Issues, Experts & Ideas: Silenced pipers, anti-terrorism, rebound vacationers
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Terrorism scare silences pipers
How do we stop terrorists before they strike?
Back to school: Numeracy the new buzzword
Live where you play
Collaborations: complex business
SFU Surrey: Note SFU Surrey celebrates new campus move Sept. 8/9
Terrorism scare silences pipers
The world famous SFU Pipe Band may be short two pipers and all of its drummers when the ceremonies for the opening of SFU Surrey’s new home in Central City occurs on September 8. The players are among the thousands of travellers who are victims of efforts to quash an alleged terrorism plot to blow up aircraft bound for the United States from Britain. A frustrated Rob MacNeil, the pipe band’s manager, says the band’s 11 drums and two pipes are among the 20,000 pieces of luggage lost in the post-scare chaos engulfing Britain’s transportation system. The loss has put a damper on the band’s recent first and second place victories at the World Pipe Band championships in Glasgow, Scotland. The terrorism scare erupted while band members were in transit to Scotland.
Rob MacNeil, 604.279.5422 ext. 326, 604.552.5674, rob@robertmacneilmusicworks.com
How do we stop terrorists before they strike?
The recent terrorist plot in the U.K. raises questions about how terrorist acts can be prevented before they happen. Professors John Dill and Brian Fisher of SFU Surrey's school of interactive arts and technology have been working with the U.S. National Visualization and Analytics Center (NVAC), an effort supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to help build better tools for intelligence analysis in a bid to stop terrorists before they strike. Dill, an engineer, and Fisher, a cognitive scientist, are also working with collaborators in Canada and the U.S. to create a Canadian centre where information technology support would be designed to advance national security initiatives.
John Dill, 604.268.7555, dill@sfu.ca
Brian Fisher, 604.268.7554, bfisher@sfu.ca
Back to school: Numeracy the new buzzword
Numeracy is becoming a new buzzword in education. ‘Numerate’ students don’t only know how to do the math, they also have an understanding of the mathematics they do, and an ability to apply that mathematical knowledge to solving relevant problems. Education professors Peter Liljedahl and Rina Zazkis are working with teachers in their master’s program to help K-12 students become more numerate.
Peter Liljedahl, 604.291.5643; peter_liljedahl@sfu.ca
Rina Zazkis, 604.291.3662; rina_zazkis@sfu.ca
Live where you play
More of those who holiday in the B.C. interior or northeastern Vancouver Island are returning to live in these communities, says Peter Williams, director of SFU's centre for tourism policy and research. He is tracking the growing trend of amenity-led tourism migration. The influx is largely baby boomers - routine travellers who opt for early retirement - as well as middle-aged people, who are "footloose in business" using technology that allows them to move to high quality environments. Besides driving up housing needs and prices, the trend is changing the nature of the cities and towns, with new demands for shopping and high-end services, such as spas, notes Williams. He has studied a similar trend over the past decade in communities around the U.S. Rockies. Williams can also talk about how international conflict and terrorism are affecting the travel industry.
Peter Williams, 604.922.1954; peterw@sfu.ca
Collaborations: complex businessWorking together while maintaining individual philosophies can be a complex matter when it comes to business collaborations. Take, for example, the experiences of a multi-sector collaboration involving employees from a range of pharmaceutical companies and members of the HIV/AIDS community. Finding common ground poses a challenge when they work together to address treatment concerns in the Canadian HIV/AIDS domain. It’s an issue that Cynthia Hardy, professor of management at the University of Melbourne, studies. Hardy is in Vancouver to meet with members of the new CMA Centre for Strategic Change and Performance Measurement at SFU Business and can talk about her research.
Cynthia Hardy, 604.801.6759