Noah Shebib offers a message to grads about the power of hard work

October 19, 2022

By Jenny Pitt-Clark

Actor, cultural leader, multiple Grammy Award-winning music producer and philanthropist, Noah “40” Shebib, was at York University on Oct. 12 to accept an honorary doctor of laws during Fall Convocation ceremonies.

Noah “40” Shebib is a creator who exemplifies excellence and dedication toward bringing positive change. On Oct. 12, York University recognized 40’s work as a Canadian innovator, artist, philanthropist and entrepreneur with its highest accolade, an honorary doctor of laws degree, awarded during Fall Convocation ceremonies for graduands of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design; Glendon; the Faculty of Health; and Osgoode Hall Law School.

Noah Shebib — Noah “40” Shebib receives an honorary doctor of laws degree

Together with Drake, 40 has helped to transform the hip-hop scene, the music industry and contemporary culture in Toronto, and beyond. In addition to his creative genius, 40 has worked to build awareness about multiple sclerosis and raise money for research into its cause. He is also the co-founder of The Justice Fund, an organization working in and with communities and other organizations to address the effects of trauma and cycles of conflict.

After accepting his honorary degree from York University, 40 delivered a message to graduands about the power of hard work, the creative process and the positive impact of giving back, but it was the story behind his unusual nickname that he used to began his remarks. “What I want to talk to you about today is a bit cliché … it’s about hard work, which is funny because that’s actually how I got my name 40,” he said. “It’s short for 40 days and 40 nights because that’s how long, apparently, the myth says I can work without sleeping (although I wouldn’t recommend it). Early on I realized that the harder I worked, the more I could create and the more I could create, the more opportunity I would have for success.

“That’s actually how I make music. Everyone always asks me ‘How did you make this song?’ or ‘How did you think of that idea for this song?’ and the funniest part is that I literally just throw something at the wall and then I throw it again and I throw it again and again until it starts to take shape,” he said, noting that hard work and dedication to his art drove him to keep going at any cost, because he knew it would be the only way he could create a global appreciation for his unique musical style.

In the early years, Drake and 40 fought be taken seriously in the geographical void created by the enormity of the music scene in the United States. “Drake and I were two kids in Canada and we had no choice but to just try as hard as we could,” he mused.

When their innovative music took off and fame arrived, 40 said that he and Drake never paused to bask in the spotlight. Instead, he said, they worked even harder to refine and redefine their art. Along the way, 40 told grads that he learned an important lesson that working “smart” actually magnified the success brought by working hard, and he took time to thank his mentor, music engineer Les Bateman for teaching him that lesson.

He described Bateman as someone “who would always read the manual first” before using a new software or tool. This was a quality that 40 admitted took significant time for him to appreciate and incorporate into his life. “After 15 years in this business, we’re all trying to find our happiness in a mindful way, so as much as I can sit here and preach working harder to you, at this point in my life I’m trying to learn to work smarter as well.”

In his teaching, Bateman urged 40 to learn to use the right tool for the right job, something he said he still finds difficult to adopt. “I am often struggling with my impatience and my attitude that no matter what, I will just work through it and find my way through sheer diligence.” That attitude, he said, nearly cost the successful launch of the second studio album he made with Drake. It was Bateman’s calm and measured approach to working “smart” that rescued the project (along with a great deal of coffee). “Always read the manual,” he said with a wry grin.

In addition to hard work, smart work (and reading the manual), 40 urged grads to make it a priority in their lives to give back. “What you put into the universe will come back to you tenfold so you fight to give as much to the world as you can,” he said.

He asked grads to focus on creating a culture that can “support us all.”

40 ended his remarks with this observation: “It’s the greatest honor to care and my number one source of joy and fulfillment … something that has always been my ‘cheat code.'”

Biologist finds hope for critically endangered species

October 13, 2022

By Elaine Smith

Marc Dupuis-Desormeaux, a York biology course director, is working to save the pancake tortoise that is native to some areas of Africa and assessing what it will take to develop a community-based conservancy plan.

York biologist Marc Dupuis-Desormeaux is off to Kenya in October on a search for critically endangered pancake tortoises, an unusual creature that took a circuitous route to capturing his attention. But, then, nothing about Dupuis-Desormeaux’s path to studying turtles – including tortoises, who belong to the turtle family – has been ordinary.

Until about 20 years ago, Dupuis-Desormeaux was successfully working as an investment banker, but didn’t find it satisfying. He returned to York University to study wildlife conservation and environmental studies and earned his PhD, taking a particular interest in how fencing changed the behaviour of animals. He began studying prey trails and safe passage at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. When the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) sought someone to design fences and underground passageways for its population of snakes, turtles and frogs, Dupuis-Desormeaux realized that he had the requisite skills and could be of assistance.

“Of course, I had to learn more about turtles,” he says.

Although Dupuis-Desormeaux’s primary research focused on predators in Kenya, at home in Canada, he became the TRCA’s turtle consultant. In 2019, the two interests merged.

“I was at a turtle conference taking a break and talking to a well-known turtle researcher,” Dupuis-Desormeaux said. “I told him that I did work in Kenya and he told me about the plight of the pancake tortoise. The terrain he described sounded like the area where I usually work, so I began asking around.”

Pancake tortoises are small reptiles, growing to only about 17.8 centimetres and weighing no more than 400 grams. They are native to Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, but habitat destruction and poaching have taken a toll, and female tortoises generally lay only one egg annually, so increasing the population is challenging. The tortoises live in crevices in rock outcroppings call kopje. Given that such terrain abounds at Lewa, Dupuis-Desormeaux was hopeful that more of the population had escaped plunder.

A pancake tortoise in its natural habitat

His questions about pancake tortoises didn’t ring a bell with the Kenyan wildlife guides he knew, but an area lodge owner sent him a photo of something that looked like the small reptile. Immediately, working from Canada, Dupuis-Desormeaux organized his Kenyan colleagues to conduct a three-day survey to confirm the presence of the rare tortoises at Lewa; they found seven. Intrigued, he assembled a team to search the area for more evidence of the tortoises, but the pandemic struck and the trip didn’t take place.

Marc Dupuis-Desormeaux holds two pancake tortoises

In 2021, Dupuis-Desormeaux returned himself and worked with Kenyan wildlife experts to search the conservancy property; the group found 59 of the small creatures. He found more on a subsequent trip, also locating 40 of the reptiles at two smaller conservancies during single day surveys. Now, he’s returning to these smaller properties to determine how large their populations are.

Finding and counting these “critters” is work done on foot, given the rocky, hilly terrain. He and his colleagues systematically work their way up the hills, peering into cracks in the rock to look for pancake tortoises. It can be challenging, since the reptiles may share their space with lizards and snakes.

“I don’t want to come face-to-face with any spitting cobras,” Dupuis-Desormeaux said with a laugh, but noted, “This is very exciting; we discovered undocumented populations. Because rhinoceroses are protected at Lewa, there are armed guards to prevent poaching, which gives us a chance.

“The goal of this work is to end up with a community conservation plan, since the communities in the area share the land with their wildlife.”

Saving a species from extinction? It’s a conservationist’s dream, one that may soon become a reality for Dupuis-Desormeaux.

Book offers exploration of sugar, power and politics

October 13, 2022

By Elaine Smith

Glendon associate professor of history Gillian A. McGillivray delves into Latin America’s past through the lens of sugar. The result is her book Blazing Cane: Sugar Communities, Class, and State Formation in Cuba, 1868-1959.

Gillian McGillivray became fascinated by Latin American culture in high school after reading a novel by Gabriel García Márquez, the Nobel Prize-winning Colombian writer. After earning her master’s in Latin American studies and PhD in history at Georgetown University, McGillivray, an associate professor of history at Glendon, began delving into Latin America’s past through the lens of sugar.

Her first book, Blazing Cane: Sugar Communities, Class, and State Formation in Cuba, 1868-1959 (Duke, 2009), considered the origins of the industry, slavery and colonialism and discussed how and why sugar workers contributed to the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959. Now, McGillivray has turned her gaze toward Brazil and the insights to be gleaned about politics and culture through sugar. She hopes to publish Sugar and Power in Brazil in 2023.

Cover of Blazing Cane — Cover of *Blazing Cane*

“I did my postdoctoral studies on the sugar zones in Mexico and Brazil and realized that Brazil was so complex that I needed to focus on it as its own project,” McGillivray says. “It was a challenge to move from studying Spanish-speaking Latin America to Portuguese-speaking Latin America.”

Her current research seeks to answer two larger questions: why São Paulo became one of the most successful economic zones in Latin America and how politicians and elites – not just in São Paulo, but throughout Brazil – kept the rural masses from organizing a successful revolutionary movement to combat the nation’s extreme socio-economic inequalities.

“Sugarcane, which planters have cultivated on different scales in pretty much every state of Brazil, has played a central role in the nation’s past and present,” says McGillivray. “Using sugar as a prism into Brazilian society, I argue that the Brazilian state’s support for industry and agriculture allowed elites in all of Brazil’s sugar zones to divide, co-opt, and coerce the vast number of residents who lived in the countryside.”

To prove this, she explores the changing relationships of three social classes – sugar workers, cane farmers, and refiner-industrialists – in three regions of Brazil – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and the Northeast – from the end of slavery and empire in the 1880s to the beginning of dictatorship in the 1960s. McGillivray aims to explain how “policy-makers, landowners and industrialists managed to keep the millions of rural residents engaged in sugar production from becoming revolutionary actors capable of altering the political economy in their favor, in contrast to their counterparts in other places like Cuba and Mexico.”

McGillivray is participating in two additional projects alongside Sugar and Power. She is serving as a co-editor of the Entangled Histories of Brazil and the United States, a volume of academic essays by Brazilian and North American scholars that is slated for publication in January 2023.

“It grew out of a symposium in Brazil and we are happy to be publishing in both languages,” she says. “It’s important to share ideas across borders and that often involves translation. It’s nice to be based at Glendon, because we have a reputation for languages.”

Her second project involves a chapter comparing Cuba and Brazil for an edited volume based on the June 2023 “Plantation Knowledge” workshop at Cologne’s “Global South Centre.” Fifteen scholars from Europe and the Americas workshopped papers ranging from a geographer’s reflections on “the Plantationocene” to tea plantations in India, coconuts in the Philippines and cocoa in Africa.

What’s next on McGillivray’s agenda? After her book about Brazilian sugar, she’d like to collaborate on a public history project bringing together stories of sugar production and consumption in the American hemisphere with other historians and digital humanities specialists.

York to confer three honorary degrees during Fall Convocation

October 11, 2022

York University will award honorary degrees at Fall Convocation to three exemplary changemakers who will each receive an honorary doctor of laws.

Graduates will cross the stage at eight convocation ceremonies on Oct. 12, 13, 14 and 21.

Below are the honorary degree recipients in order of the Faculty ceremonies at which they will be honoured:

Mark Tewksbury, Olympic icon and human rights advocate
Faculty of Health
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 10:30 a.m.

Mark Tewksbury first came to prominence as the star athlete who burst out of the water at the Barcelona Olympics; an Olympic Champion with gold, silver and bronze medals, seven world records and a cover appearance on TIME magazine.

Over the years, Tewksbury has become a personal mentor to many LGBTQ+ athletes. He was the guest speaker at Canada’s historic first Pride in Montreal. Tewksbury has used his voice to courageously stand against corruption at the highest levels of sport.

In 2020, Tewksbury was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest level of one of Canada’s most prestigious honours.

Noah James Shebib (40), music producer and Grammy Award winner
School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design; Glendon; Faculty of Health II; Osgoode Hall Law School
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 3:30 p.m.

Noah James Shebib. Image: Andrew Louis, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Drake’s music isn’t complex, but it is complicated. Steeped in warm, deep, dense beds, it’s closer in spirit to R&B than almost any hip-hop ever recorded. The primary architect of that sound, Noah James Shebib, better known as “40,” has worked closely with Drake, creating an unusual partnership.

As a Canadian record producer, songwriter, record executive and former child actor from Toronto, Shebib is best known for his musical collaborations with Canadian rapper Drake and has produced all of his albums. Shebib’s style of production, which is often downtempo and ambient, has become heavily associated with Drake’s music.

Shebib and Drake are two of the three co-founders of the October’s Very Own (OVO) Sound label. Shebib has won two Grammy Awards out of 18 nominations he has received and has also produced for artists including Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Action Bronson and Jamie Foxx.

In addition to his artistry in music, 40 is also a spokesperson with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his 20s. Ever since, he has contributed his voice and celebrity to the hope that through awareness and improving connections and knowledge about multiple sclerosis that “we can end the disease.”

Most recently, he co-founded The Justice Fund, an organization working in and with communities and other organizations to address the effects of trauma and cycles of conflict. 40 exemplifies the arts as the tools for creating positive change.

Sally Armstrong, award-winning author, journalist and human rights activist
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies I
Thursday, Oct. 13, 10:30 a.m.

Sally Armstrong, image courtesy Sally Armstrong — Sally Armstrong

Sally Armstrong is sometimes called “the war correspondent for the world’s women.” She’s also known as “La Talibanista.” She’s a journalist who covers zones of conflict. Her beat is to find out what happens to women and girls.

Armstrong has reported from war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and more. She has written stories, books and documentaries about women, who otherwise would have been the ignored casualties of conflict or the overlooked heroes of making peace.

An award-winning author, journalist and human rights activist, she was the 2019 Massey Lecturer. Armstrong was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017. She is a former member of the International Women’s Commission at the United Nations.

Ceremonies on Oct. 12, 13 and 14 will take place at the Sobey’s Stadium, 1 Shoreham Dr., Keele Campus. The Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA ceremony on Oct. 21 will take place in the Fireside Lounge, Executive Learning Centre, on the Keele Campus.

For details, visit the Fall Convocation webpage.

Teaching, not tools, is key to education, says Glendon course director

September 22, 2022

the word teach spelled out in scrabble blocks

Valerie Florentin, a course director in the School of Translation at Glendon Campus, always liked to help people understand things and was interested in teaching “as far back as I can remember.” Today, with a PhD under her belt, she teaches translation and also works as a freelance translator.

“There’s something magic in education and hopefully, you’ll have an impact on people’s lives,” Florentin said. Given her specific interest in assessment and interest in the practice of upgrading, “Innovatus” asked her opinion on the future of teaching and learning.

Q: How has teaching changed since you entered the profession?

Florentin: It has changed so much! Universal design has always been there, but it’s more present today. Institutions grant accommodations more readily and incorporate as many accommodations as they can so everyone benefits. Classrooms are becoming more diverse and there is more availability of testing for various diagnoses. I have ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder), and today, I wouldn’t just be an annoying kid in the class; a lot of disorders are validly discussed and recognized. Add gender to the mix, too, as more and more young adults decide who they are and an openness in teaching becomes more and more important.

Q: Is technology driving the changes that you see?

Florentin: Society drives change. Technology modifies what we can do and how fast, but the changes were coming anyway. Technology is just along for the ride. For example, distance learning has been available for a long time, but technology made it easier.

Q: How do we balance our need for connection with our need for flexibility?

Florentin: We do this by being compassionate, by talking to people as people and addressing their needs. We need to see students as individuals and consider each student as a person, not the class as a group.

Q: How will internationalization change education, especially with the prevalence of globally networked learning? Broaden it?

Florentin: Toronto is already a multicultural city, but elsewhere, it will broaden education. Internationalization changes a number of things. For instance, you can’t take for granted that your students had a Canadian education and understand North American references. We rely a lot on what we assume are common references.

Internationalization is a plus, but it’s not new. In the past, it meant going abroad and you had to travel. Technology helps; you have globally networked learning in courses. Those contacts are available and easier to make and that’s great. And, if you’re internationally inclined, you can learn about other cultures here in Toronto.

Q: Where does experiential education fit into the picture?

Florentin: It has become more important. It’s a great way for students to have a glimpse of their future reality and to bridge the gap between studies and work. It’s also a great way for universities to become more a part of the community and give back. It’s a win for everyone. Companies get a glimpse of their future workforce; students get experience; and universities become more in touch and part of the community.

Q: Do students want more agency? Will they direct their own learning more?

Florentin: Yes, they want flexibility and options. Historically, students attended university because their parents did and expected their children to follow suit. The new generation is there because they want to be. They have ideas about what university should be and what they expect from their studies. They are investing their money and they want to make sure they get their dollars’ worth. Now, they go to university because they have an idea about what they want to do. They may have started, stopped and changed direction or found a course that interested them more and switched programs. They are not there to sit in class because they have to; they have an idea of what they want to gain.

Q: When it comes to assessment, what matters?

Florentin: Fairness! Accommodations are needed because not everyone has the same level of aptitude and some have learning disabilities and exceptionalities. We’re also dealing with young adults and it’s not that easy: they’ve been through pandemic changes and social changes. They have lots of questions about their futures and have to decide what type of person they want to be. Add in the stress of exams, too.

We must take all of that into account. Should we really be using normal distribution curves? Shouldn’t it be, “Can you do this, or can’t you?” Can we have a gradeless university? Can we assess without grading, without the ideal answer and without insisting on essays? There are a number of ways students can prove they are learning without our usual approaches. Are we measuring the ability to handle stress or are we evaluating learning? Also, having no grades decreases anxiety. You don’t always need a grade to ensure that a student knows what they need to know.

Q: Where do you see things heading?

Florentin: Education will become more inclusive and more accessible, and you’ll see lots of first-generation university students. It will be more democratic; education is a great equalizer. I hope universities become more open to the outside world and build bridges, such as with experiential education; I’d like to see more of that.

Q: Describe a class in 2040.

Florentin: Half of the students will be in the classroom and half will be online, like a hyflex model. I hope it will be more and more international, including collaboration between universities so we can capitalize on each other’s knowledge. There will be a fair system of grading, taking into account exceptionalities, progress and effort, and perhaps there will be open courses where the community is welcome. We may even see those held in library settings or parks so they are less daunting.

Technology opens new doors, says humanities professor

September 22, 2022

Donald Ipperciel, a philosophy professor and former principal of Glendon Campus, has 26 years of experience in the classroom. He is also fascinated by the changing technology available to educators, including the benefits to teaching that are associated with artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

“Teaching is the best way to fully master your own area of expertise,” said Ipperciel, “and being around students is the most energizing and fun part of the job.” He shared his thoughts about the future of teaching and learning with “Innovatus.”

Q: How has teaching changed since you entered the profession?

Ipperciel: When I began teaching, everything was very much old school with chalk and blackboards, and, since academics had no real training in teaching, the way you taught was the way you had been taught. I became an early adopter in putting course material on the web and, now, I’m at the point where I do everything online – nothing uses a tree. Even readings are PDFs. I can’t imagine not being able to use an interactive whiteboard that’s media-rich. I can grab visuals that would have been so complicated to display 15 years ago. I also use an online attendance tool in eClass that allows students to grab a QR code to indicate their attendance, so there is no time wasted taking attendance. Everything seems more efficient.

I am also experimenting with new technologies. I have an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant to answer all the logistical/procedural questions about my class, such as when assignments are due. The AI assistant can answer those questions so I can focus on meaningful interaction. I am also experimenting with virtual reality (VR). Next semester, I hope to teach a course about technology and its impact on society, and the VR module will take place using VR headsets in a VR room.

Q: Is technology the driver of change?

Ipperciel: Pedagogy remains the driver, but you can experience new things through technology. Technology has to make sense from a pedagogical point of view. The main questions to ask are, “How do we determine which technology to adopt?” and “How should we apply it?” We’ll all need to be more conversant with educational principles in order to decide.

Q: Will technology allow more flexibility to accommodate different learning styles?

Ipperciel: Three principles guide me in designing a course: universality, personalization and making it active/experiential. Following the first principle, I try, among other things, to build a class using universal design for learning (UDL), and it’s so much easier to do with technology. We can more easily accommodate different interests, needs and learning styles.

Q: Do we lose something when we don’t meet face-to-face?

Ipperciel: For me, the future of learning is not online. It will be a niche area for those who can’t attend class, which is about 20 per cent of the market. It will always be second best. Learning is a profoundly human experience, and you get that best face-to-face. The future is hybrid.

Q: Will interdisciplinary courses become more common with advances in educational technology?

Ipperciel: The future of teaching is also in the teams that will build courses. The level of course complexity is increasing, technology is multiplying, and information is more available. You can’t be an expert in everything. There are new interdisciplinary avenues to explore. I envision first-year courses being created by a team that includes the professor as subject specialist; a project manager; other subject matter experts; an instructional designer to look at user/interface design; educational developers to look at course structure, pedagogies and learning outcomes; a learning technologist to consider tools and platforms; a graphic designer; and a programmer. How great would courses be if the whole first-year program was designed by this team?

Q: Do you expect courses to become more individualized in terms of deliverables, assessment, etc.?

Ipperciel: Students have different backgrounds and interests, so I certainly give leeway in choosing essay topics. In the future, personalization will go much further with the help of adaptive learning. It will start with a questionnaire to set a baseline and determine where students are weaker and stronger. From that information, personalized courses will be created for individual students.

You can also use AI to further personalize courses using analytics, but that isn’t easily done without the team mentioned earlier. Personalized learning is all about self-paced progression and providing different paths for each student according to their needs and interests, while ensuring they reach the same learning objectives.

Q: With regard to assessment, what matters?

Ipperciel: I started thinking about this during COVID and the failure of e-proctoring. The answer I came up with is pedagogical: no mid-term or final exams but many more points of evaluation. I give weekly online quizzes that students must take before class, and technology makes that easy.

What really counts, however, is discussion. For each class discussion there is a presenter who highlights the main ideas and asks questions. The presenters are peer-rated using a rubric, and the discussion group must submit a summary of the discussion and receive a group grade. Technology makes it easy. There are also some additional assignments.

My goal is for them to be able to discuss the topics in an intelligent way, looking at all possible angles and justifying their thinking. It’s not only about writing.

Q: How do we prepare students for careers of the future that may not even exist yet?

Ipperciel: There are fundamentals that students will always need in the future, and they can enhance those with skills that will change over time. They will always require communications skills, collaborative skills, leadership skills and analytical skills, including the ability to think critically and consider different points of view. And creativity will never go out of style. As for special skills, they’ll have to decide individually about the specialized skills they’ll need for their chosen careers.

Contributions of the acclaimed economic theorist Nanak Kakwani will be celebrated Sept. 28

September 21, 2022

The international event will feature a number of keynote presentations and is organized by Glendon Professors Omar F. Hamouda and Betsey Price. Pre-registration is required, all are welcome.

The two Glendon professors are playing an integral role in an international event to mark the contributions of the acclaimed economic theorist, Nanak Kakwani. The event, which will feature the launch of a special issue of the Journal of Income Distribution dedicated to Kakwani along with an accompanying celebratory event, will take place on Sept. 28 over Zoom, is open to the University community. Pre-registration is required and can be completed at https://tinyurl.com/yum23m6u.

The launch of the special issue of the Journal of Income Distribution in honor of Kakwani’s legacy on the “Study of Income Inequality, Poverty, and Tax Progressivity,” will feature contributions from an impressive number of keynote speakers, including economists and thought leaders Jacques Silber, Hyun Son, Stephen Jenkins, Nora Lustig, Gary Fields, Kunal Sen and Francisco Ferreira.

The gathering introduces the next issue of the journal, guested edited by Jacques Silber and Hyun Son, on the central theme of “Nanak Kakwani’s Legacy on the Study of Income Inequality, Poverty, and Tax Progressivity.”

Kakwani’s imposing and inspiring theoretical and empirical economic contributions are impressive, both in depth and breath. The central focus of his research is the development of measurement tools needed to evaluate poverty, inequality, and disparity and to provide the empirical evidence and policy guidance required to help lift the underprivileged from their deprivation and destitution. He has developed many statistical methods and sets of indices, along the lines of the Lorenz curve, the Gini coefficient, and social-welfare functions, that bear his name, as published in the top economics journals: Econometrica, Econometric Theory, Applied Econometrics, Applied Welfare Economics, Quantitative Economics, the International Economic Review, and many others, including the Journal of income Distribution, Journal of Economic Inequality, and the Review of Income and Wealth.

Aware that poverty has multidimensional characteristics and consequences, Kakwani has skillfully set out to disentangle its facets through theoretical and empirical methodologies. He investigates and studies the various aspects of deprivation and tackles each one from the angles of its specific impact on growth, taxation, standard of living, social protections, prices, labour opportunities or health prospects. In each of his studies, Kakwani’s intuitive approach is original and has pioneered empirical research in economic development.

Kakwani’s theoretical research in the concept of measurement was designed mostly for empirical performance application in specific case studies, in either one or a group of countries: poverty levels in Côte d’Ivoire, redistribution in Australia, poverty alleviation in India, aging in Africa, growth and the labour market in Brazil, cash transfers in African countries, inequality in Thailand, social pensions for the elderly in Sub-Saharan Africa, welfare in Ukraine, poverty program in China, and many other international comparison studies in welfare and growth performance. Dozens of examples of his studies are published in applied journals and various international organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

Kakwani has advised many governments and worked for many international organizations, such as UN Development Program (UNDP) director and chief economist of what was then called the International Poverty Centre UNDP, consultant to the Welfare and Human Resources Division of the World Bank, and economist of the Brazilian Development Bank.

The Journal of Income Distribution is hosting the event in connection with the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim. The editorial office of the Journal of Income Distribution is housed at the Glendon Campus at York University. Its website, https://jid.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jid and its electronic publication are hosted by the Digital Scholarship Centre of York University Libraries.

Online and print versions of the publication of the special issue in honor of Kakwani are available by individual or institutional subscription, available at: https://jid.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jid/about/subscriptions.

Discover why translation matters through Glendon master’s program

September 16, 2022

“Our student body is wonderfully diverse, both linguistically and culturally. And since we look at languages and cultures through the lens of translation theories, class discussions are fascinating,” says Graduate Program Director Lyse Hébert. “Our dynamic faculty members help organize and participate in a variety of research-focused activities throughout the year, including lectures, workshops and networking events. Our students organize an annual graduate conference and have an active student association. They also participate in events organized by the Centre for Research on Language and Culture Contact.”

Courses in the MATS combine theoretical knowledge with practical application. On the translation practice side, the program offers courses such as Terminology, Literary Translation, and Medical Translation. The more theoretical courses include Translation Theories and Research Methods; others focus on topics such as Experiences of Translation in the Americas, Politics and Translation, Ideology and Translation, Translation and Ethics, Translation and Digital Technologies, and Audiovisual Translation and Subtitling, to name but a few.

The MATS can be completed in two years and offers three options: courses only, courses plus a major research paper, or courses plus a thesis. The program is designed to serve full-time students as well as professionals who wish to obtain a graduate degree in translation studies while continuing to work. As such, all courses are scheduled in the evening, and some are offered online.

Applicants who have not been exposed to translation practice or theories will be required to complete some preliminary undergraduate courses.

The MATS is a funded program. Once admitted, most eligible full-time domestic students receive a guaranteed funding package for the duration of the program.

For more information on the program structure and admission requirements, visit yorku.ca/glendon/gradstudies/mats/.

Note: Funding for international students is limited. Applications for the 2022-23 academic year have already closed. The application deadline for the 2023-24 academic year is Feb. 15, 2023.

Découvrez l’importance de la traduction avec le programme de maîtrise de Glendon

La Maîtrise en traductologie (MT) du campus Glendon de l’Université York offre la chance d’explorer la traduction en tant qu’activité sociale, politique et culturelle. Le programme, seul en son genre au Canada à ne pas exiger la maîtrise de l’anglais et du français, est axé sur les aspects théoriques de la traduction en tant que pratique et en tant que produit.

Bien qu’il comporte quelques cours pratiques dans lesquels les étudiants se concentrent sur la traduction de textes, le programme vise à montrer comment la recherche peut contribuer à la compréhension de la traduction en tant que pratique transculturelle. Il est ouvert aux candidats et candidates qui maîtrisent l’anglais ou le français et une autre langue. Les participants et participants peuvent donc apprendre aux côtés de personnes dont les langues de travail sont l’arabe, le chinois, le farsi, l’italien, l’espagnol, l’urdu, entre autres, et bénéficier ainsi de leurs enseignements et d’expériences provenant d’une multitude de contextes et de cultures.

« Notre population étudiante est incroyablement diversifiée, tant sur le plan linguistique que culturel, déclare Lyse Hébert, directrice du programme d’études supérieures. Comme nous examinons les langues et les cultures sous l’angle des théories de la traduction, les discussions en classe sont fascinantes. Les membres dynamiques de notre corps professoral aident à organiser et à participer à diverses activités axées sur la recherche tout au long de l’année, notamment des conférences, des ateliers et des événements de réseautage. Les étudiants et étudiantes de la maîtrise en traductologie organisent un colloque annuel et ont une association étudiante active. Cela s’ajoute aux événements organisés par le Centre de recherche sur le contact des langues et des cultures. »

Les cours de la MT combinent connaissances théoriques et applications pratiques. En ce qui concerne la pratique de la traduction, le programme propose notamment des cours de terminologie, de traduction littéraire et de traduction médicale. Les cours les plus théoriques portent sur les théories de la traduction et les méthodes de recherche, tandis que les autres cours sont intitulés Experiences of Translation in the Americas, Politics and Translation, Ideology and Translation, Translation and Ethics, Translation and Digital Technologies, et Audiovisual Translation and Subtitling, pour n’en citer que quelques-uns.

La MT peut se faire en deux ans et propose trois options : cours seulement, cours et mémoire, ou cours et thèse. Le programme est conçu pour les étudiants et étudiantes à temps plein ainsi que pour les professionnels qui souhaitent obtenir un diplôme d’études supérieures en traductologie tout en continuant à travailler. Les cours ont donc lieu en soirée et certains sont proposés en ligne.

Les candidats et candidates qui ne sont pas rompus à la pratique ou aux théories de la traduction devront suivre certains cours préliminaires de premier cycle.

La MT est un programme financé. Une fois admis, la plupart des étudiantes et étudiants nationaux à temps plein admissibles bénéficient d’un financement garanti pour toute la durée du programme.

Pour plus d’informations sur la structure du programme et sur les conditions d’admission, veuillez visiter yorku.ca/glendon/gradstudies/mats/.

Remarque : Le financement pour les étudiantes et étudiants internationaux est limité. Les candidatures pour l’année universitaire 2022-2023 sont closes. La date limite de candidature pour l’année universitaire 2023-2024 est le 15 février 2023.

York University welcomes latest York Research Chair appointees

September 6, 2022

Eight researchers across York University will join the York Research Chairs (YRC) program – the University’s internal counterpart to the national Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program which recognizes outstanding researchers.

These YRCs belong to the ninth cohort of researchers to be appointed since the establishment of the program in 2015. These YRCs’ terms run for five years.

“The York Research Chairs program is an important component of institutional supports for research, reflecting our commitment to addressing complex global issues and driving positive change in our local and global communities,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. “This year’s YRCs have made important contributions in their fields, and their future work promises to augment our understanding of societal challenges, including public health and rising threats to democracy. I want to congratulate all our YRCs and thank them for their continued dedication to research excellence.”

The YRC program seeks to build research recognition and capacity, with excellence in research, scholarship and associated creative activity serving as selection criteria.

“This program mirrors the federal CRC program to broaden and deepen the impact of research chairs at York in building and intensifying world-renowned research across the institution. These new YRCs are undertaking visionary work that has local, national and international impact,” said Vice-President Research & Innovation Amir Asif.

The YRC program consists of two tiers. Tier 1 is open to established research leaders at the rank of full professor. Tier 2 is aimed at emerging research leaders within 15 years of their first academic appointment.

Jianhong Wu
York Research Chair in Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Jianhong Wu, Faculty of Science, is an expert in dynamical systems, disease modelling and vaccine evaluation. His YRC program aims, in part, to understand biological and physical systems wherein predation occurs. The research will contribute to the University’s growing capacities in disaster and emergency management and in AI research.

Tier 2 York Research Chairs

Joey Cheng
York Research Chair in Leadership, Collaboration and Teams
Joey Cheng, Faculty of Health, examines the psychological underpinnings of power, status and social hierarchy. During her YRC term, she will conduct empirical investigations into gender disparities in power and leadership, thereby addressing ways to overcome barriers to women’s position in work teams, organizations, and society.

Jane Heffernan
York Research Chair in Mathematics of Immunity and Infectious Disease
Jane Heffernan, Faculty of Science, has a body of work in the field of infectious disease modelling. In her YRC research program, Heffernan will develop models of immunity against infection – both in individuals and in populations – which can be used to quantify distributions of immunity and its protective effects. Ultimately, the results of the work will serve to inform public health decision-making for mitigation and vaccination policies to combat infectious diseases, with particular emphasis on COVID-19 and influenza.

photograph of York Professor Emily Laxer — Emily Laxer

Emily Laxer
York Research Chair in Populism, Rights, and Legality
Emily Laxer, Glendon Campus, will undertake research that promises to shed much-needed light on the relationship between emerging right-wing populism and the changing landscape of rights and legality in Canada. Her activities will include the launching of a new Observatory of Populism, Rights, and Legality – a major innovation that will position the University as an international hub connecting researchers with policymakers and advocacy groups concerned with understanding the legal implications of right-wing populism in Canada and beyond.

Adam Diamant
York Research Chair in Managing AI-Driven Technologies in Health Care
Adam Diamant, Schulich School of Business, uses sophisticated analytics techniques to study and develop new operational processes in health care management. During his YRC term, Diamant will work towards the development of artificial intelligence tools that support the optimization of personalized diagnostics and the delivery of outpatient services. This work promises to improve the delivery of health services by better understanding the interplay between operational efficiency and care quality, reducing barriers to accessing care and empowering practitioners to make data-driven administrative decisions.

Shital Desai
York Research Chair in Accessible Interaction Design
Shital Desai, design department in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, pursues UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through design research methods such as human centred design, systems design and speculative design. Her YRC research will undertake codesign and development efforts with people with dementia, caregivers, health care practitioners and community partners. Using a Research through Design (RtD) process, this program will drive pivotal real-world advances in interactive prompting, with a view to the eventual development of whole new assistive/prompting systems.

Adrian Viens
York Research Chair in Population Health Ethics and Law
Adrian Viens, Faculty of Health, has gained an international reputation for his work on the structural and collective forces that determine population health. He is building an innovative research program that will support investigations into how we can extend and refine the law’s capacity to promote health and well-being and reduce health inequities at the population level. This research program will deepen knowledge and generate policy-relevant findings to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, which came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic.

York announces inaugural recipients of new research fund backing Black scholars

September 6, 2022

In February, York University announced the establishment of the York Black Research Seed Fund to provide mentorship and $150,000 in total funding in support of the research activities of Black academics, with preference given to emerging and early-career researchers.

Supported by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) in collaboration with the Office of the Vice-President Equity, People and Culture (EP&C), the fund was created as part of the University’s commitment to addressing the systemic anti-Black racism and white supremacy that pervades academia.

“York University is committed to excellence and inclusiveness in research, scholarship and knowledge creation,” says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “Black scholars face significant barriers in academic research. This new fund strengthens the University’s ongoing commitment and long-term support in advancing equity and inclusion and removing systemic barriers that have hindered the success of Black scholars for so long.”

The fund consists of two streams: the Open Research Stream with three awards of $25,000 each for a duration of 24 months; and the Collective Research Stream, with three awards of $25,000 each aimed at Black early-career researchers who plan to collaborate with a Black scholar on a 24-month research project.

Applications were accepted through March, and the six recipients are:

Oyemolad Osibodu, Faculty of Education (Open Research Stream)
Research project: “Envisioning Diasporic Mathematics Literacies with Black Youth”

Gerald Bareebe, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (Open Research Stream)
Research project: “Why Peace Fails to Endure: Explaining the Recurrence of Civil Wars in East Africa”

Ruth Murambadoro, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (Open Research Stream)
Research project: “Women’s Politics in Zimbabwe: Aftermath of the 2013 Constitution”

Celia Romulus, International Studies, Glendon (Collective Research Stream)
Research project: “Decolonizing knowledge and promoting Afrofeminist narratives”

Jude Kong, Faculty of Science (Collective Research Stream)
Research project: “Modelling resilience: Post-pandemic Recovery, participatory governance, data gaps, equitable institutions, and human interdependence”

Solomon Boakye-Yiadom, Lassonde School of Engineering (Collective Research Stream)
Research project: “Machine Learning and Laser Powder Bed Fusion Technologies for Materials Discovery”

“Black scholarship is vital to advancing knowledge creation that will have a positive impact on the communities we serve,” says Sheila Cote-Meek, vice-president equity, people and culture. “The York Black Research Seed Fund is one step forward in addressing the challenges that Black scholars face in advancing their careers and will set in motion a future that promotes excellence and inclusiveness in research.”

In addition to the York Black Research Seed Fund, the University has committed $100,000 to back the research activities at the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC) and the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas – two organized research units (ORUs) based at York.

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Tag: Glendon

Noah Shebib offers a message to grads about the power of hard work

Actor, cultural leader, multiple Grammy Award-winning music producer and philanthropist, Noah “40” Shebib, was at York University on Oct. 12 to accept an honorary doctor of laws during Fall Convocation ceremonies.

Biologist finds hope for critically endangered species

Marc Dupuis-Desormeaux, a York biology course director, is working to save the pancake tortoise that is native to some areas of Africa and assessing what it will take to develop a community-based conservancy plan.

Book offers exploration of sugar, power and politics

Glendon associate professor of history Gillian A. McGillivray delves into Latin America’s past through the lens of sugar. The result is her book Blazing Cane: Sugar Communities, Class, and State Formation in Cuba, 1868-1959.

York to confer three honorary degrees during Fall Convocation

York University will award honorary degrees at Fall Convocation to three exemplary changemakers who will each receive an honorary doctor of laws.

Teaching, not tools, is key to education, says Glendon course director

Valerie Florentin, a course director in the School of Translation at Glendon Campus, always liked to help people understand things and was interested in teaching “as far back as I can remember.” Today, with a PhD under her belt, she teaches translation and also works as a freelance translator.

Technology opens new doors, says humanities professor

Contributions of the acclaimed economic theorist Nanak Kakwani will be celebrated Sept. 28

The international event will feature a number of keynote presentations and is organized by Glendon Professors Omar F. Hamouda and Betsey Price. Pre-registration is required, all are welcome.

Discover why translation matters through Glendon master’s program

Découvrez l’importance de la traduction avec le programme de maîtrise de Glendon

York University welcomes latest York Research Chair appointees

Eight researchers across York University will join the York Research Chairs (YRC) program – the University’s internal counterpart to the national Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program which recognizes outstanding researchers.

Tier 2 York Research Chairs

York announces inaugural recipients of new research fund backing Black scholars

In February, York University announced the establishment of the York Black Research Seed Fund to provide mentorship and $150,000 in total funding in support of the research activities of Black academics, with preference given to emerging and early-career researchers.

Share

Actor, cultural leader, multiple Grammy Award-winning music producer and philanthropist, Noah “40” Shebib, was at York University on Oct. 12 to accept an honorary doctor of laws during Fall Convocation ceremonies.

Share

Marc Dupuis-Desormeaux, a York biology course director, is working to save the pancake tortoise that is native to some areas of Africa and assessing what it will take to develop a community-based conservancy plan.

Share

Glendon associate professor of history Gillian A. McGillivray delves into Latin America’s past through the lens of sugar. The result is her book Blazing Cane: Sugar Communities, Class, and State Formation in Cuba, 1868-1959.

Share

York University will award honorary degrees at Fall Convocation to three exemplary changemakers who will each receive an honorary doctor of laws.

Share

Valerie Florentin, a course director in the School of Translation at Glendon Campus, always liked to help people understand things and was interested in teaching “as far back as I can remember.” Today, with a PhD under her belt, she teaches translation and also works as a freelance translator.

Share

Share

The international event will feature a number of keynote presentations and is organized by Glendon Professors Omar F. Hamouda and Betsey Price. Pre-registration is required, all are welcome.

Share

Découvrez l’importance de la traduction avec le programme de maîtrise de Glendon

Share

Eight researchers across York University will join the York Research Chairs (YRC) program – the University’s internal counterpart to the national Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program which recognizes outstanding researchers.

Tier 1 York Research Chairs

Tier 2 York Research Chairs

Share

In February, York University announced the establishment of the York Black Research Seed Fund to provide mentorship and $150,000 in total funding in support of the research activities of Black academics, with preference given to emerging and early-career researchers.