Well, welcome back everyone. I hope you found your way satisfactorily to the sandwiches. Now, we move on to this afternoon, and I'm very pleased to welcome Jacqueline Descholais, who actually has really, I'm very pleased she's here. She's actually due to be in Delhi from Switzerland and has changed her flights around to be with us today, which is jolly nice of her. She founded the Verme project for reproductive health and education for women in Rajasthan in India. And the aim of this is to create self-sufficiency for village women and girls and to empower them to take control of their own lives. And over the past 40 years, she's been active in these areas, women's social justice and education and public housing, including working in that rather grim area, London's East End. She's also been involved with similar rights of women and their education in Africa and with refugees in New York. Jacqueline, thank you very much for coming along today to talk to us. Thank you. It's a great pleasure for me, an honour too, to talk about an issue that I care so much about, which is young women in the developing world, and who should have the same opportunities as you all have in our societies. I based it a lot on what Eleanor Roosevelt said very long time ago, that there was no social transformation in a country without the participation of women. But how can they participate in the life of their communities, of their countries, if they remain illiterate? A village woman in India once said to me, how can I take a bus if I can't read the sign of where it's going? In a way, so I would like to tell you the story of a small project in Rajasthan, in a very deprived part of the desert, about how change can take place, and how you can empower women, young women, to take control of their lives. It's a very used word, empowerment. And I only define it in one way. It is the capacity to make your own life choices, whether to work, whether when to get married, whether to have children, what to do. And this is denied in many ways to a lot of young women. So I will tell you the story of Vienna through photographs and some text. The Vienna project was started in 1993. It was originally a health, more health oriented about women's health and adolescent girls.  So this is just global indicators for you. According to UNESCO, there's still 119 million women are out of school. And the education goes beyond schooling. The other important thing is that school is a safe place for girls. Often, they're not that safe in their environment, but in school they're safe. So it allows them to make decisions about their own lives. So this is the Vienna project, girls go to school. They live in an institute, but they go to school. They cannot, in this institute, they're taken care of their health, they're safe. They do lots of activities, which you will see, but they attend good schools. So, why India? Because the gender gap in India, out of 156 countries, its ranks very low in gender equality, and particularly in women's participation. So look at the last figure. If you raised women's participation at the same level as men, you would boost India's GDP by 27%. So it's a waste of women's lives, of the energy they can contribute to their country. So, Rajasthan is one of the worst performing states in India. They backward, the overall literacy is only 69%, but 57% of women are literate. It has a population of 78 million, but there were 2 million, 4.7 million missing women. I don't know if you know that, but because of gender selection in India, there are 50 million women missing, which is a violence against women that is not talked about. So the prevalence of child marriage is very high, particularly in the rural areas where the only operates, where it's practically 90%. All girls are married or are promised in marriage. So this is a story of child rights that those two girls were child rights. They come from a village of Dalit, which we have a strong presence in. And Dogo is the subject of a movie made by some people in Singapore has been showed quite widely. Those two, this village decided about three years ago that they would never marry another girl in their village. So this tradition of child marriage, we can't change it as foreigners. It has to come from the community, and the community has to make those decisions. A village like that makes a decision. It was a big village event to tell us that it, that's why you make change. We can't impose it, it has to come from them. So this the justification, what happens to girls if they don't go to school, you can read of the less decision making early marriage early child bearing of course, and it's got a negative impact on her health she has too many children too close to each other. And the other thing is that the job opportunity she's not educated there are no job opportunities. So it also we know has a negative impact on a child's health on their children. Everything, you know, that goes into each other in the sense of a not educated woman will not have as much chance, no chance in life. There's, as I said, no to social transformation without the education of women. There's a holistic approach to girls education. So what does that consist of the safe accommodation access to good education facilities and comprehensive health care. Most girls when they arrive age 12 is you know secondary schooling in India is six to 12 age 12 to 18 are anemic on the wait, and this is the first thing we do is to get their health right. And they have very good food food is very important. They have a lot of extracurricular activities. Importantly we'll talk about the computer literacy, which is something innovative that we started in 2017 that allowed the whole coronavirus time for the girls not to drop out of school because they have tablets. Distance learning not one girl dropped out of school. They have conversational English, and they have career counseling and guidance. So this is the girls 110 girls in this institute, as I said, aged from 12 to 18, and all of them go on to college education. Also, we do a variety of activities as you would all have they have, they have excursions they visit theme parks. This was a particular one they loved which was a theme park. Also, they do sports. Self defense is something that was introduced. And they are incredibly good at it, they can break bricks with their arms. I defy anybody to attack one of those girls. They are tough, and they love it. So this is the theory of change, how you can make the interventions so you can enroll this advantage girls and provide a safe supportive I'd like to say that it's mixed cast. We never look at costs we never discuss cost, which in India is, as you know, quite a subject. My father came to me about high cost girls, Dalits, all kinds of costs the father came to me last time I was there, and said his daughter high cost girl had become friends with a Dalit. And he wanted us to break that friendship. And I said, I'm sorry, we believe in friendship, and we never interfere. And if you're not happy with your daughter being there, you can always take her out. Two weeks later he came back with two chocolates. And he said I bought two chocolates and I said well we have 110 girls and he said, I'm a poor man, I brought chocolates for my daughter and her friend. He had changed his mind. It was very touching that this can happen, because the cost environment is a complicated one. So, the other thing is, we provide opportunities for self expression so a lot of it is, they do theater, they write plays, they act them out. They Indian teaching is very wrote. It's a tough curriculum, very tough, and it's very much about wrote learning and creativity is not very strong in that program. So we try to bring creativity through plays through self expression. There are girls who arrive age 12 or currently like will not lift their heads up within a year they're able to talk in front of 100 people. So, self confidence is very much part of this program. So, the education is very good they go to very good private schools. They have tutors. In the computer lab in 2017, we got a grant for computer lab, and the girls are computer literate which is rare because they don't even teach it in some of the schools. And this has been, and we also have ICT technology, which meant that when they couldn't go to school with within a big screen, we could have in tutoring in the institute from teachers outside. And these are all technology is, as you know, incredibly important, and technology has helped us keep all these girls in education, but also, they're ahead of the game because they're computer literate. So, again, I said the outcomes is seven years of secondary education, their health prospects, also career guidance for the future. And the impact is this successful transition to adulthood and giving them some choices in life of careers. Now I don't know if you know that but in India 50% of government jobs go to low cost but because they're not educated enough. There's those jobs are rarely filled, which are teachers nurses or government employees. So increasingly the girls are going into those careers. Now the computer lessons are distance learning, as you can see, they have their lots of computers, and the fact that their computer literate is a huge advantage for them. So, what are the academic achievement, as I told you, 100% are retained in the program, they moved to the next class, and they own that secondary education certificate some of them with very high marks. The health outcomes is there are 100% immunized. They achieve normal body and BI for their ages, and 90% are not anemic because anemia remains a big problem in India. So, as I mentioned, they pursue higher education, nurses, doctors, police officers, government, employment, teachers, and other professions. Now, I just want to tell you quickly the story you just a short video. The show bar is was a child bride, she came from a pretty terrible village on the highway, which was a liquor trafficking, where all the girls were child brides and she, I'll let her tell her story, she tells it. So, how do I do that? Namaste. Hello everybody, myself Shobha from Village Rajwa. I don't know how to speak good English, but I will try to say about myself. When I was nine year old, my parents was fixed my marriage with a boy of my near village in 1998. Since 2007 to 2012, I was a student of the Vinny Institute. In these five years, I have completed my high schooling and graduation. In 2012, my parents sent me to my husband's house. When I show him first time, I was shocked because he was drunk and very opposing me. I got depressed and crying. For five days, his behavior was same as first day. I tried to convince my parents and my in-laws, but no one was there to hear me about this mis-happening. After this all, I went to near police station and reported all this story. Police called my parents, but they forced me to remain there, but I don't want to go there again. I went high court and case my file. My case completed in one year and after that, finally I got divorced. In between, that time I completed my bachelor's of education degree. It's calling beard. It's a teacher training. Now I am doing master of arts final year in history with doing part-time work also. Now I am feeling happy and free from all foundation of child marriage. I really thanks to Winnie Project who give me an opportunity to grow up myself as a single woman. If I were in the husband's house, it's sure that I had killed myself due to this situation. Once again, thanks to Winnie and all who supported me. Thank you. Now I'll tell you the story. She was, her story was written up in National Geographic by a journalist from the, and it was, as you know, National Geographic is read in so many languages. And Cynthia Gurney paid for her college education. It was after her college education that she had this terrible experience in her words to me, she said I was treated like an animal, but she got out of it. And she went to, we helped her go to Jaipur, her life was in danger in Jaipur. And she went to Jaipur, she got herself, you know, paid a worked and did some jobs and eventually she joined the police force. And she joined her today. She's now a high ranking officer in the police. And she's on her way to a great career she has two women working for her. So, in your needs more young women like her. I mean she's a champion, really, because what she went through is in you we cannot imagine how difficult her life was, but now she's, she's amazing, she's wonderful. We'll see her next week. So, those are the objectives of the project. And we've talked about it to complete so could be education to improve that knowledge and decision making ability to expose into a world outside of the village, and to develop a good agency, right self confidence self expression, leadership and friends. So, a few years ago, we asked them, we did a literary competition, and it the team was friendship, which was actually set by my granddaughter who was a volunteer at the program. And they wrote the most wonderful play, which my grandchildren action about the importance of friendship friendship is difficult in villages. So the other thing is they have health checkups we have a doctor that weighed regularly measured that whole health is taken into account that's important that diet is important as well. They do homework their homework we have tutors to help them when they need it. And there I am about the friendship part, because in villages is hard for them, they're always told to work to fetch water to do things. I remember once in a village, I said to a young man to a young boy and he said, Why do you make girls take go and fetch water, why aren't you fetching water and he said, Oh, that's a girl's job, that's not man's job. And then you don't take a bath, then you don't drink water, you know, this is kind of how changing mindsets. It's so it's, it's really. So we're talking about girl power. These girls really love it. They love, they celebrate it. They are. They love walking around the Institute. And this is a traditional welcome, if you come and visit. That's what takes place. And they love the rangoli, you know, they paint their hands they love doing that. And that's the Viennese family. That's with all the staff they have made friends, they have nurses. They have tutors and tutors so in all this is it's a family. It's really how it functions as a family. So thank you from the Viennese girls. They would love to hear from you. So, what does it mean, it means the hero woman via means hero in Hindi, and me means woman. So, it's the program it's 110 girls we refused 450 last year. It's not a drop in the ocean. But as we say the ocean is made of drops. So, we need all of you. So, I just want to finish by saying that the audience today is a great friend of mine, a young friend of mine called see that shoot, who was my second ever volunteer at the army. She was there in 2004, and she taught in the villages. So her experience is an invaluable one. So I'm going to ask her to come and say a few words. She has started a junior ambassador club in London. And she's as I mentioned a member of our foundation.  Will you come and say a few words. And then talk to lunch with us. And I was going to go and explore. It's like, I went to the bank for that. And I went, I went there before they set up the schools. I was in the villages. And we did a shock to my sister. I didn't have any planning for a volunteer or a volunteer. Are you planning a volunteer? It was ironing. I was also But it also, it changed my group. I came back to London after that. And I set up my own charity. And then it's been working and helping me understand it's because it's a very small project that we see around you to that scale. But actually, over time, I see that the change that they've done is tiny little in one tiny place has actually had this incredible effect. From where they're at today. It's an incredible change. So, meanwhile, yeah, we started a young ambassador's club. And it's really, really great for young women, especially to invite the rights of their counterparts in the world, where they do want to be a doctor. I'm really happy. Thank you for that. If you send it to me, I might send that on. And now please open it to question that anybody has a question. Please. Ask me. Good. Thank you. Please. How does it help for organizational institutions like the many integrated stuff with the in these business montage areas? What about learning that there might be some initial resistance to the community itself? All right. To several answers. One is there is a minimum income to for girls to be able to attend. I either have to be from rural, rural areas that cannot come from a city where there's the desert is a very poor region with tiny little hamlets and so on. So it's basically practically under $2 a day of families of hardship. Because the venue project operated for 10 years in villages, we have strong, they have strong contacts in the villages. We, they had what we call promoters women who were our representatives who organized originally the activities of the project which were health education, because then the institute only started in 2005 as a residential. And so the key to the project is the confidence of the over years of the villages towards the project, but also, and the criteria for coming to the project is that the girls do have to have the capacity to follow a good path, if they don't work you to them that they we do special cases for girls who are vulnerable who've lost their mothers or you know there's a lot of hardship in those villages. But the criteria is really rural based and they lowered the lowest income among the poorest. Most of their families are illiterate. They're probably the first person to be literate.  What I would say in the last year or so is that before it was mothers wanted their daughters educated. Now it's fathers, before the father stayed outside they didn't even bother to come and talk to us. Now it's fathers were coming a new generation younger generation of men in India who want their daughters educated. And this is a quantum leap. This is an incredible development.  So, I hope I answered your question. Any other. Any other questions. And I think this makes us realize just how lucky, how lucky we are here, whatever we may decide we want to learn about. It also, to me, really makes the point that if you want to have change, it's bottom up, not top down. And if any of you are thinking of doing anything in your gap year. This is the sort of thing to do of my various and many children, three of them couldn't escape and to taught in India and one in Africa. They weren't like me saying it. It made a difference. I could see that. Thank you very much. Thank you for giving me this chance to talk about this project which is, you know, so close to my heart and for these young, wonderful young women. I'd like to say that I've also funded project in Africa, also for education, and it is the only way to change the world. And these girls should have the same rights as you have so it needs all your help, it needs all your input to ensure that your sisters, it's a sisterhood, your sisters in the developing world have what you have. So thank you for listening.


And now, AutoLite and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present... Suspense! Tonight, AutoLite brings you Mr. Robert Montgomery in... The Thing in the Window. A suspense play produced and directed by Anton M. Leader. AutoLite has been getting letter after letter from car owners who have switched from narrow gap spark plugs to wide gap AutoLite resistor spark plugs. And they all agree that wide gap AutoLite resistor spark plugs make their cars idle smoother, give better performance with leaner gas mixtures, actually save gas dollars. And here's another amazing fact. These folks noticed that wide gap AutoLite resistor spark plugs actually cut down spark plug interference with radio and television reception. So friends, head for your nearest AutoLite dealer to replace your narrow gap spark plugs with wide gap AutoLite resistor spark plugs. You and your engine will be mighty happy that you did. And now, AutoLite presents Robert Montgomery in a tale well calculated to keep you in. Suspense! Mary. Yes, Mr. Rains. Turn that vacuum cleaner off for a minute, will you, and come over here. I want to show you something. Right here, out this window. Now look across the street, directly across the opposite apartment. See that window, about three windows in from the left with kind of blue draperies. There's something sitting there in a chair. Someone. He hasn't moved all night. I think he must be dead. Dead? Oh, Lord of Mercy, Mr. Rains. Take a good look at him and tell me what you think, Mary. Okay, but I don't favor looking at no corpses, Mr. Rains. It's unlucky. Now, which window did you say, sir? One over. I wish to have my glasses with me. Over there, over there, where my finger is pointing. I'm afraid to don't see it yet, Mr. Rains. Look, look, the window with the blue draperies. He's wearing a sort of gray suit. The arm.  No, but you got good eyes, Mr. Rains. If you see it, I'm not arguing with you. What you gonna do about it, Mr. Rains? Well, I don't know. I just began to notice it last night. I guess I first have to find out if the man is really dead. Yeah? Hello, I'm Martin Ames. Are you the superintendent of this apartment house? That's what it says on the door. I've come to inquire about one of your tenants. What is it you want to know? Well, I live across the street, and, uh, well, I'll be frank with you. Sir, I've been looking out my window across to this building now for two and a half days, and there seems to be someone dead in one of the windows. Yeah? Which window? Well, it's on the 10th floor. I've counted up from the street and 10 stories up. There's the window with blue draperies, about three windows in from the left facing toward me, that is, and there's a man sitting there, slumped down in a chair. Just a minute. I'll get out my chart. That's the floor up in the street. That's the ninth floor. The lobby counts one. We've got three apartments there along the front of the house. It's in the front. That's right. Now, three windows in from the left. That would be 9B. Yes. A four-room. No, it couldn't be right. 9B is two ladies. And you say this is a man? Yes, yes. Young or old? Well, I can't tell. The face isn't clearly visible. The head's slumped forward, but he's wearing a gray suit and he's sitting in a high, winged back chair. Don't place him. Maybe he doesn't belong in the house. Maybe he was visiting somebody. As I say, this is all conjecture, of course. He may not be dead, but I've watched him a good deal. I'm home a lot in the daytime. My profession, the stage, you know, doesn't take up too much of my time, and it looks mighty suspicious. Okay. I'll check it. Do you mind if I stay around? No, no, no, no, no. Sit down. I'll give 9B a ring first on the house phone. Miss Landis? Yes, this is Miss Landis. Who is this? This is Mr. Anderson. Everything all right up there, Miss Landis? Everything all right? Of course. Okay, Miss Landis. Thank you very much. Thank you. That's that. No soap on 9B. 9A's in the country. 9C isn't home. I just saw go out. I'll go up there a little later and take a look around. Well, what about this 9A, the people in the country? Well, maybe. They're an old couple. He could have come back and had a heart attack up there by himself. Or maybe somebody else. Some other person could have been using the apartment while they were away. Maybe. I'll take a look around. Maybe. I'll take a look in anyway. Only if I got the window straight, like you said it ought to be 9B. Oh, the two single ladies? Yeah, only it couldn't be them. They're real old maids. Say, if they knew you thought there was a man in that apartment, the two of them would just about jump out of their skins. Well, I don't know what to say. If you're sure, it must be that apartment. Oh, yeah, yeah. That's the place. But you probably just made a little mistake. You know how your eyes can play tricks on you? After all, it is quite a wide street. Oh, I don't think I made any mistake. Oh, hello, Mr. Anson. This is Mr. Ames. Again? It's not there. But Mr. Anson... I checked up on the three apartments this morning. No dead bodies in the whole place. But I can see it. It's still there. Okay, just where? Just tell me where. In that same window, the one you said was 9B.  No, but I asked him if anybody was sick or dead, and they said no. You asked them? Why don't you search the apartment? Me? You mean break in? No, no, no. Just ring the bell and walk in and do it. Yeah? These apartments, you know, don't belong to me. I just take care of the building for the company. Well, then let's call the police. Not me, Mr. I didn't see no dead body up there. Then I will. After all, somebody's got to do something. I still maintain office of these two sisters. There is refined ladies as you could find anywhere. High-class church-going ladies. They used to teach school up here at PS 13. Yeah, yeah. They don't mean a thing. And they got a dog in there. Now, will you tell me one dog that would stay for almost a week in a flat with a dead person? I'm not telling you nothing. All I know, this gentleman, Mr. Ames, reported a stiff over here. And if he says there is one, there is, till it's proved different. Right, Mr. Ames? Well, I keep seeing the thing day in and day out. I'm not working at the moment at being home so much... None of the other neighbors have complained. Dead bodies ain't exactly... Okay. Right this way, please. I hope they're home. Well, the thing ain't home. You got a pass key, haven't you? Yeah, but we're not supposed to use it, though, unless for an emergency. This is an emergency. A dog bite? Sometimes. Quiet, baby. Who is it? I... I'm awful sorry, Miss Landis, but there's been some kind of a mix-up. These two gentlemen want to look over your apartment. But weren't... I know. Come on, come on. Cut out the blabber. Look, lady, a dead body's been reported sitting in one of your windows. What? Yeah, yeah. This guy lives across the street and he's been seeing it over here for a week. So come on now, open up. A dead body? But my sister and I live here all alone. Yeah, yeah, we know all about it. Please, excuse me a minute. Come on!  Answer and give me the passkey. It won't do no good. They've got a chain on the door from the inside. Open up in the name of the law. I'm Vivian Landis. May I ask what this is all about, please? Certainly, lady. I got a search warrant here and complain to this gentleman. He says you've got a dead body in there. A dead body?  Yeah, isn't it? But it's been reported and kindly take that door off the chain and let us through. Of course. But first, may I ask, how did this peeping Tom see into our apartment? I thought, Mr. Anson, that we were quite private. He lives across the street on the same level. Oh, well, then we shall have to keep our shades down in the future. Although one would think a grown man would have something better to do. But do come in, gentlemen. Make yourselves right at home. Thanks. Is he coming in here too? Mr. Busybody? No, he doesn't have to if you don't want him to. Well, I most definitely don't. Okay, Mr. Ames, you better stay outside. Yes, but officer... Oh, he does want to poke around in our private rooms. Is that it? Maybe he had some ulterior motive in worming his way in. Maybe he's come to get the lay of the land so he can break in someday to rob us. Okay, okay, he's not coming in. Now, let's take a look at your window, lady. Ames. Yes, officer. What's the big idea? You didn't find it? No. That's very strange. Yeah? The only thing strange about it is your eyesight. You ought to get your glasses changed. There wasn't anything in 9B. No. I don't understand it. How could I have seen it so distinctly and it not there? But perhaps it isn't in the window now. Perhaps they hid it while we were waiting outside that door. Hid it? Now, where does one hide a dead body in a four-room flat? I looked in all the clothes closet. It's under the sofas in the chest. Well, perhaps they got it out with some help. What about that fellow Anson? He acted so nervous and subservient. Maybe, but I doubt it. Anson's been running this house a long time and he's a family man. It'd be taken an awful chance. I see. Well, you probably think that... you know, it's so terrible to keep seeing it and seeing it, feeling that it's slowly decaying in there in secret. Why, the thing could be there for weeks. It's so high above the street and it only seems to be visible from my apartment. Do you think if you investigated those two women... Investigated them? How I searched their flat? I mean, they're whereabouts for the last couple of weeks, their backgrounds. Perhaps if you had them followed. By what right? On the grounds that you say you saw a dead man in the winter? There ain't no legal corpus delictae. And don't you think so, my friend? I know, I know. That's the awful part of it for me. Legally, my hands are tied until the actual body is found, but perhaps it'll never be found. Perhaps it's already being destroyed. Well, then, if it's gone, what have you got to worry about? You won't have to sit and look at it no more. No, no, I hope it is. I tell you what's really getting me down. I haven't slept for nights keeping vigil. I'm in a nervous state and I haven't been this nervous in years. Yeah, I can see that. Well, why don't you try forgetting it for a while? Try not to look over into that window or go away for a change. You've done what you could, Mr. Reims. If there is a stiff over there, well, that's my business, ain't it? And if there isn't... You mean... you think I'm... I may be... I am not saying nothing, Mr. Reims, but if I was you, I'd try catching up on my night's sleep. Miss Landis, I'm sorry to disturb you at this time of night, but I really... I'm desperate. I haven't anywhere else to turn. What? Who is this? This is Mr. Ames, Martin Ames, your neighbor, the one across the street. Oh! Now, please don't think me a pest, Miss Landis. I didn't mean to annoy you. It was only because I was so desperate that I initiated this search. It's quite all right. Goodbye. No, no, no, no. Please don't hang up because it's worse now than it ever was. Miss Landis, I've been sitting here opposite your apartment, staring into your windows. And I'm only asking you to help me, Miss Landis. Help me just a little. Help you? It's still there, Miss Landis. What is... What is still there? The dead body in your window. But the police... I know, I know. I know now it hasn't anything to do with you. But would you do me just one favor, Miss Landis? Would you go into your living room and check just once more? I won't. I'll do nothing of the kind. You're out of your mind. Perhaps I am, Miss Landis. That's what I'm trying to find out. And anyway, I don't see how you can see and I pulled the shades down in there yesterday morning. Yes, I know. They're all down still. And how can you see? I can't, at least not the actual body. It's just the silhouette. I'm not maligning you or your sister, Miss Landis. If there's someone dead in there, it's not you who are doing it, but think of me. If you could just be here and look over and see the shadow of those quiet fingers and that shoulder and that head. Oh, please, stop it. It's not here. It isn't. Tell me just one thing, Miss Landis.  Yes, yes, there's a chair. A high-backed wing chair. Yes. And have you anything on it? Anything piled up, I mean, like curtains or cushions or a dressmaker's dummy? Oh, of course not. Then would you do me just one more favor, Miss Landis? Please, as an experiment, would you just go into the living room and move that chair away from that window? Will you stop pestering us? Will you let us alone forever? Yes, yes, if it works. If it wouldn't mean it. I can't tell you, Miss Landis, until you move the chair. Oh. I see. Well, thank you very much, Miss Landis. I know what I have to do now. Yes, Miss Landis. It's still there. What of these stars around here got that I haven't got? Well, let's see, Harlow. A fan mail? Well, by Cornelius, I got you there. I've got fan mail, too. Least wise, auto light resistor spark plugs has. And by happy coincidence, you just happened to have a letter here. Right, you are. One from Mr. Neil Miller of Longmont, Colorado, who says in his letter, Dear Harlow, that's me, a short time ago, I put a set of auto light resistor spark plugs in my new car.  That guy's got the facts down. He sure has. And the letter goes on, since I switched to white-gap auto light resistor spark plugs, my car idle smoother, gives better performance at low speeds, and runs better on lean gas mixtures. What's more, I noticed that auto light resistor spark plugs cut down spark plug interference with my own and friend's radios. What do you think of that, Harlow? He should be writing you material. Well, friends, auto light resistor spark plugs give you all the advantages Mr. Miller writes about, because of its unique built-in resistor. And only auto light offers car and truck owners everywhere the sensational advantages of auto light resistor spark plugs. So switch to white-gap auto light resistor spark plugs tomorrow. Remember, you're right with auto light. And now, auto light brings back to our Hollywood soundstage Mr. Robert Montgomery as Martin Ames in Lucille Fletcher's story, the thing in the window. A tale well-calculated to keep you in, suspend, when you can plainly see a corpse in the window of an apartment across the street. A corpse that no one else can see, not even the police you send to investigate. What are you to think? And what are the tenets of that other apartment to think? Mr. Landis. Where is it? I want to see it at once. Yes, Miss Landis. Come in. I do hope you'll excuse my appearance. I've just passed another sleepless night. So has my sister. And so have I. What do you mean by all this business, Mr. Ames? You've frightened my poor sister nearly to death, seeing things that aren't there when you know they're not. I know they're not. I wish they weren't. I wish to heaven I'd never looked out that window. I wish these walls were solid stone and your walls too.  I wish I were. But I'm perfectly sane and well. I went to a psychiatrist yesterday and guess what he told me. There's nothing wrong with me. Nothing. I can't believe that. To you, I suppose it's a form of madness to persist and persist in seeing this hideous image. But not to me, Miss Landis. I've finally come to an entirely different conclusion. And what is that? The supernatural. The supernatural? A ghost? What nonsense, Mr. Ames? Yes, yes.  You've been a schoolteacher. You believe in logic, common sense.  But I'm an artist. I've always had a feeling for the thing beyond. The intangible, the shadowy. And sometimes out of the shadows we glimpse the yawning fangs of the eternal. You put things rather oddly, Mr. Ames. Just exactly what do you mean? Simply this. I checked on that building with the real estate agents yesterday afternoon after I'd left my psychiatrist. And there was a murder. In our apartment. The report didn't say. You know how they try to hush these things up, but it was a man, a young man. The lover of one of the tenants, a Miss Sweetser. Sweetser? Why, that's the name of the people who lived there before us. But they were an elderly couple. Mr. and Mrs. Sweetser. I never saw any Miss Sweetser. She died. She was the daughter.  Oh, how perfectly awful. It's rather a ghastly coincidence, isn't it? Was it out our window? Who knows?  Half crazed almost with love or jealousy. I checked on the details in an old newspaper. She cut his throat, nearly decapitated him. And it said that when they lifted his body out of the chair later... Oh, excuse me, Mr. Ames. I'd rather not hear. I still can't believe if there is something, if there could possibly be something. Why haven't we seen it too? Why should you? Haven't you seen it, Miss Landis? No. You're sure? Never? Perhaps in the middle of the night getting up and passing that room, seeing that chair outlined against the window. Oh. Just in passing, perhaps, you've never had a glimpse? No. I really must be going. No, no, no. Please stay and look at it. I want you to see it out of my window. My sister Elaine, she's so nervous. I just can't leave her alone so long. But then how will I know, Miss Landis? I thought you came here especially. It'll only take a minute. It's right here in this bedroom. I just have to let up the Venetian blind. Miss Landis! Miss Landis? Sergeant, this is Ames, Martin Ames. I just call to let you know that I think you're right about that good night's sleep. Yes. Yes, I'm going away tomorrow for a long rest. Shutting up my apartment. Yes, I'm all tied up in knots. I don't know what to think. Oh. Oh, they did. Yes, I saw the moving van in front of the house, but I didn't know it was those sisters. Couldn't take it, eh? Well, I can't take it much longer myself. Martin, bravo, bravisimo, boy. Shh, not so loud. Why all the mystery? The superintendent here doesn't like me. I should think he would not like you. Grabbing this beautiful apartment right from under his nose. He probably had it promised to a friend. But you've got it now, Ronald, just as I said. So I have a voice, so I have. And it's beautiful. I'm crazy about it. You've outdone yourself. You've been more than generous. Nothing of it, Ronald. I'm glad to do it. For such a distinguished colleague. It certainly was nice of you. And I wish I could do something in return, Martin. I really do. Perhaps that play I'm doing next season. There's a part in it, a very small part, but very necessary. Thanks just the same, but I'm doing pretty well now, Ronald. Oh. Do you like the place, Ronald? Like it? Look at that living room. Those gorgeous casement windows. It's like a stage.  I don't know how you found it, Martin, in this housing shortage. You must have a sweetheart in the real estate business. Oh, I managed. Why, when your call came, I wouldn't trust this to anyone but myself. I left the whole cast just standing there on the stage. Well, I came over. Tell me, how did you do it? Oh, it's rather a long story. Let's sit down, shall we? Here, in the living room. No, no, no, no, no. You take the chair. Oh. I guess they must have left it when they moved out. Well, to be frank, Ronald, I got this apartment by a ruse. A ruse? What kind of a ruse? No, it was a nasty one, all right. I frightened the last tenants away. I told them I saw a dead man sitting here in this window. Oh, no, not really. How clever of you. But of course, there wasn't. No, no, of course not. I made him up out of whole cloth. You see, I live across the street directly across in that apartment with the striped curtains. Oh. They were very scary women. I used to watch them from my own place, always going to bed early, always pulling down the shades at night. Oh, no. Then there was this chair by the window. That very one that you're sitting in now. Really? One night, just sitting there late, I got an amusing thought. There was a kind of shadow across the chair that night. Reminded me a little bit of a corpse. It came to me that it might be fun to create a part, a character, a corpse that wasn't there. I don't follow you quite. Some actors need a play, Ronald, to create a role. Others, the great ones, work out their own dramas. I proceeded to invent a part for myself. I was the eyewitness, the innocent bystander across the street who saw the corpse in here. I kept seeing it and seeing it, and finally, by the power of suggestion, it became real enough to frighten them away. It's very clever, but rather drastic. Not at all. Proved my point, didn't it? Oh, yes. And it got you the apartment. Well, really, that was very kind. I've always hoped we'd be neighbours, Ronald. As a matter of fact, the whole idea for this thing came to me on that day last May when you turned me down for that part. Outside of Sardis, do you remember? You said you were looking for a place then. Did I? Oh, yes. It was then that I first thought how nice it would be to see you. Right across the street, sitting in this window, I simply had to bring it about. That was the night I went to work on the thing in earnest. No, no, no, Ronald, don't get up. I'm not through. Oh, really, old boy? I'm afraid the gang is a theatre. They don't even know I'm here. They'll wait. People always wait for you, don't they, Ronald? I could call them for you, of course, but the phone's been disconnected. Which way's the door, old boy? Really, buddy, it's been very kind of you. What's the matter? Don't you like the apartment? Aren't you going to take it after all my work? Oh, yes, yes. I like it very much. The door's locked. Yes, Ronald. I'm afraid you'll have to find your way out. Oh, no! Silent soul has become you better than all that renting and glibness and charm, Ronald. And now, I've got the part for you. A part to end all parts. You play it, of course, entirely in a chair. There isn't much action. Not a line to say. You just sit, Ronald.  It'll be the greatest performance of your career. You liked to hug all the fattest roles for yourself, didn't you? Well, this is a part that's been talked about up and down this street for weeks. You'll play the part of a ghost, of a corpse that never was, and hallucination in my brain and who'll be your audience? I will. I, the insignificant outmoded ham who wasn't fit to appear in your precious plays, but good enough to put you here. Who's the better actor? Goodbye, Ronald. No one will see me go out, but I'll see you across the street. I got the basket right here. So kind of you, Mr. Anson. Personally, I begged underneath the old thing here and had to throw it out, but Elaine listened. It's Mr. Ames. Ames. Yes, yes. I was just going. I couldn't resist coming up and making one final check just for myself. The door seemed to be open, and I, anyway, the illusion's quite vanished. Quite. There's nothing there. Really, Mr. Ames? That's good. All right, Mr. Anson. Will you ask the moving men to go in there now and take away the chair? Thank you, Robert Montgomery, for a splendid performance. Say a half before we hear from Robert Montgomery again. Did I ever tell you that thousands of car and truck owners from coast to coast have switched to auto-light resistor spark plugs? They know that white-gap auto-light resistor spark plugs make cars idle smoother, give better performance with leaner gas mixtures, actually save gas dollars. And they also know that auto-light makes more than 400 automotive aviation and marine products in 28 plants from coast to coast. You do auto-light because only auto-light offers car and truck owners everywhere the sensational advantages of resistor-type spark plugs. You're right with auto-light. And remember, auto-light means spark plugs. Ignition-engineered resistor spark plugs. Auto-light means batteries. Stay full batteries. Auto-light means ignition systems. The lifeline of your car. And now here again is Mr. Robert Montgomery. It has been a great pleasure to return to suspense. I'd like to thank the splendid cast, which Tony Leader assembled for tonight's performance. Two, I want to call your attention to the very unusual program planned for next week. When radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills will bring you Jim and Marion Jordan, Fibber McGee and Molly. And a special story called Backseat Driver. Another gripping story in... Suspense! Robert Montgomery may currently be seen in the Warner Bros. picture June Bride. This play was written by Lucille Fletcher. Music was composed by Lucian Morrowake and conducted by Lud Bluskin. The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leader. Remember Thursday, here Fibber McGee and Molly in Backseat Driver. This is the auto-light suspense show. Remember, you're right with auto-light. So switch to auto-light. Thousands of polio victims need your help. Join the March of Dimes today. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.


So we have a very exciting panel, women, I will add. So I will stop moderating the intro and pass it on to the presenters now. Thank you, everyone. It's Susan here and I'm here representing the old guard. But it is truly my pleasure to be on the panel with the other presenters. And I think you will see, you know, what exciting work and interesting connections they have made. But just to give you an understanding, I have been involved in the CLSA since its inception and have been working with Armander and Tina since 2001 on the CLSA. And I hold a major, I hold a number of roles and you can read them there, but essentially along with Parmander and Tina and others I'm part of the scientific management team. And also I'm the site lead for Delhousie for both the DCF and the Caddy site there. And I oversee all of the Caddy and then have a number of other responsibilities around ethics and REB and also around data and sample access. I have used the CLSA on a number of different projects, all of which have been really, really interesting. And as well as trying to look at some of the bigger issues around the interplay of factors and understanding the trajectory of aging. So it's really been quite remarkable. And Jennifer asked us all for a quote and you can read this here, but really, you know, the CLSA has actually shaped my career. And, you know, it really, as an epidemiologist has been absolutely fascinating to be able to design a study of this magnitude and not just design it but then turn around and implement it as well.  It's a really, it's a really big thing. But what I see is that, you know, the CLSA becomes increasingly valuable as we go forward. The data becomes richer and richer as we start to have longitudinal data and the interplay of all of the, you know, various factors like genetics and things like that really makes it incredibly valuable as both a national and an international resource. In terms of connecting with the CLSA, I really, you know, I think back on the early days of when we very first came together. You know, it's interesting because the CLSA even had the name the CLSA before we started. It was always going to be the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. But there was a request for proposals that was released to the research community back at a conference in 2001. And Parminder and Tina and I hardly knew each other at the time. We, you know, really had never significantly worked together in a big way. And we ended up, you know, here we are like literally a lifetime later still involved in this very, very unique study. But I think what is really important is there's always been a really rich history of collaboration in the field of aging. And this really set the stage for us to be able to move this along. And, you know, one of the most exciting things that we ever did is create the design. And that is something that we did do literally from scratch. And it was, you know, probably one of the most heavy experiences that you could ever have. It was really remarkable. But coming back to that, looking back on it now, that was actually the easiest part. It's, you know, all of the things that have occurred since have, you know, put that into light. But, you know, in those very early days, the thing that we did is reach out to a number of investigators because although, you know, we were all epidemiologists, we had lots of experience around design. We've been working in the aging field for a long time. But to design a study like this that is so interdisciplinary and covers every aspect of aging, we knew we couldn't do it ourselves. And, you know, we reached out and when we did submit the proposal, there were 176 investigators involved across 26 institutions. And that's only just continued to grow. So it really is a collaborative initiative that we engage in. You know, we came together around a very important issue initially and we keep coming back together.  And there's all kinds of things that we've been able to do. You know, we've been able to use it in greater depth to understand or to begin to understand dementia, for example. And when COVID-19 came along, we realized that we had a really good opportunity to move very quickly and to start to pull together some information for the Canadian population. And again, you know, researchers jumped on board. Jacqueline and Nicole are here today to tell you a bit about it too. But that has been a really, really interesting experience. In terms of how we engage, you know, I think the biggest thing is the data and the fact that we are a platform and that the data is accessible to the research community. The best way to get involved in the CLSA, from my perspective, is to bring a student into the CLSA. We have great policies around access to data for students. And this allows students to, you know, become immersed in the data. It also, through students, allows faculty members right the way across the country to become more familiar with the CLSA data and to be more liable to use it in the future. We also, we don't have training programs per se in the CLSA, but we do a number of initiatives around training. And in particular, we have always been involved in the summer program on aging, which is a CIHR sponsored initiative. And in the absence of COVID, we would have actually been a, the CLSA and Mira would have hosted a spa this summer. And something that I'll just put on your radar is that we've just, well, we were partners with a group called Candy Three that is out of McGill, being led by Emily Vinal-Calcuale. And this is a training program and it's all, it's a consortium on analytics for data-driven decision-making. And it's really about developing talent to look at aging research. And so this is something that will become more and more prominent and the CLSA is a partner and I think there's lots of opportunities for students there. Just before I leave you, I would say that there are numerous ways to get involved and you'll hear some of the ways that the other panelists have gotten involved. But some of the key things that you can do are consider joining a committee. We always need members on the data and sample access committee and also on the publications committee. You could contribute to a working group if that's something that interests you. You can start your own research group either with local investigators who are also using the CLSA or with like-minded people across the country. And one of the things that we do is post on the website all of the summaries of various projects that are funded. So it's a great place to look and see what others are doing and whether there's similarities across the country and who you might reach out to connect with and to come together with. And I'll just leave you with a bit of a message that the website really is the go-to place for everything. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to find it but it's virtually always there. I hope you enjoy the webinar. That is really a way of connecting as well. And we are on social media. So please feel free to follow us there. I'm gonna leave it at that and pass it on to the next presenter. Thank you. Thanks Susan. Just before you do that, I think what I'll do is after each presenter maybe follow up with one or two quick questions as we go. I think a lot of the, you touched on a lot from sort of beginning to end but I'm just wondering thinking back to when you were your younger self and launching the CLSA, what would you tell your younger self about taking on a project of the magnitude of the CLSA has become? Quite frankly, it's a good thing that my younger self didn't know about it. It would have been too overwhelming and too daunting and too, like if I'd known the things that I had to know I would have just turned the other way and run. But it happened gradually over time and I wouldn't do anything differently but I wouldn't want to know what was ahead. Times it's better to have the unknown just jump right in. Okay. And I think another thing that this isn't a question more of a statement is just I think you pointed out a lot of the opportunities that exist for research to engage with the CLSA and beyond just requesting data. So for the participants out there listening, again, I think it's a great message you gave that there's so many opportunities to participate. And I think as we go on with our presenters they will also be able to highlight their experiences. Well, and just one thing that I think is critically important is that if you start using the data, well, whenever you start using the data but if you start using the data as a student this can be a lifelong research course for you. There's so much information in the CLSA you will never get bored. You will never get tired. You will never make it all the way through the data. And there are always, the more that you get into the data the more questions there are. And the fact that we have such multidisciplinary data is really, really a great thing. So I'm sure that people are gonna make their careers just like we have on the CLSA. Thank you, Susan. So we'll go to our next presenter now which I believe is Jacqueline. So Jacqueline, I will let you take it away. Great, thanks, Jennifer. So my name is Jacqueline. I'm a geriatrician at the University of Calgary. And my connection to the CLSA is that I am recently one of the state co-leads of the Calgary site for the CLSA and I've been involved with the CLSA COVID-19 study over the past several months. The quotes that I would like to share, I'll go back one slide because it's still on the front one is kind of carrying off of what Dr. Kirkland was just speaking to as well that the CLSA contains a bounty of data related to all aspects of aging. And as a geriatrician, I'm acutely aware of the multidisciplinary nature of care of the older adult and the CLSA is the ideal platform for answering a myriad of questions related to human aging. So the reason I put up the next slide with the cheetah is that there's lots of ways that you can approach the goals that you have in life. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. And I think that this really encompasses the opportunities that you'll have if you use CLSA data. If you want to answer the question of is this statin better than that statin, go for it and you'll find an answer and it will be really interesting. But clinically, when we're thinking of the aging of older adults, it's not that simple and it's never that simple. And the CLSA houses data that helps you answer questions that are actually relevant for older adults. So we know that older adults, a lot of their success with aging relates to who do they live with, how's their hearing, how's their cognition, how's their swallowing for all of those many pills that we're prescribing to them. So it is really the ideal platform for answering those questions that are actually clinically meaningful. And so if you want to look at a question related to aging and older adults or research questions, you need to collaborate because as a geriatrician, I am very narrow in my skill set and I often need the help of others who are social workers or occupational therapists or pharmacists or epidemiologists. So collaborating is really the key to success, especially when you're thinking about older adults and aging and research questions related to those people. I think that the last thing that I would add, so there will be lots of questions that you may have along the way and you might run into barriers along the way, but I think that when you encounter those barriers and you feel like a door is closing, open the door. It's a door. That is how they work. And so just carry on and speak to people around you who have more expertise and more knowledge and more experience and be humble and just ask for help, but definitely carry on because the things that we're passionate about, we're gonna be naturally drawn to want to read broadly around them and really put a lot of effort into those studies. So think about the questions that you have related to older adults and aging and I would guarantee that you'll find within the CLSA data set that many and all of those questions can be answered in some way or another. Thank you, I will leave it there. Thank you, Jacqueline. Such a great message about interdisciplinary collaboration and collaboration. So thank you for that. So I'll start by asking you a question. I wanna learn about a little more for the sake of our participants in the webinar. If you can tell us a little bit what it's like to be a co-lead of the CLSA site in Calgary and maybe a little bit about what challenges you face in balancing your clinical responsibilities with research requirements. Sure, that's great. So Dr. David Hogan has been the site lead here for a number of years and he is also one of my mentors and he was my supervisor for a thesis recently. And so he has been a source of knowledge and expertise and we're working very closely together. And I guess some of the things that I've learned along the way is just communication and interpersonal skills are really key to success. And so being able to communicate clearly with the people that you work with can help mitigate any potential challenges that might arise. And I think many of us are good communicators and we try to be, but it is really central. And then as far as balancing work, doing, trying to do research work as long as well as clinical work is that it just takes a bit of scheduling and discipline.  So try to avoid those things when you're trying to be productive. Like we all need outlets and we all need places to kind of enjoy life but definitely if you're seeing hours go by those might be lost hours. So sometimes just scheduling and being quite disciplined can be helpful. And another question, just sort of learning from your experience as a clinician researcher, how can the CLSA platform be of benefit to clinicians like yourself in particular those engaged in research like yourself? Well, certainly I can speak to people who look at aging research and older adults and geriatricians. And I think that almost any question that I could come up with the answer is probably somewhere in the CLSA data set because the CLSA data is so comprehensive and covers so many different aspects of life much beyond just medical comorbidity. And so that would be one thing I would think of is that almost any research question that you can think of, I would go to the CLSA site and see if there's something related to it there because I wouldn't be surprised if you can find it there. Thank you again and I will likely have some more questions at the end of all the presenters. So next, I believe it's Nicole. Yep, so I'll let you take it away now. Excellent, thank you so much, Jennifer. Hi everyone, my name is Nicole Basta and I'm a professor at McGill University. It's really a pleasure to be here today and to have the opportunity to share my experience working with the CLSA over the last couple of months. I'm actually really relatively new to the CLSA and new to Canada as well. When I joined the faculty and McGill back in January, I knew though that one of my top priorities was to try to understand the landscape of available data here in Canada. So that's kind of what motivated me to kind of get started in looking for opportunities to work with existing data. As an infectious disease epidemiologist, my primary focus in the past has been on identifying risk factors for infectious diseases and evaluating prevention strategies that can prevent and control infectious diseases. And that includes assessing the uptake of vaccines. And I've primarily worked on issues affecting children, teens, and young adults. But in recent years, I've started to become more interested in preventing infectious diseases across the life course because it's such an important aspect of healthy aging. So for example, many of you will know that influenza pneumococcal pneumonia in particular disproportionately affect older adults and both can be prevented via vaccination. So we have a really great opportunity to try to ensure that aspect of healthy aging. So when I began looking for data sets, I wanted to make sure that there would be some availability of data that could help me address these types of questions and look for opportunities to prevent infectious diseases. Next slide, please. So a colleague recommended that I check out the CLSA. And so I was really brand new to the study. It seemed from the beginning that it had quite a lot to offer and a wealth of information and wealth of data. But I really had to start from scratch and trying to understand what was available. So maybe I'll share with you a couple of the steps that I took to try to become more familiar with what I could access with the CLSA and how I became involved in a couple of different aspects of the study. So first, I found the website to actually be full of a wealth of information about the design of the study, especially the questionnaires that are available on the website really gave me a sense of what questions were being asked. They're really comprehensive and the different ways of the study have collected a lot of different data. So it really gives you a chance to kind of look at the scope of what's out there and think about it in terms of types of questions that you're interested in and the types of research that you're interested in pursuing. Next, I read a number of the summary that Susan mentioned of other investigators who have proposed studies using CLSA data and use those to try to get some ideas about the kinds of scope of studies that I might be interested in and to also see kind of how the CLSA has been utilized in the past. There's also a publication that was published in 2019 in the IJE that's the cohort profile for the CLSA and I really recommend taking a look at that if you're thinking about using CLSA data. Then lastly, I was trying to prepare a grant application at the same time that I was trying to design the study using CLSA data. So I reached out to one of the CLSA COTIs, Keena Wolfson, to ask a few questions and to get a little bit more information to make sure that I was proposing the appropriate scope for the study that I was looking at. So it was through this process of trying to investigate what was available in the CLSA, how it aligned with my interests and then getting in touch with someone who was on the CLSA team that I was able to put together this proposal along with a number of team members to assess influenza and mucoccal vaccine uptake among Canadian adults. So that's the first bullet that I've listed here. And our goal in this study is to identify opportunities for improving vaccination. We submitted this as part of a data access request for the deadline a few weeks ago and we're really looking forward to taking on this study once the request is approved in the coming months. And many people have mentioned that there's a lot of ways that vaccine uptake is assessed in the population and so there's a lot of different data sources that you can use. But one of the things that's really unique about the CLSA is all of the associated data that's collected about comorbidities, the biological markers, the sociological markers, so it really gives us a chance to really hone in on those who are missing out on the opportunity to be vaccinated and try to identify how they might most benefit from vaccination going forward. So we're really excited about this project and moving forward. So around the time that I was preparing that study idea was right when in March, when COVID-19 was beginning to see the cross-Canada in the world. And so during my discussions with Tina, I had the opportunity to get involved with the CLSA team as they were developing the COVID-19 studies that are underway and some of them that are still in the works. And this has been a really unique opportunity for me as an infectious disease epidemiologist to really see how this really comprehensive and robust cohort could adapt in a very nimble way to deal with an ongoing challenge in a timely manner and to just see the incredible effort that goes into every decision about the COVID surveys, what questions to include, how to implement them, logistics of pulling that all off has been a really, really unique opportunity for me and it's given me a great deal of insight that I think will inform my future studies as well as a researcher. And as we've been designing these COVID-19 studies, especially the surveys and the result of the survey, it's become really clear just how valuable and timely the COVID survey data that we're collecting will be. COVID has had an impact on every aspect of all of our lives but it has particularly affected older adults. So we've learned so much already from the baseline survey and we wanted to make sure that the results are going to be shared as soon as possible so that different stakeholders can really take advantage of the lessons that we're learning from the data that's being collected. So another contribution that I'm making to the CLSA is that I'm working with some of the data teams to develop a Shiny dashboard that is interactive and that allows users to go on the website and look at the different COVID data that we've been collecting from the baseline survey in a lot of different ways to compare by age group or across the provinces and really understand what the differential impact of COVID and the mitigation strategies to control COVID have been here in Canada. So it's really been a unique opportunity to serve at the interface of translating the results to sharing the lessons learned with the public, participants and other stakeholders. So that's the third bullet that I've listed here on the slide. So I think I'll just summarize and wrap up there. So I've gotten involved with the CLSA for the last few months and it's been a really rewarding experience all around. I'm really thankful that I've had this opportunity in a couple of different ways to contribute to the ongoing efforts of the CLSA and I really encourage you if you're even considering it to take a look at some of the data sets that are available and think about how they might match with your interests. Because I really think that one of the strengths of the CLSA is the openness of their platform and the opportunity to really adapt some aspect of the data that's been collected to pursue a research interest and contribute to the research agenda across Canada. So with that, I think I'll wrap up. Thank you. Thank you so much, Nicole. I think, again, I find each of these presentations are building so nicely on each other and I think yours was a great example of a door being opened as an infectious disease epidemiologist when the pandemic hit and your interest in the CLSA. I mean, I think you've taken advantage of that and I think you've been a great value to the COVID related work that the CLSA is doing. I think the one question that I'm gonna, for those of you who know me from my background in knowledge translation, I think the work that you have been doing on the CLSA dashboard has been very intriguing. So I'm just wondering what other opportunities in knowledge translation you perceive with the CLSA COVID-19 study or even the CLSA more in general? Yeah, that's a great question. Thank you, Jennifer. I think with what we're trying to do with the dashboard is just make some of the results a little bit more accessible so that as different stakeholders and different organizations are thinking about planning to kind of mitigate the effects of the pandemic in the coming months and the effects of the lockdown of different populations and the different policies that have been put in place for social distancing, they can really see what types of impact have been occurring in different age groups across different locations and think about how to use that evidence to build it into their future interventions and future programs in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. So I think that's one of the ways that I see the dashboard being really valuable to that aspect of stakeholders. I also think that it's actually really valuable for the participants as well and for other researchers in addition, I think we're all kind of going through the pandemic it's such an unusual time. It's really valuable to kind of know what the nature of the shared experience is and kind of what data has taught us about how people are experiencing the pandemic. With some of the others with the influenza and pneumococcal vaccine study that we're planning, we're really hoping that that analysis of CLSA data will really just be kind of the first step to designing an intervention that will improve vaccine uptake among Canadian adults. And we're hoping to use that analysis to inform what the nature of that intervention will be and to use that knowledge to be able to actually take public health action and improve vaccine uptake and prevent these infectious diseases. So that's our hope for the future down the line. Great, thanks for that. The other question I was wondering about is I think what your uniqueness to this panel you bring as an infectious disease epidemiologist and again, not necessarily coming from the that aging research world. I'm just wondering what advice you would give to early career researchers who are looking to get involved in a large national project such as the CLSA whether or not it may on the surface fit with your regular research interests or not. That's a great question as well. My take on the CLSA is there really is something for everyone and so I was really thankful that you invited me to speak on this panel as an infectious disease epidemiologist because the more that I delved into the questionnaires and the more that I looked at the data availability there really seems like there's something there for everyone and there's such a wealth of data that I think as long as you as a researcher kind of know the topics in the area as the umbrella of topics that you're interested in you can find something that will likely match with those interests. So I just really encourage people to take a look at the resources that are available on the website to start seeing what the possibilities are. And if that becomes challenging take a look at some of the previous studies that have been proposed and kind of use that as inspiration to get some ideas going forward. Thank you. I think we will, if anybody else has any questions for Nicole or any of the other presenters obviously we can ask them at the end but now we'll go to Carly Whitmore and we'll get your take on your experiences with CLSA. Thank you. And thank you all for those who've joined us today really is a privilege for me to be here to share my experience working with CLSA as a graduate student. As was said, my name is Carly Whitmore. I'm a PhD student at McMaster University and a trainee with the aging community and health research unit also at McMaster. I am a registered nurse with expertise in psychiatric and mental health. And so it's from this lens that I really position myself and the work that I'm doing with CLSA. And so we've heard some really great examples of how you can engage with CLSA through working groups and ongoing projects but I'm gonna pivot the discussion a bit to speak more about my experience and what a trainee can do with CLSA. And so we'll go back to that previous side. Perfect, thank you. And so at present as part of my dissertation work along with my supervisor Dr. Maureen Merkel-Reed I am co-leading a CLSA approved and catalyst grant funded project entitled explaining self-reported health among community dwelling older adults with multimorbidity and depressive symptoms using a resilience framework. And so I encourage you as other panelists have brought up to check out that approved project list and it's there that you can see my project and those others that have been approved. So because my project serves as a component of my dissertation work it's for this reason that I really do believe that using CLSA data as a graduate student poses not only a fantastic opportunity to use rich and comprehensive multidisciplinary data but also really presents an incredible opportunity to be a part of a broader research community. And so with that I think it's helpful for me to share what drew me to use CLSA data and to also speak about my process. So as I've mentioned as a registered nurse interested in applied health research there really are a lot of opportunities and advantages to using CLSA data. My supervisor had not led a CLSA approved project before but one of my committee members Dr. Catherine Fisher had and she really encouraged me to think about using CLSA data as she was familiar not only with the capacity of the dataset but also the significant opportunity that it presented. So for the sake of this I thought it would be interesting to maybe share what motivated me to use CLSA. We've spoke about the comprehensiveness in the multidisciplinary nature of the data. There was also the opportunity at the time of my application we were just releasing the longitudinal data. And so I was able to build that into my protocol. There's also opportunity to use this data as a launching point for mixed methodological inquiry and that's something that I'm doing in my dissertation. And ultimately the types of questions like was said by Nicole and Jacqueline can be answered by this data. There's few things that I think you could not answer with the comprehensive data that is available. And let's not forget the added perk that as a graduate student using CLSA data is free and that's a pretty big perk when you maybe don't have project funding. And so after speaking with the CLSA team and confirming the variables that are available to me I began that process. And so my experience as a trainee is probably more typical to that of what many people would engage with CLSA through. And even with this typical level engagement there are a lot of benefits and a lot of opportunities specific not only to my career but also my career trajectory like Susan had mentioned. So for example, even in just applying for the data access the data access application in itself much mimics grant applications. And so getting that practice and having that opportunity to flesh out my project was very helpful. It was also very helpful to have the support of the research team and support team at CLSA, they're able to confirm variables that are available to you. They're able to run some preliminary tests that you know what you may be doing once you do get that. Another benefit of this engagement is the collaboration opportunities that exist within this network of researchers. So from data proof project list the social media accounts, ongoing webinars there really are lots of opportunities to collaborate with other trainees as well as the researchers doing similar work. An example of this was when I was applying for the catalyst grant I was able to go into the approved project list and see who was doing similar work and then connect with potential co-applicants and collaborators for this project. And in another world, the summer program on aging would have been a great opportunity this summer for me but in 2021 we'll get there. And there are also quite a few funding opportunities available specific to CLSA such as those catalyst grants. And I think one of the great opportunities that exists is that as we continue along with this project there really is the opportunity to build a career out of the CLSA and the data that exists. And that's what I have to share. Thank you so much, Carly. Again, I think a great example of a trainee that has started to develop her career related to the CLSA. Couple questions for you. One question is what has surprised you most about you explained your story of how you became engaged in the CLSA research but what has surprised you most about how you've been engaged with the CLSA and the CLSA data to date? Yeah, not surprising for those who know me but maybe surprising to others is that I am not a quantitative researcher. This has not been my experience leading into my dissertation. And so it was with this that I was maybe a bit nervous coming in and still maybe a bit nervous about using CLSA data. But what was surprising to me as a nurse and as an applied health researcher was how much I connected with the data. And maybe that sounds a bit silly but as I'm going through and cleaning the data and building some of my own variables I'm really starting to piece together some of these participants and their experiences. And so again, it sounds maybe a bit silly but for example, when you're working with some of the depressive symptom variables and you're starting to see some of the scores and thinking, Jesus, does that person have the supports they need and what could we be doing better in the communities to support people like this? Obviously you can't do that for all the thousands and thousands of people in this data set but what was surprising to me was because it's so comprehensive I was able to connect with it in that way. So I think it's a good point that I think when people think of the CLSA data set it's obviously quantitative research but your research involves a mixed method approach. So you've already touched on a couple challenges but what do you think the biggest challenge is in using the CLSA data set for this type of research one? Yeah, that's a really great question. The biggest challenge at this time for me is the sample. So because CLSA data has been collected and it's been collected from that national sample historically in mixed methods research they suggest and strongly suggest that you use the same sample to do your quantitative and your qualitative analysis. Given the nature of the data collected, that's impossible. That being said, there really is this delicate balance with prudence and stewardship of data.  And so in wanting to be responsible and infill some of those gaps related to potentially some of the limitations in a data set devising a way to sample for qualitative inquiry was really important to me. And so we're in the midst of that. And although that was an expected challenge, we're working towards some of the ways that you can theoretically sample based on variables available in the data set. And so maybe we can check back in a year or so and I can report back how that's going. But for now, that's one of the bigger challenges. And one final question for you, at least for now. I guess as a trainee, what has been your experience connecting with other trainees who might be using the CLSA data and then what has there been a benefit to having this network? Yeah, so my connection with other trainees has really been informal connections. But that being said, it's something that was really important to me as I progressed and as I'm learning. So CLSA Twitter account I'm engaged with and anytime a new project is put out and I'm looking at the project, I'm seeing if there's a trainee involved and you can connect with people that way. I also have the pleasure of connecting with some trainees who are using CLSA data through McMaster and through Mira. The benefit for me has really been support. As I said, I am not familiar or not as familiar with quantitative analysis. And so as I'm problem solving my way through some of this, it's good to have another trainee who's done it or is in the process of doing it. And the other thing I think about is in this climate of large team-based grants, the collaborations I'm making now as a trainee are likely to be potential research partners in the future. And so building these connections at this point is very helpful. So if there are trainees on the call who are interested, always happy to talk and share my experience. Okay, well thank you again to our panelists. I'd now like to open it up to some general questions. We have about just under 15 minutes left. Just a reminder that muting will remain on, but you can enter your questions into the chat box in the bottom right corner of your WebEx. I'm having actually some issues reading the chat box in my field. So I'm going to do my best to decipher what I can read and just sort of go over a couple quick questions first. So I'm gonna say now, if we do miss a question because I, again, it's kind of mumbled up, I do apologize and we will make sure that we follow up with you if we miss your question after. So just quickly, I think one of the first questions I saw was when the dashboard will be available. And so this is something that Nicole can also comment on this. Actually, I'll just let Nicole comment. I'm just gonna, I'm a moderator. I should be talking so much. Well, thank you, Jennifer, but we would welcome your comments as well. Thank you for this question and the interest in the dashboard. The COVID-19 dashboard isn't available quite yet. We haven't released it, but it will be available on the CLSA website. There will be a link to it. However, in the meantime, there is a data access portal for CLSA, for previous data that's been collected, not the COVID data, but for previous data. So I would encourage you to check that one out before in the meantime, while you're waiting for us to release the COVID data, we're hoping to get it out as soon as possible or just finalizing and fine tuning some of the results. Great. And we also had a question about accessing the COVID data. So maybe I might let Susan answer this question. Can you just touch on what we know so far about accessing the COVID data and whether or not you've been a data user so far? Sure. So we're in the midst of collecting the COVID-19 data. So the way that the COVID-19 data works is that there's a baseline questionnaire and then it switches to either weekly or bi-weekly for one month and then it switches to monthly for at least four months. And so we're in the weekly bi-weekly phase right now. We have finalized the baseline data collection and we have almost 30,000 responses to the baseline which is really fantastic. And that's both from participants who were in the tracking and in the comprehensive. And we're in the process of doing a little bit of cleaning of that data. And what will happen is that the COVID-19 research team will work to produce some kind of general profile of what that baseline data looks like. And what we'll probably do is wait until all of the data is available before it's released through the data and sample access committee. Thanks Susan. We also have a question about, and maybe Carly can talk about this a little bit about the fee waivers. Maybe you can just describe a little bit about how you went about that. And if Susan maybe can comment on, I think there's a question about getting a fee waiver if your project was a catalyst grant or not and that might be, we might need to look at specific cases offline because I'm not sure, but so maybe Carly you can just touch on what getting that fee, what that process is and then Susan you can fill in any blank. Yeah, so initially when I was filling in the data access application, there's a tick box that says, are you a graduate student? And if you are, you tick that box and it says underneath of it that the fee would be waived if the project is approved and that you are a graduate student. That being said sort of to lead into that next part because I did receive a catalyst grant that fee waiver doesn't apply in my instance anymore but for graduate students, yeah, the fee is waived. So I can just depend on that. So if you are a graduate student either a master's or a PhD student and are using the data for your thesis, you can get access to the data. You can also have access to the data if you are a postdoctoral fellow and the limit is one access per fellowship. But there is a caveat around the catalyst. Because the catalyst come with funding, there's a requirement that you build in the data access fees to the catalyst grant. And the reason that we do that is because, I mean really we generally operate on, it's not a cost recovery basis, that's for sure but it's a cost supported basis. And if we know that people are getting funding from another source then it's a useful way to be able to support the CLSA as well. We did have one question and I'm about the nature of the longitudinal data and there only being two time points available for some of it right now. I am gonna suggest to the Russell Kabir. Maybe that's more of a methodological question we could take offline. But the question was basically whether any of you know about any ways to, any statistical techniques when you don't have, when you only have two time points and how you can get a sense of that longitudinal data. Very long, I won't read it word by word but any comments on that? That's what I thought. I go back. Yeah, I mean it's not truly longitudinal in that there's only two data points but it's also no longer cross-sectional.  You can map change or you can build in a lag time. There's a number of strategies that you can utilize to make it useful in a longitudinal sense but it will become even more useful as each data point comes along. And just in response to when the follow-up one data will be available. So follow-up one data has been collected. Some of it has been released or will be released shortly but because we're doing the COVID study at the same time and there's a number of pressures from various different avenues, it will be a little bit yet. Thanks, Susan. Okay, so another question just about, we usually always get this question from somebody who's late and that's about whether they'll have access to the webinar and yes, the webinar will be available and the recording afterwards. So it will come via a link. So question now from David Daw. Can CELSA data be linked with provincial administrative databases? Susan, did you wanna take that one? Sure. All right. I think answers to that question. Yeah. Technically, yes. Realistically, no. At least at this point in time. So we're working a lot right now with the provinces, with Kaihai, with Statistics Canada and also with the Canadian data platform around issues related to this. The challenge with the CLSA is that it's a national study and as you know, administrative data is within the provincial jurisdictions. And we have one pilot study that is currently underway to look at the way in which this could work and we're going to slowly roll it out and work with other provinces but it's a very big challenge to do it across the board. And so we really have not gone there yet. But we will. Yes, Susan McDaniel also asked a question about linkage and that was whether we can link to stats. Stats can micro level data available in the RDCs. And again, I think that's something that we've been exploring and it will happen. It's just a matter of. It's just a matter of time. Yeah. And maybe that's a nice topic for a future webinar about initiatives that we have on data linkage. OK, so we'll move on with a few more here. The link to the recording is now posted for anyone who just wants to be able to go into it. A question from Anne Lynn. Is there any scope for collecting more comprehensive dietary data such as using using a full FFQ in future? I don't know. I can answer that. We explored this issue a lot. And currently the there's issues around software compatibility and, you know, there's the length. I don't discount that it could not happen at some point in the future, but it's been really difficult for us to figure out how to use the how to get the micro files that are needed or a food frequency questionnaire. And then also just the burden on participants to do it. I just I notice usually around this time people start dropping out. So I just wanted to remind if you're able for participants to complete the evaluation before you pop out. That would be great. But we do have a few more questions that I'd like to try to get through. One is from a PhD student, Madara, who's the CLSA who's planning to use the CLSA data for their thesis. How long approximately does it take to access get access to the data after a request is sent in? So, Carly, how long did it take to get your data once you requested it? Do you recall? It's been a bit. There are a number of steps along the way. And so I think it would be hard to comment on how long from application to actually receiving the data. And there are meetings that occur. So it's all in how you time your application when those meetings co-assign with review. A couple of months, I think, would have been a fair estimation from application to actually having data. And I think some of that was my own doing. I can fill that in a little bit too. So usually what happens is from the time that the deadline, so there's usually three deadlines to submit applications in a year. And from the submission date, it takes us about two months to process the application. It has to go through reviewers. We have to meet. It has to be recommended to the scientific management team. It all has to be approved. And then we're at the point where we can create a data access agreement with you. And the data access agreement is done between institutions. And again, it can be variable at that point because it's no longer in the CLSA's hands once it goes to the institution. And sometimes there's back and forth with the institution. Sometimes people just let it fall off the radar for a while and it can take a little bit. But I think if everything goes smoothly from beginning to finish, three months is a realistic picture. Okay. Thanks, Susan. And I know at the last few questions, I think are from our international audience. One is just some lovely comments from Rosa in Mexico, hoping to collaborate potentially sometime in the future on a similar study. Amanda, who I know is in Detroit because we've just recently touched base during this webinar, we did our postdoc work together. She's wondering when biospecimens would become available. And then the last question is about just international researchers accessing the data. So Susan, maybe you can touch base about the biospecimens quickly and also researchers outside Canada. Sure. A lot of the biospecimen data is already available and you can find it, you can find out what's available on the website. And we have some of the genomics data available as well. And we're continually processing, we have metabolomics data available and also epigenetics data available. So that is increasing, as well as the basic biochemistry markers and some analytic biospecimens as well. So there's a fair bit out there already. Sorry, what was the other question? Oh, international researchers. So the data is available to international researchers. It's a slightly higher fee, but not astronomical. And, but if you are an international student, you don't qualify for the same level of access to data. So you have to be either enrolled at a Canadian university or you have to be a Canadian student enrolled overseas and hold a Canadian award. But there's no restriction on accessing the data. Thank you, Susan. And I think this is probably a good time to end. I know we're two minutes over. Thank you again to all of you. We really appreciate your participation in the CLSA webinar series and in particular this one today. The next deadline for applications is October 7th of 2020. Please visit the CLSA website under data access to review what data is available. Any further information and details about the application process. I'd also like to remind everyone to complete their survey located under the polling option. If you don't see it beside the chat button, then please click the dropdown arrow. Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our CLSA webinar series today and to all of those who responded to our feedback poll. We will resume our webinars in September after hiatus over the next couple of months, over the summer. And remember, the CLSA promotes this webinar series using the hashtag CLSA webinar. So we do invite you to follow us on Twitter at CLSA underscore ELCV. And thank you again to the presenters and all of you for attending and Shirley and Laura in the background. I hope you all have a great summer and a great long weekend coming up. Bye everyone.


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