December, 2013 Gradzette

Gradzette the university of manitoba ’ s graduate student magazine

December 2013

Gradzette THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT MAGAZINE Gradzette c/o The Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation 105 University Centre University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2 General inquiries and advertising Phone: (204) 474.6535 Fax: (204) 474.7651 Email: editor@gradzette.com Editor: Ryan Harby Copy Editor: Bryce Hoye Designer: Marc Lagace Contributors: Bryce Hoye, Leila Mostaço-Guidolin, Brian Hauri Cover: Beibei Lu, Ryan Harby The Gradzette is the official student magazine of the University of Manitoba’s graduate student community and is published on the first Monday of each month by the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation.

Freelance!

The Gradzette is pleased to offer U of M graduate students the opportunity to get involved with their student paper. If you have a passion for writing, journalism, photography, or illustration the Gradzette is looking for individuals to get involved with the production process of the U of M’s grad student paper.

The Gradzette currently offers 10 cents per word for freelance article assignments (articles can range from 400-900 words) and upwards of seven dollars per photo/graphic used within the paper.

Freelancers will be added to a contact pool and emailed with potential article, photo, or graphic assignments when they become available. On average, freelance contributors will be expected to complete assignments within a seven day period, although certain assignments may be allotted a longer schedule.

For applications to the freelance writer pool, please send a resume and at least two (2) writing samples to editor@gradzette. com.

The Gradzette is a democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens.

The magazine’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objectively on issues and events of importance and interest to the graduate students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of opinions and ideas, and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general.

The Gradzette serves as a training ground for students interested in any aspect of journalism. Students and other interested parties are invited to contribute. Please contact the editor listed above for submission guidelines.

The Gradzette reserves the right to edit all submissions and will not publish any material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or libelous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are solely those of the authors.

The Gradzette is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national student press cooperative with members from St. John’s to Victoria.

All contents are ©2013 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation.

Yearly subscriptions to the Gradzette are available, please contact publisher@gradzette.com for more information.

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Citation and organization

Which reference manager is the right fit for you?

by Brian hauri

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basic reference manager simplifies the process of adding in-text citations and creating bibliographies. A feature rich reference manager may use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scans to identify themes in your PDF file library and provide you with ‘Mind Mapping’ tools to aid in the creative writing process. Most reference managers can import references from websites and PDF files and organize them based on specified metadata; the author(s), year, title, publication, page numbers, and other reference information.

References can then be exported into thousands of citation styles including those specific to particular academic journals.

There are many recently updated reference managers, each offering a unique combination of features to streamline your workflow.

The five chosen for review below represent two of the best, two up-and-comers, and the institutionally supported Refworks, offered free to all students, staff, faculty, and alumni under the University of Manitoba libraries license. Whereas Mendeley, Qiqqa, Zotero are free and fully functional with an optional cloud storage capacity upgrade, Docear has no payment model to date.

The prevailing wisdom on how to choose the best reference manager is to select the one your colleagues are using, which will make collaboration and the transition to using a reference manager easier. If there is no preference among colleagues, maybe one of the five listed below will interest you enough to give it a fair shot.

1. Docear Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Web (prototype) Website: www.docear.org Docear is an open source reference manager that is less user-friendly than average because of the extensive array of features offered, but potentially worth the effort for that same reason. In “Mind Map Mode,” you can create an interactive

tree of your ideas; weaving together PDF files, notes, images, links to highlighted text, and any other information collected and created during your research. This is just one of the many features offered by Docear and highlighted in the impressive introductory video found on their website. As a frequently updated reference manager which takes user satisfaction and suggestions seriously, Docear is worth taking a look at.

2. Mendeley Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Web, Android, iOS Website: www.mendeley.com Mendeley was first released in 2008 by a large team of investors and researchers and sold earlier this year to publishing giant Elsevier. It combines a user-friendly PDF and reference manager with an academic social network. This makes it ideal for sharing research online in both public and private groups, and discovering new research based on interests, research trends, and a related documents search. If you select a folder for Mendeley to “watch,” any PDF files downloaded to that folder will be automatically added to your library with metadata attached. The file manager feature makes it easy to rename multiple PDF files based on specified metadata criteria. Mendeley also offers an internal PDF viewer that can be used to highlight sections and notes from the PDF files in your library for later review. If you are looking for a comprehensive PDF manager and to connect with other researchers and discover new research, Mendeley is among the best.

3. Qiqqa Platform: Windows Website: www.qiqqa.com Qiqqa was developed by a Cambridge UK start-up and offers comprehensive tools to manage and understand references in your collection. After you add PDF files and reference metadata through the internal web browser, the documents are scanned with OCR technology and information on common themes, keyword clouds, cross-references and citation statistics can be explored through its ‘Expedition’ feature. Qiqqa also offers a “Brainstorm” feature that can be

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used to organize any information and ideas you have through an interactive visual interface. The feature rich environment takes some getting used to, but if you are new to an area of research, Qiqqa offers you the tools to familiarize yourself with the existing literature whatever your interests.

4. Refworks Platform: Web Website: libguides.lib.umanitoba.ca/citationmanagers Refworks is produced under the publisher ProQuest as a strictly web-based reference tool compatible with major browsers and operating systems. Refworks has a large market share among Canadian universities and is a straightforward tool for collecting and saving references during online searches. If you are looking for more than the bare minimum, and go on extended literature searches to add multiple PDF files and references in a single session, look somewhere else.

5. Zotero Support: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Web, Android and iOS (third party apps) Website: www.zotero.org Zotero is an open source reference manager developed by a team of librarians out of George Mason University. Originally launched as a Firefox browser extension, it has since become available for Chrome and Safari browsers, and also as a standalone application. The browser integration makes adding multiple references from online journals and other less conventional sources like Youtube videos equally seamless. If you download a lot of PDF files during your literature searches, Zotero can automatically add metadata information to your files and rename them based on the metadata criteria you choose. If you are looking for a reference manager that provides a straightforward interface you can use to organize your references and attach any additional information such as personal notes or snapshots of web pages to your references, Zotero is tough to beat.

To the bat lab!

Researcher Profile: Mary-Anne Collis

by Bryce Hoye

U

nited Kingdom import Mary-Anne Collis is keen on bats.

“When I heard about white nose syndrome I was extremely interested and wanted to be part of helping to find out all the intricacies of it and assisting with saving the hibernating bat populations being affected,” said Collis.

Collis began her PhD studies in January of 2013 under supervisor and University of Winnipeg associate professor of biology Craig Willis, joining a team of U of W graduate students in the Willis Bat Lab (WBL). Because the U of W lacks a doctoral program in the biological sciences, however, Collis enrolled in the U of M’s biological science department, carrying out the majority of her research at the U of W. As with many others in the WBL, Collis’ research concerns the pathogenic fungal disease known as “white nose syndrome” (WNS)—so called for the crusted white infection that forms over the muzzles, wings, and ears of bats—that is currently decimating select North American bat species populations.

The infection disturbs and wakes bats from hibernation, resulting in a premature decrease in their fat stores in the winter.

“Some then try and emerge early—presumably in search of food—and die from the cold and starvation,” said Collis.

In 2006, a group of researchers visited a cave-dwelling

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Little brown bat with white noise syndrome.

Image courtesy of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

population of hibernating bats near Albany, New York only to find the majority of the colony had succumbed to the then unknown WNS. In the short time since the initial outbreak, the disease has spread like a bat out of hell, and the USGS National Wildlife Health Centre estimates an 80 per cent loss in total northeastern U.S. bat numbers.

The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and northern longeared (Myotis septentrionalis) bat are the focal species of Collis’ research; the former species the most commonly found and severely affected by WNS on the continent. “[The little brown bat population] has seen hibernating population losses of 75-100 per cent over one winter and has just been recommended for federally endangered status in Canada,” said Collis.

“It is now also on the Species at Risk list in Ontario. The northern long-eared is of a similar status in Canada and Ontario but a lot less is known about this species as it is a lot less common,” Collis added.

WBL researchers like Collis worry it is only a matter of time before the disease makes an appearance in the resident populations of their Manitoba and northwestern Ontario study zones.

Recent confirmed accounts of WNS along the border of Ontario and Minnesota do nothing to alleviate these worries.

“My project is using a study area right on the very edge of where WNS is present,” said Collis. “At the moment none of the sites are affected, but the disease is approximately 300 kilometres from our sites and we know that bats can move large distances throughout the year, sometimes up to 500 kilometres – moving between summer roosting sites (for females) and hibernation sites.”

Little is known about the little brown bat’s survival strategies generally speaking, rendering the whole business of understanding and resolving WNS the more complex. Collis is hoping to help fill the information gap with her research by getting ahead of the spread, focusing on areas that have not yet been ravaged by WNS in hopes of gathering baseline data for unaffected populations.

“My project aims to look at populations that are ‘healthy’ and determine what those populations do;

and their survival rate over a few years; and how they cope with different cave/mine types over hibernation; and whether some are better than others and why,” said Collis.

“With the system we are using, we can also look at how much individuals move between different sites to see how the fungus could be transported between sites. The idea is to look at normal populations right on the frontline of the disease, [so that] when the disease comes through we will be able to determine if some individuals survive better than others and why, as well as how [WNS] is moving across the landscape.”

Collis and members of the WBL trap their winged subjects using delicately stringed harp traps that ensnare and funnel the bats into pouches. Tissue samples and swabs are taken (to test for WNS), as are general measurements of weight, sex, and forearm length.

Thereafter, bats are implanted with solar powered passive integrated transponder (PIT) microchips unique to each individual, allowing the team to track their dispersal and general whereabouts overtime.

“With this it means that we know exactly when our marked bats are going in and out of hibernation and we already know their sex and can look up their age. This in conjunction with monitoring conditions both in and out of the hibernacula through the course of a year will help us to understand how and when they are moving around.”

Collis is also investigating the effects of temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure on hibernacula emergence timing.

In an attempt to utilize the community in helping members of the Willis Bat Lab locate roosts around the city, the lab began a program called Manitoba Bat Blitz (MBB). The purpose of the MBB is to encourage the public to report known locations of bats residing on their property and to alert the public to some of the telltale behavioural signs of WNS — namely, premature emergence from hibernation.

Know the whereabouts of some bats? Interested in participating as a volunteer with Manitoba Bat Blitz?

Email mbbatblitz@hotmail.com or call (204) 789-1463.

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Linguistic landscapes in second-language learning Researcher Profile: Gail Cormier

by Brian Hauri

G

ail Cormier is not a regular graduate student: she is the coordinator of the Continuing Education Division at Université de Saint-Boniface. She is starting her PhD in education with a specialization in second-language education.

The focus of Cormier’s research couldn’t be more appropriate; she will study the role of linguistic landscapes and, to her knowledge, she will be the first to study linguistic landscapes within schools.

Such an innovative study is not a foreign area to Cormier. During her master’s she studied the difference between French immersion and French-language schools in Manitoba. Cormier compared the differences between schools where French is used as a first language and those where French is usually taught as a second language.

During her master’s, Cormier also conducted another study. She looked at the St. Boniface area, studying the languages present on street signs and the ways in which French and English interacted in that public domain.

“I brought both ideas together for my PhD research,” said Cormier. “What I am going to do is visit schools in Manitoba where French is taught, and I will be looking at what is written on the walls, what the teachers have decided to put up on the walls in their classrooms and how language is used in different contexts.”

Cormier will be studying French-language and French immersion schools in Manitoba.

sense that your language has value in the greater community.

“There are two different types of French-immersion programs in Manitoba. One is called ‘centre d’immersion’ (centre of immersion) where all the students within that program are in French immersion. The secretary speaks French, the gym teacher speaks French, everyone speaks French. We also have what is called dual track, which is almost like a French immersion cohort within an English school; some students are in French immersion while others are taking the regular English program. The French immersion students in a dual track system take all their subjects in French. Essentially, I will be looking at how French and English interact in those situations.”

“For minority-language populations, that is very important because you are showing not only children but also adults that a specific language is worth being used on a sign, and it is being used to communicate a message. If English is the only language used, it gives the impression that some languages are only useful in specific situations, for example at home.”

Another very interesting point mentioned related to immigrants and the learning process of second or additional languages. When asked about what could happen to children who spoke a language other than English in the home and were sent to French immersion schools, Cormier had an interesting answer:

Linguistic landscapes is an area of research that focuses on the interaction between the languages of any given territory. It is a relatively new area of research and it started in Canada. According to Cormier, reputed Canadian researcher Rodrigue Landry helped pave the way by studying the importance of having your language present on signs. If you see the language you speak on signs, you will automatically get a

“It is a good idea to send those children to a French immersion school, as the power of English is lessened. So, they will be able to maintain their language at home, they will learn French at school and because English is the language of the majority in Manitoba, they will learn that as well.”

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When asked about what brought her to focus on sec-

“If English is the only language used, it gives the impression that some languages are only useful in specific situations, for example at home” — Gail Cormier ond-language education, Cormier’s face lit up. She taught in a French immersion school for three years. At the same time, Cormier focused her master’s thesis on students who went to a French immersion elementary school and then transferred to a French-language high school.

“I did my first five years of university here [Université de Saint-Boniface], and my master’s in education at the University of Manitoba; and now I’m doing my PhD there as well. I have always been passionate about education and languages.

I speak English and French but I also had the opportunity to take Spanish classes in high school. I even went to Costa Rica to teach English for six months. Now, I’m a coordinator at the Continuing Education Division at Université de Saint-Boni-

face where I use all three languages in my job every day. It is really fascinating for me to be doing a PhD in an area that I work in and that I love.”

“I have been very lucky because there are not many universities in Canada where you can study in English and in French,” Cormier concludes. “I’ve taken courses at Université de Saint-Boniface and at the University of Manitoba. It is great to have that partnership. I can publish and present in English or in French, and that is very important to me.”

After having learned about the importance and impact that languages have in society, we can end this interview with one question: Parlez-vous français? Español? Русский?

Get your research featured in the

Gradzette

Are you a graduate student eager to promote your research and provide exposure for your work in the master’s or doctoral program? The Gradzette is looking for individuals interested in participating in our ongoing “Researcher Profile” column, which seeks to showcase important and exciting U of M research for a larger audience.

Subjects of a “Researcher Profile” will be interviewed by a Gradzette staff member regarding their ongoing research project. Once the column has been put together, the information will be published online both on the Gradzette website and within the PDF version of the monthly Gradzette magazine. Both versions are free to share with coworkers, acquaintances, professors, etc.

If you would like to be featured in an upcoming “Researcher Profile,” please contact editor@ gradzette.com with details regarding your field of study, a short blurb about your current research, and any pertinent contact information for interview purposes.

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Tuition tax credits targeting wealthy Study shows low-income students less likely to benefit

by Anqi Shen — CUP ONTARIO BUREAU CHIEF HAMILTON (CUP) — Every year, Canadian postsecondary students are eligible for tuition, education and textbook credits that cost billions of dollars in funding. But, as it turns out, students from low-income households are least likely to benefit from the credits during school despite needing the money the most.

A recent study, conducted through the C.D. Howe Institute, found that tax credits are “disproportionately” transferred to well-off families in a given tax year. Most students from lower-income households can claim the non-refundable credits only after they finish school and start earning enough taxable income.

Christine Neill, an associate professor of economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., authored the study. She found that the tax credit savings amount to about $2,000 per year for the average Canadian undergraduate student.

“For youth from relatively high income families, a couple thousand dollars per year may not change their decision to go to university or college, but it might change those from low-income families. The problem is, they tend to get the money later,” Neill said.

In 2012, students with family incomes below $30,000 used only 7 per cent of education credits transferred to parents in 2012, but made up about half of tax filers.

Households with an income above $80,000 used about 42 per cent of education credits transferred to parents but made up just 10 per cent of tax filers.

Neill recommended that simply making the credits refundable would vastly improve the program. Students not earning enough taxable income would then get a cheque in the mail for what they couldn’t claim on their taxes, instead of having to carry the credits forward.

The same recommendation has been made in the past by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA).

According to Neill’s study, undergraduate students in British Columbia save the least from the tax credits, followed by students in Ontario and Newfoundland. Students in Alberta save the most out of all the provinces, but by a small margin.

A 2010 study found that college students save a larger proportion of their tuition from the credits than university students. However, college students end up with a smaller dollar value from the credits because their tuition is, on average, lower.

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Last year, the federal government spent $1.6 billion on tuition, education and textbook tax credits — more than the $0.7 billion it spent on the Canada Student Loan Program.

Tuition and education credits were first introduced in 1961, and the option to “carry forward” unclaimed amounts was introduced in 1997.

“Before the carry-forward was introduced, kids from low income families may never have been able to claim the credits — after 1997, the program became more expensive but it became better,” Neill said.

In 2006, a textbook credit was added, raising questions from the academic community on the efficacy of the program.

Whether to stimulate enrolment in postsecondary education or to distribute wealth to students from lower-income families, the purpose of the tax credits hasn’t been clearly articulated.

Neill argues that the credits currently fail on both efficiency and equity principles. She also made a point that the credits aren’t well-advertised on university and college web pages that display tuition fee information.

“One major issue is that many people don’t know about [the credits], and they don’t know before going through postsecondary education,” Neill said. “If you don’t know something exists, how would it affect your behaviour?”