Capstone project helps visually impaired individuals see with sound Bryce McGregor, a graduating student from the Biomedical Engineering Technology program, demostrates his sensor device. Graduating Biomedical Engineering Technology students have created a device which detects objects in the immediate walking path of a visually impaired person. The customizable and wearable harness consists of a clip-on ultrasonic sensor which sounds an alert when the person wearing it is approaching a mass. It was designed to take the place of a white cane or walking stick. Instructor Jim Durocher said for their year-end capstone projects, the students were told to consider a disease or disability and improve the quality of their life. “These are more ambitious and higher risk projects. With ambitious projects you’ll often encounter many roadblocks.” But this is the nature of the course said Durocher. “How are you able to adapt around the roadblocks and course correct when something detrimental occurs? To their credit these students have done really well with…
Students develop app to improve health A pair of St. Clair College students have created an app to assist people in taking their medication. The application, named Medify, allows users to add their medications with the date and time they are to be taken in a calendar format. The app also features an option for caregivers to view what medications the user is taking and what medications have been taken on any given day. It was created by Abel Anderson and Hasan Muslemani, two students in the mobile application development program at St. Clair College. Anderson said the idea grew out of addressing the needs of a registered pharmacist, Jody Lecuyer, early last year. “During that time, we talked with her and got a general idea of the project she wanted. Later on, at the beginning of the past semester, we met with her again and started making plans for the project itself,” said Anderson. This process involved discussing features that would be provided on the app between himself and partner Muslemani, drawing prototypes to…
Return to campus plans taking shape The pedestrian promenade at University of Windsor's main campus is pictured. PHOTO BY NICK BRANCACCIO /Windsor Star Wayne State University in Michigan is offering students a $10 incentive to get a COVID-19 vaccine as part of the plan for a return to face-to-face learning this fall. M. Roy Wilson, the school’s president, announced the incentive last week in an email to students. A university spokesman said more than 1,300 students uploaded vaccine verification the first day. “I do not believe we have offered money before as an incentive, certainly not for anything health related,” said Matt Lockwood, the university’s associate vice president of communications. The $10 is placed in a student’s account and can be used immediately on Grubhub or on campus next fall. Lockwood said the idea came out of a virtual meeting about pandemic protocols and vaccine compliance. St. Clair College is pictured, Monday, January 25, 2021. PHOTO BY DAX MELMER /Windsor Star “We were talking…
Science students get creative with microbes Student Shannon Smith designed a poster highlighting the genetics, habitats, and health impacts of yeast, along with — in the section shown — its culinary uses. Undergraduates were encouraged to let their artistic-sides flow for a class project that turned microbiology knowledge into works of art. Terri Lawrence, instructor of the second-year course “Introductory Microbiology,” asked students to create posters or infographics featuring micro-organisms in real-world situations. “Asking them to create these infographics and getting them to use what they had learned in the course deepens their understanding of the information,” says Dr. Lawrence. She says her teaching assistant, fourth-year student Lucas Vajko Siddall, thought up the project and directed the students into translating their knowledge. Vajko Siddall says he assigned all types of microbes — from fungi to prions — to the students and let them create what they wanted. “It just had to be a real-world application,…
Communicating health research - it takes a team At WE-SPARK Health Institute communicating health research, what researchers do and why it’s important is critical to helping translating knowledge and findings into action. Megan Pidgeon, a 3rd year student in the Graphic Design Program in the School of Media, Art & Design at St. Clair College filled a huge gap when joining the WE-SPARK team for a one-month internship providing marketing, media and design expertise. Megan brought her expertise and passion to the table, helping on a number of special projects including WE-SPARK Quarterly Metrics Snapshots, stand-alone graphics and a portfolio of social media tiles. WE-SPARK is already taking advantage of her “Research Happens Here” badge across several of its platforms. “I was so impressed with the quality of Megan’s work and the perspective she brought to our team. She not only designed products that we requested, she helped guide us so that the end result was something we are all excited and proud of” said Karen Metcalfe,…
Biology students win recognition for provincial conference presentations Integrative biology student Cassandra Simone won first-place honours for her presentation in the Ecology and Environment category at Ontario Biology Day. Two science undergraduates won first-place presentation awards at Ontario Biology Day 2021, an annual conference which allows biology students from across the province to showcase their research, engage with others, and get inspired by current research. Integrative biology major Cassandra Simone, a student in the laboratory of Tina Semeniuk, says she was honoured to win in the Ecology and Environment category for presenting her research investigating whether polar bear foraging is facilitating gull predation of Common Eider eggs and what strategies gulls are using during disturbance foraging. “My other objective was to examine the subsequent antipredator responses that eiders display to bears and gulls to determine if gulls are successfully preying on the eider nests or not,” says Simone. “I watched aerial drone video footage,…
Study focuses on attitudes toward physical education that includes children with disabilities Master’s student Danielle Salters is leading research with kinesiology professor Sara Scharoun Benson into attitudes toward inclusive physical education. The project focuses on teachers in training. When UWindsor’s Danielle Salters taught elementary school in London, England, she encountered children who had never participated in physical education with their classmates. “Students with special needs were given another activity and told to go off and play by themselves,” said Salters. “I insisted on including them, and for some, that was a first.” Perspectives on inclusive physical education (PE) are likely formed during a teacher’s own education, says Salters, a Master’s of Human Kinetics student who earned bachelor’s degrees in HK and education at the University of Windsor. So, together with UWindsor kinesiology professor Sara Scharoun Benson, Salters has begun a study on the next generation of teachers’ attitudes about the subject. Dr. Scharoun Benson and Salters…
Volunteer mask makers seek public input Patricia Savage, a member of the Windsor Essex Sewing Force, works on a mask on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor. PHOTO BY DAN JANISSE /Windsor Star A local group of volunteers dedicated to sewing cloth masks and scrub caps is seeking public input about mask comfort and fit for future design purposes. The Windsor Essex Sewing Force recently reached a milestone of having sewed 50,000 masks and caps over the past year. An assortment of masks made by the Windsor Essex Sewing Force are shown on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor. PHOTO BY DAN JANISSE /Windsor Star “Understanding the experience of people in the community is critical as public mask mandates have been shown to be a vital public health tool,” said project lead Ken Drouillard. “We have an unique opportunity to improve the tools for the remainder of this pandemic and prepare for the future.” Anyone who has worn a homemade mask who is interested in taking a brief survey can…
Multitasking pressures underlie distracted driving and “Zoom fatigue,” says researcher Remote work — with its countless online meetings — is taking its toll on employees, says kinesiology professor Francesco Biondi. Four in 10 remote workers report suffering from a sense of physical and mental exhaustion that accompanies prolonged screen engagement and the lack of face-to-face interaction during the workday, says kinesiology professor Francesco Biondi. Millions experience “Zoom fatigue,” named after the video-conferencing platform. “With workplaces becoming increasingly virtual, my focus on understanding human cooperation with machines and systems contributes to understanding how human cognition responds to our increasingly virtual world,” Dr. Biondi writes in an article published Monday in the Conversation, which shares news and views from the academic and research community. While teleworking has its advantages — for example, shorter commutes — it comes with a cost. Biondi notes that the causes of Zoom fatigue remain a mystery, but a contributing factor…
