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June 17, 2024
Katelyn Esmonde appointed as new HIS Chair
Professor Katelyn Esmonde will be joining the Faculty of Information and Media Studies and the Faculty of Health Sciences as the next chair of the Health Information Science program on July 1, 2024.
June 06, 2024
Sick of reboots? How 'nostalgia bait' profits off Millennial and Gen Z's childhood memories
FIMS Assistant Professor Selma Purac looks at 'nostalgia bait' and how it profits off millennial and gen z's childhood memories.
June 05, 2024
Western researchers honoured with prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
Tania Canas from FIMS is among the 70 recipients of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.
May 27, 2024
Chris Arsenault joins FIMS as the new MMJC chair.
Effective July 1, 2024, Chris Arsenault will step into the role of Chair of the Master of Media in Journalism and Communication program.
January 29, 2024
Payment controversy over 'The Elephant Whisperers' provokes questions about documentary storytelling
Following 'The Elephant Whisperers' Oscar win for Best Documentary Short, the film is now facing legal troubles.
September 12, 2023
New research and new perspectives: FIMS welcomes new faculty.
FIMS is growing and strengthening its teaching and research capabilities with a new faculty member and the conversion of others into tenured and non-tenured, full time positions.
August 01, 2023
Are Dating Apps Designed to Be Deleted?
July 07, 2023
Struggling to cancel an online service? You're not alone
FIMS Professor Victoria Rubin and PhD candidate Dominique Kelly explore the dark patterns service providers use to make it hard for users to leave online subscriptions.
May 15, 2023
Challenge Accepted: Could you go a year without purchasing anything new?
Professor Alissa Centivany, an advocate and researcher of the right-to-repair movement, decided to make her work personal. She and her family spent a full year living their lives without purchasing anything new.
May 09, 2023
Exhibit shows how bi- and multilingual Facebook posts become 'lost in translation'
Master's student Shayla Reyes aims to increase awareness about the platform's 'invisible' machine translation process and its potential for miscommunication.
May 03, 2023
The empty success of recent amendments to Canada's right-to-repair bill
A 'carve-out' exemption is unnecessarily broad and may result in manufacturers using it to prevent our right to repair many electronic devices.
May 01, 2023
LiUNA Local 183 and OPDC donates $80,000 to SSHRC-funded Massacre Memorial Project in El Salvador
Representatives from the Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 183 and Ontario Provincial District Council (OPDC) presented a cheque to the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador team.
April 26, 2023
The power of dreams can change everything, Western prof says
Conversation with professor Sharon Sliwinski is part fascinating lecture - an incredible introduction to the world of dreams by an author and expert on them - and part gentle therapy session.
April 20, 2023
The Agenda: Why is everything poorly made?
April 20 - How we buy items has changed, but the way companies make them has changed as well. Manufacturability - or how easy it is to make a product - is prioritized over functionality.
December 06, 2022
Anti-Mining Networks Support Land Defense Movements in Central America
Media Studies doctoral student Giada Ferrucci co-authored this article published on NACLA.org in late November, with Pedro Cabeza, a collaborator on the SSHRC-funded Surviving Memory in Postwar El-Salvador research project.
November 21, 2022
FIMS PhD students and Western Libraries help launch Media Library in El Salvador
The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project is working in collaboration with Centro Arte para la Paz (CAP) in Suchitoto, El Salvador, to create a Mediateca, a digital space for the preservation of historical media.
October 25, 2022
New faculty publications - Fall 2022
A textbook exploring misinformation and disinformation, the first edition of a volume focused on data justice in an increasingly datafied world, and a collection of edited works from the Organizing Equality research group make up the latest FIMS faculty publications.
September 22, 2022
Governments' use of automated decision-making systems reflects systemic issues of injustice and inequality
The Conversation - In 2019, former UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston said he was worried we were "stumbling zombie-like into a digital welfare dystopia."
September 02, 2022
New faculty member set to explore research-creation
As the Faculty of Information & Media Studies welcomes the inaugural class for the Creative Arts & Production major this September, the FIMS community is also excited to announce the addition of a new faculty member set to teach in the program.
July 21, 2022
FIMS projects supported by the Strategic Priorities Funding program
SPF funding will support three initiatives, including the development of a new Centre for Digital Justice and Democracy, an on-campus summer school for African librarians, and sustainability training for workers in the museums sector.
July 21, 2022
There is no structure in art because art is free - and that is why art is remembered
Research Profile: How do you dismantle a system built on patriarchal, heteronormative settler-colonial ideologies? You use feminist, queer and colonial work to think differently about these systems.
July 11, 2022
From Remote Stars - R. Buckminster Fuller
Research Profile: Systems theorist R. Buckminster Fuller visited London in 1968 to discuss his vision for the city moving forward. Researcher Sarah Smith is revisiting this futuristic take on London through a contemporary lens.
July 11, 2022
Advancing Social Justice in an Age of Datafied Governance
Joanna Redden and Alison Hearn are part of a team of researchers recently awarded SSHRC funding to pursue questions about the use of Artificial Intelligence or Automated Decision Support by government services.
June 21, 2022
Archive project preserves iconic Indigenous radio program
June 2022 - The Smoke Signals Radio Archive pays tribute to the legacy and work of Elders Dan and Mary Lou Smoke. Audio recordings covering over 30 years of episodes document and highlight historical events.
June 06, 2022
From the Inside Out: Exploring the Social & Political Impact of Dreams
Research Profile: Resilience, connection, beauty. Three words picked out from the way professor Sharon Sliwinski speaks about dreams. For Sliwinski, dreams are a delicate form of communication with yourself and others.
June 01, 2022
Accounting for Injustice: AFTRA, Work & Singers' Royalities
In 1989 Matt dropped out of the University of California, Berkeley to devote himself to his rock band Little My. A vocalist and guitarist for the San Francisco Bay Area group, Stahl and his bandmates played shows and released original material over the next 10 years.
May 26, 2022
Ensuring Community Engaged Learning benefits everyone
Professor Sandra Smeltzer has played a role in many research projects and initiatives while at Western, but the one thing that connects them all is a desire to do work that makes a positive difference in people's lives.
May 20, 2022
Forest City Memories: Rethinking London's Past and Present
Many Londoners might not realize just how diverse and rich the history of their Southwestern Ontario city is. London's underrepresented and silent past is the main motivation behind Basil Chiasson's "Forest City Memories: Rethinking London's Past and Present."
May 09, 2022
How the pandemic has normalized digital connections
May 10, 2022 - Professor Anabel Quan-Haase joined The Morning Show with Devon Peacock on AM980 to discuss her research on how the perception of digital media has changed over the course of the pandemic.
April 29, 2022
Indigenous radio archive project works towards preserving three decades of First Nations history
Since the 1990s, the Smoke Signals Radio Showâ€”a First Nations radio program hosted by Dan Smoke and Mary Lou Smokeâ€”has explored the nuances of Indigenous culture, customs and beliefs and featured guests with diverse stories and worldviews.
April 28, 2022
Resisting the Inevitable Through Repair
Research Profile: We all know the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. But Western University Professor Alissa Centivany is adding a fourth: Repair.
April 27, 2022
Artificial Intelligence and the Detection of Human Emotion
Research Profile: When you hear the term â€œartificial intelligenceâ€ do you picture robots taking over the world? Well, donâ€™t worry about that apocalypse quite yet.
March 17, 2022
Three Western researchers named Distinguished University Professors
March 17, 2022 - Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton has been named a Faculty Scholar in recognition of her outstanding scholarly achievements. Award recipients are considered all-round scholars and will hold the title for two years.
February 07, 2022
Researcher from El Salvador to join FIMS as Postdoctoral Scholar
February 7, 2022 - In March FIMS will welcome Dr. Adriana Alas of El Salvador as a postdoctoral scholar. Alas will work closely with Professor Amanda Grzyb on the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project.
January 20, 2022
Cultivating mindfulness, compassion through meditation
Western News, Jan 19 - Health Information Science PhD candidate Tanaz Javan discusses the benefits of mediation and how her meditation practice has shaped her work as a researcher.
January 19, 2022
'Birtherism,' Trump and anti-Black racism: Conspiracy theorists use evidence to maintain the status quo
National Post, Jan 17 - Media Studies PhD candidate David Guignion discusses how evidence might not only be used to support conspiracies; it might work to maintain a certain status quo.
January 13, 2022
FIMS Scholar, curator named Canada Research Chair
Western News, Jan 12 - Professor Sarah Smith has joined the faculty as the Canada Research Chair in Art, Culture and Global Relations (Tier 2). Smith's research will focus on cultural diplomacy in the arts.
December 08, 2021
Can machines really read our emotions? Funding secured for research into the usefulness of emotion AI
December 8 - Professor Luke Stark has been awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant that will give him the resources to study artificial intelligence systems that are designed to analyze human emotions.
November 24, 2021
Western student investigates social impacts of artificial intelligence
Western News, Nov. 23 - Philosophy student Nathalie DiBerardino explores the impacts of AI under FIMS professor Luke Stark's project, AI and You: How Artificial Intelligence Impacts the Western Community.
November 19, 2021
For Canadian youth, facial recognition technologies are a canary in the coal mine
National Post, Nov. 19 - Professor Luke Stark outlines why all Canadians need to engage in a critical discussion about facial recognition technologies and their far-reaching negative social effects.
November 03, 2021
Andrea Benoit receives award for Best Book in Canadian History
Andrea Benoit, PhD'14 (Media Studies), was awarded the 2021 CBHA/ACHA Award for Best Book in Canadian Business History for her publication "VIVA MAC: AIDS, Fashion, and the Philanthropic Practices of MAC Cosmetics."
November 01, 2021
Guardians of Sleep Podcast
Professor Sharon Sliwinski's podcast Guardians of Sleep examines the landscape of dreamlife for citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Connected to the Museum of Dreams, the podcast is part of a partnership between Sliwinski and the Museum of London (UK).
October 19, 2021
Why Facebook and other social media companies need to be reined in
The Conversation Canada, Oct. 18 - Professor Jacquelyn Burkell discusses how social media companies and surveillance capitalism compromise young people's rights and well-being by prioritizing profits.
October 19, 2021
Canadians as a Cigarette Nation, 1930 to 1975
The Champlain Society, Oct. 8 - Professor Daniel J. Robinson discussed his new book, Cigarette Nation: Business, Health, and Canadian Smokers, 1930-1975, on the Witness to Yesterday podcast.
October 13, 2021
Feminist responses on Weibo aim to fight the misrepresentation of women during COVID-19 in China
The Conversation Canada, Oct. 12 - Media Studies PhD candidate Jinman Zhang describes how Chinese feminists used social media to respond to gender inequality and injustice during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.
September 29, 2021
The mindset of perfection in the 'forever wars'
Sept. 29 - Professor Tim Blackmore's next book will examine the mindset of perfection, as carried out by the American military and civilian command, in pursuing the 'forever wars' in Iraq and Afghanistan.
September 20, 2021
Despite challenges, MLIS students publish Vol 4 of ELIP
The 2020/2021 academic year was less than ideal for university students across Canada, but despite the challenges, MLIS students worked together remotely to publish Volume 4 of the student-managed journal Emerging Library & Information Perspectives.
September 09, 2021
From anxiety to confidence: Undergraduates show off their work as they wrap up summer research projects
Sept. 9 - Through the Undergraduate Summer Research Internship (USRI) program, FIMS undergrads engaged in valuable research projects tackling a wide array of subjects - from ethical dilemmas to pandemic mental health to artificial intelligence.
September 03, 2021
In Afghanistan, opium is as big a winner as Islamic extremism
The Conversation Canada, Sept. 1 - Media Studies PhD candidate Giada Ferrucci describes how the Taliban are drug traffickers as much as they are self-described Islamist militiamen.
August 26, 2021
Canadian colleges and universities can mandate COVID-19 vaccination without violating Charter rights
The Conversation Canada, August 25 - It's imperative Canada's colleges and universities adopt campus vaccination policies that are clear, fair and enforceable, says FIMS & Law Professor Sam Trosow.
August 26, 2021
Navigating the world and ourselves through contemplation
Aug. 26 - How can we live freer and more conscious lives, while also working to build a more just and humane world? This is the guiding question for Associate Professor Ajit Pyati's research into contemplative studies.
July 29, 2021
The largest news agency in the US changes crime reporting practices to 'do less harm and give people second chance'
The Conversation Canada, July 29 - When suspects' names appear in crime stories, their lives may be broken and never put back together. The Associated Press' new policy signals a shift in U.S. politics and culture.
July 12, 2021
SSHRC Partnership Grant will fund collaborative documentation and commemoration of the Salvadoran Civil War
July 12, 2021 - Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador, an international research partnership led by FIMS professor Amanda Grzyb, has received $2.5 million in research funding over the next seven years through a SSHRC Partnership Grant.
July 07, 2021
Major funding secured for responsible-use AI program and Aging in Data research project
July 7, 2021 - Assistant professor Joanna Redden is involved in two major research projects that were recently awarded funding from NSERC's CREATE program and SSHRC.
June 17, 2021
El Salvador research project receives major grant
Western News, June 16 - Felipe Tobar survived three massacres in the 12 years that civil war wracked El Salvador - a memory he has carried for four decades and has kept alive with help from a collaborative research initiative.
June 17, 2021
Students receive mentoring in research as second year of summer internship program gets underway
Undergraduate students from FIMS and across campus have the opportunity to gain important research skills and experience under the supervision of faculty members.
June 10, 2021
Google says it's committed to ethical AI research. Its ethical AI team isn't so sure
Vox, June 2, 2021 - FIMS Professor Luke Stark is quoted in this recent article examining Google's evolving and troubled relationship with its ethical AI team. Google's ethical AI department has been in a state of flux since the company fired Timnit Gebru, the team's former leader.
June 01, 2021
How Big Tobacco Set the Stage for Fake News
The Walrus, May 31 - In the mid-1970s, I would hop on my bike and ride to a nearby store to buy my mom's cigarettes. I was around ten then. My mom knew the store owner and had made this standing arrangement for when she couldn't make it over.
May 12, 2021
Denying Black musicians their royalties has a history emerging out of slavery
In the summer of 2020, Black Lives Matter protests and activism included voices arguing for economic justice in the recording industry. The Black Music Coalition demanded music industry executives account for "inequities in the treatment of Black artists."
April 22, 2021
FIMS broadens collective expertise with addition of new faculty members
After a search for academic appointments in Indigenous Scholarship, Indigenous Journalism, or Indigenous Creative Production and Teaching, FIMS is pleased to announce the arrival of two full-time faculty members.
April 16, 2021
Should Canadian crime reporters start thinking beyond what they can print, to what they should?
Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton and colleague Maggie Jones Patterson were guests on the Ryerson Review of Journalism's Pull Quotes podcast to discuss what they learned while writing their latest book.
March 04, 2021
Study examines social impact of #MeToo movement
Social media have enabled a grassroots #MeToo movement to generate widespread awareness about violence against women across North America, but the movement's global influence has received limited and sparse research, a Western-led review has found.
February 17, 2021
New research team to address sustainability in West Africa
From Western News, February 2021: FIMS Professor Isola Ajiferuke is among a group of scholars from West Africa and Western University who will study how to nurture sustainable livelihoods in Ghana, Benin, Liberia, Senegal and Nigeria.
February 16, 2021
Luke Stark discusses the implications of AI that can detect emotions
From CBC's The Current, February 2021: FIMS Professor Luke Stark appeared on CBC's The Current recently to chat with host Matt Galloway about the implications of using artificial intelligence that's designed to detect human emotions.
February 12, 2021
The Agenda: How Canada Became a Country of Smokers
February 2021: FIMS Professor Daniel Robinson was recently a guest on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin, where he discussed his new book, "Cigarette Nation: Business, Health, and Canadian Smokers, 1930-1975." Catch Professor Robinson's interview online.
February 08, 2021
Recent book publications from FIMS faculty members
February 2021: Check out the most recent book publications from FIMS faculty members including Professor Tim Blackmore's Gorgeous War, Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton's Murder in Our Midst, and Professor Daniel Robinson's Cigarette Nation.
February 01, 2021
Lessons from the smoking epidemic apply to COVID-19 too
From the Ottawa Citizen, February 1: FIMS Professor Daniel Robinson penned this op-ed examining the public health approach and tactics used in the 1950's/60's government anti-smoking campaign compared to what we're witnessing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
December 01, 2020
Weird pandemic dreams are a thing, and researchers are collecting them
Weird pandemic dreams are a thing, and researchers in Canada and U.K. are collecting them. Professor Sharon Sliwinski, creator of The Museum of Dreams research project, spoke with CBC News about her collaboration with the Museum of London, U.K.
November 20, 2020
Media Studies alumna wins National Business Book Award
November 20, 2020: Andrea Benoit, PhD'14 (Media Studies), was announced as the winner of the 2020 National Business Book Award for her 2019 publication VIVA MAC: AIDS, Fashion, and the Philanthropic Practices of MAC Cosmetics.
October 19, 2020
Platforms, Populisms, Pandemics and Riots
Professor Nick Dyer-Witheford and Media Studies PhD student Alessandra Mularoni examine the convergence of digital capitalism, populist politics, the coronavirus crisis and rebellions in the streets, worldwide, with their newly launched PPPR website.
October 05, 2020
FIMS students recognized by the Global Undergraduate Awards
Undergraduate students Sophia Belyk (SASAH/MIT) and Maya Kelly (BA'20, MPI) received Highly Commended designations for research papers originally written for MIT courses. Belyk and Kelly will be formally recognized in November at the UA Global Summit.
September 21, 2020
Faculty renewal brings fresh ideas to FIMS
The process of faculty renewal - the hiring of new full-time faculty into tenured or permanent positions - enables a Faculty to explore new scholarly directions and strengthen existing ones in its teaching and research programmes.
July 27, 2020
FIMS faculty among recipients for SSHRC Insight Grants
FIMS faculty members Nick Dyer-Witheford, Anabel Quan-Haase, Daniel Robinson and Luke Stark were all named as award recipients in the latest round of the SSHRC Insight Grant funding competition.
July 07, 2020
Book explores privacy vs. tell-all crime reporting
Western News - July 7, 2020: In the United States, it's known as the 'perp walk' - a public parading of arrested suspects in front of media so everyone can share in the spectacle.
May 12, 2020
The Surprising Reason Some Countries Don't Publish The Names Of Accused Persons
May 10, 2020 - Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton authored this article on how the choice to name or not name suspects can provide insight into why we cover crime as we do.
March 06, 2020
Western teams recruited in effort to combat COVID-19
Lyndsay Foisey, PhD candidate in the Health Information Science program, is part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers charged with learning more about COVID-19 and how to control the spread of the virus in Canada.
February 13, 2020
Migrants speak in many ways through project
Western News, February 12, 2020 - He sits with his left leg crossed over his right, stares at the floor, then straight ahead. He leans forward, folds his long arms into each other, his gaze unwavering, defiant.
January 06, 2020
Canadian media veteran Hannah Sung named the 2020 Asper Fellow
January 6, 2020: The Faculty of Information & Media Studies is pleased to announce that Hannah Sung, veteran Canadian journalist, producer, podcaster and educational speaker, has been appointed as the Spring 2020 Asper Fellow.
November 27, 2019
Faculty book publication wins the 2020 STAiR Award
Professor Nick Dyer-Witheford, and co-author Professor Svitlana Matvyenko (Simon Fraser University), were awarded the 2020 STAiR prize for their book Cyberwar and Revolution: Digital Subterfuge in Global Capitalism.
October 21, 2019
LiT.RL team takes on fake news in the DataCup challenge
Professor Victoria Rubin and her LiT.RL research team are using the body of research they've already accumulated in identifying clickbait, satire and falsifications online, and applying it to tackle "fake news" in all its forms.
September 06, 2019
Project eyes sector's freedom of expression policies
An unprecedented look at freedom of expression policies on Ontario postsecondary campuses will offer new insights into how governments, universities and administrators understand their roles in protecting those foundational freedoms.
July 16, 2019
Research duo recognized with multiple awards at AEJMC conference
A paper authored by Professors Romayne Smith Fullerton (University of Western Ontario), and Maggie Patterson (Duquesne University), has been awarded the second annual AEJMC Research Prize for Professional Relevance.
July 11, 2019
Recent book publications from FIMS faculty members
"Inhuman Power: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Capitalism" is a new book published by FIMS Professors Nick Dyer-Witheford, Atle Mikkola Kjosen and Media Studies PhD candidate James Steinhoff, via Pluto Press.
June 25, 2019
"Smoke Signals" Radio Archives Project gets underway
The "Smoke Signals" Radio Archives Project, currently funded through a FIMS Fellowship Program, is an ongoing collaboration between Dan and Mary Lou Smoke, and students and faculty members from Western.
June 19, 2019
FIMS Professor Nadine Wathen awarded a new Canada Research Chair
Nadine Wathen was among nine newly named Western Canada Research Chairs announced, receiving a Tier 1 CRC in Mobilizing Knowledge on Gender-Based Violence. The CRC program invests millions each year to attract and retain accomplished researchers.
April 09, 2019
LIS researcher adds new voice to STEM-dominated institute
Michael Ridley is used to being an outlier. The doctoral student embarked on his PhD in Library & Information Science after he'd retired as a professional librarian and moved on from his role as the Chief Librarian and Chief Information Officer for the University of Guelph.
April 03, 2019
Interdisciplinary connections forged at Research Day
Graduate students and professors from the faculties of Information and Media Studies (FIMS), Music, and Law at Western discovered interdisciplinary connections at a research day held March 22 at Western Law.
March 12, 2019
Recent book publications from FIMS faculty members
Check out two recent publications from FIMS faculty, including Cyberwar and Revolution, (Nick Dyer-Witheford and Svitlana Matviyenko), and Political Economy in the Modern State (Robert E. Babe and Edward A. Comor).
January 30, 2019
Brazilian student finds new friends and family in Canada
January 30 2019: For most Canadians, the martial art Jiu-Jitsu probably conjures up images of hand-to-hand combat, intense competition, or maybe the epic fight scenes portrayed in popular media.
December 20, 2018
Cup of kindness from clinicians an elixir for better patient health
From the London Free Press - December 19: In a stressed health-care system with short appointments and time-crunched doctors and nurses, kindness and inclusivity by clinicians might be the best medicine, London Researchers say.
November 12, 2018
Mapping memories nets team Humanitarian award
Amanda Grzyb and her colleagues don't see their efforts in El Salvador as fitting the traditional definition of humanitarian work. What the team is doing instead, she said, is showing a commitment to working in solidarity with the country's civil war survivors on a project founded on principles of collaboration and anti-colonial methodologies.
September 11, 2018
Catherine Ross named to the Royal Society of Canada
Catherine Ross, former Dean of FIMS (2002-2007), has been named as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada. A renowned scholar in the reading experience and the reference interview, as well as the transitional Dean who largely oversaw the Faculty of Information & Media Studies (FIMS) through the early years of its creation, Ross is being recognized by the Society for major contributions to her field of study and to Canadian public life.
August 31, 2018
London researchers want to recover El Salvador's forgotten past
August 29, 2018: Professor Amanda Grzyb recently spoke with CBC News about her ongoing research project titled, "Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador." Together with collaborators, Grzyb is working to restore memories from the Salvadoran civil war, which lasted from 1979 to 1992.
August 01, 2018
Labour laws historically out of tune with musicians
In 2010, pop musician Kesha began an ultimately failed three-year legal fight with her two producers, Lukasz Gottwald and David Sonenberg, over exclusive rights to her singing services and song catalogue.
July 31, 2018
What tell-all crime reporting says about us
Romayne Smith Fullerton is the co-author of "Naming Names: A Comparison of Crime Coverage Rituals in North America and Europe," forthcoming with Oxford University Press, which looks at how journalists make ethical decisions related to crime coverage in North America and Europe.
June 27, 2018
Work lends 'voice' to dementia patient wishes
FIMS professor Grant Campbell combines his background in library and information science to understand how to create state-of-the-art information systems to predict and adapt to the needs of people with dementia.
April 19, 2018
'Old friends': Reading reflects key chapters in seniors' lives
FIMS professor Paulette Rothbauer is one of the first researchers in Canada to explore and document - through conversational interviews with Canadian seniors between the ages of 75-90 - the value and meaning they place on reading.
March 02, 2018
Strategies that Sell: Revealing Deceptive and Misleading Practices in Digital Media
In this team-talk FIMS LiT.RL, lab researchers will discuss manipulative components of digital news, from seemingly harmless to potentially misleading and intentionally deceptive.
November 07, 2017
MPI student travels to Dublin for UA Summit 2017
It's a bonus for students when an assignment aligns with a topic they're already interested in. It's even better still when the student submits the work to a competition and gains international academic recognition for their effort.
November 03, 2017
Edward Comor presents "Harold Innis on Canada"
Professor Edward Comor's complete lecture, titled "Harold Innis on Canada," is now available online. The presentation took place on October 19 and is part of Western's Canada 150 Presentation Series.
October 25, 2017
Wi-fi, the internet of things, and your personal information
Do you know what happens to the data collected by your smart devices? Sam Trosow recently spoke to Radio Canada International about the increasing encroachment on personal privacy, and whether our laws are up to the task of protecting consumers.
September 12, 2017
Sharon Sliwinski named to College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists
Professor Sharon Sliwinski has been named to the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists for 2017. RSC announced the names of those included in a press release on September 12, 2017.
July 18, 2017
Recent book publications from FIMS faculty members
Professor Sharon Sliwinski recently had two new books published. She authored the book "Dreaming in Dark Times: Six Exercises in Political Thought" and co-edited "Photography and the Optical Unconscious".
March 13, 2017
Improved access to health information needed in rural communities
Western News / February 16: Health Information Sciences PhD student Brad Hiebert is looking into how rural male farmers are accessing health-care services and how to improve access for general health information.
March 13, 2017
Separating fact from fiction using a 'fake news' algorithm
Victoria Rubin, a professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, has been working on deception detection since 2010, more recently focusing on developing an algorithm to detect fake news.
March 12, 2017
Jacquie Burkell: Remembering the need to forget
According to Jacquelyn Burkell, Assistant Dean and professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, the biographical archive we create online hinders our ability to forget the past and as a result, we lose the ability to construct our own stories and sense of self.
February 08, 2017
FIMS Graduate Library receives intellectual freedom award
The FIMS Graduate Library has been awarded the Ontario Library Association's Les Fowlie Intellectual Freedom Award, recognizing them for their work in protecting digital privacy rights and educating students in digital privacy issues, academic freedom, and anti-surveillance technology.
February 03, 2017
Recent book publications from FIMS faculty members
FIMS faculty members have authored and edited a number of books over the last year, with works including an in-depth exploration of social media research methods, an examination of major crime coverage in Canada, a close look at the genuine experience of reading, and a collection of published essays.
February 02, 2017
Research focuses on how a 'hybrid identity' built the perfect Drake
(From Western News, January 25): When Drake first broke onto the music scene, he climbed the charts. Fast. His first studio album, Thank Me Later, debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in 2010 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
December 08, 2016
Team looks to rescue, reunite refugees with their history
FIMS professor Amanda Gryzb is working with Molly Todd from Montana State University on a memory project looking to unearth the stories and experiences of Salvadoran civil war refugees while helping the community reclaim its experience and collective history (from Western News, November 30, 2016)
September 14, 2016
Panel: "Freedom of Expression and the Right to Communicate"
Professor Sam Trosow will serve as a panelist, along with Amy MacPherson, an independent Canadian investigative journalist, for this Inter American Press Association event on Tuesday, September 20th, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Middlesex College, room 15. Commentary and response to follow the panel.
September 12, 2016
FIMS professors among SSHRC Grant recipients
Professor Grant Campbell, Professor Amanda Grzyb, and Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton were among the Canadian researchers named as recipients of 2016 SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) Grants in a government press release issued on September 9, 2016.
August 14, 2016
Writers who write together, write more
By Dan Brown, London Free Press, published August 14, 2016: A solitary activity, writing often attracts loners. That makes it all the more surprising that a group of students and professors at Western University get together every week to write in a group setting.
June 21, 2016
Nick Dyer-Witheford receives Gertrude J. Robinson book prize from CCA
Professor Nick Dyer-Witheford has been awarded the Gertrude J. Robinson book prize for his monograph titled, "Cyber-Proletariat: Global Labour in the Digital Vortex." Professor Dyer-Witheford accepted the award at the Canadian Communication Association's Annual Meeting on May 30 in Calgary.
June 20, 2016
Revisiting social injustices through a historical lens
The events that Kate Johnson's research focuses on may have taken place over a half-century ago, but they're still just as relevant today. The Library & Information Science professor finds similarities between the RCMP's anti-communist campaign to purge homosexuals from the civil service in the 1950s and today's widespread culture of Islamophobia.
April 21, 2016
Edward Comor named 2016 Faculty Scholar
Professor Edward Comor has been awarded the title of Faculty Scholar. The award recognizes the achievements and all around contribution of faculty members in teaching and/or research. Faculty Scholars retain the designation for a two-year period. Comor will hold the distinction from 2016 - 2018.
March 28, 2016
Children embrace 'bookness' across all formats
In a technology literate age, children don't see a difference between e-books and their printed, dog-eared counterparts, with both occupying children's literal and virtual libraries, a new study suggests.
March 23, 2016
Sarah Roberts appears as guest on The Agenda with Steve Paikin
Professor Sarah T. Roberts was a guest on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin on Tuesday, March 22. Professor Roberts was discussing the invisible moderation of your social media feeds (video).
February 13, 2016
Detecting deception in online information and news
When Associate Professor Victoria Rubin joined FIMS in 2006, she received funding from the faculty to study the credibility of blogs, assessing how online writers express biases and opinions.
February 12, 2016
Discovering the importance of dreams in psychological and political well-being
FIMS Associate Professor Sharon Sliwinski stumbled across one of Nelson Mandela's dreams by accident. She bought his autobiography - back on shelves just after his death - while stuck at an airport and read it on a long flight.
December 04, 2015
Nadine Wathen to be inducted into the College of the Royal Society of Canada
On September 22, the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists announced that Professor Nadine Wathen will be inducted into their ranks.
December 03, 2015
Recent FIMS dissertation & thesis defenses
July 22, 2015
Doctoral student heads back to Norway after successful visit
Jamie Johnston, a doctoral student visiting FIMS this summer from the Department of Archivistics, Library and Information Science, Akershus University in Oslo, Norway, is wrapping up her stay this week. She took some time to talk about her trip and what she plans to do next.
June 17, 2015
First open defence conducted in FIMS
Elise Thorburn, Media Studies PhD candidate, is the first student in FIMS to take on the challenge of an open dissertation defence
June 17, 2015
Thesis and Dissertation Defenses - January - June 2015
May 28, 2015
New Western University study shows 88 per cent of Facebook users 'creep' ex-partners
Read about the latest research from Associate Professor Anabel Quan-Haase and Veronika Lukacs looking at 'creeping' on Facebook.
March 26, 2015
Western researchers take lead on violence prevention
Read this Western News article detailing the recent announcement of government funds which will allow Nadine Wathen's PreVAiL to continue its work into preventing domestic abuse.
February 23, 2015
Nadine Wathen's PreVAiL awarded new funding
Professor Nadine Wathen's PreVAiL Research Network has been awarded significant new funding by the Canadian government to continue work into addressing family violence.
December 04, 2014
Researching photojournalism in Afghanistan
In September and October, PhD candidate Saumava Mitra traveled to Kabul to conduct research, taking on a trip both risky and rewarding
November 26, 2014
Results of national survey on impact of domestic violence in workplace unveiled
Professor Nadine Wathen, postdoc Jen MacGregor, and their research network worked with the Canadian Labour Congress in 2014 to conduct a survey on the impact of domestic violence in the workplace. The results of that project are now being released.
April 28, 2014
PhD student turns the page on music legacy
Media Studies PhD student Jason Netherton is featured in this Western News story from April 24.
March 20, 2014
Professor uncovers the Internet's hidden labour force
Standing between you and the online world is a faceless group of people who either protect or prevent, depending on your perspective, certain content from seeing the light of day.
February 04, 2014
Jacquie Burkell appears on CBC's The Current
Professor Burkell discussed online privacy issues with Anna Maria Tremonti for a segment on February 3, 2014.
February 03, 2014
'It was 50 years ago today': Sullivan, Beatles strike early chords of rock mythology
Associate Professor Norma Coates published this editorial in Western News on January 30, 2014.
July 24, 2013
Field Experience in Zambia: Challenges
Read some reflections from Daniel Mumba, LIS PhD student, who is currently conducting field research in Zambia.
August 31, 2012
Findings from the Ontario Shelter Research Project released
FIMS researchers Nadine Wathen and Roma Harris are involved with the study, and participated in a press conference on August 30.
August 15, 2012
FIMS Prof releases new research report on Access Copyright proposed tariff and licenses
The research report, entitled "Objections to the Proposed Access Copyright Post-Secondary Tariff and its Progeny Licenses: A Working Paper," was released on August 14, 2012.
July 13, 2012
Study suggests communities have no real say in school closures
Assistant Professor Bill Irwin is featured in this article on thewhig.com, from Tuesday, July 10.
March 21, 2012
Belieb it or not, profs study heartthrob's tweet success
Diane Neal and Nadine Desrochers are interviewed by a London Free Press reporter as part of the Research Day activities that took place on Monday, March 19, 2012.
May 26, 2011
Internet anonymity reduces mental health stigma
Diane Neal, Faculty of Information and Media Studies assistant professor, is involved in an ongoing research study to examine how university students search for e-mental health information and resources.
May 02, 2011
Digital Labour Group announces new publication
FIMS' Digital Labour Group publishes special double-issue of the journal /ephemera/.

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