Algorithm scans pathology, radiology reports for information to aid researchers in improving outcomes
Every time you enter a phrase or a sentence into Google search, algorithms kick in using a technique called natural language processing to understand what you really want to know and then find you an answer. Now University of Alberta researchers will use a similar approach to develop a computer program that can “read” doctors’…
Immigration policy must build bridges and align with economic, social, education and multicultural policy
I was recently invited to share my thoughts and take a futuristic peek at the role of immigration in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada invited me to speak at its annual executive leadership summit that included more than 250 decision-makers in the executive branch. My presentation spanned the unresolved immigration issues…
Much of what’s presented as news now is better described as narrative spinning
If you follow American news, you’ve probably come across many assertions that by mid-century the United States is set to become a “majority-minority” country. For the first time since its founding, whites will no longer form a majority of the population. This has been greeted with a range of reactions. Some people are dismayed, or…
Wedding industry vendors are reporting a boom in bookings – or at least south of the border according to the Associated Press. Couples who waited out the pandemic are booking their big day, as are those who married during the pandemic but are now planning celebrations with family and friends. The increased bookings are likely…
Nobody really knows how the economy will look as a return to normalcy progresses
Grocers racked up millions of dollars in profits as they increased revenues during the first year of the pandemic. But numbers this year tell us tougher economic times await them. And the economy is just one part of the story. Nobody really knows how the economy will look this fall and winter as a return…
Our debt is rising and our population growth is slowing. The result will be a massive fiscal burden on taxpayers in decades to come
Caught between a rock and a hard place. This best sums up the position that Alberta’s United Conservative Party government found itself in as it announced new, stricter lockdown measures for Christmas. The government is attempting to bend the rising curve of COVID-19 infections. Premier Jason Kenney and his most trusted ministers lined up to…
It’s a common religious philosophy. The secular world calls it the ethic of reciprocity. It’s the ultimate social no-brainer
The go-to car radio station for people of my demographic profile in Regina is Rawlco Radio, home of the John Gormley Show, The Hour of Rage and, on Sundays, replays of Montreal’s popular Roy Green Show. This is red meat programming for grumpy old guys. You know – men who look like me and who,…
Landmark 35-year research project yields surprising findings about happiness, relationships, generational differences and more
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the differences between generations and the sociological forces defining their worldviews and behaviour. Stereotypes abound: the silent generation is inflexibly conventional, the baby boomers are narcissistic, generation X members are lazy. And millennials just take too long to grow up. But few of these assumptions…
Surprisingly, post-Black Death populations tended to live longer and enjoy better health and standards of living
Bubonic plague came to England in the summer of 1348. Popularly known as the Black Death, the disease arrived via a French ship that docked in what is now Weymouth on the south coast. From there, it spread rapidly inland and westwards over the water to Ireland. It was also transmitted across the North Sea…
The notion that leading the G7 is evidence of strong economic performance or rapid growth in living standards is not simply off base, it’s dangerous
By Ben Eisen and Finn Poschmann The Fraser Institute Recent forecasts suggest Canada may compete with the United States for the top spot in the G7 in 2020 for economic growth. Those forecasts include one from the International Monetary Fund. Political partisans have since flooded social media with the impressive-sounding factoid that Canada may lead…
Every time you enter a phrase or a sentence into Google search, algorithms kick in using a technique called natural language processing to understand what you really want to know and then find you an answer. Now University of Alberta researchers will use a similar approach to develop a computer program that can “read” doctors’…
