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TELUS doubles impact with $2 million commitment to its Indigenous Communities Fund
TELUS has announced a further commitment to the TELUS Indigenous Communities Fund, doubling the investment from C$1 million to $2 million over the next five years. Launched in November 2021, the fund aims to support Indigenous-led organizations and community groups addressing various social and well-being needs.
This increase will provide grant funding to projects focusing on mental health and well-being, language and cultural revitalization, access to education, and community building. Notable projects include the Reserve Recreation Facility Project in Alberta, which will build an accessible playground to promote community wellness and cater to the needs of children and youth. Additionally, the fund will assist the expansion of the Workforce Warriors‘ STEM training program in rural Ontario, offering Indigenous youth hands-on training to build careers in telecommunications.
“We are honoured to collaborate and support Indigenous-led organizations that are making a positive impact in their communities,” said Jill Schnarr, chief social innovation and communications officer at TELUS. “As a global corporation with strong Canadian roots, we have a responsibility to actively support reconciliation, helping drive material, social change to bridge the increasing socio-economic divide. It is a responsibility we take very seriously.”
Eighty per cent of website redesigns fall short of full potential due to business-consumer disconnect, says SoftwareReviews research
SoftwareReviews’ latest research reveals that 80 per cent of website redesigns fail to achieve their maximum potential, posing challenges for digital marketers seeking to improve engagement and conversion rates. Companies neglecting to modernize and align their websites may end up spending an extra C$113,000 yearly on sales salaries to compensate for the lack of marketing-influenced wins from this digital channel. In response to these issues, SoftwareReviews has released “Redesign Your Website to Increase Marketing-Influenced Wins,” a resource offering practical insights to ensure website redesigns deliver business value.
“Clunky API integrations and a legacy tech stack often mean that a modern-day redesign will be highly technical,” says Terra Higginson, principal marketing research director at SoftwareReviews. “To make matters even worse, hiring quality technical staff has become increasingly difficult. Even if the marketing team can hurdle the technical obstacles, they still must face a leadership team that doesn’t adequately understand and prioritize the buyer.”
The research underscores the importance of prioritizing and aligning with the buyer’s needs as the primary factor in achieving marketing-influenced wins. If digital marketing leaders want a successful redesign, SoftwareReviews says they must identify the intersection of business and buyer needs during the initial phase of redesigns, enhancing brand image and competitive differentiation.
New Kootenay Lake visualization tool helps understand water levels
The International Kootenay Lake Board of Control (IKLBC) has launched a new web-based tool, the Kootenay Lake Visualization Tool, aimed at providing valuable information to better comprehend the intricacies, competing interests, and physical limitations involved in managing Kootenay Lake’s water levels. Accessible on the IKLBC website, the tool offers an interactive platform to communicate these complex factors to the public.
The visualization tool comprises several key components:
- A hydrograph, which is a time series plot showing river flow or lake levels,
- A water profile, which shows water elevations within the lake system,
- An outflow limiting factor gauge, which shows what is limiting water outflow from the lake.
This resource is beneficial for Kootenay Lake residents, businesses, and stakeholders, as it enables a better understanding of the complex factors at play in managing this natural resource.
New privacy and cybersecurity training for healthcare based on real-world experiences
OntarioMD (OMD) has launched CME-accredited privacy and cybersecurity training for the broader healthcare industry. It says the training is relevant for clinicians in primary and community care, as well as hospital settings, equipping them with essential knowledge of leading practices and practical skills, such as recognizing phishing emails and handling other cyber threats.
Developed in collaboration with physicians, regulators, and other stakeholders, the training covers legal obligations and data protection, addressing the challenges of an increasingly digital healthcare landscape. Available 24/7 in both English and French, the online training offers flexibility and accessibility for healthcare professionals and their support staff.
“Since 2017, OntarioMD has addressed an important and growing need to protect clinicians practicing in the community from privacy breaches and cyberattacks,” said Robert Fox, chief executive officer (CEO) of OMD. “The need has grown for more training and resources for clinicians, wherever they practice, as new threats have emerged.”
The training module provides continuing medical education (CME) credits to family doctors and specialists. Upon completion, users receive a printable certificate, reminding them to refresh their privacy and security knowledge annually.
Dreaming in technicolour: computer scientists partner with Adobe on AI-powered graphic design tool
A team of computer scientists and designers at the University of Waterloo have developed De-Stijl, a powerful tool to enhance colour usage in graphic design. Using advanced machine learning technology, De-Stijl suggests colour palettes for novice designers and inexperienced users, surpassing the functionality of existing tools like Figma, Pixlr, and Coolor.
One of the most notable features of De-Stijl’s is an 2-D colour palette, developed in consultation with expert graphic designers, which not only suggests colours but also demonstrates their impact in different distributions. By focusing on colour proportions and placement, users can better perceive how their designs will appear.
“You put your graphical elements into the canvas,” said Jian Zhao, an assistant professor of computer science at Waterloo. “De-Stijl separates it into background, image, decoration, and text, and based on these it creates a palette and then can make recommendations based on the design elements of layout, colour proximity, and proportion.”
The project originated from a partnership with Adobe aiming to find AI-powered solutions for novice designers responsible for branding and marketing materials, the goal being to remove the “guesswork from graphic design.”
More to explore
Data of about 26,000 patients may have been copied from Toronto hospital group
Personal information of some 26,000 patients at one of the country’s biggest hospital groups may have been copied by an attacker in June.
ITWC’s 2023 Top Women in Cybersecurity: An interview with Susan Chiang of Cloudflare
Experts regularly insist that diversity — be it in age, colour, ethnicity or other categories — helps make an organization vigorous.
Deepfakes fueling the online anarchy: researchers weigh in on the complexities of regulation
From U.S. President Joe Biden spewing transphobic discourse, the Pentagon in flames, and Donald Trump resisting arrest to the Pope ennobling the puffer jacket – we’ve seen it all, none of it real, and each image more ludicrous than the next.
AWS launches major GenAI push, debuts new offerings at NYC Summit
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) will transform every application, industry and business and is finally taking shape due to an assortment of technological advances.
GenAI revolutionizing the medical device industry, reports GlobalData
Data and analytics company GlobalData has issued a report on the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in various aspects of healthcare.
Vancouver-based company selected for NIST’s post-quantum cryptography standardization process
BTQ Technologies, a Vancouver-based global quantum technology company, has announced that its post-quantum cryptography scheme, Preon, has been selected by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the first round for consideration in their Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standardization process.
Samsung introduces new foldable phones and more at Galaxy Unpacked
Yesterday at Galaxy Unpacked, broadcast live from Seoul, South Korea, Samsung unveiled the latest iteration of its folding phones, plus new tablets and watches, all of which will hit the market over the next few weeks.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Listen to the latest episode of Cybersecurity Today
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances
If you live in Québec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.
