#Canadian surveys

[i-am-a-whimsy-boy]

Calling all Murdoch Mysteries fans!

I've put together a fandom census to get to know who we all are, what we like, what we don't like, and to see if any patterns emerge! Please fill it out and share it with your fellow Murdoch fans! I'll post results once I get a decent enough data pool.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The province has unveiled a survey aimed at identifying systemic racism in order to implement equitable access after hearing concerns from minority groups and Indigenous members of the community.

In June 2022, the Anti-Racism Data Act came into effect. Its aim is to enable the safe collection and "use of personal information for the purposes of identifying and eliminating systemic racism and advancing racial equality," according to the province.

Available in 15 different languages,  the province says the B.C. Demographic Survey is an opportunity for communities that feel left behind to express their concerns to help pave the way to more inclusive and accessible services. It asks questions around ethnicity, ancestry, and religious preferences, among other things.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[ohthestoryteller]

hey kings. for my final in statistics. check rbs for the link

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

As America’s neighbor to the north continues to lead the way on the world scene regarding euthanasia, a disturbing new survey has found that Canadians are not only in favor of the country’s Medical Assistance In Dying (MAiD) program (73%) but many believe it should be expanded further...

[davnittbraes]

Finally getting around to completing this Canadian Community Health Survey that I’ve been randomly selected for and one of the first questions is “On a scale of one to ten, how satisfied are you with your life right now?”

Like damn J-dawg, you’re coming at me right outta the gate.

[lamontpll]

5 Free Canadian Survey Sites To Join Today

Canadian Survey Sites You deserve only the best Canadian survey sites. These are for people in Canada that enjoy taking surveys for extra cash and gift cards in their free time. Joining these free sites will boost your earning potential with no risk of being scammed. Don’t waste your time on spammy sites. Look through these and find your new favorite sites! Only the hottest sites – no risk, all…

[lakecoded]

slayyyyyy i don't have work tomorrow and my sister found a round trip flight for me to go home for christmas for 800$ (a steal!) and my mom is paying for it and i submitted my time off request for like. all of december lol

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #26

July 5-12 2024

The IRS announced it had managed to collect $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats. The program focused on persons with more than $1 million in yearly income who owned more than $250,000 in unpaid taxes. Thanks to money in Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act the IRS is able to undertake more enforcement against rich tax cheats after years of Republicans cutting the agency's budget, which they hope to do again if they win power again.

The Biden administration announced a $244 million dollar investment in the federal government’s registered apprenticeship program. This marks the largest investment in the program's history with grants going out to 52 programs in 32 states. The President is focused on getting well paying blue collar opportunities to people and more people are taking part in the apprenticeship program than ever before. Republican pledge to cut it, even as employers struggle to find qualified workers.

The Department of Transportation announced the largest single project in the department's history, $11 billion dollars in grants for the The Hudson River Tunnel. Part of the $66 billion the Biden Administration has invested in our rail system the tunnel, the most complex Infrastructure project in the nation would link New York and New Jersey by rail under the Hudson. Once finished it's believed it'll impact 20% of the American economy by improving and speeding connection throughout the Northeast.

The Department of Energy announced $1.7 billion to save auto worker's jobs and convert factories to electronic vehicles. The Biden administration will used the money to save or reopen factories in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia and retool them to make electric cars. The project will save 15,000 skilled union worker jobs, and created 2,900 new high-quality jobs.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development reached a settlement with The Appraisal Foundation over racial discrimination. TAF is the organization responsible for setting standards and qualifications for real estate appraisers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics last year found that TAF was 94.7% White and 0.6% Black, making it the least racially diverse of the 800 occupations surveyed. Black and Latino home owners are far more likely to have their houses under valued than whites. Under the settlement with HUD TAF will have to take serious steps to increase diversity and remove structural barriers to diversity.

The Department of Justice disrupted an effort by the Russian government to influence public opinion through AI bots. The DoJ shut down nearly 1,000 twitter accounts that were linked to a Russian Bot farm. The bots used AI technology to not only generate tweets but also AI image faces for profile pictures. The effort seemed focused on boosting support for Russia's war against Ukraine and spread negative stories/impressions about Ukraine.

The Department of Transportation announces $1.5 billion to help local authorities buy made in America buses. 80% of the funding will go toward zero or low-emission technology, a part of the President's goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050. This is part of the $5 billion the DOT has spent over the last 3 years replacing aging buses with new cleaner technology.

President Biden with Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and Finnish President Alexander Stubb signed a new agreement on the arctic. The new trilateral agreement between the 3 NATO partners, known as the ICE Pact, will boost production of ice breaking ships, the 3 plan to build as many as 90 between them in the coming years. The alliance hopes to be a counter weight to China's current dominance in the ice breaker market and help western allies respond to Russia's aggressive push into the arctic waters.

The Department of Transportation announced $1.1 billion for greater rail safety. The program seeks to, where ever possible, eliminate rail crossings, thus removing the dangers and inconvenience to communities divided by rail lines. It will also help update and improve safety measures at rail crossings.

The Department of the Interior announced $120 million to help tribal communities prepare for climate disasters. This funding is part of half a billion dollars the Biden administration has spent to help tribes build climate resilience, which itself is part of a $50 billion dollar effort to build climate resilience across the nation. This funding will help support drought measures, wildland fire mitigation, community-driven relocation, managed retreat, protect-in-place efforts, and ocean and coastal management.

The USDA announced $100 million in additional funds to help feed low income kids over the summer. Known as "SUN Bucks" or "Summer EBT" the new Biden program grants the families of kids who qualify for free meals at school $120 dollars pre-child for groceries. This comes on top of the traditional SUN Meals program which offers school meals to qualifying children over the summer, as well as the new under President Biden SUN Meals To-Go program which is now offering delivery of meals to low-income children in rural areas. This grant is meant to help local governments build up the Infrastructure to support and distribute SUN Bucks. If fully implemented SUN Bucks could help 30 million kids, but many Republican governors have refused the funding.

USAID announced its giving $100 million to the UN World Food Program to deliver urgently needed food assistance in Gaza. This will bring the total humanitarian aid given by the US to the Palestinian people since the war started in October 2023 to $774 million, the single largest donor nation. President Biden at his press conference last night said that Israel and Hamas have agreed in principle to a ceasefire deal that will end the war and release the hostages. US negotiators are working to close the final gaps between the two sides and end the war.

The Senate confirmed Nancy Maldonado to serve as a Judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Maldonado is the 202nd federal Judge appointed by President Biden to be confirmed. She will the first Latino judge to ever serve on the 7th Circuit which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Bonus: At the NATO summit in Washington DC President Biden joined 32 allies in the Ukraine compact. Allies from Japan to Iceland confirmed their support for Ukraine and deepening their commitments to building Ukraine's forces and keeping a free and Democratic Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. World leaders such as British Prime Minster Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, praised President Biden's experience and leadership during the NATO summit

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Jail Two Ships' Firemen,” Toronto Star. April 10, 1942. Page 38. ---- Victoria, April 10 - (CP) - Patrick O'Brynne and F. Roma, firemen on the dominion government hydrographic survey ship William J. Stewart, were sentenced to four months in jail on a charge of refusing to sail with their ship up the west coast of Vancouver Island March 27. They refused to sail unless they were granted a war bonus.

[frankkster]

FROM RELIGION TO SOMETHING BETTER

The National Post headline said “Canadians’ faith in God is ‘decoupling’ from their attachment to religion“. Given that this is a spirituality blog, you might think I regard the survey results in this article as bad news. You would be wrong. Says the article, published in April 2023: According to a survey carried out for the Association for Canadian Studies, a curious demographic trend in…

[tangleworm]

Here are my answers, if you would like to copy or reference anything.

Technical Evidence

<…>In your area of knowledge or organization, what is the involvement of humans in the development of AI systems?<…>

As a software engineer by profession and an artist by hobby, I interact with AI from many angles.

The name "AI" itself is a marketing term, ascribing a sense of "intelligence" and humanity to a tool in a way that is not accurate to how it functions. These tools are are "models"; they ingest data, mutate it according to an opaque and labyrinthine set of rules, and produce an output. Through a process of "training", these opaque mutations are continuously tweaked -- consuming a large amount of electricity and computing power in the process -- until the outputs satisfy the engineer's specifications.

The consequences of this fundamental nature are twofold:

"AI" is not "intelligent" in the sense that it can intuit its own conclusions, understand the principles of a field of study, or develop its own knowledge. A human can understand math by applying the principles of addition, subtraction, and so on; an AI would attempt to understand math by memorizing every single number and combination of numbers, because it can only see correlations in its training data and attempt to reproduce them. This is why, until very recently, even the most advanced AI products would experience rounding errors in basic addition and subtraction when working with very large numbers.

Humans do not confidently understand how models end up producing the outputs they do. The steps between input and output are deliberately arcane and opaque, which is how models can produce unexpected outputs that surprise end users. It is also why every AI model is a time bomb of undiscovered edge cases and failures-in-waiting, such as how ChatGPT was tricked into revealing sensitive personal information by being asked to repeat a word forever: https://www.vice.com/en/article/88xe75/chatgpt-can-reveal-personal-information-from-real-people-google-researchers-show

In my job, AI models are used to find correlations between attributes, which is a strength of this type of tool. However, by and large, the development of AI tools has a culture of trying to obfuscate and get ahead of genuine ethical concerns. Especially in the field of generative AI tools, developers are openly excited about consuming copyrighted material in order to undercut the labour of the artists and writers without whom they would have no training data. There is a sense of trying to shape the legal conversation around a fictitious danger of an "AI overlord" in order to distract from the mundane danger of corporate greed and disrespect for labour.

Text and Data Mining

<…>What would more clarity around copyright and TDM in Canada mean for the AI industry and the creative industry?<…>

Above all, a legal framework around AI must emphasize that training data is "opt-in" only.

Developers of generative AI tools operate in a "forgiveness before permission" culture, hoping to make it too troublesome and too time-consuming to withdraw consent for online content to be used as training data. This is because without a huge volume of data ingested for free, these tools simply would not work, or they would produce laughable results that do not justify their huge investment.

However, creators generally intuitively understand that such tools are consuming their work in an effort to supplant and undercut them, not to help them, which is why they were not asked. This is the hole that must be plugged in any policy around AI and copyright.

Authorship and Ownership of Works Generated by AI

<…>Are there approaches in other jurisdictions that could inform a Canadian consideration of this issue?<…>

The US Copyright Office's ruling that AI-generated work cannot be copyrighted due to lack of human authorship is sound.

Works that are completely AI-generated cannot be meaningfully copyrighted, because they are the output of a tool. Many times, the users of AI products find that they cannot reproduce previous input after an update to the AI products they were using. This is an indication that they are not the result of authorship, but akin to taking and using the work of another.

Infringement and Liability regarding AI

<…>What are the barriers to determining whether an AI system accessed or copied a specific copyright-protected content when generating an infringing output?<…>

It can be difficult to determine whether an AI product used copyrighted training data "after the fact", as these tools are excellent at laundering their input. Action around infringement and liability must be taken at the point where data is ingested into the tool to begin with.

If you're in Canada, the Government of Canada has an open consultation on copyright policy as it relates to AI tools.

If you're a Canadian artist especially, I highly encourage you to weigh in. The deadline has been extended to January 15th, 2024.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Does Logan make the first move?

Starts in my Toes

Sequel to this and this

Logan's tired. He's been tired for more than a century. Another mission, another dint of fatigue in his brain. He just wants to lay down and shut the world out.

Until Bubbly floats by. Quite literally. The rush of bubbles flows over his shoulders and she appears before him. She cradles her hands and a translucent wolverine-shaped bubble wriggles there.

"I've been practicing all day," she raises the odd shony creature. She nudges it with her hands and it crawls through the air toward him and critters over his shoulders. "Isn't it cute?"

"Sure, bub," he rasps. "That all you been up to?"

"Ah," she beckons and the bubbly creature disappears with a pop. "Not saving the world like you."

"The world? Nah. Just chasing off goons," he sniffs.

"You saved someone. Always do," she argues. "And I saved you some parfait!"

"Parfait?"

"I made it. Butterscotch. No one else wanted any."

He frowns. He doesn't get it. She's sweet as a tooth ache but she doesn't get along with anyone but him. That's another wonder. He's an ass and she doesn't even seem to notice.

"Butterscotch?"

"Didn't have any maple syrup so I couldn't do a Canadian one."

"Canadian... er, well, ain't been there in a while."

"You can tell me if you don't like it," she spins and bounces ahead of him, a scatter of bubbles in her stead. They hit his chest and roll over him but don't pop.

"Sure I will," he mutters as he follows.

She sweeps into the kitchen but stops short. "You again? What do you want, Bozo?" Logan narrows his eyes as he overhears the snipe, "nice clown makeup but you need redder lips."

He comes closer as Bubbly turns back and her eyes round, as if she forgot him. He sidles past her as she touches his arm in a weak effort to deter him. He snarls as her surveys the room.

"What'd ya say?" He approaches the tall blonde he saw playing with buckets of water. Another of those.

"Um, oh, Wolverine," she gulps as her pulse picks up. He could grin at the sound of her fear. "Nothing."

"Ya know I can hear ya three halls down so don't lie to me," he approaches her with his shoulders set. "No room for your attitude in this house."

"It was a joke," she titters nervously, "please don't tell the Professor."

"Charles? Nah, I'll drag you out myself," he sneers. "Go."

She scrambles away and through the far doorway. He scoffs. He turns back to find Bubbly rocking.

"You didn't have to... it's a joke. Cause I make bubbles. Like a circus clown," she murmurs.

"A joke? Don't seem like you find it funny."

She stares at the wall and shrugs.

"You're not a clown," he insists.

She turns evasively away from him as he nears and she goes to the fridge. She takes out a cup of layered pudding and brownie, topped with cream. She puts it on the counter and finds a spoon.

"You don't think she's right, do you, bub?"

She shakes her head, "it was just... nothing." She faces him and holds out the spoon. "Mr. Wolverine, you don't have to keep pretending either. I know I'm strange."

"Ya kidding?" He grabs the spoon. "Every damn mutant in here is strange." He twirls the spoon then lowers it, "Bubbly, you're not strange. You're special."

She flutters her fingers and sways, "you should try the pudding."

He tuts. She's avoiding the point. The same way she's always by herself. She's staying away from conflict. Not all those in the mansion are meant to be like him, they're not all fighters. But they need more like her. They need the peacekeepers.

He watches her as she eludes his gaze and a bubble inflates and deflates from her fingertip. He shifts and moves closer. He just wants her to see what he does. To feel those things she made him feel. Things he didn't think were for him.

"I'm sure the pudding is sweet," he reaches for her chin, gently but firmly turning her face, "not as sweet as you though."

He could cringe at his own words but he's made up his mind. His lips meet hers before she can stop him. Before he can stop himself. He feels bubbles in his stomach and he feels them rolling up his chest. That moment smells like brown sugar; warm and soothing. She tastes even better.

He's awake now. Or maybe he's dreaming.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

There's some hopeful news for Canadian employees when it comes to their wages. According to Statistics Canada's latest jobs survey, the average hourly wage in Canada increased to an annual rate of 5.1 per cent in May, up from 4.8 per cent in April. This means the average worker made $34.94 an hour last month, which is $1.69 more than the average wage last year.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[girlactionfigure]

“I feel I no longer belong in 🇨🇦 and may need to flee.”

A new survey from the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario reveals a devastating rise in antisemitism targeting Jewish doctors and healthcare workers. The data is shocking, and the consequences could be catastrophic.

🧵:

2/ Since October 7, antisemitism in healthcare settings has skyrocketed:

•29% of Jewish medical professionals report it in their communities.

•39% in hospitals.

•43% in academic settings.

Before October 7, only 1% reported severe antisemitism. 

3/ The survey found 31% of Jewish doctors in Ontario are considering leaving the country.

Doctors are being forced out by a hostile environment where their Jewish identity makes them targets.

This isn’t just a Jewish issue—it’s a healthcare crisis. 

4/ The survey of over 1,000 Jewish healthcare professionals across Canada reveals staggering numbers:

•73% of Jewish doctors in Ontario report antisemitism in academic spaces.

•60% in hospitals.

•Over 80% face antisemitism at work overall. 

5/ The most common sources of antisemitism?

•Organizational policies (57%)

•Organizational communications (55%)

•Colleagues (53%)

This isn’t random—it’s systemic, embedded in the very institutions meant to support them. 

6/ Doctors shared heartbreaking stories:

“I fear my colleagues’ reaction to my name and identity. I feel I can no longer admit who I am.”

Another said:

“I feel I no longer belong in Canada.”

This is the daily reality for Jewish healthcare professionals. 

7/ Dr. Ayelet Kuper, Chair of the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario, warned:

“This is a crisis for all people in Ontario, not just Jewish doctors. If we don’t address this, we risk losing a generation of physicians, educators, and researchers.” 

8/ Even unions are failing Jewish healthcare workers. One occupational therapist said:

“Union members attend protests condoning terrorism, chanting dangerous slogans, and making my workplace unsafe.”

The environment for Jewish professionals is hostile and dangerous. 

9/ As Dr. Sam Silver said:

“I work with students navigating a hostile environment where their identity as Jews makes them targets of hate. This cannot continue.”

Antisemitism is pushing doctors out of Ontario, and the healthcare system will pay the price. 

10/ The survey is clear: antisemitism in healthcare impacts patient care, erodes workplace integrity, and threatens the entire system.

Jewish doctors are being targeted, but the consequences will affect every Canadian.

11/ This is a crisis that cannot be ignored. We must demand accountability from institutions, protect Jewish healthcare workers, and fight antisemitism at every level.

Antisemitism has no place in Canada—or anywhere. 

Full story:

Jewish doctors consider fleeing Canada amid rising rates of antisemitism in their profession

'Union members have been attending protests that condone terrorism, and I’ve witnessed colleagues showing up to these protests with union flags, chanting dangerous slogans'

LINK

Antisemitism in Canadian med schools, hospitals skyrocketed after Oct. 7 attacks: JMAO

In a survey conducted by the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario, 80% of Jewish physicians said they face antisemitism at work

LINK

@Joe_Roberts01

[mbari-blog]

New MBARI research reveals the dynamic processes that sculpt the Arctic seafloor.

MBARI researchers—working alongside a team of international collaborators from the Korea Polar Research Institute, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, the Geological Survey of Canada, and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory—have discovered large underwater ice formations at the edge of the Canadian Beaufort Sea, located in a remote region of the Arctic. 

The recently discovered layers of ice are not the same as the ancient permafrost formed during the last ice age, but rather were created under present-day conditions. This ice is produced when deeper layers of ancient submarine permafrost melt, creating brackish groundwater that rises and refreezes as it approaches the colder seafloor. This discovery reveals an unanticipated mechanism for the ongoing formation of submarine permafrost ice.

The complex morphology of the seafloor in this region of the Arctic tells a story that involves both the melting of ancient permafrost that was submerged beneath the sea long ago and the disfiguration of the modern seafloor that occurs when released water refreezes. Learn more on our website.

[piratewithvigor]

This also goes for whoever submitted Moon Miss and Troy Merrick as two of their favs

Like, there has not been a single Canadian indies wrestler included and suddenly the two of you list 3 of like the 10 Canadian indies wrestlers I've ever seen/met??

Okay whoever submitted Hollywood Cole as their 9th favorite wrestler in my survey, please step forward because I need to know how you know Hollywood Cole