oURspace
University of Regina Institutional Repository
The mission of the oURspace digital repository is to share and preserve the scholarly, creative, and cultural work produced at the University of Regina.
What are some of the benefits of depositing your works in oURspace?
- Increased access to your scholarly publications.
- Content is indexed and discoverable in Google Scholar.
- Compliance with open access funding requirements.
- Long term preservation of your work.
Please contact ourspace@uregina.ca if you have questions or want more information about oURspace.
Communities in oURspace
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
Examining the Role of Peer and Family Belongingness in the Mental Health of Black LGBTQ + Youth
(Taylor & Francis, 0023-09-27) Watts, Keith, J.; Wagaman, M. Alex; Eaton, Andrew, D.; Leung, Vivian, W. Y.; Craig, Shelley, L.
A sense of belonging to familial and peer networks is crucial for the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth. Black LGBTQ+ youth report feeling rejected and isolated due to their sexual and/or gender identities. Utilizing linear regression analyses, this study explored the relationship between peer and family belongingness and levels of depression, anxiety, and self-rated mental health among 181 Black LGBTQ+ youth in the United States and Canada . Findings suggest that family and peer belongingness are important factors in Black LGBTQ+ youth's mental health and warrant further study into the protective nature of peer and family relationships for this population.
Anchoring has little effect when forming first impressions of facial attractiveness
(SAGE Publications, 2024-09-25) Robin S. S. Kramer; Yaren Koca; Michael O. Mireku; Chris Oriet
First impressions based on facial appearance affect our behaviour towards others. Since the same face will appear different across images, over time, and so on, our impressions may not be equally weighted across exposures but are instead disproportionately influenced by earlier or later instances. Here, we followed up on previous work which identified an anchoring effect, whereby higher attractiveness ratings were given to a person after viewing naturally varying images of their face presented in descending (high-to-low), rather than ascending (low-to-high), order of attractiveness of these images. In Experiment 1 ( n = 301), we compared these ‘descending’ and ‘ascending’ conditions for unfamiliar identities by presenting six-image sequences. Although we found higher attractiveness ratings for the ‘descending’ condition, this small effect equated to only 0.22 points on a 1–7 response scale. In Experiment 2 ( n = 307), we presented these six-image sequences in a random order and found no difference in attractiveness ratings given to these randomly ordered sequences when compared with those resulting from both our ‘descending’ and ‘ascending’ conditions. Further, we failed to detect an influence of the earlier images in these random sequences on attractiveness ratings. Taken together, we found no compelling evidence that anchoring could have an effect on real-world impression formation.
A spectrum of possibilities: levels of improvisational behaviour in middle school mathematics.
(Taylor & Francis, 2021) Armstrong, Alayne
In this article, we consider the phenomenon of improvisation by small groups of middle years students while engaged in rich mathematical tasks in classroom settings. Working from the premise that improvisation comprises a spectrum of behaviour, we propose that there is a range of improvisational behaviours that may be observed as the students work together. We discuss four levels along the spectrum – interpretation, embellishment, variation, pure improvisation – and draw on vignettes from our research to illustrate each of their characteristics. We argue that improvisation is a valuable way to view students’ mathematical performance as it highlights how students draw on their own experiences and understandings when problem solving, and how students need to be given opportunities to “stay with” mathematical tasks.
Beginner’s mind and the middle years mathematics student
(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Armstrong, Alayne
Being motivated and on task are not enough in themselves for students to engage in meaningful mathematical learning. The Zen concept of beginner’s mind describes how one’s level of awareness can open one’s mind to growth and possibilities. In this case study, two small groups of middle years students who engage in the same mathematical task, one group demonstrating the characteristics of beginner’s mind and the other demonstrating expert’s mind. While the group with expert’s mind focuses on learning how to follow the steps of one proposed solution, the group with beginner’s mind explores the task more fully, noticing mathematically salient details about the task that the other group overlooks completely and that help lead to a successful solution. My findings suggest that groups of students who demonstrate beginner’s mind are more likely to be absorbed in mathematical tasks, and open to sharing ideas and engaging in meaningful mathematical discussion
Saturated–Unsaturated behaviour of compacted clays
(Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina, 2023-10) Paranthaman, Rajeevkaran; Azam, Shahid; Huang, Gordon; Muthu, Jacob; Salad Hersi, Osman; Mohamedelhassan, Eltayeb Eltahir
Clayey soils are often compacted for geotechnical and geo-environmental construction
such as hydraulic dams, road embankments, tailings containment facilities, and municipal
landfills. Post construction, these earthworks are exposed to variations in seasonal weather
and extreme climatic events (drought, flood, and freezing), contaminations (deicing salts,
ion-rich slurries, and toxic leachates), and applied stresses (self-weight, vehicular traffic,
and heavy equipment), thereby affecting the integrity of civil infrastructures. The
geotechnical behavior (flow through, volume change, and shear strength) is governed by
soil composition and compaction, soil-water-electrolyte mechanisms, soil-atmosphere
interactions, and field conditions. This research focused on developing a clear
understanding of saturated–unsaturated behavior of compacted clays. For this purpose, a
representative clayey soil possessing a moderate water adsorption capacity (liquid limit of
29% and plastic limit of 15%) was characterized to provide baseline geotechnical
properties. This material was classified as lean clay according to the Unified Soil
Classification System. Field behavior was simulated using regional climatic conditions and
environmental loading along with test results.
The compacted clay was found to have an air entry value of 700 kPa and a residual
suction value of 5 × 104 kPa along with s-shaped swell-shrink curve for dry of optimum
and j-shaped for wet of optimum. At optimum, osmotic suction was operative within the
70-100% saturation range and showed a j-shaped swell-shrink curve for deionized water
and a cascading j-shaped curve for concentrated brine. The transient swelling potential
exhibited s-shaped curves irrespective of the degree of compaction and the type of pore
fluids. Likewise, the hydraulic and thermal properties of the soil were found to be governed
by net water flux and air temperature. Based on the coupled hydraulic-thermal model, the
active depth of soil was found to be about 4 m for degree of saturation and 3 m for heat
flux. Furthermore, slope stability investigations showed that the environmental loading and
soil properties were effectively captured but construction practices and site geology were
only partly incorporated.
The main innovative contributions are the development of the following: (i)
simplified approach for volumetric constitutive relationships using soil suction and applied
stress through normalized void ratio; (ii) soil-water-electrolyte framework to capture the
effect of soil contaminations; (iii) coupled hydraulic-thermal model to predict the soil
behavior under extreme climatic conditions; and (iv) systematic design approach for
selecting the most stable geometry. The findings and the contributions of this research are
useful for better design, effective construction, and long-term performance of earth
structures.