UNews - Dan O'Donnell

Doing open science in COVID-19 times

caroline.zentner — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 18:16:38 +0000

One might assume the travel restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID pandemic would have open science researchers ready at the bat.

While open access to science aims to make scientific research and data easily available to the broader public, it turns out the digital environment may have a few gaps. Dr. Dan O’Donnell, an English professor with expertise in digital humanities, wanted to take a closer look at how science training was faring in the pandemic and he’ll explore the topic thanks to a $50,000 US grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

“Ultimately, the project is to look at how all the different open science training organizations have been adapting to the shutdowns due to COVID-19, what resources they’ve used to adapt and to what degree what they’re doing might be better or pointing to improvements,” says O’Donnell, the principal investigator.

One such science training organization is Force 11, of which O’Donnell is past president. As a scholarly society, it focuses on how technology can be used to improve open access, partially through its summer school on scholarly communication at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of California — Los Angeles. About 20 other groups are also participating in the project, including The Carpentries, which teaches coding and data science skills to researchers, and OpenCon, a platform for students and early career academic professionals to advance open access across disciplines.

“All of these organizations are groups that train people in open science,” says O’Donnell. “One of the really interesting things about the way we’re trained to be researchers is that it’s the only thing we’re trained in where we are not trained by an expert; we’re trained by watching someone else, usually our professors.”

Given rapid technological developments, open science research and training and data management can outpace the kind of training students are getting. Open science training organizations aim to fill the need.

The project, expected to take eight months to a year, is in its beginning stages but O’Donnell has some anecdotal evidence based on the fact the Force 11 summer school was forced to go completely online this past summer. The summer school provides space for people who have developed new tools, methods or approaches to teach their material to students.

“Our sense at the Force 11 summer institute is that we’ve discovered what we should have been doing,” he says. “While in-person was great, people really loved it, they felt they made good contacts and the networking was fantastic, the cost barrier was quite high. We certainly doubled our attendees by going online.”

The digital format worked better for teaching purposes, but not all facets of the summer institute could be carried out in an open fashion. The group couldn’t find an open registration system and ended up cobbling together an alternative. The conference has focused on enabling participation from low- and mid-income economies but using Zoom meant the group had to follow American software licensing rules and that prevented students in some countries, such as Iran, from participating.

“You should be able to conduct open science iteratively as open science, even train open science using open materials,” O’Donnell says. “Discovering that that’s not possible is actually going to be an important result.”

U of L researchers awarded more than $907,000 in research funding

caroline.zentner — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 17:40:49 +0000

Today, Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s Minister of Science, announced the recipients of several Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants and seven ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are among those who secured funding for their projects.

“I want to commend the grant and scholarships recipients whose tireless efforts help us better understand our world and our relationships with each other,” says Duncan. “Our government is proud to support these talented researchers and scholars who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge to the benefit of Canadians and our growing middle class.”

“We are extremely pleased that seven U of L research projects were successful in this competition,” says Dr. Claudia Malacrida, associate vice-president (research). “It demonstrates the strength of our researchers in the social sciences and humanities and we congratulate each one of them.”

The funding includes Partnership Development Grants, designed to foster new research with new or existing partners, Insight Development Grants that support research in its beginning stages, and Insight Grants for long-term research initiatives. The research projects are diverse, spanning the fields of visual arts, anthropology, psychology, digital humanities, finance and history and gender studies.

Dr. Dan O'Donnell

Dr. Dan O’Donnell, a professor in the Department of English, conducts research in the Digital Humanities, where tools and methods from computer science are applied to humanities fields like history, philosophy and literature. His digital tools, like the Internet, make it easy to share research information widely, but O’Donnell has found the world of research publishing hasn’t changed much, with the same major publishers running the market. He began working on building a different kind of research network called Future Commons where research is freely shared and publicly available and where corporations can still make a profit. The Partnership Development Grant, which includes three other organizations, will facilitate research to further the Future Commons network. For more information visit Future Commons.

Mary Kavanagh

Mary Kavanagh, a professor in the Department of Art, will examine nuclear anxiety in the post-Cold War era through interviews with visitors to Trinity, the site of the world’s first atomic bomb detonation. A rehearsal for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Trinity was the codename for the test blast in 1945, deep in the desert south of the Manhattan project’s headquarters in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Tourists now flock to the site during bi-annual open houses. Kavanagh, through interviews conducted at the site, plans to generate a series of art works or “chapters” that include moving-image vignettes, photographic works, book works, installations and an experimental documentary film that explores urgent questions of the nuclear age. For more information visit Atomic Tourism.

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher, an anthropology professor, will explore urban collective housing communities as non-individualistic approaches to well-being. Such communities work to balance independence and interdependence by including both personal/private and shared/collective spaces, and, unlike many intentional communities, are integrated with, rather than segregated from, society at large. Kingfisher will compare communities in Tokyo and Vancouver to gain insight into how this model of the good life operates in cultural contexts that historically and ideologically have stressed different aspects of individualism and collectivism. The project is situated in the context of increasing academic and governmental interest in happiness and well-being. For more information visit Intentional Communities.

Dr. Fangfang Li

Dr. Fangfang Li, a psychology professor, will examine factors that may influence speech errors in second-language learners. She found that errors made by local students in French Immersion programs persisted over time, even though researchers expected the students would make fewer speech errors when they reached higher grades. Li hypothesizes that the errors persist because opportunities to speak with native French speakers are limited in a community where English is the dominant language. Li’s research will look at a mixed bilingual program in Edmonton to see if the second-language learners there, who have more opportunity to speak with native speakers, produce more accurate speech as they advance to higher grades. For more information visit Second-language Learning.

Dr. Yutao Li

Dr. Yutao Li, a professor in the Faculty of Management at the U of L’s Calgary campus, will explore the costs and benefits of banks’ involvement in lending networks. While greater connectivity in a network can be helpful because it gives a bank more information it can use to evaluate a borrower’s credit risk, it can also be detrimental if risk enters the financial system and spreads throughout the network, as it did during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Li’s study is the first to investigate banks’ lending networks and the research will help build understanding about how banks’ network connectivity affects information acquisition, lending practices and quality of financial reporting. For more information visit Banking Networks.

Dr. Paul Vasey

Dr. Paul Vasey, a psychology professor, will delve into competition for mates in cultures that recognize third genders, specifically the muxes in the Istmo region of Oaxaca, Mexico and the fa’afafine in Samoa. The fa’afafine and muxes are same-sex attracted feminine males or what could be termed transgender in North America. They engage in sexual activity with masculine men who are bisexual, thus creating a competitive atmosphere for heterosexual women. In contrast, women in Euro-American cultures most often face competition from other women. Vasey and his students will conduct research in Canada and at their field sites in Samoa and Mexico to see how the presence of third-gender males affects the behaviour and psychology of heterosexual individuals. For more information visit Mate Competition.

Dr. Carol Williams

Dr. Carol Williams, a professor in Women and Gender Studies and History, and her collaborators, Linda Weasel Head, Hali Heavy Shield and Faye Heavy Shield, will assemble diverse and new historical accounts of Kainai women’s social reform work between 1968 and 1990. The researchers will engage with the Kainai community and propose a series of cultural and historical workshops for all age groups to encourage conversation and storytelling. The study hopes to challenge the colonial character of the archives as they exist and the myths of Indigenous-Settler relations. The study, in line with the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, seeks to expand historical literacy about how Kainai women transformed their communities. For more information visit Kainai Women’s Activism.

O'Donnell, Graham bring 3D imaging to ancient cross

trevor.kenney — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:26:24 +0000

A unique 7th century cross with some of the earliest examples of the English language engraved on it will soon be more visible than ever, thanks to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers and an international team of 3D imaging experts.

James Graham, left, and Dr. Dan O'Donnell work on scaffolding to document the intricacies of a 7th century cross.

Dr. Dan O'Donnell (English), James Graham (new media) and graduate student Heather Hobma, accompanied by a team of Italian technicians with 3D imaging equipment, recently visited the small village of Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire, located just north of the England/Scotland border, to photograph and digitally render the 18-foot-tall Ruthwell Cross to make it more accessible to researchers worldwide. When the process is completed the artifact will be visible in three dimensions and with enhanced details.

The cross is an important Anglo-Saxon artifact, and contains numerous symbols, biblical scenes, quotations and images on all sides of its surfaces. Germanic runes and some of the earliest known examples of the English language are also inscribed.

Some sculptural elements were added to the cross in the 10th century, while the timeline for other engravings is unknown. Over the centuries, the cross has been destroyed and rebuilt, and now rests in a specially constructed space in the Ruthwell church.

To get their equipment in place, the group had to erect scaffolding, use a lot of bubble wrap, and have the co-operation of numerous groups and heritage preservation organizations to gain access to the church and the cross. While there, the team presented its research to the community, and was the subject of numerous media queries.

Catherine Karkov, the head of the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Leeds (UK) worked with the group on the project. Karkov is a widely published and respected researcher who specializes in early medieval and Anglo-Saxon art.

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Long Service & Retirement Recognition Ceremony

trevor.kenney — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:44:43 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is holding its annual Long Service Awards and Retirement Recognition Ceremony on Wednesday, May 9 at 1 p.m. in the Students' Union Ballrooms.

A total of 103 employees, including 20 retiring employees and those who have completed 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service, will be honoured.

All employees are invited to the ceremony and reception to honour the award recipients listed below. The reception will include light refreshments.

Retirees

Nola Aitken, Pat Anderson, Bill Cade, Maria Draper, Carol Gaetz, Mary Anne Hellinga, John Johnston, Cindy Kabelka, Frank Klassen, Michael Kubara, Christina Lastuka, Rita Law, Kathy Lee, Marg McKeen, Bruce McMullin, Shari Platt, Charlene Sawatsky, Richard Tedesco, Barbara Wolstoncroft and Joan Zimmer

Long Service Recipients

40 Years

Lois Boras and
Jean Mankee

35 Years

Barbara Dickinson, Heather Mirau and Brian Parkinson

30 Years

Rene Barendregt, Annette Bright, Peter Heffernan, Barb Hodgson, Kurt Klein, William Krysak, Judy Lacey, Phill Lema, Valerie Richardson, Kim Selk and John Vokey

25 Years

Candace Dueck, John Eng, Frank Klassen, Sheila Lowe, Fiona Randle, Thomas Staples, Greg Tompkins, Kelly Vaselenak, Peter Visentin and Diana Young

20 Years

Lynn Ambedian, Robin Bright, Naomi Cramer, Mary Dyck, Rod Gelleny, Michael Kern, Judith Kulig, Rick Peter, Robert Runte, Sandy Slavin, Maxine Tedesco and Jeff Vucurevich

15 Years

Dwayne Armstrong, Mara Baldwin, Kerry Bernes, Lesley Brown, James Clark, Tom Doyle, Larry Flanagan, Carolyn Gaebel, Cam Goater, Bradley Hagen, Rob Johnson, Ed Jurkowski, Angela Luck, Goldie Morgentaler, Dan O'Donnell, Kent Peacock, Brent Selinger, Marlo Steed and
Nicole Wilson

10 Years

Peter Alward, Christine Anderson, Ebenezer Asem, Roberto Bello, Shawn Bubel, Kris Caldwell, Michael Campbell, Connie Chaplin, John Claassen, Melanie Collado, Dagmar Dahle, Alesha Farfus-Shukaliak, Bev Garnett, Daya Gaur, Joanne Gedrasik, Betsy Greenlees, Trevor Harrison, Linda Janz, Sharon Kanashiro, John Kometz, Igor Kovalchuk, Olga Kovalchuk, Bette Jo Kulak, James Linville, Douglas MacArthur, Claudia Malacrida, Kyla McFadden, Jacqueline Montain, Mandy Moser, Bob Muskovich, Janice Newberry, Tammy Paskuski, Jill Payant, Wilf Roesler, Edward Sandzewicz, Daryl Schacher, Darren Schell, Arlan Schultz, Daniela Sirbu, Debbie Tarnava, John Usher, Derek Vincent, Bernie Wirzba and Cindy Yee

UNews - Dan O'Donnell

Doing open science in COVID-19 times

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U of L researchers awarded more than $907,000 in research funding

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O'Donnell, Graham bring 3D imaging to ancient cross

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Long Service & Retirement Recognition Ceremony

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