Innovative Projects Realized

Mars Methane Analog Mission Simulation

The purpose of this project is to develop the scientific knowledge to search for life on Mars. We expect signs of life on Mars to be hard to find and interpret. This project will determine the operations and science and engineering coordination needed to be performed by a micro rover equipped with scientific equipment. The basis sign of life that we are looking for is the methane gas that can be generated from micro living organisms.

This project will simulate the mission in an-earth environment that best simulates Mars and the findings, hardware development will be a big assist in Canada future participation in a mission on Mars.

A general population study of Brazilian lottery players who engage in ‘Jogo do Bicho’ (Brazilian Animal Game) and their motivations

Jogo Do Bicho, also known as the Brazilian Animal Game (BAG), is an immensely popular illegal gambling game in Brazil. Indeed, BAG generates over 60% more in revenues than legal lotteries. This is a concern as the revenue from BAG is used to fund criminal activities. Further, draws for BAG occur more frequently than the official state lotteries, which may increase the probability of an individual developing a gambling addiction. Unfortunately, there have only been a few research studies on BAG, which have focused on gamblers in treatment who make up a small portion of gamblers overall. Thus, the proposed research will examine whether BAG is associated with increased risk of gambling addiction among lottery players in the general population. In addition, the research will examine BAG player’s motivations for engaging in BAG over legal lotteries. It is expected that BAG will be associated with an increase in gambling
related harms and that the ease of play and frequent draws will be main factors why gamblers chose BAG over legal lotteries.

A hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI) using tactile stimulus and motor imagery

Brain computer interfaces (BCI) allow for persons with severe motor impairment to communicate with the outside world. These systems work by either providing some stimulus (in the form of sound, touch or visual cues) or asking the user to imagine a certain motion. By analyzing the resulting brain activity using superficial electrodes on the scalp, a technique known as electroencephalography (EEG), selections on a computer may be made. Our research will combine motor imagery with tactile (touch) stimulus into one hybrid BCI. This BCI system will include two distinct sources of information and is expected to have a high accuracy as well as information transfer rate. Such a hybridBCI is a cutting-edge system that is expected to advance the field of assistive communication device development. This will move us one step closer to providing those with severe motor impairments the transformational ability to communicate with others.

Examining ecosystem service changes in the Miyun watershed, China through stakeholder-driven visions of the future

The focus of this project is to explore how livelihoods are affected when changes in ecosystem services within the Miyun watershed occur. Rural households depend on ecosystem services that the landscape provides for their livelihoods. If the availability of these resources were to change, a person’s livelihood may become more vulnerable. Determining possible ecosystem service changes will be performed by scenario building stakeholder workshops. The stakeholders involved in the Miyun watershed include environmental management officials, urban residents and rural residents. Data collection will be in the form of stakeholder scenario building workshops. All of the discussion themes and ideas generated about the future of the Miyun watershed will be collected. The scenarios will reflect the ideas of desirable futures from each group of stakeholders. We expect three or four unique scenarios resulting from the stakeholder workshop meetings from which we can determine possible changes in landscape.

Interactive Agent-based eLearning Environment

Mentorina is launching an intelligent learning system that helps teachers observe, measure, and improve each student’s individual performance in the classroom. Teachers can design individualized assignments or exams and through cognitive and metacognitive assessments, they can accurately measure how quickly students are learning the material and can determine each student’s level of comprehension. Through an interactive social media platform, teachers can then help improve a student’s performance on an individual basis. Intern’s activities at Mentorina facilitates the interaction and data collection process, which is an important feature for the company.

Optimizing Numerical Weather Prediction for Clean Energy

Modern weather forecasts are made by computers that solve the complicated equations for air motion, heat, and moisture. Different computer codes, called weather models, use different atmospheric approximations, creating slightly different forecasts. This forecast diversity is good, because the average of all forecasts is often the most accurate, and the spread between forecasts measures uncertainty. Utility companies such as BC Hydro need accurate weather forecasts to manage their hydroelectric reservoirs, anticipate power arriving from wind and run-of-river sources, efficiently maintain their facilities, and optimize energy trading. At BCHydro’s request, we will enhance the forecast model diversity, and will further improve the output from each model using statistics to remove other errors. BC Hydro is keen for us to merge these day-to-week forecasts with seasonal forecasts, and to enhance the shorter-range “nowcasts” with local observations. The benefit is improved safety, reliability and economic productivity of BC Hydro operations.

Optimization of Reserve Crew Open-Time Pairings at Jazz Aviation LP

The crew scheduling problem deals with the assignment of crews, both pilots and flight attendants, to a given flight schedule, which first requires flights to be grouped into sequences known as pairings which begin and end at the same base or city. Crew pairings must comply with extensive collective agreement rules. This project deals specifically with open-time flying for flight attendants. Open-time flying refers to flights and/or pairings of flights that may have been left unassigned for different reasons such as, but not limited to crew sickness, crew fatigue, weather, and aircraft maintenance issues. Currently at Jazz Aviation LP, flights in open time are assigned manually by the Crew Scheduling Department. This project intends to develop a tool that generates feasible airline crew pairings which cover all open flights while satisfying regulations, and optimize the performance measures identified by the company.

The Evolving Legal Services Research Project, Phase II, Stage 3

How can public legal education and information help Canadians get justice in our legal system? With the demand for publicly-funded or low-cost legal services far exceeding the supply, public legal education and information (PLEI) is filling an increasingly larger role in meeting the legal needs of people with modest means. Yet we know relatively little about how PLEI can help people deal with their legal problems. examines the effectiveness of PLEI in helping low- and modest-income people address their legal problems. The research, conducted at legal clinics, will look at PLEI provided at various points along the legal services continuum, with the goal of identifying when PLEI is effective on a primarily stand-alone or self-help basis and when a fuller continuum of legal services, including PLEI, is required. This research will provide Community Legal Education Ontario / Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario (CLEO) with insights into the effectiveness of PLEI in helping low- and modest-income people address their legal problems.

Understanding Co-located Attendance with Technology in Classrooms

Recent technological advancements led to the emergence of technology-enabled collaborative environments in which students work together on different activities. In such settings, the first step is to determine the participants who are present and take part in the collaborative activities. We are interested in the attendance-taking process itself as a collaborative activity, and plan to learn more about its theory and practice, and to study new ways in which it can be applied using cutting edge collaborative technologies. Our research project with SMART would allow us to use their existing classroom applications and to reflect on how they currently take attendance (e.g. via SMART interactive games apps). Based on the insight we will gain, we will then move to improving the existing interactive attendance taking techniques, to implementing new attendance apps and mini-games and to evaluating them with teachers and students using the SMART technology.

Smart public toilets using Internet of things

The washrooms can be equipped with smart objects to be controlled and monitored to increase the customer satisfaction. This technology utilizes connected washroom equipment such as toilet paper, towels, soap dispensers, and water leakage sensors. In smart washrooms, the condition of the washroom is monitored and the management is informed when anything needs attention. This smart system can save time and reduce maintenance costs by replacing supplies only when needed. Furthermore, early detection of water leaks helps to utilize water efficiently, conserves water, prevents damage caused by leaks, and save money on repairs caused by water damage. This technology is very useful for public places such as hospitals, airports, shopping centers, restaurants, and hotels. The company, Visionstate, has developed washroom management with an innovative use for touchscreen technology. Therefore, this project will complete the company objectives.

A Feminist Student Movement: Facing Institutionalized Sexism at the University of São Paulo in São Carlos, Brazil

Universities transnationally have tried to minimize reports by female students of sexual abuse on campus. In 2014, the Canadian media uncovered a Facebook group formed by students of the Dalhousie University where sexist content was regularly posted. A report on the case argued that: the situation was not unique to the university, the faculty’s culture facilitated the events, and a systematic change was needed to respond to complaints. Academic research is needed to understand the socio-cultural and political reasons of the ineffective treatment of complaints, the mechanisms used to hide institutional sexism, and the institutions’ culture that facilitates the acts. In my master’s thesis, I propose to address these questions through an ethnographic study of the management of sexism at the University of São Paulo in São Carlos, Brazil. In 2009, a group of students formed a group to protest against a contest where new female students modelled and stripped. Today, feminists and victims reporting sexual abuses are harassed by other students and their complaints are dismissed by the university. TO BE CONT’D

Walls that Connect: Education for a Rural China in Crisis

Rapid urban development has left rural China in crisis. My research topic was born out of an interest in the potential for architecture to engage in the physical, economic, political and social network of rural communities in China. The proposed research in North Eastern China will involve a survey of rural village planning, building use and construction techniques for a more intimate understanding of how architecture impact the life of local Chinese villagers. As a built form, architecture represents intangible forces that affects everyday life. It has the power to connect people but also to enforce boundaries. A chance to gain firsthand information will allow me to speculate on proposals that begins at the lives of rural villagers and how to enforce their community. A project that is part of the larger economic and political networks of the region while being grounded in local craft and traditions, the proposal will link a narrative across these scales for a re-imagination of rural China.