Scholarship@Western

Hayibo, Koami Soulemane

Pearce, Joshua M.

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Shining a Light on Foam-Based Floating Solar Panels and their 
Interactions with a Body of Water in Canada 
Koami Soulemane Hayibo 
Western University, khayibo@uwo.ca 
Joshua M. Pearce 
Michigan Technological University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Hayibo, Koami Soulemane and Pearce, Joshua M., "Shining a Light on Foam-Based Floating Solar Panels 
and their Interactions with a Body of Water in Canada" (2023). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 413. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/413 
Name: Koami Soulemane Hayibo 
Title: Shining a Light on Foam-Based Floating Solar Panels and 
their Interactions with a Body of Water in Canada   
 
My research focuses on improving the materials used to float photovoltaic 
panels on bodies of water (FPV) to limit water evaporation. From my 
preliminary results, installing solar panels on water surfaces produces 15% 
more energy than solar panels installed on land with the same configuration, 
and at the same time is 90% more efficient in preventing evaporation. 
However, we know little about the interactions between water and the 
different materials used for FPV. Such interactions must be assessed given 
the current demand for green electricity because any systems that produce 
power at the expense of water quality and availability are nevertheless 
detrimental to human needs. My research aims to understand how foam-
based flexible FPV operate in different water conditions in Canada, 
including freezing weather, and their effect on water quality to ensure that 
the technology continues to provide viable green energy while also 
maintaining our water availability. 
 


English

Shining a Light on Foam-Based Floating Solar Panels and their Interactions with a Body of Water in Canada

Deng, Yongqiang, Mr.

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
How does a tiny beam of light make a nuclear power plant safer? 
Yongqiang Deng Mr. 
The University of Western Ontario, ydeng92@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Deng, Yongqiang Mr., "How does a tiny beam of light make a nuclear power plant safer?" (2023). Inspiring 
Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 430. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/430 
 
How does a tiny beam of light make a nuclear power plant safer? 
A fission reactor to a nuclear power plant is a heart to a human body. The safe and effective operation 
of a plant depends on the health of the reactor. One can easily monitor the conditions of the heart through a 
cardiac exam through blood pressure (via blood pressure gauge) and heart sounds (stethoscope). It is more 
difficult to assess the conditions of a reactor due to its high-temperature and high-pressure operational 
environments. My research is to investigate innovative ways to acquire critical information on the reactor 
using Fiber Optic Sensors (FOSs) by shining a tiny beam of light into otherwise difficult-to-reach places, 
to unveil the true conditions of the reactor. Yes, my research would make it possible to enhance the safety 
of nuclear power plants through a tiny beam of light. 


How does a tiny beam of light make a nuclear power plant safer?

Atkinson, Andrea

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Equity in Canadian Postpartum Care Practices 
Andrea Atkinson 
Western University, auher@uwo.ca 
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Citation of this paper: 
Atkinson, Andrea, "Equity in Canadian Postpartum Care Practices" (2023). Inspiring Minds – A Digital 
Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 438. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/438 
Equity in Canadian Postpartum Care Practices 
The birth of a baby is an important transition in life that can bring many emotional, 
physical and relational changes for new parents. In Canada, the postpartum period has lacks 
consistent and comprehensive guidelines for the provision and receipt of maternal care, where 
resources across the country are uneven and not equitable. A qualitative systematic review is 
being undertaken to understand the experiences of postpartum care practices from the 
perspective of Canadian parents and healthcare providers. Thematic analysis will be guided by 
an intersectional lens to highlight health equity issues and disparities in care. Evidence from this 
review can help to support the development of guidelines and policies for the provision of a more 
equitable postpartum model of care in Canada. As a mother of two, my wish is to see a more 
inclusive and individualized model of postpartum care in place for future generations to come. 
Postpartum care matters! 
 
 


Equity in Canadian Postpartum Care Practices

Motlana, Keza T

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Determining a New Way to Diagnose Epilepsy 
Keza T. Motlana 
Western University, kmotlana@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Motlana, Keza T., "Determining a New Way to Diagnose Epilepsy" (2023). Inspiring Minds – A Digital 
Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 448. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/448 
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurring unprovoked seizures and is one 
of the most common neurological disorders in the world, afflicting 50 million people 
worldwide. It is typically diagnosed by the occurrence of two unprovoked seizures at minimum 
24 hours apart. However, there's only a 40-50% chance of a second seizure happening within 
two years after the first seizure. The uncertainty of whether a First-time Unprovoked Seizure 
(FUS) is due to epilepsy can lead to people experiencing mental health declines as well as legal 
restrictions, such as driving bans. While some methods exist to identify epilepsy, they can miss 
some cases of epilepsy. My research focuses on determining an additional method for 
identifying epilepsy by studying changes in the thickness brain's outer layer (the cortex) after 
a FUS. Should such changes occur, they could potentially be used to identify if an FUS is 
epilepsy. 


Determining a New Way to Diagnose Epilepsy

Barlas, Pinar

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Data preparation & ethics: How developers’ values shape the 
dataset in Artificial Intelligence (AI) development 
Pinar Barlas 
Western University, pbarlas3@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Barlas, Pinar, "Data preparation & ethics: How developers’ values shape the dataset in Artificial 
Intelligence (AI) development" (2023). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate 
Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 480. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/480 
Submission for Inspiring Minds
2023-09-08
Pınar Barlas
Data preparation & ethics: How developers’ values shape the dataset in Artificial Intelligence (AI)
development
Artificial intelligence systems build a model of a part of the world based on data. However, data
preparation is one of the key ways that biases can infiltrate an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system. The
harmful values underlying a dataset can become amplified and reinforced in the AI system, leading to
outcomes such as wrongful arrests or employment discrimination against marginalized social
groups. Research in the AI ethics field has focused on these problematic outcomes, but my doctoral
research will examine how these datasets are prepared. By observing and talking to undergraduate
students as they learn how to prepare datasets and AI teams as they put these strategies into
practice, I will discover the true source of the problem of data bias.
Word count: 121


Data preparation & ethics: How developers’ values shape the dataset in Artificial Intelligence (AI) development

Schneider, Maris A

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Animals in the ancient Ritual Landscape 
Maris A. Schneider 
Western University, mschne23@uwo.ca 
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Citation of this paper: 
Schneider, Maris A., "Animals in the ancient Ritual Landscape" (2023). Inspiring Minds – A Digital 
Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 483. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/483 
Animals in the ancient Ritual Landscape 
Maris Schneider 
 
In ancient Egypt, animals held immense cultural significance and embodied religious 
symbolism, reflecting the Egyptian’s spiritual beliefs and deep connection to the natural 
world. Votive animal mummies, serving as offering to the gods, were essential in 
demonstrating devotion and gratitude from pilgrims and the belief in animals’ ability to 
communicate with the divine. My research project aims to identify the species of 
animals within mummy bundles using non-destructive techniques such as Computed-
Tomography, image segmentation, and deep learning. Using these methods from other 
fields (like computer sciences and biological engineering) allows for a more robust 
understanding of past human societies. These methods negate the need to unwrap 
bundles to visualize internal contents and preserve the integrity of these ancient 
artifacts. My study embraces a social zooarchaeology theoretical framework to 
recognize the animals’ role in ancient societies beyond economic considerations, 
encompassing their religious importance and intricate relationship with humans and 
nature. 
 
Word Count: 149 
mschne23@uwo.ca  


Animals in the ancient Ritual Landscape

Hersey, Ashlyn

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? : Developing a rodent 
translatable task 
Ashlyn Hersey 
Western University, ahersey3@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Hersey, Ashlyn, "Are you an optimist or a pessimist? : Developing a rodent translatable task" (2023). 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 
485. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/485 
Inspiring Minds 2023 
Ashlyn Hersey  
Translational Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory 
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? : Developing a rodent translatable task 
Imagine you are walking down the street and hear someone comment, “Interesting shirt!”. How 
do you interpret this? Our emotional state influences how we interpret this ambiguous phrase; if 
we are in a positive emotional state (optimistic), we interpret this as a compliment, but if we are 
in a negative emotional state (pessimistic), we interpret this as an insult. This is an example of 
something called cognitive judgement bias. Negative cognitive judgement bias can appear in 
individuals with depression, anxiety, and chronic illness, and it can be a burden on individuals 
and caregivers. My research aims to develop and validate a task that can assess this in mice to 
eventually be translated to humans. We hope that using this task will allow us to study the 
underlying neurobiology of this phenomenon to develop treatments that target this impairment 
and improve negative symptoms. 
 


Are you an optimist or a pessimist? : Developing a rodent translatable task

Limo, Luis

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Impact of Access to Oral Health Care on Oral Health and 
Multimorbidity 
Luis Limo 
Western University, llimo@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Limo, Luis, "Impact of Access to Oral Health Care on Oral Health and Multimorbidity" (2023). Inspiring 
Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 504. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/504 
Inspiring minds – 150    Luis Limo 
Impact of Access to Oral Health Care on Oral Health and Multimorbidity 
 
Oral diseases are a significant global health challenge, especially among vulnerable 
groups like the elderly. Aging increases the risk of various co-existing conditions, 
including oral diseases, impacting individuals, society, and healthcare systems. There is 
a growing body of evidence linking several chronic conditions like cardiovascular 
diseases, respiratory diseases and even mental illness to oral diseases. Canada's policy 
debates on universal access to oral health care highlight the need to understand oral 
health's contribution to middle-aged and older Canadians' overall health. My research 
work aims to assess the relationship between oral health and multimorbidity and 
analyzing whether oral health care access variables would impact this relationship. My 
project research is essential for informing dental care policies and improving access to 
oral health care for vulnerable groups, ultimately reducing the burden of oral diseases 
and improving overall health outcomes. 
  
 
 
 


Impact of Access to Oral Health Care on Oral Health and Multimorbidity

Evison, Fiona

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Composing Music with Canadian Kids for Postpandemic 
Recovery 
Fiona Evison 
Western University, fevison@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Evison, Fiona, "Composing Music with Canadian Kids for Postpandemic Recovery" (2023). Inspiring Minds 
– A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 505. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/505 
Composing Music with Canadian Kids for Postpandemic Recovery 
“Another one bites the dust!” The theme of Queen’s famous rock hit has been lived out 
soberingly within Canada’s postpandemic community music world. Years of restricted live 
singing has devastated the wellbeing of too many musical communities. Where I do my music 
education doctoral research, groups with vulnerable populations— elders and children—are 
struggling. Is there a musical solution?  
My research looks at the postpandemic restart of a community children’s choir in a resource-
scare Ontario region, asking: Could composing and performing their own music contribute to the 
well-being of both children and adult staff? I use my theory of relational composition and 
Seligman’s wellbeing PERMA model to examine Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, 
Meaning, and Accomplishment in new choral activities in which I have facilitated new songs to 
be presented in concert.  
With wellbeing evident in five key areas, this is one group that isn’t biting the dust!   
Redacted concert poster 


Composing Music with Canadian Kids for Postpandemic Recovery

Agarwal, Malvika

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2023 
Exploring Ecological Questions in Early Childhood Education 
through Artistic and Sonic Approaches 
Malvika Agarwal 
The University of Western Ontario, magarwa6@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Agarwal, Malvika, "Exploring Ecological Questions in Early Childhood Education through Artistic and Sonic 
Approaches" (2023). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship 
and Creative Activity. 463. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/463 
In early childhood education, there's a growing trend of integrating arts to explore ecological 
questions. I investigate the use of sonic arts, a move beyond visual stimuli. This immersive 
approach addresses complex socio-political issues in Canada by engaging multiple senses. 
Soundscapes crafted for this purpose bring educational moments to life, prompting educators to 
reflect on their practices and address topics like land ownership, access, stewardship, and 
equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). This artistic exploration enriches early childhood education, 
offering fresh insights for documentation. By incorporating sound, educators embark on a 
journey of discovery, uncovering hidden nuances that optimize learning experiences. This 
integration of art and sound reshapes pedagogical practices, deepening our understanding of 
early childhood education's intricate connections. 


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