Tag: UN SDG 11

Join dialogues on degrowth at upcoming webinar series

Aerial Of Colorful Autumn Rivers & Lakes Though Mountains In Northern Ontario Canada

Beginning Nov. 22, York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) will present “Aim high, degrow: dialogues on degrowth,” a series of six lunchtime webinars addressing the many sides of degrowth, which argues we cannot maintain infinite economic growth on a finite planet.

The series will introduce key degrowth concepts and some of the major issues, debates and possibilities emerging from the field. It will be held virtually and all are welcome to attend.

Degrowth is a growing global movement of activists and researchers that prioritizes social and ecological well-being ahead of corporate profits, over-production and excess consumption. This requires radical redistribution, reduction in the material size of the global economy and a shift in common values towards care, solidarity and autonomy for people and their communities.

The webinar series aims to provide a space for deeper dialogues on degrowth, involving scholars and audiences from within and outside the degrowth world to explore key debates and how they connect to other issues like urbanization, decolonization, technology and the role of the state. Each discussion will run for an hour and is programmed around lunch hours. Guest panellists come from around the world and the moderators will be drawn from EUC.

The first event of the series, “Degrowth: a slogan, a movement, or a concept?,” takes place Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. It will provide an overview of the economic and ecological premises of degrowth and its main arguments. The speakers are York University Professor Emeritus Peter Victor and Elena Hofferberth, a researcher at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

The other webinars in the series are:

  • “Decolonization and feminism: does degrowth cut it?” on Thursday, Dec. 14 at 11:30 a.m.;
  • “Degrowth and the city: urbanization and planning for degrowth” on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 11 a.m.;
  • “Degrowth and systems: back to the caves or back to the future?” on Monday, Feb. 12 at 11:30 a.m.;
  • “Degrowth and the State” on Friday, March 22 at 12:30 p.m.; and
  • “Transitioning to a degrowth future: naïve or revolutionary?” on Thursday, April 18 at 12:30 p.m.

For more information and to register, visit the webinar series website.

Researcher’s report considers farmers’ mental health

harvester in field

Zsofia Mendly-Zambo, a researcher and PhD candidate at the School of Health Policy & Management at York University, has released a report looking at a mental health crisis among Canadian farmers.

The report, titled “Field Notes: Looking upstream at the farmer mental health crisis in Canada” and commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the National Farmers Union, considers the source of high rates of stress, depression and anxiety experienced by farmers.

Zsofia Mendly-Zambo

The report identifies economic uncertainty as a primary factor behind the ongoing mental health crisis, as market fluctuations and farmland consolidation has made it more difficult for farmers to remain competitive. Similarly, the climate crisis – and its impact on their crops and work – continues to cause anxiety for farmers.

The report also provides six recommendations to address farmers’ mental health, including proposals to pursue policies to improve economic stability, exploring more support of sustainable farming practices and food systems, investing in rural infrastructure that can provide more mental health-care access, and community support, to name some.

Mendly-Zambo’s report builds upon ongoing interdisciplinary research – drawing on health sciences, policy, agriculture and food systems – to explore health equity and farmer mental health, as well as food security and sovereignty. Furthermore, it reflects her drive to identify areas where policy can improve the ongoing crises, as “Field Notes” will form the foundation for future postdoctoral research seeking to help push policymakers to further prioritize the economic and social well-being of farmers instead of financial growth.

“The importance of mental health resources for farmers and the need to improve them cannot be understated,” Mendly-Zambo emphasizes in the conclusion of the report. “It is critical, however, that governments address structural factors to improve the living and working conditions of farmers.”

Libraries presents symposium as part of International Open Access Week

Scott Library Learning Commons on the Keele Campus

A unique symposium organized by York University Libraries (YUL) as part of International Open Access Week will bring together leaders in the fields of open educational resources (OER), archives and special collections.

Hilary Barlow
Hilary Barlow

York’s W.P. Scott Chair for Research in E-Librarianship, Hilary Barlow, will lead the online event on Thursday, Oct. 26 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. via Zoom. The event features two guest presenters – Danielle Manning, outreach officer at the Archives of Ontario, and Carrie Schwier, outreach and public services archivist at Indiana University – with a concluding presentation by Barlow on her current research. 

“This event brings together Archives, Special Collections and open education (OE) in a way that is rarely explored and under-documented,” says Barlow. “While much has been studied and written about making archives and special collections available online, connections to OE and OER are scant. This symposium bridges that connection.”

This year’s Open Access Week theme, “Community vs. Commercialization,” looks at advocating for unrestricted access to knowledge while prioritizing community needs over profit. Archives can play a key role in empowering communities by providing free and open access to a number of resources, which promotes inclusivity and can help democratize information. 

Archives and special collections in academic libraries are a valuable resource for faculty and students and often contain hidden gems such as university records, private papers, rare books, maps and other primary source material that support an array of academic fields.

“By enabling these resources to be properly described and in some cases digitized, YUL, like other academic libraries, has been able to engage a broader audience in their use,” says Sarah Coysh, YUL’s associate dean, digital engagement and strategy. “YUL has been looking into how these resources can be accessed globally and has taken inspiration from the open education movement.”

“I began my research by asking if archives and special collections materials could be shared as open educational resources and wondering if anyone in the field was actually doing this,” says Barlow.

The OE movement, and OER specifically, contribute to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education. By providing free, reusable and remixable digital resources, OE initiatives contribute to removing barriers to education, as they can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.

GLAM institutions (galleries, libraries, archives and museums), and archives and special collections organizations in particular, also contribute to advancing SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, notably the sub-goal 11.4, to “strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.”

Manning will present her work with the Archives of Ontario (AO) and share how her team is building community through GLAM-Wiki. Manning will share case studies on AO’s Wikimedia Commons uploads and how it has impacted community engagement. A second presentation, by Schwier, will examine concrete examples of implementation from an active primary source instruction program that serves over 30 academic departments, ranging from art to science. 

“These presentations by Danielle Manning and Carrie Schwier show that there are practitioners in the field using innovative OE methods to make their collections more accessible online,” says Barlow.

Barlow will conclude the event with a presentation from her research, “Open Archives: The Intersection Between Open Education, Archives, and Special Collections.” This includes the results of 22 case study interviews with archivists and librarians on the subject of open education, and details of an upcoming larger survey. Earlier in her term as W.P. Scott Chair in E-Librarianship, Barlow worked with other members of YUL’s Open Education Steering Committee to survey York faculty on their familiarity with and use of OER. 

Register for the symposium here: yorku.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_u-o8pw54TzuW7L7QNMhcTw.

Experience urban ecosystem through new lens at Keele Campus

Bird perched on a human hand, eating seeds

The Bentway, a not-for-profit organization and public space nestled beneath Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, recently donated an art installation called the Multispecies Lounge to York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC). ​

Multispecies Lounge public art donation from The Bentway
Photo by Andrea Marie Abello, digital and multimedia specialist, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change

The art piece, which was on display at the Bentway from May to September of this year, is currently installed near EUC’s Native Plant Garden in front of the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies (HNES) Building on York’s Keele Campus. It will serve as a site of experiential education and research opportunities related to urban ecology, human-animal relations and public art.

“I hope that Multispecies Lounge will become a site of learning, engagement and place-making for our EUC community,” said EUC Dean Alice J. Hovorka. “It extends our Native Plant Garden ‘living lab’ through artistic expression. And it welcomes all beings in our midst – human and non-human – as we shape a more just and sustainable future.”

The installation consists of specially designed furniture composed of locally upcycled materials for birds, insects and humans alike to enjoy. Created by two artists who are also architects and educators, Joyce Hwang and Nerea Feliz, known collectively as “Double Happiness,” the Multispecies Lounge invites interspecies encounters with urban wildlife. Based out of Buffalo, N.Y. and Austin, Texas respectively, the artists’ work seeks to make visible the under-acknowledged world of the non-human as active participants of urban life, by attracting and magnifying their presence in shared urban spaces.

Through UV-painted details, the Multispecies Lounge offers glimpses of how birds and insects see beyond the human eye and provides a new lens through which to experience the urban ecosystem. Community members are invited to sit back and relax against red cedar chairs and watch swallows nest and sparrows perch above, while small terrestrial beings relax below.

“The Multispecies Lounge offers a welcome opportunity, in the midst of our many comings and goings, to sit in and amongst the home-making of birds, insects and pollinators,” said Phyllis Novak, director of the EUC’s Native Plant Garden. “Quieting our minds and bodies to listen, to tune into our more-than-human relatives, the trees and the elements, is critical to our well-being.”

The art piece also includes a web component that will remain live. For more information about the Multispecies Lounge, visit Multispecies Lounge – The Bentway.

Join discussion on nuclear energy’s role in a net-zero future

Late afternoon scene with view on riverbank with nuclear reactor Doel, Port of Antwerp, Belgium

As part of the Globe and Mail‘s East-West Energy Series of events, Professor Mark Winfield of York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) will present a talk titled “New Nuclear: Where does it fit in a net-zero nation?” on Friday, Oct. 20 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The event is free and open to all, and can be attended either virtually or in person at the Globe and Mail Centre at 351 King St. E. in Toronto.

Mark Winfield
Mark Winfield

As urgency around climate action continues to build, Canada and other nations are becoming more attuned to the role of nuclear energy in curbing emissions. The push is on to transition away from coal and fossil fuels, while at the same time meet rising demand for energy in the era of electrification. Provinces such as Ontario are investing in new nuclear development and interest is growing in small modular reactors for industry and to shift remote communities off diesel.

Join the Globe and Mail and Winfield for a discussion on nuclear energy in view of net-zero emissions goals, electrification and the shift away from fossil fuels.

Winfield is a professor and the co-chair of the EUC’s Sustainable Energy Initiative and co-ordinator of the Joint Master of Environmental Studies/Juris Doctor program offered in conjunction with Osgoode Hall Law School. He has published articles, book chapters and reports on a wide range of climate change, environment, and energy law and policy topics. Winfield has acted as an advisor to the environmental commissioner of Ontario and federal commissioner for environment and development. He is a member of the Conseil d’administration (board of directors) of Transitions energetique Quebec, a Crown corporation established in 2017 to implement a low-carbon energy transition strategy for Quebec.

For more information about the event series and to register, visit globeandmailevents.com/newnuclearlive/speaker. Event registration will close at 9 a.m. on Oct. 20.

Lassonde undergrads earn awards for SDG research projects

Lassonde School of Engineering contest

Eight York University undergraduate students received awards at Lassonde’s Undergraduate Summer Research Conference in recognition of summer projects that aimed to address the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The projects received funding from the Lassonde Undergraduate Research Awards (LURA), an initiative that promotes experiential learning, skill building and professional development through funded research opportunities, and the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council Undergraduate Student Research Awards (NSERC USRA). This year, over 70 undergraduate students worked on research projects alongside faculty members and graduate students, and addressed SDGs like sustainable cities and communities (UN SDG 11), as well as industry, innovation and infrastructure (UN SDG 9).

“Our LURA program was designed to meet the demand for experiential learning and expose students to hands-on research,” says Paulina Karwowska-Desaulniers, director of research priorities and partnerships at Lassonde. “Over the years, the program has enabled hundreds of students to undertake research projects and spark their curiosity with new passions they didn’t even know they had.”

lassonde student poster presentation
A student presenting a research poster.

In August, Lassonde’s Undergraduate Summer Research Conference brought together students, faculty and staff across the school, so undergraduate program participants could give oral and poster presentations highlighting the innovative research projects they conducted over the summer.

There, too, projects were evaluated for LURA consideration by a panel of faculty judges as well as student attendees.

The following students received LURAs for their poster presentations:

  • Prachurya Deepta Adhikary, a student in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and their project “Markov Chain Monte Carlo Method for Generating Naturalistic Shapes” won first place;
  • Ammar Mohamed Mohieldin Ahmed Abouelmaati, a student in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and their project “Optimal Spectrum Partitioning and Power Allocation in Semi-Integrated Sensing and Communications System” won second place; and
  • Haydar Isa Senturk, a student in Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, won third place for the project “Design and Optimization of Micro-Coils for Efficient Power Transfer to Brain-Implanted Medical Devices.”

The following students received LURAs for their oral presentations:

  • Alice Fours, a student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and their project “Vascularization in Tissue Engineering: Engineering Functional Blood Vessels in 3D-Printed Biomaterials for Enhanced Transplantation Outcomes” won first place;
  • Sharon Musa, a student in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and their project “Audio-Video Scene Recognition” won second place; and
  • Tyler Chung, a student in the Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering, won third place for the project “Development of a Remote 2-D Imaging Fabry-Pérot Spectrometer for Climate Change Sensing and Monitoring.”

The following undergraduates received Student Choice Awards for presentations:

  • Kumar Vaibhav Jha, a student in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and their project “Graph Based Multi-Object Tracking for Traffic Intersection Analytics” won best poster presentation; and
  • Stefan de Lasa, a student in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, won best oral presentation for their project, “Using Semantics and Geometry to Scale Monocular Depth Estimation Models.”

“At Lassonde, we strive to empower our community of student creators to cultivate new ideas and knowledge,” says Jane Goodyer, dean of Lassonde. “It’s our interdisciplinary approach to research that truly sparks creativity and innovation needed to address global issues.”

Watch the journey of four undergraduate students in the summer research program on YouTube.

Watching mushrooms grow: a new lesson in communications

oyster mushrooms

By Ashley Goodfellow Craig, editor, YFile

A cohort of Glendon College students will explore digital innovations in the context of interpersonal and mobile communications through an unexpected pedagogy – a living art installation containing a variety of mushrooms.

Students enrolled this fall in Dreaming of Electric Sheep: Emerging Practices in Communication, a course led by Glendon faculty member Roberta Buiani, will document and care for the installation as part of their curriculum.

The art project, titled Mycosymbiosis and designed by Chinese-Canadian artist Xiaojing Yan, is a time-based and site-specific installation located on the balcony adjacent to Glendon Manor’s ballroom. It will launch on Oct. 2 at 5 p.m., with a viewing event and reception to follow.

Oyster mushrooms in the mobile gallery
Oyster mushrooms growing in the mobile gallery.

“The installation consists of a mobile gallery (Emergent) containing a variety of mushrooms which grow, decay and renew, weaving their intricate forms through its interstitial space and responding to the surrounding natural environment,” explains Buiani.

Emergent – a Living Mobile Gallery is a mobile gallery featuring artworks at the intersection of science and the arts. The goal is to understand and address how life evolves and adapts due to climate change, global mobility, experiments and the shaping of the world. The mobile gallery itself is a porous object, and is designed to explore the role of exhibition spaces.

Yan’s installation combines the complex concept of identity with a perspective on nature that transcends conventional boundaries. Including three types of oyster mushrooms planted along the exterior walls of the mobile gallery, the living art project will showcase how these mushrooms grow through a time-lapse projection inside. This evolving living sculpture will change with varying temperature and humidity, inviting a range of symbiotic organisms that interact with the mushrooms.

Mycosymbiosis art installation
Mycosymbiosis art installation in full.

This installation of Mycosymbiosis represents the second phase of a long-term collaboration between Yan and the team behind Emergent: Buiani (Glendon/University of Toronto), Lorella di Cintio (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Ilze Briede [kavi] (York University, PhD student), with scientific advising from James Scott (University of Toronto).

Buiani’s course, which is a recipient of an Academic Innovation Fund grant, presents an examination of emerging trends in communication and media technologies, delving into web-based advancements and exploring novel modes of interpersonal and mobile communication.

Specifically, interacting with and documenting this installation is an important opportunity for students to not only achieve a better and more nuanced understanding of the complexities involved in interspecies communication in relation to our technological networks, but also to develop a better appreciation for responsible consumption and production, collaborative and collective work, communication with different forms of knowledge and ultimately, care, says Buiani.

The installation will be on view throughout the fall semester, and the Oct. 2 launch will kick off a series of public engagements on networks, care and land-based community building and artistic practice. More information will be available at artscisalon.com/COMS4208.

Sustainable transportation earns York new designation

Bike share station on York University's Keele campus
Bike share station on York University’s Keele campus.

York University is the first Canadian institution to earn the designation of a “Best University for Commuters” for its many sustainable travel options available to the community.

The designation was awarded on Sept. 13 by Best Workplaces for Commuters, the North American authority for recognizing and assisting workplaces that provide exceptional commuter benefits to employees.

With this designation, York joins institutions such as Harvard University, Princeton, Stanford and Yale, which have also been commended for options available to travellers.

“York has spent many years building a strong transportation network, working with city partners to ensure our campuses are well-connected and accessible, and considering the ways we can lower our carbon footprint with sustainable travel options,” said Carol McAulay, vice-president finance and administration. “This new designation is a celebration of that work and a reflection of what’s to come. We’re continuing to invest in sustainable travel options and are committed to working with municipal and provincial partners to advocate for more affordable transit options, including fare integration, to improve benefits for our community.”

To earn this designation, York was recognized for the variety of benefits and options it provides to students, faculty, instructors and staff who travel to and from campus. These are:

  • Bike share – York was the first university in the Greater Toronto Area to partner with Bike Share Toronto and offer three bike share stations on the Keele and Glendon campuses.
  • Secure bike parking and repair stations – two secured bike enclosures on the Keele Campus offer peace of mind to cyclists and four do-it-yourself repair stations on the Keele and Glendon campuses provide tools for quick fixes.
  • Carpool incentives – a partnership with Zipcar enables easy car sharing, and preferred parking at a lower rate is available for those who regularly carpool to campus through the Diamond Pool Parking program.
  • Electric vehicle charging stations – there are currently more than 30 charging stations available at the Keele and Glendon campuses.
  • Glendon-Keele Shuttle – the shuttle offers service from 7:10 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. to all community members with a valid YU-card.

These benefits are made available through Transportation Services, which has a mission to support the University community through smart transportation options that are consistently evolving.

“The transit options to York have improved enormously since I was a student, with two subway stations to get you to class easier and faster,” said Mike Layton, chief sustainability officer. “Choosing sustainable travel is a great way for community members to contribute to York’s net-zero commitment and reduce their personal carbon footprint.”

To learn more about transportation options at York, visit the Transportation Services department’s website.

Watch a video about the award and York’s sustainability efforts here:

Schulich appoints inaugural CIBC Chair in Sustainable Finance 

Glass cup filled with coins, with a green plant sprouting out of it.

York University’s Schulich School of Business announced last week that Schulich Professor Olaf Weber has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the new CIBC Chair in Sustainable Finance.

Olaf Weber
Olaf Weber

The research Chair was established last year as the result of CIBC’s commitment to enable a more sustainable future, working in partnership with stakeholders and clients.

Weber has had a distinguished career in the field of sustainable finance, marked by cutting-edge research on the intersection of business and financial institutions’ sustainability. As the inaugural CIBC Chair in Sustainable Finance, he will pursue pioneering research that generates actionable solutions within the global finance sector.   

Recognized internationally as a thought leader in the areas of sustainability and responsible business, Schulich is home to the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business, one of the world’s largest academic centres dedicated to sustainability research and knowledge development.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Olaf Weber as the new CIBC Chair in Sustainable Finance,” says Detlev Zwick, dean of the Schulich School of Business. “The CIBC Chair will expand our school’s expertise in sustainable finance while carrying out important new research that will help in the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

LA&PS professor’s book explores ‘datafied’ world

Many books standing upright, pictured from above.

York University Assistant Professor Natasha Tusikov, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, has co-written a book about the new “datafied” world, and how control over knowledge has become its own ideology. The New Knowledge: Information, Data and the Remaking of Global Power (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023) is a guide to and analysis of today’s knowledge-driven society.

Natasha Tusikov
Natasha Tusikov

Whether it’s social media platforms collecting their users’ personal data to sell advertising, governments engaging in surveillance in the name of national security, companies like OpenAI scouring the internet to power its generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, or a government welfare department using data to deny access to essential services, companies and governments are scrambling for more data, and more ways to use it. Throughout it all, tech companies and data experts are being increasingly relied upon, sometimes with unfortunate results.

What are the consequences of this transformation into a knowledge-driven society? In The New Knowledge, Tusikov and co-writer Blayne Haggart, a political science professor at Brock University, argue that more data doesn’t necessarily lead to a more enlightened or just society. Instead, it has concentrated power out of the hands of individual citizens and smaller countries and into the hands of a few companies and countries, while also reshaping basic concepts of property, ownership and control. The global race to create and control data and intellectual property, they say, is leading us inexorably into a world of persistent surveillance by governments and companies.

Cover of the book "The New Knowledge: Information, Data and the Remaking of Global Power"
Cover of the book The New Knowledge: Information, Data and the Remaking of Global Power

More than an examination of the data-driven society, The New Knowledge proposes a solution – knowledge decommodification – designed to ensure that new knowledge is not treated simply as a commodity to be bought and sold, but as a way to meet the needs of the individuals and communities that create this knowledge in the first place.

“We wrote this book because we are witnessing a transformation in the global economy,” says Tusikov.

The catalyst for the book, she says, was when Google’s Sidewalk Labs company announced in 2017 that it won the bid to propose a smart-city project in Toronto. “Missing from this exciting utopian vision, however, was any concrete detail of who would own and control the intellectual property (patents, copyright and trademarks) and data emanating from the smart city.”

As scholars who study intellectual property and data governance, Tusikov and Haggart were concerned that this project was leaving the control over knowledge unaddressed – a trend that continued, she says, until the project’s cancellation in May 2020.

“We use the Sidewalk Labs smart-city project as the book’s leitmotif,” Tusikov explains. “This case illustrates how the control over knowledge…is central to the global economy. Simply put, those who control intellectual property and data flows, like Google in its search engine or the U.S. government in its surveillance programs, can exert economic and security power. We hope that this book will help explain the shifts that are occurring throughout society.”

The New Knowledge: Information, Data and the Remaking of Global Power is available for purchase and is free to download (under “features”) on the publisher’s website.