Economics / en 鈥楴ot in my wildest dreams鈥�: Refugee Jaivet Ealom on his journey to become a U of T grad /news/not-my-wildest-dreams-refugee-jaivet-ealom-his-journey-become-u-t-grad <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">鈥楴ot in my wildest dreams鈥�: Refugee Jaivet Ealom on his journey to become a U of T grad</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-06/0G5A9788-crop.jpg?h=062762c7&amp;itok=G39z3LCL 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-06/0G5A9788-crop.jpg?h=062762c7&amp;itok=laH2EGUg 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-06/0G5A9788-crop.jpg?h=062762c7&amp;itok=jYjuGiWz 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-06/0G5A9788-crop.jpg?h=062762c7&amp;itok=G39z3LCL" alt="Jaivet Ealom stands in front of Convocation Hall after his graduation ceremony"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>mattimar</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-06-24T10:05:45-04:00" title="Monday, June 24, 2024 - 10:05" class="datetime">Mon, 06/24/2024 - 10:05</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Jaivet Ealom, who arrived in Canada in 2017 after fleeing Myanmar four years earlier, stands in front of U of T鈥檚 Convocation Hall&nbsp;(photo by Lisa Lightbourn)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/mariam-matti" hreflang="en">Mariam Matti</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/convocation-2024" hreflang="en">Convocation 2024</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-college" hreflang="en">University College</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">A member of the persecuted Rohingya minority in Myanmar, Jaivet Ealom fled the country in 2013 and travelled across three continents in search of asylum 鈥� surviving a near-drowning and several detentions along the way</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>As a teenager in Myanmar, <strong>Jaivet Ealom</strong> says he could hardly have imagined one day graduating from the 重口味SM with a double major in economics and political science.</p> <p>鈥淣ot in my wildest dreams,鈥� he says, noting that he鈥檚 now taking steps 鈥渢o bring everything I鈥檝e gained and learned鈥� to help others who are suffering around the world.</p> <p>Ealom鈥檚 incredible journey to U of T鈥檚 Convocation Hall began in 2013 with <a href="https://magazine.utoronto.ca/people/students/journey-to-freedom-refugee-jaivet-ealom/" target="_blank">a harrowing escape from the Southeast Asian country</a> where, as a member of the persecuted Rohingya minority, he faced systemic discrimination and was denied citizenship rights.</p> <p>He left everything he knew behind, travelling through six countries and across three continents in search of asylum 鈥� and surviving a near-drowning and multiple detentions along the way.</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-06/820A8092-crop.jpg?itok=jHNz9Zph" width="750" height="500" alt="Jaivet waves to the camera before entering Convocation Hall" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Lisa Lighbourn)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>Arriving in Canada in 2017, Ealom later began studies in U of T鈥檚 Faculty of Arts &amp; Science as a member of University College. He also co-founded the <a href="https://www.rohingyacentre.ca/" target="_blank">Rohingya Centre of Canada</a> and a refugee-focused non-profit called <a href="https://www.northernlightscanada.net/" target="_blank">Northern Lights Canada</a>, is a member of the Refugee Advisory Network of Canada and has attended forums for the UN Refugee Agency on resettlement.</p> <p>Amid his advocacy work, he also found time to write his first book:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/708309/escape-from-manus-prison-by-jaivet-ealom/9780735245198" target="_blank"><em>Escape from Manus Prison: One Man鈥檚 Daring Quest for Freedom</em></a>, detailing his triumphant journey.</p> <p>As he crossed the stage inside Convocation Hall last week, Ealom says a sense of relief washed over him 鈥� the closing of one chapter and beginning of another.</p> <p>He says his time at U of T has helped him make sense of his tumultuous journey 鈥� and define his goals for the future.</p> <p>鈥淚 only understood the symptoms of the problem because I have been the one on the suffering side,鈥� Ealom says, adding that he initially viewed the issue purely as a humanitarian one.</p> <p>鈥淎cademia helped me understand that it鈥檚 also a political problem and the refugees are a result of policies and discriminatory law.鈥�</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-06/820A8263-crop.jpg?itok=G1YJ1lln" width="750" height="500" alt="Jaivet crosses the stage during convocation " class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>(photo by Lisa Lightbourn)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>After graduation, Ealom plans to dive into his policy work and advocate for representation of the Rohingya&nbsp;people in Myanmar鈥檚 politics following decades of persecution and disfranchisement. &nbsp;</p> <p>He is currently working with a group of about 40 to form the Rohingya Consultative Council, which is hoping to feed into the National Unity Consultative Council 鈥� an advisory body to the National Unity Government of Myanmar.</p> <p>鈥淭he Rohingya are the only group who don鈥檛 have a representative body there,鈥� says Ealom, adding that through the Rohingya Consultative Council he hopes to achieve two goals: have a seat at the table; and define and build capacity for who sits in that seat.</p> <p>He says he feels a sense of responsibility to use his privilege 鈥� and his U of T education 鈥� to do what other members of his community may not be able to do on their own: achieve equality and justice for the Rohingya community in Myanmar. &nbsp;</p> <div class="align-center"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-oembed-video field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item"><iframe src="/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DFeQUcSLWxDA&amp;max_width=0&amp;max_height=0&amp;hash=dZW8Jnlx3vEKAE9MfyVMghVuiSPNnRRLWHIgIoiaPBg" width="200" height="113" class="media-oembed-content" loading="eager" title="Journey to Freedom: Jaivet Ealom"></iframe> </div> </div> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <h3><a href="https://magazine.utoronto.ca/people/students/journey-to-freedom-refugee-jaivet-ealom/">Read more about Jaivet Ealom in U of T Magazine</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">On</div> </div> Mon, 24 Jun 2024 14:05:45 +0000 mattimar 308288 at From building bone to children鈥檚 literacy: 36 U of T researchers awarded Canada Research Chairs聽 /news/building-bone-children-s-literacy-36-u-t-researchers-awarded-canada-research-chairs <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">From building bone to children鈥檚 literacy: 36 U of T researchers awarded Canada Research Chairs&nbsp;</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=zJiVFMAP 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=zD2TIqwq 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=tasOtqOW 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-07/Dr-Karina-Carneiro-Lab_2017-04-13_010-crop_0.jpg?h=017640c0&amp;itok=zJiVFMAP" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-08-29T13:51:06-04:00" title="Tuesday, August 29, 2023 - 13:51" class="datetime">Tue, 08/29/2023 - 13:51</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Karina Carneiro,&nbsp;an assistant professor in the Faculty of Dentistry, is one of 36 researchers at U of T and its partner hospitals to receive a new or renewed Canada research chair (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/mariam-matti" hreflang="en">Mariam Matti</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6873" hreflang="en">Nina Ambros</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leah-cowen" hreflang="en">Leah Cowen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6923" hreflang="en">Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canada-research-chairs" hreflang="en">Canada Research Chairs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/centre-addiction-and-mental-health" hreflang="en">Centre for Addiction and Mental Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-evolutionary-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Evolutionary Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-dentistry" hreflang="en">Faculty of Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/geography-and-planning" hreflang="en">Geography and Planning</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leslie-dan-faculty-pharmacy" hreflang="en">Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">The new and renewed chairs at U of T and its hospital partners were part of a broader research funding announcement by the federal government</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>At the 重口味SM鈥檚 Faculty of Dentistry, <strong>Karina Carneiro</strong> and her team <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/regenerating-bone-dna-based-biomaterials">are working on developing new treatments</a> to regenerate bone with DNA-based biomaterials.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-07/Canada-Research-Chair_2023-03-23_010-crop_0.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Karina Carneiro (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>The researchers are exploring ways to use synthetic materials, created using DNA nanotechnology, to help bones regenerate and support the body鈥檚 efforts to heal them naturally.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>That鈥檚 in contrast to current bone repair treatments, which involve taking bone tissue from another part of the body and breaking it into little pieces that can be inserted into the defect.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淯sing a DNA-gel for this purpose could be an effective treatment option as it can be injected to fill the defect size fully,鈥� says Carneiro, an assistant professor in the faculty.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲hat we believe to be the difference between our DNA gel and other materials being developed is that over time, the DNA can degrade into molecules that promote our own body鈥檚 healing mechanism to further regenerate the bone.鈥�&nbsp;</p> <p>Carneiro is one of three researchers at the Faculty of Dentistry to be awarded a new or renewed Canada Research Chair in the latest round 鈥� and one of 36 across U of T鈥檚 three campuses and hospital partners (<a href="#list">see list below</a>).&nbsp;</p> <p>Established in 2000, the prestigious federal program aims to recruit and retain top researchers and scholars in the country. It invests more than $300 million annually to enable world-class researchers to reach new heights in disciplines spanning engineering, health sciences, humanities and social sciences.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淐ongratulations to all the researchers at the 重口味SM who received new or renewed Canada Research Chairs in the latest round,鈥� says <strong>Leah Cowen</strong>, U of T鈥檚 vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淔rom using AI to improve medicine and health care to better understanding Indigenous geographies and environmental dispossession, the work by U of T investigators supported by this important federal program is pushing the boundaries of research and innovation 鈥� and promises to have a big impact in Canada and around the world.鈥�&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-07/Canada-Research-Chair_2023-03-23_007-crop_0.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Anil Kishen (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>Professor <strong>Anil Kishen</strong>, who is also at the Faculty of Dentistry, will use the funding associated with his Tier 1 Canada Research <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/stimulating-bodys-own-healing-process-nanoparticles">to advance his work in oral health nanomedicine</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>He and his colleagues in the Kishen Lab are using multifunctional bioactive nanoparticles to study how cells communicate with each other and how wounds heal 鈥� in particular, how nanoparticles can be used to help save infected natural teeth and treat wounds and ulcers in individuals with diabetes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Kishen says one of the reasons chitosan-based nanoparticles, which are optimized for different therapeutic applications, are so promising is because they鈥檙e derived from a naturally occurring molecule that is readily available.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淎ffordability is important when developing a treatment to reach the masses,鈥� Kishen says.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-07/Canada-Research-Chair_2023-03-23_002-crop_0.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Massieh Moayedi (photo by Jeff Comber)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>Massieh Moayedi</strong>, an associate professor in the Faculty of Dentistry, is receiving funding to pursue <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/brain-and-pain">research in pain neuroimaging</a> as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭here鈥檚 tenuous evidence that body image might be involved in some types of chronic pain,鈥� Moayedi says, adding that his end goal is to understand how pain works so he can improve patient outcomes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>He鈥檚 <a href="https://www.dentistry.utoronto.ca/news/hallmark-study-body-perception-and-chronic-pain-wins-uk-arthritis-society-research-grant">already shown</a> that people with arthritic hands who see the limb looking healthier through a special device experience improvements in pain, so he鈥檚 now trying to understand which brain regions are involved.</p> <p>鈥淭his chair will give me funding and the capacity to allow me to investigate these questions, and to really understand the relationship between pain and body image.鈥�&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2023/08/government-of-canada-invests-in-over-4700-researchers-across-the-country.html">announced the CRCs</a> at a press conference on Aug. 29 on behalf of Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, and Mark Holland, minister of health.</p> <p>He also revealed the researchers and projects receiving funding through a diverse array of programs administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).</p> <p>They include the recipients of the <a href="/news/u-t-researchers-receive-grants-research-projects-aim-transform-lives">SSHRC鈥檚 Partnership Grants, Partnership Development Grants and Insight Grants</a>, as well as&nbsp;the recipients of the CFI鈥檚 John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), which helps institutions to recruit and retain outstanding researchers, and provide them with the necessary tools and technology to perform their work. Named after a former U of T president, JELF supports projects that deal with a range of pressing issues. This year鈥檚 recipients include 35 researchers at U of T and its hospital partners sharing a total of more than $11 million for projects ranging from an assessment of plant responses to environmental change to the development of an ultra-sensitive cryogenic detector for dark matter and neutrino experiments.</p> <p>鈥淭he federal government鈥檚 ongoing support for research through all of these programs 鈥� from the John R. Evans Leaders Fund, to the NSERC and CFI grants and the Canada Research Chairs 鈥� is critical to supporting the kind of research that ultimately improves lives through new knowledge and innovations,鈥� Cowen said.</p> <hr> <p><strong>&nbsp;Here is the full list of new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at U of T:&nbsp;</strong><a id="list" name="list"></a></p> <p><em>New Canada Research Chairs&nbsp;</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Stephanie Ameis</strong> at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and in the department of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in neuroimaging of autism and mental health in youth&nbsp;</li> <li>&nbsp;<strong>Yvonne Bombard</strong> at Unity Health and in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tier 2 in genomics health services and policy</li> <li><strong>Karina Carneiro</strong> in the Faculty of Dentistry, Tier 2 in DNA-based biomaterials&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Jesse Chao</strong> at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in precision cancer diagnostics and artificial intelligence&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Xi (Becky) Chen-Bumgardner</strong>&nbsp;in the department of applied psychology and human development in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Tier 1 in literacy development of bilingual and multilingual children&nbsp;</li> <li>&nbsp;<strong>Mark Chiew</strong> at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in computational biomedical imaging&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Sarah Crome</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of immunology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in tissue-specific immune tolerance&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Michelle Daigle</strong> in the department of geography and planning in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 2 in Indigenous geographies and environmental dispossession&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Karen Davis</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of surgery in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in acute and chronic pain research&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Rahul Gopalkrishnan</strong> in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in computational medicine&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Housheng (Hansen) He</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in RNA medicine&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Margaret Herridge</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in critical illness outcomes and the recovery continuum&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Anil Kishen</strong> in the Faculty of Dentistry, Tier 1 in oral health nanomedicine&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Bowen Li</strong> in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Tier 2 in RNA vaccines and therapeutics&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Iacovos Michael</strong> at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in tumor biology and precision oncology&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Massieh Moayedi</strong> in the Faculty of Dentistry, Tier 2 in pain neuroimaging&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Faiyaz Notta</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in pancreatic cancer and cancer evolution&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Valeria Rac</strong> at the University Health Network and in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tier 2 in health system and technology evaluation&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Fahad Razak</strong> at Unity Health Toronto and in the department of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in health-care data and analytics&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Clinton Robbins</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in cardiovascular immunology&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Lena Serghides</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of immunology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in maternal-child health and HIV&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Catriona Steele</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of speech language pathology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in swallowing and food oral processing&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Bo Wang</strong> in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, tier 2 in artificial intelligence for medicine&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p><em>Renewed Canada Research Chairs&nbsp;</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Angela Cheung</strong> at University Health Network and in the department of medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in musculoskeletal and postmenopausal health&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Xi Huang</strong> at the Hospital for Sick Children and in the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in cancer biophysics&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Cendri Hutcherson</strong> in the department of psychology at the 重口味SM Scarborough, Tier 2 in decision neuroscience&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Joanne Kotsopoulos</strong> at Women鈥檚 College Hospital and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tier 2 in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer prevention</li> <li><strong>Arthur Mortha</strong> in the department of immunology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in mucosal immunology&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Kelly O鈥橞rien</strong> in the department of physical therapy in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in episodic disability and rehabilitation&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Trevor Pugh</strong> at the University Health Network and in the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in translational genomics&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Diego Restuccia</strong> in the department of economics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 1 in macroeconomics and productivity&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>David Sinton</strong> in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, Tier 1 in energy and fluids&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Olivier Trescases</strong> in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, Tier 2 in power electronic converters&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Joel Watts</strong> in the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in protein misfolding disorders&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Michael Widener</strong> in the department of geography and planning in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 2 in transportation and health&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Stephen Wright</strong> in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Tier 1 in population genomics&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:51:06 +0000 lanthierj 302308 at U of T economist unpacks soaring inflation 鈥� and how Canadians can cope /news/u-t-economist-unpacks-soaring-inflation-and-how-canadians-can-cope <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T economist unpacks soaring inflation 鈥� and how Canadians can cope</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Groceries-web-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Mb1j2cfl 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Groceries-web-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9QoOY5E9 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Groceries-web-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=x7G-qBCv 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Groceries-web-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Mb1j2cfl" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-08-03T13:23:23-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 3, 2022 - 13:23" class="datetime">Wed, 08/03/2022 - 13:23</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/geoffrey-vendeville" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Vendeville</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy-0" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economy" hreflang="en">Economy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>With inflation at its highest level in decades, are storm clouds gathering on Canada鈥檚 economic horizon?</p> <p>Inflation hit <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9002820/inflation-canada-june-2022/">8.1 per cent year over year in June</a>, eating away at Canadians鈥� savings amid rising prices for everything from gas to groceries.</p> <p>The following month, the Bank of Canada responded by <a href="https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2022/07/fad-press-release-2022-07-13/">hiking its benchmark lending rate by a full percentage point</a>, the largest such increase in more than two decades 鈥� and more tightening is likely on the way. Rising rates, in turn, have implications for anyone who borrows money, including businesses, consumers and homeowners. In one ominous sign for the tech sector, Ottawa-based Shopify <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/shopify-jobs-1.6532165">cut 1,000 jobs, equal to 10 per cent of its workforce</a>, last week.</p> <p>Yet, despite some predictions that Canada is hurtling toward a painful recession, 重口味SM economist <b>Peter Dungan</b> remains optimistic that sunnier days are ahead. In his research, he uses computer simulations to forecast the short- and long-term trajectory of Canada and Ontario鈥檚 economies.</p> <p>鈥淚f we have a recession, it will be from a state at which the economy actually is in very good shape in terms of low unemployment and a high level of output,鈥� says Dungan, an associate professor emeritus of economic analysis and policy at the Rotman School of Management who is cross-appointed to the department of economics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</p> <p><i>U of T News</i> recently spoke with Dungan about the state of the Canadian economy, where it鈥檚 headed, and how households and students can cope with sky-high inflation.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/dungan-web-copy.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>Peter Dungan (photo by Rick Madonick/Toronto Star via Getty Images)</em></p> <div align="center" style="text-align:center"> <hr align="center" size="0" width="100%"></div> <p><b>What, exactly, is inflation?</b></p> <p>Inflation is a change in the average price level. Inflation can be temporary in the sense that if the price level goes up, but then doesn鈥檛 keep rising, then inflation goes up and comes back down.</p> <p>We鈥檝e seen a significant change in the price level for a number of key items recently: oil, gas, wheat, stuff like that. But if the prices of things don鈥檛 keep rising 鈥� even if they stay where they are 鈥� the inflation rate goes back down again. It鈥檚 only if prices keep rising faster than they have before that you get a rise in the inflation rate.</p> <p>Why would that happen? It could be the world keeps throwing disasters at us. The other big danger is people expect inflation to rise, so they keep bidding up their wages and demands, and that gets built into higher prices and then you鈥檙e into a 鈥渨age-price spiral,鈥� as they call it. That second scenario isn鈥檛 happening yet. That鈥檚 not what's causing our inflation so far 鈥� and, so far, the evidence seems to be that expectations in the longer term are not rising significantly.</p> <p><b>How did we get here?</b></p> <p>There鈥檚 no easy answer.</p> <p>In a way, if you allow an economist to use demand and supply, like we always do, this is a supply-side shock. This is something coming from weakness of supply, or a shortage of something. There was a certain amount of that having to do with microchips, and all kinds of other key ingredients that were being held up at ports or in China because of COVID-19 lockdowns there. To some extent, that鈥檚 still happening.</p> <p>But it鈥檚 also fairly clear 鈥� at least in some countries 鈥� there鈥檚 what is called 鈥渄emand pull鈥� going on as well. Coming out of the [pandemic-induced] recession, people have started to buy things again 鈥� goods and services. The economy was in fairly good shape before we went in and it was well supported 鈥� as it had to be, at least in Canada and the U.S. 鈥� when we were in the pandemic, but that鈥檚 left people with a lot of money to spend as we once again emerge.</p> <p>When you have a relatively large number of people pursuing a limited supply of goods, that tends to cause prices to increase. So, we have a mixture of 鈥渃ost-push鈥� and 鈥渄emand-pull鈥� inflation going on at the same time in varying degrees in different countries.</p> <p>For example, there鈥檚 a bit more demand pull going on in the U.S. than in Canada because they had somewhat more expansionary fiscal policies more recently because they were worried about Omicron. On the other hand, in Europe 鈥� where there鈥檚 also significant inflation 鈥� it鈥檚 less about demand pull and more of a supply problem related to oil and natural gas due to the war in Ukraine.</p> <p>Unfortunately, there鈥檚 no simple answer.</p> <p><b>Why are some experts predicting a recession at the same time as we are experiencing record-low unemployment?</b></p> <p>One of the things to distinguish is level versus change. A recession, technically speaking, is a change in the state of your economy. If it doesn't grow at its usual amount 鈥� especially if it contracts 鈥�&nbsp;then we call it a recession. But the state of the economy could be very high or very low when the change occurs.</p> <p>As it happens, if we have a recession, it will be from a state at which the economy is actually in very good shape in terms of low unemployment and a high level of output. That would be much less serious than a recession that occurred when the economy was already weak because we hadn鈥檛 recovered from a previous recession, or there were other problems affecting the economy.</p> <p>By the way, a recession can be -0.1 per cent growth or it can be minus five per cent. And there鈥檚 a huge difference between those two. It鈥檚 only indicative of the direction the economy is heading as opposed to the scale.</p> <p>A lot of people who are talking about a recession 鈥� not all, but some 鈥� are only talking about something that would be much milder than either the one induced by the pandemic or the recession that鈥檚 sometimes called the Great Recession that started in 2008-2009.</p> <p>There are some people who are ringing alarm bells, saying it鈥檚 going to be a bad recession. I do not happen to agree with them myself. But there鈥檚 all kinds of possibilities out there and it depends on what happens in the geopolitical realm, too.</p> <p><b>What鈥檚 the economic forecast for Canada?</b></p> <p>On the inflation front, I am very confident that we will eventually get back to two per cent. It鈥檚 the Bank of Canada鈥檚 target, they have the tools to be able to achieve it, and they seem to be determined to do it. The thing is, it will take longer than we thought because there was more of this 鈥渃ost-push inflation.鈥� Before the Ukraine war broke out, nobody saw that coming: the huge increase in oil, gas and food prices occurring as a result. That鈥檚 just a nasty surprise.</p> <p>How much damage has to occur to the economy to get back to two per cent? That鈥檚 a more open question. If, in effect, there鈥檚 no more supply shocks and the Bank of Canada鈥檚 and other central banks鈥� rate hikes cool demand, then we may be able to that low inflation rate in two or three years with relatively modest losses in employment and GDP.</p> <p>On the other hand, if shocks to the supply side of the economy keep coming at us, we鈥檙e in different territory. Then you really need to push on the demand side to weaken inflation. The big question in the backs of central bankers鈥� minds, is: Is high inflation getting into people鈥檚 expectations of the future and their wage and price bargaining? Once that happens, then you鈥檙e in the nasty world of the late 70s and early 80s. Those decades required a huge recession to literally bleed the inflation out of the system. And nobody wants to go there.</p> <p><b>Many Canadians haven鈥檛 experienced high inflation, but you were in university during the hyperinflationary 1970s. How did that compare to now?</b></p> <p>The similarity, though it鈥檚 extremely limited, is that we鈥檙e temporarily getting back to rates of inflation we haven鈥檛 seen since that period. So, yes, that was a time in which inflation was like eight, nine, 10 per cent per year for a number of years<i>.</i> But I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 going to happen this time around.</p> <p>There鈥檚 a big difference, too. Nowadays, central banks have clear inflation targets and are determined to hit them. That鈥檚 a policy goal that only began in the 1990s, partly in reaction to the failures from before.</p> <p>Unless there's an absolute, major change in the way our central banks operate or are allowed to operate 鈥� which I consider highly unlikely for North America, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand 鈥� we鈥檙e going back to low inflation.</p> <p>The other major difference between then and now is that, in those days, because central banks didn鈥檛 have a target for inflation, and because inflation was all over the map for a significant period, people鈥檚 expectations were, in a sense, unanchored. When unions went into wage bargaining, they didn鈥檛 know what inflation was going to be 鈥� only that it was likely to be high. So, of course, they bargained for a big wage increase. That gets passed through into other prices, which then validates the inflation and then: 鈥淥h my God. We鈥檙e in trouble.鈥�</p> <p>Today, so far as we can tell, people expect inflation to be high for a year or two, but the expectation for the longer term doesn鈥檛 seem to be moving yet. People still trust that this is temporary. If that that changes, then it鈥檚 a new world 鈥� or maybe I should say old world. We鈥檙e back to the 70s and 80s again. And it would take higher levels of unemployment and more significant recessions to get inflation down and convince people to drop thier expectations. But we aren鈥檛 seeing it yet.</p> <p><b>What tools do countries have to rein in inflation?</b></p> <p>Largely, the job falls on the central bank. It uses higher interest rates to slow down particular parts of economic activity like housing and purchasing cars and things like that. That鈥檚 your first line of defence.</p> <p>If it wanted to help, a federal or provincial government could also raise taxes or cut spending, but it鈥檚 very politically difficult to do that 鈥� and it鈥檚 not clear at this point that it鈥檚 necessary. It鈥檚 not that serious a problem. Some provincial governments are actually throwing money at people. I don鈥檛 mind that if it鈥檚 going to people who are more affected by inflation, including those living on fixed incomes, low-income people and others who are suffering. But you don鈥檛 want across-the-board tax cuts or spending programs to boost the economy. The economy is boosted already. The unemployment rate is at historic lows. We don鈥檛 need boosting. If anything, we need to un-boost.</p> <p><b>What do you make of the news that Shopify laid off 10 per cent of its staff?</b></p> <p>Shopify鈥檚 problem was that they took a real boost during the pandemic because, of course, there was more online shopping. What we didn鈥檛 know coming out of the pandemic 鈥� regardless of whether there was going to be recession and inflation-fighting 鈥� was whether people were going to go back to brick-and-mortar stores or continue shopping online. It looks like Shopify was excessively optimistic about how much online would occur. So, they鈥檙e cutting back. I have a feeling that would have happened anyway.</p> <p><b>What can the average person and household do to protect themselves from inflation? What about students?</b></p> <p>There鈥檚 no magic wand on this one. It鈥檚 possible some prices will come down in the future, in which case it鈥檚 much less of a problem. But to the extent that some things cost more because of ongoing problems in Europe 鈥� if the Ukraine war is going to continue, isolating Russia as a major supplier of oil, gas and wheat 鈥� what this means is that the world is not going to be quite as generous as it was before to a student or household. Some things are just going to be more expensive, including food items and fuel. It may not keep getting worse, but it may not get back to the way it was a year ago either.</p> <p>That pain has to be recognized. It鈥檚 a cost that has to be borne. The world is not making wheat available for us to buy burger buns and oil 鈥� and then to move the burger buns around between restaurants 鈥� as generously as it was before, so there鈥檚 going to be a hit.</p> <p>What that means is you鈥檒l have to review your budget. Review what鈥檚 important to you and make changes to move away from the more expensive things and toward the less expensive things 鈥搑ealize that the budget is tighter than it was before. There鈥檚 really no way around it.</p> <p>Again, I鈥檒l hold out the small hope that there will be some adjustment on the supply-side effects as time goes by, so that we may be able to see perhaps even lower rates of inflation than two per cent in times to come. Certain things that we really like might get cheaper again. That鈥檚 definitely a possibility, but it depends on how the world evolves.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 03 Aug 2022 17:23:23 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 175852 at U of T sues聽Easy EDU tutoring company /news/u-t-sues-easy-edu-tutoring-company <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T sues&nbsp;Easy EDU tutoring company</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-lpr.JPG?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=0a6919Jg 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-lpr.JPG?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=bBB-KWUr 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-lpr.JPG?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=uJXXQeRs 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-lpr.JPG?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=0a6919Jg" alt="重口味SM stone sign"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-05-11T10:40:18-04:00" title="Wednesday, May 11, 2022 - 10:40" class="datetime">Wed, 05/11/2022 - 10:40</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/u-t-news-team" hreflang="en">U of T News Team</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/academics" hreflang="en">Academics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-bottom:13px">The 重口味SM and three&nbsp;of its&nbsp;professors have launched a lawsuit against a tutoring business alleging it routinely copies, without authorization, lecture slides,&nbsp;course syllabuses, tests and exams and sells them in 鈥渃oursepacks鈥� to post-secondary students on its website in violation of Canada鈥檚 <i>Copyright Act</i>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">The suit against Easy Group Inc. and related companies, operating variously as Easy EDU, Easy Education, Easy 4.0, and ez4edu, also cites the serious consequences faced by students who are sanctioned for receiving unauthorized academic assistance from the company.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">Under U of T鈥檚 intellectual property policy, faculty members own the copyright in their classroom materials.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">鈥淥ur faculty spend hours creating materials for their courses&nbsp;that are&nbsp;often based on their leading-edge research,鈥� said <b>Heather Boon</b>, U of T鈥檚 vice-provost, faculty and academic life. &nbsp;鈥淭hese materials are created for our students and for use in the faculty members鈥� classrooms.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">鈥淲e&nbsp;will not permit&nbsp;private companies to make&nbsp;money from the unauthorized sale of our professors鈥�&nbsp;copyrighted&nbsp;materials.&nbsp;We are also concerned that this company creates a perception that the university and the professors have authorized the use of these materials and partnered with this for-profit tutoring service. Nothing could be further from the truth.鈥�</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">Easy EDU, purportedly founded in 2014 by&nbsp;<b>Yuwei (Jacky) Zhang</b>, claims&nbsp;to be one of North America鈥檚 largest education companies.&nbsp;It has offices across Canada as well as in China.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">The lawsuit cites instances of copyright infringement&nbsp;by&nbsp;Easy EDU involving three U of T professors, who are acting as plaintiffs together&nbsp;with the university in the lawsuit:&nbsp;<b>Robert Gazzale</b>, an associate professor, teaching stream, of economics; <b>Lisa Kramer</b>, a professor of finance; and <b>Ai Taniguchi</b>, an assistant professor, teaching stream, of linguistics. The company鈥檚 online store of tutoring materials indicates that coursepacks from many other U of T courses are also being sold by the company. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">The university鈥檚 lawsuit is seeking monetary damages, the&nbsp;return&nbsp;of the&nbsp;copyrighted&nbsp;materials and an injunction to stop any further copyright infringement.&nbsp;U of T has also asked for a full accounting and disgorgement of all revenues earned directly or indirectly from the sale of all products that contain university material, as well as an award of punitive and exemplary damages.&nbsp;U of T has committed to use any funds obtained from the lawsuit for student academic supports.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">According to the company鈥檚 website, it offers more than 1,000 Canadian university course offerings every term and has served more than 210,000 students&nbsp;at universities across Canada. 鈥淲eekly course packages鈥� are priced as high as $1,449.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">The website states that Easy EDU offers its services to students at all three U of T campuses, as well as at the University of Waterloo, York University, McGill University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta and other higher education institutions across Canada.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">The statement of claim alleges the company also infringed the professors鈥� moral rights by creating the impression within the educational community, and&nbsp;among&nbsp;students who have purchased&nbsp;Easy EDU鈥檚&nbsp;services, that the professors&nbsp;and the university&nbsp;have endorsed the company to use their work.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">鈥淚 have devoted years to preparing materials for my students. To have a company profit from the unauthorized use of my intellectual property is incredibly wrong. It is theft,鈥� said Gazzale. 鈥淚 am also saddened that tutoring companies are pushing the approach of trying to game the system, as opposed to trying to help students learn the material.鈥�&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">Gazzale&nbsp;added that, during the pandemic, the economics department put extra effort into helping students who were facing challenges by offering extended online office hours and adjusting the hours of its free peer tutoring services to better serve students abroad.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">U of T, meanwhile, provides a range of academic supports which students can access as part of their tuition, including 14 writing centres that offer one-on-one support, learning strategists, organized study groups, old exam banks, workshops and an academic success centre. International students also have access to additional workshops upon arrival and throughout the year.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">The lawsuit alleges that Easy EDU also unfairly exploits students who, in good faith, pay significant fees for tutoring that can lead to life-altering consequences stemming from sanctions for academic misconduct. U of T alleges that in providing tutoring services, Easy EDU may in some cases be providing students with unauthorized academic assistance where it is not permitted, an offence under the university鈥檚 <a href="https://governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/secretariat/policies/code-behaviour-academic-matters-july-1-2019"><i>Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters</i></a>. That can lead 鈥� and has led 鈥� to sanctions for academic misconduct and cheating, including suspensions.&nbsp; For international students, suspensions can lead to cancellation of their study permits and a forced return to their home country.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">Assistant Professor Taniguchi, whose linguistics courses attract many international students, expressed disappointment that Easy EDU preys on students鈥� fears of not doing well in an unfamiliar setting and potentially disappointing their family.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">鈥淓asy EDU&nbsp;exploits that fear and leads students down the path of possible academic offences,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tudents are much better off asking for help from their U of T professors or teaching assistants than paying for a tutoring service that is violating copyright law.鈥�</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">Before launching the lawsuit, U of T met with a representative of Easy EDU in October 2020 to discuss issues of academic infringement and integrity. In December 2020, Easy EDU stated in an email to the university that it would review its materials and 鈥渆nsure there is absolutely no copyright infringement.鈥�</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">According to the statement of claim, however, Easy EDU continued to create and sell tutoring packages that infringed copyright. The university鈥檚 lawyers sent a letter to Easy EDU in April 2021 asking the company to stop its unlawful use of teaching materials. No response was received.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">Easy EDU&nbsp;has 30 days to file a statement of&nbsp;defence.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:13px">&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 11 May 2022 14:40:18 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 174616 at Highway death toll signs associated with more crashes, researchers find /news/highway-death-toll-signs-associated-more-crashes-researchers-find <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Highway death toll signs associated with more crashes, researchers find</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/HighwayMessageBoard-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=0NOO3L7T 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/HighwayMessageBoard-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=iQlnVHVZ 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/HighwayMessageBoard-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=SY2wD29d 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/HighwayMessageBoard-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=0NOO3L7T" alt="Highway sign in texas reads &quot;1669 deaths this year on texas roads&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-04-22T12:49:53-04:00" title="Friday, April 22, 2022 - 12:49" class="datetime">Fri, 04/22/2022 - 12:49</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">A recent study co-written by U of T's Jonathan Hall suggests that death toll messages on highways can have the opposite of their desired effect (photo courtesy of Jonathan Hall)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/munk-school-staff" hreflang="en">Munk School Staff</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy-0" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty" hreflang="en">Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international-collaboration-0" hreflang="en">International Collaboration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Electronic billboards displaying traffic fatalities to encourage safer driving may actually contribute to an increase in crashes, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3633014">a recent study</a> co-authored by the 重口味SM's <strong>Jonathan Hall</strong> suggests.&nbsp;</p> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Jonathan_Hall-crop.jpg" alt><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Jonathan Hall</span></em></div> </div> <p>Using years of highway data from Texas, Hall 鈥� an assistant professor in the department of economics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy 鈥� teamed up with Joshua Madsen, of the University of Minnesota, to test the effectiveness of this strategy to reduce accidents.&nbsp;</p> <p>They found that a message advertising the number of traffic deaths was linked with a 4.5 per cent uptick in crashes over the next 10 kilometres. That鈥檚 an increase comparable to raising the speed limit by between roughly 5 and 8 kilometres per hour or reducing the number of highway troopers by 6 to 14 per cent.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淥ur back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that fatality messages cause an additional 2,600 crashes and 16 fatalities per year in Texas alone, with a toal social cost&nbsp;of (US) $377 million per year,鈥� the researchers said.&nbsp;</p> <p>Extrapolating to a nationwide figure, the researchers say safety messaging causes an extra 17,000 crashes across the U.S. and 104 deaths per year, with a social cost of US$2.5 billion.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/highway-death-toll-messages-linked-to-rise-in-car-crashes-study-says/ar-AAWswsn?li=BBnb7Kz">In an interview with the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>,</a> Hall said he and Madsen were surprised by their findings.&nbsp;"We did not start this project thinking these signs hurt, we thought they helped," he told the paper. "I think a reasonable takeaway would be that state departments of transportation should test their messages and track which of these messages are too distracting and which are helpful."</p> <p>The researchers suggest that efforts to reduce traffic fatalities by way of electronic messaging may be backfiring because they are temporarily distracting and lead drivers to make mistakes.&nbsp;</p> <p>Hall and Madsen took their data from Texas because messages there were consistently displayed one week a month. They compared highway data from the time of the campaign, from 2012 to 2017, to the two years prior, comparing weekly differences within each month.</p> <p>鈥淭he messages increased the number of multi-vehicle crashes, but not single-vehicle crashes,鈥� Hall said.&nbsp;鈥淭his is in line with drivers with increased cognitive loads making smaller errors due to distraction, like drifting out of a lane, rather than driving off the road.鈥�</p> <p>Moreover, the researchers found that the effect is worse as the year progresses and the traffic fatality count displayed on message boards increases. The largest number of additional crashes was recorded in January, when the fatality number was the highest. Hall and Madsen suggest that more sobering, in-your-face messaging could be even more distracting and harmful.</p> <p>鈥淒riving on a busy highway [and] having to navigate lane changes is more cognitively demanding than driving down a straight stretch of empty highway,鈥� said Madsen, who teaches at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. 鈥淧eople have limited attention. When a driver鈥檚 cognitive load is already maxed out, adding on an attention-grabbing, sobering reminder of highway deaths [can] become a dangerous distraction.鈥�</p> <p>But the researchers did find that the safety messages fulfilled their intended purpose when the number of displayed deaths was low and when the interventions occurred on less busy highways. Madsen says this may be because these messages were not as taxing on drivers' attention.</p> <p>While safety campaigns vary from place to place, the researchers say authorities should consider other ways to promote road safety.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淥ne of the key takeaways from this research was that fatality message campaigns increase the number of crashes, so stopping these campaigns is a low-cost way to improve traffic safety,鈥� Hall says.</p> <p>鈥淭his study illustrates why it is so important to study the effects of 鈥榥udges鈥� and other behavioural interventions. Just because a policy is well-intentioned doesn鈥檛 mean that it will result in a good outcome.鈥�</p> <p>This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the European Union鈥檚 Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.</p> <h3><a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2022-04-21/reminders-to-drive-safely-led-to-more-car-crashes-in-texas-study-finds">Read more about the study in the <em>Los Angeles Times</em></a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 22 Apr 2022 16:49:53 +0000 geoff.vendeville 174248 at With undergraduate's help, U of T economist uses AI to supercharge his research on Canada's economic history /news/undergraduate-s-help-u-t-economist-uses-ai-supercharge-his-research-canada-s-economic-history <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">With undergraduate's help, U of T economist uses AI to supercharge his research on Canada's economic history</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/UTM_DevRouxMaharaj_NickZammit.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=HO9l-qfi 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/UTM_DevRouxMaharaj_NickZammit.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=VlWrvO9r 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/UTM_DevRouxMaharaj_NickZammit.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=XSnuIi04 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/UTM_DevRouxMaharaj_NickZammit.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=HO9l-qfi" alt="Dev'Roux Maharaj and Nicholas Zammit "> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-11-22T12:16:20-05:00" title="Monday, November 22, 2021 - 12:16" class="datetime">Mon, 11/22/2021 - 12:16</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Using machine learning, undergraduate student Dev'Roux Maharaj (left) helped Nicholas Zammit (right), of U of T Mississauga's department of economics, speed up his research on Canada's economic history (handout/photo of Zammit by Blake Eligh)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/blake-eligh" hreflang="en">Blake Eligh</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/machine-learning" hreflang="en">machine learning</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Nicholas Zammit</strong>&nbsp;of the 重口味SM Mississauga is aiming to shed light on Canada's economic history circa the First World War by drawing on mountains of government data&nbsp;including everything from labour and steel to beer kegs imports.&nbsp;</p> <p>For years, Zammit had been manually entering trade volume data into spreadsheets, a format that allowed him to do an economic analysis. It was a process so cumbersome he estimates it would have taken one researcher more than 50 years to process a small segment of his sample data.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e鈥檝e got the price and quantity of every good traded between Canada and every other country,鈥� said Zammit, an assistant professor, teaching stream in U of T Mississauga's department of economics. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a very big dataset with a lot of data points.鈥�</p> <p>Then <strong>Dev'Roux Maharaj </strong>came along. The undergraduate student in economics and political science, who worked part-time at Amazon's Mississauga operations, helped adapt a web-based machine learning tool developed by the online retail giant for its business clients to help with Zammit's research. The result was nothing short of transformational, Zammit said.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e were going to focus on the war period, but given how successful the software is for us, we might go back to 1870,鈥� he&nbsp;said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 blossoming, hopefully, into multiple papers.鈥�</p> <p>Maharaj, now a research assistant on Zammit's project,&nbsp;had worked with Amazon鈥檚 customer service team before moving to Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing arm of the company. It was there he saw an opportunity to apply AWS technology to Zammit鈥檚 data conundrum.&nbsp;</p> <p>The solution was Textract, an AWS tool used by organizations, such as insurance companies, to automate and standardize collection of data from forms and other documents.</p> <p>Maharaj looked to apply Textract鈥檚 machine learning abilities to the information contained in the trade volume tables. He connected with the Cloud Innovation Centre at the University of British Columbia, which was working to refine Textract鈥檚 data collection capabilities, to test the technology with the trade volume information.</p> <p>What used to take Zammit three years of tedious data entry can now be accomplished in four months. 鈥淲e can scan 500 documents in less than 45 minutes,鈥� Maharaj said.&nbsp;</p> <p>With just two clicks, the research team can now quickly and easily upload the trade volume PDFs and convert the information for use in an Excel workbook. The process also gives the researchers the ability to easily filter the results.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淣ow the data is organized in the exact format that we need it to be,鈥� Maharaj said. 鈥淭he cloud has enabled us to put this project on steroids.鈥�</p> <p>Zammit noted that the project has also created research opportunities for students to participate and gain valuable experience working with economic data.</p> <p>The project's growing team of 175 volunteer research&nbsp;assistants manage quality assurance by conducting comparative spot checks. Maharaj estimates Textract鈥檚 accuracy rate to be between 93 and 95 per cent.</p> <p>For his part, Maharaj has been able to parlay skills learned on the project into an internship with RBC.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淢aking training plans, looking at Excel data and macros 鈥� it鈥檚 the same thing 鈥� process automation,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese skills are very applicable to the workforce, and we鈥檙e giving students those skills as well.鈥�&nbsp;</p> <p>Zammit鈥檚 current research, which focuses on trade diversion and loss in the British dominions during the First World War, draws on primary sources like the Canada trade volumes. The digitized federal government documents span nearly 100&nbsp;years, from 1870 onwards.&nbsp;</p> <p>The economic historian hopes to shed new light on how costly trade diversions or sanctions can be for countries engaged in war.</p> <p>Zammit says the digital tool has reduced the cost of collecting information and increased the volume of available data, offering the researchers new opportunities to compare with modern economic phenomenon.</p> <p>The researchers hope to release preliminary results from their analysis early next year.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 22 Nov 2021 17:16:20 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301228 at In just four hours, U of T alumnus Zain Manji co-created an app to help Canadians find vaccine clinics /news/just-four-hours-u-t-alumnus-zain-manji-co-created-app-help-canadians-find-vaccine-clinics <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">In just four hours, U of T alumnus Zain Manji co-created an app to help Canadians find vaccine clinics</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1212575328.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=UFpgG9QZ 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1212575328.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=v7usUUa- 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1212575328.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=LCFDyuUB 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1212575328.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=UFpgG9QZ" alt="Vaccine app"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-05-31T15:01:40-04:00" title="Monday, May 31, 2021 - 15:01" class="datetime">Mon, 05/31/2021 - 15:01</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Working with co-developer Ashish Yelekar, U of T alumnus Zain Manji developed an app that allows Canadians to text their postal codes to receive information about the three nearest vaccine clinics (photo by Yiu Yu Hoi/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/michael-mckinnon" hreflang="en">Michael McKinnon</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innis-college" hreflang="en">Innis College</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Equipped with a computer science and economics degree and driven by an urge to help, 重口味SM alumnus <strong>Zain Manji</strong>&nbsp;recently set out to see how quickly he could solve some of the confusion around COVID-19 vaccine availability.</p> <p>Just four hours later,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.findmyvaccine.ca/">Find My Vaccine</a>&nbsp;was born.</p> <p>鈥淭he response has been really, really great,鈥� says Manji, who earned his honours bachelor of science in 2016 as a member of&nbsp;Innis College and developed Find My Vaccine with Ashish Yelekar.</p> <p>鈥淲e get a ton of messages daily thanking us for making this tool, saying it鈥檚 made it so much easier to book a COVID vaccine. All these messages really make us feel great and it's super, super fulfilling.鈥�</p> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <p><img alt="Zain Manji" class="media-element file-media-original lazy" data-delta="1" height="300" loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-04/gpMiecyD-crop.jpeg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="200"><em>Zain Manji</em></p> </div> <p>Find My Vaccine is simple: Users input or text their postal code to 1-833-356-1683 and immediately receive the addresses of the three nearest vaccine clinics. The site launched May 7 in Ontario and British Columbia and expanded to the rest of Canada on May 12, racking up more than 130,000 users in the first five days alone. Word spread in part <a href="/news/texting-tool-built-u-t-alumnus-helps-canadians-find-nearest-vaccine-clinic-toronto-star">through media coverage in the&nbsp;<em>Toronto Star</em></a>&nbsp;<a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/we-whipped-up-an-app-in-about-three-hours-engineer-creates-tool-that-finds-nearby-vaccine-clinics-in-ontario-1.5410366">and&nbsp;CTV News</a>.</p> <p>It鈥檚 his first pandemic-related app, but, since 2019, Manji has been putting his computer science and economics background to good use with Lazer Technologies, the company he founded. With a team of product engineers with backgrounds from Facebook, Google, Instagram, Apple and more, Lazer has built digital products for such companies as the Weather Network, RBC and Air Miles.</p> <p>Before that, he co-founded 鈥� and since sold 鈥� Fiix, a company that brought licensed mechanics to people鈥檚 homes for car repairs.</p> <p>鈥淥ver the years, people absolutely loved the service,鈥� Manji wrote of Fiix in September 2019. 鈥淲e serviced over 8,000 customers, received over 500 5-star reviews, landed clients like Uber and Car2Go, helped mechanics earn twice the industry average, and overall, made the process of getting your car fixed significantly better than the standard.鈥�</p> <p>In 2017, he was one of four U of T developers named to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.evokecanada.com/">Developer 30 Under 30鈥痩ist</a>. The list, which&nbsp;celebrates Canada's next generation of software stars,&nbsp;was put together by Plastic Mobile and developers were profiled in鈥�<em>Canadian Business</em> magazine.</p> <p>U of T wasn鈥檛 all work and no play, though. Manji was also the 2016 重口味SM Male Athlete of the Year and the 2013-2016 Ontario University Tennis Singles Champion.</p> <p>Today, he credits the combination of his two majors at U of T for much of his success.</p> <p>鈥淐omputer science and economics are a great pair. When you're building an actual business, those two come in handy quite a bit 鈥� how to build a product but also how to grow a product,鈥� he says.</p> <p>鈥淥n the computer science side, you can really relate well because you know how to build a product and to build it in the right way 鈥� you learn how to build a product so that users love it. And on the economic side, you have everything that supplements the growth of your product. And both of those things really, really match well.鈥�</p> <p>Despite the success of Find My Vaccine, Manji says he hopes it鈥檚 the only COVID-19 app he makes.</p> <p>鈥淚'm hoping this whole COVID thing ends soon, so I don't want to plan another app, to be honest.鈥�&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 31 May 2021 19:01:40 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301367 at Thinking inside the box? U of T researchers find most CEOs are internal hires /news/thinking-inside-box-u-t-researchers-find-most-ceos-are-internal-hires <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Thinking inside the box? U of T researchers find most CEOs are internal hires</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1164781477.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=NJ1dqIOX 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1164781477.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=8OwD8cIY 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1164781477.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=TFe-iFOJ 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/GettyImages-1164781477.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=NJ1dqIOX" alt="A CEO in a business meeting"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-05-11T14:03:30-04:00" title="Tuesday, May 11, 2021 - 14:03" class="datetime">Tue, 05/11/2021 - 14:03</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>(Photo by VM via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/cynthia-macdonald" hreflang="en">Cynthia Macdonald</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When hiring&nbsp;a new chief executive officer, companies tend to draw from a surprisingly small pool of candidates&nbsp;鈥� most of whom are insiders.</p> <p>While it鈥檚 easier than ever for CEOs&nbsp;to move from one firm to another&nbsp;鈥� leadership skills&nbsp;can be remarkably similar across firms&nbsp;鈥�&nbsp;the majority of CEOs of companies in the S&amp;P 500 index are actually current or former employees of the firm.</p> <p>That鈥檚 according to research&nbsp;by&nbsp;<strong>Peter Cziraki,</strong> assistant professor of economics in the 重口味SM鈥檚 Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, and&nbsp;Dirk Jenter, an associate professor at&nbsp;the London School of Economics.</p> <p>Their work, outlined in a recent working paper, suggests that more than 80 per cent of CEOs at S&amp;P 500 companies during the period 1993 to 2012 had entered their positions as employees or board members. The figure rose to 90 per cent when outsiders with a prior or board connection were factored in. Only about three per cent arrived at a company after having been poached from another firm.</p> <p>Jenter and Cziraki say they were initially curious not about how CEOs came to companies 鈥� but why they鈥檇 left them.</p> <p>鈥淚n research presentations, we鈥檇 heard it proposed that maybe it鈥檚 not that they got fired, but that they got a job at another company,鈥� Cziraki says. 鈥淲e knew from the data and from talking to practitioners that that鈥檚 not what happens. But we didn鈥檛 have a paper to point to as a reference.鈥�</p> <p>One incentive to hire internally may be that such hires are generally paid less. That鈥檚 because&nbsp;outsiders often need to be lured away from comfortable situations and may also be fielding offers from other companies. But Cziraki says the pay difference is not as significant as some might think. Internal hires received, on average, $2 million less per year during the period under analysis, which is less than one per cent of an S&amp;P 500 company鈥檚 annual market value during the study period.</p> <p>Familiar faces also reduce a company鈥檚 exposure to risk.</p> <p>鈥淚nitially, when a search process starts, everybody鈥檚 most interested in finding someone who thinks outside the box,鈥� Cziraki says, citing numerous conversations he鈥檚 had with industry insiders. 鈥淏ut then towards the end, when it鈥檚 down to two or three candidates, the risk angle really kicks in 鈥� it鈥檚 very rare that you get credit on the upside for a hiring decision, but you do get a lot of blame on the downside. So naturally you鈥檙e going to be risk averse.鈥�</p> <p>When corporate boards do hire from outside, Cziraki continues, it鈥檚 usually because a company is underperforming. At that point, the concept of bold and disruptive thinking may seem more attractive, he says.</p> <p>While Cziraki and Jenter analyzed a period that ended almost a decade ago, the researchers are confident their findings will continue to hold up today.</p> <p>鈥淚 think that, since 2012, the way that CEO hiring is conducted has not changed dramatically in terms of procedures,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n our sample period, there was also a tremendous variation in market and industry conditions鈥� 鈥� for example, the 2008 global financial crisis, the 1997 Asian financial crisis&nbsp;and the dot-com bubble 鈥� 鈥渟o we know we were looking at a period with lots of economic ups and downs.鈥�</p> <p>There have, however,&nbsp;been important changes in the economy over the last decade, which Cziraki plans to explore in further research. Two major changes that could affect how&nbsp;future CEOs are hired: the convulsions caused by the pandemic&nbsp;and a greater move toward diversity.</p> <p>鈥淭here is still a staggering under-representation of women as CEOs, though by the end of our sample it rose from under two per cent to roughly five per cent,鈥� he says.</p> <p>Though the pressure on CEOs is enormous and the hours long, the highest-level executives often prefer to stay with their companies.</p> <p>Cziraki says it鈥檚 not unheard of for a CEO to step down and assume the role of executive chairman, as Jeff Bezos recently did at Amazon, but it鈥檚 also not uncommon to return.</p> <p>鈥淪ometimes what ends up happening is that the former CEO peers over the shoulder of the new person a little bit too much,鈥� says Cziraki, 鈥渁nd then they actually come back. Some people just can鈥檛 let go.鈥�</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 11 May 2021 18:03:30 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301345 at Texting tool built by U of T alumnus helps Canadians find nearest vaccine clinic: Toronto Star /news/texting-tool-built-u-t-alumnus-helps-canadians-find-nearest-vaccine-clinic-toronto-star <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Texting tool built by U of T alumnus helps Canadians find nearest vaccine clinic: Toronto Star</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/gpMiecyD.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=OXaH8hj7 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/gpMiecyD.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9cxCuDxY 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/gpMiecyD.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=iBzNKsEK 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/gpMiecyD.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=OXaH8hj7" alt="Zain Manji"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>wangyana</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-05-04T12:13:09-04:00" title="Tuesday, May 4, 2021 - 12:13" class="datetime">Tue, 05/04/2021 - 12:13</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Zain Manji, who studied computer science and economics at U of T, and business partner Ashish Yelekar built a text-based service to help Ontario residents find the nearest vaccine clinic (photo courtesy of Zain Manji)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/coronavirus" hreflang="en">Coronavirus</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/vaccines" hreflang="en">Vaccines</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">Ontario residents can now find the nearest COVID-19 vaccine clinics by typing&nbsp;a short&nbsp;text message.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Inspired by a similar service in the United States,&nbsp;<b>Zain Manji</b> and Ashish Yelekar, the founders of <a href="https://lazertechnologies.com/">Lazer Technologies</a>, developed a service that allows Ontarians to instantly receive a list of the three nearest vaccine clinics by texting their postal code to 1-833-356-1683, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/05/03/want-to-find-the-nearest-vaccine-site-to-you-they-developed-a-way-to-deliver-the-info-straight-to-your-phone.html?rf">the <i>Toronto Star</i> reported</a>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Manji graduated from the 重口味SM with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science and economics. His company is a digital product studio whose clients have included The Weather Network and Royal Bank of Canada.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">He told <i><a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/we-whipped-up-an-app-in-about-three-hours-engineer-creates-tool-that-finds-nearby-vaccine-clinics-in-ontario-1.5410366">CTV News</a> </i>that he and Yelekar 鈥渨hipped up鈥� the texting tool in a matter of hours. The messages mirror information made publicly available by the government.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The service is currently accessible to those with postal codes in Ontario and British Columbia, and the pair are working on expanding to more provinces and providing more information about eligibility and vaccine type in their text messages, Manji <a href="https://twitter.com/ZainManji?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1388304290071072771%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestar.com%2Fnews%2Fgta%2F2021%2F05%2F03%2Fwant-to-find-the-nearest-vaccine-site-to-you-they-developed-a-way-to-deliver-the-info-straight-to-your-phone.html">wrote on Twitter</a>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">After launching last Friday, more than 85,000 people texted in over the weekend, he told the<i> Star</i>.</p> <h3 style="margin-bottom: 11px;"><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/05/03/want-to-find-the-nearest-vaccine-site-to-you-they-developed-a-way-to-deliver-the-info-straight-to-your-phone.html?rf">Read more in the <i>Toronto Star</i></a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 04 May 2021 16:13:09 +0000 wangyana 301431 at U of T driver attention study could help cities turn the corner on road safety /news/u-t-driver-attention-study-could-help-cities-turn-corner-road-safety <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T driver attention study could help cities turn the corner on road safety</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/GettyImages-947188766.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=4r6gTYW1 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/GettyImages-947188766.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=BT2qWtGs 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/GettyImages-947188766.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=t6M9ci65 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/GettyImages-947188766.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=4r6gTYW1" alt="A woman looks out the windshield of her vehicle"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-02-22T15:31:50-05:00" title="Monday, February 22, 2021 - 15:31" class="datetime">Mon, 02/22/2021 - 15:31</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">To better understand vehicle accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians, researchers at U of T are working with the City of Guelph to study how drivers' attention and gaze are affected at intersections (photo by Massimo Colombo/Getty Images)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/coronavirus" hreflang="en">Coronavirus</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economics" hreflang="en">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/geography-and-planning" hreflang="en">Geography and Planning</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mechanical-industrial-engineering" hreflang="en">Mechanical &amp; Industrial Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/psychiatry" hreflang="en">Psychiatry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Motorists preparing to turn at an intersection must quickly process several pieces of information before making their move: traffic signals, traffic signs, pedestrians, cyclists and, of course, other vehicles.</p> <p>But if drivers become overloaded with information, the results can be deadly 鈥� and it鈥檚 often pedestrians and cyclists who pay the price.</p> <p>Canadian and international studies show that driver inattention is a leading cause for collisions with pedestrians and cyclists 鈥� including those who were later identified as having right of way.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Donmez.jpg" alt="Birsen Donmez">鈥淚t鈥檚 apparent that at certain intersections, we鈥檙e hitting the limits of drivers鈥� information-processing abilities,鈥� says Professor <strong>Birsen Donmez</strong> of the 重口味SM鈥檚 department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭here are so many things one has to pay attention to 鈥� and drivers are failing to do so given the issues we鈥檙e seeing with pedestrian and cyclist crashes.鈥�</p> <p>Donmez, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Human Factors and Transportation, leads an interdisciplinary research team that is collaborating with the City of Guelph to evaluate driver attention and gaze towards pedestrians and cyclists at intersections. The experiment will use eye-tracking equipment&nbsp;to better understand the interplay between driver attention, infrastructure design and collisions.</p> <p>Funded by $25,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada鈥檚 (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grants program, the study will see Donmez team up with Professor <strong>Jay Pratt</strong> of the department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, Associate Professor <strong>Paul Hess </strong>of the department of geography and planning in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and <strong>Liraz Fridman</strong>, transportation safety specialist with the City of Guelph and adjunct professor in U of T鈥檚 department of mechanical and industrial engineering.</p> <p>鈥淎ddressing society鈥檚 biggest challenges often requires researchers to work across disciplines and, importantly, in partnership with stakeholders beyond academia,鈥� says Professor <strong>Markus Bussmann</strong>, chair of the department of mechanical and industrial engineering.</p> <p>鈥淧rofessor Donmez鈥檚 study on road safety 鈥� an issue of importance to each one of us 鈥� exemplifies the approach by combining innovative use of technology with interdisciplinary scholarship and collaboration with a municipal partner.鈥�</p> <p>It鈥檚 one of six U of T-led initiatives to receive one-year Partnership Engage Grants, which are awarded quarterly to help researchers conduct timely and short-term research with a partner organization from the public, private or not-for-profit sectors. Four of the U of T projects received funding via the Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative, which aims to support social sciences and humanities research on the impacts of the pandemic.</p> <p>鈥淚 look forward to the outcome of this important project 鈥� and indeed all of the U of T-led projects that have received support from the SSHRC鈥檚 Partnership Engage Grants program,鈥� says <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> <strong>Ted Sargent</strong>, U of T鈥檚 vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.</p> <p>Over the past few years, Donmez and her team at the <a href="https://hfast.mie.utoronto.ca/">Human Factors and Applied Statistics Lab</a> have been studying driver attention using tools such as driving simulators and eye-tracking wearables that examine where drivers look 鈥� and don鈥檛 look 鈥� when on the road. Their projects include <a href="/news/more-half-toronto-drivers-u-t-study-didn-t-look-cyclists-and-pedestrians-turning-right">a 2018 study, run in Toronto, in which eye-tracking equipment and glasses were used to assess where drivers allotted their visual attentions on the road</a>.</p> <p>However, the SSHRC-funded study is the first to involve a municipal partner.</p> <p>鈥淭he City of Guelph has evidence on traffic conflict data 鈥� which is high-level data 鈥� but they want to understand the issue from driver behaviour and attention perspectives,鈥� Donmez says.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Backseat_view.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>The study&nbsp;will use eye-tracking equipment to monitor what drivers are looking at while they are behind the wheel (photo courtesy of&nbsp;Birsen Donmez)</em></p> <p>For the Guelph study, around 50 participants will drive a pre-assigned route while wearing&nbsp;eye-tracking glasses in a vehicle fitted with cameras capturing internal and external scenes. Participants will drive for around 30 to 40 minutes each, with a break in between to prevent fatigue.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/MTE_JG.jpg" alt>鈥淲e have a camera that faces the driver, which gives us information about their body position, head movement, emotional reactions and so on, and we have a road-facing camera which gives us a dashboard view to see objectively what the scene is in front of the vehicle as the person drives,鈥� says <strong>Joelle Girgis</strong>, a second-year master鈥檚 student in Donmez鈥檚 lab who will be leading the data collection and analysis. 鈥淭he most critical equipment would be the eye-tracking glasses. These glasses will give us a view of what drivers are looking at, even as they move their heads.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭his way, we know both what the objective road scene is in front of them, as well as where they鈥檙e gazing specifically.鈥�</p> <p>Once the data is collected, drivers鈥� turns at intersections will be coded according to whether they gazed at areas that were previously identified as being important. &nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭he question we鈥檙e asking is: Did they or did they not look at certain critical areas where a pedestrian or cyclist may appear?鈥� says Girgis, whose master鈥檚 thesis will focus on the study. 鈥淪o, we鈥檒l view the videos and decide on whether the driver did or did not pay attention or directly gaze at a pre-determined area of importance.</p> <p>鈥淭hat gives us information that we can then turn into trends and statistics to see gaps. For example, drivers might not be checking their blind spot or right mirror when they鈥檙e stopped at a red light and need to turn right; maybe they鈥檙e overwhelmed; maybe there鈥檚 a lot of traffic coming from the left side; they鈥檙e also trying not to hit a pedestrian in front of them.</p> <p>鈥淪o, there are all these things related to cognitive load that we might be able to infer based on the specific circumstance of where they are 鈥� and are not 鈥� looking.鈥�</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/P4100482.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>A camera facing&nbsp;the driver provides data&nbsp;about body position, head movement and emotional reactions. A road-facing camera, meanwhile,&nbsp;allows researchers to monitor the scene in front of the vehicle (photo courtesy of&nbsp;Birsen Donmez)</em></p> <p>Girgis says driving routes and intersections will be chosen based on data about problem areas, as well as to cover different kinds of infrastructure and turn situations.</p> <p>"There are certain intersections in Guelph where if a pedestrian or cyclist does get struck, the chances of them getting injured are high,鈥� says Girgis, citing one particular Guelph intersection in which the nine vehicle-cyclist collisions reported between 2015 and 2019 all resulted in injuries to the cyclist.</p> <p>鈥淭hese are priority intersections where we鈥檇 like to understand what it is that鈥檚 causing the severity of collisions between vehicles and vulnerable road users.鈥�</p> <p>Girgis says the goal is to complete the driver data collection between April and September while respecting COVID-19 public health guidelines.</p> <p>Donmez notes that driving data collected by the researchers still represents a 鈥渂est-case scenario鈥� since it won鈥檛 be able to take into account common in-car distractions such as cell phones and conversations with passengers.</p> <p>鈥淭he participants aren鈥檛 doing anything else. They鈥檙e just focusing on their driving. Although it is an unfamiliar vehicle 鈥� so there鈥檚 that caveat there 鈥� I would expect that they have a lot less failures in our study compared to how they normally drive,鈥� she says, adding that future studies may drill down on particular problem areas with the ultimate goal of informing policy and infrastructure design.</p> <p>What might future solutions look like? Donmez says they generally come down to creating separation between drivers and vulnerable road users 鈥� both physically and in time.</p> <p>鈥淚f you have barriers, you separate traffic,鈥� Donmez says referring to the physical aspect. 鈥淏ut at intersections, the three modes of transportation will still merge. One of the issues is that cars can move at the same time as cyclists and pedestrians, so they鈥檙e not separated. In these cases, signals could be used to control traffic and decrease chances of conflict 鈥� that鈥檚 separation in time.鈥�</p> <p>She says her research shouldn鈥檛 be interpreted as blaming drivers. Rather, its focus is on finding ways to reduce the number of things competing for drivers鈥� attention 鈥� with the result being a safer environment for everyone.</p> <p>鈥淚 walk everywhere in Toronto 鈥� or I used to a lot anyway, pre-pandemic 鈥� and over the years I鈥檝e been starting to feel unsafe at certain intersections,鈥� Donmez says, noting that Pratt, her research colleague, is an avid cyclist.</p> <p>鈥淚 think we all have a stake in this as users of roadways and we all have a passion for this topic.鈥�</p> <hr> <p><strong>The following U of T-led projects received SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants:</strong></p> <p><em>SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Birsen Donmez</strong>, department of mechanical and industrial engineering, Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, in partnership with the City of Guelph: <em>Informing the design of safe intersections: An on-road instrumented vehicle study investigating driver attentional failures toward vulnerable road users</em></li> <li><strong>Lori Ross,</strong> Dalla Lana School of Public Health, in partnership with St. Stephen鈥檚 Community House: <em>The political economy of precarious work: Stories of economic insecurity and work among sexual minority men</em></li> </ul> <p><em>SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative</em></p> <ul> <li><strong>Cassie Brownell</strong>, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, in partnership with Be Loud Studios: <em>Examining how children broadcast personal and community stories in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and global demonstrations for racial justice</em></li> <li><strong>Max Mishler</strong>, department of history, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, in partnership with Focus Media Arts Centre: <em>Interlocking histories of social inequality and public health in Regent Park</em></li> <li><strong>Michael Smart</strong>, department of economics, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, in partnership with the Canadian Tax Foundation: <em>Fiscal policy implications of the pandemic</em></li> <li><strong>Sophie Soklaridis</strong>, department of psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, in partnership with the Canadian Medical Association: <em>Identifying and addressing intersecting barriers of gender, sex and race to academic productivity in Canadian faculties of medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic</em></li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 22 Feb 2021 20:31:50 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 168423 at