Tag: VP Research and Innovation

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Updates on resources, supports and opportunities for York community provided at fall Virtual Town Hall

Vari Hall
York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton

Students, staff and faculty had an opportunity to ask York University’s senior leadership team questions about the new term and their academic, research and professional work during the all-community Virtual Town Hall on Sept. 21.

The event featured President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton, Provost and Vice-President Academic Lisa Philipps, Vice-President Research & Innovation Amir Asif, Vice-President Equity, People and Culture Sheila Cote-Meek, Vice-President Finance and Administration Carol McAulay, Vice-President Advancement Jeff O’Hagan and Vice-Provost Students Lucy Fromowitz, answering questions received through Zoom and by email.

Following a land acknowledgement, Lenton began her opening remarks by welcoming the participants to a new academic year and emphasizing that decision-making by University leadership throughout the pandemic has prioritized the safety and wellbeing of the York community. The president encouraged the use of COVID-19 tracking apps and discussed protective measures such as plexiglass barriers that have been installed to protect those accessing campuses. Lenton assured participants that the YU Better Together website, which includes a new COVID-19 case counter, has resources to keep the community fully informed about the ongoing pandemic response.

Lenton also discussed the recent disruption to the eClass platform and talked about how the UIT team will keep working to improve the performance and reliability of eClass and to prevent disruptions in the future. UIT responded quickly to the disruption and restored performance, such that the system is now working well. The president said that further funds are being invested to enhance York’s IT systems and expertise.

Regarding the University’s strategic priorities, Lenton provided an update on scenario planning around enrolment challenges and potential budget impacts, noting that the outlook has improved considerably since the spring and that York is on track to meet targets, an impressive accomplishment for the entire community.

The president also spoke to the new academic plan (UAP) for 2020 to 2025, outlining strategies to overcome the harmful legacy of systemic anti-Black racism in the context of a new Equity Plan for the University, conversations to inform an Anti-Black Racism Frameworkand the appointment of Professor Carl James as senior advisor, equity and representation, in the Division of Equity, People and Culture.

To close her remarks, Lenton discussed York’s new brand strategy, which aligns with the UAP, and centres on how York is committed to driving positive change in the world around us. Over the coming weeks and months, she said that community members can expect to see the brand come to life in many ways through training, updates on key institutional projects and a new communication campaign with vibrant new visuals and stories.

The interactive portion of the town hall began with a question from a student about which libraries and food facilities on campus will be open with social distancing protocols. McAulay answered by directing community members to the YU Better Together website, which she indicated has the most up to date information about specific buildings and services that are operating. Philipps added that library spaces are available for booking for those who require a quiet study space on campus, with more information available on the York University Libraries website.

In response to a number of questions about the opening of the archives and whether the libraries will allow students to take out and return books, Philipps elaborated that the libraries have done extensive work to expand the range of resources available electronically though agreements with publishers and a digitization service. She outlined a curbside pickup service for those who need to take out books that aren’t available digitally.

One participant asked a live question about plans for the winter term and whether most classes will be online or in person. Lenton responded to the question with assurances that, in order for everyone to know what to expect as soon as possible, a decision was made to continue with the same format and provisions as the fall term, with the majority of courses being offered online. For courses that require in-person instruction, Lenton discussed the agreement that information would be clearly marked on course outline so that students would know about their requirements and what safety precautions are being put in place. Philipps added that a survey of instructors is wrapping up so that this information will be available for students before they enrol in winter courses.

Participants asked many questions about international studies, including when international students can expect to be able to travel to Canada and experience in-person classes and when domestic students will know whether than they can participate in winter term exchanges abroad. Lenton shared that York was the first University to submit a plan to the federal government about how they would potentially support incoming international students in the quarantine process, and that the York leadership continue to work with other universities and the government to coordinate future planning. Despite uncertainty around the opening of borders, Lenton assured students that York is ready to be responsive.

One community member asked whether York will consider funding a campus-wide automated closed captioning capability for Zoom to support universal design for learning, which the president welcomed and committed to posting a fulsome answer after an opportunity for a conversation.

Several participants asked about how the community would be notified and what steps would be taken in the event that students and employees were exposed to individual who tested positive for COVID-19. Fromowitz outlined protocols in place to protect those who have been on campus, including contact tracing, immediate notification, self-isolation rooms for students in residence and updates on the YU Better Together website.

A question was asked live about York’s next steps to implement the aspects of the UAP that recognize the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the need to reorient education toward sustainability. Philipps spoke to the desire for ongoing engagement to determine how energies should be directed, staff resources assigned to continue the conversation and resources available through the Academic Innovation Fund. Asif elaborated that information would be brought forward about initiatives being done in collaboration with the UN and encourages interested students to contact his office about opportunities to work on aspects of the SDGs. Lenton added that she is excited so see how the University community will come together to think about how to make a profound difference.

Staff had questions related to remote working and how the University leadership envisions the future of the workplace, which Cote-Meek addressed by discussing opportunities to work on an employee-centred remote work policy in the near future. Lenton added that some of these issues are covered in collective agreements and that these conversations will take place with employee groups and unions. A question also arose regarding whether the University has explored early retirement for members under the York pension plan. Cote-Meek said a voluntary exit program is being explored. McAulay added that York’s pension plan would not be a vehicle for such a program as retirement age is determined by the plan.

Further to the president’s earlier remarks, several participants had questions regarding support for students and faculty using eClass. The president reiterated that that the system is behaving reliably and that it has been able to manage trials with more capacity than the current peak usage experienced in the first week of classes. Philipps encouraged users to explore information and support services available on eClass, such as a chat function. Fromowitz directed participants to a recently developed Student Guide to Remote Learning for further support.

In response to questions about students experiencing financial challenges, Lenton provided information on York University Emergency Bursaries available to students and the University’s goal of continuing to support that fund. O’Hagan provided an update on the tremendous support from the York community in helping students through this difficult time, noting that $425,000 has been raised for the Emergency COVID-19 Student Relief Fund through contributions, with matching from the University. Fromowitz explained that bursary funds are being expanded for the fall and that students can apply for financial supports through the Student Financial Profile through Student Financial Services.

Lenton closed the town hall by reminding all members of the York community to prioritize their mental health and wellbeing, and outlining remote resources to support their success, including academic support and counselling services, Teaching Commons workshops and information available at yorku.ca/MentalHealth and yorku.ca/BetterTogether.

The town hall livestream can be viewed at https://conversations.info.yorku.ca/first-page/webcast/.

New freshwater database tells water quality story for 12K lakes globally

Lake surrounded by trees
Lake surrounded by trees

Although less than one per cent of all water in the world is freshwater, it is what we drink and use for agriculture. In other words, it’s vital to human survival. York University researchers have just created a publicly available water quality database for close to 12,000 freshwater lakes globally – almost half of the world’s freshwater supply – that will help scientists monitor and manage the health of these lakes.

A sunset caught over Boundary Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. Photo by Amanda Liczner
A sunset caught over Boundary Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. Photo by Amanda Liczner

The study, led by Faculty of Science Postdoctoral Fellow Alessandro Filazzola and master’s student Octavia Mahdiyan, collected data for lakes in 72 countries, from Antarctica to the United States and Canada. Hundreds of the lakes are in Ontario.

“The database can be used by scientists to answer questions about what lakes or regions may be faring worse than others, how water quality has changed over the years and which environmental stressors are most important in driving changes in water quality,” says Filazzola.

The team included a host of graduate and undergraduate students working in the laboratory of Associate Professor Sapna Sharma in addition to a collaboration with Assistant Professor Derek Gray of Wilfrid Laurier University, Associate Professor Catherine O’Reilly of Illinois State University and York University Associate Professor Roberto Quinlan.

The researchers reviewed 3,322 studies from as far back as the 1950s along with online data repositories to collect data on chlorophyll levels, a commonly used marker to determine lake and ecosystem health. Chlorophyll is a predictor of the amount of vegetation and algae in lakes, known as primary production, including invasive species such as milfoil.

“Human activity, climate warming, agricultural, urban runoff and phosphorus from land use can all increase the level of chlorophyll in lakes. The primary production is most represented by the amount of chlorophyll in the lake, which has a cascading impact on the phytoplankton that eat the algae and the fish that eat the phytoplankton and the fish that eat those fish,” says Filazzola. “If the chlorophyll is too low, it can have cascading negative effects on the entire ecosystem, while too much can cause an abundance of algae growth, which is not always good.”

Warming summer temperatures and increased solar radiation from decreased cloud cover in the northern hemisphere also contributes to an increase in chlorophyll, while more storm events caused by climate change contribute to degraded water quality, says Sharma. “Agricultural areas and urban watersheds are more associated with degraded water quality conditions because of the amount of nutrients input into these lakes.”

David Lake as the sun goes down in Killarney Provincial Park. Photo by Amanda Liczner
David Lake as the sun goes down in Killarney Provincial Park. Photo by Amanda Liczner

The researchers also gathered data on phosphorous and nitrogen levels – often a predictor of chlorophyll – as well as lake characteristics, land use variables and climate data for each lake. Freshwater lakes are particularly vulnerable to changes in nutrient levels, climate, land use and pollution.

“In addition to drinking water, freshwater is important for transportation, agriculture, and recreation, and provides habitats for more than 100,000 species of invertebrates, insects, animals and plants,” says Sharma. “The database can be used to improve our understanding of how chlorophyll levels respond to global environmental change and it provides baseline comparisons for environmental managers responsible for maintaining water quality in lakes.”

The researchers started looking only at Ontario lakes, but quickly expanded it globally as although there are thousands of lakes in Ontario a lot of the data is not as readily available as it is in other regions of the world.

Postdoctoral Fellow Alessandro Filazzola standing at the edge of David Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. Photo by Amanda Liczner
Postdoctoral Fellow Alessandro Filazzola standing at the edge of David Lake in Killarney Provincial Park. Photo by Amanda Liczner

“The creation of this database is a feat typically only accomplished by very large teams with millions of dollars, not by a single lab with a few small grants, which is why I am especially proud of this research,” says Sharma.

The research is published in Nature’s Scientific Data journal.

York University celebrates National Research Administrator Day, Sept. 25

research graphic

The Office of Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) invites York University community members to attend a virtual event to mark National Research Administrator Day on Sept. 25. This special event recognizes the vital role that the University’s research administrators play each and every day.

When: Friday, Sept. 25, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Where: https://yorku.zoom.us/j/99036563922?pwd=cUIwZHZOTE5PQUF6b0RPSE5pbmdLdz09

Speaking at this event are: President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton; Vice-President Research & Innovation Amir Asif; Professor Laura Levin, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, and director, Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts & Technology; and Professor Doug Crawford, Canada Research Chair in Visual-Motor Neuroscience, Distinguished Research Professor in Neuroscience and scientific director, Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA); and other leaders. 

David Phipps, assistant vice-president, Research Strategy & Impact, VPRI, will also conduct some compelling interviews. 

Study finds adults with children under 18 at home report using alcohol to cope with stress of COVID-19

Research word graphic
Research word graphic

York University psychology researchers surveyed Canadians early in the pandemic and found that those who had at least one child under the age of 18 at home, or who experienced greater depression or a lack of social connectedness, were more likely to report using alcohol to cope with distress during COVID-19. The results are published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Jeffrey Wardell
Jeffrey Wardell

Assistant Professors Jeffrey Wardell and Matthew Keough in the Faculty of Health’s Department of Psychology co-led a survey of 320 Canadians who drink alcohol, using an online crowd-sourcing platform. The survey assessed work- and home-related factors, psychological factors, and alcohol-related outcomes over a 30-day period beginning within one month of the initiation of the COVID-19 emergency response. The average age of respondents was 32 years old. The goal of the study was to determine whether people were using alcohol as a coping strategy during the pandemic and, if so, to understand who was more likely to report this behaviour.

Participants in the study reported moderate drinking on average during the early stages of the pandemic, consuming between two and four drinks once or twice a week, which was similar to their alcohol consumption prior to the pandemic. However, some participants reported increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic, and the researchers aimed to understand risk factors associated with increased alcohol use.

Matthew Keough
Matthew Keough

The survey results showed the use of alcohol as a coping strategy was highest among parents who had children below the age of 18 at home (compared to those who did not), individuals experiencing greater depression, and individuals reporting more social disconnection. Drinking to cope, in turn, was related to increased alcohol use following the onset of the pandemic, as well as alcohol-related problems.

The researchers believe the finding that parents were more likely to report using alcohol to cope is particularly noteworthy.

“While the pandemic has been challenging for everyone, our data suggest that parents’ well-being was especially impacted,” says Keough. “Parents have been coping with many stressors and responsibilities during COVID-19, which potentially include working from home, homeschooling young children, and managing their own negative emotions. Our data suggests that drinking alcohol may have been a main coping strategy among stressed out parents.”

The study also found that income loss was associated with increased alcohol consumption early in the pandemic, whereas living alone was associated with increased solitary drinking behaviour, but these associations were not explained by the use of alcohol as a coping strategy.

Researchers say the study points to the importance of addressing coping-related alcohol use during the pandemic.

“Using alcohol to cope with distress is a clearly established risk factor for alcohol use disorder,” says Wardell. “This is concerning because these alcohol problems could worsen over time, suggesting it may be important to help these individuals find more positive coping strategies rather than using alcohol to cope.”

Investigating connections between COVID-19 and long-term care facilities

As Canada has navigated the life-altering challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of long-term care homes has frequently come into question. Occupied by many of the country’s eldest citizens, these facilities have become a staple in the conversation surrounding COVID-19. This is not only due to their occupants being amongst the most vulnerable to the virus, but also because the conditions in which seniors are receiving care leave much to be desired.

Pat Armstrong
Pat Armstrong

Department of Sociology professor Pat Armstrong has done extensive research on the shortcomings of long-term care in Canada and other countries. Many of the journal articles she has published in recent months have revealed details which help to paint the picture of the unique relationship between this facet of healthcare and COVID-19.

Armstrong highlights several flaws which must be addressed in the long-term care facility infrastructure going forward, beyond this moment in time. Most notably, she argues that the for-profit ownership of nursing homes often contributes to negative trends in the form of lower staffing levels, poor wages and the lack of quality materials.

“COVID-19 has exposed to the public what years of research have demonstrated,” Armstrong explained. “The pandemic has made it clear that we underfund, understaff and undervalue our places for people who need 24-hour care. The public has become increasingly aware of how important families, food, laundry and cleaning are to physical and emotional health.”

In long-term care homes across Canada, nurses and personal support workers are subject to poor treatment, are not compensated fairly and are not given adequate equipment, but are still responsible for large groups of individuals with complex health conditions. Historically, many of these professionals have needed to work at multiple homes just to make ends meet.

For patients in these long-term care facilities, the consequences of the pre-existing conditions faced by staff can have fatal impacts in a time when social distancing has become integral to preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Looking ahead, there is plenty of work to be done to change the notion of “person-centred care” from a myth to a reality.

As Armstrong explains in one of her recent articles, the misconception of older patients being easier for healthcare professionals to care for has bled into the widespread misinformed understanding of nursing homes being placed on the lower end of the clinical hierarchy. The assumption implies that the care required is uncomplicated, and feeds into further misconceptions of women – many of whom are new to Canada – being equipped to handle these complex roles without the training, education or tools they need.

“Current conditions in nursing homes provide a classic example of systemic discrimination. Armstrong said. “We need a federal labour force strategy that provides funding to provinces and territories. We need better standards for working conditions and education of staff. We need employment that offers decent wages, benefits, mental health counselling, and the proper supplies. Because the conditions of work and care are so intertwined, we’ve ended up in this situation.”

To learn more about Armstrong’s findings on the subject, read her recently published works, including “What’s Missing from Discussions on Nursing Homes,” “Restoring Trust: COVID-19 and the Future of Long-Term Care” and “Re-imagining Long-term Residential Care in the COVID-19 Crisis.”

Welcome to the September 2020 issue of ‘Brainstorm’

Brainstorm graphic

“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.

In the September 2020 issue

How will COVID-19 change us as a global society? Will equity lose ground?
Four York U professors, women in diverse fields, bring unique perspectives to the table as they consider equity in the midst and aftermath of the pandemic. If society is measured on how it treats its most vulnerable, will we encounter greater disparity post-COVID-19?

Academics’ visionary reactions to the pandemic prove we need art more than ever
Two artists and scholars in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design respond to the coronavirus and remind us of how important the arts are to society, especially in these unparalleled times. What sector, other than the arts, could reflect so powerfully on the pandemic’s impact on our collective soul?

How a belief system, with justice in mind, ends up silencing Indigenous voices
Glendon Professor pens key article in which he argues that political theorists, basing their perspectives and world views on rationalism, turn a blind eye to Indigenous voices. This kind of thinking will be a permanent roadblock to reconciliation.

Camera in hand, HIV stakeholders asked to capture engagement – Bonus video
A grad student taps into a previously unexplored community in HIV service delivery and programming: the stakeholders. She puts a camera in their hands, literally, and discovers many visual metaphors for the journey of HIV – all of which have compelling implications for practice.

Study on microdosing psychedelics finds benefits outweigh challenges
Research led by a PhD student in York’s clinical psychology program suggests that the benefits of small doses of LSD – such as enhanced mood, creativity, focus and sociability – may overshadow the challenges. While the most commonly reported drawback of microdosing was “none,” clinical studies are still required.

VISTA-Lassonde team first to tackle grainy image issue with machine learning
Researchers at the Lassonde School of Engineering have made a breakthrough in tackling image noise, an undesired by-product of digital photography. This research, supported by VISTA and NSERC, could mean a profound enhancement in computer vision applications, which will be of great interest to tech companies.

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.

How will COVID-19 change us as a global society? Will equity lose ground?

The pandemic has brought to the fore inequities in health care, labour, mental health access and global health

“Cockroach infestations, residents left to wallow in soiled diapers, COVID-19 patients allowed to wander around, forceful feeding of the elderly and a ‘culture of fear to use supplies because those cost money.’” This horrific vision, published in the Toronto Star (May 20, 2020), described what the Canadian Armed Forces encountered at five Ontario nursing homes.

Most Canadians were astounded by this, but not Faculty of Health Professor Tamara Daly. She’s been studying long-term care (LTC) for 20 years.

“These revelations were shocking, but not a surprise. This has been happening for years, and this information is readily available in critical incident reports publicly posted on government websites. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fault lines in this system,” she says.

The pandemic has brought to the fore inequities in health care, labour, mental health access and global health

Tamara Daly on making long-term care a priority

Tamara Daly

Daly, also director of York’s Centre for Aging Research and Education, notes that the challenges in LTC are linked to society’s failure to appreciate women’s work and the aging population.

“We undervalue what we consider to be women’s work and we undervalue older people. Most personal care workers (PSWs) are women. PSWs are not well paid, have few benefits and their work is often temporary.

“We do see exceptions. In Nordic countries, there are better workplace protections and working conditions. Long-term care facilities aren’t understaffed in the same way they are in Ontario.”

She points to an aphorism in the LTC field: “Good working conditions create good caring conditions.”

“Combine the poor working conditions LTC workers have with our ageist assumptions about older people and what they deserve at the end of their lives… When you put those two factors together, we tend to forget LTC. But as people continue to live longer, most of us will face the challenge of living in an LTC setting. We must make improved care and working conditions in LTC a priority.”

Kelly Pike on how COVID-19 affects the supply chain

Professor Kelly Pike (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) considers COVID-19-based equity issues in a different way. Her research focuses on garment workers in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically those in Lesotho, a small, landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa. It’s a poor nation that relies heavily on the garment industry, the largest private employer. This industry fits into the global supply chain by securing the raw materials, such as buttons and zippers, from other countries; then its factory workers assemble jeans, t-shirts and underwear for external markets including the United States.

Kelly Pike

The corporations purchasing the garments are supposed to send auditors to the Lesotho plants to ensure that health and safety conditions for the workers are upheld. But historically this has been met with non-compliance by garment factory owners.

The situation improved in 2010-11, when the International Labour Organization launched the Better Work program to encourage buyers, suppliers, union and government to improve compliance. But the 2016 withdrawal of the program undid some progress. Pike worries that COVID-19 could further exacerbate the issue for workers.

“With global supply chains, the impact of the pandemic is affecting everyone, even the big clothing companies. Sourcing is a problem. Lesotho sources raw materials from China and, with COVID-19, it can’t get raw materials. In turn, retail stores aren’t selling because they’re not getting new product and consumers aren’t buying because they’re losing jobs.”

Pike emphasizes that the impact of COVID-19 is most painfully felt in a developing country like Lesotho, and in a certain segment of the population: women, who represent the majority of the labour force. “Before the pandemic, there were existing problems, like high unemployment, poverty, health issues and lack of work alternatives. As COVID-19 paralyzes the supply chain, workers in Lesotho, primarily women, are losing their jobs and may be forced to turn to more dangerous forms of work, like selling their bodies.”

Nazilla Khanlou on how COVID-19 has created a “syndemic”

With millions out of work or locked down in their homes to halt the spread of the virus, other issues are exacerbated. One of them, notes Professor Nazilla Khanlou (Faculty of Health), is gender-based violence (GBV).

Nazilla Khanlou

“Early in the pandemic, reports came out about how violence against women had increased due to lockdown measures. Families were spending more time together, but it was also creating a situation where victims of abuse were not able to access services they needed, like shelters,” she explains. “The nature of this pandemic has increased the risk of violence for those women who are in difficult situations to begin with, and created new settings where they may be more at risk of violence.”

Khanlou, who holds the Women’s Health Research Chair in Mental Health, points to an emerging “syndemic” – the combination of COVID-19 with two other pandemics – that of racism and GBV. Together, they form what she identifies as the 2020 Syndemic of COVID-19, GBV and racism. She notes that “gendered health disparities pathways result in synergistic health disadvantage for certain segments of the population, including racialized women at risk of gender-based violence during COVID-19 pandemic’s response and recovery phases.”

Through their recent knowledge synthesis project, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Khanlou and her team are producing knowledge outputs to help inform mental health support for racialized women at risk of GBV. One example is their publicly accessible Information Sheet that addresses risk factors and systemic challenges, and offers suggestions for service providers. It was co-written with academic and community partners on the project.

Roojin Habibi on the value of solidarity

What can governments do to address COVID-19 and inequity? The big problem, says Osgoode Hall Law School PhD student Roojin Habibi, is that when faced with a crisis, governments tend to lose sight of global solidarity.

Roojin Habibi

“There’s a certain wisdom we often repeat in global health – that the world is only as healthy as its weakest health system,” says Habibi, a research Fellow in Global Health Law at York’s Global Strategy Lab.

“Rattled by SARS in 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised the International Health Regulations, an international legal agreement that governs how countries cooperate and coordinate to mount an effective global response to diseases that spread internationally. Despite high hopes to do better post-SARS, it’s alarming how in this COVID-19 crisis, knee-jerk reactions kick in and promises that were agreed to in the Regulations are suddenly ‘nice to do, but we’ll focus on our own country for now – or indefinitely.’”

Habibi, also a consultant to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDs, believes there’s no more stinging example of a country rebuking solidarity with others than when the President of the United States (U.S.) announced U.S. withdrawal from the WHO. “The fact that a state could contemplate this course of action amid an unprecedented pandemic was shocking.”

She’s also concerned about global cohesion when a vaccine is ready. “We need a vaccine that everyone in the world will be able to access. To truly overcome this pandemic, we need everyone, everywhere, to be protected. But as individual countries start cutting deals behind closed doors with specific private manufacturers, we drift further from that ideal.”

Can positive next steps be taken to lessen these inequities?

Daly calls for more oversight: “Public accountability and transparency are critical in long-term care. We need more eyes on this, so that advocacy organizations and researchers can examine data and see when things are wrong.”

Pike believes it’s time to stand up: “The world’s now realizing how important the supply chain is. Everyone along the supply chain is affected negatively, but the people at the bottom are affected a thousand-fold. Now’s the time for buyers to stand up, pay up and help these people who may die if they don’t have better conditions.”

Khanlou calls for improved and more universal access to mental health resources: “The pandemic has shown us how important it is to have a robust public health system. We need to expand that to a public mental health system, where access to a range of mental health promotion programs, and to mental illness and addictions prevention and rehabilitation services, are available universally to all Canadians.”

Habibi advocates learning from the best policy responses: “There will be other pandemics, so scholars and governments need to publish our collective thinking and make it available. There’s a proliferation of databases coming out now synthesizing the effectiveness of COVID-19 laws and policies. With this information in hand, we will be able to compare countries’ responses to the pandemic and find out which policies were the most successful at improving people’s well-being.”

To learn more about Daly, visit her Faculty profile page. To read more about Pike’s work, visit her Faculty profile page. To learn more about Khanlou’s research, visit her Faculty profile page. To learn more about Habibi, visit her profile page.

Paul Fraumeni is an award-winning freelance writer who has specialized in covering university research for more than 20 years. To learn more, visit his website. 

How a belief system, with justice in mind, ends up silencing Indigenous voices

Yann Allard-Tremblay, of the Huron-Wendat First Nation, wrote a seminal article in the Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy last year. This Glendon scholar contends that rationalism, embraced by politicians and political theorists, is, in fact, a source of violence because it ignores and distorts the voices of the Indigenous peoples. His article focuses on the population of Turtle Island, referring to the continent of North America. In many Indigenous stories about the universe and human origins, the turtle, an icon of life itself, is said to support the world.

Yann Allard-Tremblay

This is a vital discussion related to reconciliation, at a key point in time when our nation is seeking to transform (and fix) existing oppressive social and political structures so as to ensure greater inclusion and facilitate the continued existence of Indigenous peoples.

Where are we going wrong? Allard-Tremblay, who came to York in 2017, has some answers. Associated with the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, he specializes in political and social theory, with an interest in democracy, political pluralism and Indigenous peoples.

Why is rationalism ineffective?

Allard-Tremblay underscores the short-sightedness of rationalism. “It is optimistic that human reason has the power to apprehend the whole of reality. Reason assumes that there should be a single uniform and coherent scheme to apprehend reality and this scheme is a scientific one.”

The real problem, according to Allard-Tremblay, is two-fold: (1) rationalism, due to its limitations, excludes and/or distorts Indigenous voices; and (2) since rationalism has become an accepted tool for politicians and political theorists, this belief system end up reinforcing cultural imperialism, despite the fact that politicians and political theorists are, at least in theory, aiming to administer justice and oversee reconciliation.

Indigenous worldviews acknowledge the existence of spirits and the interconnectedness of all things

Indigenous discourses ignored; distortion is form of cultural imperialism

Allard-Tremblay unpacks the idea of distortion exceptionally well: “This happens either when Indigenous voices are wrongly interpreted, through a rationalist lens, or when Indigenous peoples modify and frame their claims so as to move [the rationalist people they engage in a dialogue with.]”

Indigenous discourses, he notes, speak a wholly different language metaphorically. “Indigenous worldviews are seen to be like religions and their associated claims are classified as animistic religious claims,” he writes. They acknowledge the existence of spirits and emphasize the interconnectedness of all things, for example – approaches that have little meaning through the lens of rationalism.

Métis (Otipemisiwak) artist Christi Belcourt
“Indigenous worldviews are seen to be like religions and their associated claims are classified as animistic religious claims,” Allard-Tremblay writes. Artwork created by Métis (Otipemisiwak) artist Christi Belcourt

As a result, Indigenous discourses are largely ignored. “They are not seen as alternative points of view on reality, but as forms of discourse to be apprehended and classified by reason. These forms of discourse are not in the same category as objective rational discourse,” Allard-Tremblay explains.

Scholar considers how to oppose rationalism, offers suggestions

In this article, Allard-Tremblay considers how to oppose rationalism and hear Indigenous peoples in their own voices. He warns, once more, against mainstream approaches by well-intentioned scholars that are about, not by, Indigenous people.

He also puts forward considerations about politics and political theory that should be kept in mind “so as to avoid masking domination under the guise of reason and ignoring people’s agency in determining the right structure of society.”

In the end, and at the heart of this thoughtful article, Allard-Tremblay suggests that two things need to happen before real change can be pursued – specifically, justice and reconciliation:

  1. We need to realize that politics is constructed; and
  2. We need to acknowledge that political theory is embedded in politics.

Only then can we break the dominance and exclusivity of rationalism and create the space to incorporate an Indigenous perspective into the discussion, “heard in its own right rather than as an object of our rational apprehension,” Allard-Tremblay adds. “And this is more of an ever-going process than something that can be accomplished one day and on which we could close the books.”

To learn more about Allard-Tremblay, visit his Faculty profile page at Glendon. To read the 2019 article in the Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 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

Camera in hand, HIV stakeholders asked to capture engagement

Sarah Switzer, a PhD student (now graduate) supervised by Professor Sarah Flicker in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, led a highly original research endeavour as part of her doctoral dissertation: She invited stakeholders within the HIV community to visually document what engagement, in programming and service delivery, meant to them. The results, which have implications for practice, were published in Health & Place (2020).

This project had many contributors including the University of Toronto and Concordia. It was funded by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research and the REACH 2.0 Canadian Institutes of Health Research CBR (community-based research) collaborative.

Sought to fill an important void in the research

Since the 1980s, when AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) began to devastate various populations, activists have campaigned for programs and services to support those affected. These trailblazers mobilized public health authorities, governments and the research community, and their actions led to the development of vital programs and services.

Forty years later, HIV research in the social sciences has studied and documented the virus from the perspective of the consumers of the healthcare system, those living with HIV and those impacted by the virus.

Switzer and her team wanted to learn more about stakeholders within HIV community-based organizations and their experiences – specifically, related to engagement, an underexplored area.

What does engagement mean?

Key components of engagement include participation, reciprocity and a personal and organizational investment in the process. “Engagement, a dynamic, relational process, includes a set of participatory practices, and people’s subjective understandings of what it means to actively participate in programs or services,” Switzer explains.

‘Weapons of hope’ by Chantal, one of the 63 images and narratives that came out of this project

Sometimes community initiatives can fail. Tokenism is a prime example of this, defined in the Cambridge dictionary as pretending to give advantage to those groups in society who are often treated unfairly, in order to give the appearance of fairness.

This calls attention to why this research is critical: HIV transmission often plays out along existing inequalities. Individuals living with HIV often experience heightened forms of marginalization, such as communities of colour, Indigenous communities and/or people who use drugs.

Diverse group of participants from three organizations

The research team secured 36 study participants from three community-based organizations in Toronto, Canada:

  • PWA, Canada’s largest service provider for people living with HIV/AIDS;
  • Empower, a youth-led HIV prevention and harm reduction program; and
  • Casey House, Canada’s first and only stand-alone hospital for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Participants from Empower were former program participants, mentors and a program coordinator; those from PWA were peer volunteers and a coordinator; and those from Casey House were clients and staff.

Through a survey at the start of the project, the researchers learned that the participant group was extremely diverse in terms of age, race, gender, Indigeneity, sexuality, HIV status, disability, role and experience.

Photovoice used to capture experience

Using photovoice, a qualitative research method invented in the 1990s where people take photographs of what they experience, the researchers invited participants to document their understandings of engagement. Participants shared photos and narratives that reflected on seven key themes, including individual and/or organizational journeys.

Over six months, the research team undertook 20 photovoice workshops and 17 photo-elicited interviews. “We introduced the project; brainstormed ideas; provided training on ethics and photography; supplied equipment and instructions for taking photos; discussed, analyzed, and celebrated participants’ work; and created site-specific installations using the images,” Switzer sums up.

Photographs, with narratives, tell a comprehensive story

This work culminated in a curated exhibit of 63 photographs and accompanying narratives that were mounted in several community settings, three installations, a website, co-led workshops and a community report.

The images speak to the themes that emerged, such as reflecting on journey; honouring relationships; accessibility and support mechanisms; diversity and difference; advocacy and peer leadership; navigating grief and loss; and non-participation.

The journey is a foundational concept for this research. “A journey implies a long, sometimes arduous, trek. It evokes notions of change over time, movement, deep learning and attention to process,” Switzer states.

It’s clear that the idea of a journey provided study participants with a way to make sense of their experience. “I love seeing the candle not lit, but there’s times when I like to see the candle lit, because I know that person isn’t suffering anymore,” said one Casey House participant about the image of a memorial candle. Participants also reflected on organizational journeys and how they connected (or not) to individual journeys.

Findings and implications for practice

Essential learnings from the project included:

  • Understandings of engagement vary within and across the HIV sector.
  • Journey is an apt metaphor to discuss these different understandings.
  • Journey metaphors show that engagement is a dynamic and relational process.
  • Understandings of engagement are shaped by organizational context(s) and roles.

This work has strong implications for practice. Switzer, Flicker and their team believe that organizations and stakeholders could use the journey lens to pose key questions such as: How did we arrive here? Where do we want to go ― as individuals, as a community, as an organization? How can we go there together? These questions can also unearth important conversations about power dynamics and differentials in community engagement.

Asking these questions could be transformative, the researchers emphasize – for individuals, organizations and the HIV sector as a whole.

To read the article, “Journeying Together: A visual exploration of “engagement” as a journey in HIV programming and service delivery,” visit the journal website. For a copy of the co-authored community report, visit the Picturing Participation website. To learn more about Flicker, see the Faculty profile page. For more on Switzer, see her list of publications.

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

Study on microdosing psychedelics finds benefits outweigh challenges

LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a mind-altering substance in a class of drugs called hallucinogens. Experiments in the 1950s using LSD showed promise, in terms of psychological benefits, but were shut down due to social and political pressures. By 1966, this drug had become a symbol of counterculture. It was deemed illegal in the United States as a result of its increased recreational use.

In the 1960s, LSD was emblematic of counterculture. The substance was made illegal in 1966, despite the fact that some promising research was emerging

But the notion of LSD’s benefits never died in the research community. One intrepid grad student at York University, Rotem Petranker, took up the idea and led an international research team that included academics from University College London (U.K.), the University of Toronto, the University of California, RMIT University (Australia) and the University of Queensland (Australia).

Rotem Petranker

This research, soon to be published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology (accepted), looked into the benefit of microdosing psychedelics – the practice of taking small, sub-hallucinogenic doses of substances like LSD or psilocybin-containing “magic” mushrooms.

It showed that the benefits, such as enhanced mood, creativity, focus and sociability, outweighed the challenges. “Quite remarkably, the most common challenge participants associated with microdosing was ‘none,’” Petranker says.

Petranker has already published a great deal in this area. His main research interest is emotion regulation, or the skill of dealing with uncomfortable emotional states in an adaptive way. He is interested in the way emotion regulation interacts with sustained attention, mind wandering and creativity.

Fascinating history of LSD

Albert Hofmann, 1993. Source: Philip H. Bailey in Public Domain (Wikipedia)

First synthesized in 1938 by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, LSD has an intriguing history. Although Hofmann created it as a respiratory and circulatory stimulant, he stumbled upon its trippy effects (no pun intended).

LSD was introduced into the United States in 1949. It was believed that the drug might have clinical applications, re: depression and anxiety. Psychological experiments in the 1950s using LSD were launched to investigate its helpful effect in facilitating psychotherapy, curing alcoholism and enhancing creativity.

One of the most prominent advocates in the scientific world was Timothy Leary. In the early 1960s, having just arrived at Harvard University, he began to explore the effects of psychotropic substances on the human mind.

The darkest chapter in this drug’s history took place during the Cold War when the CIA allegedly conducted secret experiments with LSD around mind control and psychological torture.

Timothy Leary

Research fills an important void

Sixty years later, much more research has been undertaken. But Petranker identified a void in this work around the effects of microdosing.

To fill this void, Petranker’s research team sought to replicate the findings of earlier studies on the benefits and challenges of microdosing, and to measure whether people who microdosed tested their substances for purity before consumption. Here, the researchers were interested in whether or not this testing plays a role in or is related to the benefits.

“We hypothesized that an approach-motivation – that is, motivation stemming from approaching a potential reward rather than avoiding a potential harm – would predict more positive outcomes,” he explains.

Researchers dove into the Global Drug Survey with data from over 50 countries

To gain information, the researchers turned to the world’s largest drug survey, the Global Drug Survey (GDS). Using anonymous online research tools, the GDS has access to drug use data from more than 500,000 people in over 50 countries. Here, Petranker found his participants.

For his study, participants who responded to the 2019 survey and who reported the use of LSD (or psilocybin) within the last year were offered the opportunity to answer a specialist sub-section on microdosing. Data from 6,753 people who reported microdosing at least once in the last year were used for analyses.

The researchers asked participants to indicate which benefits, from the following select list, applied to their experience of microdosing:

  1. Enhanced mood, reduced depression symptoms;
  2. Enhanced focus;
  3. Enhanced creativity and/or curiosity;
  4. Enhanced productivity, motivation or confidence;
  5. Enhanced energy and/or alertness;
  6. Enhanced empathy, sociability or communication skills;
  7. Enhanced sight, smell, hearing, athletic performance or sleep;
  8. Reduced stress; and
  9. Reduced anxiety, including social anxiety.

They also asked participants which challenges, from the following select list, applied to their experience of microdosing:

  1. Negative mood, irritability or instability;
  2. Reduced focus;
  3. Legal consequences;
  4. Restlessness and/or fatigue;
  5. Social problems;
  6. Mental confusion, memory problems or racing thoughts;
  7. Unpredictable effects and/or negative drug interactions;
  8. Substance dependence symptoms and hard comedown;
  9. Increased anxiety, including social anxiety; and
  10. None; I experienced no side effects.

Participants also shared why they chose to microdose. Their reasons included: to enhance creativity; to improve mood and/or overall life satisfaction; to avoid boredom; to escape negative feelings, e.g. depression, anxiety; to get away from bad habits and unhealthy behaviours; and, to treat ADHD symptoms.

Benefits outweigh challenges, minimal side-effects

Most participants, roughly one-third, reported no negative side-effects from microdosing. The most commonly reported positive effects included improved mood and creativity. Focus and sociability improved for some.

This research also showed that participants did not test for purity before taking the drug, leading the researchers to determine that the perceived benefits associated with microdosing greatly outweigh the potential risks.

“Microdosing may have utility for a variety of uses while having minimal side-effects,” Petranker concludes. 

He presses, however, for more research. “Double-blind, placebo-controlled experiments are still required to substantiate these reports,” he states.

To read the article on microdosing psychedelics in the Journal of Psychopharmacology visit the website. To learn more about Petranker’s work, visit the Toronto Centre for Psychedelic Science 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