Undergraduate Academic Work
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Collection of unpublished undergraduate work.
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- ItemOpen AccessGödel vs. Mechanism(2013) Darnell, Eamon; Zach, Richard
- ItemOpen AccessContrast and Contrastivism: The Logic of Contrastive Knowledge(2010) Scobbie, Taylor
- ItemOpen AccessExplication, Open-Texture, and Church’s Thesis(University of Calgary, 2016) Curtis-Trudel, Andre
- ItemOpen AccessJuror Perceptions of Forensic Evidence(2012) McPhee, Kyla C.; Boyce, MelissaThis study investigated whether potential jurors are aware of the limited validity of most types of forensic evidence. Three hundred and nine undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of twelve conditions (control, confession, hair microscopy, fingerprint, fingerprint- revised, DNA, DNA-revised, forensic odontology, criminal profiling, decompositional odour, shoe print, and soil analysis). Participants read a case vignette outlining a mock homicide that differed only in the type of evidence that was presented. Participants then filled out a questionnaire reporting their verdict decisions, perceptions of the importance of the evidence in reaching the verdict decision, and reliability of the evidence (among other judgments). It was found that the type of evidence presented significantly affected verdict decisions. Furthermore, many types of unvalidated forensic evidence were perceived to be as reliable as DNA evidence. These findings suggest that mock jurors are unaware of the limited validity of most types of forensic evidence. This study stimulates the need for more thorough testing of the probative value of evidence and the inclusion of expert testimony in court.
- ItemOpen AccessAssessing and Mapping Groundwater Vulnerability to Bacteria in Alberta(2017-04) Van Staden, TamaraAquifer vulnerability index methods are commonly used for assessing groundwater vulnerability to surface contaminants. However, the methods have primarily been developed for dissolved contaminants. Microbial contaminants have unique characteristics that result in different transport behavior in the subsurface, and thus different tools need to be designed. Key vulnerability factors specific to microbial sources and subsurface transport mechanisms were identified in this study and incorporated into a model using an ArcGIS framework to create provincial-scale maps of groundwater vulnerability, specific to E. coli, in Alberta for the year 2012. Examples of these factors include: soil texture based on grain size, soil organic matter, hydrogeologic properties, depth to aquifer, and meteorological conditions. These factors were combined from individual GIS layers to create an intrinsic vulnerability map, demonstrating where aquifers were more vulnerable to bacterial contamination if a source became present. Maps were created for the growing season and cold season, and attempts were made to test the model with E. coli detection data. The results of these statistics were not significant enough for this model to be used for predictive purposes, but this could be caused by the presence or lack of risk (i.e., source of contaminants), as opposed to real differences in aquifer vulnerability. This project helped inform which factors should be considered when making a vulnerability map for bacterial contaminants, most notably temporal factors such as precipitation and soil moisture. The developed map provided insights as to where shallow aquifers in Alberta are intrinsically vulnerable to bacterial contamination.
- ItemOpen AccessPlaying Gender: An Analysis of Femininity in the Popular Culture Phenomenon League of Legends(2019-05-11) Kuk, Bryan; Tézli, AnnetteVideo games are immensely popular in contemporary society, and it conveys explicit and implicit messages to the consumer. The author investigates the presence of gender portrayal and how the popular culture phenomenon League of Legends depict and represent women. The author analyzes its content, such as roles and appearances, to develop an understanding of its accuracies regarding femininity in the game, and to expand upon the general body of knowledge on video games. A literature review was conducted by the author analyzing the presence of gender in various forms of media (books, television etc.), and gender in video games, and how women are portrayed in them. As prior literature shows, women are underrepresented, stereotyped, and presented in a sexualized manner. The author contends that media including video games, have an impact on an individual’s identity, socializing them to imitate the content that they see in video games under the pretense that it is ‘normal’ and ‘the way it is’ in reality. As a result, the author draws on the theories posited by George Gerbner and Ann Swidler in order to explain the implications of their theories on socialization. The author then engages in a qualitative content analysis of the roles in the game, and twelve female characters or ‘champions’ in League of Legends to uncover any themes or patterns, in relation to their roles, personality traits, occupation, and appearances etc. In addition, the author briefly discusses the male characters in the game to understand if the results on the female characters were unique only to them and not the male characters. Results suggest that women were more likely to be placed in typically male-coded roles, such as leaders and protectors, but at the expense of being depicted in scantily-clad clothing and sexualized manners. Presented research reflect some of the conclusions drawn in previous studies, but opens the field of video games to more research topics regarding League of Legends as a case study. It is an evolving video game with new content added frequently, as a result, the game can be re-investigated to explore developments on gender representations of men and women.
- ItemOpen AccessUna reflexión crítica de mis tendencias personales de aprendizaje(2019) Vollrath, Coleman; George, Angela
- ItemOpen Access¿Tengo tres primeros idiomas?(2019) George, Angela
- ItemOpen AccessMexicana hermosa(2019) Arenas, Graciela; George, Angela
- ItemEmbargoEl Viaje de Aprender Español(2019) Lloyd, Hayven; George, Angela
- ItemOpen AccessEl aprendizaje de español(2019) Flores, Gabriel; George, Angela
- ItemOpen AccessObtener mi tercera alma: como aprendí mi tercer idioma(2019) Oirá, GB; George, Angela
- ItemOpen AccessNo soy chilena(2019) Cassie, Tyra; George, Angela
- ItemOpen AccessMi viaje lingüístico: balbuceo a bilingüe(2019) Mercado, Mia; George, Angela
- ItemOpen AccessAutobiografía lingüística de actitudes de lenguaje(2020-02-11) Schnider, Raina
- ItemOpen AccessLouise Ho and the Third Space: Identity Formation in Postcolonial Hong Kong English Literature(2020-07-06) Lau, Isabella; Joseph, Clara; Wiens, JasonThis project intends to explore the issue of identity formation in postcolonial Hong Kong with a focus on Homi Bhabha’s theory of the third space and Edward Said’s theory of the intellectual as exile, in conjunction with the poems “Flags and Flowers,” and “Migratory” by Louise Ho. By analysing these poems, this project considers an important instance of how citizens of postcolonial Hong Kong attempt to reclaim their identity in the face of opposing powers – Britain and China. The study will engage with Bhabha’s and Said’s theories to explore the ways in which Louise Ho utilizes related concepts to construct a local identity for Hong Kong. The idea that Hong Kong is a place of exiles populated by people who live “at the edge of things and between places” is a common theme of literary texts in the handover period. Due to this common belief of Hong Kong as a place of exile, hence vulnerable to the colonial and native sovereign’s project of identity reconstruction, most texts in the handover period all demonstrate concerns and anxieties over Hong Kong’s cultural and linguistic autonomy, as well as the fear of a “homogenizing renationalization”. From such a perspective, Hong Kong presents an identity crisis that is often overlooked by postcolonial scholars: the struggle between identifying oneself with the former colonizer and the present sovereign within the native culture itself. While the idea that Hong Kong is a city of exiles constitutes one of the major themes of Louise Ho’s poems, Ho, however, suggests that it is exactly this very being of “difference,” that marks the local distinctive identity of Hong Kong. Foregrounding these common themes as the basis of Ho’s poems, this study argues that by showing the liminality of Hong Kong’s cultural identification – Not quite British, not quite Chinese – Louise Ho proposes the concept of the third space as a possible means for the formation of Hong Kong’s own local identity. To prove my thesis, I shall first begin with a literary review of Hong Kong literature from the handover period. Then, I will draw upon relevant discussions of Edward Said’s discourse of intellectual exile, in conjunction with one of the selected poems “Migratory”; I will then discuss Homi Bhabha’s theory of the third space and its intersection with the poem “Flags and Flowers”; Lastly, I will provide a close analysis of Ho’s poems with particular focus on the ways in which the poems call attention to the fluidity and multiplicity of identity in Post-Handover Hong Kong, as well as the ways in which Ho foregrounds the theoretical approaches of intellectual exile and the third space as possible means for reclaiming and reconstructing Hong Kong’s cultural identity.
- ItemEmbargoLoonie Calls(2020-06) Chua, Christian Philip; van Herk, Aritha
- ItemOpen AccessCelluloid Thirsty(2020-11-02) Bews, Jacob; van Herk, ArithaIn the exegesis, Bews argues that cities have and act as paratexts which define their borders and interpretations by residents. Situated knowledge and research creation, then, become valuable methods for decoding and exploring the implications of those city-paratexts. This is followed by the novella "Celluloid Thirsty," about a film critic tasked with writing a script by a oil-drinking, cannibalistic cowboy.
- ItemOpen AccessDust, Oil, and Swarm-Selves: Re-Imagining Middle Eastern Subjectivity with Reza Negarestani’s Cyclonopedia(2020-05) Ali, Rukhsar; Camara, AnthonyFor many years, the Middle East and its cultural and political contexts have been examined from solely Western epistemological standpoints, creating an orientalist view of the Middle East which fails to capture the complexity of identity and sentience formation in the region. Previous scholarship uses Western methodologies such as Jacques Lacan’s mirror stage to understand this development, providing an incomplete and essentialized explanation of identity formation. This paper uses Iranian philosopher Reza Negarestani’s Cyclonopedia as the theoretical basis for exploration of the recurring “fragmented” identity motif in Middle Eastern science fiction/horror literature. Cyclonopedia does not claim that there is an “authentic” Middle East to be discovered, as this is also a form of orientalism; instead, it builds on Western thinkers such as Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Sigmund Freud, and Nick Land to form a creative hybrid methodology of Western and Eastern epistemologies called Hidden Writing. Negarestani’s methodology locates points of contention in the creative texts (Peter Watt’s “Malak”, Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein) highlighting connections inter and intra-textually that emphasize the shortcomings of Western conceptions of identity formation, especially through the exploration of different forms of sentience across the texts. The growing technology of artificial intelligence and Negarestani’s development of Hidden Writing highlight different possible forms of sentience that push back against a solely Western anthropocentric view of sentience and subjectivity.
- ItemOpen AccessCritical Commentary: Canadian Educational Systems as Structures of Indigenous Oppression(2021-05-02) King, Abigail; Reid, SashaI was inspired to write the topic of my critical commentary through Episodes 1 and 4 of Sasha Reid’s Podcasts titled Sociology of Indigenous People (2021a; 2021b). In Episode 1, Reid (2021a) gave a brief review of Indigenous history in Canada and touched on topics such as the Indian Act and Residential Schools. Further, Reid asked multiple true or false questions testing students understanding of Indigenous people and discussed her previous classes misconceptions (Reid, 2021a). In Episode 4, Reid delved into the relationship between education and Indigenous people and education as a significant determinant of health (Reid, 2021b). Reid furthered the discussion with the concept of Indigenizing education to combat the negative consequences of a Eurocentric curriculum that stereotypes and misrepresents Indigenous people (Reid, 2021b). The four topics from the lectures I discussed above; the Indian Act, Residential Schools, widespread misconceptions around Indigenous peoples and Eurocentric education, demonstrate Canada’s transition from explicit to implicit oppressive tactics on Indigenous peoples. I believe Canada’s educational system, besides being a major health determinant for Indigenous people, is also working to further the cycle of racism. In the late 1800s to 1900s, Canada used a combination of overtly racist policies and practices including the Indian Act and Residential Schools along with widespread negative stereotypes to create nationwide prejudice against Indigenous People (Reid, 2021a). The stereotypes justified the Canadian government’s control and domination over Indigenous people. Now, I argue Canada uses public education to produce both negative stereotypes about and structural subordination over Indigenous peoples. These topics introduced the question: to what extent is Canadian public education used as a structure of oppression and domination over Indigenous people? To better understand this, I will examine biases within the development and content of the curriculum and how this engenders the cycle of racism. The purpose of this examination is to expand the readers’ knowledge regarding education as a prominent and necessary tactic in the government’s continued racist perspective on Indigenous people and to make more complete, my understandings of Episode 4.