Best Overall Undergraduate Paper

Afficio Undergraduate Journal - Best Overall Undergraduate Paper

Commemoration Essay: Beaumont-Hamel National Historic Site and the Shifting Narratives of Remembrance in Twentieth Century Newfoundland
Rudy Bartlett (2019)
Few places are as emotionally close yet physically distant as the island of Newfoundland and the battlefields of Beaumont-Hamel in northern France. The site of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s largest defeat in the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel is a location heavily intertwined with the collective memory of the people of Newfoundland. The French battlefield’s purchase and conversion into Beaumont-Hamel Memorial Park by the Government of Newfoundland in 1925, and its designation as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996, indicate the specific narratives of remembrance that developed in twentieth century Newfoundland. This essay will argue that Beaumont-Hamel’s federal commemoration in 1996 is a marker of the changing perception of Newfoundland’s role in the First World War after its confederation with Canada in 1949. An overview of both the site itself and the battle that occurred there will precede a discussion on the changing perception of the site as a symbol of honour and national pride to one of grief and bitterness.

Source Expertise as a Factor of Social Influence
Alexandra van der Valk (2017)
The growth of social media and screen-to-screen interaction has prompted investigation into how social influence can persuade decision-makers without face-to-face interaction. Our research explores whether the reputation (Expert, Novice, or Neutral) of a fake, anonymous peer can change an individual’s (1) judgment conformity, (2) decision confidence, or (3) trust in that peer. Eighty-eight university students answered 10 trivia questions, giving numerical estimations before and after viewing a fake peer’s response. Participants rated their confidence in each estimate, and rated their trust towards the source after each question. Results found that (1) participants exposed to an Expert’s opinion improve judgment accuracy through assimilation, but those influenced by a Novice worsen accuracy through reactance; (2) decision confidence ratings increase in all groups; (3) trust towards the Expert is significantly higher than towards both the Novice and Neutral peers. Associations are also explored between these three outcomes and the participants’ personality traits and cultural orientations.

MEMORANDUM
Hayley Gavin (2016)
As you requested, here is my report on private accommodation rental services, to help you decide whether such services would be satisfactory options for Quest Travel clients. The report is based on research from several sources, including The Wall Street Journal, the Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail, with background information from the Airbnb website. I will first explain how private rental accommodation services work, then I will identify some associated pros and cons for guests, and finally, I will address the impact of such services on the tourism industry.

Irish Language Print Culture, 1550-1870
Daniel Giesbrecht (2014)
The relative weakness of Irish language print culture was a key contributing factor to what has been described as “one of the most rapid and total language shifts in modern European history.” Despite its status as the oldest living written vernacular language in western Europe, with a rich corpus of extant manuscripts dating back to the seventh century, print in Irish Gaelic was notable for its low output, a situation which persists to this day and which has continued to have a negative effect on language maintenance.

The Most Emblematic of All Deviants
Katherine Crooks (2013)
Within the context of the discriminatory practices and ideologies of the Third Reich, the prostitute is "the most emblematic of deviants."[1] The history of prostitutes under Nazi rule constitutes the intersection of a multitude of ethical, sexual, racial, political and historiographical issues.

One Hole Too Many: Ghosts and Mad Women in Hamlet and MacBeth
Katherine Crooks (2012)
Across Poland, 1956 was a remarkable year of protest against the hegemony of the Soviets and progress as Poles demanded reasonable changes within their system which gave way to significant reforms.

The Politics of Death: An Examination of Aristocratic Male Funerals During the Late Republic of Rome
Leah MacIntyre (2011 Fall)
The Roman Republic during the first century BC was marked by multiple periods of instability and political chaos, as well numerous civil wars, which together brought about a major shift in the traditional sources for political support in the Roman world.

Erecting, Entering, Emitting: Early Modern Definitions of Manhood and Masculinity
Katherine Crooks (2011 Winter)
According to one Spanish proverb, "Not everything is a man that pisses on a wall, after all, dogs piss too."[1] Despite its vulgarity, this aphorism astutely encapsulates how masculinity was roughly defined in the early modern era, spanning from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.