U of M student studies calls of the savannah sparrow, page 3
Gradzette THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT MAGAZINE Gradzette c/o The Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation 105 University Centre University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2 General inquiries and advertising Phone: (204) 474.6535 Fax: (204) 474.7651 Email: editor@gradzette.com Editor: Ryan Harby Copy Editor: Bryce Hoye Designer: Marc Lagace Contributors: Bryce Hoye, Ryan Harby, David Krause Cover: L. Dembicki The Gradzette is the official student magazine of the University of Manitoba’s graduate student community and is published on the first Monday of each month by the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation. The Gradzette is a democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens.
Freelance! The Gradzette is pleased to offer U of M graduate students the opportunity to get involved with their student paper. If you have a passion for writing, journalism, photography, or illustration the Gradzette is looking for individuals to get involved with the production process of the U of M’s grad student paper. The Gradzette currently offers 10 cents per word for freelance article assignments (articles can range from 400-900 words) and upwards of seven dollars per photo/graphic used within the paper. Freelancers will be added to a contact pool and emailed with potential article, photo, or graphic assignments when they become available. On average, freelance contributors will be expected to complete assignments within a seven day period, although certain assignments may be allotted a longer schedule. For applications to the freelance writer pool, please send a resume and at least two (2) writing samples to editor@gradzette. com.
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The magazine’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objectively on issues and events of importance and interest to the graduate students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of opinions and ideas, and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general. The Gradzette serves as a training ground for students interested in any aspect of journalism. Students and other interested parties are invited to contribute. Please contact the editor listed above for submission guidelines. The Gradzette reserves the right to edit all submissions and will not publish any material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or libelous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are solely those of the authors. The Gradzette is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national student press cooperative with members from St. John’s to Victoria. All contents are ©2013 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation. Yearly subscriptions to the Gradzette are available, please contact publisher@gradzette.com for more information.
Savannahs on the plains
Researcher Profile: Bridget Antze by Bryce Hoye
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of Manitoba Natural Resource Institute master’s candidate Bridgette Antze has birds on the brain – savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) in particular.
however, the mechanisms by which noise threaten wildlife are not entirely clear. My research is helpful in that it directly tests one mechanism [oil infrastructure] by which noise may affect birds.”
The savannah sparrow is a ubiquitous North American Antze has been developing skills as a wildlife professionmigratory songbird species, with breeding ranges extendal since the age of 17; ing into Canada’s high spending a summer north. During the as an Ontario Parks’ breeding season, these ranger; volunteering birds primarily subsist with a Costa Rican on insects; on their leatherback sea turwinter range, seeds tle recovery program become the staple difor a time; working etary item. A variety for five summers as of regionally specifa naturalist in Killaric savannah sparrow ney Provincial Park, subspecies exist, each Ontario; participating with slight differin a research project ences in dialect and studying acorn woodplumage colouration. peckers in California; Though variations and completing her do occur, common undergraduate thesis distinctive features research at Dalhousie include a dash of yel- A brood of savannah sparrows cries out for their parents. University on groomlow colour running Photo by Bridget Antze. ing behaviours of bubefore and above the eye, and an insect-like song that sounds like ton macaques in Sulawasi, Indonesia. “tickety-zee-zay” or “take-take-take-it-eeasy.” Although that diverse track record looks to be compara“I am interested in whether noise produced by oil infrastructure masks or otherwise interferes with alarm calls that savannah sparrows use to communicate threats close to their nests,” Antze tells the Gradzette. “There is increasing evidence that anthropogenic [human produced] noise can be harmful to birds and other wildlife;
tively light on ornithological (bird) experience, Antze is an avid birder and has also spent the last two summers working with birds in Alberta’s grassland region under Nicola Koper, her U of M master’s supervisor and authority figure in the landscape ecology and conservation of songbirds and prairie ecosystems.
“My research is helpful in that it directly tests one mechanism [oil infrastructure] by which noise may affect birds” – Bridget Antze Gradzette
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Birds are generally regarded as practical model species in the field of ecology for several key reasons. “They are abundant, widespread, environmentally sensitive, and behaviourally interesting,” notes Antze. “Grassland songbirds are particularly important to study from a conservation perspective, because as a group they are
of parent birds,” says Antze. “This allows me to determine whether birds react differently to alarm calls in noisier areas.” Alarm calls are those vocalizations uttered when, for example, a potential predator is detected somewhere in the general vicinity. “I also record alarm calls of parent birds, to determine whether they change the amplitude or structure of their calls in noisier areas, to compensate for noise interference.” Studying grassland birds comes with its own set of logistical challenges unfamiliar to the garden-variety laboratory-bound scientist. Fickle weather conditions are forever threatening to compromise the ability of seasonal researchers like Antze to conduct observational surveys in the field. “Weather can be unpredictable out on the prairies, and there’s nothing scarier than being stuck out in the middle of a field when a storm is approaching,” says Antze. “To make
Antze poses with an inquisitive chickadee in Ontario’s Pinery Provincial Park. Photo by Trevor Gibbs.
declining at a faster rate than songbirds of any other ecosystem in North America.” Antze’s study sites are scattered about Southeast Alberta’s badlands: specifically, her field research takes place at oil extraction areas, with industry-associated noise presence, located in the mixed-grass prairies of Brooks, Alta. The homogeny of light beige grasses provides camouflage for a great many, equally inconspicuously coloured, prairie-nesting songbirds, making them hard to place in the field. Well hidden they may be, in two-person teams, researchers like Antze ably drag sections of taut rope along the grassy ground. It’s a crude, if not effective, approach: upon the rope brushing over top of nests, the incubating parent flees in a start, exposing the nest’s location. From there on, Antze and her field technicians monitor the nests’ brood. “Once the nestlings have hatched, I conduct [audio] playback experiments, in which I play [prerecorded] alarm calls close to savannah sparrow nests, and measure the responses
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Stuck in a rut. Working in the grasslands poses a set of weather-induced accessibility issues. Photo by Bridget Antze.
matters worse, the dirt roads around my field sites turn to mud when it rains, making them inaccessible. It only took getting a truck stuck once to learn that lesson!” That being said, Antze reflects that it is the conditions and time spent outdoors doing fieldwork alongside interesting coworkers that makes her graduate school program worthwhile. The time commitment, workload, and “challenge of maintaining a good work/life balance” during grad school are things she is unlikely to miss upon completion, however, as she is enthusiastically looking forward to getting into the workforce. “I’d like to work for government or an NGO, in a parks/resource management type setting. My ideal position would allow me to maintain some creative control over my research, but would also allow me to conduct research that influences policy. I’m not ruling out the possibility of a PhD eventually, but I’d like to get a career established with the education I have first.”
Simulating the automated experience
Researcher Profile: Behzad Bashiri by David Krause
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utomation allows humans to delegate tedious tasks to machinery. Tedium can, however, distract the human operator, causing disaster. Enter Behzad Bashiri, a PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba. The negative effect of automation in agriculture has fascinated Bashiri enough to pursue a doctorate under professor Danny Mann, head of biosystems engineering at the U of M. Bashiri is using a tractor simulator and a variety of testing mechanisms to gather information on how human operators react to certain situations that could be encountered while using the equipment in a field. Since Bashiri was engaging in a relatively new subset of biosystems engineering, he had to be grounded in theory before he began any experiments. His background in engineering is beneficial, but the multi-disciplinary nature of biosystems engineering required Bashiri to also familiarize himself with fields like psychology and design. In addition, he improved the U of M’s propriety tractor simulator software for his needs and modified a cab for simulation testing. After two years of preparation, Bashiri felt ready to begin his research.
“First we didn’t know how the devices [simulator setup] would affect drivers behavior,” said Bashiri. “First we needed to see how they would be affected. When I did my experiments, I saw deviations between their mental workload in different automation software situations.” “I tried to manipulate the level of automation support inside a cab,” Bashiri explained. “For example, if [the participants] were driving the cab and they were doing a simulated feeding test, we automated some part of the test to make it easier. As we increased the automation support, we noticed their situational awareness would decrease. When we saw this, we knew it wasn’t good. We need to keep it [situational awareness] in a certain level.” Bashiri is quick to explain the virtues of automation in agriculture. “Most of the time automation helps us do jobs faster and make tasks easier for us. We sit in front of the keyboard and with a push of a button we ask the machine to do the job for us.” “This is one side of the coin,” cautions Bashiri. “Sometimes we have negative effects from automation.”
“If [the participants] were driving the cab and they were doing a simulated feeding test, we automated some part of the test to make it easier. As we increased the automation support, we noticed their situational awareness would decrease. When we saw this, we knew it wasn’t good” — Behzad Bashiri Gradzette
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Currently in tractor automation systems, an automatic steer system performs a lot of the tedious tasks a farmer used to perform. Instead of holding a wheel for hours while a tractor performs its task in a straight line, it can be automated. The driver is to monitor the automated system and make corrections to the tractor’s path as required. Bashiri explained how, in the event that a driver fails to make such corrections, accidents may occur. “We’ve seen drivers who [fall asleep] while they are driving. For example, a [ . . . ] tractor was drowned when it missed the path. When the tractor gets to a headland, the driver is supposed to take over the steering task.” Solving the problem isn’t very straightforward. While capable, humans suffer from mental stress, an issue that is not quantifiable like hardware or software. In fact, the effects of automation on humans are a relatively new field of study. According to Bashiri, the origins of his line of study can be traced back to the early 50s when P. M. Fitts proposed one of the first human-machine function-allocation methods, allowing certain tasks to be automated so humans can focus on more critical activities. Fitts soon realized that humans were prone to error when they weren’t in the task loop. Humans, it turns out, should be involved in the task even if they are only monitoring its progress. This increases their situational awareness, something which is understandably critical when it involves aircraft and people’s lives. While still important, the situational awareness needed in agriculture is less critical than that of the aerospace industry. This means the automation and mental workload requirements are much different.
Bashiri’s simulator device, including tractor cab and projected farm land.
Bashiri elaborates, “There are many studies involving plant control rooms, flight control rooms, car driving simulators, etc., but none involving tractor simulators. When we started [research], automation had many issues in agricultural machinery. We devised experiments each year to make recommendations to tractor manufacturers to improve their tractor interfaces. When I started my project, I mainly focused on mental issues, workflow, situational awareness; anything related to the body.” Feedback is gathered from simulator test applications in a variety of methods. There are qualitative questionnaires an applicant fills out, but heart monitors are also used to record the physical response of an applicant to a certain tractor simulator situation. Bashiri does not currently have an expected completion date for the project, but for now he is content with continuing his experimentation and seeing where his research leads him.
Get your research featured in the
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Are you a graduate student eager to promote your research and provide exposure for your work in the master’s or doctoral program? The Gradzette is looking for individuals interested in participating in our ongoing “Researcher Profile” column, which seeks to showcase important and exciting U of M research for a larger audience. Subjects of a “Researcher Profile” will be interviewed by a Gradzette staff member regarding their ongoing research project. Once the column has been put together, the information will be published online both on the Gradzette website and within the PDF version of the monthly Gradzette magazine. Both versions are free to share with coworkers, acquaintances, professors, etc. If you would like to be featured in an upcoming “Researcher Profile,” please contact editor@ gradzette.com with details regarding your field of study, a short blurb about your current research, and any pertinent contact information for interview purposes.
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GSA backs child care campaign
Open letter calls for increased facilities province-wide by Ryan Harby
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n late November UMGSA forwarded a message to all U of M grad students regarding a growing provincial need for increased child care spaces. In light of what was considered a shortfall of licensed child care spaces, the student association decided to take action in the form of an awareness campaign. Partnering with the Manitoba Child Care Association (MCCA) and the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba (CCCM), the GSA have officially backed an open letter written on behalf of the MCCA and CCCM meant to raise awareness of this issue and potentially provide the catalyst for change in the ways child care is approached in Manitoba. According to former UMGSA president E. RoTimi Ojo, the issue originally came to the association’s attention during an informal discussion with students at an open house event. “Two grad students from engineering [ . . . ] who had kids had complained about how things have been difficult in terms of finding a day care center for their kids,” said Ojo. “I told them about the [Campus Day Care Centre] and was
letter campaign that would provide graduate students the opportunity to contribute their name to a movement towards increasing child care spaces on campus and beyond. “The Child Care Coalition of Manitoba and the Manitoba Child Care Association drafted [the] letter, making it easy for us to sign-on as an association as well as collect individual signatures from students and their family or friends,” said current UMGSA president Monika Wetzel. The letter—co-signed by Jodie Kehl and Susan Prentice of MCCA and CCCM, respectively—is addressed to Kerri Irvin-Ross, Kevin Chief, and Deanne Crothers and has been circulated amongst students and others within Manitoba who may be affected by the current state of child care availability in the province. While all three addressees are members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Irvin-Ross is Manitoba’s Minister of Healthy Living and Chief is Manitoba’s Minister of Children and Youth Opportunities. The co-signed document references a perceived divide
“Whether or not students are parents today, the availability, quality, and cost of child care is likely to be an issue for them, their friends, their co-workers, and their community in the future” — Susan Prentice informed that they had tried everywhere including the university day care.” “It became an issue to UMGSA because as executives, we saw how inaccessibility to daycare facilities can affect graduate students that have kids. There are pressures from research, course work, funding, etc. We don’t want them to face additional pressures from not having an accessible child care facility.” This past fall, in effort to move the initiative forward, UMGSA invited Susan Prentice and Brandy Usick of the Child Care Working Group on campus to a council meeting in order to inquire how students could possibly contribute to such a project. Soon afterwards, on the suggestion of Prentice and Usick, the GSA council voted in favour of an open
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between the early learning and child care system and the public education system. In response to this, the letter also calls for the creation of an integrated public system of early learning and child care as well as a commission on integrated early learning and child care for Manitoba. As for why such a response is necessary, those behind the campaign suggest the current system for child care is outdated and that at present the province simply does not have enough child care spaces to account for those in need. It is estimated that only 16.6 per cent of children aged 0-12 can be accommodated in Manitoba by the licensed system. The waiting list for child care services in the province currently stands at over 11,000 names. The effort, GSA members believe, is worthy of attention
because of how much potential it has to directly and positively affect the lives of U of M grad students. “Child care is as important as a library to graduate students,” said Calistus Ekenna, a U of M grad student and UMGSA senator. “Personally, I have missed several meetings, classes and deadlines due to lack of child care spaces. My academics have been affected due to lack of child care spaces.” Prentice of the CCCM shares the same sentiment regarding the importance of child care availability for grad students. “Many students—particularly grad students—are already parents, and know first-hand how hard it is to juggle school and family responsibilities,” said Prentice. “Whether or not students are parents today, the availability, quality, and cost of child care is likely to be an issue for them, their friends, their co-workers, and their community in the future.” The GSA is encouraging students to not only provide signatures of support but also to forward the letter along to friends and colleagues who may have interest in the initiative. Those who wish to support the letter are requested to send their full name to senator1@umgsa.org to join the list
of signatories included in the final submission of the letter. Among the organizations who have pledged their endorsement for the initiative include: CUPE Manitoba, the Manitoba Federation of Labour, the faculty of social work, the United Nations Platform for Action, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba, the Manitoba Federation of Union Retirees, the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, and, of course, the University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association. As for what students should expect to see moving forward with this campaign, UMGSA senator Ekenna was confident about the positive impact such a movement will create within the province. “Students will begin to see changes on how the child care issue is handled within Manitoba, which will guarantee more spaces, fairness, social justice and productivity within the economy, education and society at large.” More information on the UMGSA supported child care initiative, including a copy of the aforementioned open letter, can be found at manitobachildcarecampaign.ca.
Greetings, As Minister of Education and Advanced Learning, I am pleased to welcome first-time and returning graduate students to a new year at the University of Manitoba. The university has a well-earned reputation for excellence, attracting the top researchers in their fields. Over the years, these visionaries have contributed to many breakthroughs in a wide variety of areas. In addition to its exceptional people, the university’s state-of-the-art infrastructure and world-class equipment keep this place of learning at the top of education advancement. I wish all graduate students much success as you return to the university’s well-walked paths for your 2014/2015 academic year. As you start your journey, I know each of you will make your own unique contribution—big or small—and with those contributions, help the University of Manitoba take another step into its future. James R. Allum, Minister Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning
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