No. 493 - November 16, 2022

  • Coming Events:

    - FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
    - A Snapshot of Community Engaged Learning in Canadian Universities
    - THE AUTOCRATS ARE AT THE GATE!: And we're busy watching cat videos
    - MMJC Open House Recruitment Event
    - Finding and Evaluating Open Educational Resources Workshop
    - Value, Values, and Visibility: Public Value Conflation in the Mobile Dating Industry
    - The Conversation Canada - How to Write an Effective Pitch Workshop
    - Research Ethics Workshop: "Conducting research with or about human subjects"
    - Empathetic Public Libraries - Let's Do It!

  • Important Dates:

    - Monday, November 21 - Friday, November 25, 2022 - International Week 2022

  • News & Announcements:

    - Western Housing and Ancillary Services Housing Demand Survey
    - Western Equity Census

  • Publications & Presentations:

    - Talia Méndez
    - Ajit Pyati
    - Anabel Quan-Haase
    - Dan Smoke
    - Mary Lou Smoke

  • In the Media:

    - Lara Buchar (BA'15, MIT)
    - Victoria Rubin

  • News from the FIMS Graduate Library:

    - November Make of the Month - 3D Printing
    - Board Games Night
    - Empathetic Public Libraries - Let's Do It!

  • 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.

A Snapshot of Community Engaged Learning in Canadian Universities
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4070
Attend online: Register
Presented by Hannah Argiloff, Amala Poli, Sarena Akhter, Giada Ferrucci, Chloe Bissell, Basil Chiasson, and Sandy Smeltzer.
Description: Community engaged learning (CEL) is a unique experiential learning (EL) approach that sees students engage in a project, developed collaboratively with a community partner, that has mutually beneficial outcomes. Non-profit and community-based organizations are co-educators and co-mentors in this praxis-oriented process, bringing to the table their invaluable experience and expertise. The first of its kind in Canada, Western is developing a CEL Hub in the newly acquired 450 Talbot Building to bring CEL activities, classes, and events into the London community (continue reading).

THE AUTOCRATS ARE AT THE GATE!: And we're busy watching cat videos
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
4:30 p.m.
Attend in person: UC 3110 (Conron Hall)
Attend online: Register for Zoom Webinar
Carol Off is the Fall 2022 FIMS Clissold lecturer. Everyone is welcome.
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).

MMJC Open House Recruitment Event
Thursday, November 17, 2022
12:15 p.m.
Attend in person: Broadcast Studio (FNB 3050)
Attend virtually: Zoom Webinar
If you know anyone who might be interested in enrolling in the MMJC program in 2023, point them in the direction of this open house. Faculty and staff will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the program details. The MMJC program considers students from a wide variety of academic backgrounds for admission.

Finding and Evaluating Open Educational Resources Workshop
Thursday, November 17, 2022
1:30 p.m.
Register for Zoom
This workshop will be of particular interest to faculty, but staff, undergraduate, and graduate students are also welcome to attend.
Description: OER are educational materials (like textbooks, streaming media, simulations, and more) that are free of cost and access barriers for learners. They are also editable and adaptable, meaning that they can be customized to suit your course content. Let’s say that, for many reasons, you want to switch up your materials and use OER in an upcoming course. How can you find high-quality open textbooks and other OER that will work for you and your students? That’s what this workshop will cover!

Building on our Introduction to Open Educational Resources workshop, participants will learn:

  • Key resources and repositories where OER across a variety of disciplines can be found
  • Strategies and techniques to use in your searching
  • Suggestions and criteria to consider when evaluating resources for quality and relevance

Value, Values, and Visibility: Public Value Conflation in the Mobile Dating Industry
Thursday, November 17, 2022
4:30 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Zoom
Presented by Meghan Voll, Media Studies PhD student.
Abstract: Today, an app exists for everything, from delivering relevant news headlines, to finding you your most compatible partner. Mobile dating applications are platforms that act as intermediaries, instituting our world and realities, according to certain ways of being. In common to these platforms is their notions of value, such as accessibility, ease of use, and privacy. Widely popular intermediaries like these structure public discourse, conflating private interests with public ones (continue reading).

The Conversation Canada - How to Write an Effective Pitch Workshop
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Map and Data Centre, Weldon Library
Register (in person only)
Open to Western faculty and postdoctoral scholars.
Description: Editor-in-Chief of The Conversation Canada Scott White will lead an interactive, hands-on workshop on how to write an effective pitch. The Conversation is a daily independent online publication, delivering analysis and explanatory journalism from the research community directly to the public. This is an interactive workshop where participants are encouraged to bring story ideas to work on and develop into a pitch. The workshop is presented on behalf of Western Communications and Western Research’s Level Up for Research Excellence Series (a joint venture of the Knowledge Exchange School and the Western Research Conference.)

If you have trouble registering but would like to attend, please email mariam.hayward@uwo.ca. Please note this session is in-person and will not be recorded due to the hands-on, interactive nature.

Research Ethics Workshop: "Conducting research with or about human subjects"
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Zoom (registration required)
Description: Are you considering a Guided Research Project or starting your thesis research next term? If your research involves collecting data from or about people, attendance at this human research ethics workshop is required before submitting any Guided Research or thesis research proposal for the Winter 2023 term. You can also attend if you're considering a research project in a subsequent term, though the same workshop will be offered in the Winter 2023 and Summer 2023 terms. If you have already received ethics approval for your research/data collection, attendance is not required. Faculty researchers are also welcome to attend. To register, please email Shelley Long at slong@uwo.ca.

Empathetic Public Libraries - Let's Do It!
Thursday, November 24, 2022
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
FNB 3220 (in person only)
Description: OLA Think Tank Workshop, with Nancy Goebel (she/hers), Head, Faculty Engagement of the Augustana Campus Library of the University of Alberta (Camrose, Alberta). Public libraries are positioned well to significantly impact users in so many ways! One way that we can collectively do this is by considering how empathy can be demonstrated in all that we do. In this workshop, you will learn about areas of library work where empathy can make a difference! Research findings will be shared as the kickoff to thinking about intentionally bringing empathy into public libraries (continue reading).


Important Dates

Monday, November 21 - Friday, November 25, 2022 - International Week 2022



News & Announcements


Western Housing and Ancillary Services Housing Demand Survey
Western Housing and Ancillary Services is conducting a survey of all graduate students on campus to help examine housing at the university. This survey will help determine if additional housing is needed, the types of accommodation that best fit graduate students' needs, as well as the features that on-campus housing must have to be attractive to students. This survey is open to all graduate students whether you currently live on- or off-campus (more).

Western Equity Census open
Help shape the future of #WesternU by completing the Western Equity Census. The census will help inform organizational strategies, policies and planning to create a more vibrant and inclusive campus community. Complete the census through Student Center or MyHR.


Publications & Presentations


Talia Méndez, PhD in Media Studies student, presented "¿Y si hablamos de ética digital? Herramientas para la construcción de memoria histórica" on October 27 as part of a series of conversations with experts for Biblored (the Public Library network of Bogota-Colombia.) This presentation is part of the strategy for the public network to develop a public policy that ensures effective access to reading, writing, and orality in rural, academic and local settings.

Associate Professor Ajit Pyati presented a talk titled "On the importance of 'spaciousness' in LIS: meditations on the pandemic, place, and a post-Eurocentric future" on October 25 at the 2022 Association for Library and Information Science (ALISE) Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The paper will be published in the 2022 ALISE Conference Proceedings.

Professor Pyati also recently published the following book chapter:

Pyati, A. (2022). “Yoga and the contemplative path: placing meaning at the centre of self-care and wellbeing in university life.” In N. Lemon (Ed.), Reflections on valuing wellbeing in higher education: reforming our acts of self-care, pp. 15-27, New York: Routledge.

Professor Anabel Quan-Haase published the second edition of The SAGE handbook of social media research methods, co-authored with Luke Sloan in September 2022.

Elders Dan and Mary Lou Smoke participated in an event called "Resurgent Airwaves: A Celebration of Indigenous Radio," hosted by Words: The Literary and Creative Arts Festival at Museum London on November 12. Their segment of the event was a celebration of the Smoke Signals Radio Show Archive, which Dan and Mary Lou created in collaboration with faculty and students in FIMS. It was officially launched last year.


In the Media


Lara Buchar, BA'15 (MIT) was featured in a Western Gazette article titled "Lara Buchar: From Western MIT to the Food Network," published on November 14. The article profiles Lara's employment trajectory and notes her attendence at the recent FIMS Career Conference 2022 on October 21.

Associate Professor Victoria Rubin was quoted in an article titled "Can AI help mend trust in business damaged by trolling and fakes?" published on the blog Secure Futures on November 2, 2022.


News from the FIMS Graduate Library


November Make of the Month – 3D PRINTING

Curious about 3D Printing? The FIMS Grad Library invites members of the FIMS community to try out our 3D printer! All required materials and training will be provided. Due to the time it takes to 3D print pieces, users are encouraged to select a “Quick Print” from the options provided. You can expect the experience to take about 30 min to an hour, but you are not required to stay by the printer for the duration of the print. For more information, you can check out the FIMS Grad Library 3D Printing Guide, or come by the service desk to see samples of the ‘Quick Prints’ listed below.

Staff will be on hand to guide you through your 3D print from Monday November 14 until Wednesday November 30. No registration is required, and drop-ins are encouraged. If you’d like to reserve a specific date and time, please contact staff to set up an appointment.

Quick Prints:

Board Games Night

In partnership with the MLIS SC, Board Game Night will now be a bi-weekly event, occurring every other Wednesday from 5-7pm in the FIMS Grad Library! All levels of interest and participation are welcome. Join members of the wider FIMS graduate community (students, faculty, and staff from across all of the Faculty’s graduate programs) for games, snacks, and community-building!

Wednesday, November 23rd
Wednesday, December 7th

Empathetic Public Libraries - Let's Do It!

OLA Think Tank Workshop, with Nancy Goebel (she/hers), Head, Faculty Engagement of the Augustana Campus Library of the University of Alberta (Camrose, Alberta).

Public libraries are positioned well to significantly impact users in so many ways! One way that we can collectively do this is by considering how empathy can be demonstrated in all that we do. In this workshop, you will learn about areas of library work where empathy can make a difference! Research findings will be shared as the kickoff to thinking about intentionally bringing empathy into public libraries.

Thursday November 24th, 2022
1:00-3:00pm EST
FNB, Room 3220*

*N.B. This is an on-site broadcast of virtual workshop; attendance in-person required for participation.

Space is limited to thirty (30) on-site participants. Please register here.


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 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions is noon on Tuesday, November 29, 2022.