Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring And Attending To The Wellness Needs Of Teachers In A Trauma And Violence-Informed Care Framework, Guannan Song

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The work of teachers is increasingly complex. This research project explores the effects of this work, current knowledge and attitudes, and the possibilities for professional development and support in teacher wellness, inclusion, and working with students who have difficult experiences.

An online survey was sent to Associate Teachers and Teacher Candidates in the B.Ed. program at Western University. The questions in this survey asked participants about their wellness, beliefs about learning and teaching, and the effects of trauma. Participants were also invited to share what types of professional development and resources related to teacher wellness (such as specific topics and …

Reliable Detection Of Bone Alterations: Developing A Reproducible Ct Texture Analysis Pipeline, Muhammad Faisal Ahmed

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Develop a robust and reproducible pipeline for texture analysis of CT scans to detect microarchitectural changes in bone structure near orthopaedic implants

Immigrants’ Political Participation In Canada, Hongshu Wang

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Study Canadian immigrants’ likelihood of voting and participating in noninstitutional political activities

Predictors Of Infant Size At Birth, Madeline E. Hubbard

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

Cnn-Lstm Vs Ann: Option Pricing Theory, Edward Chang

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The modern derivatives market has been steadily growing since the development of the first accurate option pricing model by Fischer Black, Robert Merton, and Myron Scholes. Since then, there have been many different approaches to more accurately price options like the binomial option pricing model and approaches using technology such as machine learning. There are many different research papers on option pricing with artificial neural networks (“ANN”) but not many with other neural network types. We contribute to the existing literature by developing a convolutional neural network – long short-term memory (“CNN-LSTM”) model to price options and compare it to …

The Effect Of Innovation Performance On The Pricing In Private Placement, Tong Liu

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

We propose a research project examining the effect of firms’ innovation performance in the pricing of private equity placements, namely private investments in public equity (PIPEs). We investigate whether firms’ previous innovation outputs have been considered in the PIPE issuance. Innovative activities are important for firms to gain strategic advantage against their competitors. Firms with innovative opportunities frequently lack capital. However, financing innovation tends to be more difficult due to the uncertainty and information asymmetry (Acharya and Xu, 2017). Compared to public firms, private firms have the limitations to access the broader investor pool and higher cost of capital. Unlike …

Individual Differences In Categorization, Urooj Anees

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The appearance of individual differences used to be regarded as noise in psychological experiments, but is slowly becoming a tool used to enhance and solidify findings in various fields of cognitive psychology. This presentation aims to very briefly discuss individual differences and categorization and what questions future research could aim to answer.

Learning Analytics In Post-Secondary Business Education: A Scoping Review Of Reviews Protocol, Jisu Kim Mr., Tiffany Bayley

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Learning Analytics is a growing discipline as educational institutions aim to exploit data and data analytics for several reasons, especially in higher education. Unfortunately, there is a lack of consensus on how learning analytics should be defined and what subjects fall under the purview of learning analytics. The blurred boundaries of what learning analytics encompasses have given rise to multiple studies and systematic reviews that have been published without any consistent agreement to develop the field in a particular direction. Consequently, we are outlining a protocol for a scoping review to map and summarize existing scoping reviews that have been …

Transforming Second Language Classrooms: The Cefr And The Plurilinguistic Approach, Valentina Bautista

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

Non:Wa: Navigating Indigenous Modernity Through Female Artists' Perspectives, Nicole Bussey

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This article examines the relationship between tradition and modern elements of Indigenous music through a cyclical perspective, and challenges colonial concepts of Indigenous modernity. Indigenous culture is often portrayed in mainstream culture as a relic of the past, which renders it incompatible with modernity. With a special focus on Indigenous female artists’ perspectives, I examine the ways in which women placed in this unique intersection challenge the binaries of past/present and tradition/modern.

Exploring Human-Caused Fire Occurrence Prediction, Ruyi Jin

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Wildland Fire Science has become an increasingly hot topic in recent years. The goal of this report is to investigate human-caused wildland fire occurrence prediction. The two main predictors of interest are the mean value of the Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC) and the month when a fire ignites. An Exploratory Data Analysis is presented first, after which we fit models to predict daily fire counts. We first consider Poisson models to fit the count data, but also attempt to fit Negative Binomial models to deal with overdispersion. We compare these models in the following ways: plotting the difference in …

Mapping Governmental Engagement With Community Engaged Learning In Canadian Higher Education: An Environmental Scan Of Key Trends, Hannah R. Argiloff

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This is an environmental survey my supervisor and I conducted pertaining to the landscape of government engagement with Community Engaged Learning in Canadian Universities.

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) is a valuable type of experiential learning characterized by collaboration between student and community partner/ stakeholder for the creation of a mutual outcome.

Given the relations between provincial governments and their influence over publicly funded universities, compounded by a recent uptick in CEL programs across Canada, we wanted to survey government rhetoric, policy, and legislation across the country to create a picture of the interactions between provincial governments and CEL in the …

Making The Connection Explicit: Service Learning, The Sdgs, And The University’S Third Mission, Chloe Bissell

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Service learning (or community engaged learning) is a rapidly growing form of experiential education that results in mutually beneficial partnerships between students, institutions and local communities. SL (or CEL) is well-developed at European universities, and a variety of networks exist to further SL as a pedagogy. We examined how a range of universities consider SL a part of their institutional missions, and if explicit connections were made between SL and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (a universal framework of 17 goals to achieve by 2030) and the university’s third mission (an orientation toward the public good). This study will …

A Transformer-Based Classification System For Volcanic Seismic Signals, Anthony P. Rinaldi, Cindy Mora Stock, Cristián Bravo Roman, Alexander Hemming

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Monitoring volcanic events as they occur is a task that, to this day, requires significant human capital. The current process requires geologists to monitor seismographs around the clock, making it extremely labour-intensive and inefficient. The ability to automatically classify volcanic events as they happen in real-time would allow for quicker responses to these events by the surrounding communities. Timely knowledge of the type of event that is occurring can allow these surrounding communities to prepare or evacuate sooner depending on the magnitude of the event. Up until recently, not much research has been conducted regarding the potential for machine learning …

Measuring The Exposure And Vulnerability Of Transit Riders To Cold Temperatures In London, Ontario, Armin Mahboubi

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Due to the expansion of suburban areas in many cities around the world, accessibility to public transit through walking has become a new challenge for riders. Considering the impacts of climate change in creating more extreme weather, such as extreme cold, heat, or flooding, transit riders may thus be at a higher risk of exposure for various weather-related illnesses (Fraser & Chester, 2016).

Using ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap software, and data collected from City of London’s Open Portal, the United States Geological Survey, Open Mobility Data, and Statistics Canada, the exposure and vulnerability of transit riders to cold temperatures in …

The Myth Of Fanfiction: An Examination Of Two Deeply Connected Traditions Of Storytelling, Fionntan I. Ferris Mr.

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Fanfiction is an often dismissed medium of storytelling, however our investigation shows that it is deeply linked to the storytelling tradition of Classical mythology. Through the lens of classical reception studies we will examine the shared structures of these mediums as well as the deeper meaning they have and had to their audience in order to establish this deep connection. This paper will conclude with an investigation of why, despite their deep similarities, copyright law has led to fanfiction becoming derided while myth is placed on a pedestal.

Classical Reception In The Pre-Revolutionary Art Of Jacques Louis David, Christopher Neibert

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

"A Gesture Of Solidarity Through Music": Local And International Community In Canadian Benefit Concerts For Ukraine, Charlotte M. Lilley

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In the months following Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Canadian music community responded by hosting a number of benefit concerts. In contrast to the precedents set by well-known, large-scale benefit concerts such as 1985's "Live Aid", these concerts were strongly rooted in the local context of the events' hosts and centred the voices and experiences of members of their beneficiary community. Combined with the potential of these events to allow individuals and groups to combat feelings of helplessness and to serve as forms of resistance against the Russian regime, this has allowed these concerts to create and …

Humor Styles And Job Interests, Trinity Ho

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The goal of this study was to investigate the possible relationships between humor styles and vocational interests by using the correlations between the two variables. Previous research suggests that humor in general plays an important role regarding work/job satisfaction individual and job performance (de Sousa et al., 2017), or the atmosphere at work place in general (Romero & Cruthirds, 2007).

This study aims to investigate the possible relationships and fill the gap, between humor styles and vocational interests.

University Students With Disabilities, Accessibility, And The "Return To Normal", Kate M. Mahoney, Samuel A. Schneider, Anika Sebudde

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In the context of the "return to normal" on university campuses in the ongoing pandemic, our research team wondered what students with disabilities could tell us about what makes university classes and services more and less accessible to them, and in that broader context, what pandemic modifications they hope continue. After two years of innovation, if we rush back to normal, we are at risk of squandering hard-won new skills, technology, and insights that are of broad value for all students. Disabled students' experiences and perspectives, as reported in 80 survey responses and 16 interviews, disrupt common assumptions about accessibility …

Exploring The Structural And Functional Effects Of Pediatric Hydrocephalus On The Hippocampus, Lili Meng

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Hydrocephalus is one of the most common pediatric neurological problems that requires brain surgery in children. Pediatric hydrocephalus is characterized as an abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) buildup in the brain’s ventricles due to ineffective CSF reabsorption. When this fluid builds up in these cavities, it increases intracranial pressure and has a direct mass effect on the surrounding brain tissue and structures. Ultimately, various functions are affected including—but not limited to—vision, learning, memory, motor control, and hearing. Despite current literature suggesting that hydrocephalus may be associated with reduced hippocampal volume among rats and human adults, findings remain limited in the human …

Human Claustrum Activation During Pain, Zoravar S. Sidhu, David A. Seminowicz, Brent W. Stewart

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Chronic pain is one of the principal causes of disability in the world. Many if not all of us deal with or know of someone who deals with chronic pain. Interestingly, it appears that a mysterious part of the brain known as the claustrum has a hand in chronic pain. Although little is known about the actual function of the claustrum, it is hypothesized to synchronize cortical networks during tasks which have a cognitive load.

Recent literature has indicated that during chronic pain conditions, neural network recruitment is modified. In addition, an analysis of an existing fMRI data set determined …

Effect Of A Nutrition And Exercise Lifestyle Intervention Program (Nelip) With A Family Based Behavioural Treatment (Fbbt) During Pregnancy And Postpartum On The Prevalence Of Large Infants Up To 1 Year Of Age, Madeline E. Hubbard

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Overweight (OW; body mass index [BMI] of 25.0 to 29.9 kg/m² ), and obesity (OB; BMI of 30 and greater kg/m²) are conditions where excessive fat accumulation presents a risk to health. Prepregnancy BMI and maternal excessive gestational weight (EGWG) gain are risk factors for higher infant birthweight and childhood OW or OB. The Nutrition and Exercise Lifestyle Intervention Program (NELIP) is a combined intervention designed to prevent EGWG in individuals with OW and OB. This study was a convenience sample from a larger trial using the NELIP with family based behavioural treatment (FBBT) to increase program adherence. The objective …

Menstrual And Fertility Tracking Apps And The Post Roe V. Wade Era, Samantha T. Campanella

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In the first section of the paper, I will place current conversations about data privacy within the broader context of restrictions that have been placed on reproductive rights by examining historical trajectories. Emphasis will be placed on the historical trajectory of how past policies and ideologies have worked against Roe v. Wade, and how this trajectory contributes to a decrease in access to abortions. In addition, recent news stories have documented the overturning of Roe v. Wade in several jurisdictions within the United States, which confirms the criminalization of abortion. In light of this, experts have raised awareness about the …

The Role Of Increased Matrix Metalloproteinase (Mmp14) Expression On Apoptosis Sensitivity In Human Breast Cancer Cells, Roukayah Rifai

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A member of the matrix metalloproteinase family (MMP14) plays a crucial role in extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, as it possesses characteristics that aid in cell proliferation and differentiation. MMP14 domains can bind to FIH-1, which is a protein that can prevent apoptosis in cells when attached to BAX in the mitochondria. This study will investigate the varying expressions of MMP14 on FIH-1 and BAX, and their effects on apoptotic sensitivity. Three cell lines with varying levels of MMP14 expression will be used: C3 (~11 fold), ΔCD (~100 fold), and C2 (~500 fold). With the overexpression of MM14 on the cell …

Scoping Review On Homelessness In Canada, Jackie Tan

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

According to a 2020 Nanos Research poll commissioned by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, 72 percent of Canadians believe that ending homelessness should be one of the country's top priorities. Given that homelessness is a social crisis, it is important to establish what is currently known about the situation in order to develop innovative and effective solutions.

While some studies have reviewed homeless for specific sub-populations such as street youth and homeless families, few have conducted a comprehensive large-scale scan of the literature pertaining to homelessness in Canada. Additionally, hardly any studies have examined how homelessness is measured in …

Changes In Audiovisual Integration In Aging, Alyssa S. Lynn

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The proposed study will examine changes in audiovisual integration between younger and older adults. Audiovisual integration enables us to associate and bind related auditory and visual information and experience it as a single percept (Spence, 2007). Being able to properly integrate is crucial in our everyday lives. When perceiving speech, audiovisual integration binds visual information from lip movements with auditory information from the speaker's utterances so that speech can be perceived multimodally. With age, our auditory and visual sensory acuity tends to decline with audiovisual integration being impacted as a result (Brooks et al., 2018; Mahoney et al., 2011). We …

Music And Movement: Techniques And Directions In Parkinson's Research, Verena Rafael

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia. This causes abnormal movements/gait among other symptoms. The basal ganglia is also involved in beat perception; the loss of neurons in this area decreases beat-based rhythm discrimination. This may have implications for walking as impaired beat perception may affect rhythm generation, and walking is a rhythmic movement. Music has the potential to benefit Parkinson’s patients in gait rehabilitation by providing external rhythmic cues. Various aspects of music are currently being investigated to determine which ones most prominently improve gait in Parkinson’s disease. One …

Investigating Distributions Of Epochs In Wildland Fire Lifetimes, Xinlei Wang

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The objective of my research project is to explore the relationship between variables related to wildland fire and to model distributions of epochs in wildland fire lifetimes. Several distributional families are considered for modeling these epochs, including the exponential distribution, gamma distribution, Weibull distribution and continuous phase-type distribution. I explain each of these distributions in short terms and illustrate how they are fit. Visual results of my exploratory data analysis are illustrated in two parts, data visualization and data modeling, along with my interpretation of each. Since this work is preliminary, I conclude the report with a discussion on what …

Commuting And Transportation As It Relates To The Environment, Alexander W. Pinter

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This work examines contemporary and historical modes of commuting in North America and in parts of Europe as it relates to job and life satisfaction in addition to the effects of commuting on the environment. The first section of this paper is a brief introduction on commuting and what it entails; followed by a number of sections on commuting in different countries; the sociological and environmental implications of commuting; and finally policy recommendations regarding commuting and the environment. With the changing climate, it is important that we re-examine and evaluate commuting as it exists today, as it has existed, and …