TTC Refreshing Customer Service

The TTC unveiled the first of its refreshed rest stops on the transit system on Monday, but the bathrooms are only the beginning of customer service improvements being employed in the coming months. The new restrooms have new plumbing fixtures that are easier to maintain and keep clean. The floors in certain station are going to be replaced as well, as some of them are nearly 30 years old.  Also on the TTC's agenda is to have cleaner trains and stations. New cleaning schedules will have cleaners working during the systems operating hours, instead of at the end of the day. Some people are asking where the money for this is coming from. TTC Chief of Customer Service, Chris Upfold says that its a matter of priorities. Certain cleaning services at TTC offices has been cut back to clean the areas that customers use. The improvements in the system will not only be in cleanliness. There is going to be more accountability in for TTC employees to be punctually and reliable.

I think that the TTC and other transit systems owe it to the customers to  be a clean and welcoming environment. This article shows that the TTC management is taking strides and making an effort toward being a more user friendly service. I believe that with small changes like the ones that are being implemented here are going to make a difference in customers satisfaction, which will in turn draw more people to using the TTC.



http://www.thestar.com/news/transportation/article/1136960--ttc-flushes-stinky-washrooms-bad-service-from-the-system

immigrants Wanting Warmer Welcome

While Toronto based employers believe they have successful programs to integrate new Canadian workers, only 49% of new Canadians believe that these programs are useful. 34% of a survey of 560 professionals who earned their degrees in other countries found that employers do not  adequately  address cultural differences in the Canadian workplace. Among their suggestions for improvement is an orientation that includes more information and advice about Canadian workplace culture and orientation that is specific to the job they were hired for.  It has also been found that health-care workers with foreign  credentials are twice as likely to find work that those with business and finance backgrounds.

I think this is an important issue in Canada. If more new Canadians are comfortable in the workplace, they are going to be more productive in their work. This is key for our whole economy to be able to grow and come together as one.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/on-the-job/immigrants-looking-for-a-better-welcome-in-canadian-workplaces/article2334417/

Android Goes on Power Trip

Android phones are constantly being updated and improved with new technologies. With out fail, every few months new Android phones are put on the market for consumers to buy. This  is very different from the model that Apple has built is success on. One phone, one OS and only the features that Apple wants you to have. The  iPhone is updated only once a year and is not a 4G phone, where as all the new Android phone run on super fast LTE 4G. The major players in developing these new phones are Samsung, Motorola, and HTC. All of these phones boast huge screens and all the latest wireless technology. Each one of these phones have their own unique bonus like a powerful battery on the Motorola, the sharp cameras on the HTC or the fast processing of the Samsung phone.

I think this article is a great representation of technology in general. All the amazing advances that go into these phones could not have been dreamed of 15 years ago and truly make our likes easier.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/technology/personaltech/android-phones-go-on-a-power-trip-state-of-the-art.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=technology

IPad Education

Now more than ever, schools are using technology and tablets to teach students. A study was preformed by   publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt alongside Apple using an Algebra textbook for the IPad. Students who used the IPad were 20% more like to score a mark of "Proficient" or "Advanced" compared to students who used paper texts. Programs that use technologies like this are for the most part in the private sector, but over 600 public schools in the United States have a 1:1 IPad program. 

Another study with 5th graders found that those who played the IPad game Motion Math for 20 minutes a day improved test scores by 15%. Though the IPad has shown to be a rather successful tool for learning, textbooks for ipad have not seen the same success as app based learning. Apple hopes to change this with their new 'iBooks 2' and 'iBookstore'. E-textbooks will be available to purchase on the IPad for a price of approximately $15, a mere fraction of what paper text books can cost.

I connected with this story because we use so much technology here at SAC that I could not imaging going to a school where I didn't have a laptop or a projector in each room. I have experienced first hand that technology greatly improves the learning environment and an IPad is just another tool that can be used to teach new concepts to students of all ages. Now that we have tablets at SAC, I use virtually no paper and I have all my notes in one section. An IPad and things of its nature is very intuitive and in my mind, will help educate people for the foreseeable future.


http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/23/tech/innovation/ipad-solid-education-tool/index.html

Eurozone unemployment hits 10.4%

The European unemployment rate is at its highest since 1998, before Euro was introduced. 10.4% of EU citizens are without jobs, this is about 16.5 million people who do not have a full time job. Economist Martin van Vliet had this to say about the unemployment in europe,  “Look at Greece, where unemployment is some 20 per cent, and it is 23 per cent in Spain. At a certain point this could lead to political unrest.” 

At a recent summit between the European leaders, the focus was shifted away from the debt crisis and was placed of reviving the growth of the European economy, which produces 16% of the global economic output. Even with newly implemented budget pacts, the growing gap between wealthy northern nations and poorer southern nations threatens to overshadow any union wide policies. There is an even more concern in Europe about the unemployment of people under 25. Nearly 50% of young people can not find full time jobs. Since 2008, the unemployment has risen from 7%  and is projected to reach 11% by mid 2012.

I believe that this problem can not be solved over night. The US has a very similar problem but they are taking effective steps to solve the issue. The EU needs to take similar steps in order to become the economic power it used to be. I believe that this can only happen if the countries of Europe are on the same page and want to be more successful. This should start with finding employment for the young people who are going to be in the work force for the next 40 years.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1123990--eurozone-unemployment-hits-record-10-4-per-cent

Rogers Follows Bell's Lead

After pressure from the CRTC, Rogers Communications has promised to end throttling the internet connections  for all its customers by the end of 2012. Bell Canada on the other hand said it would end this practice by next month. Rogers has been using throttling to keep the connection speeds and reliability strong, by slowing down the connections of users who play online video games or who use P2P sharing services. A Rogers representative said that "new technologies and ongoing investments in network capacity will allow us to begin phasing out that policy starting in March 2012." In 2009 the CRTC adopted new rules that would allow internet service providers to moniter and control traffic as long as the customers where informed. Unfortunately, there was no way to moniter the situation and the power was abused. The Canadian Gamers' association conducting studies and found that Rogers was severely limiting the connections of World of Warcraft players, findings that were backed up  by the CRTC. This resulted in the CRTC mandating that access to online services could not be restricted.


I believe that restricting internet speeds to those who use a lot of bandwidth and create a lot of traffic should be restricted. The restriction speeds up the connection to those who are not gaming online or downloading large files. On the other hand, the restriction can seem unfair to some. This can also be detrimental to games like World of Warcraft because people will stop playing because their connections are too slow. 
http://www.moneyville.ca/blog/post/1126122--rogers-follows-bell-in-ending-internet-throttling?bn=1