Masters of Arts Students

Victoria Lopatka

Supervisor: Dr. Marta-Marika Urbanik

Victoria is a Master's student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. She obtained her BA in Criminology and Communication at Simon Fraser University in BC. Her research interests include drug policy, people who use drugs (PWUD), drug decriminalization, and the ongoing overdose crisis. Her previous work focuses on the perceived impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on PWUD in BC

Ismail Ayatullah Nasirudeen

My primary areas of research interest include gender-based violence, policing and law enforcement, juvenile delinquency, and transnational Crimes.

Gabriel Pratico

Gabriel is a master’s student in the Sociology department at the University of Alberta. He obtained his Honours Bachelor of Arts in Criminology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. His research interests include narrative criminology, discourses, far-right ethno-nationalist movements, communities, and terrorists, as well as far-right extremist populist movements. Pursuant to this, his honours thesis, “Written in Blood & Glass: Terrorist Narratives, e-Communities, and Mass Media Discursive Strategies and Themes”, focused on examining the narratives and discourses contained within the manifestos of two extremist mass killers, the discussion spaces of their ideological peers, and mass media reporting on their actions. Besides the University of Alberta and Simon Fraser University, he has also studied at Okanagan College in British Columbia and the University of Oslo in Norway.

Saira Shearer

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Hughes

Research Interests: Sociology of Work and Entrepreneurship; Female Work; Motherhood; Multi-level-Marketing; the #BossBabe rhetoric; Weight-Stigmatization; Ethical research

My research interests are focused in the Sociology of Work with a specific interest in multi-level-marketing (MLM), wellness, and motherhood. Within the broader scheme of qualitative research, I am also particularly interested in ethical research practice within academia.

Leanne Stevens

Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Bucerius

Leanne is an MA student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. She obtained her BA in Sociology from MacEwan University. Leanne's research interests broadly include correctional officer (CO) and prison subculture, CO mental health, and anti-terrorism law and policy.

Galiba Zahid

I am an MA student at the University of Alberta. I received my BA(Hons) at the University of Manitoba. My BA thesis assessed the effects on wages due to the feminization of occupations over 30 years in Canada and the US. I am interested in work and occupations, gendered labour, precarious occupations, social stratification, and income and wealth inequality.

Rujun (Ruth) Zhang

Research interest: work and employment; gig economy; transnational labor; immigration studies; gendered work; trustworthy autonomous systems;

Personal website: https://rj-zh.github.io/