Financial services practitioners and academics, more than 300 of them, attended a workshop on "Financial Risk Modelling and Applications" in Beijing last week. Keynote speakers at the event, organized by UW in connection with China's Central University of Finance and Economics, were dean of mathematics Tom Coleman and two graduates of the PhD program in actuarial science, David Li and Shaun Wang. A similar workshop was held in Shanghai, organized through the Tongji-Waterloo Financial Solutions Lab.

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The rhythm slows, the holiday nears

"When are you closing for Christmas?" somebody asked at the cash register while I was waiting for my panini yesterday (it's a new item on the menu at the Modern Languages coffee shop). Indeed, services across campus are preparing for a shutdown as the fall term moves toward its close and the community celebrates Christmas and the New Year.

The last official working day at UW is next Friday, December 22, and the last fall exams will be written on that day. (Spare a thought for students in Computer Science 240, among other courses, who will be writing their exam at 4:00 that Friday afternoon, and Economics 211, at 7:30 that evening.) Then the university closes, to reopen on Tuesday morning, January 2. Winter term classes start the next day, Wednesday the 3rd.

Over the next few days, the Daily Bulletin will include various announcements about special arrangements before and during the holiday. The issue for Friday, December 22, will involve a roundup of such information, and will be available from the UW home page all through the holiday. (Any announcements that should be included there can be sent by e-mail, bulletin@uwaterloo.ca, as soon as possible, please.)

Here are a few advance notes on what's happening and what will be happening soon:

• Several food services outlets will have reduced hours next week (no dinner at Bon Appetit in the Davis Centre, for instance). Today's the last day of operation for the CEIT Café, the PAS coffee shop, and Matthews Hall Pastry Plus. Modern Languages will have its last day of service Wednesday (that answers the question I heard at the cash register) and most other outlets on Thursday. Food service on Friday will be limited to a few coffee outlets, Brubakers in the Student Life Centre, and Mudie's cafeteria in Village I.

• Round-the-clock operation continues in the Davis Centre library (except for 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Sunday), and the Dana Porter Library continues with exam-time hours of 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. On Friday the 22nd, Porter will close at 11 p.m. and Davis at midnight, not to reopen until January 2.

• The Student Life Centre will be open 24 hours a day throughout the holiday break. The UW police will also be on duty throughout. Quest, the student information online system, will be in operation, but support will not be available during the days the university is closed.

• "The Federation of Students office will close for the holidays at noon on December 20," Becky Wroe writes from the Feds' lair. "The FedBus service has halted during exams, and will start back up January 5. The Bombshelter closes this Saturday for the season, reopening in the new year."

• The safety office has sent a memo to lab supervisors reminding them of safe shutdown procedures for the holiday break.

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Thesis on religion and the military

from the Arts Research Update e-newsletter

Roméo Dallaire’s book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (2003) first inspired Joanne Benham Rennick (right) to pursue a study of religion in the military. “When I read Dallaire’s book, I was struck by how he described his experiences in religious terms, even though he is a military man. I found this link between religious belief and military duty compelling, and certainly something worth investigating further.” Having completed a BA and MA in religion and culture at Wilfrid Laurier University, Rennick decided to pursue this study as part of a doctoral program at UW.

The department of religious studies offers a joint PhD program with Laurier’s religion and culture department. With a focus on “Religious Diversity in North America,” this program has been thriving since its launch in 2003, with over fifteen PhD students currently enrolled. What makes this program unique, says Rennick, is its emphasis on current issues in religion: “I particularly appreciate the opportunity to go beyond the history of religion to examine the impact religion is having on the contemporary scene.” Students in the program are prepared not only for scholarly work in academia but also for non-academic careers in publishing, journalism, the media, the arts, government, social services, and law — all areas of public life in which sensitivity to religious, ethnic, and other expressions of human diversity is essential.

Rennick’s dissertation project, supervised by associate professor David Seljak (St. Jerome's University), is an excellent example of the type of research the program encourages. An examination of the role of religion in the Canadian military, Rennick’s work is already breaking new ground: although some research has been done on religion in the American military context, virtually no studies have been conducted on the place of religion and the role of religious chaplains in the Canadian forces. For Rennick, this is surprising. “Given the emotional and psychological trauma that soldiers face, the ethical dilemmas they confront, and the heightened sense of mortality they experience on all fronts, one would expect religion to play a role in their lives. What this role is and how it impacts their work (and sometimes recovery from traumatic experience) most certainly warrants study.”

Starting the project, however, was no easy task. Rennick reports months of initial frustration while her phone calls, email inquiries, and letters went unanswered. With patience and persistence, however, she finally broke through the silence and was granted her first interview. After that, says Rennick, she was made to feel remarkably welcome, and was able to embark on a schedule of over fifty interviews with military personnel, military chaplains, military psychiatrists, and military spouses representing a diversity of religious and spiritual traditions (including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Aboriginal, pagan, and atheist). In her interviews, which are now nearly complete, Rennick asks individuals about their personal perspectives on religion and spirituality and their sense of how that intersects with their role in the military and in the high stress situations they face. “I expected military people to be more cautious and stand-offish, but through these interviews I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover the opposite: they’ve been very open, personable, and willing to speak their mind.” Now in her third year of the program, Rennick has already published several articles on her findings and has started writing her thesis.

When asked about her most memorable interview, Rennick immediately talks about Roméo Dallaire, her original inspiration for the project. “I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with him. I found him to be very human, and very down to earth. My conversation with Lt.-Gen. Dallaire confirmed for me the value of this study.”

Rennick holds a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship and a UW President’s Graduate Scholarship and has served as a TA and RA within the religious studies department. She also has two young children at home who, she says, have taught her a great deal about life-work balance and the virtues of being organized.

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Notes as the 49th year winds down

UW's 50th anniversary year is fast approaching. Hence this note from Kelley Teahen, associate director here in communications and public affairs: "Many folks have wondered if the UW web templates will be changing, or how they can create a 50th look on departmental or other web pages that they administer. In January, starting at the time of the 50th celebration launch, the UW homepage will feature 50th anniversary information and will have the 50th logo prominently displayed in that feature box. The standard templates in the Common Look and Feel will not change during 2007: however, everyone is encouraged to use the 50th logo (pictured) to mark any 50th-related materials on UW web pages."

As the new year arrives, there will be some modest increases in the coverage provided by UW's employee health and dental plans. In dental benefits, the maximum the plan will pay for orthodontia and for "basic and major restorative" work goes up by 2.6 per cent, "based on the movement of the Ontario Dental Association fee guide". In health benefits, the maximum an employee has to pay for drugs during the year goes up by 1.54 per cent, to $120 for an individual and $240 for a family. The maximum coverage for paramedical services will go up by 3.73 per cent, to $576. And the coverage for the prescription dispensing fee, which has been $6.60, will rise to $7.00, meaning that an individual will need to pay slightly less at the drugstore cash register. The changes were approved by the pension and benefits committee — which incidentally is having a marathon end-of-year meeting this morning, with lunch to follow — and will be shown in detail on the relevant part of the human resources department's web site.

Anne Vogel, a former member of UW's staff, died November 24. She was a housekeeper in the Minota Hagey Residence from 1971 until her retirement in October 1990.

Food services is promoting "exam snack specials" at Mudie's cafeteria in Village I and REVelation in Ron Eydt Village. • Canadian Blood Services says 133 units of blood were collected from UW veins during a three-day clinic in early December; they'll be back for more January 15-19. • Columbia Lake Village says its Saturday afternoon "grocery shuttle" will operate on December 23 and 30 as usual, since families do have to eat even during the holidays.

Finally, I have to note a misspelt name in yesterday's Daily Bulletin. One of the co-op students in IST who are making a presentation this morning about MySpace and other Web 2.0 technologies is actually Kaitlyn Holman.

CAR

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