Daily News

January 19, 2006

Standing atop the Royal Mile in Scotland's capital city, hagglers of an artistic sort gather year round from different corners of the globe to entice and cajole passersby. Every August, the celebrated Edinburgh Fringe (the world's largest arts festival) brings together an eclectic mix of acrobats, dancers, actors, artists and musicians alike. Together they take to the streets, pamphlets in hand, in hopes of securing an audience for their comedic, creative, theatrical, lyrical and musical exhibitions.

January 19, 2006

Close your eyes. Imagine a landscape like no other. Earthen red, strange and barren: a land foreign to most of us. There is beauty in its simplicity. Revel in its mystery. Spain. For McMaster professor, Graham Todd, this is his home away from home. He refers to his association with Spain, as slightly schizophrenic - the splitting of location and time with a continual shift - dividing his time as he does, between Olias Del Rey, near Toledo, and Toronto, maintaining a studio and an active presence as an artist in both.

January 18, 2006

Nearly half of American workers are victims of workplace aggression, with customers, clients or patients the most likely source of attacks, according to a new comprehensive national survey, co-authored by Aaron Schat, assistant professor at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. "The stereotypical belief that large numbers of employees are 'going postal' is a bit of a myth," says Schat. "Forty-seven million Americans experience psychological or physical aggression while on the job. Interestingly, workers pinpoint the general public as the most significant source of this aggression, as opposed to other co-workers or supervisors."

January 18, 2006

During this week's National Day of Action on Youth Voting, Jessica Martin, fourth-year multimedia and mass communications student, stood ready in the student centre to get the message out. As students across Canada encouraged their peers to vote in the upcoming federal election, Martin set up an information booth to promote greater participation from the McMaster community.

January 17, 2006

Until last summer, Harris Switzman, a second-year arts & science student, didn't have any research experience. But with the help of the Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA), he got the opportunity to explore the world of academic research as well as engage with issues of crime and justice in the Hamilton area. Like Switzman, more than 120 other McMaster undergraduate students spent last summer studying issues from determining the effect of endurance training on cardiac output to analyzing electrophotonic materials to assessing the need for targeted funding and intergovernmental relations in health care.

January 17, 2006

The School of the Arts has announced its new lineup of uplifting concerts in the Celebrity Concert Series. The first performance this year features Valerie Tryon on January 27 in Convocation Hall. This internationally acclaimed pianist performed for the BBC in her native England before the age of 12, and has appeared on the concert stage all over the world, including The London Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

January 16, 2006

Thousands of students at McMaster will be eligible to vote in the Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale riding. The McMaster Students Union is helping to inform students about their voting choices by running the "Smart People Vote" Campaign on campus. This campaign is aimed at informing students about the federal election, how to register to vote and candidates' stances on issues important to post secondary students.

January 13, 2006

Two of three exhibits this month at the McMaster Museum of Art features the work of Latin America. Between History and Memory, running until February 26, highlights the work from McMaster's collection and private loans by twentieth century artists of Latin American origin.

January 12, 2006

This week, Depaul University, Lincoln Park associate professor Kenneth Saltman took up residence at McMaster's Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, as the 2006 Fulbright-McMaster Visiting Research Chair in Globalization and Cultural Studies. Saltman is an accomplished young scholar compiling a most impressive record of scholarship which bridges cultural studies, communications and education. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of five books examining the corporatization of schooling in the U.S. and several refereed journal articles. He has taught a wide variety of course on the sociology of education, philosophy of education, youth and middle school, culture and education and educational psychology.

January 12, 2006

If you have an abnormal heart rhythm, an implanted defibrillator can save your life, but the high voltage jolts can hurt. McMaster University researchers have found that using a combination of drugs can help stop the painful shocks for these patients.

January 11, 2006

Due to the outstanding generosity of McMaster students, employees and retirees, the $160,000 goal for the annual McMaster United Way campaign has been surpassed. "Every year the compassion of the McMaster community is reflected through tremendous support for the United Way campaign," says McMaster President, Peter George. "This year is no exception. You have once again made a significant contribution to the local community and those in need of counselling, shelter, food and other important services. Your kindness will touch the lives of those less fortunate and make a positive difference."

January 10, 2006

An information open house for the McMaster Innovation Park (MIP) was held today on campus. A second open house will take place tonight from 4:30 - 8 p.m. at Westdale High School's cafeteria. The open house showcased a draft master plan of the MIP, located on a 37-acre site on Longwood Road South purchased by the University in early 2005. The event is an opportunity to find out more about the Univeristy's vision for the MIP and a chance to provide comments and thoughts as the site plan is finalized.

January 10, 2006

McMaster is receiving almost $7.6 million from Ontario's Quality Improvement Fund to hire 38 new academic faculty and four part-time staff to improve student services. Funding is being used to purchase new library resources and to transform classrooms into smart, collaborative learning environments with flexible technology to provide access to different types of learning. The University is also creating additional teaching assistantships, thereby raising the number of small-group activities for undergraduate students.

January 10, 2006

Donald Trump brags that his television series The Apprentice brings out the best and brightest that business has to offer. But the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University may give "The Donald" a run for his money when students compete in their own version of the hit television show. And the stakes are just as high as on TV. For four consecutive weeks beginning Wednesday, Jan. 18, 10 students will vie for one of four summer internship positions with host companies, including Frito-Lay, Jan-Kelly Marketing, RBC and Xerox. Each week, two competing teams will be assigned a real-world challenge from a host company. They will have just one week to research, prepare and present a solution. At the end of the competition, four of the ten participating students will be offered summer jobs with the host companies.

January 9, 2006

This past summer, hip hop music flowed from Regent Park in Toronto while children aged eight to 12 learned how to read and write. The students were part of the Literacy Through Hip Hop initiative created by third-year McMaster health science student Jason Shrouder-Henry and his friend Shahmeer Ansari from the University of Toronto. In May 2005, Shrouder-Henry and Ansari approached TD Canada Trust with a proposal to improve literacy skills in children living in poor Toronto neighbourhoods. Using hip hop music as a source of inspiration, children learned to read and write about the issues, history and artists of the hip hop culture.

January 9, 2006

All members of the McMaster community are invited to participate in the Inclusive Community focus groups running this week on campus, and a session at the downtown centre. If you haven't already signed up, don't forget to register soon. This is a key opportunity to provide your input to the initiative designed to help "build an inclusive community with a shared purpose," as outlined in McMaster's strategic plan, Refining Directions.

January 7, 2006

An interim solution has been implemented to address MUGSI performance issues. In response to the problems students have experienced accessing MUGSI, a secure webpage, located at https://adweb.cis.mcmaster.ca/gt/menu, has been created to allow students an alternate access to grade reports and course timetables. MUGSI is up and running for the weekend and staff will monitor the situation. A longer term solution continues to be a priority.

January 6, 2006

When one of Herb Schellhorn's grad students applied for a job at Toronto's prestigious Centre of Forensic Sciences, not only did they need a reference from their supervisor, they also needed to submit the lab notebooks they'd maintained while here at McMaster. Schellhorn wasn't at all surprised that the world renowned Centre wanted to see the lab notebooks, "they're looking for scientists who know how to keep a meticulous record of their experiments and their findings. Whether it's testing DNA for the Centre for Forensic Sciences or documenting drug experiments for a pharmaceutical company, the lab notebook is essential to the employer, government agencies and to patent offices," says Schellhorn, a professor in the department of biology.

January 6, 2006

Barbara Ferrier, a professor emeritus of the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, has died. Born in Scotland, she came to Hamilton in 1969, joining the Faculty of Health Sciences part-time in 1972, and full-time in 1982. She held a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. Although she retired in 1998, she had been actively involved in the recent development of the new curriculum for the MD program.

January 6, 2006

The dates for drop and add have been extended. There have been difficulties accessing the MUGSI system so the decision has been made that the drop and add for second term will be extended to Monday, Jan. 16. No student will be impacted negatively because of the system problems. The University's chief information officer, Debbie Barrett says, "we're doing everything possible to make sure students get their marks and have access to their financial account information and drop and add system. In an attempt to improve service all marks for first term were to be released yesterday but the demand on the system combined with a security attack on McMaster's network yesterday stretched the system beyond its capacity."