Robert Sproule (left) of UW's school of accounting and finance is "volunteer of the year" for MERLOT — the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching, based in California. His award was presented during MERLOT's annual conference in San Jose earlier this month. Sproule has been serving as a peer reviewer for "modules", pieces of educational software designed to help teach accounting. "Finding web-based materials to incorporate into one's course is just the first step for faculty," a MERLOT fact sheet explains. "Faculty must also decide if the materials are correct, effective teaching-learning tools, and easy to use." That's where the work of peer reviewers comes in, and Sproule was praised for assessments that are "exceptionally thorough".

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Prevention now, flu vaccine this fall

Vaccine against the H1N1 influenza will be available this fall, but “before the vaccine is available, we may begin to see influenza illness in our Region,” says a letter to the university community from Barbara Schumacher, the university’s director of health services.

She writes: “I have been asked, what can we do to protect our personal health and the health of our families and community? We all need to make habitual the practice of prevention strategies highlighted in public health messaging, that is hand hygiene and cough etiquette.”

The full letter is available on the Influenza Update pages that went live yesterday on the central UW web site. Here are some excerpts:

“As our fall term commences, recent news reports have highlighted the particular risks for an outbreak of H1N1 influenza in post-secondary institutions — dormitory housing, large classroom sizes and social gatherings. Canadian and Ontario experience of H1N1 infections over the summer has demonstrated the vulnerability of pregnant women and those with immune deficiency or chronic illness which traditionally has placed them at high risk for seasonal influenza; however, many have been surprised by the recent summer camp outbreaks in Ontario, showing how H1N1 has targeted this younger age group. Over half of the infections in Ontario to date have occurred in people below the age of 20. Most cases experienced a mild form of the illness and have recovered.

“In the Northern Hemisphere we see seasonal influenza between October and April when the temperatures and humidity are lower. Pandemic influenza is expected to behave in unusual patterns and to target sectors of the population not normally vulnerable to seasonal flu and this is our experience with H1N1.

“For a scholarly review of what we know about H1N1 see the White Paper on Novel H1N1 prepared for the MIT Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals by John M. Barry.

“Based on the information to date and provincial recommendation, Region of Waterloo Public Health is planning for the possibility of a busy flu season this fall, with the circulation of the seasonal strains and H1N1; but with the anticipation that the surge in demand will likely be one which can be absorbed by the health care system. To assist all members of our campus a self-screen questionnaire is being developed which will be posted on our website. In addition a letter will be sent to our fall term residence students by the Director of Housing. It is important that all students entering residence, as well as students living off campus, self-screen for flu symptoms before leaving home, travelling to campus and participating in orientation and other campus activities.

“The seasonal influenza vaccination will be released in October. The Novel H1N1 vaccine which is being prepared for Canadians is not expected to arrive before November. Health Services is planning to offer vaccines to high risk populations as soon as it is received by our office and has scheduled flu shot clinics in the Student Life Centre for the rest of our population.

“Before the vaccine is available, we may begin to see influenza illness in our Region. I have been asked, what can we do to protect our personal health and the health of our families and community? We all need to make habitual the practice of prevention strategies highlighted in public health messaging, that is hand hygiene and cough etiquette. Please see the attached recommendations for protecting your health, what to do if you or someone you care for becomes ill, and ways work groups can reduce the risk of spreading infection called social distancing.

“After an individual first develops flu symptoms, he/she can spread the virus to others for 5-7 days. For this reason, one of the most important ways to keep our families and communities healthy is self-isolation. This means that persons who are suffering from symptoms of flu, at first sign of the flu, must stay home or if onset of illness is while at work or school, go home. Please call your manager, if you are an employee, or faculty advisor, if you are a student, to inform them. Please do not go to a medical facility without first calling, discussing your problem and receiving explicit instructions to attend. We expect that most people suffering from the flu will recover without needing to seek medical care.”

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'Africa in the blood' after co-op job

by Karina Graf, from the Inside Scoop newsletter for co-op students

Science and Business student Nicole Giberson initially chose to attend UW based on her place on the women’s varsity volleyball team and the influence of her favourite cheering squad, Mom and Dad. Without a decisive future plan, the biology major used her co-op opportunity to find rewarding, out-of-the-ordinary employment. Buried among other offerings on JobMine was a position at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Botswana, Africa.

With adventure on the brain, Giberson left the rolling hills of southwestern Ontario for the acacia trees and grassy knolls of Botswana. Many animal species call the reserve home, some of them endangered, including nine white rhinoceros and two orphaned cheetah brothers (left). Giberson thrived in Mokolodi’s team atmosphere, spending her days taking nature treks with kids, ATVing in the bush and feeding animals. The outdoor work was a perfect fit: “You know your job is good when it is the best part of the week and you can’t wait to go to work every day.”

Her days were packed with rewarding hands-on experiences such as cheetah feedings. Her supervisor encouraged fun and unique encounters. “He went out of his way to allow me to do so many cool things,” she says, “like to sit in on a wildebeest autopsy and to go into town when we got a call that there was a boomslang (a green mamba — one of the most poisonous snakes in the world) in someone’s house.”

For many of us, living on a new continent and playing with animals in the forest all day would be a daunting challenge, but not for Giberson, who loved every minute. However, there were scary moments, even for her. “You are never truly safe here — ever,” she says. “The most common time to get robbed is in the early afternoon on a Sunday in front of your house.” One of her friends experienced the terror firsthand, noticing men standing at each of the four windows in her living room. Although the police were called, there were few, if any, repercussions for the robbers. “It is incredibly dangerous here.”

Inequality is also widespread. “Especially in the workplace,” says Giberson, “men are regarded as superior to women.” She found it challenging to deal with the discrimination. In the end, “I had to compromise a bit and the men I worked with had to compromise a bit as well.”

Despite the trials, Giberson had an enjoyable African experience. “I totally fell in love with the country. I loved the lifestyle, the people and the place. It’s an incredible place with a sort of magic about it. Also, the work I was doing was amazing.”

In fact, the experience was so rewarding that it set the course for her future. “I had been waiting for that ‘light bulb’ moment some people talk about. After leaving Botswana I knew I had that ‘light bulb moment’ but I had no idea how to make this dream materialize.” Giberson was passionate about working directly with the natural environment, similar to her employment at Mokolodi.

Dreaming of the sandy plains of Africa, she returned to the textbooks and modern architecture of UW, finished her degree four months ahead of schedule, in December 2008, and returned to Africa — this time to Namibia, a country directly west of Botswana – for graduate studies, which began in February 2009. She is now working to complete her Master’s of Biodiversity Research and Management, a joint degree from the University of Namibia and the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Studies at UNam are sometimes frustrating. It isn’t unusual for the lecturer to arrive 30 minutes late for class or interrupt the lecture to answer a cell phone call. No matter how hard she tries to pay them, Giberson hasn’t yet shelled out a cent for her education — the attitude regarding most everything is “Don’t worry.”

However, the classes are stimulating and the people are mostly kind and generous. When Giberson arrived without a place to stay, a classmate offered temporary lodging.

The rewards stemming from her co-op employment in Africa are more numerous than the spots on all the cheetahs she fed in Botswana. “I would like to issue an official warning to anyone thinking of coming to Africa,” she says. “It gets into your blood and you will fall in love with it. There is something about this place that is addicting. Once you are able to taste it you cannot stay away for long. There is a spirit here that is like nowhere else I have ever been in the world.”

CAR

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