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Join us at Laurier
Becoming a Golden Hawk means more than just cheering on our (really good) varsity teams – it means being a student who cares about your community, who works hard in the classroom, and who takes advantage of all the learning opportunities that can happen outside the classroom, too.
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Sean Doherty is a native of Kitchener-Waterloo and graduate of the universities of Waterloo (BES and MA in Geography) and Toronto (PhD Civil Engineering). He has 20+ years of teaching and research experience.
Professor Doherty loves to engage students in the classroom using novel methods such as team-based learning, and has led exciting field camps for students to places such as the Peru, the Rockies, and Pinery Provincial Park. He will talk your ear off about cooking, brewing and playing hockey.
Professor Doherty's research has transitioned from urban/transport to health geography. He is exploring some rather novel questions:
- Can a smartphone be a health device?
- How are parks making us healthier?
- Does your blood glucose vary over space?
- Can text messages make you eat more local foods?
He is especially interested in body-based sensors such as GPS and accelerometers, which are dramatically changing Geomatics, and leading to breakthroughs in our understanding of exposure to risks and disease.
- Chef of the Year, Real Men Can Cook, 2013.
- Merit Award, for exceptional performance of duties, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016.
- Fred Burggraf Award, recognizing excellence in transportation research, 2006.
- MacLeans Magazine Popular Prof, 2005.
- Lady Davis Visiting Professor Fellowship, 2005.
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 1998-2000.
- Eric Pas Dissertation Prize (Honourable Mention), 1999.
Professor Doherty is only taking on a limited number of graduate students.
For a full list of publications, see Professor Doherty's Google Scholars page at https://goo.gl/NeA9ZX.
Recent Publications
- Lemieux, C.J., S.T. Doherty, et al. 2016. "Policy and Management Recommendations Informed by the Health Benefits of Visitor Experiences in Alberta’s Protected Areas." Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 34(1): 24-52.
- Quinlan-Cutler, S., Doherty, S., and Carmichael, B. 2016. "The Experience Sampling Method: Examining its use and potential in tourism experience research." Current Issues in Tourism. Published on-line Jan. 26, 2016.
- McKeever, P., Doherty, S., et al. 2015. "The Development of an Ethnography-based Accessibility Survey With and for Disabled Children." Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research 10(2): 69-86.
- Doherty, S.T. and Greaves, S. 2015. "Time-Series Analysis of Continuously Monitored Blood Glucose: The Impacts of Geographic and Daily Lifestyle Factors". Journal of Diabetes Research. Volume 2015, Article ID 804341.
- Gilliland, J. A., Sadler, R.C., Clark, A. F., O'Connor, C., Milczarek, M. and Doherty, S.T. 2015. "Using a smartphone application to promote healthy dietary behaviours and local food consumption." BioMed Research International. Volume 2015, Article ID 841368,
- Canally, C., Doherty, S. T., and Doran, D. 2015. "Using integrated bio-physiotherapy informatics in home healthcare settings: A qualitative analysis of a point-of-care decision support system." Health Informatics Journal. Vol 21(2): 149-58.
- Doherty, S. T., McKeever, P., Aslam, H., Stephens, L., and Yantzi, N. 2014. Use of GPS "Tracking to Interactively Explore Disabled Children’s Mobility & Accessibility Patterns." Children, Youth and Environments. Vol 24(1): 1-24.
- Doherty, S. T. Lemieux, C. J., Canally, C. 2014. "Tracking Human Activity and Well-being in Natural Environments Using Wearable Sensors and Experience Sampling." Social Science and Medicine. Vol 106: 83-92.
- Quinlan-Cutler, S. Carmichael, B., Doherty, S. 2014. "The Inca Trail Experience: Does the journey matter?" Annals of Tourism Research 45: 152–166.
- Urban Economic Geography (GG260)
- Introduction to Human Geography (GG102)
- Thesis Preparation (GG360)
- Third Year Field Studies (GG399)
- Fourth Year Field Studies (GG451), Peru, Rockies
- Geographic Information and Analysis (GG254)
- Travel Behaviour (GG262)
- Computer Applications in Geography (GG254)
- Marketing Geography (GG366)
- Geographic Research Methods (GG258) (2010)
- Human Activity and Travel Behaviour (GG624)
- Mobility and Health Analysis (GG 675Z)
- WLU Internal Grant “Pilot Testing of a Smartphone ‘App’ to Improve International Students Food Literacy and Dietary Behaviour”, 2016-17.
- Dalhousie Research Development Fund “Evaluating the Role of Nature Contact on Cognitive, Social, and Physical Outcomes in Older Adults”. Co-investigator, with Daniel Rainham (Dalhousie), 2014-2016.
- Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation grant “Human health and well-being benefits of Alberta’s protected areas”. Co-investigator, with Chris Lemieux, 2012-2016.
- SSHRC Insight Grant “Socio-spatial experiences of Syrian children and families living in refugee camps: A mixed-methods study of mobility and well-being”. Collaborator, with Bree Akesson (WLU), 2015-2017.
- The Gambling Research Exchange of Ontario grant “Older Adults and New Casinos in Ontario”, Co-investigator, with Anthony Piscitelli, 2015-16.
- Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities “Network and Technology Development for the Local Food Economy in Southwestern Ontario: Connecting Producers and Consumers Through the Use of an Interactive Website and Smartphone App”. Co-investigator, with Jason Gilliland (UWO), 2014-15.
- Communitech Corporation Data.BASE Program, “Data improvement and activity detection for AIS-based maritime surveillance”. Co-investigator, with Colin Robertson (WLU), 2013-14.
- University of Western Ontario “SmartAPPetite Project: An Interactive Website and Smartphone App that Increases Awareness and Consumption of Healthy Local Food”. Co-investigator, with Jason Gilliland (UWO). 2013.
- Ontario Centres of Excellence, Market Readiness Program, “A combined GPS-Accelerometer Algorithm for Estimating Energy Expenditure on Smartphones for MyTrak”, 2012.
- NSERC, Engage Grant, "Development and Evaluation of MyTrak Accelerometer Algorithm and M2 Device for Deployment on a Smartphone". 2011.
- NSERC, Idea to Innovation grant, "Applications of an Automated Activity Monitoring System", 2010-2011.
- CIHR and NSERC, “Integrating Bio-Physiological Information with a Point-of-Care Communication System to Promote Safer Patient Care for Seniors”. Co-investigator, with Diane Doran, 2008-2012.
- CIHR, “School, Home and Neighbourhood Accessibility: Physically Disabled Children's Assessments. Co-investigator, with Patricia McKeever, Bloorview Research Institute, 2008-2012.
- NSERC, Engage Grant, "Development of Combined GPS-Accelerometer-based Monitoring and Alerting System". 2010.
- SSHRC, Standard Research Grant “Application of Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies for tracking and understanding human activity-travel patterns and decision-making”, 2006-10.
- CIHR and The Health Technology Exchange (HTX), Operating Grant “Development of an Automated Monitoring and Alerting System of Diabetic Patients’ Daily Life and Blood Glucose Fluctuation”, 2006-07.
- Founder and Member, Legacy Non-profit organization, www.kwlegacy.ca.
- Organizing Committee, “St. Jerome’s Alumni Golf Tournament”, 2015, 2016. Raised over $80,000 towards scholarships for local high-school students.
- Volunteer Chef, Celebrating Recovery, Creekside Church, Waterloo, Monthly since 2014 - present.
- Waterloo Region Record: Trying to find local food? There’s an app for that.
- The Waterloo Chronicle: Smart APPetite.
- The Woolwich Observer: New Development Whetting your APPetite for local food.
- InsideLAURIER: Professor Cooks up Recipe for Successful Field Camp: Sean Doherty Makes Meals for 100 People Over 4 Days at Provincial Park.
- Waterloo Region Record: Diabetes study finds location link: Monitoring tool could help doctors tailor advice for diabetic patients.
- The Cord: Studying diabetes with GPS: Prof explores blood glucose levels over geographical spaces.
Contact Info:
Office location: 2E9
Office hours: By appointment or drop in.