Daily Bulletin

Remembering Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's is a progressive, irreversible disorder of the brain that erodes memory and a person's ability to think, understand, and interact with others. Over time, even the simplest of tasks of everyday life become impossible. "It is not a normal part of aging," says the Alzheimer Society of Canada, describing the disease as "a progressive, degenerative, irreversible dementia".

UW is the home of major research into how Alzheimer's patients are treated, through the Kenneth G. Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Project.

"In Waterloo Region, over 3,400 people are afflicted with this devastating disease," says Meredith McGinnis in UW's development and alumni affairs office, who gained a passion for the Alzheimer cause when a family member spent several years suffering with Alzheimer's, dying in 1997. "The support to my family from the local Alzheimer Society of Kitchener-Waterloo was wonderful," she says. "They are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals with the disease and their family members by providing education, support groups and counselling, Volunteer Companion Programs, the Alzheimer Wondering Registry, and funds for research. Their services were invaluable as we coped with this heart-breaking illness."

So McGinnis will make sure -- for the third year in a row -- that her department, on the second floor of South Campus Hall, takes part in the Alzheimer Society's annual Coffee Break event today. "I will be bringing in treats to enjoy with your morning coffee," she told co-workers in a memo the other day, "and I encourage you to support this worthwhile cause with a donation. A donation box and information about the Alzheimer Society will be available."

Other UW departments may be actively involved in the Coffee Break day as well, and donation boxes have been available at all food services outlets across campus for the past two weeks. The donation boxes will stay in place at cafeterias and coffee shops until September 30.

The talk of the campus

Waterloo Regional Police said Hermann was walking on the southeast side of the intersection when he was struck by a car driven by Cam Pau Vong, 23, of Kitchener. Vong's car also struck Sally Mazurek, a staff member at the UW bookstore, who was standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross. She was treated at Grand River Hospital. After striking the two pedestrians, Vong's car also hit the bus shelter on the southeast side of the intersection.

The driver of the other vehicle, Aygut Mehmet, 27, was also taken by ambulance to hospital, where she was treated and released. Her car struck a light standard and was totalled. She is a sales and service assistant with the graphics department.

No charges have been laid. Waterloo regional police are investigating, assisted by UW police.

In other matters, on this first day of autumn, the cafeteria in Village I (Mudie's) is serving "Native Stew" for dinner (as an alternative to the more prosaic pork chops or roasted chicken). I thought I'd enquire, and the word is that it's something new on the food services menu -- Native American Vegetable Stew, a vegan concoction that's "a hearty blend" of corn, three kinds of beans, potatoes, leeks and other vegetables, given a kick by "a touch of jalapeño". The really good news: just 105 calories, and "three and a half grams of fat", in a serving.

A note for staff and faculty members is on hand from Rosanne Atwater-Hallatt, benefits administrator in the human resources department: "Many folks are experiencing frustrating waits when they call the Great West Life helpline at 1-800-263-5742. Human Resources is aware of the problem and is working with the carrier to resolve it as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we suggest that folks avoid calling the carrier between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. We understand that placing a call earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon will reduce the amount of time on hold. The helpline is available between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST Monday to Friday."

She also sends word that as of September 1, premiums for group life insurance, available to staff and faculty through Sun Life, were increased by 7 per cent. The basic premium is paid by UW as the employer, and individuals pay a share if they choose to have more than the basic amount of insurance. "Age- and smoking-related premium rates are unchanged."

Service Awareness Day is happening today in the Student Life Centre -- a program to "keep people informed of the various services the Federation of Students provide". The Federation offices will be open for tours between 11:00 and 1:00.

The senate graduate council will meet at 1:30 today in Needles Hall room 3001.

The faculty of mathematics will hold a scholarship information meeting, with word on graduate student funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Ontario Graduate Scholarships, starting at 3:30 in Davis Centre room 1302. "Fourth-year and graduate students who are considering applying for these scholarships for graduate study are urged to attend. Refreshments available."

Here's a reminder: David Brown, chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, will be speaking at 4:00 (in the Theatre of the Arts) on "creative financial accounting".

An information session about the cultural management specialization in the arts faculty's applied studies program will be held today at 4:30 in Humanities room 373. This year's deadline for applications for admission to the program is October 8 (only 2A applied studies students are eligible).

"Unfortunately no one can tell you what The Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself." Dan Pollock of the Math Society borrows the phrase and points out that tonight's your chance: MathSoc will be showing that strange and subversive film at 7 p.m. in Davis Centre room 1302, on a double bill with "Hackers". Admission: $2. "Stick around for the intermission," writes Pollock, "and try your hand at some of our trivia and maybe win yourself a prize. As always, we will be selling fairly cold pop (hopefully fairly cold) for 75 cents or two for a dollar. We might even have some cotton candy."

Charity run kicks off today

The run is an annual event initiated in 1976 by a group of students who raised money for a charity by running around UW's ring road. It has evolved into a week of fundraising events and activities, culminating in the 48-hour relay run. Students are the main participants, although residents, staff and faculty of St. Jerome's and the University Catholic Community, along with UW, are also encouraged to be involved.

An opening ceremony for the 1999 run will be held at 1:00 this afternoon in the courtyard at St. Jerome's. A symbolic first lap will follow a reflection and blessing by Rev. Jim Link, the chaplain at St. Jerome's, and local dignitaries will bring greetings.

Events over the next few days will include a popsicle social, pool and basketball tournaments, a movie marathon, a spaghetti dinner, a penny raffle, a trip to Sportsworld and a 24-hour fast. The week concludes with the actual run next weekend.

Each year, the money raised is given to a different charity in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. This year, the designated charity is Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit, non-government organization that makes home ownership possible for low-income families. Habitat accepts donations of land, cash and building materials, and organizes volunteers to help families build their homes.

Staff training programs are listed

It's the centrepiece of UW's staff training and development program, replacing the previous "FrontLine" and "Working" programs. Leadership 2000 is designed to cultivate leadership skills of staff who don't occupy managerial positions, says Katrina Di Gravio of the human resources department. "UW has always had a collaborative culture," she adds. "We're just enhancing that."

Leadership 2000 has six half-day modules, starting with "The Leader in Each of Us" and moving on to "Basic Principles of the Collaborative Workplace", "Proactive Listening", "Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback", "Handling Emotions Under Pressure", and "Giving Recognition". Staff who have previously taken the Working or FrontLine program (or the hybrid "Non-Management Professionals") program) have had the basic principles and can sign up for any modules they want this fall, says DiGravio. Staff who haven't had that experience need to take the six modules as a package.

The Leadership 2000 program is provided by Achieve Global, a US company with Canadian offices, which has provided training and development programs to the university in the past. "The programs are used by many Canadian universities, which pay a licence fee to run them," said Di Gravio.

The "flame-orange" brochure for the fall edition of Leadership 2000 and the rest of the staff training and development program will be sent out to staff a few days from now, she said.

Besides Leadership, training opportunities this fall include something called "Maximum Achievement", a successor to the popular "Phoenix Seminar". Its promise: "This program covers the same areas as Phoenix and gives individuals the strategies, methods, and techniques to set goals, take responsibility, manage change, communicate effectively, solve problems, manage time and take full control of your work and personal life." It runs for three full days in late November and early December. Also:

• "Advanced Customer Service" -- which includes, among other things, techniques to "stop the campus runaround" and "overcome system problems".
• "Achieving Work and Personal Life Balance".
• "True Colors", "a unique format that helps individuals understand their own behaviours, skills, needs and motivations and those of the people they interact with".
• "Moving From Conflict to Collaboration".
• "Error-Free Grammar and Proofreading".

Computing contest is coming

The first step is an information meeting tonight at 5:00 in Math and Computer room 4041. "At this information session," says Cormack, "I will provide information about the ACM Programming Contest, and the tryouts that will be held here. I will review the rules, the contest programming environment, and categorize typical problems posed in the contest, with examples. I will also introduce past participants in the ACM Regional and World Final contests, who will be invited to reflect on their experiences."

Sample questions and some solutions, as well as other information related to the contest, can be found on the web.

Cormack explains that the contest has three tiers. First comes the UW competition, open to all, used to select two teams to represent Waterloo in the ACM contest. This competition will take place in two parts: this Saturday (September 25) and next Saturday (October 2).

Then come regional contests around the world, involving more than 1,000 teams from five continents. Waterloo is part of the East Central Regional Contest, to be held here on November 12 and 13. Two or three teams from this region advance to the World Finals. Waterloo has advanced every year for the last six years, and has won the regional competition five of the last six years. Waterloo will be entering two teams; in addition volunteers are sought to aid in running the contest, Cormack notes.

Finally come the World Finals. About 50 teams from all over the world participate in the world finals, to be held in Orlando, Florida, March 15-19. Waterloo has placed in the top ten in the worldwide competition in each of the past six years, including a first place in 1994.

CAR

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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