“Telephone collection of public opinion data from a random selection of Canadians has long been the gold standard for the polling industry, as landlines existed in virtually every residence in the country and data could be collected in a cost-effective manner,” wrote York University PhD candidate Quintin Zachary Hewlett in Rabble.ca Oct. 27. “However, academic and industry studies have noted that the recent decline in the response rate to telephone surveys has had a great influence on the validity of the data produced.” Read full story.
Steve Nash’s influence on basketball in Canada spreads far and wide
As Kevin Pangos made a name for himself, first at Newmarket’s Denison Secondary School and then at Washington State’s Gonzaga University, he earned a nickname among coaches and scouts: Steve Nash 2.0, reported the National Post Oct. 24. “He was sort of referred to as … the second coming, which in reality wasn’t fair to Steve Nash or to Kevin,” said Bill Pangos, Kevin’s father and the head coach of the York University women’s team. “Steve Nash was at the pinnacle of the game, almost. He had already received his two MVPs, and made a statement for international basketball and Canadian basketball in the NBA.” Read full story.
Profaning the allegedly religious
York University Professor Hira Singh knows whereof he speaks. Born and brought up in a village in eastern Uttar Pradesh where caste shaped and determined all of life as if it were the natural order of the universe, he saw it at work in the schools he attended – and saw what happened to those of lower castes who even attempted to assert the rights awarded them by the Constitution and the law. In this terse and very accessible analysis, Recasting Caste – From the Sacred to the Profane, Singh contends with formidable figures in sociology and anthropology, not least Max Weber and Louis Dumont, and with mainstream Indian sociology as well as the established field of subaltern studies, reported The Hindu Oct. 21. Read full story.
View today’s partial solar eclipse at York U
Today, Toronto will experience the most significant partial solar eclipse the city has seen in more than a decade, reported the North York Mirror Oct. 23. “This is the deepest partial solar eclipse Toronto has seen since May 1994 and is a precursor to the total solar eclipse that will be visible in Toronto on Aug. 21, 2017,” York University said in a statement. Read full story.
Life-long learning institute coming to Niagara
Brock University’s Centre for Adult Education and Community Outreach has started a recruitment drive for people to join the new Niagara LLI, reported Niagara This Week Oct. 23. It’s hosting York University neuropsychologist Guy Proulx at Rodman Hall in St. Catharines on Friday, Oct. 31, from 10am to noon to talk about “The health brain: a healthy and positive approach.” Read full story.