Tag: UN SDG 5

New, renewed Canada Research Chairs advance neuroscience, disability studies at York U

innovation image

York University neuroscientist Jeffrey Schall has been appointed a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Translating Neuroscience, alongside two renewals – Gillian Parekh and Joel Zylberberg – for existing CRCs, announced by the Government of Canada on June 14.

The CRC program is a major investment by the federal government (up to $300 million+ per year) to attract and retain world-class talent at Canadian universities. The program also provides training opportunities for the next generation of highly skilled personnel through research, teaching and learning.

The new and renewed CRCs at York University are:  

Jeffrey Schall
Jeffrey Schall

Jeffrey Schall is a newly appointed Tier I CRC in Translating Neuroscience and a professor in the Faculty of Science

Schall’s research aims to further understand the complexities of the brain and how it enables decision-making processes for actions and experiences: how people decide what to do, how people control when they do it and how people know if they did what they meant to do. Insights from Schall’s research could improve the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions like dementia and schizophrenia.  

Gillian Parekh
Gillian Parekh

Gillian Parekh is a renewed Tier II CRC in Disability Studies in Education and an associate professor in the Faculty of Education

Parekh is examining how schools respond to disability in order to improve student success. She and her research team are gathering and analyzing new data to develop strategies that will shed light on how “ability” is used to justify student organization within schools and the inequitable distribution of in-school resources and opportunities.

Joel Zylberberg
Joel Zylberberg

Joel Zylberberg is a renewed Tier II CRC in Computational Neuroscience and an associate professor in the Faculty of Science

Zylberberg and his research team train artificial intelligence (AI) to see and respond to images in the same way as the human brain. By teaching AI to process visual information like the brain’s visual cortex, deep learning algorithms could lead to the creation of devices that help visually impaired or blind people see again, in addition to potentially advancing technology for self-driving cars. 

York’s Chairholders received $2,400,000 and are part of a $94,500,000 investment in 121 new and renewed CRCs at 39 institutions across Canada. For the full list, visit the Government of Canada’s website.

Three professors receive SSHRC Partnership Development Grants

Celebration,party backgrounds concepts ideas with colorful confetti,streamers on white.Flat lay design

Social sciences and humanities research at York University has received a boost of more than half a million dollars from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), awarding Partnership Development Grants to three researchers in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS).

The latest round of Partnership Development Grant funding supports short-term partnerships (one to three years) between research teams from post-secondary institutions and organizations in the public, private or not-for-profit sectors.

“York University is grateful for SSHRC’s investment in our outstanding faculty and their mission to create positive change through community-engaged research,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “As an institution that excels in social sciences and humanities research, these three York-led projects exemplify our commitment to research excellence driven by impact and rooted in meaningful collaboration with our partners.”

Through their combined efforts, the research teams develop projects in the social sciences and humanities or design and test new partnership approaches for research and related activities, including knowledge mobilization.

The York U recipients include:

Annie Bunting
Annie Bunting

Annie Bunting, a professor in the Law & Society program in LA&PS, for a project titled “Youth-led initiatives for gender justice and peacebuilding,” which received $199,850. The project will bring together researchers, filmmakers, artists and others to study the long-lasting impacts of violence on youth, aged 15 to 29, in places affected by war and conflict. The project looks to gain a deeper understanding of how young people cope in such situations and involves multiple collaborating partners, with groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Kenya.

Marcello Musto
Marcello Musto

Marcello Musto, a professor in the Department of Sociology in LA&PS, for a project titled “War and the Left: A Global History,” which received the maximum $200,000. The project will examine how left-wing political forces and theorists have responded to war, deepening understanding of the intellectual and political history of numerous progressive social movements and political parties around the world. It aims to be the most comprehensive study of the topic to date and involves researchers from York University, five archives, six research-focused organizations and two museums, from eleven countries across four continents.

Jose Miguel Gonzalez Perez
Miguel González

Miguel González, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Science in LA&PS, for a project titled “Emancipatory Horizons for Self-determination of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples in Central America,” which received $199,840. The project will gain insights into the struggles and strategies of these peoples to protect their land, rights and way of life. It will promote the political and legal efforts of civil society organizations to advocate for autonomous self-governance and will involve a dozen Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups in Costa Rica, Panama and the San Andrés archipelago.

The three York-led projects were among 75 projects across Canada to receive the new funding. A full list of the Partnership Development Grant recipients can be found on the SSHRC website.

York U professor helps transform engineering education in Uganda

Kampala,,Uganda

In an effort to enhance undergraduate engineering research in Uganda, faculty members from York University and the University of British Columbia have joined forces on an education-enhancing project with Academics Without Borders (AWB), a non-profit organization aiming to improve the higher education landscape in developing countries.

The Strengthening Engineering Undergraduate Research (SER-Undergraduate) project, initiated by faculty at the Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST) in Uganda, aims to provide international support to MUST undergraduate students, empowering them to engage in high-quality research endeavours.

As part of the collaboration, York U Professor Arash Habibi Lashkari – an AWB volunteer who is also the founder and director of York University’s Behaviour-Centric Cybersecurity Center – embarked on a week-long visit to MUST, where he interacted with students and faculty members to assess the current state of the institution’s undergraduate research program and identify areas for improvement.

York University Professor Arash Habibi Lashkari (front, centre) with students from the Mbarara University of Science & Technology in Uganda.

“I am honoured to be part of this initiative to empower undergraduate students in Uganda to pursue research excellence,” says Lashkari. “By sharing our expertise and resources, we can make a meaningful impact on these students’ academic and professional trajectory.”

During his visit to Uganda, Lashkari engaged in insightful discussions with students, faculty members, the international office and the administration department, guiding and enhancing research methodologies and academic standards. The visit not only fostered knowledge exchange but also served as a testament to the importance of volunteerism and international collaboration in advancing education and research on a global scale.

“Membership in the AWB Network offers opportunities for academics and professionals to share their expertise and knowledge as volunteers in capacity-building projects in partnership with institutions in low- and middle-income countries,” says Professor Nancy Gallini, executive director of Academics Without Borders. “Engaging in this work gives faculty and staff a global perspective that enriches education and research on their campuses.”

For MUST students, the SER-Undergraduate project allows for access to resources, mentorship and opportunities for hands-on research experience that they wouldn’t have otherwise had. By leveraging the expertise and resources of Canadian faculty members serving as volunteers, Ugandan students can gain the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their future academic and professional endeavours.

As the SER-Undergraduate project continues to unfold, the goal of transforming engineering education and empowering a new generation of research-driven scholars in Uganda remains.

For more information, visit the Academics Without Borders website.

CHREI to launch its summer REDDI sessions

Student playing frisbee outside

York University’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion (CHREI) is kicking off its Rights, Equity, Decolonization, Diversity & Inclusion (REDDI) Series summer sessions on June 3 with one of its most popular events, Creating and Maintaining Positive Space, just in time for Pride Month.

The REDDI Series offers students, staff and faculty opportunities to learn through interactive sessions that emphasize engagement and skill building.

The REDDI Mini-series on Preventing Sex and Gender Harassment and Discrimination will feature four sessions running from June 3 to July 9. Three sessions from the core REDDI series, Addressing Discrimination Today, are scheduled in July.

Participants can earn a core REDDI Series Certificate and a REDDI Mini-series Certificate by signing up for sessions on YU Learn. If not enough sessions are not completed during the summer, additional sessions will be held in the Fall and Winter terms.

For more information on the REDDI Series, visit the CHREI website.

York students publish research on workplace gender discrimination

Pregnant office worker shutterstock

A paper by undergraduate students in York University’s School of Human Resource Management, titled “Discrimination against women in the workplace: Review and recommendations for more inclusive organizations,” was published in the esteemed International Journal of Employment Studies. It examines the pervasive issue of discrimination against women in the workplace, addressing key areas such as gender bias, motherhood and pregnancy discrimination, and the gender pay gap.

Students Nicki Nguyen, Nishana Ganesh and Sarah Versteeg initially began their work in Professor Duygu Biricik Gulseren’s Occupational Health and Safety class, where one of their assignments was to review 10 recent research articles on a workplace health and safety topic of their interest. Gulseren was so impressed with their work, she invited the students to expand their review and collaborate with her.

Nicki Nguyen
Nishana Ganesh
Sarah Versteeg
Duygu Biricik Gulseren

Together, the team conducted a larger literature review on workplace discrimination against women, focusing on three common types: gender bias, pregnancy and motherhood discrimination, and pay gap. Investigating why, how and when discrimination against women occurs in the workplace, they found that the discrimination is directly related to factors like gender, pregnancy or motherhood status, and compensation in the workplace.

“This paper aims to provide a research synthesis and evidence-based recommendations for [human resources] leaders wishing to prevent gender discrimination demonstrated through gender bias, motherhood and pregnancy discrimination, and the gender pay gap,” says Gulseren. “It also serves as an up-to-date review for researchers interested in this topic.”

Drawing upon the latest evidence available, the paper offers practical recommendations for organizations striving to bolster their gender diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. It serves as a valuable resource for businesses aiming to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment.

Under their professor’s guidance, the students have made a significant contribution to the field of workplace diversity and inclusion, an accomplishment most undergraduate students can’t claim. Gulseren is proud of her students’ impact.

“The paper is published in a peer-reviewed journal listed in the selective Australian Business Deans Council journal list along with papers from other, mostly PhD-level, researchers,” she explains. “This is a tremendous achievement for undergraduate students. They pushed the field forward by making a novel and meaningful contribution to the academic discourse on gender diversity in organizations.”

Grant funds York-led household energy insecurity study

Bogota, Colombia historic centre

Godfred Boateng, an assistant professor in York University’s School of Global Health and Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Humanitarianism, has been awarded a grant by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development for a two-year project on household energy insecurity in Colombia.

Godfred Boateng
Godfred Boateng

Valued at $136,899, the grant will support the implementation of Boateng’s Household Energy Insecurity, Health and Sustainable Livelihoods in Colombia (HEINS) project – co-led by Diego Iván Lucumí Cuesta from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia – between March 2024 and February 2026.

The HEINS study is a continuation of Boateng’s leading work in comprehensively measuring and understanding resource insecurity across the Global South, undertaken at the Global & Environmental Health Lab at York’s Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research as part of his mandate as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair.

In deciding to study this topic, the York professor observed that measurement of energy insecurity has historically been limited to the macro level – representing a country or region – and has not been widely extended to the household level, particularly outside the Global North. He also noticed there has been little assessment of the relationship between household energy insecurity and health outcomes among women and children in the Global South. As a result, it is difficult to determine how inadequate access to clean and safe energy sources impacts women and children differently in the household. It also becomes difficult to propose strategies to ensure clean energy transitions that effectively target the needs of that demographic.  

Boateng’s HEINS project, which will be conducted in three municipalities in the Choco province of Colombia, will address these issues. It will use a mixed-methods approach to find out whether or not household energy insecurity uniquely impacts disease, socioeconomic and psychosocial outcomes. The project will also produce and validate a scale – one of the first of its kind in Latin America – that can be used to comprehensively assess the impact of household energy insecurity on women, infants and children.

“With this grant, my team and I will advance current scholarship on the adverse effects of household energy insecurity in Latin America,” said Boateng. “It will produce a novel instrument for identifying energy insecurity hotspots, which will serve as recruiting points for a longitudinal study that examines the effect of energy insecurity and indoor air pollution from conception through the first two years of life.”

Ultimately, the goal of the project is to generate scientific evidence to develop sound, scalable technologies and strategies to ensure equitable clean energy transitions across the Global South. Through this study, Boateng and the Global & Environmental Health Lab, in partnership with Lucumí Cuesta, will advance research that promotes equitable access, good health, human development and environmental sustainability.  

Teaching Commons helps navigate difficult classroom conversations

Teacher speaking too students in class

To help instructors navigate sensitive issues and challenging classroom dynamics, the Teaching Commons has launched a new toolkit and series of professional development sessions focused on difficult moments and conversations in the classroom.

Nona Robinson
Nona Robinson

On March 14, the Teaching Commons will host the second of a series of workshops in partnership with Nona Robinson, vice-provost students. Titled “Effective Classroom Facilitation: Managing disruptions, addressing controversial topics and supporting equity-deserving students,” this virtual session will offer concrete tools, strategies and resources for facilitating productive conversations in the classroom.

“I’m always happy to work with faculty members on student support, inclusion, and preventing and managing conflict” says Robinson. “I know this can be a source of stress for many of us, and this is a great opportunity for colleagues to share experiences and helpful ideas.” 

The session accompanies a new Facilitating Dialogue and Challenging Conversations in the Classroom resource site, also referred to as a toolkit, housed on the Teaching Commons website. and led by educational developer Shani Kipang.

“One of the goals has been to help members of the University community revisit commonly used terms like ‘safety’ and ‘comfort,’ and to think critically and collaboratively about what it means and looks like to build accountable spaces,” says Kipang, who has worked with the Teaching Commons over the past year to support initiatives in decolonizing, equity, diversity and inclusion (DEDI).

The toolkit provides a range of resources to support productive dialogue and collaborative learning in the classroom. Included in it are topic-specific resources such as strategies for facilitating discussion, addressing harm and creating community guidelines.

Shani Kipang
Shani Kipang

“Our hope is to help instructors walk into the classroom with clear goals and responsive strategies, so students can be motivated to engage and have the sense that it will be worthwhile,” she explains. “We want to help instructors address unanticipated situations with intention, and to support meaningful and carefully guided opportunities for learners to engage with critical issues in ways that shape how they learn and work and interact in the world.”

Ameera Ali
Ameera Ali

In addition to the March 14 workshop, the Teaching Commons offers a variety of other opportunities to explore strategies for teaching in times of crisis and integrating DEDI-informed pedagogies. Among these are a workshop series on trauma-informed pedagogies and a DEDI community of practice – a space where teachers can come together to learn, share, and question a wide array of topics related to DEDI in teaching and learning.

In partnership with York’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion and faculty co-facilitators, these initiatives are led by Ameera Ali, an educational developer in the Teaching Commons with a portfolio focused on equity, diversity and inclusion.

“These offerings invite folks to come together to collectively reflect on and discuss various aspects of trauma, race, disability, gender, wellness, belonging and more,” she says. “And through this work, building understanding in these areas, we can better support meaningful dialogue and connection within the classroom.”

For more information on resources and upcoming sessions, visit the Teaching Commons website or contact them via email at teaching@yorku.ca.

Teaching Commons seeks presenters for upcoming TiF conference in May

Speaker giving a talk in conference hall at business event. Audience at the conference hall.

By Elaine Smith

With a new vice-provost teaching and learning and an interim director of the Teaching Commons in place, York University’s annual Teaching in Focus (TiF) conference this May will have a slightly different look and feel, and a theme reflective of the times.

Mandy Frake-Mistak, the Teaching Commons’ interim director, and her team are seeking presenters for the two-day conference, which will be held in person this year on May 8 and 9. The theme for this year’s conference is Engaged Teaching in Times of Crisis and proposals are due on Feb. 29.

In addition to crisis-related presentations, there are opportunities for presentations about Academic Innovation Fund projects and experiential education/work-integrated learning. Presenters may speak individually, in teams or as panel members, and all faculty and graduate students are encouraged to consider taking part.

“Based on feedback from the Task Force on the Future of Pedagogy, we know that faculty members want more opportunities to communicate about what they’re doing in the classroom, and TiF will continue to be a great place for that to happen,” says Chloë Brushwood Rose, vice-provost teaching learning. “However, we also want to offer opportunities for conversations around philosophical and critical issues in teaching and learning, not only about practices. We want to highlight people who are thinking in interesting ways and from a range of perspectives about teaching and learning, especially in complex times.”

People are grappling with conflicts in the classroom and conflicts in the world simultaneously, explains Brushwood Rose. The role of the University, she believes, should be to provide a space to talk about pedagogy more broadly.

Frake-Mistak shares that view.

“When we see crisis on a global scale, we can’t help but bring it home, and it shapes how we process information and our dealings with our peers,” she says. “We are trying to support people through this. It’s one thing to share resources, but what about what happens in the classroom?”

And that is where TiF comes in.

The conference will also feature TiF Reads, a panel reminiscent of the popular Canada Reads competition on CBC Radio. Presenters can champion a teaching- or learning-related book, journal article or other resource that inspired them during the past year and attendees will vote for a winner.

“TiF has been a mainstay on our calendar since 2013 and we want to champion it so it is continually growing and getting better,” says Frake-Mistak. “We want to recognize the community who have dedicated their livelihoods to teaching and learning; there are so many unsung heroes. It’s an opportunity to bring people together to champion teaching and learning and propel it forward.”

Brushwood Rose agrees.

“We look forward to TiF being as well attended and energizing as ever.”

Take this opportunity to fill out a presenter’s application form.

Prof’s new book reveals communicative capacities of textile

Peruvian Andes weaving patterns

Long before the invention of the typewriter or the telephone, and even before humankind had a functioning alphabet, communication was taking place through textile craft. Ganaele Langlois, a professor in York University’s Department of Communication & Media Studies, has published a new book exploring just that – the often-ignored transformative communicative capacities of traditional textiles.

A Shipibo-Conibo (Peruvian Amazon) design being drawn on textile using natural pigments. Photo by Ganaele Langlois.
Ganaele Langlois
Ganaele Langlois

How Textile Communicates: from Codes to Cosmotechnics (Bloomsbury, 2024) is a thought-provoking contribution to the fields of both fashion and communication studies, challenging readers’ preconceptions and shining new light on the profound impact of textiles on human communication.

Textile, Langlois explains, has been used as a medium of communication since the prehistoric period. Up until the 19th century, civilizations throughout the world manipulated thread and fabric to communicate in a way that she believes would astound many of us now.

“We often think of the digital as something that is brand new and contemporary, but the fact is that digital modes of communication such as textile weaving, knitting, lace-making, and so on have existed and been used as means of communication and information storage long before the invention of the alphabet,” says Langlois.

In the book, she dissects textile’s unique capacity for communication through a range of global case studies, before examining the profound impact of colonialism on textile practice and the appropriation of the medium by capitalist systems.

“I was intrigued as to why in my own field, communication and media studies, textile has never received the same in-depth treatment as other media,” she says. “I explain the reasons for this in this book – mostly related to colonialism and capitalist appropriation – and explore how traditional textile practices continue their important and unique work of communication today.”

York profs, alumni help expand UNESCO’s history of Africa

africa map in brown color

In 1964, the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) began a project aiming to rewrite the history of the entire African continent, from the first appearance of humans through to modern-day Africa and its diasporas.

Cover of "General History of Africa, X: Africa and its Diasporas"

To accomplish that feat, the organization called upon more than 230 leading experts in the field of African studies, whose work was overseen by an International Scientific Committee. The finished product, the General History of Africa, was completed in 1999 and included eight richly illustrated volumes.

A lot has changed since 1999, however, so UNESCO continued its work and recently published three new volumes reflecting the latest social, political, and archaeological developments on the continent and beyond.

One of those volumes, General history of Africa, X: Africa and its diasporas, edited by University of Pennsylvania Professor Vanicléia Silva Santos, includes contributions from many York University community members – both faculty and alumni – signifying their trusted expertise in the field.

Michele Johnson
Michele Johnson

The York-affiliated contributors are: Professor Michele A. Johnson, associate dean of students in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies; Paul E. Lovejoy, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus and Canada Research Chair in the Department of History; Nielson Rosa Bezerra, former Banting Fellow (2012-14) at York’s Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa & its Diasporas; and alumni Mohammed Bashir Salau (PhD), Olatunji Ojo (PhD), Vanessa S. Oliveira (PhD) and Behnaz Mirzai (PhD).

Paul Lovejoy
Paul Lovejoy

“The three new volumes are important because they break with the former continental approach to Africa to address ‘global Africa,’ where people went into diaspora,” explains Lovejoy, a member of the project’s International Scientific Committee whose role it was to organize one-third of Volume X.

His major contribution involved assembling over 200 pages of essays, which he then edited and composed an introduction for.

“The whole series,” Lovejoy says, “is a monumental achievement and important reference that targets not only current scholarship but also schools, libraries and a public that does not easily have access to scholarly analysis – not only in Africa but throughout the world.”

With editions now available in English, Portuguese and French, he says the publication will eventually be translated into many more languages to maximize its reach and impact.

For more information about the project and publications, visit General History of Africa | UNESCO.