Grad Student Research – Current Grad Students https://gradstudents.carleton.ca Carleton University Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:51:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.1 Maintaining the Rideau Canal Skateway…with Robots? https://newsroom.carleton.ca/story/maintaining-rideau-canal-skateway-robots/#new_tab Wed, 31 Jan 2024 14:39:50 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=56272 The 45th Annual Industrial Design Grad Show https://carleton.ca/id/grad_show_2023/#new_tab Mon, 19 Jun 2023 18:42:39 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55650 Convocation Spring 2023: Master’s Student Creates Prototype Weather GIS for Inuit Hunters https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/2023/convocation-spring-2023-masters-student-creates-prototype-weather-gis-for-inuit-hunters/ Mon, 12 Jun 2023 20:36:56 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55623 By Ellen Tsaprailis

Julia Conzon didn’t intend to pursue a graduate degree. But when she saw a gap between her work in geographic information systems (GIS) with the federal government and engaging with communities, she found a bridge through an Indigenous community request to Carleton’s department of Geography and Environmental Sciences.

This month, Conzon will receive her Master of Science in Geography with a Collaborative Specialization in Data Science and credits finding alignment through Carleton’s research opportunity and her computer programming skills was the spark to pursue graduate studies.

Julia Conzon graduates with her Master of Science in Geography with a Collaborative Specialization in Data Science from Carleton University

“I saw Professor Peter Pulsifer’s portfolio and it really aligned with the goals that I wanted to pursue,” says Conzon. “Being able to program and build technical solutions, but through a community-based and community-led approach.”

A chat together led to Pulsifier connecting Conzon with a project that sparked the bridging of the gap she was looking to dive into.

“The community came to us to help them with their efforts for self determination on a project organized and led by the Nunavut-based Ittaq Heritage and Research Centre. The centre had installed five weather stations across their lands on Baffin Island to collect data on the environment but they were having issues being able to present the information and use it more readily in day-to-day decision-making.”

The ability to easily access real-time weather updates is critical to Inuit hunters.

This issue led to Conzon’s research which was encapsulated in her thesis titled, Towards Co-Production of a Geographic Information System to Support Mobilizing Inuit Knowledge for Community-Led Land-Based and Guardian Programs: A Case with Clyde River Inuit Hunters in Nunavut, Canada. Conzon was able to collaboratively design and develop a custom, interactive GIS called “Wavy” (one prototype pictured below) to visualize human-relevant environmental variables—specifically winds and wave heights to ease the access to reliable local weather information in Clyde River, Nunavut.

Conzon gained programming experience while working for the federal government in building dashboards and data processing pipelines. These technical skills came in handy as she worked on developing different ways of presenting the information easiest to interpret for the Inuit hunters.

Having successfully defended her thesis and earned her master’s, Conzon is currently working in Kelowna, B.C. as a Geographic Information System program manager with The Firelight Group —an Indigenous-owned consulting group that works with Indigenous communities to provide policy, planning, mapping, negotiation and advisory services.

In addition to leading a team of mappers, she is continuing to monitor her thesis project to make sure that it gets to a viable state for use by Clyde River Inuit Hunters.

Immersion into the Environment Was Key to Success
Conzon says she had to rethink the position of a researcher relative to working with Indigenous communities.

“I’m someone who wants to get things done and I think it was important for me to recognize the importance of patience. From the design of the research all the way to the end results were influenced by our Indigenous partners. They advised how to recruit participants and even led the recruitment and every kind of method I applied. I discussed and confirmed that they felt comfortable with my methods and refined things where needed,” says Conzon.

“I think it’s really important as a developer and programmer producing these types of tools that you have to immerse yourself in these communities to understand how to make a usable and useful digital product.”

Spatial extent and research study area defined by Ittaq Heritage and Research Centre

In a Wavy prototype, users could change the colour ramps of the wind speed raster and wave height raster map layers

In a Wavy prototype, users could change the animations of the wind streamline map layer

Photos of different waves observed

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Convocation Spring 2023: University Medallist for Outstanding Graduate Work (Master’s Level) https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/2023/convocation-spring-2023-university-medallist-for-outstanding-graduate-work-masters-level/ Mon, 12 Jun 2023 17:25:44 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55598 The University Medal for Outstanding Graduate Work (Master’s Level) is awarded to a graduating master’s student with an outstanding thesis or research essay work.

Lisa Sarraf
Master of Arts, Psychology

Thesis: The Mediating Effect of Coping on the Relationship Between High School Victimization and Psychological Distress in Early Adulthood: Does Social Support Reduce Maladaptive Coping?

“I am greatly honoured to be selected for this medal and for the opportunity to pursue my master’s studies in the Department of Psychology at Carleton—an environment that is intellectually stimulating and rewarding. My master’s experience was a pleasant and unforgettable journey in my life. I am profoundly thankful to my remarkable supervisor Associate Prof. Tina Daniels and my master’s thesis committee members Prof. Shelley Brown and Associate Prof. Dale Spencer for their guidance, support, and encouragement. Receiving this university medal is truly a recognition of my work and dedication, which encourages me to continue my research and help the vulnerable in my community.”

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HCI Master’s Student Awarded Funding for EDI-Related Research https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/2023/hci-masters-student-awarded-funding-for-edi-related-research/ Wed, 31 May 2023 17:00:55 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55520 Carleton has awarded six students funding to support summer research projects related to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

The Student Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Research Award responds to a specific recommendation in Carleton’s EDI Action Plan and is a landmark recognition for EDI scholarship in Ontario higher education. Students will present their research process and findings during Carleton’s annual Inclusion Week in Fall 2023. The award is funded by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) and administered by the Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities.

HCI master’s student Pallavi Sodhi has received EDI funding from Carleton for her research on gaming accessibility

Graduate Student Recipient
Pallavi Sodhi is a first-year master’s student in the Human-Computer Interaction program. Through her research, Sodhi will be exploring accessibility in video games: understanding what accessibility features are available, how they are designed, and what their benefits and limitations are from the perspective of those who create and play them.

“The importance of accessibility in games cannot be overstated since it allows games to be inclusive to everyone,” says Sodhi. “It should be possible for all individuals to enjoy and fully participate in the gaming experience, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.”

Working with both the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Engineering & Design, and Associate Professor in the School of Information Technology Audrey Girouard and Assistant Professor in the School of Information Technology David Thue, Sodhi’s research will aid in developing an accessibility-focused framework for game designers to create new customizable accessibility features for players.

“We see Pallavi’s project as a key step toward making video games more accessible to a wider range of players,” says Thue.

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Grad Student Poster Award Winners Announced from Data Day 9.0 https://science.carleton.ca/dataday9/#new_tab Fri, 28 Apr 2023 15:46:21 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55446 Biology PhD Student Receives Globalink Research Award to Study Conservation Science in Australia https://carleton.ca/ci/2023/conservation-science-in-australia/#new_tab Wed, 19 Apr 2023 21:00:17 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55426 PhD Student Jessica Davis Top 25 SSHRC Storytellers Challenge Finalist https://carleton.ca/npsia/2023/phd-student-jessica-davis-nominated-top-25-sshrc-storytellers-challenge-finalist/#new_tab Wed, 19 Apr 2023 18:06:13 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55365 The 2023 John Adjeleian Lecture and Awards Event https://carleton.ca/cee/2023/03/the-2023-john-adjeleian-lecture-and-awards-event/#new_tab Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:00:56 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55334 The 2023 Winners of Carleton University’s Three Minute Thesis Contest https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/2023/the-2023-winners-of-carleton-universitys-three-minute-thesis-contest/ Mon, 20 Mar 2023 19:00:36 +0000 https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/?p=55220 On March 17, 2023, Carleton’s Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs hosted its first in-person Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition since 2019.

The competition saw two semi-final rounds before the top 10 finalists took to the stage. Contest prizes consist of one first-place prize of $750, one second-place prize of $400, one third-place prize of $250, and one “people’s choice” prize of $150.

This year’s winners are:

First Place: Georgia Loewen, student in Master of Human-Computer Interaction

Georgia’s presentation is titled, Video Game Accessibility and Wearable Technology. Watch the video here.

Second Place and People’s Choice Winner: Panashe Kupakuwana, student in Master of Science in Biology

Panashe’s presentation is titled, A Guide on How to Live Without Oxygen. Watch the video here.

Third Place: Jennie Siushansian, student in Master of Arts in Communication

Jennie’s presentation is titled, I Just Can’t Stand Seeing and Hearing It: A Critical Examination of Non-Autistic Actors Portraying Autistic Characters On-Screen. Watch the video here.

Founded by the University of Queensland in Australia, 3MT celebrates graduate student research and takes place at universities around the world. Participants have to summarize their research in no more than 180 seconds.

Judges for the finals were:

Tim Tierney, City of Ottawa Councillor; Board Member and Ontario Caucus Chair, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Jessie-Lee Wallace, Senior Manager, Communications, University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation; Board Member, HelpAge Canada and Daybreak Housing
John Nelson, Acting Director of Carleton University’s Innovation Hub

The top 10 presentations can be viewed on the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs’ YouTube channel.

Congratulations to our winners and the seven other finalists that include:

Photos by Lindsay Ralph

3MT Information on FGPA’s professional development site

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