StFX Scholar (St. Francis Xavier University)
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Exploring the Impacts of Rhetoric Surrounding Play on an Early Elementary Teacher’s Practice: An Autoethnography
No full textI am a playful, veteran teacher of kindergarten aged children, who experiences a tension between my classroom practice and the current discourses surrounding play and play pedagogies in education which view play as an instrumental tool for academic instruction. I undertook an autoethnographic study of my practice via vignettes of the classroom, past writings, and texts generated from viewing photographs. Sutton-Smith’s (1997) rhetorics of play were used to analyse the texts created and two themes emerged. The first with a focus on play for self-identity and the second concerning metaphorical Islands. I conclude that my disquietude is caused by a tension regarding ethical principles. The economic instrumentalism evident in contemporary discourses of education is at odds with my practice and beliefs about human flourishing, eudemonia, or the good life, which I offer as a possible alternative
Bismuth oxide photocatalysts for environmental remediation
No full textSynthetic plastic is one of the fastest growing global issues due to its low-cost synthesis and application for a variety of commercial products. Plastics prepared from polyethylene are of concern due their improper disposal on residential streets, landfills, and bodies of water. The release of microplastics (MPs) and plastic additives post a concern to the ecosystem, but to human life as well. Likewise, an increased global production and consumption of pharmaceuticals during the pandemic also introduced more contaminants in our water systems. Inefficient conventional treatment technologies of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) consequently lead to the accumulation of such pollutants in the aquatic environment. Endocrine disrupting-compounds (EDC) such as bisphenol A (BPA) and octylphenol (OP) as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as diclofenac (DC) will be used as models for plastic borne pollutants and an emerging pharmaceutical contaminant, respectively. Recently, applied photochemistry has garnered attention in its practical application in degrading and mineralizing aqueous pollutants. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) showed promising potential in treating varying concentrations of pollutants. In particular, heterogenous semiconductor photocatalysis using bismuth-based materials will be examined as a more sustainable, cheaper, non-toxic alternative to other semiconductor materials such as TiO2 which has demonstrated a respectable capacity in photocatalytic degradations. In the following experiments, bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) — a semiconductor material showing similar light-active properties to TiO2 — will be synthesized and examined for its ability to induce photoredox reactions to degrade our target pollutants. The photochemical functionalization of gold nanoparticles on bismuth oxide (Bi2O3/AuNP) not only increases the photoresponse of the semiconductor to a more energetically sustainable light source, but also bolsters its recyclability. Addition of H2O2 employs the use of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through a Fenton degradation process. Doping the photocatalysts in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films extends the water remediation capabilities of the photocatalyst to the degradation of plastics and MPs. Irradiation of the samples using blue (455 nm) and green (530 nm) visible lights allowed us to achieve respectable degradation (≥ 50%) of BPA, OP, and DC in just under 1 hr monitored using HPLC and GC-MS analysis. Complete degradation of OP was achieved in just 15 min of irradiation for both the bismuth-only and AuNP version of the catalyst, even when doped in LDPE. Increased recyclability of Bi2O3/AuNP allowed it to be used for 3 cycles, retaining over 57.2% of the original photocatalytic capacity. These results are promising for using bismuth in green chemistry applications, maximizing efficiency and minimizing hazardous effects on human health and the environment
How does bodily emotion modulate our decision to engage in joint action?
No full textHuman beings are social entities whose emotions guide their thoughts, behaviours, and actions. Yet, the influence of one’s emotional state when deciding to engage in a joint action task has not been explored. The current study aimed to explore whether bodily emotion influences one’s decision to engage in a handover task. Participants completed the experiment online. First, a prompt was presented which identified the action (give, take) and the object (spoon, knife). This was followed by a brief video of a point-light display (PLD) expressing a bodily emotion (anger, happiness, sadness, neutrality). Participants were then asked to indicate the extent to which they would engage in a handover task with the person depicted in the video, given the prompted action and object. Responses were made on a scale from 1 (definitely would not) to 7 (definitely would) with 4 indicating neutral. Stimuli were presented in a randomized order. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on the mean engagement ratings with the within-subjects factors of Emotion, Action, and Object. A significant main effect of Object [F(1,25)=23.629, p<.001, ηp2=0.486] emerged, indicating that a spoon resulted in higher engagement ratings. There was also a significant Action X Object [F(1,25)=31.356, p<.001, ηp2=0.556] interaction with lower engagement ratings when giving a knife and taking a spoon. Additionally, there was a significant Emotion X Action [F(2.194,54.852)=3.940, p=.022, ηp2=0.136] interaction. A Bonferroni post-hoc test revealed a significantly lower engagement rating when engaging in a giving action with an angry PLD compared to a neutral PLD [p=.002]. Our findings suggest that bodily emotion does not influence one’s decision to engage in a handover activity
Using RNA interference to investigate the role of catalase in the freeze tolerance of spring field crickets (Gryllus veletis)
No full textFreezing winter temperatures bring about many challenges for organisms that overwinter in temperate climates, including oxidative stress. Oxidative stress often occurs when a sudden increase in oxygen availability generates an influx of damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS). Antioxidants – molecules or enzymes that can neutralize ROS – are hypothesized to protect against oxidative damage in organisms that survive freezing. Previous work has shown that the spring field cricket, Gryllus veletis, can survive freezing. Transcriptomic analysis suggests that the antioxidant catalase, which has high activity levels in some of its tissues, may play a role. To test whether catalase is important for freeze tolerance, I have used RNA interference (RNAi) to knock down production of the catalase protein in freeze-tolerant G. veletis. However, RNAi efficacy in this species seems to be temperature-, tissue-, and time-dependent. RNAi was only effective at relatively warm (c. 22°C) temperatures, but these temperatures caused G. veletis to lose its freeze tolerance. With this work, we now know more about the limitations of RNAi in freeze-tolerant crickets, although future work will be required to properly determine the role of antioxidants in freeze tolerance