No. 522 - August 7, 2024

  • Coming Events:

    - Western Farmers Market
    - FIMS Scholarship Workshop Series

  • Important Dates:

    - Saturday, August 31 - Saturday, September 7, 2024 - Orientation Week (undergrads)
    - Monday, September 2, 2024 - Labour Day holiday (no classes, FIMS offices closed)
    - Tuesday, September 3 - Friday, September 6, 2024 - Orientation days for new FIMS graduate students
    - Thursday, September 5, 2024 - First day of undergraduate classes
    - Monday, September 9, 2024 - First day of classes for FIMS graduate programs
    - Friday, September 13, 2024 - Meeting of the Senate (1:30 PM, SH)

  • Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Daniel Arauz Nunez
    - Hanna Bergman
    - Alissa Centivany
    - Oluwabambi Tinuoye
    - Katie Tran
    - Vanessa Trocchi

    Publications & Presentations:

    - Zak Bronson
    - Dan Brown
    - Alissa Centivany
    - Yimin Chen (PhD'22, LIS)
    - Lyndsay Foisey
    - Chandell Gosse (PhD'21, Media Studies)
    - Eden Hoffer
    - Nataleah Hunter-Young
    - Cal Murgu
    - Selma Purac
    - Anabel Quan-Haase
    - Warren Steele

  • In the Media:

    - Carleigh Bodrug (BA'14, MTP)
    - Alissa Centivany
    - Norma Coates
    - Alison Hearn
    - Mark Kearney
    - Jill Moffatt (MHIS'19)
    - Selma Purac
    - Joanna Redden
    - Scott Russell (MA'85 Journalism)
    - Romayne Smith Fullerton
    - Luke Stark

  • Additional Activities of Note:

    - Dimple Nakhwal (BA'21, MIT)

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events


Western Farmers Market
Every Wednesday
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Kent Drive (on campus)
Support local and shop fresh products, baked goods, flowers and more. Follow @westernufood on Instagram to stay in the know!

FIMS Scholarship Workshop Series
Who should attend? *Doctoral students who are planning to apply to SSHRC or OGS in the 2024-25 competition cycle. *Master's students who are considering applying to a doctoral program at FIMS to start in the fall of 2025. 
*Undergraduate students who are considering applying to a Master's program at FIMS to start in the fall of 2025.

Please see eligibility criteria on the SSHRC and OGS web sites. Check your Western email for full workshop details and for the Zoom meeting links (if you cannot attend in person).

Workshop 1: Writing Strong Contributions Sections
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
FNB 4130
Organizer: Anabel Quan-Haase (Associate Dean Graduate and Postdoctoral)

Workshop 2: Navigating Forms & Requesting References
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
FNB 4130
Organizer: Chantal Lemire (FIMS Research Officer)

Workshop 3: Writing Proposals
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
FNB 4130
Organizer: Melissa Adler (Media Studies and LIS Grad Chair)

Workshop 4: Writing a Strong Leadership and Experiences Section
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
FNB 4070
Organizer: Katie Esmonde (HIS Grad Chair)
 


Important Dates


- Saturday, August 31 - Saturday, September 7, 2024 - Orientation Week (undergrads)
- Monday, September 2, 2024 - Labour Day holiday (no classes, FIMS offices closed)
- Tuesday, September 3 - Friday, September 6, 2024 - Orientation days for new FIMS graduate students
- Thursday, September 5, 2024 - First day of undergraduate classes
- Monday, September 9, 2024 - First day of classes for FIMS graduate programs
- Friday, September 13, 2024 - Meeting of the Senate (1:30 PM, SH)


Awards & Accomplishments


MLIS students Hanna Bergman and Katie Tran were announced as the co-winners of the summer term's Spirit of Librarianship award, presented by the MLISSC.

PhD in Media Studies candidate Daniel Arauz Nunez was the winner of the Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize at the Society of the History of Technology's annual meeting held in Chile from July 9-14. The award was for his presentation of his work titled "Margaret Mead and Machine Translation." The Joan Cahalin Robinson Prized is awarded to the best presenter among first-time attendees.

Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany has been selected to be a member of the core expert group (2024-2025) of CIFAR/Mila's "AI Insights for Policymakers Program," which aims to advance understanding of the ethical, legal, political, and societal implications of AI.

MHIS candidate Oluwabambi Tinuoye successfully defended their thesis titled, Frameworks that guide race and ethnicity data collection practices in health settings: A scoping review on July 10.

MHIS candidate Vanessa Trocchi successfully defended their thesis titled, "Health Advice from Instagram Influencers on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Their Strategies to Establish and Manipulate Credibility" on July 22.


Publications & Presentations


Media Studies PhD candidate Zak Bronson and Assistant Professor Warren Steele co-published a chapter entitled, "Platform Poetics: Instapoetry in the Age of Platformization" in the first edited collection on the subject of Instapoetry. The book is called Reading Instapoetry: A Poetics of Instagram, published by Bloomsbury. The physical book will be released later this year. And open access electronic version of the book is available now. Find more information at: https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9798765105511 

Instructor Dan Brown published a review of The Hundred Greatest Superhero Films and TV Shows in the Science Fiction Research Association Review, vol. 54, no. 3.

Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany and her research partner Dr. Tarek Loubani gave a presentation titled "When all else fails? Exploring hope in times of profound crisis" at a joint conference of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) in Amsterdam in July. The presention discussed recent developments related to their NFRF-funding project on breakdown and repair in Gaza's health care sector.

Yimin Chen, PhD'22 (LIS), and Chandell Gosse, PhD'21 (Media Studies), co-authored an article titled "Tackling digital sexual violence in Canada requires update policies and procedures," published in The Conversation on August 6.

Lyndsay Foisey, Health Information Science PhD candidate, and Professor Anabel Quan-Haase presented a paper titled "Canadians' uses and gratifications of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: a latent class analysis," at the International Conference on Social Media and Society, July 16-18, London, UK.

Eden Hoffer, PhD student in HIS, co-authored an article with Professor Nadine Wathen titled, "Criminalizing coercive control may seem like a good idea, but could it further victimize women?" published in The Conversation on July 11. The article was subsequently published by Western News, the Winnipeg Free Press and Tolerance.ca.

Assistant Professor Nataleah Hunter-Young was a panelist for Durban FilmMart's "NFVF: Show, Don't Tell - Presenting African Filmmakers to International Markets and Audiences," on July 20. The session brought together international programmers and distributors to discuss how African filmmakers and film professionals can create work that speaks to local audiences while engaging with international spaces and holding onto their core identity.

Occasional instructor Cal Murgu (MLIS'18) co-authored two pieces published recently:

  1. The Role of Municipalities in Communicating for Community Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Niagara Region’s Crisis Communication
    D Koerber, T Ribaric, F Johnson, C Murgu, D Sharron - Canadian Journal of Communication, 2024

  2. A scoping review of how the seven principles for building social-ecological resilience have been operationalized
    J Baird, JL Blythe, C Murgu, R Plummer - Ecology and Society, 2024

Assistant Professor Selma Purac presented a paper titled "TV Horror in the Wake of the Occupation: Japan, Folklore, and Yokai Ningen Bem (1968)," on August 4 while at MAPACA's Summer Virtual Symposium.


In the Media


Carleigh Bodrug, BA'14 (MTP) was featured in an article titled "Carleigh Bodrug: From 'Western U' to PlantYou," published in Western News on July 29. The article profiles Carleigh's success as the founder of PlantYou and the author of two New York Times best-selling cookbooks.

Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany was quoted in an article titled, "Complexities of 'right to repair' stymie federal reforms," published on The Logic on June 25.

Professor Centivany was also quoted in an article titled, "These Canadians want the 'right to repair' their stuff: 'We can't continue on the same way of consuming'," published in the Globe and Mail on July 23.

Associate Professor Norma Coates was quoted in an article titled "How Chappell Roan did it," published in the Washington Post on July 25.

Professor Alison Hearn was a guest on the Global Media & Communication Podcast on August 2. Professor Hearn appeared in an episode titled "Neoliberalism and the University, Part 1."

Instructor Mark Kearney was interviewed about his book Al Christie: Hollywood's Forgotten Film Pioneer by Steve Paikin for a segment that appeared on TVO's program The Agenda. The segment aired on June 26 and can be watched online.

Jill Moffatt, MHIS'19, was featured in an article titled, "'Give everything we have:' Western Mustangs rowing alumni prepare for Olympics" published by Western News on July 29.

Assistant Professor Selma Purac was a guest on QR Calgary on July 30 to share insights into how the entertainment industry repurposes movies and TV shows.

Associate Professor Joanna Redden's reseach into how frequently the Canadian Federal government is using AI was mentioned in an article titled "Government chatbots? It's one possibility under Ottawa's new AI strategy," published by the Canadian Press on July 27. The article was republished by dozens of media outlets across Canada including Global News and the National Post.

The Globe and Mail published a Q&A with Scott Russell (MA'85, Journalism) on July 26 titled "'For me, the Olympics never got old,' says CBC's Scott Russell, as he gets set to cover his final Games."

Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton was quoted in an article titled "London police charged $130 from crime stats that 3 other forces gave for free. CBC News asks why," published online by CBC News on July 11.

Assistant Professor Luke Stark was featured by Western's The Impact Project in July and was interviewed for both a print piece and video segment titled "How to think critically about the role of AI in our lives." The Impact Project explores how impact is being made in communities around the world through the personal stories of Western students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Professor Stark was also quoted in an article titled, "Ottawa latest city to turn to AI to predict homelessness," published by Canadian Press on August 4. The article was also picked up by the Globe and Mail, CTV, the Ottawa Citizen and others.


Additional Activities of Note


Dimple Nakhwal, BA'21 (MIT), will debut an art exhibit titled "Faces of Affection: A Portrait Series" at the GoodSport Gallery and Studios in downtown London on August 9. The exhibit "celebrates the beauty and complexity of the human experience, portraying the tender connections and affectionate bonds that define our relationships. Through her art, Dimple invites viewers to engage with the intimate and emotional moments she has captured, offering a glimpse into the lives through their portraits." The opening is free to attend.


Next Issue


The FIMS 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.

This is the final summer issue of the Bulletin. Normal publication schedule for the FIMS Bulletin will resume on Wednesday, September 25, 2024. Submit any items you have by Tuesday, September 24 at noon.