scholarly journals The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by MT. Anderson & E. Yelchin

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwen Thysse
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Medieval Studies ◽  
The World ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Person Account ◽  
The University ◽  
Narrative Function

Anderson, M.T. and Eugene Yelchin. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge. Candlewick Press, 2018. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge throws the reader into a topsy-turvy wonderland with the gripping adventure of two unlikely heroes, Brangwain Spurge and Werfel the Archivist. These two historians find themselves caught in a myriad of misunderstandings as they meet at the crux of a diplomatic mission between their warring nations of elves and goblins. An elfin historian turned diplomat and spy, Spurge must confront his own deeply entrenched prejudices against goblins, while his enthusiastic and well-intentioned goblin host, Werfel, attempts to guide him through an unfamiliar culture. Through a series of entertaining mishaps and cultural misunderstandings, M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin use their vivid characters and narrative style to craft an enjoyable story with underlying messages about cultural conflict and the ways in which prejudice colours our view of others. Most commendable in this book is the authors’ brilliant use of visual and text media to craft a work showing how individuals can understand the same events in wildly different ways. The mixed media drawings not only add a striking visual force to the novel, but they also serve a narrative function by showing the world through the eyes and imagination of Spurge. It becomes clear that Spurge’s understanding of his experiences conflicts with the more objective third-person account of events, illustrating how Spurge’s view of the world has been heavily skewed by his institutionalized prejudices. As Werfel quite wisely says: “Isn’t it so fascinating how in different countries, we have different views of the same events?” This book is appropriate for the intended age group of individuals aged ten to fourteen, but it can also be enjoyed by older teens and adults. With its compelling design and timely messages, this book would be an excellent addition to school and public libraries.  Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Arwen Thysse Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Arts program and the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books.

scholarly journals The Mad Wolf’s Daughter by D. Magras

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwen Thysse
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Young Girl ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Important Lesson ◽  
Medieval Studies ◽  
Her Family ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
The University

Magras, Diane. The Mad Wolf’s Daughter. Kathy Dawson Books, 2018. The Mad Wolf’s Daughter is a children’s novel set in thirteenth-century Scotland that tells the story of Drest, a young girl who goes on an adventure to save her father and brothers after they are captured by invading forces. Diane Magras tells an engaging adventure story that sweeps you along with Drest as she tries to navigate a frightening world without her family—learning whom she can and cannot trust, and coming into her own as a young girl who can best adults through both her strength and her intelligence. Written for children, particularly girls of around the same age as Drest (12 years old), this story provides many insights into life, family, and friendship that both children and adults might find extremely powerful. For example, over the course of the story, Drest comes to understand that “you can’t always control your legend”—an important lesson in our modern world where rumour can spread so fast. The story emphasizes that you have to be true to yourself despite what people may be saying around you, and that it is this belief in one’s own self that can guide you through the roughest of times. As details around the lives of Drest’s family and the families of Drest’s friends are revealed in the story, Magras builds another powerful message about how it is ok to differ from and, indeed, disagree with people you love. Magras, aware that certain aspects of the medieval world in which she places her story may be unfamiliar to her audience, includes a glossary of terms as well as an author’s note that discusses the historical setting in greater detail. In particular, Magras does a good job of indicating that gender roles were not as fixed in the Middle Ages as is often assumed, and introduces the reader to the great variety of roles and indeed agency that women could have in the medieval period. Despite these positive traits, Magras’ story does seem to lack some depth to its world and only scratches the surface of the medieval context that she researched for the story. However, the exciting plot and vivacious characters satisfactorily carry the novel’s interest. Overall, this is a good adventure book which also offers a point of departure for readers to explore the medieval world in more detail. Therefore, this book would be a good addition to school and public libraries. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Arwen Thysse Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta Bachelor of Arts program and graduate of the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books.

scholarly journals The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry by D. Smith

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwen Thysse
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Medieval Studies ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
The University ◽  
Attention To Detail ◽  
Secondary Text

Smith, Danna. The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Candlewick Press, 2017. The Hawk of the Castle is a picture book that tells a story centered on the practice of medieval falconry, and it is told from the perspective of a young girl whose father is the falconer of a castle. Upon picking up the book, the reader will immediately be drawn into Bagram Ibatoulline’s beautiful acrylic gouache illustrations, which not only vividly portray the content of the story, but also complement the work by depicting technical aspects of falconry that a reader might not easily imagine without visual aids. The great attention to detail and realistic style of the illustrations lends itself to the historical setting of Danna Smith’s story—a vivid world that was once as real and familiar to its medieval inhabitants as our world is to us. The author’s note communicates the dedication of Smith to her story as it not only describes her own expertise as a falconer who was trained, like the girl in the story, by her father, but also gives insight into the history and sources she consulted to provide further understanding of the art of falconry as it was in the past and as it is now. The book is designed with two levels of reading in mind: the primary text, written in short rhyming verses, is one that a child might easily read on their own or with assistance. The secondary text, found in textboxes on each page, provides a more challenging and technical text which could be used at an adult’s discretion in order to provide a child with a more nuanced understanding of the aspects of falconry being described. This design is effective as it illuminates, in varying levels of complexity, a subject that is unlikely to be familiar to most readers. In addition to these two levels of reading, Smith also provides a list of resources for further information, allowing her book to become a gateway to even more complex and detailed understandings of falconry and the medieval period. In this way, The Hawk of the Castle, also becomes a means for readers to learn about an aspect of medieval life and society outside of more popular stories about princesses and knights in shining armour. Together Smith and Ibatoulline have created a beautiful book that allows readers to encounter an ancient pastime through a story about medieval falconry, and for that reason it would be a good addition to both school and public libraries. Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Arwen Thysse Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta Bachelor of Arts program and graduate of the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books.

COVID-19: implications for NHS Staff

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-197
Author(s):  
Alan Glasper
Keyword(s):  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Emeritus Professor ◽  
The World ◽  
Clinical Environments ◽  
Public Health Institutions ◽  
Health Institutions ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The University

In light of the emergence in China of COVID-19, the novel corona virus, emeritus professor Alan Glasper, from the University of Southampton discusses the role of the World Health Organization and other public health institutions in responding to potential new global pandemics and deliberates on the role of NHS staff in coping with infectious disease in clinical environments.

Latin Manuscript Pontificals and Benedictionals in England and Wales

Traditio ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 391-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Brückmann
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Full Description ◽  
University Of Kansas ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Complete Catalogue ◽  
Manuscript Collections ◽  
The University

The importance of the manuscript pontificals for the study of the medieval evolution of the Latin liturgy needs no reaffirmation here. The state of the published descriptions and classifications of these manuscripts, however, is not commensurate in all cases with what their importance would lead one to expect.Ehrensberger has provided a full description of the manuscript pontificasl preserved in the Vatican Library; although this is no longer recent, it is invaluable in the absence of a complete catalogue of the Vatican manuscripts. The monumental work of Leroquais describes in detail the manuscript pontificals extant in the public libraries in France; as most of the pontificals in France appear to be in public libraries, this work is fairly comprehensive in its coverage. Dom Anselm Strittmatter has listed and classified the liturgical manuscripts preserved in the United States. For pontificals in other countries, however, there exist no such reference works. Professor Richard Kay of the University of Kansas is currently compiling a handlist in which all the manuscript pontificals extant throughout the world will be cited and briefly identified, but not fully described. Until this appears, anyone working on pontificals or on ordines normally included in pontificals will quite likely have to work systematically through innumerable catalogues of manuscript collections to cover every library, city by city, for a frequently minimal return.

scholarly journals The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by S. Nielsen

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
New Novel ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
The University ◽  
Journal Entries

Nielsen, Susin. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. Susin Nielsen is the acclaimed author of Word Nerd and Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mother. She has won several writing awards and has consistently created compelling, charismatic, and fully drawn characters. In her new novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, Nielsen explores dark and uncomfortable themes such as mental illness, bullying, violence, tolerating differences, and the quiet desperation felt by those who must refashion their lives after a tragedy. For readers concerned that the novel will break their heart, it does. And then it fills that broken heart with joy. Through his affecting journal entries, readers come to know 13-year-old Henry K. Larsen. His therapist recommends that he write about his thoughts and feelings in the aftermath of “IT”—hence the ‘reluctant’ diary. However, Henry’s diary entries are laugh out loud funny on one page and provoke tears on the next. Henry has an extraordinary voice that is unlike any other narrator. He is angry, confused, saddened, shamed, and lost after “IT” happened. He has moved with his father to Vancouver to try to piece together a new life but in reality, his family barely manages to make it through the day. Henry is leery of other people, pushes them away, and he cannot find a place for himself or make sense of his emotions after “IT.” The last thing that Henry anticipates is that he will open up to anyone about “IT”—not to his wonderful new friends Farley and Alberta, to his therapist, or to his two new neighbours. However, incidents at school and at home force Henry to talk about Jesse and the “IT” that changed everyone’s lives forever. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is a quick and deeply satisfying read. This book is required reading. Despite the darker themes, the emotional payoff is not only gratifying, but inspiring. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Tami OliphantTami Oliphant works as a research librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries and for the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. She earned her Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alberta and her doctorate from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked in academic libraries, public libraries, communications and planning, and as a sessional lecturer and researcher at the University of Alberta and the University of Western Ontario.

scholarly journals The Phar Lap Mystery by S. Masson

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Historical Novel ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Private Detective ◽  
State Library ◽  
The University ◽  
Difficult Times

Masson, Sophie.  The Phar Lap Mystery.  Sydney, Aust.:  Scholastic, 2010.  Print The end notes of this historical novel describe the details of the remarkable Australian racehorse, Phar Lap, who, in the difficult times of the Great Depression, gave Australians something positive to think about.  The cover image, from the collection of the State Library of Victoria, shows the big red horse in full stride, tail flying, jockey crouched behind his neck, reigns pulled tight. While the novel tracks alongside the historical story, it is a delightfully written account presented as a two-year diary of an eleven year-old girl.  Diarist, Sally Fielding, is very conscious of the fact that she is writing for posterity.  She begins her September 19, 1931 entry with “Hill Stakes Day, and the best day ever!  I want to write down absolutely everything, to remember it all.” Author, Sophie Masson, who has written more than fifty juvenile novels, gives the reader a good snapshot of life in the 1930’s in urban Eastern Australia.   From the “chooks” in the back yard, to the fancy hats of the well-to-do ladies at the Rosehill racecourse, to the seedy characters from the underbelly of the racing industry, Masson’s detailed descriptions help to draw us into Sally’s world.   Aussie slang is sprinkled throughout the book to add to the “down-under” flavour.  “Strewth”, which is a mild oath like “crikey” appears often.  Sally refers to a young man with whom she is not impressed, as a “real mick”, denies that she’s a “stickybeak” when she really has been snooping and has a “slap up” lunch, which is a very good one. The story stretches over two years beginning with Sally’s private detective father first being engaged to try to find out who took a shot at Phar Lap and ends with Sally and her father going to America when Phar Lap is taken there  to race.  Sally’s diary chronicles her reactions to the various dangerous twists and turns of the case, her father’s on-again, off-again romance, and Sally’s general chatter about friends and events around her.  The family’s economic struggles are ever-present.  Occasionally readers are treated to a facsimile of a real newspaper article or a letter, which is “glued” into the volume, reinforcing the illusion that you really are reading someone’s diary. Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable read that captures your attention and holds it through to the surprising ending.  The Phar Lap Mystery will appeal to readers from pre-teens through adults and especially to readers who love horses. Highly recommended for junior high and high school libraries, as well as public libraries everywhere.Reviewer: Sandy CampbellHighly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals Northern Dancer: King of the Racetrack by G. Joyce

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The World ◽  
The University ◽  
Thoroughbred Racing

Joyce, Gare.  Northern Dancer: King of the Racetrack.  Markham, ON:  Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2012. Print.It is not often that you find a biography of an animal, but in this case, the animal was a national icon.  According to Gare Joyce, Northern Dancer, the great racehorse “made more money as an accomplished racehorse and sire than any Canadian athlete in history – even more than Wayne Gretzky ”.  The book begins with a genealogical chart that shows that of the 19 horses starting in the 2011 Kentucky Derby, 18 were descended from Northern Dancer.This book chronicles Northern Dancer from his birth through to his wins and standing at stud until his death at age 29.  Through his story, the reader also learns about the world of North American thoroughbred racing.  We meet the great jockeys:  Ron Turcotte, Willie Shoemaker and Bill Hardtack who all rode Northern Dancer to victories. We learn about the development of racehorses and the major races:  The Preakness, The Belmont, The Kentucky Derby and the Queen’s Plate.   Joyce writes informally and conversationally, as though he is telling one long story.  For example, he tells us that Northern Dancer “became unruly around his stall…At least once he ripped the shirt off his trainer.” Later we are told that a trainer inadvertently let Northern Dancer run hard the day before a race and people thought that no thoroughbred could “run the equivalent of two races on two consecutive days.   As it turned out, the only ones hurting after the Florida Derby were those who hadn’t bet on the heavily favoured Northern Dancer.”  The text is accompanied by many photos of Northern Dancer, including archival images of horse and jockey in races, at the wire and in the winners’ circle.           Overall, this is an enjoyable story of a remarkable horse.  Northern Dancer: King of the Racetrack is highly recommended for junior high school libraries and public libraries everywhere.  Highly recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

scholarly journals Turtles All the Way Down by J. Green

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin Ratcliffe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Stream Of Consciousness ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Thought Patterns ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
The University ◽  
The Way

Green, John. Turtles All the Way Down. Dutton Books, 2017.  Turtles All the Way Down ticks many boxes; it has friendship, mystery, and romance. Above all, it is the coming-of-age story of a girl struggling with mental illness.Sixteen-year-old Ava Holmes lives within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. When billionaire Russell Pickett goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Ava and her “Best and Most Fearless Friend,” Daisy, investigate in the hope of pocketing the reward money. Along the way, Ava renews her childhood friendship with Russell’s son, Davis, and their relationship turns romantic as the two teens explore love and their burgeoning sexuality. Yet these elements of typical YA are filtered through the lens of Ava’s mental illness and her daily struggle with profound anxiety, obsessive thinking, and intrusive thoughts. Ava uses the metaphor of an ever-tightening spiral to conceptualize her obsessive thought patterns. The mystery and the romance plotlines are continuously sidelined by Ava’s ongoing struggle with her own mind. Ava’s illness threatens her relationship with Davis, her friendship with Daisy, and, eventually, her life.John Green is a YouTube personality and an award-winning author, best known for The Fault in Our Stars (2012). This novel fits the pattern of Green’s previous works, which feature poignantly relatable teenagers seeking to understand their place in the world. But in Turtles All the Way Down, Green uses the structure of the YA novel to depict the mental illness that has affected his life since childhood. Readers familiar with Green’s virtual presence will hear echoes of his voice in Ava’s. The novel carries the weight of authenticity, as neither Ava nor the reader can find relief from the obsessive thought spirals. By bringing the reader into Ava’s head, Green bridges the gap between language and Ava’s (and his own) abstract experiences. Ava’s chronic mental illness is not magic-ed away, and the novel’s ending is plausible and moving in its truthfulness.     A few elements in the novel feel forced. The climax, for instance, seems to happen simply because the structure of the novel requires one. However, Ava’s daily struggle living with her obsessive thoughts is painfully authentic. Though Green writes through the eyes of a teenage girl, his stream-of-consciousness prose may be easily understood by a wide variety of readers. This novel is a stark, honest, and accessible portrayal of living with mental illness. It is a difficult, astonishing read that is highly recommended for those seeking to understand mental illnesses on a personal level.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Caitlin RatcliffeCaitlin Ratcliffe is an MLIS candidate at the University of Alberta. She completed her Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English and History at the University of Lethbridge. When not studying, she enjoys playing soccer and reading sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult fiction.

scholarly journals PEER MENTORING IN ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN STUDENTS

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Elliott ◽  
Hanan Anis ◽  
Catherine Mavriplis
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Peer Mentoring ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Peer Mentorship ◽  
The World ◽  
Network Program ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
The University

Entrepreneurship in engineering is anintersection of two male-dominated domains and isparticularly prone to a gender gap. Entrepreneurshipeducation—the teaching of skills and cultivation of talentsthat students need to start businesses, identifyopportunities, manage risk and innovate in the course oftheir careers—is now a staple in many universities acrossCanada and around the world. However, theparticipation of women in such entrepreneurial programsremains quite low. This paper presents the novel Women'sStart-up Network program at the University of Ottawa.The objective of the program was to develop anentrepreneurial mind-set and competencies in femaleengineering and computer science students throughfacilitated peer mentorship training. Participants weresurveyed to determine the degree to which a peer mentortrainingprogram could increase participants’ knowledgeabout entrepreneurship and influence participants’entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intentions. This paperreports on the preliminary results of the program and theimplications for entrepreneurial learning and careerintentions among female engineering students.

scholarly journals The environmental costs of femininity

2004 ◽  
Vol 71 (424-426) ◽  
pp. 68-74
Author(s):  
Carly Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Environmental Studies ◽  
World Society ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Graduate Study ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
The World ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
The University

The author graduated in 2004 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto. Specializing in "Environment and Society" in the Division of the Environment, her senior thesis constituted the foundation for the present paper reflecting her interests in sustainability, feminism, history, politics and popular culture. She is currently preparing for graduate study in the field of urban planning. The text that follows is an edited and revised version of her paper presented at the international symposion on "The Natural City, " Toronto, 23-25 June, 2004, sponsored by the University of Toronto's Division of the Environment, Institute for Environmental Studies, and the World Society for Ekistics.

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