Friday December 9, 2011

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Ted Talks

Yoav Medan: Ultrasound surgery -- healing without cuts

Yoav Medan is the Chief Systems Architect at InSightec Ltd. in Israel, where he works on MRI-guided guided focused ultrasound technology. Before this, he spent 17 years in research and management at the IBM Research Division and was elected to the IBM Academy of Technology.

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Health Care

Latest national mortality ratio report shows Grand River Hospital providing better care for area patients

Patients at Grand River Hospital are experiencing better outcomes - which means living

Waterloo Region - The results are from the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s yearly hospital standardized mortality ratio (HSMR) report. The HSMR measures patient mortality in a hospital against an expected average from qualifying Canadian hospitals. The national average HSMR is 100 established from the baseline year of 2004-2005. There are 14 LHINs in Ontario, see map.

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Guest Column

Handling Abuse in the Workplace: What To Do If You Suspect Your Coworker Is Being Physically Abused by Their Partner

By Esther Francis Joseph

We spend a considerable portion of our day at work. In fact, we probably spend more time with coworkers than with family and friends. Because of that, we are more likely to notice when things are not quite right with a colleague.

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Health Care

Waterloo Wellington Local Health Board December Meeting Highlights

Waterloo/Wellington - The Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN) Board of Directors met on Thursday, December 1, and Monday, December 5, 2011. Here are the highlights from those meetings.

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Smart Materials

Waterloo Engineering spin-off wins recognition for smart materials technology

WATERLOO - Less than a year after spinning off from the University of Waterloo's faculty of engineering, Innovative Processing Technologies (IPT) has been recognized by the Ontario government for its breakthrough Multiple Memory Material (MMM) technology, known for making smart materials smarter.

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Technology

Ottawa’s White Hot Wireless Ecosystem Getting Hotter

Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson and Huawei all have major product development facilities in Ottawa and startups like YOUi Labs and Spoonity offer still more promise

Ottawa – In the wireless industry, it’s well known that four of the world’s top companies – Alcatel-Lucent Technologies Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., LM Ericsson and Huawei Technologies Company Ltd. – all have significant product development facilities in Ottawa. What is not as well-known is a new breed of start-up companies like Ottawa’s YOUi Labs and Spoonity that are building the next generation of wireless innovations.

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Housing Starts Canada

CMHC: November 2011 Housing Starts

OTTAWA - The seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of housing starts was 181,100 units in November, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This is down from 208,800 units in October 2011.

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Infrastructure

Ontario government has made improvements in public infrastructure investment but needs to stay the course

Jobs and economic growth at risk if long-term plan not implemented

Toronto – A report released today reinforces that increased public infrastructure investment in Ontario will alleviate many future economic risks. The report found that increased investment over the past several years is a move in the right direction. The Ontario government’s “ Building Together” document proposes a more strategic, long-term approach to capital spending, including infrastructure asset management.

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Housing Starts Ontario

Ontario Home Starts Slow in November

TORONTO - The Ontario preliminary Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of home starts across urban(i) centres moved lower in November. An estimated 49,800(ii) residential housing units got started in the latest month, down from 71,800 units in October.

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Worker Leave

Ontario Government Moves To Strengthen Job Security For Family Caregivers

The proposed legislation would, if passed, be separate from the current Family Medical Leave which is available when a family member has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death occurring within 26 weeks and a doctor’s note would be required to qualify for Family Caregiver Leave.

Ontario - Ontario will be taking steps to protect the jobs of working Ontarians who need to care for seriously ill or injured loved ones a Queenpark release indicated.

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Energy

Ontario Must Phase Out All Power Subsidies New Report States

Toronto - Today, the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) released "Nuclear Power: Where's the Business Case?". This report calls for the Ontario Minister of Energy to cease subsidies to nuclear projects, and adopt a 'degression model which phases out all premiums paid for new renewable energy projects during the next decade.

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Flood Warning

Flood messages terminated

New Hamburg - The flood warning messages issued by the Grand River Conservation Authority on Nov. 29 and 30, 2011 are now terminated. High flows, augmented by rains earlier this week, have now moved out of the southern river and water levels are within the banks at this time.

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Great Lakes

US EPA ENFORCEMENT CUTS 300 MILLION POUNDS OF POLLUTION IN GREAT LAKES REGION

CHICAGO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released yesterday its annual enforcement and compliance results. Nationwide, EPA enforcement actions eliminated more than 1.8 billion pounds of harmful pollution during the past year, including 300 million pounds of pollution in the Great Lakes region.

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Martin Insights

The Occupational Classes: Not All Jobs are Created Equal - Number of Jobs Edition

The sixth piece in our series exploring the characteristics of creative and service occupational classes considers the proportions and outcomes of workers who move from one job to another or hold two jobs at the same time.

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Guest Column

Not All Team Members are Equal

Why You Need Connected Converts to Win Over Others
By Amy Showalter

Do you have an idea to improve your organization or department that you want upper management to adopt? Do you need to close a sale? In situations like these, you are the underdog. It’s a given that it takes a team or coalition of people to effect change. We even see this tactic at play in reality shows where contestants are pitted against each other, where it’s usually portrayed as a dastardly tactic.

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Aerospace

Navtech UK Office Move

Waterloo - The Navtech UK office is moving location effective 1 December 2011. The new location is within the 4 year old Hersham Place Technology Park, located just within the M25; ideal for customer and partner access.

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Guest Columns

Are Customers Always Right?

In business, the squeaky wheel almost always winds up getting the grease. Customers tend to be rewarded for complaining, but that strategy leaves money on the table, according to marketing consultant Betsy Kruger.

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Energy

Capture Energy, Reduce Carbon Footprint and Save on the Bottom Line

Cambridge – When it comes to international recognition in the energy and heavy oil markets, Innovative Steam Technologies, Inc. (IST) has made a big impact with its proprietary technology. A subsidiary of the Aecon Group Inc, a giant in the construction and infrastructure development industry, its roots in Cambridge, Ontario, date back to the early 1990s when founders Bill Nicholls and Dave Radtke formed IST and moved the existing company here.