Tri-Agency – Master’s Scholarships Recipients for 2023-24

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies is thrilled to announce recipients of the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s as well as the Indigenous Scholars Award from the federal agencies for Bishop’s University for the 2023-24 school year.

For the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Bishop’s University was allocated a quota of two (2) for the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s. The recipients for 2023-24 are:

• Sophie Bass, M.A. in Educational Studies under the joint supervision of Dr. Dawn Wiseman (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Mitchell McLarnon (McGill University).
• Josiane Tremblay-Ross, Individualized M.A. in Sociology and Justice under the joint supervision of Dr. Vicki Chartrand (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Alex Miltsov (Bishop’s University).

For the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Bishop’s University was allocated a quota of one (1). The recipient for 2023-24 is:

• Jared Derek Sparr, Individualized M.Sc. in Biology under the supervision of Dr. Patrick Bergeron (Bishop’s University).

For the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Indigenous Scholars Award:

• Megan Legare, Individualized M.A. in Psychology and Program Evaluation under the joint supervision of Dr. Heather Lawford (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Vicki Chartrand (Bishop’s University).

For the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Black Scholars Award:

• Kyra Simons, Individualized M.A. in Psychology under the joint supervision of Dr. Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Adrianna Mendrek (Bishop’s University).

Exploring the Impacts of Visual Arts on Student Engagement and Self-Efficacy

Sophie Bass, M.A. in Educational Studies under the joint supervision of Dr. Dawn Wiseman (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Mitchell McLarnon (McGill University).

The purpose of Sophie’s research is to describe and analyze the impacts that visual arts have on student engagement and self-efficacy at the elementary school level. Using aspects of arts-based educational research (ABER; Barone & Eisner, 2011) as her methodology, her study fuses artmaking and qualitative research strategies to gather student insights on the value of visual arts as it relates to their level of educational engagement and self-efficacy. This is the first study in Quebec that explores the beneficial nature of visual arts education from the perspective of student engagement and self-efficacy. Findings will be especially useful to teachers working with students who are disengaged from school, and students who are struggling with the current structure of Quebec schools that, ultimately, lead them to dropping out. Sophie received her B.A. in Educational Studies and B.Ed. from Bishop’s University. She has been an elementary school teacher for ten years and is currently working at Vision School, a private trilingual elementary school in Sherbrooke.

Comparative Thematic Analysis of Community-Based Approaches to Justice, Self-Determination, and Sovereignty

Josiane Tremblay-Ross, Individualized M.A. in Sociology and Justice under the joint supervision of Dr. Vicki Chartrand (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Alex Miltsov (Bishop’s University).

As conceptualized in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, justice is traditionally conceived of as something that only resides in the hands of the state or the criminal justice system. The inquiry’s final report contains 231 Calls for Justice that must be enacted in the many areas of life, broad yet interconnected, from which the violence against First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA (MMIWG2S+) people is born. To broadly address the violence, justice needs to be understood as far more than a state response. As justice is so often conflated with the justice system, so is sovereignty frequently understood as synonymous with the state. From the premise that justice is inextricable from practices of self-determination and sovereignty, Josiane’s research will build on Dr. Chartrand’s publicly available 500+ Indigenous Grassroots Resource Collection to reconsider practices of justice, self-determination, and sovereignty through a comparative thematic analysis of the strategies enacted in Indigenous grassroots initiatives for MMIWG2S+ people. Josiane Tremblay-Ross is a Master’s student under the supervision of Dr. Vicki Chartrand and Dr. Alex Miltsov in the Department of Sociology at Bishop’s University, from which she also completed her Honours in Sociology in 2022.

Bioaccumulation and Physiological/Behavioral Effects of a Common Pesticide Mix on Pond Snails

Jared Derek Sparr, Individualized M.Sc. in Biology under the supervision of Dr. Patrick Bergeron (Bishop’s University).

Modern farming and crop varieties heavily rely upon various agrochemicals that can accumulate in soil, water, and living organisms. Chemicals often also mix when entering a natural waterway due to agricultural runoff. Mixtures are generally more toxic than individual chemicals and can have unpredictable effects. Predators, parasites, and competitors can all receive exposure and accumulate chemicals through the ingestion of contaminated prey. To account for these components in an experiment designed to test the toxicity of a pesticide mixture, the focus must be placed on simple trophic interactions utilizing well-studied model organisms (such as the Great Pond Snail (Lymnaea stagnalis)) for a complete understanding of biological responses. Our experimental design includes outdoor mesocosms (enclosed pond environments) containing both pond snails and their food (microbial/algal communities that form a pond biofilm) to assess chronic (28 days) toxicity of a seven-compound common pesticide mix found in water surrounding corn/soybean farms of Quebec. Snails will be measured for growth, bioaccumulation, enzyme activity, protein composition, explorative behaviour, and reaction time. The potential of ecosystem recovery will also be assessed by evaluating low concentrations. This design aims to properly assess the environmental toxicity of these compounds and complement water survey data from the Ministère de l’environnement et de la lutte aux changements climatiques (MELCC) in southern Quebec. Results from this project will be directly translated to end user agronomists through the Réseau Québécois de recherche en agriculture durable (RQRAD) with evidence of the benefits of changing agricultural practices.

Engaging Indigenous Youth Using a Generativity Lens

Megan Legare, Individualized M.A. in Psychology and Program Evaluation under the joint supervision of Dr. Heather Lawford (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Vicki Chartrand (Bishop’s University).

Megan Legare is Kanien’kehá: ka and her family has ties to Kahnawake. Her Indigenous identity informed a lot of her work in the last few years. She completed her undergrad in Psychology in 2022 at Bishop’s University with a Minor in Criminology, in addition to completing an honours. All of Megan’s research since her honours has been focused on Indigenous ways of knowing and amplifying Indigenous voices. Her supervisors, Dr. Heather Lawford and Dr. Vicki Chartrand, have been with her since her honours. Megan is currently working on multiple projects that focus on Indigenous youth, decolonizing spaces and generativity (leaving a legacy of the self behind by working with the next generation). With the Students Commission of Canada, she co-created the content for a conference on youth generativity and reconciliation, which is a central piece of her Master’s thesis. The conference centers on Indigenous voices and knowledge to discuss generativity and reconciliation. Megan’s projects focus on centring Indigenous youth voices and their experience at this conference. She is interested in understanding the relationship Indigenous youth have to Indigenous ways of knowing, in addition to youth generativity in the context of reconciliation. Lastly, decolonizing spaces is an important part of Megan’s work. Outside of her work in research, Megan has been delivering truth and reconciliation workshops across Canada and has been interning at the Justice Exchange Center. Megan hopes that her work can empower Indigenous youth voices and accurately represents them, to foster change.

Children’s perceptions of an art-based intervention on their mental health and well-being

Kyra Simons, Individualized M.Sc. in Psychology under the joint supervision of Dr. Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise (Bishop’s University) and Dr. Adrianna Mendrek (Bishop’s University).

The individualized program has allowed Kyra and her supervisors to create a degree that aligns with Kyra’s post-graduate plans. She has learned about art therapy and positive psychology through her courses, gained quantitative and qualitative research experience, presented at various international conferences, and led numerous guest lectures over the first year of her degree. Kyra’s master’s research focuses on the effects of art-based interventions on the mental health and well-being of children. Conducting this work has solidified Kyra’s passion for community-based research, as she has worked directly alongside a local after-school program to design this study. In addition to this project, she has additional research experience in positive psychology and eco-anxiety. Currently, Kyra is analyzing the data for her master’s thesis, and writing an article on her work in positive psychology that she aims to publish. Kyra hopes to pursue a PhD in cultural psychology following the completion of her master’s degree.