Dr. Vivian Howard, Associate Professor in the School of Information Management, is part of an interdisciplinary team that was recently awarded a Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (NSHRF) Development/Innovative Grant. The project, entitled “Developing a Method for Studying Online Health Information Sharing over Social Media” will develop, apply and evaluate a novel approach for describing the type and content of health-related social media posts and to examine how this information is being shared over social media. The team consists of Dr. Christine Chambers (principal investigator, Dalhousie), Dr. Penny Corkum (IWK Health Sciences Centre), Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd (Ryerson) and doctoral student Michelle Tougas. Congratulations, Dr. Howard!
Read the Latest Issue of SIM’s Newsletter
The latest issue of SIM’s newsletter Inform is now available on our website here. This issue contains stories about what our students, faculty, alumni and partners have been up to since January.
Inform is published twice per year – in January and July. We are always interested in new content, so if you have any news updates or stories you would like to see in the next issue, email inform@dal.ca.
MLIS Alumna, Heather O’Brien, Presents Community Engagement Workshop
Heather O’Brien (MLIS ’02) is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), University of British Columbia (iSchool@UBC).
Workshop Details (full information can be found here):
Community Engaged Learning as a Capstone Experience
Thursday August 13, 2015 – 10:00 AM
Kenneth Rowe Management Building, Room 1007
SIM Researchers Receive SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Awards
A number of SIM students and faculty received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to conduct knowledge synthesis projects that will answer the question: What new ways of learning, particularly in higher education, will Canadians need to thrive in an evolving society and labour market?
1. Faculty member, Joyline Makani and MLIS graduate (2015), Alieda Blandford for their work on the project “Strengthening Deeper Learning through Virtual Teams in E-Learning: A Synthesis of Determinants and Best Practices”.
2. Faculty member, Mike Smit, MLIS student Chantel Ridsdale, and MLIS graduate (2015) James Rothwell for their work on the project “Strategies and Best Practices for Data Literacy Education”.
Read the full story here.
Congratulations to all on this wonderful accomplishment!
Robyn Gray Awarded the 2015 Stephanie Downs Memorial Award
Robyn Gray (MLIS ’16) is the recipient of the 2015 Stephanie Downs Memorial Award.
When Stephanie Downs returned to Canada from the UK to become a librarian, she chose to enter the MLIS program at Dalhousie for its sense of community, welcoming faculty and Maritime culture. Diagnosed with cervical cancer at the end of her last year at SIM, Stephanie graduated with her MLIS but lost her hard-fought battle to her illness on May 27th, 2007.
Remembered for her enthusiasm, Stephanie was a “doer” and very active in school life, serving as 2005-2006 Co-Chair of SIMSA and SIM Team Captain for the 2005 Halifax “Run for the Cure”. She was also awarded the Student-to-CLA travel award to attend the 2005 CLA Conference in Calgary. This award was established by Stephanie’s family and friends in her memory.
Robyn Gray is entering her second year of the Master of Library and Information Studies program at Dalhousie University. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, she moved to Victoria, British Columbia for her undergraduate degree. In 2013, she completed her Bachelor of Arts with Honours at the University of Victoria, majoring in English literature.
While studying in Victoria, Robyn took academic German courses and was an active member of the German club. Upon graduation, she was provided with the opportunity to spend the school year of 2013-2014 acting as an English Teaching Assistant in Berlin, Germany. While there, she completed a German immersion course at the Technische Universität Berlin. She also became involved in the music community, performing at school-related functions and also with a recreational orchestra, on the stand-up bass and the bagpipes.
During Robyn’s first year in the Dalhousie MLIS program, she published an academic paper to the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management (DJIM), presented the paper at the DJIM launch, and also peer-reviewed and copyedited works for this same journal. She was elected Financial and Fundraising Chair for the student-run Information Without Borders Conference, presented at this conference, and was a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL). She also worked as a tutor at the Dalhousie Writing Centre, and has been working on Dalhousie’s Curriculum Map Editing project.
In the interim between her first and second year, Robyn first spent three weeks completing a practicum in the Cataloguing and Metadata Department at the University of Calgary. She is currently completing an internship at ARC Resources, as a Records and Information Management Summer Student.
Robyn is honoured to have been presented with this award, and is looking forward to returning to Dalhousie in the fall.
Congratulations to our 2015 Graduates!
The School of Information Management would like to congratulate all of our newest MLIS and MIM graduates! It was a day of celebrations on May 26th, starting with the lovely brunch provided by our returning MLIS students under the leadership of Hannah Steeves, followed by our awards ceremony, then the Convocation ceremony and reception. It was wonderful to meet your friends and family, and celebrate this important achievement together. We extend our best wishes to those graduates were not able to attend.
We welcome all our new graduates to the SIM alumni family, look forward to hearing about your successes and participating in your ongoing careers. Please continue to communicate with us via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter (@dalsimnews), and this blog.
Special congratulations to the 2015 convocation award winners:
Atlantic Provinces Library Association Award: Valerie Collins
Director’s Award: Alieda Blandford, Shauna Hall-Coates
Information Technology Prize: Valerie Collins
J. Clement Harrison International Award: Marvellous Unuadjefe
Leadership Award: Andrea Kampen, James Rothwell
Louis Vagianos Medal: Alieda Blandford
NSLA Graduation Prize: Maria Bartlett; Ben Worth
SIM Research Award: Alison Froese Stoddard, James Ross
SIMSA Outstanding Service Award: Andrea Kampen
Special Libraries Association (Eastern Canada Chapter) – Anne Galler Award: Hilary Lynd
Beta Phi Mu Candidates: Alieda Blandford, Valerie Collins, Alison Froese Stoddard, Kaitlin Haley, Shauna Hall-Coates, Alyssa Harder, Andrea Kampen, Veronika Kollbrand, Hilary Lynd, James Ross, James Rothwell, Dominique Taylor
Great work, Class of 2015. We are very proud of all of you!
– Dr. Sandra Toze
Dr. Sandra Toze Appointed as Interim Director, School of Information Management
Please join us in congratulating our own Dr. Sandra Toze, who will be stepping into the role of Interim Director for SIM, effective July 1st!
Formal announcement from Peggy Cunningham, Dean of the Faculty of Management:
I am pleased to announce the appointment, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors and based on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee for this search, of Dr. Sandra Toze to the position of Interim Director of the School of Information Management for the period July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. Sandra brings 14 years of experience as an Information Management professional in the Financial and Professional Services industries as well as an academic background in Information Management, Library Science and Political Science. The multidisciplinary perspective afforded by such experience is a major asset to our Faculty.
Sandra has a strong teaching record and a growing research and grant portfolio. She knows the School of Information Management and its students well, having been a faculty member for the last 12 years teaching in all of the programs the School supports (the Bachelor of Management, Master of Information Management and Master of Library and Information Studies).
With her passion for collaboration and knowledge-based work, I am confident that she will build on the strong foundation established by Louise Spiteri and all of the School’s faculty and staff. In addition to focusing on the Faculty’s mission of values-led management, Sandra has a articulated the areas she and the SIM will focus on over the year: development of an aggressive plan to recruit top students, building on the School’s research successes, reviewing and adapting curricula to ensure ongoing relevance, and seeking even more ways to collaborate with the other Schools in the Faculty of Management and the University.
Please join me on congratulating Sandra on this appointment and thank her for her willingness to serve in this important role.
IM Public Lecture: Elizabeth Dubois
The Information Management Public Lectures give attention to exciting advances in research and professional practice. The topics are diverse reflecting the importance and global extent of Information Management in today’s society. The lectures are open to all members of the Dalhousie campus and surrounding community. When feasible, recordings of the lectures are posted here for wider circulation. For the full schedule, visit the Public Lecture page of our website.
The Strategic Opinion Leader: Everyday Political Talk and Digital Media
Elizabeth Dubois
Oxford University
Lecture Details
Tuesday, May 12th, 2015 from 1:30pm-2:30pm
Room 3001, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue
Abstract: Are digital tools enabling a “just-in-time” informed citizenry who don’t have enough time to engage in the political process? When equipped with a wide selection of tools to aid them in their information sourcing and sharing practices political opinion leaders take up a strategic approach to communication. This strategic approach means that the minority of citizens who are highly politically aware limit their political communications to non-aware audiences widening the gulf between the engaged public and the apathetic. This study makes use of a sequential mixed-methods approach (social network analysis, online survey, trace interviews) and brings into question the process of “personal influence” and theories about how citizens become politically aware.
Biography: Elizabeth Dubois is a doctoral candidate at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Her PhD research focuses on personal influence and political networks in a hybrid media environment. Ms. Dubois is a member of Balliol College and a current Clarendon Scholar. Before joining the Oxford Internet Institute in 2011 as an MSc student, she completed a BA (Hons. Specialization in Communication) at the University of Ottawa. As a Killam Fellow through the Fulbright Foundation (Canada) in 2010 she studied at American University in Washington, DC. Ms. Dubois works as a Research Assistant on the “Fifth Estate” project and as a Teaching Assistant for Research Methods at the Oxford Internet Institute. Previously, she served as a communications specialist and researcher in the Parliament in Ottawa. Representing a major Canadian political party she has lead delegations to United Nations talks on climate change and has worked on multiple election campaigns.
MLIS Student Chosen for Prestigious Library of Congress Residency
SIM congratulates Valerie Collins (MLIS 2015), who has been selected by the Library of Congress, in conjunction with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to the 2015 class of the prestigious National Digital Stewardship Residency (NDSR) program in Washington, DC.
As the NDSR website states: “Residents of the NDSR program have the opportunity to develop, apply, and advance their digital stewardship knowledge and skills in real-world settings…attend a series of invited guest lectures, present and discuss their work regularly, and actively participate in the collaborative educational community established by the residency program. Residents also have the opportunity to present their project work to a national audience at a professional conference.”
Valerie underwent a rigorous application, selection, and interview process in order to be named one of the five residents for 2015-2016. She will be resident at the American Institute of Architects to co-lead testing and implementation of an institutional digital repository system to preserve born-digital records that represent AIA’s intellectual capital or that have permanent value for the history of the architectural profession.
The formal press announcement can be found here: http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2015/15-057.html.
Digital Stewardship, the act of acquiring, selecting, managing, preserving, and providing access to digital information, is an important and growing area in LIS and we congratulate Valerie on her new role advancing this area.
Part-Time Research Project Coordinator (Student Job)
Dr. Brenda Sabo is seeking to recruit a Project Coordinator for an 18 month contract on an NSHRF funded scoping review project.
Hours may vary but will be approximately 15-20 hours per week over 24 months.
Salary: $20 per hour plus vacation pay/benefits
Closing Date: 16:00, Friday April 17, 2015
Start Date: May 1, 2015
End Date: April 30, 2017
POSITION SUMMARY: The Project Coordinator will carry out administrative functions, participate in all aspects of the scoping review and assist with knowledge translation/dissemination activities. This will include the writing of final report as well as grant submission (Translating Research into Care grant).
QUALIFICATIONS:
Professionalism and good interpersonal skills, ability to interact well with research participants
Demonstrated initiative required
Self-motivated and ability to work independently
Maturity, flexibility, good judgment and strong problem-solving skills
Strong organizational and communication skills
Capacity to work effectively independently and as a member of a research team
Master’s degree (or in progress) in health related field
PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:
Research coordination
REB applications
Literature searches
Scoping review
Manuscript writing
Grant writing
Knowledge translation/dissemination
Please apply by email with cover letter and resume to Julie.barry@dal.ca by 16:00, Friday April 17, 2015.