Research

English | Español

My research asks how places, rituals and art can welcome people who are often left out, including people with disabilities. It moves between two fields: inclusive design and accessibility, at the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) at OCAD University, and the study of ritual, space and liturgy, which has been my academic focus since 1985.

Inclusive design and accessibility

At the IDRC I coordinate research projects with people with disabilities, community organizations and government. Current and recent projects:

  • Partnerships for Financial Inclusion (2026–2027). Addresses the systemic barriers that leave about one million Canadians unbanked and five million underbanked, especially people with disabilities, newcomers, racialized communities and people without stable housing. Funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. Project website.
  • Our Doors Are Open: Welcoming People with Disabilities in Places of Worship. Simple and creative ideas and guidance for faith communities in Ontario to include people with disabilities in worship, events and community activities. I proposed and created the project and now coordinate it. Project website.
  • Accessible Canada, Accessible World (2023–25). A community of practice and an international conference to co-develop resources for the next generation of accessibility standards. Funded by the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization. Project website.
  • Regulating the Digital Domain (2023–2026). Studies the systemic causes of digital disparity for persons with disabilities in information and communication technologies, and the role of standards. Funded by the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization. Project website.
  • Communication Access within the Accessible Canada Act (2021–23). With Communication Disabilities Access Canada. Project website.
  • The Future of Work and Disability (2020–21). Asked how AI and automation in hiring and the workplace affect people with disabilities, and how standards could help. Project website.
  • The Future of Work: Equitable Digital Systems (2020–23). Project website.
  • Optimizing Diversity with Disability (2020–22). Investigated bias in hiring algorithms and how to promote diversity in the employment of people with disabilities. Project website.
  • We Count (2019–22). Studied barriers and bias for persons with disabilities in the data economy; I coordinated outreach activities. Project website.

The complete list, with years and funders, is in my Curriculum Vitae.

Ritual, space and theology

My academic work studies how architecture and ritual shape experience, across philosophy, art forms, place and space.

  • Doctoral thesis: The Ambo: A Liturgical Space for the Proclamation of the Word of God, which studies the genius loci of the Word of God in the Liturgy of the Word, in its historical, theological, phenomenological and dramaturgical dimensions.
  • Book: Proclaiming Holy Scriptures: A Study of Place and Ritual (Routledge, 2021).
  • Master’s thesis (theology): Celebrating the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation: A Study of the Place of Reconciliation for the New Rite, on the space where the sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated, in light of Vatican II and the documents that followed it.
  • Religious symbolism in film: projects at the Universidad Católica Argentina on death in contemporary film, Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy, and Kierkegaard and Babette’s Feast.

Articles and chapters are listed in the Curriculum Vitae. To talk about a project, send me a message.

Leave a Reply