Podcasts about Engineering Council

Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has sharply criticized a costly, mismanaged training program by the Department of Defense that has left many students stranded. Of the 108 students sent to Cuba for studies in medicine, psychology, and biomedical engineering at R2.7 million each only six medical students were accepted back at the University of Pretoria. Additionally, biomedical engineering graduates cannot register with the Engineering Council of South Africa due to the non-recognition of their Cuban degrees. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, Dakota Legoete

Our guest this week is Rachel Youngman who has worked extensively in the legal profession, and in social justice particularly with young people and with refugees. For the last 10 years she has brought that society experience to science to help improve diversity and international collaboration. She is currently Chair of the Engineering Council's Committee and has been a member of the External Advisory Board of the Quantum Hub for Sensors and Metrology and until March, Deputy CEO at The Institute of Physics. Today we are discussing the importance of science and technology in society, science communication and the importance of making STEM a space for all.

Following the decision by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) to imposed a precautionary suspension on the registered person linked to the George Building collapse, Lester Kiewit speaks to Dr Bridget Ssamula, ECSA CEO to understand exactly what structural engineers do and what protcols they must follow to ensure the safety of their work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Phillips is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health in Aging. He is a Professor in Kinesiology, and Graduate Faculty in the School of Medicine at McMaster University. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). His research is focused on the impact of nutrition and exercise on the mechanisms of human skeletal muscle protein turnover. He is also keenly interested in diet- and exercise-induced changes in body composition particularly in older persons. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the US NIH, the USDA, and several industry partners. Dr. Stu Phillips on Instagram Anders Varner on Instagram Doug Larson on Instagram Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Engineering Success interviews Charlotte Huntley a Junior Electrical, Instrumentation, Control & Automation Engineer. Charlotte joined Arcadis in 2016 as an apprentice and has since developed into an Engineer. Charlotte produces design and engineering solutions across multiple Water Industry Clients on drinking water and wastewater projects. Charlotte has obtained her Diploma, HNC and HND with Distinction grades, and has just been awarded a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with first class honours. Charlotte became professionally registered as an Engineering Technician with the IET in 2018. Charlotte was awarded Apprentice of the year in 2020 by the Pump Centre as part of their Young Engineer Awards. She was also awarded Technician of the Year with the IET in 2022. Charlotte is a STEM ambassador and regularly volunteers to mentor disadvantaged youths interested in engineering and/ or apprenticeships. She has also published case studies with the Engineering Council discussing the benefits that being professionally registered has brought her, in the hopes this would inspire others in the industry.

There are just three ways, I once heard someone say, to create real wealth:* You make stuff* You mine stuff* You grow stuffEverything else is just redistribution - pushing what is already there around. We can argue about whether offering a service is “making stuff”. I would say, generally, it is. I've always loved that as a maxim by which to view things. Pretty much all wealth creation comes under one of those three categories. You are bringing something new into the world that did not previously exist. It's why I have issues with forex. The foreign exchange markets are the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world. They are more than 25 times larger in daily turnover than all of the world's stock markets combined. Forex has made many people supremely rich. But is forex trading actually creating new wealth or is it another illusory consequence of fiat, and just pushing existing wealth around? It's a question for another time because it's item two on that list - mining - that I want to talk about today, that loathed and despised industry, responsible for so much pollution, waste, injury, fraud and death. Why mining is so importantWe need mines. We cannot do without them. They are essential to human progress. Mines provide the raw materials that are the foundations for modern living. We would not have the world we have around us today were it not for mining: the primary means by which natural resources - metals, minerals and fossil fuels - are extracted from the earth. Human beings have been mining since before the Bronze Age and we won't ever stop. These natural resources can be used to make wonderful things: buildings, bridges, planes, trains and cars, electronics, and, of course, energy. Mining, and all the risks you have to take to do it, is to bring new and real wealth into the world that did not previously exist. In the West we sit at our desks all day, in our clean, sanitised environments, and we forget that, for example, for the internet to exist, we need untold amounts of metal , be it steel, copper, silver or some rare earth metal neither you nor I know the name of. With our cosseted western existence, we have in many ways lost touch with the world around us: the land, the environment, the animals and plants we eat. We have forgotten just how the things around us came to be. There was a time when you would build up a relationship with an animal before you ate it. I'm looking around me at my office and every single item - from my desk to my computer to my books to the house I'm in - would not exist without mining.If Net Zero is to be realised (spoiler alert: it won't be), and we are going to transition from fossil fuel to electricity, we are going to need to mine unprecedented amounts of copper and lithium (which in itself is going to entail extraordinary amounts of fossil fuel consumption). But mining has a huge environmental impact. Though it's hard to find a human activity that doesn't have an environmental impact, mining is exceptional. Together with certain types of fishing, it's probably the most environmentally damaging of all industries. That's why there are so many rules and regulations in place. They're there to attempt to minimise damage. Mining will never have zero impact. There is a trade-off between the impact of the mine, the wealth it creates and the benefits it brings. But it is because of the potential mining has to cause harm, to the environment, to local communities, to workers, that so many of us feel ambivalent about it, if not downright opposed. The fellowship of miningThere are common characteristics to miners, visible throughout history and in all the myth and legend that surrounds them: brave, strong, hard working, fiercely proud, stoic, with incredible camaraderie amongst them - probably because of the incredible risks and effort involved in doing their job.From Snow White to Middle Earth, you see it in the depiction of dwarves, the miners of mythology. Visit any of the old mining pubs in Cornwall, Wales or the North East, where the mines are no more, but look at the pictures on the wall, let your senses go and you can feel it there too. The old boys who used to work in the now closed mines still talk about the camaraderie.Mining is hard. It always was and it always will be, even with modern machines. Never mind the financial and political risk, it's dangerous. It's a difficult business. You have to go to some of the most unsavoury parts of the planet. Yet for decades we have been attacking mining. We attack this key industry, which instead we should support.Protestors become heroes when they stand against this terrible industry. Lawmakers do not stand up to protestors, they bow to them.The cost of regulation in the UK is so high, the mining industry barely here exists now. We have lots of coal, we have tin, we have copper, we even have tungsten and lithium, but producing mines are few and far between. We were once a nation once internationally famous for its mines and its miners. It's why so many metals exchanges are here. It's why so many international mining companies are based here.We are using more metal than ever here in the UK, yet we are barely producing any of it. We are getting that metal from Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. Just because that mining is out of sight, it isn't any less damaging to the environment. Heaven forbid the war in Ukraine, or tensions between China and the West, or Islam and Christianity, could grew into some kind of global conflict. If it does, we have big strategic problems - because we barely produce any metal."The Battle of Production is the Battle of Life and Death,” said Winston Churchill to the House of Commons in September, 1940. “It is being fought out every day in every mine, factory, and farm in the country. It is the Battle of the Coal Mines. It is the Battle of the Steel Mills. It is the Battle of the Harvest Field. It is the Battle of the Factories and Workshops. It is the Battle of the Shipping Lanes. It is the Battle of the Aircraft Factories. It is the Battle of the Munitions Works. And on the outcome of this Battle depends the life and death of the nation."So it was with great concern that I read this article from Chris Hinde about mining graduates.The state of mining in the UKCornwall's Camborne School of Mines, founded in 1888, once used to be the most important mining college in the world. Through the 20th century, its graduates operated many of the world's most significant mines - in Southern and Western Africa, Malaysia, Australia, South America, Mexico, the United States and Canada. It is now merged with Exeter University.Do you know how many British people over the past two years have enrolled in mining engineering or mineral processing undergraduate courses there or indeed anywhere in the UK? Take a guess.The answer is not one. Not a single person. As recently as 1990, there were over 300 mining graduates every year from five UK mining schools. Now there are none.The UK's Engineering Council has 1,237 registered mining and mineral processing engineers. 80% of them are over the age of 50. Half of that 80% are over the age of 66 - retired or about to be, in other words.We used to export mining talent all over the world, but just to operate the few mines we have left here in the UK, never mind build new ones, the UK Mining Education Forum calculates the country needs over 60 new mining engineering and minerals processing graduates every year. We have none.Everybody wants to work in finance or tech. With years of greenwashing, we have forgotten the essential contribution which mining makes to society. We have lost touch. The green narrative has done so much structural damage to our history, our identity and our industry.Who is going to run Cornwall's tin and tungsten mines, or extract its lithium? Who will operate Cumbria's new coal mines (should they ever get planning approval)? If we don't act fast, we will lose the self-knowledge of our own landscapes to be able to utilise their many and varied natural resources. This is not just a UK problem, by the way, it is the case across Western Europe.One lesson of the soaring cost of energy is that the mineral resource industries need investment and support, not attacking. Why would you invest in future production, if you know the government is just going to impose windfall taxes? The War in Ukraine, and especially the bind in which Germany finds itself, has demonstrated the strategic stupidity of being dependent on dodgy regimes for essential resources, when there is abundant domestic natural supply. The ridiculous irony is that to import resources from unscrupulous corners of the earth is considerably less green than producing them ourselves.A rather big country somewhere to the far east of us gets the concept of making stuff, mining stuff and growing stuff in a way that we no longer seem to. What are the implications?Please tell your friends about this article.And please consider becoming a subscriber to The Flying Frisby.If you're buying gold, my current recommended bullion dealer in the UK is The Pure Gold Company, whether you are taking delivery or storing online. Premiums are low, quality of service is high. You can deal with a human being. I have an affiliation deals with them.If you're buying bitcoin, be sure to read my special report.And make your Number One resolution for 2023 to listen to Kisses on a Postcard. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

There are just three ways, I once heard someone say, to create real wealth:* You make stuff* You mine stuff* You grow stuffEverything else is just redistribution - pushing what is already there around. We can argue about whether offering a service is “making stuff”. I would say, generally, it is. I've always loved that as a maxim by which to view things. Pretty much all wealth creation comes under one of those three categories. You are bringing something new into the world that did not previously exist. It's why I have issues with forex. The foreign exchange markets are the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world. They are more than 25 times larger in daily turnover than all of the world's stock markets combined. Forex has made many people supremely rich. But is forex trading actually creating new wealth or is it another illusory consequence of fiat, and just pushing existing wealth around? It's a question for another time because it's item two on that list - mining - that I want to talk about today, that loathed and despised industry, responsible for so much pollution, waste, injury, fraud and death. Why mining is so importantWe need mines. We cannot do without them. They are essential to human progress. Mines provide the raw materials that are the foundations for modern living. We would not have the world we have around us today were it not for mining: the primary means by which natural resources - metals, minerals and fossil fuels - are extracted from the earth. Human beings have been mining since before the Bronze Age and we won't ever stop. These natural resources can be used to make wonderful things: buildings, bridges, planes, trains and cars, electronics, and, of course, energy. Mining, and all the risks you have to take to do it, is to bring new and real wealth into the world that did not previously exist. In the West we sit at our desks all day, in our clean, sanitised environments, and we forget that, for example, for the internet to exist, we need untold amounts of metal , be it steel, copper, silver or some rare earth metal neither you nor I know the name of. With our cosseted western existence, we have in many ways lost touch with the world around us: the land, the environment, the animals and plants we eat. We have forgotten just how the things around us came to be. There was a time when you would build up a relationship with an animal before you ate it. I'm looking around me at my office and every single item - from my desk to my computer to my books to the house I'm in - would not exist without mining.If Net Zero is to be realised (spoiler alert: it won't be), and we are going to transition from fossil fuel to electricity, we are going to need to mine unprecedented amounts of copper and lithium (which in itself is going to entail extraordinary amounts of fossil fuel consumption). But mining has a huge environmental impact. Though it's hard to find a human activity that doesn't have an environmental impact, mining is exceptional. Together with certain types of fishing, it's probably the most environmentally damaging of all industries. That's why there are so many rules and regulations in place. They're there to attempt to minimise damage. Mining will never have zero impact. There is a trade-off between the impact of the mine, the wealth it creates and the benefits it brings. But it is because of the potential mining has to cause harm, to the environment, to local communities, to workers, that so many of us feel ambivalent about it, if not downright opposed. The fellowship of miningThere are common characteristics to miners, visible throughout history and in all the myth and legend that surrounds them: brave, strong, hard working, fiercely proud, stoic, with incredible camaraderie amongst them - probably because of the incredible risks and effort involved in doing their job.From Snow White to Middle Earth, you see it in the depiction of dwarves, the miners of mythology. Visit any of the old mining pubs in Cornwall, Wales or the North East, where the mines are no more, but look at the pictures on the wall, let your senses go and you can feel it there too. The old boys who used to work in the now closed mines still talk about the camaraderie.Mining is hard. It always was and it always will be, even with modern machines. Never mind the financial and political risk, it's dangerous. It's a difficult business. You have to go to some of the most unsavoury parts of the planet. Yet for decades we have been attacking mining. We attack this key industry, which instead we should support.Protestors become heroes when they stand against this terrible industry. Lawmakers do not stand up to protestors, they bow to them.The cost of regulation in the UK is so high, the mining industry barely here exists now. We have lots of coal, we have tin, we have copper, we even have tungsten and lithium, but producing mines are few and far between. We were once a nation once internationally famous for its mines and its miners. It's why so many metals exchanges are here. It's why so many international mining companies are based here.We are using more metal than ever here in the UK, yet we are barely producing any of it. We are getting that metal from Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. Just because that mining is out of sight, it isn't any less damaging to the environment. Heaven forbid the war in Ukraine, or tensions between China and the West, or Islam and Christianity, could grew into some kind of global conflict. If it does, we have big strategic problems - because we barely produce any metal."The Battle of Production is the Battle of Life and Death,” said Winston Churchill to the House of Commons in September, 1940. “It is being fought out every day in every mine, factory, and farm in the country. It is the Battle of the Coal Mines. It is the Battle of the Steel Mills. It is the Battle of the Harvest Field. It is the Battle of the Factories and Workshops. It is the Battle of the Shipping Lanes. It is the Battle of the Aircraft Factories. It is the Battle of the Munitions Works. And on the outcome of this Battle depends the life and death of the nation."So it was with great concern that I read this article from Chris Hinde about mining graduates.The state of mining in the UKCornwall's Camborne School of Mines, founded in 1888, once used to be the most important mining college in the world. Through the 20th century, its graduates operated many of the world's most significant mines - in Southern and Western Africa, Malaysia, Australia, South America, Mexico, the United States and Canada. It is now merged with Exeter University.Do you know how many British people over the past two years have enrolled in mining engineering or mineral processing undergraduate courses there or indeed anywhere in the UK? Take a guess.The answer is not one. Not a single person. As recently as 1990, there were over 300 mining graduates every year from five UK mining schools. Now there are none.The UK's Engineering Council has 1,237 registered mining and mineral processing engineers. 80% of them are over the age of 50. Half of that 80% are over the age of 66 - retired or about to be, in other words.We used to export mining talent all over the world, but just to operate the few mines we have left here in the UK, never mind build new ones, the UK Mining Education Forum calculates the country needs over 60 new mining engineering and minerals processing graduates every year. We have none.Everybody wants to work in finance or tech. With years of greenwashing, we have forgotten the essential contribution which mining makes to society. We have lost touch. The green narrative has done so much structural damage to our history, our identity and our industry.Who is going to run Cornwall's tin and tungsten mines, or extract its lithium? Who will operate Cumbria's new coal mines (should they ever get planning approval)? If we don't act fast, we will lose the self-knowledge of our own landscapes to be able to utilise their many and varied natural resources. This is not just a UK problem, by the way, it is the case across Western Europe.One lesson of the soaring cost of energy is that the mineral resource industries need investment and support, not attacking. Why would you invest in future production, if you know the government is just going to impose windfall taxes? The War in Ukraine, and especially the bind in which Germany finds itself, has demonstrated the strategic stupidity of being dependent on dodgy regimes for essential resources, when there is abundant domestic natural supply. The ridiculous irony is that to import resources from unscrupulous corners of the earth is considerably less green than producing them ourselves.A rather big country somewhere to the far east of us gets the concept of making stuff, mining stuff and growing stuff in a way that we no longer seem to. What are the implications?Please tell your friends about this article.And please consider becoming a subscriber to The Flying Frisby.If you're buying gold, my current recommended bullion dealer in the UK is The Pure Gold Company, whether you are taking delivery or storing online. Premiums are low, quality of service is high. You can deal with a human being. I have an affiliation deals with them.If you're buying bitcoin, be sure to read my special report.And make your Number One resolution for 2023 to listen to Kisses on a Postcard. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe

If you've ever sat through a bad date at a restaurant, unsure of what to order, you're still doing better than a typical zebrafish date. Dr. Michelle Collins said without safety precautions, a zebrafish male and female left together overnight often eat their embryos. The assistant professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine has studied zebrafish for years, using them as a model to examine genetic factors in cardiac development. "They're actually quite beautiful," she said. "The embryos look almost like a crystal ball." In this episode, Collins takes us inside her laboratory, where she breeds both typical and genetically modified zebrafish, to better understand irregularities inside the human heart. "We start to see some early changes in the developing heart that just get worse as the fish ages," she said.  "You start to see that the heart chambers aren't really contracting properly, they're very arrhythmic," said Collins. "They really model what a person that has something like atrial fibrilation would be experiencing later on in life."  In December, Collins published her most recent findings in the Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, noting the public health implications for humans with similar patterns of abnormal heart development. Her interest in calcium stores, and the way they're regulated in ion channels led her to Discovery Grants last year of nearly $200,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC). Collins' first microscope was a Christmas gift. By the fourth grade, she was running experiments at home, thanks to a book from her grandparents "I had some really great science teachers that really helped propel me into scientific research," said Collins, who became curious about developmental biology. Today, she works with real-time video feeds, using a high-powered microscope that allows her and her team members to observe zebrafish hearts at up to 150 frames per second, producing detailed video images of the vascular system in fluorescent colour. "It's very gentle on live samples, which is really instrumental to what we do because we want to look at a beating heart. We don't want to blast it with lasers," said Collins.  "We have this sort of a spinning disc, which allows less phototoxicity from the laser, and it also can acquire movies really quickly," she added. Her hope is to one day match mutations in the zebrafish genes with mutations in patients with genetic heart defects. "Can we use these new genes that we've identified to screen patients and figure out if this could be an underlying cause of their cardiac arrhythmia?" 

William van Wijngaarden chaired the Faculty of Science and Engineering Council (2005-06) and York's Senate (2010-13) at York University. He has been elected to several leadership positions in the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (2002-08) and also held responsible positions in the American Physical Society and the Canadian Association of Physicists. My tweets about this podcast: https://twitter.com/search?q=wijngaarden%20(from%3Atan123)%20until%3A2022-12-24%20since%3A2022-12-21&src=typed_query&f=live https://www.yorku.ca/science/profiles/faculty/william-van-wijngaarden/ https://wvanwijngaarden.info.yorku.ca/ Publications: https://wvanwijngaarden.info.yorku.ca/publications/ —— Tom Nelson's Twitter: https://twitter.com/tan123 Substack: https://tomn.substack.com/ About Tom: https://tomnelson.blogspot.com/2022/03/about-me-tom-nelson.html Notes for climate skeptics: https://tomnelson.blogspot.com/2019/06/useful-notes-for-climate-skeptics.html ClimateGate emails: https://tomnelson.blogspot.com/p/climategate_05.html

Refilwe Moloto speaks to Mbambeleli Rawana, a candidate technologist for an update on his registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa and the mentorship process. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State-owned power utility Eskom is developing a crowdsourcing digital platform to allow it to supplement its existing skills base to help address its operational challenges. It has invited organisations and individuals, including experienced engineers and technical experts, to participate. The platform will act as a skills database for Eskom to acquire additional expertise and to resolve its urgent business needs. Skills that are needed include, but are not limited to, mechanical, nuclear, electrical, system and maintenance skills, as well as senior artisans and plant operators for coal and nuclear power stations. Skilled individuals interested in assisting Eskom will be able to register on the digital platform once it is developed. In the meantime, they are being asked to contact Eskom human resources executive Elsie Pule at crowdsourcing@eskom.co.za. “Eskom looks forward to collaborating with South African citizens to address the current electricity supply challenges facing the country,” Eskom CE André de Ruyter says. “A diverse cross-section of South Africans have sent enquiries and made themselves available to respond to the call to national service. Eskom is in the process of matching the skills that have already been made available to its needs and will be recruiting the suitable candidates imminently,” he adds. Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically through a digital platform. As South Africa has a pool of skilled persons, crowdsourcing of these skills may offer a unique opportunity for available and willing citizens to support Eskom to resolve its business challenges. “In order for Eskom to reap the highest benefit from this diversity of skills, it must also develop a governance mechanism and a platform that will provide equitable opportunity to all those willing to be considered for service,” says Pule. “The process will be driven by the needs of Eskom and will follow a standard governance process for fixed-term contracting.” The crowdsourcing initiative will also leverage partnerships with statutory and non-statutory bodies, such as the Engineering Council of South Africa and others, to ensure Eskom is able to access the best candidates in the electricity supply industry, engineering and technical professions. In recent months, Eskom has received an overwhelming response to its call for skilled personnel to come forward to assist in rebuilding skills inside the organisation, and numerous organisations and individuals have come forward to respond to this critical call for national service. This crowdsourcing initiative was prompted by several offers and submissions received from organisations and individuals, including experienced engineers and technical experts, who have indicated that they could potentially assist Eskom.

State-owned power utility Eskom is developing a crowdsourcing digital platform to allow it to supplement its existing skills base to help address its operational challenges. It has invited organisations and individuals, including experienced engineers and technical experts, to participate. The platform will act as a skills database for Eskom to acquire additional expertise and to resolve its urgent business needs. Skills that are needed include, but are not limited to, mechanical, nuclear, electrical, system and maintenance skills, as well as senior artisans and plant operators for coal and nuclear power stations. Skilled individuals interested in assisting Eskom will be able to register on the digital platform once it is developed. In the meantime, they are being asked to contact Eskom human resources executive Elsie Pule at crowdsourcing@eskom.co.za. “Eskom looks forward to collaborating with South African citizens to address the current electricity supply challenges facing the country,” Eskom CE André de Ruyter says. “A diverse cross-section of South Africans have sent enquiries and made themselves available to respond to the call to national service. Eskom is in the process of matching the skills that have already been made available to its needs and will be recruiting the suitable candidates imminently,” he adds. Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically through a digital platform. As South Africa has a pool of skilled persons, crowdsourcing of these skills may offer a unique opportunity for available and willing citizens to support Eskom to resolve its business challenges. “In order for Eskom to reap the highest benefit from this diversity of skills, it must also develop a governance mechanism and a platform that will provide equitable opportunity to all those willing to be considered for service,” says Pule. “The process will be driven by the needs of Eskom and will follow a standard governance process for fixed-term contracting.” The crowdsourcing initiative will also leverage partnerships with statutory and non-statutory bodies, such as the Engineering Council of South Africa and others, to ensure Eskom is able to access the best candidates in the electricity supply industry, engineering and technical professions. In recent months, Eskom has received an overwhelming response to its call for skilled personnel to come forward to assist in rebuilding skills inside the organisation, and numerous organisations and individuals have come forward to respond to this critical call for national service. This crowdsourcing initiative was prompted by several offers and submissions received from organisations and individuals, including experienced engineers and technical experts, who have indicated that they could potentially assist Eskom.

At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, engineers devoted their efforts almost entirely to making devices that functioned reliably and profitably, but with little attention to safety. Yet frequent disasters, mainly as a result of the growing use of high-pressure steam, led engineers to question increasing numbers of deaths and to assess problems with the technologies they were developing.  Indeed, when Richard Trevithick began experiments with high-pressure steam engines to increase both efficiency and power, James Watt (and his partner Matthew Boulton) petitioned Parliament to pass an act outlawing the use of such engines as a public danger. The protection of people from harm has increasingly been a focus of many fields of engineering since the nineteenth century. Over time, engineers began to propose design changes and build-in innovations to reduce risk, and thus the industry of safety engineering was born. Safety engineering deals with accident prevention, reducing the risks associated with human error, and integrating safety benefits in engineered designs. The purpose of safety engineering is to control risk by reducing or completely eliminating it. It also aims to reduce the rate of failures and if failures do occur, that they are not life threatening. This work has led to the development of safety codes and standards governing technology design, including the use of natural gas and electricity, the building and use of steam boilers, and the storage and use of explosives. Engineering societies and institutions like the IMechE, whose original charters stressed the promotion and facilitation of the profession's work, where, by the mid-twentieth century, beginning to impose safety as a primary moral duty of the engineer. Today there are many engineers whose work is devoted entirely to the protection of the public and workers from the hazards of technology and natural phenomena such as Fire protection engineering and automobile safety. Today these engineers often make use of computer models, prototypes, or recreations of situations to assess potential hazards and risks such as crash testing, and consider not only the situation or use of the product but the design processes applied, material reliability, legislation, and human factors. The intertwining of engineering and safety will undoubtedly intensify in the future in response to constantly rising public expectations and the ubiquitous use of technology in our lives. So how do we make those risks as low as reasonably practicable? In this months episode Helen discusses why safety and risk play such a key role in engineers' decision making processes, the need for safety legislation and its impact, and how engineers mitigate risks using ALARP with guest chartered engineer Keith Miller, Technical Safety Consultant and one of the lead authors of the IMechE's ALARP for Engineers Guide, published in 2021.       Useful Links: ALARP for Engineers - A Technical Guide IMechE Webinar on ALARP   "Engineers work in many disciplines but all of them have the ability to affect societal wellbeing to a very significant extent. The privilege of having the skills and knowledge to contribute so much to such important areas of life clearly brings with it the need for wise ethical judgement when exercising that privilege." Royal Academy of Engineering 2011 With power comes great responsibility, and as engineering professionals we exercise significant power over the decisions we make on behalf of society every day. Just like doctors, Engineers are faced with ethical dilemmas where they can find themselves making life or death decisions. Engineering ethics is a growing field of study that looks at the moral decision-making that applies to the practice of engineering. The field examines and sets the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients, and to the profession as a whole. Engineering professionals work to enhance the wellbeing of everyone, and in doing so, they are required to maintain and promote high ethical standards and challenge unethical behaviours. There are four fundamental principles for ethical behaviour and decision-making outlined by the Royal Academy of Engineering & the Engineering Council which include. Honesty and integrity Respect for life, law, the environment and public good Accuracy and rigour Leadership and communication   As a professional body, The IMechE expects its members to maintain high standards of ethical conduct which requires us to ‘Protect members of the public', ‘Protect IMechE members' and ‘Uphold the reputation of the Institution and the wider engineering profession'. To achieve this we have a ‘Code of Conduct' which outlines these requirements and to which members are expected to abide by. In the second segment of this episode, Helen talks with fellow of the IMechE, past Trustee and Council member Matt Garside to get a personal view of the importance of ethics in engineering, why engineers should use their privilege wisely and how engineers will safeguard society in the future.   Useful Links: RAE Ethics in Practice RAE Webinar on Ethics in Engineering Engineering Council Statement of Ethical Principles     We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this episode. If you would like to get in touch, email us at podcast@imeche.org You can find more information about the work of the IMechE at www.imeche.org 

Have you ever had a student or a teacher tell you that they are not creative? This week’s guest, Dr. Jacie Maslyk, shares how she instills creativity in her district and how her STEAM programs inspire the students to read and write. Join us as Jacie provides steps on how she constructed a maker space and STEAM program to enhance student’s life skills, imagination and creativity.   https://twitter.com/share?text=+-+&via=Joshua__Stamper&related=Joshua__Stamper&url=https://joshstamper.com/?p=2372 (Tweet This)In this Episode, we discuss: Enhancing Literacy Through STEAM Leadership in a Digital World The Importance of Social Media  And “Unlock Creativity” About Dr. Jacie Maslyk:An educator for the last 23 years, Dr. Jacie Maslyk, has served as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, elementary principal, and assistant superintendent. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and a Master’s Degree in Instructional Leadership from Robert Morris University. Her doctorate was earned in curriculum and instruction, also from IUP.  Jacie has published numerous articles on topics like principal leadership, designing effective interventions, and leading STEAM and Making in schools. She is the author of STEAM Makers: Fostering Creativity and Innovation in the Elementary Classroom, Connect to Lead: Power Up Your Learning Network to Move Your School Forward, Remake Literacy: Innovative Instructional Strategies for Maker Learning, Unlock Creativity: Opening a World of Imagination With Your Students, and All In: Taking a Gamble in Education. Jacie is a featured blogger with Demco, Defined STEM, and Education Closet, as well as maintaining her own blog, Creativity in the Making at http://www.jaciemaslyk.blogspot.com (www.jaciemaslyk.blogspot.com) . Maslyk is a member of a variety of educational organizations including for The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), The International Literacy Association (ILA), and The American Association of School Administrators (AASA). She is also a long-time member of the Pennsylvania Principals Association and was awarded the Frank S. Manchester Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2015 by the organization. She was also a National Distinguished Principal (NDP) finalist in Pennsylvania in 2013 and 2014. Jacie was a featured speaker for FETC 2020 and recently provided the keynote for the Virginia Children’s Engineering Council annual conference. Jacie presented at ISTE in 2019 and will speak again in 2020. She has presented throughout the United States and Canada on topics ranging from leadership and literacy to creativity and maker education. Jacie also serves as an educational consultant providing professional development and coaching to teachers and school leaders. Connect with Jacie on Twitter @DrJacieMaslyk or email her at jaciemaslyk@gmail.com .   Follow Dr. Jacie Maslyk: Website: http://www.steam-makers.com (www.steam-makers.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrJacieMaslyk (https://twitter.com/DrJacieMaslyk) Instagram: @jaciemaslyk Facebook: Jacie (Bejster) Maslyk Blog: http://www.jaciemaslyk.blogspot.com (www.jaciemaslyk.blogspot.com) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1970133325/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1970133325&linkCode=as2&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=5f2c31563ff280f76e0bc54dd31b3849 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1947604694/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1947604694&linkCode=as2&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=cf5e7936edd6231d779582eda355172c   This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase through these links, The Aspire Podcast gets a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. Need a Presenter for a conference or school PD?[caption id="attachment_2521" align="alignnone"...

How do you know if you're eating enough protein? What if you're over 60? Why does protein intake even matter?? In today's episode we talk to Dr. Stuart Phillips, one of world's leading researchers on protein and aging. Dr. Stuart Phillips has over 32,000 career citations and 250 research and review papers with a focus on protein intake, exercise and aging. If health and longevity are of interest to you, pay close attention to what this man has to say!   Key topics: 0:00 – Who is Dr. Stuart Phillips? 2:45 – A primer on protein, why it’s important in the body, and the latest research 5:55 – We dive into aging, muscle loss, and the increased importance of dietary protein 8:15 – How much daily protein do you need to prevent age-related muscle loss? - One-third to one-half of your dinner plate!!! 10:40 – The differences between animal-based and plant-based protein sources 13:45 – We discuss social media, influencers, and the challenges of communicating GOOD science - The unfortunate Law of Phillips: “The power of an anecdote is directly proportional to either the income- or in the case of athletics, the athletic success- of the individual giving it. - #GOSCIENCE 20:35 – More about protein requirements: - Daily: 1g of protein per 1lb of lean body mass is the best general target - Active teens can eat anything and thrive; hormones ensure this - Elderly: You have to exercise and build muscle before old age to ensure quality of life 24:15 – How Stu’s exercise and diet have changed over the years - The value of morning workouts - Eating less junk food as activity level and metabolism decrease 28:25 – We discuss the merits of HIIT cardiovascular training - Martin Gibala, The One Minute Workout 29:30 – The number one piece of advice for beating chronic disease: Do something active. Anything. Always think about the smallest possible dosage. 60 seconds is better than nothing. 33:00 – We discuss the common excuses of “I don’t have time.” (It’s crap) 33:55 – “It’s never too late to change.”- a 92-year old client. Aging is an excuse, not a reason. 35:15 – The huge impact of eating at home rather than eating out 39:15 – Protein Rapid-fire Round: - Are protein powders an acceptable substitute for whole food sources? - Whey protein vs. rice protein? - Do I need a protein shake immediately after my workout? Is food post-workout ok? - Does protein timing matter? - What about supplemental leucine? Supplemental BCAAs? 43:25 – We chat about the genetics required for both strength and hypertrophy 46:05 – Stu’s book recommendation: - Grit, by Angela Duckworth 47:55 – Dr. Stu’s daily non-negotiable self-care tool: Getting in his daily workout. 49:20 – Stu’s health advice: - For exercise: Do just a little bit more that you’ve been doing. - For diet: Eat real food; shop around the walls of the grocery store (not the aisles) 50:35 – Where you can find Stu and his research More about Dr. Stuart Phillips: Stu is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair of Skeletal Muscle Health in Aging, a Professor in Kinesiology, and a member of Graduate Faculty in the School of Medicine at McMaster University. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American College of Nutrition (ACN). His research is focused on the impact of nutrition and exercise on the mechanisms of human skeletal muscle protein turnover. He is also keenly interested in diet- and exercise-induced changes in body composition particularly in aging populations. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the US NIH, as well as the USDA. Dr. Phillips was the inaugural recipient of the Enzo Cafarelli Mentor Award in 2017. He is a past recipient of a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institute...

Professor Phillips is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health. In addition to being a full Professor in Kinesiology, also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine at McMaster University. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American College of Nutrition (ACN). His research is focused on the impact of nutrition and exercise on human skeletal muscle protein turnover. He is also keenly interested in diet- and exercise-induced changes in body composition. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation as well as the USDA. He has received more than $2.4 million in research funding in the last 3 years. Dr. Phillips was the recipient of a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Award and in 2003 received the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Young Investigator Award. He currently has more than 18000 career citations, and 200 original scientific research and review papers. In This Episode We Discuss How good of a proxy for muscle growth is muscle protein synthesis? Recommendations for daily and per-meal protein intake to maximize MPS The influence of a calorie deficit on muscle protein balance: do you need more? Whole eggs lead to greater MPS than egg whites: discussion of research paper Anabolic resistance and strategies to overcome it

INCOSE SA — Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) can be a powerful aid in effectively managing projects, but it is also easily misunderstood and misapplied. Issues to be considered include: why WBS must not be just a breakdown of work, essential principles in adopting WBS as a management tool, failsafe rules for constructing effective WBS, relationships to other structures useful in project/engineering management, e.g. Systems Breakdown Structure (SBS), Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS), Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS), Specification Breakdown Structure (Specification Tree), application of WBS to costing, scheduling, definition, risk analysis, measurement, reporting, organisational design, and control. Alwyn Smit is a Principal Consultant with Project Performance International (PPI). He has a B.Eng. (Electr) degree from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and is registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a professional engineer. He has spent the bulk of his career working in the South African defence industry as systems engineer and project manager on technology intensive projects, most recently as principal systems engineer with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR). Alwyn is a founding member of the South African Chapter of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE SA) and an INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP). He has served on the INCOSE SA management team in numerous roles including President. He is currently a co-opted member of the INCOSE SA Chapter Management Committee, a member of the Western Cape branch as well as an appointed INCOSE Ambassador. Alwyn is also a member of the System Dynamics Society and the International Institute of Business Analysis. Alwyn was a member of the South African Bureau of Standards Working Group SC-71C on Systems and Software Life Cycle Processes. He has also represented South Africa on the ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7 Working Group 7 (WG7) on Systems and Software Life Cycle Processes, developing the international systems engineering standard ISO/IEC 15288. Alwyn teaches postgraduate modules in Systems Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), Johannesburg. Since joining the PPI team, Alwyn has delivered public and on-site systems engineering related training in Australia, Europe, South America, South Africa and the USA. Presentation Slides — PDF (1.0 MB)

INCOSE SA — Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) can be a powerful aid in effectively managing projects, but it is also easily misunderstood and misapplied. Issues to be considered include: why WBS must not be just a breakdown of work, essential principles in adopting WBS as a management tool, failsafe rules for constructing effective WBS, relationships to other structures useful in project/engineering management, e.g. Systems Breakdown Structure (SBS), Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS), Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS), Specification Breakdown Structure (Specification Tree), application of WBS to costing, scheduling, definition, risk analysis, measurement, reporting, organisational design, and control. Alwyn Smit is a Principal Consultant with Project Performance International (PPI). He has a B.Eng. (Electr) degree from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and is registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a professional engineer. He has spent the bulk of his career working in the South African defence industry as systems engineer and project manager on technology intensive projects, most recently as principal systems engineer with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR). Alwyn is a founding member of the South African Chapter of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE SA) and an INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP). He has served on the INCOSE SA management team in numerous roles including President. He is currently a co-opted member of the INCOSE SA Chapter Management Committee, a member of the Western Cape branch as well as an appointed INCOSE Ambassador. Alwyn is also a member of the System Dynamics Society and the International Institute of Business Analysis. Alwyn was a member of the South African Bureau of Standards Working Group SC-71C on Systems and Software Life Cycle Processes. He has also represented South Africa on the ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7 Working Group 7 (WG7) on Systems and Software Life Cycle Processes, developing the international systems engineering standard ISO/IEC 15288. Alwyn teaches postgraduate modules in Systems Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), Johannesburg. Since joining the PPI team, Alwyn has delivered public and on-site systems engineering related training in Australia, Europe, South America, South Africa and the USA. Presentation Slides — PDF (1.0 MB)

Professor Phillips is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health. In addition to being a full Professor in Kinesiology, also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine at McMaster University. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American College of Nutrition (ACN). His research is focused on the impact of nutrition and exercise on human skeletal muscle protein turnover. He is also keenly interested in diet- and exercise-induced changes in body composition. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation as well as the USDA. He has received more than $2.4 million in research funding in the last 3 years. Dr. Phillips was the recipient of a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Ontario Premier's Research Excellence Award and in 2003 received the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Young Investigator Award. He currently has more than 18000 career citations, and 200 original scientific research and review papers. In this podcast, Prof.Phillips and I discussed Sarcopenia. Some of the things we discuss are:  1.What is sarcopenia and what causes it? 2.When do we start to see age-related declines in muscle mass and how much muscle mass can potentially be lost annually? 3.What type of exercise can be beneficial and easy to perform for elderly people? 4.Do you feel that the RDA of 0.8 g/kg is set to low and if so, what would be more optimal to aim for? 5.Could you explain what “anabolic resistance” is? 6.Why is it important to not only focus on total amount of protein per day, but also protein amount per meal, distribution and protein quality? 7.What is your take home message?

Our infrastructure – both physical and digital – faces a range of threats from terrorism, to state and commercial espionage, hacktivism to criminality. The question is how do we guard against these threats? For those involved in the transport sector this means adopting a ‘security-minded approach'. Podcast includes interviews with Alex Luck, Hugh Boyes and Gary Heward who all work on security projects or infrastructure projects requiring security-mindedness.This episode starts with physical security of transport systems and the public realm. Then goes on to explore issues and the dangers with smart cities and data aggregation, and includes the Engineering Council's six new security principles for all engineers. Finally it looks at security mindedness and asset management aspects and PAS1192-5 work for BIM.

Our infrastructure – both physical and digital – faces a range of threats from terrorism, to state and commercial espionage, hacktivism to criminality. The question is how do we guard against these threats? For those involved in the transport sector this means adopting a ‘security-minded approach'. Podcast includes interviews with Alex Luck, Hugh Boyes and Gary Heward who all work on security projects or infrastructure projects requiring security-mindedness. This episode starts with physical security of transport systems and the public realm. Then goes on to explore issues and the dangers with smart cities and data aggregation, and includes the Engineering Council's six new security principles for all engineers. Finally it looks at security mindedness and asset management aspects and PAS1192-5 work for BIM.

Our infrastructure – both physical and digital – faces a range of threats from terrorism, to state and commercial espionage, hacktivism to criminality. The question is how do we guard against these threats? For those involved in the transport sector this means adopting a ‘security-minded approach'. Podcast includes interviews with Alex Luck, Hugh Boyes and Gary Heward who all work on security projects or infrastructure projects requiring security-mindedness.This episode starts with physical security of transport systems and the public realm. Then goes on to explore issues and the dangers with smart cities and data aggregation, and includes the Engineering Council's six new security principles for all engineers. Finally it looks at security mindedness and asset management aspects and PAS1192-5 work for BIM.

My guest today is Stuart Phillips, Ph.D. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo in Human Physiology. He joined McMaster University in 1999 as an Assistant Professor and is currently a full Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Medicine. He is also the inaugural Director of the McMaster Centre for Nutrition, Exercise, and Health Research. His research is focused on the impact of nutrition and exercise on human protein turnover, specifically in muscle. He is also interested in how exercise and protein impact body composition, strength, and function in aging. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada, the US Department of Agriculture, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. He has authored more than 190 research papers and several newspaper and magazine articles.   In this episode, we learn:   What are the overall (daily) protein needs of endurance athletes, and will this differ for ultra marathon runners? Does it matter if we get it throughout the day vs mostly at one or two meals? Does our daily average need to be daily or can it average over days?   Is there a protein hunger, per se, that is reliable and will we self regulate sufficiently? What is protein used for in an endurance athlete? How much protein is used for energy /ATP? What do we know, or can we expect about protein needs and use during and following an ultra? Is protein immediately before, during, or immediately after training handled differently? Is it beneficial to consume protein immediately after a training bout? Are there adverse effects of excess protein? Are all proteins equal?   And, as always, we what up with an advice question:   What advice might he give to an ultra marathon runner concerned with their protein intake?  

In association with kguff.com, we are starting a new podcast of NepaliEngineer.com. The technical aspects of the podcast is being managed by kguff and the technical aspects of the content by NepaliEngineer.com The first podcast is about the Code of Conduct of Nepal Engineering Council (NEC). All the related documents of NEC can be downloaded...

ECMap was an Alberta Government funded 5-year project that worked to raise community awareness of the results of an intensive study on the readiness of Alberta's children for kindergarten. The Government invested 26 million dollars to gather Early Development Instrument (EDI) data, interpret it, and share the results with communities province-wide. We learned that Alberta's kindergarten children are behind the Canadian average in their performance, with children in Lethbridge behind the Provincial average. Why is it so when we know that the preschool years are the most important time for brain development? We also know that skills that support a child's success in school and in life are trainable and can be developed through simple play activities that stimulate thinking, problem solving and self-regulation. Our speakers will share some of the work currently underway that aims to address these issues. Speakers: Robbin Gibb and LaVonne Rideout Robbin Gibb is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge. Her research funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada investigates parental influences on brain development and recovery from early brain injury. She is currently studying the effectiveness of improving adult capability in parent/caregivers of preschoolers by increasing their knowledge about executive function and early literacy. Robbin is a proud mother of two and grandmother of seven. LaVonne Rideout grew up as the fifth of six children on a mixed farm near Pincher Creek. Helping the next generation get a good start has been a motivating goal during her 30 years in early learning and child care. As part of the provincial government's drive to increase child-care spaces, she was given a mandate to create 500 new child-care spaces in her region over three years. She and her team created more than 2000 new spaces in two years by engaging communities from the start. For the past five years, LaVonne has worked passionately doing community development for the Early Child Development Mapping project. She has five sons and can now add Grandma as a favorite title. Moderator: Bev Muendel-Atherstone Date: Thursday, February 19, 2015 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea at the presentation only)

ECMap was an Alberta Government funded 5-year project that worked to raise community awareness of the results of an intensive study on the readiness of Alberta's children for kindergarten. The Government invested 26 million dollars to gather Early Development Instrument (EDI) data, interpret it, and share the results with communities province-wide. We learned that Alberta's kindergarten children are behind the Canadian average in their performance, with children in Lethbridge behind the Provincial average. Why is it so when we know that the preschool years are the most important time for brain development? We also know that skills that support a child's success in school and in life are trainable and can be developed through simple play activities that stimulate thinking, problem solving and self-regulation. Our speakers will share some of the work currently underway that aims to address these issues. Speakers: Robbin Gibb and LaVonne Rideout Robbin Gibb is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge. Her research funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada investigates parental influences on brain development and recovery from early brain injury. She is currently studying the effectiveness of improving adult capability in parent/caregivers of preschoolers by increasing their knowledge about executive function and early literacy. Robbin is a proud mother of two and grandmother of seven. LaVonne Rideout grew up as the fifth of six children on a mixed farm near Pincher Creek. Helping the next generation get a good start has been a motivating goal during her 30 years in early learning and child care. As part of the provincial government's drive to increase child-care spaces, she was given a mandate to create 500 new child-care spaces in her region over three years. She and her team created more than 2000 new spaces in two years by engaging communities from the start. For the past five years, LaVonne has worked passionately doing community development for the Early Child Development Mapping project. She has five sons and can now add Grandma as a favorite title. Moderator: Bev Muendel-Atherstone Date: Thursday, February 19, 2015 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea at the presentation only)

ECMap was an Alberta Government funded 5-year project that worked to raise community awareness of the results of an intensive study on the readiness of Alberta's children for kindergarten. The Government invested 26 million dollars to gather Early Development Instrument (EDI) data, interpret it, and share the results with communities province-wide. We learned that Alberta's kindergarten children are behind the Canadian average in their performance, with children in Lethbridge behind the Provincial average. Why is it so when we know that the preschool years are the most important time for brain development? We also know that skills that support a child's success in school and in life are trainable and can be developed through simple play activities that stimulate thinking, problem solving and self-regulation. Our speakers will share some of the work currently underway that aims to address these issues. Speakers: Robbin Gibb and LaVonne Rideout Robbin Gibb is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge. Her research funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada investigates parental influences on brain development and recovery from early brain injury. She is currently studying the effectiveness of improving adult capability in parent/caregivers of preschoolers by increasing their knowledge about executive function and early literacy. Robbin is a proud mother of two and grandmother of seven. LaVonne Rideout grew up as the fifth of six children on a mixed farm near Pincher Creek. Helping the next generation get a good start has been a motivating goal during her 30 years in early learning and child care. As part of the provincial government's drive to increase child-care spaces, she was given a mandate to create 500 new child-care spaces in her region over three years. She and her team created more than 2000 new spaces in two years by engaging communities from the start. For the past five years, LaVonne has worked passionately doing community development for the Early Child Development Mapping project. She has five sons and can now add Grandma as a favorite title. Moderator: Bev Muendel-Atherstone Date: Thursday, February 19, 2015 Time: Noon - 1:30 PM (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11.00 (includes lunch) or $2.00 (includes coffee/tea at the presentation only)