Pet Photos: A Key to Successful Online Dating for Men According to New Study

Dr. Maryanne Fisher

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in the case of a new research study from Saint Mary’s University, the right picture may be worth a lifetime of love.  The research shows that women see men who care for pets and children as good potential long-term partners, says evolutionary psychologist Dr. Maryanne Fisher.  

The recent study, published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science by Saint Mary’s University's Mackenzie Zinck, Dr. Laura Weir, and Dr. Fisher, shows that men who care for dependents are perceived as high-quality mates, displaying the ability to invest in a long-term mate. This investment may be exhibited through financial and social status, and the ability to care for a mate and any resulting children. 

Online dating profiles were used to test the prediction, and as expected, men seeking long-term mates displayed dependents — primarily dogs and children— more than men seeking short-term mates, but both men and women seeking long-term mates displayed dependents similarly. Men, though, showed more dogs while women showed more children.  

“The inclusion of dependents represents a way for daters to advertise that they can, and are willing to, invest in a living being,” said Dr. Fisher.  “Men’s photos are really telling. Those interested in short-term relationships showed their body, their fancy trucks, the big fish they caught in the summer. Meanwhile, those seeking a relationship posted photos with their dogs and children. Whether or not women show the same difference remains to be seen. There weren’t many women dating online in the summer of 2020 openly advertising that they were seeking short-term relationships only.” 

Dr. Maryanne Fisher, a researcher and professor of Psychology at Saint Mary’s, is an expert on the evolutionary foundations of human interpersonal relationships. Her primary research areas include the evolutionary foundations of human interpersonal relationships and women's mating strategies and indicators of female physical attractiveness. 

Dr. Fisher recently discussed the study in an article she wrote for the Conversation.

Wicked problems of food insecurity

Dr. Mathew Novak, Geography and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Arts

How can Geographic Information Systems (GIS) help support people experiencing food insecurity across Nova Scotia? Made possible by gifts from the Windsor Foundation, the Hewitt Foundation and alumnus Dr. Daniel McCarthy, the lab is a hub where faculty and students collaborate on solving issues using geospatial software.

Partnering with the province’s largest food assistance organization, the Wicked Problems Lab at Saint Mary’s University is bringing a world of expertise to facilitate data-driven food distribution.

“Food insecurity is a crisis in our province,” says Nick Jennery, executive director of Feed Nova Scotia. “While we advocate for much-needed change to address systemic issues, we need to ensure people have food today and that they can access that food in a dignified way. An important piece in making food support more accessible is understanding where gaps exist in our current food distribution program.” In September 2020, Feed Nova Scotia began working with the lab to better understand food accessibility. Led by Dr. Mathew Novak, an expert in retail geography and GIS, the lab mapped out current food bank locations and paired them with regional census data to predict where demand for services is high.

The result? The data clearly identified locations that could benefit from greater food distribution. “Our research allowed us to make recommendations for more effective distribution of resources,” says Dr. Novak.

“For instance, we found areas of suburban Halifax with high potential demand but limited access to food banks and other food support programs. GIS allows us to combine a variety of data sources and perform sophisticated analysis to reveal spatial patterns that may have otherwise remained hidden.” Feed Nova Scotia distributes more than 2 million kilograms of food to 140 food banks and meal programs each year.

“We’re excited to see where this project will take us, knowing that good data is a critical factor that contributes to better decision making,” says Jennery.

Recently, Dr. Novak made presentations to Feed Nova Scotia’s leadership and community connections teams, outlining the first findings of the analysis. Moving forward, more analysis will be performed on the organization’s needs and distribution locations. This continuation opens the door to endless possibility, with opportunities to partner with other not-for-profit organizations to better match needs and resources.

Learn more about supporting Saint Mary’s students who are struggling with food insecurity.

New SMU Scholarship Supports Aspiring Writers of African Nova Scotian Descent

Floyd Kane BA'92, on the set of Diggstown, the show he created.

Saint Mary's University is launching an innovative new scholarship to support aspiring writers of African descent upon graduation.  

“I thought of this as a way to encourage Black Nova Scotians who want to pursue a career in writing,” says Floyd Kane BA’92, a writer, filmmaker and TV producer from East Preston, whose philanthropic gift makes the new award possible for students in the Faculty of Arts.  

“A lot of people’s dreams are limited by their financial backgrounds, and I just wanted to remove that barrier from the equation. So if you have the drive and ambition to pursue your dream, you can go and do it and not have to worry about where your next meal comes from or how you’re going to pay your rent.”

The new Edna and Velma Thomas Kane Writers Award is open to students who self-identify as being of African descent, with first priority to students of African Nova Scotian descent. Award recipients will receive $30,000 upon graduation to help mitigate the burden of financial debt; to support them in further post-secondary studies or training such as internships, apprenticeships or self-directed projects; and to advance their aspirations for careers in writing. Find the application form here.

"Saint Mary's recognizes the importance of diverse voices and perspectives in all fields of research and study, including the creative arts and industries," says President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. "Writing and storytelling are essential tools for sharing our province's unique histories and experiences. This award will help us support African Nova Scotian students by reducing financial barriers as they embark on their next steps toward careers in writing. We are committed to creating possibilities for our students, celebrating their creative talents, and working together toward a World without limits."     

Floyd Kane BA'92

After graduating from Saint Mary’s, Kane’s next steps were a law degree then working as legal counsel and a production executive on such notable film and TV projects as This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Shake Hands with the Devil, and the Oscar-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine. But writing was always his first love so he eventually chose to make it a more central aspect of his career, starting with his drama series North/South. He has since written for numerous TV shows and produced the 2015 feature film, Across the Line, his story about a North Preston hockey player aiming for a professional career on the ice.

“One of the things I realized as I got into the industry is that I never saw Black Nova Scotians portrayed in Canadian film and television, so that was a goal I wanted to accomplish, to be able to bring those stories to the screen,” says Kane.

Those stories are resonating widely with audiences, not just in Canada. His acclaimed series Diggstown, which shot its third season in Halifax this summer, airs nationally on CBC-TV and will soon be seen in the U.S. on the FOX network. The show’s central character Marcie Diggs is a legal aid lawyer from North Preston who surfs in her spare time and works hard for her clients, challenging social injustices that strike a universal chord far beyond Nova Scotia. 

Kane recalls local tourism ads from the time he was growing up: “It was all these people who were sailing and surfing and having lobster dinners. And they were all white. What I love about Diggstown is that it’s an opportunity to recast the Nova Scotia narrative but it puts Black and Indigenous people at the centre of it.”

That sense of possibility in storytelling ignited for him as an undergrad at Saint Mary’s. Kane started out as a Commerce major, switching to Arts after producing a play at age 19. In a pivotal course in 19th century literature, one of his projects was tackling an update to the 1847 classic, Wuthering Heights. “I just loved the idea that I could take this book and put Black people into the narrative in a textual way. There has always been talk that Brontë may have intended Heathcliff to be Black.”

Kane maintains a close connection with Saint Mary’s by serving as a member of the Board of Governors, and he’s thrilled to help create this opportunity for aspiring writers, to reduce financial roadblocks as they graduate.

“I really hope it’s transformational for those who will receive it. I hope it helps them to continue to pursue whatever dreams they have,” he says.

The award is named for his mother Edna and his late aunt Velma, who always supported his dreams. 

“Everything starts with them,” says Kane. “Even though we were poor, my mother made sure we never wanted for anything. My aunt bought me a Smith Corona typewriter when I was in Grade 7, and I taught myself to type. The first things I ever wrote were on that machine. Professionally, she’s the reason why I’m here and personally, my mom inspired the ambition that got me here. So I wanted to honour those two great Black Nova Scotian women who never had the opportunities I had.”

A writing career isn’t limited to writing novels, poems or film scripts, he adds. For award eligibility, it could be anything from creative writing to non-fiction history books, digital communications, or continuing an academic path in an Arts and Humanities discipline. As part of the application process, available soon on the website, students will submit a personal statement essay outlining their career goals.

Kane’s main advice for young writers?

“Don’t give up,” he says. “Don’t be dissuaded by naysayers. Keep doing the work. Put your head down and just persevere …. In all honesty, this is the only thing I could ever see myself doing.”

For information on the Edna and Velma Thomas Kane Writers Award, including the online application form, see Faculty of Arts Awards and Funding. 

News release: New SMU Scholarship Supports Aspiring Writers of African Nova Scotia Descent

Floyd Kane BA'92, on the set of the show he created, DIggstown.

Saint Mary's University is launching an innovative new scholarship to support aspiring writers of African descent upon graduation.  

"I know the challenges and barriers that face aspiring writers of African Nova Scotian descent because that’s my lived experience," says Floyd Kane BA'92, the person behind this generous philanthropic gift. "This award is named in honour of my mother and aunt—two women who supported my dreams from the beginning.  I am proud to have the opportunity to pass along that support to the next generation of African Nova Scotian writers via an award that bears their name." 

The Edna and Velma Thomas Kane Writers Award has three main goals. To mitigate the burden of financial debt and insecurity for undergraduate students of African Nova Scotian descent in the Faculty of Arts. To support them in pursuing further post-secondary studies or training such as internships, apprenticeships, self-directed projects. And lastly, to advance their aspirations for careers in writing. The award recipient will receive $30,000 in support of these goals.

"Saint Mary's recognizes the importance of diverse voices and perspectives in all fields of research and study, including the creative arts and industries," says Saint Mary's University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. "Writing and storytelling are essential tools for sharing our province's unique histories and experiences. This award will help us support African Nova Scotian students by reducing financial barriers as they embark on their next steps toward careers in writing. We are committed to creating possibilities for our students at Saint Mary's, celebrating their creative talents, and working together toward a World without limits."   

A member of the Saint Mary's University Board of Governors, Kane is a successful writer, filmmaker and television producer with numerous projects shot internationally – and in Nova Scotia, such as the feature film Across the Line (2014) and current hit TV series Diggstown, airing nationally on CBC-TV and soon in the U.S. on the FOX network. Kane grew up in East Preston and currently resides in Toronto. He was inspired to establish the award as a result of seeing talented fellow African Nova Scotian writers face challenges in pursuing careers in the arts and culture sectors due to barriers such as limited access to financial support.

The Edna and Velma Thomas Kane Writers Award is available for applications this academic year. For details and the online award application form, see Faculty of Arts Awards and Funding.

Saint Mary’s University Appoints New Dean of the Faculty of Arts

Dr. Mary I. Ingraham

Saint Mary's University is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mary I. Ingraham to the position of Dean, Faculty of Arts, Saint Mary's University, effective October 1, 2021.     

"I am honoured to announce the appointment of Dr. Mary I. Ingraham as the new Dean of the Faculty of Arts," says Saint Mary's University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. "I look forward to Dr. Ingraham continuing to advance the position of Saint Mary's Faculty of Arts in our region as a preferred destination for students, faculty and staff engaged in high quality scholarship, teaching and research that explores and advances our World without limits.”   

Dr. Ingraham comes to Saint Mary's University by way of the University of Lethbridge, where she was the Dean of Fine Arts. Previously, Dr. Ingraham served as the Director of the Sound Studies Institute at the University of Alberta. While there, she also served as a Professor of Musicology for 16 years.    

"I am inspired by Saint Mary's commitment to equity and diversity as well as the Faculty of Arts' active participation in intercultural community engagement. The relationships and reciprocity students and faculty experience through interdisciplinary practices across SMU’s programs are invaluable in the development of strong global citizenship," says Dr. Ingraham. "I look forward to building upon the efforts of the university's faculty, students and staff to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and advance the importance and growth of Arts education for today's students and society."    

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Dr. Ingraham's career began with a love of music, beginning with the piano at age three. From that early passion, a life and career dedicated to music and the arts began. While completing her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at Mount Allison University, Dr. Ingraham's focus shifted to German  literature and music history, earning a master's degree at the University of Victoria and a doctorate at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature, emphasizing cultural studies and considering issues of ethnicity, race, gender and spirituality in identity studies.   

Dr. Ingraham and her husband David Owen, a professional oboist, are looking forward to returning to Nova Scotia after many years away from home. They will arrive in Halifax this fall, and she will assume her new role as dean this semester. 
 

Dr. Rachel Zellars to Assist Federal Public Service with Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion Commitment

Saint Mary’s congratulates Dr. Rachel Zellars on her appointment as the inaugural Jocelyne Bourgon Visiting Scholar in the Canada School of Public Service for 2021-2022.

Dr. Zellars, Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Justice and Community Studies, will be working closely with the federal service in the implementation of the recent Call to action on anti-racism, equity, and inclusion in the Federal Public Service. Her appointment begins on September 1, 2021.

Dr. Zellars has facilitated dozens of critical implicit bias trainings for government leaders and management, both provincially and federally since 2014. She is widely recognized for her abilities to center local historical contexts, locate implicit bias within living histories of anti-blackness, and address barriers to personal and structural change with pointedness and vision. She regularly facilitates critical implicit bias trainings in a multitude of areas related to social identity and difference, as well.     

Recently, Dr. Zellars completed a five-month project with the Department of Justice, where she designed the data collection stage for ongoing, transformational agency-wide work regarding anti-blackness, diversity, and inclusion; designed and facilitated closed employee interview circles for hundreds of employees and managers; worked closely with the Director of Workplace Wellbeing & Mental Health to ensure proper data collection and respectful facilitation for Indigenous employees; and prepared a final report to the DOJ, detailing findings.

The Call to Action, released January 22 by the Privy Council, directs leaders across the Federal Public Service to take practical actions that will be the basis for systemic change. For more details, see this message and guidance for deputy ministers and heads of federal agencies, shared July 8 by Janice Charette, Interim Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. 

The Canada School of Public Service was established in 2004, with a legislative mandate to provide a range of learning activities to build individual and organizational capacity and management excellence within the federal public service. The Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon is President Emerita of the School; Founding President of Public Governance International (PGI); and Project Leader of the New Synthesis Initiative. She has had a distinguished career in the Canadian public service, serving as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, as well as Deputy Minister of various departments and Canadian Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

New Book Examines British Political Turbulence Through Novels of the 1970s

In his latest book, Dr. J. Russell Perkin explores one of the more tumultuous decades in modern British politics – as chronicled in popular novels of the time. Like much of the British music of the 1970s, these seminal bestsellers have endured over the past 50 years, reflecting the fascinating political history of the era but also playing a meaningful role in it.

While writing Politics and the British Novel in the 1970s, Dr. Perkin was struck by how “urgently contemporary” these stories remain: the environmental fable Watership Down by Richard Adams, The Ice Age by Margaret Drabble, Daniel Martin by John Fowles, John le Carré’s Cold War spy thrillers, V.S. Naipaul’s studies on post-colonial displacement, and works by Malcolm Bradbury, David Lodge, Doris Lessing and others.

As Perkin conducted his research for the book, the Brexit controversy echoed the U.K.’s 1975 referendum on joining the European Economic Community. The Saint Mary’s English professor observed many other recurring and continuing issues of nationality and citizenship, race and immigration, right-wing extremism, social disparity, gender, and the environment.

Finishing his manuscript during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020, “I often felt as though one of Doris Lessing’s dystopian visions was playing itself out in reality,” he remarked in the preface of the book, which was released in June by McGill-Queen’s University Press. Lessing’s “apocalyptic visions and bleak view of existing society” also resonated with students in his 2019 honours seminar on the same topic as the new book, Perkin added in a campus news interview.

“Her great novel, The Memoirs of a Survivor, was about a society that was collapsing for reasons that aren’t really clear,” he says. “It might be an environmental disaster or a failure of organization, but all the normal infrastructure of life is just failing. She captures that world, and I imagine it was partly from having lived through wartime that she was able to do it so powerfully.”

Though he specializes in 19th and 20th-century British literature, writing the book was also quite a personal trip down memory lane for Perkin. Born in England, he moved to Canada at age eight and returned overseas to study at Oxford University in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Margaret Thatcher had just been elected, the national health service and public housing were in jeopardy, students were marching for nuclear disarmament, and many felt Britain was losing its global influence.

Back then, the big social novels by Fowles and Drabble particularly stood out for Perkin, as both authors were diagnosing the state of the nation in their fiction. Years later, he found himself still thinking about these stories.

“One of the things a lot of novelists explore is this nostalgic idea of the good old days of Britain when things were simpler, which is a myth that has been there as long as British literature,” says Perkin. “It has always been reproduced in popular culture but also questioned. Certainly, Fowles’ novel Daniel Martin does both of those things. It has incredible nostalgia for an idealized past, but at the same time recognizes that it’s a construct and that for many people it wasn’t in fact such a great time.”

Sociology Professors Mining Text Data to Cover Wider Ground in Immigration Research

Dr. Evie Tastsoglou

Dr. Eugena Kwon

Two Saint Mary's sociology professors are on a Halifax research team that has received a grant from the national Exploration competition of the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). The federal funding has an objective of supporting “high-risk, high-reward and interdisciplinary research” to strengthen Canadian innovation. 

Dr. Evie Tastsoglou and Dr. Eugena Kwon will investigate the changing public perceptions and social constructions of immigrants and refugees in Canada, starting from the time of Confederation to the current COVID-19 era. The research will also examine how these perceptions are systematically connected to specific economic, demographic, and political developments in the ongoing making of the Canadian state.

Titled “Visual analytics for text-intensive social science research on immigration,” the project will also introduce and evaluate a new artificial intelligence methodology for text-intensive social science research.

“The game changer in this research will be the consolidation of a new interdisciplinary way of working with disciplines that are far removed from social science,” explains Tastsoglou, who received the 2020 President’s Award for Excellence in Research at Saint Mary’s in February.

She and Kwon are collaborating with Dr. Evangelos Milios, a researcher from Dalhousie’s Faculty of Computer Science, who is the project’s co-principal investigator along with Tastsoglou. They will be pioneering new applications for natural language processing (NLP) and visual analytics (VA) systems, in hopes of enabling social scientists to retrieve and analyze much larger document sets than ever before.

This research will focus on news content going back to the mid-1800s in two national newspapers, The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star (and their antecedents). It will also use the technology tools and a number of keywords to sift through court decisions, parliamentary debates and 21st century social media data.  

“In the social sciences in general, it’s hard to cover mass amounts of information,” explains Kwon, co-applicant in the funding competition. “One of the main strengths of our project is, by collaborating with computer scientists and using visual analytics, it will help make it feasible for us to cover massive amounts of information.”

Without the visual analytics tools, it would be nearly impossible to manually collect and analyze historical texts spanning nearly two centuries. Input from the sociologists will be key to helping the computer scientists design and refine a text-retrieval system that will collect data that is most relevant to their immigration research.

“As social scientists, there’s no limit to what we can do if this is successful,” adds Kwon.

According to the team’s funding proposal, “Canada’s humanitarian tradition has been a pole of attraction to new immigrants and refugees and a source of pride for all Canadians. Understanding the changing, and often contradictory, perceptions/constructions of immigrants/refugees in Canadian history … will be of great benefit to scholars, policy-makers and the broader public. It may debunk certain taken-for-granted ‘truths’ about Canada but it can also help shape more informed policy to cope with economic and social challenges of the 21st century.” 

The project will receive $250,000 over two years. This year’s NFRF awards, announced May 31, are supporting 117 research projects across Canada with “the potential to yield game-changing results in social, cultural, economic, health-related or technological areas”.

The New Frontiers in Research Fund is administered by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat on behalf of Canada’s three research granting agencies: the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

SMU Film Professor’s Research Associated with Venice ‘Impostor Cities’ Exhibition

The Screening Room. Credit: Imposter Cities

Canadian cities seldom play themselves in movies and television, more often doubling for other places in the world. A new exhibition in Venice celebrates this duality while raising questions about identity, authenticity, and how we experience architecture and urban geography in the digital age.  

Impostor Cities is Canada’s official entry in the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. It opened to the public on May 22 online and at the Canada Pavilion, which was built in 1958 in the Giardini di Castello where the Venice Biennale is based.

“There is something about Canadian architecture that allows it to stand in,” says Dr. Jennifer VanderBurgh, associate professor of film and media studies at Saint Mary’s. “The exhibition is not saying that’s good or bad, just something to think about.”

Dr. VanderBurgh’s work is associated with the prestigious international exhibition through her essay, “Screens Stop Here! Tax Credit Thinking and the Contemporary Meaning of 'Local' Filmmaking”. In it, she examines the role of tax incentive programs in how Canada appears onscreen, and the economic and cultural impacts of this over time. Originally published in the Canadian Journal of Film Studies, the 15-page essay was invited to be included in the exhibition’s academic resources. It’s also available online to SMU students and faculty via the Patrick Power Library. 

Dr. Jennifer VanderBurgh, associate professor of film and media studies

VanderBurgh describes ‘tax credit thinking’ in the essay as “a way of thinking that tends to focus on economic benefits when justifying why films and film industries are important to places and people,” with job creation prioritized over cultural content or artistic integrity. Fear of cultural encroachment “has been replaced with a legacy of federal and provincial incentives that have been designed with the express purpose of enticing American, international and out-of-province projects."

Impostor Cities considers many factors in Canada’s success as a film stand-in, from tax credits and lower production costs to skilled crews, high-quality facilities, and diverse landscapes. Our cities and buildings also tend to look more generic than those in many countries, argues the exhibition’s designer, Montreal architect Thomas Balaban.

Due to the pandemic, the Canadian team couldn’t travel to Italy to install the exhibition, including Balaban and curator David Theodore, Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Health, and Computation at McGill University. They instructed local workers via Zoom and FaceTime, and the Canadian Pavilion is now wrapped almost entirely in green fabric. Visitors can scan a QR code on their phones, taking them to an app that uses green screen technology to turn the Pavilion into iconic Canadian cityscapes on Instagram.

“It’s a really cool idea,” says VanderBurgh. “Inside the pavilion, one of the central pieces is a video that’s a compilation of 3,000 clips of films and TV shows where Canadian cities have stood in for other places.”

The website shares views of the exhibition, interspersed with film and TV clips and interviews with Canadian architects, film directors, set designers, and scholars. VanderBurgh attended the digital launch, where participants used avatars to mingle virtually and explore the Pavilion from afar. She also plans to take part in conferences and other scholarly events ahead for Impostor Cities. It’s a fascinating exercise in “the democratization of arts access through the digital world,” she says. “A way to make these things and gather in ways that we couldn’t before.” 

VanderBurgh teaches in the Department of English Language and Literature. She is nearing the finish line on her forthcoming book, What Television Remembers: Artefacts and Footprints of TV in Toronto. She’s also working on a book about Nova Scotia filmmaker Margaret Perry, and working with other researchers and the Nova Scotia Archives to digitize Perry’s films through an Archive / Counterarchive case study project.

Students in all three faculties at Saint Mary’s can take a Minor in Film Studies as part of their undergraduate degrees. VanderBurgh is the undergraduate coordinator for the minor, and will also soon be undergraduate coordinator for the Atlantic Canada Studies program. 

Impostor Cities is on view until November 21 at the Canadian Pavilion and www.impostorcities.com, in the Venice Biennale Architettura 2021. Read more from the Canada Council and follow @impostorcities on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and via the hashtag #ImpostorCities2021.

Undergraduate Students Earn Paid Summer Research Positions

 With hard work and dedication to their studies, top undergraduate students at Saint Mary’s have won the opportunity to do paid research with their professors this summer. Some will be in labs, others in the field or working remotely.  

Research at Saint Mary’s University has an impact on our community and globally. These students are placed across the campus in Science, Arts and Business faculties. Research topics include applying human resource concepts to sports teams, analyzing data and images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the shift in approach to feminist policy in Canada, and analysing case studies on the collapse of fish stocks and fisheries worldwide.  

Canadian and International students are eligible for four award programs:

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Undergraduate Student
  Research Awards (NSERC USRA);

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Explore Summer Research Awards; and,

• Dean of Science Undergraduate Summer Research Awards

• First Year Undergraduate Awards

Working with professors whose research is making positive changes in the world guides students on their educational path to become the next generation of researchers.  

“Saint Mary’s University faculty members excel at engaging undergraduate students in their research efforts, and these experiences are a transformational positive experience for every student that has the opportunity,” said Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President, Research and Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.  

“The one-on-one attention from our faculty members and teamwork with peers is a perfect complement to an undergraduate degree, and provides an exceptionally strong foundation for career entry, or future professional/graduate studies,” said Dr. Sarty.  

The Awards

USRA awards, open to Canadian students who have completed at least a year of a bachelor’s degree, are meant to help students develop their potential for a research career in the natural sciences and engineering.

SSHRC Explore awards are open to students studying social sciences and humanities. With these two award programs that are supported by our federal funding councils, combined with the Dean of Science and First Year awards, all Saint Mary’s University students, Canadian and international, have an opportunity to apply for summer research award positions, even after their first year of study. 

This year are students are working on these exciting and inspiring research projects:

Humaid Muhammad Agowun (Mathematics & Computing Science; Supervisor: Paul Muir) 

Tanisha Ballard (Chemistry; Supervisor: Clarissa Sit)

Continuing certain projects already initiated, my lab partners and I will be looking at improving plant growth, and potentially, pest control in crop production. This summer, hopefully we will be able to conduct field trials on various crops, as well as additional greenhouse and green roof trials this summer to investigate this.

Abigail Battson (Astrophysics; Supervisor: Vincent Hénault-Brunet)

I will be working on high-velocity stars in globular clusters. These stars are far too fast to have been produced by the typical cluster dynamics, and are likely produced by interactions between a binary star system and a black hole. My work involves finding these stars using the GAIA proper motion data and confirming that they are likely members of the cluster, with plans to apply this process to all the globular clusters I can. Eventually, I hope to analyze the three-body interactions that cause the star's high speed to discover what kind of black holes would produce the results observed.

Samantha Bennett (Environmental Science; Supervisor: Erin Cameron)

This summer I am going to be studying soil biodiversity and the effects of global change, climate change and invasive species on species distribution. I will spend part of the summer researching earthworms, looking into their distribution and dispersal. I am hoping to get the opportunity to go to Western Canada later in the summer to study the distribution of earthworms in Saskatchewan.

Hannah Birru (Economics; Supervisor: Joniada Milla)

Labour economics in Chile.

Abby Brouwer (Biology; Supervisor: Anne Dalziel)

Testing how freshwater tolerance evolves in stickleback or study the factors influencing hybridization rate and direction in killifishes. This work will involve collecting fish from the field, caring for fish brought back to the aquarium facilities, and conducting molecular and biochemical analyses in the lab.

Chloe Champion (Biology; Supervisor: Anne Dalziel)

Continuing field and molecular work in the Dalziel Lab on “Mechanisms affecting rates and directions of hybridization in killifish species producing asexual hybrids.”

Jakob Conrad (Mathematics; Supervisor: Mitja Mastnak)

The study and classfication of hopf algebras, using computational methods and tools, and studying the simultaneous triangularization of linear transformations and their corresponding chains of invariant subspaces.

Katrina Cruickshanks (Biology; Supervisor: Sean Haughian)

Analyzing lichen species of old growth forests of Nova Scotia to assist land managers with prioritizing conservation decisions. 

Myles Davidson (Psychology; Supervisor: Skye Stephens)

I am working with Dr. Skye Stephens on a prevention project for adults at risk of sexually offending against children. We are working on identifying what is considered best practice for preventing offending amongst this demographic.

Bryn de Chastelain (Political Science; Supervisor: Alexandra Dobrowolsky)

My research is supporting the development of an article by Dr. Dobrowolsky on the topic of feminist policy and gender equality in Canada. Specifically, I will be analyzing speeches and policy approaches under Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his son Justin Trudeau, demonstrating the shift (or lack thereof) in approach to feminist policy in Canada. This will inform a comparative analysis of the different political eras to showcase the realities of feminism and gender equality in Canada. 

Matthew Fancy (Marketing; Supervisor Tiffany Vu)

Helping to develop and test various theories in marketing pertaining to charitable giving and sustainability.

Mark Funnell (Geography & Environmental Studies; Supervisors: Matthew Novak & Khan Rahaman)

I am a first-year Geography undergrad working with the Wicked Problems Lab to assess the pandemic’s effect on local governance. This looks to answer how municipal government has been affected in Halifax and elsewhere in Canada through using qualitative data analysis software and other research methods.

Justin Gray (Mathematics and Computing Science; Supervisor: Stavros Konstantinidis)

A regular expression is a pattern that is used to match desirable word(s) in a text. Given a regular expression and a word, there are algorithms to determine if the regular expression matches the word; this is called the membership problem. This is often solved by converting the regular expression into an automaton, but can also be solved using other direct algorithms. My research will focus on algorithms and implementation of the membership problem for multi-dimensional word/regular expression tuples, which are studied in the area of what is formally known as rational word relations. This type of regular expressions is of current interest both in the theory of rational relations and their applications in areas like databases and computer security.

Samantha Henneberry (Chemistry; Supervisor: Rob Singer)

This summer I will be working with Dr. Singer and his team on a green chemistry project involving ionic organocatalysis. These ionic organocatalysts can potentially provide more green alternatives to traditional organic liquids. Another project involves the N-demethylation of opioids, using sonochemical / ultrasound methods. This project falls under the medicinal side of organic chemistry, and may even be published by the end of the summer.”

Jacob Hoare (Chemistry; Supervisor: Rob Singer)

Sam Julien (Chemistry; Supervisor: Christa Brosseau)

I am a 4th year chemistry honours student. I will be developing a novel biosensor for rapid detection of cardiac biomarkers. This technology may be useful for the early evaluation of heart attacks before the onset of physical symptoms.

Amy Kehoe (Engineering; Supervisor: Adel Merabet)

Maggie Kelly (Biology; Supervisor: Laura Weir)

I will be working with Dr. Weir and her study of the mating behaviour of Japanese Medaka fish.

Madison Kieffer (Modern Languages and Classics; Supervisor: Sveva Svavelli)

Processing artifacts and organizing documentation from the archaeological excavation at the Oenotrian-Greek site of Incoronata “greca” (Pisticci-Basilicata-Italy) (8th- 6th c. BCE). Current investigation of the site focuses on the relationships formed between Indigenous populations in southern Italy and incoming Greeks in the wider context of Greek colonialism and imperialism in the ancient Mediterranean.

Mayara Mejri (Biology; Supervisor: David Chiasson)

Nam Nguyen (Accounting; Supervisor: Vasiliki Athanasakou)

I am super passionate about working in the accounting and taxation field. I am currently participating in the research project of Professor Athanasakou to perform analysis on corporate reporting, and I am working full-time as an Excise Tax Examiner at the Canada Revenue Agency.  I am interested in this topic as I have the opportunity to review and evaluate annual reports and information forms from many different companies. Working with Professor Athanasakou and learning from her stories and experience will allow me to learn and gain more handy skills and knowledge, and this would help in pursuing my CPA designation.

Narmeen Oozer (Mathematics & Computing Science; Supervisor Mitja Mastnak)

Bibek Parajuli (Psychology; Supervisor: Arla Day)

Gwen Pearson (Women & Gender Studies/Criminology; Supervisors: Byers/Collins)

Collecting existing data and research on the subject in the media, including television shows and documentaries. I will examine the content relating to many different aspects like story arc, genre, and how characters are portrayed. I also expect to learn skills relating to criminology, media studies, and research, that will likely benefit me as I complete my degree. 

Bernice Perry (History; Supervisor: Heather Green)

Working alongside Professor Green and her collaborators on the Northern Borders Project, researching first and secondary sources for developing an open access online teaching module, surrounding aspects of borders and boundaries in the North. This project entails looking at physical borders and cultural and racial boundaries using scholarly and local perspectives. There is also an opportunity for independent research surrounding the project themes, which may be featured in the teaching module.

Grace Robertson (Environmental Science; Supervisor: Tony Charles)

I will be compiling and analysing case studies and other information from around the world on the collapse of fish stocks and fisheries, leading to a published report. I will also be working with simulation modelling of the impacts of marine protected areas on fisheries and marine biodiversity. Lastly, I will be engaging in the work of the Community Conservation Research Network through research and outreach activities.

Jacqueline Shaw (Psychology; Supervisor: Kevin Kelloway)

Working with Dr. Kelloway and his research group to study organizational response to the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as psychological injuries at work, stress interventions, and the relationship between personality and organizational outcomes.

Jaylynn Skeete (Psychology; Supervisor: Nicole Conrad)

I will be assisting Dr. Conrad with her research on the relationship between spelling and reading comprehension, and with statistical input and analysis as well as creating my own research study and design. 

Ashley Ta (Management; Supervisor: Terry Wagar)

Applying human resource concepts to sports teams, coaches, and athletes. I will also be assisting in writing literary reviews, assembling data, and conducting interviews. 

Devin Williams (Astrophysics; Supervisor: Marcin Sawicki)

Analyzing data and images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and other giant ground-based telescopes to study galaxy morphology, and learn how galaxies form, grow, and evolve in the early Universe.

Saint Mary’s Looks to Future with New Brand Story

Saint Mary’s University is looking to the future with the launch of a new brand.      

“It is time for Saint Mary’s University to assert our place boldly among the top Canadian universities and proclaim our advantages at home and around the globe,” says Saint Mary’s University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “This is the brand for our university and for our times. Saint Mary’s University offers a bright, ambitious vision for the future.”  

The new brand platform results from months of qualitative and quantitative research and extensive consultation with a diverse group of more than 3,000 faculty, staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders.   

The new treatment includes a logo, wordmark and tagline, ‘World Without Limits.’    

“‘World Without Limits’ is a wonderful distillation of who we are and what Saint Mary’s strives for every day. It is about investment in people, about economies, international relations and social prosperity, changes in science, technology, environment and business. It is also about acknowledging and tackling the very real limitations placed on diverse and marginalized cultures and peoples, and addressing the mental health issues that many grapple with every day. It is about Saint Mary’s bold vision and our commitment to our university community, for Halifax and for Nova Scotia,” says President Summerby-Murray.    

“More than an updated look and feel, our new brand platform is a powerful way of telling the Saint Mary’s story,” says Erin Sargeant Greenwood, Vice-President, Advancement. “Saint Mary’s offers a unique experience. We are a caring community, more typically associated with smaller universities, combined with the research and student engagement opportunities of the largest institutions. We are moving the university forward in a way that reflects our traditions and values and embraces our bright future.”   

Related links

• Learn more about our new brand platform

• Learn about the Sobey School brand

• Learn about the Husky logo

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Environmental History course nets OER award for Dr. Heather Green

Migration, Old Crow, YT; photo by Jon Luedee

We often associate environmental research with STEM, focusing on the science of human-environment relationships that have impacted climate and ecosystems. For Dr. Heather Green, environmental research encompasses not only the tangible evidence of climate change but also the histories of how environmental change has affected Indigenous and settler populations, wildlife, and the natural world.

The Council of Atlantic University Libraries (CAUL-CBUA) sees the broader potential for Green’s research and teaching, announcing April 15 that she is among the first five recipients of its AtlanticOER Development Grants. The new grants are intended to encourage educators in the region to create open educational resources (OER), and increase student access to course materials. 

An assistant professor in the Department of History at Saint Mary’s, Green applied for the grant in relation to her course HIST 2833: Environmental History of North America. Her winning project aims to raise awareness of Northern issues and experiences by incorporating them into her course curriculum and creating an online teaching module on environmental histories of borders in the North.

This work is part of her current research with the Northern Borders Project, developed in collaboration with two other historians: Dr.Jonathan Luedee, Postdoctoral Fellow in the University of Toronto’s history department; and independent scholar Dr. Glenn Iceton, Williams Lake, B.C. (PhD University of Saskatchewan).

The project has been supported through web support by the Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE), where she is an editor. The environmental humanities initiative is exploring “the dynamic socio-environmental contexts that have shaped the making of borders and boundaries throughout the circumpolar world from the nineteenth- century to the present,” says the project’s website.

A large portion of Green’s OER project is incorporating Indigenous and Inuit traditional knowledge and generational memory into course material and the public realm.

“Within the last 10 to 15 years, there has been a lot of controversy in the North around land claims, Indigenous sovereignty, certainly conflicts over resources, mining issues and of course climate change, so we are interested in examining the deep historical roots related to these issues. In keeping with our project goals, we want to ensure that this research is public,” says Green, adding this makes NiCHE an ideal home base for the project website.

“We wanted to approach an exploration of environmental and social contexts that have had a long history reaching into the present and look at how they have shaped the formation of borders in the northern region of North America,” Green explains.

On the flip side of that, she’s interested in understanding the role that borders themselves have played in the environmental crisis in the North today. Borders are more than geopolitical boundaries; they include racial and cultural boundaries, identity, gender, and the boundaries between Western knowledge production and Indigenous ways of knowing.

“Understanding ways in which knowledge is produced plays a crucial role in the lived experience of the North, because so much of northern residents’ lives have been shaped by southern influences from the nineteenth century onward,” says Green.

Further plans to boost accessibility to information about the Northern Borders Project include creating practical and applied mentorship and employment opportunities for students at Saint Mary’s.

“Our open, educational resource teaching module will consist of four different teaching units,” says Green. “These units will discuss broad conceptual themes, using different case studies in various forms of multimedia, including oral history, videos, photographs, and GIS (geographical information systems) mapping.” 

Through a SSHRC Summer Research Award, SMUworks and the OER funding, three students will work with Green during the summer months. They will help develop the teaching modules and conduct their own original research, which will be featured in the module units.

“This opportunity is exciting for students, as it will give them the skills training that is transferable outside of history,” says Green. “They will also have the chance to walk away from these work terms having completed their own original research and digital history project.”

Find out more about the Northern Borders Project and follow Dr. Green on Twitter at @heathergreen21. Her first book, The Great Upheaval: Gold Mining and Environmental Change in the Klondike, is forthcoming with the UBC Press Nature, History, Society series.