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72 BCBusiness ApRIL 2018 "Learnings may not be transferable." (The Guardian, February 12, 2018) YourDictionary.com defines learnings (plural) as "knowledge gained"—not so different from learning (singular): "knowledge acquired by study" (Canadian Oxford Dictionary). According to Wiktionary.org, learnings became a business buzzword around 2000, especially in phrases such as "key learnings" or "apply these learnings." The term also figured in the title of the 2006 comedy film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. An Internet search turns up numerous critics who loathe the word, but to be fair, if teaching produces teachings, are learnings not the logical outcome of learning? • learnings JARGoN WATCH [from Old english leornung: study, action of acquiring knowledge] the market on hamburger buns. there have been many price-fixing schemes over the years. One of them even starred Matt damon, eventually. that was the attempt by American conglomerate Archer daniels Midland Co. and several international firms to fix the price of the animal feed additive lysine in the 1990s. the plan resulted in prison sentences for three AdM executives and was detailed in the book The Informant: A True Story by Kurt eichenwald, later made into the Steven Soderbergh–directed movie The Informant! with damon in the lead role. it is widely considered the greatest film ever made about lysine price-fixing or, if this is not going too far, about lysine itself. Cinematic glory aside, the AdM lysine plot does suggest that your everyday price-fixer usually focuses not on an obvious consumer staple like bread but on an obscure item further up the production stream. if you're going to fix prices, the thinking surely goes, why not do it with something almost no one has heard of? if, on the other hand, you try to fix prices on a product that millions care deeply about—and already suspect is overpriced—you're flying into thunder- clouds. in 2007, British Airways was fined £121.5 million by u.K. regulators and $300 million by the u.S. department of Justice for collaborating with Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. to fix fuel surcharge prices. Virgin Atlantic was not fined. Why not? Because those Virgin birds turned stool pigeon. the airline was granted immunity for revealing the plan. We can assume investigators got a Virgin Atlantic Airbus into a windowless room and said, "your BA buddy is right next door, singing like a 308-seat canary. Cut a deal with us first, and maybe you can fly the coop." it surely surprised no one to hear that airlines might be colluding on fees. When looked at from that angle, you'd have to say, why not give it a try? People are going to hate you anyway, so to paraphrase the old saying, you might as well be hanged for fixing the price of a sheep as a lamb. the same holds true of oil companies. if you did an informal poll of motorists on the May long weekend, you could expect a solid majority to say there's something sketchy going on at the pumps. in this case, playing it straight seems like a wasted opportunity. Why not just go ahead and create the conspiracy everybody assumes? they're going to blame you for it anyway. But then, nobody ever calls me back for a second interview when those oil company CeO jobs come open. As for bread, it may be doomed. the price-fixing scandal has come at a bad time for bakery products—this once- beloved foodstuff has recently been reclassified as a delivery device for that deadly human poison, gluten. Opposed by Gwyneth Paltrow and an army of influencers, bread will soon be made to answer for the rising toll of toast-related fatalities. Perhaps you should spend your $25 on some raw water instead. does Loblaws carry that yet? • is a quarterly health and wellness newsletter that provides your employees with the information they need to improve their health – on and off the job AndreA Burgers 604.473.0305 aburgers@canadawide.com Find out more... Are you investing in your employees health? print or digital versions available Photography: iStock 10 FAST FACTS Choices for healthy living • nutrition • fitness • well-being • health H ave you ever noticed your fingers or toes turning a shocking white or blue colour when you're cold? You may be one of the three to five per cent of Canadians suffering from Raynaud's disease or phenomenon. The condition—which manifests in the fingers and toes, and sometimes the nose or the ears—occurs when there is an exaggerated blood vessel tightening in response to cold, emotional stress or vibration that restricts blood flow to certain areas of the body. "About three out of every four sufferers of primary Raynaud's disease are women between the ages of 15 and 40," Dr. Jason Kur, president of the BC Society of Rheumatologists tells Wellness Matters. "In most cases there are no other side effects, however, some people can experience numbness, tingling and pain," he says. "And in severe cases, Raynaud's can cause ulcers or serious tissue damage." There are two types of Raynaud's: primary, which means it's not linked to another health problem; and secondary, which means it's related to an underlying autoimmune disease such as lupus or scleroderma. "Treatment options for primary Raynaud's include lifestyle changes, as it's more than just keeping the extremities warm, it's also about keeping your core warm and keeping dry when exercising," says Kur. "Avoiding other triggers, whether it's vibration or stress, also helps." "In most cases Raynaud's is nothing to worry about, but if you find it's impacting your lifestyle and you're experiencing other unexplained symptoms like ulcers or rashes, you could be experiencing secondary Raynaud's and it is time to seek advice from your doctor," says Kur. winter 2 016 1 Canada's average daily annual temperature is -5.6 C. 2 The village of Snag, Yukon, recorded the coldest day on record in Canada (-63 C) on February 3, 1947. 3 The ultraviolet (UV) index was developed by Canadian scientists in 1992 and adopted by the World Health Organization in 1994. 4 The blood vessels in your head don't constrict when it gets cold, which is why you continually lose heat through it. 5 Hypothermia–or exposure– occurs when the body can no longer produce more heat than it's losing. 6 It doesn't have to be below freezing for you to suffer from hypothermia; it can occur at any temperature under 10 C. 7 With less daylight in winter, vitamin D deficiencies may lower the body's immune system, making it more difficult to fight a cold. 8 According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, when washing your hands you should soap your hands for 20 seconds to help prevent the spread of germs. 9 You may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you're sick, since healthy adults may be infectious one day before symptoms develop. 10 Over 3 million Canadians suffer from asthma. For some, symptoms appear in winter due to the colder air. wellness matters Cold with Raynaud's Out in the Inside 2 Bitter is Better: The Benefits of Fermented Foods 5 At-home Physio 6 Why Travel is Good for your Mental Health wellness matters Photography: iStock 10 FAST FACTS Choices for healthy living • nutrition • fitness • well-being • health B ack in 2011, Toronto Public Health released a report titled "Healthy Toronto By Design." Its goal was to demonstrate how healthy cities evolve: through infrastructure built with creative vision, strategic decision-making and thoughtful implementation to respect the health needs of residents. This vision, now being witnessed in cities and towns across Canada, has been 30 years in the making. "The contemporary view of urban planning and health emerged in the late '90s when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization identified chronic diseases as a leading cause of death," Joyce Tang, project manager, implementation, urban strategy, with the City of Calgary tells Wellness Matters. Today health is an important consideration for all city developments. "Having a clear understanding of the relationship between urban planning and health has meant that we can plan our cities and build our communities so that they specifically encourage healthy lifestyles by giving people good reasons to go outside," says Tang. In Calgary, the City incorporated a health impact assessment when planning the future community of Nose Creek. "We created eight healthy planning principles that guided the plan," says Tang. "The area will be well connected by pedestrian-focused streets, have a range of housing types, building forms, gathering spaces, employment opportunities and retail to promote a healthy, active and safe lifestyle for all." As researchers better understand societal function, city planners are incorporating these findings to ensure future projects are designed to support everyone's health. As Tang concludes, it's about creating "healthy destinations and making the healthy choice easy." spring 2 017 1 In Canada, only one out of five children who need mental health services receive them. 2 Canada's youth suicide rate is the third highest in the industrialized world. 3 Approximately eight per cent of adults will experience major depression at some time in their lives. 4 In any given week, 500,000 Canadians are unable to work due to mental illness. 5 People with mental illness and addictions are more likely to die prematurely than the general population. 6 First Nations youth die by suicide about five to six times more often than non-Aboriginal youth. 7 Mental health issues account for more than $6 billion in lost productivity in Canada due to absenteeism. 8 Mental disorders account for more of the global burden of disease than all cancers combined. 9 One third of hospital stays in Canada are due to mental disorders. 10 About 44 per cent of seniors living in residential care facilities have a diagnosis of and/or symptoms of depression. Inside 2 Understanding Protein Bars 5 Don't Let Allergies Keep You Inside 6 Mental Health Week Health Building for WM_Spring2016_BW-FINAL.indd 1 2017-01-31 12:41 PM *Canada Safety Council, n.d. 10 % of all employees* Depression affects wellness matters