CBU Scholar

CBU Scholar provides access to the publications and contributions of CBU faculty and students.

The database consists of books, book chapters, articles, essays, and other research outputs.
Publications are accepted from all departments and across all languages and subjects as determined by the research activities of CBU Faculty.
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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Graduate Research 22
Graduate works from CBU students
Research 276
Open Access research publications
Research Chairs, Institutes & Centres 67
Undergraduate Research 87
Undergraduate works from CBU students

Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Disability Rights, Autonomous Weapons, and Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain
(Cape Breton University, 2026-07-23) Howard, Sean; Bernasky, Tammy
In recent years, spurred by the overnight omnipresence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in society and the economy, efforts to regulate the development of autonomous weapons and broader automation of military systems – from guidance and targeting to command and control – has emerged as an issue of critical importance in disarmament diplomacy. This policy brief is designed to help establish disability rights as an issue of critical importance in those diplomatic discussions, at well as in wider civil society advocacy to ‘stop killer robots’ and related, automated assaults on human life, dignity, and freedom.
Access status: Open Access ,
The symptoms of climate denial: tracing the intersections of denial, right-wing extremism and masculinity
(Springer, 2026-05-27) Davidson, Debra J.; Letourneau, Angeline; Karsgaard, Carrie; Ivanova, Dasha
Confronting climate denial requires inquiries into the social factors that lend denial frames their receptivity. We seek to extend recent research focused on the role of masculinities and right-wing extremism in climate denial by integrating and elaborating upon five assertions in gender studies to postulate a Masculinist-Denial Framework. Denial advocates may find this framework a valuable discursive framing device which then attracts the sympathy of those identifying with certain masculine identities, particularly those associated with rural lifestyles and extractive industry occupations. This Masculinist Denial Framework is developed here, supplemented with an exploration of the degree to which this discursive work is embodied in the social media engagements of a sample of Albertan oil and gas workers.
Access status: Open Access ,
Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis: Discovery and Understanding of a Novel Disease
(Springer Nature, 2026-06-10) Reynolds, Andrew S.
Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) or “brain-eating amoeba disease” is a relatively rare but typically fatal infectious disease of increasing global concern. Discovery of PAM and that Naegleria fowleri is the causative agent responsible are frequently credited to a paper published by the Australian pathologists Malcolm Fowler and Rodney F. Carter in 1965. It was significant as confirmation of an earlier suspicion that free-living, non-parasitic amoebae may be opportunistic pathogens of the human central nervous system. Like many discoveries, however, the historical details are rather more complicated and involved a number of researchers and clinicians working over a decade from 1958 to 1971. Philosophical accounts of scientific discovery since Kuhn (Science, 136, 760–764, 1962) agree that discovery requires both recognition that something exists and understanding what it is. But there is little agreement about how much or what kind of understanding is required. This paper (i) excavates the complex array of observations, inferences, experiments, re-evaluations, and public statements by a number of scientific researchers and physicians that collectively resulted in the recognition of PAM as a novel form of central nervous system infection caused by a novel species of free-living amoeba; and (ii) considers how well several recent accounts of discovery apply to these achievements.
Access status: Open Access ,
Assessing the Relationship Between Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull Peak Force, Rate of Force Development, and Sprint Performance in Female University Soccer Players
(Cape Breton University, 2026-06-17) Grace Hannaford; Sheryl Bourgaize
Sprint performance is a critical determinant of success in many team sports, including soccer, yet the relationships between lower-body force production and sprint outcomes in female university athletes remain underexplored. This study investigated whether isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) peak force and rate of force development (RFD) at 100 ms are associated with sprint performance over 10 m and 30 m in female varsity soccer players. Sixteen participants (19.9 ± 1.2 years) completed IMTP and 30 m sprint testing, with 10 m and 30 m sprint times, velocities, and accelerations analyzed. IMTP outcomes were normalized to body mass, and Pearson correlations with bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals examined associations between force characteristics and sprint performance. Results indicated weak, non-significant correlations between relative peak force and sprint performance. In contrast, RFD at 100 ms showed moderate, significant correlations with 10 m sprint performance: positively correlating with sprint time (r = 0.613, p = .012) and negatively with velocity (r = −0.624, p = .010) and 0–10 m acceleration (r = −0.623, p = .010). These findings suggest that early-phase RFD may not consistently translate to improved sprint performance in this population, likely due to high measurement variability, differences between vertically oriented strength measures (IMTP) and horizontally oriented force production relevant to sprinting. These results highlight the potential limitation of vertically oriented assessments such as the IMTP compared to more horizontally oriented field tests such as the broad jump, which may better reflect horizontal force production relevant to sprinting. Peak force demonstrated more stable but weak relationships with sprint outcomes. Overall, results highlight the complexity of strength–sprint relationships in female university athletes and emphasize the need for further research.
Access status: Open Access ,
Impact of an Invasive Crayfish (Faxionus limosus) Introduction on a Freshwater Mussel Population in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
(Cape Breton University, 2024) Best, Cassidy; Oakes, Ken
Freshwater ecosystems are often disproportionately impacted by invasive species due to increased connectivity and exploitation by humans. Biological invasions negatively influence ecosystems, but also threaten species which may provision ecosystem services. Freshwater mussels (order Unionida) are pivotal components of aquatic ecosystems, linking trophic levels and moderating water quality through filtration. However, freshwater mussels are globally imperiled, with many populations facing extirpation. Within Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP), invasive spinycheek crayfish have become established in Freshwater Lake, a historically biodiverse lake with a population of Pyganodon mussels. Crayfish—often aggressive invaders—negatively influence health and functionality of freshwater ecosystems as they infiltrate various trophic levels of aquatic food webs. This project’s goal was to assess spinycheek crayfish influence on Freshwater Lake’s ecosystem using Pyganodon as a case study. Over time, living Pyganodon have become harder to detect within Freshwater Lake. During 2008 surveys, 79% of mussels detected were living, compared to only 41% in 2021 (p < 0.001). 2024 midden surveys showed that Pyganodon in Freshwater Lake were generally smaller than those in a healthy (i.e., lacking invasive crayfish) freshwater ecosystem, at 7.55 cm versus 8.24 cm (p < 0.001). Smaller Pyganodon may be preferentially targeted by crayfish in Freshwater Lake, which is supported by a lack of evidence of recruitment within the living Pyganodon population, but multiple individuals ≤ 5 years of age within middens. Pyganodon recruitment within Freshwater Lake may also be limited by an apparent decrease in fish-host availability, with finfish CPUE decreasing from 54.94 in 2008 to 13.54 in 2018. Environmental parameters such as temperature showed high variability since the spinycheek crayfish introduction, potentially influencing their behaviours and abundance. Further research should ascertain potential impacts of spinycheek crayfish on Freshwater Lake and its Pyganodon population under potential management regimes, including lack thereof.