Virtual reality therapy promotes wellness for adults living with Alzheimer’s and dementia

Lora Appel with VR study group member Featured image for YFile brainstorm

New research out of York University demonstrates that virtual reality (VR) therapy could significantly improve mood and even manage symptoms in older adults living with cognitive impairments.

By Krista Davidson

For older adults living with dementia and Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive impairments, there are few treatments beyond medication that promote well-being; however, new research published in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease demonstrates VR therapy could significantly improve mood and even manage symptoms in older adults, which in turn helps them age in place longer.

VR is a computer-generated 3D environment that allows users to control some degree of their experience, such as where and what they see, and even how they interact with objects in that 3D world. It has become an invaluable tool for training and simulation for dangerous and high-risk real-world scenarios, from surgery to air flight simulation for pilots. Lora Appel, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health at York University and her team are looking to VR therapy to improve the mood and behavior of frail older adults living with cognitive, sensory and/or mobility impairment.

York researcher Lora Appel demonstrates a VR headset during a recent TO Health gathering
York researcher Lora Appel (right) demonstrates a VR headset during a gathering of health care professionals. Image courtesy of HealthTO

Appel is collaborating with Baycrest’s Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation and Michael Garron Hospital to investigate the use of VR therapy with individuals who have been admitted to the hospital with dementia. The research is supported by Toronto’s University Health Network and includes a randomized control trial (RCT) consisting of 77 participants.

“There has been significant growth in VR technology over the past few years, specifically around the creation of more human-like and realistic scenes, which makes it a good tool for building empathy within technology,” says Appel.

The research found that VR therapy was effective in treating and managing apathy and aggression, as well as improving overall mood among individuals with cognitive decline. It indicated that the use of VR therapy could provide an alternative, non-pharmacological treatment for people with cognitive impairments. In addition, VR therapy could play an important role in improving the quality of life for those with dementia living in long-term care.

Appel was inspired by a research collaboration she has with Toronto General Hospital, which includes patients who were unable to leave their hospital rooms to go outside due to the nature of their conditions (impaired mobility, lack of personnel, general frailty).

“We all know that experiencing nature promotes well-being, so it made me wonder if simulating the experience of nature could produce a similar effect,” explains Appel.

Appel and her team started out with creative scenes of nature and quickly progressed to other scenes that may have more meaning or impact, such as reminiscence therapy, in which individuals are shown images or objects that may trigger memories from previous experiences. For example, simulating the environment or country where they grew up.

This image shows what VR users experience. The image is a 360 degree panorama of a waterfront in the winter. Image courtesy of L. Appel
This image shows what VR users experience. The image is a 360 degree panorama of a waterfront in the winter. Image courtesy of L. Appel

Appel’s team is about to embark on another pilot study in early April, and subsequent clinical trial involving close to 100 participant-dyads (person living with dementia and their primary caregiver). Partnering with the MIVE lab at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and collaborating with community health partners such as Circle of Care and Acclaim Health, the research will investigate how VR might impact communication and relationship building of people with dementia. It will consider how much customization is needed to simulate a more meaningful experience or environment, and whether simulations that trigger memories of the past will have positive or negative outcomes.

She recalls at a recent RCT at a hospital with an older French participant who was paid a visit by a daughter. The participant, who was typically non-communicative, became very animated, laughing and making jokes. The daughter recorded videos of the experience to send to her family in France.

“No intervention is going to be for everyone, but the results are predominantly positive and when you see the impact that VR therapy can have for individuals, it sticks with you for a long time,” she says.

VR therapy can also have positive impacts for hospital staff and family members and other caregivers. Hospital staff can use VR therapy to relax individuals and minimize the pain associated with events such as changing wound dressings and other uncomfortable medical procedures. For caregivers, it can reduce the burdens of caretaking and provide temporary relief that permits them to look after their own self-care.

“I’m so excited about this field right now, it has so much potential for the future of health,” she says. “If my grandmother could no longer visit Romania for whatever reason and we wanted to experience that together, we could safely do that via VR.

“If a family member wanted to contribute to the care of a parent but they lived in a different location, VR could be a way they could have shared experiences,“ says Appel. “VR, in a sense, brings people together.”

Appel is working on several projects that use VR therapy, including the use of VR to minimize anxiety for children who are being vaccinated. She has published research on VRCHIVE, a workshop series that examines the feasibility of running a remote, intergenerational VR storytelling workshop through the Toronto Public Library.

She’s also involved with the CVRRICULUM (CVR) program which takes traditional assignments and adapts them into a VR deliverable to support experiential learning for students.

Welcome to the March 2022 issue of Brainstorm

Brainstorm graphic

“Brainstorm,” a special edition of YFile publishing on select Fridays during the academic year, showcases research and innovation at York University. It offers compelling and accessible stories about the world-leading and policy-relevant work of changemakers in all Faculties and professional schools across York and encompasses both discovery and applied research.

In the March 2022 issue

Virtual reality therapy promotes wellness for adults living with Alzheimer’s and dementia
New research out of York University demonstrates virtual reality (VR) therapy could significantly improve mood and even manage symptoms in older adults living with cognitive impairments, helping them age in place longer.

Sound decision-making can benefit from cues
York University researchers in the Faculty of Health are investigating the science behind the reasoning that may affect an individual’s health care decisions, such as whether or not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Justice for refugees is paramount for law professor
Utilizing the power of technology, an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School is developing a new online app to assist lawyers in gaining insight into the refugee decision-making process and to ensure fairness.

Anti-Black racism pervades cultural arts curricula in Ontario schools, research finds
Research by a PhD student in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design digs deep into the multifaceted challenges that Canadian Black cultural arts educators encounter in Greater Toronto Area schools.

York University accelerator is helping women entrepreneurs thrive despite pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic presented a series of unprecedented challenges for women entrepreneurs. YSpace ELLA responded with an ambitious goal of reducing the gap in gender equality in entrepreneurship.

Launched in January 2017, “Brainstorm” is produced out of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs; overseen by Krista Davidson, senior manager, research communications; and edited by Jenny Pitt-ClarkYFile editor, Ashley Goodfellow CraigYFile deputy editor, and Alysia BurdiYFile communications officer.

Sound decision-making can benefit from cues

Graphic shows a brain mapped out, including language centre

York University researchers in the Faculty of Health are investigating the science behind the reasoning that may affect an individual’s health care decisions, such as whether or not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

By Elaine Smith

“Without insight into human behaviour, mathematical models can only go so far,” says Faculty of Health Professor Shayna Rosenbaum, York Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory. Given that modelling has become a mainstay during the pandemic, she and her research team are aiming to fill in some of those gaps, including the science behind the reasoning that may affect health care decisions, such as whether or not to get vaccinated.

Shayna Rosenbaum
Shayna Rosenbaum

Rosenbaum is a neuroscientist and clinical neuropsychologist who specializes in the neurocognitive basis of memory, including episodic memory – past personal experience that can enrich your life by reflecting on past joys or allowing you to dream of the future. Rosenbaum and her team are looking at whether the ability to imagine a better future affects the likelihood of delay discounting, or the ability to put off instant gratification for a better reward later.

“For most people, the longer they need to wait for a future reward, the more likely they are to choose the immediate reward,” says Rosenbaum.

Delay discounting figured prominently during the pandemic as people gave up opportunities to mingle indoors with family and friends in order to prevent transmission of the virus, anticipating that their behaviour would pave the way for safe large gatherings in the future.

Rosenbaum and her research team, including PhD students Julia Halilova and Jenkin Mok, know from previous work that decision-making is highly susceptible to disease, so people suffering from anxiety, depression, or addiction may be more immediate-focused and more likely to choose smaller, immediate rewards than larger, long-term rewards. Since the length of the pandemic has heightened feelings of anxiety and depression for many people, they may show a greater tendency for delay discounting. Rosenbaum and her colleagues received funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) to explore decision-making in a multi-national sample to see whether the inability to delay gratification might be tied to decisions about undertaking protective behaviours during the pandemic (e.g. getting vaccinated, wearing masks).

“We used a more subtle paradigm to test this hypothesis by substituting financial decisions as a proxy for other decisions,” Rosenbaum says.

Looking at a large sample from 13 industrialized countries, they found that even when controlling for mental health issues, income, education and essential worker status, delay discounting was predictive of whether or not a person was likely to be vaccinated. Those who wanted the smaller, immediate rewards were more likely to be unvaccinated.

Rosenbaum and her team have learned there are ways of changing the insistence on immediate rewards. “This isn’t simply a behavioural marker,” Rosenbaum says. “The tendency to discount delayed rewards could be corrected by giving people cues to imagine the future, something that our team showed in research involving older adults and individuals with lesions to areas of prefrontal cortex or to the hippocampus.

“If people with lesions to parts of prefrontal cortex were given cues to imagine a specific future event, such as a 40th wedding anniversary, and then asked to decide between receiving $1,000 today or $2,000 a year from now, they actually chose the delayed reward more often; they made better decisions. For those with hippocampal damage, if you provided a cue to imagine a future event, they did not benefit from the cues because they have difficulty remembering and imagining personal experiences.”

Rosenbaum sees the ability to provide cues that affect decision-making as having real public health relevance; it could help health care professionals reach the population that has been resistant to COVID-19 vaccinations up until now, but it might also be helpful in assisting older adults to make better choices as their brains change over time.

“We are looking beyond COVID-19 to consider other real-world applications for this knowledge,” she said.

Anti-Black racism pervades cultural arts curricula in Ontario schools, research finds

Brainstorm featured image

Research by a PhD student in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design digs deep into the multifaceted challenges that Canadian Black cultural arts educators encounter in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) schools.

By Krista Davidson

Since 2009, Ontario schools are mandated to implement culturally responsive pedagogy in response to the Ontario Ministry’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. However, Canadian Black cultural arts educators face significant challenges when they implement culturally responsive teaching in GTA schools, according to a recent publication by Collette Murray, a PhD student in dance studies at the School of the Arts, Media Performance & Design at York University.

These challenges include Anti-Black racism, institutional unpreparedness, cultural appropriation and delegitimization of Black Canadian cultural artistry by school administrations.

The qualitative study “Educating from Difference: Perspectives on Black Cultural Educators’ Experiences with Culturally Responsive Teaching” was released in the Canadian Journal of History’s special issue on Black Canadian Creativity, Expressive Cultures, and Narratives of Space and Place, in December 2021. Murray engaged in semi-structured interviews with an intergenerational group of Black artists to capture their experiences working across school boards.

“The research represents a nuanced conversation with Black artists, in a first-time inquiry of their career teaching culturally relevant work,” explains Murray.

“We’re not just here for performative reasons but that is sometimes what is defined. We can teach and relate to the curriculum themes and bring our cultural knowledge and epistemologies,” she says. In addition to her role as a dance educator and cultural arts programmer, Murray holds a master’s of education and specialized honours in race, ethnicity and Indigeneity from York University. She is also a renowned artist and an award-winning performer.

“The work of cultural art educators centers the frames of reference of culturally and ethnically diverse students, so they can engage in relatable and new learning. We offer arts-based learning outcomes that promote cultural competency and tap into their critical consciousness,” she explains.

However, some Ontario schools are often not prepared when it comes to implementing cultural arts into the curriculum. The cultural arts, which integrates oral (words, speech, text, song), visual (imagery, dress, artifacts), auditory (innovative music, rhythms, instruments) and kinesthetic (physical practices) play a critical role in shaping the identities and offering intergenerational values, specifically to Black and diverse students. Murray’s research gave examples of teachers who displayed racial bias, who appropriated or misrepresented their cultures. In several instances, teachers did not attempt to communicate or collaborate with cultural art educators to implement their experiential learnings and weren’t prepared with the necessary space or logistical requirements to successfully engage students.

One example includes an art educator who uses percussionist storytelling to relay important themes and lessons around kindness and anti-bullying, but due to a lack of communication with the teacher, was provided with an inappropriate environment for which to carry out the lesson. Furthermore, his teachings were delegitimized with reductionist comments such as “it’s just drumming. You don’t need to have a specific space.”

Murray also indicates that discrimination, unconscious bias and microaggressions continue to persist among teachers who often didn’t understand the value-add that cultural arts can provide in the classroom. This results in racist or ignorant comments, sometimes even in front of students. In past instances, a few teachers left the room during lessons or refused to engage with the teaching, which sent a strong signal to both the artists and students that the lessons were not a valuable part of the curriculum.

The hiring of Black Canadian artists only for the purposes of Black Heritage Month is not new, but generated some feelings of tokenism among artists, that the culturally relevant education they provided was transactional rather than relational to the curriculum.

“It’s disrespectful to Black Canadian cultural art educators,” she says. “Many of whom have degrees and work professionally in the arts industry for decades.”

Murray’s research makes several recommendations to improve the Canadian educational institutions relationship with Black creatives in inclusive education. One goal is understanding the cultural art educator’s role.

“Arts educators wished to be valued as assets, in a collaborative role that is a visible part of the curriculum,” says Murray.

She recommends that schools should move beyond “checking the box” with regards to inclusion and intentionally improve relationships with a vetted, qualified roster of cultural arts educators. She advocated for the creation of full-time positions for Black cultural art educators across school boards to facilitate and guide curriculum initiatives.

To reduce anti-Black racism within schools and from teachers, she recommended ongoing equity training among boards and administrations, including an improved understanding of complicity in cultural appropriation, cultural representation and issues surrounding shadeism/colourism.

Finally, Murray recommends the collection of race-based data on the impact of cultural art educators across Ontario education institutions.

“This data would recognize evidence-based artistry that is funded and critical to diversifying knowledge exchange that occurs between students and cultural art educators,” she says.

While small changes occur, Murray’s research amplifies the issue and is optimistic.

“We are shifting stereotypes. We are debunking the negative perceptions towards our cultural arts and we’re supporting the internationalization of the classroom. Students are connecting with that, and in some cases, it’s a pivotal moment for them – to become very engaged, curious and confident,” she says.

Justice for refugees is paramount for law professor

Empty border crossing at Ivanica between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

Utilizing the power of technology, an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School is developing a new online app to assist lawyers in gaining insight into the refugee decision-making process and to ensure fairness.

By Elaine Smith

Lawyers will soon have access to an online app that will help them prepare for refugee hearings in a more informed, focused manner, thanks to the work of the Refugee Law Lab at York University.

The lab is a new offshoot of the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS), one of the 25 organized research units supported by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. Founded in 1988, CRS is an interdisciplinary research community devoted to advancing the well-being of refugees and other displaced people through research, education and policy engagement.

Sean Rehaag
Sean Rehaag

Sean Rehaag, an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and the current CRS director, established the Refugee Law Lab to explore new legal technologies and their impacts on refugees and other populations on the move. The lab uses a human rights lens to critically assess the use of technology in the migration space and to build human rights enhancing technologies. Its work is funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant program.

“Governments are increasingly using technology to control cross-border movements. Consider, for example, biometrics, drones and automated immigration decision-making using artificial intelligence,” Rehaag says. “But this technology poses real risks. Unfairness can be baked in through biased data. Legal recourses can be difficult if non-transparent algorithms make mistakes. States may use the tech to control movement in ways that undermine the right to seek asylum.

“I came to the intersection of migration law and technology somewhat accidentally. My main area of interest is in understanding outcomes in Canada’s refugee determination system and considering what factors might account for those outcomes. Does the lawyer matter? Does the decision-maker matter? What happens to claimants from different countries?” he says.

Rehaag followed that interest by learning to code so he could create tools to amass and analyze thousands of refugee claim determinations and gain insight into the process. Now he is building a free legal analytics app for use by refugee lawyers and others interested in the refugee decision-making process, an endeavour funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.

The work required to create the new app will automate much of the data gathering that Rehaag has been doing manually for years. The app itself will help lawyers gain insights about the decision-makers who will be hearing their clients’ refugee claims and will present data in an easily understandable visual format.

Logo for the refugee law lab

“As a lawyer using the app, you’ll be able to adopt an individualized approach,” says Rehaag. “You can adjust your strategy when you appear before a particular decision-maker. Does your client have a chance with them, or should you try to set up an appeal? Based on patterns in the decision maker’s past decisions, what arguments are they likely to find most persuasive?”

He adds: “Currently, much of the cutting-edge tech being developed in the migration law space enhances the power of governments, not people on the move. Legal tech is usually created by corporations for clients with deep pockets and that’s not refugees. At the Refugee Law Lab, we want to show that legal tech can be used for good, not just for profit. We want to showcase a model where academics and organizations that fund social justice work come together to create open source, open access new legal technologies that are human-rights enhancing.”

Rehaag hopes to launch the app later this year. “For me, the key is whether my work enhances the rights of refugees.”

York University accelerator is helping women entrepreneurs thrive despite pandemic

International Women's Day

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a series of unprecedented challenges for women entrepreneurs. YSpace ELLA responded with an ambitious goal of reducing the gap in gender equality in entrepreneurship.

By Krista Davidson

YSpace ELLA became Ontario’s first accelerator focused on supporting women-led, product- and service-based businesses in March 2020. With a $1.87-million grant from the government of Canada, YSpace ELLA set out with an ambitious goal of helping to reduce the gap in gender equality in entrepreneurship.

Fast forward two years and ELLA is not only on the heels of meeting this goal but has managed to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenging time for many entrepreneurs.

Nicole Troster
Nicole Troster

ELLA Entrepreneurship Manager Nicole Troster explains that the pandemic has served as a catalyst for women considering starting their own business. “The pandemic has caused a lot of upheaval in the job market and women are taking back control by starting businesses that permit them to use their skills and passion to create better opportunities for their families and communities,” says Troster.

“ELLA is uplifting women and creating a vibrant, supportive community even in arguably one of the most difficult times for women entrepreneurs,” says Troster. “At the best of times, women often experience unique challenges and many accelerator programs are not developed with their needs in mind. Supporting gender equality and empowering women and girls is important to the work we do, and it also supports the University’s commitment to action through the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.”

One such woman is Kelly Kan, the founder and creative director of Oz and Ella, a jewelry company that creates innovative designs with alternative materials. She was inspired to start her own business after having her son, Oscar, in 2016. Coming from three generations of designers, Kan says she got the idea to create silicone-based jewelry after her infant son got a hold of a $6,000 string of pearls and used them for teething.

Kelly Tran
Kelly Tran

“I wanted to see if there was a way to create beautiful silicone necklaces for my teething son, but I wasn’t blown away by what was available,” she says. “Women entrepreneurs are inspired to create when we’re not satisfied with what’s available on the market.”

She noticed that there was an interest from the community in silicone necklaces, which can help people with autism, ADHD and anxiety self-soothe through chewing.

Another ELLA participant, Ashani Missier, who owns TQ Auto Care, a chain of three automotive shops in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, experienced health problems that inspired her to start her own business to gain better financial independence. It was also an opportunity to collaborate with her husband who works in the auto industry.

After learning about ELLA’s suite of accelerator programs – which include ELLA Express, ELLA Ascend and ELLA Altitude – through LinkedIn, both took a chance and applied for the program and haven’t looked back.

Ashani Missier
Ashani Missier

“ELLA provides you with the support you never knew you needed,” says Missier, who was about to open her third automotive service location when she undertook the program in early 2021. Joining ELLA ahead of opening her third location came at a critical point in time for re-branding her locations.

Regardless of the industry or background, ELLA offers a unique approach that helps women entrepreneurs to level up.

“I came from a design background, not a business background,” says Kan. “ELLA helped me think about how to design my product for my users instead of the other way around, and that way of thinking has helped my business double its revenue in the past year.”

Val Fox
Val Fox. Image courtesy The Pivotal Point

Chief Innovation Officer of The Pivotal Point, Valerie Fox, who co-founded the DMZ at Ryerson University, is familiar with the start-up space, having supported hundreds of founders across North America. Now she serves as a mentor and member of ELLA’s Advisory Committee. Fox says most accelerators are only concerned with the tech space. “What’s unique about ELLA, and the key to their success, is their mandate is to help women entrepreneurs soar in a whole variety of businesses in product and services,” says Fox. “Nicole and the team do a phenomenal job of providing companies with a 360-degree approach. Women benefit from training and coaching, one-on-one and community support. They are paired with experts, including lawyers, brand experts, operational experts, to help them overcome diverse hurdles.”

Part of what makes ELLA special is the community connection.

“Being an entrepreneur is one of the loneliest endeavours. You’re making a lot of decisions that most of the people in your life can’t relate to. In addition to providing participants with access to experts, training, information about funding and grants, ELLA provides women entrepreneurs with a sense of community,” explains Fox, who notes that it’s such a solid community, many of the women entrepreneurs stay in touch and routinely share ideas, successes and advice, despite working in different businesses and industries.

Kan adds: “With ELLA, women have a safe space to express themselves as they learn and grow.”

For women entrepreneurs wanting to learn more, ELLA offers three programs: ELLA Express, a two-week bootcamp that helps women founders make smart decisions from the start; ELLA Ascend, a five-month accelerator that supports early-stage companies making at least $50,000 in revenues to build a strong foundation for growth; and ELLA Altitude, a four-month accelerator program for later-stage entrepreneurs at $200,000 to help them rapidly scale their companies.

YSpace ELLA is part of York’s entrepreneurship hub at Innovation York in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. Innovation York facilitates and maximizes the commercial, economic and social impacts of research and innovation, and creates a culture of engaged scholarship and experiential learning. Visit Innovation York to learn more.

Applications are open for the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom Sprint 3.0 

Cross Campus Capstone Classroom FEATURED image for new YFile

This summer, the C4: Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom will be working in collaboration with IBM to offer co-branded micro-credentials to York students through C4 Sprint 3.0, a three-layered experiential learning space for students at all levels and faculties.  

C4 Sprint 3.0 combines three streams of C4: Primer (first- and second-year students), Launchpad (second- and third-year students), and Management (graduating students) into one multi-layered classroom. The class will work collaboratively over a short and intensive term (May to June) to rapidly develop viable solutions for a large, complex, social-impact challenge directly linked to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

“This summer’s challenge questions will focus on Poverty and Hunger (UN SDG 1 and 2), which are key initiatives within the United Nations goals. I’m delighted that York in conjunction with IBM Canada will be launching its first Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom Work Integrated Learning (C4 WIL) student experience, starting May 9 through June 20, 2022. York University students will gain valuable experience in technology, power skills, design, research and collaboration,” says Steven Astorino, vice-president of development data and AI and Canada Lab director at IBM.  

C4 was launched in 2019 to bring students together from across York’s campuses with community and industry experts who want to partner with the University to create a social impact.  

More than 400 students have participated in C4 since its inception. The program has more than 60 project partners and has developed more than 48 projects across different themes and industries. 

York University students Althea Reyes, from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, and Mahakprit Kaur, from the Faculty of Science, took part in last year’s C4 summer learning opportunity to address “How can we redesign city spaces to improve their use across four seasons?” C4 partnered with YSpace to help develop solutions to the real-world challenge pitched by the Smart Cities team at MaRS Discovery District.  

“Through an iterative process of brainstorming, user research and design thinking, our team for Summer C4 envisioned a community ‘play garden’ concept that simultaneously tackled the need for healthy food and childhood recreation in Woburn, Scarborough,” says Reyes. “C4 was a unique opportunity for me to work with a team of diverse backgrounds to conceptualize an out-of-the-box idea tackling multiple Sustainable Development Goals at once – in a short period of time.” 

“C4 provided the tools and was the platform that allowed equally eager students to come together and tackle the question of ‘how can we extend the seasonal reach our shared city spaces?’ Our team focused on this question through the equity lens and C4 helped us create and work through a tangible plan where we were able to host a community event to help connect local youth with the outdoors,” says Kaur. “C4 was definitely the highlight of my summer and I’m very grateful for the amazing team, the support from our mentors, the incredible experience, and gaining the knowledge that we all have the potential to bring about positive change in our communities.” 

C4 Sprint is open to second-year students, as a pre-capstone experience, and to third- and fourth-year students as a capstone experience. The two sections of C4 Sprint 3.0 take place Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. or Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

Each section will have different partners, projects, and SDGs they will be pursuing. Applications to participate in C4 Summer Sprint 2022 are due April 1. To learn more, students are encouraged to participate in a virtual information session or visit the C4 webpage.  

Multimedia Language Centre launches Language Learning Workshop Series 

photo of a globe

The Multimedia Language Centre (MLC) launched the Language Learning Workshop Series online, with a focus on making language learning easier and faster while bringing students and professors closer to York University’s language learning community.   

The inaugural workshop, “Tips and Tricks to Become a Successful Language Learner,” was hosted by Christiane Dumont, associate professor in the Department of French Studies at the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies; and York University Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law student Khadeja Elsibai, who completed a 2000-level oral communication course with Dumont. 

More than 30 students and faculty attended the online event. Dumont discussed her beliefs on the value of post-secondary language learning, emphasizing that language is a form of communication and interaction and how language learning is a holistic process of learning the culture of a language. Dumont led attendees of the workshop to view the significance of building a language-learning network, and the importance of valuing one’s best skills and transferring those qualities to learn a new language. Elsibai shared her effective strategies, tips and tricks in language learning and provided a student perspective on how to use textbooks and knowledge-based books effectively. Together, Dumont and Elsibai brainstormed on co-curricular activities with the attendees of the workshop.

Through the interactive workshop, students and professors shared their thoughts and experiences about language learning. MLC’s Language Learning Workshop Series provides students with the opportunity to meet their peers and share their language learning experiences. For professors, the workshop provides a space to learn student perspectives on language learning and use this knowledge to inform their teaching.  

The MLC hosts online multimedia lessons for select language courses offered by the Department of Language, Literatures & Linguistics and the Department of French Studies. Access to the online courses can be found at the MLC or online with Passport York credentials.  

Learn more about the Language Learning Workshop Series by contacting the Multimedia Language Centre at lapsmlc@yorku.ca. The next MLC Language Learning Workshop will be hosted in March. More details will be posted on the MLC website

Johnny Rungtusanatham

Johnny Rungtusanatham

Schulich Professor Johnny Rungtusanatham is the featured interview in Podcast or Perish. He talks about why stores are sold out of many goods during the pandemic, public policies that could make supply chains more resilient and the British Columbia floods

Welcome to the February 2022 issue of Brainstorm

Brainstorm graphic

“Brainstorm,” a special edition of YFile publishing on select Fridays during the academic year, showcases research and innovation at York University. It offers compelling and accessible stories about the world-leading and policy-relevant work of changemakers in all Faculties and professional schools across York and encompasses both discovery and applied research.

In the February 2022 issue

A collaboration with a York researcher is changing the ‘forever’ of tattoos
What is the science behind semi-permanent tattoo technology? Faculty of Science chemistry Professor Chris Caputo’s research is revolutionizing this form of personal expression in new and interesting ways for a Canadian startup.

Researchers help Canada’s largest police services eliminate racial profiling in policing
For the last decade, human rights experts Lorne Foster and Les Jacobs have been central figures in helping, through their research, to address systemic racism within some of Canada’s largest police departments

University students in Toronto experience exploitation and discrimination in housing options 
New research co-led by Luisa Sotomayor, an associate professor in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, and researchers at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, reports that students lack affordable, adequate and sufficient housing options that would enable them to live close to their campus.

Working toward treatment for rheumatoid arthritis
Faculty of Health Professor Ali Abdul-Sater’s passion for understanding the body’s immune response has led him to a discovery that he hopes will eventually relieve the suffering of people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Projecting COVID’s trajectory all in day’s work for leading York researcher
Using his expertise in mathematics and statistics, Professor Jianhong Wu is working to model the future impacts of COVID-19 and its variants.

YSpace helps startups ease into the Canadian marketplace
York University’s flourishing entrepreneurship hub, YSpace, is drawing the attention of many international companies seeking a market foothold in Canada.

Launched in January 2017, “Brainstorm” is produced out of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs; overseen by Krista Davidson, senior manager, research communications; and edited by Jenny Pitt-ClarkYFile editor, Ashley Goodfellow CraigYFile deputy editor, and Alysia BurdiYFile communications officer.


Podcast or Perish 

Schulich School of Business Professor Johnny Rungtusanatham, Canada Research Chair in Supply Chain Management at York University, is a leading expert on the subject of supply chain disruptions. In the most recent episode of Podcast or Perish, Rungtusanatham discusses the impact of the huge storm in British Columbia, why stores are sold out of many goods during the pandemic, and what kinds of public policies could make supply chains more resilient.

Podcast or Perish is a podcast about academic research and why it matters. Join host Cameron Graham, professor of accounting at the Schulich School of Business, for a special 10-part series featuring extraordinary researchers and creators at York University and their innovative methodologies and approaches. A new episode is launched every month. 

Podcast or Perish is supported by York University’s Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Schulich School of Business.