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is a podcast about academic research and why it matters. Join podcast host (professor of Accounting at Schulich School of Business) for a special 10-part series featuring extraordinary researchers and creators at 91亚色 and their innovative methodologies and approaches. A new episode is launched every month.

Podcast or Perish is supported by 91亚色鈥檚 Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Schulich School of Business.

Episodes:

, of 91亚色鈥檚 Osgoode Hall Law School, holds a Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law & Justice. Her work examines the problematic jurisdictional reality that shapes the transition to a green economy, as Canadian mining companies seek to develop resources on land belonging to the First Nations.

 of 91亚色 studies motherhood from a profoundly feminist perspective. Deconstructing the taken-for-granted, culturally normative image of mothers has led her to publish over 20 books on mothering. Her most recent work explores the inordinate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers.

, of the Faculty of Education at 91亚色, studies the impact that the core beliefs and values of teachers have on classroom practice. She talks here about the emotional experience of online learning and how this has affected teachers and students during the pandemic.

, Chair of the Department of Dance at 91亚色, is an award-winning filmmaker whose documentaries capture the beauty of motion and the dreams of possibility among dancers in the Philippines. His work is gorgeous and human, with carefully framed images and haunting, evocative soundtracks.

, Canada Research Chair in Supply Chain Management at the Schulich School of Business, is a leading expert on the subject of supply chain disruptions. His research on quality management, mass customization, and supply chain relationships has helped supply managers and public policymakers minimize disruptions.

, of the School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health, studies the emotional, psychological, and contextual factors that shape how healthcare workers do their jobs. Her research has helped thousands of oncologists and neurosurgeons understand how they process grief and how their emotional connection to patients influences life-or-death decisions that they face every day.

, James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering at Lassonde School of Engineering, studies emerging contaminants in wastewater. She creates the techniques to identify new pollutants such as pharmaceutical compounds that are hazardous at extremely low concentrations, and then eliminate them in ways that contribute positively to the ecosystem.

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Actually, he takes on one of four alter egos 鈥� and all of them make music.

Having turned to music in his youth, Knight has had the opportunity to explore music creatively, and more formally, throughout his journey. As a teenager, he would spend hours playing and teaching himself piano. He also picked up the drums, keyboard and guitar along the way.

In the early 1980s, his ambition to study music led him here to 91亚色, where he earned a BFA. During that time, he learned about working in a studio, and studied electronic music with Phil Werren, composition with James Tenney and improvisation with Casey Sokol.

"It was a great experience and I鈥檓 grateful for the opportunities I had," he says. "I've always found music and sound to be a very magical, even spiritual, space that allows performers, creators and listeners an opportunity to tap into the essence of life."

Over the past year 鈥� with some extra time on his hands, due to the pandemic 鈥� that essence of life was translated into the first EP for his alter ego "freemoth," titled听Why I'm Here.

Released on March 23 on , the EP is the first from freemoth.

Written, recorded and produced over the past year, Knight says the six-song EP was born from a recently renovated home studio, and a new muse: the pandemic. Although he's always working on music, living in a new and evolving reality was a spark of inspiration.

"The EP certainly reflects on the challenges we are faced with at this time, especially 'This Submarine,' which was the first song written for this collection." And the title track, he says, came together after picking up his guitar one day and singing out, "I don't wanna die!"

As the pandemic progressed, with no end in sight, he spent more time translating his thoughts about life into music.

As for his musical style, he isn't sure he can quite pin it down.

"I guess my approach has been percussive by nature and this surfaces now in my guitar playing and arrangements. While there is a strong rhythmic element to my work, it鈥檚 also a sonic exploration, where things are recorded and the sound is essentially sculpted to emphasize one thing or chiselled away to create the final piece of music."

This is where the different personas come into play.

"This EP, for example, is by freemoth, who writes and sings songs," explains Knight. "Then there is music by Silent K, which is instrumental and oriented toward an alternative, post-rock genre with some degree of experimentation. The Time Tailor is a prog rock/psychedelic explorer, and sonic(K) uses a software program called  to create experimental, ambient, musical environments and situations.

"There is certain amount of overlap, of course, but my cataloguer brain wants to sort it out like this at the moment," he adds.

Knight uses his home studio to record and produce his music, and credits advances in digital audio workstation (DAW) software for making high-quality recordings at home within grasp.

"For me, the DAW has become another musical instrument that I use to cultivate and discover the magic moments," he says.

Knight says he is always making music and, usually, he discovers something new whenever he picks up a guitar or sits down at his piano. This is what inspired the title for his first EP, , released in 2005 by Silent K.

Knight is currently working on a full-length Silent K album, which he expects to be ready in July.

A selection of his musical pursuits can be found on his  page on . He is also on Instagram at @freedmoth.

By Ashley Goodfellow Craig, deputy editor, YFile

Do you have a "secret life" or know someone else at 91亚色 who does? Drop us a line at听yfile@yorku.ca听with a brief summary of what makes you shine, or nominate someone you know at 91亚色. Use the subject line 鈥淢y Secret Life.鈥�

Courtesy of YFile.

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The November 2020 event brought together graduate students from across AMPD to share stories of transforming their research and creation projects in response to the COVID-19 restrictions.

鈥淲e want to think together across the arts,鈥� said , AMPD鈥檚 associate dean of research, during her introductory remarks at the Creative Shifts event. 鈥淲e feel this is vital for understanding the array of methods that this moment might be opening up. And we also want to think together about how we might support one another in this very unusual year.鈥�

Despite the challenges of working alone with little opportunity for the usual cross-pollination that takes place in hallways, studios and around water coolers, these shifts led to fruitful research experiments and unexpected discoveries in artmaking.

The event, co-organized by Levin and Sunita Nigam, an AMPD postdoctoral researcher, offered wonderful stories and fascinating insights about creating.

A workshop reckoning and pivot

For Scott Christian, a master's student in music composition, the pandemic necessitated turning around a carful of actors and returning to Canada from a New 91亚色 state park in mid-March.

His off-Broadway workshop of , co-created with director and lyricist Lezlie Wade, had been cancelled due to public health closures.

Christian then received funding to film 30 minutes of the piece and present it online. The video launched in October 2020 and has been seen by more than 2,000 people.

The camera as a dance partner

鈥淚f we were going to present a developmental workshop for an audience,鈥� said Christian, 鈥渨e might hit 100 people. So, the fact that we were able to create something that reached 2,000 people this year feels like a real victory.鈥�

The camera also became a new collaborator for Meera Kanageswaran, a master of fine art student in dance, as she transitioned to a filmed version of her Bharatanatyam choreography, documenting this Southern Indian dance form.

鈥淚n Bharatanatyam,鈥� said Kanageswaran, 鈥渨e use facial expressions and movements of isolated body parts. The dancers adjusted pretty quickly to adjusting their respective cameras to focus different body parts 鈥� either their face, their feet, or their hands. I think the camera now has become a dancing partner, not just a documenting device, and that鈥檚 something I would like to retain in my practice.鈥�

She notes the initial trouble of finding rehearsal space for each dancer to rehearse in, but reflected that this led to exploring other forms of physical expression. 鈥淏haratanatyam uses strong footwork, which produced some unhappy neighbours. That resulted in us changing our choreography a little bit.鈥�

Unintended basement collaborations 

Ella Dawn McGeough, a PhD student in visual arts, was nearly an unhappy neighbour when her landlord proposed turning their basement into an extra apartment amid the pandemic.

She notes the initial trouble of finding rehearsal space for each dancer to rehearse in, but reflected that this led to exploring other forms of physical expression. 鈥淏haratanatyam uses strong footwork, which produced some unhappy neighbours. That resulted in us changing our choreography a little bit.鈥�

Unintended basement collaborations 

Ella Dawn McGeough, a PhD student in visual arts, was nearly an unhappy neighbour when her landlord proposed turning their basement into an extra apartment amid the pandemic.

More than just a storage space, the basement was a generative place to create in the first few months of the pandemic before she returned to her studio at 91亚色.

鈥淭he basement鈥檚 floors had long been a feature of fascination,鈥� said McGeough, 鈥渁 chaotic mystery of poorly poured layers of uneven concrete, the buckle and bend and fragmented sections of exposed dirt.鈥�

She could even spot 30-year-old paw prints from a resident cat, Charlie. The basement was never made into an apartment and these non-human entities that she discovered in her art spaces over the last year became, in her words, 鈥渦nintended collaborators, but I was also thinking of them as viewers.鈥�

Taking theatre to Zoom

For Lisa Marie DiLiberto, a PhD student in theatre and performance studies, these broader audiences have become a recent focus of her work engaging the imaginations and aspirations of young people in her role as artistic director of Theatre Direct.

鈥淥ne of the questions I had at the beginning of this pandemic,鈥� said DiLiberto, 鈥渨as how can theatre help young people heal through this traumatic experience of living through the pandemic through these last few months?鈥�

One of her answers was , a digitally touring and Zoom-produced show that touches on issues that young people are facing in the pandemic.

The show鈥檚 digital nature has led to a broader and more geographically diverse audience. 鈥淸We鈥檝e] reached audiences across the country or internationally, whereas that might not have been such an easy possibility to begin with,鈥� said DiLiberto.

Accessible code illuminates environmental content

Sarah Vollmer and Racelar Ho, PhD students in computational arts, have shifted original research-creation plans by expanding the participatory scope of their virtual reality project , which discusses the invisible erosions brought on by climate change.

Vollmer and Ho have used tools like Google Collab and Miro to make their code accessible and allow participants to submit their own environmental content to Luminiferous Funeral.

鈥淭he original point,鈥� said Ho, 鈥渨as to break through the privilege of museums and galleries, so we tried to make our work more digital and flexible so audiences could participate in our work as content generators.鈥�

The two have found more time to write about their work, which led them to present on how they handled their constant flow of climate data and content at a conference on information and online environments.

鈥淭hat work transfers immediately into the pandemic state,鈥� said Vollmer. 鈥淪o, we鈥檝e been able to help in ways that we didn鈥檛 think we could.鈥�

Using augmented reality to situate artifacts

After initial setbacks in her PhD work, Lia Tarachansky, a PhD student in cinema and media studies, developed her research interests through a newly created Mitacs grant supporting her Toronto-based augmented reality (AR) project in the historic St. John鈥檚 Ward. Archeologists uncovered the artifacts in 2015 and transported them to London, Ont. Tarachansky hoped to use AR to situate them back home.

COVID-19, though, has continued to alter the project. 鈥淭hrough a series of trial and error I was able to get a 3D scanner from [CMA professor] Dr. Caitlin Fisher,鈥� said Tarachansky. She then scanned artifacts like a hat block (mould), a memorial plate of Uncle Tom鈥檚 Cabin, and a children鈥檚 doll, which will allow her to place the digital copies in Toronto via AR.

The current social challenges are just as serious as the technical ones and have led to important discoveries about the nature of research, something that is all too often taken for granted as an autonomous endeavour.

鈥淲ithout access to people, without the ability to interact and brainstorm together,鈥� said Tarachansky, 鈥渨orking in isolation is bringing out the understanding of how collaborative academic research is, even when pre-COVID we used to think it was very isolated and self-driven.鈥�

Levin agreed that events like this one aimed to bring makers and thinkers together to support each other. 鈥淢any of us are having conversations within our own disciplinary silos right now,鈥� said the associate dean, 鈥渁bout how to wrestle with the conditions of distanced research, both intellectually, creatively, and in other modes.鈥�

Judging by the lively discussion that followed the presentations, the event met its goal of sparking new connections across AMPD.

By Thomas Sayers, MA student in theatre & performance studies at AMPD

Courtesy of YFile.

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91亚色 professor and well-known jazz musician Barry Elmes made excellent use of a recent sabbatical to work on a new CD 听潭 听his quintet鈥檚 first in seven years: 鈥淒og鈥檚 Breakfast,鈥� produced by Cornerstone Records, Inc. It鈥檚 proving to be worth the wait.

Elmes, a composer, producer, recording artist and educator, has been a strong and consistent presence in the Canadian jazz scene since the 1980s. He taught at 91亚色 for two decades before joining the full-time faculty in the Department of Music in 2004. He currently serves as the Jazz Area Coordinator.

Elmes, one of the first graduates of 91亚色鈥檚 jazz program and a self-identified 鈥�91亚色 guy,鈥� has performed all over the world and played with many renowned jazz artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Diana Krall and the Moe Koffman Quintet.

In this Q&A with Brainstorm, Elmes talks about his latest CD, offers some advice to budding composers, and reflects on the way that 91亚色 has shaped his career trajectory.

Q: In conceptualizing 鈥淒og鈥檚 Breakfast,鈥� you were influenced by a playful illustration of a dog who had consumed a curious batch of items. Please explain how this idea of an eclectic mix encapsulates the ideas behind your most recent CD?

A: The title was a practical solution. I didn鈥檛 start with a theme. There鈥檚 no consistent style to the compositions. Some are rhythm-based, some are melody-based, some are tributes. I thought: This is a dog鈥檚 breakfast, a collection of very eclectic tunes.

Yes, I wake up every morning looking at artist Sa Boothroyd鈥檚 print of the dog on my side of the bed. It cracks me up; it puts me in a good mood. You see humour right away.

More specifically to the 鈥淒og鈥檚 Breakfast鈥� track, I had written a composition that captured my dog, Mavis, walking on the beach. The dog鈥檚 a bit of a dufus who eats everything. The tempo relates to her gate. There鈥檚 some humour in it too. Humour in jazz isn鈥檛 always overt, but it鈥檚 there.

"I鈥檓 a 91亚色 guy. My entire adult life has been spent in some direct relationship with 91亚色."

Q: This CD showcases five new compositions. Could you describe the process of composing?

A: Different composers use different methods. A lot of them write on their instrument 鈥� piano, for example. My situation is a bit unique because I鈥檓 a drummer.

In my case, I write everything in my head. It may be a challenge, but it gives you a lot more freedom. Instrument-specific composing can be limiting. I can conceive of things from a melody long before I鈥檒l sit down at a piano and try to bang it out. It鈥檚 the only way I can do it.

However, as it happens, on 鈥淒og鈥檚 Breakfast,鈥� I approached the compositions differently. For example, one day I was sitting at the piano, not trying to write a tune. I played a 鈥榤aj7#11鈥� chord, which I really like the sound of, then repeated the same voicing a whole tone higher, and I wondered if I could write a melody that fits over that simple motion. That ended up being the composition 鈥淭erminal 2,鈥� the CD鈥檚 third track. Similarly, 鈥淧ierre Burton鈥檚 Pig鈥� evolved when I was tuning the drums.

Q: How has 鈥淒og鈥檚 Breakfast鈥� been received?

A: Very well. The reaction has been quite favourable. The only thing I have to go on is that people all over the world seem to be buying it. I haven鈥檛 done a lot of advertising or networking, but people seem to know about it.

There are very positive reviews听 潭听 in WholeNote magazine, for example. I鈥檓 very pleased with the reception.

"91亚色 has always been supportive. The information I needed to forge the career I鈥檝e had, as a professional musician and composer, is all due to 91亚色."

Q: How has 91亚色 supported you? What does 91亚色 mean to you?

A: I鈥檓 a 91亚色 guy. My entire adult life has been spent in some direct relationship with 91亚色. I moved to Toronto in the 1970s because I鈥檇 heard that 91亚色 was starting Canada鈥檚 first jazz program. I was one of the first students. Profs were very supportive. I even lived in Prof. John Gittins basement, who, with Prof. Bob Witmer, directed the new jazz program at 91亚色 when I first moved to Toronto.

After I graduated, I went away to build my career, and was invited back to 91亚色 to do some part-time teaching in the 1980s. A decade later, I found myself teaching a jazz workshop and jazz percussion masterclasses. In 2004, I became a full-time prof. I鈥檝e always felt for some reason, which is hard to put into words: 91亚色 feels right to me.

91亚色 has always been supportive. The information I needed to forge the career I鈥檝e had, as a professional musician and composer, is all due to 91亚色. I鈥檓 not sure that if I鈥檇 been educated at another institution, my career would have gone the same way. I don鈥檛 think that I would have received the same stimulus and direction.

Q: Any advice for future composers or budding jazz musicians?

A: Writing music is no different than being a literary author. Authors that I like 听潭 听the J. D. Salingers and Hemingways of the world 听潭 听wrote for themselves. That鈥檚 really the only way to write, to express yourself, to convey a mood or an idea.

There鈥檚 a lot of what I call 鈥渃lever composition鈥� 鈥� well crafted, but it sounds like you鈥檙e trying too hard. What I suggest to young composers is don鈥檛 worry about trying to come up with something that鈥檚 never been done before. Just about everything you can do, mechanically, has already been done. So, what you鈥檙e left with is a personal need to express yourself. If you do that, and you鈥檙e honest, that鈥檚 all you need.

As long as my compositions say something to listeners, I鈥檓 fine with that. I don鈥檛 want to be 鈥渃lever!鈥�

For more information about Elmes, visit his or his . To read the WholeNote article, see page 83 of the . For more on the CD, visit to the . To read a related article, visit the . To read a review of the album in Jazz CD Reviews, visit the .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91亚色, follow us at , watch the and see the .

By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91亚色, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post 鈥淒og鈥檚 Breakfast鈥� a hit for 91亚色 prof and jazz musician Barry Elmes appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Eric Armstrong

Theatre professors are no strangers to the limelight, but for one 91亚色 academic, Eric Armstrong, the cool factor is off the charts. He created the accent for a constructed language called Belter, used in the white-hot sci-fi television series 鈥淭he Expanse,鈥� set 200 years in the future. This new language, developed by linguist Nick Farmer with the assistance of Armstrong as dialect/accent coach, mashes up six existing languages.

The American series, the third season of which airs 2018, has a captivating premise: Humans have colonized the solar system and Mars has become a military power. One social class has not fared well in this world. The new language belongs to this group of people, called Belters, who survive by scavenging materials in a particular Asteroid Belt.

In this Q&A with Brainstorm, Armstrong听 潭 听who teaches voice, speech, dialects and Shakespearean text at 91亚色听 潭 听talks about the new language and the television show that are taking centre stage in his career.

Q: How did this gig on 鈥淭he Expanse鈥� transpire?

A: One day, I got a call from my agent, asking if I knew anything about made-up languages in science fiction shows. I have to admit, I鈥檓 a bit of a nerd. I had read a lot about what are called 鈥榗on langs鈥� or constructed languages in the press, most notably due to 鈥淕ame of Thrones.鈥� Dothraki and Valyrian are two made-up languages in that show.

When I was brought in to speak with the show creators, they could see that I knew what I was talking about, even though it was a 鈥榝irst鈥� for me.

鈥淥ne day, I got a call from my agent, asking if I knew anything about made-up languages in science fiction shows. I have to admit, I鈥檓 a bit of a nerd. I had read a lot about constructed languages.鈥� 鈥� Eric Armstrong

Q: How did your career lead up to this position as dialect/accent coach on a hit television series?

A: I trained to be an actor and worked professionally in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal for about five years. I always felt an attraction to teaching voice. 91亚色 had an MFA program in this field. One of my mentors was David Smukler, Canada鈥檚 foremost voice teacher at the time, who started the voice teacher diploma program here at 91亚色. I completed this program, then worked freelance for a year. And from then on, I鈥檝e had full-time voice teaching jobs in Canada and the United States. I returned to 91亚色 [as a faculty member] in 2003.

鈥淥ur acting classes at 91亚色 are diverse; and that diversity motivates me to teach in a way that is inclusive鈥� That鈥檚 very rewarding.鈥� 鈥� Eric Armstrong

One of the jobs that I took early on teaching was at Brandeis University [Massachusetts] where I was the speech and accents teacher 鈥� a narrower niche in the voice teaching field. I felt a little underqualified, so I took the time to do further research. I started to coach professionally in the theatre in Boston. That got me on the path. After that, I went to Chicago, where I started to work on film and television on a much bigger scale. My first film coaching job was with the [British actor] Tom Wilkinson, who had just been nominated for an Academy Award.

Q: Belter is comprised of Chinese, Japanese, Slavic, Germanic and other languages. What was it like developing the accent for this fabricated language?

A: Belter is a creole, a combination of languages. Nick Farmer, creator of the Belter language, studied creoles and used the structure of many creoles to create a new creole. English is at the core of Belter. But he took many of these other languages that you referenced as ingredients.

To begin with, he created a basic dictionary. For this, he turned to different languages for the source words, then undertook a transformational process to create phonological rules. [Phonology is the study of how sounds are used in language. This includes how sounds interact with each other.]

So, Nick handed me the phonological rules [for Belter] and gave me some samples of what Belter sounded like. As I 鈥榓uditioned鈥� for the show 鈥� really, it was more like an extended interview 鈥� 听I took those sounds and developed an overall feeling of the language.

At first, Belter felt like Jamaican, also a creole. But we didn鈥檛 want it to be exclusively one thing; we wanted it to feel global. So, I took elements from Chinese, European and English accents, and salted them in to the recipe as a means of counterbalancing the Jamaican accent. As a result, Belter seems familiar鈥� but you can鈥檛 quite put your finger on it. Later, I was surprised to find out that a Singaporean accent sounds quite a lot like Belter.

Q: What鈥檚 next for you at 91亚色?

A: I鈥檓 currently working on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)-funded project on developing accent resources for the Indigenous performance community, which is underserved. This is a mandate I created for myself. For far too long, accent resources have primarily targeted mainstream actors. The industry is dominated by people who look like me, and I would like that to change.

Our acting classes at 91亚色 are diverse; and that diversity motivates me to teach in a way that is inclusive鈥� That鈥檚 very rewarding.

To learn more about the television show, visit the space.ca . To read an interview with Armstrong in Wired magazine, visit the . Armstong鈥檚 credits are listed in the Internet Movie Database, . For more information about Armstrong, visit his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91亚色, follow us at , watch the and see the .

By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91亚色, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Theatre prof contributes to constructed language in hit sci-fi tv show appeared first on Research & Innovation.

鈥淎 colony lives or dies by how well the workers perform, and there is a tremendous amount of variation,鈥� says Zayed. 鈥淥ne colony may be a little bit aggressive but very good for producing honey. Another may be docile and hygienic, and a third may be hygienic but not produce a lot of honey. It鈥檚 all about slight differences in genetics between colonies.鈥�

[stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DBOHPeaNKtGo%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/BOHPeaNKtGo/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=400 height=300 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]

Zayed, a biology professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science & Engineering, is leading a team of graduate students in experiments at his research apiary on nearby Toronto Region Conservation Authority land. They conduct behaviour experiments on the bees, examine differences in behaviour between 60 colonies, crossbreed the bees and take their offspring back to the lab for genetic analysis.

鈥淲hen you look closely at the thousands of bees in one colony, you see that some worker bees are feeding the young larvae, some are going out foraging for nectar, some are cleaning the colony of disease and dead larvae, and some worker bees are watching you, guarding the colony,鈥� says Zayed. 鈥淭he fascinating part is all of these behaviours are manifested by the same basic DNA. What we are trying to understand is how differences in the DNA or in how genes are turned on and off give rise to these wonderful behaviours.鈥�

Right: Amro Zayed

Observation of bee behaviour is not a new field. However, Zayed's lab is also integrating the study of population genetics (what makes subspecies different at a genetic level) with research on the genome, to study the evolution and genetic mechanisms underlying worker behaviour in honey bee colonies.

鈥淭his will help us to breed better bees in the future and will also advance our understanding of the genetics of behaviour in higher organisms, including our own,鈥� he says.

Zayed and his team have recently started an experiment to study the genetic basis of a whole list of behaviours, from the age at which a worker starts foraging to the best immune system for worker honeybees. Zayed鈥檚 research is funded by the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada, an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, and the Canadian Honey Council.

To follow the study,听visit the .

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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CBC's The Current featured the documentary :

With flood waters wreaking havoc across communities in Canada and the U.S., the immediate concern is to make sure people are safe and to limit damage. Communities typically know how to respond quickly to the physical clean-up, but are unprepared for the consequences. The toll the destruction takes on mental health includes spikes in depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.

Gulliver, who studies disaster resiliency and recovery in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, volunteers in New Orleans providing mental health support to volunteers and victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

You can listen to the documentary on . Gulliver's comments begin at the 16:39 mark.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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is available on CBC's website and begins at the 11:15 mark. It runs to the 30:11 mark.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

The post Audio Interview: Osgoode Professor Jamie Cameron on free speech, abortion protests and the Gibbons legal case appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Pregnant with her third child, she was conducting a series of interviews听as research for听the play, , on loss and how it is transformed, when she lost her son Ethan. 鈥淚 was just struck by how I was immersed in this phenomena and living it at the same time,鈥� she says. I'm Still Here was co-created with 91亚色 nursing Professor Gail Mitchell and playwright Vrenia Ivonoffski.

Right: Christine Jonas-Simpson, holding the children's book she wrote, Ethan's Butterflies

Ethan was stillborn at 38 weeks 鈥� or, as Jonas-Simpson prefers to say, born still 鈥� causing a rent in the universe as she knew it. After the loud silence of her delivery, she remembers hearing a primal scream of agony, realizing some moments later it was coming from her.

Almost a decade later, Jonas-Simpson is about to premiere her third research-based documentary film, about how mothers and their families live with the loss of a child. The premiere will take place Sunday, May 15, from 1 to 3:30pm at the Fox Theatre, 2236 Queen St. E. in Toronto. Tickets are $25 per ticket with proceeds going to Bereaved Families of Ontario-Toronto. To buy tickets, call 416-440-0290 or e-mail info@bfotoronto.ca.

Enduring Love looks at the lives of four women, the agony of loss, the impact the death of their infant has had on them and their families and听how they learned to live with their loss. It also traces听the importance of recognizing their other children are also grieving, the continuing presence of their deceased child in their lives, the rituals they鈥檝e developed and how they not only endured but have been transformed by their loss. Funded by听91亚色's听Faculty of Health and the Health Leadership & Learning Network: Interprofessional Education Initiative Fund, the documentary answers the research question, what is the meaning of living and transforming with loss for mothers who experience the loss of their baby?

As one woman in the film says of her family, it was a 鈥渟eminal event in their lives鈥�; there was a before and an after. The women make the point that many fail to realize that losing their baby, whether at 24 weeks gestation or several weeks after delivery, is a profoundly felt loss that changes, not only them, but their husbands and their children, forever. One of the universally hard moments for these women was going home from the hospital without their baby. It feels so unnatural, says Jonas-Simpson.

It was the experience of losing her own son that guided Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 research toward providing a body of arts-based research for others who experienced perinatal loss. She had often used music in her nursing practice and research, and then began incorporating art, drama听and film. 鈥淲ith grieving and loss it seemed appropriate to keep going with the arts.鈥� Although, she听will write papers on her latest research, she believes presenting her findings with an art-based approach makes it more accessible and touches people in a way a research paper in a journal wouldn鈥檛. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of showing the human experience, rather than just telling,鈥� she says.

Being a researcher, I looked at the literature to see what was out there. I was struck by how little there was out there in light of grieving and loss听about mothers鈥� lived experiences. My graduate student, Jennifer Noseworthy, and I are conducting a comprehensive literature review and we鈥檝e only found a few qualitative studies focused on the human lived experience of perinatal loss.鈥� And that moved Jonas-Simpson to conduct research and create resources for others like her.

Enduring Love is her third film. Her first was , while her second, is a short made from footage shot for听Enduring Love, which focuses on the surviving children. 鈥淭hese children have an incredible bond and relationship with the babies,鈥� their siblings who鈥檝e died. Jonas-Simpson recently gave a talk and showed Why Did Baby Die? at a听Women's Health and Mental Wellbeing Speakers Series听event at 91亚色.

Some of the children, as seen in Enduring Love, have drawn family portraits years later that have included their deceased siblings. 鈥淕rieving and loss isn鈥檛 always something we talk about openly, but it is experienced by many, if not all, of us,鈥� says Jonas-Simpson. Even after the physical death, the relationship continues. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still hidden. Perinatal loss is also disenfranchised in our society.鈥� To help grieving children with the loss of a baby sibling, she also wrote the children's book .

Jonas-Simpson started talking about her own experience of losing Ethan, born with vibrant red locks, and how her other two sons, now 11 and 13, have integrated him into their lives as a way to help others. 鈥淭he children integrate this loss very well,鈥� she says. One of her children even wrote a letter to Ethan as a school assignment, asking if there are dinosaurs in heaven and if it hurt to die. The teacher may have been uncomfortable, but Jonas-Simpson says it鈥檚 important to talk about and to understand the continuing relationship following death.

Next, she is hoping to do research on children age three to 18 who are grieving a loss of a baby sibling. Children, she says, are often forgotten about, but they too grieve. 鈥淚f we can be more open about grief and loss as a natural human experience and if we can begin in the schools with that,鈥� it could be really helpful for the children, she says. She would also like to explore the common and听unique threads of grieving around the world.

For more information or to view or buy Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 films, visit the Faculty of Health鈥檚 Living and Transforming with Perinatal Loss website.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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