Innovation and Competition in Canadian Equity Markets

Innovations in communications and information technology and the related globalization of financial markets have created the potential for important changes to the structure of Canadian equity markets. Established marketplaces can now compete more effectively on an inter-regional and international basis. At the same time, reduced costs have lowered the barriers to entry faced by new competitors known as alternative trading systems (ATSs). In response to this heightened competition, established Canadian stock exchanges have taken measures to improve market quality. While regulators see innovation as positive for the development of Canadian markets, there is some concern that market liquidity may be fragmented in the short run. The Canadian Securities Administrators have proposed a framework that attempts to address this issue and that would allow ATSs to compete with traditional exchanges for the first time. The authors provide an overview of the Canadian equity market and its structure, focusing on these recent developments.

A comparative analysis of student SQL and relational database knowledge using automated grading tools

This paper evaluates a blended learning methodology for Relational Database Systems. Our module offers students a range of interconnected tools and teaching resources. Among them is \testsql, a query tool giving the students automated feedback on SQL query exercises; but we do not use it to assess the students. Instead assessment is through a range of questions which test not only SQL writing skills, but also other aspects of the field, including questions on optimisation, physical modelling, PL/SQL, and indirect questions on SQL knowledge, such as processing order. The effectiveness of the approach is investigated through a survey of student attitudes', and assessment data. Our analysis shows, unsurprisingly, that the students' use of more resources correlates significantly with better results; but also that success at the different sub-topics tested is not at all well correlated, which shows that students can master some topics while remaining weak at others; and finally, that indirect SQL questions is best predictor of success at each of the other sub-topics. This last result confirms our choice to broaden the testing of SQL skills, and has implications for the use automated SQL assessment tools: we recommend that in automated testing for Database Systems, SQL writing tests be complemented with indirect questions on keyword use, parsing, or error recognition aimed at revealing broader abilities of learners

An Open Workflow Environment to Support Learning Data Science

The vast majority of visual tools to learn computing focus on imperative and object-oriented programming. This paper outlines a graphical tool and language which is makes functional programming accessible to inexperienced learners, while also supporting open access to the data and executable results for study and deployment. We believe that both the broadening of the range of programming paradigms and the open approach embedded in the tools make the materials valuable for learning

Machine Notionnelle et Pratiques de la Programmation: Mieux Apprendre avec le Développement Progressif

Cet article définit les problèmes de développement progressif comme des problèmes dont les solutions partielles ou erronées sont utiles au progrès vers une solution complète. Appliquant cette définition à des exemples Scratch, il présente trois exercices (un jeu simple, un en trois dimensions et une simulation mécanique de bielle-manivelle) qui peuvent être traités comme des problèmes de développement progressifs, et montre comment cette présentation permet d’encourager les apprenants à développer des pratiques de programmation efficaces et une machine notionnelle — un modèle mental de l’interprétation du code — plus juste

Improving the Usability of Visual Functional Programming Tools

This short report presents reflections on the design challenges of a visual functional programming environment. Some early work is presented in (Boisvert, Roast, & Uruchurtu, 2019, 2021); here we will investigate design difficulties and propose reflections on what they reveal

Pistes de prévention en santé mentale pour les étudiants en relation d’aide : influence de facteurs de risque et de protection sur des indicateurs de santé mentale

Venir en aide à des personnes avec des besoins particuliers entraînant des difficultés d’adaptation est une profession valorisante, mais potentiellement coûteuse pour la santé psychologique de l’aidant. Dès leur formation, les étudiants en relation d’aide bénéficieraient à développer des stratégies de protection afin de maintenir consciemment une bonne santé mentale. Dans une démarche exploratoire, l’objectif principal de cette étude vise à mettre en lumière les facteurs de risque et de protection améliorant ou aggravant des indicateurs de santé mentale chez des étudiants en relation d’aide. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de 68 étudiants du baccalauréat en psychoéducation de l’Université de Montréal au courant de l’été 2016 jusqu’à la fin de la session d’automne 2016. Les résultats montrent que ce parcours scolaire intégrant une première expérience clinique contient de multiples défis entraînant des augmentations significatives à la majorité des indicateurs de santé mentale, dès la rentrée scolaire et jusqu’à la fin de leur stage d’automne. Divers facteurs de risque et de protection aggravent ou facilitent l’expérience vécue. D’une part, la sensibilité au non verbal, la contagion émotionnelle, les stratégies de coping et des habiletés de pleine conscience semblent jouer un rôle important dans les variations des indicateurs de santé mentale au cours de l’automne. D’autre part, les élévations du stress perçu exerçaient une forte influence sur l’augmentation des autres indicateurs de santé mentale. En outre, les élévations du stress perçu semblaient influencées à leur tour par l’élévation d’anxiété situationnelle. L’anxiété serait donc responsable en partie de cette cascade d’influence sur les autres élévations aux indicateurs de santé mentale au courant de la session. Les implications pour la recherche et la pratique sont discutées.While helping people with special needs resulting in psychosocial difficulties is an honourable profession, it is potentially costly for the mental health of the counsellor. Counsellors-in-training can benefit by developing protective strategies in order to maintain their mental health. This exploratory study aims to highlight the risk factors as well as the protective factors that can improve or aggravate indicators of mental health in undergraduate students in counselling programs. Data was collected from 68 undergraduate students enrolled in University of Montreal’s psycho-education program during their first immersive experience in a clinical internship. The results demonstrate that students face various challenges that can cause significant deterioration of mental health indicators, during the time of the internship. Different risk and protective factors can aggravate or improve the experience of the student during their internship. On the one hand, sensitivity to non-verbal cues, emotional contagion, coping strategies, and mindfulness skills seemed to play an important role in the fluctuation of mental health indicators. On the other hand, perceived stress had a strong impact on the increase of other mental health factors. More precisely, the increase of situational anxiety seemed to have an influence on the increase of perceived stress. Anxiety would, therefore, be partly responsible for this chain of influence on the increase of mental health indicators that were observed during the semester. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Nifty with data: can a business intelligence analysis sourced from open data form a nifty assignment?

This paper proposes a *nifty assignment* in data mining and discusses how quality in database assignments differs from other domains in computer science, particularly programming. It then considers the sources of data used, to study whether Open Data can form the basis of more such assignments, and if so how. In the next sections, we describe the nifty assessment criteria and explain why use them as a standard for quality of assessment. We then propose an assignment which outlines a number of topics related to finding and accessing Open Data, merging sources, and analysing the data using self-service and data mining tools. Once the assignment is clear, we will reconsider it against the nifty criteria, but also consider how the criteria themselves apply to the area of data mining which has few assignments proposed. Finally, we will consider whether the basis of this assignment, the use of Open Data as a source of data to analyse, can be extended to different cases and examples, and if so how. Keyword : Nifty assignments; Open Data; Business Intelligence; Computer Science Educatio

The Knowledge Object Reference Ontology (KORO): A formalism to support management and sharing of computable biomedical knowledge for learning health systems

IntroductionHealth systems are challenged by care underutilization, overutilization, disparities, and related harms. One problem is a multiyear latency between discovery of new best practice knowledge and its widespread adoption. Decreasing this latency requires new capabilities to better manage and more rapidly share biomedical knowledge in computable forms. Knowledge objects package machineâ executable knowledge resources in a way that easily enables knowledge as a service. To help improve knowledge management and accelerate knowledge sharing, the Knowledge Object Reference Ontology (KORO) defines what knowledge objects are in a formal way.MethodsDevelopment of KORO began with identification of terms for classes of entities and for properties. Next, we established a taxonomical hierarchy of classes for knowledge objects and their parts. Development continued by relating these parts via formally defined properties. We evaluated the logical consistency of KORO and used it to answer several competency questions about parthood. We also applied it to guide knowledge object implementation.ResultsAs a realist ontology, KORO defines what knowledge objects are and provides details about the parts they have and the roles they play. KORO provides sufficient logic to answer several basic but important questions about knowledge objects competently. KORO directly supports creators of knowledge objects by providing a formal model for these objects.ConclusionKORO provides a formal, logically consistent ontology about knowledge objects and their parts. It exists to help make computable biomedical knowledge findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. KORO is currently being used to further develop and improve computable knowledge infrastructure for learning health systems.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143591/1/lrh210054_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143591/2/lrh210054.pd