Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · 6h

This perspective of designing for the minority should be a core principle for anyone creating our global future, as I believe the most resilient and responsible technologies and systems are those with an embedded commitment to collective care and compassion. 4/4

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · 6h

This is a critical place to start because, just as we've seen with technologies like curb cuts, straws, and the electric toothbrush—technologies that were originally designed for people with disabilities—when we design for the margins (or the minority), the majority often benefits as well. 3/4

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · 6h

What stood out to me the most when considering the future of ethical design in technologies and systems was the emphasis on centring the lived experiences of those at the margins. 2/4

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · 6h

Last week, I was invited to be a panel respondent to a Keynote presentation by Dr. Maurita T. Harris at the Ethical Tech for a Global Future Symposium at #UWaterloo. Dr. Harris's talk was titled, "Human Factors, Ethics, and the Future of Responsible Innovation."

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A group of seven people standing at the front of a lecture hall in front of a projector screen. The title on the slide of the screen says: "Ethical Tech for a Global Future" The text below reads: "A symposium presented by the University of Waterloo Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism, in partnership with the University of Waterloo's Black Faculty Collective/Black Studies and the Critical Media Lab (CML). Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)."

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

Isaac Callan @isaaccallan.bsky.social · 3d

NEW: Vehicles registered to Doug Ford's cabinet ministers have been caught by automated speed cameras more than 20 times.

In one case, they were driving 70 in a 40 zone. On average, they were 17 over the limit. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1146373...

Vehicles registered to Ford cabinet ministers caught by speed cameras more than 20 times | Globalnews.ca

Documents obtained by Global News reveal that, over three years, vehicles registered to Ford’s cabinet minister received more than $3,300 in fines for speeding.

globalnews.ca

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Sep 5

At UWaterloo, TAs, RAs, and sessions are simply asking for a fair first contract, including fair wages and safer working conditions.

Use this link to send a message to UW admin and show your support for the university’s academic workers in @cupe5524.bsky.social.

cupe.ca/WeAreUW?sour...

Respect, Quality Education and Liveable Wages

The University of Waterloo is very proud to be one of the top-ranked universities in the world, particularly when it comes to research. And proud of the $259 million they raised in research funding. W...

cupe.ca

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

Angela (she/they) @cinnamunthunder.bsky.social · Aug 22

Had a fantastic time talking to you, the other instructors and the students for this piece! Thanks for letting me cover this and thanks to Teaching Innovation Incubator for featuring it on the site!

Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 21

Great piece on our course in @uwimprint.bsky.social @ #UWaterloo

“Having the skill to see things from different lenses helps them see how different accessibility issues may manifest, whether that’s indoor air quality or something else. Solving those types of problems can help everyone.“

No rest for the wicked (problems): TII holds Accessibility Symposium

Instructors, students and UW community members gathered in the Black and Gold room in SLC for the Wicked Problem of Accessibility Symposium on July 24, wrapping up the latest “Wicked Problems” course ...

uwimprint.ca

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 21

Great piece on our course in @uwimprint.bsky.social @ #UWaterloo

“Having the skill to see things from different lenses helps them see how different accessibility issues may manifest, whether that’s indoor air quality or something else. Solving those types of problems can help everyone.“

No rest for the wicked (problems): TII holds Accessibility Symposium

Instructors, students and UW community members gathered in the Black and Gold room in SLC for the Wicked Problem of Accessibility Symposium on July 24, wrapping up the latest “Wicked Problems” course ...

uwimprint.ca

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 13

Reposting for visibility. Please feel free to share widely! 👇

Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 12

Are you a Radiologist in Canada?

Your expertise is needed for a new AI research study at #UWaterloo!

Topic: AI Safety in Radiology
Task: Evaluate X-rays with an AI co-pilot
Format: Anonymous online survey
Time: ~90 minutes

To learn more and participate email: [email protected]

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 13

Reposting for visibility. Please feel free to share widely! 👇

Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 12

Are you a Radiologist in Canada?

Your expertise is needed for a new AI research study at #UWaterloo!

Topic: AI Safety in Radiology
Task: Evaluate X-rays with an AI co-pilot
Format: Anonymous online survey
Time: ~90 minutes

To learn more and participate email: [email protected]

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 12

#radiologist #radiology #radleaders #radvocacy #medsky

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 12

Are you a Radiologist in Canada?

Your expertise is needed for a new AI research study at #UWaterloo!

Topic: AI Safety in Radiology
Task: Evaluate X-rays with an AI co-pilot
Format: Anonymous online survey
Time: ~90 minutes

To learn more and participate email: [email protected]

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 11

Just finished Risk Assessment training. The example for "hazard elimination"?

"When the University closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and people were required to work from home."

But... SARS-CoV-2 is still here, and we're back on campus.

Did I just identify a hazard through the training module?

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 8

Hi! The Still Coviding FB group for Kitchener-Waterloo may be a good place to look!

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

Conor Browne @brownecfm.bsky.social · Aug 8

'Another consideration, when it comes to building immunity, is the growing body of research suggesting that for several months after a Covid infection, people become more vulnerable to other infections...'

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

What do we know about the Covid-19 virus five years on?

As the virus continues to evolve, experts assess its latest variants, seasonal prevalence and levels of vaccine uptake

www.theguardian.com

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Aug 6

“The use of in-home HEPA air purifiers resulted in clinically important reductions in SBP for people with elevated SBP in environments with relatively low PM2.5 concentrations.”

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Effect of HEPA Filtration Air Purifiers on Blood Pressure: A Pragmatic Randomized Crossover Trial

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a leading cause of cardiovascular risk and illness, including elevated blood pressure (BP).The purpose of this st…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

David Elfstrom 🍁 @davidelfstrom.bsky.social · Jul 31

There's a more fulsome instruction guide on how to comment on the proposed standard at donoharmbc.ca/national-sta...

Again, note that no other sector covered by the Z94.4 standard is attempting to undermine it in the way that IPAC managers are doing for healthcare. /6

Support a National Standard for N95s (and other respirators) in Healthcare

The Canadian Standards Association is looking for public feedback on an update of a national standard for N95s (and other respirators).

donoharmbc.ca

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

Dick Zoutman @dickzoutman.bsky.social · Jul 31

Very well done analysis of risks of long COVID over time.
“Overall, 4% of children and 10%–26% of adults developed long COVID”
That is a lot of new cases of long COVID!
COVID is bad for you.
Don’t get COVID.
Get vaccinated.
Wear an N95 respirator.
Clean the air we all breathe!

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Jul 24

The culminating student symposium for The Wicked Problem of Accessibility course happened this afternoon @uwaterloo.ca, thanks to support from the Teaching Innovation Incubator!

It was nice for the students to have this opportunity to share their projects with the #UWaterloo community. 😷

Entrance to the symposium room. Dark grey carpet and opened glass doors.

A brown table with boxes of N95 respirator mask, a sign that says masks make shared spaces more accessible taped to the front, and a UWaterloo vertical banner behind the table.

A poster board with papers pinned to it (anonymized student reflections), a notice of photography, and a reminder for voting for a people’s choice award.

A sign also says Masks make shared spaces more accessible. We strongly encourage you to wear a complimentary respirator mask to protect yourself and others in this shared space.

A close up photo of a 20 inch box fan attached to four MERV 13 filters. An Aranet monitor sitting on top of it shows 630 ppm. You can see a blue shoe in the image on the dark grey floor.

A screenshot of the Aranet4 co2 reading from 12:30 to 2:30. The values range from 660ish to 850ish

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Jul 19

Thanks, and I see what you’re saying since the masks aren’t explicitly labelled in the images.

If you zoom in, they are respirator-style masks (the three panel design, like the 3M Aura).

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Jul 19

And we’ll have 2 PC-fan air cleaners plus a traditional #CRbox running, of course.

Boxes of CA-N95 respirator masks sitting on top of a brown cabinet in a lecture room.

Two black PC fan air cleaners sitting in the corner of the room on blue carpet in front of an orange wall (they are in storage for use at the symposium event)

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Jul 19

At next week’s symposium for the course “The Wicked Problem of Accessibility,” I’ve requested that masking be at least ‘strongly encouraged’, as I was told that a requirement is not possible.

I'm providing CA-N95 masks at the door, alongside a new poster, instead of previous alternative designs.

Poster 1:

MASKS
make shared spaces more
ACCESSIBLE

cartoon photos of a diverse couple of people on coloured background wearing N95s

We strongly encourage you to wear a complimentary respirator masks to protect yourself and others in this shared space.

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · Jul 18

"The current health and economic burden of long COVID may already exceed that of other chronic diseases and will continue to grow each year as more and more COVID-19 cases occur." academic.oup.com/jid/article/...

The Current and Future Burden of Long COVID in the United States

Our computational model estimates the current burden of long COVID can range from $5084–$11 646 per case and $2.01–$6.56 billion in societal costs, assumin

academic.oup.com

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Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Jul 17

Next week is the final class for The Wicked Problem of Accessibility course I co-designed/taught this term.

If you’re a #UWaterloo student, faculty, or staff member, feel free to stop by the Black and Gold room on July 24th and check out the students’ projects (and hang out with me, of course!)

White, black and yellow accent colours bordering text that says “The Wicked Problem of Accessibility Symposium”

July 24th
12:30-2:30 PM
Black and Gold Room in SLC

Open to all faculty, staff, and students!

Enter the raffle to win a prize!

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Reposted by Ryan Tennant

Ryan Tennant @ryantennant.ca · Jul 16

Are there any Canadian-based radiologists here that would be interested in being the first to pilot a human-AI interface study that I’m about to start recruiting for?

Feel free to DM or email [email protected] and I can share the Information Letter. Thanks!

#radiology #radiologist

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