Faculty Research
As health budgets shrink, information and communication technologies are increasingly viewed as the means for more efficient and effective delivery of health care services. ACTION for Health questions this very assumption in an innovative, four-year study that commenced in the fall of 2003.
Centre for Policy Research on Science & Technology
Established in 1988, the Centre for Policy Research on Science & Technology (CPROST) engages in research on the relationship between public policy and technology. The Centre brings together practitioners and scholars to study the interaction of advances in science and technology, their implemetation in the marketplace, and their impacts on community and individual interests.
The Digest is an on-line journal published quarterly by the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology (CPROST) as a forum for faculty and students to share ideas and research about technology and society. Contributions are welcome from the entire School community.
Emergency Preparedness Information eXchange
The Emergency Preparedness Information eXchange (EPIX) is operated by the Telematics Research Lab in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology and PolyLAB . The purpose of EPIX is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information among Canadian and international public and private sector organizations about the prevention of, preparation for, recovery from and/or mitigation of risk associated with natural and socio-technological disasters.
Media Saturated World: Helping Kids Reduce The Risk
The project is based on the desire to demonstrate that communities can do something to reduce the lifestyle risks and ill-effects associated with the media saturated world our kids are growing up in. The goals of this project are to help make our children’s lives safer and healthier by reducing the risks associated with TV watching, Internet use and playing with video games. The project was coordinated by the Media Analysis Lab at Simon Fraser University in partnership with the North Vancouver Parents Advisory Council and the North Vancouver District Board of Education. Funding for this pilot project has been provided by the Ministry of Justice Canada.
NewsWatch Canada undertakes independent research on the diversity and thoroughness of news coverage in Canada’s media, with a focus on identifying blindspots and double-standards.
The NewsWatcher’s Guide to Content Analysis can be downloaded here: Microsoft Word Document
Technology’s role in the health sector has been a key research focus of communication professor Ellen Balka for the past several years. Her $3 million, SSHRC (INE) funded project will expand on previous work and allow her research team to further investigate the design, use and effectiveness of technology in the health sector, in order to inform the design of policies and new technological systems. The need to better understand the role of health information technologies was also identified in the recent Romanow and Kirby reports on the nation’s health care system.
Centre of Expertise on Culture and Communities
Established in 2005, the Centre of Expertise on Culture and Communities (CECC) is a three-year project of the Creative City Network of Canada in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology. It is funded by Infrastructure Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The Centre conducts research and brings together academia and practice in four areas:
1. The state of cultural infrastructure in Canadian cities and communities
2. Culture as the fourth pillar of community sustainability
3. Culture in communities: Cultural systems and local planning
4. The impacts of cultural infrastructure and activity in cities and communities