As a knowledge translation student I'm profoundly disheartened by the #StrawBan movement. We have organizations, institutions, politicians who purport to care about evidence & public consultation perpetuating a policy that disabled people have repeatedly says hurts them…
If we're not able to institute inclusive, evidence-informed policies for something so basic, what chance to we have for progress on more complex health issues?
People with disabilities have been having to do so much (free) education, over and over and over.
I've been to… 4? conferences in the past year about moving evidence into policy, doing community-based, patient-centred research. I should have a toolkit FULL of strategies to persuade folks that the #StrawBan is bad policy. But I'm at a loss. What should we (I) do differently?
OK, here's the LEAST I can do: take some of the labour off of people with disabilities. If you, a follower, still don't understand why outright bans of single-use plastic straws are harmful, please get in touch, and I will do my best to persuade.
*said. Goddammit.
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When I'm done dissertating I think I'll relaunch my editing business to focus exclusively on fixing indecipherable flowcharts, concept maps, and system charts.
I imagine "fixing" would mean "getting rid of" about 90% of the time.
I use mind maps and concept maps all the time, to clarify my own thinking. But the reason they work for me is that I see them being built, layer by layer, and I understand the shorthand I'm using. They're utterly meaningless to a naive reader.
*A thread about frequently asked questions that only my fellow language nerds are likely to care about*
I did a double-take when I read "Frequently asked questions for anglers."
I had to read on to confirm they meant [frequently asked questions] for (an audience of) anglers rather than questions that anglers are frequently asked.
I think it's interesting how this bit of ambiguity shows how we conceptualize "frequently asked questions" as a whole entity.
And, I mean, frequently asked questions aren't usually *actually* frequently asked questions, right? Most of the time they're questions that you anticipate your audience will have…
Helllllllp—I fell down an etymological rabbit hole after wondering whether the diminutive "-kin" suffix on "pumpkin" meant there was a larger squash known as a "pump." @mashedradishivacheung.com/2016/01/fact-c…
There was not. "Pumpkin" comes from "pumpion" (or "pompion") + "-kin". A pompion is just a regular squash or melon. It comes from the French "pompon."
Whether "pompom" and "pompion" are related is under dispute: some think "pompom" comes from "pomp" (of "…and circumstance" fame). littre.org/definition/pom…
Who else will be at the #YVR community dialogue session on national pharmacare tonight? 🙋🏻
Two years ago I attended the public consultation for federal disability legislation. Even though it took a long-ass time for the Accessible Canada Act to be proposed afterward, the consultation itself was one of the most memorable and edifying events I've ever attended.
That consultation—and the one tonight—never would have happened under the Conservatives. Every day I'm grateful that Harper's not PM anymore. The prospect of being back under the Cons terrifies me, but it's a real possibility 'cause Trudeau didn't follow through on #ERRE.