Psychology researcher recruiting volunteers for online study on responses to the coronavirus pandemic

Survey: Canadian Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic

A study designed by Dr. Jim Cameron, Department of Psychology professor and researcher at Saint Mary's University, will increase understanding of Canadians’ perceptions of the coronavirus pandemic and their actions in response to it.

Nations and communities are using social and physical distancing to slow the spread of the virus so that healthcare systems aren’t overwhelmed. The success of the physical distancing approach largely rests on individuals’ voluntary compliance with public health recommendations and legal regulations.

As the situation evolves in Canada, there have been concerns that physical distancing recommendations have been disregarded or not taken seriously enough by some individuals. National and provincial leaders have using various techniques to encourage public support for these initiatives.

“We hope that the study will contribute to social psychological science, and inform practices related to public health messaging,” said Dr. Cameron.

Canadian adults (18 years or over) are invited to participate in the survey, which takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Click here to start the survey: 

https://smuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dhGoFhUpLBUtCS1

(SMU REB file #20-095)

Dr. Maryanne Fisher named guest editor of prestigious Psychology journal

Dr. Maryanne Fisher

Congratulations to Dr. Maryanne Fisher, who was chosen to be the guest editor of the January edition of the American Psychological Association’s journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, a special edition which addresses women’s representation in evolutionary-based research and theory.

Dr. Fisher, a professor of Psychology at Saint Mary’s and an affiliate faculty member at the Kinsey Institute, is an evolutionary psychologist whose work explores human relationships through an evolutionary lens.

A well-known expert in her field, her primary research topic is the evolutionary foundations of human interpersonal relationships, female intrasexual competition, and women’s mating strategies. She is also interested in the intersection between feminist studies and evolutionary psychology.  

She was thrilled to take on the task of editing the special edition of the journal, a task she has some experience with; she was also the guest editor of the Oxford Handbook of Women and Competition in 2017 and Evolution’s Empress: Darwinian Perspectives on the Nature of Women in 2013.

When speaking about the selection process, Dr. Fisher said it was extremely difficult to narrow down the entries, even removing her own work from the contention.

“We had so many excellent papers submitted, we could have filled two journals,” said Dr. Fisher. “They were very good, very high quality.”

This special issue examines how women have been studied from an evolutionary perspective, and how the discipline both questions assumptions about women and has limited explorations of women and.

“Evolutionary perspectives have often been openly criticized in fields such as women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, to the point of being dismissed outright in favor of sociocultural explanations for behavior, motivation, emotions, and cognitions,” said Dr. Fisher.

“Collectively the articles show that women are not simply passive entities, but instead play significant and active parts in human evolution and theories about evolutionary bases of behavior.”

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences publishes manuscripts that advance the study of human behavior from an evolutionary perspective, with an emphasis on work that integrates evolutionary theory with other approaches and perspectives from across the behavioral sciences, including the range of subdisciplines within psychology as well as the social sciences (e.g., sociology, political science, criminology) and humanities (e.g., history, literature studies).

Saint Mary’s applauds and welcomes support for students

Saint Mary’s University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray said the announcement today, April 22, by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will help students throughout the country.  

“We know students were worried about their personal finances and their family's finances,” said Dr. Summerby-Murray. “Today, Prime Minister Trudeau provided those worried families support and hope.” 

The federal government’s new programs will provide support for students over the summer months and will increase support for students as they return to study this fall. 

“The best way to have a stronger economy in the future is to invest in students today,” said Dr. Summerby-Murray. “This is an unprecedented investment in students and our sector. This investment will help students this fall, and it will help our economy grow and be more resilient to future shocks.” 

Dr. Summerby-Murray said all levels of government have worked hard to create new supports at record speed while being responsive to the sector and other stakeholders. 

“This crisis is testing our institutions, and they are proving they are up to the challenge,” said Dr. Summerby-Murray.  

He noted Saint Mary’s University has worked with alumni, staff and faculty donors to provide short-term emergency support to its students who need it most, provided PPE to frontline health workers, engaged in rapid response research funded by the federal government, and is providing free mentoring to businesses throughout the region.  

“All sectors of our society are standing together as we combat the pandemic, and we remain committed to being active partners in the fight.”  

Message from the President: Condolences to our community

Dear Saint Mary's community, 

The unthinkable tragedy of this past weekend has left all of us shocked, saddened, and grieving. Our closely-knit, peaceful province is feeling this loss deeply.
 
In a place that celebrates close connections in our everyday lives, these senseless acts are particularly painful. Our community is connected; our students, staff, faculty and alumni are part of Nova Scotia and many have lost loved ones, family, friends and acquaintances.

On behalf of the entire Saint Mary’s community, I extend deepest sympathies to those who have lost someone. I also want to express gratitude to the many first responders and front-line workers who risk their own safety to protect their fellow Nova Scotians.

In a continuing expression of remembrance, flags at Saint Mary’s University were lowered to half-staff yesterday morning and will remain so for the rest of this week, including through the virtual vigil being hosted on Facebook on Friday evening

While we cannot gather in-person to support one another in this difficult time, there is help available. I encourage you to reach out to these university supports if you need assistance. I also want to convey to you the many expressions of support we are receiving from across Canada and around the world.
 
As the sun set over Nova Scotia yesterday evening, many of us took comfort in its uncommon beauty. Still others across the province and the country lit candles as a sign of remembrance and solidarity. I am consoled by these simple but significant reminders of our connectedness, care, and resilience – I hope you are as well.
 
Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other.
 
Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray
President and Vice-Chancellor
Saint Mary’s University

Community Food Room receives boost and helps students in need

Though the physical location may be closed, the Community Food Room at Saint Mary’s is still finding ways to help students in need.

Run by jointly by Student Affairs & Services and SMUSA, the Food Room aims to offer access to safe, nutritious, and personally acceptable foods in a way that maintains human dignity.

Last week, the Community Food Room offered a one-time program for students to apply for an electronic gift card to purchase food at Atlantic Superstore or online at PC Express. 

“The idea was to help bridge the gap for students who are waiting for funds from the government or other programs,” said Lyndsay Anderson, Assistant Director, Student Culture and Experience at Saint Mary’s.

The initiative drew great response and proved to be timely, with a total of 101 students applying for assistance. Each student received a $30 gift card to get much-needed food and supplies.

The Community Food Room also received a welcome boost from Enterprise Atlantic Canada, a long-term contributor to the program through their partnership with the Athletics & Recreation department. Enterprise recently made a generous gift of $4500 - an increase of $1000 from their gift last year.

“We are extremely grateful for this gift,” said Adam Daniels, Student Transitions Specialist with SMU Student Affairs & Services. “These funds will help the Food Room to continue to provide assistance to students in need, and allow the Food Room to be immediately restocked once the physical location on campus can open again.”

Though the Community Food Room remains closed, other help is available:

• https://www.feednovascotia.ca/find-food 

• http://ns.211.ca/

• The DSU Food Bank is open:  https://www.facebook.com/dsufoodbank.

Alumna raises $20,000 in medical supplies for China, now helping Canada

Jennifer Lynch and Angela Jing Yang with supplies ready to be sent to China.

Since late January, Saint Mary’s University alumna Angela Jing Yang BComm’05 has been fundraising to help combat the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan, China. 

“Helping others at difficult times has always been important to me,” says Jing Yang, who works as a real estate agen. “My friend Jennifer Lynch and I saw reports of people becoming ill and dying because of the coronavirus. Seeing the sacrifices of medical professionals, we were compelled to contribute.” 

Jing Yang and Lynch have raised more than $20,000 worth of medical supplies including N95 masks, goggles and protective clothes for hospitals in Wuhan and Si Chuan. Lynch, a professional accountant who attended the Schulich School of Business at York University, and Jing Yang, purchased all of the supplies upfront to kick start the initiative. Then, they organized an online WeChat group to see if others wanted to help. All of the supplies were delivered to China and used by front line doctors and medical staff. 

Now that the virus spread has subsided in China, Jing Yang and Lynch are helping with the crisis in Canada. “We made five donations to China; however, given the spread of the coronavirus in Canada, we are now focusing our efforts here,” explains Jing Yang. “WeChat group members are currently working on coordinating donations to Toronto area hospitals.” 

The WeChat group has close to 200 members including Saint Mary’s alumni Dan Ding MFin'15, Yiana Zeng BComm’14, and Qi Wang BComm’06 as well as York University's Schulich School of Business alumni. Some members reside in Canada and others in China, all of which are united by their desire to lend a helping hand at this challenging time. 

During the pandemic, one of the issues has been the logistical challenges of delivering supplies to China. From the 12-hour time difference to international flight cancellations and confusing government processes, the group faced adversity but did not give up. 

However, the groups’ first delivery was finally a success. It was made by member Johnny Wang who travelled to South China with four suitcases full of supplies. Once he arrived, he forwarded the supplies to Wuhan. Within five days, doctors at Wuhan Xie He Hospital were using them on the front line. 

Jing Yang credits the success of the initiative to WeChat group members and others who supported the project including Dr. Chao Yang, the Chief Resident from WuHan Xie He Hospital, a Chinese Real Estate Investment Group, and Da Meng Ontario Inc. These supporters worked very hard to ensure that all of the supplies made it successfully to China.  

“I hope this is just one small example of how humanity can come together. It shows that what unites us is stronger than what divides.”  

SMU Chemistry students, faculty help with hand sanitizer project

Honours Chemistry students Prashansa Kooshna and Julie Dayrit.

With the scope of the global COVID-19 pandemic expanding quickly, Honours Chemistry students Julie Dayrit and Prashansa Kooshna wanted to help, hoping that they might be able to produce hand sanitizer in now-vacant chemistry labs after the closure of the Saint Mary’s University campus.

“It all started before the SMU campus lockdown as Prashansa and I were discussing the cases of COVID-19 in Canada and the shortage of protective equipment against COVID-19 situation,” said Julie.

“We then started drafting plans to work with what we can find in the drug stores to make hand sanitizers to be available for the public. We realized that we would need help to execute this.”

“We research potential gelling agents and set up little labs to test each recipe at our own apartments,” said Julie.

The students worked with Drs. Jason Masuda and Clarissa Sit, who offered advice on the recipe, explaining the chemical ingredients of other hand sanitizers and how to make a good product with the appropriate consistency.

Once it became clear how much bigger this project could be, the students contacted the Halifax Distilling Company, whose owners were already looking at creating this valuable commodity.

In hindsight it’s a good thing we teamed up with the Halifax Distilling Company,” said Dr. Masuda. “They are able to produce much more hand sanitizer than the 50 litres or so we could have produced in a lab on campus.”

Nova Scotia Power provided funding for the project, on the condition that they will purchase the sanitizer at cost, and that a portion would be donated to community organizations like Souls Harbour Mission.

“We are working with the Halifax Distillery with the bulk production, troubleshooting, and packaging,” said Julie.

“Once all of the shipments arrive, we will start our production. I am also communicating with Caremongering Halifax to target deliveries of these hand sanitizers for front line workers for free.”

Enactus Saint Mary's wins big at regional competition

Enactus Saint Mary’s and SMU EC together online.

Each year Enactus teams from across the country compete in regional competitions to showcase the impact they've made over the past year, with top teams moving forward to compete at the national level of competition. With the cancellation of in-person competitions as a result of COVID-19, the Enactus regional competition moved forward online. The results were announced live on April 8, 2020.

Enactus Saint Mary's proved that their online pitches are just as strong as their in-person pitches, winning all four Enactus regional challenges—the most of any university in the country. They will now compete in all four topics, along with the overall Enactus presentation, at the virtual National Competition in May.

In late March, teams were asked to submit 5-minute videos showcasing the impact of their projects. Enactus Saint Mary's participated in all four regional topic challenges by submitting a separate video for each. Competitions included the CWB Financial Education Challenge, Scotiabank Climate Change Challenge, Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge and the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge.

Enactus Saint Mary’s share the great news on their Instagram page, @enactus_smu.

Additionally, two of Saint Mary's student entrepreneurs have made it to the Enactus Student Entrepreneur National Competition — Nevell Provo (Smooth Meal Prep) and Mubdu Alali (Bloxo).

"I am extremely proud of the team and our two student entrepreneur winners. Not just for this showing but for how they have approached the current pandemic," said Michael Sanderson, the Director of the Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre. "In addition to this big win, they have pivoted Square Roots to a donation model to help our most vulnerable communities and have delivered over 10,000lbs of fruits and vegetables in the last two weeks!"

Enactus Saint Mary's is a student-led organization that uses entrepreneurial action to make positive change in the community. With over 100 students, Enactus Saint Mary's currently operates seven projects ranging from reducing plastic waste in the ocean to forming food-based social enterprises with refugees, to operating an employability training program for at-risk youth. Enactus Saint Mary's is proud to partner with the Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre to offer its programs. 

Saint Mary’s calling on its alumni and friends to support emergency funding for students who have been financially impacted by COVID-19

The Saint Mary’s community is coming together in support of emergency funding for students who have been financially impacted by COVID-19. 

“Our students need our support more than ever,” said Saint Mary’s University President Robert Summerby-Murray. “It is imperative that we join together and help our students during this unprecedented time.”

The goal of the Emergency Student Bursary Fund is to help students with unexpected and urgent expenses in extenuating circumstances. Related to COVID-19, the fund will provide short-term and long-term support for students and cover the basics such as rent, bills, groceries, and other necessities.

Many Saint Mary’s students were employed in the industries hardest hit by COVID-19 closures including hospitality, tourism, and retail. This has resulted in significant job loss and an urgent need for student financial assistance.

“Every day, we are receiving new applications for financial aid from students who are in challenging situations and we are responding as quickly as we can to meet their  needs,” said Erin Sargeant Greenwood, Vice President, Advancement.

The Emergency Student Bursary Fund provides resources to help students complete their studies and finish the academic term.

“The funds will help alleviate financial pressure and keep our students on track towards graduation,” said President Summerby-Murray. “The fund represents our commitment to our students and reminds them that we are always here for them. We are in this together.”

If you are interested in supporting Saint Mary’s University students, please visit our online giving page for the Student Emergency Bursary Fund to make a gift.

To learn more about Saint Mary’s response to COVID-19 please visit: https://smu.ca/virtualuniversity/covidupdates.html

MTEI alumnus innovating in 3D to help fight virus

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kevin Gallant MTEI ’16, began making face shields for health professionals and customer service outlets through 3D printing.

Kevin Gallant MTEI ’16 and two of his 3D printed face shields.

Kevin Gallant is a professional engineer, entrepreneur, and an instructor and researcher with NBCC Miramichi.

“I was requested, from a few consultants and companies, to help in this request for PPE or protective gear for hospitals. For some reason, I expected this, based on my 3D printing network requests,” says Kevin. 

He posted about the shields on LinkedIn and was surprised to receive over 13k views, along with comments and requests to help. “This surprised me, that people were empowered to see how something so simple for me made such a large impact. I wanted to share how volunteerism can help support health professionals or people on the front lines that need PPE.”

“I purchased a $25 face shield from a local retail store three weeks ago,” he adds. “Now I can make them for one-fifth the price, but we are trying to price it properly to cover costs, shipping and provide some incentives to volunteer 3D printer shops. Safety is a concern with any product supply chain movement.”  

So how do you start making face shields? For someone who revels in technology, this part was easy: “I knew a company called PRUSA had shared a prototype design that they have perfected through dozens of prints, called the RC3.1 face shield.”

The company had gone through dozens of prototypes and two verifications with the Czech Ministry of Health. The work is shared under a license under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License. 

“I downloaded the 3D print file and imported it into my own 3D printer software for Ditto-pro supported formats. This was a great design, and fit 100 clear shields perfectly.” 

“I have two brands of 3D printers in my own home basement lab. These can print a face shield support in three hours each.”

Kevin used the rope skills he developed lobster fishing to tie the elastic rear backings for a comfortable fit. The backings were supplied from Anne Bracken Formals.

Kevin is now working with a supply chain to maintain over 25 3D printers in a network creating the PPE pieces. The clear shields are currently supplied, but there are plans to stamp out their own rolled sheets once the supply chain is broken. 

Face shields isn’t the end of it though – he’s already working on the next way to help. “Another different COVID-19 project is our NO-touch door knob for senior facilities.  This custom door knob attachment that can allow people only to use their arm or elbow to open and pull.  This will help with a no touch or prevent contamination in high-touch zones.”  

“As an engineer and inventor I promote community projects such as new cedar planters for food banks which have rain gutters to support self-watering leveling tanks,” says Kevin. “I’m always open to explore new projects, including sustainable and renewable technologies. I invite people who are looking for an engineer partner for their social enterprise or sustainability project to check out my video profile.”

Kevin has been teaching 3D and innovation for more than 26 years.

Additional notes:

• Check out Kevin Gallant’s 3D printed face shields in this video

• View an explainer video of the no-touch door knob attachment.

• View Kevin Gallant’s professional video profile.

Enactus Saint Mary's Square Roots program offers free vegetable bundles

Square Roots bundles.

Enactus Saint Mary's award-winning Square Roots food bundle program is doing its part to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting on April 3, 2020, Square Roots will be donating their vegetable bundles for free.

"The idea to continue the program for free came from our Sackville community manager Jason Craig," says Hannah Tibbet, the bundle program co-project manager with Square Roots. "He connected us with people who were looking to donate to the program for it to continue but for free. It's a challenging time for a lot of people, so 5500 pounds of free food makes a big difference."

The free vegetable bundles are being distributed Square Roots locations across Halifax, including Fairview/Clayton Park, Sackville, Bedford, Dartmouth and Tantallon. Square Roots has partnered with Harbour Watercraft Tours & Adventures, run by SMU alumni Ossama Nasrallah Bcomm'18 and Omar Hassan Bcomm'16, to assist with deliveries.

Halifax has supported us since day one and it's our time to give back. Today, we sorted and delivered more than 1000 lb of free vegetables for people in need. It's times like these that we support each other as one community. #SquareRoots #EnactusSMU @THWAdventures pic.twitter.com/U2RtKxx3Fc

— Ossama Nasrallah (@Osamaa95) April 3, 2020

Square Roots sends a special thanks to the supporters of free bundles in Fairview/Clayton Park.
Supporters include:

• Patricia Arab, MLA for Fairview-Clayton Park;

• Russell Walker, Councillor for District 10;

• Gary O'Hara, Watchdog Communications; and

• Jodi Tsitouras, Magic Beings Child Care Centre.

Launched in November 2016, Square Roots fights food insecurity, food deserts and food waste in Nova Scotia through a monthly, affordable and healthy food bundle service. The food bundles cost $5 and $10 each and feature 10 pounds of imperfect fruits and vegetables sourced locally from the Annapolis Valley. They may be too imperfect for sale in stores, but they are perfectly good to eat.

Square Roots is an Enactus Saint Mary's social enterprise. With over 150 students, Enactus Saint Mary's currently operates seven projects and one process, ranging from consulting entrepreneurs on the autism spectrum to forming food-based social enterprises with refugees and at-risk youth, to operating a computer literacy program for at-risk youth. Enactus Saint Mary's is proud to partner with the Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre to offer its programs.

For more information, visit @squarerootssmu on Facebook or Instagram.

SMU Language Centre sharing the universal language of support and care

The Language Centre at Saint Mary’s University

For many, going to a new country to live and learn a new language can be daunting. For students at the Saint Mary’s University Language Centre, it’s just the start of a new semester. With the initiation of physical distancing as a result of COVID-19, the Language Centre has expanded an existing program to promote virtual social activities for students learning English.

“While many of our students have returned home, we do have students staying here in Halifax, and it’s important that we continue to engage with them and support them during this challenging time,” says Matthew Beal, the Student Programs Coordinator at the Saint Mary’s University Language Centre. “We’ve constantly been touching base with students, virtually, sharing online resources and at-home activity suggestions, like exercise videos, mindfulness meditations, virtual museum tours and more.”

Before the university move to virtual operation, suspending in-person classes and activities, the centre was working on growing an English conversation program called The Talk Project. This program connects SMU student volunteers with language centre student participants through informal networking and discussion groups. The program allows SMU student volunteers to earn Co-Curricular Record Credits and provides language centre students with an opportunity to practice their English conversation skills.

“In just three short months, this program had grown exponentially as our most popular student activity,” remarks Beal. “It’s been so successful that we decided to ramp it up right now to make sure our students are only physically distancing themselves but still engaging socially.”

The Talk Project 2.0 is a group video-chat format using the Zoom cloud meetings application. TLC students have the chance to connect with each other, and with SMU student volunteers, in small video-chat groups. The idea is to maintain socialization from a distance through stimulating discussions and the sharing of experiences.

“We feel this program is an invaluable resource right now, as the maintenance of social relationships is so crucial to human wellbeing,” adds Beal. “Moreover, we always want to help students bridge the gap between their in-class academic English studies and the practical use of language competency in the real world.”