![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Friday |
Monday, November 28, 2005
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
Greed, and plenty of it -- from the Hagey Lecture poster,
by Yen Chu Design.
![[Peering through rolls of cash]](/images/2005/1128meiselposter.jpg)
Meisel is the Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Queen's, a former President of the Royal Society of Canada, and a Companion of the Order of Canada. He'll speak tonight on "The Curse and Potential of Greed: Social and Political Issues Arising from Acquisitiveness."
In the lecture, Meisel said, he will examine the "substantial increase in greedy behaviour -- often obscenely greedy behaviour -- in ever-widening spheres: business, finance, government, media, sports, entertainment, health care and even education. This phenomenon undermines confidence in private and public institutions, contributes to a widening gap between rich and poor, weakens social ties and frequently leads to breaches of the law and of acceptable behaviour."
Meisel went on: "Often it inflicts severe economic hardship. Sometimes, however, beneficial by-products may occur. Even extreme acquisitiveness may be accompanied by desirable consequences and, through philanthropy and redistributive tax schemes, can enrich a wider public. The lecture seeks to explore ways in which the positive outcomes might be enhanced."
Of Czech origin, Meisel attended the University of Toronto (BA and MA) and the University of London (PhD). He holds honorary degrees from some ten universities, including UW. From 1980 to 1983, he was chair of the CRTC and from 1995 to 1998 he served as the 103rd president of the Royal Society of Canada. He was the founding co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Political Science and the International Political Science Review, and has been president of the Canadian Political Science Association, the original Social Science Research Council of Canada and the Data Clearing House.
As well, Meisel was a member of Ontario premier John Robarts's Advisory Committee on Confederation and has acted as adviser to a number of federal, Ontario and Québec commissions of inquiry, government departments and international agencies. In 1995, he was involved in efforts by the United Nations to find solutions to the crisis in former Yugoslavia. Author and editor of several books and of more than 100 scholarly articles or chapters in diverse collections, he has pioneered research on such things as electoral behaviour, political parties and politics and the arts.
At tonight's lecture, Meisel will be introduced by UW provost Amit Chakma. The Hagey Lectures, in memory of UW' founding president, Gerry Hagey, are offered about once a year, under joint sponsorship of the university and the UW faculty association. Chair of the Hagey Lecture Committee this year is Gerd Hauck of the drama and speech communication department.
Free tickets for tonight's lecture are available from the Humanities Theatre box office (888-4908). Tomorrow morning, Meisel will offer a student colloquium (10:30 a.m., Needles Hall room 3001).
The Canadian Cryospheric Information Network, a project of the geography department in UW's environmental studies faculty, administers web-based services through a series of sites to serve as a central cryosphere information portal for scientists, decision-makers and the general public. It is a joint data management project with Noetix Research Inc., Environment Canada and the Canadian Space Agency.
"The CCIN is inviting everyone to a virtual open house where you can explore the websites under the CCIN umbrella and expand your knowledge of the Canadian cryosphere," said Peter Yoon, science manager of the project. Other CCIN projects can be seen on the State of the Canadian Cryosphere website.
The CCIN began in 1999 as a collective venture among the private, public and academic sectors to provide access to timely, comprehensive and quality cryospheric data to promote knowledge and understanding of the cryosphere in Canada. "Today, the CCIN is a well-established data and information provider servicing the needs of Canadian scientists and the general public," Yoon said.
"Canada occupies a unique geographic position on the globe as almost half of the planet's northern cryosphere falls within Canada's territorial boundaries," said CCIN director Ellsworth LeDrew, a professor of geography at UW and interim dean of ES. "Canada has an obligation to measure, model and understand the complex relationships between the cryosphere and the Earth's climate system in order to provide accurate and timely information on cryospheric variability and change to the public and decision-makers."
Yoon explained that the cryosphere is the portion of the climate system consisting of the world's ice masses and snow deposits. The term "cryosphere" traces its origins to the Greek word kruos (κρυοσ) for frost. "The Canadian cryosphere is an integral part of the global climate system with important linkages and feedbacks operating through its influence on energy, moisture and gas fluxes."
Large areas of the cryosphere exist at temperatures close to melting and, as a result, are very sensitive to changes in temperature, he said. "This is a significant fact since much of the global cryosphere is located in high latitudes where enhanced warming is projected by climate models. The critical nature of the cryosphere makes it imperative to support the collection, storage, and distribution of data and information involving the frozen environment."
Through its websites, the CCIN offers legacy data, near real-time snow and ice data, current state of the cryosphere information and on-demand statistical-graph analysis. CCIN offers a comprehensive educational package describing the major cryospheric aspects and their link to climate change, along with dynamic linkages to other major data providers, including GeoConnections, Climate and Cryosphere Project, National Snow and Ice Data Centre, and a youth oriented information centre to promote cryosphere awareness.
She writes: "Like many UW departments, the Human Resources department has been struggling to provide timely and excellent service to the UW community while balancing the demands of an ever-upgrading Human Resources Management System, an increasing staff, faculty and casual employee group and the weekly deadlines of payroll production.
"We want to re-align our activities so that we can better serve the faculties and academic support departments. We want to be able to support you in all your endeavours and do so strategically as well as provide the nuts and bolts of Human Resources -- recruitment, salary administration, pension administration, benefits, payroll, training and development.
"To this end, we have initiated an internal review of the department to be led by two of HR's professional staff -- Katrina DiGravio and Glenda Rutledge." She says they'll be inviting comments from across campus about HR's "service, structure, UW policies and anything else you would like to share with them that would be helpful in improving service and/or re-organizing the department to better respond to your needs."
Recommendations should be ready in late spring, the memo said.
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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School of architecture director Rick Haldenby speaks at
Kitchener Public Library main branch, 12 noon.
Music student recital 12:30, Conrad Grebel University College chapel. Computational mathematics colloquium: Gordan Stuhne, University of Toronto, "A Conservative Discretization for Hydrodynamics on the Sphere: Simulating Global Ocean Dynamics on Unstructured Grids", 2:30, Math and Computer room 5158. UW chamber ensembles end-of-term concert 7 p.m., Conrad Grebel University College chapel, admission free. Federation Hall presents Tony Lee, "X-rated hypnotist", tonight, cover charge $7 for UW students. Pension and benefits public meetings: Tuesday 10 a.m., Wednesday 3 p.m. or 9 p.m., all in Davis Centre room 1302. Organized for faculty and staff members by the P&B committee. Electronic grade submission demonstration 2:30, Arts Lecture Hall room 113. Economics Society wine and cheese reception Tuesday 5:00 to 7:00, University Club, all economics students, faculty and staff welcome. The Starlight Tour: The Last Lonely Night of Neil Stonechild by Susanne Reber and Robert Renaud, reading and signing, Wednesday 7 p.m., Arts Lecture Hall room 116, admission $2, sponsored by UW bookstore and Aboriginal student office. Orchestra@UWaterloo winter concert, Thursday, December 1, 8 p.m., Humanities Theatre, Beethoven and Tchaikowsky, free tickets available from Humanities box office. |
![[Gorbet]](/images/2005/1128gorbet.jpg)
passed $16,000 on the way to its $25,000 goal. The result: one faculty
volunteer,
Rob
Gorbet (right) of electrical and computer engineering,
will have his hair and
beard shaved off today. Gorbet alone has been responsible for raising
some $4,000 of the pledges so far, says Engineering Society president Karim
Lallani. He adds that more than 100 engineering students so far have shaved
their heads in support of the project.
With the end of the fall term approaching -- December 5, a week from today, is the last day of classes -- the library has begun its customary late-night hours to make room for exam crammers. The Davis Centre library will be open 24 hours a day during the exam season (from now to December 22), except for 2 to 8 a.m. on Sundays. The Dana Porter Library will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
A letter has gone to UW president David Johnston signed by representatives of ten student organizations -- including the Federation of Students, the Engineering Society, student groups in the environmental studies faculty, and others -- urging him to appoint a "sustainability coordinator" and an "office of sustainability" for the university. "This broad-based appeal," says the letter, "is prompted by the current absence of a Waste Management Coordinator, as well as the need to create a campus that is a model for sustainability. . . . The need is great for our institution to become environmentally effective, to reduce the problems of waste, water quality, energy use, loss of biodiversity and air pollution."
Alan Bernstein, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, will be visiting the campus Thursday. He'll give an open presentation at 10:30 (Tatham Centre room 2218), followed by remarks from Paul Guild, UW's vice-president (university research), and brief presentations by seven UW researchers "with the aim of highlighting the breadth and scope of health research at UW", winding up at 1:00. All are welcome to be there, but Leslie Copp in the office of research (ext. 6040) would appreciate hearing in advance if possible.
The English Language Proficiency Program is offering something new this term: one-hour "strategy sessions" just before the end-of-term English Language Proficiency Exam, which many undergraduate students still need to pass. Sessions will cover "basic requirements of the exam, typical errors that will count against you, planning, writing, and time management strategies". They'll be offered on Tuesday, December 6, at four times: 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (in Davis Centre room 1350), 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. (in PAS room 2083). The ELPE itself is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7, at 5:00 or 7:00 p.m. in the Physical Activities Complex.
Playstation promoters will be in the Student Life Centre today from 11:00 to 6:00 looking for UW's top players of Gran Turismo to enter an inter-university tournament. . . . UW will be hosting the University and Open national cheerleading championships this Friday, with action starting in late afternoon in the Physical Activities Complex. . . . Reciprocal pranks between groups of engineering and math students continue, the SLC.com blog reports. . . .
The geography department has announced "a Celebration of Phil Howarth's and Len Guelke's achievements and contributions to the Department of Geography, the Faculty of Environmental Studies, the University of Waterloo, the Discipline and Profession". Both are geography faculty members: one has retired, the other is about to do so. The celebration is scheduled for December 8, Thursday of next week, and begins with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. in the courtyard of ES1 building. Dinner follows at Benjamin's restaurant in St. Jacobs. Susie Castela in the geography department (ext. 2433) has dinner tickets for sale.
CAR