As the leaves turn to vibrant shades of orange and gold, Spark invites you on a journey to the frontiers of social research innovation. Our Fall 2023 Spark Talks are curated to inspire, challenge, and deepen your understanding of cutting-edge methodologies and contemporary issues within the research community.

Register today to secure your seat in these intellectually stimulating and transformative sessions, where leading experts and emerging scholars converge to ignite dialogue, challenge conventional wisdom, and spark innovation in a variety of academic disciplines.

Friday, September 15th, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Anders Vassenden & Marte Mangset
Topic: "Turning critique into promise: How situationalism can aid qualitative interviewing"
Vassenden and Mangset unearth the untapped value that situationalism holds for enhancing the practice and analysis of interviews.
Registration is now closed - video of the Talk coming soon!

Friday, September 22nd, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Andrea Belgrade & Joy Agner
Topic: "Centering Positive Change in Research using Photovoice"
Belgrade and Agner champion a radical shift in research paradigms, positioning study participants as co-investigators.
Registration is now closed - video of the Talk coming soon!

Friday, September 22nd, 12 pm - 2 pm
Spark's Annual Open House
Light refreshments will be provided.
No registration required, just drop in and say hi!

Friday, September 29th, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Carlos Cinelli
Topic: "A Crash Course in Good and Bad Controls"
Cinelli demystifies the notorious issue of 'bad control' in regression analysis through intuitive graphical tools.
Registration is now closed - video of the Talk coming soon!

**Please note that there will be no talks on October 6th due to the Thanksgiving holiday and during Reading Week on October 13th.**

Friday, October 20th, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Joy Kaufman & Keisha April
Topic: "Give up Your Mic: Exploring Capacity Building in CBPR Partnerships"
Kaufman and April delve into the real-world application of CBPR to build capacity and empower community partners.
🔗 Register Now

Friday, October 27th, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Allison Leanage
Topic: "Through the lens of special needs: High school graduation and postsecondary education of students in British Columbia"
Leanage examines disparities in education for special needs students in BC, using ELMLP data to highlight unique challenges.
🔗 Register Now

Friday, November 3rd, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Nate Breznau
Topic: "A Hidden Universe of Uncertainty"
Breznau uncloaks the latent forms of uncertainty lurking in reproducible research, revealing the subtleties that can skew outcomes.
🔗 Register Now

Friday, November 10th, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speakers: Bryan Cook & Vivian Wong
Topic: "Moving from What Works to What Replicates"
Cook and Wong explore the shift from "what works" to "what replicates" in social science, advocating for robust methodologies.
🔗 Register Now

Friday, November 17th, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Andrea DaViera
Topic: "Using Multinomial Logistic Regression to identify bias in Predictive Policing Algorithms"
DaViera excavates inherent biases in predictive policing through the lens of multinomial logistic regression.
🔗 Register Now

Friday, November 24th, 10:30 am - 11:20 am
Speaker: Knut Sundell
Topic: "What Social Work practices are most effective - working with imperfect evidence"
Sundell scrutinizes the efficacy of social work practices, even when rooted in flawed or incomplete data.
🔗 Register Now