I'm a programs coordinator at the Office of Community Engagement at Concordia University and a PhD student in Educational Studies at McGill University under the supervision of Profs. Henry Mintzberg and Bronwen Low. I'm an affiliate facilitator of the Centre for Community Organizations (COCo). I teach conflict mediation in the School of Conflict Studies at St Paul University. Supervisors: Henry Mintzberg and Bronwen Low
This qualitative research project considers the acquisition of technological literacy in the live... more This qualitative research project considers the acquisition of technological literacy in the lived, physical context of the Foulab hackerspace, a community of practice located in Montreal, Quebec. Hackerspaces are an offshoot of hacker culture. They are physical sites (garages, lofts) where individuals who sometimes self-identify as hackers come together to share tools and knowledge, and collaborate on projects of a technological nature. As educational communities, hackerspaces are member-led and member-funded. Initiatives stemming from hackerspaces including computer programming, electrical design and small electronics projects. Power Up! participants were six individuals, including the lead researcher, who all identified themselves as having experienced barriers to engaging with technology. The research objective was to see how (if) Foulab would contribute to participants overcoming their reluctances, successfully complete a project and in so doing, acquire mastery over the tools and knowledge required. Participants were required to design and build a bicycle-powered electricity generator with the support of the Foulab membership, facilities and tools. While the project was successfully completed, there were clashes between the lab and Power Up! project which prevented the project from being fully integrated into Foulab. The research project documents this and how, as a result, Power Up! grew into its own peer-based learning community. Participants met at Foulab weekly for ten weeks. At the onset of the project, participants were asked to take part in a written reflection and a group conversation in order to consider their prior and current engagement with technology. Participants then began to develop a methodology for working together that first saw them engage in research into the theoretical fundamentals of electrical conductivity and electrical project design. They then came up with a design for the bicycle-powered generator and gathered the tools and parts necessary to assemble it. This process, and the participants' engagement with each other and with Foulab, was documented in field notes by the lead researcher. At the conclusion of the project, participants took part in a group discussion to reflect on the experience.
"The [...] anthology responds to the ever-increasing amount of electronic equipment that is ... more "The [...] anthology responds to the ever-increasing amount of electronic equipment that is perceived as obsolete, valueless or disposable. Contributors from diverse disciplines including ecology, waste management, technology activism and contemporary art bring their expertise to bear on the consumption, use, obsolescence, disposal and repair and re-use of electronic equipment. Perspectives’ hybrid approach to these topics will be of interest to both general and specialized readers negotiating the cultural, environmental and social impacts of contemporary technology. Essays, projects and resource materials highlight approaches and practices that question consumption patterns and propose alternative approaches to using technology. Case studies and local contexts from Montreal Quebec are related to issues and initiatives across industrialized societies." -- Publisher's website.
This article is about hackerspaces and the thedo-it-yourself approach to learning. Over 300 of th... more This article is about hackerspaces and the thedo-it-yourself approach to learning. Over 300 of these communities exist around the world that radically challenge the notion that technology should imprison its users. These hackerspaces promote a new form of social literacy: the idea that technology needs to be accessible, allowing its users to open, explore, modify, repair and adapt it. Foulab is a Montreal-based hackerspace that provides the necessary tools for approaching technology critically. It is an open community that welcomes hackers and others to participate organically in a wide array of activities, workshops and individual sessions, all of which promote the joy of exploring and experimenting with technology
Perspective on the Status of Electronic Equipment in Montréal, 2013
This article considers the structure and mandate of the Foulab hackerspace in Montreal, as an ext... more This article considers the structure and mandate of the Foulab hackerspace in Montreal, as an extension of an emergent hackerspace social movement
This paper considers learning exchanges between NYC housing rights organisers Movement for Justic... more This paper considers learning exchanges between NYC housing rights organisers Movement for Justice in El Barrio, and Montreal-based housing rights advocates in Little Burgundy and Park-Extension neighborhoods.
On November 7th, the Quebec Mayor Régis Labeaume announced that imprisonment for people experienc... more On November 7th, the Quebec Mayor Régis Labeaume announced that imprisonment for people experiencing homelessness would no longer be a consequence of unpaid tickets and that offences such as sleeping in a public place and being in a park between 11 and 5 am will be met with some leniency. Although this would initially appear to be a positive measure, the Mayor was also quick to specify that this lenience was meant to be applied to people dealing with mental health issues and not to “les bums” (that is, people who would experience chronic or long-term homelessness “by choice”). This distinction between “involuntary” homelessness and “les bums” perpetuates the idea of an undeserving poor individual and fails to recognize homelessness as a serious systemic issue.
This text was co-authored with Naomi Nichols, Alex Megelas, Raffaela Abbate and Jayne Malenfant.
Article rédigé avec Alex Megelas, Amy Darwish, Leonora Indira King, Naomi Nichols et Rose-Anne St... more Article rédigé avec Alex Megelas, Amy Darwish, Leonora Indira King, Naomi Nichols et Rose-Anne St-Paul.
As members of Montreal-based universities, community groups and research collectives, we wish, wi... more As members of Montreal-based universities, community groups and research collectives, we wish, with the following blog post, to take a common stance in publicly decrying the harmful impact which public institutions are having on the Park Extension neighbourhood. Among these, we most specifically point out the lack of investment of funds in a coordinated housing strategy, and the displacement of residents resulting in part from the imminent arrival of Université de Montréal's Campus MIL. Grounding our proposed actions carefully in research evidence, we recommend a coordinated housing strategy for Park Extension, as well as a cross-institution impact control strategy initiated and supported by Université de Montréal in order to mitigate the harmful impact that its new campus is having, and will continue to have, on the residential composition of the surrounding boroughs, most notably in Park Extension.
Dean Spade, militant trans et professeur de droit à la Seattle University School of Law, offre av... more Dean Spade, militant trans et professeur de droit à la Seattle University School of Law, offre avec cet ouvrage une réflexion importante sur l’entraide, l’engagement communautaire et les luttes pour la justice sociale, qui permettent à la fois de répondre à différents besoins dans nos collectivités et de renforcer les possibilités de résistance populaire face aux crises en cours et à venir.
This qualitative research project considers the acquisition of technological literacy in the live... more This qualitative research project considers the acquisition of technological literacy in the lived, physical context of the Foulab hackerspace, a community of practice located in Montreal, Quebec. Hackerspaces are an offshoot of hacker culture. They are physical sites (garages, lofts) where individuals who sometimes self-identify as hackers come together to share tools and knowledge, and collaborate on projects of a technological nature. As educational communities, hackerspaces are member-led and member-funded. Initiatives stemming from hackerspaces including computer programming, electrical design and small electronics projects. Power Up! participants were six individuals, including the lead researcher, who all identified themselves as having experienced barriers to engaging with technology. The research objective was to see how (if) Foulab would contribute to participants overcoming their reluctances, successfully complete a project and in so doing, acquire mastery over the tools and knowledge required. Participants were required to design and build a bicycle-powered electricity generator with the support of the Foulab membership, facilities and tools. While the project was successfully completed, there were clashes between the lab and Power Up! project which prevented the project from being fully integrated into Foulab. The research project documents this and how, as a result, Power Up! grew into its own peer-based learning community. Participants met at Foulab weekly for ten weeks. At the onset of the project, participants were asked to take part in a written reflection and a group conversation in order to consider their prior and current engagement with technology. Participants then began to develop a methodology for working together that first saw them engage in research into the theoretical fundamentals of electrical conductivity and electrical project design. They then came up with a design for the bicycle-powered generator and gathered the tools and parts necessary to assemble it. This process, and the participants' engagement with each other and with Foulab, was documented in field notes by the lead researcher. At the conclusion of the project, participants took part in a group discussion to reflect on the experience.
"The [...] anthology responds to the ever-increasing amount of electronic equipment that is ... more "The [...] anthology responds to the ever-increasing amount of electronic equipment that is perceived as obsolete, valueless or disposable. Contributors from diverse disciplines including ecology, waste management, technology activism and contemporary art bring their expertise to bear on the consumption, use, obsolescence, disposal and repair and re-use of electronic equipment. Perspectives’ hybrid approach to these topics will be of interest to both general and specialized readers negotiating the cultural, environmental and social impacts of contemporary technology. Essays, projects and resource materials highlight approaches and practices that question consumption patterns and propose alternative approaches to using technology. Case studies and local contexts from Montreal Quebec are related to issues and initiatives across industrialized societies." -- Publisher's website.
This article is about hackerspaces and the thedo-it-yourself approach to learning. Over 300 of th... more This article is about hackerspaces and the thedo-it-yourself approach to learning. Over 300 of these communities exist around the world that radically challenge the notion that technology should imprison its users. These hackerspaces promote a new form of social literacy: the idea that technology needs to be accessible, allowing its users to open, explore, modify, repair and adapt it. Foulab is a Montreal-based hackerspace that provides the necessary tools for approaching technology critically. It is an open community that welcomes hackers and others to participate organically in a wide array of activities, workshops and individual sessions, all of which promote the joy of exploring and experimenting with technology
Perspective on the Status of Electronic Equipment in Montréal, 2013
This article considers the structure and mandate of the Foulab hackerspace in Montreal, as an ext... more This article considers the structure and mandate of the Foulab hackerspace in Montreal, as an extension of an emergent hackerspace social movement
This paper considers learning exchanges between NYC housing rights organisers Movement for Justic... more This paper considers learning exchanges between NYC housing rights organisers Movement for Justice in El Barrio, and Montreal-based housing rights advocates in Little Burgundy and Park-Extension neighborhoods.
On November 7th, the Quebec Mayor Régis Labeaume announced that imprisonment for people experienc... more On November 7th, the Quebec Mayor Régis Labeaume announced that imprisonment for people experiencing homelessness would no longer be a consequence of unpaid tickets and that offences such as sleeping in a public place and being in a park between 11 and 5 am will be met with some leniency. Although this would initially appear to be a positive measure, the Mayor was also quick to specify that this lenience was meant to be applied to people dealing with mental health issues and not to “les bums” (that is, people who would experience chronic or long-term homelessness “by choice”). This distinction between “involuntary” homelessness and “les bums” perpetuates the idea of an undeserving poor individual and fails to recognize homelessness as a serious systemic issue.
This text was co-authored with Naomi Nichols, Alex Megelas, Raffaela Abbate and Jayne Malenfant.
Article rédigé avec Alex Megelas, Amy Darwish, Leonora Indira King, Naomi Nichols et Rose-Anne St... more Article rédigé avec Alex Megelas, Amy Darwish, Leonora Indira King, Naomi Nichols et Rose-Anne St-Paul.
As members of Montreal-based universities, community groups and research collectives, we wish, wi... more As members of Montreal-based universities, community groups and research collectives, we wish, with the following blog post, to take a common stance in publicly decrying the harmful impact which public institutions are having on the Park Extension neighbourhood. Among these, we most specifically point out the lack of investment of funds in a coordinated housing strategy, and the displacement of residents resulting in part from the imminent arrival of Université de Montréal's Campus MIL. Grounding our proposed actions carefully in research evidence, we recommend a coordinated housing strategy for Park Extension, as well as a cross-institution impact control strategy initiated and supported by Université de Montréal in order to mitigate the harmful impact that its new campus is having, and will continue to have, on the residential composition of the surrounding boroughs, most notably in Park Extension.
Dean Spade, militant trans et professeur de droit à la Seattle University School of Law, offre av... more Dean Spade, militant trans et professeur de droit à la Seattle University School of Law, offre avec cet ouvrage une réflexion importante sur l’entraide, l’engagement communautaire et les luttes pour la justice sociale, qui permettent à la fois de répondre à différents besoins dans nos collectivités et de renforcer les possibilités de résistance populaire face aux crises en cours et à venir.
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This text was co-authored with Naomi Nichols, Alex Megelas, Raffaela Abbate and Jayne Malenfant.
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This text was co-authored with Naomi Nichols, Alex Megelas, Raffaela Abbate and Jayne Malenfant.