No. 491 - October 19, 2022

  • Coming Events:

    - FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
    - The Telenovela Archives: The Early Years
    - Webinar - Digital Inclusion in North American Libraries: Prospects and Challenges
    - Stories of Survival: The Chalatenango Massacres
    - Disinformation Disorder and Potential Solutions for Canada
    - Poisoning of Alexei Navalny: Understanding (Counter-) Propaganda
    - Save the Date: THE AUTOCRATS ARE AT THE GATE!: And we're busy watching cat videos

  • Important Dates:

    - Wednesday, October 19 - Friday, October 21, 2022 - Autumn Convocation (FIMS - 3 PM, October 20)
    - Monday, October 24, 2022 - City of London Municipal Election (Where can I vote?)
    - Monday, October 31 - Friday, November 4, 2022 - Fall Reading Week (Undergraduate)
    - Monday, October 31 - Friday, November 4, 2022 - MLIS Research Week

  • News & Announcements:

    - Subscribe to the Graduate Research Blog

  • Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Danica Pawlick-Potts
    - Michael Ridley

  • Publications & Presentations:

    - James Compton
    - Nick Dyer-Witheford
    - Amanda Grzyb
    - Alison Hearn
    - Ebenezer Martin-Yeboah
    - Michael Nyby
    - Joanna Redden

  • In the Media:

    - Nataleah Hunter-Young
    - Joanna Redden
    - Luke Stark
    - Sam Trosow

  • Additional Activities of Note:

    - Michael Nyby

  • News from the FIMS Graduate Library:

    - Make of the Month (Halloween Crafts in the FGL!)
    - Organizing your Research with Zotero (Citation Management 101) with Heather Campbell

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events


FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
Every Wednesday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Check your Western email for the link (or contact Pam McKenzie)
Do you expect to have assignment, story, article, report, thesis, and/or book writing deadlines coming up in the Fall term? Does having other people writing around you help keep you on-task? Then join us for FIMSWrites, an informal initiative to provide some solidarity in the sometimes-solitary writing process. What it is: a group of people sitting silently together working on their individual writing projects for 25-minute Pomodoro sessions, with short breaks between and a longer mid-morning coffee, snack, and socializing break. What it's not: a writing tutorial or workshop. Open to FIMS faculty and grad students who have writing to work on.

The Telenovela Archives: The Early Years
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Attend in person - FNB 4070
Attend online - Register for Zoom link
Presented by FIMS instructor Juan Bello.
Description: This project explores the early years of the production of serialized fiction in Latin America (1950-1972), and the evolution of ‘telenovelas’ as one of the most watched formats around the world. The limitations of recording technologies at the time, and the lack of archival preservation policies, make it difficult today to gain access to content produced in Latin America during that period (continue reading).

Webinar - Digital Inclusion in North American Libraries: Prospects and Challenges
Thursday, October 20, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Register for Zoom Webinar
Digital Inclusion is defined as “the ability of individuals and groups to access and use information and communication technologies.” Although some significant progress has been made in the areas of digital inclusion in North America, there is still a long way to go before we can include everyone to be part of the digital world (continue reading).

Stories of Survival: The Chalatenango Massacres
Sunday, October 23, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Museum London
Register
FIMS instructor Juan Bello will present a series of documentary films in collaboration with survivors of the El Salvador's Civil War (1979-1992) and with support of the Canada Council for the Arts (Explore and Create program), the London Arts Council (Community Arts Investment Program), and the Sumpul Association. The screening is organized by Embassy Cultural House. The screening will be followed by a Q&A and a celebration of life, with complimentary food, beverages, and live music. The event is free but requires registration.

Disinformation Disorder and Potential Solutions for Canada
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130 (light refreshments provided)
Attend online: Zoom Webinar
Presented by Heidi Tworek, Canada Research Chair in History and Policy of Health Communications.
Abstract: Poor-quality information and conspiracy theories seem to be floating around everywhere. But how can we understand the effects of these issues and are there any ways to address them? This talk will explore the history of disinformation to examine what is new about our present problems. It will then examine how poor-quality information and online abuse are affecting health and politics in Canada before finally suggesting some solutions to these complex questions (continue reading).

Poisoning of Alexei Navalny: Understanding (Counter-) Propaganda
Thursday, October 27, 2022
4:30 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Zoom
Presented by Eduard Sviridenko as part of the Mediations Lecture Series.
Abstract: The paper investigates the use of government propaganda and “educational populism” on the example of Alexei Navalny’s (the Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption activist) alleged poisoning case. First, it considers differences in the propagation of conflicting information depending on the audience, used methods, and resources. In addition, it assesses the value of evidence and emotions in information dissemination. Lastly, it provides solutions to the issue of conflicting information dissemination (continue reading).

Save the Date: THE AUTOCRATS ARE AT THE GATE!: And we're busy watching cat videos
Monday, November 14, 2022
4:30 p.m.
University College
Conron Hall (3110)
Live-streaming details TBA
Presented by Carol Off, author, award-winning journalist and former host of CBC Radio's As It Happens.
Description: The next few years could actually determine whether democracy lives or dies. Autocrats and illiberal politicians are poised to take --or to hold --power in dozens of countries around the world. What defenses do we have? With disinformation rampant on social media, with no shared understanding of what is factual or truthful, with a breakdown in trust in our civil society we are in precarious times (continue reading).


Important Dates


- Wednesday, October 19 - Friday, October 21, 2022 - Autumn Convocation (FIMS - 3 PM, October 20)
- Monday, October 24, 2022 - City of London Municipal Election (Where can I vote?)
- Monday, October 31 - Friday, November 4, 2022 - Fall Reading Week (Undergraduate)
- Monday, October 31 - Friday, November 4, 2022 - MLIS Research Week


News & Announcements


Subscribe to the Graduate Research Blog
Graduate Students are invited to subscribe to the Graduate Student Research Blog. The blog provides research information for graduate students - scholarship, fellowship, internship and other funding announcements, tips on writing scholarship/funding applications, and other research-related tidbits.


Awards & Accomplishments


An article by Michael Ridley (LIS, PhD) and Danica Pawlick-Potts (LIS, PhD), Algorithmic Literacy and the Role for Libraries, was awarded the 2022 “Publication of the Year” by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Special Interest Group of the Association for Information Science and Technology.


Publications & Presentations


The team of Associate Professor James Compton, Professor Nick Dyer-Witheford, Associate Professor Amanda Grzyb and Associate Professor Alison Hearn co-edited the recently published book Organizing Equality: Dispatches from a Global Struggle. The contents of the book are based on the Organizing Equality conference that was held in at FIMS 2017. Publication is through McGill-Queen's University Press.

Ebenezer Martin-Yeboah (HIS PhD student) and colleagues Joseph Adu, Mark Fordjour Owusu, Lisbeth Alexandra Pino Gavidia, and Sebastian Gyamfi published a paper in Methodological Innovations entitled "A discussion of some controversies in mixed methods research for emerging researchers."

A paper written by MLIS student Michael Nyby titled "The Demography of Censorship: Examining correlations between community demographics in Canadian libraries" has been accepted for publication and will appear in the June 2023 issue of Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research.

Associate Professor Joanna Redden was a panelist at the Kempe Center Call to Action to Change Child Welfare Conference. The October 3 panel focused on "Big Data and Predictive Analytics: Concerns for Child Welfare."


In the Media


Assistant Professor Nataleah Hunter-Young was featured in a Western News article titled "Western welcomes new faculty member to creative arts and production program," published on October 11.

Associate Professor Joanna Redden was a guest on 630 CHED Radio (Edmonton) - Mornings with Chelsea Bird and Dan MacIntyre on September 26. She discussed her research into automated decision support systems that have been cancelled by government agencies.

Assistant Professor Luke Stark was quoted in an article titled "Meta's VR Headset Harvests Personal Data Right Off Your Face," published in Wired on October 13, 2022.

Associate Professor Sam Trosow, currently running for Ward 6 city councillor, was profiled by the Western Gazette in an article titled "Ward 6 candidate profile: Western Law, FIMS prof Sam Trosow running for city council," published on October 5, 2022.


Additional Activities of Note


MLIS student Michael Nyby was appointed to the CFLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, and he now sits on the Intellectual Freedom Challenges Survey work group and the Communications working group.


News from the FIMS Graduate Library


Make of the Month (Halloween Crafts in the FGL)!
Need a break from screens, or from your coursework, grading, or reading? Pop by the FGL and help us decorate our space for the spooky season while learning to use the Cricut Explore Machine. Ghosts, ghouls, and gourds, all for the making. Bring your ideas, and we'll provide the space and supplies. Come get your craft on!

Organizing your Research with Zotero (Citation Management 101) with Heather Campbell
Wednesday, November 9th, 12-1pm (FNB, 3010) or via Zoom* (you will receive the Zoom link after registration)

This hybrid session will explore the advantages of reference management tools. Beyond quickly generating citations, reference managers allow researchers to construct a library of references, notes, and files in one place for quick retrieval. While there are many reference mangers to choose from, this workshop focuses on Zotero. After registration, you will receive instructions for how to download and install Zotero.

Session outcomes:

  • Identify the many benefits of reference managers
  • Build your own library using Zotero
  • Use reference managers for proper citation practices

Heather Campbell is Curriculum Librarian for Western Libraries, and a curriculum specialist with Western’s Centre for Teaching and Learning. Heather is a long-time Zotero fan, even during her own time at FIMS, and continues to use it daily in her work as an academic librarian.

Please register in person in the FIMS Grad Library, or by emailing fimslib@uwo.ca.


Next Issue


The Grad Bulletin is your source for news, announcements, and events pertaining to FIMS graduate programs. Submissions from the FIMS community are always welcome and may be sent via e-mail to fims-communications@uwo.ca.

The next issue of the FIMS Graduate Bulletin will be published on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. The deadline for submissions is noon on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.