UNews - office of Research and Innovation Services

New U of L series to highlight research in social sciences and humanities

caroline.zentner — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 15:48:24 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, thanks to funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), is launching a new series called Celebrating Connection: A SSHRC Exchange Series.

The series is designed to help disseminate research findings and provide opportunities for networking and collaborating in the humanities, social sciences, arts, education and management through events such as conferences, presentations and workshops.

“U of L researchers in the social sciences and humanities are conducting leading-edge research and a series like Celebrating Connection allows them to share their results and further involve their students in learning opportunities,” says Dr. Claudia Malacrida, associate vice-president (research). “This series will be of interest to the broader academic community, as well as the public at large.”

Eight proposals have been accepted and topics include a variety of disciplines, from art history and music to archaeology and philosophy. Most of the sessions will occur during the 2019-2020 academic year but the first is scheduled for June 14 and 15.

The first instalment of the series, titled The Line Crossed Us: New Directions in Critical Border Studies, brings together emerging scholars working on aspects of border studies. Organized by the Border Studies Group at the U of L — which includes Drs. Julie Young (Geography), Tier II Canada Research Chair; Sheila McManus (History) and Paul McKenzie-Jones (Indigenous Studies) — the conference will examine Indigenous and migration politics and also put contemporary border issues and crises into historical perspective.

“We’re excited about the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of this conference,” say Young, McManus and McKenzie-Jones. “Border studies often takes place siloed in three distinct disciplines—history, geography and political science—which is what makes our conference unique and important, especially in an era when nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise amidst calls for stronger borders.”

The conference includes a screening of the film El Muro: The Wall (2017), a documentary that focuses on the ancestral lands of the Lipan Apache in Texas and governmental efforts to dispossess them. Anyone interested in attending is asked to register for a free ticket through Eventbrite.

The conference schedule can be found online at Border Studies.

U of L researchers receive $2.6 million in NSERC funding

caroline.zentner — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 16:13:41 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers in biology, chemistry and biochemistry, geography, mathematics and computer science, physics and psychology will be able to pursue diverse areas of inquiry thanks to $2.64 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

Canada’s Minister of Science, Kirsty Duncan, announced today $515 million in support for fundamental research through the NSERC 2017 competition for the Discovery Grants program, scholarships and fellowships.

“The Government of Canada is committed to investing in fundamental research and engineering that will improve and enrich our country’s knowledge economy,” says Duncan. “We believe in encouraging scientists’ cutting-edge ideas that will lead Canada to greater social and economic growth. I am particularly proud of the support offered to postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows who, thanks to today’s investment, will be exposed to advanced training experiences that will prepare them for the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow.”

“At the core of every research project, every laboratory and every discovery, there are people,” says Dr. B. Mario Pinto, NSERC president. “NSERC empowers these people to build an innovative, prosperous and inclusive society. NSERC Discovery Grants, scholarships and fellowships provide thousands of top researchers, students and fellows with the foundation they need to concretize their research ambitions and explore the unknown.”

“We are very proud of our researchers and this level of funding from NSERC clearly demonstrates the valuable work being done at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge,” says Dr. Erasmus Okine, vice-president (research). “The funding is also spread throughout a number of disciplines, reflecting the strength of research activities across campus.”

Thirteen faculty members will receive Discovery Grants worth $2.16 million over five years. Their research projects include topics like human cell division. Dr. Roy Golsteyn (Biology) is investigating prairie plant extracts that inhibit cell division to better understand how cell division occurs. Dr. Philip Bonnaventure (Geography) studies mountainous terrains with the goal of advancing knowledge of the relationship between climate, topography and geology in these regions. Dr. Jacqueline Rice (Mathematics and Computer Science) will conduct research into how people use artificial languages, like those used for writing software, with the goals of improving software quality and readability.

Dr. Chris Hopkinson (Geography) is the recipient of a Discovery Accelerator Supplement worth $120,000 over three years. He is using satellite data and a Dynamic Ecosystem Landcover Transitions Assessment (DELTA) program to examine how forests and wetlands respond to disturbances in the climate system.

Drs. Fangfang Li (Psychology) and Saurya Das (Physics and Astronomy) will each receive Discovery Development Grants for research projects dealing with speech production in children and Quantum Gravity theory, respectively.

In addition, four students, namely Ryan Kung, Taylor Sheahan, Douglas Turnbull (Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Matthew Robbins (Physics and Astronomy) will receive $63,000 each over a period of three years in scholarships and fellowships.

“We pride ourselves in creating opportunities for our students to excel in their research endeavours. Their ability to seize these opportunities while working under the tutelage of world-class supervisors is rewarded in these scholarships,” says Okine.

New research website launched

trevor.kenney — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 21:35:23 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is excited to launch a new website today (www.ulethbridge.ca/research) that will serve as the public face of research at the U of L.

A look at the home page for the new research website.

“As one of Canada’s most influential research institutions, we are home to world-renowned researchers, and we are fostering the next generation of researchers and innovators,” says
Dr. Daniel Weeks, U of L vice-president (research). “With this website, we are thrilled to be able to showcase the calibre of research that takes place at the U of L with audiencesaround the world.”

Aimed at an external audience (academia, government, industry, media, students and members of the general public), the new website will raise the profile of research at the U of L through digital storytelling. The site will feature stories on faculty and students while highlighting research news and connecting users to U of L faculty members via the Expert’s Database.

“We now have a tool to effectively engage stakeholders and tell the U of L’s research story,” says Weeks. “But this is just the beginning. The site will evolve as fresh content is continually added.”

Websites for the Office of Research and Innovation Services and the Vice-President (Research) can be found off the new site, www.ulethbridge.ca/research, in the top navigation bar.

“This is an exciting time for research at our university,” says Weeks. “We are incredibly proud to share the world-class work that is happening here with our stakeholders and with communities around the world.”

5 Questions with Dr. Elizabeth Galway

trevor.kenney — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 21:25:16 +0000

Dr. Elizabeth Galway has been a faculty member in the Department of English since 2003 where she teaches courses in Canadian literature, children's literature and nineteenth-century literature. She is the author of From Nursery Rhymes to Nationhood: Children's Literature and the Construction of Canadian Identity (Routledge 2008), and is currently working on a book about children's literature and the First World War.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

I have a variety of different research interests but my primary research areas are children's literature and Canadian literature. I became interested in these subjects while I was completing work for my master's degree in English literature. I was studying at Durham ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the north of England at the time and I was conscious of the fact that the English literature that I had read as a Canadian child had shaped my expectations about life in England, and had led directly to my desire to live and study in Britain. These thoughts about the continuing resonance of children's literature in my own life were the first step towards my reconsideration of the apparent simplicity of the genre. I became interested in exploring what one might call "adult themes" in children's literature, and started to consider how literature for children is inextricably bound up with issues of concern to adults.

Dr. Elizabeth Galway believes that children's literature has a profound effect on the attitudes we carry as adults.

Living in England gave me a better understanding of British literature and culture, but it also heightened my awareness of my own status as a Canadian. I began to consider the extent to which the literature read in childhood influences how Canadians perceive themselves, and how others perceive them. I have been able to combine my interests in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Canadian and British literature and to explore how children's literature reflects and influences attitudes towards nationalism, imperialism, gender and citizenship.

How is your research applicable in "the real world?"

We should not consider scholarly research as something separate from "the real world," since the work being conducted across different disciplines is applicable to many aspects of everyday life. Although my current project about WWI has me studying literature written nearly one hundred years ago, it has direct relevance to events taking place today. I recently published an article on the portrayal of child soldiers in WWI literature that can help us understand current debates about the use of underage fighters. Exploring literary portrayals of child contributions to the First World War can help us understand contemporary definitions of childhood that simultaneously include a longing to protect children, a need to shape them into "good citizens", and a desire to give them a sense of confidence and agency.

First World War children's literature may have also had a lasting impact on how Canadians viewed the nation, its role in the world, and concepts of citizenship and patriotism. Canada has not ceased to be engaged in military activity in different parts of the globe, so understanding earlier attitudes towards armed conflict can help us better comprehend our current place in the world.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

Every time that I accomplish something that is part of the job, whether it be receiving a grant, generating a great class discussion, or receiving a copy of one of my publications, I feel a sense of excitement. The most recent achievement that I am very proud of is my role in helping to establish the Institute of Child and Youth Studies (I-CYS) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. This institute represents a major step forward in facilitating interdisciplinary relationships between scholars working in different areas related to childhood studies.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

My desire to become a university professor arose directly from my own love of being a student; so creating a positive experience for students is something that is very important to me. There is a direct link between my research and my teaching and I am often able to include readings on my courses that stem directly from my research trips. For example, on my reading list for Canadian Literature 1867-1914, I have included a number of stories and articles that are long out of print, but which provide students with a more complete picture of what early Canadians were reading. The SSHRC grant for my project on WWI has also enabled me to hire several students as research assistants. They've been a real help to me, and have had the opportunity to conduct hands-on research by visiting libraries and museums, and working with primary source material from the war period. The study of literature can be a very solitary pursuit, so it has been wonderful to have this opportunity to work with students outside of the classroom and to share ideas about the material that is being studied.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

If I had unlimited funds, I would invest in every area of research! The real question is how to decide what projects to support when the funds are limited. The short answer is that we need to strike a balance. After all, what good would it do to invent an iPod or a Kindle, if there was no music to listen to and no literature to read?

Each month, the Legend will present 5 Questions With . . . one of our researchers. For a look at the entire catalog of 5 Questions With . . . features, check out the Office of Research and Innovation Services website at www.uleth.ca/research_profiles.

This story first appeared in the June 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

5 Questions with Dr. Elizabeth Galway

trevor.kenney — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:13:37 +0000

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

Dr. Elizabeth Galway believes that children's literature has a profound effect on the attitudes we carry as adults.

How is your research applicable in "the real world?"

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

How important are students to your research endeavours?

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

This story first appeared in the June 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Research teams unite to fight cancer

trevor.kenney — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:54:32 +0000

A chance meeting at a local science fair, a lab tour and some discussions over coffee have led to an innovative research partnership between a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge physics research team that looks into the far reaches of space, and a cancer research team from the same ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ that is chasing down rogue cancer cells deep inside in the human body.

Dr. Roy Golsteyn (Biological Sciences) and Dr. David Naylor (Physics and Astronomy) knew each other in passing – their labs are one floor and a staircase away and their offices are only a few hundred feet apart in ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall.

Their completely different academic worlds would not generally collide, but now that they have, they are finding a lot of possibilities in their collaborative work.

Naylor and his team design imaging equipment that is helping to bring the far reaches of space into clearer focus. Their technology, which is presently functioning on the Herschel Space Observatory more than 1.5 million km from the earth, helps to identify regions of star formation by imaging their size, shape and composition based on the spectral signatures they emit.

As Herschel scans the universe and captures images of large fields of galaxies, their sheer number requires the use of sophisticated computer algorithms to determine the nature of the individual sources, for example differentiating between a spiral and an elliptical galaxy.

Naylor says that the same process, which leaves researchers with a smaller field of unknown objects to further explore, can be applied to searching for, and focusing on, cells that develop abnormally and which could either be cancerous or prone to cancer.

"We have been collaborating with a local spin-off company, Blue Sky Spectroscopy Inc., to see if some of our imaging processes could work on breast cancer cells, and have been testing slides provided to us by research colleagues at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alta.," says Naylor, noting that he generally doesn't have access to live cancer cells.

"Thanks to Roy and his team, we can now work on live cells, and test how our computer modeling software will work."

The idea that the same process can serve two completely different research disciplines landed them an Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions award of $50,000 and an internal Interdisciplinary Research Development Fund (IRDF) award of $100,000 over two years. It also led them to join forces with colleague and cancer researcher Dr. Olga Kovalchuk (Biological Sciences) to employ the complete spectrum of cancer research at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to this important problem.

Golstyen, who has a cancer cell culture system plus decades of research experience in cancer cell observation in Canada and France, is pleased that both groups are turning their attention to how to better track and identify cells which are prone to cancer.

"In biology, looks can be deceiving," says Golsteyn. "When we look at a population of cancer cells with the standard technology (used in biology), we cannot see differences, but we know some cells are different because they will become resistant to a treatment. We discovered the moment when cancer cells "decide" to live or die after a treatment, but our predicament is that we don't know which cell is 'bad' or 'good', so to speak. We believe that looking at cells in a new way using the technology from Dr. Naylor's laboratory will help us solve this problem."

Golsteyn's work involves tracking down cells that do not get killed off by cancer treatments and instead hide out until they can essentially explode and repopulate a system with more cancer cells. Identifying these rogue cells is the prime focus of his research, but identifying them in a mass of other cells is quite time consuming.

"We are excited to be a part of this project because we see that over time it will allow us to develop a more accurate method of identifying cells which have developed normally, versus those cells which need further examination."

Since a petri dish of live cancer cells – potentially hundreds of thousands of small dots under a microscope – looks very much like a wide field of unexplored galaxies and star formations, (sample images attached) both researchers are confident their ideas can be refined, but like most pure science projects, it may take years before they successfully apply technology that was developed for imaging star formations in space to tracking live cancer cells.

The IRDF awards are funded by the U of L's Office of Research and Innovation Services to jump-start ideas that display inter-departmental or inter-faculty co-operation and innovation.

5 Questions with Dr. Olu Awosoga

trevor.kenney — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:49:29 +0000

Dr. Olu Awosoga completed his dissertation on Meta-Analysis of Multiple Baseline Time-Series Design Intervention Models for Dependent and Independent Series. This study developed a traditional meta-type analysis and corresponding robust methodology for multiple baseline series. This is a statistical approach used in applied statistical research to investigate the validity of procedures and power comparisons between parametric and robust methods.

Awosoga joined the Faculty of Health Sciences in July 2009, the same year he completed his doctoral program at Western Michigan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Kalamazoo, MI. He teaches applied statistics courses to undergraduate and graduate students and works with various faculty members as a statistical consultant. He is a co-investigator in the following projects: Moral Distress in the Care of Persons with Alzheimer Disease in Residential Care Facilities; Slave Lake Fire project to investigate the response of families and children – community resiliency; CAETL (now known as the Teaching Centre) project to assess teaching effectiveness in undergraduate applied statistics course.

Awosoga is passionate about using his knowledge in applied statistics to provide simple interpretation of results obtained from data analysis to make sense to the average man – a fundamental basis for his research interests.

Most recently, as a principal investigator, he has applied for several grants through the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research and Workers Compensation Board to investigate the health status of childcare workers in southern Alberta.

Dr. Olu Awosoga takes statistical analysis to another level through unique applications.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

My interest base was first stirred up by a combination of statistical courses I took during my graduate program, in particular, applied statistics in social sciences. I had questions about a data analysis approach used in a journal article where I first discovered the word 'meta analysis.' So, I decided to learn more about it and of course, the result was my dissertation topic.

How is your research applicable in "the real world"?

In the real world, meta analysis of multiple baseline time-series design intervention models is of great interest to researchers in the fields of behavioural sciences, environmental sciences, economics, education and medicine. They often employ interrupted time-series designs to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of several interventions in both clinical and natural settings. This model also provides a strong basis for causal conclusions.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

As a graduate student, I received the best graduate research poster during the third annual Western Michigan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ research and creative activities poster day in 2009.

Personally, I feel honoured every time I meet with a former student who shares how their statistical learning is enhancing their work, and feel the same when I can offer a meaningful statistical analysis in collaborative projects. In my career, it warms my heart to have an article accepted for publication or to obtain approval for a research grant.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

I find that working with students is a two way learning dynamic. Data analysis is core in interpreting research findings; hence it is rewarding being able to engage students in quantitative research. Students who work with me are trained in data collection procedures, recruiting research participants, conducting and transcribing qualitative interviews, data coding and literature reviews. This process provides students with learning opportunities and prepares them for future research works.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

If money was not an object, I would invest in any research which requires application of statistical theory and concepts, and would also participate in continuous professional development across the globe. In particular, I would invest in research focusing on health related issues to provide reasonable explanations to understanding existing variable relationships, interactions, cause and effects, amongst other things. In addition, I desire to participate in innovative teaching research to build stronger teaching and learning strategies at all levels of education.

If you'd like to be profiled, contact Penny Pickles at pickpj@uleth.ca.

5 Questions with Dr. Carly Adams

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:38:04 +0000

Dr. Carly Adams joined the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education in July 2007. Adams is a social and cultural historian working at the intersections of sport history and sport sociology. Her research interests lie in the study of 20th century Canadian sport, gender, regional and local history, oral history and women's sport governance. She is particularly drawn to research methods that allow her to talk to people about their sport and leisure experiences of the past and ask them how they make sense of and remember their experiences within the context of their lives and the world around them.

Most recently, Adams has received funding (with Dr. Hart Cantelon) through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Sport Participation Research Initiative to explore issues of community revitalization and rural survival in southern Alberta through a case study of the Warner Hockey School in Warner, Alta. This project looks at the social determinants that led to the establishment of the school, its purposes, both imagined and actual, and the underlying role that high performance sport might play in rural community survival. She will present her findings at a Women Scholars Speaker Series event on Mar. 25, 12 to 2 p.m. in Andy's Place (AH100).

Adams received her PhD in Sport History at The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Western Ontario in 2007. A paper from her dissertation won the North American Society for Sport History Graduate Student Essay Award.

Dr. Carly Adams delves into the history of sport and has done a great deal of work on the history of women's hockey.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

I have always loved history and learning about the past. During my undergraduate studies in human kinetics and sport management at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Windsor, several influential professors piqued my interest in social history, oral history and the relevance of sport, leisure and recreation to our understanding of the past. However, I was also surprised by how few sport historians researched and wrote about gender and women's sport/recreation experiences. In 2000, I was chosen to participate in a one-semester exchange to Deakin ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Melbourne, Australia. While in Melbourne I interned with the Melbourne Football Club. The Aussie club had a full time sport historian on staff dedicated to the team – and from there I was hooked! I attended my first North American Society for Sport History conference in 2001 and discovered that there was a group of scholars dedicated to this type of research and I knew that this is what I wanted to do. My PhD dissertation project was largely based on oral histories with women who played industrial, recreational and playground sports in London, Ont. during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. As soon as I completed my first oral history interview, I knew how important memory and voice were going to be to how I wanted to "do" history.

How is your research applicable in "the real world"?

A historical understanding is relevant to all of us – past practices in any situation are valuable and important. It doesn't matter what career one is in, understanding experiences and happenings of the past will guide, shape and challenge how we think about the present and make decisions about the future. I have been fortunate to collaborate with various public institutions such as sports halls of fame and I have also recently published a book, aimed at ages 12 and up, about the Preston Rivulettes, a women's hockey team that competed in the 1930s. I am committed to disseminating my research beyond the borders of academia.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

Every time I have an article accepted for publication, or I am asked to consult with a public institution (for example the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and The National Commemoration Board of Parks Canada), or receive a research grant – it is an honour.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

Students are central to my research. I have had many student research assistants work closely with me on various projects. I also believe it is very important that we bring our research to the classroom. My greatest challenge as an educator is to encourage students to think critically about the world around them, to ask questions and express different perspectives. I use many examples from my research in class and encourage students to discuss and critically engage with the projects I am working on. Some of my favourite teaching moments have been listening to students discuss and challenge something I've written or offer a different perspective that challenges me to rethink the direction of a project.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

If I had unlimited funds, I would invest in ALL areas of research! Related to my own field, I would invest in regional, local and oral history in rural communities. These histories tend not to get much academic attention, and we risk forgetting these important ties to our past.

This story first appeared in the March 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Mentors grant presents collaborative research opportunities

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:54:38 +0000

A new internal grant program is designed to spark creative juices in the Faculty of Fine Arts while also creating valuable mentor relationships.

The Mentors in Creative Research (MCR) project grants for Fine Arts are a one-time opportunity (with up to three grants valued at $3,000 each) for full-time faculty, university-employed curators or full-time academic assistants to create a student-driven project that celebrates research at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Funded by the Office of the Vice-President (Research), the MCR program is seeking applications that must substantially involve an undergraduate student, with projects designed as collaborative in nature. Priority will go to applicants who demonstrate clear opportunities for creative mentorship in undertaking the project. At least half of the grant funding should be allocated to a student stipend.

Once chosen, projects will be unveiled at an October 2013 reception and will be displayed in the Office of Research and Innovation Services. The application deadline for MCR is Apr. 1 with grant terms running from Apr. 15 through Oct. 15.

Eligible projects include but are not limited to performance arts, visual arts and technology. Applications will be adjudicated by a committee of representatives from each department in the Fine Arts, with proposals evaluated on the clarity and scope of the project, the involvement and collaboration with student(s), the opportunity for creative mentorship during the project's tenure, the ability of the project to reflect research excellence at the U of L and justification of the budget relative to the requirements of the proposed project.

To apply, fill out a Research Proposal Form on the Bridge and submit to the Office of Research and Innovation Services.

Diversity celebrated, Mar. 11-15

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 22:55:50 +0000

Now in its third incarnation, the annual ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Respect and Diversity Awareness Week is an established campus event that brings to light issues related to diversity and respect both in the workplace and beyond.

Presented by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association's Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus, the week runs Mar. 11-15 and features six events over the span of five days. The goal, of course, is to have the themes that are discussed throughout the week resonate long after the event spotlight has faded.

"I think it's great to highlight the week and to bring in speakers and all the bells and whistles, but this is something that should be infused in our everyday," says caucus member and Chair of Respect and Diversity Awareness Week, Dr. Noella Piquette.

Dr. Noella Piquette is the Chair of Gender Diversity Equity Week.

An associate professor in the Faculty of Education, Piquette says that issues of diversity are becoming a greater part of mainstream conversation but there is much work to be done.

'Diversity Includes All' is the theme to this year's week and is designed to get faculty members to think about their own diversity as well as the student diversity that exists on campus.

"We do a fantastic job at this university talking about students and how we can support them, and while we're not trying to shift the focus, we're broadening the focus to include the fact that we have a huge faculty and staff component on campus, and it's important to think about the diversity that exists within those groups," says Piquette.

The week kicks off with a presentation from assistant professor of neuroscience Dr. Robbin Gibb as she presents Sex Differences in the Brain, Monday, Mar. 11 at noon in TH241.

Gibb will outline some of the factors influencing brain development that are mediated by sex differences. What promises to be a lively question and answer session follows her talk.

On Tuesday, the Spoken Word – Poetry Slam event is at noon in AH176. This gives presenters a platform to speak, read, rhyme or rant their words in a two-minute window as they discuss diversity and inclusion.

"I think this will be so much fun and really puts a new slant on discussing diversity," says Piquette, who notes that the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group is also supporting the event.

Faculty, staff and students are all welcome to take part. Participants just need to sign up in advance by contacting Piquette at noella.piquette@uleth.ca.

Wednesday's event is a presentation with Jeff Meadows and Brad Reamsbottom of the Teaching Centre. They will discuss Supporting Faculty in Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities, focussing on some of the key issues that students may be experiencing within reading and writing tasks, and specific strategies that can be employed to assist them.

A pair of events takes place Thursday, beginning with a wheelchair basketball demonstration hosted by Dr. Mary Dyck (kinesiology and physical education) and with the Lethbridge Wheelchair Basketball Association (10:45 a.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre gym), followed by a special film screening of Shameless: The ART of disability (7 p.m. in PE264).

"It's a heartwarming movie, but at the same time it's also very comical," says Piquette. "They really try and show that disability is not all about being sad and serious, it's a part of life and they do a great job at portraying that message."

The week wraps up with Friday's Strengthening Academic Capacity: Gender Dimensions presentation by Mary Butterfield of the Office of Research and Innovation Services.

Butterfield will speak to gender equality in academic research at 12:15 p.m. in TH277.

Piquette has long been involved with issues related to diversity. She was a special education teacher and guidance counsellor for 14 years at the school level and now as an associate professor, teaches courses in special education at the undergraduate level and in counselling at the graduate level, focusing on a broader picture of diversity and mechanisms to advocate for inclusion within all community systems.

"We've done our best to represent as many different approaches to the discussion of diversity issues as we could with this week's events," she says. "I really do urge everyone to find a topic that might be of interest to them and to engage in the conversation."

For more information on any of these events or any issues related to the Gender and Diversity Caucus, contact the following members: Chair, Dr. Carly Adams (carly.adams@uleth.ca); Sandra Cowan (sandra.cowan@uleth.ca); Dr. Hester Jiskoot (hester.jiskoot@uleth.ca); Dr. Kevin McGeough (mcgekm@uleth.ca); Dr. Luz Ospina (luz.ospina@uleth.ca); Dr. Noella Piquette (noella.piquette@uleth.ca);
Dr. Jennifer Thannhauser (jennifer.thannhauser@uleth.ca); Dr. John Usher (john.usher@uleth.ca); or Ilsa Wong (ilsa.wong@uleth.ca).

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