Daily Bulletin

Tumbling into the past, Arts Computer Experience actors rehearse their roles in Time Travel, their family night production being staged tonight in the Theatre of the Arts. In the play, written by computer science student Jesse Wilson and English student Peter Chambers -- both counsellors at the UW-sponsored kids' camp -- inventors travel to the future and past searching for inspiration.

Pension system arrives this month

It says: "Thanks to all pension members for their continuing patience and understanding during our pension system implementation. After many months of preparation, analysis, planning and testing, the first phase of the pension system is scheduled for implementation in August 2000.

"Pension benefit projections and calculations will be based on data from our new HRMS system as well as the historical data from our previous VM system. Yet to be implemented in the second phase of the pension system project are T4-related reporting, personal pension statements, as well as some of the more specialized calculations due to the complexity and recent changes in our pension plan.

"Special thanks go to Linda Bluhm who has been working with Buck Consultants, the provider of the pension system software, as well as staff from our own invaluable Information Systems and Technology Department."

The newsletter also has a progress report about the HRMS (Human Resources Management System) in general:

"Even though Human Resources went 'live' with PeopleSoft well over a year ago, the process of maintaining the system and applying various tax updates and system upgrades is a never-ending work in progress. Thanks to the effort of a dedicated team of staff from Information Systems and Technology and Human Resources, a tremendous amount of work is involved behind the scenes in testing and applying these updates.

"Although it is not possible to list everyone who has been involved, the project team that ensures this work is completed successfully is: Connie Van Oostveen, Pam Fluttert, Kevin Scully, Fred Widall and Sunjay Bedi from IST and Sandie Hurlburt, Carol Wooten, Alice Pelkman and Dianne Llewellyn from Human Resources. Special mention should also be made of the effort of Jenny Lim who is working in Human Resources this summer through the Summer 2000 Work-Study Placement Program. These individuals, along with the Payroll Benefits Assistants in Human Resources, have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the ongoing work required to support the HRMS system.

"As an example, there are a total of seven tax updates that must be done throughout the year to keep the system current and in compliance with Revenue Canada regulations. Some updates are more specific to Canadian tax laws than others, but the time it takes to test and apply each update to the production environment takes approximately two weeks. Within the testing protocol for each update, exhaustive testing is completed to ensure the integrity of the data and the system. Human Resources has monthly, bi-weekly and casual pay periods covering in excess of 5000 employees.

"In addition, our department has moved towards direct deposit for employees' pay for everyone on campus. Due to the increased volume of casual requests, up by 33% over last year, we are in the process of developing a tool that will allow for a standardized electronic format for inputting casual pay data. The tool, called 'Robot', is still in the pilot testing phase but we are looking forward to rolling it out for wider use by the fall of this year."

The HR department newsletter, formerly distributed to all staff and faculty members on paper, is now being published on the HR web site, says Carolyn Vincent in the HR department. "We will continue to mail the newsletter just to union staff," she said.

From south to north: mining studies -- from the ES Chronicle, newsletter for environmental studies alumni

Mary Louise's visit to an underground Brazilian coal mine with some of her Brazilian research colleagues was a result of the stay at UW of Geraldo Milioli, a faculty member at the Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL).

Dr. Geraldo Milioli, was a visiting professor in Environment and Resource Studies during 1997- 1998. He worked with Mary Louise, whose research focuses on mining communities, sustainability and mineral policy, while preparing his PhD dissertation that he successfully completed in February 1999. Geraldo's research considered Canadian and Brazilian trade relations and initiatives with respect to the economic, social, political, and environmental aspects of mining-based activities. He and Mary Louise continue to collaborate in this research field.

A second trip to an underground mine, this time in Sudbury, was a vastly different experience. To view this operation, Mary Louise was accompanied by Rowena Anderson, a fourth-year undergraduate. For her graduating thesis, which Mary Louise supervised, Rowena investigated the role a mining company plays in affecting the long-term sustainability of a community during operation and post-closure. As part of her research, Rowena and Mary Louise toured the Inco-owned Stobie Mine 1800 metres underground. Inco is in the process of automating its mining operations which has many implications for the biophysical and socio-economic sustainability of the region.

While in Sudbury, Rowena and Mary Louise also met with research colleague, Professor Malcolm Scoble, Chair of the Department of Mining and Mineral Process Engineering (MMPE) at the University of British Columbia. Rowena's work is part of an ongoing research initiative involving Malcolm Scoble, Professor Marcello Veiga, also at UBC, and Mary Louise. Rowena will join the UBC Department of Mining and Mineral Process and Engineering this fall to work towards her MASc and continue her research on sustainable mining communities with Professor Scoble.

Pictured above: Underground at Stobie Mine, Rowena Anderson is seated on a scoop that has been fitted with cameras so that it can be tele-operated from the surface.

The talk of the campus

• Engineering: $2,471 per term, plus the co-op fee.
• Optometry: $3,026 per term.

A note from UW's safety director, Kevin Stewart: "For about two days beginning in the afternoon of August 10 the Needles Hall first floor entrance (NH 1104A -- between rooms 1044 and 1216) at the Dana Porter Library end of the building is scheduled for maintenance work which involves the replacement of floor tiles. Notices will be posted and persons will be required to use alternate entrances."

The "book of the month" for August, at the teaching resources and continuing education office, is Writing for the Web by Crawford Kilian, published by Self-Counsel Press last year. Says a brief review: "The World Wide Web inspires us to think and express ourselves in new ways. But creating a dynamic web site doesn't just mean using cool graphics, video, and sound. It also means writing so well that impatient surfers will stop to read what you've written and act on what they've read. This means writing clear, concise, and surprising interactive text. Whether you are creating a personal home page, developing your company's web site, or publishing an e-zine, Writing for the Web offers sound, practical advice on organization and writing within the framework of three principles: orient readers to your site, inform readers effectively, and prompt readers to take action, so you get the results you want." Writing for the Web can be borrowed from the TRACE library by calling ext. 3132, by contacting the TRACE office, or sending email to trace@watserv1. The TRACE library is located in room 4051 of the Math and Computer Building. Patrons are welcome to use the library between 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Retired staff and faculty receiving pensions from UW are receiving a little more as of July 1. Pensions were given a cost-of-living boost of 1.74 per cent on that date, the minutes of the pension and benefits committee reveal. Annual cost-of-living increases are a (somewhat unusual) feature of the UW pension plan.

And here's a note from the annual report of UW's faculty of engineering: "Although government initiatives have created more new graduate scholarships by matching donations from the private sector, the cost of a master's or doctoral degree is still a barrier to many good students. To lower the barrier, Engineering increased the graduate scholarship budget by approximately $150,000 last year. The goal this year is to improve on that figure and, in addition, to create more endowment funds that will be matched by the province and invested as perpetual sources of scholarships. A welcome example of such a fund, created through the late Professor Muthu Chandrashekar's bequest to the Faculty, will begin disbursing a graduate scholarship in 2000. The first winner of the annual Muthu Chandrashekar Memorial Award in Sustainable Energy is Henry Venema, a doctoral student in Systems Design Engineering. Reflecting Professor Chandrashekar's research goals, the $5,000 prize is awarded to a full-time graduate student researching benign alternative energy sources or the environment effects of energy use."

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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