École Polytechnique, Columbine, Dawson College, Virginia Tech and now Marinette High school share two things in common. They educate youth and they became hunting grounds for school shooters.

In each case, early warning signs were missed. In response to these tragedies, an Ontario-based school board decided to take action to head off the possibility that any of their schools join the list.

Lesleigh Pullman, a fourth-year psychology student, recently conducted research to assist the school board in the analysis of an assessment protocol – the Community Threat Assessment Protocol (CTAP).

The CTAP is designed to identify youth at risk for severe forms of violence and general delinquency. The protocol is unique because information is gathered collaboratively from school officials and community members like the police.

The goal of the protocol is to identify and provide at risk youth with an integrated intervention strategy that incorporates school and community-based services.

Implemented in 2008, the protocol provides school officials with a tool to identify and intervene with students at risk for engaging in delinquency and violence.

Under the direction of her forensic psychology professor, Shelley Brown, Pullman began sifting through the data in May 2010.

She found that 70 percent of the incidents – which can include verbal or physical threats of violence toward teachers or peers, took place on school property by youth with a history of criminal
behaviour. These incidents prompted the initial CTAP assessment.

“These assessments are an effective way to identify youth who may need extra support within the school system to ensure that they don’t reach the criminal justice system,” said Pullman.

Students who threaten or harm their peers, are usually suspended from the school for a cooling off period, and then once readmitted, required to check-in with school counselors. Additional interventions may also be implemented depending upon the unique needs of the youth.

“Check-in procedures vary depending on the student. It may be a simple meeting to ask students how they are  doing, if they are  having problems – to searching students’ backpacks and belongings, in cases where a weapon was brought to school in the past,” Pullman explains.

Successful implementation of CTAP will actually prevent researchers and school officials alike from confirming school shooters as they will have flagged escalating violence before it becomes lethal. Early intervention will ensure kids at risk never reach the point of pulling a trigger.

Pullman plans to pursue graduate studies, focusing on what causes rapists, child molesters and child pornography offenders to commit the crimes they do.

The thought of discovering a human skull might elicit horror, fear or disgust. But for Elizabeth Upton it was a thrill. 

Of course, context is everything. Upton and two other FASS students spent their summer exhuming ancient remains at an archaeological dig in Spain.

Elizabeth Upton and Tabitha Williams, both fourth year anthropology students and Brittany Mann, a third-year anthropology student, all chose to focus their efforts on the ancient Roman city, Menorca’s necropolis.  The site is thought to date to 100 BC – 500 AD.

They joined an international team of students and archeologists at the on-going field school. The site comprised digs focusing on either the necropolis or city, or a combination of both. 

Students participating in the dig also selected their area of focus – either on human remains or materials and buildings.

Upton, Williams and Mann opted to dig up the dead.

“I loved the excavation of the tombs and the finer lab work which preceded it,” said Upton. “The most challenging was definitely the manual labour required to dig up the surface layer.”

Arduous physical labour was not the only challenge the students encountered. Affixing dates to and determining the origins of the skulls and bones they unearthed proved difficult due to the centuries-old work of thieves.

“The looting means that there are almost no grave goods, only a few beads and earrings, which make dating the site and the group of people living there very difficult,” said Williams.

Nevertheless, the students were able to see examples of the evolution of funerary practices. These included the discovery of multiple remains found in one grave, an indication that final resting places weren’t so final.

“It looked like when remains were first buried, they were laid out in fetal position or on their backs, however when a sufficient amount of time had passed, the remains were pushed to the sides of the grave, and new ones were placed in,” said Williams. 

The students made discoveries about themselves too.

“It was a major push in helping me make decisions about my future career goals,” said Upton, who plans to pursue museum studies.

Participating in a dig is an experience she recommends to any student currently casting around for ideas to fill their future summers.

Megan Malone

by Nicole Findlay

Megan Malone lives and breathes her love of Africa. Her enthusiasm for the continent is infectious enough to inspire her peers to spend a month last summer volunteering in orphanages in Ghana.

Malone, a fourth-year student in African Studies and Political Science, put up posters on the campuses of both Carleton and University of Ottawa to promote the opportunity. 

She also partnered with Volunteer Corps, a Ghana-based NGO, to facilitate the volunteer work.

The seven students who took up the challenge raised their own money to fund both the trip and projects on the ground in Ghana.

The students’ primary responsibility was to help the children, of whom there were 65 and ranged in age from just months old to their 20s, prepare for their daily classes. Malone and the other students also assisted with the preparation of meals and laundry.  

“We had the small schoolhouse repaired as well as the children’s beds and bought new mattresses for them,” said Malone. 

The month-long trip was Malone’s second spent volunteering in the country.

Upon her return, she returned to her job at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade’s Africa Bureau. She landed the plum position the year before as part of her African Studies Placement Course – a half-credit one-day a week volunteer placement offered through the African Studies program at Carleton.

 This fall she resumed the last year of her studies, and launched the Institute of African Studies Student Association in cooperation with another student majoring in African Studies.

While Malone isn’t sure if she will pursue graduate studies in the UK or US, of one thing she is certain, her ultimate destiny is Africa.

Bronze nail found in Argilos, Greece, 2010

by Nicole Findlay

The clamour of the 5:30 a.m. alarm was the worst part of Jessica Haskell’s day. Rising before dawn, irritation would slowly give way to anticipation of what the day’s labour might uncover.

Haskell, a fourth-year anthropology major, was one of a team of 25 students who spent a month this summer excavating Argilos, a Greek colony. Located along the Northern Aegean, the site is segmented into three excavations – an acropolis, a road and a slope dotted by the ruins of houses.

“Our trench and area were attempting to find the Classical occupation level and understand the architecture at the highest altitude of the site,” said Haskell.

Bronze button found in Argilos, Greece 2010

On the acropolis, Haskall’s trench eventually gave way to reveal the remains of a road and walls.

“I enjoyed the anticipation that builds progressively from the beginning of the excavation, when the ground is initially covered in weeds and loose topsoil, to the uncovering of ancient material that you know hasn’t been touched or disturbed in two thousand years,” said Haskell.

It was this same enthusiasm that would transform the drudgery of hacking through sun-hardened layers of soil and tangled tree roots into an adventure into the past.

The summer yielded the thrill of discovering bronze coins, iron and bronze nails, sling bullets, a button and a decorated vase almost completely intact.

Earlier excavations had uncovered an olive press.

The vase was both a thrill and a loss for Haskall. Although she held the pieces, she might never see the whole.  The shards she discovred could be carted off to the museum for reassembly and restoration to its former glory.

James Wright, Alexis Luko and Andrew Burn are well on their way to ensuring Carleton music students have a refurbished piano to play.

The SSAC professors and music student raised approximately $6,000 and counting, at the Friday October 22, concert and fundraiser. 

This spring, the antique instrument will be sent to a specialist in Napanee for restoration and then returned back to campus where it will finally be heard after a long silence.

To view the CBC news coverage, advance to 3:15 of the news broadcast at CBC http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Local_News/Ottawa/1317910092/ID=1622587459

After a month spent digging up the past in Cassleman, Ontario, Jonathan Ouellet shifted gears to sift through the sands of Macedonia.

Roman oil lamp

The second-year student of Greek and Roman Studies spent his summer on two archaeological digs. Ouellett first uncovered ancient Aboriginal tools in Canada and then travelled to an ancient Roman client city in Macedonia.

He found the Macedonian dig through a search of the American Institute of Archaeology’s website.

Belt Buckle

Located at the periphery of the Roman Empire, Heraclea Lyncestis was founded by Philip II of Macedon before it was conquered and subjugated by the Romans.

Although the site excavations began in the 1930′s, only 10 percent has been unearthed to date.

The international team, of which Ouellet was a part, comprised Canadians, Americans, British, Australian, Macedonian and Bulgarian team members. Together they excavated an acropolis and theatre.

“My favourite finds were part of a roman oil lamp,” said Ouellet of his Macedonian discovery. “Someone else found an early Slavic belt buckle that I thought was really cool.”

His experiences on the two digs have confirmed his interest in pursuing graduate studies in archaeology or history.

Dice

In the interim, he might brush up on his artistic ability. “There were a few areas where we had to do drawings of walls and floor plans, and to say the least, drawing is not one of my better skills.”

Lindsey Fraser is helping to make everyday products a little less bewildering to use. The fourth-year cognitive science student has spent the summer interning at a local design firm.

In her position as a usability consultant at Akendi, a design consulting company, Fraser worked on everything from websites to workspaces, products to services.  These otherwise diverse projects are linked by a common goal – to be user-friendly.

Fraser likes the variety she has encountered on the job. “I’ve written and edited reports for clients, researched academic findings, synthesized the results of our own user research and presented design recommendations directly to clients,” she said. “I do quite a bit of actual design work too.”

As part of her major in cognitive science, she has studied human perception, pattern recognition, and models of attention and memory. Understanding these systems and applying them in design can allow users to intuitively grasp how to operate products without cumbersome instruction manuals.  Fraser compares the simplicity of the iPad to the impossibly complex VCRs of the past.

“I don’t think I would have understood the connection between the research, and the design process if I hadn’t had the opportunity to work in a place which so neatly ties them together,” said Fraser. “Co-op gave me a chance to work with a professional consulting firm with an international clientele; and I saw that cognitive science and psychology are incredibly versatile fields with many applications outside the lab.”

Carleton’s Co-op program provides students with an opportunity to develop work skills and acquire relevant industry experience by alternating work placements with periods of study. Co-op options are available to students of sociology, anthropology and cognitive science. For more information about Carleton’s co-op program visit http://www.carleton.ca/co-op

This year, the Departments of History and French have added a co-op option to their programs.  For information about these options visit http://carleton.ca/co-op/news/french-history-co-op-information-sessions/

A junior program officer in the Foreign Credential Referral Office, Jackson works with national organizations and associations that assist skilled immigrants, such as lawyers and doctors, attain professional credentials recognized in Canada.

In addition to gaining hands-on experience in research, database development, and event planning, Jackson has picked up the invaluable soft-skills that can only be learned on the job.

“I have witnessed firsthand the value of diplomacy when attempting to collaborate with stakeholders from different provinces and territories,” Jackson explained. “Because each organization has a different group of stakeholders with a different set of needs, balancing these sometimes conflicting needs requires a lot of time, effort, innovation and tact.”

The paid work term has confirmed that sociology is a field in which Jackson plans to remain. She envisions a career with Immigration Canada when she completes her BA. 

“Not only has this co-op experience given me work experience, it has helped me to build a large network of professionals that I would not have otherwise have had,” said Jackson. “Working here has further strengthened my passion for immigration and foreign credential issues.”

Carleton’s co-op program provides students with an opportunity to develop work skills and acquire relevant industry experience by alternating work placements with periods of study. Co-op options are available to students of sociology, anthropology and cognitive science. For more information about Carleton’s co-op program visit http://www.carleton.ca/co-op

This year, the Departments of History and French have added a co-op option to their programs.  http://carleton.ca/co-op/news/french-history-co-op-information-sessions/

Students and faculty of the School for Studies in Art and Culture’s music program are hosting a fundraiser to dust off an instrument tucked away since the 70s. The fortepiano which traces its lineage back to the 1770s, is in dire need of a tune-up.

Music professors James Wright and Alexis Luko, and Andrew Burn, a music student who specializes in baroque bassoon, are organizing a benefit concert, “For Heaven’s Sake! Let’s fix this fortepiano, to raise $10,000 to restore the 240 year old piano to its former glory.

“This is a hugely exciting initiative, but it might not have been kick-started had it not been for the interest and efforts of Andrew,” said Wright. “He is an outstanding student in our program.”

Ottawa-area musicians and faculty and students of the School for Studies in Art and Culture will perform eighteenth-century English music on October 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Bartholomew, beside Rideau Hall.  Burn is enthusiastic about the specially-designed program, which ”will feature the music of both home-grown English composers such as Arne, Avison, and Burney, and composers who settled in England such as Handel and Herschel.”

 “We have reason to believe that our Beck/Barwick instrument is an extremely rare gem,” said Luko. “Very few of these instruments are still in existence.”

In the 1980s, the estate of Jack and Francis Barwick bequeathed a collection of paintings by David Milne to Carleton University. The Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) was built to house the collection.

Francis Barwick was among the first harpsichordists in Canada in the 20th century. Among the possessions she willed to Carleton, was the historic Beck Fortepiano.

The instrument will be sent to a restoration expert in Napanee in the spring of 2011. Once restored, the fortepiano will be returned to campus and heard once again in concerts celebrating early music.

Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for students. For additional information visit http://carleton.ca/music/events/for-heavens-sakelets-fix-this-fortepiano/

Digging holes in the dirt is not how most envision spending a summer holiday. But, for four Carleton students, sifting through Ontario’s past was a dream come true.

Kelly Berckmans, an anthropology major, Patrick MacIntyre, BAHons/10, Jonathan Ouellet, a Greek and Roman Studies major, and Adam Fraser, a student of in the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, participated in a seven week archaeological field school located just outside Ottawa.

Marianne Goodfellow, College of the Humanities, helped the budding archaeologists in their quest to participate on a local dig.  The pre-contract Aboriginal site is located in Casselman.

Paul Thibaudeau, professional archaeologist, Intermesh Enterprises and a cross-appointed adjunct research professor of Sociology and Anthropology and the School of Industrial Design, led the team. Slated for residential development, an archaeological evaluation of the property had to be conducted to fulfill the requirements of the Ontario Heritage Act.  

The property “is along the South Nation River which is a well-known trade route for Aboriginal peoples, and has likely been used for thousands of years,” said Thibaudeau.  The discovery of pre-contact artifacts was an exciting surprise for the crew.

As proof, the earth offered up glimmering clear and milky white quartz tools.  MacIntyre also found 20th century farm equipment buried in the strata.

For MacIntyre, the discovery of the differences between Canadian and international archaeological processes proved just as fascinating as unearthing of the detritus of previous cultures.�

Vast and mostly uninhabited much of Canada’s land has not been “artificially disturbed.”  To find prospective sites, foot-deep holes are dug at regular distances to find deposit-rich land. “Discovering a site is sometimes just luck,” MacIntyre said.

The dig began with test-pitting in a grid format to determine where the team would be most likely to hit the archaeological motherlode.

“The team lines up five metres apart from each other, and a hole is dug at each five metre point,” Fraser explained. “We also lined up and walked through a plowed field to look for disruptions in the land.”

Any area boosting significant deposits was then roped off for more exhaustive investigation through excavations of one metre squares following the same interval pattern.  As of result of the students’ work, two archaeological sites were uncovered on the property. They are believed to date to back 4,500 to 2,000 years ago.
Work continues at the site through this Fall to completely excavate the two sites so that the land can be cleared for development next spring.

One precious discovery was made above ground. Berckmans’ realized that the vision her six-year old self conjured as a future archaeologist was confirmed into a passion.  “It is exactly what I want to do for a profession. Once I am done my BA, I am planning on going on to complete a Masters in archaeology.”