Mark Norman
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markdavidnorman.bsky.social
Mark Norman
@markdavidnorman.bsky.social
Sociologist of sport. Assistant Professor in Human Kinetics at St. Francis Xavier University. Research on sport and incarceration, sport and crime prevention, and mental health in correctional work.
Reposted by Mark Norman
Hey Antigonish! There's a blood donor clinic at St Ninian's! It's on this afternoon, tomorrow, and Thursday and there are still lots of open spots.

Pssst, students: free snacks

Make an appointment here www.blood.ca/en/blood/don...
Donating blood or plasma for the first time
Donating blood or plasma is a real action that has a big, positive effect for people across Canada who need your help, and for you.
www.blood.ca
November 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Mark Norman
This is very disturbing and something all Canadians should be aware of. Further, for critical scholars of sport, I think there's a great need to understand the important role of (certain types of) physical culture in the rise of white nationalism/neo-fascism.
November 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Sharing a new article in Crime, Media, Culture on how newspapers represent yoga in prisons and why this matters for perceptions of punishment. Especially proud of my three awesome co-authors - all of whom were undergrads when we started this study! journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
November 17, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Mark Norman
"Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o model by default...tests repeatedly showed that the AI toy dropped its guardrails the longer a conversation went on, until hitting rock bottom on incredibly disturbing topics."
AI-Powered Stuffed Animal Pulled From Market After Disturbing Interactions With Children
FoloToy says it's suspended sales of its AI-powered teddy bear after researchers found it gave wildly inappropriate and dangerous answers.
futurism.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by Mark Norman
A thought: What if the Carney government abandoned its obsession with “A.I.” and instead tried to “accelerate” Canadian arts and culture? With more visual and financial literacy in schools, media preparedness on the air, dance classes for seniors, and funding for CAF’s civilian artists program?
“Despite $30 - $40 billion in enterprise investment into GenAI, this report uncovers a surprising result in that 95% of organizations are getting zero return.”
The A.I.-Profits Drought and the Lessons of History
Like the steam engine, electricity, and computers, generative artificial intelligence could take longer than expected to transform the economy.
www.newyorker.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Had a wonderful, if exhausting, time at @nasssbsky.bsky.social Annual Conference last week. It was also bittersweet: so wonderful to see Canada-based colleagues, but sad that we had to be separate from US-based colleagues. Thanks to the organizers and contributors for making it a fantastic event!
November 13, 2025 at 1:25 PM
This is very disturbing and something all Canadians should be aware of. Further, for critical scholars of sport, I think there's a great need to understand the important role of (certain types of) physical culture in the rise of white nationalism/neo-fascism.
November 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Mark Norman
Join us for an after-show talk about Zomblet!

With
Dan Bray, playwright
Prof. @wrightkailin.bsky.social , Canadian Theatre specialist
Prof. @crushton.bsky.social , zombie specialist
and Prof. @lauraestill.bsky.social , Shakespeare scholar

Weds 29 Oct
Show starts at 7:30 and runs ~90 mins
Theatre Antigonish knows how to celebrate Hallowe'en!
Zomblet (a Zombie Hamlet!) by Dan Bray
28 October - 1 November, 2025

Tickets: www.festivalantigonish.ca
October 22, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Interesting read about the ubiquity of junk food in Canadian sport and rec centres. "Rink fries, chips, and Coke: food marketing in Canadian rec centres" www.halifaxexaminer.ca/health/rink-...
Rink fries, chips, and Coke: food marketing in Canadian rec centres - Halifax Examiner
"You're trying to keep people healthy, but, you know, the rink fries are a good seller."
www.halifaxexaminer.ca
August 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Today is the end of my first year working at @stfx-university.bsky.social. It's been so great teaching students, getting to know colleagues, and integrating myself into university life. And my family and I have enjoyed settling into the Antigonish community. Excited for what's to come in Year 2!
June 30, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Mark Norman
Read Echoes on Ice, the research magazine for The Hockey Conference 2025, here: umanitoba.ca/law/sites/la...
June 21, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Pleased to share 2 new articles, on which I happily played a support role. First, Johannes Müller led the study "How incarcerated women experience sport in prison: A systematic review of qualitative studies" in International Review for the Sociology of Sport. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Mark Norman
In a move that *should* be precedent-setting for other scholarly organizations, the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) announces that this year’s conference will be held concurrently at sites in the US and Canada and online due to the dangerous US political climate.
April 4, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Mark Norman
Request

If you see any Hamilton Ontario Conservative candidates out campaigning, please let me know.

They are avoiding all media and boycotting debates, claiming they are spending all their time going door to door.

I plan to go out and chat with them! #onpoli
February 8, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Super proud of Florencia Saposnik (not on Blue Sky) for this publication! In 2022-23, I supervised Florencia's undergrad thesis in Health, Aging, & Society at McMaster University. It was a privilege to work with her as she turned the study into a journal article. journals.plos.org/mentalhealth...
Barriers experienced by undergraduate students to access to mental health services: Results from a Canadian study
This study examined the experiences of Canadian undergraduate students accessing mental healthcare between November 2022 to February 2023. We specifically assessed the impact of social determinants of...
journals.plos.org
January 4, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Fantastic James Research Chair talk by @orarunswild.bsky.social today @stfx-dh.bsky.social! You knocked it put of the park, Ornella!
November 29, 2024 at 10:04 PM
Finally got our Nova Scotia plates. Guess we officially live here now!
November 27, 2024 at 5:20 PM
Migrating to Blue Sky from Twitter. Looking forward to connecting with folks on here!
November 12, 2024 at 6:21 PM