No. 490 - October 5, 2022

  • Coming Events:

    - FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
    - Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon: Writing Indigenous Researchers into History
    - Imagined Audiences: Connecting the History and Theory of American Entertainment Television, Television Production Studios, and the Debates Surrounding Postfeminism
    - The Telenovela Archives: The Early Years
    - Webinar - Digital Inclusion and Libraries in North America: Prospects and Challenges
    - Disinformation Disorder and Potential Solutions for Canada

  • Important Dates:

    - Monday, October 10, 2022 - Thanksgiving Holiday (no classes, offices closed)
    - Wednesday, October 19 - Friday, October 21, 2022 - Autumn Convocation (FIMS - 3 PM, October 20, reception to follow in FNB atrium)

  • News & Announcements:

    - Subscribe to the Graduate Research Blog

  • Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Emily Gusba (MLIS'08)

  • Publications & Presentations:

    - Yimin Chen
    - Sarah Cornwell
    - Nicole Delellis
    - Dominique Kelly
    - Lyall King (MLIS'02)
    - Yifan Liu
    - Danica Pawlick-Potts
    - Victoria Rubin
    - Hugh Samson

  • In the Media:

    - Adriana Alas Lopez
    - Revna Altiok
    - Amanda Grzyb
    - Heather Hill
    - Anabel Quan-Haase
    - Effie Sapuridis
    - Sam Trosow
    - Minor in Black Studies

  • News from the FIMS Graduate Library:

    - Writing at the Graduate Level
    - Organizing your Research with Zotero (Citation Management 101)
    - Voter Pop-Up Station (Election Literacy & Voting Simulation)

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events


FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
Every Wednesday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Check your Western email for the link (or contact Pam McKenzie)
Do you expect to have assignment, story, article, report, thesis, and/or book writing deadlines coming up in the Fall term? Does having other people writing around you help keep you on-task? Then join us for FIMSWrites, an informal initiative to provide some solidarity in the sometimes-solitary writing process. What it is: a group of people sitting silently together working on their individual writing projects for 25-minute Pomodoro sessions, with short breaks between and a longer mid-morning coffee, snack, and socializing break. What it's not: a writing tutorial or workshop. Open to FIMS faculty and grad students who have writing to work on.

Imagined Audiences: Connecting the History and Theory of American Entertainment Television, Television Production Studies, and the Debates Surrounding Postfeminism
Thursday, October 13, 2022
4:30 p.m.
Attend in person - FNB 4130
Attend online - Zoom
Presented by Avery Page, PhD in Media Studies student.
Abstract: This fields essay explores the key themes and existing scholarship that constitute the history and theory of American entertainment television, television production studies, and the debates surrounding postfeminism. Framing my discussion through the lens of the American sitcom, I approach each field with an intersectional perspective, concluding with a discussion on the connections between the three areas of inquiry (continue reading).

Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon: Writing Indigenous Researchers into History
Friday, October 14, 2022
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Weldon Library, Instruction Room
Hosted by The First Nations Guide to Working with Academics and Western Libraries.
Description: Wikipedia has been criticized for systemic racial bias as articles surrounding BIPOC topics and people tend to be inexistent or incomplete. This 2-hour workshop teaches attendees how to edit Wikipedia in order to honour Indigenous researchers and to improve public understandings of the knowledge contributions made by them. There will be light refreshments (food and drinks) and the chance to win a prize. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Telenovela Archives: The Early Years
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Attend in person - FNB 4070
Attend online - Register for Zoom link
Presented by FIMS instructor Juan Bello.
Description: This project explores the early years of the production of serialized fiction in Latin America (1950-1972), and the evolution of ‘telenovelas’ as one of the most watched formats around the world. The limitations of recording technologies at the time, and the lack of archival preservation policies, make it difficult today to gain access to content produced in Latin America during that period (continue reading).

Webinar - Digital Inclusion in North American Libraries: Prospects and Challenges
Thursday, October 20, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Register for Zoom Webinar
Digital Inclusion is defined as “the ability of individuals and groups to access and use information and communication technologies.” Although some significant progress has been made in the areas of digital inclusion in North America, there is still a long way to go before we can include everyone to be part of the digital world (continue reading).

Disinformation Disorder and Potential Solutions for Canada
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130 (light refreshments provided)
Attend online: Zoom Webinar
Presented by Heidi Tworek, Canada Research Chair in History and Policy of Health Communications.
Abstract: Poor-quality information and conspiracy theories seem to be floating around everywhere. But how can we understand the effects of these issues and are there any ways to address them? This talk will explore the history of disinformation to examine what is new about our present problems. It will then examine how poor-quality information and online abuse are affecting health and politics in Canada before finally suggesting some solutions to these complex questions (continue reading).


Important Dates


- Monday, October 10, 2022 - Thanksgiving Holiday (no classes, offices closed)
- Wednesday, October 19 - Friday, October 21, 2022 - Autumn Convocation (FIMS - 3 PM, October 20)


News & Announcements


Subscribe to the Graduate Research Blog
Graduate Students are invited to subscribe to the Graduate Student Research Blog. The blog provides research information for graduate students - scholarship, fellowship, internship and other funding announcements, tips on writing scholarship/funding applications, and other research-related tidbits.


Awards & Accomplishments


Emily Gusba (MLIS'08) was announced by the Assistant Deputy Minister, Collections, as part of the new senior leadership team for the Collections sector at Library and Archives Canada in early October.


Publications & Presentations


The LiT.RL research team, composed of Associate Professor Victoria Rubin, doctoral students Alex Mayhew, Nicole Delellis, Sarah Cornwell, Yifan Liu (LIS), Dominique Kelly (Media Studies) and alumnus Yimin Chen (LIS PhD'22), will present the following posters at ASIS&T2022 on October 31.

- "Engagement for Good or Ill: Comparing Characteristics of Co-Creative and Co-Destructive Online Communities"
- "Applying Positive Psychology's Subjective Well-Being to Online Interactions"
- "Envisioning Ethical Mass Influence Systems"

Lyall King (MLIS'02), currently working as the Director of Risk Mitigation Programs, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, will sit on a panel titled "Data Collection and Effective Public Policy," held at the 2022 Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute Annual Conference (October 6-7).

Danica Pawlick-Potts, LIS PhD candidate, presented a paper titled "Is anybody in there?: Towards a model of affect and trust in human - AI information interactions" at the Information Behaviour Conference (Sept 26-29 in Berlin). The paper was one of three papers nominated for the ISIC 2022 Outstanding Paper Award.

Hugh Samson, LIS PhD candidate, also presented at ISIC 2022, submitting a paper titled "Information balance."


In the Media


Associate Professor Amanda Grzyb and FIMS postdoc Adriana Alas Lopez were quoted in a Western News article titled "Researchers and students preserve and document El Salvador civil war memories," published on October 3. The multimedia piece includes image galleries and video.

Associate Professor Heather Hill was quoted in the Western Gazette article "Bike to Campus Day educates faculty and students on sustainability," published on September 26.

Professor Anabel Quan-Haase was a guest on The CRAM Podcast ~ Extraordinary Ideas Unleashed for an episode titled "The 'surprising' role serendipity plays in your life" that was published on September 22. To hear the episode, look up the podcast through your favourite provider, or watch the version posted on YouTube.

Professor Quan-Haase also appeared on CBC Afternoon Drive with Allison Devereaux on September 23 in a segment titled "Homecoming Returns to Western University" to discuss how social media can either calm or fuel unruly behaviour.

Associate Professor Sam Trosow, who is currently running for City Councillor, Ward 6, is mentioned in a Western Gazette article titled "Ward 6 candidates discuss affordability, inclusion and housing in tense meeting," published on September 23.

Professor Trosow also appeared in a September 26 Western Gazette article titled "Bayfield units vacant as grad students struggle to find housing," in which he speaks out as a representative of the Board of Governors.

Media Studies doctoral students Revna Altiok and Effie Sapuridis are also quoted in that article.

FIMS is one of three faculties mentioned in a Western Gazette article titled "Western introduces Black studies minor," published on October 3. FIMS, Arts and Humanities, and Social Sciences will all offer courses as part of the new minor.


News from the FIMS Graduate Library


The FIMS Graduate Library Presents...

Writing at the Graduate Level, with Paul Schmidt
Wednesday, October 5th, 12-1pm (FNB 4130)

We are excited to welcome the return of in-person workshops for graduate students this fall. Please join us for Writing at the Graduate Level, with Paul Schmidt, Associate Director of Western's Writing Support Centre. Paul has taught in the Faculty of Engineering and in the Ivey Business School for more than a decade. He values clear, concise writing and abhors hearing the word 'leverage' used as a verb.

This session will focus on how to write with impact at the graduate level. All are welcome, but space is limited so registration is required. Please register in person in the FIMS Grad Library, or by emailing fimslib@uwo.ca.

Organizing your Research with Zotero (Citation Management 101) with Heather Campbell
Wednesday, November 9th, 12-1pm (FNB, 3010) or via Zoom* (you will receive the Zoom link after registration)

This hybrid session will explore the advantages of reference management tools. Beyond quickly generating citations, reference managers allow researchers to construct a library of references, notes, and files in one place for quick retrieval. While there are many reference mangers to choose from, this workshop focuses on Zotero. After registration, you will receive instructions for how to download and install Zotero.

Session outcomes:

  • Identify the many benefits of reference managers
  • Build your own library using Zotero
  • Use reference managers for proper citation practices

Heather Campbell is Curriculum Librarian for Western Libraries, and a curriculum specialist with Western’s Centre for Teaching and Learning. Heather is a long-time Zotero fan, even during her own time at FIMS, and continues to use it daily in her work as an academic librarian.

Please register in person in the FIMS Grad Library, or by emailing fimslib@uwo.ca.

Voter Pop-Up Station (Election Literacy & Voting Simulation) in the Library this October!
In partnership wtih Pillar Nonpofit Network, the FIMS Graduate Library is thrilled to announce that it will be participating in Project 51 London, a voting engagement initiative that offers local community organizations an opportunity to mount 'Voter Pop-Up Stations' (i.e., election station simulations) to encourage election literacy, readiness, and participation. If you've never had the opportunity to vote in an election, this is a fantastic opportunity to become familiar with the process and to gain hands-on, tactile experience casting your ballot. Please 'pop in' to the Library throughout October to give it a try!

The FIMS Graduate Library will host its own 'Voter Pop-Up Station' beginning Tuesday, October 11th and in the weeks leading up to the October 24th municipal election. All members of the FIMS community, and especially those who have not had the opportunity to vote in a municipal election in London, ON before, are warmly encouraged to visit and experience what it looks and feel like to vote!


Next Issue


The Grad Bulletin is your source for news, announcements, and events pertaining to FIMS graduate programs. Submissions from the FIMS community are always welcome and may be sent via e-mail to fims-communications@uwo.ca.

The next issue of the FIMS Graduate Bulletin will be published on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. The deadline for submissions is noon on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.