TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conferences began in 1984 in Silicon Valley as a way for tech employees to share their ideas and innovations. TEDx91亚色U, which is organized independently of TED, will include talks by 11 members of the 91亚色 community. They will speak about a wide array of聽topics, including聽the impact of emerging technology on education, student activism, mobile technology and seniors,聽and聽how concussions affect athletes.

TEDx91亚色U will be held in Theatre Glendon聽on the聽Glendon聽campus of 91亚色聽from 9:30am to 3pm. All of the talks will be streamed live at .

Featured speakers and topics include:

Mamdouh Shoukri, 91亚色 president聽& 聽vice-chancellor 鈥� "Forty years later I traded a briefcase for a backpack... and I loved it". After聽40 years, Shoukri revisited his time as a student thanks to 91亚色's inaugural President for a Day contest. The contest saw him swap roles with a student for a full day, in what may be a first for a Canadian university. In this address, he will talk about the contest, his experiences and what he learned from the day. (10:10 to聽10:22am)

Patrick Monahan, 91亚色 聽University vice-president academic & provost聽鈥� "The 21st-Century Revolution in Higher Education". Monahan will explain the transformation already underway in higher education worldwide, driven by technological advances that will enable 鈥� and also require 鈥� universities to respond to the learning needs of their students in new and different ways. The university in 2025 will be a very different place from what it is today. This transformation will mean more and better educational alternatives, better learning outcomes, and at a lower cost to students themselves. He will also explain how 91亚色 aspires to be a university for and of the 21st century. (11:43 to 11:55am)

Mike Layton, Toronto city councillor (Trinity-Spadina) and a graduate of 91亚色鈥檚 master of environmental studies program 鈥� "Free Energy Retrofits". Layton proposes that to combat climate change, we must take action globally, nationally, locally and in our very homes. He focuses on the latter, outlining a number of things that people can do in their own homes to conserve energy and offset their effects on climate change, focusing on the support and use of municipal legislation. (2:26 to聽2:38pm)

Barbara Crow, professor of communications & culture and associate dean, research, in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies 鈥� "Canadians at the Cross-Roads". Through her research on the impact of mobile technology on seniors, Crow explains the importance of bridging the gap between youth and seniors, as it relates to mobile technology usage. (10:49 to 11:01am)

The event will also include presentations by a number of other speakers. The time of each presentation will be updated on the website. These speakers include:

Lauren Sergio, 91亚色 professor, School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health聽鈥� "Impact Matters. Literally". Using her research on the impact of concussions in athletes, Sergio explains that we need to rethink how we know when it鈥檚 safe for them to return to play.

Megan Bertasson, Whitebear Woman, 91亚色 student 鈥� "Acimowin聽鈥� to tell a story". Using Cree storytelling, Bertasson shows the power of stories as agents of resistance, cultural propagation and impact. She leaves the audience with the powerful story of Helen Betty Osborne, a Cree woman brutally assaulted and murdered in Manitoba, asking them to digest, interpret and apply the story in their own way.

Samantha Yamada, 91亚色 student 鈥� "Measuring Impact". Using the example of Pine River, a centre for youth dealing with mental health issues and addiction, of which she is a co-founder, Yamada is arguing for the importance of program- and self-evaluation in being able to make an impact. 聽She highlights the courage required to acknowledge and overcome failure, and to learn and grow from it. 聽Evaluation may not be the flashiest form of research, but it is essential to making an impact and difference.

Alastair Woods, 91亚色 Student聽鈥� "In Praise of Troublemakers". Woods gives a call to action, praising troublemakers 鈭� those who stand up and make their voices heard, pushing governments to be more accountable, and finding ways to operate both within and outside of the existing (imperfect) political system.

Brian Crosby, 91亚色 alumnus and聽comedy writer 鈥� "All Your Ideas Are Bad: A letter to myself". Presented as a letter to his younger self (and to all of the audience), Crosby is sharing the idea that impact is not something that happens, but a process. 聽Using examples of "bad ideas" he has come up with throughout his career as a comedy writer, he demonstrates that "failure" is not an end point, but a natural and necessary part of finding success with your passions and being able to make an impact.

Jeremy Laurin, president & CEO, ventureLAB 鈥� "Impact - My life as an entrepreneur". Using experiences from his own life,聽Laurin talks about the impact and influence of his family on his journey to becoming an entrepreneur.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Through the use of interactive, computer-assisted health-assessments, Professor Farah Ahmad hopes to foster equity in health care, especially at the intersections of gender, ethnicity and migration. Ahmad will present her research and discuss how embracing eHealth innovations can boost community empowerment as part of the 91亚色 eHealth Alliance Lecture Series.

The lecture, 鈥渆Health Innovations to Address Health Inequities: A Case of Computer-Assisted Health-Assessment in Primary Care,鈥� will take place Thursday, Feb. 16, from 3 to 4pm, at 402 Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building.

Farah Ahmad

鈥淓quity in health-care access is a key social determinant of population health,鈥� says Ahmad, who is based in the Faculty of Health鈥檚 School of Health Policy & Management. 鈥淔ostering equity mechanisms is more salient today than ever before due to the challenges of economic recession and changing demographics.鈥�

One way to embrace eHealth is by using interactive computer-assisted health-assessments in primary care for prevention and health promotion. Her recent research demonstrates that these kinds of assessments can enable patients to disclose socially stigmatized issues, such as partner violence and compromised mental health, as well as assist providers to offer needed care and referrals.

Ahmad鈥檚 action research on eHealth for psychosocial healthcare re-orientation takes place at the critical intersections of gender, ethnicity and migration. It is grounded in principles of social science includes quantitative and qualitative studies with inner city women, refugees and health-care providers. She will highlight the potential to develop integrated care models as an important pathway for simultaneous actions on the multiple health determinants that improve life conditions.

Ahmad is affiliated with the Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital as an associate scientist and with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Strategic Training Initiatives on Health Research on Health, Care, Place & Technology as a mentor. She held several prestigious fellowships, including awards from the CIHR during her doctorate and post-doctorate.

For more information, visit the Faculty of Health website.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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