Robustness of Maximin Space-filling Designs

In this report, we first have a review of the maximin space-filling design methods that is often applied and discussed in the literature (for example, Müller (2007)). Then we will discuss the robustness of the maximin space-filling design against model misspecification via numerical simulation. For this purpose, we will generate spatial data sets on a n x n grid and design points are selected from the n2 locations. The predictions at the unsampled locations are made based on the observations at these design points. Then the mean of the squared prediction errors are estimated as a measure of the robustness of the designs against possible model misspecification. Surprisingly, according to the simulation results, we find that the maximin space-filling designs may be robust against possible model misspecification in the sense that the mean of the squared prediction error does not increase significantly when the model is misspecified. Although the results were obtained based on simple models, this result is very inspiring. It will guide further numerical and theoretical studies which will be done as future work.

The Wolf in the Woods

A close reading of the cause and treatment of lycanthropy in Cherie Dimaline's Empire of Wild is used to discuss differences between Indigenous and Western views on justice, community, monstrosity, and human nature. Utilizing Rupert Ross's Returning to the Teaching: Exploring Aboriginal Justice to provide first-hand understanding of Indigenous justice concepts, Empire of Wild uses myth to provide a moral impetus for community-driven justice models. This paper looks at how myth is integrated into the story, how it differs from other lycanthrope myths, and what the ramifications of that difference means for both the plot and message of Empire of Wild.

Closing the Social Distance

The following paper is centered around the potential for organizational change in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper argues that the disruption of “business as usual” during the COVID-19 pandemic provides opportunities to both highlight gendered organizational practices during remote work and explore how organizational actors might contribute to a more equitable restructuring of gendered communication practices once employees return to in-person work. First, the paper contextualizes the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of writing. Next, the literature review examines the notion of organizations as inherently gendered, the history of organizational change from Lewinian Planned Change to models of non-linear change, and bureaucratic organizational structures using a feminist lens. The discussion section then argues that complexity theories offer significant opportunities for improvement due to the destabilization of current workplace practices. This argument is followed up by examples of how organizations can successfully engage complexity theories to reduce gender inequality in the post-pandemic world. The paper concludes that by emphasizing consensus and autonomy, improvements to network communication and the merging of public and private spheres should be the first steps towards the ultimate goal of reducing gender inequality through the deconstruction of bureaucracies.

From Science as Solution to Science as Suspect:

Edified in Isaac Asimov's canonical Foundations trilogy, the exemplification of science as a panacea to human quandaries--herein referred to as technoidealism--is a central element of the 1950's science-fiction canon. Faced with a period of upheaval and a wave of new science fictions authors, this article explores the manner in which this assumption is modified, complicated, and popularly rejected. Drawing on the work of authors such as Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Philip K. Dick, Jeff Somers, and Iain Reid, the technoidealist impulse serves to highlight the utopian current undergirding Asimov's work and the genre's complication of the human-science relationship. In drifting from its nascent futurist idealism, the literary endorsement of "science as solution" has veered toward "science as suspect" through a complication and reproval of the technoidealist assumption.

White Lie of Persuasive Communication

The following is a personal manifesto of the state of 21st-century rhetoric. Rhetoric is so intrinsically bound into all aspects of life and all communication environments that it appears inevitable to communicate by using some form of rhetoric. Though, the ethical nature of rhetoric comes into question when we consider the ways rhetoric might be used for good and for evil. This article explores the ethical state of rhetoric today — what it should or shouldn't be, where rhetoric went right and where rhetoric may have gone wrong, and if the current rhetorical state is our reality, our dream, or our nightmare. First, by establishing rhetoric as a persuasive communication strategy that can be easily learned and both innocently and connivingly used, this article then explores if or how rhetoric can be used in "right" and/or "wrong" ways, and what this means for the present and future state of rhetoric. This article was written as an end of term paper in a classical and modern rhetoric course.

Sand armour: How it provides plants with an edge up in survival

Plants have evolved a dizzying array of morphological and biochemical defences; a deceptively simple one involves sand. Some plants actively coat themselves in sand, termed psammophory, as an ingenious adaptation for survival. While the functional significance of psammophory is understudied, experimental data from Abronia latifolia and Navarretia mellita suggests that it acts as a mechanical defence against herbivory within dune habitats. This defence stems from both the damaging and non-nutritive properties of sand and the lasting detrimental effects it has on herbivore physiology. While sand armour may seem like an unusual adaptation, it certainly can deter herbivores by giving them something to chew on.

Stereotypes and Microaggressions

Racism in the clinical setting is a complex, and often overlooked, reality that affects minority patients' health in varying degrees. From blatant bigotry to elusive forms of prejudice, clinicians can exhibit personal biases that often result in dire consequences for the patient. This paper explores some of the subtler forms of discrimination experienced by patients of colour, namely, stereotypes and microaggressions. Clinical examples of these phenomena are discussed, along with possible solutions, directed towards both clinicians and patients, that can lead to improved health outcomes of racial minorities in the healthcare environment.

atmospheric etudes: no 1, troposphere

As a fourth-year music composition major at MacEwan University, Mari Alice Conrad was interested in exploring the concept of vulnerability. She was particularly inspired by her recent vulnerable experiences returning to school as a mature student and sought to understand these existential experiences in more depth. This curiosity led Conrad to design a research-creation project in her Ethnomusicology course that utilized her skills in composing a musical work that explored vulnerability on three distinct levels: personal vulnerability, societal vulnerability, and global vulnerability. The first level, personal vulnerability, plunged into Conrad's personal experiences as a mature student who, by age and life experience, had been socially segregated to a minority group, and how she was processing those experiences. The second level, sociological vulnerability, specifically focused on addressing societal traditions of classical music and notational conventions for the piano. Conrad sought to displace the customary approach she had developed with the instrument since childhood and considered ways to make the piano (an inanimate object) and its notated music vulnerable. The third level was a more global, ecological, or environmental vulnerability of the weather systems found in the troposphere, the first layer of the atmosphere. Conrad wanted to understand why this layer was extremely volatile and susceptible to multiple variables and how humans interacted with the vulnerability of this force. This third level was also an area that she could universally connect with her audience (hence the title of the composition) and acted as a bridge to explore the other two levels of vulnerability in her work. Throughout the research-creation process, Conrad was able to explore the three levels of vulnerability in tremendous depth, express her interactions and discoveries of these three levels, and further disseminate her findings through notating a graphic score, recording the composition, and crafting an audiovisual representation. The final result of the research-creation composition project (music score and video) brilliantly weaves together concepts of vulnerability in a compelling and meaningful way and shares insight into how these ideas influence and encapsulate Conrad's budding artistic practice.

Small Gifts

This poem touches on a perfect moment where the world stands still and you take everything in. This precious moment is one that is taken for granted and one that we don't recognize or even care for in the moment and watch as it passes us by. It also touches on the loss of a loved one and letting go and the bliss that comes with it.

Apple iPhone: A Market Case Study

Founded in 1976, Apple inc. quickly became one of the biggest companies in the world. Throughout the years, Apple has been apart of the technology market where there has been an exponential amount of opportunities and threats. This market case study aims to determine how Apple can target such opportunities to help predict future trends and influences over the market. To identify these trends and market influences, I have first conducted an environmental scan of Apple’s current and future market(s). Then I described Apple’s fundamental psychological and sociocultural consumer behaviors. And finally, I identified Apple’s target market, how they have chosen to segment and the demographics and geographics within Apple’s largest target segments. As a result of successfully identifying trends in the past, Apple continues to impress with its globally known brand name and customer base/market. However, Apple must continue to identify future opportunities to stay relevant in the ever-advancing technological market. This analysis of the marketing context suggests Apple may need to re-position its iPhones to maintain its leading position in the marketplace.