INSPIRING MINDS | Sarika Singodia, MSW candidate, King's University College

Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.

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Sarika Singodia
MSW candidate, King's University College

Recognizing the Human-Animal Bond through veterinary social work

Animals and humans have long enjoyed a special relationship known as the Human-Animal Bond (HAB). In social work, the HAB is beginning to play a more important role in understanding and supporting people. Through veterinary social work (VSW), a little-known discipline in Canada, social workers focus on four pillars: compassion fatigue and conflict management among people working with animals, animal-related loss and grief, animal-assisted interventions, and the link between animal and human violence. This Independent Study project allowed me to create a VSW course that examines the four pillars, as well as the One Health approach to VSW and the role of the HAB in general social work practice. My hope is to spark interest in this emerging area, and highlight the need for social workers to recognize the important role animals may play in their clients’ lives.

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REGISTER NOW: Dissertation Writers' Retreat In-Person or Online | December 13-14, 2023

Remove yourself from daily distractions and focus your time exclusively on dissertation writing! The Dissertation Writers' Retreats provides PhD candidates with dedicated time for intensive writing. Participating in the Retreat can help you make significant progress in writing your dissertation and help establish good writing habits.

DATE: December 13-14, 2023
TIME: 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (session ends at 3:00 p.m. on December 14)
LOCATION: In-person (IGAB - Chu Centre) and online.
HOSTED BY: Paul Schmidt and Derek Lattimer, Writing Support Centre
Please indicate how you will attend upon registration. 

Participants have the option to attend in-person or virtually. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided for in-person attendees in the morning and afternoon. Attendees are invited to a pizza lunch at the grad club over lunch. The Zoom link will be provided in your confirmation email.

The Dissertation Writers' Retreat involves:

• Dedicated writing time for your thesis
• Short mini writing seminars facilitated by the Writing Support Centre
• One-to-one support from expert writing advisors

The Dissertation Writers' Retreat is specifically for PhD candidates working on their dissertation. Participants can register from the Own Your Future calendar on Western Connect.

REGISTER NOW!

Contact Julie Jonkhans [email protected] if you have questions or need additional information.

ALL ARE INVITED | Springbank Environment Community Presentation

Springbank Environment is hosting a presentation by Mike Smalls, a retired landscape designer from Bright's Grove, Ontario.

Please join us to learn more about pollinator gardens and creating a natural habitat in an urban landscape.

Mike is a tireless advocate for the protection of our environment and the return of lost biodiversity. His presentation will explore the wonders of our local environment and how you can play a pivotal role in preserving it. Get ready for an eye-opening slide presentation, (approximately 30 minutes), that will change the way you see your surroundings.

DATE: Tuesday, November 28
TIME:  7:00 p.m.
LOCATION: St. George's Parish, 1164 Commissioner's Rd West (in Byron), London, Ontario

There will be time for questions. Everyone is welcome!

INSPIRING MINDS | Amiya Aggarwal, MSc candidate, Faculty of Social Science

Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.

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Amiya Aggarwal
MSc candidate, Faculty of Social Science

Probing the brain’s capacity to learn a new language without trying

If you’ve ever heard someone speak a foreign language you know that it can be very confusing. Even if there are pauses, or emphasised sounds, it can be hard to know where a word ends, and the next begins. We think Statistical learning, the process of picking up on patterns when receiving regular input, is involved in this. My research aims to see if passively listening to a foreign language can make the process of finding word boundaries easier. In my project we will ask native English speakers to listen to podcasts for an hour a day in a language they have no prior experience with – Italian. By comparing their brain’s ability to process and discern speech before and after this period we can learn more about how language is acquired. This research could help find ways to facilitate adult language learning by exploring methods other than traditional classroom teaching.

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APPLY NOW! | NSERC: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowships

Postdoctoral fellowship opportunities in Japan are now available through NSERC.

The deadline to apply is February 1, 2024.

Learn more at www.nserc.ca/japan.

SCHOLARS TO LEADERS SPEAKER SERIES | "From Dissertation to Leadership: An Unconventional Journey to Vice Presidency" | November 29, 2023

Dr. Cristi Ford, Vice President of Academic Affairs at D2L, will be speaking next Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. with a talk entitled From Dissertation to Leadership: An Unconventional Journey to Vice Presidency.

DATE: Wednesday, November 29, 2023
TIME: 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Online, register for Zoom link

REGISTER NOW

About the Talk
Dr. Cristi Ford serves as VP of Academic Affairs at D2L. During our talk she will share her journey that defies conventional academic trajectories as a PhD holder. Her story is a compelling example to anyone looking to pursue a non-linear academic journey that eschewed traditional career paths and embraced diverse experiences, forging an unconventional yet impactful route to leadership. Cristi broke away from the expected course post-doctorate, and sought varied opportunities across industries, leveraging her expertise in unexpected domains.

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Presenter Bio
Dr. Cristi Ford is a Vice President of Academic Affairs at D2L. She has over 20 years of experience in higher education, secondary education, project management, program evaluation, training, and student services. She is a tireless advocate for quality online education and has helped institutions build capacity to launch and expand online programming through effective faculty development, instructional design, and pedagogical practices.

She is passionate about reducing barriers and increasing access to different modalities of education. She has worked in many educational sectors, including K-12, special education, higher education, nonprofit, and global education. Throughout her career, her mission has remained the same—to create access and impact for learners who have been on the fringes.

Ford is a highly respected leader in the online learning community. She was selected by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) as the 2021 OLC Fellow, which is the highest professional distinction offered by the association. She is also a frequent speaker and writer on online learning topics. In her current role at D2L, Ford leads a team of experts who support institutions in their efforts to improve teaching and learning in the online environment. She is also responsible for developing and delivering thought leadership on online learning trends and best practices.

Dr. Ford is a graduate of Hampton University, the University of Baltimore, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. She holds a PhD in Educational Leadership.

Public Lecture | The role humans play in the fight against climate change

Honoring the International Day of Disabled People - Visual Pleasure with Dr. Jeff Preston and Erin Clark

Honoring the International Day of Disabled People - Visual Pleasure with Dr. Jeff Preston and Erin Clark

Date and Time: Starts on Mon, Dec 11, 2023 2:00 PM EST
Location: 1151 Richmond St artLAB Gallery, John Labatt Visual Arts Centre London, ON N6A 3K7
Link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/visual-pleasure-with-dr-jeff-preston-and-erin-clark-tickets-754555424587?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Visual Pleasure is an innovative hybrid aerial dance/lecture. Facing off against Associate Professor Dr. Preston aerialist and performance artist, Erin Clark, plays with a tension between academic authority and personal experience as ways of knowing oneself —in particular when the self is marginalized and positioned in society as an object of study and novelty. Visual Pleasure is a performance that asks how people experience themselves as ‘viewers’ —can our gaze bring life and nourishment to that upon which we gaze? Where is the authority —in the one who draws attention, or the one who gives it?

Performance artist Erin Clark is the world record holder in wheelchair parapole, gold and silver IPSF world champion and two-time gold medal winner in the Spanish National Pole Sport championships. An aerial dancer for over a decade, Erin specializes in Aerial rope (corde lisse), aerial silks (tissu), and aerial pole. Erin co-created the aerial comedy duo Flaming Mermaid Broken Star - co-writing, choreographing and co-producing shows in New York City. Erin is the author of the NYTimes recommended memoir If You Really Love Me, Throw Me Off the Mountain (EyeCorner Press). She is currently based in London, Ontario.

Jeff Preston, Ph.D., is an associate professor and Acting Chair of Disability Studies at King's University College at Western University where he teaches classes on disability, popular culture and policy. Born with a rare neuro myopathy, Jeff is a long-time advocate and motivational speaker, giving talks across the country focused on the intersection of disability, subjectivity, biopower and culture. Jeff's first book, The Fantasy of Disability, was published in 2016 by Routledge.

APPLY NOW! | Graduate Student Innovation Scholars program

Graduate Student Innovation Scholars is now accepting applications!

Are you ready to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit and bring your innovative ideas to life? In collaboration with Ivey's Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, Western Entrepreneurship is thrilled to announce that applications for the Winter 2024 cohort of Graduate Student Innovation Scholars (GSIS) are now open!

As a Graduate Student Innovation Scholar, you will embark on a transformative journey that will equip you with essential entrepreneurship skills and empower you to navigate the exciting world of innovation and commercialization.

Through our comprehensive program, you will receive training in intellectual property, patent searching, commercialization, knowledge transfer, business planning, and effective communication strategies. You can create and present a compelling business plan by participating in lectures, group discussions, and workshops and engaging in hands-on experiential learning.

APPLY NOW

INSPIRING MINDS | Robert Addai, PhD candidate, Faculty of Science

Inspiring Minds seeks to broaden awareness and impact of graduate student research, while enhancing transferable skills. Students were challenged to describe their research, scholarship or creative activity in 150 or fewer words to share with our community.

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Robert Addai
PhD candidate, Faculty of Science

Road Salt

Snow and ice control is essential to maintain the safety and mobility of various roads/sidewalks during the winter months in Canada. Unfortunately, these high releases of NaCl are causing long- term corrosion to infrastructure and vehicles, and damage to the environment. The aims of the study are to analyze different road salts, including two new proprietary salts, and optimize their benefits in terms of their corrosivity, environmental impact, ice melting performance, and costs to ensure maximum benefit to Canadian municipalities using road salts. Last winter, corrosion rate of nine different salts (NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, MgCl2, CMA, NaOAc, SB Brine, CFB Flake, and Western University Salt) was analyzed at the field using mass loss. The masses of the metal coupons (Mild steel, High strength steel, Galvanized steel, 304 stainless steel, and Aluminum Alloy) were measured before and after the exposure. Surfaces of metal coupons were analyzed using SEM. The research is in progress.

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