Graduate Student Members
Amy Andrews Alexander
Amy Andrews is a medical student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Her research interests include: sexual health promotion, women's mental health promotion, collaborative research methods and survey development. Amy earned a Masters degree from the Graduate School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto and has worked as a research and evaluation consultant with several AIDS Service Organizations in the province of Ontario (e.g., Casey House, Fife House, AIDS Committee of Toronto, Ontario HIV Treatment Network). She has several years experience as a community-based supportive care worker with homeless young women and with People living with HIV/AIDS in Toronto. Amy has also worked on several international research and development projects in South Africa, Namibia and Honduras.
Publications
Andrews, A. "Missing Links: Women, mental Health, and the Need for a New Model of HIV Prevention and Sexual Helath Promotion." Canadian Woman Studies/les cahiers de la femme Woman and HIV/AIDS. 21(2): 82-88.
Ramjee, G., Gouwes, E., Andrews, A., Myer, L., Weber, A. ?The Acceptability of a Vaginal Microbicide Among South African Men.? International Family Planning Perspectives, 27 (4), December 2001: 164 ? 170.
Conference Presentations
Andrews, A., Narciso, L., Goia, C., Forte, T., Brown, L., Bayoumi, A. "Community-Based Research and the HIIP/HOOD Database." 12th Annual Canadian HIV Research Association Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 10 - 13 April 2003.
Goia, C., Andrews, A., Gardner, S., Forte, T., Millson, M., Rachlis, A., Robinson, G., Bayoumi, A. "The imputation of missing date values in antiretroviral medication data." 12th Annual Canadian HIV Research Association Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 10 - 13 April 2003.
Forte, T., Bayoumi, A., Remis, R.S., Swantee, C., Andrews, A., Goia,C., Millson, M., Rachlis, A., Robinson, G. "Representativeness of the HIV Ontario Observational Database (HOOD)." 12th Annual Canadian HIV Research Association Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 10 - 13 April 2003
Andrews, A. and Larkin, J. "Masculinit(ies): An Important Construct in the Study of Youth, Gender and Sexual Health Risk." Ontario HIV Treatment Network Research Day, Toronto, Ontario, 28 - 29 November, 2002.
Larkin, J., Mitchell, C. and Andrews, A. "Youth, Gender and HIV Prevention: A Case for Transnational Approaches to Risk" 9th International Health Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, 27 - 29 October, 2002.
Andrews, A. and Larkin, J. "Guy talk? Young men and issues of gender-based risk." XIV World AIDS Conference, Barcelona, Spain. 7-12 July 2002.
Andrews, A. "Missing Links: Women, Mental Health and Sexual Health Promotion." Canadian Women's Studies Association Conference, Toronto, Ontario. 26 - 28 May 2002.
Andrews, A. "Improving Service and Enhancing Support for PHAs through Research." 5th International Conference on Home and Community Care for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 17 - 22 December 2001.
Andrews, A. "Firm Foundations: Creating a Strong Foundation for Community-Based Research in your Agency." 5th International Conference on Home and Community Care for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 17 - 22 December 2001.
Andrews, A. and Narciso, L. "Creating a Firm Organizational Foundation for Community-Based Research: Theory and Practice." 3rd Annual HIV/AIDS Skillsbuilding Symposium, Montréal, Québec, 6 - 9 July 2001.
Andrews, A. "Re-defining the Dilemmas: Is Women-Focused Research Feminist Research", XIII International AIDS Conference, Durban, South Africa, July 9 - 14 2000.
Andrews, A. "What is Feminist Research? How do we do it?", National Conference Women and HIV/AIDS, Toronto, Ontario, 25 - 28 May, 2000.
Andrews, A. "Acknowledging Needs, Addressing Cultures: the challenges of developing a culturally comprehensive, post-clinical drug trail community care plan." Conference on Race and Ethnocultural Equity in the University: Deliberating Strategies for Transformation, New College, University of Toronto, 31 March, 2000.
Ramjee G, Andrews A, Meyer L, Gouws E. "Acceptability of a Vaginal Microbicide among South African Men." Microbicide 2000 Conference, Washington, D.C., 13 - 16 March, 2000.
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Michelle Dagnino
Michelle Dagnino, BA (Specialized Honours), MA, LLB Candidate (2006), is a third-year student at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is the current Program Coordinator of Youth Action Network, a Canada-wide network of youth groups and young people dedicated to empowering youth to be active participants in their community. Michelle worked as the ICFTU child labour coordinator in Brussels, Belgium, where she had the opportunity to travel around the world working with unions, businesses and community groups in combating child labour. Her current work is in the field of gene patents and the regulation of biotechnology, of which she is a recipient of an Ontario Genomics Institute Fellowship. For more information or to contact Michelle please visit www.michelledagnino.com
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Can Jianjian
Can Jianjian is a doctoral student in the Department of Integrated Student in Education, McGill University. Her doctoral work is in the area of bibliotherapy and applied literature. She is conducting fieldwork in a co-educational residential school in China on how young people there are responding to gender and HIV/AIDS.
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Susan Mintz
Susan Mintz, BA (Specialized Honours), MSc Candidate (2006) is a second year Urban Planning student at the University of Toronto. Susan has been involved with the GAAP Project since its inception in September 2001; she provides both an administration and research coordination dimension to the Toronto research site.
CANFAR Presentations/Papers
Mintz, S., Dagnino, M., Flicker, S., Koleszar-Green, R., Larkin, J., Mitchell, C. (2004). AIDS Representation & HIV Risk in Youth. Ontario Health Transmission Network. Toronto.
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Gladys Teni Atinga
Gladys Atinga is a diasporic Ghanaian in Canada and a PHD candidate at McGill University. She is currently working on a thesis dissertation around sex-based violence (sexual harassment) with educators and prospective teachers in Ghana where she recently conducted her fieldwork. She is particularly concerned with how the conditions of teachers' colleges can serve to reproduce themselves in the conditions of teaching in school. Notwithstanding the apparent high incidence of sexual harassment and intimidation in the lives of girls in Africa, however, relatively little is known about the actual experiences of girls, or the 'after life' of these experiences in the lives of women. What, for example, is taken as "normal" male-female behavior? How are the subtleties of sexual harassment experienced? What are the coping strategies of girls? How are female teachers implicated in the process?
In view of this, the incidence and issues of sexual harassment of women-girls need to be looked upon seriously (by educational institutions and the communities) in Africa. For example, coming to some understanding of the subtleties of sex-based violence within organizations such as schools is likely to have an impact on programmatic concerns for development more generally. However, a study as this one is likely to have far reaching implications for mainstreaming gender within development projects. There are also several areas where this study would have relevance: in relation to learning systems (Africa) since clearly the idea of safe learning environments is an issue in all Africa countries; and in relation to Peace building and Reconstruction. Girls and women tend to remain the most victimized within any society that is in the process of reconstruction. The lessons learned with regard to study of the incidence of the sexual exploitation of girls are ones that are likely to be applicable to other societies as well as to Ghana.
Other areas of interest to Atinga include Gender-violence and HIV/AIDS. Of particular concern is the connection between cultural and institutional practices and HIV/AIDS in Africa such as wife inheritance and Female genital mutilation imposed on women and girls in the African society. The added dangers to the lives of girls as a result of high incidence of AIDS make the situation even bleaker. The lack of power to engage in condom negotiation and discomfort discussing issues related to sex, such as the use of condom and among others, are factors that are related to HIV/AIDS infection and unwanted pregnancy. She also has specific interests in participatory methodology.
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Shannon Walsh
Shannon Walsh is an artist committed to using arts approaches as a means of social intervention. She has been creating an approach to arts development linked with cross-cultural communication. She sees art as a potential tool of political, social and economic empowerment, collaboration and intervention and is particularly concerned with working with youth around HIV and AIDS issues. She has worked as a youth facilitator around gender and HIV issues with the South African National Department of Education, Centre for the Book and loveLife in South Africa.
Currently an active member in a number of community projects, she has recently finished a film with the NFB and the Canada Council, and has been screening past fiction and documentary work in international film festivals. Shannon Walsh works at McGill University.
Contributions to Collective Works
Walsh, S., Mitchell, C., Weber, S. (forthcoming) "From Behind the Lens: Digital Data. (Eds.), The Art of Visual Inquiry. in G. Knowles, L. Neilsen, A. Cole and T. Luciani (Eds.) Toronto: Backalong Books.
Walsh, S. (2004) "Losers, Lolitas and lesbos: Visualizing Girlhood" in (Eds.) C. Mitchell, S. Weber "Seven to Seventeen: The Tween Girl" London: Peter Lang.
Walsh, S., Mitchell, C. (2004) "Artfully Engaged: Arts Activism and HIV/AIDS work with youth in South Africa" in G. Knowles, L. Neilsen, A. Cole and T. Luciani (Eds.), Provoked by Art: Theorizing Arts-informed Inquiry. Toronto: Backalong Books.
Journal Articles
Mitchell, C., Walsh, S., Larkin, J. (2004) "Visualizing the politics of innocence in the age of AIDS" Sex Education. London: Routledge. 4(1) p 35-47.
Walsh, S, Mitchell, C., Smith, A. (2002) "The Soft Cover project: youth participation in HIV/AIDS interventions" Agenda: Empowering women for gender equity. Durban: Agenda Feminist Publishing. (53)
Walsh, S. (2002) "A Blindfold of Compassion: Women as Pawns in the New War?" Feminist Media Studies: London, Routledge. vol.2(1)
Conference Presentations
Fire & Hope: Through the lens. A paper presentation and screening at the Gender, Sexuality & Health conference. Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia. June 10-13, 2004
Re-representing the data: Life stories of women talking about HIV and AIDS. A paper presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) San Diego, California, (with Claudia Mitchell) April 12-16, 2004
Theory + Practice: Politicizing Girlhoods. Chair at Transforming Spaces: Girlhood, Agency and Power conference November 21-23, 2003 Montreal, Quebec Working with youth to unravel the data on AIDS and Sexuality: Participatory research and
Arts-based activism. A poster presentation at the "Take Action: South African AIDS Conference". Durban, South Africa. (with Claudia Mitchell and June Larkin) August 3-6, 2003.
Hidden from View: "Where's my body in this?" Youth, sexuality and AIDS prevention. A paper presentation at the 4th Conference of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS) "Sex and Secrecy". Johannesburg, South Africa. (with Claudia Mitchell, June Larkin & Ann Smith) June 22-25, 2003
Creative Transmission: Arts-Informed Approaches To HIV Prevention With Youth. A paper presentation at the 4th Annual Advances in Qualitative Methods. Banff, Calgary. May 2-5, 2003.
Youth Culture and Youth Participation in HIV Prevention. A poster presentation at the Ontario HIV Treatment .
Power, privilege, passions, and poems: The AWID form. A paper presented at the Education Graduate Students Society conference Directing the Winds of Change: Educational perspectives on globalization. Montreal, Quebec. November 8-9, 2002.
Artfully Engaged: Art activism and HIV/AIDS work with youth. A paper presentation at the 9th Canadian Conference on International Health, Ottawa, Ontario. October 27-29th, 2002.
Creative transmission: sexy girls, message making & HIV. A workshop presentation at the AWID forum Re-Inventing Globalization. Guadalajara, Mexico. October 3-6, 2002.
Participatory Process and Creative vision in AIDS Prevention: Exploring the gendered discourses of AIDS amongst South African Youth. A paper presented at Instituting Gender Equality in Schools: Working in an HIV/AIDS Environment A Colloquium at the University of Natal. Durban, South Africa. (with Claudia Mitchell & Ann Smith) April 8 - 10 2002.
Visualizing the Politics of Innocence in the Age of AIDS. A paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Conference. New Orleans, (with Claudia Mitchell) April 1-5, 2002.
South African Youth Culture and Youth Participation in HIV Prevention. A poster presented at the XIV International AIDS Conference, Barcelona, Spain. (with Claudia Mitchell) July 7-12, 2002.
Current Research Projects
"Arts development for social action: Creative approaches to gendered HIV/AIDS prevention with youth in South Africa and Canada" Fonds Quebecois de la recherche sur la societe et la culture. (May) 2003-2004
"Girls, Creative Vision and Globalization", An Advancement of Women in Development (AWID) Seed Grant, January 2003.
"Getting the WORD out: Arts Development for Social Action" Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) Research Grant, January 2003.
Recent Film projects
Director/ Screenwriter "The Space In-between". Josephine is disconnected from her life and overwhelmed by existence. On the outside looking in, she searches for meaning with sensual longing, finding a momentary solace with a stranger. (in development).
Director/ Editor "Fire and Hope: Youth activism around HIV prevention in South Africa". A documentary follow the lives of a number of township youth who are using hip-hop and youth culture as part of their strategy to fight HIV. 2004 with the GAAP. Festivals: Brooklyn International Film Festival (New York)/Women in the Director's Chair (Chicago)/ herland (Calgary)
Co-Director / Editor /Photo. "Sayeh" Montreal / Paris. A documentary following Shahram Goldchin's encounter with Mehran Nasseri, the Iranian refugee who has been living in the Charles du Gaulle airport for the last 11 years. DV, 30 min, colour. (with Kaveh Nabatian and Nicolas Rutigliano) 2003 Canada Council, NFB.