Mobile Learning in Distance Education: Utility or Futility

Can mobile technology improve flexibility and quality of interaction for graduate students in distance programs? This paper reports the results of an innovative study exploring the usability, learning, and social interaction of mobile access to online course materials at a Canadian distance education university. Through a system called MobiGlam, students accessed Moodle course materials on a variety of mobile devices. The Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education (FRAME) model (Koole, 2006) was used to examine the complexities of this mobile system, its perceived usefulness, and potential impact on distance students. The researchers recommend further study of the balance between the controls and constraints of social technologies and the needs of distance students. Is there a way to achieve a balance so as to encourage adaptation to new technologies and a greater sense of “connectedness” among learners? As a result of the study, the researchers remain supportive of “device-agnostic” mobile tools that permit the greatest freedom of choice to distance learners.Acknowledgements: Thank you to Mr. Curtis Collicutt, Mr. Darren Harkness, and Dr. Fatma Elsayed Meawad for all your technical support

Weighing Unity and Victory: Exploring Political Parties’ Role in the Election of Extreme Candidates

The growing number of extreme candidates in contemporary American politics creates a strategic dilemma for political parties, who must weigh their interest in attaining majority against the negative side effects associated with electing extremists. Previous research has theorized that political parties have been in decline for several decades, and have lost meaningful control over the nominating process, creating the opportunity for extreme candidates to gain party support and win nomination. I conduct a comparative case study between two open-seat elections for Senate, one featuring two moderate candidates and the other featuring a moderate and relatively extreme candidate, analyzing the proportion of National Senatorial Committee expenditures that each candidate received during the course of the election. I find that in the case featuring a relatively extreme candidate, there was no significant change in the level of expenditures from the candidate’s National Senatorial Committee. These findings suggest that political parties prioritize the aim of seat-maximization over the maintenance of strict ideological unity within the party, and that political parties may contribute to the process of polarization by virtue of this priority

Designing for the screen and screams : The Architectural Language of Horror Film Set Design

This thesis analyzes how filmmakers use architectural and cinematic techniques to create spaces of horror. It determines what attributes of set design are most successful at conjuring lasting emotional reactions from viewers, both during and after their viewing experiences. To do this, this paper looks to previous theoretical works that discuss psychological responses to unsettling spaces. These theories are then applied to the realm of cinema by uncovering how filmmakers have used specific design techniques and cinematic methods to create and depict new spaces of horror on screen. This thesis then examines how our perception of the spaces we occupy in reality changes after viewing horror films. Finally, this paper showcases my Graduate Project Part II design proposal and installation of a new space of horror based off an original screenplay.Applied Science, Faculty ofArchitecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School ofUnreviewedGraduat

The charter and election law in Canada : towards a unified theory of judicial review?

The advent of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms signaled a new and vastly expanded role for the judiciary. By entrenching our civil liberties into the Canadian Constitution, the courts were given the express authority to override inconsistent statutes. Due to the inherent overlap between law and politics, election law is an area that is particularly sensitive to this recent enlargement of judicial power. Despite this, the courts have scrutinized many areas of election law and many federal and provincial statutes have been fundamentally altered. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether the courts have developed a uniform theory of judicial review where election law is concerned via four case studies: electoral boundary redistribution, prisoner voting rights, the publication of opinion polls during campaigns and third party spending limits. Through an extensive review of the relevant case law and literature, I conclude that the courts have failed to develop a coherent and consistent theory judicial review regarding the application of the Charter to election law. My analysis reveals that the inconsistencies stem largely from three main sources: first is the failure of the courts to adopt a single vision of what constitutes a fair electoral system; second is that the case studies are dealing with two different sections of the Charter (ss. 2(b) and 3); and third is the Oakes test which has expanded judicial discretion along with the potential for disparity. If consistency is ever going to be achieved, the courts need to adopt a single vision of democracy in Canada. Until then, we are left to guess when our political rights may be justifiably restricted under the Charter.Arts, Faculty ofPolitical Science, Department ofGraduat

Phosphorus Redistribution in Saskatchewan Soils

Phosphorus (P) is one of the least soluble and least mobile nutrients found in the soil environment. Despite its low solubility and mobility there has been considerable redistribution of P in soil profiles over the time of soil formation. The soil-forming processes thought to be largely responsible for soil P redistribution are leaching and biocycling, the translocation of P to surface soil horizons by roots. The intensity of both leaching and biocycling is primarily controlled by soil moisture conditions. It was the purpose of this study to examine the redistribution of P in soil profiles along an environmental gradient and over toposequences, as these factors can strongly influence soil moisture conditions. Soil profiles were sampled from uncultivated land near Swift Current (Brown soil zone), Aberdeen (Dark Brown soil zone), and Spiritwood (Gray Luvisol), making up an environmental gradient from the semi-arid southwest to the subhumid central region of Saskatchewan. At the Swift Current and Aberdeen locations soil profiles were taken from the top and bottom of catenas on native pasture, while at Spiritwood soil profiles were taken from a native forest and an adjoining alfalfa field which had been cultivated for about 50 years of continuous wheat crops. All the soils were formed on uniform deposits of glacial till parent material. Using soils of glacial till parent material was essential as only these soils allow for the distribution patterns of P with soil depth to be attributed to soil-forming processes and not systematic variations in the parent material composition. Redistribution of soil P was found in all the soil profiles sampled. Soils were found to generally accumulate P in the surface horizons, experience P depletion from the rooting zone (upper B horizons) and, in the well-drained soils, P accumulations were found in the lower profile (lower B, and upper C horizons). The profiles taken from the grassland depression landscape positions were found to show greater P1 redistribution than the upland positions and they also contained considerable P accumulations in the subsoil (50-150 em depth). It was determined, by mass balance, that as much as 130 g m-2 ofP had been moved out of the depletion zone while only 60 g m-2 could be accounted for in the surface horizon accumulation. It was concluded that over one-half of the P lost from the depletion zone had translocated down into the subsoil below as the result of leaching. Phosphorus fractionation analysis indicated that the subsoil accumulation was made up of primarily secondary Pi forms. This suggested that deep leaching of P may be occurring as the result of soluble Pi translocation, and not by organic P or clay translocation as others have suggested. Greater P redistribution was found in the Swift Current depression soil profile, which was part of a large water catchment basin, than the Aberdeen depression soil profile, which was part of a much smaller catchment basin indicating that local topography has a greater control over soil moisture conditions than the influence of a narrow environmental gradient. Both Gray Luvisol soils at Spiritwood showed a loss of P from the solum. Pedogenic indexing indicated that the native soil had lost about 7% of its estimated original P content. The cultivated soil was found to have lost between 25 and 35% of its original P according to a mass balance approach of quantitatively calculating P redistribution. Of the 150 to 200 g m-2 of P determined to have been lost from the solum only 100 g m-2 was estimated to have been lost due to crop removal. It was concluded that between 8 and 16% of the original P in the solum was lost from the cultivated soil as the result of processes other than those related to agricultural practices

Multispectal Image Classification Using Rough Set Theory and Particle Swam Optimization

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