Tag: Poster 142

A Just Transition: Renewable Energy and Indigenous Voices in the Nunavut Community

Presenter(s): Selena Blick − Environmental Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Mark Carey

Poster 142

Research Area: Social Science

In order to combat climate change, renewable energy sources must replace fossil fuels, and quickly. However, just like fossil fuels, renewable energy projects can create other environmental harms, many of which are felt unfairly by Indigenous communities. The territory of Nunavut, located in Northeast Canada, has a population comprised of over 85% Indigenous People. This community is currently reliant on imported diesel and looking to make the transition to renewable energy, but is hesitant about the ways that renewable energy projects, especially hydroelectricity, might impact their natural environment. This research will explore these issues that the people of Nunavut currently face in terms of energy use and renewable energy production and how Indigenous People in other parts of Canada have worked to resolve these issues. While climate change is a pressing matter, urgency can not be an excuse to mistreat Indigenous People or their land. By exploring how these energy issue impact Indigenous People, this research seeks to provide a better understanding of why energy projects need to be approached in a way that is both just and sustainable.

The Role of Infant Attachment and Self-Efficacy in Predicting Later Academic and Social Competence

Presenter(s): Ellyn Kennelly

Faculty Mentor(s): Jennifer Ablow & Jeff Measelle

Poster 142

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

Child self-efficacy has been shown to predict better social and academic problem solving skills, both of which are foundational to school success. Additionally, attachment security has been linked to school achievement via its effect on socioemotional adjustment. Presently, few studies have addressed the interaction of self-efficacy and attachment early in life to determine whether they have a joint role in shaping readiness for school. We hypothesize that self-efficacy during infancy will predict school readiness outcomes at age 5. However, we also anticipate that this association will be moderated by infant attachment security. In particular, we expect that infants with disorganized attachment histories will fail to develop the self-efficacy capacities needed to begin school on an adaptive trajectory. Our high-risk sample comprises 74 low SES mother-infant dyads who were followed longitudinally from pregnancy through 60 months postnatally. When infants were 17-months-old they completed the Strange Situation Procedure as well as a task designed to probe early self-efficacy, which together we used to predict mother’s reports of their child’s social and academic competence at age 5, before entry to kindergarten. Our findings provide insight into the manner and degree to which attachment and self-efficacy interact to predict important real-world outcomes, such as social and academic competence at school entry.