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Monthly Archives: February 2012
With Google’s new privacy policy, who needs Bill C-30?
You cannot say that you haven’t been warned. “We’re changing our privacy policy and terms. This stuff matters.” This is a message that you have been seeing lately on the Google search engine. You have been given a full month notice … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged electronic frontier foundation, google docs, google search engine, google searches, web history
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Elsevier’s first concessions to its “enablers”
In October 2001, more than 30,000 scientists signed an open letter in which they pledged to exclusively publish in, review for and serve as editors of journals that placed their contents in the –then newly launched– PubMed Central with no more … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged Elsevier, gowers, mathematics community, mea culpa, public relations nightmare
6 Comments
A politician, a senior bureaucrat, and a blog
Bonjour Dr. Ghoussoub. I very much enjoy your blog… as a science policy junkie I find it a useful antidote to the meanderings of the so-called science and innovation policies in Ottawa and elsewhere … perhaps you already saw this … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged AAAS, Helene LeBlanc, new democratic party, R&D, Science and Technology, Science policy
3 Comments
Was NSERC there?
“Was NSERC listening?” That was a reaction from the Twitter world to yesterday’s plenary address by Mike Lazaridis to the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Indeed, Lazaridis rocked the casbah yesterday with his speech on the “Power of … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged AAAS, Basic research, commons standing committee, Jenkins report, mike lazaridis, NSERC, Perimeter Institute
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The Physicists debate “the changing role of NSERC’s Discovery program”
First, came the editorial of University of Ottawa Physicist, Béla Joós in last July’s issue of “Physics in Canada”. There, he zeroed in on the heart of the matter, which if you think about it, is mind boggling: “Over the last … Continue reading
Posted in R&D Policy
Tagged discovery grants, NSERC, Physics, selection committees, suzanne fortier
3 Comments
When University Presidents send out “few public bouquets” to Government
“Even on the most exalted throne in the world we are only sitting on our own bottom”– Michel de Montaigne. “Sometimes Canada Gets it Right” is a recent joint op-ed by U. of Toronto President, David Naylor and UBC President, Stephen Toope. … Continue reading
Posted in Board of Governors, Op-eds, R&D Policy
Tagged Banting, CERC, KIP, Lazaridis, Naylor, Perimeter Institute, Toope, Tri-council, Vanier
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Leshner and Toope didn’t get all of it right!
On the occasion of an upcoming meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, Stephen Toope, the President of UBC and Alan Leshner, CEO of the AAAS, co-wrote an op-ed for the Vancouver Sun entitled, “Innovation, international collaboration … Continue reading
Reed Elsevier stock price is dropping but …
“Noise around the boycott against Elsevier offers short term trading opportunity”. That’s from the investment firm Exane Paribas, which “fully expects the price to rebound once this boycott fails like all the previous ones”. Indeed, even though more than 4900 … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged access publishing, elsevier publications, mathematical community, Scott Aaronson, timothy gowers
7 Comments
They also owned the podium for Canada
… away from your cameras and without your millions. “We were very grateful to have our summer training for the Canadian International Math Olympiad (IMO) team at the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) again this year. As in previous years, the … Continue reading
“I am unable to accept your refusal”
And once your rejection of the rejection is not rejected, prepare to reject the way you’re expected to spend your time.
Piece of Mind 