91��ɫ is a leading international teaching and research university that provides a highly valued educational experience. The University is preparing students for meaningful careers and long-term success. One recent instance is exemplary.

Two educators, an ocean apart, have joined forces to create a new online resource for those considering becoming educational developers and those beginning this vocation. 91��ɫ Faculty of Education Professor and the Founding Director of Teaching Commons Celia Popovic together with Associate Professor Fiona Smart, head of the Department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement at Edinburgh Napier University in the United Kingdom, created Educational Developers Thinking Allowed (2020).

“With this new resource, we aim to open up our work, to make it more accessible to those who might be interested in becoming educational developers and to help support those of us who are educational developers,” says Popovic.

“It provides answers to key questions such as: What are our key concerns and fundamental practices? Where can we get help? How can we help each other?” says Smart. “We want this resource to develop as an interactive, dynamic conversation.”

Popovic has helped to put 91��ɫ on the map in higher education. A prolific author, she has provided extensive contributions to the fields of higher education and educational development. She has co-edited and/or co-authored several books, including Advancing Practice in Academic Development (with David Baume), Understanding Undergraduates (with David Green), and Learning from Academic Conferences: Realizing the benefits on individual and institutional practice.

Both Popovic and Smart believe there is a pressing need for this resource.

What is an educational developer?

A growing and vibrant field aimed at enhancing teaching, educational development is a relatively recent entry into the Canadian educational landscape. It has been described as “a key lever for ensuring institutional quality and supporting institutional change” (Sorcinelli et al., Creating the future of faculty development).

Popovic believes there’s a quickly growing appreciation for the expertise that education developers bring to the post-secondary landscape. This is because they offer support and guidance in all things relating to teaching and learning in post-secondary education.

This role varies from institution to institution and country to country. Popovic elaborates: “In most countries, educational developers are established in centres such as the Teaching Commons [at 91��ɫ] or embedded in Faculties and departments. Often a faculty member with a passion for teaching will become an educational developer, either by switching roles to become a developer, or by incorporating elements of educational development into their day-to-day work with colleagues.”

New resource is both accessible and engaging

The 14-chapter tool the academics created, Educational Developers Thinking Allowed, is accessible and easy to follow. Popovic and Smart lay the groundwork in the introduction to the first chapter. Subsequent sections discuss working in groups and one-on-one, working online – ideal for today’s context, getting organized, making connections and even fake news. There’s also a link to a community site.

Importantly, many international experts contributed to this original resource, introducing and facilitating the best practices from around the world. These scholars include academics from Coventry University, the University of Edinburgh, the University of London and Brock University.

Vignettes open the chapters, while examples, tables, hyperlinks and photographs are woven into the material. Fulsome reference sections and source citations at the end of most chapters offer visitors the chance to dig deeper on certain subjects.

Videos are embedded in a few locations, where Popovic and Smart speak directly to their audiences about key issues in education development, making the topic all the more accessible. Illustrations, by designer Liz Smith, also add visual appeal and aid accessibility.

Engagement, dialoguing and reciprocity – truly connecting with the audience – was of paramount importance to Popovic and Smart, so they included sections for dialogue, questions and comments at the end of most chapters.

“Initially, we planned a book but, on reflection, we realized that what we wanted was something more open than a book, something that could be updated regularly and, possibly most importantly, would allow for dialogue,” says Popovic.

What they have created is an indispensable new tool for today’s and tomorrow’s educators.

To see the new resource, visit the . To learn more about Popovic, visit her .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

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Sometime in autumn 2023, a parachute will deposit a canister that will land in a Utah desert. Inside it will be rock samples from an asteroid called Bennu, with an orbit mostly situated between Earth and Mars. This operation has a lot to do with 91��ɫ’s expertise and leadership in space science and engineering.

Bennu, roughly the height of a skyscraper at 500 metres in diameter, is interesting in many ways. For one thing, it poses a disarmingly real threat to us. It orbits close to Earth every six years and many space scientists believe there’s a small chance it could strike our planet in the next century.

This aside, Bennu has a deeper value. It could contain clues about the origin of the solar system – including our planet and every living being on it. (As Joni Mitchell put it so aptly in her song Woodstock, “We are stardust…”)

The rock samples are being brought to us courtesy of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and by the technical expertise of 91��ɫ’s Michael Daly, a professor of Earth and Space Sciences in the Lassonde School of Engineering.

Daly, director of 91��ɫ’s Centre for Earth and Space Science, has been working with the Canadian Space Agency since 2008 on developing the OSIRIS REx Laser Altimeter, an instrument to map the surface of Bennu.

“I developed the concept for the instrument, a very early part of the design. I put the plan together for analyzing the data and how we were going to observe the asteroid to capture the scientific information we required,” he explains.

Daly, 91��ɫ Research Chair in Planetary Science, and his colleagues had to consider a multitude of challenges. Can you get there easily? Does the asteroid spin slowly enough that you could touch down and collect a sample? Can you get the sample back?

Thanks to Daly’s mapping, the team discovered that Bennu has a very rocky surface and the researchers were able to locate a smooth area, the size of a few parking spaces, where the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft could sample.

The plan worked. The spacecraft extracted samples and is soon to make its way back to Earth. Daly is thrilled. Even though the bumpy surface threw a temporary wrench into their plans, “these surprises are valuable because you’ve learned something unexpected,” he says.

Daly is one of a growing community of scholars at 91��ɫ that focuses on every aspect of space and how it all came to be. This work has contributed to an increasing buzz among space experts around the world.

“91��ɫ is very strong in space. I don’t think there’s any rival in Canada,” says Canada Research Chair in Planetary Science and Lassonde Professor Isaac Smith, who joined 91��ɫ in 2018, having come from the renowned Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.

Smith was surprised by the reaction from friends when he first arrived in Toronto. “My neighbours asked what I did for a living. I told them I’m a planetary scientist at 91��ɫ… they didn’t even know the University had a space program.”

After earning his master’s in physics, Smith toured the American west where he became fascinated by geology, rock formations and deserts. He then applied that interest to the planet closest to us: Mars.

“Mars has always been part of humankind’s fascination. We grew more interested when the first telescopes made people wonder if there might be water and even life, in some form.”

While life has not been found, the idea of it continues to tantalize scientists.

“Mars’ geology is remarkably similar to our planet. I could take a picture of the Utah desert, and find another picture from a rover on Mars, and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

But Smith isn’t focused on the ages-old question of life on Mars. Instead, he wants to understand how the planet was born, how it has evolved. He believes this has a lot to do with ice.

“The story of Mars is incomplete if you don’t talk about ice. There’s ice all over the planet. In the past, it was water, and this shaped many of the landforms – giant canyons and glaciers, created 100 million years ago. The ice and water are important in the formation of Mars. I want to understand more,” he explains.

91��ɫ Research Chair in Space Exploration Professor John Moores is also fascinated with planets. A professor in Earth and Space Science Engineering at Lassonde, he says the focus of his research group is to use what they learn in planetary science to support space missions.

Moores has a special interest in the red planet – especially the mysterious presence of methane. The gas was detected by Curiosity, the NASA rover that has been on Mars since 2012. Methane is produced by numerous natural, biological processes on Earth – from fossil fuels to cow flatulence. “We understand why it’s present on Earth, but we don’t expect it on Mars. To understand why it’s there, we need more data,” says Moores.

As much as Mars, Bennu, Earth and the ever-expanding universe is a mystery, there’s one force that unifies it all: dark matter. Professor Sean Tulin believes it’s at the root of, well, everything.

“Dark matter is the biggest missing piece of the puzzle we have in astrophysics,” says Tulin, assistant professor of physics and astronomy and Canada Research Chair in Particle Physics and Cosmology. “It’s easy to think, ‘There’s this mysterious substance in space that doesn’t impact what we do.’ But it provides the cosmic foundation for the entire structure in the universe, all the galaxies, and how they’re organized and how they form.

“Think of a birthday cake,” he suggests. “The regular matter – the planets and the stars – are the frosting but the dark matter’s the cake.”

Tulin uses mathematical calculations to investigate the properties of dark matter, then shares his ideas and predictions with astronomers to test them.

“The universe is about 14 billion years old. For about 10 billion of those years, it was dominated by dark matter. If we want to understand what the universe looks like, we have to understand the properties of dark matter. We still don’t. We can’t see it with telescopes. It’s a huge challenge to try to figure this out.”

And why is all this research so valuable?

Tulin says “We can use space as a laboratory for understanding the fundamental properties of nature.”

Smith explains “I’m motivated to share what I learn with students and the public. Helping them feel that wonder and amazement energizes me to learn and share more, do more research.”

Daly elaborates “Space exploration helps us to put ourselves in context in the universe. We’re part of something much bigger than Earth. And if we don’t explore space, I think we lose some of our basic humanity.”

Moores agrees. “By studying ancient environments on other planets we are able to get a better idea of how life originated on our own world, and how our own planetary systems, such as the climate, will change over time. This new knowledge about these wonders will expand our conception of what’s possible and how we fit into this vast cosmic dance.”

To learn more about Daly, visit his . For more on Tulin, see his . To learn about Smith’s work, visit his . For more on Moores, visit his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

Paul Fraumeni is an award-winning freelance writer, who has specialized in covering university research for more than 20 years. To learn more, visit his .

The post Exploring a universe of mysteries: Four scientists consider how we fit into the ‘vast cosmic dance’ appeared first on Research & Innovation.

91��ɫ has an enduring commitment to the pursuit of knowledge that comes from many differing perspectives and ways of knowing. Indigenous leadership is vital in this. In the coming years, Indigenous leadership in 91��ɫ’s research will create a unique space to support contributions to Indigenous knowledges within and beyond the academy.

Enter Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Professor Carolyn Podruchny, an academic in the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and an expert in Indigenous and French relations and Métis history.

Three years ago (2018), she won a Partnership Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Her project, “Aandse: Anishinaabe Ways of Knowing and the Transformation of University-based Knowledge Creation and Transfer,” has come to fruition.

Podruchny sits down with 'Brainstorm' to discuss.

Q: This project was highly collaborative and interdisciplinary. Who were your partners and how did co-creation work?

A: This was the brainchild of the late Lewis Debassige, an Elder from M’Chigeeng First Nations. I had been visiting the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation (OCF), and he was an Elder there. When I first visited, he said, “Why don’t you bring some students?” So, that started an annual visit with students.

Then Lewis suggested, “Why don’t you make this more formal, bring more students, come and stay for a while, and we will set up a program.” He also emphasized that Anishinaabe knowledge needs to start entering the university.

My initial partner was the OCF. Then we expanded to include the Wikwemikong Heritage Organization, and another group, co-founded by one of my former PhD students, called Active History.

The program was an expansion of the History of Indigenous Peoples Network, which is a research cluster at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies. The Robarts Centre has been incredibly supportive. They were the first believers in our project. They provided us with valuable administrative support and space; they created the loveliest welcoming environment.

More broadly, 91��ɫ has been nothing but supportive as well – the Provost, VPRI, LA&PS, the Libraries, etc.

Q: What were the project’s objectives?

A: The objectives were to create the context for sharing and learning, both in Anishinaabe spaces and in university spaces, and to bring university people to Anishinaabe spaces and Anishinaabe people to university spaces.

Q: Please describe the project, its themes and audiences.

A: Our big feature event is an annual summer institute called Manitoulin Island Summer Historical Institute (MISHI). In 2017, we focused on the theme of land. In 2018, the theme was clans or Doodemag. The focus of the third was women’s leadership.

We’ve had students, faculty members, librarians, university administrators, as well as Anishinaabe people from different parts of Canada and the United States. And people from Manitoulin Island wanted to participate as well. For example, the former Chief of Wiikwemkoong, Peggy Pitawanakwat, who is coordinator, First Peoples, at Seneca College.

Q: Who were the instructors, speakers and supporters?

A: The main instructors at the institute have been Lewis Debassige and Alan Corbiere (History Department at 91��ɫ). Deborah McGregor (Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, in both the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change and Osgoode Hall Law School at 91��ɫ) has also been an essential contributor.

We’ve had Elders some in to speak, including Rita Corbiere from Wikwemikong and Marion McGregor from White Fish River.

Q: What are some activities?

A: Our summer schools are a blend of lectures and tours – learning in place but also different learning activities. We focused on learning by doing and storytelling.

In terms of activities, we’ve done bannock-making, medicine gathering, clay-making and ceramic work, birch bark and willow work to create baskets, and porcupine quill and beading workshops.

We’ve also done language learning, developing vocabulary lists and creating spaces where students can speak Anishinaabe and learn useful, everyday phrases. We brought in specialists in Anishinaabe history from different places.

Q: Art has always been a key part of this.

A: Yes. We have attracted artists in this project. One of our co-applicants, artist Anong Beam, former director of the OCF and daughter of well-known artist Carl Beam, insisted from the beginning that we should always have artists at our summer institute. So, we invited Michael Belmore, Nico Williams, Alan Corbiere, Steven George, Deborah McGregor and others. Art has always been the big focus.

Q: Part of this project involved a literature review. What did you glean from this? How have universities, 91��ɫ in particular, been handling decolonializing?

A: Universities have been colonizing institutions. They objectified Indigenous people and shut Indigenous people out of the process through structural inequalities.

The way to decolonize the university is to bring Indigenous people to the university and have them change the structures to suit Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies.

91��ɫ has been doing fairly well, but it needs to keep hiring Indigenous people. I have one great success story: my former PhD student Alan Corbiere, mentioned earlier. He was hired by the History Department a year ago in a tenure-track position.

Also, 91��ɫ has supported the Center for Aboriginal Students Services for recruiting and supporting Indigenous students.

Furthermore, I believe this project has allowed 91��ɫ in its journey to decolonize by bringing in curricular activities and creating new forms of classes. Some students in Indigenous studies earned their experiential education course by attending MISHI, for example.

To learn more about Podruchny, visit her . It is noteworthy that she plans to publish a scholarly article describing the kinds of Anishinaabe pedagogies gathered through this process.

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Study on Anishinaabe ways of knowing could transform universities’ knowledge creation appeared first on Research & Innovation.

91��ɫ has an enduring commitment to the pursuit of knowledge that comes from differing perspectives and ways of knowing. Indigenous knowledges are integral to this. And an expansive guide for those undertaking Indigenous research will help to facilitate these aspirations. The new interactive web-based research tool will be available this summer.

“We have learned from members of the Indigenous Council that when engaging with Indigenous communities, values like humility, respect and truth become front and center,” says Innovation 91��ɫ’s Manager of Knowledge Mobilization Michael Johnny, who co-created this new resource with the Indigenous Council.

“This is a major initiative for the University. It reflects and exemplifies the goals of the Indigenous Council – to help nurture an environment where we all have a stronger sense of connection, inclusion and wellbeing,” said Professor Sean Hillier, Chair of the Indigenous Council. Hillier, a Mi’kmaw scholar from the Qalipu First Nation, is also a special advisor to the dean of health on Indigenous resurgence.

“It is important that, in developing and producing this new resource, the Indigenous Council was fully engaged,” says Vice-President Equity, People and Culture Sheila Cote-Meek. “This new resource echoes broader initiatives within the postsecondary educational system in Canada, including the Principles on Indigenous Education developed by Universities Canada in 2015,” she adds. Cote-Meek is Anishinaabe from the Teme-Augama Anishnabai.

Professor of Indigenous Studies Bonita Lawrence, a Mi’kmaw scholar who focuses on non-status and urban communities, said of this new resource: “This will enable non-Indigenous scholars to learn how to respond to the needs of Indigenous communities – to conduct research with Indigenous people, rather than about them.”

“I echo Sheila’s point: Engaging with the Indigenous Council was essential. We are all working together in supporting Indigenous-formed and -led research, scholarship and related creative activity. We are creating a unique space to support contributions to Indigenous knowledges within and beyond the academy,” says Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI), Amir Asif.

David Phipps, assistant vice-president Research Strategy & Impact, and Innovation 91��ɫ’s Michael Johnny, manager, Knowledge Mobilization, both in VPRI, sat down with Brainstorm to discuss this new resource.

Q: What spurred you to undertake this project?

DP: The Indigenous Framework at 91��ɫ, released in October 2017, had 10 recommendations. One was about Indigenous research, but the word “staff” didn’t appear – it was all faculty and students, and while that’s not wrong, there was opportunity to find ways for non-academic staff to contribute to the goals of the Indigenous Framework. Being a staff person, I took that to the Associate Vice President of Research, Celia Haig-Brown, a non-Indigenous researcher of Indigeneity, and said: “I want to support it and I think there’s work the staff can do. What can we do?”

We spoke to Special Advisor to the President on Indigeneity Ruth Koleszar-Green, then Chair of the Indigenous Council, and created five workshops, by staff for staff, called “Decolonizing Research Administration.” These were designed to lead research admin staff through an understanding of colonization and decolonization, and ultimately to get staff to reflect on their roles.

Within the workshops, we were able to fund Sean Hillier (School of Health Policy and Management), Chair of the Indigenous Council, to undertake research on the barriers to authentic participation of Indigenous researchers in research at 91��ɫ.

Working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers and students, Sean produced a report with eight recommendations. The fifth recommendation was that the Office of Research Services needs to be the “go-to place” for non-Indigenous researchers seeking to engage with Indigenous communities.

Q: Who is/are the audience/users?

MJ: 91��ɫ faculty, grad students and post docs, especially those who are not Indigenous and looking for respectful and meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities.

DP: Also, faculty-based research officers, communications personnel and the Organized Research Units (ORUs).

MJ: This speaks to the research ecosystem at 91��ɫ. For all the offices and individuals who provide service and support, we want to create some baseline awareness and help them to do their jobs better.

Q: Please describe the three parts.

MJ: The first is the primer. What is the history of academic research engagement with Indigenous communities? In some cases, it’s poor and very traumatic. I think it’s important that researchers understand the history.

Also, when engaging with Indigenous communities, values like humility, respect and truth become front and centre. It’s important for researchers to understand that, especially around their own assumptions that they are caring about the communities with which they want to engage. There are also important cultural considerations.

The second part is a resource list – an annotated bibliography that support some of the processes. The resource list is going to be a living document where we continue to add new and emerging resources come to our attention.

DP: The resource list came through the work Michael did over the summer of 2020. He did an environmental scan of up to 20 universities in Canada, looking at how they presented their supports for Indigenous research, identifying strengths and weaknesses of these approaches to inform 91��ɫ’s approach.

Q: And the third component?

MJ: The tool itself. What we’re looking to do is take the best of what we know and make it available for our researchers to give them the greatest chance for success with engagement, with Indigenous partners and with the research itself.

There are specific actionable steps for users to consider. There’s dynamic knowledge mobilization involvement. Tightly aligned to that is impact planning. Our office, as a Knowledge Mobilization Unit, will be available for our researchers as they work through this resource.

DP: To sum up, the primer has interactive elements guiding the user through different stages of preparation for engagement with an Indigenous community. The resource list is the readings, and the tool brings it all together.

Q: When will this be available?

DP: Summer, 2021. It is drafted and has received input from the Indigenous Council and review by some other Canadian university Indigenous research offices. The next step is to engage a designer to turn it into an interactive, web-based offering.

Q: How is this an example of 91��ɫ U as a driving force for positive change?

DP: In the academy, we need to acknowledge that research has left, and is leaving, a legacy of colonization, of trauma and of appropriation. We need to correct that.

There are two ways that we hope this guide will drive positive change: One is on the conduct of research at 91��ɫ. How can we have a positive impact on the conduct of research? By supporting authentic collaboration with Indigenous communities, not recapitulating the trauma and colonization of past and current research experiences.

Secondly, we hope this work will not only drive positive change on campus, but also off campus by co-creating new research evidence that can be used to create positive change for Indigenous communities.

For more on the Office of the Vice-President Equity, People and Culture, visit the website. To read about The Indigenous Framework for 91��ɫ (2017), see a YFile story about it. To learn more about the Strategic Research Plan, visit the VPRI website.

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Coming this summer: New resource for those wanting to conduct Indigenous research appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Health Professor Farah Ahmad is dedicated to serving the most marginalized and vulnerable with a focus on primary care settings and psychosocial health. She recently examined data collected for the Syrian Refugee Integration and Long-term Health Outcomes in Canada study (SyRIA.lth) for the mental health of 1,924 Syrian refugees settled in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

The research team, which included 91��ɫ Health Professor Michaela Hynie, who is also a resident faculty member at 91��ɫ’s Centre for Refugee Studies, researchers from the Wellesley Institute, and several universities and settlement agencies across Canada, discovered something intriguing. They found the rates of depression among the refugees were much lower than those found in other Syrian refugee populations – not surprising, given that unlike refugees in many other settings, resettled refugees in Canada have achieved permanent residency and access to employment, health care and safe housing. What was surprising, however, was the significant and worrisome increase in depression experienced by the refugees after two years of their relocation in this new country.

“This really deserves our attention,” Ahmad urges. “If we could identify predictors of mental health struggles and intervene pre-emptively, this could get people the help they need. Programs that promote a stronger sense of social support and control and strengthen language fluency could be effective in reducing depression.”

This new knowledge could advance refugee integration through policy and program modifications.

The research, funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, was published in the Journal of Mental Health (2020).

Resettlement barriers can aggravate previous trauma

The Syrian civil war, an ongoing combat and humanitarian crisis that began in 2011, forced millions of people to flee their homes in search of safety. By May 2019, 5.6 million of these refugees had fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt (United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2019). Thousands had taken refuge in western countries as well.

In November 2015, the Government of Canada launched “Operation Syrian Refugees” and, in three months, the country had welcomed 25,000 Syrian refugees. This commitment was subsequently expanded to include 25,000 Syrian Government Assisted Refugees and Blended Visa Office Referred Refugees in 2016, as well as additional Privately Sponsored Refugees (Syrian Outcomes Report, June 2019). All told, Canada resettled over 74,000 Syrian refugees by 2020.

Refugees, fleeing their homeland and fearing for their lives, experience lasting trauma that often requires specialized care. This trauma comes from harrowing events that most of us never experience – such as the destruction of family homes, loss of loved ones, torture, rape and more.

All of this underscores the importance of Ahmad’s research.

Longitudinal study follows subjects over time

In this study, Ahmad and her team sought to evaluate the prevalence of depression symptoms in Syrian refugees within their first year of settlement in Canada (as a baseline) and again at one year later.

The fact that this was a longitudinal study, where researchers study the subjects over time, is important. It means that there’s an added layer of knowledge with unique insights; the researchers can observe how variables can change over an extended period of time and explore the reasons why change occurs.

In this study, the researchers used data from the Syrian Refugee Integration and Long-term Health Outcomes in Canada study (SyRIA.lth). The participants, 1,924 Syrian refugees, were recruited through community-based strategies.

Participants were 49 per cent males and 51 per cent females. The mean [average] age was 38.5 years. Forty-eight per cent had settled in Ontario, 36 per cent in Quebec and 16 per cent in British Columbia. Three-quarters needed an interpreter. Roughly one quarter had jobs.

The researchers interviewed the participants annually, starting in 2017 and continuing until 2020; this study reports on the first two waves of data collection in 2017 and 2018. Depression symptoms were measured using Patient Health Questionnaire 9. This assessment is used to monitor the severity of depression and response to treatment. It can be used to make a tentative diagnosis of depression in at-risk populations.

Researchers discovered rise in depression after one year and found predictors

The researchers found that the prevalence of depression symptoms was 15 per cent at baseline and 18 per cent one year later.

Significant predictors of depression included:

• having experienced baseline depression,
• arriving with no relatives in the settling country,
• language barriers (limited language skills),
• lack of satisfaction with housing conditions and health services,
• lower perceived control,
• lower perceived social support; and
• longer stay in Canada.

Ahmad stresses the value in understanding the predictors, since interventions in these areas could alleviate depression in this group of refugees. In particular, she identified four key predictors: baseline depression scores, social support, perceived control and language ability.

For example, she believes that programs promoting a stronger sense of social support and control, and those that strengthen language fluency could be effective in promoting mental health and reducing depression among Syrian refugees.

“Our findings are important in advancing scholarly knowledge and to inform the development of focused interventions to address the problem among those who are at a higher risk,” she explains. “Addressing these factors requires multidisciplinary community-based programs to actively reach out to refugees, empower them with information and skills to develop social networks, sense of control and language fluency, and to improve their access to services and employment opportunities,” she adds.

To read the article, visit the journal . To learn more about Ahmad, visit her . For more on the Syrian Refugee Settlement Initiative, visit the .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Research on Syrian refugees and depression tells powerful story of letdowns, could spur change appeared first on Research & Innovation.

In 2019, then PhD candidate Anne Thaler secured a VISTA postdoctoral fellowship and joined Professor and Canada Research Chair Nikolaus Troje’s BioMotionLab at 91��ɫ and the Centre for Vision Research. She has a compelling research focus: She studies realistic virtual characters in virtual reality (VR) and related perception around these animated characters.

With collaborators, including Troje and researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Tübingen (Germany), she recently wrote a short fascinating paper, “Attractiveness and Confidence in Walking Style of Male and Female Virtual Characters,” for the 2020 IEEE Virtual Reality Conference. Here, she investigated how perceived attractiveness and confidence relate to body shape and walking motion of these virtual characters.

“Our results indicate that attractiveness and confidence relate both to the shape and walking motion of animated characters,” she says. “This finding has important implications for virtual character animation.”

This is an exciting new area of research. Animated virtual characters are, or course, key components in many VR environments, from interactive computer games to training modules, and much progress has been made in developing 3D, life-like faces and body shapes over the last two decades.

But there’s not much research on biological and personality inferences made from the shape and motion of these virtual characters' bodies. This work fills an important void.

“Human motion is rich in socially relevant information, such as a person’s identity, health and biological sex. Humans are extremely sensitive to animate motion patterns and highly efficient in extracting information encoded in these patterns,” Thaler explains.

Study participants looked at 100 walkers, and rated their attractiveness and confidence

To undertake this research, Thaler and team generated virtual characters by reconstructing body shape and walking motion from optical motion capture data. Interestingly, they used the walking motions of 50 men and 50 women from the bmlRUB database – a database collected by the BioMotionLab. Each walker’s body shape and walking motion was reconstructed using the MoSh algorithm developed by the collaborators at the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen.

These 100 characters (stimuli) were presented to the study participants in three different ways:

1. As a 3D virtual character with each actor’s shape and walking motion (Walking Meshes);
2. As a walking stick figure with lines connecting 15 skeletal landmarks (Walking Stick Figures); and
3. As a 3D virtual character in a static pose (Static Meshes).

The ‘walkers’ were presented such that they walked directly towards the study participant from four meters away in the virtual environment. The static virtual characters were placed 3.5 metres in front of the participant and were displayed for the same duration as the walking motion of each actor.

Next, the study participants rated how they perceived these characters on a six-point Likert scale. This is a kind of questionnaire that provides a series of answers that go from one extreme to another – from “strongly agree” at one end to “strongly disagree” at another end and less extreme choices in the middle. A Likert scale is particularly useful to researchers because it allows them to collect data that provides nuance and insight into participants’ perception. This data is quantitative and can easily be analyzed statistically.

In the first experiment, 40 study participants (20 female, 20 male) rated the attractiveness of the 100 characters from ‘1’ – not attractive, to ’6’ – very attractive. In the second experiment, another 36 participants (18 female, 18 male) rated the characters’ confidence from ‘1’ – not confident, to ‘6’ – very confident.

Findings consider differences in walking style of males and females

In addition to determining that attractiveness and confidence relate both to the shape and walking motion of animated characters, as noted, the researchers also discovered something about sexual dimorphism in walking style – that is, the difference in walking style between males and females.

They found that sexual dimorphism in walking style seems to play a different role in attributing biological and personality traits to male and female virtual characters.

More specifically, they determined that sexual dimorphism in walking was more important for female attractiveness, whereas increased vertical motion was important for male attractiveness. Interestingly, the opposite was true for perceived confidence.

“These results are important to consider in applications using animated virtual characters because inferences made from the character’s appearance and motion could influence the user’s behaviour,” Thaler says.

Thaler earned her PhD from the University of Tübingen in 2019. Her dissertation examined self-body perception in ecologically valid scenarios using VR and novel computer graphics methods for generating realistic biometric body models. In the BioMotionLab at 91��ɫ, she works on projects investigating body and space perception in VR.

To read the article, visit the . For more on the BioMotionLab, visit the . To learn more about Troje, visit his . To read more about Thaler, read her bio on the BioMotionLab  or visit her 

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Trailblazing research examines virtual characters and walking style appeared first on Research & Innovation.

It would be hard to imagine a more policy-applicable report produced at a more optimal time. Ever. With funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, Professor Pat Armstrong has co-authored a report for The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA): "Re-imagining Long-term Residential Care in the COVID-19 Crisis."

With this publication, Armstrong and her co-authors bring their expertise to build new tools and strategies to address the historic crises we are currently facing.

“A major gap in our Canadian universal system is long-term residential care or what are more commonly called nursing homes. In our report, we draw on the lessons for the pandemic, from the research done by us and others, to suggest what we can do and should not do now, and what we should plan for in the future. The importance of universal, publicly funded, accessible health services has never been clearer,” Armstrong emphasizes in the report.

A Distinguished Research Professor in Sociology, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a driving force for positive change, Armstrong is a 91��ɫ treasure. For more than three decades, she has produced exceptional books and articles on the Canadian healthcare system, shining a bold light on systemic weak spots. Her work focuses on the fields of social policy, women, work and the health and social services; and makes the relationship between paid and unpaid work central to the analysis.

Armstrong has published widely, co-authoring and co-editing such influential books as Wasting Away: The Undermining of Canadian Health Care (Oxford University Press/OUP, 2010); “Heal Thyself:” Managing Health Care Reform (Garamond Press, 2000); and Unhealthy Times: Political Economy Perspectives on Health and Care in Canada (OUP, 2001).

Publication sought to find “ideas worth sharing”

This latest publication, co-authored with Hugh Armstrong, Emeritus, Carleton University; Jacqueline Choiniere, Faculty of Health, 91��ɫ; Ruth Lowndes, Research Associate, 91��ɫ; and James Struthers, Emeritus, Trent University, had a clear goal: “to identify promising practices for treating both residents and care providers with dignity and respect and for allowing them not only to stay safe but also to flourish.”

The researchers wanted to unearth “ideas worth sharing, ideas that could help make nursing homes a positive option rather than the last and least attractive one,” the report states. The researchers spoke of promising rather than best practices to allow for flexibility because what works well in one jurisdiction may not be effective in another area or for another group.

Researchers started with five key assumptions

The research team began this work with an important set of assumptions, gleaned from existing research, much of it their own. This truly helps to establish context.

1. The conditions of work are the conditions of care. Armstrong explains: “Staff can’t focus on residents if the conditions don’t now allow them the resources, the structures, the support, the time, and the capacity to do so.”
2. The social determinants of health – that is, housekeeping, dietary, laundry, clerical and recreation services – are essential components in care.
3. The labour in nursing homes includes paid and unpaid work undertaken not only by staff, families and volunteers but also by paid staff who assume unpaid work.
4. The majority of this labour is carried out by women, many of whom are racialized and/or new to this country.
5. Care work is skilled work, and those doing the work require ongoing education and training for the nursing home environment.

Concrete, pan-Canadian recommendations for both short- and long-term

After a fulsome analysis of existing research, the team identified many promising practices and some principles that could apply across the country. The researchers brought forward short-term recommendations, including:

• Make all staff permanent and limit their work to one nursing home;
• Raise staff wages and benefits, in particular sick leave;
• Provide COVID-19 testing for all those living, working or visiting in homes;
• Deliver hands-on training for all those entering nursing homes;
• Guarantee access to protective equipment; and
• Limit transfers from hospitals.

In the long term, Armstrong’s team has concrete suggestions for policy-makers. They should:

• Stop privatization and work towards removing profit of long-term care facilities in Canada;
• Better integrate long-term residential care into the broader public health care system, through legislation like the Canada Health Act, with the goal of developing a universal public long-term care plan that is sufficiently funded and accessible to all;
• Ensure that protective equipment is stockpiled for the future;
• Build surge capacity – this refers to the ability to evaluate and care for a markedly increased volume of patients – into labour force planning and the physical structure of facilities; and
• Establish and enforce minimum staffing levels and regulations.

Findings profile on the current state of regulation

More than anything, this work brings to the fore the glaring faults in the regulatory system. “Regulations should promote good care, prevent problems before they may occur and protect residents and staff,” Armstrong points out. “However, the pandemic has exposed the lack of regulations which would prevent putting profit over resident and staff care.”

Report underscores a sense of urgency

This comprehensive report contains a sense of urgency. “The COVID-19 crisis calls for extraordinary and immediate measures. Some of the most vulnerable live in what are commonly called nursing homes where people require 24-hour care. Those providing paid and unpaid care are particularly vulnerable as well.”

She hopes that policy-makers and government stakeholders take note. Their how-to plan has arrived.

To read the CCPA report, go . The CCPA is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic and environmental justice. It is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates.

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Trailblazing report offers policy solutions for long-term care during COVID-19 and beyond appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Researchers at 91��ɫ are on the frontlines of discovery, tackling issues of paramount importance and on a global scale. Case in point: Biologist Chun Peng, 91��ɫ Research Chair in Women’s Reproductive Health, undertook a comprehensive study that looked at the impact of sex and age in incidence, clinical features and outcomes of COVID-19 in Canada. Her PhD student, Jacob O’Brien, conducted data analyses; her summer student, Keven Du, also contributed to the study.

The research trio discovered that females are less likely to contract COVID-19; and they have lower COVID-19 incidence, hospitalization, ICU admission, and fatality rates in Canada. Compared with postmenopausal females, females in childbearing years have a greater sex difference in incident rate and symptom manifestation. “The findings of our study suggest that estrogens may play a role in reducing COVID-19 incidence and in the development of symptoms, especially those related to increased survival,” Peng says.

This research was published in the Journal of Ovarian Research (2020). The two students were funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Peng’s areas of expertise are female reproduction and women’s reproductive health. The long-term goal for her research program at 91��ɫ is to understand the regulation of female reproduction and the mechanisms underlying the development of ovarian cancer and preeclampsia – a dangerous complication during pregnancy that involves high blood pressure and damage to organ systems, notably the kidneys and/or liver. Peng’s research will enhance the overall understanding of female reproductive health and therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer.

Research world scrambling to find answers to key questions around the virus

It would be an understatement to say the need to gain an understanding of COVID-19 is pressing. The virus is new, having swept the globe only last year, and the research world is still grappling with the fundamental questions about its nature, like: How, exactly, does it spread? How can we prevent the spread? Who is most vulnerable?

Research team used Statistics Canada data

Peng’s team analyzed COVID-19 data from Statistics Canada up to July 2020, with the objective of finding out if estrogens played a role.

Initially, when they looked at the data, it showed that females were most likely to get COVID-19. However, the team dug deeper and discovered that when they took the high-risk groups – specifically, health-care workers, long-term care residences and some daycares – out of the mix and analyzed separately, they discovered that females between the ages of 20 and 70 had a lower incidence rate.

Next, Peng’s research team focused on two age groups:

1. Women between 20 and 49 years of age; and
2. Postmenopausal females 60+ years.

They found a significant decrease in the incidence rate among females of reproductive age, when compared to males in the same age group. That lower incident rate continued for women in the 60s and 70s compared to men in the same age bracket but to a lesser degree. However, females 80-plus were more likely to get COVID-19 than men.

Women in reproductive years less likely to catch the virus

Peng explains the significance of these findings: “Our findings tell us that if men and women were both equally exposed to COVID-19, women under 80 years of age would be less likely to be infected – especially for those in the reproductive years. This suggests that estrogens may play a role in reducing COVID-19 incidence for women during these years, between puberty and menopause, since they have much higher circulating estrogens than men.”

The research team also found that female patients have lower hospitalization and ICU (intensive care unit) rates. These sex-based differences, however, are observed in both the reproductive age and postmenopausal groups.

“Although estrogens may play a role in reducing COVID-19 incidence, it is unlikely that they play a major role in reducing the severity of COVID-19 once someone gets it,” Peng warns.

This research also determined that symptoms vary between the sexes, and females had lower fatality rates than males.

Future studies are warranted to confirm the protective effects of estrogens against COVID-19, Peng emphasizes.

To learn more about Peng, visit the Peng lab,  To read the article, visit the Journal of Ovarian Research .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Females in reproductive years less likely to contract COVID-19, finds new research on the role of estrogen appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Climate change and urbanization are increasing the frequency and intensity of floods in cities. Three researchers at the Lassonde School of Engineering sought to address this, perfectly illustrating just how 91��ɫ brings expertise to the table to build new tools and strategies to tackle the historic crises we are currently facing.

With funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Professor Usman Khan led this new research in collaboration with Professor Mojgan Jadidi and grad student Sarah Kaykhosravi.

Their work, which focused on three Canadian cities, determined that Low Impact Development (LID), a technique that reduces stormwater runoff to manage urban flooding, was one way to solve this mounting, global threat. This research also investigated the impact of climate change and urbanization on the demand for LID in cities.

“The results of our study provide us with a comprehensive understanding of the effect of climate change and urbanization on the demand for LID, which can be used for flood management, urban planning and the sustainable development of cities,” Khan says.

Khan is an expert in water resources engineering, focusing on urban hydrology, including flood risk assessment and uncertainty analysis, sustainable water resource management and infrastructure, and the impacts of climate change on these systems.

This research was published in the esteemed journal Water (2020) – the article titled “.”

Increased frequency of flooding cause for concern

Floods are a major growing natural hazard. They cause the loss of human lives and properties. “The frequency of flooding has increased during the last two decades, from 1995 to 2015. During this time, floods caused 157,000 fatalities globally and [negatively] affected the quality of life of 2.3 billion people,” Khan explains.

In terms of economic losses, Khan also points out that between 2006-16, the average annual costs associated with flooding were about $50 billion U.S. “This ranks first among all natural disasters,” he emphasizes.

Low Impact Development shows great promise

Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to land development that imitates the natural movement of water so as to manage stormwater. It makes use of small design techniques and landscape features that are effective in filtering, storing, evaporating and detaining rainwater and runoff. It does this by increasing perviousness and providing storage volume to control stormwater runoff at the source.

Importantly, LID emphasizes conservation and use of on-site natural features to protect water quality. Indeed, the benefits of LID include stormwater volume control – hence, flood reduction; water quality protection and improvement; and increased public health, livability of cities and eco-friendly communities.

However, the impact of climate change and urbanization on the demand or need for LID in cities, both now and in the future, is not known.

Study sought to evaluate demand for LID

That’s where Khan’s team comes in. The objective of their research was to evaluate the demand for LID under different climate change and urban growth scenarios, based on the hydrological-hydraulic index (HHI), which ranks the highest volumes of runoff in flood generation.

To do this, the team focused on 12 scenarios. Four climate change and three urbanization conditions were developed. The HHI for three Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) were estimated, evaluated and compared for these scenarios.

“This research holistically covers the scenarios under which either only one change takes place (i.e., climate or urbanization) or both (i.e., climate and urbanization), and discusses the causes and effects of the future demand for LID for three selected Canadian cities. It also discusses the contribution of climate change and urbanization factors on the change of hydrological and hydraulic processes,” Khan sums up.

Key findings: Increased demand for LID

The team took many factors into consideration, including projected rainfall intensity, urban growth scenarios and land cover in these three Canadian cities.

The results show that both urbanization and climate change increased the demand for LID. However, the contribution of climate change and urbanization on LID demand (measured using HHI), varied for each city.

In Toronto and Montreal, high rainfall intensity and low permeability mean that climate change is dominant. In these two cities, the demand for LID is similar. Toronto and Montreal also had a higher overall demand for LID and the rate of increase in demand is higher over the study period.

In Vancouver, both climate change and urbanization resulted in a similar impact on LID demand. But interestingly, Vancouver, which has the highest mean annual precipitation among the selected cities, has the lowest demand for LID, due to its low rainfall intensity.

Khan underscores what this means: “We showed that if we retain the land cover as it is in these three cities, climate change will cause an increase in demand for LID, since the runoff generation potential for each city will increase. With climate change only, urbanization only, and an integrated change of both, the three cities showed similar behaviour: an increase in HHI, which indicates an increase in runoff generation potential.”

This original study provides a fulsome understanding of the effect of climate and urbanization on the demand for LID. This information, again, can be used for flood management, urban planning and sustainable development of cities.

To read the Water article, visit the . To learn more about Khan, visit his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Engineering team addresses flood management, urban planning and sustainable development appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Health Professor Sean Hillier, a Mi’kmaw scholar from the Qalipu First Nation, Chair of the Indigenous Council at 91��ɫ and special advisor to the dean of Health on Indigenous Resurgence, is a driving force for positive change. He is an expert on the impact of policy on health care delivery in First Nations communities and in particular for those living with HIV/AIDS.

The findings of his research, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, were recently published in the International Journal of Indigenous Health (2020) – the article, “Decolonising the HIV Care Cascade.”

In this groundbreaking research, conducted in partnership with the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy and 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nation and in collaboration with Ryerson University and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, Hillier met with First Nations people living with HIV. Participants shared their life’s journey, using the traditional method of storytelling, and offered participant-driven recommendations for ways to improve access to care and services. Indigenous ways of knowing and being form a central part of this work.

It was a resounding success for community-led research and giving voice to people living with HIV: the researchers gained 29 policy and funding recommendations, including how to improve access to culturally appropriate care and services, and increase funding for provincial disability benefits.

“These are important steps in decolonizing the HIV care cascade,” Hillier explains. “Indigenous Peoples in settler colonial nations like Canada continue to experience intergenerational trauma, racism, socioeconomic disadvantages and pervasive health disparities resulting from centuries of systemic oppression."

Hillier is a queer Mi’kmaw scholar. His research focuses on how policy shapes and impacts health care for First Nations Peoples. He conducts community-based and engaged research with a focus on Indigenous methodologies and ways of knowing and being.

Existing set-up thwarts positive outcomes for Indigenous Peoples

The need for this work is vital. There is a disproportionate burden of HIV within Indigenous populations in Canada, coupled with a lack of access to care and services.

The concept of an HIV treatment cascade was developed to help identify gaps in the continuum of care. This tool outlines the stages of care people living with HIV encounter, starting from testing and diagnosis, to initiating antiretroviral treatment, and finally, treatment.

But the cascade, as it stands today, does not yield positive outcomes for Indigenous Peoples living with HIV, Hillier emphasizes. “If it were working, we would not be seeing the dramatic increases in infection rates year over year,” he states.

Researchers spoke with 29 First Nations people living with HIV and AIDS

In this research, Hillier met with 29 First Nations people living with HIV and AIDS in Ontario. The participants shared their experiences of colonial trauma and how the combination of racism and HIV stigma has affected their ability to seek confidential, culturally competent care.

The interviews took place in Toronto, Thunder Bay, North Bay, Sudbury, Hamilton and Chatham. Thirteen participants identified as male; 12 as female; and four as two-spirited. The average age of participants was 48 years, with an average monthly income of $1,362. All participants identified as recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program.

Suggestions aimed at specific stakeholders

The researchers put forward recommendations, abridged below, which are specific requests to various stakeholders.

Recommendations for the Federal government

• Create a policy that clearly details the government’s responsibility for funding HIV and AIDS care and services for First Nations people living on reserves.
• Provide adequate, long-term funding for HIV and AIDS care, treatment, programming and services in First Nations communities.
• Provide funding for culturally based healing treatment for Indigenous Peoples living with HIV and AIDS; for HIV education in First Nations communities, with a focus on youth; and funding to increase access to harm reduction measures across the north (this includes safe injection sites for individuals who use drugs).

Recommendations for the Provincial government

• Increase funding of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) for people living with HIV and AIDS.
• Provide funding for AIDS service organizations (ASOs) that would provide access to healing treatment for Indigenous Peoples living with HIV and AIDS.
• Implement Indigenous cultural safety training for medical care professionals and physicians.

Recommendations for Indigenous communities and political organizations

• Work towards addressing the issue of HIV and AIDS stigma within their communities and be open to HIV and AIDS education and harm reduction initiatives undertaken by other levels of government and ASOs.
• Educate members of their council and respective health care teams about HIV and AIDS, confidentiality, stigma and the supports they can provide.

Recommendations for non-Indigenous HIV and AIDS community organizations

• Educate staff members about colonization and the unique issues faced by Indigenous Peoples.
• Work with Indigenous groups and ASOs to set up competent programming and services for Indigenous Peoples.
• Implement competent programming and services for Indigenous women, in recognition of the disproportionate violence Indigenous women face.
• Establish programming and services for heterosexual Indigenous males, in recognition of the growing incidence of HIV in this group.

Recommendations for Indigenous HIV and AIDS organizations

• Implement programming and services for Indigenous Peoples; HIV education in First Nations communities and urban areas with a focus on youth; and HIV harm reduction practices that can be deployed in remote or hard to access First Nations communities alongside urban centres.
• Partner with non-Indigenous ASOs to assist in the implementation of programming and services for Indigenous People.
• Ensure targeted programming and services for women and safeguard targeted programming and services for heterosexual males.

Research seen as call to action

Hillier says this is a call to action and these recommendations should “act as a resurgence of Indigenous voices to claim agency over the funding, cultural competency and support needed to achieve wholistic well-being and engage in all levels of the HIV care cascade.”

He emphasizes that resurgence is a way to restore Indigenous nationhood.

Research inspires artist

Inspired by the stories in this research project, 2-Spirit Ojibway Woodland artist Patrick Hunter painted “Talking Stick,” which features this tool used for generations in First Nations cultures when discussing serious issues.

The seven eagle feathers represent the seven grandfather teachings that the artist believes were needed for people to actively share their stories. Below this, sacred medicines burn, creating a good space for the stories to be shared. Encircling the imagery is the artist’s interpretation of the AIDS ribbon painted as a sweet grass braid.

To read the research paper, visit the journal’s . To learn more about Hillier, visit his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, Research Communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91��ɫ, muellerm@yorku.ca

The post Researchers gain wisdom, key recommendations, from First Nations People living with HIV/AIDS appeared first on Research & Innovation.