2015-2016 RESEARCH & SCHOLARSHIP REPORT 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 ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF BUSINESS Business Administration 49 Founded in 1853, St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, began as a small school of higher studies established by the Information Systems 52 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, FACULTY OF EDUCATION education and applied professional programs. The University is known for its strong traditions of social engagement and service to humanity, Adult Education 53 as well as for the numerous communities with which it engages. These traditions are preserved by the research work of StFX faculty with First TABLE OF CONTENTS Education 55 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 FACULTY OF SCIENCE will substantially expand and build on the StFX tradition of training leaders in public service, as well as undertaking research and scholarship Biology 62 on a broad range of public policy and governance topics. Chemistry 68 Earth Sciences 70 Although known as a primarily undergraduate-focused university, StFX offers several Graduate Studies programs at the Master’s level, as well Engineering 84 as a joint PhD program in Education Studies delivered in partnership with Acadia University and Mount Saint Vincent University. Research is a Human Kinetics 84 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 Human Nutrition 90 Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science 93 inclusive endeavour embracing the full range of intellectual, scholarly and creative activities focused on the discovery, integration, interpretation Nursing 96 and application of knowledge. StFX has an established tradition of research-intensive scholarship across all areas of the University’s academic Physics 100 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 OTHER ACADEMIC PROGRAMS of large, collaborative research teams. Research is not a homogeneous activity, and StFX remains open and committed to supporting all forms Development Studies 103 of research that serve the academic teaching, scholarly, and service missions of the University. Women’s and Gender Studies 104 Coady International Institute 105 Continuing and Distance Education 108 Undergraduate students 4,591 FACULTY & ACADEMIC STAFF National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health 111 Full-time 3,882 Full-time Faculty 236 Part-time 709 Part-time Faculty 70 ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS StFX STATISTICS Graduate students 695 Academic Staff 81 Angus L. Macdonald Library 114 FOR 2015-2016 Research Services Group 114 Full-time 97 Part-time 598 NON-ACADEMIC STAFF StFX RESEARCH STATISTICS 116 Total overall student enrolment 5,286 Full-time 447 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 120 MESSAGE FROM THE ACADEMIC MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR, VICE-PRESIDENT & PROVOST AND THE RESEARCH GRANTS OFFICE ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH 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/ & GRADUATE STUDIES 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 We are very excited to herald the arrival of the 2nd annual Research and Scholarship Report for StFX. Our year. 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 The net was cast widely and participation was voluntary. However, if a researcher did not make a submission peer-reviewed journals. The research and scholarship work of StFX continues to be highly cited, referenced, to this Report but 1) participated in a group research grant, publication or thesis supervision listed by and recognized by peers throughout the world. We are also engaging in many knowledge translation another StFX researcher in this Report, 2) held a Tri-Agency research grant, or 3) was mentioned in a StFX activities that find their way into policy and best practices. Congratulations to our colleagues who set media release about research, then that researcher was included in this Report with that information. All and aspire to such high research standards and creative excellence. 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. Dr. Kevin Wamsley Thank you to everyone who generously provided information and responded to follow-up questions. Dr. Kevin Wamsley Many of you kindly took the trouble to format your submissions in the standard style and this helped Academic Vice-President & Provost greatly to facilitate the process. Dr. Richard Isnor John Blackwell Associate Vice-President Director, Research Grants Office Research & Graduate Studies Dr. Richard Isnor December 2017 1 2015-2016 Research and Scholarship Report l StFX StFX l 2015-2016 Research and Scholarship Report 2 STFX PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR NAMED VISITING STFX FACULTY MEMBER’S GROUND-BREAKING PROFESSOR (OVERSEAS) FOR 2016 BY THE INDIAN RESEARCH PUBLISHED IN PRESTIGIOUS COUNCIL OF PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL NATURE Dr. William Sweet’s appointment included giving lectures in New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Pune, Kalady, and Chennai (Madras). One of the How do we understand fairness, and why do humans collaborate with each other and share resources at a cost to themselves? Does fairness principal purposes of the position is to allow academics of international reputation, such as Dr. Sweet, the opportunity to meet and discuss develop differently across cultures? Those are the questions StFX Psychology ProfessorDr. Tara Callaghan and honours 2012 StFX psychology current research with Indian scholars and senior research students. The time spent in India allows for establishing and strengthening collaboration graduate and current Simon Fraser PhD candidate John Corbit (who are also a mother-son scientist team) are helping to answer as co-authors and research ties. The Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) was created in 1981 by the Ministry of Education of the Government of of a paper published in Nature, an international journal known for its original, ground-breaking research spanning all scientific disciplines. This India in order to provide funding for research and scholarship, including fellowships, conference support, and publications. Governed by a article became the most highly cited scholarly output by a StFX faculty member in 2015. The research addresses a central question in the origins council that includes distinguished philosophers, social scientists, and representatives of the University Grants Commission, the Indian National of human cooperation, the question of how humans develop a sense of fairness in situations where resources are shared with others. Recently, Science Academy, and the Central Government, the ICPR organises a wide range of national and international programs. Dr. Sweet has visited there has been work done to investigate the development of fairness that highlights the importance of socialization in human fairness. The 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 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. century. Professor Sweet’s lectures in India focused on some of his current research in the philosophy of culture, including such themes as culture The study investigated the question of development of fairness across seven societies that ranged from small to large-scale societies. Research and identity, personhood and property, the politics of recognition, and intercultural philosophy and intercultural communication. was conducted in the U.S., Canada, Peru, India, Uganda, Senegal, and Mexico. Dr. Callaghan conducted the research in India and Mr. Corbit conducted the Peru portion.