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Digitizing Documents on the Athabasca River Basin
No full textThe Repository expands upon ARBRI’s existing bibliography by providing accessibility to an extensive body of
research and scholarly information relating to the Athabasca River Basin by digitizing materials, such as audio,
video and text for online access. The Repository serves as a comprehensive open educational resource (OER)
that contains accessible and interactive material for researchers, educators, students and other stakeholders
The Open Library at AU (Athabasca University): supporting open access and open educational resources
Full text linkTo address challenges that learners, course creators, librarians and academics involved with OER and
MOOCs are facing when looking for scholarly materials, Athabasca University Library has initiated the
development of the Open Library at AU. This open library is a full library website that provides easy access
to open and free resources. Tools and information literacy tutorials are also included to enable learners,
researchers, and others to find, evaluate, and use the information they need for their open learning course
or research. Many of the challenges that those involved in open learning face are addressed by the open
library and the potential impact it can have on open learning and knowledge sharing is tremendous
Open education down under: Some national and institutional initiatives.
No full textThe Open Education movement is growing and gaining importance within the higher education landscape in many developing and developed nations. Unfortunately, this does not seem the case in Australia, as there is still a limited number of Open Education initiatives and programs at higher education levels compared with other developed countries such as Canada, the US, the UK and some other European countries. This presentation will explore some of the challenges and opportunities of adopting Open Education, particularly open educational resources and open educational practices in Australia. It will also report on some of the existing Open Education initiatives in Australia, including government funding and programs, along with institutional initiatives. Finally, some of the research taking place currently in Australia and at the University of Tasmania will be presented and discussed
Seasonal Affective Disorder: An Overview of Assessment and Treatment Approaches
Full text linkSeasonal affective disorder or SAD is a recurrent major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern usually beginning in fall and
continuing into winter months. A subsyndromal type of SAD, or S-SAD, is commonly known as “winter blues.” Less often, SAD
causes depression in the spring or early summer. Symptoms center on sad mood and low energy.Those most at risk are female, are
younger, live far from the equator, and have family histories of depression, bipolar disorder, or SAD. Screening instruments include
the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). Typical treatment includes antidepressant medications, light therapy,
Vitamin D, and counselling.This paper provides an overview of SAD
The DJ as Critic, "constructing a sort of argument"
Full text linkCountering romanticized representations of the disc jockey (DJ) as author, rock star, or shaman, this essay argues that the DJ is best understood as a critic, emblematic of appropriation as criticism in a mediascape characterized by content surplus, not scarcity. The paper theorizes DJ techniques (e.g. playback, mixing) as processes of selection and sequencing that enact Foucault’s model of commentary. The work of American DJ Z-Trip provides a case study. I contextualize this argument according to institutions like patriarchy and copyright, and situate DJ work in a history of appropriative forms, from the ancient cento to digital curating platforms
Mobile Wellness Innovation: Qi Gong App to Improve Wellness and Cognitive Resiliency in Older Adults
Full text linkThis pilot project explored the utility of a mobile health and wellness app to older adults interested in using low impact exercise as a protective factor against memory and mood loss. While it is known that exercise is a protective factor in preventing further cognitive regression, it is shown that adults 55 and older spend ten hours or more each day sitting or lying down, leaving the latter group even more compromised (Cavill, 2013). The piloting of a health and wellness self management tool through a mobile app featuring the Chinese exercise of Qi Gong represents an innovative, visual and accessible tool that supports daily physical activity while fostering a sense of personal empowerment and enhancing the quality of life
Vancouver Community Land Trust Foundation: Examining a model for long-term housing afordability
Full text linkThis case study was produced by SCARP Masters Candidate Kristin Patten, under the guidance of a Steering Committee composed of the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC, the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, the School of Community and Regional Planning, the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal and the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA). The author wishes to thank the following for their time, insights and assistance: Bonnie Rice, Darren Kitchen, David Lach, Garth Davis, Genevieve Bucher, Jill Atkey, Kira Gerwing, Mike Lewis, Penny Gurstein, Susana Cogan, and Thom Armstrong. Thanks to Don McNair of McNair Editing for his help on one of the tables.This case study examines the Vancouver Community Land Trust Foundation (Land Trust), a project being implemented in Vancouver, BC by a consortium of non-profit organizations, social finance1 institutions and the municipal government. The case study was created in order to describe and examine the Land Trust as a potential model for providing long-term affordable housing without senior government funding or ongoing operating subsidies.
Metro Vancouver is experiencing a crisis in housing affordability and there is a need for
innovative solutions to the crisis. It is hoped that this case study will be useful for
governments, non-profit organizations, social finance institutions and other actors that may be interested in replicating the model in Metro Vancouver and beyond.
The Mayor’s Taskforce on Affordable Housing, and a resulting Request for Expressions of
Interest (RFEOI) put forward by the City of Vancouver in August 2012 provided the catalyst for the consortium of non-profit, social finance and professional organizations to come together under the umbrella of the Land Trust. However, in the years prior to the Taskforce, these same actors had all been looking at the big picture of affordable housing in the region,
and putting in place the structures that enabled them to quickly come together with the innovative Land Trust model when the RFEOI was issued. The overall initiative can be seen as the result of strategic actions by and between various actors converging in the emergence of a strategic social-public2 partnership – a collaboration between the
municipality and social actors for the long-term delivery of affordable housing.
The Land Trust project provides 358 units of non-market rental housing on four sites. The
City of Vancouver is leasing the land at the four sites through 99-year leases at a nominal rate. The Land Trust, a non-profit organization established by the Co-op Housing Federation of BC, is the lead proponent in the project. Non-profit and co-operative organizations will operate units for a diverse range of tenants, including low-income families and individuals
with mental health and / or addictions. A key feature of the project is a ‘portfolio approach’ that is enabling efficiencies in developing and operating the site, as well as enabling cross-subsidization from higher rent units to lower end of market units across the portfolio. Units will rent at varying levels of affordability ranging from units for those living on incomeassistance
to units renting at close to market rates. Overall units will rent at an aggregated
maximum of 76% of market; within this aggregate, rents will range from 23% of market rents to 90% of market. The core commitment of the Land Trust to providing affordable housing, and agreements with the City on affordability requirements ensures long-term affordability. Construction is due to start on the first two projects in the spring of 2015, with completion and occupancy in 2017–1018.
No one piece of the financing structure unlocks affordability; rather, it is the collective impact of all the different kinds of investment, combined with the cross-subsidies built into the business model that make it work. In particular, the City of Vancouver’s investment through the discounted land-lease along with the strong participation of social finance institutions stand out as critical features of the project’s funding.
As well, the agreement between the City and the Land Trust anticipates operating surpluses that will be used for future expansion of affordable housing. Surpluses will be split between the Land Trust and the City of Vancouver. In addition to reinvestment in new affordable housing units, surpluses can also be used to deepen affordability for low and moderateincome
people living in the existing Land Trust units.
The potential for replication of the Land Trust model is unfolding in the context of the transfer of provincial land assets to social housing organizations starting in 2014 as well as the end of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s operating agreements and their related mortgages. The Land Trust may provide a model for non-profits, co-ops, municipalities and other actors to leverage under-developed land that is already owned by the community or municipalities for affordable housing without ongoing government subsidies. The case study identified significant strengths in the model as well as some initial lessons learned. In particular, replication of the model will require commitment and leadership from government and social finance institutions collaborating in social-public
partnerships with non-profit and co-operative housing organizations.
In the unfolding provincial context, there is a particular opportunity for non-profit and cooperative associations to redevelop their own properties. Considerable sophistication and capacity is required to manage their own development; there is a gap in experience and equity and some may not be willing to assume the risks of redevelopment. In considering the Land Trust as a potential model for redevelopment, challenges that have emerged to date, such as tensions around decision-making and the reality of the time involved in, will
have to be considered.
Finally, the Land Trust is in early days of implementation; a Development Agreement has
been signed but construction had not yet begun at the time of publication of this case study. As such, the analysis contained in this case study must be read with the caution that this is a promising but not yet proven model.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Canadian Centre for Community Renewal (CCCR) ; School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia (SCARP) ; BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) ; Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia (CHF-BC
The Campus Alberta Open Educational Resources Initiative
No full textThe Campus Alberta Open Educational Resources Initiative (AlbertaOER.com) aims to provide publicly funded post-secondary institutions in Alberta the opportunity to apply for funding to support the assembly, use, development, implementation and evaluation of Open Education Resources (OERs) to support teaching, learning and research. Dr. Welch, the project lead, will share the initiative’s progress, next steps, and how the committee ranked such a diverse response into three categories: Awareness, Development and Sustainability
Sustainability Strategies For Open Educational Resources
No full textOpen Educational Resources (OER) often start as pilot projects initiated by early innovators in higher education institutions. Others are initiated by government. Frequently these projects receive some kind of start up funding to get them going. This webinar will explore sustainability strategies for making OER an ongoing integrated part of education. Strategies will explore key success factors to consider when implementing an OER initiative, strategies to build reuse in from the start, and strategies for building communities of users and contributors who collectively take on the roles of maintaining and enhancing OER on an ongoing basis. A business model approach to sustainability will also be outlined
The Battle for Open
No full textOpen approaches in education have started to move into the mainstream, with the success of open access, MOOCs, and open scholarship approaches. After this initial success comes the period when the real direction of openness is determined. Open is now a term with commercial interest. This talk will look at some of the successes of openness in education, and explore some of the issues it now faces