Medicine Hat College

This paper uses the example of a two-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) -funded research project at a small regional college in Canada to discuss the difference that research assistant opportunities can make for undergraduate students. We begin by describing our specific project and discussing strategies for inviting and involving students to participate in an innovative, interdisciplinary, and inter-institutional digital humanities project. Student researchers on the team are trained to use digital tools and technologies in the service of humanities research questions. They are also trained in the practice of feminist research methodologies in the digital humanities. As feminist researchers working in a feminist research team environment, it is vital that the relationships that we build with student researchers are grounded in feminist ethics of care, or more specifically, what we are calling here feminist ethics of care pedagogies. In this paper, we consider how a feminist ethic of care is practiced by our research team, with special attention paid to the way that this ethical orientation has enabled us to develop an ethics of care pedagogy that informs the project’s approach to training student researchers. Student research assistants, who are co-authors on this paper, report that the team’s feminist collaborative practices enable meaningful and engaged learning. Ultimately, we argue that despite the instrumentalist orientation of many granting agencies, large research projects may still prioritize holistic development over transactional skills acquisition by emphasizing an ethic of care. In so doing, project directors may facilitate learning environments that value meaningful engagement with knowledge creation, fostering a deeper understanding of the collaborative and relational nature of research itself.

This study employed a cross-sectional design to examine the prevalence and predictors of probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among newcomers in Brooks, Southeast Alberta, Canada. Data for the study were collected through validated instruments, including the PTSD Checklist and Life Event Checklist. The analysis of the data shows that among these newcomers, nearly half met the criteria for probable PTSD, with refugees having a higher prevalence than non-refugees. For multivariable logistic regression, refugee status, cumulative trauma exposure, language barriers, and the challenges of adapting to a new culture were independently correlated with PTSD. Sensitivity analyses validated the evidence across various cut-off scores, indicating the robustness of the study’s results. These results highlight the importance of addressing PTSD among newcomers in Brooks, Southeast Alberta.

Hydrocarbons constitute an important component of Kansas's energy sector, but the geochemical characteristics and source rocks of these hydrocarbons are not well understood. This study analyzes 18 hydrocarbon samples from five subbasins and six stratigraphic intervals within the state of Kansas using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the lithology, sources of organic matter, paleodepositional environment, and thermal maturity of their source rock(s). Analytical results and figures, such as Pr/Ph ratios (≥1), CPI (≥1), low naphthenes/alkanes, low C29/C30 hopane ratios (<1), and DBT/PHEN vs Pr/Ph plots, suggest a shale lithology for the source rocks. C19/C23 tricyclic terpane ratios of 0.02-0.32 and sterane/hopane ratios of 0.70-1.08 are observed in hydrocarbons from the Central Kansas Uplift, Hugoton Embayment, Salina Basin, and Sedgwick Basin. In contrast, hydrocarbons from the Forest City Basin display higher C19/C23 ratios (1.12-2.08) and lower sterane/hopane ratios (0.11-0.13). These geochemical patterns confirm that the hydrocarbons from the former subbasins are derived primarily from marine organic matter, whereas those from the Forest City Basin reflect a dominantly terrigenous source. Paleoenvironmental proxies, including Pr/Ph values (0.98-2.25), C35 homohopane index, C32/C31 hopane ratios (0.47-0.68), and crossplots of Pr/n-C17 vs Ph/n-C18, and Gam/C30 hopane vs Pr/Ph align with deposition under marginal marine, suboxic conditions with little evidence for water stratification. Thermal maturity proxies (e.g., CPI, OEP, moretane/hopane ratios, C29 sterane and C32 homohopane isomerization, and Ts/Tm) indicate that the organic matter responsible for these hydrocarbons is within the oil generation window. Overall, the results demonstrate that hydrocarbons from the Forest City Basin were derived from a distinct, terrigenous-rich source rock, whereas the hydrocarbons from the other four subbasins share a genetically related, marine-influenced source. This highlights multiple source rocks for the hydrocarbons produced in Kansas. These findings provide a framework for future studies to consider both local and external sourcing as part of an integrated petroleum system model for Kansas.

This article examines the evolution of gaming houses in esports as physical manifestations of the industry's shifting relationship with labor, capital, and professionalization. By tracing the transformation of these communal living spaces from grassroots solutions to economic precarity into corporate-managed professional environments, the analysis highlights complex tensions between passion and exploitation that characterize digital labor. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from digital labor studies alongside ethnographic interviews with 33 industry professionals, this research positions gaming houses as both architectural responses to precarity and spatial embodiments of the blurred boundaries between play and work that define esports. The analysis reveals that while the aesthetic progression of gaming houses from makeshift accommodations to state-of-the-art facilities suggests industry maturation, underlying conditions of employment insecurity persist.