Issues & Experts >
Issues & Experts Archive > Crime, school tests, breath holding, space worms – Issues, Experts & Ideas
Crime, school tests, breath holding, space worms – Issues, Experts & Ideas
Document Tools
May 10, 2006
A small stab at organized crime
The RCMP can’t afford to fight the majority of organized crime, according to commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli. He says the RCMP can tackle about one third of what they know is out there. Robert Gordon, director of SFU’s school of criminology, can look at the challenges of policing organized crime.
Robert Gordon, 604.291.4305; robert_gordon@sfu.ca
Gauging student progress
Students in Grades 4 and 7 have been preparing to write a series of tests aimed at helping the provincial government gauge their progress. BC’s public school teachers, however, have stirred controversy by asking that parents withdraw students from taking the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests. SFU education professor Milt McClaren, an expert on curriculum, student achievement and parent involvement in schools, can look at the debate around the FSA tests.
Milt McClaren, (based in Kelowna), 250.764.8781, milt_mcclaren@sfu.ca
Preview: SFU Open House ideas
Hold your breath
While research shows that brain chemistry accounts for gender-based differences in skills, new SFU research indicates breath holding is also gender-based. Kinesiologist Matthew White has found that typical-sized men can hold their breath 40 seconds in icy water, twice as long as typical-sized women. White, whose research on breath holding is linked to a larger project aimed at reducing the death rate from helicopter crashes at sea, will be among scientists demonstrating their research at the SFU Open House June 3.
Matthew White, 604.291.3344, matt@sfu.ca
Worms in Space
They are worms with a mission — to help scientists determine the biological effects of radiation in space. Tiny (one millimeter long) nematodes known as Caenohabditis elegans are seasoned space travelers. (They were aboard the Columbia space shuttle and survived). Funded by the Canadian Space Agency, SFU researchers led by David Baillie, a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry and a Canada research chair, are studying the worms to determine, for example, if DNA repair systems work differently in space than on Earth. The worms will journey to the International Space Station in 2007. PhD student Martin Jones will be at the SFU Open House on June 3 to talk about the research. (digital photo available.) Baillie can update research progress.
David Baillie, 604.291.6590/4597; david_baillie@sfu.ca
The RCMP can’t afford to fight the majority of organized crime, according to commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli. He says the RCMP can tackle about one third of what they know is out there. Robert Gordon, director of SFU’s school of criminology, can look at the challenges of policing organized crime.
Robert Gordon, 604.291.4305; robert_gordon@sfu.ca
Gauging student progress
Students in Grades 4 and 7 have been preparing to write a series of tests aimed at helping the provincial government gauge their progress. BC’s public school teachers, however, have stirred controversy by asking that parents withdraw students from taking the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests. SFU education professor Milt McClaren, an expert on curriculum, student achievement and parent involvement in schools, can look at the debate around the FSA tests.
Milt McClaren, (based in Kelowna), 250.764.8781, milt_mcclaren@sfu.ca
Preview: SFU Open House ideas
Hold your breath
While research shows that brain chemistry accounts for gender-based differences in skills, new SFU research indicates breath holding is also gender-based. Kinesiologist Matthew White has found that typical-sized men can hold their breath 40 seconds in icy water, twice as long as typical-sized women. White, whose research on breath holding is linked to a larger project aimed at reducing the death rate from helicopter crashes at sea, will be among scientists demonstrating their research at the SFU Open House June 3.
Matthew White, 604.291.3344, matt@sfu.ca
Worms in Space
They are worms with a mission — to help scientists determine the biological effects of radiation in space. Tiny (one millimeter long) nematodes known as Caenohabditis elegans are seasoned space travelers. (They were aboard the Columbia space shuttle and survived). Funded by the Canadian Space Agency, SFU researchers led by David Baillie, a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry and a Canada research chair, are studying the worms to determine, for example, if DNA repair systems work differently in space than on Earth. The worms will journey to the International Space Station in 2007. PhD student Martin Jones will be at the SFU Open House on June 3 to talk about the research. (digital photo available.) Baillie can update research progress.
David Baillie, 604.291.6590/4597; david_baillie@sfu.ca