Above: From left, front row, ACT for Youth Project research interns Stephanie Lucas, Stephanie Henry, Aziz Mohammed, Muzna Rehman, Enoruwa Osagie, with youth co-chair Alex Lovell, a 91亚色 grad, in the back

Dozens of students from area high schools joined the participants on April 14 to celebrate the Youth research interns and youth-led committee leaders, who worked on the project in 2010.

The ACT for Youth Project, which began in 2009 and is funded through 2014, brings together an alliance of stakeholders and interdisciplinary researchers from 91亚色 in a program of applied research, capacity building, knowledge transfer and evaluation that is focused on youth in urban communities.

The project hopes to develop a comprehensive youth strategy that articulates how places like the Jane-Finch community can energize local assets that support positive youth development.

One of the goals of the project is to build the research capacity of youth in the Jane/Finch area so they can participate in asking and answering questions about issues of importance to their community.聽 The project created its Youth Research Internship to facilitate this goal.聽 ACT also has a youth-led committee to ensure that youth have a space to contribute to their research.

Youth-led committee co-chairs Antonius Clarke, executive director of the youth-led community agency Friends in Trouble, and 91亚色 grad Alex Lovell [BA Spec. Hons. 鈥�02, MA 鈥�06], now a doctoral student at Queen鈥檚 University, introduced each award recipient and outlined their research contributions, volunteer activities and future study plans.

Above: From left, front row, youth-led committee leaders Abubakar Sultan, Edwin Chacon; middle row, Alexander Toolsie, Erica Holness, Taneese Jones, Olivia Agyemang, Tara Sherif, Suhentha Suthaharan; back row, co-chairs Lovell and Antonias Clarke

The youth-led committee leaders recognized at the event were:

• Olivia Agyemang, Westview Centennial Secondary School
• Edwin Francis White Chacon, Emery Collegiate Institute
• Ann Duong, Earl Haig Secondary School
• Nicola Holness, University of Windsor
• Taneese Jones, Westview Centennial Secondary School
• Suhentha Suthaharan, C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute
• Alexander Toolsie, 91亚色 co-op student
• Tara Sherif, Westview Centennial Secondary School
• Abubakar Sultan, Emery Collegiate Institute

The youth research interns recognized at the event were:

• Ryan Edwards, 91亚色
• Stephanie Henry, Seneca College
• Femi Lawson, Ryerson University
• Funmilola Lawson, 91亚色
• Stephanie Lucas, Westview Centennial Secondary School
• Aziz Mohammed, Northview High School
• Enoruwa Osagie, William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute
• Muzna Rehman, Westview Centennial Secondary School
• Judy Truong, Weston Collegiate Institute

Uzo Anucha, professor in 91亚色鈥檚 School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, co-chairs the ACT for Youth Project with Sue Wilkinson, executive director of the .

ACT is funded through a $1M grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. For more information on the Act for Youth Project, visit their website.

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Organized by the , the (IRIS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair聽for Reorienting Teacher Education聽Towards Sustainability, the Leadership for Sustainable Communities Symposium will focus on learning, leadership and climate change.

Leading experts from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom will gather at 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus for the symposium. They will share their experiences and expertise in the area of climate change with students enrolled in summer courses that address issues of sustainability. The focus of the symposium will be a shared dialogue to examine the intersections between education, leadership and climate change.

91亚色 Faculty of Education Professor Charles Hopkins (right) will open the conference. As the UNESCO Chair聽for Reorienting Teacher Education聽Towards Sustainability聽, Hopkins has developed and continues to coordinate an international network of institutions from 38 countries working on the reorientation of teacher education towards the issues inherent in sustainable development. Hopkins is also an adviser to both UNESCO and the United Nations University regarding the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which began in 2005 and continues until 2014. A major contributor at previous UN summits on sustainability in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 and in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, he聽authored聽Chapter 36聽of Agenda 21 of the Rio Earth Summit Action Plan on Education, Public Awareness & Training. Previously, Hopkins was a superintendent with the Toronto Board of Education.

Following Hopkins' opening comments, David Greenwood (left), a professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning at Washington State University, will deliver the keynote address, titled 鈥淣ature, Empire, and Paradox in Environmental and Sustainability Education鈥�. Greenwood conducts research on the relationship between environment, culture, and education; environmental, place-based and sustainability education; and alternative education. He has published widely in journals such as: Harvard Educational Review, Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Curriculum Inquiry, Educational Administration Quarterly, Environmental Education Research, Canadian Journal of Environmental Education and a host of other publications. Greenwood聽is working on his second book, which will聽examine place and education.

After聽Greenwood's address, a panel of scholars from聽IRIS, the Faculty of Environmental Studies and will present their work as it relates to climate change.

Particpating in the panel are:

(left)聽is聽a professor of biology in 91亚色's , an ecologist and聽the director of IRIS.聽Bazely has聽conducted field research in many ecosystems, including arctic tundra, sub-arctic and temperate salt-marshes, deciduous forests, temperate managed grasslands and prairies, and her research findings on white-tailed deer and lesser snow geese have informed wildlife and conservation management in Canada. In 2003, she published a book on the ecology and control of invasive plants with Professor Judy Myers of the University of British Columbia. She is currently leading an interdisciplinary project based in Canada, Norway and Russia on human security in the Arctic, specifically the impact of oil and gas development on people and ecosystems.

Patricia (Ellie)聽Perkins (right)聽is a professor and聽program coordinator for the Faculty of Environmental Studies at 91亚色. An聽economist who is concerned with the relationship between international trade, the environment and local economies, Perkins聽is interested in globalization and how local economies may grow as an antidote to international trade. She also looks at international means of controlling air pollution in the Arctic and at the metals and minerals resource industries.聽Perkins is the primary investigator of a (SSHRC) funded research project聽titled "Collaborative Research for Equitable Public Participation in Watershed Governance:聽Canada, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya". In 2008, she was awarded the 91亚色 Knowledge Mobilization Course Release for Community Engagement Award. Currently, she is editing a book on feminist ecological economics.

Professor (left)聽is director of Osgoode Hall Law School鈥檚 Mooting Program as well as its LLB/MES Program.聽He is actively involved in the work of the Standards Council of Canada and the International Organization for Standardization in the field of environmental management standards. He has published on numerous topics related to environmental and international affairs, including the ISO 14000 environmental management standards, global environmental governance, sustainability, regulatory reform, corporate social responsibility, Canadian forest law, international relations theory and international fisheries regulation. His current research focuses on the role of voluntary standards for environmental management and corporate social responsibility in the governance of corporate conduct.

In the afternoon, 91亚色 film Professor Brenda Longfellow, award-winning filmmaker, writer and theorist, will screen her 2008 feature-length documentary Weather Report to symposium participants.

As the world reels from a series of unprecedented weather events, it is clear that climate change is forcing a fundamental re-evaluation of our most basic assumptions about energy, progress and values. Produced with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Film Board of Canada, looks at the dramatically evolving impacts and social implications of climate change. Travelling through North America, the Canadian Arctic, India and China, the film explores how the battle against climate change is implicated in the larger movement for sustainability and global justice.

Winner of the Sundance Channel's Green Award and the Bronze Remi Award at the 2008 WorldFest-Houston Independent International Film Festival, Longfellow's film has earned high praise from climatologists, educators and others in the field.

"Weather Report is a beautifully filmed documentary that travels the globe and is one of the first films to put a human face on the myriad impacts of climate change. Highly recommended,"聽said Professor Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the聽Yale Project on Climate Change in the聽School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at聽Yale University.

Left: Brenda Longfellow

"Weather Report masterfully accomplishes something scientists have not been very good at 鈥� putting a real, human face on the consequences of global warming and the resulting climate change," said Cindy聽Parker, co-director聽of the Program on Global Sustainability聽& Health in the聽Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Following the screening, there will be an informal聽round-table discussion on climate change and education with a focus on translating knowledge into action. The discussion will feature contributions from:

Professor Tony Shallcross is聽a visiting scholar from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Shallcross聽is teaching聽ecology, ethics and education in the Graduate Program in Education Summer Institute at 91亚色. He has聽more than聽20 years of experience working in schools and is a former deputy head and head of department. Before taking up his post at MMU, he was a lecturer in environmental studies at the University of Edinburgh.

is a professor in聽91亚色's Faculty of Education where he coordinates the 91亚色/Seneca Institute for Mathematics, Science聽& Technology Education聽and the Graduate Diploma in Environmental/Sustainability Education.聽Alsop has taught in primary and secondary schools in inner-city London and coordinated the Centre for Learning & Research in Science Education聽at the Roehampton Institute at the聽University of Surrey. He has published widely in science and technology education and his recent books include and [co-edited with Larry Bencze and Erminia Pedretti]. He holds affiliated scholarly positions at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico; the Roehampton Institute;聽and the Centre for Science, Mathematics &Technology Education at the聽Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,聽University of Toronto. He is associated with a number of activist organizations including The Project for Altruistic Science and Technology Education.

Soni Craik is the acting executive director of EcoSource and has worked for the organization for over four years to extend its educational programming.聽Craik links her academic background聽with her interest in education for sustainability through child rights.聽She has聽worked for the International Institute for Child Rights聽& Development and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in South Africa as a facilitator of a participatory programs evaluation, specializing in working with elementary-aged children.聽Craik has also worked as an environmental education consultant for the Packard Foundation in Ethiopia and for the Child Welfare League of Canada in Cuba on a joint study of Havana鈥檚 social systems.

Rebecca Houwer is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Education at 91亚色.聽Prior to returning to university, she worked for several years with community-based organizations committed to educating youth.聽Her academic interests include: ethics and critical place-based education in urban contexts; participatory action research as praxis; ethical community-university relations; ecology without nature; and, collaborative place-making and place-recovery with, and by, forced migrants.聽She聽is a research assistant for the $1-million Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) grant by SSHRC led by 91亚色 social work Professor聽 in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

The symposium will conclude with a wrap-up and pledge that will be delivered by Hopkins.

For more information, visit the聽 Web site.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Two teams led by 91亚色 University researchers have received $5 million in research funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Their multinational research teams, involving multiple universities and community partners in a large-scale collaboration, have each received $2.5 million to examine long-term residential healthcare and global suburbanization.

The funding is part of 鈥檚 $10-million investment in critical issues of intellectual, social, economic and cultural significance through the (MCRI) program, the largest award competition SSHRC currently runs.

The program contributes to the deeper understanding of people and society while providing graduate students with research training opportunities. Royal Galipeau, MP for Ottawa鈥揙rl茅ans, made the announcement in Ottawa this morning on behalf of Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology.

Pat Armstrong, professor of sociology in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and an executive member of both the 91亚色 Institute for Health Research and the Graduate Program in Health Policy & Equity, will lead a study to identify promising practices for understanding and organizing long-term residential healthcare.

Right: Pat Armstrong

Although many of Canada鈥檚 most vulnerable citizens live in long-term residential care, it is often characterized as a last resort rather than as a positive option where both providers and residents can thrive. Armstrong鈥檚 project seeks to learn from and with other countries to understand the approaches, structures, accountability practices, and ownership arrangements that create conditions prompting respectful and dignified treatment for both residents and caregivers.

Twenty-five researchers, eight partnering institutions, and 17 universities in six countries will work across disciplines to capture and share data and best practices. Armstrong is Chair in Health Services and Nursing Research, co-funded by the (CHSRF) and the (CIHR).

Roger Keil, professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, director of the City Institute at 91亚色, and director of the , is working with 44 researchers at 29 universities, and 16 partners in 12 countries to better understand the challenges suburbanization poses in a globalizing world.

Right: Roger Keil

Based on the experience of Canadian suburbanization, but ranging from North America鈥檚 wealthy gated communities to Europe鈥檚 high-rise-dominated suburbs, the exploding outskirts of Indian and Chinese cities to the slums and squatter settlements of Africa and Latin America, this project is the first to systematically take stock of worldwide suburban developments while analyzing their governance models, land use, infrastructure and suburban everyday life. The project also includes collaboration with the on documentaries about life in suburban high rises.

Of the four $2.5-million grants awarded, 91亚色 was the only institution with two successful projects, building on its strong track record in leading large, interdisciplinary collaborative research projects. Prior to today鈥檚 announcement, 91亚色 researchers held nine major SSHRC collaborative grants worth a total of $13.6 million in research funding.

鈥淎s the only institution to win multiple awards in this category, 91亚色鈥檚 researchers have clearly demonstrated their national and international excellence and leadership in large-scale, SSHRC research projects,鈥� says Stan Shapson, vice-president research and innovation. 鈥淟eading major research initiatives allows us to address key social issues facing our society. As global populations expand and age, suburban research and new approaches to long-term residential healthcare are increasingly important to the well-being of Canadians and nations around the world. These projects provide unique opportunities for Pat, Roger, and their research collaborators to conduct groundbreaking research with significant impact on real-world issues.鈥�

鈥淭hese grants highlight the excellence of our country鈥檚 talented researchers and recognize the importance of fostering international collaboration to keep Canada at the forefront of research, development and innovation in the 21st century,鈥� said Chad Gaffield, president of SSHRC.

91亚色's other major SSHRC-funded interdisciplinary collaborative research projects

• 鈥淎ssets Coming Together for Youth: Linking Research, Policy and Action for Positive Youth Development鈥�, led by social work Professor Uzo Anucha in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) is developing a comprehensive youth strategy that will outline how marginalized urban communities like Toronto鈥檚 Jane-Finch neighbourhood can use their community assets to support positive youth development.
• The , led by Professor Emeritus Wesley Cragg in the Schulich School of Business, is mobilizing the University鈥檚 business expertise by bringing University researchers together in dialogue with leaders and researchers in business, government and the volunteer sector.
• The , led by Professor Stephen Gaetz in the Faculty of Education enhances the impact of research on homelessness and the housing crisis by increasing collaboration and discussion among researchers, policy-makers and community workers.
• The , led by LA&PS聽social work Professor Susan McGrath, studies refugee and forced migration issues to find solutions to the plight of refugees worldwide.
• 鈥淢onitoring the Human Rights of People with Disabilities in Canada鈥�, led by health policy & management Professor Marcia Rioux in the Faculty of Health, monitors and records human rights violations to put together an accurate picture of the daily lives of Canadians with disabilities.
• The Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative, led by聽geography Professor Philip Kelly in LA&PS, assists community organizations whose mandate includes the better integration of immigrants into Toronto's labour force by providing these organizations with free access to statistical data and analysis on various aspects of immigrant labour market integration.
• 鈥淪lavery, Memory, Citizenship鈥�, led by Distinguished Research Professor Paul Lovejoy, includes a team of more than 50 Canadian and international scholars who are researching聽the global migrations of African peoples under conditions of slavery and how the resulting racism arising from the exploitation of African peoples has shaped modern societies.
• 鈥淭he University as a Civic Change Agent: Community-Based Knowledge Mobilization鈥�, led by David Phipps, director of the Office of Research Services, is developing a community-focused input model for that seeks first to identify community knowledge needs and then focus university research expertise to help fill that need by creating a self-sustaining cycle of knowledge production and its uptake for policy, practice and community capacity building.
• 鈥淲ork in a Warming World鈥�, led by social science Professor Carla Lipsig-Mumm茅 in LA&PS, studies the challenge presents to Canadian employment and workplaces by examining seven Canadian employment sectors to seek policy, training, employment and workplace solutions to effectively assist Canada鈥檚 transition to a low-emission economy.

For complete competition results, visit .

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with photos courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The summaries are available in a located on the KM Unit's Web site. They provide an introduction into the variety and depth of research that is conducted at 91亚色 and the University of Victoria as part of ResearchImpact, a service-oriented program designed to connect university research with across Canada to ensure that research helps inform decision-making. The KM Unit's new Community Collaboration Stations provide research collaborators with access to a 91亚色 computer, which allows them to access materials contained in the 91亚色 Libraries and other online resources.

Some of the new research summaries highlight the work of 91亚色 education Professor Stephen Gaetz, who studies homelessness, and that of Professor Uzo Anucha of the School of Social Work in 91亚色's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, who studies youth and poverty. The complete library of research summaries consists of 84 entries that present the results of research on a variety of issues, including HIV/AIDS, immigration & settlement, employment and climate change, as well as research on business & management, law and health services, to name but a few.

First announced in the spring of 2009 (see YFile, May 27), the ResearchSnapshot concept was ;tested in focus groups which included University researchers, provincial policy-makers and community social service organizations. The聽focus group participants were supportive of the initiative, which was described as offering an excellent introduction to research聽with just enough background and contact information, without being overwhelming.

Above: Participants in the afternoon research forum presented by 91亚色's KM Unit. The forum featured 91亚色 researchers speaking on the topic of youth engagement. The announcement of the new ResearchSnapshots and Community Collaboration Stations was made at the Dec. 2 forum.

There are limitations to the utility of the research summaries, says David Phipps, director of the Office of Research Services at 91亚色. He points out that a decision about public policy or professional practice should not be made on the basis of a single research study. 鈥淲e use ResearchSnapshots as a calling card to alert our non-academic research partners that there is research expertise at 91亚色 that might be relevant to a partner鈥檚 interests,鈥� says Phipps. This calling card helps 91亚色鈥檚 KM Unit broker relationships between 91亚色 and potential collaborators or organizations seeking to use research to inform decisions, says Phipps.

鈥�91亚色 has opened Canada鈥檚 first Knowledge Mobilization Unit that is fully integrated into the University鈥檚 research infrastructure,鈥� says Stan Shapson, 91亚色's vice-president research & innovation. 鈥淭he expertise of 91亚色鈥檚 researchers and their graduate students should be accessible in order to maximize the social economic and environmental impacts of public investments in university research.鈥�

Daniele Zanotti, CEO of the United Way of 91亚色 Region, agrees. 鈥淚t is important that community agencies are working from the best knowledge available so that they can make well-informed decisions,鈥� she says. 鈥�91亚色's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides an avenue for community organizations to tap into the research expertise available in the University. It makes research, as well as researchers and graduate students, accessible to non-academic decision-makers.鈥�

The development of the ResearchSnapshots was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada. Production of the latest 40 research summaries and the Community Collaboration Stations were made possible through the support of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at 91亚色.

To access the research summary database, click . To reserve time on a Community Collaboration Station, contact 91亚色鈥檚 KM Unit by e-mail at kmunit@yorku.ca.

From YFile - 91亚色's daily e-bulletin

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