Wednesday March 2, 2011

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Ted Talks

Keith Barry does brain magic

Keith Barry shows us how our brains can fool our bodies in a trick that works via podcast too. He involves the audience in some jaw-dropping feats of brain magic. Think of Keith Barry as a hacker of the human brain -- writing routines that exploit its bugs and loopholes, and offering a revealing look at the software between our ears.

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Conference

TEDxWaterloo event to be streamed live to the Laurier community

WATERLOO – In a major multi-campus event, Wilfrid Laurier University will provide a live feed to the innovative TEDxWaterloo conference March 3 at Laurier’s Waterloo and Brantford campuses, as well as its Toronto and Kitchener locations.

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Engineering

University of Waterloo marks national engineering month with special badge event for girl guides

WATERLOO - More than 60 girl guides are expected to qualify for science and technology engineering badges during the first annual Ontario Girl Guide Badge Day event to be held at the University of Waterloo campus during National Engineering Month.

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Operating System

OpenText Brings Windows and UNIX Enterprise Business Applications to Mac OS X with Release of Exceed onDemand 8

New Release of Managed Application Access Offers Enterprise Scalability, Performance Enhancements and Productivity Gains to UNIX and Windows Application Users

WATERLOO - Enterprises will now have an easier time keeping their global workforces productive with the release of Exceed onDemand 8 by OpenText, an X11 window server that gives users fast, reliable and secure remote access to applications over any network connection.

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Budget

Council passes 2011 budget

KITCHENER – Following two days of final budget deliberations by city council, the city has found ways to minimize the financial impacts to residents while continuing to provide valued services and programs to residents.

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Nanotechnology

Professor uses nanotechnology to prolong machine and engine life

Guojun Liu's nanotechnology discovery has been awarded with the prestigious Captain Alfred E. Hunt Award.

Kingston - Guojun Liu has discovered a way to use nanotechnology to reduce friction in automobile engines and machines.

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Budget

Grand River Conservation Authority

GRCA budget shows modest increase for 2011

Cambridge - The board of the Grand River Conservation Authority has approved a 2011 budget which calls for a modest increase in spending over last year. The budget calls for expenditures of $33.6 million (compared to $33.4 million in 2010) to pay the cost of programs that protect water quality, reduce flood damages, preserve and improve natural areas, support responsible development and provide outdoor recreation and environmental education.

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Arts and Culture

Billeting Accommodation Needed

St. Jacobs Country Playhouse is looking for Housing Partners

ST. JACOBS – The 2011 Summer Theatre Season is gearing up to be another banner year with an incredible array of productions on the playbill at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. Already staff are preparing for the arrival of the most talented, professional artists – all of whom will need a place to stay during their engagement at the theatre.

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Union

Canadian Steelworkers Win Extraordinary Ruling in U.S. Court

TORONTO - The United Steelworkers has won a six-year legal battle, spanning two countries, to force an American corporate executive to pay unpaid wages owing to Canadian workers.

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Biological Research

Canadian researchers first worldwide to generate pluripotent stem cells from horses

Discovery opens avenue for research into new veterinary and human treatments for a range of degenerative conditions

TORONTO – In a world first, pluripotent stem cells have been generated from horses by a team of researchers led by Dr. Andras Nagy at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and Dr. Lawrence Smith at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Veterinary Science. The findings will help enable new stem-cell based regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine, and because horses’ muscle and tendon systems are similar to our own, aid the development of preclinical models leading to human applications.

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Insects

Vanier Scholar says dengue fever doesn't discriminate

by Matt Terry

Hamilton - The mosquito may be an annoyance for Canadian cottagers and campers, but for the inhabitants of the world's tropical regions, the insect can be deadly.

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Construction

McMaster teams up with IBM to create energy-smart buildings on campus

Hamilton - In an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions and save on operating costs, McMaster University is partnering with IBM to create energy-smart buildings on campus.

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Education

Western appoints Dean of Education

London - The University of Western Ontario has announced the appointment of Vicki Schwean as Dean of the Faculty of Education, beginning a five-year term on July 1, 2011.

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Taxes

Canada's GOVERNMENT TAKES ACTION TO KEEP TAXES LOW

OTTAWA - The Honourable Stockwell Day, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture), announced that Canada's Government will continue its efforts to keep taxes low by wrapping up stimulus measures and avoiding reckless new spending commitments.

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Marketing

Canada Post launches CentrSource.ca in Canada, a new marketing and advertising network for businesses

Opportunity for small to medium-sized businesses to effectively target consumers where they live

Ottawa - Canada Post announced the launch of CentrSource.ca, a new online marketplace that connects advertisers and consumers instantly - where they live. This pay-for-performance model means that small to medium-sized businesses can effectively target consumers in their neighbourhood by offering products and services online and in-store that are relevant to them. It is also possible to search the entire network for offers from businesses across Canada.

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Experts

Canada's Government Establishes Expert Panel To Provide Advice On Best Practices

Ottawa - Ontario is establishing an expert advisory group to provide advice on follow-up care and treatment for people with multiple sclerosis who return to Ontario after undergoing the experimental Chronic Cerebro-Spinal Venous Insufficiency procedure outside of Canada.

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Nominations

HCF Accepting Nominations to the 2011 Top Ten Endangered Places List

Submit your nominations to Canada’s TOP TEN Endangered Places List by May 1, 2011

Ottawa – The Heritage Canada Foundation is accepting nominations to Canada’s Top Ten Endangered Places List. The list is released annually to bring national attention to sites at risk due to neglect, lack of funding, inappropriate development and weak legislation. It has become a powerful tool in the fight to make landmarks, not landfill.

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Education

Carleton Hosting Canada-India Education Summit on May 16 and 17

Ottawa – The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, in partnership with Carleton University, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the High Commission of India, and the Association of Colleges and Universities of Canada, announced the Canada-India Education Summit to be held at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada on May 16 and 17, 2011.

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Research

Whither Ice and Whence Weeds: Profiles of Two Graduate Students Whose Research Touches upon Water

Oshawa - Trent University’s School of Graduate Studies is a small school with a large reputation for research and scholarship. Here are two individuals whose work touches on water in very different ways.

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Price Indess

Industrial product and raw materials price indexes

Statscan - In January, the Industrial Product Price Index inched up 0.2% and the Raw Materials Price Index edged up 0.3%. Both indexes posted slower growth compared with previous months.

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Guest Column

Competitive Thinking: Right or Wrong?

By Dr. Linda Seger

For the last few thousand years, we have learned to think through a linear thinking model. We have competed with each other, first for food or mates, then for the corner office and the coolest car. We compete over who has the greenest lawns and smartest children, and we have learned to decide who's important, or who's not, by who's on top and who's on the bottom of the corporate ladder. This has defined how we relate to each other, how we conduct business, and how we set our goals.