Projets novateurs réalisés

Computer Lenses and Sex Influence on Shoulder-Neck Discomfort and Musculoskeletal Mechanisms in University Students Identifying as Laptop Users

Adults exposed to screens for prolonged periods of time have complained of shoulder-neck discomfort. Ergonomic solutions can help prevent the development of computer work-related pains later on in life as young adults move on to careers in an office or administrative setting. Many computer users have also expressed eye strain. As a response, ergonomic computer lenses have been brought forward, said to make viewing a computer screen easier on the eyes. Mechanistic links between eye strain and neck discomfort have been suggested; however, existing studies lack sophisticated methods of postural and electromyographical analysis, and have not compared effects on males vs females. The goal of this research project is therefore to evaluate the effects of computer lenses on shoulder-neck discomfort, and postural alignment, during a 90 minute computer typing task among young adults of the university setting. TO BE CONT’D

Countering the Authoritative Viewpoint: reinterpretations in the “Park-Monument of the Bulgarian-Soviet friendship”

I would like to reposition the viewer in the spaces within the “Park-Monument of the Bulgarian Soviet Friendship” in Varna, Bulgaria, to question the purpose and value of this monument which is carrying an ideology from a communist past, into the present Bulgarian society. As I understand it, to place something in its context, be it environmental, historical, political or any other context is to contextualize it. Contextualizing the monument in the current landscape and in its post-communist society would allow the individual to relate more intimately with the events that took place; to understand the events related directly and indirectly to the creation of this monument. The questions are many. Can it be re-contextualized to an end of a different understanding? How can a monument of past regimes represent a current society? How should we treat monuments, and can monuments of such kind help us reconcile with the past? This is a very relevant topic for monuments around the world including Canada and the US. This research project’s goal is a design proposal, with suggested intervention of the monument itself and the park land around it. TBC

Uncharted Waters: Indigenous Water Ethics and Water Governance

With two Indigenous communities, one in Northern Canada and one in Southern Australia, my research explores Indigenous water ethics and water governance models. During my proposed project, using a Participatory Action Research approach, we will video document interviews and collectively edit them to make a short video documentary focused on caring for water. This proposed Mitacs-funded trip to Australia would allow us to conduct the Australian interviews, gather video-footage, and do video editing with community members. The documentary will highlight similarities and differences from the two Indigenous cultures, linking them together through a collective knowledge-sharing project, subsequently contributing to international networks working for water projection. The short video can then act as a catalyst for future collaborative research, specifically as related to an idea to for a future exchange program that brings members of each community to the other to experientially learn about different water contexts in person.

Expected outcomes for this specific visit to Australia include:
1. Video interviews with Indigenous research community partners in Australia, edited into a short documentary;
2. Capacity building: Learning from one another and widening water-related networks;
3. Evolved plans for future participatory research collaborations;
4. TBC

Personalizing gamification strategies to improve young adult life skills training

By making life skills education more game-like, we propose to help young adults improve valuable life skills and feel empowered in their choices.
There is a growing body of evidence to show that adding game elements into non-game contexts, a persuasive strategy known as gamification, is effective at improving students’ motivation and skill learning.
In this project we will match young adult mobile gameplay preferences with game design elements in order to teach life skills in a fun and engaging way that maximizes the motivational power of gamification.
This project is an important first step in the design of a mobile life coaching game that empowers young adults through playful learning.

From Violent Ideation to Early Detection: Social Media and Mass Shootings

Les tueries de masses font maintenant partie du quotidien aux États-Unis. Depuis 1966, le nombre d’incidents à augmenter de manière significative et la fréquence semble s’accélérer depuis 2012. Afin de mieux comprendre les dynamiques sous-jacentes à ce phenomène, nous proposons d’explorer un angle particulier: l’influence des médias sociaux sur l’idéation de violence des tueurs et la validation sociale de leurs intentions de commettre un acte de violence. Plus précisément, nous partons de la proposition que les medias sociaux peuvent offrir une plateforme d’expression qui facilite l’idéation de commettre des tueries de masse et permet la formation de petits groupes sociaux qui valorisent ce type de comportement. Il semble que plusieurs cas récents pointent dans cette direction. TO BE CONT’D

Amélioration de la convergence d’un modèle PEEC d’électromaimant supraconducteur

L’objectif du projet de stage sera d’améliorer la convergence et la vitesse de résolution des problèmes électromagnétiques et thermiques fortement couplés pour simuler le phénomène d’emballement thermique (i.e. « quench ») dans des électro-aimants supraconducteurs soumis à des variations rapides de courant et/ou de champ magnétique. Les électro-aimants ont de nombreuses applications pratiques, la plus connue étant les systèmes d’imagerie à résonance magnétique.

La méthode numérique utilisée est la méthode PEEC généralisée, qui permet de trouver une équivalence du problème électromagnétique en termes de circuits électriques. Il s’agit d’une méthode numérique contemporaine, très efficace pour résoudre des problèmes complexes, mais qui requiert encore quelques ajustements pour en accélérer la convergence. Des compromis doivent être fait entre vitesse et précision, et ce sera le but de ce stage de mieux explorer les différentes avenues possibles.

The design and fabrication of a novel and passive hand tremor attenuator

Parkinson’s disease is most highly recognized by tremors of the hands that occur in those afflicted with the disease. Though the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease involving motor function begin with very slight tremors of the hands, they further develop into issues such as difficulty swallowing, severe postural problems and extremely limited mobility. In this proposal, a method of reducing these tremors that appear during the early stages of the disease is developed by creating a wearable passive device that reduces vibrations of the hand and arm through the use of magnetic actuators. The proposed wearable technology has surpassed other known alternatives in selected testing scenarios while possessing a light weight of only 120 grams.

Development of a Factory Model of Steel Production through ElectricArc Furnace

Over the decades use of Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) in steel production has grown dramatically.

However, EAF operation involves relatively low level of automation and multivariable interactions and

subtle relationships that may be easily overlooked. Detailed process knowledge, in the form of a

model, makes it possible to take advantage of more complex relationships to provide information such

as finding the optimal balance and timing of the energy contributions from chemical and electrical

sources. The proposed project focuses on two aspects of the steel production process with EAF at

ArcelorMittal to improve the quality of steel and minimize production costs. The first proposed task is

to develop an optimized slag model for an EAF to reduce energy utilization, alloy consumption and

maximize yield. The second task is developing a caster model that (1) calculates the optimum

parameters to cast quality, (2) predicts liquid steel temperature from upstream parameters, (3) calculates billet core temperature to define maximum casting speed. The…………………………………………………

New high performance cooling fluids based on boron nitride for power electronic applications

Pour bien fonctionner, l’électronique de puissance, par exemple les moteurs électriques, doit être refroidie avec des liquides qui conduisent bien la chaleur, tout en étant de bons isolants électriques. La disponibilité de ces fluides est actuellement une limite importante si on veut utiliser des puissances plus élevées. L’objectif général de ce projet est de développer un nouveau fluide caloporteur possédant de bonnes propriétés d’écoulement et d’isolation électrique. Les objectifs spécifiques sont : (1) De développer des fluides caloporteurs à base d’émulsions concentrées de Pickering, en utilisant des particules de nitrure de bore – ces particules conduisent très bien la chaleur et sont de bons isolants électriques; (2) D’établir la relation entre les propriétés thermiques, la conductivité électrique, et l’écoulement de ces émulsions, en fonction de la composition; (3) D’optimiser les propriétés thermiques, électriques et en écoulement, de la formulation retenue.
Le second objectif sera réalisé en France. Il s’agira de caractériser les propriétés thermiques des formulations développées à l’aide d’une caméra thermique permettant d’obtenir le profil de température dans un fluide. Développer une meilleure compréhension de ces aspects permettra de raffiner la composition de la formulation par l’amélioration de ses propriétés.

Influence of Classroom Assessment on Motivation, Autonomy and Creativity in Children

In the present study, classes of Grade 4 students in each of Ontario and Notodden will work individually on a creative art project over the span of between six to eight weeks. A 2 x 2 design with teacher feedback (positive and general vs. positive and constructive) and evaluation expectation (expecting evaluation vs. not expecting evaluation) as the independent variables will be used. Students will complete a measure of intrinsic/extrinsic motivation and perceived autonomy before and after completing their art project. Pre- and post-test results will be compared to determine the influence of different forms of assessment. Additional measures of affect will be taken. All projects will be evaluated by a panel of teachers for creativity and technical competency at the end of the six weeks.TO BE CONT’D

An examination of shrub and animal density-dependent interactions in desert ecosystems

The proposed project is to determine if shrub and animal densities in Desert ecosystems are related to one another. This will be done by looking at the total number of Shrub individuals in a given area (Breaking up into high, medium, low and no shrub sites) and recording the total animals that are found in the site. Animal encounters will be seen through Camera Trap recordings, Walking a transect (Straight line) near the site and finally sitting for an hour and observing each site. It is expected that a higher density of shrubs in a given area will be associated with a higher density of animals in that area and that there will be a greater richness of animal species with higher shrub densities.

Co-creating societal progress: Developing participatory processes for working with governments to meet targets for ecological transition.

Climate change demands that governing institutions at every level of society define targets for ecological transition. The UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are one such agenda. Actually meeting those targets takes more than planning, however — it requires the stimulation, development, and implementation of citizen-led solutions. With innovation labs and research institutes providing platforms to propagate solution prototypes, the remaining question becomes one of implementation. For prototypes to be put into action, participating actors must feel empowered and motivated to self-organize across sectors. Governmental cooperation, particularly at the regional and local levels, thus becomes a key factor for success. It is believed that co-creation — an approach to creative practice that involves active participation from all stakeholders — can increase the effectiveness and long-term success of multistakeholder partnerships. The proposed research will explore the conditions necessary for these partnerships to move forward with their projects, and identify tools and support measures to enable them to flourish.