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Tuesday, May 2, 2006

  • UW signs links with Dalian, China
  • Video teaches injury treatment
  • And a little of this and that
Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Hepatitis Awareness Month


[Smiling faces, WWF T-shirts]

The World Wildlife Fund was the beneficiary when 16 staff members from the environmental studies faculty and Alternatives Journal donned their running shoes on Thursday to climb all 1,776 steps of Toronto's CN Tower. "A few managed to complete it in only 22 minutes!" boasts Karin Davis of the ES dean's office. "The dedicated and now exhausted group raised almost $4,000 to help strike a blow against climate change." The photo shows some of them "the next day, after sleep and showers", Davis explains.

UW signs links with Dalian, China

UW is involved in two international agreements -- one about watershed management, one about environmental research in general -- signed during a recent visit to China by associate provost Bruce Mitchell and other Waterloo representatives.

One agreement links UW and the Grand River Conservation Authority, which is responsible for the Grand River watershed in and around Waterloo Region, with their counterparts in the region of Dalian in northeastern China. The goal: to improve environmental protection and water supply along the Biliu River, which provides drinking water for a city of more than 5 million people.

Says Peter Krause, chairman of the GRCA: "The members and staff of the GRCA are looking forward to sharing their experience with Dalian to build capacities to implement a program of integrated watershed management in the Biliu watershed." He also stressed his support for working with UW and the Dalian University of Technology build on "the very exciting partnership that has developed between the two institutions" and expressed his hope that, as former winner of the Theiss Riverprize as the best managed river in the world, the GRCA and the City of Dalian might consider submitting the Biliu Watershed project for this award in the future.

"This agreement further strengthens the relationship between the GRCA and the University of Waterloo," said UW's Mitchell, who added that this agreement "complements earlier efforts by all parties to establish long-term links to further environmental management in China".

[Map shows location of Dalian] David Wood of UW's environmental studies faculty said the agreement "is a direct contribution" of Ecoplan China, a five-year project led by the Faculty of Environmental Studies and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. He added: "This agreement provides a framework to continue the collaboration after Ecoplan China finishes at the end of 2007."

Song Guanglu, general director of the Dalian Water Affairs Bureau, said the next steps will include a technical mission from Dalian to Canada this month, to be followed by a joint GRCA-UW workshop in Dalian in June. The agreement was made official at a signing ceremony on April 20, followed by a series of presentations by GRCA staff at a forum organized by the Dalian Water Affairs Bureau.

On the same day, UW and DUT officials took part in an opening ceremony for the Sino-Canada Resource and Environment Research Centre at DUT, created with the support of expertise from Waterloo. Guo's remarks included a warm welcome for Mitchell. "DUT and UW," he said, "have long standing and productive collaborations including exchange of faculty members. It is significant to establish the Sino-Canada Resource and Environment Research Centre when China calls for a friendly environment and resources conservation. I trust that we both can achieve a lot in the research on resource conservation and environmental protection with the platform of the new centre."

ONE CLICK AWAY
  • Waterloo Region, 'where smarter is better' (Globe and Mail) | UW president answers online questions
  • 'If UW buildings were people'
  • How students fund their postsecondary education (Stats Canada)
  • International students can get off-campus work permits
  • Ontario 'not the cash cow it once was' for transfer payments
  • U of T's new pharmacy building
  • Summer and part-time employment rates for students (StatsCan)
  • McGill shuts down professor's site over Playboy photos
  • Students more determined to get A's, professors say
  • Meritorious Service Medal for UW board member Mary Bales
  • And Mitchell spoke about "the excellent cooperation between the two universities", praising DUT¹s efforts in management and environmental sciences and expressing hopes for continuing communication and collaboration to undertake more academic and research initiatives.

    Wood, the UW project director for Ecoplan, said the new centre will collaborate with a similar centre being proposed by the ES faculty at Waterloo.

    Video teaches injury treatment -- by Adam McGuire, from the Gold & Black newsletter for athletics alumni

    UW head athletic therapist Rob Burns is taking his teaching to the next level. Burns, who teaches KIN 140 -- Sports Injuries Management Lab -- is the most recent instructor to make use of technology in the classroom in the form of a Learning Object.

    After taking an instructional course through UW¹s Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology (LT3), Burns decided that his students would benefit from an interactive video Learning Object to more effectively teach the art of athletic taping. This is an integral skill for those enrolled in the lab, as many of the Kin 140 students become student trainers for varsity athletics teams.

    After producing a Learning Object for ankle taping, Burns plans to continue to add to his Learning Object method. Next up for Kin 140 is Learning Objects for athletic taping for other joints and body parts, as well as different examples of various methods used by professional athletic therapists and trainers.

    The Learning Object method, pioneered by UW LT3 Centre, allows students to learn through interactive media interfaces on computers rather than through the traditional method of lectures and textbooks. They currently have six tape jobs completed and are collaborating with Sheridan College on expanding the project to include anatomical diagrams.

    WHEN AND WHERE
    Co-operative education and career services department professional development day 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; limited service available.

    Mental Health Awareness Week talk by Scott McCabe, department of psychology: depression, its symptoms, how it affects others, Thursday 12 noon, PAS room 3026, reservations ext. 5418.

    Physics department 39th annual Sir Isaac Newton Prize Exam for high school students, across Ontario and around the world, Thursday, details online.

    UW Accounting Conference with speakers and case competition, May 5-6, details online.

    International student orientation Friday 10:00 to 2:00, Graduate House, sponsored by international student office; additional event Friday 5 p.m., Columbia Lake Village community centre, sponsored by student life office.

    And a little of this and that

    Sessions begin this afternoon for the 14th Annual UW Graduate Student Leisure Research Symposium, sponsored by UW's Graduate Association for Recreation and Leisure Studies. In the organizers' words: "Started in 1993, the Symposium provides a unique opportunity for graduate students in a variety of departments and disciplines to share their research about recreation, leisure, tourism, and related topics. The Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at UW is widely recognized as one of the top three departments of its kind in North America." This year's Symposium has attracted presenters from several departments across campus, as well as institutions across Canada and several in the United States. The presentations come from sociology, religion, planning, physical activity, environmental studies, tourism, and organizational behaviour, among other fields. The full schedule, including the 19 presentations and two social events, can be found online. Karla Henderson of North Carolina University will give the keynote address tomorrow morning, under the title "Examining Leisure in Everyday Life: SWOT". Other papers are on topics ranging from "Knowledge use in Tourism" (that's UW's Honggen Xiao) to "Ethnic Churches as Potential Sites for Leisure Experiences" (Jinhee Chung).

    There's steady action up at Ron Eydt Village, which becomes the UW conference centre for the summer months. Coming in today, for instance, are some 75 participants in the Rotary Club's Camp Enterprise, as well as 25 young people here for several days to take part in stage 2 of the Canadian Computing Competition.

    Something new is afoot, or underfoot, in the Physical Activities Complex. "After 35 years," says the new issue of the Gold and Black newsletter for athletics alumni, "the gymnasium floor will receive a new paint job and a new look. The traditional UW logo will no longer don mid-court. Instead, a cleaner outline of the volleyball and basketball court will be unveiled with our Warrior colours and logo being featured at each end." It quotes athletics director Judy McCrae: "In an ongoing effort to refurbish all the facilities, and with the passage of time, we are renewing the PAC gym floor. The lines of the different sports have changed over the years, allowing us to become state of the art ready. We are changing the graphics that all will see, providing a more modern and more upbeat look."

    [Waechter] The face of Pam Waechter (right), familiar on campus for many years, will be seen here no more, although she's still going to be doing some work for the university, says colleague Kerry Mahoney in a note from co-operative education and career services. Waechter has moved to Vancouver, says Mahoney, "and Marlene Griffith-Wrubel has taken on her Career Advisor role in Career Services. However, Pam will not be leaving the University after all, as she has been hired into our newly created position of Online Education Specialist, an ongoing half time position in Career Services. Her new job centres around continuing the development of online (via ACE) career education content and activities to be include in Career Development eManual, COOP 101, PD1, and Alumni Job Club. She will work one day a week from April-September and 4 days a week from October-March. When not working, Pam will be sailing. In fact, her boat is now her full-time home -- what a wonderful example of work/life balance!"

    This afternoon is expected to bring a federal budget, and while higher education is not seen as a priority of the Conservative government, universities will be hoping for a promise to follow up on funding that had been on the way from the former Liberal government. . . . The Federation of Students sent a note to its e-mail list a few days ago asking for applications for four student seats on the University Committee on Student Appeals. . . . The "Student Life 101" e-zine is currently featuring a list of "Top 10 Things Not to Get Your Mother on Mother's Day" (May 14). . . .

    CAR


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