The impact factor is a tool for ranking, evaluating, and comparing journals. It is a measure of the frequency with which the ‘average article’ in a journal has been cited in a particular year. The CDSR, a part of The Cochrane Library, experienced a 9.1 per cent increase from its 2008 impact factor of 5.182.

It is clear that Cochrane Reviews have a much wider impact than can be measured by citations alone. Other examples of impact include informing guideline development, policy setting, consumer communication and many others in order to inform and improve healthcare decision-making in Canada and around the world.

ICHR supports a pan-northern subscription to the Cochrane Library and constitutes the Northern Canada network site for the international collaboration.

Please visit the Cochrane homepage at ccnc.cochrane.org for more information and an explanation of the impact factor.

Our annual AGM has been scheduled for Monday, September 13, 2010, 7pm at the ICHR Office (3502 Raccine Road, Yellowknife, NT).

Incorporated in 2005 as a non-profit under the Northwest Territories Societies Act, ICHR maintains its central office in Yellowknife, with a nodal office in Inuvik. A board of directors composed of representatives of Métis, First Nations, Inuit/Inuvialuit, and Non-Aboriginal communities drawn from different regions and diverse backgrounds determines overall policies and strategic directions for the institute. The institute is under the overall direction of an Executive and Scientific Director supervising a research staff and an administrative staff. The four strategic focus areas include developing core supports for institute activities, development of policies and partnerships, educating a cadre of northern researchers, and supporting northern-based health research program development.

If interested in serving on the ICHR board, please send a cover letter and CV that includes relevant expertise, experience, and/or employment, interest in the organization, areas in which one can contribute, and other volunteer commitments to the address below:

Institute for Circumpolar Health Research
PO Box 11050
3502 Raccine Road
Yellowknife, NT X1A 3X7
Fax: (867) 873-9338
Attention: Susan Chatwood, Director of Communications & Technology
Email: susan.chatwood@ichr.ca

Diane has been with ICHR since last September as an AHRDA trainee and has made major strides in upgrading her office and research skills.

Congratulations Diane!

A new and leading award for prospective PhD students valued at $50,000 per year of study, the Government of Canada announced the first 166 recipients in of the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships in 2009. These outstanding doctoral students from Canada and around the world are recognized as leaders in their fields of research and in their communities. The Vanier scholars were selected for their exceptional leadership skills and their high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health.

Congratulations Candice!

Office Renovations to Accommodate

The Institute for Circumpolar Health Research
Yellowknife, NT

Closing Feb 10 @ 5:00 pm MST

Contact:

Virginia Cayen
Director Finance & Administration
Institute for Circumpolar Health Research
virginia.cayen@ichr.ca
3502 Raccine Road
PO Box 11050
Yellowknife, NT CA X1A 3X7
Phone: (867) 873-9337
Fax: (867) 873-9338

SERNNoCa is a five-year pan-Northern initiative funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) dedicated to interdisciplinary research in the social economy. The network involves a number of University partners providing research expertise and direction for the 4 main research themes of the program. Each territory is a sub-node of the network, with ICHR coordinating activities in the NWT. In addition to research seeking to conceptualize and inventory the social economy in the North, the network will investigate the particular relationships that exist between social economy and indigenous cultures, resource regimes, and the state.

We are currently conducting a follow-up survey to the 2008-2009 social economy organization inventory in order to examine the impacts and importance of social economy groups in the North. In doing so, we hope to confirm what information we already have as well as fill in the blanks as to what information is missing. We are sending groups a questionnaire and cover letter by either e-mail or mail, and will be contacting them at a later date to fill in what information is needed. Participants also have the option to fill in the questionnaire on their own and send it back to our office.

The forms can be downloaded from here:

• Survey Cover Explanatory Letter (English | French)
• Questionnaire (English | French)

For more information about SERNNoCA-NWT, please visit the website.

Candice Lys, our project coordinator for the HPV Prevalence Study, completed her Master of Arts (Health Promotion) from Dalhousie University in June 2009. Her thesis was entitled, “Coming of age: how young women in the Northwest Territories understand barriers and facilitators to positive, empowered, and safer sexual health.” Candice is convocating this month in Halifax.

Bree Denning, our Public Health Agency of Canada research affiliate completed her Master of Science (Community Health and Epidemiology) from Queens’ University in September 2009. Her thesis was entitled, “Indicators for prenatal support and neonatal outcomes in Northern Canada.”

Both Candice and Bree will continue working with ICHR, Candice as the HPV Project Coordinator and Bree as a new Public Health Officer based at ICHR.

Congratulations again!

The toss of the caps in Halifax

Lois Edge

Circumpolar Health Research Student Award Recipient 2009

Lois Edge is a PhD Candidate in Educational Policy Studies with a specialization in Indigenous Peoples Education at the University of Alberta where she received a Master of Arts degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology in 2001. Her doctoral research considers the relationship of participation in traditional cultural activities, such as beadwork, to Indigenous identity, lifelong learning and well-being. Her work in the fields of Indigenous education and Aboriginal health includes participation in several Indigenous knowledge research initiatives involving collaboration with Aboriginal community members, Indigenous knowledge holders and multiple stakeholders. Lois is Academic Coordinator with the Centre for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research at Athabasca University. She is a Gwich’in/Cree Métis from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.

Susan Hopkins

Circumpolar Health Research Student Award Recipient 2009

Susan Hopkins is a doctoral candidate in the University of Phoenix’s educational leadership program (Ed.D) with a focus on curriculum and instruction. She is half way through the program and just beginning her dissertation which will explore educational resilience in the Tłįchǫ population through the eyes of young adults who have overcome adversity and graduated from high school. The purpose of her research is to gain a deeper understanding of ways that schools can support Tłįchǫ students as they work towards high school graduation. Susan has worked in the Tłįchǫ region for the last 6 years starting at Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School and now as the program support teacher for Chief Jimmy Bruneau Regional School. She has a bachelor degree in political science, a degree in elementary education, and a masters in educational technology. Susan is from Nova Scotia originally but over the last 20 years has called Vancouver, Milan, Italy, Big Trout Lake, Ontario and now Behchoko home. Her daughter, Susan loves her job and her studies but the biggest joy in her life is her daughter Siena, a spirited redhead, who will be two years old in January.

We hope this be a useful tool for researchers in managing their information needs.