Chusok, the harvest festival of Korea

Daily Bulletin

Talking about jobs Students who will be graduating this year should make time for "a very important job information session" at 4:00 today or tomorrow in the Humanities Theatre. "Topics to be covered," says a note from the department of co-op education and career services, "are website registration, interviews and application process, employer information sessions, important dates and deadlines, career development seminars/workshops, and the Career Fair. This is a must for anyone graduating within 2000-01." Lipczynska lawsuit The K-W Record reported yesterday that the lawsuit against UW by former earth sciences faculty member Ewa Lipczynska-Kochany was coming to trial this week. The suit, filed in 1996, alleges that UW "terminated her position unjustifiably" because she wouldn't make her research findings available to a private company headed by Bob Gillham, who was then chair of the earth sciences department. Library stays open "I goofed," says a memo from the UW library, correcting what was said in yesterday's Bulletin. The libraries won't be closed this weekend -- they "are open, but with reduced hours," says Laurie Strome in the user services department. Both the Dana Porter Library and the Davis Centre Library will be open Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Regular fall term hours begin next week. (Tours and information sessions in the libraries continue today, and indeed for much of the fall term.)

Teaching certificate for grad students

That's why UW introduced a Certificate in University Teaching program last year, sponsored by TRACE and the dean of graduate studies.

The flyer asks grad students some setup questions: "Would you like to become a more effective teacher and communicator? Would you like a forum in which to discuss issues in teaching with others? Would you like to develop skills that will prepare you to compete in today's job market?"

And the follow-up: "If you answered yes to these questions, then UW's Certificate in University Teaching may be for you. In 3 to 6 terms, you can complete the 3 required courses which include activities such as attending teaching workshops and writing response papers, preparing a research paper and presenting a synopsis at a workshop, developing a teaching dossier, and completing a teaching practicum.

"The program is based on continuous improvement which enables you to hone your teaching skills throughout your graduate studies at Waterloo. And when you complete the program, you will receive a Certificate, a statement confirming the award of the certificate on your transcript, and mention in the Convocation program."

Anybody interested in knowing more about the program can attend an organizational meeting this Friday at 12 noon in Needles Hall room 3001. "You can also pick up program information at the Graduate Studies Office," or read the details on the Web.

Grads figure in other announcements too

And from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. all grads are invited to the Grad House anyway, to "meet your GSA executive and the GSO administration".

And still more: tonight, starting at 8, the Graduate Student Association hosts "free unlimited games and free food" for grads at the Cove games room in the Student Life Centre. "Please remember to bring your WatCard," says a memo to graduate students. "Significant others are welcomed."

But for those who aren't graduate students:

The pension and benefits committee is meeting this morning, starting at 8:30, in Needles Hall room 3004.

The book sale sponsored by the mature student services office continues today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Modern Languages building foyer.

Return to campus interviews begin today for co-op students who were away on work terms in the spring. Schedules are posted on the first-floor bulletin boards in Needles Hall.

Beginning September 13, the Career Resource Centre located on the first floor of Needles Hall will extend service hours on Wednesdays until 7:30 p.m. in addition to normal weekday hours of 9:30 a.m. (8:30 during co-op employer interviews) to 4:30. Wednesday hours have been extended, says a memo from the co-op and career services department, "in order to better serve individuals such as alumni and students on work terms who may be unable to make it to the Centre during the day".

Something else for tomorrow, according to a memo from Danielle Raymond at the Federation of Students:

The Federation would like to invite you to a celebration of art on Wednesday, September 13. The event will recognize the individuals who have contributed to the Phoenix (a University of Waterloo and Federation of Students annual publication). Students and community interested in finding out more about the Phoenix are invited to attend the "Phoenix Launch" at the Loo (2 King Street North, at the corner of King and Erb). The night begins at 8 p.m. and will showcase Matt Osborne (a talented local musician) and a variety of spoken word and visual artists. Also copies of Phoenix 2000 will be made available for two dollars. All proceeds will go to The Literacy Group.

David Churchill, director of technical services in UW's department of plant operations, will retire September 30 after seventeen years managing the university's complex of wires, pipes, boilers and motors. In his honour, a reception will be held from 3:30 to 6:00 today in Davis Centre room 1301. Last-minute RSVPs can go to Rick Zalagenas at ext. 3932. Dennis Huber, associate provost (general services and finance), says he doesn't have an announcement yet on how Churchill will be replaced. Currently the technical director is one of three brass hats who jointly head the plant operations department.

Giant sub: they'll try again

According to food services director Mark Murdoch, the oven was assembled, the dough was in and proofed, and baking had begun when problems arose about 9:20 a.m. at East Campus Hall, the site chosen for creation of the 500-foot (152-metre) sandwich.

The rack on which the submarine bun was resting began torquing -- twisting sideways -- and dislodging the dough, and the project was aborted. In previous testing sessions conducted by food services, the 10-foot sections of baking pan, which overlapped each other slightly, seemed a bit unstable, explained Murdoch, so at the last minute, the sections were fasted together with screws.

However, the modification did not allow for expansion with heat, and "stability became a problem," he said.

Further design changes will be tested between now and the second weekend of Oktoberfest, he added, and food services staff are still optimistic they'll be able to set the first world record for Longest Sandwich in the Guinness World Records. The benchmark to date is a sandwich just over 365 feet (111 metres) long made by the Philadelphia Eagles football team. To quality, the sandwich must be unbroken.

Research on cigarette warning labels

"By finding out more about what makes people smoke and what makes them quit, social science research is making a critical contribution to improving the health of Canadians," said Gilbert Normand, secretary of state for science, announcing the grants last week. "Research is the foundation on which sound policy decisions are made."

And CTRI director Cheryl Moyer, who is also director of tobacco control and special projects for the Canadian Cancer Society, said, "Rather than putting the onus solely on individual smokers to quit, the policies that could be generated by this research will help create an environment that will assist smokers in their efforts to quit, and deter others from starting to smoke."

The UW project, which will receive $150,000 over three years, is headed by Geoffrey Fong of the psychology department. A backgrounder from CTRI describes it as "an examination of the impact that new graphic health warning labels on Canadian cigarette packages will have on adolescents -- the age group most likely to start smoking and become addicted". It continues:

By January 2001, Canadian cigarette smokers will find the world's largest and most graphic warning labels on their favourite brands. The labels will cover 50 per cent of the principal display surface (front and back) of tobacco packages.

Between 1990 and 1999, Health Canada conducted a number of studies on consumers' knowledge, attitude and behaviour toward health warning messages. The studies indicated that health warning messages were an important source of information for smokers and were being read about 1.7 times a day per smoker.

Many applaud the policy makers who have bought in the new warning labels, yet there is a need to study the effects that these warning labels will have once they are actually on cigarette packages. Dr. Geoffrey Fong, a psychology professor at the University of Waterloo, will conduct research to determine prospectively the effect that the new health warning labels will have on smokers' attitudes and behaviour. This will contribute essential data for future policy making.

The smoking habit usually begins in adolescence, which is a crucial period for the development of attitudes and habits. Therefore, Dr. Fong and his research team are surveying six Canadian high schools over a period of three years. As a control, six high schools in the United States, where cigarette labels are not changing, will also be surveyed.

Dr. Fong and his team will bring to their research substantial expertise in social psychology, smoking behaviour, public health, statistics and survey design. His team will present its findings at international conferences, publish in specialist journals and, most importantly, forge links with health policy experts in tobacco control, both in Canada and worldwide.

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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