Innovative Projects Realized

Safety and effectiveness of Mifegymiso® offered through different service delivery points: a national prospective cohort study – Year two

Medication abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol has the potential to advance women’s access to safe and geographically accessible abortion care. Improved access to medication abortion protects women’s right to health and supports women’s autonomy and agency. However, the over-regulation of mifepristone in much of the Global North has muted the promise of this pill-based regimen of abortion care. Although Health Canada only approved mifepristone in 2015, Canada’s regulatory environment has leapfrogged that of other countries, thus allowing the mifepristone/misoprostol regimen to be integrated into a range of service delivery systems, including a number of demedicalized strategies. In this two-year national prospective cohort study we aim to collect information from different types of providers to assess the safety and effectiveness associated with the provision of medication abortion. We aim to analyze quantitative data from approximately 15,000 patients to assess safety and effectiveness and identify any differences in outcome by type of service delivery and geographic location. This study represents a partnership between the University of Ottawa and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) Canada. Our findings will have programmatic and policy implications and the results will support the efforts of NAF Canada to improve access to medication abortion in Canada and beyond.

For Users Sake

The Company “For User’s Sake” is a business that creates and designs UX services for clients. The pandemic has many people looking for a digital presence (i.e. website) and For Users’ Sake provides this service. The company’s success depends on having a Customer Relationship Management system to identify and interact with these potential customers. The company “For User’s Sake” requires someone with the knowledge to implement the CRM. Coincidently, CRM is an identified area of service needed for many of the company’s existing clients.

Safety and effectiveness of Mifegymiso® offered through different service delivery points: a national prospective cohort study

Medication abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol has the potential to advance women’s access to safe and geographically accessible abortion care. Improved access to medication abortion protects women’s right to health and supports women’s autonomy and agency. However, the over-regulation of mifepristone in much of the Global North has muted the promise of this pill-based regimen of abortion care. Although Health Canada only approved mifepristone in 2015, Canada’s regulatory environment has leapfrogged that of other countries, thus allowing the mifepristone/misoprostol regimen to be integrated into a range of service delivery systems, including a number of demedicalized strategies. In this two-year national prospective cohort study we aim to collect information from different types of providers to assess the safety and effectiveness associated with the provision of medication abortion. We aim to analyze quantitative data from approximately 15,000 patients to assess safety and effectiveness and identify any differences in outcome by type of service delivery and geographic location. This study represents a partnership between the University of Ottawa and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) Canada. Our findings will have programmatic and policy implications and the results will support the efforts of NAF Canada to improve access to medication abortion in Canada and beyond.

Towards a Utility Framework for Enterprise Business Intelligence Mashups

Based on a deliberation of enterprise and end-user requirements for BI Mashups technologies and services, this project aims to formulate a utility framework for enterprise BI Mashups. The framework is expected to advance an understanding of business process requirements that can be satisfied through the use of enterprise BI Mashups, and also aid in the development of mashup toolkits targeted at BI end-users. As IBM Cognos is one of the major providers of enterprise business intelligence and analytics technologies, there is significant interest within the company for further development of BI mashup tools and services. The research investigation outlined in this proposal aims to advance the knowledge base for enterprise BI Mashups by offering strategic insights and actionable guidelines that can improve the adoption of business intelligence technologies across the enterprise and enhance the end-user experience with mashup tools and applications for business analytics.

1 Million Teachers

This project will focus on defining the narrative of 1 Million Teachers (1MT) and mapping out avenues to amplify that narrative in ways that advance their mission of attracting and training new teachers all around the world. With current systems of international development coming under increasing scrutiny, 1MT must differentiate themselves through their story and the power of their solution. By the end of this project, 1MT will have a series of assets (website, master deck, internal guides) as well as a campaign framework to help drive new revenue.

Forrestgreen x Cameron Rowe Internship

This project is a COVID-19 research project which will see the Intern working on a number of tasks supporting the adoption of Forrestgreen Police Solutions. The solution provides a faster and cheaper way to get your Police background check completed online. COVID-19 has caused rapid growth for Forrestgreen in this area, and the Intern will support the digital strategy, social media, and outreach for the Police Services who are existing customers. This will include reaching out and communicating with Police Services to ensure they are using and aware of supporting features with the dashboards Forrestgreen is providing them. The expected benefit for the partner organization is that Brandon and others at Forrestgreen will be able to focus on onboarding new Police Services and grow their digital & social media strategy.

Digital Main Street (DMS) – Project 2

Covid-19 has impeded many brick-and-mortar businesses, especially the SMEs in Northwest Ontario. The challenging environment calls for change in the business practice to respond to the impact and rejuvenate businesses. Going online is one of the possible solutions supported by technology and market readiness for those businesses. Digital Main Street (DMS), a program and service that helps main street businesses achieve digital transformation, was created by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) with direct support from the City of Toronto. and co-supported by a group of strategic corporate sponsors, including Google, MasterCard, Rogers, Microsoft and Shopify. The program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, and Digital Service Squad, a team of highly trained recent graduates who help main street businesses grow and manage their business through the adoption of digital tools and technology.

Evidence-based product support and the cultivation of a community of learners

While consumers adopt technological solutions based on their perceived usefulness, continued use of those products often depends on the support customers receive as they initially use the product, and when they run into problems or complex uses. Traditional support models (e.g., call centres) are often costly and only somewhat effective. The current proposal outlines research focused primarily on two issues; First, what is the best way to configure information within a support site to allow efficient and rich access to needed information and second, how can crowd-sourcing be best harnessed to create a community of learners that can provide immediate, complex and “human” support without requiring the typical costs. The experiments and “in vivo” research will be conducted within the context of two University of Toronto products licensed to Pearson Education Canada – peerScholar and Cogneeto – but the implications of the work are wide-reaching and timely.

Merging Calculus Learning with Mobile Devices: Calculus Practice App

This project will partner a student intern in graduate mathematics with the development team at Mathtoons Media Inc., an educational technology company in the business of creating mobile learning applications. Learning and academic practice is migrating away from traditional textbooks and webwork and toward mobile devices. The varying physical constraints of these devices post a significant challenge to the creators of mobile digital math practice applications. Questions which cover complex, high level topics within Calculus require significant alteration to fit properly within the scale of a small, handheld device. And yet, emerging research indicates students prefer to practice mathematics on handheld devices. This project will research the steps required to rapidly scale calculus questions to read and deliver well on various handheld devices within an “app experience” while still maintaining proper pedagogy with respect to the choice, sequencing and illustration of these questions. This provides a novel approach to current…

Understanding the Structure of a Shake to Guide Product Development

Enviroshake Inc. markets a very successful product: composite roof shakes. These shakes have the appearance of cedar but outperform cedar roof shakes in lifetime. The current composite roof shake is primarily composed of a mixture of commercial plastics blended with wood fillers. Enviroshake Inc. would like to redefine the binding agent to a lower priced material whilst maintaining or improving upon the performance of the shakes. Research funded by this MITACS Accelerate Grant will be directed towards determining how the binder is structured within the final shake and what materials would serve as suitable alternatives. This information will be used by Enviroshake Inc. to support the development of new products for the roofing industry.

Business Strategy Internship, Lakehead University and Superior Strategies

This research project is being undertaken in partnership with Lakehead University and Superior Strategies, a small private and Indigenous-owned company based in Northwestern Ontario. The outcome of this project seeks to deliver a strategic plan using a research- and solution-based approach to not only address the impacts that COVID-19 has had upon the business, but to discovering opportunities for growth and innovation that may exist within this challenge.

Superior Strategies delivers business consulting, event planning and a variety of training services to client organizations while also running a supplies business related to janitorial, sanitation and medical supplies. Training programs range in the areas of Health and Safety Management Systems to Cultural Awareness, all of which have unfortunately been brought to a halt due to COVID-19. Superior Strategies now faces the challenge of transforming their mode of delivery to a technology-driven process in order to resume services and further, to better align business systems while providing valuable information to aid management in strategic business decisions.

This project will be managed by a student intern with the help of co-supervisors in order to develop skills in the areas of project management, the use of analytical and software toolsTOBECONT.

NorWest Community Health Centres

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how services at NorWest are delivered.
To decrease the risk of transmitting the virus to either patients or health care workers within their practice, providers are, when possible, converting in-person visits to telemedicine visits.
Many patients are also avoiding visits because they do not want to leave their homes and risk exposure.
Other services, such as foot care and walk in clinic had their service volumes considerably reduced due to a lack of PPEs or other alternatives to properly mitigate COVID-19 risks.
The Pandemic has also influenced both provider and patient behaviors bringing relevant impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
Having a business student intern would be important for NorWest to help implementing a project that would map priority risk mitigation processes and improve health, safety and wellness initiatives for staff who are working from home due to the Pandemic or working onsite in activities related to Covid-19 including primary care services.