: Design Studies
Faculty Mentor: Constanza Pache
The Role of Psychological Flexibility in the Eudaimonic Activity Model
No full textPsychological flexibility is made up of six processes that are characterized by flexibly embracing life events and acting in favour of personal values (Hayes et al., 2006). Self-determination theory proposes that meeting basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness culminates in well-being (Ryan et al., 2008). The Eudaimonic Activity Model (Martela & Sheldon, 2019) proposes that basic need satisfaction mediates the relationship between doing well (eudaimonic motives and activities) and feeling well (subjective well-being). In the present study, it is argued that psychological flexibility fits into the Eudaimonic Activity Model by providing a basis for measuring eudaimonic activity that predicts subjective well-being, mediated by need satisfaction. Participants (N = 281) from MacEwan University completed an online study assessing measures of psychological flexibility and inflexibility, need satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction. Mediational analyses revealed that basic need satisfaction was determined to mediate the relationship between psychological flexibility and subjective well-being (as measured by life satisfaction and positive and negative experiences), and separately, the relationship between psychological inflexibility and subjective well-being. These findings provide insight into the underlying mechanisms behind the positive impacts of psychological flexibility.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andrew Howel
Materialism and Awe
No full textExperiencing awe (an emotionally moving shift in frame of reference or expansion of schemata) has been shown to increase generosity, spirituality, and prosociality, and reduce tribalism. The present research used an experimental design to investigate the effects that awe experiences would have on individuals’ endorsement of materialistic values and beliefs. Awe and materialism are theoretically incompatible, as materialism typically emphasizes the individual’s personal acquisitive goals at the expense of non-material goals like fostering interpersonal relationships or seeking self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Additionally, previous research has demonstrated a distinction between types of awe; self-diminishing awe, or that which causes the individual to consider a frame of reference far larger than themselves and their own goals, is of particular relevance to the present study. Considering previous research and this theoretical incompatibility, it was hypothesized that exposure to awe-inducing stimuli would decrease participants’ endorsement of materialist values and attitudes, as assessed by the Material Values Scale (MVS) and the Belk Materialism Scale (BMS). Participants were asked to fill out a number of self-report inventories and to watch a video or audio manipulation halfway through the materialism measures, providing a pre- and post-test for self-reported materialism. Self-esteem and dispositional awe were controlled for using the Self-Liking/Self-Competency scale (SCLS) and the awe subscale of the Dispositional Positive Emotions scale (DPES) respectively. Results showed a significant main effect across all three conditions (including control), but no significant differences between conditions. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David C. Watso
Using TAGteach to Increase Creative Play Behavior in Children with Autism
No full textPlay is an everyday activity during childhood and is thought to be essential for development (Brodin, 1999). Nevertheless, many children with autism tend to engage in rigid play behavior, often only playing with the same toys in the same way or not playing flexibly enough to include other children or parents in their playtime (Kasari et al., 2011). This rigidity may, in turn, impede their ability to form social relationships with their peers and hinder the development of communication skills. Accordingly, increasing creative play behavior in children with autism may decrease rigid and solitary play and increase communication skills and social relationships. One method that may be useful for improving this skill is Teaching with Acoustical Guidance (TAGteach). This intervention involves shaping behavior through positive reinforcement using an auditory stimulus (Persicke et al., 2013). Given the behavioral principles that underlie its methodology, we predicted that TAGteach would be useful for increasing creative play behavior in two children with autism. A non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the outcomes. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was run via encrypted real-time video conferencing. Social validity of the intervention was assessed at the end of the study. Overall, we found a slight increase in creative play behavior across sessions for both participants. Additionally, the individuals who implemented the TAGteach intervention rated the intervention moderately to extremely positive on a post-test social validity measure. These findings offer initial insight into the use of TAGteach via telehealth for children with autism.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Russ Powell and Miranda Macaule
Rattle calls as individual identifiers in the North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus): rural vs urban habitat.
No full textOur research will focus on the underlying function of the red squirrel rattle call as a form of individual identification for nearby territorial listeners, in both rural and urban populations. We will establish the function of the call by examining whether the call is produced more often within an individuals territory boundary (territorial function) or if the call reflects self identification for listeners and thus is produced anywhere the squirrel may be (within or outside of the territory). Individual squirrels, in Whitemud Creek (urban) and Sheep River Provincial Park (rural) will be trapped and released in various locations within and outside of their territory in order to establish if and where rattle calls are reliably produced.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shannon Digwee
Manslaughter Sentencing Disparities Between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Offenders in Canada
No full textThe following study examines sentencing disparities among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal manslaughter offenders in Canada. The data utilized was extracted through the online database (CANLII) and included 189 Canadian sentencing decisions for male manslaughter offences from 1993 to 2013. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders were compared on offender variables, offence features, and sentencing variables. The main objective of the study was to compare the length of sentencing for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders and to examine other factors that may have differed between the two groups. The results indicated that, although sentence length did not differ, there were many observed differences that demonstrated social inequalities between the two groups.
Department: Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sandy Jun
Covid-19 Undermines Development in Child Labour
No full textThe following independent study seeks to research specific countries that are known to have high amounts of child labour such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Ghana as a form of compiled case studies. The different countries were selected because of the different industries of child labour that they are involved in such as textiles, mining and chocolate farming. Information will be gathered through a variety of reliable sources and scholarly reports. Due to the broad scope of this topic, investigation will also be done in the gender disparities and the role globalized supply chains play in the issue to determine their significance. This topic will be explored through the constructivist framework through the Norm Cycle Theory as to how these practices have become endorsed in these developing countries. By attaining the knowledge on the major contributions to child labour, examinations will be given to how Covid-19 regresses the progress that has been made to combat against child labour. All in all, this topic is crucial for it is a direct indicator of the progress a country is making towards development. Furthermore, child labour is a demand on the human rights of these children who have had their opportunities stolen from them.
Department: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chaldeans Mensa
You made the bed now lay in it
No full textFine art: Focusing on my art piece and its relevance to my ecological footprint and consumerism.
Department: Art and Design
Faculty Mentor: Elisabeth Bellivea