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Issues & Experts Archive > Obama-care, health stats, cybercrime, multiculturalism
Obama-care, health stats, cybercrime, multiculturalism
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March 22, 2010
Obama signs epic health-care bill
U.S. President Barack Obama promised change and he delivered today, signing a health-care reform bill into law that will provide coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. The House of Representatives voted 219-212 in favour of the bill late Sunday. SFU public policy analyst Doug McArthur can comment on the controversial $940-billion health-care overhaul and compare the American system with Canada’s health-care system.
Doug McArthur, 604.786.0016 (cell); doug_mcarthur@sfu.ca
How healthy are we?
Statistics Canada will release its latest Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) on Tuesday, March 23, looking at the number of Canadians who have chronic and infectious diseases and vitamin deficiencies. SFU kinesiologist Diane Finegood can comment on the survey’s latest numbers on the rising incidence of diabetes among Canadians. Finegood says direct physical measures of this problem are crucial. “We believe that a significant number of people with pre-diabetes and diabetes type 2 don’t know it, as it is a relatively silent killer in the early stages.” For background on the latest CHMS see www.statcan.gc.ca/chms and www.statcan.gc.ca/health. SFU health scientist Michel Joffres, one of the co-authors of a study of Canada’s success in treating hypertension, can discuss what the CHMS reveals about its prevalence. Cardiovascular researcher Scott Lear can also comment.
Diane Finegood, 778.782.3319, finegood@sfu.ca, doreen_chiang@sfu.ca (Finegood’s assistant)
Michel Joffres, 778.782.7191, mjoffres@sfu.ca
Scott Lear, 778.782.7916 (Mon./Tues.), 604.682.2344 ext. 6277 (Wed./Thur.), salear@sfu.ca; SLear@providencehealth.bc.ca
Cybercrime - Canada's 'riskiest' online cities
A U.S. firm that sells antivirus software has released a list of the top 10 riskiest online cities in Canada (available at http://norton.newslinevine.com/). Burlington, Ontario leads the list, and four British Columbia cities -- Port Coquitlam, Langley, Vancouver and Kelowna -- make the top ten. How vulnerable are we to online fraud, identity threat and other online crimes? Sarah Smyth, SFU's first cybercrime professor, can put the risk in perspective.
Sara Smyth, Criminology, 778.782.8829, 778.782.8844, sara_smyth@sfu.ca
Digital scrapbooking
The SFU Library will demonstrate a new digital scrapbooking tool to promote multiculturalism during a ceremony to be held on Tuesday, March 23, at 2 p.m. at SFU's Bennett Library in the Special Collections foyer. The tool is part of an ongoing project funded by Canadian Heritage to digitize long-hidden books, photos and ephemera for the Multicultural Canada website (www.multiculturalcanada.ca). Using their own home computers, members of the public will be able to upload documents, photos and stories reflecting their own family history. "You can then publish your scrapbook as a webpage on the Multicultural Canada website for anyone in the world to see," says project leader Mark Jordan, head of information systems at the SFU Library.
Mark Jordan, 778.782.5753; mjordan@sfu.ca
U.S. President Barack Obama promised change and he delivered today, signing a health-care reform bill into law that will provide coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. The House of Representatives voted 219-212 in favour of the bill late Sunday. SFU public policy analyst Doug McArthur can comment on the controversial $940-billion health-care overhaul and compare the American system with Canada’s health-care system.
Doug McArthur, 604.786.0016 (cell); doug_mcarthur@sfu.ca
How healthy are we?
Statistics Canada will release its latest Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) on Tuesday, March 23, looking at the number of Canadians who have chronic and infectious diseases and vitamin deficiencies. SFU kinesiologist Diane Finegood can comment on the survey’s latest numbers on the rising incidence of diabetes among Canadians. Finegood says direct physical measures of this problem are crucial. “We believe that a significant number of people with pre-diabetes and diabetes type 2 don’t know it, as it is a relatively silent killer in the early stages.” For background on the latest CHMS see www.statcan.gc.ca/chms and www.statcan.gc.ca/health. SFU health scientist Michel Joffres, one of the co-authors of a study of Canada’s success in treating hypertension, can discuss what the CHMS reveals about its prevalence. Cardiovascular researcher Scott Lear can also comment.
Diane Finegood, 778.782.3319, finegood@sfu.ca, doreen_chiang@sfu.ca (Finegood’s assistant)
Michel Joffres, 778.782.7191, mjoffres@sfu.ca
Scott Lear, 778.782.7916 (Mon./Tues.), 604.682.2344 ext. 6277 (Wed./Thur.), salear@sfu.ca; SLear@providencehealth.bc.ca
Cybercrime - Canada's 'riskiest' online cities
A U.S. firm that sells antivirus software has released a list of the top 10 riskiest online cities in Canada (available at http://norton.newslinevine.com/). Burlington, Ontario leads the list, and four British Columbia cities -- Port Coquitlam, Langley, Vancouver and Kelowna -- make the top ten. How vulnerable are we to online fraud, identity threat and other online crimes? Sarah Smyth, SFU's first cybercrime professor, can put the risk in perspective.
Sara Smyth, Criminology, 778.782.8829, 778.782.8844, sara_smyth@sfu.ca
Digital scrapbooking
The SFU Library will demonstrate a new digital scrapbooking tool to promote multiculturalism during a ceremony to be held on Tuesday, March 23, at 2 p.m. at SFU's Bennett Library in the Special Collections foyer. The tool is part of an ongoing project funded by Canadian Heritage to digitize long-hidden books, photos and ephemera for the Multicultural Canada website (www.multiculturalcanada.ca). Using their own home computers, members of the public will be able to upload documents, photos and stories reflecting their own family history. "You can then publish your scrapbook as a webpage on the Multicultural Canada website for anyone in the world to see," says project leader Mark Jordan, head of information systems at the SFU Library.
Mark Jordan, 778.782.5753; mjordan@sfu.ca