Innovative Projects Realized

Today’s digital family: Patterns of technology use and wellbeing in families with young children

Across Canada, there are widespread and growing concerns about the impact of screen time on the wellbeing of families and young children. Yet research on this topic, particularly that which is specific to mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones, iPads), remains in its infancy. The proposed research will involve a detailed survey of screen time in families with young children (ages 2–5), as well as an assessment of child, parent, and family wellbeing. In addition to self-reporting screen time, families will install an app on their mobile devices to obtain a more detailed and objective measure of technology use in the home. Using advanced statistical methods, we will identify different patterns of technology use and wellbeing. Findings will be used to develop best practices and inform existing interventions employed by our partner organization, Project Literacy, and affiliates, Kelowna Child Care Society and United Way, to encourage healthy technology use among families.

Intégration de technologies innovantes pour l’optimisation du positionnement des cyclistes

La collaboration entre l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières et Laferté Bicycles aura pour but de mettre à l’essai en laboratoire du matériel novateur pour l’évaluation fonctionnelle pré-positionnement ainsi que du matériel de prise de mesures lors du positionnement pour appuyer les décisions et avancements. Les données recueillies en laboratoire seront traitées et évaluées afin de valider la fiabilité, l’utilité d’interprétation et la pertinence du transfert en entreprise. La mise en place d’une méthode simplifiée est envisagée de la part du partenaire.

Living under construction. Tourism development and informal housing: stories from migrant tourism workers in Los Cabos, Mexico.

My research will be looking into the relationship of migrant workers in the tourism industry is with current levels of governance in Los Cabos, Mexico. The objective of this work is to identify how to reduce vulnerabilities for migrant workers in the tourism industry that have traveled to Los Cabos from other parts of Mexico in search for better opportunities. Despite the lack of urban policy in the area, there are ways to mitigate the damaging impacts of tourism developments on the livelihoods of migrant workers who sustain the city’s main economic industry. The intent of this project is to create a document of personal narratives using examples from the inland communities living in informal settlements as a result of limited access to housing. TO BE CONT”D

Microstructural analysis of through-thickness compaction in dry fibrous reinforcements

The project aims to analyze the through-thickness compaction of dry fibrous reinforcements at the mesoscopic scale. Predicting how fiber tows deform during the compression of woven fabrics is important in resin injection processes because textile deformation plays an important role on permeability. Fiber orientation governs also mechanical performance. Hence, compaction represents a key issue that will be investigated experimentally by X-ray microtomography. Fibrous specimens will be scanned to produce 3D voxel images of the textile architecture. Then, by using the image processing software CompoCT under development at Polytechnique Montreal, the fiber tows and the polymer matrix will be classified and the tows in contact separated to reconstruct the geometric stucture of the composite. The geometric model represents precisely the details of the fabric before and after compression with a description of the mesopores between fiber tows, and the geometric dimensions and weave pattern of the yarns. TO BE CONT’D

Creating a New Standard for Vision Loss Rehabilitation in Canada

Approximately nine million Canadians live with vision loss that, even when wearing corrective lenses, impedes their ability to perform everyday tasks. Canadians with vision loss are at greater risk of social isolation and reduced community participation. Vision loss rehabilitation (VLR) is a multi-disciplinary service that includes orientation and mobility training, independent living skills and low vision technology. These services are effective for improving the lives of people with vision loss. However, these services are varied and lack coordination in Canada. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) has been active in changing VLR services and has established Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada. CNIB has set an ambitious goal of fully integrating VLR into the health care system. This research will contribute to this goal by first providing a clear understanding of how and where vision loss rehabilitation services are provided and the factors influencing the provision of services.

A comparative study of high school mathematics curriculum and pedagogies in Canada and China: A case study of mathematics in the south-west region

During my research, I want to evaluate the Chinese high school mathematics system. Looking at the mathematics curriculum in China and comparing it to Canada. Doing this will help my research connect the two curriculum to see what works and what is different. While doing this assessment, I want to also look at the teaching pedagogy in China. I want to get a better understanding of how teaching is done in China and point out the similarities and the differences. After my research is done, I want to implement what I have learned in China and bring it back to Canada to help improve mathematics education in my country.

Diluted mean field spin glass models

I want to master the modern mathematical theory of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick and related spin glass models. The field spin glass models originate in theoretical statistical physics. After learning current results, I plan to start working on some open problems, such as in the setting of the diluted Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model, which is not completely understood today. The Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model was introduced in order to understand unusual magnetic properties of some metal alloys, in which the magnetic spins of the component atoms were not aligned in a regular pattern. Diluted version of this model turns out to be related to various combinatorial optimization problems, and make progress in this direction could lead to application in computer science. I will work with Dmitriy Panchenko, who is a leading researcher in this field.

Investing in our Youth: Community Safety and the Role of the Toronto Police Service in Building Healthy Communities

The objective of the project is to develop a framework that will bring police, community agencies and young people in Toronto?s 14 and 51 Divisions together to create, deliver and evaluate a progressive intervention matrix that includes existing and new initiatives designed to promote positive police-youth relations and thereby enhance impact on community health.

Nonprofit organizations are under tremendous pressure to demonstrate outcomes and “value for money” as resources shrink. While this is challenging even in the context of direct service delivery, it is even more difficult when assessing the outcomes of prevention programs whether in public health or crime prevention. There are numerous tricky technical challenges regarding measuring programs? effectiveness, such as establishing a secure counterfactual, attributing responsibility for observed changes to the measures initiated, identifying short and long-term impacts, identifying substantial side-effects, and attaching numbers to costs and benefits of interventions. Many organizations tend to measure before and……..

Reducing Municipal Water Loss and Energy Consumption through Field-based Analytics, Predictive Modelling and Pressure Management

Water loss through background leakage in water distribution systems is increasingly plaguing municipalities. As the cost of energy to treat and transport water steadily rises, and the scarcity of fresh water in communities becomes more prominent, action to replace deteriorating water infrastructure is critical.
The proposed research aims at providing water utilities a cost-efficient method to measure minimum night flows (an indicator of leakage) and to test whether the application of permanent pressure management systems to reduce leakage, and hence pumping as well as other energy inputs, will yield sufficient benefits; benefits that will warrant their permanent implementation as well as drive awareness on leakage reduction practices and value across the industry.
Ultimately, HydraTek will benefit from this research through strengthen skills and increased presence in the water loss sub-sector of municipal engineering services. TO BE CONT’D

Synthesis of diamond and diamond-like films

This project is geared towards the development of a cost-effective method to fabricate thin films of carbon materials, such as diamond. The idea is to use solution-based methods coupled to electrochemistry to produce the films. Avenues for the deposition of the film on surfaces of arbitrary shapes will also be explored. Carbon based thin films, such as diamond-like films and conductive diamond films, have extraordinary mechanical and electrical properties that can be explored in several applications, including batteries, chemical sensors, protective coating in microelectronic industry and others. The company intends to commercialize this potential new technology by generating a new line of products and services.

Les valeurs et les attitudes durables comme prédicteurs des pratiques en matière de gestion énergétique chez les PM

Les PME sont des acteurs essentiels pour répondre aux défis que posent les enjeux climatiques qui nous confrontent. Elles représentent 99% des entreprises au Québec et génèrent des effets négatifs importants sur l’environnement. C’est pourtant le segment de marché le moins connu en matière de culture et de pratiques énergétiques. C’est donc dans l’intérêt commun (politiques publique, accompagnement) et dans celui du partenaire immédiat, soit l’Institut de Recherche d’Hydro-Québec, que le présent projet consiste à réaliser une enquête auprès de 500 PME québécoises avec pour objectif de mieux cerner les facteurs d’influence déterminants de leur engagement sur la voie de l’efficience énergétique.

The landscape ecology of parasites and prey: habitat selection of Californiabighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis california) in the Okanagan Valley underexposure to Psoroptes ovis mite infestation.

In the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis california) populations have declined by 60% since 2011, likely due to a new mite infestation, Psoroptes ovis. These mites cause hearing loss and impaired awareness in wild sheep, possibly increasing their vulnerability to predation by cougars (Felis concolour). To assess this risk, data from GPS-collared bighorn sheep between 2014 and 2019 will be compared, in collaboration with the Government of British Columbia. Bighorn sheep are separated by highways, towns, and lakes, preventing transmission of mites from the east to the west side of the valley. Individual sheep survival, population growth and habitat use will be compared to infection status. An Agent Based Model (ABM) of movement-infection will explore the effects of landscape change on disease risk. This research will help wildlife managers understand sheep mortality and disease transmission, critical for conserving sheep populations in the future.