Daily News

February 8, 2006

Companies that cut middle managers jeopardize their productivity more than save costs, a study from McMaster University suggests. "Middle managers are the front line communicators with employees," says Rick Hackett, Canada Research Chair in Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. "One-on-one social exchanges between bosses and their workers have a real impact on employee productivity, behaviour and commitment, and when you cut middle-management, often you lose that interaction."

February 8, 2006

President Peter George and provost Ken Norrie joined together to congratulate and recognize 78 students who were awarded 2005 President's Honour Awards and 15 in course students who achieved Provost Honour Roll for 2004-5 at a reception in Celebration Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 7. Students entering their first year at McMaster with a secondary school average of 95 per cent or higher received a President's Honour Award while in course students earned Provost Honour Roll distinction through maintaining a perfect 12.0 average on at least 30 units (usually their sessional average).

February 7, 2006

Have you ever thought about the process involved in testing, assessing and approving a drug for public use? Bringing a drug to market can involve extensive costly steps that could take 12 to 15 years of development. It is estimated that the cost involved can surpass $1 billion U.S. and yet only one third of pharmaceuticals successfully brought to market achieve profitability.

February 6, 2006

An evolutionary biologist from Dalhousie University will explore the history of life on earth using DNA at the next Origins Lecture taking place at McMaster on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Ford Doolittle, Canada Research Chair in Comparitive Microbial Genomics, will discuss the billion-year history of multicellular organisms in his talk titled "The Tree of Life".

February 6, 2006

Hamilton residents will be asked to participate in a survey over the next two months to gauge awareness of community support services, and to find out why seniors do not take advantage of the many services available to them. "This is a hot issue particularly as it relates to older adults," says Margaret Denton, director of McMaster University's Centre of Gerontology. "On one hand, we have the growing number of seniors who, for reasons of mobility, illness or isolation, are not accessing some of the resources initially set up to serve them. On the other hand, we have the upcoming generation of seniors whom we currently refer to as the "sandwich generation" - the children of seniors who are trying to help ageing parents while looking after their own families.

February 6, 2006

Both the men's and women's basketball teams defeated The University of Western Ontario Mustangs on the weekend. The men's team outscored the Mustangs 77-48 in the Ontario University Athletics west conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Burridge Gym. They will travel to Waterloo on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to face the Warriors. The action tips off at 8 p.m.

February 3, 2006

Another sell-out is expected this year for the McMaster Mini-Med School, as the public is invited to attend a lecture series organized by the students of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. The seven-session program provides the public with the opportunity to gain in-depth medical knowledge on a variety of topics. In each of the seven weekly classes, two McMaster professors will give lectures exploring the scientific basis on various medical conditions or issues. The professors will gear their talks to the general public with a particular interest in learning more about medicine and health care.

February 3, 2006

The DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and TSX Group Inc. today announced the establishment of the DeGroote-TSX Research Centre in Capital Markets Studies. The centre, to be based at DeGroote in Hamilton, will focus on identifying and researching important emerging issues in the capital markets industry.

February 3, 2006

Students will dine and dance tonight in support of the MacWheelers Spinal Rehabilitation Program. The eighth annual McMaster Students Union Charity Ball, themed "Vanity Affair", takes place tonight (Feb. 3) at the Hamilton Convention Centre beginning at 8:30 p.m.

February 2, 2006

A field trip to Hiroshima has been organized for students taking Inquiry in Science II course 4SZ3 (also known as Med Phys 777). Aptly named Phoenix: Out of the Ashes and Into the Atomic Age, the course examines the short- and long-term impact of nuclear weapons testing upon humans and the environment. Doug Boreham, associate professor of medical physics and applied radiation, will lead the excursion to the Japanese city in May. Hiroshima, which was bombed by the United States on August 6, 1945, has ironically become a model of the nuclear age.

February 2, 2006

Four-year cumulative averages of 11.8 by McMaster engineering students Gaurav Bahl, electrical engineering, and Andrew Maw, computer engineering, resulted in the first tie at an Ontario university for the most prestigious award in undergraduate engineering. Both students received the gold medal award from the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education at the Faculty of Engineering's annual Awards Assembly. This is the first time since the award was established in 1961 that two students at the same university have tied for graduating with the highest cumulative average.

February 1, 2006

MBA and commerce students from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University continue to score among the highest in North America in a recent Major Field Test (MFT) conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) - the largest educational assessment organization in the world. The exam was administered in December 2005 to graduating students, and DeGroote's undergraduate commerce students scored in the 95th percentile in North America while the MBAs scored in the 90th percentile.

February 1, 2006

As human beings, its easy to feel big - we have machines that allow us to see particles that are less than a billionth of a metre big, we've built towering skyscrapers hundreds of metres tall, we fly thousands of kilometres around the world in mere hours and we've even traveled more than 380,000 kilometres to the moon. However, perhaps it is good to be reminded every so often of our size in the scale of things.

January 31, 2006

Upwind Downwind, a biennial conference on air pollution and health, will be held at the Hamilton Convention Centre on Monday, Feb. 27 and Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. The theme of this year's Upwind Downwind conference is "Cities, Air and Health". "The inter-relationship between air pollution, urban form, and health is a prominent topic, and the Upwind Downwind conference provides an important venue for various stakeholders to come together and discuss research progress," says Bruce Newbold, director of the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health (MIEH).

January 31, 2006

McMaster's School of the Arts is now presenting its annual Directors' Series, a festival of unique shows directed by theatre and film students in their final year of study. The Directors' Series 2006 features eight new plays, six written by the directors themselves. From social realism to absurd comedy, from docu-drama to surreal fantasy, all 12 of the plays dynamically engage with our culture and our times, each in its own unique style.

January 31, 2006

It has been a notable year for McMaster's Gary Warner. On the heels of receiving the Order of Canada, the professor of linguistics and French has been named Hamilton's Distinguished Citizen of the Year. Warner was selected among six recipients (three from McMaster) last night to receive the 2005 Royal Bank Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award.

January 31, 2006

Researchers are looking for 800 Ontarians with spinal cord injuries for a landmark study to determine whether physical activity is related to better health and quality of life. It will be the largest study of its kind, and could change the treatment currently given to those with such injuries. Kathleen Martin Ginis, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, and the lead investigator in the Study of Health and Activity in People with Spinal Cord Injury (SHAPE-SCI) said people with spinal cord injuries are at heightened risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity as well as various secondary health complications such as chronic pain, skin ulcers, and urinary tract infections. The key to preventing these problems, she believes, lies in increasing a person's physical activity.

January 30, 2006

Telling McMaster's unique story is the focus of an initiative now under way. "One of the critical success factors identified in McMaster's strategic plan, Refining Directions, is building and defining the University's reputation on a national and international level," says Judith Chopra, branding advisor for the University. "The first step in achieving that goal is to define McMaster's reputation - What makes us different? Who succeeds here? What do we aspire to achieve? What promises do we make and keep?"

January 30, 2006

More than 530 McMaster employees, retirees and their families came out to support the women's and men's Marauders basketball teams on Saturday in Burridge Gymnasium as both teams faced Brock University. This was the fourth annual McMaster Employee Spirit Society (M.E.S.S.!) basketball event. Employees and their families were provided free admission, child-minding services, complimentary food and refreshments and the opportunity to win draw prizes. In addition, the complimentary face painting was a big hit with the young, and the young-at-heart.

January 30, 2006

A renowned Hamilton physician will be remembered for his distinguished accomplishments in the field of rheumatology. William Watson Buchanan, 75, died on Saturday, Jan. 28. He was a McMaster University professor emeritus of rheumatology and had retired as a clinician with Hamilton Health Sciences in June, 2005.