2015-2016 Research & Scholarship Report
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2015-2016 RESEARCH & SCHOLARSHIP REPORT ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY Founded in 1853, St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, began as a small school of higher studies established by the Catholic Church. Today, StFX is widely recognized as one of Canada's leading undergraduate universities with a longstanding tradition of academic excellence, innovation in teaching, research and service to society. It brings together over 4,500 students for studies in arts, sciences, business, education and applied professional programs. The University is known for its strong traditions of social engagement and service to humanity, as well as for the numerous communities with which it engages. These traditions are preserved by the research work of StFX faculty with First Nations communities, the Coady International Institute, and Service Learning experiences for students, as well the work of initiatives such as the StFX-based National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health. The recent launch of the newly created Mulroney Institute of Government will substantially expand and build on the StFX tradition of training leaders in public service, as well as undertaking research and scholarship on a broad range of public policy and governance topics. Although known as a primarily undergraduate-focused university, StFX offers several Graduate Studies programs at the Master’s level, as well as a joint PhD program in Education Studies delivered in partnership with Acadia University and Mount Saint Vincent University. Research is a pervasive aspect of StFX and the University’s research activity has grown in the past several decades. Research at StFX is generally regarded as an inclusive endeavour embracing the full range of intellectual, scholarly and creative activities focused on the discovery, integration, interpretation and application of knowledge. StFX has an established tradition of research-intensive scholarship across all areas of the University’s academic reach, covering a range of fields in the humanities, social sciences, natural, physical, and engineering sciences, management sciences, and health sciences. StFX faculty employ a wide variety of approaches to research – from that of the individual scholar, to those who work as part of large, collaborative research teams. Research is not a homogeneous activity, and StFX remains open and committed to supporting all forms of research that serve the academic teaching, scholarly, and service missions of the University. Undergraduate students 4,591 FACULTY & ACADEMIC STAFF Full-time 3,882 Full-time Faculty 236 Part-time 709 Part-time Faculty 70 StFX STATISTICS Graduate students 695 Academic Staff 81 FOR 2015-2016 Full-time 97 Part-time 598 NON-ACADEMIC STAFF Total overall student enrolment 5,286 Full-time 447 Message From The Academic Vice-President & Provost and the Associate Vice-President, Research & Graduate Studies 1 Message from the Director, Research Grants Office 2 Researcher Profiles 3 FACULTY OF ARTS Anthropology 13 Art 15 Celtic Studies 16 Economics 18 English 20 History 23 Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish) 25 Music 26 Philosophy 27 Political Science 32 Psychology 37 Religious Studies 45 Sociology 46 FACULTY OF BUSINESS Business Administration 49 Information Systems 52 FACULTY OF EDUCATION Adult Education 53 TABLE OF CONTENTS Education 55 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Biology 62 Chemistry 68 Earth Sciences 70 Engineering 84 Human Kinetics 84 Human Nutrition 90 Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science 93 Nursing 96 Physics 100 OTHER ACADEMIC PROGRAMS Development Studies 103 Women’s and Gender Studies 104 Coady International Institute 105 Continuing and Distance Education 108 National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health 111 ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS Angus L. Macdonald Library 114 Research Services Group 114 StFX RESEARCH STATISTICS 116 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 120 MESSAGE FROM THE ACADEMIC VICE-PRESIDENT & PROVOST AND THE ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH & GRADUATE STUDIES We are very excited to herald the arrival of the 2nd annual Research and Scholarship Report for StFX. Our members continue to have tremendous success in obtaining grants, winning prestigious research awards, publishing monographs with leading university presses, and publishing work in the most revered peer-reviewed journals. The research and scholarship work of StFX continues to be highly cited, referenced, and recognized by peers throughout the world. We are also engaging in many knowledge translation activities that find their way into policy and best practices. Congratulations to our colleagues who set and aspire to such high research standards and creative excellence. Dr. Kevin Wamsley Dr. Kevin Wamsley Academic Vice-President & Provost Dr. Richard Isnor Associate Vice-President Research & Graduate Studies Dr. Richard Isnor December 2017 1 2015-2016 Research and Scholarship Report l StFX MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR, RESEARCH GRANTS OFFICE This second annual Research and Scholarship Report for St. Francis Xavier University encompasses a wide range of activities in many disciplines. There were several calls inviting all faculty and staff members to submit information about their publications, external research funding, knowledge mobilization/ translation activities (a rapidly expanding area as academe and technology evolve) and other research outcomes between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016. Academic ranks are given as of that academic year. The net was cast widely and participation was voluntary. However, if a researcher did not make a submission to this Report but 1) participated in a group research grant, publication or thesis supervision listed by another StFX researcher in this Report, 2) held a Tri-Agency research grant, or 3) was mentioned in a StFX media release about research, then that researcher was included in this Report with that information. All submissions were edited into a consistent format and classified by type of contribution or activity. The Research and Scholarship Report also contains numerous references to undergraduate and graduate student research achievements – a primary focus of the learning experience at this University. Thank you to everyone who generously provided information and responded to follow-up questions. Many of you kindly took the trouble to format your submissions in the standard style and this helped greatly to facilitate the process. John Blackwell Director, Research Grants Office StFX l 2015-2016 Research and Scholarship Report 2 STFX PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR NAMED VISITING PROFESSOR (OVERSEAS) FOR 2016 BY THE INDIAN COUNCIL OF PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH Dr. William Sweet’s appointment included giving lectures in New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Pune, Kalady, and Chennai (Madras). One of the principal purposes of the position is to allow academics of international reputation, such as Dr. Sweet, the opportunity to meet and discuss current research with Indian scholars and senior research students. The time spent in India allows for establishing and strengthening collaboration and research ties. The Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) was created in 1981 by the Ministry of Education of the Government of India in order to provide funding for research and scholarship, including fellowships, conference support, and publications. Governed by a council that includes distinguished philosophers, social scientists, and representatives of the University Grants Commission, the Indian National Science Academy, and the Central Government, the ICPR organises a wide range of national and international programs. Dr. Sweet has visited India a number of times over the past two decades, and is the author of a number of articles on Indian philosophy of the early and mid 20th century. Professor Sweet’s lectures in India focused on some of his current research in the philosophy of culture, including such themes as culture and identity, personhood and property, the politics of recognition, and intercultural philosophy and intercultural communication. 3 2015-2016 Research and Scholarship Report l StFX STFX FACULTY MEMBER’S GROUND-BREAKING RESEARCH PUBLISHED IN PRESTIGIOUS JOURNAL NATURE How do we understand fairness, and why do humans collaborate with each other and share resources at a cost to themselves? Does fairness develop differently across cultures? Those are the questions StFX Psychology ProfessorDr. Tara Callaghan and honours 2012 StFX psychology graduate and current Simon Fraser PhD candidate John Corbit (who are also a mother-son scientist team) are helping to answer as co-authors of a paper published in Nature, an international journal known for its original, ground-breaking research spanning all scientific disciplines. This article became the most highly cited scholarly output by a StFX faculty member in 2015. The research addresses a central question in the origins of human cooperation, the question of how humans develop a sense of fairness in situations where resources are shared with others. Recently, there has been work done to investigate the development of fairness that highlights the importance of socialization in human fairness. The importance of this study is that it is the first to address the question of the origins of human fairness from a cultural developmental perspective. The study investigated the question of development of fairness across seven societies that ranged from small to large-scale societies. Research was conducted in the U.S., Canada, Peru, India, Uganda, Senegal, and Mexico. Dr. Callaghan conducted the research