Laurier Brantford Undergrads Showcase Outstanding Research

DOES BIRDWATCHING ISPIRE A SENSE OF AWE? How Might Frogs Hold the Secret to Organ Transplant Success? How Did the Waco Massacre Help Advance Forensic Science?

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These are some of the divergent Questions Explored by Students at Laurier Brantford’s Academic, Creative and Engaged Research Showcase (Acers) on Thursday.

Now in its ninth year, the event is the campus equivalent of an undergraduate science fair, Although Students’ Projects Aren’t limited to science, with Research Topics Ranging from video game design to criminology.

The inspiration for Vanessa Curaddo’s Research Project was a handful of Birdseed Given to Her by a Stranger While She and Her Family Walked Some Trails During the Pandemic. It was long before a chickadee was perched on her outstretched palm.

“I was complies in awe and shocked by this Incredible encourage,” Curaddo Says in a video played at the showcase, Held at Laurier’s One Market Building. “That moment Sparked a Deep Fascination with Birds.”

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The more encouraters she had with Birds, Curaddo Said the More She Notced they see lift her mood. Her Research Aimed to Determine Whsther Birds Evoked Something More Profound Than Simple Relaxation.

“Do They Evoke Awe, Like Seeing the Northern Lights or Looking Down On Earth from AN Airplane Window?”

Curaddo Connected the Electrodes of A Skin Conductance Monitor, Which Detects Tiny Changes in Sweat Levels, to the Palms of Her Research Participants and Showed Them Both Nature Videos Without Birds and Of Birds in Nature.

Early Results of Both the Monitor and Questionnaires Completed by Participants After the Testing Indicate The Birds Gave them Greater Feelings of Well-Being and Awe.

Mackenzie Martin, who is finishing her second year in Laurier’s social work program, Said Her Research Started with a class last Year Called indigenous Languages ​​of Turtle Island. As part of Their Learning, Students Created Gayogoho: No (Cayuga) Language Education Resources, Such as Flashcards, Storybooks and Vocabulary Games, Which Were feels to language Schools on Six Nations of the Grand River.

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“I thought we could do more than this,” Said Martin.

She creating a Google Drive to House All The Resources, which is accessible and free for the community to use.

Cayuga is critically endangered, with only 115 people of the indiguenous population reporting cayuga as their mother tongue In the 2021 Canadian Census.

“There are So Few Elders in Every Indigenous Community,” Said Martin. “There are aren’t many first language speakers. You can’t learn without someone to teach it. These novice resources can’t save the language but it’s something that says Other people. It Keeps More of the Hope Alive.

Bryce GUNSON, Project Coordinator in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and One of The Showcase Organizers, Said Acers Gives Undergrades Passionate About Their Subjects A Platform to Share Their Research, Which is Typically More Common for graduate Students.

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The showcase included posters, podcasts and videos Created by the Students.

“It’s a learning experience for Both Guests and the Students Themselves, Asy’re Tasked With Presenting Their Findings in Way That’s Meaningful to Broader Audience,” Said Gunson. “The projects are extremely well done. The Students Take on a lot of Extra Work.”

Tracy Woodford, A Research Project Facilitator at Laurier who was co-lead of the showcase, Said the Event, Unique to the Brantford Campus, is a Great Confidence Booster for the Students.

“It’s something I wish i’d had an undergrad,” Said Woodford. “They Get to Really Showcase Their Academic Strength.”

More Than $ 5,000 in Cash Prizes Were Awarded in Various Categories. The Winners Are:

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• Selin Ulugbay – Early Year Researcher Award for Colonial obstructions of Justice: The Effects of Mandate Minimum Sentences On Gladue Principles.

Poster category

• Karlee Comer – First Place for How The Waco Massacre Helped Advance Forensic Science: Str Quadraplex System

• Elisha Felician – Second place for Decolonizing Climate Change narrative

• Kate Fretz – Third Place for User Experience and Gamification: Understanding Effective Game Mechanics and The Flow State Within Digital Experiences

• Honourable Mentions – Bailie Kinrade for Psychopathy & Gender Expression and Hans Yaqob for No Choice, No Voice: The Reality of Forced Treatment in BC

Video Category

• Hannah Baglole – First Place for Building the Colonial Canadian Modern Girl: A Study of Modern Canadian Childhood in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

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• Vanessa Currado – Second place for Looking Up! How Birdwatching Inspires and Enhances Well-Being

• Natalia Luciani – Third Place for immersive Virtual Reality Meditation and Acute Stress Regulation

• Honourable mentions-Alex Kunlenkamp for Nature’s Guardians: A Dive Into Game-Based Learning and Hannah by Agostino for Lessons Beyond the Letters: Ideologies in 1880s Readers

Podcast Category

• Jasmine Cossette – First Place for Case Study on the Value of Gastric Content Analysis in Forensic Medicine

• Ashley Di Biase and Carissa Muise – Second place for Bridging Worlds

• Clara Patey – Third Place for Social Contagion: How Social Media Alters Users Self Perceptions of Mental Health

• Honorable mentions – Claudia Khwale for exploring the public’s perception of Justice through the Lens of Digital Vigilantism and Madison Konieczny for Unmasking Propaganda

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