Reflections on the Cost of Low-Cost Whole Genome Sequencing: Framing the Health Policy Debate

The cost of whole genome sequencing is dropping rapidly. There has been a great deal of enthusiasm about the potential for this technological advance to transform clinical care. Given the interest and significant investment in genomics, this seems an ideal time to consider what the evidence tells us about potential benefits and harms, particularly in the context of health care policy. The scale and pace of adoption of this powerful new technology should be driven by clinical need, clinical evidence, and a commitment to put patients at the centre of health care policy

Potholes and Paperwork: Improving Cross-Border Integration and Regulation of the Automotive Industry

Divergent regulations and border regimes in Canada and the US are threatening the integrated, cross-border structure of the Canadian auto industry. It is time for common regulations governing safety, fuel consumption and environmental protection, and faster, more efficient border clearances.trade policy, Auto Pact, automotive industry

Geriatric Natural Herbalism in a Toronto Seniors' Community: A feasibility study of social enterprise through green living and agro-ecological herbal plant production and distribution

This research paper describes a feasibility study of a possible business model to be supported by Canadian civil society organizations (CSO), Canadian social enterprises, seniors’ facility centers and alternative food networks (AFN) to deliver fresh and nutritional food and natural herbal teas to seniors’ facilities. Through the theories of “green living and environmental leadership” and supportive herbalism practices for an aging population, Canadian civil society organizations and social enterprises can highlight community engagement, decision building, environment sustainability, equity and social justice, agriculture and economy, health and wellbeing. The research has been developed through qualitative research work with literature reviews, interviews, case studies, practical working experiences, illustrations, taking notes and examining critical theories

Can multi-stage production explain the home bias in trade?

A large empirical literature finds that there is too little international trade, and too much intra-national trade to be rationalized by observed international trade costs such as tariffs and transport costs. The literature uses frameworks in which goods are assumed to be produced in just one stage. This paper investigates whether the multi-stage nature of production helps explain the home bias in trade. The author shows that multi-stage production magnifies the effects of trade costs. He then calibrates a multi-stage production model to the U.S. and Canada. He solves the model with measures of trade costs constructed from data on tariffs, transport costs, and wholesale distribution margins. The model can explain about 3/8 of the Canada border effect; this is three times more than what a calibrated one-stage model can explain. The model also explains a good deal of Canada’s vertical specialization trade. Finally, a reverse engineering exercise suggests that the unknown or unobserved component of trade costs is smaller than observed trade costs.Production (Economic theory) ; Trade

Still Amigos: A Fresh Canada-US Approach to Reviving NAFTA

To update NAFTA, the authors propose a distinct Canada–US collaborative strategy, which builds on mutual incentives in the areas of energy security and environmental sustainability.international trade policy, NAFTA

Interpolating compact binary waveforms using the singular value decomposition

Compact binary systems with total masses between tens and hundreds of solar masses will produce gravitational waves during their merger phase that are detectable by second-generation ground-based gravitational-wave detectors. In order to model the gravitational waveform of the merger epoch of compact binary coalescence, the full Einstein equations must be solved numerically for the entire mass and spin parameter space. However, this is computationally expensive. Several models have been proposed to interpolate the results of numerical relativity simulations. In this paper we propose a numerical interpolation scheme that stems from the singular value decomposition. This algorithm shows promise in allowing one to construct arbitrary waveforms within a certain parameter space given a sufficient density of numerical simulations covering the same parameter space. We also investigate how similar approaches could be used to interpolate waveforms in the context of parameter estimation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, presented at the joint 9th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves and 2011 Numerical Relativity - Data Analysis (NRDA) meetin

Low-Carbon Fuel Standards: Driving in the Wrong Direction

In pursuit of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, policymakers in some Canadian provinces are contemplating a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS), a regulation that would require transportation fuel providers to distribute a mix of fuel that, on average, emitted a declining amount of GHG per unit of energy produced. This report examines the drawbacks of the LCFS concept and suggests that economy-wide measures would be a better way to reduce GHG emissions.economic growth and innovation, cap-and-trade, transportation fuel providers

A New Prescription: Can the BC-Alberta TILMA Resuscitate Internal Trade in Canada?

Interprovincial trade barriers are a drag on Canadian productivity and send an embarrassing message to international investors.Despite some past progress in reducing them, they remain an irritant to our economic union. Trade liberalization as pursued by Alberta and British Columbia in the TILMA is a model that Ottawa and the provinces should pursue.Canadian Agreement on Internal Trade,Alberta-British Columbia Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement

Speaking about the War of 1812: Reinterpreting History in the Rhetoric Surrounding Canada's Inter-War Diplomacy (1919-1939)

A remarkable feature of Canada's external relations in the years between the two world wars of the twentieth century is the extent to which Canada's conduct and speeches by its representatives on international affairs were dominated by imagery of North American harmony. Past clashes, most notably the War of 1812, or simply differences of views were forgotten or overlooked in the construction of a myth that served to justify inaction and the denial of commitments in imperial and world affairs. An aloof, unhelpful stance internationally was depicted more positively as a worthy example of peaceful attitudes and conduct. Thus, the interwar period was dominated by rhetoric about 'the longest undefended border in the world,' '[more than a] century of peace in North America,' and the contrast between the 'New World' and the 'Old World' in world affairs. No Canadian speech in an international forum seemed complete without some variation on these themes and without an admonition to Europeans and other miscreants to settle disputes by conciliation, negotiation and arbitration – rather than resort to war – as was the tradition in relations between Canada and the United States. This paper deals with the development, application and effect in the inter-war period of the lessons supposedly drawn from the experience and especially the aftermath of the War of 1812

Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: a systematic review.

BackgroundIn adult correctional facilities, correctional officers (COs) are responsible for the safety and security of the facility in addition to aiding in offender rehabilitation and preventing recidivism. COs experience higher rates of job stress and burnout that stem from organizational stressors, leading to negative outcomes for not only the CO but the organization as well. Effective interventions could aim at targeting organizational stressors in order to reduce these negative outcomes as well as COs' job stress and burnout. This paper fills a gap in the organizational stress literature among COs by systematically reviewing the relationship between organizational stressors and CO stress and burnout in adult correctional facilities. In doing so, the present review identifies areas that organizational interventions can target in order to reduce CO job stress and burnout.MethodsA systematic search of the literature was conducted using Medline, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts. All retrieved articles were independently screened based on criteria developed a priori. All included articles underwent quality assessment. Organizational stressors were categorized according to Cooper and Marshall's (1976) model of job stress.ResultsThe systematic review yielded 8 studies that met all inclusion and quality assessment criteria. The five categories of organizational stressors among correctional officers are: stressors intrinsic to the job, role in the organization, rewards at work, supervisory relationships at work and the organizational structure and climate. The organizational structure and climate was demonstrated to have the most consistent relationship with CO job stress and burnout.ConclusionsThe results of this review indicate that the organizational structure and climate of correctional institutions has the most consistent relationship with COs' job stress and burnout. Limitations of the studies reviewed include the cross-sectional design and the use of varying measures for organizational stressors. The results of this review indicate that interventions should aim to improve the organizational structure and climate of the correctional facility by improving communication between management and COs