https://hdl.handle.net/2149/2960 2026-04-20T16:01:57Z 2026-04-20T16:01:57Z Pivato, Joseph J. https://hdl.handle.net/2149/3010 2015-05-06T21:31:59Z 2011-03-30T17:43:29Z

The Sherbrooke School of Comparative Canadian Literature Pivato, Joseph J. In the 1970s some academics and creative writers at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec developed a new approach to the study of Canadian literature in both English and French which went on to have a profound influence on Canadian literature programs and research across the country. These, once controversial  propositions about comparative study are now taken for granted in university curricula.  I will trace some specific links from the small Quebec University to Alberta and their effects on programs at Athabasca to this day.

2011-03-30T17:43:29Z Temple, Norman J. https://hdl.handle.net/2149/3002 2015-03-19T21:16:07Z 2011-03-30T15:15:08Z

Food Prices in South Africa: Why Most People Can't Afford to Eat a Healthy Diet Temple, Norman J. Foods with a high content of fat, sugar, and refined cereals are typically cheap but are poor in nutrients and heavy with calories.  By contrast, such foods as fish, vegetables, and fruit are richer in nutrients but are also more expensive.  As a result of this, healthy diets are generally more expensive than less healthy diets. This was investigated in studies carried out in South Africa. The data shows that when people switch from a regular diet to a healthy diet, food costs jump up. As a result a healthy diet is not affordable for a large part of the population.

2011-03-30T15:15:08Z Belisle, Donica https://hdl.handle.net/2149/3001 2015-03-05T22:14:45Z 2011-03-29T17:52:06Z

"Selfish, Foolish, and Crazed: Imagining the Female Shopper in Modernizing Canada" Belisle, Donica Shopping became a major Canadian pastime between the late 19 the  century and World War II.  During the same period, stereotypes of female shoppers as vain, greedy, and impressionable came to assume prominent roles within Canadian public commentary.  Critics from a range of backgrounds suggested that women's supposed love of finery, preference for mass retail, and quests for cheap goods caused not only small shop closures but also local decline, dilution of cultural standards, unemployment, and national debt.  Through an exploration of fictional and non-fictional portrayals of shopping women published in Canada between 1890 and 1940, this talk will reveal that when women left their homes to pursue mass retail’s offerings, they transgressed expectations of feminine domesticity, local authority, and middle class taste.  For these reasons, those who wished to uphold male and bourgeois privilege in this country felt it necessary to lampoon, condemn, and ultimately dismiss the economic, social, and cultural concerns of thousands of female consumers.

2011-03-29T17:52:06Z Zariski, Archie https://hdl.handle.net/2149/3000 2014-05-27T17:05:12Z 2011-03-29T17:49:01Z

Epistemology and Ideology: The Case of Mediation Zariski, Archie Mediation, once an "alternative" process, has gone mainstream. Most courts in North America now include it as part of normal litigation procedure. In the United States there is even fear that mediation will lead to the extinction of courtroom trials in many areas. A decade ago scholars and researchers wondered what the institutionalization of mediation would do it, and what it would do to the legal system. Some answers are now becoming clear and they are raising concerns for both mediators and lawyers. My research begins with these circumstances but extends to a consideration of wider processes of interaction between knowledge and ideas in society. How has knowledge and practice of conflict resolution morphed into mediation ideology? Is this just one example of a new relation of production that global society now supports: the transformation of knowledge into ideology that has material effects?

2011-03-29T17:49:01Z Heller, Bob Procter, Mike https://hdl.handle.net/2149/2999 2014-05-27T16:53:34Z 2011-03-29T17:44:32Z

Animated Pedagogical Agents & Immersive Worlds: Two Worlds Colliding Heller, Bob; Procter, Mike Animated Pedagogical Agents (APAs) can be defined as animated computer-generated characters that respond to user input, adapt to user behaviour, and facilitate learning in a computer based learning environment. The benefits of APAs that are relevant to distance education include improved communication and increased student motivation/engagement with course content. Yet, the literature on these benefits is equivocal possibly due to the limited range and degree of application. Immersive worlds or virtual environments (VE) can be defined as a computer-created scene or “world” within which a user can immerse themselves as an avatar and interact with other users/avatars and in-world objects. Second Life is perhaps the best known VE with an active in-world education group consisting of approximately 6000 educators from across the world. In this presentation, I will review the relevant findings from each of these worlds and describe one type of APA, an actor agent, that may be particularly useful for distance educators when equipped with conversational abilities and a “stage” such as Second Life on which to perform. To illustrate this approach, I will conclude with a description of a research collaboration to create a patient avatar in Second Life for medical students to practice clinical interview skills

2011-03-29T17:44:32Z Locky, David A. https://hdl.handle.net/2149/2998 2015-03-07T03:03:54Z 2011-03-29T17:41:24Z

Boreal Fends & Plants: Conservation from an Ecoregional Perspective. Locky, David A. Ecoregions are large areas of land and water that contain a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities. They are increasingly being used as a framework for conservation planning across the globe. Within a large western Canadian Ecoregion, I studies the vegetation communities and environmental variables in wooded moderate-rich fens at sites in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Wooded moderate-rich fens are a common boreal wetland, but among peat land types, are the most likely to have the highest plan species diversity and number of rare species. Total species diversity was greatest in Manitoba, and decreased in a longitudinal trend through Saskatchewan and Alberta. This may be related, in part, to the influence of orographic precipitation at Manitoba sites and to a decreasing gradient of environmental energy. Ten rare species of vascular plants were observed, with most of these in Alberta. Distinct plan communities were associated with all three locations, although bryophyte diversity increased with latitude and longitude, whereas vascular plant diversity decreased. Conservation plans based on Ecoregion boundaries are preferable to political boundaries, but need to account for within-Ecoregion changes in abiotic and biotic conditions. Rarer wetland types may be more appropriate for conservation planning at the Ecoregion scale.

2011-03-29T17:41:24Z Tirven-Gadum, Vina https://hdl.handle.net/2149/2997 2015-03-11T16:45:37Z 2011-03-29T17:37:27Z

Evaluating La Francophone: Myths and Realities Tirven-Gadum, Vina "At the moment, French seems to be engaged in a losing battle against American English in the world. To fight this trend, a multinational group of some 44 authors who write in French, have proposed, in a manifesto/, /the following remedy: uncouple the French language from France, turn French literature into a “world literature” written in French, and get rid of the word “Francophone”. But guardians of the “pure” French language (mainly from mainland France) extolling the superiority of the language of Molière, Voltaire and Hugo have retorted that this is tantamount to blasphemy. Representing the centralizing mentality of France - which has been entrenched since the 17^th century - these “purists” of the French language are at odds with the ambition of universality proposed by the 44 authors, except in terms of an assumed superiority. Still, the 44 signatories of the manifesto argue that it is time for mainland France to stop looking down on “Francophone authors” (as foreigners writing in French are known) because these very novelists – many from former French colonies - hold the key to energizing French literature. For this to happen, they say, the French language must be freed from “its exclusive pact” with France. What is clear from this is that “Francophone” has now become a politically charged concept, one that politicians like Nicolas Sarkozy (forever draping himself in the French flag) applaud as a tool for promoting French abroad and others, like the manifesto's signatories, resent as a prescription for devaluing the language when used by non-French writers. This paper will examine this often conflicting rapport that exists between the so-called “pure” French speakers of Mainland France and the “other” French speakers (Francophones) from the former colonies of France and French Canada. At the moment, French seems to be engaged in a losing battle against American English in the world. To fight this trend, a multinational group of some 44 authors who write in French, have proposed, in a manifesto/, /the following remedy: uncouple the French language from France, turn French literature into a “world literature” written in French, and get rid of the word “Francophone”. But guardians of the “pure” French language (mainly from mainland France) extolling the superiority of the language of Molière, Voltaire and Hugo have retorted that this is tantamount to blasphemy. Representing the centralizing mentality of France - which has been entrenched since the 17^th century - these “purists” of the French language are at odds with the ambition of universality proposed by the 44 authors, except in terms of an assumed superiority. Still, the 44 signatories of the manifesto argue that it is time for mainland France to stop looking down on “Francophone authors” (as foreigners writing in French are known) because these very novelists – many from former French colonies - hold the key to energizing French literature. For this to happen, they say, the French language must be freed from “its exclusive pact” with France. What is clear from this is that “Francophone” has now become a politically charged concept, one that politicians like Nicolas Sarkozy (forever draping himself in the French flag) applaud as a tool for promoting French abroad and others, like the manifesto's signatories, resent as a prescription for devaluing the language when used by non-French writers. This paper will examine this often conflicting rapport that exists between the so-called “pure” French speakers of Mainland France and the “other” French speakers (Francophones) from the former colonies of France and French Canada. "

2011-03-29T17:37:27Z Smith, Jay https://hdl.handle.net/2149/2996 2015-03-09T21:11:38Z 2011-03-29T17:35:31Z

Social Networking and Political Activism: The Great Canadian Copyright Fight - Over or Not? Smith, Jay In 2007 and 2008 there was a hard fought campaign against proposed changes to the Canadian Copyright Act, changes which would have privileged producers and owners of copyright over users. Particularly notable about the campaign was the following: 1) It was organized primarily by means of Web 2.0 tools, in particular, Facebook; 2) It was about copyright normally a subject of little interest to the public. Why the uproar over copyright? Why were Web 2.0 tools the preferred means of political activism? How were these tools used? With what success? What are the limitations of Web 2.0 tools in online campaigns? The fall 2008 federal election prevented passage of the legislation but the Harper government has promised to revive it this spring. Will it? This presentation examines these questions

2011-03-29T17:35:31Z Gregory, David Gregory, Rosaleen https://hdl.handle.net/2149/2995 2015-03-06T18:54:55Z 2011-03-29T17:27:25Z

The Mining Songs of British Columbia: Exploring the P.J. Thomas Collection Gregory, David; Gregory, Rosaleen Phil Thomas, who sadly passed away two years ago, was the foremost folksong collector in British Columbia. His collection is unfortunately not very well known outside his native province but it includes a wealth of items that reflect the history of British Columbia from its colonial origins to the post-war era. It is particularly rich in forestry-related songs and songs about the fishing and transportation industries. On this occasion the focus is on songs from the Thomas Collection that reflect the story of mining in British Columbia. Most date from the Gold Rush era but others are about coal mining, hard rock mining, or industrial strife. The presentation will include renditions of as many of these fascinating vernacular songs as can be fitted into one hour.

2011-03-29T17:27:25Z Ellerman, Evelyn https://hdl.handle.net/2149/2994 2015-03-06T03:11:35Z 2011-03-29T17:24:37Z

Adventures in Building an Online Digital Collection: The Alberta Women's Institutes Project Ellerman, Evelyn "This talk will address the inception and design of a new AU digital collection that focuses on self-representation in organizational histories. Our subject is the Alberta Women's Institutes, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2009. Although the WI is all but invisible these days, it was, for most of the 20th century, the largest rural women's organization in rural Alberta. Among its earliest members were Emily Murphy and Nellie McClung, who used the organization as a vehicle, both provincially and nationally, to promote the rights of women. "

2011-03-29T17:24:37Z