Cultural Matters Ltd. has been, and is, involved in a large breadth of projects, some of which are not appropriate to share publicly but also some of which are publicly available. Below are some descriptions and access to some endeavours which are publicly shareable. For any other inquiries please do not hesitate to reach out, either via the contact form below or directly to Erika.Gomez@CulturalMatters.ca, or at 1-403-472-8405.
Transcription and Captioning
Although our area of focus is academic transcriptioning, be it within academic institutes or within the community, Cultural Matters Ltd. also provides captioning as well as general transcription services, such as with this "fun" video of the visit of Roger McGnomester to Gnomeland of Montgomery for a bit of Gnome Golf. If you are up to a bit of a lighter moment and are also interested in seeing a sample of our work please visit this adventure here - "Gnome Golf" .
Project Management
Do you need someone to move your project along, to co-ordinate players, or even to help you define and organize the project? Cultural Matters Ltd. has been providing such services for many years over a breadth of areas, ranging from program development to fixed-term deliverables, utilizing whatever project management approach best fits the situation whether this be traditional waterfall approaches, Agile-oriented approaches, or a mix of the two.
In 2017/2018 I was project manager for a project to gather, organize, and prepare for delivery textbooks for Njala Univeristy in Sierra Leone. As part of the engagement strategy for this project I developed a blog to keep donors and potential donors informed as well as to recognize the work of our volunteers. Please visit this blog here - “PAACET Njala University Book Drive” - for information on the project as well as for a presentation on how the project progressed.
Research and Community Development
Cultural Matters Ltd. has been involved in action-oriented community research and community development for over 15 years, starting with involvement in educational services being administered by Métis Family Services Calgary. For the past decade a primary focus has been late adolescent and young adult development, exploring the possibility of student “readiness”, which is a developmental characteristic, as a primary contributing factor to the difficulties our adolescents are experiencing in transitioning to adulthood. The insights being gained from this research have been used in community partnerships and collaborations to develop community programs and supports for those affected. Recently the “word” has been getting out via publications, such as the one located on Aurora Charter School’s website. To access the article follow this link to the Aurora Charter School “Articles” page - “Articles”, then click through on the link to the “Student Transitions to Postsecondary Life: An Exploration of an Academic Dual Credit Experience in Alberta”. Cultural Matters Ltd.’s involvement has been in all of research development, data collection methods, data analysis, stakeholder engagement, conclusion formation, writing and editing of the final reports and papers, and community application.
Course and Training Program Development
Cultural Matters Ltd. has been involved in and lead on multiple instances of course development as well as the development and realization of training and instructional materials for program administrators as well as program recipients, including those in social services as well as education. Formally, we have been heavily involved in the development and realization of the current version of two dual credit courses offered with the University of Calgary as the post-secondary institution - Psychology 203 (Psychology for Everyday Life) and UNIV 205 (Learning After High School). Cultural Matters Ltd.’s involvement in Psychology 203 was focused on those recently integrated aspects of the course pertaining to self and identity, applied identity, and life design, and included collaborative development of all of activities, content, and teaching approach. Cultural Matters Ltd’s involvement in UNIV 205 , which is a course fully focused on the development of skills and self-understanding necessary for independent movement forward into adult responsibilities, was in content development, educational approach, and heavy involvement in student materials, including an intensive workbook. Both of these courses are currently being offered through Fusion Collegiate in Calgary; the course descriptions can be found here - PSYC 203 - and here - UNIV 205 , titled with Fusion Collegiate as “Effective Learning Strategies”.