June 10 will mark an important day in Carleton’s convocation history, as this will be the first time that a student graduates with a PhD in Applied Linguistics & Discourse Studies.
Christen Rachul. who completed her MA at Carleton in 2008, began her doctoral studies in 2012, the inaugural year of the program. At Convocation, she will be awarded a Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement.
Research for her dissertation focused primarily on the publication “Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide”, examining its relative effectiveness at framing and communicating its message of what constitutes healthy eating.
Says Rachul: “My research contributes to our understanding of how information about evidence-based public health policy and health promotion initiatives is conveyed and of how this information may subsequently be understood and used by relevant stakeholders.”
Her dissertation involved analysis of the food guide itself, interviews with people involved in revision of the guide, and interviews with registered dietitians across Canada.
You can watch Rachul talk about her research by clicking on the video below.
According to her supervisor, Dr. Natasha Artemeva, Rachul is already well on her way to becoming an academic. “In addition to the outstanding PhD thesis that Christen has produced, she has authored and co-authored 32 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, with two more accepted for publication and one under revision,” shares Artemeva. “In other words, she already has an outstanding publication and presentation record at a level rare for a young scholar who has just defended a PhD thesis.”
Continues Artemeva: “Her contributions to the theoretical aspects of public document analysis and the recommendations for the development of health policies and health promotion initiatives are both unique and timely especially now that the Senate is demanding a complete revision of the Food Guide.”
After completing her PhD defence on May 6th, Rachul was surprised in the hallway by her brother Michael who had flown in from Alberta to help her celebrate.
You can read more about Christen Rachul by clicking here.
Thursday, May 26, 2016 in Convocation, Grad Student Research, News, Programs
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