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George Ferreira (PhD candidate at Guelph U), Ricardo Ramirez (Phd, Guelph U) and Brian Walmark (KO Research Institute) co-authored a paper for the workshop, Measuring the Information Society: What, How, for Whom and What? that is taking place on Saturday September 18, 2004 in Brighton, U.K.

Click here to read the paper they submitted entitled "Connectivity in Canada’s Far North: Participatory Evaluation in Ontario’s Aboriginal Communities". Click here to visit the conference web site.

Conference Information ...

Co-sponsored by:

• The Association of Internet Researchers Conference
• The European Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T/EC)

Organizers:

• Dr. Michel J. Menou, Information and Knowledge Management consultant, France & International liaison officer, ASIS&T
• Dr. John Daly, Science an technology consultant, USA
• Dr. Philippe Vidal, Coordinator E-Atlas project, GRESOC, University of Toulouse 2, France

Scope and objectives:

As public, private and civil society organizations are increasingly trying to promote and/or take advantage of the information society, or else the networked economy, the need for statistical data and indicators that reflect initial situations, change and its consequences is generating a variety of initiatives. Networked Readiness Index, Digital Access Index, Information Intelligence Quotient, INESXSK, Community Connectivity Indicators, to name a few, have flourished over the years.

This workshop will provide an opportunity for a critical review and unconstrained discussion of:

• existing instruments and the frameworks upon which they are based
• data sources, gathering and calculation methods
• intended audiences, usability and reliability
• requirements for improved measures serving all categories of stakeholders

It is hoped that as a result of the workshop, participants will be equipped with a renewed broad overview of information society measures and a vision of the main directions for future research and development in this area.

On Monday, September 13, Aboriginal leaders including Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine joined the First Ministers Conference in Ottawa for the start of the conference. In the past Aboriginal leaders have been excluded from these "first minister" conferences involving the premiers, the prime minister and all their teams. The conference was opened with a traditional ceremony lead by an elder.

Even though the Aboriginal leaders were included only at the start of this historic conference, they did get to hear "Prime Minister Paul Martin pledge hundreds of millions of dollars to take special aim at health problems specific to aboriginal communities."

Read more stories about this commitment at:

• CBC on-line - Ottawa promises to tackle health problems in native communities
• North CBC - Feds to spend hundreds of millions on aboriginal health
• CBC Manitoba - Aboriginal heath care front and centre at summit