The Inhumane Reality of Contemporary Solitary Confinement

This paper argues that modern prison systems degrade incarcerated individuals through their use of solitary confinement, and this dehumanization only gets exacerbated through the significant inaction shown by legislative bodies. Drawing on the works of Sykes, Smith, Guenther, Hattery, Casella, Reiter and Aranda-Hughes, this research examines how systems of solitary confinement strip prisoners of identity, autonomy and fundamental humanity. It explores the psychological and physical consequences of extreme isolation, supported by harrowing inmate testimonies, and critiques the structures that continue to perpetuate these inhumane practices. In particular, it questions the failure of Canadian policies such as Bill C-83 to offer a meaningful sense of solitary reform. This essay concludes that solitary confinement not only fails to accomplish its goal of prisoner rehabilitation, but serves as a vessel of institutional dehumanization that demands urgent ethical and policy reconsiderations

Change in The Canadian Midwest: An Analysis of Land in Edmonton

In this paper, I analyse the usage and layout of land in Edmonton, its impacts on the city’s growth and future, and propose potential solutions to the city’s current problems. Zoning is one specific area that will cause the council many political issues in the coming years. In city planning, “zoning” refers to how cities divide land into areas called “zones.”  These zones typically have different regulations regarding how developers can use land and what buildings they can build. Recently, outdated zoning laws have hindered Edmonton’s climate goals and development in urban areas, which I will show in this paper. Even after zoning reform, the public remains concerned about the influence of big-money developers. However, Edmontonians are also uneasy about a more significant tax burden due to economic uncertainty. I propose regular 20-year zoning bylaw revisions, creating an inventory of unutilised and underutilised public land, and taking steps towards common land ownership. These solutions combine Edmonton’s future with current sustainability and development goals in mind. I also propose the creation of a land value tax and will show why it would be the most viable source of revenue for the city. This would reshape land ownership in Edmonton and Canada while boosting potential government resources.

Altering Olive: A Look at HBO’s Adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge

This paper discusses the HBO adaptation of Elizabeth Strout\u27s Olive Kitteridge, with a focus on revealing the level of depth and nuance that gets lost in the translation from short story cycle to mini-series. By analyzing the cycle form, this paper considers the risks involved in neglecting the form of a source text during adaptation. While the author ultimately refrains from commenting on the quality of the mini-series as its own entity, she does conclude that as an adaptation, the mini-series is disappointing in its replication of the source text\u27s complexity

Site-Directed Mutagenesis of Position 204 Threonine to Isoleucine Failed to Generate Acid-Tolerant EGFP

Protonation of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in acidic conditions prevents the emission of fluorescent light and limits the ability to visualize, localize, and study acidic organelles. Therefore, it is critical to introduce mutations into enhanced GFP (EGFP) to generate acid-tolerant fluorescent proteins. This experiment aimed to replicate a threonine to isoleucine mutation at position 204 in EGFP and identify if acid-stable fluorescent proteins would be produced in the BL21(DE3) Escherichia coli system. Site-directed mutagenesis was utilized to generate T204I mutant EGFP. SDS-PAGE and fluorescence microscopy were employed to analyze induction success and fluorescence. Spectrofluorophotometry was used to determine the excitation and emission spectra of T204I mutant EGFP and whether acid-tolerant proteins were generated. Results illustrated that the mutation of threonine to isoleucine at position 204 produced fluorescent proteins at pH 7. However, at pH 6 and 5, proteins failed to fluoresce. The replication of the T204I mutation failed to generate acid-stable EGFP proteins in the BL21(DE3) E. coli system. There is significance in generating acid-stable cellular markers, as currently, no cellular markers thrive in acidic conditions. This limits the ability to study acidic organelles and acidic cellular processes. Creating acid-tolerant markers will permit a greater range of biological research

Analyzing Lexus of Edmonton\u27s Marketing Channels

This report was conducted for Lexus of Edmonton to identify the best social media platform to invest their marketing budget in order to obtain the best ROI. We analyzed individuals\u27 social media usage from various age groups of both current and potential clients to determine whether Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or TikTok was the most effective in generating sales leads. By investigating how dealerships can market themselves in social media through conveying experiences and emotion with targeted content, we conducted a survey using simple random sampling (SRS) with 103 respondents to answer the management objective and determine the accuracy of our hypotheses

Racial Justice and Contentious Politics: The Impact of Racial Bias in Employment.

Contentious politics focuses attention on collective actions and lobbying efforts to remedy injustices, particularly in the workplace, where racial inequalities continue to influence hiring procedures, promotions, and compensation. Despite anti-discrimination legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, racial and ethnic prejudice continues to limit economic possibilities and exacerbate systemic disparities. Subtle kinds of bias, such as implicit and aversive racism, worsen the problem, influencing hiring decisions and maintaining socioeconomic disparities. Case studies from the United States, Brazil, and Malaysia show that racial bias in the workplace is a global problem, showing itself in behaviors such as neighborhood-based recruitment, cultural stereotyping, and implicit preference for dominant ethnic groups. Intersectionality exacerbates these processes, as those who face many forms of discrimination, such as race and gender, are marginalized even more. Emerging solutions, such as the use of artificial intelligence for blind hiring, diverse hiring committees, and broad policy changes, have the potential to reduce bias and promote inclusivity. However, establishing actual racial justice necessitates confronting both apparent and unconscious biases, as well as removing structural inequities entrenched in historical and systematic oppression. By promoting fair employment practices, societies may maximize the potential of a diverse workforce and promote equitable economic opportunities for all

Identifying Gaps in Care Upon Discharge from Inpatient Psychiatry Settings to the Community

This literature review examines gaps in care within healthcare systems that negatively impact service users as they transition from inpatient psychiatric settings to community settings. Topics such as historical contexts, readmission rates, intrapersonal factors, and institutional limitations are taken into account to explain the complex relationship between community and inpatient psychiatric services and how they influence current gaps in care. Interventions to address these limitations are explored, which is aimed at examining different models of care and their subsequent impact on gaps in care. In these interventions, concepts such as continuity of care and therapeutic relationships are then proposed as vital factors when addressing gaps in care. Finally, this literature review suggests areas for future research to improve upon gaps in care

Leaving the Party

Alcohol use is a feature of Canadian society, as is alcoholism, which is currently defined in the DSM-5 as alcohol use disorder (AUD). While statistics may help estimate quantitative AUD data such as disease and all-cause mortality as well as the costs of AUD on government resources, they cannot convey the qualitative suffering AUD inflicts on users, users’ family and friends, and even strangers – i.e., innocent bystanders still lose their lives to drunk drivers. The intent of this essay is to weave some AUD data into a non-fiction story that relies heavily on anecdotes from my own personal struggle with AUD, as well as insights gleaned from my family, friends, and coworkers. If statistics cannot sway others away from substance abuse, maybe putting a few faces on a few of those numbers can. I have changed the names, but anyone familiar with Edmonton’s bar scene will know who I’m talking about

Fermat\u27s Last Theorem and the Golden Mean

We attempt to find solutions to the Diophantine equations from Fermat\u27s Last Theorem in the ring Z[tau], where tau is the golden mean. We begin with the case when n=3 and create an algorithm to generate solutions to the equation. Out of these solutions, we have found only four to be primitive. Also, we attempt to find solutions under higher powers greater than three but have not found any solutions in such cases. The algorithm and solutions themselves are all provided in the paper.