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The Art of Interpreting Songs
No full textThis paper is a study on the great jazz singer Carol Sloane. It focuses on her life story and her singing style, with an emphasis on her distinctive lyric delivery and interpretation skills. The goal is to establish why Sloane is such a distinguishable interpreter of songs. After an introduction by your author, this paper commences with a comprehensive biographical portion, presenting the singer’s formative years in the 1930s all the way to her later years in the 2020s. Following her biographical information, a presentation of her sound, style and themes in her works, as well as some technical explanations. Finally, selected examples showcasing her song delivery skills are analysed and, also, contrasted, aided by a few musical transcription excerpts to better investigate some of Sloane’s phrasing and styling choices. Reviewing a legendary musician’s life and music–here, Carol Sloane’s–are a way to better understand the wherefores of their unique styles and are also opportunities to learn and continue traditions. In this case, the storytelling aspect of Ms. Sloane’s renditions is exceptional, and truly an education
"Natively online" : how Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour redefines the concert experience
Full text linkWaves of waters, wildfires and COVID-19: a critical analysis of federal-territorial disaster response in Canada’s north
No full textIn the context of disaster and emergency management in Canada, a “Request for Federal Assistance is initiated when an emergency event overwhelms or threatens to overwhelm the resources of a province or territory and federal government help is needed to effectively support the impacted region” (Public Safety Canada, 2021). With the number of hazards to which the territorial North is exposed increasing in frequency and severity, and the limited emergency management capabilities and resources possessed by the territorial governments, there is a strong possibility that the territory will continue to require extensive federal assistance for disaster response.
Between 2020 and 2023, in response to the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and severe flooding (2021), tainted water (2021) and wildfires (2023), the territorial governments made a number of requests for federal assistance, leading to the first Operation LENTUS operations ever conducted in the North. For this federal assistance to be effective, practitioners must know what is and is not working, building on best practices, and identifying areas for improvement. This thesis identifies the key ingredients for a successful disaster response in the North, examines how the military and other federal organizations fit into such a response and analyzes cases from 2021 to 2023 to determine the extent to which the ingredients for a successful response were or were not present
Uncovering the effectiveness of digital literacy in the virtual realm: a case study of Syrian women (in)visibility in art
Full text linkWomen artists, in general, have been historically underrepresented and invisible in the art world. Likewise, women artists from the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region encounter gender-specific obstacles, such as self-censorship, sexual harassment, stereotyping, societal backlash, and marginalization, often intensified by government censorship, political and social context. The rise of cyberspace and digital art during the pro-democracy protests in countries like Egypt, Syria, and Yemen in 2011 have been a powerful tool for community development and raising awareness around human rights and socio-political issues. However, the digital divide remains significant for marginalized groups and women. This qualitative case study aimed to explore digital literacy as an enabling factor in reclaiming the agency and visibility of Syrian women artists post-2011, by focusing on the power relation within the Syrian art scene, including the challenges and opportunities artists encountered in the context of ongoing conflict and forced displacement. Moreover, this study explores to what extent utilizing cyberspace accelerated their visibility on the local, regional, and international levels after 2011. From this research, I intended to explore how artists envisioned the future of art and creativity during the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). All participants in this research were publicly known on social media, and they expressed an interest to have their respective artist's name used
Multi-component heterogeneous copper oxide based catalysts for photocatalytic reductive transformations
No full textThe ongoing climate crisis has called attention to the need for more sustainable ‘green’ chemistry approaches to many industrially relevant chemical processes. One route that is particularly of interests lies in the ability to use light activated pathways, harnessing an abundant natural renewable resource to drive these reactions. Heterogeneous photocatalysis, specifically metal oxide semiconductors such as titanium dioxide (TiO2 ), are a promising area of research due to chemical stability, resistance to photo-corrosion, and their potential for recyclability. Metal oxide semiconductors can be functionalized to improve their photocatalytic abilities in several ways – by addition of a nanoparticle (NP) or additional supports like reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and metal organic frameworks (MOF). This functionalization can help to increase the duration of the charge separated state, make the catalyst more recoverable, and even allow for activation by lower energy, visible light sources. The fundamentals of metal oxide photocatalysis lies in the formation of redox active electron-hole (e- /h+ ) pairs. One type of nanoparticle functionalization is the addition of another metal oxide, such as Cux O, which creates a p-n junction that can electronically pull the electron from the CB of the excited metal oxide to the Cux ONP surface, effectively increasing lifetime of the e- /h + pair. The aim of this thesis is to examine the ability of Cux O/TiO 2 based three-component photocatalysts to perform photo-redox reductive transformations. The catalyst will first be synthesized, characterized, and optimized for hydrogen generation using UV (365 nm) light (Chapter 3). The catalysts will then be examined in its ability to perform nitroaromatic reductions (Chapter 4) and dehalogenation of aromatic molecules (Chapter 5). An extensive analysis on substrate substitution will test the versatility of the heterogenous catalyst. The experimental design will prioritize exploring more sustainable pathways to industrially relevant reductive transformations
Illegality, exploitability, and precarity : repressive migration policies, carceral borders and their impact on migrant lives
No full textBorders in the Global North are becoming increasingly militarized, monetized, and deadly, disproportionately prohibiting the freedom of movement of migrants travelling from the Global South. The deployment of neoliberal migration policy, which prioritizes market benefits and economic contribution, enforces the temporality of migrants in the host country and the exploitability of migrant labour for economic gain. Movement from state to state is readily accessible for some, and criminalized for others, showcasing how priority is placed on white, wealthy, and Global North travellers while criminalizing, exploiting, and endangering racialized migrants and migrants from the Global South or from places that are severally impacted by global economic restructuring, Structural Adjustment loans, global trading policies, political crises and environmental destruction. Closed-border practices and policies garner public support through fear-mongering and anti-migrant rhetoric found prevalent in media from the Global North (Butcher, Neidhardt, 2022). Normalized xenophobic rhetoric, such as the use of terms like ‘aliens’ or ‘illegals’ fosters a tolerance for migration policies that endanger migrant lives (Robinson, Su, 2023). Popular discourse that labels migrants as security threats provide nations with the power to manage migrants and militarize borders, playing into the hands of security corporations who profit off of the proliferation of closed border practices. Huysmans (2006:50) states that securitization institutes political solidarity for border protection. In the field of EU politics, there is a latent political will to constitute European unity that ties the EU perception of 9/11 as a terrorist attack and migrants associated to terrorism with a need to harden borders. The EU and Frontex (EU border and coastal guard agency) are problematic as far as securitization and militarization operations are concerned because they legitimize violent and dehumanizing policies that are otherwise contentious. Current migrant contract worker programs such as Temporary Foreign Worker program and Live-in Caregiver program in Canada disproportionately impact racialized migrants and contribute to cheapening their labor. Short term contract works, chances of being illegal if the workers stay back after the contract expires, exploitation at work, coupled with securitization and militarization of borders and repressive immigration policies, manifest and maintain the state of illegality that shapes certain migrants’ everyday life. Moreover, migrants, regardless of citizenship status, are made especially vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and in many cases death due to policies that prioritize border control over humanitarian concerns. In this context, migration policy regimes shaped by neoliberal market-driven policies refer to an overarching system of laws, regulations, and institutional practices that govern and manage current-day migrants while prioritizing economic efficiency. Following these practices and policies around migrants and immigration, my Honors thesis objectives are to analyze: 1) how the border industrial complex links to the migration industrial complex through looking into the privatization of prisons, immigrant enforcement and labour market regulations 2) Can border and immigration policies force periods of waiting for jobs, stable living conditions, access to healthcare and food, and conditions of illegalized movement through the change and temporality of permits, visas, or immigration status, thereby endangering migrant lives in myriad ways. 3) Do strict border controls and repressive immigrant policies contribute to the precarity and vulnerability of migrant women to Gender Based Violence (GBV)
Electrifying waste : investigating the electrooxidation of urea
Full text linkAs society is reliant on fossil fuels for everyday activities, the concentration of greenhouse gases like CO<sub>2</sub> continues to rapidly increase causing the global temperature to rise. Alternative methods to the commonly employed carbon capture and storage are being explored to mitigate the effects of this issue. One such approach relies on the electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to chemical compounds of higher value. Another approach is a push to move away from fossil fuels altogether, suggesting water electrolysis to produce hydrogen to be used as a fuel. Regardless of the approach, a challenging anode reaction, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is employed. It is possible to diminish the challenge faced by the anode by introducing additional reactions to the OER. Urea is one of the most abundant aqueous, human based waste products that continues to pose a threat to aquatic life and human health.<sup>1</sup> For almost two decades the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) has been investigated on Ni based catalysts<sup>2</sup>, but little work was dedicated to the determination and quantification of the products of the reaction. It was initially proposed that N<sub>2</sub> is the major product of the reaction, but a recent contribution from Li et al<sup>3</sup> proposed that NO<sub>2</sub><sup>-</sup> and NCO<sup>-</sup> are the major products of the reaction. The liquid-phase products of the UOR performed on seven different nanoparticle (NP) based catalysts of Ni, Ni<sub>x</sub>Fe<sub>100-x</sub> and Ni<sub>x</sub>Cu<sub>100-x</sub> were determined using ion chromatography (IC). Using Ni<sub>50</sub>Cu<sub>50</sub> as a catalyst at the anode of an alkaline electrolyser performing the UOR, we demonstrated that the products formed can be considered less oxidized than those recently produced on a Ni catalyst. Upon optimization, an approximate catalyst loading of 1.0 mg/cm<sup>2</sup> (performing a chronoamperometry at 0.6 V vs Ag/AgCl) yielded an indirect faradaic efficiency (FE) for N<sub>2</sub> formation of 25 %. The proposed catalyst was also capable of maintaining product formation and stability of the catalytic material for a 12-hour period, as well as retaining > 98 % of the catalyst
Where hope blooms: appreciative inquiry case study into educational practices of feminist organizations
Full text linkThis thesis presents a qualitative case study of eight women associated with seven Canadian feminist organizations and their educational practices. The study employed the Appreciative Inquiry approach (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987) and case study methodology to recognize the value of feminist organizations’ work and illuminate their practices in the context of the sector’s precarious funding and scarcity of resources (English, 2016; English & Irving, 2015). The aim of the study was to understand how feminist organizations develop and deliver their educational programming balancing the tension, pointed out in the literature, between feminist ideals and organizational challenges like fundraising and professionalization (Bracken, 2011; D’enbeau & Buzzanell, 2013). The research question was situated against the background of experiential and transformative learning theories, feminist theory, feminist pedagogy, and acceptance that feminist organizations are places where vital adult education happens (Stromquist, 2019). A feminist framework lent itself best for the analysis of data in this study since it was conducted with women representing women’s organizations. A non-probabilistic, purposeful sampling and a criterion-based selection (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015) was used to identify and recruit research participants. Further, semi-structured interviews and document analysis served as data collection tools. The research produced three main findings titled Feminist Workplaces, Feminist Pedagogy, and Tensions. The study showed the selected feminist organizations to be inclusive and supportive workplaces, taking different approaches to balance the precarity of funding and service provision; their educational practices proved to be firmly grounded in feminist pedagogies
Stuck on the soccer sideline : women athletes and ACL tears
No full textAnterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears among women soccer players have been framed as a crisis in sport because women are four to eight times more likely to experience an ACL injury compared to their male counterparts. While research has explored the mechanism of injury and the biological differences such as biomechanics, hormones, and Q-angle, sociocultural influences remain under examined. This study adopts a feminist sport philosophical perspective to analyze the role of gendered stereotypes, psychosocial pressures, and institutional biases in ACL injury prevalence among elite FIFA-level women’s soccer players. Findings highlight that structural inequalities such as cleat manufactured for men’s foot morphology, exposure to increase injury risk on artificial turf, poor professional environments, and disparities in strength training contribute to he heightened ACL injury risk in women’s soccer. Implementing feminist perspectives challenges the dominant view that frames ACL injuries in women athletes as a purely biological issue, and highlights how cultural narratives around women’s bodies and performance expectation contribute to injury risk. This study aims to shift the focus of ACL injuries beyond physiology, advocating for structural and cultural shifts to prioritize the health and safely of women athletes
White noise : an examination of P. K. Subban’s experience with anti-black racism in Montreal
No full textThis paper examines the career of NHL player P. K. Subban during his tenure with the Montreal Canadiens, focusing on the media scrutiny, locker room controversies, and racial dynamics that shaped his experience. As the first Black player drafted by the Canadiens, Subban’s on-ice performance and off-ice personality attracted widespread attention. Despite his success, including a Norris Trophy win, multiple All-Star appearances, and significant philanthropic efforts, he faced persistent criticism from media figures, team management, and teammates. Accusations of being a disruptive presence, along with coded language about “respecting the game” and “playing the right way” highlight the racial undertones that influenced criticisms of Subban’s character and playing style. This historical analysis explores four major themes of Subban’s career in Montreal, demonstrating how race played a role in shaping public and institutional narratives surrounding him