Daily Bulletin

Conference takes global view

UW economics professor Robert Kerton will give the plenary address, and workshop topics will include:

• The Labour Behind the Label -- a discussion of working conditions and the ethical purchase of clothing;
• Gender and Development Issues;
• Media Literacy -- deconstructing main-stream media for activists;
• Ontario -- the past four years in political perspective;
• Rug Mart Canada -- child labour in Nepal and Cuba;
• Microcredit/Microenterprise as Development Tools;
• CIDA's Response to the AIDS Health Crisis;
• Project Ploughshares -- armed conflicts in the world today; and
• Sustainable Development

The conference is sponsored by the Kitchener-Waterloo Chapter of Ten Days for Global Justice, WPIRG (the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group), INSTRUCT (the Inter-American Networking for Studies and Training in Natural Resource Usage for Community Transformation), and CIDA (the Canadian International Development Organization).

Lunch and refreshments are included in the registration fee of $5 for unwaged and $10 for waged participants. For more information or to register, call WPIRG at ext 4882.

Departments team up on China trip

From August 9 to 29, travelers will trek along the same path that once transported Chinese luxury goods and spices -- as well as such Chinese inventions as paper, gunpowder and the compass -- across Central Asia to Europe. Over that same route, religious movements including Buddhism and Islam transformed belief systems and cultural values.

Merrill Hunsberger, who has been a sessional instructor in the history department -- and whose areas of research include Chinese, Japanese and Korean history -- will lead the expedition. He conducted the 1995 travel/study tour, China: the Land, the People, the History, and recently published a book in China on a 20th Century Chinese warlord who operated in Qinghai, near the area of this year's tour.

The option of an academic credit in Hist 397Z is offered for those who wish to use their experience to meet formal educational goals.

Major themes of study on the tour include the Silk Road -- its origins and development, its impact on East-West relations, the experience of its minority populations, the history of China during its apogee -- as well as the introduction of Buddhism to China, Buddhist art, and an overview of Chinese philosophy and religions, its geography and languages.

Among the highlights of the trip will be an opportunity for travelers to attend a performance of the Beijing Opera, visit a Khazak yurt, ride camels among the sand dunes of Mingsha, and view the famous terra-cotta warriors and horses of the Qin Dynasty.

The tour costs $5,995 from Toronto, which includes transportation, accommodation, meals, visits and sightseeing indicated in the itinerary, and services of guides. For more information or to register, contact continuing education at ext. 4002 or conted@uwaterloo.ca.

The lifeguards are coming etc.

Effective Teaching in Large Classes is the topic of a TRACE brown bag workshop today from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Math and Computer room 5158. Graduate students need to pre-register for the event by sending an email to trace@watserv1 or by phoning ext. 3132. Today is also the deadline to pre-register for Teaching Dossiers, Part 2, a TRACE workshop on Wednesday, March 3, or Thursday, March 25. Both sessions will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Math and Computer room 4058. This is the second of two workshops required for graduate students pursuing the Certificate in University Teaching.

T4 and T4A slips are being sent out yesterday and today to employees' home addresses, human resources reports. Employees will notice a major change in the form this year, which has been printed on new Revenue Canada laser forms.

The FACCUS (FACulty Computing User Support) group will meet from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. in the new IST training lab in MC 1050 (beside CHIP). For details of the agenda, check the web site.

Symbolic algorithms for statistical inference is the subject of a lecture at 1:30 p.m. by Jamie Stafford, University of Western Ontario. Sponsored by the department of statistics and actuarial science, the talk will be held in Math and Computer room 5158.

They're still wondering What Philosophy is all about, and proposing a new answer to that question will be Tushar Sarkar, Jadarpur University, Calcutta, as part of his colloquium on "Philosophy as a Trans-Creative Pursuit". The event takes place at 3:30 p.m. in Hagey Hall room 373.

Today is the deadline for nominations for the new award for distinguished teaching by a registered student, sponsored by TRACE and the graduate studies office. For more information, contact TRACE at ext. 3132.

The 1999 Ontario University Lifeguard Championships -- hosted again by UW -- is attracting 17 teams from nine universities to the competition which runs Friday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Physical Activities Complex. UW lifeguards have been practising since September for the events which include a fitness relay, water rescue, and first aid contests. Admission is free and the public is welcome to watch, or take part in the open swims on Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets will be available at the competition for the awards banquet Saturday evening at Federation Hall.

Job hunting? Information about self-assessment, occupational research, resume writing and interview skills will be contained in the Whole Kit'n Kaboodle workshop offered by co-op and career services on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. in Needles Hall 1020. And that's just the morning. The afternoon session will cover letter writing, work search, networking, employer research and interview skills. To register, phone ext. 4047, send an email to pmartin@uwaterloo.ca or sign up in Needles Hall room 1115.

Also on Saturday, UW fine arts distinguished professor emerita Nancy-Lou Patterson will read from her children's novel, The Tramp Room at 2 p.m. in the UW Bookstore. To attend this Kids Club event, RSVP at ext. 3914.

The UW fine arts society is hosting its annual student show starting on Saturday at the Eldon Gallery, 14 King Street North in Waterloo. The juried exhibition will officially open on Monday at 3:30 p.m., and will continue through March 13.

Chemists can sleep in on Monday. Renovations to Lab 160 in Chemistry 2 will mean a shut-down of compressed air services on March 1 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Community volunteer options

• Volunteers with an interest in the arts are invited to join the Waterloo Regional Arts Council board of directors. A treasurer with an accounting background is needed, as well as a secretary with good organizational skills, and others with experience in graphic arts, data entry, publicity and promotion.
• The John Howard Society is also seeking board members with skills in at least one area of board governance and an ability to commit to one to three years.
• Community Justice Initiatives needs female volunteers at least 30 years old for Providing Alternative Choices, a new program of support for federally sentenced women re-entering the community.

Barbara Elve
bmelve@uwaterloo.ca

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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