Acadia Scholar
Not a member yet
4433 research outputs found
Sort by
Examining the relationship between attention and individual differences in autism traits and attachment style
No full textThe current study looked to explore the relationship between individual difference variables and attention ability. This study examined the proposal that attachment style and the presence of autism traits may be linked to components of attention including orienting and executive control abilities. Undergraduate students were tested using a modified attention network task (ANT), a measure of attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships - Short form), and a measure of autism traits (Autism Quotient (AQ)) in typically developed individuals. It was found that an anxious attachment style was significantly correlated with and a significant predictor of orienting attention ability, avoidant attachment style was significantly correlated with exogenous orienting, and autism traits were associated with exogenous orienting ability. The results support the hypothesis that epigenetic context variables related to individual variability in attachment and autism traits are related to the development of basic attention abilities
Like, comment, and consume: the role of the political consumer on Instagram
No full textPolitical participation is considered a foundation for an operational democracy, yet, voting numbers in both Canada and the United States are on the decline, which some attribute to a lack of political involvement by citizens. However, as our understanding of political participation expands, internet use, including social media, can also be included in this expanding form of participation, and because of this, many argue that participation is not in decline, but has instead only taken new forms. Social media use (sharing pictures,videos, and information) has created a way for consumers to interact and voice their opinions and concerns
with the brands directly. The political consumer is an individual who uses their money to either support (buycott) or to punish (boycott) companies because of their company policies or practices. Through the interaction of companies and political consumers on social media, this thesis argues that that on a social media platform that is strictly visual, as Instagram is, the political consumer is more interested in their own views than attempting to mobilize others to engage in boycotts or buycotts. This research incorporates the theory of political consumerism to understand the role of the political consumer on Instagram and investigates the relationship between the consumer and outdoor and athletic wear brands–Nike, adidas, Patagonia, The North Face, and Fjallraven
Comparing the effects of acute aerobic exercise on cognition in older adults
No full textIn a rapidly aging Canadian society, the prevalence of chronic disease has become a major health concern. With a large number of the population be over the age of 55, Canada is experiencing a surge of age-related declines in cognitive functioning including memory, attention, and processing speed, with an increase in cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's. Pharmaceutical options have been explored, however, this is placing a
cost-burden on the Canadian Healthcare System. Safe and cost-effective alternatives need to be implemented to reduce this burden and improve overall quality of life.
It is well-known that regular physical activity has immense physiological and psychological benefits. Aerobic training, in particular, can improve central and peripheral aspects of cardiorespiratory fitness. It has also been found that moderate and high intensity aerobic exercise can improve cognitive functioning in older adults, specifically executive function. This is important for slowing cognitive decline, as executive function is the first aspect of cognition to deteriorate, but it is also the first to improve with exercise.
An acute bout of high intensity interval exercise (HIIE) and moderate intensity continuous training (MICE) have been found to improve cognitive function in older adults, however the appropriate intensity and duration
remains unclear, as well as the mechanisms explaining these improvements. This study is looking to investigate the differences in cognitive performance following an acute bout of HIIE and MICE, with the aim of discovering the safest and most promising dose-response relationship to slow cognitive decline
Investigating the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizae on Crocanthemum canadense (L.) Britt. (Cistaceae) propagated in tissue culture
No full textCrocanthemum canadense(L.) Britt. (Cistaceae), Rockrose, is a small perennial herb found in Eastern North America sand barrens. It is classified as critically imperiled in Nova Scotia under the Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act. Nova Scotia Rockrose populations continue to decline; recent counts estimate only 5000-5500 plants remain. To better understand Rockrose biology, we analysed symbiotic mycorrhizal associations among native Nova Scotia populations. Recent research from our group has documented the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) within Rockrose roots of plants in their native habitat; the present study is the first to focus primarily on the benefits of this symbiotic relationship between Rockrose and AMF, and to identify the fungal partner. AMF improve water and nutrient uptake (phosphorus and nitrogen) by the plant. In return, they rely on the plant as a host and carbon source. In a greenhouse trial with varying percentages of AMF inocula, we determined how AMF would affect the growth of Rockrose plants propagated from tissue culture. The 1:25 inoculum had the most significant effect on the height of the shoots (cm) while the 1:50 inoculated plants had the largest root mass (g). Previous studies indicate that the lack of phosphorus in the experimental trial could have had a negative effect on the growth and symbiosis of C. canadense and AMF. The identity of AMF in the roots and the inoculum was determined using rDNA barcoding. A potentially novel species of AMF sister to Funneliformis mosseae was identified. This research will aid in the conservation and restoration of this critically imperiled species by further understanding
beneficial soil fungi, an understudied component of the declining sand barrens habitat
Opening the invertebrate estrogen can of worms: no evidence that bisphenol-A disrupts regeneration via endocrine disruption in the polychaete annelids Pygospio elegans and Alitta virens
No full textWhile almost all polychaete species can regenerate, the physiology of regeneration and its regulation differs among taxa. Nereids, for instance, lose their regenerative abilities as they become sexually mature
as a result of a decrease in brain-derived juvenile hormone, with some authors suggesting estradiol may affect maturation. Pygospio elegans (Spionidae), by contrast, reproduces both sexually and by architomy,
which occurs as fragmentation followed by caudal (tail) and cephalic (head) regeneration. No endocrine influences on P. elegans regeneration or reproduction have been identified. Bispheno-A disrupts regeneration
via mitosis inhibition and DNA methylation disruption, and as BPA is an estrogen mimic and a potent endocrine disruptor in vertebrates, this raises the question of whether BPA has similar endocrine-disrupting
effects in polychaetes. To investigate whether estradiol affects nereid regeneration, if BPA exposure mimics the effects of estradiol, and whether potential effects in Alitta virens (Nereidae) differ from the known
effects of BPA on P. elegans, I compared regenerate morphology between A. virens exposed to 1000 ng L-1 estradiol-17β, 3000 ng L¬1BPA, BPA+estradiol, or seawater (control), with parallel experiments on
regeneration in P. elegans. No significant effects of BPA, estradiol, or their interaction were observed. Power to detect effects was reduced by sample size attrition due to infestation and by noise from the effects of infestation and of initial size on regenerate morphology
The anxiolytic effect of cannabis: a zebrafish learning model
No full textThis study examined the effects of plant-derived cannabinoids, THC and CBD, on fear-memory associative learning using a zebrafish (Danio rerio) model. A total of 30 zebrafish were dosed with either CBD (10), THC
(10), or a water control (10) before undergoing a total of 12 shaping trials over the course of 3 days. The shaping trails consisted of a 6-minute swimming stress, coupled with a red background for associative learning. After completing 12 shaping trials, fish were placed in a plus maze on the fourth day, with one arm on the maze wrapped in the same red colour, for behavior analysis. Freezing duration, latency to enter red arm, number of entries into red arm, and total time in red arm were chosen as behavioural indicators of aversion to the colour red. Experimental difficulties and statistical outliers resulted in diminished sample sizes (CBD =
4, THC = 6, Water = 10) and only the difference in total time in red arm was found to be marginally significant, F(2,17) = 3.68, p= 0.047. The water control condition also served to demonstrate the effect of the
experimental manipulation resulting in an aversion for the red arm of the maze, F(3,27) = 4.66, p= 0.009; Results are weakly suggestive of a possible anxiolytic effect of THC
Designing and testing a social media framework for higher education
No full textThe following thesis examines the performance of Acadia University's Instagram account using a social analytics software, then applying the results to a modified framework designed to understand the building blocks of higher education institutions (HEIs) on social media. This framework is based upon two previous studies and was modified in order to appropriately represent elements of the social media environment that are
important to HEIs and relevant on Instagram. These elements are as follows: identity, sharing, perceived reputation, groups, presence, conversations, and relationships. Previous studies have found that the social media pages of HEIs are lacking in structure and strategy. This study was conducted to gain a level of understanding of the previous literature, followed then by primary data collection using an Instagram analytics software with regard to Acadia University's account to measure its relative success based on the framework compared to competitors. A range of tools were used within the software to measure each block of the framework, such as measuring the effectiveness of types of posts based on visual cues. This assessment of Acadia's use of Instagram demonstrated that the adapted framework proposed in this thesis is useful in evaluating social strategy as it pertains to HEIs. The results highlight Acadia University's strengths, such as holding a good perceived reputation as well as facilitating groups between related accounts on Instagram. However, the institution did not perform well in terms of presence or the relationships built between its own official account and others. Future research could examine the results of utilizing a social analytics tool and the designed framework on social media platforms other than Instagram, or on measuring the data for a longer period of time (e.g., a complete academic cycle)
North American farmland investments for retail investors
No full textAgriculture is an ancient practice that has shaped many cultures and societies as we know them today; given the historical importance of farmland and the colossal demand forecasted for agricultural output going forward, farmland is considered inherently valuable. With that said, it has traditionally been a private, family-owned asset on a global scale, excluding most retail investors from owning it within their investment portfolios. The literature indicates that should farmland become more liquid and available to more investors, they should seek to own it given its attractive profile as a diversifying inflationary hedge. This dissertation seeks to elaborate on this theory and update these findings with current data. Further, this research aims to highlight the lack of farmland investment opportunities for individual middle-class investors. The study uses North American farmland data to calculate farmland returns from 1995-2018, as well as Farmland Real Estate Investment Trust (F-REIT) data to calculate the returns of the American listed farmland securities over the period of 2014-2018. The results of this study, using Sharpe Ratio optimization, indicate that direct farmland investments should comprise an allocation within the average middle-class investor's portfolio. This is consistent with the literature (which is mainly focused on earlier time periods). Results also determined, benchmarked with the correlations of farmland with their publicly listed representatives (the two F-REITs), that there are no effective investment vehicles available to middle-class investors that adequately reflect the true risk-adjusted return profile of farmland
Facial expression classification and morphing with machine learning
No full textAutomatic facial expression recognition and facial morphing are challenging problems in the field of machine learning and computer vision. In this thesis, we design and implement an automatic web-based system for facial expression recognition and facial morphing using machine learning with deep neural network and transfer learning. The website captures a photo desktop, laptop or phone, automatically detects a face,
crops and pre-process the image, and sends it two machine learning models. One neural network model classifies the facial expression as being happiness, sadness, surprise, anger, fear, disgust or neutral. The second deep learning model transforms the pre-processed facial image into one of six expressive states, not included neutral, as requested by the user. Our system was tested on an independent set of images using a K-fold cross validation with a collection of images of 184 people. The proposed classification model achieved an F−measure of 94%. The morphing model achieved an accuracy of 89.64% on test data by comparing the original image and the generated image, using the Mean Absolute Error. The final website, face-morph.com, is capable of accurately classifying and morphing a facial image