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What genders STEM subjects? : A meta-narrative and theoretical-critical review of how STEM subjects have been conceptualized as gendered in STEM education research
No full textSTEM education research has repeatedly demonstrated how the STEM field is gendered masculine. But what does this mean? Is there anything about STEM subjects as such, that warrants labelling them masculine? This paper explores these questions through a meta-narrative, theoretical-critical review of previous review studies. The aim is to investigate how STEM subjects have been conceptualized as gendered in STEM education research, and what this means for feminist STEM educators who want to pluralize STEM education. Three ways of conceptualizing STEM subjects as gendered are identified: 1) The non-substantial association thesis; 2) The masculine epistemology of STEM; 3) STEM as difficult, asocial, and unhelpful. An over-arching finding is that most studies do not explore how STEM subjects emerge as gendered in the educational settings explored. Instead, gender is “imputed” into the analysis in ways that are not always productive for educators who want to pluralize STEM education through educational measures.
Updated with minor typographical corrections: June 30, 2025
Envisioning the future of engineering education through Africanfuturism: Insights from the "Binti" series
No full textThis paper explores how Africanfuturism, specifically Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti series, offers a transformative framework for reimagining engineering education to promote inclusivity, belonging, and diverse epistemologies. Grounded in Marcus Garvey’s call to honor cultural histories, we critique the colonial legacies of engineering, which favor Western knowledge systems while sidelining non-Western contributions. Drawing from bell hooks’ concept of transformative education, we argue that Africanfuturism challenges exclusionary practices by incorporating ancestral knowledge, cultural traditions, and liberatory visions into STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) fields. Through thematic analyses of race and prejudice, innovation rooted in tradition, and cultural identity, Binti illustrates how Black epistemologies—grounded in community, spirituality, and historical consciousness—can reshape engineering education. We emphasize the potential of Africanfuturist narratives to decenter whiteness, confront systemic racism, and foster educational environments where marginalized students can thrive. By centering Black radical imagination, this paper advocates for an interdisciplinary, justice-oriented approach that integrates storytelling, cultural identity, and diverse ways of knowing to cultivate engineers committed to equity, empathy, and social transformation.
Updated with minor typographical corrections: June 30, 2025
Habitar la huerta: Construcción interactoral de conocimiento sobre el procesamiento de plantas en el marco de la tecnología social
No full textLas continuas crisis en Argentina han fomentado el desarrollo de un esquema de trabajo informal y heterogéneo, con una amplia participación de mujeres que viven en barrios segregados socioeconómicamente. Si bien existen una serie de conocimientos y capacidades ya instalados; aún persiste la necesidad de trabajar en pos de desarrollos específicos, contextualizados y co-construidos que permitan mejorar las actividades productivas y generar condiciones de vida dignas. El presente artículo propone reflexionar sobre: ¿Cómo construir una tecnología que responda a necesidades e intereses territorializados? ¿Quién debería y quién puede crearla? ¿Cuál es el papel de los profesionales universitarios en este escenario? ¿Cómo resignificar el conocimiento académico y el quehacer profesional para impulsar la co-construcción del conocimiento con otros actores sociales en pos de desarrollos que busquen la transformación social?. Se tomó como base epistémica para el análisis, dos proyectos realizados entre mujeres trabajadoras de huertas comunitarias y profesionales, docentes y estudiantes universitarios (química, biología y artes) e instituciones y reparticiones estatales. El trabajo desde una perspectiva epistémica participativa y constructivista, permitió la co-construcción de conocimiento para el desarrollo de una tecnología social: técnicas de aprovechamiento de plantas aromáticas e instrumentos de gestión. La articulación entre múltiples actores sociales y la decisión de los profesionales universitarios de ejercer su profesión desde lógicas más democráticas, resultaron aspectos claves para resignificar el habitar de la huerta y expandir la territorialidad propia de los actores intervinientes.
Actualizado con correcciones tipográficas menores: 30 de junio de 2025
Aesthetic Disruptions: Critical Surveillance Art and the Unsettling of Surveillance
No full textIn the field of surveillance studies, scholars have focused on the use of art to offer an aesthetic intervention into the operation of surveillance systems. Scholars have used the term “surveillance art” to capture a genre of artwork that draws critical attention to the use of surveillance technologies. Through Sadie Barnette’s work The FBI Project (2016–ongoing), this article argues that Barnette’s work offers a critical intervention into the field of surveillance art by foregrounding the racial logic of surveillance. By taking up the literature on surveillance art and drawing on Torin Monahan’s (2022) notion of critical surveillance art, the article presents Barnette’s artwork as a model for contending with the racial tenor of surveillance regimes. As a way of exposing and redressing the racial violence of surveillance, Barnette’s instantiation of surveillance art offers new ways of imagining and perceiving the world and, as such, poses the possibility of intervening in the operation of our contemporary surveillance system. Ultimately, the article provides a reading of Barnette’s FBI series as offering co-constructive interventions into both the genre of surveillance art and the structure of racial surveillance. Barnette’s artwork acts as a form of critical surveillance art, which offers an aesthetic experience that moves beyond the critique of surveillance mechanisms and offers a view of the sites of resistance that exceed the bounds of surveillance
From Catharsis to Critical Discourse: Theatre’s Role in Modern Western Democracy
No full textThe often cried lament “Democracy is dead!” has been heard again with a new intensity following the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. Yet in Western representative democracy, political participation has already been largely reduced to only episodic elections, leaving citizens disconnected from most decision-making. In contrast, theatre and its live communal nature acts as a vessel for inspiring direct engagement, uniting audiences through common embodied experiences. This paper examines the enduring relationship between theatre and democracy, arguing that performance remains a crucial forum for exploring three key democratic tenets: multivocality, political participation, and equality—all integral to any genuine democracy. By drawing on Greek history, politics, and theatre theorists, as well as two contemporary theatre case studies, Porte Parole’s The Assembly and The DAN School’s The Other Shore, this study explores how theatre has functioned as a democratic tool in Western society since Ancient Greece, where tragedy fostered and cathartically resolved collective concerns in the theatre space, to modern productions that prompt active political discourse. The Assembly, a verbatim documentary theatre piece, mirrors representative democracy by staging condensed pre-recorded political conversations, then briefly allowing audience participation before cutting it off, highlighting unsettling systematic limitations. The Other Shore examines the dangers of groupthink under direct democracy through ensemble storytelling and abstraction, with audiences facing each other, provoking interpretation, critical reflection, and dialogue when exiting the space. Both productions strategically incite the questioning of rigid democratic structures. This paper argues that theatre’s liveness—its ability to create diverse ephemeral communal spaces—offers a key alternative to the fragmented nature of representative democracy. In a time of staunch polarization and disengagement, theatre remains a vital democratic tool that disrupts passive spectatorship
Drivers of Circulation Patterns in Colour Lake, Nunavut
No full textThe thermal cycling of lakes is crucial to all aquatic life, greatly influencing primary productivity through the distribution of heat, nutrients, dissolved oxygen and suspended sediments (Liu et al., 2024). The high Arctic region of Canada contains large amounts of lakes covered in ice for up to ten months a year. Logistical and technical difficulties have made year-round monitoring of these lakes difficult, creating a gap in the literature. Quantifying circulation patterns can be done by monitoring conductivity and temperature as they demonstrate how the water is being moved around and stratified. Based on the premise of identifying conductivity and temperature variances in lakes, this study will look to answer how wind, air temperature, solar radiation, and snow depth influence circulation patterns in a representative high Arctic Lake, Colour Lake on Axel Heiberg Island, and what the dominant factors affecting circulation patterns are. The environmental and lake data were collected at fifteen-minute intervals over two years. Wavelet analysis will be used to compare periodicity and phases of the time series data from the lake and environmental variables. Finally, lake surface imagery will then be compared with the results of the wavelet analysis to determine what is going on when the lake is affected by environmental variables and what is going on when it isn’t. Understanding the drivers of lake circulation patterns is critical in our knowledge of northern systems and how climate change may affect them down the road
Coastal Wetland Response to Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
No full textWetlands play a crucial role in climate change mitigation due to their abilities to sequester large amounts of organic carbon. Wetlands in Canada compose roughly 1.29 million square kilometers or 13% of the country\u27s total land mass. Canada’s wetlands are not immune to the effects of climate change, and increasing sea level rise has continued to bring strain to delicate coastal wetlands in particular. Studies into the long-term changes in these wetlands are variable, as best case scenario results estimate the sequestration of up to 1.5 Pg of organic carbon by 2100 through landward migration, though worst case scenario findings indicate that coastal squeeze could result in the loss of 3.4 Pg of sequestered carbon by 2100. This project aims to understand if the use of satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques can accurately assess and classify regions deemed as coastal wetlands. Multiple supervised classification methods were conducted on a 2024 Landsat 8 false colour composite image of a large coastal marsh in southern Nova Scotia and compared to the most up to date map from the Canadian Wetland Inventory. The most accurate method was returned, and was performed on the same area for an image in 2014 and 2005 respectively. The three classified images were then compared and overlaid onto one another to assess how the region has changed in the 20 year period. It is expected that some areas of the wetland will migrate inwards towards surrounding forested areas, as well as take over small forested islands within the marsh. Additional research into these regions conducted at areas of differing rates of sea level rise, as well as at wetlands bordering different land use types may help bring more understanding to how these ecosystems change over time according to their unique environments
Factors Controlling Photomineralization of Organic Carbon in Canadian High Arctic Soils
No full textArctic ecosystems are important to consider in the discussion of climate change. The region stores vast amounts of carbon, a large portion of which is situated near the surface. Permafrost thawing due to climate warming can increase the amount of available soil carbon for mineralization to CO2, potentially accelerating climate warming. This mineralization may be carried out by soil microbes through microbial respiration, or through photooxidation of organic carbon.
Field measurements recorded in 2024 at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory in Nunavut displayed higher rates of CO2 production in light conditions compared to dark conditions (respiration only), suggesting another process contributing to soil CO2 production. Options include 1) increased temperature during field measurements stimulates microbial activity, and 2) photomineralization of organic matter due to UV light exposure. To explore the relative importance of these processes, I used both field and laboratory methods. In the field, CO2 fluxes were measured using closed chambers and an infrared gas analyzer to measure CO2 fluxes. Soil samples were collected from select field sites that demonstrated this enhanced CO2 production. To explore these relationships in a more controlled environment, soil samples were incubated in the lab and subjected to one of four treatments: 1) The control group, where the sample was incubated at 4°C 2) Exposure to artificial light (visible light) with an intensity of 300 micromoles 3) Warming to 20 degrees and 4) Exposure to Ultraviolet light with UVA and UVB wavelengths using a heating lamp. For each of these experiments, I recorded CO2 production with a PPSystems infrared gas analyzer. The recorded flux measurements will be analyzed to determine how these treatments impact soil CO2 production. The results of this research will inform how photomineralization of bioavailable soil carbon could impact future rates of warming in the Arctic and globally
Minimum Burial Depth for River-Crossing Pipelines under Clear-Water Flow Conditions
No full textCanada possesses the third largest oil and gas pipeline network globally, with nearly 30% dedicated to crude oil transport. While pipelines offer an efficient means of transportation, those crossing rivers are especially vulnerable to riverbed scour. During high flow events, erosion of the soil surrounding buried pipelines can lead to unsupported spans and increased risk of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV), potentially causing structural fatigue and failure. This research aims to determine the minimum burial depth required to prevent scour around pipelines subjected to clear-water flow conditions. Addressing a critical gap in sediment transport and erosion protection design, the study holds significant relevance for civil and environmental engineering applications.
A series of laboratory flume experiments were conducted, where a cylindrical pipeline was placed at varying embedment depths relative to a uniform sediment bed. Under steady unidirectional flow, the development of local scour around the pipe was monitored over time.
High resolution images of the sediment bed were captured at regular intervals and analyzed using a custom MATLAB script. The code detected the sediment-water interface and converted pixel data into real-world coordinates. Elevation profiles were extracted and interpolated to measure scour depth and extent over time.
Results showed that pipeline embedment plays a crucial role in resisting scour formation. Pipes fully embedded beneath the sediment experienced minimal to no scour, while shallow or exposed pipes developed significant scour holes that deepened and lengthened with time. These findings support the development of predictive guidelines for minimum burial depth and enhance understanding of the interaction between flow, sediment transport, and pipeline exposure. This study contributes valuable empirical data and a robust image-based analysis method for future research and design practices in river-crossing pipeline protection
The Effects of Water Hardness on Daphnia Response to Chloride Exposure.
No full textFreshwater salinization is a major issue in Canada with nearly 6 million tones of road salt (typically NaCl) used annually for road de-icing. Many aquatic organisms show sensitivity to salt, leading to the creation of the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines (WQG). The WQG were created to determine chloride (Cl) levels that would protect most aquatic species from salinization. Two concentrations were created for long-term and short-term exposure, 120mg/L and 640mg/L, respectively. However, research indicates aquatic organisms in soft water (low calcium, or Ca) can experience negative effects of Cl below the WQG. The mechanisms by which Cl and Ca interact are unknown, but one proposed hypothesis suggests that Ca tightens cellular junctions reducing the passive flow of ions into aquatic organisms. Collaborating with Dr. A. Donini (York U), we measured hemolymph Ca and sodium (Na) ion concentrations in Daphnia that were cultured in FLAMES media treated with 1 to 70 Ca mg/L (CaSO4 · 2H2O) crossed with 0.39 to 400 Cl mg/L (NaCl) to identify if they showed varying concentrations of hemolymph ions. Daphnia were cultured in untreated FLAMES media and fed Scenedesmus obliquus at 2mgC/L/day for 2 generations. Neonates <24 hours old were transferred to treatment media and fed the same regimen for 6 days, then hemolymph ion concentrations were measured using ion-selective microelectrodes. The experiment is still ongoing. We predict lower hemolymph Na concentrations for a given level of Cl as Ca treatment increases. Understanding the varying effects of Cl at different Ca concentrations will be helpful in adequately reforming the WQG