Innovative Projects Realized

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.

Long-term durability and weatherability of polymer-based passive daytime radiative cooling materials

Traditional space cooling using air conditioners is very energy intensive, creates a net warming effect to the globe, and involves refrigerants that are ozone-depleting and potent greenhouse gases. In Canada, 6% of all energy use in the commercial sector is for space cooling alone, and this number is expected to grow significantly in the coming years due to global warming. Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) is an alternative approach that utilizes specialized coatings to selectively emit heat through the atmosphere into the cold of outer space. To enable efficient daytime cooling, such coatings must also be highly reflective to sunlight. PDRC therefore presents an interesting materials challenge that has proliferated promising new coatings which show high initial performance. The critical next step to bring this technology to practice is to demonstrate the long-term durability of these coatings in real-world conditions. This project aims to address this next step by investigating the long-term weatherability and durability of a polymer-based PDRC coating material. To achieve this, the optical and mechanical properties will be regularly monitored as the coatings are subjected to extreme environmental conditions both in a simulated laboratory environment as well as outdoors under real weather conditions. The proposed research will

Genotypic variation in Candida spp. isolates from recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (“yeast infections”) affect 75% of women at some point in their life. Approximately 10% of them will experience recurrent yeast infections, which have considerable emotional and economic ramifications and require prolonged antifungal treatment. Despite the prevalence of recurrent yeast infections, we lack an understanding of the human immune system and microbial population factors that cause some women to experience recurrence. During my internship, I will use genetic bioinformatic analyses to compare yeast isolates collected from symptomatic infections from women with a history of recurrent infections. I will quantify genetic differences among different vaginal isolates taken from the same person and at different time points during symptomatic infection episodes. This will help us to better understand what happens to the yeast populations between symptomatic episodes and provide genetic clues that may point towards improved treatments aiming to reduce or prevent recurrent infections.

L’influence des normes et croyances socioculturelles chez les hommes sensibilisés contre la violence liée au genre: regard croisé sur les modèles de masculinités dites positives en contexte innu et dakarois

Le rôle des hommes est devenu un aspect incontournable aux efforts pour l’égalité des genres, car les schémas de domination associés à certains modèles de masculinités sont souvent nuisibles. Dans ce contexte, certaines pratiques d’intervention psychosociale s’appuient dorénavant sur les modèles de masculinités dites positives et sur l’approche transformationnelle de genre. Ces interventions tiennent à répondre aux besoins des hommes en valorisant des modèles bienfaisants, tout en les sensibilisant aux rapports de domination nuisibles. Or, ces modèles sont diversifiés et s’ancrent dans les normes et croyances socioculturelles. Toutefois, peu de recherches ont abordé leur construction dans des situations culturellement ancrées. Ce projet veut donc combler ce manque en cernant les modèles de masculinités dites positives chez les hommes autochtones (innus) et sénégalais (Dakar) sensibles aux efforts pour l’égalité de genres et en analysant l’influence des normes et croyances sur le processus transformationnel de leur masculinité.

Novel plant-based formulations for bladder health

Bacterial cystitis (BC) is a common painful inflammatory disease of the urinary bladder due to an infection. Even with antibiotic treatment, BC continues to have significant negative impacts of patients’ quality of life due to pain
and risk of recurrence. Altheda Wellness Innovation Inc. (Altheda) is a Maritime´s based biotechnology company that specialized in the development of novel plant-based formulations to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain.
Through a partnership with Altheda, our research aims to provide a treatment option for BC that effectively alleviates symptomatic pain and can also be used prophylactically to improve long-term outcome.

Fraser Health Authority – Student Practice & New Initiatives Intern

Fraser Health is the largest of the five regional health authorities in B.C. working together with the Ministry of
Health. Fraser Health Authority is serving 1 in 3 British Columbians. We want to continue to innovate to design
learning environments within the health sector that will support fulfilling practice experiences, entice graduates
to employment opportunities and retain experienced service providers. Student Practice and New Initiatives
intern will work in collaboration with the health team to establish Fraser Health as a provincial leader in clinical
best practice and patient outcomes. In this area we provide leadership in implementing, monitoring and
evaluating student clinical placements and other new initiatives within FH.

Financing food security: Impact investing for small-scale food processors

The small-scale food processing industry is underrepresented within scholarly and industry discourses,
despite its vital role in local economies, food systems, supply chains, and Canadian food security. How
can a financing model developed by the Small Scale Food Processors Association (SSFPA) best enable
its members to continue to innovate, support local economies, and contribute to the security of the
Canadian food system? This project reviews available information on impacting investing to provide
keys insights on how SSFPA might support its members and offer unique opportunities to processors,
paying special attention as it relates to financing for women and marginalized peoples. These insights
will support SSFPA in its development of a financing model for its members that aligns with SSFPA’s
strategic goals. This research both contributes to establishing this fund and improves the visibility of
small-scale processing both in scholarship and within the food industry with an emphasis on equitable
practices.

Analytique des données pour la prédiction de la demande chez Teknion Roy & Breton Inc

Le projet consiste à réaliser la collecte, la préparation et l’analyse des données de l’entreprise Teknion R&B en vue de développer un modèle prédictif de la demande, en exploitant les données internes brutes. Le projet consiste aussi à explorer l’utilisation de différentes techniques d’analyse de données et d’apprentissage automatique pour automatiser le processus de traitement des données de l’entreprise Teknion R&B. L’objectif principal du projet est d’identifier les variables prédictives importantes et de construire une base de données bien adaptée aux modèles de prédiction qui permettront ensuite d’estimer avec un niveau de précision la demande dans une durée bien déterminée.

Yahowa Canadian Immigration

In a search for a better life and better education, people from across the globe move to live in Canada and, during this transition, require support at various levels. Rebuilding one’s life from the bottom up is not easy and people who are pursuing this major change are courageous, determined, or sometimes in dire need. Canada is known across the world as a land of opportunities and our country’s diversity, as well as inclusive life style, encourages many to settle here. At Yahowa Immigration, we counsel prospects to migrate to Canada and our work strictly follows Immigrations, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s guidelines. Our aim is to support our clients discover what are the best options for them and their families, what is congruent with their preferences, education, professional experience, and overall life goals. We have a team that works hard to provide unbiased advice and support everyone who seeks our help during their immigration process. Yahowa Canadian Immigration’s team is knowledgeable and experienced with Express Entry, Labor Market Impact Assessments, Work Permits, Study Permits, Provincial Nominee Programs, Permanent Residency, Citizenship Application, Permanent Residency Renewal applications, Visitor Visa applications as well as Family Class applications.