York University’s ELLA Altitude wins CANIE Award for COVID-19 support initiative
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York University’s ELLA Altitude has won the COVID-19 Support Award in the 2020 Canada Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards, presented in partnership with the Government of Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service.
Also known as the CANIE Awards, the program presented by the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation (IEF), is powered by Startup Canada. The awards celebrate the achievements of outstanding contributors to Canada’s entrepreneurial landscape through excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship.
The awards were presented at the CANIE Grand Finale digital ceremony Oct. 20. ELLA’s Entrepreneurship Manager Nicole Troster accepted the award on behalf of York University.
Entrepreneurship Manager Nicole Troster accepts the award on behalf of York University
“We are thrilled to have won this national award for the ELLA Altitude program,” said Troster. “We know that this has been a difficult year for so many women entrepreneurs, and we are encouraged that the ELLA community has been an important cornerstone for so many of them.”
ELLA will continue to provide women with access to the skills, tools and supports needed to build their business throughout the global pandemic, she said.
“We are honoured to receive the COVID-19 Support Award from the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation, an organization that shares our passion for supporting entrepreneurial endeavours,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research & innovation at York University. “This recognition of an ELLA program highlights York University’s commitment to empower women entrepreneurs and support them, especially at a time when the global pandemic has disproportionately affected women. ELLA is a great example of York’s new educational approaches, such as work-integrated learning, that equip our graduates to thrive in the global knowledge economy.”
ELLA – the Entrepreneurial Leadership and Learning Alliance − recently received federal investment from the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund to help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses through the Altitude program.
“It is incredible to see the resilience of entrepreneurs and innovators across the country during times like this,” said Kayla Isabelle, IEF’s board chair and executive director, Startup Canada. “Coming together to recognize the strength and tenacity of our community is more important than ever.”
Call for nominations for the President’s Research Excellence Awards
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Featured image for the postdoc research story shows the word research in black type on a white background
The Senate Committee on Awards invites current or emeritus tenure-stream faculty members to nominate colleagues for the President’s Research Awards: the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award, the President’s Research Impact Award, and the President’s Research Excellence Award.
The 2018-19 competition marked the introduction of two disciplinary clusters for the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award and the President’s Research Excellence Award: 1) Engineering, Science, Technology, Health and Biomedicine, and 2) Social Sciences, Art & Design, Humanities, Business, Law and Education.
The President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA) recognizes full-time faculty members within 10 years of their first academic appointment, who have had a notable impact on their field, and made a significant contribution to advancing the University’s international reputation for research excellence and the York community’s intellectual life. The PERLA will be conferred to two researchers, one from each disciplinary cluster.
The President’s Research Impact Award recognizes full-time, active faculty members whose body of research or scholarship has translated into a notable impact on communities, individuals, public policies or practice beyond academe, or translated successfully into impactful commercial or other applications, while contributing to the University’s research culture and reputation.
The President’s Research Excellence Award (PREA) recognizes senior full-time faculty at the rank of Professor, with distinguished scholarly achievements who have had a notable impact on their field, and made a significant contribution to advancing the University’s international reputation for research excellence and the York community’s intellectual life. The PREA will be conferred in alternating years between the two disciplinary clusters. This year, the PREA is open to researchers in Cluster 2: Social Sciences, Arts & Design, Humanities, Business, Law and Education.
The criteria and nomination forms can be found on the Senate Committee on Awards website. The deadline for the submission of nominations is Friday, Nov. 27 at 4:30 p.m.
Welcome to the October 2020 issue of ‘Brainstorm’
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“Brainstorm,” a special edition of YFile publishing on the first Friday of every month, showcases research and innovation at York University. It offers compelling and accessible feature-length stories about the world-leading and policy-relevant work of York’s academics and researchers across all disciplines and Faculties and encompasses both pure and applied research.
Researchers find way to spot food spoilage, prevent waste, aid food security
A team of chemists have developed accurate, consumer-friendly methods of indicating whether food is safe for consumers. Sweeping ramifications address food security, waste prevention, consumer safety and even healthcare resources – that is, the prevention of hospital stays.
Grad student leads study on using AI to better assist in humanitarian crises
A PhD candidate launched a transdisciplinary study, with researchers from Harvard and the UN World Food Program, which looks at improving humanitarian needs assessments through a type of AI. He aims to build a new way of collecting data and a toolkit to aid an organization’s ability to respond to a crisis.
Study offers strategies to thwart unethical decisions by businesspeople
Comparing unethical decisions of Chinese and Canadian businesspeople, a research team unearths some social variations along the road to corruption. The findings, however, have wide-ranging, practical implications on how to prevent unscrupulous moves in any organization.
Launched in January 2017, “Brainstorm” is produced out of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs; overseen by Megan Mueller, senior manager, research communications; and edited by Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor and Ashley Goodfellow Craig, YFile deputy editor.
Study offers strategies to thwart unethical decisions by businesspeople
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In the depths of the 2008 recession, the Bank of America, having purchased Merrill Lynch, was gearing up for its largest-ever layoffs: up to 35,000 workers. It was at this cataclysmic point in time when Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain took to decorating his office to the tune of $1.2 million U.S. (ABC News). Why do people in positions of power use their authority unwisely? And what can be done about it?
The goal in this research was to determine why high-position members of organizations make unethical decisions
Justin Tan, professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, sought to answer these questions. He led a team of researchers focused on unethical decisions in the business world and the roles of power and status in making these decisions, and compared China and Canada.
Justin Tan
The differences between these two countries were interesting: When asked to explain the reasons behind their unethical decisions, study participants in China were more likely to cite position differences, while participants in Canada were more likely to cite work effort and personal abilities.
However, the findings have a broader impact: This new information provides key insights on behavior in workplace settings and greater understanding of unethical decision-making.
“Our findings expand research on the relationship between social hierarchy and unethical decision-making and provide practical insights on unethical behavior in organizations,” Tan explains.
Most importantly, Tan’s team offers some concrete suggestions for how to stop unethical decisions in the future.
The results of this research, funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and by Central South University (China), were published in the Journal of Business Ethics (2019).
Study fills important research void
Prior to this study, most research on unethical behavior in organizations looked at Western societies; comparative studies of unethical behavior across nations were rare. But Tan realized that much could be gained through a comparative analysis. “Our goal in this research was to determine why high-position members of organizations make unethical decisions,” he explains.
Tan and his team, including Chris Bell, also at York, and two academics from Central South University (Hunan, China), decided to focus on Canada and China.
The researchers had several hypotheses, including:
power is positively related to unethical decision-making;
status is positively related to unethical decision-making; and
status moderates the positive relationship between power and unethical decision-making.
Power is defined by Tan as “an asymmetrical discretion in bestowing or withholding valuable resources or outcomes” while status is defined as “the esteem and social worth that one has in others’ eyes.”
Participants were business students in Canada and China
The team recruited university business students in China and Canada with an average age of 20 years: 100 participants from China (nearly 60 per cent were women) and 83 from Canada (50 per cent were women).
The participants completed a pen-and-paper survey. Tan explains further: “We conduct a scenario experiment, using a role-playing game to capture participants’ unethical decisions.”
The researchers set up various scenarios, such as:
You have been appointed to be the supervisor of your workgroup. You have three subordinates. You have control over an unusually large amount of resources, compared with your peers who head other workgroups. After completing the task, you will have four distribution options for bonus allocation.
Power and status play role in unethical decisions
The findings showed how much power and status influence unethical decisions, although there were some differences. “Chinese participants showed a positive correlation between need for power and unethical decisions, and Canadian participants showed a positive correlation between status and unethical decisions,” Tan explains.
When questioned about why they made unethical decisions, 90 per cent of the participants (Canada and China together) provided rationales. Chinese participants are more likely to cite position differences, whereas Canadian participants are more likely to cite work effort and personal abilities.
Practical implications
To focus on the differences between the two countries would be missing the larger point of Tan’s work. The practical implications of this research lead to prevention strategies that could be applied in any organization, country or setting.
Suggestions to prevent unethical decisions
Tan’s team provides three main suggestions to prevent unethical decisions:
Organizations should guide higher-ranking members’ perceptions of their superior positions and their cognizance of their own behaviors and the effects on others.
Organizations should address the use of discretion by high-ranking personnel because more discretion facilitates greater opportunities to engage in unethical decision-making. If clear regulations were established around discretion, then organizations could reduce the incidence of unethical behavior.
Managers who wish to prevent unethical behavior should watch out for position- or performance-based superiority, which could induce unnecessary entitlements in reward distribution and lead to unethical decisions.
To read the article, “How Do Power and Status Differ in Predicting Unethical Decisions? A Cross-National Comparison of China and Canada,” visit the journal’s website. To learn ore about Tan, visit his Schulich profile page.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.
By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
Grad student leads study on using AI to better assist in humanitarian crises
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At York University, we aspire to better understand the human condition and the world around us and to employ the knowledge we gain in the service of society. One way to do this is through Artificial Intelligence (AI); the integration of AI into society is one of York’s key aspirational areas.
Tino Kreutzer
One intrepid grad student, Tino Kreutzer, in the School of Health Policy and Management, is doing just that – finding ways for AI to help society’s most vulnerable. He led a 13-person team whose members include York Professors Lora Appel and Aijun An as well as researchers from Harvard Medical School and the United Nations World Food Program.
The team considered how a form of AI called Natural Language Processing (NLP) could help to asses community needs in humanitarian crises. The findings were published in IBM Journal of Research & Development (2020). Kreutzer’s dissertation work is supervised by Professor James Orbinski, the inaugural director of the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research at York University.
“Current humanitarian assessments fail to capture the complex and rich context in which these crises unfold,” Kreutzer stresses. “There’s an urgent need to bridge the growing gulf between the people affected by humanitarian emergencies and response professionals through improving the quality and quantity of information provided by the affected population.”
Kreutzer emphasizes the pressing need to bridge the gulf between the people affected by humanitarian emergencies and response professionals
This is Kreutzer’s forte and, in fact, the subject of his PhD: Pioneering a novel system for understanding population needs in emergencies through the innovative use of new technology. Kreutzer has more than 10 years’ experience working in the response to humanitarian crises, natural disasters and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. He now heads KoBo, Inc., which maintains the free KoBoToolbox toolkit used for collecting interview data from people affected by disaster.
Needs assessment critical first step in humanitarian crisis
Needs assessments is vital for program planning, monitoring, evaluation and accountability. Evidence has shown that it profoundly affects an organization’s ability to respond to crises. And yet, Kreutzer contends, this is still a weak link in humanitarian response.
Needs assessments affect an organization’s ability to respond to crises. Image Credit: Community Liaison Agents of MONUSCO participate in a training session, Feb. 11 2015/Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo/Tino Kreutzer
He explains the challenges, “Current approaches often require interviewers to simplify complex, open-ended responses to questions. As a result, the amount and usefulness of information are severely limited.”
How AI could provide opportunities to gain qualitative information?
Kreutzer suspected NLP could be used to provide far-reaching new opportunities to capture qualitative data from voice responses and analyze it for relevant content to better inform humanitarian assistance decisions.
In this vein, his research venture, launched in 2018, consisted of two main components:
Design a system using NLP to transcribe, translate and analyze large sets of qualitative responses to a humanitarian need assessment survey with a view to improving the quality and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance.
Anticipate the ethical challenges of introducing this new technology and create a framework to reduce and mitigate these new risks.
Far more insights provided with new methodology, facilitated by AI
The table illustrates the difference that Kreutzer’s team discovered with respect to qualitative information secured by the researchers’ use of NLP, compared to current methods.
The comparison between current interviewing methodology and NLP-supported methodology. This shows how much more information can be gained through the latter
Kreutzer describes the advantages of using AI: “Using current methods, qualitative information was difficult to process, labor intensive and time consuming. NLP can provide potentially far-reaching new opportunities to rapidly analyze voice responses for relevant content to inform humanitarian assistance decisions.”
The answers provided in the new methodology could tell researchers much more about food insecurity, for example
Next step – Pilot project
Kreutzer proposes a pilot phase in a humanitarian crisis for which no transcription and translation models exist. The key stages would include:
Modifying an appropriate humanitarian assessment questionnaire to include more open-ended questions.
Generating a transcription and translation model: Collecting speech recordings, etc.
Creating an analysis model.
Building a toolkit that can be applied to all humanitarian data collection contexts.
Providing recommendations for replication and scaling up in other emergencies.
Publishing all results.
Kreutzer emphasizes that this new tool should work in conjunction with face-to-face interviews, which offer a more personable way to interact with people who have suffered trauma and are struggling to recover.
To read the article, visit the website. To learn more about this project, visit the website.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.
By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
Researchers find way to spot food spoilage, prevent waste, aid food security
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Don’t want to take a chance on the mayo that’s been lingering in your fridge for a few weeks? Professor Christopher Caputo, Canada Research Chair in Metal-Free Materials for Catalysis, has determined a way to test food to ensure that it’s safe for consumption. This finding could enhance consumer safety, prevent waste, aid food security and even spare healthcare resources by preventing poisoning.
This applicable new research could help determine which food in your fridge is safe to eat and which is not
The findings of this research, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and Inkbox Ink, were published in the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (2020).
Christopher Caputo. Photo credit Photograph by B.D. Colen, former Faculty of Science communicator in residence
Caputo, who joined the Faculty of Science in 2017, has an impressive track record, winning the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award in 2019 and the John Charles Polanyi Prize in Chemistry in 2018. He sat down with Brainstorm to discuss this exciting new research on how to detect food spoilage.
Q:You undertake research with real-world application. And now you’ve turned to food spoilage prevention – something of interest to everyone.
A: Yes, the nice thing about this type of chemistry is that it is digestible [no pun intended] to everybody. Everybody gets food going bad, everybody gets colours, and things changing colour to act as a sensor. I like this type of work because it can be easily communicated to the public, and it gets people excited about the work.
Q:What compelled you to pursue research in food spoilage?
A: It was definitely a team effort to look into food spoilage that began in 2018 and built on our previous work on reactive dyes.
What drove me to food spoilage? When we were setting up the lab, I came across some articles [Globe & Mail, 2014] highlighting the fact that in Canada, we throw away about seven billion kilograms of food each year, which is absurd. Food scarcity is increasing due to climate change. It’s getting harder to grow crops in the land.
I felt compelled to look a little deeper into why food spoils. Is there a solution, in chemistry, that could provide some insights? If we could prevent a fraction of food waste, it’s better than nothing. Because the act of food going bad is a bio-chemical reaction, I figured there’s work that can be done from a chemical prospective.
I’m not the first person to think of this; there’ve been a lot of interesting sensors developed for food spoilage, but nothing has been commercialized yet. Nobody has a sensor in their food packaging that tells you if the food is good or not.
Q:What were the objectives of this research?
A: We sought to develop a dual sensor to detect (by changing colour) both: (1) the presence of spoiled food (when food goes bad, it releases molecules called biogenic amines – this is what smells); and (2) the cause of the spoilage, which, in most cases, is the presence of oxygen. Bacteria love oxygen and, if oxygen is present, the bacteria will start to degrade the food and release the stinky biogenic amines.
We wanted to develop a sensor to detect both. Those were the high-level goals.
Q:Tell us about the experiment.
A: We went to York Lanes and bought some raw chicken. The post-doc working on the project, Dr. Ian Mallov, found a clever way to do the experiment by immobilizing our sensors into an eatable seaweed-derived gel as a way to test these real samples.
We put the chicken samples in the fridge and at room temperature, then watched them for six to 12 hours. We could see that, over time, the sensors on the chicken began to change colour.
The researchers put the chicken samples in the ‘fridge and at room temperature, then watched them for six to 12 hours
The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) states that meat starts to go bad after being out of refrigeration, at room temperature, after two hours. And our sensors [on the room-temperature chicken] showed this by changing colour, whereas the sensors in the chicken in the fridge never changed colour.
Q: What’s next for this research?
A: We’re still at the qualitative level; we can’t offer quantitative measures yet to measure the degree to which the meat, or food, is off. That’s the next phase of research for us.
I would like to get engaged in some interdisciplinary collaborations with biologists or mathematicians doing modelling. I think York is a wonderful ecosystem to undertake this kind of work.
Q:What kind of applications or commercialization do you see stemming from this research?
A: I see personal home use for leftovers. I truly feel that we prematurely throw leftovers away. When I was a kid, my mom used to throw food away the next day if we didn’t eat it. Now, I’ll eat it a week later… and it’s still good.
There’s terrific potential for the commercialization of a food spoilage sensor. Along these lines, we undertook an NSERC Idea-to-Innovation market assessment on this project. We discovered that there are some barriers due to liability, existing supply chains, etc. Sadly, the truth is companies might not want you to know if the food is bad before you buy it.
But I would love to pursue that type of application – a user-friendly, direct-to-consumer product.
Q: What kind of support has York provided?
A: We’ve been working with Innovation York on the potential commercialization. We filed intellectual property protection on this, with the assistance of Innovation York. I’m working with Laura McLachlan, associate director, Commercialization and Industry Partnerships. We’re in regular communications about ways in which we can take this further. Innovation York has been ultra-supportive of this work.
Speaking more broadly, the freedom to pursue whatever research we see fit is something that’s really beneficial at York.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.
By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
Award-winning conductor speaks about the power of music in challenging times
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“Choirs are important for connections, to each other and to our own voices, to our culture and our history… Music also gives us hope and strength as we move forward,” says Professor Lisette Canton, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design.
Canton is a choral and orchestral conductor, vocal coach and early music specialist and head of choral conducting at York University where she oversees three ensembles: the Chamber Choir, the Concert Choir and Men’s Chorus, and is in charge of the graduate program in choral music. She is also the founder and artistic director of the internationally acclaimed Ottawa Bach Choir, which recently won a JUNO Award in the category Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral.
Lisette Canton. Image courtesy of Ottawa Bach Choir
Canton opens up to Brainstorm on this victory, the ways in which musical performance has changed during the pandemic and how the choir can offer courage in these discombobulating times.
Q: Congratulations on the JUNO. What was it like to win this esteemed award?
A: It’s still surreal. We were screaming at the top of our lungs. We are grateful and honoured to have such unbelievable recognition. This was only the third time in history that a choir has won in this category: Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral.
The only downside was that we’d all bought fancy dresses and suits, for the big parties in Saskatoon, and now we have nowhere to wear them!
Q: How has your work changed since the pandemic?
A: In the beginning, it was devastating. We were supposed to be on tour in Germany. We were the only Canadian ensemble invited to Bachfest Leipzig 2020, a prestigious international festival.
Luckily, it was rescheduled for 2022. The organizers asked us to take part in a worldwide virtual performance of the St. John Passion in April 2020. That’s when we started to make virtual videos.
Ottawa Bach Choir. Image courtesy of the Choir
Q: Much has been said about singing and the transmission of COVID. What are your thoughts on this?
A: Singing has gotten a bad rap. But much of the narrative, in the early days of the pandemic, was based on anecdotal and sensational news. The real issue was more about how densely populated the gatherings were, lack of physical and social distancing, and ventilation, not so much about the singing.
Now, the narrative has shifted, and directors of professional choirs across the country have been meeting frequently online.
Q: What caused the shift in perspective?
Canton in action at York University
A: Some colleagues have been following peer-reviewed research from Europe, the United States and here in Canada. For example, University of Alberta researchers launched a study to determine whether singing is a high-risk behaviour during COVID-19. This work is starting to inform policy.
As professional choral musicians, we’re making sure that we’re part of a collaborative dialogue with public health officials and provincial ministries of health, so they have a more informed place from which to make policies.
Q: How are you proceeding with the three York ensembles and the Ottawa Bach Choir?
A: People can gather now, using provincial guidelines, two metres apart, etc. We will also shorten rehearsals. Ventilation indoors is another important aspect. Recording by videos and livestreaming are the new convention. The Ottawa Bach Choir will be going forward with concerts with provincial guidelines in place.
At York, on the academic side, we’ve gone online to deliver lectures. When we’re talking about performance [and teaching students], the in-person experience is vital. Doing this over Zoom will be a challenge. With singing together, you can’t do this over Zoom because there’s a delay. So, modified learning outcomes in the fall will be key. Hopefully, we can start phasing back as soon as is safely possible.
Q: How can music help people get through the pandemic?
A: That has been shown exponentially. When the whole world goes silent, it’s very detrimental on people’s mental health. Sharing music, in a different way, has been very important for people.
When the Ottawa Bach Choir released our virtual videos, the Governor General Julie Payette, who sings in the choir, sent them to all frontline healthcare workers across Canada and to Canadian embassies around the world. There were loads of emails in response. They spoke of how music provided such comfort.
There are 3.5 million people in Canada who sing in choirs – 10 per cent of the population. There are 28,000 choirs in this country. That’s huge. Choirs are important for connections, to each other and to our own voices, to our culture and our history… Music also gives us hope and strength as we move forward.
York’s Chamber Choir, led by Canton
Q: How has York prepared students for meaningful careers?
A: York is supportive of performance. I’ve taken the Chamber Choir on two major European tours, which included France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium. They’ve sung three times at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. This has been vital for these students, many of whom have gone into performance, conducting and teaching. In fact, there are six York alumni music students in the Ottawa Bach Choir and on the JUNO-award-winning recording!
Between Ottawa and Toronto, I have an immense workload to be honest, but I’m blessed with a lot of energy. I love what I do. It’s my passion, my joy.
To learn more about Canton, visit her Faculty profile page. To learn more about the Ottawa Bach Choir, visit the website.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.
By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
By and for local people: Grad student looks at energy through justice lens
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PhD Candidate Susan Morrissey Wyse and her supervisor Professor Christina E. Hoicka, in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, published a research paper that considered Local Energy Plans (LEPs) from a community perspective – that is, in a way that emphasized participation of local community members through ownership and control of energy. This is referred to as Community Energy or CE.
The two determined that LEPs are relevant to CE, and they represent a promising avenue for pursuing CE objectives. These objectives can be achieved by emphasizing the three components of CE – community participation, capacity and ownership – throughout LEP processes and actions. This highly original research has interwoven democracy and justice with sustainable energy transitions.
Christina Hoicka and Susan Morrissey Wyse
This research, conducted in the social exergy + energy lab, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and a Canada Graduate Scholarship, as well as the PowerStream Chair at York, was published in Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability (2019).
Community energy holds promise for greener energy and local benefits
The drive to contribute to a greener planet and address climate change has galvanized and compelled the research world for decades. Many scientists and academics on this quest believe that CE has great potential in two different ways: it could be an opportunity to transition to low-carbon energy systems; and, a chance to create additional benefits for local communities.
The drive for a greener planet has fueled research around the globe for many years. Christina Hoicka and Susan Morrissey Wyse consider the issue from a community lens
“There’s a trend for local communities, for example, municipalities, to create their own Local Energy Plans – a planning process that articulates energy-related actions, i.e. expected outcomes. The trend has seen considerable growth in many countries over the last decade,” explains Wyse, whose research with Hoicka is focused on the social impacts of energy, and how communities participate in and benefit from local low-carbon energy initiatives.
They say that while CE and LEPs both address energy activities in a local context, any further connection between these trends remains unclear. That’s why Wyse and Hoicka’s research, on assessing the connection between local energy plans and community energy, is so important.
Researchers undertook literature review, then analyzed 77 LEPs
The spread of identified Local Energy Plans across Canada
The researchers’ first step was to undertake a comprehensive literature review to group all research in CE and LEP together and take a fulsome look at it, collectively, to spot trends and key understandings. Their ultimate goal was to develop a framework to assess LEPs for their relevance to CE.
They analyzed 77 LEPs from across Canada for the ways in which they address the three components that define CE: community participation, community ownership and community capacity.
The questions that the researchers focused on pertained to actions around the following areas:
Low-carbon energy projects, which raised the issue of renewable energy, for example.
Models of CE ownership – here, the most common models for CE ownership discussed were renewable energy projects for community-owned buildings and local ownership of projects through the establishment of a local energy co-operative, where community members would be able to purchase shares.
Financial support of local ownership, to which participants responded with Revitalization Tax Exemption bylaws and financial incentives.
Use of local assets and local ownership of assets, which raised the topics of boosting local employment and the use of local goods and materials.
Local skills development and education related to energy systems, perception of new systems and/or behavioural change, which elicited responses about local public and youth education efforts and new/enhanced post-secondary education opportunities.
Key findings indicate this may be important new avenue to pursue
The key findings are that LEPs have emerged as a process that is both relevant to CE and capable of strategically addressing its components.
This project saw the potential for a boost in local employment and local skills development in energy
“Despite this, LEPs do not appear to reveal a radically different approach to the ‘closed and institutional’ models of traditional community involvement practices. This suggests that for CE advocates, LEPs may be considered to be an important avenue to pursue CE ambitions. LEPs could increase their relevance to CE by improving the processes and actions related to all three CE components,” says Hoicka.
Their research emphasizes that advocacy for supportive policies across multiple levels of governance remains critical, given that 99 per cent of LEPs occur in jurisdictions with provincial or territorial government programs supporting their development, and that most regulations and programs are enabled by governments at higher levels.
To read the article, “By and for local people: assessing the connection between local energy plans and community energy,” visit the journal’s website. To learn more about Hoicka and the social exergy + energy lab, see the lab’s webpage.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.
By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
Research investigates brain stimulation treatment for visual disorders
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Researchers at York University are the first to investigate whether non-invasive brain stimulation to the visual cortex would be an effective clinical application in the treatment of visual disorders.
Professor Jennifer Steeves, along with former PhD student Sara Rafique, conducted a study examining and comparing biomarkers of two different types of low-frequency brain stimulation to the visual cortex and found windows of brain plasticity that could be valuable in treating visual disorders.
VISTA (Vision: Science to Applications) provided funding for the research
“This is the first study to investigate the application of a clinical protocol of low frequency brain stimulation to visual cortex,” said Steeves, a core member of York University’s VISTA (Vision: Science to Applications), which provided funding for the research. “It reveals windows of brain plasticity that could have implication for the timing of treatment of visual disorders.”
The study, led by Rafique, examined the effects of non-invasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for therapeutic use in visual-related disorders. Using low-frequency rTMS, researchers were able to investigate the therapeutic potential of this application to the visual brain on altering levels of neurotransmitters (GABA and glutamate).
Using two rTMS regimes commonly used in clinical applications (rTMS to the visual cortex either in a single 20-minute session or five accelerated 20-minute sessions), and measured neurotransmitter concentrations before and after the sessions.
What they found is that neurotransmitter concentrations showed no change following only a single session of rTMS to the visual cortex, but one day of accelerated rTMS (five sessions in a row) significantly reduced neurotransmitter (GABA+) concentration for up to 24 hours with levels returning to baseline within one week of treatment.
This indicates that accelerated rTMS has greater potential for approaches targeting plasticity, or in cases where there are altered neurotransmitter responses in visual disorders.
“These results provide preliminary insight into a critical window of plasticity with accelerated rTMS in which adjunct therapies may offer better functional outcome,” said Steeves.
The following is a statement from York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton:
La version française suit la version anglaise.
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past few months, several incidents bearing on the academic freedom of members of the York Community have been brought to my attention. In each case, individuals and groups external to the University have appealed to senior leadership to intercede against faculty members due to statements made, or research published, in the course of their legitimate scholarly activities. I believe this presents an important opportunity to restate York’s unequivocal support of academic freedom.
Universities play an essential role in creating new knowledge and challenging existing ideas. They also provide a forum where we can discuss difficult and complex issues, hold arguments up to scrutiny, and where people can learn from each other and work towards solutions. The protection afforded by academic freedom, within limits prescribed by law, is a foundational value of every university, necessary to our work to expand the boundaries of human understanding and support a diverse, inclusive and democratic society.
Academic freedom does not end at the walls of the classroom or the boundaries of campus. Professors and instructional staff meet their teaching, research and service responsibilities through a variety of academic activities, within their institutions and
the community beyond. The deep engagement of the York Community with the scientific, economic, social and political concerns of our society is a defining feature of our University.
It is essential here to make a distinction concerning York’s defence of the academic freedom of its community members. We must always defend the right of students, professors and instructional staff to express their views and conduct free inquiry. It is, however, not required that we agree with the content of that speech. Free expression, especially on controversial topics, is best regulated by vigorous counterspeech. It is not appropriate for the University to decide which side of a particular issue is correct. This function should be the exclusive preserve of peer review within the Academy, and robust dialogue within civil society beyond the University’s walls.
How participants engage in the debate of course matters a great deal. No matter our personal stake in an issue, it is essential that discourse on controversial topics not devolve into personal attacks or speech that is harassing, threatening, racist, hateful or designed to silence opposing views. All participants in a debate must take care to ensure that they do not, inadvertently or otherwise, empower or unleash individuals, beliefs or expressions that are antithetical to open and productive dialogue. York University condemns all forms of discrimination, racism and hate, whether it is Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, or directed against any racialized or marginalized individual or group. Such speech is contrary to our foundational values as an institution.
The University is currently engaged in a variety of activities designed to enhance our ability to engage with controversial topics while maintaining an equitable and inclusive environment, where diverse voices can feel safe expressing their views. While this work began with the disturbing events of Nov. 20, 2019, I now view it as a proactive, long-term initiative that will position York as a leader on academic freedom and community safety. We have also undertaken several actions to address the harmful impact of systemic racism on members of our community. Included in this work is the targeted hiring of Black,
racialized and Indigenous faculty members; the creation of an anti-Black racism framework; and the development of a University Equity Plan. I encourage community members to read my recent update on these actions.
As a leading research university, York remains steadfast in its defence of academic freedom. We will not censure any member of our community for their research or their public statements made in the course of their scholarly work within limits prescribed by law and applicable policies governing the responsible conduct of research. Where serious threats are made against academic freedom, we will not hesitate to stand up on behalf of our community.
Sincerely,
Rhonda L. Lenton President and Vice-Chancellor
Engagement de York envers la liberté universitaire
Chers collègues,
Au cours des derniers mois, plusieurs incidents portant sur la liberté universitaire des membres de la communauté de York ont été portés à mon attention. Dans chaque cas, des individus et des groupes extérieurs à l’Université ont demandé à la haute direction d’intercéder contre des membres du corps enseignant en raison de déclarations faites ou de recherches publiées dans le cadre d’activités universitaires légitimes. Je souhaite saisir cette occasion importante de réaffirmer le soutien sans équivoque de York à la liberté universitaire.
Les universités jouent un rôle essentiel dans la création de nouveaux savoirs et la remise en question d’idées existantes. Elles servent également de forum dans lequel nous pouvons discuter de questions complexes, soumettre des arguments à un examen minutieux, apprendre les uns des autres et chercher des solutions. La protection offerte par la liberté universitaire, dans les limites prescrites par la loi, est une valeur essentielle de toute université et est cruciale pour repousser les frontières de la connaissance humaine et appuyer une société diverse, inclusive et démocratique.
La liberté universitaire va au-delà des murs des salles de classe ou des limites du campus. Le corps professoral et le corps enseignant assument leurs responsabilités en matière d’enseignement, de recherche et de service dans le cadre de diverses activités universitaires, au sein de leurs institutions et de la communauté. L’engagement profond de la communauté de York à l’égard des préoccupations scientifiques, économiques, sociales et politiques de notre société est une caractéristique déterminante de notre Université.
Il importe de faire une distinction au sujet de la défense par York de la liberté universitaire des membres de sa communauté. Nous devons toujours défendre le droit des membres du corps étudiant, du corps professoral et du corps enseignant d’exprimer leur point de vue et de mener un libre examen. Toutefois, nous ne sommes pas tenus d’être d’accord avec le contenu de ce discours. La liberté d’expression, en particulier pour des sujets controversés, est mieux réglementée par un contre-discours vigoureux. Il ne revient pas à l’Université de décider quel camp a raison pour une question particulière. Cette fonction devrait être l’apanage de l’évaluation par les pairs au sein de l’Académie et d’un dialogue solide au sein de la société civile au-delà des murs de l’Université.
La façon dont les participants s’engagent dans le débat est évidemment primordiale. Quel que soit notre enjeu personnel dans un dossier, il est essentiel que les discours sur des sujets controversés ne se transforment pas en attaques personnelles ou en discours harcelants, menaçants, racistes, haineux ou destinés à faire taire des points de vue divergents. Tous les participants d’un débat doivent veiller à ne pas, par inadvertance ou autrement, habiliter des individus ou donner libre cours à des croyances ou des opinions contraires à un dialogue ouvert et productif. L’Université York condamne toutes formes de discrimination, de racisme et de haine, qu’elles soient islamophobes, antisémites, anti-Noirs, anti-Autochtones ou dirigées contre tout individu ou groupe racialisé ou marginalisé. Un tel discours est contraire à nos valeurs fondamentales institutionnelles.
L’Université s’est engagée dans diverses activités destinées à améliorer notre capacité d’aborder des sujets controversés tout en maintenant un environnement équitable et inclusif dans lequel les diverses voix peuvent s’exprimer en toute sécurité. Bien que ce travail ait commencé avec les événements troublants du 20 novembre 2019, je le considère maintenant comme une initiative proactive et à long terme qui positionnera York comme un chef de file en matière de liberté universitaire et de sécurité communautaire. Nous avons également entrepris plusieurs actions pour lutter contre les effets nocifs du racisme systémique sur les membres de notre communauté. Cela comprend l’embauche ciblée de professeurs noirs, racialisés et autochtones, la création d’un cadre de lutte contre le racisme antiNoirs et l’élaboration d’un plan d’équité universitaire. J’encourage les membres de la communauté à lire ma mise à jour récente sur ces actions.
En tant qu’université de recherche de premier plan, York reste fermement investie dans sa défense de la liberté universitaire. Nous ne censurerons aucun membre de notre communauté pour ses recherches ou ses déclarations publiques faites dans le cadre de travaux d’érudition, dans les limites prescrites par la loi et par les politiques applicables régissant la conduite responsable de la recherche. Lorsque la liberté universitaire est gravement menacée, nous n’hésiterons pas à prendre position au nom de notre communauté.
