Please join Dr. Rochelle Stevenson, assistant professor, for this important discussion on domestic violence in Canada and its impact on humans and pets.
Description Many people in Canada experience domestic violence every day, and this has only increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as many families also include pets, animals are also at risk of increased mistreatment as part of a home with domestic violence. This presentation provides an overview of the potential reasons for the increase of domestic violence, a discussion of how animals are included in such violence, as well as research enabling a freely available resource supporting both human and animal family members to find safety from abuse.
This event will premiere on YouTube, and Dr. Stevenson will be on hand to answer questions. Check back for the link!
Mendt and Chisholm, both Master of Science in Environmental Science (MScES) students, received the $7,500 fellowships in recognition of their academic excellence and potential for future contributions in their respective fields.
Now in his second year of his MScES, Chisholm has completed data collection, which involved the novel use of wildlife monitoring cameras to better understand the habitat needs of squirrels and snowshoe hare in North Central British Columbia. This fellowship, he says, provides much appreciated financial support, but also validates his research program.
“I hope my research will provide information necessary to foresters and natural resource managers about protecting habitat, not only for those species, but for the species including lynx and marten that prey on them,” said Chisholm, who expects to defend his thesis later this year.
While Chisholm’s research takes him inland, Mendt’s research takes her to the Coast, where she studies marine ecology, specifically the juvenile mortality of intertidal invertebrates.
“I am so passionate about aquaculture and fisheries science and hope that my research will increase knowledge in those fields,” she said. “I am so grateful for this award. It really alleviates the financial stress, allowing me to focus on research and writing without financial pressure.”
These fellowships were generously created by an anonymous donor. Students who receive these prestigious awards are selected based on their demonstrated potential for future contributions to our understanding of the environment.
When it comes to finding out what youth need to thrive Dr. Bonnie Fournier has always relied upon the simplest method of discovery. She asks them, and she listens.
A year ago, the associate professor of nursing embarked on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded project called “What can we learn from rural youth?” The research team includes co-investigator Dr. Tracy Christianson, assistant professor of nursing, Research Co-ordinator Shannon Desbiens, MEd in Counselling (TRU), and Ashcroft and Cache Creek youth co-ordinators Rhea Little and Lenay Weigel. Together they have spent the year listening to youth to better understand what they need in their communities to feel supported and valued, and encouraging them to identify solutions.
“The youth co-ordinators recruited their own participants and met every two weeks to explore ideas about what is important and what matters to them in their rural communities,” Fournier said of the projects that are being undertaken in both Ashcroft/Cache Creek, and in Kimberley. On Friday, Jan. 17, the youth from the Ashcroft/Cache Creek group will present their recommendations to community leaders, which includes incorporating more safe, outdoor gathering spaces for youth.
“They were very clear that the lack of green spaces and lack of places to hang out, especially in Cache Creek, was concerning especially since there was talk of closing the local swimming pool,” said Fournier.
Along with green spaces, youth expressed a desire to clean up their community, which they felt would instill a sense of community pride, said Desbiens.
As part of their presentation, the youth involved in the year-long discovery process will showcase the photos that they have taken of their community, along with a song they wrote together, and an accompanying music video. While Fournier hopes that the efforts will result in tangible outcomes, the main goal of the project is empowering youth, and encouraging them to be brave enough to create change in their communities.
“The voices of youth are often silenced or silent because people don’t tend to value their opinions. For me, this study is about raising the voices of youth so they can decide what they want, what is of concern to them, and creating some sense of confidence and hope that they can do something about their present, and about their future,” she said.
When one edits a book, certainly the process can be challenging.
But the latest book edited by Dr. Jeff McLaughlin, Lost to the Shoah: Eight Lives, is more than challenging — it is emotional, and heart-wrenching, and despite having read each story scores of times, it never became easier, nor should it.
This is the second book the philosophy professor has edited for Vera Schiff. A Holocaust survivor, Schiff is now in her mid-90s and has spent much of her life sharing stories about the people she knew and about her own experiences living and being forced to work as a nurse in Theresientstadt, one of 40,000 concentration camps and ghettos in Europe during the Holocaust.
“This book is more tragic. There are no happy endings. In the first book I added questions that the reader might ask and provided Vera’s responses. In this book I let the stories speak for themselves,” McLaughlin said.
He first met Schiff several years ago while teaching a course for nursing students on medical ethics. He was asked if he would be interested in having a Holocaust survivor come to speak with the class. The talk Schiff gave was unforgettable.
“I have met many survivors. Vera is exceptional, and has this scholarly expertise. Every time I talk to her, I learn so much,” McLaughlin said.
In the preface of Bound for Theresinstadt, Schiff writes that it is her “personal mission to never allow the world to forget the Nazi era,” and that she believes the best way to remember this tragedy is not through memorizing events, but in reflecting on the Holocaust’s humanity.
“It is not the data that penetrates the conscious or heart of students and allows them to identify with times bygone; rather it is the poignant stories of those who fell under the wheels of Nazi hatred,” she wrote.
In Lost to the Shoah, Schiff continues her mission, bringing into focus the lives of “eight real and interesting human beings,” and in the book’s preface, McLaughlin notes that “every victim was more than just a victim. Each one lived, laughed, loved and were loved. Then they were murdered.”
Despite her advanced aged, Schiff is already discussing the next book, and McLaughlin says he is determined and honoured to help her tell these stories.
More information
Dr. Jeff McLaughlin, Professor
jmclaughlin@tru.ca
250-371-5734
When Dr. Judy Duchscher tasked 36 senior nursing students enrolled in a leadership course to identify a critical challenge and offer up creative, grassroots solutions to it, Larissa James said she and her team immediately thought of compassion fatigue.
While still a recent phenomenon, compassion fatigue in nursing is a combination of secondary traumatic stress and burnout, and can be experienced by health care providers as a result of repeated exposure to the suffering of others.
“Within nursing compassion fatigue is becoming so common. There are so many complicated events in our patient’s lives and it can be so fatiguing to our mental health,” said James, who is currently completing her fourth year of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
“Compassion fatigue affects more than just nurses and it can present itself in many ways, including a lack of caring in some aspects of the job or in life, insomnia, change in eating habits, depression or anxiety. If you don’t seek help for it, it can certainly spill over into your private life.”
Eleven groups of students presented their creative strategies to a panel of judges that included Paul Michel, Executive Director of Indigenous Education at TRU, Ken Christian, Mayor of Kamloops, Dr. Donna Murnaghan, Dean of the TRU School of Nursing, Cheryl Whittleton, Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Professional Practice for Interior Health. Dr. David Byers, Associate Deputy Minister of Health for BC, had also planned to attend but competing obligations prevented it. The critical challenges identified included a variety of topics from vaping to the accessibility of Canadian health services for refugees.
Duchscher designed this challenge to provide students an opportunity to engage in a high-pressure situation, something they will encounter repeatedly in practice.
“I wanted to see how they responded to leaders in the community and in healthcare, and how they responded to questions that might not have straightforward answers,” she said, adding that the competition was intended to show “the application of their knowledge rather than the content.”
James and her group, which included classmates Angela Clark, Emily Taylor and Michelle Bandet, chose to focus on compassion fatigue because despite its prevalence and impact on front-line nurses, there has been relatively little research done on the subject. Their presentation impressed the judging panel.
Sharing their findings in this way provided the group with a unique communications challenge. “They were not all in health care, and they don’t see the problem first-hand,” James said of the judges, and the team framed their presentation with that in mind.
In learning about compassion fatigue and about how it impacts nurses, James says she’s both “terrified and excited” to begin working full-time in her chosen field. “I definitely know more about the signs and symptoms, and if you know about it you are better able to mentally prepare yourself.”
It is time to explore social work and aging differently.
When Wendy Hulko and collaborators Shari Brotman (McGill University), Louise Stern (Vancouver Island University) and Ilyan Ferrer (University of Calgary) found themselves without an adequate text to use to teach incoming social workers about working with older adults in a Canadian context, they took it upon themselves to write one.
Nearly two years later, Routledge has published Gerontological Social Work in Action: Anti-Oppressive Practice with Older Adults, their Families, and Communities. Anti-oppressive practice (AOP) seeks to eliminate oppression through daily interactions in the field, while promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. AOP social work also requires “consciousness-raising” about ageism, and other forms of oppression, including sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and able-ism.
“There are gerontological social work texts in which being ‘elderly’ is pathologized. There are older people, and there are younger people — we don’t fix a population like this,” explained Hulko, who objects to the world “elderly” because of its paternalistic connotations.
“We are at a point now where there are more older people than younger people in Canada. The aging population will continue past 2031 when the last of the baby boomers turn 65. We need to prepare. This is our new reality,” Hulko said.
Not only is Canada’s population aging, it is also more diverse than ever, with a significant percentage of this population composed of immigrants.
“The whole world is aging and moving across borders,” said Hulko, which further enriches this area of study. Along with cultural diversity, there is now more neurodiversity within this population as well.
“There have been major shifts in this field. There was a time when we were told we couldn’t speak with people with dementia, and now we have people with dementia writing books and speaking at conferences. There is a lot of activism, and the biggest shift has come from older adults themselves. Baby boomers have long participated in social activism and they are poised to make a big difference,” Hulko said.
The book combines contemporary research with stories that touch on the experiences of Indigenous, Jewish, Queer and other racialized older adults — these stories have also been situated across the Canadian landscape, from large metropolitan areas, to rural and remote communities.
More information
Dr. Wendy Hulko, associate professor
250-377-6130 whulko@tru.ca
Thompson Rivers University has awarded four exceptional graduate students with entrance scholarships valued at $15,000 each. This marks a $60,000 investment by the Province of BC through the BC Graduate Scholarship Fund.
The merit-based awards are granted to students in research-focused and professional programs. The 2020 BC Graduate Scholarship recipients are Jesse Biddlecombe, Nick Fontaine and Fauve Garson, who are enrolled in the Master of Science in Environmental Science program, and Michelle Delany in the Master of Nursing program.
“I am so proud of these outstanding recipients for pursuing their graduate studies at Thompson Rivers University.”
Melanie Mark, Minister for Advanced Education, Skills and Training
These awards have a significant impact on the lives of the students receiving them. They allow students to focus on their research, which in this case ranges from the impact of inactivity on blood vessels, to food security in the Northwest Territories, and they reduce the financial burden of graduate school.
“I am so proud of these outstanding recipients for pursuing their graduate studies at Thompson Rivers University,” said Melanie Mark, Minister for Advanced Education, Skills and Training. “Our government proudly supports the BC Graduate Scholarship because we recognize how essential graduate students are to our post-secondary ecosystem. We value their vitally important and innovative research in the STEM disciplines.”
TRU President and Vice-Chancellor Brett Fairbairn agreed on the importance of the awards.
“These scholarships are an invaluable. Not only do they support students’ financial need, they also reward outstanding research and scholarship, and they highlight the commitment our students make to challenge themselves to reach higher,” he said.
As graduate programs at TRU are increasing in number, and drawing more and more students, opportunities like this are vitally important.
“Continued provincial recognition for TRU’s growing graduate programming is both timely and highly appreciated, and the financial support is especially important for our graduate students during these uncertain times,” added Associate Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies Dr. Will Garrett-Petts.
Those receiving these awards are grateful for the opportunity it provides them to give greater focus on their research.
“Receiving this award is overwhelming and incredible. My confidence has grown, knowing that other academics have given me this major nod of approval, and now I can fully focus on my thesis,” said Nick Fontaine.
“This scholarship not only relieves me and my family of financial pressure while I pursue my master’s degree, but also opens opportunities for me to develop my research skills with dedication, time and focus,” said Michelle Delany.
There are approximately 600 students enrolled in graduate programming at TRU, which includes the newly launched Master of Science in Data Science program that begins this fall.
The BC Graduate Scholarships are part of a $12-million investment announced in 2018 by the provincial government to support 800 awards of $15,000 each through to 2021. TRU is one of 10 post-secondary institutions benefiting from the scholarship fund.
Join us for our next Tap into Research: Gift of Learning event featuring Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner. This event will stream live, via YouTube Premier, and the link will be available shortly!
Ancient and Quaternary volcanoes form an important part of the geology of the BC Interior, and the framework for much of its scenic landscapes. One of the particularly important episodes of volcanism took place about 50 million years ago, forming what today is referred to as the Challis-Kamloops volcanic belt. This extensive belt of volcanic rocks extends from central British Columbia into the northwestern United States, and its timing is associated with a period of global warming referred to as the Early Eocene Climate Optimum (EECO). In fact, near Cache Creek, BC, the volcanic rocks of the Kamloops Group are interbedded with the McAbee Fossil beds containing fossils of plants and insects that required a temperate climate, unlike today.
What was the cause of this voluminous volcanism, what would these ancient volcanoes have looked like, did Eocene volcanism impact global climate, and why is the study of ancient volcanism important today? Join Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner on this virtual field trip through some of the key exposures of the Kamloops-Challis volcanic belt, addressing these important research inquiries along the way.
This event takes place via YouTube Premier, and the link will be made available shortly!
Conrad Scott, author of Waterline Immersion, and TRU alumni.
When Conrad Scott started university, fresh from what was then Kamloops Secondary School (now South Kamloops Secondary), he headed straight into science, specifically, math.
But he graduated from TRU (then University College of the Cariboo) in 2003, with a major in mathematics, and another in English.
Scott went on to graduate school, and recently defended his PhD in English at the University of Alberta, where he currently works as a sessional instructor. He also teaches at Concordia University of Edmonton.
“I had a very circuitous path,” he said, laughing. “Half way through I decided maybe math wasn’t for me. I took more English courses, and that seemed like the right path.”
Scott’s path became clearer after enrolling in a class with associate professor Karen Hofmann, who encouraged him to apply to the Banff Spring Writer’s Retreat where he spent a month during his undergrad “learning what a book needed to be.” When he returned to Kamloops to complete his degree, he applied to the Undergraduate Research Experience Award Program (UREAP), and received funding to complete his own research project.
That project would form the basis of Waterline Immersion, his first book of poetry, published in September by Frontenac House. This week, Scott is back on campus to launch the book and to reconnect with those who guided him on his journey. And coming back to Kamloops for the launch is intentional, as the region’s geography is richly woven into his book, so much so that his mother and local artist, Marie Scott, provided the cover art.
Waterline Immersion asks the fundamental question of what it means to understand a place, and it offers not only a glimpse into the geography and Scott’s personal history, but delves deeper into cultural stories and geological processes that formed the waterways present today.
Getting to this place — the place where he began his learning journey — took Scott down many roads he wasn’t expecting, but that’s the beauty of research and of writing, he said.
“In research, everyone’s path is going to be different. I took a bit of a break after my first degree. I was working at Starbucks and at a plywood mill at the same time, but I kept writing, and kept practicing, and kept reading and kept talking within my writing community. That’s what really brought me forward.”
For women looking to flee domestic violence, there are supports within the community, but those supports don’t always take into account the needs of women with companion animals. As a result, some women delay exiting violent relationships, or return to those relationships out of concern for their animals, putting themselves at great risk of harm.
Dr. Rochelle Stevenson, assistant professor of sociology, is working alongside the University of Windsor’s Dr. Amy Fitzgerald, Dr. Betty Barrett, and Dr. Patti Timmons-Fritz on research that explores the intersection of violence against women and violence against animals, and their research has illuminated a gap in services for women wishing to leave abusive relationships.
The goal of their research is not only to create a better understanding of the barriers that exist that prevent women from leaving violent homes, but also to work directly with service providers to address some of these complexities. The research not only assesses the scope of animal abuse as it intersects with intimate partner violence, but will determine the best strategies for addressing the needs of abused women, and the researchers will share that information with practitioners and policymakers in order to develop programs that reduce barriers to access.
The researchers have data from nearly 1,000 shelters and transition houses in Canada and the United States, which shows that when a woman first reaches out for help, very few support workers ask about pets in the home, assuming that if there is a pet present, and if it is important, the woman will bring it up.
But Stevenson says that’s rarely the case, even though more transition homes are beginning to offer on-site pet services, or are partnering with local animal rescues to offer emergency shelter pet programs.
“There’s a notion that shelters are for women and children only, and there is already so much shame and guilt about asking for help in the first place that women may be hesitant to ask for a safe space for their companion animals as well. “The support worker is the best person to open that conversation,” said Stevenson.
She knows that a woman might delay leaving a violent home for months, or even years, because she doesn’t want to leave her animals behind, which leaves her in a very dangerous situation. “Right before she leaves, and right after she returns, she is at the highest risk for intimate partner homicide,” Stevenson said. “In our study, one-third of women report considering returning to their partner because they still had pets in the home. It is such a huge risk, but it also shows the strength of that human-pet relationship.”
Stevenson has been researching the intersection of intimate partner violence and animal abuse for more than a decade.
“My own animals are so important to me, so the idea of having to leave one behind is heartbreaking,” she said.
When they reach out to a shelter, women are often urged to prepare a safety plan, which includes a bag of clothes, copies of important documents, cash, medication, and in the case of pets, ownership papers and veterinary records. There are three shelters in the Interior of BC that offer on-site pet services, one each in Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Penticton, and the BC SPCA does offer an emergency shelter program for pets in cases of domestic violence.
Stevenson and her research partners have presented their work to the BC Society for Transition Houses with the goal of using this research to inform policy and reduce barriers to access. There is also significant advocacy for BC Housing to develop more pet-friendly housing.
Eleven students will spend the winter investigating original and important research topics that range from an exploration of the microbial communities within the permafrost of Cambridge Bay, to the accessibility of post-secondary for low-income students.
These projects, all of which will contribute new knowledge to their respective fields, are funded through TRU’s flagship Undergraduate Research Experience Award Program (UREAP). The program, which provides students with $6,000 scholarships (along with up to $1,000 extra for operating funds) has been available since 2003 and is supported by the Comprehensive University Enhancement Fund.
With two UREAP competitions held annually, to date, 41 scholarships have been awarded for an investment of $250,000 in undergraduate research.
“The increased interest in programs like the UREAP is remarkable, prompting the development of other new and exciting programs for undergraduate research,” said Sukh Heer Matonovich, Associate Director, Student Research and Public Engagement. “We are thrilled to see submissions from each of the different programs on campus, from law and visual arts, to nursing, business, science, and social work. Engaging students in undergraduate research is a priority at TRU, and our growth in this area is attributed to the commitment from faculty to offer invaluable mentorship opportunities.”
The UREAP is unique in that it moves students beyond the role of Undergraduate Research Assistant, and Research Apprentice, and gives them the opportunity to be principle investigators of their own unique projects.
The UREAP is a great stepping stone to becoming an Undergraduate Research Ambassador, which is a program that allows students to gain enhanced leadership skills while working with the TRU Research Office on numerous research-related projects.
To qualify for a UREAP students must have completed at least 60 credits and have a minimum GPA of 3.2. Each student is mentored through their project by a faculty supervisor.
2019 Fall UREAP Recipients
Arjun Gill, Nursing, “Understanding the Decision-Making Process of Nursing Students through Case Study Testing”.
Avery Pottle, Science, “The DNA of Cambridge Bay: An analysis of the microbial community within the permafrost layer of Cambridge Bay, Canada.”
Cyrene Catenza, Science, “Capillary Electrophoresis Signal Enhancement for the Detection of Selected Xanthates.”
Gabrielle Dagasso, Mathematics, “Genome-wide Association Studies and their applications in bread wheat FHB resistance prediction.”
Jeanne Albutra, Social Work, “Accessibility of Post-Secondary Education for Low-Income Students.”
Lyn Richards, Visual Arts, “The Uses of Beauty: Evoking Forest Ecosystems in the Context of a Climate Emergency through Visual Art Installation.”
Natasha Little, Law, “Bridging the Gap between Science and Law: From Classrooms to Courtrooms.”
Payal Khadaria, Business, “Climate change and its economic impacts on the forestry industry.”
Sage Raymond, “Relationships Between Commercial Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) Viewings and Spawning Kokanee Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Numbers in the Lardeau River Valley, B.C., from 2012 to 2019.”
Ryan Ficocelli, Computing Science, “Crowd Control Software.”
Tristan Stanjeck, Tourism, “Local Attitudes towards Tourism – Kamloops”
Four students have been awarded the most prestigious graduate entrance awards available at Thompson Rivers University, sharing in a combined $70,000 federal investment in graduate research.
Kyley Drach, Fauve Garson, Breanne McAmmond, and Edward Morton have been awarded scholarships through the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters (CGS M) program. These federal scholarships are valued at $17,500 each and are awarded to students who show academic excellence and potential for significant contributions of new knowledge through research.
Kyley Drach, recipient, CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters
“Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients, to their faculty mentors and others who have helped scaffold success for these students in their studies and on their research journeys,” said Associate Vice-President of Research and Graduate Studies Dr. Will Garrett-Petts. “We are delighted to see our students winning national recognition and support.”
McAmmond, who received the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell CGS M for research that explores the ecological interactions of brewing yeasts during fermentation, said the funding allows her to focus fully on her studies.
“Receiving this award has provided me with financial security so that I can confidently carry out my master’s degree and further develop my research skills,” she said.
The scholarship has been essential for Morton, who is researching the environmental implications associated with outdoor recreation, land management and community development.
“COVID has deeply impacted many people’s financial situation and I am very fortunate that this funding program exists to help support my research and educational pursuits,” said the recipient of the SSHRC Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS M.
Drach, granted the CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best CGS M for her research into the effects of chemical compounds in feminine sanitary products on pain and bleeding during the menstrual cycle, said receiving the scholarship has lifted a huge burden off of her shoulders.
“I would be unable to complete my master’s without it. I have been struggling to make ends meet, even more so now with the impact of COVID-19; this CGS M will allow me to continue my research,” she said.
Garson, recipient of the SSHRC Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS M, is working alongside Dr. Courtney Mason on a project that seeks to better understand the relationship between Indigenous food security and climate change in Fort Providence, Northwest Territories. The award provides “a wonderful feeling of accomplishment,” she said.
“I am one step closer to achieving my goals of working in parks and protected areas here in Canada.”
The CGS M awards are designed to develop research skills and assist in the training of highly-qualified personnel by supporting students who show a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies. Nationally, 3,000 scholarships are awarded annually through this program, for an investment of $190 million.
Tourism is a complex industry. While some communities embrace it as an economic engine, others now recognize there are consequences to unimpeded travel, especially for those who live in tourism destinations.
Dr. Kellee Caton, a renowned expert in advancing critical tourism studies, has long investigated the complexities of tourism. She leads a partnership of researchers at 10 international universities to ensure this area of critical tourism study flourishes.
“We are now all aware of the communities that are over-toured, in which people cannot use the amenities in their own cities because of so much tourism.”
Dr. Kellee Caton, Professor, Tourism
The network draws together like-minded researchers to investigate critical tourism questions, including the impact of tourism on the developing world.
The newly announced research funding, made up of $200,000 from SSHRC and another $200,000 in matching funds from participating universities, including New York University, Copenhagen Business School and the University of Waterloo, will formalize the network and ensure the knowledge produced by participating scholars is shared widely and effectively.
Broader discussions on critical tourism studies has never been timelier, said Caton. There is a greater awareness of the unintended consequences of international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic than there has been in any time in recent memory.
“We are now all aware of the communities that are over-toured, in which people cannot use the amenities in their own cities because of so much tourism. We have this belief that we should be welcome in anybody’s space because this is how we wish to spend our leisure time, but we don’t recognize the impact of that,” Caton said.
“What kind of ethical issues are arising in tourism practice? We know we can do tremendous harm when we travel,” she added, noting the spread of COVID-19 and the reluctance of some remote communities to accept visitors as an example.
While the industry boasts incredible employment opportunities for those with education and skill, there are many more employees who serve the tourism industry earning low wages and struggling to afford housing in expensive destination cities.
“I hope that collectively, we become aware of who is doing the essential services in this industry,” she said, adding that we are overdue in asking what it means to travel ethically.
One recipient, Jennica Wlodarcyzk, is working alongside Canada Research Chair Dr. Heather Price to determine how children remember the various phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each summer, Price and her research students usually include some students from TRU’s EUReKA! Science Camps in their studies, but since those camps were cancelled due to the pandemic, they have adjusted their plans.
The international research team, based in Kamloops, the UK and New Zealand, is conducting Zoom interviews with children to pinpoint the “aha!” moment when they recall the first time they realized the pandemic’s impact the pandemic on them.
“Getting involved in research has been probably the best decision I have made at TRU,” said Wlodarczyk. “It has really given me an idea of what it would be like to work in a master’s program, or even in a professional job setting as a researcher, and I am so grateful to be able to work with Heather,” she said.
These federal awards are highly competitive and designed to launch high-performing undergraduates into graduate programs. For example, Wlodarczyk intends to pursue graduate studies in forensic psychology. These funds allow faculty to spend the summer working with exceptional students, thereby advancing their own research programs.
Despite the restrictions on access to student study spaces, all of these research programs have pivoted so students work safely, either in the lab under social-distancing protocols, or remotely.
TRU’s 2020 NSERC USRA recipients:
April Read, supervised by Heidi Huttunen-Hennelly, for “Characterization of the antimicrobial secondary metabolites produced by cave streptomyces.”
Cyrene Catenza, supervised by Kingsley Donkor, for “Application of fullerenes as pseudostationary phase in MEKC analysis of biosphenols.”
Gabrielle Dagasso, supervised by Lingling Jin, for “Joint effects of SNP combinations associated with wheat FHB resistance.”
Gwen Freeze, supervised by Lauchlan Fraser, for “Effect of extreme drought on plant communities.”
Holger Jenson, supervised by Lingling Jin, for “Environmental regulation of transposable elements in Arabidopsis thaliana.”
Jennica Wlodarcyzk, supervised by Heather Price, for “Memory for event sequencing.”
Madison Oud, supervised by Matthew Reudink, for “Does island living shift the mechanisms of plumage ornamentation in passerines?”
Marina Stefanyk, supervised by Rick Brewster, for “Edge-coloured graph homomorphisms to cycles.”
Marissa Yoneda, supervised by Ann Cheeptham, for “Screening for bacteriophages against multidrug resistant bacteria from hospital sewage samples.”
Marium Tawhid, supervised by Xiaoping Shi, for “Alternation detection in plasma proteome.”
Oskar Jensen, supervised by Lingling Jin, for “Software development for prediction and visualization of TE evolution.”
Ryan Ficocelli, supervised by Andrew Park, for “Developing a crowd control training tool for riot police officers.”
How has working in a pandemic impacted the mental health of frontline health-care workers? For those who are coping well, what has made them resilient?
Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Dr. Bala Nikku, assistant professor of social work, is leading a team of researchers determined to map the social epidemiology of frontline care workers during COVID-19. In partnership with Dr. Graham Dodd and Rhonda Eden of the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice, Nikku is working with UBC social work faculty Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim and TRU computer science professor Dr. Mohamed Tawhid on the project, which is expected to be complete within the next year.
Stress, anxiety lead to burnout
Researchers know frontline health-care workers often suffer from untreated guilt, anxiety and depression as a result of their work, and that this can lead to poor job performance and burnout. This research aims to discover how gender, race, age and geographic location intersect to impact occupational well-being and resiliency.
“We want to know what is happening with our frontline workers and their lives. Some are in organized and unionized positions; others work for private employers. We want to know more about their well-being and how are they managing their critical care work and lives especially during the COVID pandemic,” Nikku said.
The study will involve 100 care workers and will include workers with health authorities, non-profits and private industry, in home care and long-term-care facilities. The research uses a robust mixed methodology including surveys, qualitative interviews and agent-based modelling to provide a depth of insights into occupational well-being and resiliency of care workers.
“If, out of 100 people, we find some are doing really well while others are not, we want to be able to explain this. Does a social network impact this? Does being in a union?” Nikku asked.
Agent-based modelling
Using data science to conduct agent-based modelling is new for Nikku and exciting for the social work field; modelling helps the researchers identify how frontline workers are making decisions and the factors that influence those decisions.
“We can simulate and see different models and that information will be useful for health policy makers in BC and beyond,” he said. In developing this exciting and crucial research, Nikku acknowledges the peer mentoring support from Dr. Bonnie Fournier and Dr. Nicola Waters from TRU’s School of Nursing, and Dr. Megan Prins of the TRU Research Office.
Contact: Dr. Bala Nikku, assistant professor bnikku@tru.ca
Canadian high schools are more diverse than they have ever been, and today’s youth are vocal advocates for their own cultural and social identities. With this in mind, Dr. Manu Sharma aims to better understand what is taking place in these diverse communities, and how some high schools are setting themselves apart as leaders in implementing social justice initiatives.
Dr. Manu Sharma, Assistant Professor, Education
Supported by a $62,920 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant, Sharma will spend the next two years interviewing students, teachers and administrators at high schools in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal to unveil insights about schoolwide initiatives that embrace and promote social justice, and the influence of those initiatives on the student body.
Developing self-identity
“I’m looking at secondary schools as pivotal points where adolescents start to develop their self-identity, and where they start unpacking and understanding local and global social justice issues. These students also have the maturity to be able to start diving into these subjects and being able to see things from multiple perspectives,” she said.
The timing of this project is vital, as more of these conversations are taking place in the classroom as a result of media attention on issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement and immigration policies. Sharma’s research is groundbreaking in the Canadian context, as most of what we know about social justice issues in the classroom is understood from an American perspective. Her hope is to contribute to Canadian urban studies on social justice.
“Canada has an emerging urban population with many important equity issues that need to be acknowledged and addressed. Student populations in our high schools are very diverse, and I hope that the insights from this project will be a resource for other Canadian high schools who would like to better further and develop their social justice curriculum,” said Sharma.
Supporting youth to think critically
“It’s important to remember that not everyone who has the opportunity to go to high school will go on to post-secondary, as that in itself is an equity issue, and thus it is important to think about what we are doing to reach that population and how can we support them with conversations and initiatives embedded in social justice values. It’s also vital to know that we live in a society that is constantly changing and thus we must be mindful of being open to learning more as we continue to change.”
Data for this project will be gathered at two schools in each of the cities—Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver—and Sharma will interview principals, teachers and students at each, anticipating a total of 84 interviews over the course of this two-year project. Based on the data, Sharma will identify exemplary social justice initiatives occurring in these schools, with the hope that other urban Canadian secondary schools can use them for inspiration as they develop and enhance initiatives that might benefit and support their own school community.
Thanks to newly funded federal research, if there is a COVID-19 outbreak in Kamloops, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) researchers should be able to spot it days early.
Van Hamme is the director of TRUGen, the first high-throughput genomic sequencing lab in BC outside of the Lower Mainland, and the tools at his disposal make this research project possible. By the end of July, Van Hamme’s research assistants will be collecting weekly samples from various wastewater collection sites in Kamloops. Those samples will be analyzed in his lab, where he will look for the ribonucleic acid (RNA) fragments from the virus that are shed in feces.
“We’re using the same technology that they use when testing the nasal swabs,” Van Hamme explained.
Testing sewage to track disease is not new — scientists in several countries have been monitoring sewage for other diseases, including polio, for years. However, testing for the genetic material shed by carriers of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—is new, specifically in the Canadian context.
With a growing network of cities beginning to test wastewater for signs of the virus, scientists are developing standard methodologies and protocols, including determining the lowest levels of genetic material that can be traced, and even deciding when to sample.
“Because people shed it in their feces, we have to figure out what time most people go to the bathroom,” he said.
“We have a lot of questions. Even if you detect RNA in the sewage, what does that mean? You can’t directly correlate it to how many people in a population are ill, because they may be asymptomatic spreaders. It’s a good way to monitor entire populations, cost effectively.”
Pinpointing outbreaks
By sampling weekly and developing a good baseline, Van Hamme expects this research will spot the genetic material as much as six days before an outbreak.
“The City of Kamloops has been a great partner. They are giving us access to the treatment plant and we should be able to sample from different collection points. So, theoretically, we can sample outside of a school or even a long-term-care facility,” he said.
“If an outbreak starts, or cases start to go up, we should be able to spot it,” he added, noting that this testing wouldn’t account for anomalies, including a bus of tourists passing through the city.
While Van Hamme wanted to begin sampling sooner, he held off on buying materials needed for the research as he did not want to remove equipment necessary for human testing from the supply chain. Now, however, supply chains have stabilized, and he is excited to begin.
A new provincially funded research chair based at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) will help chart a new course in wildfire prediction and response in British Columbia.
The BC Research Chair in Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science is the result of a two-year effort between the Province of BC, the mayors of Kamloops, Kelowna and Prince George, and the Interior University Research Coalition, which includes TRU, UBC-Okanagan, and the University of Northern British Columbia.
Province invests millions
This position will be funded by a $5-million endowment from the province. Based in Kamloops, the chair will be in close proximity to Emergency Management BC and BC Wildfire Services, and the results of this research will have global impact.
“Interior communities have worked together to advocate for additional research and capacity to help better understand wildfires in order to protect their residents, infrastructure, and economies, and we’re answering the call to action with this position,” said Doug Donaldson, minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “The health of our forests is critical to BC communities and economies. Improved and collaborative research is part of reducing wildfire risk.”
Partners key to research success
Through fostering effective partnerships, and by harnessing the unique assets available at TRU including world-class researchers, graduate students, labs and equipment, this new research chair will work toward an improved ability to forecast, prevent and respond to wildfires and other environmental emergencies. The chair’s research will also support wildfire data modelling, and will explore the relationship between climate change and its effect on wildfire risk.
“This effort shows that by working with various partners, universities can help address the complex issues facing local communities,” said TRU President Brett Fairbairn. “I would like to thank our research partners – the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of British Columbia Okanagan – and the mayors of Prince George, Kelowna and Kamloops, who were integral in putting this forward. Continued collaboration with these partners and others, including First Nations, BC Wildfire Service and EMBC, will ensure BC has the latest and best information to prevent and respond to wildfires.”
Regional mayors played an instrumental role advocating for this initiative on behalf of their communities and their residents, who have been severely impacted by forest fires in recent years.
“Kamloops is the ideal location for this research position,” said Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian. “Not only do we have a natural vulnerability to forest fires and in particular urban interference fires, we also have had a great deal of experience dealing with evacuations and recovery. This is good news for Kamloops and for British Columbia.”
The first appointment at TRU is anticipated later this year.
Join us for this Tap into Research: Gift of Learning event with Dr. Rob Higgins, who begins by documenting an ant slave run that has just occurred on his front lawn. The discussion will explore the social structure of ant colonies, and will also highlight the impact invasive ants have in BC. Finally, Dr. Higgins will end by introducing us to BC’s native vampire ants.
Higgins, an associate professor of biology, specializes in ant biodiversity, their adaptations to living in the cool climates of BC, and in invasive ant species. Come with your questions, as Higgins will be available during the talk to answer them all!
This event will stream live, via YouTube Premier, and the link will be available shortly!
Federal government invests $500,000 for projects that explore Secwepemctsín language, the history of unbelief in Canada, and BC’s opioid epidemic
The Government of Canada has made a significant investment in research at Thompson Rivers University, awarding three researchers nearly $500,000 to conduct groundbreaking work in the social sciences and humanities.
The funding is part of more than $91 million awarded nationally by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through its Insight Grants program. This marks the first time since TRU received its research mandate in 2005 that the university has recorded a 100 per cent success rate on such prestigious federal awards.
Preserving an endangered language
Dr. Gloria Ramirez
Dr. Gloria Ramirez has been awarded more than $300,000 over five years for research that aims to develop an intergenerational Secwepemctsín learning model. Ramirez, an expert in children’s biliteracy and bilingual development, leads an impressive team of scholars, including co-applicants Drs. Janice Dick-Billy, and Natalie Clark, and UBC’s Dr. Tania Willard. Key collaborators also include Garry Gottfriedson, and Elder Flora Sampson.
I feel language is the best way to really get to know the people, history and culture.
Dr. Gloria Ramirez, associate professor, Faculty of Education and Social Work
Ramirez arrived at TRU more than a decade ago, and one of her first cultural experiences in the city was the annual Kamloopa Powwow. Since then she has been passionate about Secwepemc culture and language.
“I feel language is the best way to really get to know the people, history and culture,” she said.
Secwepemctsín is severely endangered with less than two per cent of Secwepemc people fluent speakers. “Those who are fluent are often of advanced age, and with few people learning the language, and with even fewer children raised in the language, each community in the Secwepemc Nation is facing language extinction,” Ramirez said.
The learning model that her team intends to pursue is one identified for its potential by Janice Billy, who was then a language specialist at the Sk’elep School of Excellence.
“Children go home and don’t have anybody to practice with. The children in the daycare speak so beautifully and learn so quickly, but by the time they reach Grade 2 they do not speak it anymore,” Ramirez said. This new model would include language immersion for whole families.
Social history of unbelief in Canada
Dr. Tina Block
Dr. Tina Block has been awarded $85,000 for her research that seeks to untangle the social history of unbelief in English Canada, from the 1950s through the 1980s. This expands Block’s earlier federally-funded research that found that the decline of organized religious involvement in Canada tended to be heavily gendered, and class-based.
“In my earlier work I found women — mothers in particular — struggled with how or whether to pass unbelief and irreligion on to their children. A lot of secular mothers would send their children to Sunday school so as not to face social exclusion.
“Women were compelled to keep quiet because of social norms and gender norms, but I am also finding that there is an active agency component as well: Women were choosing to keep quiet out of care and respect for others,” she said.
Research maps BC’s opioid epidemic
Dr. Will Garrett Petts
Dr. Will Garrett-Petts, meanwhile, has been awarded more than $90,000 for his research that explores cultural mapping of the opioid crisis in BC’s small cities. He began using cultural maps in his research practice nearly 20 years ago and has since found the process invaluable when it comes to collecting the stories of a community, and using those stories to better understand its people and places.
“We see such potential for cultural mapping to bring in voices that might otherwise be marginalized, or not understood as ‘expert,’” he said. “Cultural mapping keeps the individual voices front and centre.”
When it comes to the opioid epidemic there are many voices that are still not being heard.
“Those working in the trades and construction industry make up 15 percent of British Columbia’s workforce, but account for nearly 55 per cent of the opioid deaths in the province. The stigma associated with opioid addiction tends to make the faces and stories of these people virtually invisible and certainly not well understood. If we are going to develop effective drug policies and health strategies, we need their expert input.”
“We are at a point now where there are more older people than younger people in Canada. The aging population will continue past 2031 when the last of the baby boomers turn 65. We need to prepare. This is our new reality,” Hulko said.
Join us for our next Tap into Research: Gift of Learning event featuring Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner. This event will stream live, via YouTube Premier, and the link will be available shortly!
Eleven students will spend the winter investigating original and important research topics that range from an exploration of the microbial communities within the permafrost of Cambridge Bay, to the accessibility of post-secondary for low-income students.
