Welcome to the November 2019 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.
In the November 2019 issue
Empowering the powerless: Q-and-A with acclaimed filmmaker Patrick Alcedo With two well-received documentaries under his belt, Professor Patrick Alcedo has proven his ability to tell an evocative and unforgettable story. He sits down with “Brainstorm” to talk about his documentaries, which showcase Filipino culture, empower the underprivileged and, in his own words, “grip the heart.” Read full story.
Pioneering iron research has application in heart health and diabetes A biology professor and York Research Chair undertook a compelling study on iron overload and insulin that could inform future approaches to heart health and diabetes, ultimately improving patients’ health outcomes. York U is leading in this area of research. Read full story.
Osgoode prof finds refugee determinations in Canada woefully subjective New research shows that decisions around Federal Court applications for judicial review of refugee determinations depend on which judge decides the case. Much needs to be done, and one York U professor has offered up a compelling list of recommendations for enhancing fairness in the process. Read full story.
Urbanization article sums up existing thought, poses vital questions The director of the City Institute at York University unpacks some critical debates in urbanization in a timely new article that will be of interest to many: academics in disciplines ranging from sociology and economics to geography and environmental studies; urban planners; and government stakeholders at all three levels. Read full story.
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, Ashley Goodfellow Craig, YFile deputy editor, and Lindsay MacAdam, communications officer.
Empowering the powerless: Q-and-A with acclaimed filmmaker Patrick Alcedo
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York University Professor Patric Alcedo receives the Pinoy of the Year Awards (image: Christian Ryan Panganiban)
Patrick Alcedo
After choreographing a Filipino dance extravaganza at York University as part of the CRAM Festival last spring, Professor Patrick Alcedo was anxiously watching his dancers perform from the front row, off to the side. And then he joined in on the final number. The passion and skill of this postcolonial scholar, dance artist and award-winning filmmaker truly radiates.
This translates into film. Alcedo, in York’s University’s School of the Arts, Media Performance & Design (AMPD) for more than a decade, certainly knows how to tell a story that captivates audiences through unvarnished beauty and powerful messages.
Two documentaries – A Piece of Paradise (2017) and Dancing Manilenyos (2019) – have put him on the map of filmmakers to watch. The more recent film earned an Award of Recognition from the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards and was selected to be in competition at the 2019 Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase during the Cannes Film Festival.
Alcedo sits down with Brainstorm to discuss what inspires his work, what he hopes to convey through his documentaries and what’s next for this accomplished scholar.
Q: What drives you to find and tell these stories?
Poster for Dancing Manilenyos
A: I have always been fascinated with the power of film. Way back, as a young faculty member at the University of the Philippines, I would watch films by directors like Pedro Almodovar, Lino Brocka and Zhang Yimou. As much as their films are fictional, they indicated to me the immediate impact of films on their viewers.
Such immediacy drew me to go into documentary films, a genre that fits my training in dance ethnography like a glove.
Since I am an ethnographer, I conduct fieldwork. When I find stories that speak to larger realities, I do not hesitate to reorganize my life to make documentary films around these subjects.
Q:Please describe the filmmaking process.
A: Since my primary method of research is fieldwork, I live in communities where I conduct research. It is amazing how many inspiring and inspired stories I encounter through that living.
I start conceptualizing my documentary films in the field. The first step is pre-production, where I do quite a few on-camera interviews with individuals who I envision will play key roles in the film.
The second step is production, which could take three to four years of intermittent filming. Here, I work closely with a videographer who has a keen understanding of ethnographic work. With me doing the audio or, at times, the second camera, together we patiently follow the lives of film “subjects” or cast members. Establishing rapport is key for me. There are times when I just hang out with them – a “deep hanging out” in an anthropological sense.
The final step is post-production, where I work closely with an editor to piece the story together. I do the subtitling myself.
Scenes from Dancing Manilenyos
Q: Your movies shine a light on Filipino culture but also contain universal themes. What are you trying to say to audiences?
A: I have always been drawn to issues around marginality. Thus, my films tend to focus on groups of people who are underprivileged as a result of class disparity, ethnocentrism, and myopic understanding of the complexity of gender formation and choices.
As a scholar, dance artist and filmmaker who has experienced discrimination first-hand, I purposely employ my works to empower the powerless – to redress unfair practices and rectify essentialized notions of what it means to be human.
I am a postcolonial scholar, someone who was born and raised in the Philippines – a country that was formerly within the domains of the Spanish and American empires. And thus, the ability of people to take ownership of, to localize, foreign elements introduced or forced upon them is running through my works.
What I am trying to say in my films is this: if one zooms into people’s everyday lives and their attendant cultural dance practices, one can spot many instances of agency – that is, the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. These are the moments about which I care the most.
A poster for A Piece of Paradise
Q: Why do you think your films resonate so profoundly with audiences?
A: I think my films speak to universal issues that matter regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, class background etc.
In A Piece of Paradise and Dancing Manilenyos, I, respectively, tackle the topics of emotional labour among Filipino caregivers in Toronto and of the incredible potential of dance to fight poverty and to choreograph against elitism. These themes resonate with viewers because they are moved by stories that grip the heart, striking chords of emotion and empathy.
Q: How has York supported your work?
A: If not for York University, I truly believe it would not have been possible for me to do my documentary films. The writing of my grants was carefully vetted by highly competent research officers. As a member of the York Centre for Asian Research, I received a Publication Fund to finish the post-production of Dancing Manilenyos. AMPD and the Department of Cinema & Media Arts sponsored the free use of colour correction and sound design suites. My own Department of Dance has always supported my films and created a conducive environment for filmmaking.
Q: What’s next for you?
Scenes from A Piece of Paradise
A: I am excited and deeply honoured that I have, again, received a grant from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council.
For the next five years, I will be conducting research on Philippine dance practices in Manila and across Canada. Propelled by the positive outcome of Dancing Manilenyos, I have decided to turn it into a feature-length documentary.
To date, I have already started working on this new film and the transnational research project. I hope that in the next couple of years my new film will have its world premiere somewhere and that my research project will have been articulated in a series of print publications.
To learn more about Alcedo, visit his Faculty profile page. To see the trailer for Dancing Manilenyos, go here. To see the trailer for A Piece of Paradise, go here.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new animated video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity such as artificial intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic for 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
Landmark dental care study in Indigenous population shows failures in system
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Dental health is linked to a person’s overall health status. Existing research tells us that poor dental health is associated with seemingly far-ranging negative health outcomes, like heart disease. In fact, dental care is much more important or consequential than we believed a generation, or even a decade, ago.
A new study, led by York University graduate student and President’s Ambassador Vrati Mehra, in collaboration with Faculty of Health Professor Hala Tamim and other researchers, looks at dental health practices in one of Canada’s most vulnerable populations: Ontario’s Indigenous people. The researchers examined the prevalence and factors associated with visiting the dentist only for emergency care among Indigenous people in this province.
Existing research links dental and oral health with overall health status
This research, the results of which were published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health (2019), found that more than a quarter of the participants visited the dentist only for emergencies and First Nations people were at increased odds of having poor dental care.
“This study is important because it is one of the first to highlight the extent of poor dental care use among this population,” Mehra says. “Our study highlights that a considerably large percentage of Ontario’s indigenous population report visiting the dentist only in cases of emergency. This over-reliance on emergency treatment not only means worse health outcomes for patients, but also leads to greater long-term health care costs for the province as well as the patient,” she adds.
From left: Hala Tamim and Vrati Mehra
Indigenous dental health and health care are poorer than other Canadians
The Indigenous or native people of Canada (including First Nations, the Inuit and the Métis) have remained one of the most disadvantaged groups in the Canadian healthcare system for decades. This is reflected in the dental care system as well.
The auditor general of Canada’s fall 2017 report brought to light two devastating facts:
Inuit and First Nations people have nearly twice as much dental disease as other Canadians.
Health Canada does not know whether its dental programming for Indigenous Canadians is actually improving their oral health.
Clearly, the need for this kind of research is pressing. Mehra, a Canada Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Canada Graduate Scholar (2019-2020) keenly interested in population health and health equity, took up this challenge.
Study utilized data from the 2014 cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey
The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) is one of the biggest national health surveys administered in Canada. It collects health-related data on Canadians aged 12 years and older across all provinces and territories.
The study sample consisted of Indigenous individuals of ages 12+, residing in Ontario. (This province has one of the largest Indigenous populations in the country.) The sample comprised of 676 participants – 54 per cent women and 46 per cent men. Sixty per cent of participants were First Nations; 40 per cent were Métis or Inuit.
The main outcome was assessed using the question “Do you usually visit the dentist?” for which the participants were provided with four options:
“More than once a year for checkups;”
“About once a year for checkups;”
“Less than once a year for checkups;” and
“Only for emergency care.”
The outcome was then categorized as “yes/no,” with “yes” indicating visiting the dentist only for emergency care. Additional information such as socio-demographic factors, including Indigenous identity group, age, sex, marital status, education and language spoken; socio-economic status, determined by household income, dental insurance and work status; health behavior factors, such as smoking and alcohol use; and oral health factors and other health-related factors, such as stress in life were assessed in relation to the outcome.
This new research found that a large portion of Indigenous people (28 per cent) wait to go to the dentist until the situation is an emergency
Key findings reveal increased odds of having poor dental care
The study had three key findings:
Twenty-eight per cent of the participants visited the dentist only for emergencies;
First Nations people were at increased odds of having poor dental care; and
Being male, a smoker, having fair/poor health and lacking dental insurance puts the Indigenous Ontarians at increased odds of visiting the dentist only for emergency dental care.
Policy implications and the need to address social determinants of health
This work has pronounced policy implications. Mehra emphasizes that the social programs that deliver health services to Indigenous peoples must be routinely assessed and improved to cater to the needs of this population and be better tailored to confront the social determinants that hinder Indigenous peoples from using these services.
“Although social dental care programs do exist, it is unclear as to how efficacious they are. It is important that we routinely assess and amend these programs to accommodate the needs of this population,” Mehra explains.
The social determinants of health include factors such as access to income and social status, physical environments and health services
The social determinants of health are the broad range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors that determine individual and population health. These include the following, according to the Government of Canada:
income and social status,
employment and working conditions,
education and literacy,
childhood experiences,
physical environments,
social supports and coping skills,
healthy behaviours,
access to health services,
biology and genetic endowment,
gender,
culture, and
race/racism.
To read the original research article, “Prevalence and Factors Associated with Visiting the Dentist Only for Emergency Care Among Indigenous People in Ontario,” visit the website. To read the auditor general’s report (2017) – “Report 4: Oral Health Programs for First Nations and Inuit – Health Canada” –visit the website.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new animated 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
Osgoode prof finds refugee determinations in Canada woefully subjective
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Access to justice is the cornerstone of the Canadian legal system. Five years ago, Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Sean Rehaag, director of the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University, led a groundbreaking study that examined access to justice for refugees in Canada. This research concluded that the handling of refugee cases was inconsistent and arbitrary; the outcome depended on which judge decided the case.
With funding from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada, Rehaag reinvestigated the same issue half a decade later, but found that little has changed. “The luck of the draw remains a stubbornly persistent feature of the judicial review process. This is unacceptable,” Rehaag says. “Refugee determinations involve life and death questions. Change is urgently needed.”
Refugees could be subjected to torture, cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, or death if they were returned to their country of nationality
This increasingly relevant and timely work, the findings of which were accepted for publication in the Queen’s Law Journal (2019), could not be more policy applicable.
Refugees represent an acutely vulnerable population
A snapshot of immigration and refugees underscores the importance of this kind of research for Canada. First, immigration is growing:
Newcomers represent nearly 22 per cent of today’s population – this could topple the record number (22 per cent) recorded in the 1921 census, the highest level since Confederation (StatsCan, 2016 census).
According to StatCan’s projections, the proportion of Canada’s foreign-born population could reach up to 30 per cent by 2036.
Second, refugee numbers are growing. While refugees represented 10 per cent of all immigrants in 2014, this percentage grew to 24 in 2016 (StatsCan, 2016 census).
Reflecting this influx, the number of refugee claims in Canada has risen from more than 10,000 in 2013 to more than 47,000 in 2017, according to Rehaag.
Refugees represent a vulnerable population. They face persecution in their country of nationality based on race, religion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social or political group. If they were returned to their country of nationality, they could be subjected to a danger of torture, to a risk to their lives, or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
Refugee claims have risen from 10,000-plus in 2013 to 47,000-plus in 2017
Study designed to check back with the system after earlier research
As mentioned, Rehaag’s research updates an earlier study of decision-making in the refugee law context in Canada’s Federal Court. The initial study, which looked at 23,000 applicants from 2005 to 2010, found that outcomes in Federal Court applications for judicial review of refugee determinations depended all too often on the luck of the draw – which judge decided the case. Rehaag found that individual judges granted leave at very different rates. (Applicants who want the Federal Court to review their refugee determination must first apply for “leave,” or permission from the court.)
A note about process: Federal Court judges do not grant (or refuse) refugee status. Instead, they hear applications for judicial review of decisions made by Immigration & Refugee Board (IRB) members. If they grant an application for judicial review of a negative refugee determination, it does not mean that they are granting refugee protection; it just means that they are overturning the initial decision and sending the case back down to the IRB to be redetermined. There, at this stage, the IRB could choose to grant or not grant refugee protection.
Since the initial study, the Federal Court adopted measures to address these variations. It was in this context that Rehaag wanted to check in again and see if the new measures were effective. This time, in September 2016, he collected data from over 33,000 court dockets from 2008 to 2016. He used a computer program’s written code to parse data from online court dockets, then he optimized the code, through trial and error, to improve the accuracy rate to 99 per cent.
Key findings indicate more work needs to be done
Sean Rehaag
The findings of this study show that the situation hasn’t changed much since the past research was undertaken. “From 2013 to 2016, if a claimant was lucky with leave judge assignment, then they were more than ten times more likely to succeed with their application than if they were unlucky with leave judge assignment,” Rehaag explains. “Most importantly, this isn’t a phenomenon restricted to a handful of outlier judges.”
Policy recommendations aimed at key actors in legal system
Rehaag has some compelling recommendations for reform.
For Parliament:abolish or reform the leave requirement. He believes that refugee claimants should not need to go through a leave requirement, which has proven to be an arbitrary barrier.
For the court: same judge for leave and merits. In most applications for judicial review where leave is granted, a different judge decides the case on the merits at the judicial review stage than the judge who decided to grant leave. Rehaag suggests that this judge be the same in both cases. “This would stop amplifying the luck of the draw to the disadvantage of refugee claimants,” he explains.
For judges:alternative judicial processes. To avoid subjectivity, Rehaag suggests that the leave judge not consider whether they think a reasonably arguable case has been made, but rather consider whether any of their colleagues might be of the view that the applicant has presented a reasonably arguable case.
Rehaag presses for change. “The time for study is over. It’s now time for action,” he emphasizes.
To read the working draft of the article “Judicial Review of Refugee Determinations (II): Revisiting the Luck of the Draw,” which will be published in the Queen’s Law Journal (2019), visit the website. To read the original research, visit the website. To learn more about Rehaag, visit his Faculty profile.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new animated video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity such as artificial intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic for 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
Pioneering iron research has application in heart health and diabetes
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Iron is an important component of hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to transport it throughout your body. However, it has an often-underestimated downside: it plays a role in cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and more. For example, an abundance of iron can contribute to heart failure.
A groundbreaking new study, led by science Professor Gary Sweeney, examined the impact of iron overload on insulin sensitivity. The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario, involved experimental work by PhD student James Jahng. It was undertaken in collaboration with the University of Ottawa and Ryerson University.
The researchers made a startling discovery, published in EMBO Reports (2019), that could affect future approaches and treatments for patients with heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
From left: Gary Sweeney and James Jahng
Sweeney (York Research Chair in Mechanisms of Cardiometabolic Diseases) and Jahng (recipient of CIHR’s Frederick Banting & Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship) sit down with Brainstorm to discuss the research and its far-reaching ramifications.
Q: What were the objectives of this research?
A: Autophagy is a cellular process: each cell has its own quality control mechanism so that if there’s some stress, some potential damage to the cell, then autophagy is induced to deal with that problem. It’s like a self-protective process that is able to turn on when stress occurs, and protect the cells in your body when necessary.
We wanted to test the regulation of autophagy by iron, and how it affects insulin-stimulated metabolism.
This research could lead to new treatments in metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease
Q: This is, in many ways, a continuation of your work to date, Professor Sweeney.
A: Yes. We have previously examined the importance of autophagy in regulating metabolism. This brings everything together, but this time in James’ paper (Jahng is the first author in this research article) we are looking at the direct effect of iron.
Q: Why focus on iron?
A: The reason we were looking at iron is this: in patients with diabetes and obesity, a lot of them actually have high levels of iron. There are also many genetic diseases of iron overload, which you may have heard of, such as thalassemia. Most of these patients die from heart failure, cardiomyopathy. That’s largely the result of severe iron overload.
It’s also well-established that in diabetes and obesity, there’s an increase in iron levels.
“York has a strong reputation. We now have a good cluster of researchers working in metabolic disease. This makes York a very strong leader in this area.” – Gary Sweeney
Q: How did you go about the work? Please describe the methodology and the timelines.
A: Over the last two years, approximately, we treated cells with a high dose of an iron solution for a 24-hour time period, then analyzed the results.
Q: What was the main finding? Anything unexpected?
A: The main finding is that iron caused insulin resistance in the muscle cells. It’s very simple but a strong finding.
It was a little bit unexpected because of the mechanism. When we looked deeper, we found that the cell seems to detect iron as a stress, and our data showed that there was an initial increase in this process of autophagy. But over time, after 24 hours, the iron had completely inhibited autophagy. That’s where we made the key link to iron overload stopping autophagy.
This was a very striking observation. The data was so clear. The dramatic effect we observed was somewhat unexpected.
“There’s exceptional research being undertaken here. The infrastructure, academic expertise and equipment are all superb.” – James Jahng
Q: What are the ramifications? How might this research one day benefit patients?
A: It could benefit patients in many ways. First, it could bring attention to the potential impact of high levels of iron on metabolic health. This has been known for decades, but it’s underappreciated. People know it occurs, as a small contribution, but research like this shows that we really must be careful when we consider the effects of high iron in the diet, ultimately in the body, on metabolic health. People could be more aware of iron status, and perhaps control that by dietary or pharmacological approaches.
Autophagy is a self-protective process that can switch on when stress occurs, and protect the cells in your body when necessary
There are a lot of pharmaceutical companies interested in drugs to manipulate autophagy. For example, there’s one, hydroxychloroquine, which is in clinical trials for cancer treatment right now.
As far as I know, there are no autophagy-targeting drugs in the pipeline for metabolic health. But I think this paper would suggest that one day it might be advantageous to consider autophagy-based therapeutics in treating metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
Q: These results made the research very attractive to a publisher.
A: Yes, these strong results led to publication in a journal with high reputation. Being accepted for publication in a journal like EMBO Reports was fantastic not only because of the journal’s impact factor, but also because of its worldwide reputation in the scientific community.
Q: Is York U a leader in this area?
A: York has a strong reputation, yes. In terms of cardiovascular research, which has been one of the strategic priorities at York, we now have a good cluster of researchers working in metabolic disease. There’s exceptional research being undertaken here. The infrastructure, academic expertise and equipment are all superb. This, collectively, makes York a very strong leader in this area.
To read the article, “Iron overload inhibits late stage autophagic flux leading to insulin resistance” (EMBO Reports, 2019), visit the website. To learn more about Sweeney, visit his Faculty profile page. To learn more, visit the Sweeney Lab.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new animated video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity such as artificial intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic for 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.
Urbanization article sums up existing thought, poses vital questions
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Urban studies is not what it used to be. Today, it encompasses the planetary condition, considers the state of humanity, intersects with issues such as mass migration and global warming, and poses some pretty tough questions about our future – arguably, some of the most pressing and timely in the early 21st century.
Linda Peake
In a new article, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Professor Linda Peake, director of the City Institute at York University, unpacks some critical debates in urbanization and summarizes existing thought, with the help of co-authors from York University, the University of Toronto and Memorial University.
The article, titled “Placing planetary urbanization in other fields of vision” and published in Society and Space (2018), is theoretical but accessible with an underlying sense of urgency. It, along with an impressive record of publication, reinforces Peake’s thought leadership in this key academic area.
This research was funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Peake’s co-authors were York PhD students Darren Patrick and Gokboru Tanyildiz; the City Institute’s postdoctoral visitor, Professor Roza Tchoukaleyska (now at Memorial University); and University of Toronto (U of T) professors Rajyashree Reddy and Sue Ruddick.
Today’s urban studies is situated on a planetary level that’s broad and enriched
Urban studies is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses the social sciences and humanities, intersecting with many areas of academic study, including environmental studies, geography, history, Indigenous studies, literature, political economy, political science, sociology, urban planning and women’s studies. It delves into topics such as the climate emergency, inequality, immigration and forced displacement.
Not surprisingly, for some academics the urban now encompasses a generalized planetary condition that considers humanity’s possible futures. This new scope is very broad and, as a result, it raises new theoretical and political questions.
Here is a sample of some of the questions posed in Peake’s article, many admittedly open or unanswered:
How do we best conceptualize the global urban condition and its implications for social change?
How does planetary urbanization contribute to our understanding of radical social movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and Indigenous resurgences like Idle No More?
Who is included in a vision of the urban subject-citizen?
How does migration factor into planetary urbanization?
What are the political implications for urban change, with anxiety as the dominant effect in the early 21st century?
Peake is the right person to be fielding these mammoth questions. She is a feminist geographer with research foci in urbanization and gendered urban insecurities. In addition to her long-standing interest in urban-based research on women, she also engages in work on whiteness and feminist methodologies and, more recently, on questions of mental health and the academy.
This article asks: How does planetary urbanization contribute to our understanding of radical social movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter?
Article unpacks how the field has evolved, looks at potential to transform conditions
Peake and her co-authors open the article by discussing the politics of knowledge production and providing an overview of how their joint thinking has evolved over the past few years, often referring to The Urban Revolution by Henri Lefebvre (1970) for context. This book is generally believed to be the first substantive critique of urban society.
In this way, the article is a very well-done literature review – that is, a scholarly paper that presents the findings of current knowledge as well as theoretical and methodological contributions of a particular topic.
Peake also discusses the pioneering work that has been done at York. From 2014 to 2016, she and her co-authors organized a series of workshops and collective discussions between urban scholars at the City Institute and U of T’s Department of Geography, which proved to be game-changing. The formation of the aptly named Planetary Urbanization Reading Group led the academics to successfully apply for SSHRC funding to formalize their reading efforts into a workshop.
“Together, we engaged critique that moved beyond the urban. Participants brought queer and feminist perspectives and theory to the table, applied anti-racist and anti-imperialist lenses, positioned themselves in both the global south and north, and spoke from both early and well-established stages of their research careers,” Peake explains. “We sought to create a political space where many scholars could engage in productive discussion,” she adds.
This field of study looks at rising inequality between urban areas and increasingly virulent forms of exploitation and oppression
Here, the intention was not to establish consensus or unity, or to minimize differences and disagreements. Rather, this group sought to create a space for collective work with the potential to transform the conditions in which they were all operating vis-à-vis the university.
Different fields of vision
Peake and her co-authors also discuss dominant approaches to the study of the urban – Marxist, feminist, postcolonial – all of which seek to study rising inequality between urban areas and increasingly virulent forms of exploitation and oppression.
They focus on a feminist engagement with planetary urbanization that expands on Lefebvre’s insights to argue that the intensification and extension of the urbanization process is now planetary, with the future of human life itself being fought out in and across the urban.
This article will be of interest to many: academics in disciplines ranging from sociology and economics to geography and urban studies; urban planners; and government stakeholders at all three levels – municipal, provincial and federal.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, follow us at @YUResearch; watch our new animated video, which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity such as artificial intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic for 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
Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua headlines York University’s 2019 Vico Lecture
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The Vico Lecture, presented by the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies at York University, will return this November with guest speaker Maurizio Bevilacqua, mayor of Vaughan, Ont., who will deliver a special talk titled “Amore in the City: A purpose-driven approach to public life.”
Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua
All are invited to attend the keynote address on Thursday, Nov. 7. The event will take place at 7 p.m. in York University’s Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre, located in the Accolade East Building on the Keele Campus. A reception will follow. Organizers request that those interested in attending RSVP, as space is limited.
Bevilacqua is an established public servant with more than 30 years of political experience. Born in Sulmona, Italy, he moved to Canada at the age of 10. As the years went by, he discovered his passion for public service – and became the first Italian-Canadian to serve as president of York University’s student council. Later, at the age of 28, he became the youngest member of Parliament elected in 1988.
Over his long career in politics, Bevilacqua has occupied several prominent positions at the federal level, including minister of state for finance, minister of state for science, research, and development, and Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
He has served as Vaughan’s member of Parliament for 22 consecutive years, and was elected mayor of Vaughan in 2010, earning the title in a record-setting victory, with the most votes ever received by a political candidate in Vaughan. His career in office has earned him several awards, including the Premio Italiani nel Mondo, which the Italian government presents to individuals who have served as outstanding role models.
Organizers of this year’s Vico Lecture are honoured to have such an esteemed speaker. The event, named after 18th-century Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico – and dedicated to the memory of the late Fred Zorzi – offers inspiring presentations from today’s distinguished leaders. Past speakers include Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, Michael Ignatieff, Dr. R.J. Cusimano and many others.
“The Italian-Canadian community has always shown support to our Faculty, and its contributions to society are undeniable,” said LA&PS Interim Dean J.J. McMurtry. “Mayor Bevilacqua exemplifies both of these traits, as a York alum and experienced public servant who leads by example every day.”
Students, staff, faculty and members of the public are encouraged to attend this special event.
Call for nominations for the President’s Research Awards
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ResearchSIDEBAR
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.
Last year’s competition marked the introduction of disciplinary clusters for the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award and the President’s Research Excellence Award. The clusters are: 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 1: Engineering, Science, Technology, Health and Biomedicine.
The deadline for the submission of nominations is Friday, Nov. 22. Submissions must be received by 4:30 p.m.
York chemistry professor receives Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award
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Chemistry Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair Chris Caputo in the Faculty of Science has received the 2019 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award. The award is presented to outstanding early-career faculty members at York University and is a commitment by Petro-Canada (now Suncor Energy Inc.) and the University to encourage excellence in teaching and research that will enrich the learning environment and contribute to society.
Chris Caputo. Photograph by B.D. Colen, Faculty of Science communicator in residence
“Congratulations to Chris. In his short time at York, he has established an excellent, well-funded research program that has the potential to advance fundamental chemistry and lead to new practical applications,” said Faculty of Science Dean Esaias Janse van Rensburg.
Caputo’s research program focuses on developing greener and more sustainable chemistry. His primary research focus is to develop new, low-cost catalytic materials derived from readily available main-group elements. Main group elements are more abundant, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than precious metals, which are still used in many industrial processes.
Caputo has an outstanding academic and research record, which includes many high-profile publications, with more than 1,000 citations and several prestigious honours and awards, such as a Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) postdoctoral fellowship and the 2018 John Charles Polanyi Prize. In addition, he has had multiple collaborations with industry already; for instance, he recently received a $450,000 NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant with Toronto startup Inkbox to study molecules to improve semi-permanent tattoo technology.
The Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award comes with a $7,500 grant, which Caputo will use to purchase electrochemical instrumentation and specialty reagents to advance research in his lab.
Physics Professor Joel Zylberberg appointed associate Fellow at CIFAR
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Joel Zylberberg
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), a Canadian-based global charitable organization that brings the world’s brightest minds together, has named York University physics Professor Joel Zylberberg as a new associate Fellow.
Joel Zylberberg
The coveted honour places Zylberberg of the Faculty of Science at the heart of a community of Fellows working on the most pressing problems facing science and humanity in the world today. There are some 400 researchers from 22 countries, including 20 Nobel Prize recipients, at CIFAR.
Appointed a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar in 2016, Zylberberg is one of only four to be elevated to an associate Fellow. He joins the Information & Matter research theme in its Learning in Machines & Brains (LMB) program, looking at how we understand intelligence and build intelligent machines.
There are only about 40 members of the CIFAR LMB program, and they are considered collectively to be the world leaders in machine learning and neuroscience, and the intersection between those fields.
“This is indeed a high honour, and of great benefit to York,” said Marshall McCall, Chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy at York. “Through Joel, we have gained a direct connection to the luminaries working at the cutting edge of research into artificial intelligence and, in turn, a significant stimulus to corresponding research here.”
The new appointment will give Zylberberg access to CIFAR catalyst funds for building collaborations among Fellows to work on today’s most important questions as well as the opportunity to attend the biannual LMB program meetings to discuss their latest research and potential areas of further collaboration.
“These are great idea generators for me and have already led to collaborative projects,” said Zylberberg.
Zylberberg is leading one of the first OpenScope projects at the Allen Brain Observatory – a shared high-throughput experimental platform – to understand how different parts of the brain are involved in visual system learning and how it relates to artificial intelligence deep learning principles.
His collaborators include DeepMind research scientist Tim Lillicrap, CIFAR Fellow Blake Richards of McGill University (formerly with University of Toronto Scarborough) and University of Montreal researcher Yoshua Bengio, CIFAR’s LMB program co-director. Both Richards and Bengio are also Canada CIFAR AI Chairs.
“I’m most looking forward to using the interactions at the LMB meetings to develop new ideas about how learning works in the human brain, and how to use those insights to make smarter machines,” said Zylberberg.
“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.
