Assistant Professor of Sociology, MacEwan University I am a tenured professor (currently Assistant level) of Sociology. I received my PhD from the University of British Columbia. Thus far I have published 13 peer-review articles in well-regarded journals, such as Social Science & Medicine, Health & Place, and the International Journal of Comparative Sociology. My research focuses on the political determinants of health, most recently on cancer risk especially. However, it has become clear that the economy is an essential consideration when connecting politics to health.Population health is an essential measure of how well societies are doing, but a bigger picture is needed for a more complete understanding of how societies can create the best health. My research portfolio is among the minority that explore all three fundamental areas - politics, economy, AND population health.
Assistant Professor in Public Management and Public Policy, University of Birmingham I'm an Assistant Professor in the School of Government at the University of Birmingham. I research public procurement and governments’ relationships with private and non-profit organizations. My research focuses on the ways in which different methods of public service delivery affect the quality of public services and the nature of interactions between citizens and government. My work focuses mostly on the UK, but I also do research in Europe and other anglophone countries. I've also researched how public organizations have dealt with budget cuts and austerity measures. I have worked for the Government Digital Service (part of the UK Cabinet Office) on the team responsible for GOV.UK (the UK government website). I advised on policy for how government communicated information and provided access to services online and managed cross-departmental engagement.
Public Scholar & PhD Candidate, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University Azfar Adib is a Public Scholar and a doctoral candidate in Concordia’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He holds a Master of Business Administration in marketing and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. Azfar has more than eight years of professional experience in the telecommunications sector. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Azfar regularly promotes constructive aspects of technology through writing, public speaking and community engagement. Azfar’s research focuses on developing age-verification systems using electrocardiogram (ECG). Age-verification is the process of validating age-segment (adult and minor) of users before delivering certain age-appropriate products to them. Recently, online age-verification has become a crucial need worldwide to protect children from exposure to inappropriate content. However, traditional methods of age-verification, using ID cards and other official documents, are incapable of protecting users’ privacy. Azfar’s research seeks to develop an anonymous method of age verification which can safeguard privacy. He has received several research grants and awards, including MITACS Accelerate.
Ph.D. Fellow, Center for Constitutional Democracy, Indiana University Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam, a Ph.D. Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Democracy at Indiana University, Bloomington, is an experienced educator, lawyer, peacebuilding practitioner, and country expert contributing to Ethiopia Insight and various media outlets, recognized for his astute observations in the Horn of Africa.
Professor of Welsh, Swansea University Alan Llwyd is one of Wales’ most prominent poets for generations. In 2023, he won the Chair in the Llŷn and Eifionydd Eisteddfod. Previously, he managed to win the 'double', namely the Chair and the Crown in the same year - twice - in 1973 and 1976. He is the first poet since the relaxation of the ‘twice only’ rule to win the Chair for the third time. Alan lives in Morriston, Swansea and was born in Dolgellau in 1948. He lived in the village of Llan Ffestiniog in Meirionnydd until 1953, and from the age of five he grew up on a farm in Llŷn. He spent the rest of his childhood as well as his adolescence in Llŷn. He was a pupil at Ysgol Botwnnog until 1967, when he went to the Bangor University to study Welsh. He graduated in 1970, after which he worked in the Awen Meirion bookshop in Bala for two years, before moving to Swansea in 1976 to work as an editor for Gwasg Christopher Davies. Between 1980 and 1982 he worked for the Welsh Joint Education Committee in Cardiff, and from 1982, he worked full-time for Cymdeithas Barddas. He worked for Barddas for almost thirty years, promoting poetry, and editing the Society's magazine and publications. He published more than 300 books during his periods as publisher and editor for various organisations. Alan Llwyd, together with the late Penri Jones, founded Llanw Llŷn, Pen Llŷn's local paper. As a poet and writer, he has published more than 80 books, including three complete collections of poems. It won the Nonfiction-Creative Book of the Year category in 2013 and 2020, and the Poetry Book of the Year category in 2019. In 2018, it won the Cwlwm Cyhoeddwyr Cymru Award for a special contribution to the publishing world. He has won over 50 literary awards so far. In 1993, he won the BAFTA Cymru award for Best Film Script in Welsh, namely the script of the film Hedd Wyn, which was nominated for an Oscar.
