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Welfare, aging, journalism
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May 25, 2010
Suing welfare recipients
Krishna Pendakur, an SFU economist who researches labour economics and public financing, says the B.C. government is suing hundreds of welfare recipients to recover overpayments for three potential reasons: “Number one, they want the money and if the welfare collectors entered a period of greater prosperity and now have money, then the government can legally try to collect it. Number two, they want to send a message that you are not supposed to collect more than your entitlement, and that if you do, they’ll try to get it back. Number three, they are just blindly following the law."
Krishna Pendakur, 778.782.5501, pendakur@sfu.ca
Aging with the help of technology
Engineer Bozena Kaminska and biomedical engineer Steve Robinovitch—both SFU professors—will be among presenters at a gerontology conference this week addressing how technology can help improve seniors’ quality of life.
SFU’s Gerontology Research Centre (GRC) is hosting the International Society for Gerontology 7th World Conference at the Mariott Pinnacle Hotel in Vancouver May 27-30. GRC founding director and gerontologist Gloria Gutman can elaborate on how technologies such as robotics and telemonitoring are helping seniors live better longer.
Kaminska will showcase smart “Band-Aid” biosensors that detect and monitor vital signs in real time and transmit medical alerts to caregivers. Robinovitch will present his development of assistive technology, involving “fall-proof” flooring and wearable “air bags” triggered by sensors that detect an impending impact.
Gloria Gutman, 778.782.5063 (w), 604.767.2009 (cell), isg2010@sfu.ca
Bozena Kaminska, 778.782.6855, kaminska@sfu.ca
Stephen Robinovitch, 778.782.3566, stever@sfu.ca
Paying for citizen journalism
B.C.’s popular online media upstart The Tyee is ramping up its ongoing fundraising campaign, inviting readers to donate to a Fellowship Fund to “help independent journalism thrive.” Communication professor Richard Smith suspects “we’ll see more of this. Spot.us already has a ‘fund this story’ link on every page of its news site. It’s hard to say whether this approach will keep The Tyee viable; certainly some big and very important initiatives live on donations. It might work better if, as with the United Way, there was a collective approach to fundraising and dispersion of funds.”
Richard Smith, smith@sfu.ca
Krishna Pendakur, an SFU economist who researches labour economics and public financing, says the B.C. government is suing hundreds of welfare recipients to recover overpayments for three potential reasons: “Number one, they want the money and if the welfare collectors entered a period of greater prosperity and now have money, then the government can legally try to collect it. Number two, they want to send a message that you are not supposed to collect more than your entitlement, and that if you do, they’ll try to get it back. Number three, they are just blindly following the law."
Krishna Pendakur, 778.782.5501, pendakur@sfu.ca
Aging with the help of technology
Engineer Bozena Kaminska and biomedical engineer Steve Robinovitch—both SFU professors—will be among presenters at a gerontology conference this week addressing how technology can help improve seniors’ quality of life.
SFU’s Gerontology Research Centre (GRC) is hosting the International Society for Gerontology 7th World Conference at the Mariott Pinnacle Hotel in Vancouver May 27-30. GRC founding director and gerontologist Gloria Gutman can elaborate on how technologies such as robotics and telemonitoring are helping seniors live better longer.
Kaminska will showcase smart “Band-Aid” biosensors that detect and monitor vital signs in real time and transmit medical alerts to caregivers. Robinovitch will present his development of assistive technology, involving “fall-proof” flooring and wearable “air bags” triggered by sensors that detect an impending impact.
Gloria Gutman, 778.782.5063 (w), 604.767.2009 (cell), isg2010@sfu.ca
Bozena Kaminska, 778.782.6855, kaminska@sfu.ca
Stephen Robinovitch, 778.782.3566, stever@sfu.ca
Paying for citizen journalism
B.C.’s popular online media upstart The Tyee is ramping up its ongoing fundraising campaign, inviting readers to donate to a Fellowship Fund to “help independent journalism thrive.” Communication professor Richard Smith suspects “we’ll see more of this. Spot.us already has a ‘fund this story’ link on every page of its news site. It’s hard to say whether this approach will keep The Tyee viable; certainly some big and very important initiatives live on donations. It might work better if, as with the United Way, there was a collective approach to fundraising and dispersion of funds.”
Richard Smith, smith@sfu.ca