Jer Thorp at blprnt has posted a DIY how to visualization of cuts to arts funding in BC. This is citizen science at work!
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The Government of Canada is soliciting feedback from Citizens on Copyright. The questions being asked are as follows:
1. How do Canada’s copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?
2. Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time
3. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation and creativity in Canada?
4. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?
5. What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?
Please take a few minutes to comment as part of the Copyright Consultations.
The most efficient way to do this is a formal written submissions.. You can submit by sending an email to
- info@copyrightconsultation.gc.ca
. You can read all the submissions posted here. (see the right side of the Copyright Consultation Site).
The consultations will run until Midnight Sunday, September 13, 2009, so make sure your contributions are submitted before then.
For the curious, a draft submission by a CivicAccess.ca list member can be found at is Copyright 2009. He welcoms feedback and he also states:
Please grab anything you want from my submission towards your own.
The Economist
This is one of the best representations I have seen in a while. I remember “a football field a minute” when discussing the quantity and speed of rainforest clear-cutting. It is not easy to drive something home and I think this Bic Mac one is stupendous.
Looks like a motion has been drafted for Open Data in the City of Calgary. City of Nanaimo has made some data accessible on its site. This is only a small sample and hopefully there will be more.
Tags: OpenData
The UK Guardian has published data associated with an analysis of the employment sex gap. These data have re-affirmed my observations: technology (geomatics, computer science, IT, etc.) conferences = boys, social policy (homelessness, poverty, child abuse, etc.) conferences = girls. If we looked at the salary data associated with these professions, we would see a greater gap. If we played with more data, we could interpolate social status and political influence, and I speculate a greater gap still. Most interesting since many of our biggest challenges are social and not technical, but alas we value it less in terms of remuneration, status and power. I would tell you the Canadians story with data, but alas, these are too expensive to purchase from Statistics Canada.
The sex gap: which jobs do women and men do?
National Research Council Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, NRC-CISTI launches Gateway to Scientific Data.
This is very exciting news. The Gateway includes data, data management and curation content.
Access & Curation
Scientific data generated during the research process can be an important resource for researchers, but only if it is accessible and usable. Thanks to a new initiative of the NRC Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (NRC-CISTI) researchers now have a central gateway for easier access to Canadian scientific, technical and medical (STM) data sets and other important data repositories.
The Gateway to Scientific Data will help ensure that the valuable data generated by Canadian researchers [are] more easily accessible so that it can be re-used for other research endeavours. With the ability to access and use data from a multitude of sources, researchers will be better positioned to turn research into discoveries and innovations. …
Along with links to data sets, the new Gateway provides links to selected policies and best practices guiding data management and curation activities in Canada. It also includes links to selected journals and upcoming conferences and meetings.
The Gateway to Scientific Data is part of NRC-CISTI’s contribution to a broader national initiative undertaken by the Research Data Strategy (RDS) Working Group to address the challenges and issues surrounding the access and preservation of data arising from Canadian research. …
Via: Open Access News
Mark Tovey over at World Changing Canada wrote up the notes from the Access to Data Session that I gave at Change Camp Ottawa.
I was most impressed at the composition of the Group (+/30 people) and the nature of the discussion. I have also had some great follow up conversations with officials at various levels of governments as a result of that session. Kudos to the Change Camp organizers!
This is a beautiful thing!
I have spent the last few days dialing for data for a variety of projects. I have called the Feds, the Province of Ontario, Public Health, the City of Ottawa, school boards, MPPs, school trustees, and any number of organizations. No one knows where the data I am looking for are. They assure me they exists however. I have been playing telephone tag, sending emails from government websites and I am being told that the “New Government” does not like to share! Exasperated, at the end of the day, I find the dream tool that gets citizens closer to their public data. We just need the Canadian version!. I know we can – Yes we can!
US Government Data
The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, we invite you to actively participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless access and use of your Federal data. Visit today with us, but come back often. With your help, Data.gov will continue to grow and change in the weeks, months, and years ahead.
Looks like the City of Toronto is also considering opening its data. Lets see!
Via: Visible Government
Rabble.ca: Video Announcement by the Mayor
More at Gapminder
Via: My Heart’s in Accra
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