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Van der Pol Oscillator – Analysis of a Non-conservative System
No full textThe Van der Pol oscillator was introduced by Balthasar van der Pol, who was ”a famous scholar, a famous scientist, a famous administrator at the international level, he was equally well known for the clarity of his lectures (in several languages), his knowledge of the classics, his warm personality and his talents for friendship, and his love for music.” The oscillator describes the nonlinear oscillations for systems like a triode circuit, which produce self-sustained oscillations known as relaxation oscillations. Extensive studies have been done on the oscillator, for understanding it and for using it as an applied model for the heartbeat, for example. In this thesis, we will explain the nature of the oscillator from an original point of view, in the low-friction regime. First, we will give an intuitive physical explanation of the first order averaging method, a perturbation theory method, applied onto the oscillator. We will follow with an analytical approach of the first order averaging method, and we will show the mathematical complexity of it. We will conclude with the application of the first order averaging method to the Van der Pol oscillator,confirming the findings from the intuitive approach.
Presented in absentia on April 27, 2020 at "Student Research Day" at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. (Conference cancelled.) Exhibition held in the Gray Gallery at MacEwan University.
Faculty Mentor: Ion Bica
Department: Mathematics & Statistic
Tweeting Through COVID-19: A Content Analysis of Twitter Posts During the Pandemic
No full textThis study assessed public sentiments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic through a content analysis of 100 Twitter posts made on March 31, 2020, following the introduction of gathering restrictions and social distancing measures. This analysis identified nine themes, including (in order of prevalence): self-isolation activities, reactions to government actions, humour, prevention, emotion, positivity, mental health, statistics, and personal experiences. The most common themes found were related to how people were spending their time in self-isolation (21% of posts analyzed) and reactions to steps taken by various levels of governments (19% of posts). The results demonstrated, overall, an optimistic outlook among a sample of Twitter users towards the COVID-19 pandemic, a sense of solidarity, and a willingness of these users to observe measures to try and stop the spread of the virus.  
Is Young Blood the Cure to Aging?
No full textRecent studies on parabiosis between young and old animals have discovered that young blood has a powerful rejuvenating effect on skeletal and cardiac muscles, as well as on the brain of older animals. These results suggest that there is something in the young systemic environment that may possess anti-aging properties. The results have recently been attributed to a circulating protein by the name of GDF11. Recent controversies, related challenges, and a futher outlook are highlighted and examined further. 
Lifestyles of the Rhiz and Not-So Famous : A Poetic Introduction to the Rhizosphere
No full textThe rhizosphere is a dynamic place where plant roots interact with soil, along with all of the living things that occupy this very small, yet very important space. Plants are often viewed as the foundation sustaining all living things on terrestrial Earth. But what about the components that sustain and impact our beloved chlorophyll companions? What helps them thrive? Where do the nutrients come from? What may potentially harm them? This collection of poems will help shine light onto the essential role that the microbial community plays on plant life and ecosystems at a global level. 
The Effects of Racial Identity, Racial Similarity and Typicality of Sexual Encounters on Perceptions of Consent
No full textTo our knowledge, there has been little or no empirical investigation of whether racial identity and racial similarity of participants influences how consensual an encounter appears to be. This project examines that question, for sexual encounters that script-typical and -atypical.Bias against interracial couples has been empirically documented in studies suggesting that a reaction resembling disgust is experienced towards images of interracial couples (Skinner & Hudac, 2017). Not only has this bias been documented implicitly but also explicitly through respondents\u27 reports. (Skinner & Rae, 2019). We know that emotions such as disgust can be used to inform decision making, moral judgments and perceptions (Haidt, 2001; Damasio, 1994). In this way, feelings of disgust toward interracial couples could affect judgments about the consensual nature of their sexual encounters. In addition, we examined whether racial identity and similarity influence our consent judgments more when the sexual encounter involves atypical rather than typical acts. Participants were presented with a typical or an atypical sexual encounter in which consent was equivalently portrayed. Before the story, participants were shown pictures of the male and female characters in the encounter. Racial identity (white/black) of both characters was randomized across participants. After reading the encounter, participants responded to items eliciting their perceptions of the consensual nature of the encounter as well as their feelings of disgust towards the characters. We reasoned that the negative affect one experiences toward inter- or other-race couples, here in the form of disgust, might inform participants\u27 judgments about how consensual a sexual encounter is, perhaps especially when the encounter is not typical. Results demonstrated that male or female race as well as typicality of the encounter played no significant role on the perceived consensuality of the encounters. Participants did report higher ratings of disgust in the atypical encounters then the typical encounters. It was also found that male race did have an effect on disgust rating for male and female characters.
Faculty Mentor: Aimee Skye
Department: Psychology
NOTE: This work is available as an abstract only
The Politics of Gender in Azeri-Russophone Literature
No full textSevinc Jafar’s novel Fakhriya (2018), first written in Russian and then translated by Javid Abbasov to Azeri, focuses on one Azeri woman’s experience during the Karabakh war (late 1980s-1994). The Karabakh war was an ethnic and territorial conflict in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh (backed by Armenia) and the Republic of Azerbaijan. During the Karabakh war, Armenian troops demonstrated horrific brutality, especially towards women, whom they brutally and sometimes publicly sexually assaulted (Isgandarova 176). In my thesis, I will argue that despite the cultural hegemony under Russian colonialism, women in Azerbaijan used the discourse of colonial modernity to transcend traditional gender roles. I will explore the ways in which colonial language politics implicitly inform constructions of gender in Soviet and independent Azerbaijan; indeed, the fact that Jafar’s work was written in Russian suggests that it remains the language of modernity in Azerbaijan. As I will show, Jafar uses Russian to express women’s experiences of sexual violence during the Karabakh war beyond the gender roles that dictate the limits of appropriate speech in Azeri.
Presented in absentia on April 27, 2020 at "Student Research Day" at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. (Conference cancelled)
Faculty Mentor: Sara Grewal
Department: Englis
Today’s Offender, Tomorrow’s Victim: Analyzing the Connections Between Offenders and Victims
No full textThis presentation examines the link between victims and offenders and how these roles are often interchangeable when it comes to a youth’s involvement in crime. Usually, this connection is disregarded because of the focus on the immediate situation and not the youth’s experiences with both roles. Because of this strong association between offenders and victims, the focus of this paper is about what stops a victim from becoming an offender and vice versa. The aspects focused on are individual and social factors, as well as the interactions and overlap between these factors. Generally, it was found that the criminal justice system and social service supports tend to only focus on individual factors while ignoring the social environmental aspects. This presentation demonstrates the importance of not only acknowledging a youth\u27s role as both an offender and victim, but also the importance of addressing all aspects around how and why they got involved in criminal activity. By understanding the significance of these factors, this information can be used and integrated into the criminal justice system to help youth reduce their involvement in crime or to provide supports that address the cycle of victimization and offending.
Presented in absentia on April 27, 2020 at "Student Research Day" at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. (Conference cancelled)
Faculty Mentor: Michael Gulayets
Department: Sociology 
Could Skyrocketing Costs of Insurance Bankrupt a Condo Corporation?
No full textThe inspiration for the project came from watching and reading several news items that identified the skyrocketing costs of insurance and the associated deductibles that multiple condominium corporations were experiencing within the Province of Alberta. Upon further investigation of the issue, it was discovered that the ever-increasing costs of insurance, if left unabated, could have a calamitous effect on a condominium corporation and its stakeholders. The research focused on risk identification that included an Impact component and a Likelihood component used to calculate an overall risk score for each identified hazard to a condominium corporation. This was done by developing a risk matrix that scored Risk Impact versus Likelihood of Occurrence that forms the basis of a Risk Assessment for a condominium corporation. Potential risks were identified through interviews with industry stakeholders that included: the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the Insurance Institute of Alberta, a commercial insurance broker, condominium legal experts, and the Government of Alberta (Service Alberta, Treasury and Finance Board), property management, and a condominium corporation. The findings suggest that all condominium industry stakeholders must proactively work with government to find an equitable solution that addresses the needs of all stakeholders. This needs to be done with some urgency to prevent a looming fiscal crisis within the condominium industry.
Presented in absentia on April 27, 2020 at "Student Research Day" at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. (Conference cancelled)
Faculty Mentor: Chris Hancock
Department: Business
 
Psychological Flexibility and Well-Being: Testing the Eudaimonic Activity Model
No full textPsychological flexibility (PF) is made up of six processes that are characterized by flexibly embracing life events and acting in favor of personal values (see Figure 1). Self-determination theory proposes that meeting basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness culminates in well-being. The Eudaimonic Activity Model (EAM; see Figure 2) proposes that need satisfaction mediates the relationship between doing well (eudaimonic motives and activities) and feeling well (subjective well-being). Our study will be measuring participants’ levels of PF, need satisfaction, and subjective well-being to test the associations proposed by this model.
Presented in absentia on April 27, 2020 at "Student Research Day" at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. (Conference cancelled)
Faculty Mentor: Andrew Howell
Department: Psychology
NOTE: This work is available to MacEwan users only at https://roam.macewan.ca/islandora/object/gm:209
SENICIDE AS A MODERN PROBLEM IN INDIA: A DURKHEIMIAN PERSPECTIVE OF THALAIKOOTHAL
No full textThe thalaikoothal is a practice that has risen in Indian society, especially in the southern rural villages of the region of Tamil Nadu. The practice is a form of senicide, that is, a suicide or killing of the elderly, performed as a solution to many problems arising in the Indian society due to rapid social change. This issue of senicide is not talked about as much as other types of suicide or murder, and researchers have largely ignored the practice of thalaikoothal. An exception is the work of Pyali Chatterjee (2017), who tackles the issue from a legal and ethical standpoint. In this paper, I will contribute to the study of senicide in rural India by examining the issue from a sociological perspective developing a Durkheimian analysis. The article’s approach will be functionalist, mobilizing relevant concepts such as anomie, disintegration and social pathology to make sense of the circumstances that are making some Indian families use this practice.