Innovative Projects Realized

Novel Applications and Data Structures Multicore Hardware

For nearly fifteen years the graphics pipeline for processing and rendering has been dictated

by graphic~ hardware. We propose to explore the possibilities for applications and new data

structures opened up by Intel’s multi-core and other hardware projects to allow programmers

to redefine the gr::phics pipeline in softv,ar? The University of Victoria Graphics and Games

research group, in collaboration with the joint Intel Visual and Parallel Computing Group I

Visual Com~,u~inb Software Division (VPGNCSD) research group is working on seven

connected projects aimed at novel multi··core computer graphics architectures. We will

reference the hardware in generic tel”ms for the remainder of the proposal because the

specification of the hardware and current Intel project name is in a state of flux. However, the

goal for our research associated with Intel is the same: utilizing the massive throughput of

highly parallel data on multi-core machines. The research includes data structures and new

parallel layer-based non-photorealistic rendering; speeding up the performance of traversing…

Exploring the structure of nominal expressions in Chuj (Mayan)

This research project as three main objectives: (1) to research and document Chuj, an underdocumented Indigenous Mayan language spoken in Guatemala and Mexico by approximately 45,000 speakers; (2) to conduct fieldwork in a Chuj speaking community in Mexico where I will learn more about Chuj language and culture; and (3) to meet with and learn from professors and students at the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores de Antropología Social, in San Cristobal de las Casas, which hosts some of the leading researchers on Mayan language and culture. All research and fieldwork will contribute toward documentation efforts, including the ongoing writing of a Chuj grammar sketch, and the archiving of Chuj in two linguistic documentation databases (www.app.dative.ca and www.aillia.utexas.org). I will moreover use my research to corroborate and challenge existing theories on the structure of nominal expressions in both Mayan languages and cross-linguistically.

Étude comparative des littératures autochtones Mexique/Canada

L’objectif de cette recherche sera de faire une étude des traces littéraires mexicaines autochtones restant de la colonisation mexicaine afin d’éclairer cette difficile cohabitation sur le territoire américain et plus particulièrement d’établir, à partir de ces recherches, un comparatif avec le thème de l’hospitalité dans la littérature canadienne autochtone actuelle. Ces recherches seront à la base de deux chapitres de ma thèse doctorale qui porte sur ce même sujet.
Différents textes et mythes de la colonisation en lien à l’autochtonie mexicaine mettent en scène les mécanismes au cœur du thème de l’hospitalité comme catalyseur des constructions identitaires et sociales, dont particulièrement la figure de La Malinche, une Mexicaine qui permit à Cortés d’envahir le Mexique, et dont les diverses interprétations permettent de comparer les questions complexes de l’hospitalité et de la dépossession sur le territoire nord-américain en lien à la question autochtone. TO BE CONT’D

Anneaux de cohomologie de Hochschild en tant qu’invariants dérivés

Un problème récurrent en mathématique est de trouver un ensemble de nombres, appelés invariants, qui ne changent pas même si l’on modifie selon certaines règles un objet donné. Par exemple, l’aire et le périmètre d’un triangle restent invariants après translations, rotations et symétries; ces nombres sont donc des invariants. Nous étudions un concept mathématique appelé algèbre. Pour chaque algèbre, on peut calculer son groupe de Grothendieck et son anneau de cohomologie de Hochschild, tout comme pour chaque triangle, on peut calculer son aire et son périmètre. Nous nous intéressons aux similitudes que doivent présenter deux algèbres par rapport à leurs groupes de Grothendieck et leurs anneaux de cohomologie de Hochschild pour que leurs catégories dérivées bornées (une autre propriété de ces algèbres) soient identiques. TO BE CONT’D

No pierden el humor: Post-disaster humor in Mexico

The formal study of humor in education is commonly centred around its therapeutic impact or as educational tool to bring about positive learning outcomes. Rarely is humor understood as a lens through which people might learn. In this research, I advance the idea that humor has great pedagogic potential that people might use to create meaning of and in natural disasters.
This understanding of meaning-making is grounded in a view that knowledge can be acquired in non-formal ways through collaborative and innovative engagement. For this project, a four-week online, non-formal activity is planned at CUAED in Mexico City. Students are invited to explore humor production as a cultural expression in the Mexican context and to connect it to disasters such as the 2017 earthquakes. Research data will be gathered through informal interviews with students and through analyzing their collections of humor. TO BE CONT’D

Linking participatory mapping in local risk mapping to strengthen resilience: a pilot study in Mexico

Incorporating community members in participatory mapping enables local knowledge and community narratives to be captured and represented in spatial form. This participatory method is useful in community mapping of vulnerabilities and capacities in relation to disaster risk. Low-cost technologies, such as free mapping software and smart phone applications make it easier for community members to perform mapping in a standard that is interoperable with traditional risk mapping frameworks. In Mexico, local level risk mapping is mandated under its Civil Protection law. Integrating community mapping methods in Mexico’s mapping framework could provide further insight in understanding risk. TO BE CONT’D

Integrating the Community Perspective: An exploration of Prospect Theory as a tool to derive benefits in negotiated mining agreements

This research proposes a strategy to derive compensation for risks incurred from extractive development, particularly with regards to water security risks of communities in Baja California Sur where mining activity is taking place. I propose the application of negotiated agreements between industry and community as both a forum on which to discuss concerns associated with mining and as a payment mechanism for the transfer of compensation funds. Within this framework, I will carry out a survey to compare two measures of changes in welfare used in valuation studies to obtain measures of compensation. The first measure is widely used and has roots in standard economic theory. The alternative is assumed equivalent and according to the behavioural economics literature is better suited where negative changes in welfare are concerned, such as those imposed by mining activity. TO BE CONT’D

Investigating How Teachers Learn and Customize Digital Classroom Tools II

Our proposed research investigates how K-12 teachers learn and customize digital classroom tools and learning management systems and how they share this information with each other. In particular, we will be working with our partner Microsoft to investigate the use and customization of the recently developed OneNote Class Notebooks software that is increasingly being used by teachers for various content delivery and content management tasks. We will carry out semi-structured interviews with K-12 teachers and do content analysis of online forums and blogs to synthesize gaps in retrieving and applying community-created customizations and how the customization-sharing process could be improved. We expect these findings to help inform the design of new tools that can, for example, help a teacher who is new to using an application such as the Class Notebooks accelerate her course set-up process by using a customization created and shared by another instructor teaching a similar course.

Integration of Compiler Tools for Rapid Text Processing(error)

International Characters has developed a variety of software tools that, when used together, can produce very?high?speed

and high?quality text processing programs. These tools are usable only by specialist experts: they are not robust, easy to

use, or easy to extend. The goal of this project is to bring these tools together into a single application, and improving the

usability and extensibility of this application. The research involves designing a general program structure and fitting the

rewritten individual software components into it. The structure will be based on a widely?used and publicly?available

compiler framework known as LLVM. We will determine what extensions and moifications will be necessary to LLVM, and

how then to fit International Characters’ technology to it. We will pay particular attention to one such technology, called

IDISA, for Inductive Doubling Instruction Set Architecture. This is a technology that International Characters uses to

support SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) programming on different computer systems, each of which….

A filter cartridge for removal of drugs and estrogens from drinking water

The research problem to be addressed in this project concerns the need for advanced water filtering systems that will remove traces of pharmaceuticals and estrogen hormones from drinking water. This problem is significant because these contaminants, that enter water as a result of human use, have been found in river water, treatment plant effluents and drinking water worldwide and, despite their presence at very low concentrations, may contribute to adverse health effects. The focus of the project is the use of a form of nano-scale cellulose in filters that will bind and remove the contaminants. The project is a collaborative effort between two groups at the University of British Columbia and ALPAC, a nanocellulose manufacturer in Alberta.

Condom Negotiation Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men

The aim of The Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) is to help combat the spread of HIV by supporting, conducting, and sharing the best research possible. This project will involve a novel analysis examining aspects of condom negotiation among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM). This work is needed because the HIV prevention methods that involve drug regimens are not available to all GBMSM and do not protect against the transmission of bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STIs). Despite the broader protective benefits of using condoms, this practice is becoming less and less popular, thus we propose to examine how interpersonal elements in condom negotiation, like the use of condom insistence and condom resistance tactics, may interact with psychosocial factors, like perceived relationship power, depression, condom attitude, and others, to influence actual condom use among GBMSM. TO BE CONT’D

Understanding the Impact of Legal Cannabis Access on Health: A Large, Prospective Cohort Study of Canadians Obtaining Medical Cannabis Authorization

Although legal access to medical cannabis has been available in Canada for many years, our society has yet to fully understand the important health implications surrounding the use of medical cannabis or recreational users. However, the current availability of medical cannabis in Canada means that researchers have access to a large number of individuals who are cannabis users. This is an important group of people as understanding their health outcomes can help identify future health concerns and guide the implementation of policies, programs, practices, and/or resource distribution that would be needed to address potential health arising amongst non-medical cannabis users. The urgency of obtaining this information is emphasized by the proposal to legalize cannabis in Canada and the subsequent projected increase in cannabis users to as high as 7 million by 2021. TO BE CONT’D