Natalie’s Mitacs Globalink research program contributes to a climate change challenge prioritized by two UN organizations: (1) the UN World Tourism Organization’s Tourism for Sustainable Development Goals and (2) UN COP24 Sports for Climate Action Framework. With it’s direct dependence on climate, the multi-billion dollar global ski industry is considered a climate change “canary in […]

As a result of human impacts on the natural world, our societies may have to profoundly transform many of the systems that affect our everyday lives – especially our energy, food, and transportation systems. As these systems are complex and interconnected, it is difficult to foresee how they might behave as they change, and how […]

How urban residents perceive and value nature within our cities shapes how we manage it for current and future generations. Given the diversity of perspectives and beliefs brought to bear on an urban system, we can expect that not everyone will enjoy nature the same way, or for the same reasons. If democracy is our […]

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 […]

This research involves observing and evaluating sustainability experiments in the small business community, which will contribute to a database that will integrate knowledge from previous research created at the university. The web-based repository will highlight case studies of transformative sustainability entrepreneurship endeavors and supporting legal, political and governance arrangements. The research will focus on the […]

Contact lens discomfort is one of the primary reasons that cause people to stop wearing them. The discomfort may be due to the buildup of tear film components on the lenses during lens wear. The purpose of this project is to understand where most of the tear film components are depositing on the lens, such […]

This project is focused on evaluating dining improvements being implemented by the partner organization, Schlegel Villages (SV). The first study involves one SV where the CHOICE+ Program is currently being piloted. CHOICE+ is a team-based approach to making physical and psychosocial improvement. The team is guided by Champions to make these changes over time; changes […]

The RefugeesWellSchool Program is an initiative undertaken by the European Union to investigate preventive school-based interventions with the aim of promoting mental well-being of refugee and migrant adolescents. Five interventions are being implemented and studied across six European countries, with data collected on refugee students’ mental health problems, resilience, academic achievements, school drop-out and social […]

Community Sport Organizations (CSOs) exist to provide opportunities for sport participation for youth and adults in many countries around the world. These nonprofit, voluntary organizations face many challenges in an increasingly complex environment due to their diverse stakeholders, scarce resources, volunteer turnover among other issues (Allison, 2001; Hoye & Cuskelly, 2007). Interorganizational partnerships have been […]

Values and beliefs within social-ecological systems (SES) are a fundamental aspect of perception and cognition, which have largely been neglected within the social-ecological systems literature. The purpose of this research is to understand the values and beliefs of dried fish producers and how they contribute to the producers’ well-being in Sundarbans region, West Bengal, India. […]

Industrial robotics (i.e. using robots for manufacturing processes) is one of the fastest growing industry sectors today. Traditionally, the process to program industrial robots has been laborious and time-consuming, with each robot having to be taken off-line for setup. Offline programming allows the robot users to program, simulate and generate code for multiple robots at […]

Currently, self-employment is one of the non-standard and precarious work relationships internationally. Unlike regular employees in Canada, self-employed workers can expect little from the state in terms of social securities. While some self-employers may feel financially secure without supports from the state, this reality does not reflect the experiences of all self-employed workers. Despite the […]