Projets novateurs réalisés

SheWorth – Marketing Coordinator

We are looking for a dynamic self starter to take on social media, content creation, event marketing and execution and creation of various marketing collateral for the SheWorth community and target new eyes as we prepare to launch our book and online programming.

Collaboration Practices associated with a Community-Based Prototyping Initiative in Edmonton, AB

In collaboration with The City of Edmonton, RECOVER is working to build on their Culture of Wellbeing Framework by developing new measures to improve community wellbeing. In this project, we are also interested in knowing how effective these tools are, in collecting and measuring this improvement. Recover’s typical approach to engaging community members is through in-person interaction and going ‘into the community’ to gather feedback. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Recover is presented with an opportunity to rethink and develop new means by which to engage and communicate with the community. My work with Recover will be to help organize information in a way that will be accessible to the community about the tools Recover will develop and prototype over the 2021 summer. Due to Recover’s unique design thinking approach to community problem solving, prototyping, and testing, this project will explore new ways to connect and communicate with both the design and development participants and the broader Edmonton community. In sum, my tasks include working with designers, ethnographers,

Prototyping and Testing Evaluation Tools to Improve Wellbeing for Edmontonians

As an urban wellness project, Recover (City of Edmonton, 2021) works to connect and help people thrive in Treaty 6 Territory (Edmonton, Alberta). Long-term wellbeing and urban transformation is linked to feelings of ‘connectedness.’ Thus the objective of the internship project undertaken is to design, prototype, and test a toolkit (series of actions, activities, and communication mechanisms) related to evaluation, and tools that will help Recover understand how they can measure “wellbeing” via ethnographic methods. I will fulfill the organization’s short-term needs by working with applied anthropologists, ethnographers, and Recover team members, supporting, acting, and taking the initiative to analyze data gathered and produce a comprehensible information gathering and dissemination tool that will directly engage, impact, and support Edmontonians. My job will essentially be a ‘researcher’ and ‘data analyst’ who collects information about community experiences with our tool prototypes (according to COVID safety protocols in place). The expected benefit of this project is to support Recover’s efforts to center connection and create a deeper understanding about its importance as it relates to well-being. Improving connectivity and Edmontonian’s overall wellbeing will be critical following the pandemic.

Good News Ventures – Venture Capital Intern Analyst

GNV is seeking an intern to assist with a project to improve and document the venture capital investment process. This includes outbound deal flow sourcing of early stage technology startups, evaluation of startups, due diligence and supporting investees. Furthermore, some supporting duties related to the investment process such as outreach communications within the venture capital ecosystem and with investors may be assigned.

Documenting Indigenous Ecological Knowledge to examine Atikameg (lake whitefish) and Namegosag (lake trout) interactions in Saukiing Anishinaabekiing

“Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing)” is a framework for bringing together different worldviews in search of mutual benefit. In partnership with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), this project is using an Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) approach to bridge Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) and Western science to inform locally relevant fisheries governance on Lake Huron. Using both knowledge systems, this project will examine the problem of declines in lake whitefish, how interactions with lake trout affect the collapse, and report on community-led solutions. This is a priority issue for the SON as lake whitefish supports an important commercial fishery and is an essential component of their diets and culture. An Intern will undertake interviews with SON fish harvesters and Elders to document their IEK. Alongside this, Western science-based research will be completed by other team members to quantitively evaluate lake whitefish declines. The Intern will also play an important role in studying how Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) can be used to support effective fisheries governance and more equitable research relationships.

Programming multicore systems with explicitly managed memory

STMicroelectronics has designed a new multicore processor STHORM, which is now going into production. This system promises significant improvements in performance per unit of energy, but poses new challenges in programming. Unlike conventional processors, STHORM does not automatically move program data between various levels of the processor’s memory system. This is one of the reasons why it is more energy efficient, but the onus of data management falls of the programmer. The goal of these internships is to develop software methods that will automatically manage data movement, so the system is used efficiently without burdening the application developer.

Characterization of diabetic bone at the nanoscale

Diabetes mellitus, a metabolic disease affecting 422 million people worldwide, had often been associated with a loss in bone quality and strength, causing a higher fracture risk. However, thorough characterization of diabetic bone at the nanoscale has never been completed. This may indeed be relevant, as the structure and chemistry of the nanoscale components of bone directly determine bone quality and strength.

In this project, Raman spectroscopy will be used at the host institution to gain information about the composition of diabetic bone at the nanoscale. This will be compared to that of healthy bone to identify the nanoscale changes induced by diabetes. It is expected that there may be changes in organic/inorganic ratios, which will be compared with structure analysis at the home institution. This work will shed light on the reasons behind the compromised quality/strength and the higher fracture risk of diabetic bone, thus enabling potential treatments, improvement of implant success in diabetic patients, and in turn, an overall improvement in the quality of life of diabetes sufferers worldwide.

Birdsong from Before: a critical historical geography of bird sound recording

This project explores the history of bird sound recording in Canada and the USA, with a specific focus on the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University, New York, which holds the world’s largest bird sound archive. I will focus on three case study recordings: Arthur A Allen and Peter Paul Kellogg’s 1935 Ivory-Billed Woodpecker recordings, William W. H. Gunn’s 1953 Atlantic Puffin recordings, and Norma and Jerry Stillwell’s 1950 Barred Owl recordings. With a few exceptions, all recordings and physical materials pertaining to these case studies are held at Cornell University. Under the supervision of Dr. Juno Salazar Parreñas in the Department of Science & Technology Studies, I will undertake archival research of these collections, as well as complete supplementary interviews regarding these materials with individuals at the ornithological lab. This project will provide a critical social science perspective on bird sound recording, contribute to the completion of my PhD, and inform a public-facing environmental education project.

Influence du contexte biophysique sur l’intensité d’aménagement des forêts privées

Bien qu’elle soit la source d’une part importante des approvisionnements aux usines de transformation, la production de bois en provenance des forêts privées du Québec demeure nettement inférieure à la possibilité forestière. Des enquêtes menées auprès des propriétaires nous ont permis de documenter certains facteurs socio-démographiques reliés à l’engagement des propriétaires envers l’aménagement forestier. Dans ce projet, nous proposons d’utiliser les nouveaux outils de télédétection, notamment les données issues du LiDAR aérien, afin de mieux comprendre le lien entre le contexte biophysique et l’intensité d’aménagement des boisés privés. À l’aide des données du LiDAR aérien, nous dresserons d’abord un portrait de l’intensité d’aménagement forestier à l’échelle régionale de l’Estrie. Nous évaluerons ensuite dans quelle mesure des variables telles que la taille de la propriété, la situation géographique, ou les caractéristiques des propriétés voisines peuvent être reliées à l’intensité d’aménagement.

TinyEye COVID-19 Services Enhancement

With Covid-19 there has been a growth in online therapy opportunities. There are new challenges that need to be addressed to expand our service offering. TinyEYE is facing challenges in increased magnitude of touch points for similar levels of service delivery. An intern can participate in research and development of technologies that enable such offerings, focusing our pivot from working with schools to working with parents and guardians. The intern will
Partner with product managers and stakeholders to identify and gather requirements
Analyze and prioritize them
Design and implement solutions
Monitor and receive feedback for improvement
Write code, troubleshoot, and estimate using story-points
to meet the challenges where our operational teams require new software solutions.

Software Developer Internship

SNAP Virtual is a start up company, affiliated with a leading U.S. company, specializing in augmented and virtual reality (AR / VR) software applications. Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR / VR) are among the core technologies (AI, IoT, Robotics) being rapidly adopted for education and training purposes but also to automate, create efficiencies, enable remote work and develop innovative solutions. The intern will work to rapidly contribute to the development of their AR/VR solution to help launch a product support other SMEs.

Future-proofing community-based research and training services for a non-profit organization

My summer internship will support CFRAC’s efforts to respond to racism and discrimination in Edmonton, which has been made more difficult due to the challenges posed by COVID-19. Due to lock-down measures imposed by provincial and municipal governments, most Edmonton organizations have encountered varying financial implications. COVID-19 has also impacted non-profits, like CFRAC, uniquely due to a decrease in charitable giving (Imagine Canada, 2020). Further, CFRAC’s mission to focus work on the issues, concerns, and strengths in the community, and engage meaningfully with community members is limited due to social distancing restrictions on community engagement. Specifically, I will help develop training materials and online educational opportunities to foster community interest and support logistics and facilitation of educational events. My project will help develop new methods of community engagement through virtual networking and online community-building (through social media), and to support CFRAC’s existing research programs. My job will also involve searching for and supporting the development of new grant opportunities for CFRAC. This internship allows CFRAC additional resources and connections with post-secondary institutions in this under-resourced and uncertain time.