Daily News

October 1, 2003

How to make a successful transition from high school to university is lesson one for the more than 1,000 first-year science students registered at McMaster this fall. After a successful pilot run last year, students are participating in an updated version of University Survival, an online course that introduces them to the various student services and resources on campus. The course assists students in developing a basic understanding of academic integrity, using the libraries, time management, stress management, career services, and the importance of getting to know professors. There is evidence that the lack of university survival skills has a negative impact on academic performance. "In the past we often did not realize students were struggling academically until after midterms " says Cathy Mackenzie, student advisor and University Survival's administrator. "By educating students about the resources available to them, those students who do develop difficulties will have the necessary tools to get the help they need."

October 1, 2003

Researchers at McMaster University have turned a corner in the race to develop a vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). A breakthrough has come with the work by professor Jim Mahony who cloned the gene that marks an important nuclear protein of the SARS virus. A research team at McMaster then inserted the nuclear protein gene into an engineered common cold virus, or adenovirus vector, and will shortly test this in animals for the protective effects. The team, headed by Jack Gauldie, chair of the department of pathology and molecular medicine and director of the Centre for Gene Therapeutics, includes professors Frank Graham, Mary Hitt and Mahony of the department of pathology and molecular medicine, along with professor Ludvik Prevec and technologist Uma Sankar of the department of biology. Mahony's discovery was made using DNA sequence data from the SARS Vaccine Initiative (SAVI) of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, one of several laboratories the McMaster team is working with to develop a SARS vaccine based on the adenovirus vector that would act as a carrier within the body.

October 1, 2003

McMaster University students, police and the Westdale community have joined forces to operate a west end community policing centre. When area residents drop in to . . .

October 1, 2003

With a 2-1 defeat of the York Lions in game one of a doubleheader Tuesday night, the McMaster Marauder baseball team secured a second place . . .

September 30, 2003

When it comes to the importance of exercising one's right to vote, students and those living in subsidized housing have a similar goal, feels political science student Sam Minniti. For students, it's tuition. For tenants of residential care homes, it's social assistance. "We're really not that different," says Minniti, one of about 15 students involved in a second-year political science project that aims to get those disinclined to vote to the polls on Thursday, Oct. 2. "Even though we're different in our needs, we're both part of a population that requires our voices to be heard to ensure we're on the radar screen of the person elected." As part of "Political Science 2DD3  Participation and Elitist Politics in Canada", taught by political science professor Michael Stein, students are visiting care homes in Hamilton with three goals in mind  getting tenants registered to vote, transported to the polls and educated about democracy. "Many of them know relatively little about the political process, but they are very interested when they find out that it is the government that determines what their social assistance intake should be," says Stein.

September 30, 2003

McMaster University's School of the Arts is serving up food for the soul, not for the stomach, free of charge, throughout its 2003-2004 concert season. . . .

September 29, 2003

Developing a University technology strategy, renewing commitment to service excellence, and ensuring a secure computing environment are among the challenges facing Debbie Barrett, McMaster's new chief information officer. Barrett, who has an extensive career in information technology including IT strategy development at The University of Western Ontario, Thames Valley District School Board, and the City of Mississauga, says she's eager to work with faculty, students and staff across campus to facilitate development of McMaster's technology strategy. The timing of Barrett's appointment coincides well with the update of the University's strategic plan, Refining Directions, scheduled for release later this fall. She'll be responsible for working with the University community to identify the technology required to translate the vision into reality and achieve the goals described in the plan. Barrett says the process of crafting an IT strategy needs to be inclusive and collaborative. The vision of a student-centric, research-intensive community committed to academic and administrative excellence provides a great framework for discussion and reflection on how technology can best serve University needs. "The possibilities are truly exciting and multi-dimensional," says Barrett. "I'm absolutely delighted with the early commitment by faculty and staff to contribute to the development of the strategy and to provide advice and guidance. The wealth of talent and expertise is remarkable."

September 29, 2003

The McMaster Marauder baseball team moved a step closer to securing a second place finish, and a home playoff date, with a 6-2 defeat of . . .

September 29, 2003

McMaster Marauders defeated the University of Ottawa Gee Gees Saturday 31-0. It was the fifth straight win of the season for the third-ranked football team. . . .

September 26, 2003

Since joining McMaster's Faculty of English in 1999, Imre Szeman has been winning national recognition for his unique teaching and research style. The 35-year-old is a leading researcher on globalization's effects on culture. A founding member of cultural studies groups in both Canada and the United States, Szeman is now the director of McMaster's Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition. Most recently he was named the inaugural winner of the 2003 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award, which provides $25,000 to a new McMaster professor (less than eight years from a PhD) to encourage creative thinking about how undergraduate students can participate in University research. Creativity isn't a problem for Szeman. He plans to use the award for a project beginning this fall called The World of News: Global Coverage of International Events  A Comparative Analysis. It will involve five undergraduate students who will analyze national newscasts from around the world to develop an understanding of how people interpret events on a local and global level. Students will be using the new global video facility funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation that will allow them to monitor news broadcasts, record them in digital form on a hard drive and output them to DVD. "As a team we will be looking at what kinds of things are not being focused on and why and how that produces a link between the local and the global," said Szeman. "Part of this research is to understand what the international landscape looks like from different national sites."

September 26, 2003

The McMaster Alumni Association is presenting two Albert Lager Lecture Series events next week. On Tuesday, Sept. 30, Mark Loeb will present The Bugs That . . .

September 26, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/reactor_opt.jpg” caption=”Nuclear Reactor”]Fifty-five of Canada's top nuclear specialists were at McMaster today to brainstorm about the technical aspects of one of the country's . . .

September 26, 2003

Thirteen emerging McMaster scholars are the first recipients of a new national graduate scholarship program. The master's students in the humanities and social sciences are . . .

September 25, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/tarnopolsky_opt.jpg ” caption=”Mark Tarnopolsky”]McMaster University and the Hamilton Hospitals Assessment Centre announced today the creation of an endowed professorship in neuromuscular diseases. The . . .

September 25, 2003

McMaster University is launching a new Web site that provides down-to-earth, accessible information on mental health and psychiatric disorders at www.psychdirect.com. With one in four . . .

September 25, 2003

The 139 medical students in the class of 2006 got a taste last night of what it means to take responsibility for patient health, in a ceremony designed to formally present them with their white clerk's coats, typically worn by second-year medical students in teaching hospitals. The white coat ceremony is a popular occasion in other medical schools, and students at McMaster were so enthusiastic that many opted to bring more guests than the original venue, Convocation Hall, could accommodate. The event was moved to the Hamilton Convention Centre, with more than 600 people in attendance. First-year medical student Amanda Jerome brought five guests, including her grandmother, aunt, parents, and fiancie. After graduating from McMaster's new Bachelor of Health Sciences program, she's eager to move forward with her dream of becoming a doctor, and she's happy to share the experience with her family. "I'm thrilled about the ceremony because for me it signifies that first official step," says Jerome. "Becoming a doctor is a lifelong journey and it's really nice to formally appreciate that in the company of my family."

September 24, 2003

Candles representing the four corners of the world were lit and rose petals were strewn among the stones. And for a moment, there was silence. Perhaps Nina de Villiers was present among the small group that gathered in the Nina de Villiers Garden at noon Wednesday. The garden of memory was named after the young McMaster student who was sexually assaulted and murdered. The sixth annual Roses Among the Stones service for non-violence began with messages of peace and a "hoop dance" by the Kanata Native Dance Theatre on the steps of Gilmour Hall. Following this, students, administrators and faculty gathered in the garden for a candlelight vigil and a moment of silence. "When we gather for this service each year, it's an opportunity for us to think more clearly about how we can make the McMaster community a safer community," said ecumenical chaplain Carol Wood.

September 24, 2003

Exploring how health outcomes and determinants of health vary at the local level is the broad goal of a large collaborative research project recently conducted by the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health and its community partners. "We know that there are lots of things that influence our health - environment, lifestyle, health services and so on," said medical geographer John Eyles, who is the lead project researcher and the institute's director. "In Canada, most work has been done at the national and provincial levels. This research is unique as it examines these factors and health at the neighbourhood level." A survey, the first of its kind in Canada, was administered to 1,500 Hamilton adult residents, grouped into five zones in the Hamilton area: Chedoke-Kirkendall; central downtown core; northeast industrial; southwest mountain and the former City of Hamilton. Interviews were also conducted with a number of study participants in each of these neighbourhoods. The survey included questions about health status, lifestyle behaviours, social networks, community involvement, health service use, and demographic questions, including age, education, occupation or status in the workforce. People were also asked if they liked their neighbourhood, how it may be improved, and about features of their home, such as the age of their dwelling, and if it was in need of major repairs.

September 24, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/chris_bart_opt.jpg” caption=”Chris Bart”]Company directors aren't involved enough in the creation and implementation of a company's mission statement, a new study suggests. McMaster University . . .

September 23, 2003

Nearly 600,000 women die of obstetrical complications yearly and for every one death, at least another 30 will sustain significant illness or disability. This staggering . . .