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York’s Institute for Technoscience & Society looks to shape public debate, policy

Institute for Technoscience & Society web page graphic cropped
Credit: Zoran Svilar

York University’s Institute for Technoscience & Society (ITS), established in 2022 as an Associated Research Centre of the new Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society initiative, is on a mission to build a global hub focused on the complex relationship between technoscience – the scientific study of how humans interact with technology – and society. In particular, the institute is committed to unravelling the configuration of social power that underpins science, medicine, technology and innovation.

According to Professor Kean Birch, the inaugural director of ITS, the institute was established to cement York’s international standing and reputation in disciplines such as science and technology studies, communication and media studies, design, critical data studies, the history and philosophy of science, and other related fields in which York is a global leader. Aligned with the University’s Strategic Research Plan, especially when it comes to the topics of digital cultures and disruptive technologies, its members are actively engaged in research on the social, political, and economic implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and neuroscience.

Kean Birch
Kean Birch

Birch is enthusiastic about the future of research in this area: “We’re seeing a lot of interest in these topics,” he says, “especially in the societal implications of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and other digital technologies.”

He insists, however, the institute’s depth in expertise is not limited to those areas, extending into topics such as the history of science through games design, the global governance of biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation.

To support this diversity of knowledge, ITS is organized into the following four research clusters to help create synergies and support collaboration:

  • Technoscientific Injustices, which deals with the implications of emerging technoscience, its impacts on different social groups, and how to create just and inclusive science and technologies;
  • Technoscientific Economies, which deals with the entanglement of science and with different economies, what kinds of innovation get promoted by which kinds of economy, and how to support responsible and inclusive innovation;
  • Technoscientific Pasts & Futures, which deals with how the future of science and technology is bound up with our pasts and how the past helps us to build hopeful visions of and policies for the future; and
  • Technoscientific Bodies & Minds, which deals with the societal implications of prevailing understandings of health risks, diseases, and health-care delivery, as well as how prevailing understandings reinforce social injustices, inequities and divisions.

The institute is making its impact known in Canadian debates about the role of science and technology in society. Recently, Birch was interviewed by the CBC about the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Apple Inc. for antitrust violations; and his recent opinion pieces about personal data as a collective asset and the social costs of generative AI were published in the Globe and Mail.

ITS plans to continue on this trajectory through regular events and policy briefing papers, as well as interventions in public and policy debates.

“York is incredibly well-placed to make an important social, political, and economic impact when it comes to these issues,” explains Birch, “because of the institutional strength and expertise of faculty and early career researchers here.”

York research examines complexities of sight

eye wide

Andrew Eckford and Gene Cheung, associate professors in the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department at the Lassonde School of Engineering, are developing a tool that can interpret the activity of cells involved in visual processes, enhancing our understanding of this complex biological system.

Whether we are admiring a beautiful landscape or watching an action-packed movie, our visual system is hard at work performing intricate biological functions that allow us to process and respond to visual information.

Andrew Eckford
Andrew Eckford

Understanding the intricacies of the visual system is key to advancing research in biology, biomedicine and computer vision. Moreover, this understanding can aid in developing strategies to address visual impairments in humans.

Eckford and Cheung’s research is focused on nerve tissue behind the eye known as the retina. The retina is responsible for receiving images and sending them to the brain for processing using ganglion cells.

Many researchers have hypothesized that each ganglion cell type is responsible for computing specific features in a visual scene. For example, some cells may focus on information about the texture of an object, while others may process movement in a particular direction.

“From a big-picture perspective, we are trying to gain a better understanding of the visual system and how the eye processes information,” says Eckford. “We developed a tool that can analyze a data set of ganglion cell activity and identify relationships and patterns to predict exactly what they are looking at.”

Gene Cheung
Gene Cheung

Eckford and Cheung, and their graduate student Yasaman Parhizkar, proposed a graph-based tool that uses mathematical operations to discover patterns within a data set and make useful predictions about trends among the data points.

The proposed tool was tested using visual data gathered from a novel experiment led by University of Chicago Professor Stephanie Palmer. During the experiment, a film about an aquatic environment was projected onto the retinas of salamanders. The scenes resembled their natural habitat – imagine cool waters, sea plants and the occasional swimming fish.

As the film played, data concerning the salamanders’ ganglion cell activity was collected. The graph-based tool was used to identify and interpret trends within the data set and link these patterns to specific visual features in the film.

“It’s really cool to be able to take a data set of cell activity and see if we can predict exactly what the eye is looking at,” says Eckford.

Not only did the tool exhibit the capacity to interpret patterns within the data set and make useful predictions, but it also surpassed the abilities of comparable algorithms.

“Our tool addressed many of the problems that other algorithms have,” says Parhizkar. “Ours is much more interpretable and less data hungry.”

The applications of this unique tool can also be extended far beyond the field of biology, to industries such as agriculture, for making predictions about crop yield. 

Learn more about this work in Eckford, Cheung (who is also a member of Conencted Minds) and Parhizkar’s recent publication.

York research advances flood risk management with AI

flood surrounding traffic sign BANNER

In a recently published paper, Rahma Khalid, a PhD candidate in the Civil Engineering Department at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, and her supervisor, Associate Professor Usman Khan, proposed a promising new model for flood susceptibility mapping (FSM) that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning (ML) methods.

Flood susceptibility mapping – the process of identifying potential flood-prone areas based on their physical characteristics – is a valuable technique used to identify areas that are vulnerable to flooding and inform risk mitigation and protection strategies. Unfortunately, conventional FSM methods rely on time-consuming physical and mathematical models that are also limited in their ability to predict flood risk across large regions.

Rahma Khalid
Rahma Khalid

“We have seen that physical and mathematical models can be very inconvenient for flood susceptibility mapping, especially when it comes to analyzing large areas,” says Khalid. “From a research perspective, we know that using machine learning can improve the speed and efficiency of different processes. This is why we proposed a flood susceptibility mapping model that is leveraged by machine learning for more accurate, rapid and reliable results.”

In their paper, titled “Flood susceptibility mapping using ANNs: a case study in model generalization and accuracy from Ontario, Canada,” Khalid and Khan document how they put their idea to the test and utilized an ML model to map out different regions in southern Ontario and determine their flood susceptibility.

Usman Khan
Usman Khan

They did so by using previously gathered data from different regions across southern Ontario, allowing the model to interpret, identify and predict areas that are at risk of flooding.

The model’s performance was also compared against conventional physical and mathematical models, as well as various emerging ML methods.

“When it comes to flood susceptibility mapping in real-world scenarios, machine learning models have not really been used,” says Khalid. “Industry members are also hesitant to apply these models because there is very little information about their accuracy and reliability.”

Khalid and Khan’s proposed model addressed limitations of other FSM models through training and testing that proved it to be a superior method for flood susceptibility mapping, outperforming other models. It even demonstrated novel capabilities that can help advance the future of flood risk management.

“Our model demonstrated a novel ability to accurately predict flood susceptibility, even across areas that we did not provide training data for,” says Khalid. “Knowing this, we can work towards training our model to understand more about different regions and further improve its ability to predict flood susceptibility in larger areas.”

Currently, Khalid and Khan are working on enhancing the performance of their model with a particular focus on improving data resolution, as well exploring the possibility of supplementing their model with additional ML methods.

Schulich partnership seeks to address global infrastructure gap

Two engineers working on solar panel roof

Schulich Real Assets – an area within York University’s Schulich School of Business that focuses on tangible investments – is teaming up with the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA) to offer the next generation of leaders more tools and resources to help them tackle the climate crisis through sustainable infrastructure projects.

Schulich is one of a few schools around the world offering graduate education focused on the increasingly important and evolving real assets field, with both a master of business administration specialization in real estate and infrastructure and a unique, 12-month Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure program.

This new partnership is designed to help increase private investment into infrastructure projects that are supporting the global transition to cleaner energy.

Jim Clayton
Jim Clayton

“We look forward to working together with GIIA and its members towards the common goal of promoting an infrastructure investment ecosystem that mobilizes private capital,” said Professor Jim Clayton, the Timothy R. Price Chair in Real Estate and Infrastructure at Schulich and the MREI program director. “We are excited by the alignment and synergy of the collaboration.”

Through new research and educational programming opportunities, Schulich students will now be empowered with knowledge and resources to deliver the infrastructure that communities need to thrive, with GIIA’s global membership base also helping them to expand their networks and experience.

“It is critical to empower emerging leaders in our industry with the skills and specialist knowledge that enables them to unlock the potential for infrastructure investment, so we can grow the market, and bring in the capital to make the major investments that governments alone cannot afford,” said Jon Phillips, chief executive officer of GIIA, which represents 100 of the world’s leading investors and advisors in infrastructure.

“Since Canada is already a hub for innovation in the infrastructure investment industry, partnering with Schulich makes good sense,” he said.

Professor’s book explores health inequality in Canada

Health sign made of wood on a natural desk

A new third edition of the book About Canada: Health and Illness, written by York University health policy and management Professor Dennis Raphael, explores social determinants of well-being in Canada and provides updated information connecting health and illness to the worsening levels of inequality throughout the country.

Dennis Raphael
Dennis Raphael

In About Canada, Raphael – an expert in covering health inequality – argues that the inequitable distribution of the social determinants of health is structured by Canada’s political economy, including public policy decisions.

According to Raphael, and his book, while some common wisdom might dictate that our lifestyles – exercise, food choices and more – affect our health, the truth is altogether different. Instead, he says, it is how income and wealth, housing, education and adequate food are distributed, as well as employment status and working conditions, that determine whether we stay healthy or become ill. Furthermore, who gets to be healthy is too often a reflection of social inequalities that are associated with class, gender and race in Canadian society.

The new edition of About Canada points toward how – based on tent cities becoming more common, food bank use hitting record high levels and more – ongoing health inequalities have only escalated since the first edition of his book was released in 2010.

“The social determinants of health situation in Canada has become so problematic as to constitute a polycrisis whereby growing food and housing insecurity, income and wealth inequality, precarious and low-paid work, social exclusion and declining quality of public policy threaten Canadians’  futures,” says Raphael. “The declining Canadian scene not only compelled a documentation of this situation but also formulating a vision of dramatic reform or even transformation of our profit-driven economic system.”

In addition to updated information throughout the book that better reflects the current moment, a new chapter also considers the social determinants of who got sick and died from COVID-19, and how the pandemic makes a clear case for restructuring work and living conditions through public policy that more equitably distributes economic resources.

Raphael’s goal is for the latest edition of the book is to provide important context for readers. “Hopefully, the new edition will provide Canadians with a means of understanding the Canadian polycrisis and means of moving beyond it,” he says.

The third edition of the book will be published on May 2 and is available to purchase through Fernwood Publishing.

Sustainability Innovation Fund accepting applications until April 26

The Sustainability Innovation Fund (SIF) is now accepting applications for projects on York University campuses that advance the University’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as contribute to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SGD) 13: Climate Action.

SIF supports projects that advance climate action and York’s net-zero goal, while creating opportunities for members of the York University community to actively engage in sustainability initiatives, specifically related to: climate action, reducing GHG emissions and utilizing the campus as a living lab, empowering individuals to be agents of change and take meaningful steps to reduce their impact on the planet. Proposals may address direct or indirect emission such as commuting, energy, food, waste, behaviour change, awareness and engagement, or nature-based solutions.

This round of SIF is intended to provide funding for projects focused on identifying, accelerating and evaluating climate mitigation solutions and strategies, specifically:

  • seed funding (potentially for larger proposals in the next SIF round or external grant applications);
  • funding where there are matching funds from an academic unit or administrative office; or
  • projects that can be achieved generally under $10,000 from SIF (although compelling requests for up to $25,000 may be considered).

The call for applications is now open. The deadline to apply is 4 p.m. on Friday, April 26.

All proposals for the SIF must be submitted to the Office of Sustainability by email to sustainability@yorku.ca.

A selection committee will evaluate the applications using the Proposal Assessment Rubric and will make recommendations for funding to the president.

Information about the SIF, documents, forms and criteria are available on the Office of Sustainability website.

Information and consultation

Reach out to the Office of Sustainability for more information or for a consultation by email to sustainability@yorku.ca.

Prof’s work advancing nursing makes impact

Photo by Patty Brito on Unsplash

A review advancing knowledge of nursing care for persons with developmental disabilities (DDs) was published in the impactful journal Nursing Open by York University School of Nursing Professor Nazilla Khanlou and went on to be among the top 10 per cent most downloaded papers during its first 12 months of publication.

An image of Nazilla Khanlou
Nazilla Khanlou

The paper, titled “Nursing care for persons with developmental disabilities: Review of literature on barriers and facilitators faced by nurses to provide care,” explores better understanding of notable gaps in knowledge and practice in order to have an impact on caregivers and receivers.

According to the review, individuals with developmental disabilities often contend with health-care systems and services that lack accessibility or better support. As a result, nurses have often reported notable gaps in receiving proper training to better care for people with DDs. There are few opportunities to discover best practice guidelines for those looking to provide care for this demographic.

With the intention of advancing the enhancement and standardization of nursing care for persons with developmental disabilities, the research team looked to identify research evidence, nursing strategies, knowledge gaps, and barriers and facilitators. In doing so, the paper moves towards providing “recommendations addressing access, education, collaboration, communication, use of standardized tools and creating a safe environment” to better help nurses care for people with DDs.

The findings of the review have clearly resonated, given the degree to which it has been accessed and downloaded, which speaks to its efforts to fill a notable knowledge gap in care for an underserved population. Khanlou believes that nursing education in Canada must address that gap.

“We must provide introductory level education and training for all nursing students at the undergraduate level in addressing the complex needs of persons and families with developmental disabilities,” she says. “At the graduate level, more advanced knowledge and specialization should be available for nurses interested in pursuing practice of health promotion and care in the developmental disabilities field.  We can learn from the experiences of nursing in the United Kingdom, where the designation of Learning Disability Nurse exists, and specialized education is provided at the university level.”

The accomplishment of being among the top 10 per cent most downloaded articles in Nursing Open – which is published by influential research publisher Wiley Online Library – builds upon the impact that Khanlou’s extensive career and body of work has already had.

Appointed the inaugural holder of the Ontario Women’s Health Council Chair in Women’s Mental Health Research at York in 2008, Khanlou has used her clinical background in psychiatric nursing to advance research and understanding of many under-represented groups.

Her published articles, book, reports and research – some of which has been funded by organizations like the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council – have explored the well-being and mental health needs of specific populations. Youth and women in multicultural and immigrant-receiving settings have been a particular focus, as she has written about gender-based violence, patient-centred care for women, identity-related factors affecting the mental health of immigrants and refugees, and more.

Prof receives funding recognizing emerging research leadership

ai_brain

Hossein Kassiri, an associate professor in the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, was recently honoured with a prestigious Early Researcher Award (ERA) from the government of Ontario. He is the only researcher at York University to receive the award this year.

Hossein Kaassiri
Hossein Kassiri

The ERA recognizes rising stars in the initial stages of their research journeys who are leading impactful work. It looks to fuel innovation across Ontario by providing recipients with funding to help build teams of researchers supporting the future of innovation.

“This award is one of the most prestigious recognitions an academic can receive early in their career – it’s a great feeling to be acknowledged,” says Kassiri. “Receiving an ERA indicates that I’m headed in the right direction with my research.”

Kassiri plans to use his ERA funding to recruit talented graduate students who will help support his interdisciplinary research project spanning across disciplines from electrical engineering to neuroscience. His research focuses on the design and development of miniature brain implants that can help monitor, diagnose, and treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.

These small, powerful implants work wirelessly and do not require batteries. They can sense neuronal activities in different areas of the brain, process them using machine learning algorithms that are specifically tailored for each patient, and provide responsive feedback to the brain through electric or optical pulses.

“This award will provide the financial support necessary to hire more excellent researchers and advance the development of medical device technologies,” says Kassiri.

Updated: Create sustainable change this Earth Month

YorkU_EarthMonth BANNER

Update: New information after publication of this article indicates the tree planting events have been rescheduled. The new dates are listed below.

Throughout the month of April, York University looks to commemorate Earth Month by inviting the community to engage in activities and events that advance and celebrate the University’s commitment to a sustainable future.

Every action matters, which is why the York community is invited to create positive change this month in celebration of Earth Day, Earth Week and Earth Month. By engaging in sustainable living – the practice of understanding how individual lifestyle choices affect the world collectively – and finding ways to live better together, each one us can create sustainable change in our communities, on our campuses and around the world

“While institutions, governments and private companies need to make investments in transitioning to a low carbon economy, we also need to demonstrate our personal commitment,” says Mike Layton, York’s chief sustainability officer. “It can be as simple as reducing what we consume by buying local and less, diverting waste from landfill by composting and recycling, or taking public transit to work instead of driving.”

This Earth Month, community members are invited to attend York’s annual campus tree planting and clean-up events at the Keele and Glendon campuses in collaboration with the student group Regenesis and Facilities Services. Registration is encouraged and the details are as follows:

Keele Campus

Campus Clean Up
Monday, April 22
12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Tree Planting
Tuesday, April 30
12:30 to 2 p.m.

Glendon Campus

Tree Planting and Campus Clean Up
Thursday, May 2
12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Other events happening throughout the month include a WWF Living Planet Leader Certification Workshop, where students can learn how to lead impactful initiatives, and another event titled The Future is Now – A Dialogue on Climate Hope, where participants will have the opportunity to share their personal insights on topics related to climate anxiety, sustainability, the role of community in their lives and strategies for feeling empowered in the face of the climate crisis.

The C4: Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom will also once again host Capstone Day, an event where students showcase projects they have been working on over the past year that relate to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

The events – and York’s overall celebration of Earth Month – reflect how, since the launch of its University Academic Plan in 2020, the University has made significant progress in advancing its sustainability initiatives and enhancing its impact on the UN SDGs. The University is currently among the top 40 institutions for global leadership on advancing the UN SDGs in the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and has been named as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 11 consecutive years.

Recently, the University announced its plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2040, a decade earlier than originally planned. This new pledge is part of York’s renewed sustainability policy, which also includes a commitment to develop and implement a process to track, measure, evaluate and report progress toward net-zero emissions. 

Sustainability has been well integrated into every part of the University – from its wide array of sustainability-focused courses and partnerships, like the Global Water Academy, to campus sustainability features easily accessible throughout its campuses. Last year, the University also launched the Microlecture Series in Sustainable Living, an open-access program that gives participants the opportunity to learn from six of York’s world-renowned academic experts on a diverse range of topics related to sustainability.

To build on its strong repertoire of sustainability work, York recently launched a new, $1-million Sustainability Innovation Fund to invest in projects led by York students, faculty and staff that support the University’s goals.

Join York in creating sustainable change this Earth Month as well as during Earth Week (April 21 to 28) and on Earth Day on April 22. To learn more and get involved, visit York’s Earth Month website.

k2i academy and TDSB engage girls in STEM

young girls doing science

With the goal of encouraging girls to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pathways and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ( UN SDGs), the k2i academy – an initiative by York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering – engaged with students at the Young Women on the Move: Possibilities Conference at Runnymede Elementary School, hosted by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

Since June 2020, the k2i academy and the TDSB have worked in partnership to foster a variety of programs aimed at breaking down barriers in STEM education. For example, the Bringing STEM to Life: In Schools initiative has brought experiential education to schools across the Greater Toronto Area, and the recently 407 ETR-funded Work Integrated Learning Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Fund will expand STEM offerings to under-represented students throughout the area, too.

The most recent example of the partnership, the Young Women on the Move event, engaged 200 girls from eight different elementary schools through an engineering design challenge – with a focus on the SDG priority on sustainable cities and communities ­– organized by the k2i team.

Mentors and k2i academy staff guided the students through building prototypes of earthquake-resilient structures, underlining the importance of creating inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable urban environments. In the process, they learned about earthquakes, the principles of stable structures, and the iterative process of designing, building and testing their prototypes using shaker testing tables.

This practical, hands-on experience introduced the girls to the engineering design process, emphasizing problem-solving and creativity in addressing real-world issues.

“Through our Possibilities Conference, we wanted to empower young women to see the endless possibilities available to them by building their confidence, breaking down barriers and stereotypes, and encouraging them to explore non-traditional courses of study,” says Lauren Rovas, vice-principal and Possibilities Conference lead organizer, TDSB. 

As a result, the k2i academy and the TDSB continue their shared purpose, and partnership, in encouraging the future of STEM careers being more inclusive.

“As a woman who studied physics, it is important for me to encourage and inspire the next generation of girls to consider STEM career pathways,” says Lisa Cole, director of programming, k2i academy. “k2i is thrilled to partner with TDSB to design and deliver programs that encourage youth to discover their curiosities, develop skills in coding and engineering design, and reach students and families who may not have considered STEM pathways.”