UNews - university professor

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.

Understanding reasons behind risk taking

trevor.kenney — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 23:18:35 +0000

Sandeep Mishra is an idealist with a realist's background.

The PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology has a keen understanding of what has led to his educational success, and a desire to better society as a result. He'll use his science to do so.

"So much of my education is funded by taxpayers, so I felt a really strong obligation to choose a topic of study that benefits taxpayers and makes society a better place," says Mishra, who is set to defend his PhD thesis in December. "I'm particularly interested in gambling, risk taking and crime, but more specifically, the social and environmental factors that increase or decrease these behaviours."

Studying under the guidance of Dr. Martin Lalumière, Mishra has been working on the well-established concept of inequality and its link to criminal activity. While there is a large body of evidence that has linked inequality with any number of society's ills, there has never been a causal analysis of the relationship – until now.

Sandeep Mishra is excited about the possibility that his research could play a vital role in developing policy.

"The empirical research has been done and it has been shown repeatedly that inequality is linked to crime, but this is research at an aggregate level and does not address causal mechanisms," says Mishra. "I decided that a productive line of research would be inducing inequality in a lab setting. Laboratory experiments, involving random assignment to experimental conditions, offer the only conclusive way to determine whether a variable has a causal effect or not. After introducing conditions of inequality in this setting, I then asked what happens to their responses to risky behaviour?"

His findings could shape public policy for years to come.

"All of the evidence suggests that systemic inequality and competitive disadvantage facilitate risk taking, of which criminal activity is an extreme form," says Mishra. "I've found that reducing risk taking is possible by reducing inequality. All of this has enormous policy implications."

Mishra's study invited students to participate in a series of experiments. One such experiment saw pairs of students tasked to answer a series of questions that tested their risk-taking attitudes. Prior to the test, one student was given $10 for his effort, the other none, under the guise that funding only allowed for one party to be compensated.

In almost every instance, the student who had suffered a perceived inequality chose risky options at a substantially higher level. Further, when students were tasked again to perform the tests, except on this occasion another $10 in funding was found midway through the exercise, thus evening out the imbalance, risk taking behaviour significantly declined.

"If something as simple as $10 can influence risky behaviour in healthy, well-educated, socially higher class undergrads, then you can imagine how this mechanism is just compounded in the real world," says Mishra. "What is remarkable is that as soon as the students realize that their environment isn't actually inequitous, that overall things are pretty fair, presumably, they see no reason to engage in elevated risk taking."

Mishra says his findings are directly relatable to public policy, and points to the current political climate where government policy in general is built around punitive action to deter criminal behaviour.

"They are not really investing in root social issues that facilitate conditions that produce risk taking and crime," says Mishra. "Even though it is costlier and you don't see direct implications, investing in infrastructure and better education for those who are underserved is a more prudent approach. Helping people help themselves out of inequitous situations is the best thing we can do to lower crime rates."

Mishra, who is off to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Guelph to pursue a post-doctoral fellowship, is a Delhi, Ont. native who began his post-secondary career at Hamilton's McMaster ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Excitable and passionate, he credits the U of L and Lalumière for allowing him to grow his research portfolio.

"Martin's one of the most generous human beings you will ever meet," says Mishra. "He consistently puts his graduate students' well-being above his own and he's allowed me to take control and lead my own research program. The facilities I've had to work with go well beyond what most grad students could dream of, and the feedback he gives me is always excellent and very supportive."

GET THE FACTS

· Mishra sees himself as a future policy analyst or university professor.

· He graduated from high school when he was just 15 and studied biochemistry at McMaster for three years before switching to psychology.

· His undergraduate advisor at McMaster recommended Lalumière and the
U of L's Department of Psychology for graduate studies.

· Mishra's other inequality experiment tested examples of competitive disadvantage and used bogus IQ tests as a means to create situations of inequity amongst his experimental participants.

· All the participants in Mishra's study were thoroughly and carefully debriefed about the aims and hypotheses of the study.

This story originally appeared in the Legend. For a look at the full issue of the November Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Women's Scholar award provides opportunity

trevor.kenney — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:54:54 +0000

Faculty and staff at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge take pride in their students and believe in giving them quality education with as many opportunities as possible to succeed in their chosen career path.

Established by the Women's Scholar group in collaboration with Dayna Daniels and Claudia Malacrida, the Women's Scholar Award gives female students the power to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.

Kristal Frank is one recipient of the Women's Scholar Award.

The scholarship, funded through faculty and staff giving, is based on a combination of academic achievement and financial need and is intended to support either female graduate students studying in non-traditional fields or graduate students studying gender-related issues.

"What was exciting is how quickly the members of the group agreed that it was something worth contributing to," says Daniels. "We saw an area that was underrepresented and realized we could do something to help

Kristal Frank is a recipient of the annual Women's Scholar award.

change that."

Kristal Frank, an MSc student majoring in policy and strategy, won the award this fall along with a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) award. Her proposed research is titled, Managerial Perceptions of Eldercare:

Implications for Managerial Work-Family Policy Allowance Decisions and the Adoption of Work-Eldercare Programs.

"It was amazing," Frank says of receiving the awards. "It was definitely a huge confidence-booster – it kind of reinforced that what I'd chosen to study had practical significance as well."

Frank has chosen to focus her research efforts on issues surrounding work-family conflict, organizational culture and gender issues at work, with the help of supervisor and mentor
Dr. Mary Runté.

"I chose to go with her primarily because that's her area of research as well," she explains. "For me, she's a big inspiration because not only does she research it, but she really lives it."

Frank graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in 1998 and worked in the IT industry for eight years before coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. She says the decision to go back to school took a lot of reflection and she chose to pursue her degree at the
U of L because of its excellent reputation and the flexibility to do evening and weekend courses. Frank commenced her studies at the Calgary campus in 2006, transferred to the Lethbridge campus in 2007 and graduated with her bachelor of management degree, with Great Distinction, in 2008.

After completing her graduate studies at the U of L, Frank hopes to move either to Edmonton or Halifax to pursue a PhD in management and plans to use her skills to become a university professor.

"I really want to teach; to encourage and empower students."

To learn more about the Faculty of Management at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, visit this link.

UNews - university professor

5 Questions with Dr. Elizabeth Galway

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5 Questions with Dr. Elizabeth Galway

Related Topics

Understanding reasons behind risk taking

Related Topics

Women's Scholar award provides opportunity

Related Topics