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Category: Faculty

SIM Professors Win Data Champions Competition

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Re-posted from Dal News. Click here to read the full article:

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada has announced Mike Smit, Colin Conrad and Darren Abramson as winners of their Data Champions competiton. Dalhousie’s Data Champions will receive up to $50,000 each to develop activities at the local, regional and national levels that advance awareness, understanding, development and adoption of research management tools, best practices and resources in Canada.

Mike Smit, Faculty of Management

Accelerating Research Data Management in Ocean Observing & Research

Understanding the ocean is essential for coastal communities, access to food, and moderating climate. Challenged but undaunted by its vast expanse and depth, researchers from across disciplines rely on observations of the ocean. This project will advance research data management from ocean observations in support of ocean research, beyond what would otherwise be possible. The Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System (CIOOS) will accelerate research data management by:

  • Informing, educating, and guiding new and emerging researchers in how to manage, share, and find ocean data from a growing array of sources;
  • Review and renew research data management advocacy and support for sharing ocean data based on the results of a previous SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis grant;
  • Build on existing collaborations and engagement, consult with First Nations communities on how Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural labels might be incorporated in data management systems when it is appropriate to include this type of data.

The research team includes Dalhousie data experts like Louise Gillis (Research Data Management Librarian, Dalhousie Libraries) and Shayla Fitzsimmons (Executive Director, CIOOS Atlantic) along with expertise from some of Canada’s leading ocean data management centers, including Ocean Networks Canada, Observatoire global du Saint-Laurent, and Memorial University. During the pilot phase, the team will work with academic institutions and organizations on the Pacific coast, the Atlantic coast, and the Gulf of St Lawrence.

Colin Conrad, Faculty of Management and Darren Abramson, Faculty of Arts and Social Science

Beyond the Black Box: Unlocking the Potential of Digital Humanities

Digital technologies and data now play a pivotal role in our world, yet many university researchers are poorly equipped to create knowledge with them. This issue is particularly pertinent to researchers in the social sciences and humanities who are limited by funding and resources tailored to pre-digital methodologies. There is also a growing interest among digital researchers in the insights from the social sciences and humanities related to the intersection of digital technologies and society.

Drs. Conrad (pictured) and Abramson aim to address disciplinary divides through a series of events aimed at equipping humanities researchers with digital and data skills. Their immediate goal is to foster interest and cultivate expertise. Their long-term goal is to create a hub for equipping social researchers with ever-changing research tools for the digital era with a vision to position Canada as a leader in data-driven social sciences and digital humanities.

Dr. Mike Smit appointed Deputy Scientific Director (Ocean Frontier Institute)

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SIM Professor, Dr. Mike Smit, has been appointed Deputy Scientific Director of the Ocean Frontier Institute. OFI is a partnership led by Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and University of Prince Edward Island. This will be a part-time role while Dr. Smit continues to fulfill his duties as Associate Dean, Academic (Faculty of Management).

From Dr. Smit: “I work with the leadership team to develop and implement strategy (pertaining to research themes); represent OFI within Dalhousie, regionally and nationally; work with colleagues to synthesize and share ocean research across Dalhousie. In the short term, I have been working with colleagues on a large research proposal involving Dalhousie, UQAR, Laval, and Memorial called Transforming Climate Action: Addressing the Missing Ocean. We were recently approved as as candidate for funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. To understand why someone from SIM is in this role, it’s helpful to know that I’ve been an OFI researcher, leading one of the large research projects focused on how we manage the vast amounts of data from ocean observing. This is building on the ocean data work I started with MEOPAR, and then continued with my role advancing the Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System. Data and information are critical to understanding the changing ocean, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with incredible ocean researchers who helped me become comfortable in this area.”

Congrats Dr. Smit!

Congrats to SIM Award Winners

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Several SIM people have won awards recently. Details below. Congrats to all! We are privileged to have such dedicated students, alumni, faculty, and staff here at SIM.

Vivian Howard: This month, Dr Howard was awarded the 2022 ARUCC Next Best Practice & Innovation Award as nominated by your colleague Adam Robertson. The award was bestowed in the team category, in recognition of her work as co-chair of the Credit/No-Credit Initiative (as part of her role as Associate Vice-President, Academic). From the ARUCC: Early in the pandemic, Dalhousie invoked and re-purposed elements of its existing grading scheme (i.e., GPA neutral grades of PASS and ILL) in response to the emergency shift to online teaching and associated disruptions for students. While this approach was sufficient as a quick, interim measure, it highlighted a critical gap in our grading policy: the dearth of any holistic, student-centred GPA-neutral grading option as a tool for supporting students whose grades have been impacted by serious extenuating circumstances. The grading option was overwhelmingly supported by the University Senate in October 2021. It has already proven a tremendous tool for academic leaders and advisors to use in place of a letter grade to support students in challenging circumstances when other solutions are not appropriate. In terms of impact, clear and systematic procedures have reduced student anxiety and instructor workload, and have supported student retention and degree completion.

Kim Humes: In May, Kim was awarded the Faculty of Management Impact Award for Supporting Colleagues. From the nomination: We feel Kim has consistently provided outstanding service to her faculty and staff colleagues, during a time of constant change. The past couple of COVID years have been difficult for everyone. Kim, as the key administrator for the School has faced many disruptions due to COVID, and managing life with a toddler, but in addition has been the key lynchpin during many changes in SIM. Over the past year in particular she had to keep things running smoothly as leadership in SIM transitioned between Vivian and myself, as we added new faculty members, as we significantly increased the number of students involved in research, and the number of public lectures we typically hold. All of these pieces fell to Kim to lead, while she also maintained her usual workload. Our recent Research Day highlights the many ways that Kim works tirelessly to ensure the success of others, her commitment to professionalism, and her excellence in service. Over the past number of years Kim has taken on a much larger roles with our Public Lectures and our Events. Kim has also taken on ownership of our social media channels and has been a critical part of the School’s hiring team.

Poppy Riddle (MI ’22): In May, Poppy was awarded the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) Research in Librarianship Grant (student category). The Graduate Student Research Grant was created to support library school students’ active engagement in research activities pertaining to research and/or academic libraries with the intent to publish the results and to promote research in the field of academic librarianship by and/or about Canadians. It is intended to support projects involving structured, evidence-based research, which propose answers to real-world issues. CARL is very pleased to support Poppy Nicolette Riddle’s (Master of Information Management Student at Dalhousie University) usability study on visual idioms to reduce uncertainty, anxiety, and frustration during exploratory search by scholars.

Hannah Steeves (MLIS ’16): Hannah received the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) Nancy McCormack Emerging Leader Award. The Emerging Leader Award honours the memory and work of Nancy McCormack who was a long-time and contributing member of CALL/ACBD. Nancy was the Head Law Librarian at Queen’s University as well as a professor of legal research and of torts. She was a warm and empathetic person who embodied a love of teaching, knowledge and scholarship. She was very supportive of the newer members of CALL/ACBD and mentored many of them over the years. Nancy encouraged members to look beyond the ordinary and to excel in their roles as librarian, teacher and researcher. She was admired by her staff, her students, faculty at Queens University, and members of CALL/ACBD. The Nancy McCormack Emerging Leader Award will be given to a CALL/ACBD member in good standing who is normally in the first ten years of their law library career and who has demonstrated the qualities embodied by Nancy. They must have made significant contributions to the Association and have shown excellent potential for continuing service and leadership.

Courtney Vienneau (MLIS ’19)/Nicole Marcoux (MLIS ’20)/Nicole Slipp (MLIS ’20): In April, Courtney, Nicole M, and Nicole S were recipients of the 2022 Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries (CAAL-CBPA) Collaborative Research Grant awarded. They were awarded $1,000 to help support their project, Business database subscriptions at CAUL-CBUA member libraries and their alignment with institutional values. They propose to investigate business-related database subscriptions in the Canadian context, factors influencing these subscriptions, and alignment with institutional values and other critical alignments. The CAAL-CBPA Collaborative Research Grant is intended to encourage collaborative research by librarians and staff working in academic libraries in the region through projects which involve structured, evidence-based research.

 

Research News: May 2022

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Dr. Philippe Mongeon was awarded a connection grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The project is a partnership with Dr. Jean-Sébastien Sauvé (Co-PI) from the University of Montreal, the Canadian Association for Research Libraries (CARL) and the Maritime Institute for Science, Technology, and Society (MISTS). It aims to foster greater collaboration between practitioners and academic researchers in Canada by creating an exhaustive database of these groups’ scholarship, by developing a visual interface to explore that literature and identify new research and collaboration opportunities, and hosting an online conference on collaboration between practitioners and academics in Library and Information Science.

SIM Professor and Student Awarded OER Grant

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Dr. Mike Smit (SIM Professor) and Lachlan MacLeod (Dalhousie Libraries, MI student) were awarded an Open Educational Resource Grant for their project “Research Data Management in the Canadian Context: A Guide for Practitioners and Learners“.

They are part of a national collaborative project to leverage the expertise of Canadian librarians, data managers, and other experts to provide a comprehensive, bilingual, peer-reviewed textbook introducing readers to managing research data. This book will, among other things, serve as a replacement textbook for the MI course INFO 6290: Managing Research Data.

This grant is offered in partnership between the Dalhousie Centre for Learning and Teaching, and Dalhousie Libraries through the support of Dalhousie’s Strategic Initiatives Funding.

Congrats Mike and Lachlan!

Invite: Virtual lecture featuring Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress (Feb 1st)

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Please join us for the Dalhousie–Horrocks National Leadership Lecture: Library Engagement in a Pandemic & Post Pandemic Virtual World  – Dr. Carla Hayden

February 1st at 12:00 PM AST.

Bio: Dr. Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2015, and her nominations was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13.

Prior to her latest post she served, since 1993, as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Hayden was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed to that post by the Senate in June 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library, Hayden was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993. She was an assistant professor for the Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Hayden was library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as library associate and children’s librarian from 1973 to 1979.

Hayden was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.

The 2021 Dalhousie-Horrocks National Leadership Awards will also be presented at this event. This Fund was established in 2007 to honour Dr. Norman Horrocks, OC, PhD, FCLIP (1927-2010) for his outstanding leadership in the field of librarianship in North America, Australia, and Europe. Over several decades Dr. Horrocks, former Director of the School of Information Management and Dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University, pursued a distinguished career of very active involvement in professional associations in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Australia, the United States, and Canada. His many contributions, for which he received local, national and international recognition, have advanced the field and the careers of countless individuals. The fund supports a scholarship and an associated lecture series through an endowment donated by the many former students, colleagues, friends and admirers of Norman Horrocks.

This event is free and open to all.

REGISTER NOW

Patti Bannister Receives Part Time Teaching Award

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Patti Bannister (SIM lecturer) has received the Faculty of Management Part Time Teaching Award. Patti teaches INFO 6800 (Archives) and INFO 6860 (Archives II) in the Master of Information (MI) program. Patti was nominated by MI students, and Acting SIM Director, Dr. Vivian Howard.

From the nomination letter:

SIM is extremely fortunate to have Patti as one of our instructors.  As the Provincial Archivist, she brings a wealth of professional experience into her classes and provides students authentic experiential learning opportunities using actual archival fonds when completing assignments.  She is always able to draw on practical examples and scenarios to illustrate theoretical concepts, an aspect of her teaching that students particularly appreciate.  Typical comments from her MI students include:

  • She brings a really contagious enthusiasm for archiving that impacts students positively
  • The assignments were very well–designed and gave experience of the actual work that archivists do.
  • Patti is a clear communicator and a very organized facilitator.  Course expectations were clear from the beginning, and she offered help when needed. Patti answered all student questions effectively, and she really encouraged discussion and sharing – she isn’t afraid to stray from the Powerpoint slides and improvise as well as speak candidly about the realities of archiving practices. A very engaging, approachable, and knowledgeable instructor.

Hands-on experiential courses such as the ones Patti teaches were among the most challenging to transition to online delivery, but Patti rose to the task and adapted her assignments to be as realistic as possible during the 2020-21 academic year.  Students appreciated her effort to give them as authentic an experience as possible despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, working with archives staff and a Dalhousie videographer to create short videos that took students inside the archives and exposed them to the archival environment when in-person visits were not possible.  As an Archives I student commented about their experience during the winter 2021 term:

Patti was always happy to answer questions in class and via email outside of class. I greatly appreciated the breadth and depth of her knowledge and expertise in archival practice and being willing to offer real–life examples of how the core archival functions are put into practice. I wish I could have taken this course at another time, when we could have met in person, as I’m sure that having physical access to records for assignments and in–class exercises would have further benefitted my learning. But Patti did an excellent job trying to adapt to the online environment nonetheless! Thank you, Patti!

In addition to teaching both of SIM’s archival courses, Archives I and Archives II, Patti helped design the curriculum for both classes, particularly for Archives II, a class that was developed in response for student demand for an advanced-level course.  She has also supervised students in independent study projects and directed reading courses, and has provided mentorship that clearly extends beyond the expectations we usually have for part-time instructors.

Congrats Patti!

Dr. Bertrum MacDonald receives Faculty of Management Research Impact Award

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SIM Professor, Dr. Bertrum MacDonald, has received the Faculty of Management Research Impact Award. The Impact Award is given to a FoM researcher in recognition of their overall lifetime achievement to date. This decision is guided by traditional research metrics, such as impact factors and citations and additional considerations of the nature of the impact.

Dr. MacDonald was nominated by Acting SIM Director, Dr. Vivian Howard. From the nomination:

As a senior faculty member in the School of Information Management, Bertrum has had a distinguished career as a researcher and has been recognized with the Marie Tremaine Medal (the highest honour awarded by the Canadian Bibliographical Society) and a Dibner Resident Scholar Fellowship at the Smithsonian Institute, in addition to SSHRC and CFREF research grants totalling nearly $1 million.  Throughout his career with SIM, he has been instrumental in creating and sustaining an enriching, supportive, and productive research culture.

Bertrum has been involved in many distinguished research initiatives during his career with SIM, but his leadership of EIUI, the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research group over the past decade is one of the most significant and far-reaching.  This research group focuses on the complex interface of scientific information and policy decisions, using marine environmental and fisheries information as case studies.  The output of this research group is truly impressive: EIUI has produced 45 journal articles, 11 book chapters, one book, 76 national and international conference presentations, and 16 Masters and Doctoral theses.  Bertrum has successfully created a dynamic, collaborative, and interdisciplinary environment within his research group, and he and his team members are tackling some of the key environmental questions of our time, including strategies to mobilize scientific research in the public sphere, understanding information flows in coastal and marine decision making and in the recovery process for endangered marine species.  The impact of EIUI’s output continues to grow as does the importance and overall significance of their findings.

One of Bertrum’s most outstanding (and less visible) contributions is his encouragement of students as emerging scholars. He helps students see they have the potential for scholarship, then ensures they have the assistance, tools, support, and guidance to succeed. Bertrum is known for his rigor and his attention to detail, but also for his incredible curiosity and joy in the research process. He genuinely treats each student and their project as unique and important, and ensures they have the support to think critically and to exceed their own expectations in their development as independent researchers.  The positive impact of his mentorship of scores of students in a diversity of programs over the years really is incalculable.

Congrats Bertrum!

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