Digital Commons Network^™

The Birth Of A Fempreneur: A Neoliberal Guide To Going Viral And Making Millions, Liana S. Forsyth

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Social media has created a new way of feminist activism in the world, including a rapid rise in 'fempreneurs' feminist entrepreneurs. With many fempreneurs turning to social media apps such as Tik Tok and Instagram as a platform to post their activism, and turn it into a profitable career for personal financial gains.

I analyzed a popular Tik Tok influencer who is famous for being a feminist advocate on the platform calling out men, and analyze her posts in order to observe the types of feminism that goes viral on social media. Overall, it is evident from my research that …

Race Disparities In Pain Among Canadian Adults., Harry Alorgbey Sardina

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Pain has significant quality-of-life implications for adults. We aimed to identify racial disparities in pain among Canadian adults. These results are crucial to uncovering which population groups are disproportionately experiencing pain-related suffering in Canada.

Gbsv Resource Guide And Review For The University Of Western Ontario And Surrounding Area, Alyssa J. Madhani

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

During the 2021-2022 academic year, gender-based violence and sexual assault became a major topic of discussion due to a number of troubling incidents throughout the year. One of the largest calls to action by the student body was for more resources and trainings. This paper compiles the resources and trainings that can be found on campus of the University of Western Ontario and in the surrounding areas into a cohesive list of major relevant sources. The goal of this paper is to amplify the many different programs already in place that can be added to the training cohorts or made …

A Psychological Profile Of The Digitized Economy: Who Buys Cryptocurrencies, Nfts, And Meme-Stocks (And Why)?, Nicole Wolfe

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

As the global digital economy continues to grow in interest and financial worth, it is imperative to harvest data to gain early information on this nuanced economy. Already, we have witnessed billions of dollars in losses and wins at the blink of an eye, encouragement to invest from well-known celebrities and politicians, and high anxiety from the newness, power consumption, and potential outcomes of this nuanced system. Stemming from the lack of solid evidence in this emerging field, we hope to gain more insight on the early players and variation within the digitized economy. Similarly, we hope to identify specific …

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 …

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 …

Edi-D In Canadian Universities, Madison Milanczak

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDI-D) is a term that institutions adopt to serve the livelihoods of equity-deserving individuals better. It is commonly used in post-secondary institutions as a holistic descriptor of the values institutions attempt to uplift through programming and other initiatives.

Equity, Diversity, inclusion, and decolonization programming have recently increased in Canadian universities. Although there has been an increase in initiatives, funding, and public attention, the quality of programming is under review. Focusing on the U15 research universities, this project analyzes the current EDI-D programming in Canadian universities. Insinuating critical reflection on EDI-D programming, the distribution of resources, …

Picked Last: A Review Of Transgender Athletes’ Experiences In Sport, Jacqueline Villanueva

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Transgender athletes have a long and complicated history in relation to the sports they exist within and the governing bodies that surround them. As well, their unique relationship to their gender identity, their teammates, and to their sport, is oftentimes strained. Major sporting organizations such as the International Olympic Committee or FINA have often been at the centre of controversy with transgender participation policies that lack the needed elements of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Through a review of the pertinent literature from prominent journals in the sociology of sport and queer methodology, literature pertaining to transgender athletes and policy from …

“A Content And Thematic Analysis Of #Instagramvsreality Images And Captions On Instagram” (Powerpoint), Meaghan Furlano, Kaitlynn Mendes

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A couple of years ago, the “Instagram vs. reality” trend sprung from Instagram’s body positivity movement. The trend encourages Instagram users to post side-by-side images of themselves — one side being the highly curated “Instagram” depiction and the other being a more ‘real’ depiction. One study has explored the trend academically, and it found that engaging with “Instagram vs reality” and “reality” images decreased body dissatisfaction amongst its participants relative to viewing idealized “Instagram” images. In an effort to understand who is participating in the trend, what they are contributing to the trend, and why they are engaging with it, …

A Qualitative Look Into Repair Practices, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research poster is based on a working research paper which moves beyond the traditional scope of repair and examines the Right to Repair movement from a smaller, more personal lens by detailing the 6 categorical impediments as dubbed by Dr. Alissa Centivany (design, law, economic/business strategy, material asymmetry, informational asymmetry, and social impediments) have continuously inhibited repair and affected repair practices, which has consequently had larger implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) on ourselves, our objects, and our world. The poster builds upon my research from last year (see "The Right to Repair: (Re)building a better future"), this time pulling …

Racial Inequalities In Booster Shot Uptake: Black Communities In The City Of Toronto, Anjali Bhaheeratha

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has posed a threat to the health and wellbeing of various marginalized communities, including Black communities. The booster shot in particular is not a mandatory vaccine, raising questions whether this would further vaccine inequity. I, along with Dr. Kate Choi of the Sociology Department at Western University, analyzed vaccination rates of the first booster shot across all 140 neighborhoods in the City of Toronto. Through stratifying neighborhoods based on the prevalence of Black residents and high/low socioeconomic status, it is clear to see that race, in tandem with similar socio-demographic characteristics, plays a significant …

How Urban Outmigration From Toronto Is Going To Impact Rural Ontario, Amanda M. Gutzke

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

These articles examine the outmigration of people from urban Ontario to rural Ontario during the Covid-19 pandemic. These articles use census data from Statistics Canada to explore population growth rates across CMAs and CAs. In addition, data from Statistics Canada is used to demonstrate the impact of intraprovincial migration on small towns and rural Ontario. Moreover, these articles touch upon semi-structured interviews with local elected officials, local administrative officials, and community leaders to showcase the impact of urban outmigration on rural Ontario. These articles argue that housing affordability is one of the most salient consequences of urban outmigration. These articles …

Sustainable Development Goals Within Canadian Universities, Kavanagh S.A Lambert

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created for all countries by the United Nations in 2015 with the aim of transforming the world for the better. Each country is responsible for working towards achieving these SDGs. Within Canada, fifteen research universities known as the U-15 make up the majority of private-sector research and innovation. About 65% of these U-15 institutions have developed their own SDG report/plan, illustrating a high level of initiative and involvement when it comes to the SDGs. Research indicates that as countries continue to improve their efforts towards the SDGs, there will be a need for …

# Activism: Feminist Activism In A Digital World, Liana S. Forsyth Ba, Katie Chovanec Bsc, Elizabeth Lewis Ba, Christine Taylhardat Ba, Chesta Yadav Ba, Xynyi Yang Ba

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Feminist campaigns such as #MeToo, #BeenRapedNeverReported, and #YesAllWomen represent only a fraction of the numerous digital campaigns that feminists have created to challenge rape culture and to call out other forms of oppression, provide public and easily accessible spaces that can contribute to learning about, challenging, and dismantling misogyny and rape culture. Digital technologies and social media platforms have had a significant influence on feminists’ ability to organize and advocate across various platforms while simultaneously reaching a large audience to fight against misogyny, patriarchy, and sexism.

However, there are significant gaps in this research such as the challenges that correspond …

Race Disparities In Pain Among Canadian Adults., Harry Alorgbey Sardina

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Pain has significant quality-of-life implications for adults. We aimed to identify racial disparities in pain among Canadian adults. These results are crucial to uncovering which groups of individuals are disproportionately experiencing pain-related suffering in Canada.

Lesbian Neighbourhoods: The Disappearance And Displacement, Tahlia H. Shannon

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Gay neighbourhoods, defined by their high concentration of gay men and unique culture, have seemingly become a staple in major cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Their notion of a ‘safe space’ has allowed gay men to socialize and find partners, initiate successful political movements and the protection of gender and sexuality rights, and be their authentic selves (Ghaziani, 2015). Geographers and sexuality scholars have been researching the implications of physical space and the importance of occupying neighbourhoods for gay men, as their gentrification and consumerist culture has drawn significant attention (Bell & Binnie, 2004). However, scholars have …

A Critical Analysis On R. V. Orr In Understanding The Management Of Human Trafficking In Immigration And Refugee Claims In Canada, Rachel Tsz Yin Chan

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Labour exploitation is a form of human trafficking, which is a serious offence in Canada. More and more immigrants, refugees and migrant workers are vulnerable to labour exploitation. To further understand this issue on how the federal government manages such cases of human trafficking, a qualitative analysis was conducted by looking at the effectiveness of anti-human trafficking policies and practices to determine whether they are contributing more harm than good to the vulnerable population, or vice versa. By analyzing the significant R v. Orr case, it is observed that permit programs lack supporting services in monitoring the living of immigrants. …

Constructing Scale, Eroding Responsibility: The Politics Of Scoping In Canadian Energy Project Reviews, Yanqi Li

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This project investigates the practice of strategic boundary drawing in energy and resource project reviews. Focusing on applications to Canadian federal and provincial review bodies over the past 20 years, we ask: to what extent have proponents of oil and gas projects, hydroelectric dams, mines etc. used two strategies: 1) ‘slicing’ complex projects into multiple parts and filing separate applications for each, or 2) ‘splicing’ multiple actions together into a single application – with what outcomes for regulatory approval? This study contributes to three areas of scholarship: 1) theoretical work on the relational nature of space and scale; 2) decolonial …

African Immigrants' Mental Health In Canada, Jessica O. Omorodion

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

African immigrants are the fastest growing immigrant population in Canada. However, they are still extremely under-researched especially in regards to their understandings and experiences with mental health. This is important to look at due to the stark differences between Canadian African views on mental health. Current literature shows that while African immigrants are self-reporting as having above average mental health, there are still taboos and discriminatory concerns that exist as a barrier to transparency with it. This research will utilize the Stata software to analyze the Canadian Community Health Survey (2017) to further look at African mental health in order …

The Right To Repair: (Re)Building A Better Future, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The goal of this research project was to take a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary approach to research and examine the Right to Repair movement’s progress, current repair practices, impediments, and imperatives, and the various large-scale implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) stemming from diminished consumer freedom as a result of increased corporate greed and lack of governmental regulations with regards to repair and the environment. This poster exhibits the highlights of my general research project on the Right to Repair movement over the course of this four month internship, and aims to disseminate information about the movement to the wider public in an …

The Experiences Of Healthcare Workers And Lawyers Engaging In Remote Work, Desha Puri, Tracey L. Adams Dr.

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This study aims to compare the experiences of healthcare workers and lawyers engaging in remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research poster presents a content analysis of the current research on the experiences of professions in the two fields mentioned above. In engaging in content analysis, the study advances a select number of thematic value codes that effectively characterize the similarities and differences between the two professions. With these thematic values codes, it has been found that the healthcare profession and law profession have had a similar experience working from home. With these similarities and differences, one can propose …

Policing Perspectives Of Human Trafficking, Joanne V. Silva

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This study incorporates a criminological and feminist analysis of policing perspectives surrounding the power dynamics within human trafficking.

Education, Migration And Development Panel, Henri Boyi

Africa-Western Collaborations Day 2020

8 graduate students/recent graduate presentations on education, migration and development. Moderated by Dr. Henri Boyi. Reporting of panel done by current GHS students of the 2021 class. Abstracts can be found under "Africa-Western Collaborations Day 2020 Abstracts". Presenters as follows:

Jemima Nomunume Baada, "Experiences of Social Reproduction among Migrant Women in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana"

Elmond Bandauko, "This is a Good Place to Live! Narratives and Counternarratives on Territorial Stigmatization in Harare's Informal Settlements"

Chinelo Ezenwa, "A History of 19th Century European Missionaries in Colonial Africa with Specific References to the Impact of Missionary Schools"

Rebecca Jackson, Jade Rozal, …

Homelessness In London, Ontario: Assessing The Sustainability Of Housing First In Light Of A Shift To Models Of Prevention, Kayla May

Western Research Forum

Background: Housing First (HF) is internationally recognized as an evidence-based model for the development of programs that target homelessness. In London, Ontario, there are a handful of HF programs and research has investigated their efficacy. However, HF is only effective for "managing" homelessness, whereas prevention is also needed. Through a recent update of Canada’s national funding for homelessness, municipalities are seeing an increase in resources to prevent homelessness. With additional funding on offer, research needs to move beyond questions of HF efficacy and instead ask how to fully evolve a system of both responsive and preventative models.

Objectives: (1) Assess …

Graduate Keynote. The Online Predator: Cyberbullies As The Hunters Of The Online World, Molly-Gloria R. Harper

Western Research Forum

Abstract: Seeking out prey, laying traps, targeting the ‘weak’, and being proud of their ‘latest kill’ are some of the behaviours that are often associated with hunters. However, through this research, it can be argued there is a new type of predatorthat society, mainly youth, ought to consider – the cyberbully. Cyberbullies are a distinct subculture associated with the youth phenomenon of cyberbullying. Through this research, cyberbullying is constructed as a deviant youth internet phenomenon that emerges and affects youth as a result of increased usage and reliance on social media platforms, technology, and the Internet. As a result …

Critical Citizen Engagement: The Black Pete Controversy, Anti-Racism Activism, And Limits To Citizenship In The Netherlands, Lianne M.A. Mulder

Western Research Forum

Background

This research analyses the engagement of Dutch citizens with a migration background in anti-racism activism, specifically activism against the blackface caricature Black Pete. It aims to answer how and why their citizenship is questioned when they become critical participants of civil society, and how this relates to the history of Dutch colonialism, the denial of racism, and the self-image of white Dutch people as ‘good, tolerant, and innocent’ despite evidence to the contrary.

Methods

The research is based on literature and field research and uses a theoretical framework based on critical race theory, citizenship studies, and decolonial theory.

Results …

Improving Canadian Indigenous Health: Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease, Sukhmeet S. Sachal

Western Research Forum

Background:

This abstract explores improving health outcomes for Canada’s Indigenous peoples. The increased prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes in this population makes this a public health problem because diabetes has long-term complications that affect the cardiovascular system and can result in disability and premature death.

Methods:

A literature review using specific search terms was performed to find 36 relevant articles. Search databases for the primary and secondary information were CINAHL and PubMED, respectively.

Results:

The results were classified into five groups: (1) Previous Genetic Protection; (2) Current Day Risk; (3) Diet; (4) Barriers in Developing and Maintaining …

P34. The Effects Of Standing Desks On Classroom Performance Of University Students, Siobhan Smith

Western Research Forum

Background:

It is well established that there are many health risks associated with prolonged sedentary time.¹ Unfortunately, research conducted on university students is limited but yet they experience excessive periods of sitting time during class and while studying.

Methods:

Recently, we investigated the effect of sitting, dynamic sitting, and standing desks on classroom performance of university students.² Participants performed three 3-minute classroom simulations, one for each of the three desks. The order of the desks and simulations were randomized. Each of the simulations included a different typing and memory task.

Results:

Results showed no significant difference in the …

Megatrends, Fertile Frontiers, And Observations, Melinda Mills

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Conferences

No abstract provided.

Opportunities: Linking Administrative And Survey Data For Statistical Purposes, Lynn Barr-Telford

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Conferences

No abstract provided.