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Feb 1st 2024

Bi-weekly news from Spark: a centre for social research innovation at McMaster University

Centre News

Save the date: Spark Talks, Winter 2024 lineup

We are excited to announce our winter lineup of Spark Talks. They are offered to fuel your intellectual curiosity and foster collaborative inquiry. These seminars promise not just knowledge but a exploration of exciting research topics.

As always, all Spark Talks will be on a Friday from 10:30 to 11:30AM EST and will be accessible via Zoom. However, if you feel like joining us in person, you can visit us at L.R. Wilson Hall, where you can network and connect with members of our team directly and treat yourself to some refreshments Can't make a talk or want to re-watch at a later date? No problem, each Spark Talk is recorded and featured on our MacVideo channel, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to engage with the cutting-edge dialogues that Spark has to offer. We look forward to igniting stimulating conversations with you this Winter.

Learn more and register here: https://spark.mcmaster.ca/events/ 
Upcoming Events

 

Feb 2nd: Damien Lee 

Topic: "Remaining Unreconciled: Philanthropy and Indigenous Governance in Canada"
Dr. Damien Lee argues that to the extent Canadian philanthropic foundations are serious about decolonizing their relationships with Indigenous nations, they will need to find ways to defer to Indigenous leaders who prefer not to reconcile every aspect of their political systems with the Canadian state. He specifically explores the Income Tax Act’s concept of “qualified donee status” as an impediment to the resurgence of inherent Indigenous governance systems.
Register Now

Feb 9th: Jeffrey Snodgrass

Topic: "Empowering Indigenous Research-Action Partnerships"
Come learn about the power of partnerships to foster empowering research and action! Although universities should catalyze empowerment, frequently they instead marginalize the cultures of Indigenous students. We will talk about how partnerships between Alaska Native Elders, students, staff, and faculty led to the creation of a unique “counterspace” in a public university to address cultural marginalization. Not only did the space support Alaska Native students’ identity development, well-being, and sense of community, it also functioned as an empowering setting, leading to ripple effects beyond it. We will describe the project and reflect on lessons learned.
Register Now

Resources for Researchers

Research Conversations

We provide up to 4 hours of free support each year to any researcher (students, staff, faculty or community) on every social research topic imaginable.  If we can't help you, we'll help you find someone who can.   

Request a research conversation here
Qualtrics Licenses
If you are an Faculty of Social Sciences researcher who would like to request access to Qualtrics survey software, please fill out this form

Looking to pool software licences?

Now you can! Fill out this form and we will reach out if we can match you with others looking to pool licences.

Methods Demonstrations
Faculty in Social Sciences may request demonstrations, short trainings, or code-along sessions from Spark staff for Research Methods or Professional Skills courses.  We're happy to discuss any needs and have already developed trainings for Literature Review, Interviewing, Survey Development, Focus Groups, Data Visualization.  Email us at talk.to.spark@mcmaster.ca to discuss if there's a fit for your course.   
CoLab
Research on research innovation (yes, it's very meta) points to a simple truth.  Being in the same physical space and able to informally interact significantly increases cross-disciplinary collaboration and discovery.  The Spark CoLab aims to be such a space.  It is a free, open co-working space for graduate students, research staff and faculty.  You can learn more on our website or stop by from 9 am - Noon or 1 pm - 4pm on Tuesday or Thursday for a tour and orientation. 

SEAL

Some data is critical to addressing major research questions, but is also profoundly sensitive and must be secured.  SEAL is a high security data repository that allows approved researchers worldwide to access highly sensitive data securely.  Data owners can use it to engage researchers in using their datasets and researchers can access data that otherwise would not be available to them.   

Learn more about SEAL at: https://seal.mcmaster.ca/
Brighter Spark Applied Research
Spark offers custom research and evaluation, as well as highly skilled assistance in implementing virtually any social research method. Our cost-recovery services include methods and software training, custom research, state-of-the-art facilities, and taking on elements of your project to support its completion.

For a full list of Brighter Spark Applied Research's services, visit: https://spark.mcmaster.ca/brighter-spark

Spark Collaborations
Help us profile your research, publications, job ads, opportunities, and upcoming events by sending them to: talk.to.spark@mcmaster.ca to be showcased in our following newsletter. 

 

McMaster University: Grand Challenges Canada Summer Fellowship Opportunity

McMaster University is thrilled to share the Grand Challenges Canada Summer Fellowship Program, an enriching opportunity for current students and recent graduates. Grand Challenges Canada, renowned for supporting "Bold Ideas with Big Impact," invites passionate individuals to engage in hands-on work experience in global health, innovation, and international development.

This fellowship offers positions in various domains, including Communications, Global Health Innovation Portfolio, Humanitarian Innovation, Operations, Knowledge Management & Translation, and Social Finance. The program is designed to provide meaningful, real-world experience in these critical fields.

Application Deadline: February 5, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. EST.

Fellowship Highlights:

  • Hands-on experience in global health and development sectors.
  • Opportunities across diverse fields like Communications, Innovation, and Operations.
  • Open to current students and recent graduates.

For more details and to apply, please visit Grand Challenges Canada website.

McMaster University: Upcoming Events at the Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship

Join us at the Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship for our engaging upcoming events:

Research Data Management Workshops:

Best Practices for Managing Your Code and Scripts
Date: February 8
Enhance your skills in managing research codes and scripts.

Storage Scores: Store and Back Up Data at McMaster
Date: February 14
Discover effective data storage and backup strategies.
 

Sonification Workshops:

Sounding and Listening as Critical Practice
Date: February 9

Communicating Data with Sound
Date: March 15

For more information and to register for these events, visit Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship website.

McMaster University: Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Winter Series 2024

Join us for the Digital Research Alliance of Canada's HSS Winter Series 2024, from February 12-16th. This introductory digital research tools webinar series is designed for humanities, arts, and social sciences researchers, offering beginner-level sessions with no prior experience required.

Series Highlights:

  • Keynote by Dr. John Simpson (ISED)
  • Canadian Certificate of Digital Humanities Introduction
  • Canadian HSS Commons platform Overview
  • Introduction to GIS, DMP Assistant, Managing Sensitive Data in Canada
  • FRDR, Lunaris, Borealis, & Odesi platform Overviews
  • Stylo: Semantic Text Editor, Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)
  • Interactive Coding Notebook Environments: Jupyter & Colab
  • Introduction to Python and R, Machine Learning, 3D Visualization

Sessions are bilingual, in both French and English.

Register for English sessions here.

McMaster University: Sparking Collaborations in Social Sciences for Summer 2024

McMaster's Social Sciences faculty is gearing up for an exciting summer 2024, offering expanded internship and co-op opportunities for students. This initiative focuses on enhancing summer employment options, particularly full-time, 4-month co-op roles eligible for the Ontario Co-op Tax Credit.

We urge our faculty, instructors, and staff to spread the word about these opportunities, especially during interactions with potential employers in your network.

For more information on these summer positions and how to get involved, visit our dedicated webpage. Interested employers or partners can reach out to Anne Lech at lecha1@mcmaster.ca or hire.socsci@mcmaster.ca.

Join us in forging valuable partnerships and creating enriching summer experiences for our students!

McMaster University: 180 Bloor Street West Toronto Space Available for Booking

McMaster's 180 Bloor Street West location in Toronto is now open for booking! Ideal for faculty and staff events, it features a large classroom/event space, multiple meeting rooms, office spaces, and 'hoteling' workstations. External bookings will soon be available.

Facility Highlights:

  • Spacious classroom/event area
  • Various meeting rooms
  • Office and workstation spaces

Visit our booking page for more details. Take advantage of this versatile space for your next event or meeting!

Digital Citizen Initiative Funding Opportunity 

Recently, Minister Pascale St-Onge announced a $7 million call for proposals through the Digital Citizen Initiative (DCI). The DCI aims to aid civil society groups and researchers in producing evidence-based resources to support Canadians in staying safe and informed online. The call for funding confirms that universities and post secondary institutions are able to apply for this funding. The Program is offering successful applicants up to $380,000 per approved project, the Program may award up to $1,000,000 in funding for some projects with budgets of over $1,000,000.

Projects must start in the 2023-2024 fiscal year and all funds received from this call for proposals must be spent by March 31, 2025.

More details can be found here.  

Fostering a community of belonging at McMaster University 

The Equity and Inclusion Office at McMaster University is hosting webinars about inclusion, effective intragroup dialogue, and human rights. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend a series of webinars entitled Fostering A Community of Belonging at McMaster University, presented by the Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO) along with campus partners, including Student Affairs, Faculty of Health Sciences and Employee & Labour Relations. 

STUDENT WEBINARS: Faculty of Social Sciences – Wednesday, February 7 at 12:00 p.m.   

FACULTY AND STAFF WEBINARS: Faculty of Social Sciences – Thursday, February 29 at 10:00 a.m.   

Purdue University: Video Research Institute Workshop Series

Purdue's C-SPAN Center for Scholarship and Engagement is excited to announce its first annual Video Research Institute (VRI) this summer. This unique workshop series, developed and led by Associate Professor Bryce J. Dietrich, offers a comprehensive exploration of NLP, Audio Classification, and Image/Video Classification.

Each day includes a lecture in the morning and an interactive lab in the afternoon, providing hands-on learning experiences. Participants will also collaborate in research teams, working on projects with new video data provided by the VRI.

Travel to West Lafayette, IN, is covered by participants, but all other expenses including tuition, lodging, and food are provided.

Dates: June 23-28, 2024
Location: Purdue University
Register and learn more here
Kudos
Let's celebrate the achievements of colleagues, friends, and those doing important social research with the potential to spark a brighter world. We welcome recommendations for kudos features (including for yourself)! Please send any features you would like us to mention by emailing us at: talk.to.spark@mcmaster.ca.

On behalf of the entire Spark: a centre for social research innovation team, we would like to wish our own Marketing & Events Associate: Lance Marwood and family a special congratulations on welcoming their second child. 

Kudos to Ori Freiman, Postdoctoral Fellow at McMaster’s Digital Society Lab who shares his thoughts around what a world with CBDCs might look like, what it could mean for national economies, and what needs to happen to get citizens to adopt them, in the article "Earning trust: The path to central bank digital currencies".
Read more here.

Kudos to Rachel Zhou (Department of Health, Aging & Society, with a joint appointment with the Institute on Globalization and Human Condition), on the new article about the changing politics of China’s pandemic responses and its intersection with the politics of global health governance. This article is titled "HIV/AIDS, SARS, and COVID-19: the trajectory of China’s pandemic responses and its changing politics in a contested world".
Read it here.

Kudos to Nicole Dalmer (Department of Health, Aging & Society) and Undergrad Student, Emily Smith on the release of their article "Understanding older adults’ participation in outdoor adventure activities: A scoping review"
Read it here.

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Email: talk.to.spark@mcmaster.ca
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