Projets novateurs réalisés

Enhancing Ethical Sport: Evaluating the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport Outreach Initiatives

The Hope on the Horizon Tour is set to launch in the spring of 2023, and events/work focused on the True Sport initiative are continuing. Thus, the internship focuses on understanding and evaluating the depth of the knowledge transfer taking place throughout these initiatives – especially the Hope on the Horizon Tour.
This research aims research to:
1. Understand True Sport’s role in sport – how does it add value, and how could the CCES improve its impact?
2. Determine the outcomes from a knowledge transfer perspective for the Hope on the Horizon Tour. How successful was the CCES in improving the skills of the participants? Did participant understanding improve? If so, are they planning to act on their new skillset? What is the return on investment measured in terms of knowledge transferred and the consequently improved outcomes for sport as a result?
3. Provide recommendations for improving the impact of True Sport in the community and the knowledge transfer of future initiatives.
The project will offer insights into how to best design a knowledge transfer model and what the CCES should focus on in the future.

Forest residue for value-added wood products by innovative thermal-hygro-mechanical modification

The proposal aims to develop a new technology that modifies forest residue such as logs and lumber into
value-added wood products. British Columbia (BC) has an abundance of residual fiber from clear-cut
logging, which includes small diameter logs, branches, and underutilized wood species such as aspen logs.
The goal is to support BC’s wood industry’s transformation from primary lumber production to secondary
wood processing of value-added products, especially for indigenous forests. The proposed technology uses
a combination of environmental friendly chemical treatment and radio frequency (RF) heating to modify lowvalue
lumber and timber from both sawmill operations and forest residue. The objectives of the research
are to investigate the mechanism of chemical treatment and RF heating, develop the modification process
technology for lumber and timber upgrading, and explore the proposed technology for log-to-timber
converting. The technology has the potential to improve the utilization of residual fiber and facilitate
sustainable and efficient resource utilization practices, reducing carbon footprints in the construction
industry.

Improving microangioscopic image visualization for use in stroke therapy

Ischemic stroke is caused by a blood clot within the blood vessels of the brain. A common technique to remove the blood clot is by using medical devices that can reach the clot through the arterial system. To properly deploy such devices, visualization of the blood vessels, clot, and therapy devices is required. This is currently performed using fluoroscopic techniques, which lack the ability to visualize the inside of the blood vessel. Vena Medical has developed the first miniaturized fiber bundle technology-based device for direct visualization of clots within the blood vessels of the brain. To enhance the output images of the device, an investigation into image processing techniques to address hardware limited image deficiencies, such as artifacts and distortion in the image, will be performed. The research performed will set the groundwork for more complex image processing techniques, allowing for Vena Medical to further distinguish itself as a leader in the market.

Assessing the incidences of positive and negative behaviour and interactionbetween stray dogs and the community of Campo Largo, Brazil.

A special group of stray dogs in Brazil known as ‘community dogs’ has been the centre of interest for scientific researchers. These community dogs may hold the key to controlling stray dog populations around the world, as well as mitigating disease transmission between animals and humans. My proposed project will look at the different behaviours and interactions that these community stray dogs experience throughout their daily lives. I will observe how these dogs behave around humans, as well as their interactions with other animals. The expected outcome of this project is to better understand stray dogs and how to properly manage them. By understanding the role of stray dogs in communities, we can come up with better ways of controlling these populations without taking away from their welfare.

Applications of machine learning to improve hydrological model regionalisation

Hydrological streamflow models are commonly used to warn populations of extreme events. The parameters of these models are typically calibrated to observed streamflow. The learned parameters can then be transferred to areas that are lacking streamflow observations, a process referred to as regionalisation. This project builds on previous work, which proposed using machine learning models to improve methods for regionalisation. Specifically, the project intents to expand previous work from local case studies to a large scale national model. Furthermore, the project aims to advance the machine learning component, exploring different machine learning algorithms and configurations.

Characterization of legacy and expected future mine rock at the Grassy Mountain Project site using traditional and advanced kinetic testing

Mining operations generate large amounts of unused geomaterials (e.g., mine rock) that are generally stored on site in mine
rock storage facilities (MRSFs). When mine rock is exposed to atmospheric conditions (i.e., atmospheric oxygen as air and
water) sulfide minerals oxidize and produce acid rock drainage (ARD). The acidic effluent can subsequently leach metal ions
from adjacent rocks (and the mine rock itself). The Grassy Mountain Project is a proposed metallurgical coal mine located on
previously mined land in the Crowsnest Pass near Blairmore Alberta. The previous mine was abandoned in the 1970’s with
no rehabilitation or reclamation. If not properly controlled and treated, the ARD and metal leaching (ML) can create
environmental and health concerns for wildlife and human populations reliant on local watersheds. The intern identified in
this proposal will undertake advanced testing of the legacy and expected future mine rock at Grassy Mountain to examine
how mine rock evolves with time using advanced customized leach columns (ACLCs) to quantify the production of ML-ARD.
The primary outcome of this project will provide the partner companies with a better understanding of mine rock evolution
and the controls that govern ML-ARD production in MRSFs.

Design Optimization and Prototyping of a Travelling Waves-Based Transmission Line Fault Locator

Modern power systems are expected to provide an uninterrupted supply of power to its consumers. Faults occurring in transmission lines can lead to extended outages if they are not quickly repaired. When a transmission line is hundreds of kilometers long and passes through difficult to access terrain, locating the faulted point is very important to reduce the repair time. The first step of this is to send the repair crews to the right location. Fault location by manual inspection is time consuming, costly and inefficient. These concerns make fast and accurate identification of the location of faults on transmission lines highly important. This project intends to optimize the design of the fault locating device that determines the fault location by measuring the arrival times of voltage and current waves created when a fault happens. This unit is to be integrated with the fault recorders manufactured by ERLPhase Power Technologies Ltd. Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The project will train a Master’s student with multiple technical skills sought after in the industry.

The behavior of germanium in the purification of zinc sulfate electrolyte

Zinc is extracted from sulfide ore by roasting – calcine leaching and direct pressure leaching of zinc sulfide, followed by zinc recovery from sulfate solution via electrowinning. Impurity elements in zinc sulfate solution must be lowered to levels suitable for electrowinning. The removal of many impurity elements is achieved using zinc dust cementation. However, when germanium concentration in solution exceeds a certain value, certain impurity elements re-dissolve back into solution, leading to inefficient removal. This research will seek to understand how higher germanium levels impact the performance of a zinc cementation circuit and identify ways to mitigate these effects.

Encourager et soutenir la mobilisation des milieux de travail vers une transition juste au sein de la FTQ

En 2022, la Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses (FTQ) et plusieurs des syndicats qui y sont affiliés se sont dotés
de politique afin de participer à la transition écologique juste que nos sociétés doivent entamer pour répondre aux
enjeux écologiques. La FTQ souhaite mettre sur pied et offrir des formations accès sur l’apprentissage par les pairs à
leurs membres pour faciliter l’application de ces politiques. Cette formation aura pour but de répondre à des besoins
spécifiques des milieux de travail pour permettre aux personnes dans les syndicats d’organiser des projets en transition
juste et de mobiliser les personnes de ces milieux. Les personnes stagiaires réaliseront des entretiens et des sondages
pour cerner les besoins et donner des recommandations sur les formations à créer.

Contextual Momentary Assessments of the Auditory Environment by Wearers of Hearing Aids

We would like to investigate the use of hearing aids in real life environments. Retrospective questionnaires are often subject to memory errors and recall biases. In order to obtain more accurate momentary evaluations of sound and noise, our proposed research involves asking participants to complete real-time evaluations in the laboratory and in their everyday environments. The momentary assessments will be recorded using a mobile evaluation tool. If the system is found to be advantageous over retrospective questionnaires, it may be useful for clinical assessments and for optimizing hearing aids for users

SSE_DEMAEYER_PIVOT_ROLLANDBALZON – Développer le journalisme culturel dans un média indépendant

Titre : Développer le journalisme culturel dans un média indépendant.

Pivot est un jeune média indépendant offrant aux Québécoises et Québécois une autre option par rapport aux sources d’information existante. Fruit de la fusion des médias multi-plateformes « Ricochet » (fondé en 2014) et Majeur (fondé en 2020), avec la participation du média d’enquête « PressProgress », basé à Toronto, Pivot est un média dynamique, qui allie journalisme rigoureux et analyses uniques, à travers des sujets originaux traités sur plusieurs médiums (vidéo, balado, presse écrite, etc.). De par sa ligne éditoriale, ses thématiques et ses formats novateurs, le média s’est progressivement imposé sur la scène médiatique québécoise ces dernières années.

Les enjeux de justice sociale sont, entre autres, les thématiques privilégiées de Pivot qui se donne notamment pour objectif de participer à l’émergence de nouveaux débats et à la mise en place de solutions face aux problèmes socio-politique de notre époque. Néanmoins, de par sa ligne éditoriale plurielle, Pivot est un média qui cherche aussi à se diversifier dans les sujets qu’il couvre et à innover journalistiquement dans les formats qu’il propose. Si le média est très bien implanté dans la couverture de l’actualité socio-politique et environnementale au Québec, les enjeux culturels n’y sont pour le moment pas ou très peu couverts. Mon rôle au sein de Pivot serait ainsi de participer à cette ouverture journalistique du média en développant précisément et de manière novatrice son volet culturel.

Understanding Gen Z and Millennial Consumers’ Construction of Narratives and Imageries for the Eco-Conscious Collaborative Consumption Movement in the Fashion Marketplace: A Mixed-Method Study

As the “second skin” (Horn, 1981) for many of us, clothing has become an indispensable part of our everyday life. The growing awareness and interest in sustainable clothing allow us to examine the correlation between sustainable consumer culture and the recent “eco-conscious” cultural movements. The proposed three-component mixed-method will give us the opportunity to understand how Gen Z and Millennial consumers construct narratives and imageries about collaborative clothing consumption. The findings will help us identify ways to redefine and promote “sustainability literacy” among these consumer segments. The proposed research will shed light on consumers’ attitudes and perceptions of collaborative clothing consumption models. The mixed-methods analysis also offers to opportunity to develop a novel methodological approach to unstructured consumer narratives in the context of eco-conscious consumption. Finally, the proposed study will set a foundation for future research on collaborative consumption.