MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Partisan allegiance in legal cases involving sexual assault
No full textThe present study evaluates the potential presence of partisan allegiance in 261 English legal cases from Canadian provinces. Judicial sentencing decisions for sexual assault offences were assessed to determine whether the risk level communicated by defense and prosecution-retained evaluators reflect the presence of partisan allegiance (i.e., defense providing lower risk scores and prosecution providing higher risk scores). A validated risk measure (Static-99R) was used by the researcher to assess each sentenced defendant based on the information provided in the written decision and served as an anchor (i.e., objective assessment of risk). The risk levels for each defendant based on the Static-99R and what was noted in the sentencing decisions, were used to determine if there existed any discrepancy in the reporting of risk levels depending on the evaluator allegiance. Sentencing cases were identified from a publicly accessible website, Canadian Legal Information Institute, using a series of search terms (e.g., “sexual assault” and “risk assessment”). Only sentencing decisions that involved a contact sexual offense by a male offender who was 18 years or older and at least one risk assessment conducted by a psychologist, psychiatrist, or probation officer were included in the sample. The data collection has been completed and results are forthcoming. This presentation will examine whether the conclusions of evaluators are similar to or deviate from an objective assessment of sexual violence risk and whether there is a relationship between the evaluators’ assessment and sentencing decisions for sexual assault cases in Canada.
Faculty Mentor: Sandy Jung
Department: Psychology (Honours
Documenting Fiction
No full textI had the opportunity to go to Porto Portugal to research Dr. Michael B Macdonald’s ethnographic film practices. I created my own film on my findings called Documenting Fiction.
My film dissects Waiting to Connect, the ethnofiction film Dr. Macdonald made during our time in Portugal. Waiting to connect is about the Decentralized Dance Party, a movement Dr. Macdonald has been researching for over 10 years. Using fiction techniques of two peoples story to show how the Decentralized Dance Party works. Having the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Macdonald and research his practice helped me better understand ethnographic films and the film process.
Faculty Mentor: Michael B. Macdonald
Department: Design Studie
Improving Email Marketing Campaigns: Bridging the gap Between Business and Consumers
No full textEmail marketing campaigns are a system of advertising used widely by most business organizations today. Although not as flashy or captivating as contemporary forms of advertisements, email marketing remains one of the most useful regarding return on investment and consumer exposure. There are several issues surrounding creating effective email marketing campaigns, most prevalent is increasing customer open rates and converting consumer exposure. Most organizations find problems with email frequency and individuals believing messages received from businesses are nothing more than spam or advertisements. This research seeks to bridge the gaps between business to consumer communication strategies and explores the several potential underlying causes affecting customer beliefs about email marketing campaigns, specifically in the automobile industry. Facets of email marketing such as implementing segmentation strategy, preferences regarding content of emails (subject lines, body content, key words, images), and email frequency. Evidence is collected based on target market and demographic characteristics through secondary research of scholarly literature/academic journals and primary research with communication experts, industry executives, and general consumers. The current participant pool (n=4) of in-depth interviews provided insights into consumer behavior, strategies in increasing consumer involvement, and personal preferences regarding email content. A survey has also been administered current responses equaling n=144. Some major findings of the research performed include importance of segmentation strategies and increasing personal relevance of email content, improving subject lines through personalization and decreasing consumer spam beliefs, and creating marketing campaigns designed specifically for certain platforms/devices used most by recipients.
Faculty Mentor: Fernando Angulo-Ruiz
Department: Marketin
Use of inherent SHS switchability for purification
No full textAlternative solvents based on switchable hydrophilicity solvents is an exciting and interesting new field in chemistry, specifically for green chemistry. Many amines represent potential non-volatile organic solvents that could replace many of the more dangerous and environmentally problematic solvents currently used in industry. The primary challenge with many alternative non-volatile solvents, is the inability to recover the solvent from the system. However, switchable hydrophilicity solvents (SHS) solve this because they can switch reversibly between one form that is biphasic with water, to another that is monophasic after the addition of carbon dioxide. Methods to produce amines often end with a variety of side reactions, unreacted starting materials, and other unwanted compounds. This work looks at the ability to produce the “dirty’ amines of interest, then using the inherent switchability of the solvents to extract the solvents from the typical waste that results from the production. Meaning that when you have a mixture of a switchable solvent and the non-switchable waste, the addition of water will initially form biphasic layers. However, after the addition of CO2 into the system, the switchable solvent will be extracted into a monophasic mixture with water, leaving behind the waste. After removal of the water-solvent mix, and subsequent switching off of the system by the removal of CO2 , the cleaned up solvent can be recovered. This is an innovative approach to the purification of these products that can result in more environmentally friendly methodologies.
Faculty Mentor: Roland Lee
Department: Chemistry
 
Le pouvoir thérapeutique de la nourriture dans le roman de Kim Thuy, Man
No full textKim Thuy mène une vie professionnelle très intéressante. Avant de devenir écrivain, Kim a travaillé comme avocate au Canada et en Asie. Par la suite, elle a été propriétaire d\u27un restaurant appelé «Ru de Nam» pendant 5 ans à Montréal jusqu\u27en 2007. Le roman L\u27homme raconte une histoire d\u27amour, de nourriture, d\u27exil et de vie entre mondes. Les descriptions de Thuy dans le livre sont extrêmement exquises et soulignent une relation harmonieuse avec la nourriture, nous rappelant que la nourriture est un moyen de partager l\u27amour les uns avec les autres et avec nous-mêmes. La nourriture a aussi beaucoup de poids historique car de nombreux plats traditionnels sont créés à partir d\u27ingrédients locaux remplis de contexte et de finalités historiques. Je discuterai du pouvoir thérapeutique de la nourriture dans le roman Man de Kim Thuy. Bien que le roman soit marqué par l\u27exil et le refuge, il est également riche en images culinaires et en la fusion culturelle de la nourriture. Je décrirai tout d’abord l’image évoquant le pays natal de l’homme - le Vietnam. Par la suite, je discuterai de l’impact de la colonisation française sur le Vietnam ainsi que de sa cuisine autochtone. Enfin, je démontrerai l’intégration de la tradition culinaire canadienne, plus spécifiquement québécoise, à celle de la France et du Vietnam.
Faculty Mentor: Kyeongmi Kim-Bernard
Department: French
 
The Implications of the Biomedical Model on Indigenous Health
No full textThe biomedical model focuses solely on biological causes with regards to illness and disease. Adopting this model when investigating the alarmingly high levels of diabetes among Indigenous peoples in Canada points to a genetic predisposition or a biological cause. However, this perspective acts as blinders to the real culprit of the diabetes epidemic: colonization, assimilation, prejudice, racism, and cultural genocide.
Faculty Mentor: Nancy Digdon
Department: Interdisciplinary Dialogue Project
 
Finals Party Vol. 2
No full textA showcase of 3 musical acts from MacEwan, students and alumni. A presentation of the ongoings of the Live Music Club and an opportunity for students to give feedback and be a part of the ongoings for the following year.
Faculty Mentor: Bill Richards
Department: Music
 
The Implications of the Biomedical Model on Indigenous Health
No full textThe biomedical model focuses solely on biological causes with regards to illness and disease. Adopting this model when investigating the alarmingly high levels of diabetes among Indigenous peoples in Canada points to a genetic predisposition or a biological cause. However, this perspective acts as blinders to the real culprit of the diabetes epidemic: colonization, assimilation, prejudice, racism, and cultural genocide.
Faculty Mentor: Nancy Digdon
Department: Psycholog
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: Anthropolog
The Effects of Social Factors on Police Interactions with Youth
No full textIt has been recognized, socially and legally, that youth require different treatment and methodologies by the criminal justice system compared to adults. As the first point of contact within the criminal justice system, police officers’ perceptions of youth can have profound effects upon the youth they encounter. This paper critically reviews how these perceptions are formed and influenced by multiple levels of social factors. This analysis examines societal factors at the macro, meso, and micro levels, and how they influence police perceptions of youth, resulting police actions, and what level of police discretion they employ