Issue 81.8

Acadia Univeristy’s Student Newspaper EST.1874 Research Edition 2019 Issue 81.8

atheditorials The Athenaeum

Acadia University’s Student Newspaper

Issue 81.8 ASU Box 6002, Acadia University Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R5 Editor-In-Chief: Colin Mitchell Email: eic@acadiau.ca SUB room 512

EIC Office Hours: Mon, Wed & Thur 3 - 6

Advertising/ Buisness Inquiries: athbusiness@acadiau.ca

Section Editors Arts & Culture Ruvimbo Chipazi

Creative

Thomas Morgan

Features

Management Production Manager Jordan Mahaney

Photo Manager Aqila Walji

Christopher Vanderburgh

Business Manager

Josée Léger

Jack Spicer

Kyle ThompsonClement

Colin Mitchell

News

Opinions Science

William Darrah

Copy Editor

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Katie Spicer

Laura Porter-Munz Sports & Wellness Sebastian Farkas

About Us. The Athenaeum is the official student newspaper of Acadia University and is published in print and online year-round at theath.ca. The opinions expressed herein do not represent the Acadia Students Union or the staff of The Athenaeum, they are held by the individuals who contribute to The Athenaeum as essential members of our completely student-run newspaper.

We pride ourselves in publishing and participating in a diverse community, and we are more than eager to work with anyone, regardless of age, economic situation, race, creed, sexual orientation, or any other defining or diversive human trait.

Articles submitted will be published at the discretion of the editorial board. If there is content that we feel will not add to the philosophy, dialogue, or tone of our newspaper, it will not be published.

We’re always looking for controversial and thought-provoking material that challenges society and its norms, but any material deemed offensive or hateful will be met with extreme scrutiny. That being said, all of our staff members look forward to working together with writers to improve their quality of writing, and to make sure The Athenaeum remains professional and well-rounded.

The Athenaeum may accept submissions from any student or member of our campus, present and past, and is always looking for more writers and photographers. If you are looking for coverage of an event or story, would like to notify us of a complaint or correction, or would like to submit a letter to the editor, contact Colin Mitchell at eic@acadiau.ca There are open story meetings every Monday at 6pm in The Athenaeum office, room 512 in the SUB. Everyone is welcome, and we encourage you to join us!

The Athenaeum, since 1874.

Call it like you see it.

2

Research Edition 2019

www.theath.ca

I Believe in Acadia.

You Should Too. Colin Mitchell Editor-in-Chief

Three years ago, I wrote an article explaining why I had faith in Nova Scotia. I wrote about how the province inspired creativity and how the potential to build a future in this province is here while the immediate opportunities may not be. I wrote about how universities can be the key to our future, with the opportunities for growth and expansion right in front of us.

With graduation just around the corner I want to reflect on why my faith in Acadia University has never been stronger.

I came to Acadia from across the country knowing next to nothing about it. I learned about the history of this university, from the struggle to the prosperity that makes our history unique.

The story of Acadia University is peppered in equal parts by stories of struggle and progress. We are pioneers by birth, by circumstance and by necessity. Through those struggles we have formed a stronger conception of who we are and where we’re going.

Acadia has come out stronger time and time again. Having sat on the Board of Governors and on the University Senate I know that change can be slow. It can be mind-numbing and frustrating, and more often than not the results aren’t seen for years. But that doesn’t mean change is impossible.

The reality is the demands of the 21st century will constantly require us to adapt to changing circumstances. An Acadia education is valuable because it teaches us how to think. This sets us apart from students who graduate from monolithic institutions as a faceless number in a class of hundreds. We have the ability to think for ourselves and to think outside of the box.

I believe in Acadia because we’re imagining what comes next. The

Campaign for Acadia gives us an opportunity to improve the lives of students who will shape this university for the next decade and beyond.

Everything from expanding scholarships to hiring the best faculty to reimagining our campus is possible in this endeavor. I’ve put my money where my mouth is and personally donated $100 to this campaign because I fundamentally believe in the potential of this institution.

an institution that welcomes students of colour and doesn’t relegate them to second-class students. We need to build an accessible campus so that every student has the same ability to obtain an Acadia education. We need to admit our failures as an institution and build on them instead of sweeping them under the rug.

We’re on the right track. The growth of the Black Students’ Association over the past two years has shown that when But I believe in Acadia for more students mobilize, we can make a real than the flashy posters and inflated difference. Discussions on racial, clichés. I believe in Acadia because gender, and social issues that should it’s nurtured students and faculty who have happened years ago are finally care about one another. It gives us the coming to the forefront. Curriculum platform to launch our careers in the changes are incorporating more wider world and make a real difference. contemporary issues into our syllabi It gives us the ability to make a name and getting us to ask hard questions. for ourselves by pursuing what we love. We’re reaching out to the world and building partnerships from the Maple I started Humans of Acadia three years League to Japan to cement our niche in ago because I wanted to capture what the post-secondary ecosystem. makes this town special. We all have unique stories to tell and by sharing There will always be naysayers. them we’ve connected past, present, Change isn’t always popular, nor fun and future students of this university. or easy. But it is necessary. Acadia will Taking pictures and telling the stories continue to be a crucial part of Canada of the people who make our and an even more important player community extraordinary has been an in an increasingly connected world. absolute privilege.

We’re currently taking steps in the right direction, with student and faculty I’ve had the opportunity to hear from movements shaping where we go as hundreds of people about what makes a university. My four years at Acadia this town special. From international have taught me that this university is students who moved thousands of more than the degree you get at kilometres from home to Wolfville Convocation− it’s about the people you residents who have lived in Nova meet and the stories you make.

Scotia their whole lives, this community has made an imprint on my Ultimately the students make Acadia heart. Every story I’ve captured has possible. Together we’ve been able taught me that the Acadia community to achieve great things, and it’s with looks out for one another. We’re not unwavering optimism in the Acadia afraid to pick each other up when we spirit that I look forward to the next fall down. generation. We’ve proven that we can be better. All of the necessary tools for This isn’t to say Acadia is perfect. growth and expansion are in front of us Far from it. There’s still tremendous and the roadmap is there. progress that needs to be made. We need to break down financial barriers I believe in Acadia. that keep top talent from attending our institution. We need to lead the process You should too. of indigeneity and we need to create

athresearch Barriers to Effective (sports-related) Concussion Management in Nova Scotia

www.theath.ca

Reading Between the Wines Lydia Hayward BSc in Nutrition (Honours)

With the production of local wine increasing in Nova Scotia, the government is investing a significant Sarah Charnock amount of money into wine research.

BKin (Honours) As a recipient of funding from the Nova Scotia department of Sarah Charnock is a 4th year Photo: Mark Davidson agriculture, Nutrition and Dietetics kinesiology student from Newmarket Honours student, Lydia Hayward, was Ontario. She has spent her time at able to investigate two areas of wine Acadia actively participating in research that have yet to be studied. In various kinesiology programs as well an attempt to strengthen the growth of as in the wider Acadia and Wolfville this industry, Hayward and supervisor, Community. She is a volunteer with the Dr. Matthew McSweeney, have begun Cardiac Rehab and SMILE programs, research to develop a consumer lexicon the president of the Acadia Kinesiology to describe local wines in a way that Society, a varsity soccer athlete, and a resonates more effectively with Sport Injury Assessment and consumers. This was the primary Management program (SIAM) student uncovering barriers to effective (sports- objective of the research, which used that works with the varsity volleyball related) concussion Projective Mapping and Ultraand soccer teams. She is also a Fast management in Nova Scotia. A Flash-Profiling to identify consumer and Female ambassador, a leader for significant number of concussions descriptors. Participants also assessed Girls on Boards, and has volunteered occur in sport at every level and their associated liking of these wines time with Brigadoon Village and awareness has begun to increase. That using a 9-point hedonic scale. This Camp Triumph, camps for children being said, many are still unsure what study is specific to rosé wines, as who suffer from or whose close family steps they should be taking while Hayward’s peers have already members suffer from chronic illness. recovering from a concussion. The investigated reds and whites.

A dean’s list scholar and 3x academic issues seem to range from lack of all-Canadian, Sarah was also named training in health care providers to Additionally, companies are hesitant to an All-Star this season and brought various pressures faced by athletes that comply with the increased consumer the AUS student athlete community cause underreporting. This study will demand for the disclosure of nutritional service award home. further explore what barriers athletes information. Although studies have perceive in NS as well as the issues that shown that this disclosure will increase As an avid multisport athlete health care providers see that might willingness to purchase, there is growing up, she personally prevent athletes from having an ideal controversy surrounding how this will experienced various sport-related rehabilitation experience after a affect sales. Other studies show that injuries and became interested in sport-related concussion. Sarah had consumers tend to prefer products with rehabilitation. She volunteered for numerous varsity and club level lower calories, a trend especially four years at a spinal cord injury athletes complete her questionnaire and prevalent in women. However, these recovery center and has a particular interviewed 10 athletes to find out more studies have not considered the interest in neurological rehab. With about their experiences with influences of taste and pleasure on a growing interest in sport injury concussions. She wanted to look at this alcohol choices. This is why the management and the newly enacted issue from multiple perspectives, so she secondary purpose of the study was to Rowan’s Law in Ontario, her interest also had various health care providers investigate the impacts of caloric values was piqued, and she is now studying complete the questionnaire and did 10 on the sensory perception and arguably one of the most complex more interviews with various enjoyment of wine. injuries to manage in sport. She has therapists. Upon completion of the had to manage many concussions and study, it is her hope to create a tool for In the first test, participants were asked feels strongly that education around health care providers to use to address to evaluate eight rosé wines and place this injury has improved, however, the issues uncovered in the them on a 2-dimensional plane on the there are still many in Nova Scotia who questionnaires and interviews. She has computer screen, placing those more are unaware of how to identify a begun working on this project under similar together and those differing concussion, of the severity of this the direction of Dr. Colin King and apart. Also, they were asked to identify injury, and of how they can be they will be recruiting the assistance descriptors related to each wine. effectively managed. Upon graduation, of another undergraduate student, Erin As for assessing the caloric values, this Sarah plans to pursue the opportunity Coughlan, as well as a marketing firm was done in two sessions. The first, to continue to be an athlete abroad and to create a tool that might make without labels, acted as the baseline. hopes to one day become a physician. managing concussions simpler for Then, there was a session that those in this province. implemented nutrition labels. In this Sarah’s honours research focuses on

second session, the four wines were assessed with four different nutrition labels; low, actual, high and highest in calories. They were asked to rate the wines on appearance, flavour, mouthfeel, and overall liking. Only four wines were assessed at a time, and the order was different for each participant.

In both studies, consumer knowledge of wine was also assessed both subjectively and objectively, as they tend to differ. The wine knowledge test, an objective evaluation of knowledge, found that the majority of participants, 90% were low to lowest in knowledge, accurately representing the consumer population.

In the end, there were two clear categories found in the consumer descriptors, wines that had fruit flavours and those that lacked fruit flavours. It was also found that those attributes associated with fruit drove consumer liking of the rosé wines.

The statistical analysis also demonstrated no significant difference in overall enjoyment of wines with varying caloric values. Although this contradicts the tendency to choose low calorie foods, prior studies have found pleasantness and taste to be the largest factors in wine choices. Thus, this supports that caloric transparency would have negligible effects on consumers wine choices.

In order to more accurately predict the results of mandating nutrition labels in the future, labels must be similar to the label they plan to release and should be tested with a variety of alcoholic beverages, as opposed to wine alone.

Research Edition, 2019

3

athresearch

www.theath.ca

Teaching Treaties in Nova Scotia Alexandra Pulchny MA Sociology

My area of research is within the sociology of education, specifically Indigenous education in Canada.

My master’s thesis explores institutional arrangements of the Nova Scotia Department of Education and curriculum for public high schools in Nova Scotia, asking how Indigenous histories and voices are acknowledged and honoured, and more specifically, what is being done to incorporate and maintain Treaty education. It also involves finding solutions to decolonizing the social studies curriculum in Nova Scotia through the voices of curriculum developers and teachers.

ciety, which helps them reinforce a core belief that contributed to the structure of Residential schools and the modern education system: the belief that first peoples are inferior and that the land they claimed upon arrival is their own (Martineau 2018). In terms of modern institutions,

Martineau notes that according to The Coalition for the Advancement of Aboriginal Studies (CAAS), “[… the absence of aboriginal worldviews in classrooms is a major factor in the racism and discrimination that Aboriginal peoples currently face in Canadian society and its According to Christine Martineau institutions.” (Martineau 2018:21) in her dissertation, Digging Up the In order to eliminate this Roots of Educational Policy: discrimination and racism within Curriculum Infusion and educational institutions, CAAS Aboriginal Student Identity and Martineau believe that the Development (Martineau 2018), knowledges and experiences of the function of Canadian provincial Indigenous peoples need to be schools is to reproduce Canadian so- presented (Martineau 2018).

My inspiration to do this project stemmed from my own experiences with the education system in Nova Scotia and was encouraged by the professors in the department of sociology, as well as the encouraging environment they produced. I attended a rural high school before attending Acadia for my undergrad, and it wasn’t until I took “Introduction to Social Problems” in Sociology that I began to really think about the history of colonialism in Canada and the lack of education we received on the subject in high school.

Although it was touched on briefly in Social Studies, and students were given a choice to take Mi’kmaw Studies 11, I do not remember learning a significant amount; and I found, when I sparked the conversation with friends, that many of us did not remember what we learned about colonialism and Mi’kmaw culture and histories.

These histories, cultures, and ways of knowing are things that we should remember; we should be able to take something away from the education, whether we are Indigenous or non-Indigenous students. For Indigenous students, having their ways of knowing, histories, cultures, and languages taught and respected in schools helps them build self-identity and feelings of belonging and

The Athenaeum and the Associated Alumni of Acadia University

2019

Student of the Year Award The Student of the Year award is presented annually to an Acadia student who has excelled throughout their time at Acadia. The award is presented to a nominee who has contributed to the Acadia and Wolfville communities and has worked to further the Acadia spirit through their extracurricular and/or academic activities.

Nomination forms found at https://www2.acadiau.ca/alumni-friends/alumni/awards.html Applications may include letters of reference and other supporting materials such as resumes and unofficial transcripts.

Nomination Deadline: Noon on March 31, 2019: Please send to Information Desk, Students’ Union Building (ATTENTION: ALICIA JOHNSON) Or email Alicia.johnson@acadiauca Alumni Hall Room # 201 or Front Desk (ATTENTION: OONAGH PROUDFOOT) Or email Oonagh.proudfoot@acadiau.ca

4

Research Edition, 2019

athresearch

www.theath.ca

The Sociological Study of Severe Mental Illness Katie Campeau MA Sociology

representation. For non-Indigenous students, it helps us recognize that there is more to the history of our country than what the Western institutions present to us, and in fact, the history of this land began long before Europeans arrived.

Finally, it also helps students connect and respect the varying backgrounds and ways of life, and helps them learn and build bonds outside of the classroom.

My aim is to (a) present the importance of Treaty education within Nova Scotia’s public K-12 schools; (b) inform the process of providing students access to a quality and equitable education regardless of social location (i.e. education that is representative and considerate of their varying cultures, values, and social classes); and (c) to work towards building an inclusive curriculum – in other words, a curriculum that aims to provide educational access and successful participation for all students, in acknowledgement of multiple, valid ways of knowing, being, and learning – keeping in mind the importance of Indigenous voices and studies in the K-12 school curriculum.

In my undergraduate research, I created and distributed a survey for my honours thesis in Acadia’s sociology program. In it, I questioned how students felt about Acadia’s student counselling services. More specifically, I sought to understand whether students felt this service provided adequate treatment. My findings concluded that the counselling services were created for students with minor to moderate mental health issues.

In my open-ended question, students with eating disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Bipolar Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychotic disorders wrote that the counselling services were not designed to treat their severe mental illnesses. As a result, many of these students either spent a considerable amount of money to seek treatment off campus or received no treatment at all.

being a university student. In fact, I was informed by the head of the counselling services that their treatment is designed to meet the needs of the majority of students, and that the majority of students do not have severe mental illnesses. While this is true, I still couldn’t help but feel affronted by this statement. I am an individual with a severe mental illness. I am a part of the minority that the services exclude. Am I not important? Are the opinions and work of individuals with severe mental illnesses not a valuable contribution?

This line of questioning led me to question how we, as a society, conceptualize severe mental illness.

More importantly, I questioned how individuals in power define severe mental illness, and what these definitions mean for individuals living with them. This focus on power and definitions led to my interest in mental I’m not suggesting that this service health policy, and more specifically wasn’t successful in meeting other how severe mental illness fits into students’ needs—the service is various levels of government policies. designed for students who face minor My research questions are: How do to moderate mental health problems; Nova Scotia policy makers define stress from a large academic workload, severe mental illness? How do relationship issues, and adjusting to definitions of severe mental illness new responsibilities associated with influence the creation and

implementation of mental health policies? I am particularly interested in how the provincial government includes, or fails to include, the needs of individuals whose mental health issues are severe and debilitating in their day-to-day life. Furthermore, I want to understand how the provincial government defines severe mental illness when compared to minor and moderate mental health issues, and how this impacts their policies. I intend to explore these questions using qualitative methods, which include conducting an Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) of Nova Scotia’s three most current mental health strategies, and a section of legislation entitled Bill 109—the Mental Health Act. I will also interview fifteen individuals who work as policy makers, mental health professionals, and members of mental health NonProfit Organizations (NGOs). Once all of my data is collected and analyzed, my goal is to define my thesis in April of 2020.

As a graduate student in sociology, I

have had to defend my sociological study of severe mental illness. I often get asked why I didn’t pursue a degree in psychology. Here is my answer to curious readers: mental health and illness is a sociological issue. I am not interested in studying mental health and illness through pathology and neuroscience. I want to understand how severe mental illness is socially constructed and understood across society. Individuals with severe mental illness were perceived as “deviant” and “crazy” in the 1950’s, during the age of the “asylum”. Today, on the other hand, we openly discuss mental health and illness as a universal issue during events like Bell Let’s Talk. I am interested in how our society’s conception of mental health and mental illness is shifting, and how this shift is reflected in health policy. This research is important because individuals with severe mental illness are a vulnerable population and are at times overlooked due to their small numbers. It is important to ensure that their needs are being met.

Research Edition, 2019

5

athcreative Female Energy Jordan Mahaney Productions Manager

With the tides my body sways My clock is tied to the moon And my feet stuck in this soil Gravity pulls at all my pieces Lengthens my hair Stretches my breast Curves my back and Makes me a woman I was never from Adam’s rib My mother is nature and with the earth I’ve ripened And now, I am a tempting fruit

www.theath.ca

Reality Check Shevon Chmura Contributor

I love angsty poetry, don’t you agree?

Aqila Walji Photography Manager

Aimee Rideout BSc in Biology (Honours)

Like popping vyves when you open your eyes Because you dread each morning when you wake In this endless cycle of romanticizing heartache

Drowning in affluence has created an epidemic For originality and purpose fuelled by aesthetic.

Attention and validation have become our obsession Writing poems that are filled with angst and aggression.

However, me personally, I think it’s pathetic

You must be growing so weary and tired

But your originality soon will expire Leading to writing that eventually backfires With a poem ripped off from John Green’s best seller You really won’t come across as the best compeller

This obsession for misery is your fixation But plagiarized poetry leads to ego deflation.

Liquor and drugs are your favourite muse And more often than not a convenient excuse For explaining your fuck ups, I mean, mistakes And it hurts the most when you’re up thinking late.

Research Edition, 2019

An Ocean of Plastics

Spending all night coming up with new rhymes

Trying so hard to be authentically inspired

6

www.theath.ca

Glorifying addiction and staying up until three

Pretentious idealists think this is poetic

Photo Fridays

athresearch

Plastic pollution is a major environmental stressor for marine life and is both long-lasting and near-ubiquitous in ocean ecosystems due to anthropogenic activity. Since the 1950s, when mass production of plastic products began, plastic debris has accumulated significantly in coastal, open ocean, and terrestrial environments. The effects of macroplastic (> 5 mm diameter) debris on marine life are well known as they cause entanglement and choking. Large plastic debris, however, degrades into smaller pieces known as microplastics (<1 mm diameter), small enough for ingestion by a wide range of marine organisms.The effects of microplastic ingestion on marine life remains poorly understood. Overall the objective of my Honours research, with co-supervisors, Dr. Laura Ferguson and Dr. Glenys Gibson (Biology Department), is to explore how microplastics affect marine life and specifically, to determine if ingested microplastics change the structure of exposed tissues.

We used Carcinus maenas (Green Crabs) as a model organism to investigate the effects of microplastics on the tissues of the hepatopancreas, a digestive organ at risk of exposure to pollution associated with food. Green crabs are scavengers, which exposes them to microplastic debris, and also contributes to their being a very aggressive, invasive species on Nova Scotia shores. We used histochemistry to visualize potential

changes the microbiome (i.e. the community of microbes in a particular environment such as those that live on and in our bodies).

We exposed crabs to microplastics for six-weeks, compared the tissue structure of microplastic exposed crabs to controls, and used different stains (Periodic-acid Schiff-Alcian Blue, Giemsa, Hematoxylin & Eosin, and Nile Blue A) to analyse changes in the exposed tissues.

We found several cell types in the hepatopancreas including R cells that function as absorptive and storage of glycogen and calcium, B cells that secrete digestive enzymes, and F cells that are darkly-staining precusors to B cells.

Statistical analysis indicated that the abundance of R cells increased tissue-level effects of microplastic in response to the high exposure to ingestion. Crabs were exposed to microplastics, but that gut structure polystyrene microbeads (5 μm was not affected by growing the diameter) in aquaria water and in crabs in the lab. These data suggest food at low concentrations that that levels of microplastics found in are typical of water samples of the some coastal areas do affect mid-Atlantic Ocean (1-2 particles/ structure of exposed tissues (R cells) m3) and at higher concentrations in these wide-spread scavengers. typical of coastal areas (approx. 100 Additional research is required to particles/ m3). Controls included investigate the uptake, transfer, and field-sampled crabs and crabs accumulation of microplastics on cultured in the lab without polystyrene exposure.

“the influx of plastics in the marine ecosystems and their impacts on animal health is something for us all to chew on.” tissues, the immune system, and the microbiome of marine organisms exposed to many types of microplastics in order to better understand the effects of microplastic pollution, a growing global problem. Overall, whether or not you enjoy eating seafood, the influx of plastics in the marine ecosystems and their impacts on animal health is something for us all to chew on.

This study is part of a larger project that also looked for effects of microplastics on the bivalve mollusc, Mytilus ediulis (Blue Mussels). Blue Mussels (yes- the same species that are so tasty steamed with a little butter and lemon) are filter feeders and thus are at high risk of microplastic exposure. We also sampled haemolymph, a tissue that like your blood, contains immune cells, and took DNA samples to look for how microplastic uptake potentially

“Plastic pollution is a major environmental stressor”

Photo: Adele Bunburry-Blanchette

Research Edition, 2019

7

athfeatures

Never Goodbye, Always Farewell Christopher Vanderburgh Features Editor

Here it is. The very last article I will ever write for the print edition of Acadia’s student newspaper The Athenaeum. Over the course of my time here I have been a contributor, a staff writer and a section editor. In four years of writing I have put pen to paper dozens of times. All I can offer in these final printed words are some conclusions that I’ve drawn since writing my very first piece.

Please write. Not for anyone or anything in particular. Just put pen to paper or fingers to keys and make something. Maybe you secretly like poetry, or perhaps you have a strong opinion, or maybe there is a novel that has yet to be written just waiting for you to start it. You’ll discover something new or you’ll find out that you have some insights you didn’t know that you had. If you write you will discover something new in yourself and all you have to do is start with a title.

prominent, newspapers are either gone completely or have transitioned to an online format.

There is a very particular reason I have penned this article exclusively for our print edition. It is because I believe it may be one of our last.

Finally, thank you for reading.

Thank you for picking up a printed copy of The Ath wherever they might be available. Knowing that the eyes of students have looked at this paper for well over a hundred years makes it quite an honour to be featured within its pages. Remember that what you write can be powerful beyond measure. I have long made it my mission to help my readers understand new things and to draw attention to issues I feel are important. Most of all, I hope that my readers have felt something that has stuck with them. I’ll leave a quote from Sylvia Plath with you: “Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Thank you from the bottom of my heart for so many years and as always:

If you write you will find your unique voice. Your voice might be one that provides advice for people in difficult times, or it could be an opinionated one that not everyone will like and that is Write for The Ath. absolutely perfect. What I can tell you is that you do have a voice in you and it does deserve to be heard.

You may not end up as J. K. Rowling or Hemingway, but for your short time here you have the opportunity to let that voice shout in ink. I was always very disenchanted with the rigidity of academia, and The Ath has allowed me to speak to you, my readers, in a voice of my choosing rather than remaining unheard on the pages of my assignments. Whatever your skill level, you will surely find writing to be a release.

Write because print media is dying. Since I started at The Ath we’ve reduced our printed issues by nearly seventy percent. Other, more

8

Research Edition, 2019

“you do have a voice in you and it does deserve to be heard.”

www.theath.ca

Working Towards Reducing Stress and Increasing the Essential Value of Education Dr. Steve Mockford Department of Biology

There is an unintended conundrum in Undergraduate Education that is frustrating for both students and professors. Facing this issue can cause stress for students and reduce the breadth, depth, and enjoyment of their educational experience. The problem is finding a balance between taking course that are interesting and intellectually challenging, and the need to maintain the Grade Point Average (GPA) required to maintain scholarships while here, and to move on to post-graduate studies following graduating from Acadia.

As the undergraduate student advisor in the Biology Department I see many students with outstanding GPAs. Most of them have taken challenging course in Biology and in areas directly related to their future career goals, but too many of their electives are taken at the first and second year level.

When we discuss this, it is rarely that there is no interest in upper level courses in other disciplines. It is more typically a fear of putting their GPA at risk by doing poorly in a course for which they do not have a broad background, even though they have the prerequisite courses.

From discussions with colleagues in other departments I understand that this problem is not specific to Biology or even to science. This begs the question: how might we facilitate the goal of a broad liberal education while at the same time alleviating the stress associated with maintaining a high GPA?

Each student could be allowed a small number of credit hours, perhaps 9 or 12, that they could apply to courses that they were really interested in but that they weren’t entirely confident in getting a mark high enough to maintain their GPA. They would still need to successfully complete the course, but rather than get a grade the course would be recorded as Pass/Fail and would not be included in the calculation of GPA. Other students in the course would still be taking the course under a normal marking scheme; this risk reduction scheme would be the property of individual students and not of the course itself.

This also removes some stress from the professor who, knowing that there are non-majors in their upper level course, may feel an obligation to change the level at which they approach the material.

There would need to be a set of guidelines developed to support this idea. For example, it would likely not apply to courses in a student’s major field of study. There would need to be further discussion to determine how much of a degree could be excluded from the GPA calculation. Some departments might want to restrict certain courses from inclusion in the scheme. Or particular programs that a student plans on applying to following their degree at Acadia may require specific courses be taken with a grade. These would all This question came up in casual have to be addressed, but none of discussion with several colleagues these issues are insurmountable. during the Faculty of Pure and The Acadia 2025 process presents Applied Science consultations all of us as a community, the working towards Acadia 2025; opportunity to think broadly about Acadia University’s current strategic issues in higher education in both planning exercise. One possible the short term and in the longer answer is to remove some of the term. risk. How would this look?

athresearch

www.theath.ca

homophobia. It was also predicted that agreement between parents’ and children’s memories, especially when positive, would predict better mental health and lower internalized homophobia than when there were discrepancies between memories. If there was a discrepancy between recollections, it was predicted that the adult child would have better mental Jill Northcott health and lower internalized BSc in Psychology (Honours) homophobia when the adult child had a more positive recollection compared to Coming out, or revealing oneself to the parents’. Polynomial be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/ regression with response surface transsexual, queer, etc. (LGBTQ+) can analysis, created by Shanock, Baran, be incredibly stressful, largely due to Gentry, Pattison, and Heggestad (2010), fear of parental disapproval or was used to analyse both perspectives rejection. It has been shown that simultaneously as predictors of the parental approval and/or disapproval is LGBTQ+ adult child’s mental health tied to the identity formation, and internalized homophobia. Though mental well-being, and physical health no significant results were found, there of LGBTQ+ youth and adults. While were interesting and unexpected trends previous research on the coming out found in the results that contradicted Micheal Light experience has assessed the the hypotheses. These results will be MSc Biology experience from the adult child’s further investigated as the larger study perspective, and occasionally the conducted by Dr. Holmberg and Dr. parent’s perspective, no studies have Blair is ongoing.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are gas chromatography-mass looked at both perspectives spectrometry and gas the most agriculturally beneficial simultaneously. This undergraduate By understanding this intricate eusocial insects for crop pollination. chromatography-electrotarsal honours thesis, as a part of a larger relationship, it can be further Chemical communication is critical detection, respectively. Furthermore, study being conducted by Dr. Diane understood how LGBTQ+ individuals’ in maintaining colony structure and volatile components confirmed as Holmberg at Acadia University, and Dr. mental health is related to parent-child activity, which may be exploited by Varroa-active will be investigated Karen Blair at St. Francis Xavier relationships and parental approval/ for behavioral valence through some parasites. Varroa destructor University, addresses this issue and disapproval. Investigating both (Anderson and Trueman) (hereafter behavioural assays and aims to fill the gap in the existing perspectives simultaneously allows electro-tarsograms. In addition, this Varroa) is regarded as one of the literature. This study examines the for in-depth analysis of how mental biggest threats to apiculture, blamed study will compare methods for reported recollections of coming out by health is affected by potential memory for annual colony mortalities of over in-situ capture of hive odours. the LGBTQ+ adult individual and one discrepancies, and whether it is more Results from this research can then 30%. My research tests whether of their parental figures, additionally, it beneficial for adult children to have a be applied to colony-wide testing previously identified odourants explores how the potential more positive recollection of of active odourants in developing affect Varroa behaviour and discrepancies between the recollections coming out that their parents do, or if effective alternative methods for investigating those that elicit predict the well-being of the LGBTQ+ the opposite is true. This research will minimal response in honey bees.

Varroa control as well as developing individual. The larger study examines also contribute to understanding the Volatile collection involving in- and methods for future research many variables including physical importance of child-parent ex-situ techniques is being used to exploring chemical ecology of health, sexual behaviour, and perceived relationships, especially for those who identify individual compounds and social insects. closeness of relationship to the identify as LGBTQ+ as this sensitivity of live Varroa through parent, but for the purpose of the community is just gaining acceptance honours program, only the mental and still faces prejudice and health and internalized homophobia of discrimination. It is important to the LGBTQ+ participants was understand how pivotal moments in the analyzed. The objective of this lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, such as research project was to determine coming out, affect their future mental firstly, if there were any patterns of health. discrepancy between the adult children and parents’ recollections, and secondly Sound interesting? Please consider which direction of memory discrepancy participating, in this study or in other predicted better mental health and a current studies on other relationship more positive sexual identity (or less topics (e.g., disapproval of internalized homophobia) for the adult relationships, affectionate touch in child. relationships)! Go to https://www.drk-

Memories of Coming Out

Investigating

Semiochemical Control

Strategies for Varroa Destructor

arenblair.com/ongoing ; you will find a It was predicted that more link there to this study, as well as other negative recollections of coming out ongoing studies. by the adult child would predict poorer mental health and higher internalized

Research Edition, 2019

9

athopinions

Why is the Price of Electricity Low at Night?

www.theath.ca

2. The impurities that do not form cinder will form harmful gases, and they should not be allowed to run out.

Sulfur-containing gases will form acid rain if emitted. Now the part responsible for desulfurization is actually realized by a small chemical plant. They turn sulfur into gypsum and sell it.

Bob Zhao Contributor In 1831, Faraday demonstrated the world’s first hand-cranked generator at the Royal Society. At the time, the generator was quite simple, and the only change a woman under the stage noticed was that the pointer of an ammeter next to it was continuously deflected. She asked: “What is the use of this thing?” Faraday stopped the generator in his hand and replied: “Mrs., what is the use of the newborn?”

Today, power plants built on the principles of Faraday’s electromagnetic induction have spread all over the world. Many cities have implemented time-of-use electricity prices. In some areas where electricity is scarce, the electricity price in the night is only half of what it is during the day. Why do you want to implement this strategy (time-of-use prices)? Because the power supply bureau wants everyone to use electricity that is not used during the day. The power plant is generating electricity 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it is wasted when no one is using it. Some people will ask, why not stop the generator when no one is using electricity at night, and wait for more people to use during the day?

Because—the generator can’t stop!

Take a thermal power plant as an example. The train transports the coal to the thermal power plant. The unloaded coal is sent to the coal mill through a conveyor belt and then ground like coffee powders. This is to allow the coal to burn quickly in a short amount of time. If a kilogram of coal was a complete piece, it would take a few hours to burn it with a lighter. But if it is ground into a powder and the oxygen is sufficient, it only takes about a dozen seconds to burn.

In order to fully burn the coal powder

10

Research Edition, 2019

This process is comparable to cooking dumplings, the lid is pushed up by the water vapor inside once the steam is created. But the difference is that the pressure in the pipe that delivers steam to the power plant is about 200 times greater than that of the dumpling pot. The reason for designing such a large pressure is to make the most of the energy being created from burning coal. Think about it, the source of energy is the burning of these coal powders, the source is already so fierce, so all the following processes must be able to withstand the tremendous pressure brought by this technology to the extreme.

The water vapor transport pipe is more than 200 atmospheres of pressure, and one of them is covered by a flame, tens of meters high. It is conceivable how high quality the requirements of the pipe would be. From this we can see that in thermal power plants, in order to improve power generation efficiency, the use of various power generation technologies has reached its limit.

In addition, the auxiliary functions of thermal power plants are also complicated.

1. There is waste residue in coal combustion. This damages pipelines; draining coal cinder is a complex

If we use a drone to fly around this thermal power plant, we can see that it is connected by 8 or 9 kilometers of pipelines, there are 7 or 8 thousand valves, tens of thousands of water temperature gauges, water pressure gauges, temperature gauges, and air pressure gauges. In order to ensure that the reliability of this power plant like a small city is high enough, there are several sets of switches in the key links, automatic, manual, electromagnetic, and mechanical. And every valve must be protected from leakage.

So how do you know if these things are working properly? This depends on the monitoring system, which

“This process is comparable to cooking dumplings”

you is that these parents ARE CHOOSING to put their child(ren) and other children at risk to an otherwise eradicated deadly disease because they are afraid of a fake claim. A claim that there’s a tiny chance their kid could get autism.

Imagine looking at a kid with Kyle Thompson-Clement cancer, or an elderly person who Opinions Editor cannot receive a vaccine and saying you don’t care whether they die I can’t believe I’m writing this. has as a whole the less likely that because of A PREVENTABLE I can’t believe what I am seeing. a disease will spread since it isn’t disease simply because it means People say you can’t fix stupid… present in large parts of a particular your kid won’t have autism.

I argue you don’t even have to. population.

Seriously, this isn’t much different They’ll take care of themselves. By than pointing a gun at someone and stupid, I’m referring to anti-vaxxers. 3. According to The Center for saying you’re pulling the trigger For those who may be unaware, Disease Control and Prevention because the tooth fairy told you there exists a growing population of (CDC) there are some individuals your teeth would fall out otherwise. people who KNOWINGLY choose who should not be vaccinated due If this sounds hyperbolic, a Measles not to vaccinate themselves or their to increased risks. A full list of these outbreak has been taking the world family. First, let’s start with some individuals can be found on the by storm. In the Vancouver airport, basic definitions and facts CDC website. However, it should be it was found that patient zero of BCs surrounding vaccines and the noted that individuals with weak outbreak was an anti-vaxxer who process of vaccination: immune systems (due to diseases thought his child would get autism and not just because you always if they received vaccinations. Sadly, 1. A vaccine is defined by the seem to be sick), infants, and 2 children at this child’s school have Oxford Dictionary as “a substance pregnant women cannot receive a been infected with Measles. Again, used to stimulate the production of variety of vaccines. humanity was able to essentially antibodies and provide immunity eliminate Measles from the populaagainst one or several diseases”. In Brace yourself, one of the main tion at large due to vaccinations. other words, it is a substance reasons why parents knowingly injected into the body that teaches choose not to vaccinate their Here are some facts about the recent your body how to be immune to children is because of a discredited Measles outbreak: some diseases. study from an asshole who had his medical license revoked who After 5 years free of Measles, Costa 2. Herd immunity is defined by the claimed (and I cannot stress enough Rica sees its first Measles outbreak Oxford Dictionary as “the resistance that it is not true) that vaccines had from a 5-year-old boy who was not to the spread of a contagious an extremely small chance of vaccinated (USA Today) disease within a population that causing the development of autism As of the end of June, more than results if a sufficiently high post vaccination (Doctor Mike, 107 cases of Mealses have been proportion of individuals are Youtube). discovered across 21 states in immune to the disease, especially America. (CNN) through vaccination”. Essentially This is rather scary. The first thing By vaccinating yourself, you the more immunity a population that should immediately concern potentially protecting yourself, your

Why You’re an Idiot if You’re an Anti-vaxxer

process.

3. Nitrogen-containing waste gas is treated by a denitration system. The denitration plan can also be regarded as an independent small chemical plant. in the boiler, wind needs to be blown 4. There are also PM2.5 particles into the boiler at a high speed. It’s produced by combustion that needs to about 10 or 11 Beaufort scale similar to be dealt with by a dust treatment plant. a storm. It can blow hundreds of 5. The water requirement for the entire kilograms of coal powder into the power generation is sizable and is boiler twenty or thirty meters high. The guaranteed by a small-scale purpose of burning it so hot is to heat waterworks. the water, turn the water into water vapor, and let the steam push the blades Therefore, behind every thermal power of the steam turbine of the huge plant is a chemical energy group. generator.

athopinions

requires tens of thousands of test points, which means that tens of thousands of real-time changes are monitored simultaneously. The power plant covers a few square kilometers.

Once something has gone wrong, how can we tell where the accident first occurred? Therefore, tens of thousands of test points need to be aligned in time. The accuracy of the test points should reach zero milliseconds. Time alignment should be done by means of the GPS satellite positioning system.

Now that the State Grid is coming to order, power supply demand is increasing, and subsequently the need for more electricity.

The general process is to let more steam drive the steam turbine. In order to do this, more coal is needed, and more air should be added at the same time. Steam is formed by water, so it’s necessary to add the right amount of water. After changing the amount of water, one must pay special attention to whether the various temperatures, pressures, and flows are normal. If they are not the consequences could be extremely hazardous.

www.theath.ca

child, and other people (who cannot be vaccinated) from getting Measles According to the CDC children cannot be vaccinated with the common MMR vaccine until they are at least 12 months old. This means that babies will not have immunity to Measles, and should they come in contact with it they will likely be infected. (CDC) Now, and I want to make this abundantly clear, you are an inconsiderate, selfish and uneducated person if you believe the cons of vaccinating yourself or your kid (again, there are none) outweigh the pros (again, you are potentially saving lives). If I were to take a guess of why some people feel so ambivalent to deadly diseases, it’s because vaccines have worked so well that the population at large never sees the true face (the reality) of what an epidemic of a deadly diseases looks like. Maybe, it’s because unlike our grandparents and great grandparents, we’ve never seen thousands of kids paralyzed or killed by Polio. Maybe, they’ve never lost a child to Ebola, like over ten thousand parents who lost kids in Liberia. Or maybe, they are just petulant idiots who will never understand the dangerous and reckless consequences of their actions. I for one, am perfectly fine with shipping these people off to their own private island compliments of the Canadian government. We don’t need that kind of stupid influencing the safety and wellbeing of our, and other countries of the world.

Back to the aforementioned question: If no one is using electricity at night, why not turn off some generators?

It’s easy to say, but in fact, this system has been so complicated that in order to ensure that all equipment is not damaged when it’s completely closed and opened again, it may take more than ten hours to conclude. Even if the power consumption is small at night the generator cannot be turned off.

Ask yourself this: Do you know any technology which has already reached its limit, but the majority of people aren’t familiar with it and may still think it’s simple?

Research Edition, 2019

11

athresearch

www.theath.ca

The Role of Genetics in Characterizing a New Species Understanding the Nova of Obligate Marine Fungus from Nova Scotia, Lulworthia Scotia Blanding’s Turtles nom. prov. fundyense (Emydoidea blandingii). (Ascomycota) Carter Feltham MSc Biology Blanding’s Turtle is an endangered species of the species. This would mean dedicating and one of the four turtle species in Nova the appropriate amount of effort and Scotia. There were three previously known funding towards this group based on its size populations of Blanding’s Turtles in the and need in relationship to the other southern region of Nova Scotia. The populations. It is important to understand populations of Kejimkujik National Park where to allocate funding and efforts for and Historic Site, McGowan Lake, and recovery actions to maximize benefits for Pleasant River contribute less than 250 the species overall. mature individuals. A new group of Blanding’s Turtle was discovered in the For this project, DNA will be isolated from Lower Medway and since its discovery in blood samples we collect in the field. A 2016 over 60 new individuals have been process called Polymerase Chain identified. This group is a welcome sign of Reaction (PCR) will allow us to amplify Blanding’s Turtle resilience in Nova Scotia minute amounts of DNA for genetic however, their presence requires further analyses. The procedure involves an initial investigation. lysis step which releases the nucleic acids from the cell, that are then separated from As the landscape is continually altered for the rest of the cellular material which is harvest, land development and roadways, eventually discarded leaving the DNA turtles lose precious habitat. Losing habitat behind. can mean more than just a loss of living space but also disturbances to migration, Using known sections of DNA called nesting locations and opportunities to primers, PCR replicates DNA and makes mate. Areas between groups of turtles with millions of copies of these target sequences. proper habitat and waterways allow turtles These DNA ‘fingerprints’ can be analyzed safe passage with lower risk of dangerous for allele frequencies and subsequently encounters. Without habitat to facilitate compared to genetic profiles of other movement between groups of Blanding’s Turtles from Nova Scotia. individuals, it can be difficult to find food Essentially, the process explores sources, areas to nest or encounter mates. If differences in the DNA at the same site group numbers are low, inbreeding (loci) on the DNA strand of different increases and can cause negative genetic individuals. These differences can illustrate effects due to a lack of genetic how closely related the individuals or recombination. Overall this can lead to populations may be at the genetic level. lower fitness levels, lower resistance to disease and a reduced capacity to respond Allele frequency data not only informs on to environmental changes. Considering the genetic relatedness of the turtles but that it takes a Blanding’s Turtle 20 years explores several other genetic factors, such to reach sexual maturity this could result as; inbreeding, migration, parentage, etc. in a significant reduction in the breeding With this information we can understand population. the physical and genetic factors that may impede development of this group of Analyzing DNA samples will allow us to turtles. Understanding these issues is the explore the genetic structure of this new first step towards overcoming them. With group of Blanding’s Turtles. This data will effort and time, these Blanding’s Turtles’ be compared to previous data collected communities should be stable and not under from the other three populations of a constant threat of extinction. It is the goal Blanding’s Turtle in Nova Scotia. of every conservationist to see an Determining if this new group of turtles is a endangered species thrive again and it is distinct population or an isolated extension my goal to see the Blanding’s Turtles of another population will allow us to build smiling faces for many years to come, and recovery plans at a scale that matches that long after I am gone.

12

Research Edition, 2019

Victoria Taylor BSc in Biology (Honours) fungus, provisionally named Lulworthia fundyense. The fungus grew faster at warmer temperatures, but sexual spores were not observed in culture, nor in wood block incubations at 4°C or 21°C. Asexual spores were observed and measured after 7-8 months, and I am currently describing this new species. Obligate marine fungi are understudied organisms and many do not sporulate in laboratory settings or only after prolonged incubation periods. This lack of knowledge on conditions that induce ascomata (fruiting body) production has greatly hindered experimental studies.

Previous studies have shown that perithecia formation in Lulworthia sp. generally occurs after 100 to 200 days on submerged wood in environments where water temperatures are below 5°C. As sexual reproduction of L. nom. prov. fundyense was not observed after more Considering 40% of the world’s oil travels than 300 days in our study, this fungus was by water during the production process, either not grown in adequate sporulation exposing marine and coastal environments conditions, or it is slower growing than to accidental spills, marine fungi have been previously discovered marine species. To of particular acquire further knowledge on marine fungi, interest in recent years for their potential the development of new culturing use in the bioremediation of crude oil spills techniques is required to induce in marine ecosystems. In 2017, the Walker sporulation to better understand novel lab at Acadia University isolated a new species. species of Lulworthia, an obligate marine ascomycete fungus, from recently exposed This new fungus is now being tested for its intertidal wood from Apple River, Nova ability to degrade crude oil. If L. fundyense Scotia. is able to eliminate crude oil residues in the ocean, and we can optimize its growth, There are currently 13 accepted species of this could be an important environmental fungi in the genus Lulworthia worldwide. advancement in oil spill remediation and Seemingly the largest genus of the marine oceanic health. The issue of hydrocarbon ascomycetes, these fungi are often recorded contamination is significant as an estimated as “Lulworthia sp.” as they frequently can- 3.5 million tonnes of petroleum not be distinguished using long-established hydrocarbons are introduced into marine morphological techniques. Lulworthia ecosystems each year, negatively atlantica, a closely related species isolated affecting the invertebrates, birds, from submerged wood on the North coast mammals, and plants that inhabit these of Portugal, was described in 2017. Using areas. This project emphasized the ecologithe same methodology, I genetically char- cal importance of fungi and the need for acterized a new species from the Bay of further research on these organisms within Fundy using rDNA as well as macro- and each of Nova Scotia’s coasts, to identify micromorphology. biotechnological potential and develop new Phylogenetic trees were constructed for strategies to reduce marine pollution.

3 rDNA gene regions, providing genetic evidence that it is a new species of marine Marine ecosystems are difficult areas to investigate due to their vast ranges, but as a result of technological advancements, our understanding of ocean life including understudied marine microbial diversity is constantly improving. Marine fungi contribute to nutrient cycling as they are major decomposers of organic matter in coastal and marine environments. They reproduce and grow on woody and herbaceous substrates containing chemically recalcitrant lignin and cellulose.

Lignicolous marine fungi produce enzymes such as cellulases, laccases, xylanases and peroxidases which decompose woody material. Some species possessing these enzymes can also degrade complex hydrocarbons, making them of interest for bioremediation of environmental contaminants.

athresearch

Prisoners are People Too Katie Winters BA in Sociology (Honours)

My name is Katie Winters and I am a fourth-year Honours Sociology student. I have written my thesis as a content analysis of the multimedia project “Die Jim Crow”. I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Tony Thomson for his intelligence and expertise. I have also been told at research conferences to thank my funders when presenting and discussing my topic. I have paid about $100 for my research out of my own pocket, so shout out to myself.

I have laid down the statistics so that people cannot come at me with the “facts don’t care about your feelings” garbage, I will explain what I found in my analysis of the very impressive multi-media project, “Die Jim Crow”.

To begin, I want to preface that I myself have never been incarcerate nor am I Black. I do not claim to understand these experiences or wish to exploit them, but I wish to use the privilege that has been afforded to me by my race To set the stage for the project itself and education to communicate the and its relevance, I believe it is art and lived experiences from the imperative to first describe the talented, determined, and scope of mass-incarceration in the inspirational contributors of “Die United States. The land of the “free” Jim Crow”. is the land that incarcerates the highest rate of citizens per capita than any other country in the world. “Die Jim Crow” is a multi-media As of 2018, “the American criminal project that consists of six songs, justice system holds almost 2.3 one music video, and various million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 1,852 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,163 local jails, and 80 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories” (Prisonpolicy.org, 2018). This epidemic of mass-incarceration targets specific groups, especially Black Americans. Although Black Americans account for approximately 12% of the United States’ general population, they account for approximately 38% of the United States’ prison population (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2018).

This is not because they commit more crime, but because they are more likely to be arrested, tried, and handed heavier sentences than their White peers. Depending on the state, a Black person is three to ten times more likely to be arrested than a White person for possession of marijuana (ACLU, 2017). Now that

www.theath.ca

examples of visual art compiled into a 200-page book. According to the website, the project is about the Black American experience in the era of mass-incarceration and it is the first ever album recorded in multiple United States’ prisons.

The project and its title suggest that mass-incarceration is new form of Jim Crow segregation laws. Titles of the songs include: “My Name Be Jim Crow”, “A215-162”, “Tired and Weary”, “Plastic Bag”, “First Impressions”, and “Headed to the Streets”. I began by coding the lyrics of the songs for frequent themes. I compiled these themes into a word-cloud that included themes like: poverty, humiliation, racism, dehumanization, PTSD, and reintegration. These themes are clearly present in both the lyrics and in the literature that I reviewed.

An example of powerful lyrics from “Headed to the Streets” that represents a variety of these themes reads as follows: “Another day another hope for a dolla/ I hit the pavement/ Been filling out 20 applications/ A day since I got out”, as well as the lines: “Society don’t trust you- they couldn’t get any leerier/ I’m tired from my struggle- I couldn’t get any wearier”. These lines are loaded with representations of themes like trouble with reintegration, poverty, stereotyping, and mental health struggles.

“I do not claim to understand these experiences or wish to exploit them” I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview project founder Fury Young and lyricist and performer B.L. Shirelle. I asked Shirelle what her favourite imagery from the music video was and she mentioned the scene on the beach.

She explained why this was her favourite imagery: “It just explains so much like how you feel when you’re not able to properly able to reintegrate. It’s like I’m out here, I’m free, I’m breathing the air. But it’s still like I’m locked the fuck up”. She explained what she meant by stating the following: “When I was locked up at least my mind was free. I could think, I could wonder, like do shit. Out here, I don’t even got that”.

In summary, this article does not even begin to scrape the surface of the complexities of massincarceration and the symbolism that lies within “Die Jim Crow”. I urge everyone reading to Google the project and see for yourself the talent and thought that goes into the project. My full thesis will be available for reading in the spring/ summer months are The Vaughn Memorial Library, but please do not hesitate to ask me any questions before then.

Research Edition, 2019 13

athresearch

www.theath.ca

Family Roles and Sympathy Casseroles Samantha Teichman BA in Sociology and WGST (Honours) In the event of a death, there is a Western tradition to visit the family to give condolences; this visit is commonly paired with comfort food like casseroles, soups and sweets. However, the casseroles do not last forever, ultimately leaving the family to reorganize family roles in an attempt to regain functionality. My research specifically explored the functions of family dynamics after the death of parent. This research question originated from my first-hand experience of growing up through grief.

At the young age of sixteen, I lost my mother suddenly to a heart attack and this altered the function of my family.

The loss of my mother not only left a huge hole in my heart, it also left huge gaps in the everyday functions of my home: things like washing laundry,

organizing my sister’s and my sport schedules and daily cleaning of the house were all tasks left unspoken for.

Anyone who has suffered a tremendous loss knows one of the hardest things about grieving is that life continues; knowing this, my family and I had no choice but to pick up her responsibilities and adjust to this new everyday life. Not only did I watch roles in the family change, but I observed transformations in my own relationships and even formed new ones within the family. Having lived this far-from-normal adolescence, I could not help but wonder how other families with similar experiences compared. Specifically, my thesis study focused on the loss of a parental family the function of the home and member and how that absence changes family. I argue that parental loss disrupts the function of the family, creating a gendered division of labour through the shifting of roles in terms of food labour, domestic labour and emotional labour. To explore this, I relied on a qualitative methods approach, beginning with a qualitative questionnaire to recruit participants then following this up with semistructured interviews. The sample consisted of six students: two males and four females between the ages of 18 and 23 who attend Acadia University and have lost a parent. The findings highlighted the association between the ease of transitioning roles depending on whether the death was anticipated or sudden, as well as that even in times of grief, the division of labour in the home remained gendered as women of the family were more likely to step in to maintain functionality.

“Anyone who has suffered a tremendous loss knows one of the hardest things about grieving is that life continues” 14

Research Edition, 2019

is so individualized, society’s “one size fits all” response to death, while intended to be a kind gesture, is ultimately problematic. When these ‘sympathy casseroles’ stop, it is society’s way of dictating to the family that it is time to start ‘moving on’. Most of those who comfort the family are blind to the ways their actions dictate a timeline for grief. As per the data, most interviewees stated that these visitations last for roughly a week while the food lasted for weeks up to even a month. This societal response wrongly suggests that the structure of the family will have regrouped and regained function within this timeline. This widespread ignorance to the emotional weight of losing a loved one depicts a bigger issue at hand: what the data illustrates is a clear lack of societal understanding of the grieving process.

This research has contributed greatly to the understanding of grief and family This research also demonstrated how from the societal, familial and Western traditions related to death can individual level. While this research has negatively impact the grieving process. been both insightful and therapeutic for In times of grief and bereavement, me and the interviewees, its individuals typically experience greatest benefit will be to individuals feelings of emptiness, therefore our and families deeply entrenched in grief. society’s reaction is to fix an empty To those who are grieving and heart with a full tummy. The data struggling to find words, I hope this alleges that since the grieving process research gives you a voice.

athsports&wellness

Thank you, Acadia

www.theath.ca

makes Acadia much more than a life. That moment is not university and is what truly engrains possible without the dedication, us in the community. hustle and commitment of each and every individual in the program, not Wolfville - don’t ever change. just in 2017 but also in the years Well, maybe change the cover at the leading up. From our coaching staff Vil, that’s getting out of hand. to athletic therapists, strength and conditioning staff, and equipment There’s just something special about managers, nutrition consultants this place, an energy that can so and all support staff, I wish I could quickly turn heading out for one give you each the thank you that’s Cam Davidson beer with a couple of friends into deserved. You showed up each day, Contributor one of the best memories you’ll gave your full effort and did it all have.

The support our community with a smile on your face. I I’m still struggling to wrap my head you succeed. Administratively, I gives Acadia Athletics, and the appreciate each and every one of around how quickly 5 years can go could never have made it without entire Acadia community, each week you more than you’ll ever know. by. I remember like yesterday my Kim Vaughan and Peggy Weir’s 18th birthday, and the first day of help, the support of our tremendous is never overlooked. We played our AUS Championship game at 2:00 No matter how hard some days may Axemen Football training camp. professors, and all the classmates on a Tuesday, and that was the most have been, I always knew I had During my first meal hall who supported my absurd electrifying moment I’d ever seen at family within the Acadia experience, I was kindly instructed procrastination and knew that if Raymond Field. Thank you to all of community. I failed tests, took W’s, by a 5th year player to stand up on I asked you a question about the our fans and supporters who came fumbled the ball, missed blocks, had my chair, announce to the packed assignment, I was looking for an out each week to stand up and cheer too many tequila shots and quesmeal hall that it was my birthday, answer pretty quickly. whether we were winning or losing, tioned what in the world I was doing and sing happy birthday to myself. whether it was hot or cold, or 95% of the time. At the same time At the time (feeling slightly During my time here, I had the whatever the circumstance. though, I made lifelong embarrassed), I had absolutely no opportunity to be a part of groups friendships, grew up at least a little idea that it would be the first of that easily prove how special the Being a member of the Acadia bit, and met some of the best people countless memories from Acadia individuals we have at Acadia really Axemen football team will forever in the world. that I would look back upon and are. From the SMILE program to be one of my proudest grin ear to ear.

Relay for Life, Cardiac Rehab to Thank you, Acadia. You gave me the Acadia Players Association, the accomplishments. Teammates quickly became brothers and those an opportunity I could never say I grew up watching the Acadia amount of passion students bring relationships built through the thank you enough for. It wasn’t Axemen play football, and at evtowards giving back to the blood, sweat and tears will last foralways perfect, but it was always ery game since I started playing at community is incomparable to any my dream. age 9, a friend or family member other university. The time, energy, ever. The 2017 AUS Championship is and will forever in the crowd always said, “That effort and kindness displayed each be amongst the best moments of my could be you someday.” Becoming day by so many students is what an Axemen football player became my dream; and I couldn’t be more thankful that for 5 years, it was me.

Something they didn’t mention to me at age 9 was that Acadia would be much more than just football.

It wasn’t an easy road. There were midterms I’d forgotten about, labs I submitted with just a title page, upwards of four shoulder separations, and even finding out how well Coach Cummins can project his voice a couple of times.

Thankfully, I had the support of so many incredible people in this community, and to each and every one of you I could not have had the amazing experience I’ve had without.

Choosing to study Kinesiology is something I haven’t regretted for a single second, with one potential exception being the biomechanics final. From the top-down the entire department is packed with wonderful individuals eager to help

Research Edition, 2019 15

athresearch

www.ath.ca

A History Physical Activity Referral Programs in of the Halifax the Annapolis Valley Public Gardens Julia Koppernaes BKin (Honours)

Allied health networks that incorporate exercise professionals into primary care have been shown to be especially effective at improving physical activity levels in various populations. Nova Scotia is particularly inactive as compared to other regions of Canada, with few Nova Scotians meeting the daily physical activity guidelines. Access to physical activity supports such as tailored physical activity counselling and prescription, and physical activity monitoring devices (all shown to benefit physical activity levels and adherence) can be particularly challenging to access in Nova Scotia, where exercise participation is typically an out-of-pocket (i.e. outside of primary care) expense. To make these supports more readily accessible, and to develop practicable strategies, it is imperative that referral schemes be evaluated and explored in rural communities. My pilot study examined and described the physical activity referral programs of a collaborative health practice that incorporates a qualified exercise professional in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Using accelerometers and questionnaires, physical activity and exercise levels were measured

“It truly has been an honour.”

16

Research Edition, 2019

Holly Giacomondonato BSc Environmental Sciences (Honours)

The goal of my thesis is to present a history of the Halifax Public Gardens pre- and post- exercise/physical that subverts the nature-culture binary activity intervention. The that is fundamental and implicit in so effectiveness of physicianmany academic subjects, including prescribed exercise was compared environmental disciplines. For to exercise referral through an example, how many times do we exercise physiologist and to engage in the conversations about participation in community exercise returning to or protecting nature as programs. In addition to physical something that is outside of the human? activity levels pre- and post-, Much of the literature that critiques the questionnaires assessed participants’ nature-culture binary has been stage of change (readiness to change conducted by sociologists and physical activity habits), task and anthropologists of science (Donna regulatory self-efficacies (ability to Haraway and Bruno Latour are two of execute and plan physical activity), my favourites).

and physical activity and exercise levels. Questionnaires also left room for open-ended responses to questions regarding which interventions were of most help to the individual in improving the aforementioned variables. By better understanding what people need in terms of support for increasing physical activity, better intervention can be provided in primary care.

Ideally, this research will help to pave the way in solidifying the role of exercise professionals in an allied health care world. To incorporate exercise professionals as part of the standard in health care would be to take a step toward a more proactive and sustainable health care system.

This is partly because in the lab, scientists often interact with actornetworks that include animals, plants, and bacteria. As well, the idea of a human who is a sovereign unit separate from all other living actors, is laughable when considering the bacteria colonies present in and on any part of the human body. Based on this understanding, the nature-culture binary appears to be a false dichotomy that the methodology of my research seeks to avoid.

My thesis argues that both human and plant assemblages are history-making actors affecting the creation of the Halifax Public Gardens. This relationship is examined by using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to Doing my honours degree at analyze power dynamics between the Acadia has given me the opportuprincipal designer and plant nity to explore the research world, assemblages in the Gardens, as well as specifically in the field of exploring other significant actors’ kinesiology. Honours has challenged relationships with plants. ANT me in ways that I could not have subverts the nature-culture divide by expected, but has also pushed me to both recognizing a diverse array of grow in my ability to think actors and using collectives such as critically, organize, and prioritize. networks or assemblages as preferred My little taste of research has units of analysis. In ANT an actor is a provided me with a more being that enlists and represents other wholesome appreciation for the actors.

scientific evidence that my degree is founded on. I am grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Jonathon Fowles, to the School of Kinesiology, and to Acadia University for granting me this experience; it truly has been an honour.

Gardens attract Power with characteristics such as beauty or colour and affect his design by being successful or unsuccessful in the space.

Plants in the Gardens are also selected based on their connection to the landscape of Europe or their ability to create European design features. This adds another layer of complexity to the power dynamics within the Halifax Public Gardens as the Europeans and their related plant assemblages claim more agency than indigenous people and plants due to the idea of improvement in landscape through design.

Plants are also shown to be actors through an exploration of their relationships with other significant actors in the Halifax Public Gardens.

These actors include the City Council of Halifax, the Royal Family, and the public of Halifax. For example, the Royal Family is a significant component of the Halifax Public Gardens due to events held in their honour, their visits to the Gardens, and their impact on the design of the Gardens. The Royal Family has direct relationships, such as personally planting trees, and indirect relationships, such impacting flower bed design, with the plants in the Gardens.

Through Actor-Network Theory (ANT) the Halifax Public Gardens is shown to be a natural-cultural space. Why is this significant considering that ANT would argue that any space is a naturalcultural space? Well, as ANT is a relatively recent and unorthodox theory, it is useful to create case studies of how ANT can be applied to spaces. More importantly though, Halifax Public Gardens provides a good model for analysis as it is an understudied space, with strong patriotic association, and The principal designer of the Halifax, is a creation of the Victorian-era which Richard Power, enlists and represents was loaded with ideas of purity and the plant assemblages in the Halifax separation which are criticized in this Public Gardens by creating a design for research. the Gardens to which they are expected to conform. However, the plants in the