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Grants to Dalhousie Management Professors Include Social Media Research

April 14, 2010: Halifax, Nova Scotia

Four professors at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management have been awarded a total of $333,804 by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to advance their research. Research themes include the ways online social media and networks are changing the means by which scholars spread knowledge and information, strategies to improve the sustainability of Nova Scotia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), how regional literatures contribute to literacy and the factors that influence decisions of the National Parole Board.

Anatoliy Gruzd, Michelle Adams, Stéphane Mechoulan & Vivian Howard

Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd, Assistant Professor in the School of Information Management, and Dr. Barry Wellman, Department of Sociology of the University of Toronto, have been awarded $161,000 for “How Online Social Media and Online Social Networks are Changing the Ways Scholars Disseminate Knowledge and Information”. As online social networks (OSNs) such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn become mainstream, numerous studies have been conducted on how the general public is using OSN-based technologies. However, little work has been undertaken to understand how scholars are using and adapting to these new social media in their own work. This study seeks to fill this gap in our understanding of knowledge and information dissemination in the age of Social Media.

Dr. Michelle Adams, Assistant Professor in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies and Director of the Eco-Efficiency Centre, has been awarded $61,724 to support the creation of a comprehensive educational package that integrates various tools and data sets developed by the Eco-Efficiency Centre to help improve sustainability of SMEs. These materials will then be disseminated through the EEC’s business outreach activities to Nova Scotian businesses, in support of Nova Scotia’s Sustainable Prosperity agenda. To date, the support available to SMEs has been strictly focused on demand-side management of electricity and energy efficiency activities. Focus on GHG reductions, toxic chemical management, by-product exchange (as a pollution prevention strategy), and water and wastewater management have been largely absent from the informational materials/support available.

Dr. Vivian Howard, Assistant Professor in the School of Information Management and Director of the Bachelor of Management program, has been awarded $48,580 to build on her ongoing investigation into the use of regional authors and illustrators in elementary and high school classrooms in the Atlantic Provinces. She will work in collaboration with the Eileen Wallace Children’s Literature Collection at the University of New Brunswick and the Canadian Children's Book Centre, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the production of Canadian books for young readers. The goals of this project are to analyze regional issues in Atlantic Canadian children's literature, create a web-based information portal to serve the needs of scholars, practitioners and young people and undertake a usability study of the information portal.

Dr. Stéphane Mechoulan, Associate Professor in the School of Public Administration, in conjunction with Prof. Nicolas Sahuguet of École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal, has been awarded $62,500 to address the question of disparate treatment by the legal system in the context of parole release. Little is known about factors that affect parole release decisions and, in particular, whether race plays a significant role. If this project finds evidence of discrimination, the information can be forwarded to the National Parole Board so that it can revise its policies and procedures. On the other hand, if the project does not find evidence of discrimination, this knowledge would provide a quantified argument in defence of the Board’s existing practices. In an environment where the rhetoric of discrimination is pervasive, evidence either way is needed to help move the debate forward.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) is the federal agency that promotes and supports university-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its programs and policies, the Council enables the highest levels of research excellence in Canada, and facilitates knowledge sharing and collaboration across research disciplines, universities and all sectors of society. Created by an act of Parliament in 1977, SSHRC is governed by a council that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Industry.


Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management, which includes programs in Business, Public Administration, Information Management, Marine Affairs and Resource and Environmental Studies, offers a holistic and values-based approach to management education and research. The mission of the Faculty is to be the acknowledged centre of ‘values-based management’ whose graduates become private sector, public sector and civil society leaders who manage with integrity, focus on sustainability and make things happen.

Media inquiries, contact: Colin Craig, Faculty of Management, tel. 902.494.3610, colin.craig@dal.ca