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Some Health Atlases

November 29, 2010 in canada by Tracey | Permalink

I posted the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care – Geography is Destiny that was discussed in Miller-McCune on CagList & Geographers shared some Canadian examples. (just updated – February 4, 2011)

  1. MyPeg – Tracking Well-Being in Winnipeg
  2. Atlas of Canada – Health Matters
  3. Infonaut – “putting health on the map”
  4. Martin Prosperity Insights – Food Deserts and Priority Neighbourhoods in Toronto
  5. Atlas Santé Montréal, du Carrefour montréalais d’information sociosanitaire
  6. New Brunswick Health Association Environmental Health-Mapping Project
  7. Diabetes in Toronto, Institute for Clinical Evaluation Sciences
  8. Saskatoon, GIS and Health
  9. Ottawa Neighbourhood Study. U Ottawa, CIHR and City of Ottawa
  10. UVic Geography Dept members have put together an online BC Atlas of Wellness
  11. UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research has published 2 editions of a BC Health Atlas. These and background reports related to issues of health & health care mapping are available for download from CHSPR’s publications webpage.
  12. Primary Health Care Atlas & Pharmaceutical Use in Canada Atlas (CHSPR).
  13. Manitoba Child Health Atlas
  14. Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES) has created some ‘Atlases’
  15. Human Early Learning Partnership at UBC has been using cartography for public policy related to early child development.
  16. Social Planning Council of Ottawa Community Information and Mapping System (CIMS) is an infrastructure to support voluntary sector groups and community members in Ontario to do local community based research to understand and improve population health.
  17. Canadian Network of Population Health Observatories – Calgary and area zone Atlas
  18. GeoConnections Public Health Map Generator

Health Mapping URLs in Del.icio.us, Cancer Surveillance, cardiovascular, chronic, health in general.

I will go looking for more at some point.

GIS Day 2010 – Long-Form Census and Neighbourhood

November 21, 2010 in canada, Census by Tracey | Permalink

The Real Long-Form Census Informs Neighbourhood Analysis

Abstract:

Ms. Tracey P. Lauriault discusses neighbourhood scale research using Census data. She introduces the The Cybercartographic Pilot Atlas of the Risk of Homelessness created at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research and will feature community based research used to inform public policy as part of the Canadian Social Data Strategy (CSDS) . She features maps and data about social issues in Canadian cities & metropolitan areas (e.g. Calgary, Toronto, Halton, Sault Ste. Marie, hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal, & others) and focuses on the importance of local analysis and what the loss of the Long-Form Census could mean to evidence based decision making to communities in Canada’s. She will also discuss issues surrounding the cancellation of the long-form census in Canada.

Who:

Tracey P. Lauriault is a researcher at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre at Carleton University and is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. She participates in activities and represents the GCRC on topics related to the access to and the preservation of Data. She was the Research Leader for the Pilot Atlas of the Risk of Homelessness funded by HRSDC, part of the Project Management Team for the Cybercartography and the New Economy Project responsible for collaboration, transdisciplinary research, organizational theory and lead researcher of the Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica Case Study for the International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES) 2 and General Study of Archival Policies of Science Data Archives/Repositories.

Currently, she is working on the Canadian Social Data Strategy a project of Canadian Council on Social Development as a Research Associate with Acacia Consulting and Research. Her PhD dissertation is on mapping data access discourses in Canada.  She is co-founder of CivicAccces.ca, ogWiFi.ca and co-author of datalibre.ca which hosts Census Watch.

OpenData & Public Research

October 28, 2010 in academia, Access, canada, Census, federal government by Tracey | Permalink

Researchers use OpenData to inform their work, and are also producers of data and software that can be re-shared with the public.  In Canada, much university research is supported by public funds and an argument can be made that the results of that research should be accessible to the public.  The research at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre will be featured as will community based social policy research in Ottawa.  In Canada some data are accessible, but mostly data are not, and if they are, cost recovery policies and regressive licensing impede their use.  The talk will feature examples where data are open and where opportunities for evidence based decision making are restricted.

OpenData & Public Research

Open Data Initiatives in Canada: One part of the Open Government Conversation

October 28, 2010 in Access, canada, datasets, federal government, geo, government, infrastructure by Tracey | Permalink

Abstract: Canada’s Information Commissioners have adopted a resolution toward Open Government and part of the open government process is open access to public administrative, census, map and research data.  A number of Canadian Cities,  innovative government programs such as GeoConnections, forward thinking research funding such as International Polar Year have become OpenData cities, implemented data sharing infrastructures and fund data sharing science.  Access to data are one part of the open government conversation, and it is argued that opendata bring us closer to more informed democratic deliberations on public policy.

Event: Open Access Week 2010, Carleton University, October 21, Noon to 1PM.

OpenAccess Week Speaking Engagements

October 19, 2010 in academia, Access, campaigns, canada, Census, datasets, infrastructure by Tracey | Permalink

1. Event: Open Access Week 2010, Carleton University, October 21, Noon to 1PM.

2. Event: Open Access Week, Université d’Ottawa, Apps4Ottawa Showcase, October 21, 5-7PM.

  • Title: OpenData & Public Research
  • Abstract: Researchers use OpenData to inform their work, and are also producers of data and software that can be re-shared to the public.  In Canada, much of university research is supported by public funds and an argument can be made that the results of that research should be accessible to the public.  The research at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre will be featured as will community based social policy research in Ottawa.  In Canada some data are accessible, but mostly data are not, and if they are, cost recovery policies and regressive licensing impede their use.  The talk will feature examples where data are open and where opportunities for evidence based decision making are restricted.

3. Event: Statistical Society of Ottawa 8th annual seminar – Our Statistics Community on Monday the 25th of October.

  • Title: The Real Census informs Neighbourhood Research in Canada
  • Abstract: Ms. Tracey P. Lauriault will discuss neighbourhood scale research using Census data.  She will introduce the The Cybercartographic Pilot Atlas of the Risk of Homelessness created at the Geomatics and Cartographic Research and will feature community based research used to inform public policy as part of the Canadian Social Data Strategy (CSDS).  She will feature maps and data about social issues in Canadian cities & metropolitan areas (e.g. Calgary, Toronto, Halton, Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa, Montreal, & others) and will focus on the importance of local analysis and what the loss of the Long-Form Census could mean to evidence based decision making to communities in Canada’s.

Mercer Rant and the Long-Form Census

October 9, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, policy, politics by Tracey | Permalink

Wonderful!

Government Cost Recovery is Double Dipping – Open Data

October 8, 2010 in canada, conference, datasets, federal government, Open Data by Tracey | Permalink

Information may or may not yearn to be free — but you shouldn’t have to pay to get it from the government.

Since it’s yours to begin with.

That was the unanimous conclusion of a GTEC panel discussion Tuesday on the implications of “open data,” including the potential for government departments to earn revenue from it.

Ottawa Citizen: ‘Open data’ should mean end to fees: GTEC panel

Census Articles in Canadian Public Policy

October 8, 2010 in canada, Census, federal government, government by Tracey | Permalink

Debra Thompson: The Politics of the Census: Lessons from Abroad, pp. 377-382.

David A. Green and Kevin Milligan: The Importance of the Long Form Census to Canada, pp. 383-388.

Lisa Dillon: The Value of the Long Form Canadian Census for Long Term National and International Research, pp. 389-393.

Michael R. Veall: 2B or Not 2B? What Should Have Happened with the Canadian Long Form Census? What Should Happen Now?, pp. 395-399.

Contest Apps4Ottawa / concours AppsPourOttawa

October 1, 2010 in canada, Open Data, policy, politics, R&D by Tracey | Permalink

La Ville d’Ottawa lance son premier concours public visant le développement d’applications à partir de données ouvertes et invite tous les résidents à participer à la fois à la création de nouvelles applications et au vote de leur favorite.

La Ville cherche à encourager les citoyens à élaborer de nouvelles applications novatrices qui font appel aux données de la Ville, en accès libre depuis peu grâce à l’initiative Données ouvertes, et ce, afin d’améliorer la vie communautaire, de stimuler la croissance économique et d’intégrer les citoyens à l’administration municipale.

The City of Ottawa is running its first public contest to develop apps from open data and is inviting residents from all over to participate both in creating new apps or voting on their favourites.

The goal of the contest is to encourage entrepreneurs, agencies, students, IT professionals and others to create innovative new apps that use open data to improve community experience, stimulate economic growth and engage residents in municipal government.

Ottawa Citizen Article: City launches $50,000 app contest

Right to Know Week

September 29, 2010 in campaigns, canada by Tracey | Permalink

Democratic progress requires the ready availability of true and complete information. In this way people can objectively evaluate their government’s policy. To act otherwise is to give way to despotic secrecy.

(1)

-Pierre E. Trudeau

Freedom of information legislation refers to the regime for accessing public information held by a government. It generally indicates what information is accessible by the public and what is not, such as, personal information or information related to national security in times of war.

(1)

Canadians have had a long summer on the re-in-statement of the Long-Form Census. There has been an unprecedented outpouring of support from all corners of the nation. People want to be informed, and they want to do so with good, reliable and accurate data.

Right to Know Week in my mind, is about disclosure and transparency, but it is also about acknowledging and reminding ourselves that having free and open access to the information and data citizens, non profit organizations, the private sector and government need to inform public policy, is critical to a well functioning participatory democracy. It is about guiding the work we do between elections.

While my faith in those who govern has wavered greatly these past months, and we are seeing that our system has a few process issues that makes doing citizenship near impossible. I have nonetheless regained new hope for some parts of the bureaucracy, the operations of government. In particular Statistics Canada and Natural Resources Canada. While they are both at different ends of the open access to public data spectrum, the former being somewhat regressive in its practices, I have renewed my respect for what they produce, the rigour of their data collection methodologies and the processes they have adopted at creating and disseminating solid and reliable data. Further, I know that StatCan is the best example we have of an institution that understands its mandate, that steadfastly protects our private data, and has taken a stand against the production of an inferior product. Munir Sheikh and Ivan Fellegi have made the term Chief Statistician common place, and have demonstrated ethical leadership and good citizenship. Suddenly we have been educated about the Census, survey bias, scale, accuracy and reliability, and what it is that people do with these data. That is impressive. Shame it took this decimated this institution to get the data out of the closet so to speak, and alert us to what it is our institutions do.

It is up to the rest of us to keep working toward ensuring this issue and the work of our two former Chief Statisticians has not gone in vain and that the output of our oldest institutions, survey mapping and census taking, remain solid trustworthy institutions that produce the best quality data possible. These data are our navigation systems. We as citizens should have access to these so that we along with our institutions can guide our society in the public policy terrain and within the complex global context we live in. That is what democracies do, and we as citizens need to exercise our rights and be engaged in the process.

Right to Know Week Program

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