Instructor perspectives on undergraduate class size in Canada Invitation to participate (Français à suivre) I am inviting instructors at Canadian universities to participate in a short research survey about how instructors define undergraduate class size. The purpose of this study is to better understand how instructors across Canada think about categories such as small, medium, […]
Category: Research
Using Radar to predict Bird Migration
photo credit: kbaird In my dissertation, I take some time to talk about the use and adoption of recently-available technologies (specifically digital cameras to take pictures of birds, nexrad radar to predict migration and the Internet to share bird sightings) by birders. I call the products of these technologies (so, the digital pictures, radar images […]
Warblers, migration, birding & ethics
photo credit: kenschneiderusa In my dissertation, I write a bit about the ethical alignments that underpin birders’ behaviours (I asked birders what rules, if any, they followed while birding). Along a continuum from human-centred (anthropocentric) to nature-centred (biocentric), the birders I spoke with shared “rules” that ran from one end to the other. Here’s an […]
The walk, the White-throat and the chance encounter in birding
While out with the dogs and Heather this morning, I heard a bird song that was different than the “regular” bird noises I hear while I’m out and about. I had a similar experience of hearing an unusual call last month. Upon hearing that call, off I went traipsing across a park with a dog […]
Birding: sport or conservation?
This post is one part of a two-parter that I’m writing in response to a paper on the sport of birding that was published in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues. photo credit: auburnxc Instead of protest, culture jamming, confrontation, and direct action the environmental sporting practices of traveling the state by automobile and […]
Birding and the sewage lagoon
This post is one part of a two-parter that I’m writing in response to a paper on the sport of birding that was published in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues. photo credit: iBjorn Earlier this year, Spencer Schaffner ((Hi Spencer! I know you have a Google Alert set up and I want you […]
Mapping the locations mentioned by Ontario birders
This post includes ruminations and ideas emerging as I analyze the data collected for my PhD dissertation focusing on the act of birding. It doesn’t represent a final thought or particular endpoint: these are ideas in progress. I would be interested in hearing your opinion of my ideas, too. During my analysis, I kept track […]
A way to say thanks
I’m writing this in the car in between two interviews that I’m conducting this sunny Sunday morning. What I’ve been struck with as I’ve been busy with interviews this Spring and Fall is just how generous people have been with their time and personal space–I’m visiting people in their homes as a part of my […]
Rondeau Research
So I’m well passed the halfway mark for my tenure conducting birder research here at Rondeau Provincial Park. I’ve got sixteen interviews in the hopper and could get a couple more before I leave on Saturday. While the birding hasn’t been stellar (it’s been “thin” as someone today described it), I’m really pleased with the […]
(I’m about to be) Deep in the heart of Texas
Without making this post into a reminiscence about my youth and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, I am off to Austin, Texas tomorrow with my supervisor (Dr. Leesa Fawcett) to assist with a research project on animal minds. We’re going to be interviewing Dr. Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International (a non-profit whose mission you […]