Category: Information Session

COVID-19 Data – Research Workshop from Western Libraries

Are you doing research on COVID-19?

Are you interested in learning more about the data being collected on the pandemic?

Join Western’s data librarians as they review sources of COVID-19 data. This workshop will have two areas of focus. Librarians will highlight available COVID-19 data dashboards and the sources they use, looking at data accessibility, reliability of the data, and how it is displayed. They will also review surveys, patient data, and social data collected to evaluate the impacts of the pandemic on people’s health and their social and economic well-being, looking at key Canadian and international datasets that have been shared for reuse.

Thursday, January 28, 2021
10:00 – 11:00 am

Register by Wednesday, January 27 for this online workshop here.

Western’s Knowledge Exchange School

You are invited to attend Western’s second-annual Knowledge Exchange School, which will be held virtually December 2, 9, and 16, 2020, with morning and afternoon ZOOM sessions offered each week. Topics will include:

  • An overview of knowledge exchange;
  • Enhancing academic writing for dissemination;
  • Developing knowledge exchange plans;
  • Engaging policy-makers;
  • Sharing research through geographical information system (GIS) mapping; and,
  • Writing a pitch for The Conversation Canada.

Open to faculty, staff, trainees, and postdoctoral scholars

For more information about sessions and registration, please visit the Knowledge Exchange School website. For more information about the school, accessibility or to request accommodations, please email Mariam Hayward, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Online Events

GIS and digital mapping can be incredibly useful tools for researchers. On Nov. 16 – 19 the first Ontario-wide Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Days will be available for researchers.

This free, online event is open to all levels of GIS knowledge. Students, staff, faculty, and the general public are welcome to attend.

Visit the GIS Day main page for presentation topics, webinar links, and schedules.

Tune-in to lightning talk presentations, demonstrations, and tutorials throughout the week including:

  • The Geography of Pokémon Go
  • How a Kiwi surveyor ends up doing GIS in Scotland
  • GIS Applications in Astronomy
  • Mapping Canadian Tornadoes
  • Historical GIS and Virtual Environments for Immersive Gamed Pedagogy
  • The Discovery of Insulin
  • … and more!

It’s your chance to:

  • Discover how to take advantage of mapping technology in your research, education, or for your next job interview
  • Check out the latest GIS projects and research
  • Draw for a digital door prize
  • Join one of the networking sessions or the virtual trivia evening (Nov. 18)

All are welcome!

The Conversation Canada – Resources

As promised during the October 20 webinar, The Conversation Canada‘s CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Scott White, has supplied Western Research with their one-pager, A Quick guide to writing for the Conversation Canada.

Additionally, for those who were unable to attend—or had to leave early—Western Research has uploaded the recording of the meeting and it is accessible by all Western faculty, students and staff to view at their leisure. Watch the video.

Going forward, all of this information can be found on Western Research’s website. If you have more questions about The Conversation Canada—or its pitch and writing processes—please reach out to Will Kinchlea, Communications and Systems Coordinator at Western Research.

Western Libraries Research Skills Workshops for Graduate Students

Western Libraries is excited to offer a series of free Research Skills Workshops that can help you better understand your research impact, how to retain your copyright as an author, scholarly publishing, data, and more!

These offerings will be of particular interest to graduate students. However, faculty, staff, and undergraduate students are welcome to attend.

Register Today! 

If you have any other ideas for workshops that could be offered, email them to: Western Libraries, Research & Scholarly Communication Team, Email:rsclib@uwo.ca

Mitacs – Updates to Programs and Information Webinar

Mitacs program updates for universities
(Webinar)

May 14, 2020
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7254032769048839436

As the effects of COVID-19 continue, Mitacs is working closely with government, academic, and industry partners on strategies to support the urgent needs of businesses, students, and postsecondary partners. In light of the pandemic and the support required to address its aftermath, they will share some new COVID-19 initiatives that may be of interest to faculty and students. On Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 3:30pm – 4:30pm ET, they will host a webinar to review these initiatives in detail.

Faster approvals and better leveraging for COVID-19 projects (deadline to apply is June 1, 2020): If you are involved in the battle against COVID-19, it’s vital that you continue to push ahead with your R&D as quickly as possible. Eligible industry and not-for-profit partners that are developing specific COVID-19 solutions may qualify for fast-tracked research review to get them the talent they need right away. And, if you are working with a small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME), Mitacs is increasing the funding leveraging — SMEs may contribute as little as $3,750 for one four-month internship. Learn more here

Small- to medium-sized enterprise discount (deadline to apply is July 1, 2020): Businesses, especially SMEs, are facing challenging times, which might jeopardize their R&D activity, so Mitacs is improving its leveraging for SMEs for a limited time. During this time, businesses can contribute $3,750 for a four-month internship, for a total award of $15,000. Learn more here

COVID-19 Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowship (deadline to apply is May 15, 2020): This is a one-year collaborative research award between universities and industry or not-for-profit partners that demonstrate a strong benefit to Canada in battling COVID-19 and addressing its aftermath. Eligible projects will be fast-tracked through the Mitacs approval process. Additional financial support is available to SMEs working to develop solutions to COVID-19. For a finite period, with an SME contribution of $15,000, Mitacs will provide a total award of $60,000 to cover the postdoctoral fellow’s salary and associated research costs. Learn more here.

Research Training Award: The Research Training Award (RTA) is an immediate and short-term opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to undertake a 12- to 16-week paid research training internship, valued at $6,000 per student. Student-led, these projects are designed to enhance their research skills as well as their interaction with faculty. Host institutions will be asked to contribute $3,000 towards the total award. These projects are intended to provide opportunities for students over the summer months, ideally starting by June 1, 2020, and no later than August 31, 2020.

Business Strategy Internship: For a limited time, undergraduate and graduate business students can undertake internships to apply their business expertise to real-world decision-making in SMEs. Projects will be structured to undertake a strategic analysis of an SME to help them restore or modify their business operations in a new business environment disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These paid internships are valued at $10,000 per student. SMEs and host institutions will each contribute $2,500 towards the $10,000 award. This exciting opportunity allows business students with broader training and career opportunities while providing support to SMEs who need additional assistance in modifying their business operations to adapt to the new economic reality.

Canadian Science Policy Fellowship COVID-19 (deadline to apply is May 31, 2020): To support the development of evidence-informed policy with access to scientific expertise from Canada’s academic sector, Mitacs is opening a Canadian Science Policy Fellowship (CSPF) COVID-19 call. This cohort will address Canada’s response to COVID-19, recovery, and preparation for future pandemics.

This CSPF COVID-19 call is a modified version of the standard CSPF program aimed at quickly connecting government with academic researchers meaning a faster matching process from a pool of qualified and pre-approved candidates, all of whom hold PhDs. This call will be open to provincial, municipal, and Indigenous governments.

photo credit: frederic.gombert Let’s bright via photopin (license)

Open Access Week Events at Western Libraries

You are invited to participate in Open Access Week – a great opportunity to explore the benefits of open access and learn how to take advantage of open access publishing.

Workshop – Before You Sign: Know Your Academic Publishing Rights
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 10:30 a.m.- Noon
Thursday, Oct. 24, 1:30-3 p.m.
Room 121, Centre for Teaching & Learning, The D.B. Weldon Library

This hands-on workshop empowers participants to understand and exercise their rights as authors. Attendees will have an opportunity to compare publication agreements, learn about tools and best practices for self-archiving, and explore open access publishing options.
Register now

Workshop – Putting Together Your Data Management Plan (DMP)
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 1:30-3 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 24, 10:30 a.m. – Noon
Instruction Room (Ground Floor, Map and Data Centre), The D.B. Weldon Library 

In this workshop, you will learn the basics of RDM best practices and receive hands-on assistance drafting a Data Management Plan using Portage’s DMP Assistant. You’ll leave empowered with knowledge of RDM best practices and a working document to guide you in quality research data collection.
Register now

Academic Panel – What’s the Big Deal about Open Access?
Oct. 23, 1:30-3 p.m.
Room 258, The D.B. Weldon Library

Open access to academic research is rapidly becoming the norm, not the exception. Join members of the Provost’s Task Force on Open Access and Scholarly Communication to hear their experiences and perspectives on open access. Come with questions about open access and thoughts on how Western can best use open access to share knowledge for the benefit of society.

Panelists:

  • Joyla Furlano, Vice-President, Society of Graduate Students, and PhD candidate in Neuroscience
  • Kristin Hoffmann, Research and Scholarly Communication Librarian, Western Libraries
  • Katina Pollock, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education
  • Sam Trosow, Associate Professor, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, and Faculty of Law

Film Screening – Paywall the Business of Scholarship
Oct. 25, 1:30-3:00, McKellar Room, UCC

Paywall: The Business of Scholarship is a documentary which focuses on the need for open access to research and science. The film questions the rationale behind the $25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers, examines the 35-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher, Elsevier, and looks at how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable tech companies such as Apple, Facebook,  and Google.
Free popcorn!



Western Libraries Research Skills Workshops This Fall

Western Libraries is offering several workshops this fall that can help you better understand the scholarly publishing process, how to build and promote your scholarly identity, conduct a comprehensive systematic review, and make the most of data and geographical information in your research.

Upcoming Workshops:

  • Tips & Tools for Building and Promoting your Scholarly Identity
  • Getting Started with ORCID
  • Preparing to Publish 
  • Continuum of Data Access
  • Who Pays for Open Access?
  • Open Monographs: Options for Authors
  • Before You Sign: Know Your Academic Publishing Rights
  • Putting Together Your Data Management Plan (DMP)
  • How to Make a Map in QGIS
  • Storytelling with Maps
  • GIS Day

Session dates, Registration and more information…

If you have questions or require further information please contact Courtney Waugh, cwaugh5@uwo.ca.

photo credit: designsbykari Watercolor Chair Paintings via photopin (license)



Workshop – Amazon Mechanical Turk

The Faculty of Social Science has organized a workshop on

Amazon Mechanical Turk

By

Taylor Kohut, Post-Doc (Psychology)

Monday, February 11th
10-11 am
SSC 5220

“Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a crowdsourcing marketplace that makes it easier for individuals and businesses to outsource their processes and jobs to a distributed workforce who can perform these tasks virtually. This could include anything from conducting simple data validation and research to more subjective tasks like survey participation, content moderation, and more. MTurk enables companies to harness the collective intelligence, skills, and insights from a global workforce to streamline business processes, augment data collection and analysis, and accelerate machine learning development.”

This workshop is open to faculty members, post-docs, graduate students as well as technical and research staff.

RSVP required. There are a limited number of spots available.

Please see the attached poster for further details.

photo credit: opensourceway 2 reasons why the term “crowdsourcing” bugs me via photopin (license)

Open Access Week Activities, October 22-26

Monday – Open Access Week Kickoff Reception

When: 1:00 -3:00 p.m.
Where: D.B. Weldon Library Atrium
Cake, opening remarks, and exploration of what it means to be open! There will be an accompanying art show of data visualizations about open access or made using open data.
Musical performance provided by Ethan Lacey using open sheet music available through the International Music Score Library Project.

Tuesday – Before you Sign: Know your Academic Publishing Rights

When: 10:30 a.m. to noon
Where: TSC Room 121, D.B. Weldon Library
This hands-on workshop empowers participants to understand and exercise their rights as authors. Attendees will have an opportunity to compare publication agreements, learn about tools and best practices for self-archiving, and explore how your rights as an author can help make your work more open. The following FAQ’s will be addressed:
– Who holds the copyright?
– Can I post my work across various sharing platforms?
– Where can I post my work?
– How can I make my work more open?

Wednesday – Creating and Sustaining Inclusive Equitable Open Systems: A Panel Discussion

When: 10:30 a.m. to noon.
Where: Weldon’s Atrium
Increasingly, funders, publishers, universities, and governments are mandating open policies and practices. In the design of new systems that produce and distribute knowledge openly, we must think critically and act with intention to ensure that these systems serve the diverse needs of a global community. This panel of speakers will explore how to increase equity and inclusiveness within scholarship as research becomes more open. Facilitated by Associate Chief Librarian, Bobby Glushko.
List of speakers:
1. Candace Brunette – PhD Candidate in Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies
2. Nafiz Shuva – PhD Candidate in Library Information Science. Research is focused on digital inclusion and open access in developing countries
3. Thomas Peace – Assistant Professor in Canadian History and member of the Open Educational Resources Campus Working Group

Thursday – Before you Sign: Know your Academic Publishing Rights

When: 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Where: TSC Room 120, D.B. Weldon Library
This hands-on workshop empowers participants to understand and exercise their rights as authors. Attendees will have an opportunity to compare publication agreements, learn about tools and best practices for self-archiving, and explore how your rights as an author can help make your work more open. The following FAQ’s will be addressed:
– Who holds the copyright?
– Can I post my work across various sharing platforms?
– Where can I post my work?
– How can I make my work more open?

Friday –  Paywall: The Business of Scholarship (Film Screening)

Paywall-themovie.jpg
When: 3:00 p.m.
Where: McKellar Room Theatre, UCC
This documentary, produced and directed by Jason Schmitt, focuses on the need for open access to research and science, questions the rationale behind the 25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers, examines the 30-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher Elsevier, and looks at how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable tech companies like Apple, Facebook and Google.