MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Oh the places you\u27ll go: a study of the consumer decision making process for international students at a Canadian university
No full textThis study will be looking at the consumer decision making process that international students go through when selecting a university outside of their home country. This paper will study international students at a Canadian university. First, the author will conduct a qualitative study to gain insight into the decision process. Next, the author will survey a sample of the population at a Canadian university. From here, hypotheses will be tested and results will be given. Additionally, the author will highlight the implications of the results and areas of interest for future research.
Faculty Mentor: Fernando Angulo-Ruiz
Department: International Business (Honours
Social context during drug exposure modulates behavioural effects in zebrafish
No full textZebrafish are a popular model organism used to study anxiety behaviours and the impact of drugs that decrease (anxiolytic) or increase (anxiogenic) anxiety. There are, however, discrepancies in findings that are related to the social environment during exposure. Recent evidence suggests that the presence or absence of conspecifics (other zebrafish) during exposure differentially influences the effects of an anxiogenic when dosing and testing occur within the same context. No study has yet to look at whether the social environment during exposure influences the effectiveness of anxiolytic or anxiogenic substances when behaviours are later tested in the absence of conspecifics. The present study examined this by exposing adult zebrafish to either habitat water, ethanol (1.0 %; anxiolytic), or chondroitin sulfate (0.1 g/L; anxiogenic) while fish were either isolated or had view of conspecifics. When individually tested in the novel object approach test, these compounds had different effects depending on whether they were administered to fish in isolation, or within view of conspecifics. Ethanol and chondroitin sulfate were only found to have an effect on anxiety in fish who were isolated from conspecifics during exposure which could not be explained by differences in locomotion during dosing. A significant effect of social condition (isolated vs. in-view) was also found, with higher anxiety levels observed in fish that had visual access to conspecifics. These results suggest that social context during dosing influences the effectiveness of anxiolytic and anxiogenic compounds and should be considered in future behavioural studies.
Faculty Mentor: Trevor Hamilton
Department: Psychology (Honours
Genuine Concern or Lip Service? Sexual Violence Policies in Canadian Post-Secondary
No full textPost-secondary institutions are intended to be safe spaces where students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to experience and engage in critical thought and discussion. When critical thought and discussion occurs, it may raise awareness, give context, and challenge assumptions which have potential to shift the narrative around big issues. Although post-secondary institutions foster the intellectual growth of its members, they are also environments where its members face sexual violence. While sexual violence has always been present in these institutions, it is only more recently that sexual violence along with its impacts on victims received closer attention from media. This media attention resulted in a public pressure which demands post-secondary institutions to create and implement policies and educational programming that specifically addresses sexual violence. Other policies and processes, however, such as Student Codes of Conduct the criminal justice system, already designate forms of sexual violence as intolerable or illegal. Due to the massive public pressure and demand for policies which specifically address sexual violence and sexual violence only, it is crucial to examine how or if these policies add or contribute to the policy or legislative context in Canada. To examine these policies, this research investigates campus community members’ knowledge of and perceptions of sexual violence policies in the context of Canadian post-secondary institutions. The overall findings of this research suggests that students lack knowledge around not only the content of sexual violence policies but also the existence of these policies more broadly. Despite this, there is unwavering support for these policies amongst students, faculty, and staff. The findings of this research provide important insights for Canadian post-secondary institutions about the knowledge of, perceptions of, and attitudes towards sexual violence policies.
Faculty Mentor: Amanda Nelund
Department: Sociology (Honours
Materialism, Envy and Self-control
No full textNo abstract available.
Faculty Mentor: David Watson and Rodney Schmaltz
Department: Psychology
 
Residential Schools and the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical traumas inflicted on Indigenous peoples
No full textThis digital story focuses on highlighting the trauma that the Indigenous communities endured during their time in the residential school system and following it. Indigenous peoples put emphasis on the holistic approach when it comes to aspects such as healing, education, etc. In this story, the holistic approach was also utilized to bring to light the painful truths of Indigenous suffering, by focusing mainly on the mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional wounds Indigenous peoples faced and continue to face even today. Starting off with some background knowledge of how the schools were first implemented, the claims used to justify these horrible experiences are revealed. Following the emotional abuse they endured, stories from real victims of sexual abuse are brought to light. Sexual abuse was very common in residential schools; however, very few are shared due to feelings of shame and fear. Psychological abuse is also explored in the story, displaying the heartbreaking realities of mental health in Indigenous communities. Spirituality is very important to Indigenous peoples, being deprived of their traditional spiritual beliefs and culture have made them suffer greatly. The story outlines just a few of the ways the residential school system stripped them of this, by cutting them off from their traditional, spiritual beliefs and enforcing Christianity. Going against their traditional spiritual ways has had detrimental effect on their emotional, mental and physical well-being. Finally, physical abuse, including neglect of students is brought to light. Not only were they beaten, and sexually abused, they were also exploited and deprived of many basic needs. After all of the trauma that the Indigenous peoples have endured during and following the experiences of the residential school systems, is reconciliation accomplishable? Will apologies and reparations fix what has been done?
Faculty Mentor: Leslie Dawson
Department: Interdisciplinary Dialogue Projec
Sustainable Printing Inks
No full textPrinting is important to industries, schools, libraries and homes. Hence, it is important to investigate and develop eco-friendly methods for printing inks. In the food industry, one of the wastes is used frying oil, which can be epoxidized and polymerized to produce binders in printing ink. Another method is to utilize epoxidized soybean oil as a UV-curable acrylate oligomer via cross-linking in order to be repurposed as a binder. Both of these solutions could prevent solvent emissions, reduce pollution or waste, help regulating harmful organic materials and replacing unsustainable petroleum-based printing inks. In terms of chemical synthesis, scholars have suggested that resin precursors for lithographic inks could employ low-molecular soy oil-based rosin esters. Next, the esters are cross-linked through radical polymerization, which is induced by heat along with radical initiators like peroxides. Peroxides allow the ink to dry instantly, which is desired in printing process. Finally, the sustainable inks could be sold to printer companies, newspaper companies, advertising companies and consumers for a cheaper price with lower production costs.
Faculty Mentor: Samuel Mugo
Department: Chemistr
Effects of Acute Exposure to Cannabidiol on Zebrafish Behaviour
No full textCannabinoid therapeutic potential is increasingly studied using animal models. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a useful model organism because humans and zebrafish have similiar endocannabinoid systems (Oltrabella, Melgoza, Nguyen, & Guo, 2017). The present study examined zebrafish behaviour in response to 3 mg/L and 7mg/L of the cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD). Behaviour was assessed using the novel tank dive (NTD) behavioural test. The NTD is a test of anxiety displayed by individual zebrafish, and it is linked to predator avoidance behaviours. 1-way ANOVAs showed no significant difference among 3mg/L and 7 mg/L groups compared against control in anxiety-related bottom-dwelling behaviour. However, group differences in velocity and overall time spent moving were significant, suggesting CBD has an impact on zebrafish levels of motor activity. Future studies should use behavioural assays that measure different anxiety-related behaviours, such as the shoaling test that assesses social anxiety.
Faculty Mentor: Melike Schalomon
Department: Psychology (Honours
Associations between Music Training and Memory Skills
No full textIn the current study, we explored associations between music training and visual memory. Musicians tend to have superior auditory memory, academic achievement, and linguistic abilities compared to non-musicians, but the conclusions regarding visual memory in musicians are not as clear. Unclear findings concerning visual memory in musicians may be a result of the tasks used, as some tasks involve motor or verbal components. We hypothesized that musicians would score higher than non-musicians on visual memory tasks that are more strongly associated with IQ. Moreover, when controlling for IQ, these differences in memory scores should disappear. This would suggest the possibility of pre-existing differences between those who decide to take music lessons and those who do not. Eighty-seven undergraduates were recruited and completed subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale – Fourth Edition (WMS-IV) and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence – Second Edition (WASI-II), as well as questionnaires asking about personality traits and extracurricular activities. Results revealed that musicians had significantly better visual working memory even after controlling for IQ, while dancers had better immediate visual memory, which also remained significant after IQ was controlled for. These findings suggest that near transfer of skills might be occurring rather than far transfer. Alternatively, there could be other pre-existing differences that explain the results but were not accounted for.
Faculty Mentor: Kathleen Corrigall
Department: Psychology (Honours
The Witching Hour: Contemporary Feminist Representations of Witchcraft and the Witch in Suspiria and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
No full textThe witch has become an all-encompassing metaphor for a wide range of theoretical perspectives and interpretations. In this thesis, I want to emphasize how the creative teams that worked on Suspiria and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina work with the body of the witch as well as how both cinematic pieces work with the trope of the Mother, the Maiden, and the Crone, an archetype popularized by Wiccan theology but also used in Celtic and Hellenic mythology, while simultaneously focusing on how the aforementioned theories work together to make the body and idea of the witch a patriarchal, theoretical, and socio-political nightmare. While both works stem from different cinematic and narrative traditions – one teen horror and the other art house – they both examine complex relationships between symbolic meaning and pre-linguistic, or semiotic, spaces.
Faculty Mentor: Jillian Skeffington
Department: English (Honours)
 
Becoming a Stronger Student: An Examination of the Relative Effectiveness of Self-Management Tactics for Improving Study Behaviours
No full textResearch has shown that self-control is a vital component of scholastic achievement. A major problem students’ face, however, is that they often succumb to the temptation of more immediately available rewards, thereby opting to put off study behaviours. Various self-management tactics are often recommended for studying improvement. Little is known, however, about what may be the ‘best’ tactics for students to implement. Thus, the present research examined the relative efficacy of several self-management tactics commonly recommended to improve studying and academic performance. Undergraduate students (N=689) at a small Canadian university completed a survey examining the association between selected self-management tactics and students’ tendency to complete intended study plans, ability to concentrate while studying, tendency to procrastinate, grade point average, and students’ perceived automaticity (“habit strength”) of sitting down to study. Regression analyses indicated that the use of a dedicated study environment, implementation intentions, and contingent self-reward were the most beneficial tactics for improving study behaviour and academic performance. A limitation of this study is the correlational nature of the results. Further experimental research is needed to properly determine the relative efficacy of these tactics for improving study behaviour and academic performance.
Faculty Mentor: Russ Powell
Department: Psychology (Honours