Making the Shift to provide grants for research on youth homelessness
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Making the Shift (MtS), a youth homelessness social innovation lab co-led by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness at York University, is seeking proposals from researchers and community organizations (that can hold Tri-Council funding) for one-time grants.
Applications must respond to one of the following funding streams and be submitted by the deadline date of Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. EST:
Youth-Focused Harm Reduction
Legal and Justice Issues
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Evictions Prevention
Data and Technology: Understanding the Role of Linked Administrative Data in Preventing Youth Homelessness
Pathways into Homelessness
Open Prevention Topic
Who can apply?
Individuals or institutions can apply. Applicants must be affiliated with a Canadian post-secondary academic institution. Principal investigators must be tenure-stream faculty or adjunct faculty members.
Not-for-profit organizations can apply for funding, provided they meet Tri-Council requirements and submit the supporting documentation, including affiliation with an academic institution. Indigenous not-for-profit organizations wanting to administer the grant funds should apply for institutional eligibility.
Funding amount and duration
MtS will fund between $50,000 and $250,000 per project. Successful projects will receive funds approximately mid-August 2022. Projects should anticipate starting on Sept. 1, 2022. Project activities must be completed by Dec. 24, 2024.
How to apply
Step 1: Download the application guide to determine if your proposal is eligible, and to learn more about how to submit your proposal.
Step 2: Prepare your application and complete the Making the Shift budget template.
Step 3: Register and submit your application through the Making the Shift submission portal.
Both English and French applications are encouraged. MtS application documents translated into French were posted on Feb. 2.
Do you have questions? Contact the Making the Shift funding team at mtsfunding@yorku.ca for questions regarding your proposal or the submission process.
Learn more about current funded MtS projects here.
Pam Millett
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In a piece published in The Conversation, Faculty of Education Associate Professor Pam Millett explores how masks, social distancing and increased ventilation make for a difficult listening and hearing environment for students and teachers
York U in the news: Olympics, Canadian soccer and more
Tomohiko Sekine (Thomas T. Sekine), professor emeritus in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), died on Jan. 16, 2022. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Kazuko Sekine, his two children Takasuke Sekine and Reiko Salib, and his four grandchildren.
Professor Sekine was born on Nov. 22, 1933, in Tokyo, Japan to Toshiko Sekine and Hideo Sekine, a noted scholar of French literature and translator of Michel de Montaigne’s essays. Professor Sekine was a loving husband, father, grandfather, friend and teacher, with a never-ending zest for learning, who continued his study of French (in homage to his father), alongside his professional research of Unoist economics throughout his life. Professor Sekine was an avid skier and traveller and enjoyed taking daily walks.
Early in life, he was a classmate of Japan’s former Emperor Akihito at Gakushuin Primary School. During the Second World War, Sekine was evacuated to Kanaya Hotel in Nikko, Japan with his school and later returned to Toyko in 1946 to enroll in Gakushuuin Middle School. He was taught English by American professional librarian and author Elizabeth Gray Vining.
In 1953, he enrolled in the Department of Commerce at Hitotsubashi University’s Department of Sociology for his undergraduate degree, where he belonged to Professor Shigeto Tsuru’s seminar group. After graduating, Professor Sekine enrolled at McGill University as the first Canada-Council Student in 1958 where he completed his master’s degree.
Professor Sekine went on to work at the United Nations Department of Statistics for two years, studied at the London School of Economics, earning a PhD in 1966 and began his teaching career at the University of Simon Frazer in British Columbia.
During his 25-year career at York University, Professor Sekine focused his research on modern and Marxian economics. He was invited as a guest professor from 1982-84 by the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. He continued to teach until 1994 in the Department of Commerce as the director of the International Research Center at Aichi Gakuin University in Nagoya, Japan.
Some of his notable publications include An Outline of the Dialectic of Capital: A Study of the Inner Logic of Capitalism, The Dialectic of Capital and Towards a Critique of Bourgeois Economics: Essays of Thomas T. Sekine.
Professor Sekine’s colleagues remember him
“Two long speaking tours in Japan partially organized by Sekine were absolutely fascinating to me given Japan’s culture. Sekine was part of this culture, a part that has truly enriched the world as well as Japan: the place of his birth. I cannot help but shed tears over such a loss, and I feel deeply for Kazuko and her children, and I will never forget my enormously rich friendship with Tom Sekine. He was a wonderful and brilliant man.” – Robert R. Albritton, professor emeritus, LA&PS
“I remember him again in Greece on our visit to the mountainous Delphi archeological site under the August blazing sun. As we were slowly making our way uphill, he said to us to keep going and he would catch up with us later…but as we could see him from higher up five or 10 minutes later, he wasn’t just sitting on that bench to rest, he was reading a small book which we didn’t know he had. His wife explained that this was how he was. He would seek moments of unannounced meaningful intellectual and spiritual solitude to do something which had a special meaning or connection for him.” – Stefanos Kourkoulakos, York University alumnus and former tutorial assistant with LA&PS
“One aspect of Tom’s life that I might have had more opportunity to observe than others had to do with the Japanese economy and Japanese studies. As I recall, when I returned to Canada and York University to complete my PhD work…Tom was teaching a course on the Japanese economy… I remember Tom having neatly handwritten lecture notes largely based on the Uchino text. At the time it was popular to write about the Japanese economic model and Tom certainly recognized distinctive features of the Japanese economy, but he would emphasize the importance of not losing sight of the evolution that took place in the Japanese economy even during the post-Second World War period.” – Brian MacLean, York University alumnus and former assistant professor,
“His theoretical treatment of Marx and Uno in his Dialectic of Capital (of which there were several editions) demanded a long-term intellectual commitment for it to be genuinely understood. His (and Uno’s and Rob’s) approach to understanding capital and capitalism lies in the back of my mind whenever I think of contemporary issues directly or indirectly involving some understanding of our economic life.” – John Simoulidis, associate professor, LA&PS
“I was a member of a reading group that met at Rob Albritton’s home, where Tom Sekine would drop by regularly. Tom Sekine’s personality exuded warmth, grace and dignity. He was the model of intellectual rigour and displayed the patience of a mountain with my innumerable questions regarding his original intervention he made in economic theory. Tom Sekine was kind enough to give me one of his books written in English that laid the foundation for my intellectual journey.” – Randall Terada, York University alumnus
“Thomas Sekine opened a new world of thinking to students like myself about economics and political economy…Besides his personal warmth, he was always extremely generous with his time and thoughts and strongly encouraged me in my intellectual pursuits. My final personal meeting with him was in Fall 2018 at my hotel in Tokyo where my wife and I hosted a dinner for him. As the conversation turned to questions of economic thought it reinforced my view that if ever a Nobel Prize for economics was to be handed out to a worthy thinker it would be Thomas T. Sekine.” – Richard Westra, York University alumnus
“Professor Sekine’s immense interdisciplinary command of the traditions in philosophy, political economy and history of science reflected in his own writings and conveyed in collegial discussions with him provided an important foundation for my own intellectual and moral development. For this I will be forever grateful.” – Marc Weinstein, adjunct professor, LA&PS
“I was fortunate to meet Professor Sekine as a York U undergraduate at the beginning of 2000s at a conference on new directions in Marxism organized by Professor Robert Albritton. Professor Sekine was the quintessence of wisdom and impeccable politeness, treating novice students on an equal footing with seasoned scholars. He will be sorely missed.” – Michael Marder, York University alumnus
Webinar considers how artificial intelligence can be used to tackle COVID-19 inequities
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help tackle inequities that contribute to a higher risk of the most vulnerable contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus and dying of COVID-19, but York University researchers say the right data is crucial for that to happen. A webinar planned for Thursday, Feb. 3 will provide insights on systemic vulnerability challenges.
Vulnerable people are often more exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 through their work in “essential” jobs such as long-term care and food production. Many are also placed at greater risk through the housing situation in their communities, overcrowded apartments and tighter living spaces. They also face more economic barriers due to the lack of access to cars or as a result of inadequate public transportation, limited food choices or food insecurity.
“There is a need to use artificial intelligence to collect data disaggregated by race, gender, sexuality, class, geographic location and Indigeneity to better understand how COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting vulnerable people, whether here in Canada or in Africa, where many countries have difficulty obtaining vaccines. This kind of data could not only help with today’s pandemic, but prepare for future crises by ensuring effective allocation of resources,” says Kong, an associate professor of mathematics and statistics in the Faculty of Science, and the director of the Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium.
Asgary, associate professor of disaster and emergency management in the School of Administrative Studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, is also the associate director of the Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM). He points out that the pandemic has exacerbated global socio-economic inequities. “It has shown how crises affect people differently according to their gender, skin colour, geographic location and Indigeneity – and it doesn’t not bode well for future crises.”
Properly supported with the necessary regulatory insights and oversights so inequities are not exacerbated, AI techniques could be used to analyze satellite data and track areas of poverty, predict droughts, forecast floods (leading to better infrastructure to prevent them), optimize resources following a natural disaster and improve resiliency in structural designs, and so much more.
The webinar will take place Thursday, Feb. 3 from 10 a.m. to noon and will provide insights on some of the major equity and systemic vulnerability challenges and issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The speakers will discuss the role of AI and will highlight policy implications for the current, as well as future pandemics and disasters, to minimize equity issues and systemic vulnerabilities.
An update on the most recent York-YUFA bargaining session is now available
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A new update on collective bargaining with YUFA, the union representing approximately 1,500 faculty, librarians and archivists, and post-doctoral visitors at York University, is now available. To view the latest update on the progress of negotiations, visit: https://www.yorku.ca/yufabargaining/community-updates/.
Mark Winfield
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Alternatives to large increases in gas-fired production and building new nuclear plants need to be assessed, writes Professor Mark Winfield in an op-ed in Policy Options
Scholars’ Hub talks Harlem and basketball
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The Scholars’ Hub @ Home series event scheduled for Feb. 2 at noon will feature Danielle Howard, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design. Howard will present a talk titled “Dancin’ Feet: Harlem and Basketball in the 1920s-30s.”
Danielle Howard
Howard holds a PhD in theatre and performance studies from UCLA and writes at the intersections of race, gender, performance, visual and sonic culture. She is currently working on a monograph titled “Making Moves: Race, Basketball, and Embodied Resistance” that spans the 20th and 21st centuries. The project foregrounds Black basketball players’ virtuosic and improvisational movements as oriented towards a kinetic knowledge of freedom and akin to contemporaneous jazz aesthetics. An article excerpted from this work, “Dribbling Against the Law: The Performance of Basketball, Race, and Resistance” is published in Sports Plays (Routledge, 2021).
“This discussion is connected to the monograph. It is a fundamental aspect of thinking about the relationship between sports, performing arts, and Black culture,” said Howard. “It is my hope that the takeaway from this is a new understanding between sport and performing arts and that the connection is important to Black expressive culture as well as performances of resistance.”
The series event will focus on the New York Renaissance basketball team, an all-Black professional team, that emerged within the social and cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. Playing basketball during the epicenter of Black entertainment, the talk will highlight the history of Black basketball players who used their bodies to orient themselves toward freedom and secure a cultural legacy.
On Feb. 13, 1923, the New York Renaissance team was created. The Renaissance, commonly called the “Rens,” became one of the dominant teams of the 1920s and 1930s. Robert L. Douglas was the team’s founder and his main objective was to give New York City’s male, Black athletes opportunities to better themselves.
In the 1932-33 season, the Rens won 88 consecutive games. Seven years before the launch of the NBA, the Rens won the World Professional Basketball tournament in 1939. Ten years later, the Rens, then based in Dayton, Ohio, played their last game as part of the racially integrated National Basketball League. By that time, the NBA was operating, and interest in barnstorming basketball had waned. In 1963, the Rens team was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
“I analyze how Black performance is imagined in and through basketball spaces. I do not aim, however, to essentialize basketball performance as a performance of Blackness. Rather, I explore the complicated relationship between the Black body as both flesh-and-blood and as an abstraction within a basketball space,” said Howard.
Howard explains there are key takeaways for participants that focus on historical elements about how sports has been involved in racial and cultural politics and how these conversations surrounding performances of resistance within sport continue to transform throughout the years.
“The reality is that in the face of anti-Black racism,” said Howard, “I hope viewers take away a depiction of Blackness not tethered to suffering. Rather, these players illustrate a sense of resistance and joy in the art that they produce in playing basketball.”
On a larger scale, Howard explained that the socio-emotional benefits of sports and performing arts can be mobilized in thinking about ways of social and cultural inclusion. She said the societal impact is not only for those who have been victims of social inequality but for society to move forward using sports and performing arts beyond the boundaries of celebrity culture and fathom.
“It’s timely for people to realize that when we gather once again in-person, we reframe the ways we think about liveness, being present with one another and the ways we use sports and arts to interact with one another,” said Howard.
Howard said that participants of Scholars’ Hub will not only leave learning history, but they will also gain an opportunity to take in the knowledge they learn, reflect and use it to shift their perspective moving forward.
“Sports and performing arts may not have the same overt connection, but at its core and in terms of my methodology, I’m interested in adapting basketball as a theatrical craft,” Howard added.
Howard’s lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
The Scholars’ Hub @ Home speaker series features discussions on a broad range of topics, with engaging lectures from some of York’s best minds. The Scholars’ Hub events are done in partnership with Vaughan Public Libraries, Markham Public Library, and Aurora Public Library. The Scholars’ Hub @ Home series is presented by York Alumni Engagement. All members of the York community are welcome to attend the events. Sessions take place online at noon.
To register for the upcoming seminar event, click here.
My Secret Life: York master’s student turns something old into something new
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Did you know the Scadding Cabin, built in 1794 and located on the grounds of the Exhibition Place, is Toronto’s oldest surviving building? Or from 1897 to 1967, Toronto’s high-level minor league baseball club was named the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Morgan Cameron Ross
Morgan Cameron Ross, a history graduate from York University, who is currently completing a master’s degree in history, is also the founder and host of the Old Toronto Series. A popular history-focused storytelling platform, it has more than 10 million monthly impressions across the platforms and more than 500,000 followers.
While you may have seen Ross while scrolling through social media, he is also a mainstay and regular on CityTV and Breakfast Television. Ross is also recognized by many notable names across Toronto for unravelling the city’s history through photos, maps and video series highlighting neighbourhoods, famous city landmarks and buildings. Since launching the series in 2017, he says his audience is “incredibly diverse” and the best part about producing history in an exciting, consumable way, is sharing Toronto’s story with an audience who might not pay attention to the city’s past otherwise.
“We have people from old Italian grandmas – mostly because their grandkids or kids show them – to everyone from Drake, Malcolm Gladwell to Peter Mansbridge and a large following from young people,” said Ross.
Ross spoke to YFile while walking the streets of his neighbourhood, just like he did when he first came up with the idea to start the Old Toronto Series. After moving to Toronto from Vancouver in 2005, Ross fell in love with the city and is embracing the people and places that shape Toronto.
“I love that about the city, its people from everywhere, these diasporas, ethnic enclaves everywhere, I find those interesting,” he said. “One thing I like telling people is they can do the same research if they know where to look. It is accessible to everybody. The coolest thing that I find is the number of people that live or grew up here that didn’t know things about their neighbourhood and lived here 30, 40 or 50 years and somehow didn’t know why a building is like that.”
The 2021 Heritage Toronto People’s Choice Award winner, Ross has successful partnerships with Bosley Real Estate, Architectural Conservatory Toronto, Business Improvement Area’s (BIA) across the city and various local and national brands.
Last year, Ross teamed up with Canadian rapper and producer Kardinal Offishall to highlight the history of Toronto’s Little Jamiaca neighbourhood and the struggles it is facing due to the Eglington Crosstown LRT construction.
“I try to incorporate pop culture into these things…presenting history in a consumable manner that is hip and cool, that’s kind of our goal and it seems to be working – making history less boring and more exciting,” he said.
Ross is also the founder of the newly launched Old Ontario Series and Old Canada Series that will further his reach with an ever-growing and engaged fan base. What started as a hobby has turned into a full-time gig for Ross, who said the series has grown exponentially in the last year and a half. Two books are also in the works – a history book and a book all about maps. Old Canada is also currently being pursued as a television series.
Embracing the best of Toronto, its people and community involvement, Ross is no stranger to supporting citizens who call Toronto home. Aside from producing a wide range of video content exploring the history of places like Woodbine Racetrack, Kensington Market and Liberty Village, Ross is also giving back to his community through a 2022 Old Toronto and Old Canadian calendar, which are now available on the Old Toronto website for purchase. For every calendar sold, $5 is donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
“We just wrapped up a campaign for the Daily Bread Food Bank. In the last 13 months we have fundraised more than $29,000 for the food bank through Instagram alone,” said Ross. “In addition, we have made efforts to try to get attention to other social issues and problems in the city.”
Do you have a “secret life” or know someone else at York who does? Visit the My Secret Life questionnaire and tell us what makes you shine, or nominate someone you know at York.
York U in the news: online classes, Olympics and more
