Daily News

Posted on Dec. 9: Surveys approved to gauge McMaster employee attitudes, perceptions

President Peter George and McMaster's vice-presidents recently approved a plan for several work-related surveys to help McMaster gauge the attitudes and perceptions of employees toward a number of work-life initiatives. Many high-performing organizations create a high level of employee engagement using a variety of tools, including employee surveys. Jason Cole, senior manager of organization development, based in McMaster's Human Resources Services, is responsible for co-ordinating these surveys. "This plan establishes an appropriate survey pacing over the next two calendar years and assures distinctive and clear research questions to yield solid participation and results," said Cole.

Posted on Dec. 8: Lessons learned from Walkerton

Like most of us, civil engineering professor Sarah Dickson likes to quench her thirst with water. But unlike a growing number of Canadians, her first choice isn't bottled water - good old Ontario tap water is what she prefers. Dickson's area of expertise is in water and environmental engineering and her research involves the input, transport and fate of organic contaminants in groundwater systems. She's most comfortable choosing water from the tap a fact that might surprise the legions of bottled water users whose numbers have increased since the events of Walkerton in 2000 and the subsequent inquiry into the contamination of the town's water supply. "People might choose bottled water for taste, but the bottled water industry simply doesn't have the same regulations that are in place at the municipal level. Ontario's drinking water is safe but there are still some issues with the municipal infrastructure funding that's needed to keep wastewater treatment up to capacity," she says.