Youth Action Initiative: Needs Assessment & Outcome Evaluation Research

Youth-facing service providers in Waterloo Region have historically faced challenges when engaging marginalized youth. Through the Youth Action Initiative (YAI), Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) in partnership with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council (WRCPC) aim to address barriers to equity and engagement for youth in Waterloo Region, particularly for youth who have been historically and continue to be disenfranchised, such as Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC). Two objectives of the YAI are to complete a needs assessment and outcome evaluation research studies.

Creating Space for STEAM: Assessing and Supporting Teacher Efficacy in STEM Education

To prepare today’s youth to be successful in the future, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning has become a priority within Canadian education systems. To better meet the learning needs and requirements of 21st century educators, teacher education must continue to be resigned and updated to reflect the changing K-12 education system. This study aims to strengthen the partnership between a Canadian University and Let's Talk Science, a STEM education organization, so that STEM learning may be better integrated into teacher education.

Revealing Trends in Quantum Technology with Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning Techniques

Recent years have witnessed a surge of interests in exploring emerging research directions of quantum technology, including quantum computing, quantum sensors, quantum cryptography, etc., and the number of scientific publications in the literature in this field has been growing steadily. However, due to the large volume of unstructured text data and the lack of automatic archiving of the obtained results, much of the information remains buried in textual details and can not be fully exploited for further usage and analysis.

Understanding the Role of Ex Situ Conservation to Enhance Public Understanding, Awareness, and Support for Biodiversity - Year two

The purpose of this research is to use an evidence-based approach to further the Toronto Zoo’s social science and education programs, in order to support in situ conservation and biodiversity in relation to Canadian goals and the Aichi Targets. Using a collaborative approach this research will result in the co-production of knowledge, where the researcher and the partner organization collaborate in all four stages of the research project. This project is mutually beneficial for the researcher and the partner organization.

Developing a Field Deployable Assay System for Environmental Monitoring

There are currently over 9,000 potentially contaminated sites in Canada that require environmental assessment. The Field Deployable Assay (FDA) is a simple and cost-effective method for performing accurate environmental monitoring and site assessments. The FDAs are composed of a stationary main body and a variety of interchangeable cartridges. These cartridges act as miniature greenhouses, easily allowing for the monitoring of the growth of plants and fungus over an extended period.

Risk Analysis of Affordable Housing Mortgage Models

Habitat for Humanity (H4H) Halton-Mississauga (HM) provides affordable housing to families in the Halton-Mississauga region. This research project examines the viability - from a financial, organizational risk and family impact point of view - of different mortgage models.

COVID-19 and long term care workers: Staffing shortages and diverse pathways to entry

The goal of this project is to enhance health workforce planning in the Waterloo Region in collaboration with the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (WPB), to address the Long Term Care staffing crisis by providing quantitative analysis of the demographic make up of the labour market involved in health relation professions, which will identify the demographic specifics of this population in terms of immigration status, length of residence in Canada etc.

Developing the local economies of food in northern Indigenous communities

Communities in Canada’s North face a series of complex barriers to food accessibility and sovereignty. The Dene community of Kakisa in the Northwest Territories is partnering with Wilfrid Laurier University to research and implement solutions to food security and sovereignty.

Identifying Opportunities and Barriers for Local Food Infrastructure in Yellowknife, NWT

Communities throughout Canada’s North are turning to small-scale agriculture in hopes of solving food security issues, fostering economic growth and adapting to climate change. The City of Yellowknife has developed an Agriculture Strategy to build a resilient local food system.

Understanding the Role of Ex Situ Conservation to Enhance Public Understanding, Awareness, and Support for Biodiversity

The purpose of this research is to use an evidence-based approach to further the Toronto Zoo’s social science and education programs, in order to support in situ conservation and biodiversity in relation to Canadian goals and the Aichi Targets. Using a collaborative approach this research will result in the co-production of knowledge, where the researcher and the partner organization collaborate in all four stages of the research project. This project is mutually beneficial for the researcher and the partner organization.

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