Grad Chat - Queen's School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs

Evalyn talks about her research-creation project that reflects on the relationship between arts leadership, creative practice, and cultural change. Using songwriting as an embodied, queer feminist method, this ‘portfolio’ format thesis includes three songs and six written chapters to examine the experience of being the Artistic Director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre between 2015 and 2020. Here i...

A look at what is happening in graduate studies at Queen’s this winter!  It’s all about celebrating research. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

Wrapping up what has been going on in 2023 within graduate studies at Queen’s University. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

Ozlem primarily talks about our weekly blog, Gradifying – Who Writes It, and Why?  The beginning of this session however she talks about her own research on “irregular migration from Central America and Mexico to the United States”. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website &#8...

Vince looks at queer sociality through the Boys Love media, a genre that portrays homoerotic relationships between two men by straight female creators for often assumed straight female readers. This genre was developed in Japan after WWII and was argued to liberate women from gender constraints. Since then, the genre has gained tremendous popularity in other parts of Asia and eventually in Europe...

Natasha is particularly interested in Barbauld’s  contributions to public debate in the nation following the French Revolution in 1789, which some Britons supported as an example to follow.  For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/shar...

Race, Mobilization, and Advocacy: Non-profit Representation in Times of Crisis

The Ethiopian criminal justice system relies on spoken language and written communication for its day-to-day business. In principle, the system is supposed to serve everyone equally without any discrimination based on legally prohibited grounds. In Ethiopia, there are about 2.5 million Deaf and hard-of-hearing people most of whom rely on either sign language or other methods of communication other...

Society benefits from altruistic individuals, but despite decades of research across disciplines, effective long-term interventions to increase altruistic behavior remain elusive. Therefore, we need to understand why, how, and when individuals will behave altruistically toward others (or not). For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate St...

Examing the role of private lending practices in Canada’s international higher education system, focusing on the socio-economic impacts of predatory lending on international student experiences in university towns. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-pos...

My Ph. D. project is a creative research collaboration with Inuit Elders, artists and youth in Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung), Nunavut, a remote community of 1600 on Eastern Baffin Island. Inuit have identified waste as a serious environmental and health threat. Central to my inquiry is ‘Who gets to define ‘waste’?’ and ‘who is responsible?’ for the myriad of waste-related issues in Inuit Nunangat. For...

A look at what graduate students can participate in during their studies that  helps them personally, professionally and academically. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

The mid-twentieth century saw an increase in the volume and variety of activities that prisoner aid societies in each of the four areas of study conducted both inside and outside of prisons. Treated together, the histories of prisoner aid societies in the key commonwealth nations of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and in the close neighbour of the United States offer an opportunity to explore...

Chemistry educators are turning to new technology like virtual reality (VR) to bring their students three-dimensional, interactive, and user-controlled learning environments to conceptualize molecular models. With the emergence of VR in chemistry classrooms, educators and developers must consider students’ varying spatial abilities in VR design to ensure that students are not overwhelmed. Students...

Older adults are at an increased risk of experiencing loss of natural dentation; thus experiencing suboptimal nutritional status. So what impact do dentures have on nutritional levels in older adults and what can be done to improve it? For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://ww...

We are all bodies of water, from humans, to other animals, plants, watersheds and waterways; all require water to survive and thrive. Considering ourselves and others bodies of water helps to illustrate the interrelationships between self and others, and water protection involves protecting all life, while also addressing intersecting issues such as racism and colonialism. With a lens of a feminis...

Informal caregivers of older adults often feel unprepared and underconfident in their role. Conventional (in-person) caregiver psychoeducation or skills-based interventions are difficult to accommodate in their unpredictable routines. The aim of this study was to map the impact of virtual caregiver psychoeducation interventions on informal caregivers of older adults. For upcoming interviews check...

Yvonne Runstedler is doing a PhD in Human Relationships at Wilfrid Laurier University, alongside James Dixon, who is doing a BA in Christian Studies & Global Citizenship. They are special guests this week. Ontario Catholic schools operate under the authority of the provincial Ministry of Education and have denominational rights under the law. Since these schools are publicly funded, divergent...

This project explores the experiences of a diverse array of community organizations in Kingston, Ottawa, and Cornwall, Ontario, examining their relationship with municipalities and their role in community development. Despite the numerous logistical, spatial, and financial challenges they encounter, community organizations provide invaluable care work and contribute significantly to overall wellbe...

In 2019, Kingston became the first municipality in Ontario to declare a ‘climate emergency’. This declaration stimulated further commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance community resilience to adapt to climate change impacts. My PhD dissertation research evaluated Kingston municipal government’s climate policies to understand strengths, weaknesses, and areas for potential imp...

Working with the Boston Dynamics Spot robot to develop autonomous exploration systems that use sound as a metric for where to search next. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat

Flooding is a disaster with ripple effects. Its environmental, social, and economic impacts are significant. Floods annually ravage Nigeria constituting an immediate and growing threat amid the global climate crisis. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-p...

Annelies studies women’s strategy of self-fashioning in the early modern period, specifically through their self-portraits. She examines the prejudices embedded within the practice of women looking at themselves in a mirror through vanitas prints and paintings. She is particularly interested in learning how women artists circumvented those prejudices in their self-portraits and how they came up wi...

Diabetes is a growing public health concern in Liberia; recent data shows about   2.1% of the population are living with the disease. This figure is likely a gross underestimation of the burden of disease in the country given the limited disease surveillance infrastructures and systems that exist. Diabetes places immense socioeconomic pressure on individuals and their families and burdens an alrea...

Olivia investigates how people have taken up the body acceptance movement on social media, and how it has affected their relationships with their bodies, as well as how they navigate diet and wellness culture. She is especially interested in how different identities such as race, gender, and sexuality influence how people experience those spaces. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat web...