Principal Investigator

Heather Morrison is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Information Studies. Heather’s research focuses on scholarly communication and open access. Her primary teaching and area information policy. Before becoming a professor, Heather was a well-known advocate of open access and open approaches to research. Currently, her focus is on research rather than advocacy. The Sustaining the Knowledge Commons research blog is intended to model a new approach to open in research through early and open sharing of research results.

The Sustaining the Knowledge Commons project was funded through a SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2014 – 2016) and a SSHRC Insight Grant (2016 – 2021). Following is a list of team members grouped by the most recent years of participation. Biographical information reflects the team members’ status at the time of participation in the team. Sustaining the Knowledge Commons is currently (as of October 2021) in a process of winding down, completing projects already started, cleaning up loose ends on the blog, preparing a final report and summary and preparing the blog for preservation and ongoing access. Completion of this process is anticipated in spring or summer of 2022.

Research Assistants  – (Winter 2021)

Luan Borges is a master’s student in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. He also holds a B.A. in International Relations from the Federal University of Sergipe in Brazil and is a former Global Affairs Canada’s Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP) scholar. He is excited to use his background in policy research and data analysis to advance open access initiatives with the Sustaining the Knowledge Commons (SKC) project.

Tanoh Laurent Kakou est étudiant au Doctorat en Études des Médias-Département de communication Université d’Ottawa. sa recherche est portée sur la revue savante en Afrique. Tanoh Laurent Kakou a complété une Maitrise en Sciences de l’information (M.S.I.) et une Maitrise en Communications organisationnelles (M.C.O.).

Il a une connaissance dans le domaine de l’accès et la diffusion de l’information et il s’intéresse à la réduction de fracture numérique. Il soutien le libre accès à l’information qui pourrait aider l’éducation dans les pays en développement.

Amit Shanbhoug is an undergraduate student at the University of Ottawa, pursuing an Honours BSc in Computer Science (Management & Entrepreneurship option). He is excited to collaborate with his peers and contribute to the Sustaining the Knowledge Commons (SKC) project. In his spare time, Amit enjoys playing chess and reading spy thrillers.

Xuan Zhao is a Ph.D. student in the Department of French at the University of Ottawa. She holds a Master’s degree in French literature from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor’s degree in French literature from Lanzhou University in China. As a member of the Sustaining the Knowledge Commons team, she is excited to be able to contribute to the development of the project.

Xuan Zhao est une étudiante au doctorat au Département de français de l’Université d’Ottawa. Elle détient une maîtrise en lettres françaises de l’Université d’Ottawa et un baccalauréat dans le même domaine de l’Université de Lanzhou en Chine. En étant un membre de l’équipe de Soutenir les savoirs communs, elle est heureuse de pouvoir contribuer au développement du projet.

Katie Pelland is a Master’s student in the Graduate School of Information Studies at the University of Ottawa. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario. She is also the current secretary of the National Capital Association of Law Libraries (NCALL). She is excited to contribute her knowledge and experience in librarianship to this project.

Previous

Research Associate

Dr. Anis Rahman is a Term Lecturer in SFU School of Communication and a contract researcher in the School of Information Studies at University of Ottawa. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication from SFU and an M.A. in Television Journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London with a Chevening Award. Anis researches public media in the Global South, geopolitics and disinformation, South Asian media and cultures, the Chinese New Silk Road and its impacts on global communications networks and infrastructures. Anis joined the Sustaining the Knowledge Commons project to examine models of the global knowledge commons and industrial conglomeration of scholarly publishing from a Global South point of view.
Email: abur@sfu.ca
Twitter: @anis_media
Web: https://sfu.academia.edu/AnisRahman

Research Assistants

Niharika Avasthi is a graduate student at University of Ottawa studying Masters in Electronic Business Technologies. She comes from a software engineering background and has about 4 years of experience in customer relationships and escalation management. She has also done freelancing in the past as a content writer.

Hamid Pashaei
Research Assistant (2018 – 2019)
Graduate Student
E-Business Technologies Program
hamid.pashaei@uottawa.ca

Hamid Pashaei is a graduate student at the University of Ottawa currently studying Electronic Business Technologies. He comes from an engineering background and has solid experience in marketing and customer relationships.

Anqi Shi is pursuing her master’s degree at Telfer school of Management at the University of Ottawa major in management. She had completed a bachelor’s degree at Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) in China. After experiencing different academic and business environments in two countries, Anqi has a passion for everything related to management, especially when it comes to information asymmetry. Her data analysis skills and business background can be helpful with Sustaining the Knowledge Commons (SKC) project.

Snehita Singh is currently pursuing a Master’s in E-Business Technology at the University of Ottawa.

Research Assistants – Recent (2016 – 2017)

Widlyne Brutus is a graduate student at the University of Ottawa currently undergoing a Masters Degree in Information Studies. She had completed an undergraduate degree in History and a certificate in Record Management at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Widlyne has a passion for everything related to history and the means of information diffusion including open access.

Widlyne Brutus est une étudiante à la maîtrise à l’Université d’Ottawa. Elle complète présentement une spécialisation en sciences de l’information. Passionnée, elle a complété un Baccaleauréat en histoire ainsi qu’un certificat en gestion des documents et des archives à l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Widlyne a développé un vif intérêt en histoire et sur les moyens de diffusion de l’information incluant le libre accès.

Myriam Dumais-DesRosiers détient une maîtrise en études littéraires. Ayant travaillé 3 ans pour la revue Études littéraires (Université Laval, Québec), elle s’est intéressée à la question du libre accès du point de vue de l’édition. Étudiante à la maîtrise en sciences de l’information à l’Université d’Ottawa, elle aborde maintenant la question du libre accès selon une approche de professionnel de l’information.

Myriam Dumais-DesRosiers holds a Master’s degree in Literature. Having worked 3 years for the Études littéraires journal (Laval University, Québec), she is interested in open access from the viewpoint of a publisher. Now a student in the Master of Information Studies at the University of Ottawa, she studies this crucial question as an information professional.

Katherine Laprade est dans sa dernière année du programme M.S.I. Elle est titulaire d’un baccalauréat en histoire avec mineure en muséologie et patrimoine de l’Université du Québec en Outaouais. Comme future bibliothécaire, elle s’intéresse à la propriété intellectuelle et aux droits usagers.

Katherine is in her final year of the MIS program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in museology and heritage from Université du Québec en Outaouais. As a future librarian, she is interested in intellectual property and user’s rights.

Salah Merhi
PhD Student
Electronic Business Program
University of OttawaEmail: smerh04@uottawa.ca
Cell: 613-852-8504

Salah earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Management and Data Processing from West Virginia University Institute of Technology (1981) and his Master degree in Electronic Business from University of Ottawa (2012). His professional career of more than 25 years in the field of Information and communication Technology took him to more than 35 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa where he executed business plan and conducted business development, marketing and sales activities.

Arbia Ouerghi est enseignante chercheur en sciences de l’information. Elle est titulaire d’une MSI de l’Université de Montréal en 2003, spécialité Gestion de l’information électronique et d’un baccalauréat en Bibliothéconomie et sciences de l’information.

Après une carrière d’enseignante en Europe et en Afrique, Arbia a travaillé comme bibliothécaire en chef dans plusieurs bibliothèques et centres de documentation au Canada et ailleurs.

Sa carrière professionnelle en gestion de l’information l’a fait voyager un peu partout dans le monde : Afrique du Nord, Europe et Canada

Présentement, Arbia poursuit la recherche et s’intéresse à la question du libre accès spécifiquement à la communication savante francophone.

Victoria Volkanova

Victoria Volkanova obtained her M.S.I. from the Université de Montréal in 2004 and has since been working as an academic librarian at the Université de Moncton, New Brunswick. Her professional responsibilities have included managing the systems department, reference services, scholarly communications, DLI, statistics and data services. She is currently on a sabbatical leave, pursuing her research interests in open access and scholarly communications. She shares her time between l’Université de Montréal and University of Ottawa.

Victoria Volkanova détient une maîtrise en sciences de l’information de l’Université de Montréal (2004). Elle travaille à l’Université de Moncton au Nouveau-Brunswick. Après avoir été chef du Service des systèmes informatisés pendant neuf ans, elle est actuellement bibliothécaire de référence, responsable du dossier de la communication savante, de l’IDD, des données statistiques et de recherche.  En congé sabbatique pendant 2016-2017, Victoria poursuit ses intérêts de recherche qui touchent le libre accès à la recherche et la communication savante. Elle partage son temps entre l’Université de Montréal et l’Université d’Ottawa.

Former Research Assistants and Collaborators (prior to 2016)

Alexis Calvé-Genest has completed a Master’s degree in Anthropology and is currently working on completing a Master’s degree in Information Science from the University of Ottawa. Alexis is interested in the anthropological perspective on information sharing, He is currently surveying the literature on common pool resource management with the goal of sharing its most important works. The purpose of this effort is to share information that generally is relevant, but little known, where the distribution of resources through economical market logics can be appreciated critically, and alternatives are an everyday life reality.

Lisa Desautels is a recent graduate in Information Science, at the University of Ottawa. In her professional career in public sector information management and communications, Lisa developed an abiding commitment to knowledge sharing. This was reinforced during her graduate studies where she developed an interest in open access. She supports continued research in this area and feels strongly about the developing world benefiting from open access to information. She feels privileged to have the opportunity to work with Professor Morrison and her team and contribute to this exciting project.
Tony Horava is the Associate University Librarian (Collections)at the University of Ottawa Library. He is also cross-appointed to the School of Information Studies where he has taught courses in Collection Management and The Publishing Business. Tony’s research is focussed on collection management issues and scholarly communication questions. He is very interested in the transformative intersection between open access movements and library collection management strategies. Recent publications include:

“Risk Taking in Academic Libraries: The Implications of Prospect Theory” Library Leadership and Management 28 (2).

“Today and in Perpetuity: A Canadian Consortial Strategy for Owning and Hosting Ebooks” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 39 (5): 423–428.

“The Importance of Case Studies for LIS Education” (with Bill Curran) Library Philosophy and Practice 8-25-2012

“Direct Ordering by Subject Librarians in a Vendor System: A Case Study” Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research 7(1) June 2012.

“Copyright Discourse in the Academy: Values, Policies, and Technology” Academic Matters October 2011.

Guinsly Mondésir est étudiant à la maîtrise en Sciences de l’Information à L’Université d’Ottawa. Il a complété un baccaleaureat ès Arts à l’université de Montréal incluant un certificat en informatique appliquée et un archivistique. Guinsly s’intéresse au données ouvertes et aux archives médiatiques.
Guinsly Mondésir is currently a student at the University of Ottawa, doing a master in information studies. He had completed an undergraduate degree in Arts at the Université de Montréal , including a certificate in Applied computer sciences and one in records management. Guinsly is really passionate about open data and digital medias.

Jihane Salhab is a graduate of the MIS program the University of Ottawa. She studied Information Science, with particular interests in electronic dissemination and exchange of information using open access. Having worked for thirteen years at the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) library in Lebanon, she is familiar with the challenges libraries face concerning the drastically increased cost of publications as a result of worldwide inflation and economic recession. She believes open access to be a rejection of mainstream model where paywalls restrict access to research and hinder researchers to disseminate knowledge to all people, regardless of socioeconomic or geographic conditions.

César Villamizar

César Villamizar is a recent graduate of the University of Ottawa Master’s of Information Studies program. Throughout his professional career, César has been involved in numerous roles evaluating and managing information systems. During his time at the School of Information Studies, he developed special interests in Research Data Management and Open Access. He is excited to use the skills he has developed over time to promote the advantages for society of producing and sharing knowledge by making it freely available for everyone.

Sara Wheatley

Sara Wheatley is a recent graduate of the Master’s of Information Studies program at the University of Ottawa. She is excited to contribute to research that follows the open access movement. She believes that open access increases research progress, which will lead to faster discoveries, benefiting all of humanity.