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The Futures of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) by 2043 in Canada, and the Potential Implications on Large and Public Companies
Get PDFIt has been almost 20 years since Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) was first coined and introduced as a vehicle to incentivize businesses to make tangible contributions to global challenges, such as the ones outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Since then, ESG assets and ESG-driven investment have steadily grown in the capital markets around the world, including Canada. However, there is also mounting criticism of ESG efforts regarding continued greenwashing practices, poor quality data, and lack of transparency, among others.
This Major Research Project considers some of the most relevant dynamics around ESG and explores the current operating system of ESG in Canada to produce a set of possible scenarios for ESG by 2043. Additionally, this report also articulates high-level potential implications for public and large companies in each one of those possible futures.
A combination of primary and secondary research methods has been undertaken to achieve the project's goal, following principles of strategic foresight, design thinking, and systems thinking. Unstructured interviews and participatory design methods were conducted with knowledgeable individuals in relevant areas for this study to collect primary data. Literature review, environmental scan, horizon scan, and other research methods were also undertaken to collect secondary data and inform various frameworks for sensemaking and scenario generation.
The different analyses and scenarios in this report can be used to strengthen and inform future-oriented strategic plans and help build resilience for the challenges ahead. Some key insights in this report include i) a set of systemic archetypes used to identify key patterns in a highly complex, dynamic topic, such as ESG, ii) an updated map of key ESG actors in the Canadian context, iii) a set of relevant trends potentially shaping the future of ESG, and iv) a set of four possible and yet distinctive futures of ESG in Canada, with high-level potential implications for each scenario
To Witness Laxyip: Continuous Gitxsan Material Practices
Get PDFFollowing alongside Gitxsan thinkers Xsiwis Dr. M. Jane Smith, Hahl Yee Doreen Jensen, and the Delgamuukw court case, To Witness Laxyip draws together significant Gitxsan history along with visual works to discuss continuing relations and realities within a changing Laxyip (ancestral Gitxsan Lands). Indigenous land-based relational material practices are discussed while current, altered, land relations and climate anxieties are addressed through visual works. The Gitxsan methodologies of recognition and validation were followed, as stated by Delgamuukw, which include the display of crests or visual connections, the formal telling of histories, the performance of songs and compositions, and finally to be witnessed and to give offerings. Each of these steps has been attended to through the ancient practices of stitching, weaving, carving, mixed with the new strategies of audio, video, and photo work
Touching Matters: Caste and Complicity
Get PDF“Touching Matters” is a research project that explores the intra-actions between the Indian caste system, the associated practice of untouchability and the figure of the sacred cow in the Hindu religion. In this study, traditional academic methods are used in exploring the history of the caste system and its shifting modalities, by exploring concepts such as purity, hierarchy, identity and agency. This research combines B.R. Ambedkar’s theory of the origins of the Untouchable and the emergence of untouchability, with Judith Butler’s concept of the materiality of the body and Karen Barad’s concept of intra-actions
A Bed. A Flow. A Band.
Get PDFA Bed. A Flow. A Band. is a research-creation project that explores a multigenerational practice that my family calls aller aux roches; picking and archiving rocks as works of art. Using decolonial qualitative research methods (Tuck, McKenzie, McCoy, Goeman, Kitchin), it creates a dialogue between this intergenerational practice and my settler- colonial French-Canadian ancestry spanning 13 generations (1650) marked by land exploitation. By examining my family’s rock-picking tradition, A Bed. A Flow. A Band. explores my French-Canadian settler identity and genealogy, my family’s connection to exploitation and extraction, and challenges settler-colonial methods of archiving. The thesis exhibition employs experimental techniques and research such as genealogy, documentation, installation, poetry, archiving, mapmaking, data visualization, animation, illustration, music and photography, incorporating them into interdisciplinary works that aim to question, explore and transform a multigenerational tradition into a land-conscious practice that can be passed on to the next generation
DAOs & Co-ops: How to learn from the past to create viable economic communities for the future
Get PDFThis research explores how decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and Cooperative (Co-op) models can learn from each other to impact the future of community and opportunity. The findings are grounded in human-centred design, systems thinking, foresight and innovation by comparing and contrasting the two models. The insights & accessible pathways uncovered will contribute to creating healthy communities and equitable opportunities as the internet evolves. Furthermore, the results may inspire and guide future community builders and member-centred creators within emergent online spaces. Both DAOs and Co-ops have similar ambitions and starting points, and each has strengths that can complement the other's weaknesses. The goal is to highlight that DAOs and Co-ops have more similarities than differences and can work together to create a more equitable society
Arendt and the Makers
Get PDFThis thesis project seeks to define and understand the boundaries and practices of online maker communities as sites of arts learning and teaching that exist outside of traditional educational contexts. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s notion of a community defined by a gathering of peers, I suggest that Maker communities rely on shared values in relation to the practice of making through open source educational models which utilize the internet as a public space of participation in contrast to the restricted access of the academy or earlier apprenticeship models. I argue for an understanding of maker communities that is separate from replication focused DIY content through their emphasis on community members being able to contribute incremental changes or development to ongoing, collectively designed, but individually created projects
Visual Manifestation of Things Unseen: Relating Abstraction and Trauma
Get PDFNoticing an upsurge in abstract, expressionist painting two decades into a new millennium inspires an examination of the effect of certain sociocultural events on the subject matter and style of expression chosen by painters. There may be a correlation between political, cultural, or psychological unrest and the appearance of abstraction in painting. Periods of trauma seem to spur an interest in things unseen and an increased reference to accessing the spiritual realm as remedy for existential crisis. By contrasting the substance and circumstances that define Wassily Kandinsky’s use of abstraction with similarly motivated examples of contemporary abstraction – a comparison of artists living and working a century apart – a connection between trauma, spirituality, and abstraction is made visible
"12" Music Visualisation: Exploring Generative and Non-Generative techniques within a rhythmic framework in a performative spatial setting.
Get PDFMusic pieces composed in the past were typically of longer duration with intricate musical nuances embedded in them, and this often required the listener to pay more attention to the piece in order to better appreciate the composition. Stalling attention spans and ‘Skipping culture’ on most music streaming services today have led to musical compositions being of shorter duration with the choruses composed upfront for the immediate gratification of the listener. Various experiments and explorations are conducted to better visually understand music as part of my research. By projecting visual elements within a performance space I am trying to better emulate music, specifically the aspect of rhythm as rhythm occurs periodically and can be easily predicted by the audience.
Within a performative setting the audience do not have the agency to skip to the next track unlike a streaming service.The primary objective here is to narrow the distance between the audience and the performer, with the help of visuals. The project is an interactive live Audio-Visual performance that exemplifies the concept of rhythm with the help of a spatial- polymeter of ¾ and 4/4 time signatures, to better convey what is felt than heard
Data Shed: An interactive learning journey through data
Get PDFThis research explores how the data collection process has accelerated in the past decade through artificial intelligence, leading to data being a major part of our digital economy. Understanding data and its implications has become crucial for individuals to make informed decisions in their daily lives as technologies have become more and more embedded in our everyday lives. The research aims to encourage users to take control of their data and understand it. I have created an interactive installation named Data Shed that gathers latent data from them and shows how it is collected and visualised, with the user offered the option to own their data. Research creation was used as the methodology for constructing Data Shed
CuriosityXR: Contextualizing Learning through Immersive Mixed Reality Experiences Beyond the Classroom
Get PDFThe focus of education is shifting towards a learner-centered approach that highlights the importance of engagement, interaction, and personalization in learning. This thesis explores new technologies to facilitate immersive, self-directed, curiosity-driven learning experiences aimed at addressing these key factors. I explore the use of Mixed Reality (MR) to build a context-aware system that can support learners’ curiosity and improve knowledge recall. I design and build “Curiosity XR,” an application for MR headsets using a research-through-design methodology. Curiosity XR is also a platform that enables educators to create contextual multi-modal interactive mini-lessons, and learners can engage with these lessons and other AI-assisted learning content. To evaluate my design, I conduct a user participant study followed by interviews. The participants’ responses show higher levels of engagement, curiosity to learn more, and better visual retention of the learning content. I hope this work will inspire others in the MR community and advance the use of MR and AI hybrid designs for the future of curiosity-driven education