Tara Zupancic's blog

Babies damaged by women’s lifestyle choices?

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Thu, 26/01/2012 - 4:26pm

by Tara Zupancic

Research and the media – it‘s a powerful partnership.  News media outlets often determine whether a research study gathers attention or dust. But sometimes the media makes such blunders that more harm than good results. For example, yesterday I read a news report on a Scottish study’s findings of significantly lower levels of DNA methylation during the embryonic development of babies living in socioeconomically deprived areas of Glasgow. 

Promoting Dialogue on EcoHealth: Student Opportunities

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Mon, 14/11/2011 - 12:51pm

If you are a student of EcoHealth or environment and health, you may be interested in this opportunity to write and share your ideas through the EcoHealth Journal.  In a new proposed section called "Dialogues", students will have an opportunity to share brief articles and commentaries on a particular topic of interest .  The write-up will then be responded to by other EcoHealth professionals and  hopefully spark some lively and interesting discussion. But they want to hear from you by December 1st!

How can urban dwellers collectively shape their environment?

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Wed, 28/09/2011 - 5:17pm

From the Strelka Institute in Moscow, this robo-narrated video demonstrates "Crowdsourced Moscow 2012: A Public Space Game". It's purpose? To improve participation, democracy and equity in urban environmental decision making. It's described as "a megasimulator in which the city is controlled by a balance of interests." But is it a good idea? What are the barriers to access? Can everyone play? And if majority rules, what about minority needs ... a path to equity or cyber-bullying? Worth some scrutiny. 

Community-University Partnerships for Food Justice

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Tue, 23/08/2011 - 12:01pm

From this year's Food Justice Forum: Cultivating University-Community Partnerships for a Healthier Society (held in SanDiego, CA) - Robert Gottlieb, Director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College and co-author of  the book Food Justice (2010)  grapples with how to leverage community-university partnerships in order to address food issues within a frame of social and environmental justice.  

 

Local and historical knowledge - the important role of the Inuit in Arctic Research

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Fri, 19/08/2011 - 9:02am

In this video interview, Martin Lougheed, of the Inuit Quajisarvingat Knowledge Center, Ottawa, Canada, makes the case for blending Inuit traditional knowledge with Western science to help understand and find solutions to sweeping changes in the Arctic (courtesy of Blue Lagoon Productions for National Geographic).        

      

Contemplating what makes a just city?

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Thu, 21/07/2011 - 4:57pm

As many Toronto protestors take to the streets today in anger over Mayor Ford's  proposed cuts to public services, take a look at what has come out of a different "Ford forum" in New York City: "The Just City: A Ford Forum on Metropolitan Opportunity"  

New review - Ecohealth and Aboriginal Health: A Review of Common Ground

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Fri, 15/07/2011 - 11:39am

The National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH) released a new review entitled: Ecohealth and Aboriginal Health: A Review of Common Ground.   Authored by Margot Parkes (Canada Research Chair in Health, Ecosystems and Society at the University of Northern B.C.), the review explores the connection between people, place and land. 

Fewer kids hoofing it to class: linking research and action

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Wed, 06/07/2011 - 12:39pm

"I walked 3 uphill miles in the snow to get to school!"  Many of us have heard these tales, but in my Dad's case, it was true.  I recently visited the site of his long, meandering, nature-filled path to and from elementary school.  And the stories of his scholarly treks were infused with mischief, adventure, and at the end, one giant appetite. But these days, fewer kids use their feet to get to class. 

A space to call their own: barriers to youth friendly environments

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Tue, 05/07/2011 - 4:31pm

Emily Skinner recently shared the culmination of her inspired work undertaken with GAPAYAC in Winnipeg.  They articulated lived experiences of youth who feel shut out of decision making that shapes the spaces that shape them. Social Planning Toronto and the SPACE Coalition also just released a report entitled "Another Winter, Another Spring: Toronto Youth Speaking Out about Space".  Not surprisingly, the report mirrors findings from Emily's work as Toronto's youth describe barriers to finding space to call their own.

Discussion on Cumulative Impacts on Health and Community-Based Research Projects

Submitted by Tara Zupancic on Tue, 17/05/2011 - 2:26pm

Health risks from undue chemical exposures rarely reside in solitude but are often ensconced amidst substandard housing, inadequate nutrition and poverty.  

Listen in to hear how some researchers and communities are working together to drive new equations for understanding the consequences of compounding environmental health risks. Call in to listen to the discussion on June 9th (hosted by theCollaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE)

From CHE: ...

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