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Posted on March 25: An economist’s view: beauty is a labour market matter

If you look good, will you get ahead? American economist Daniel S. Hamermesh will talk about the relationship between physical appearance and labour market success in a public lecture titled The Economics of Beauty. Hamermesh, a 2003 Hooker Visiting Professor in Economics, will deliver the lecture on Thursday, March 27, at 3 p.m. in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business building Room 505. Hamermesh is the Edward Everett Hale Centennial Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught at Princeton and Michigan State and has held visiting professorships at universities in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. His research, published in more than 70 papers in scholarly journals, has concentrated on labor demand, time use, social programs and unusual applications of labor economics to suicide, sleep and beauty. A recent research article is titled Dress for Success: Does Primping Pay? Hamermesh is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, program director at the Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit (IZA), and past president of the Society of Labor Economists and of the Midwest Economics Association. His books include Labor Demand and The Economics of Work and Pay, a labour economics textbook. His latest book, published this year, is Economics Is Everywhere, a series of 400 vignettes designed to illustrate the ubiquity of economics in everyday life and how the simple tools in a microeconomics principles class can be used. Hamermesh is widely quoted in newspapers and magazines and has appeared on such television programs as Good Morning, America, and the McNeil-Lehrer Report. Go to http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Hamermesh/ for more information about Hamermesh. The lecture is co-sponsored by the McMaster Economics Society.

Posted on March 24: Researchers help develop intelligent lumber mills

McMaster is joining forces with Precarn Inc., Forintek Canada, Tembec and Comact Optimisation to develop an Intelligent Mill Wide Control System for the lumber industry. The official announcement was made Feb. 20 during the Canadian Lumbermen's Association Annual Convention in Montreal. Over the next three years the partners will contribute $2.7 million to create the Smart Mill Assistant (SMA). This advanced process control system will allow lumber manufacturers to monitor and control all independent production steps in an integrated fashion. The Smart Mill Assistant Project is being led by Forintek, which is Canada's National Wood Products Research Institute, in close collaboration with key specialists and mill staff from Tembec, Comact Optimisation and McMaster University (Dr. J. MacGregor and Dr. T. Kourti, MACC, Dept. Chem. Eng.) Theodora Kourti is an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering

Posted on March 24: CanChild researchers measure impact of research on the community

In the past decade there has been a clear move toward the development of research partnerships and alliances. It is estimated that 148 community-university research partnerships exist in Canada, accounting for approximately $340 million in research funding. Despite the millions of dollars spent on such partnerships, the impact of these research alliances has rarely been measured. CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, located in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University, is a health-system linked research unit, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care since 1989. Researchers at CanChild and four other community-university research partnerships have joined together to develop a reliable means of measuring the impact of these partnerships that address social or health services issues. Three other research alliances involved in the study include, The Research Alliance for Children with Special Needs, in London, Ont., Enhancement of Youth Resiliency and Reduction of Harmful Behaviours Leading to Healthy Lifestyle Choices, in St. Catharines, and Partnerships in Capacity Building, Housing, Community Economic Development and Psychiatric Survivors, also in London. The fourth partnership project, Therapeutic Relationships from Hospital to Community, is based in London, Hamilton and Whitby. CanChild's co-directors, Mary Law and Peter Rosenbaum are investigators on the study headed by Gillian King, research director at both the Research Alliance for Children with Special Needs and Thames Valley Children's Centre in London.

Posted on March 21: Class of 2003 learn about life as alumni

McMaster's Alumni Association introduced students to life after graduation at its annual Alumni Launch this week. Offered to students in their final academic year, the event is an opportunity to find out about the services, benefits and programs offered to alumni. It also allows students to learn about McMaster Alumni Association branches around the world, events or seminars offered, or what leadership opportunities are available. Several groups and services from across campus were on hand to provide information and answer questions. Students who missed the event can drop by the Alumni office in Alumni Memorial Hall, Room 203 to pick up a graduation gift between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Posted on March 21: Students vote on bus pass

McMaster students have voted to accept the renewal of the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) bus pass contract for another three years. Originally signed in 1997, the MSU/HSR Bus Pass agreement must be renewed every three years. The pass was last renewed through referendum in the spring of 2000. This year's referendum was run in conjunction with the SRA elections. Full-time undergraduate students currently pay $61 for an eight-month bus pass. The fee for next year will be $65, representing a $4 increase. This price is based on the HSR's cost for a regular adult monthly pass, meaning that McMaster students are offered a rate one-eighth the cost of non-students. Students voted 3,389 in favour of the bus pass renewal, 76 against, 19 students abstained, 46 students handed in spoiled ballots and two declined their vote. "It is clear by the overwhelming majority of students who chose to continue the bus pass program, that this is an excellent service for McMaster students," says Adam Spence, MSU vice-president education. "We hope that it will continue for many years to come." Student Representative Assembly elections took place at the same time. The Student Representative Assembly is the governing body of the McMaster Students Union with numbers of elected representatives from each academic area based on the size of the faculty or school. SRA election results are as follows: Arts & Science (one seat elected) Tom Aylward-Nally Commerce (four seats elected) Maria Joseph Erin O'Neill Tommy Piribauer Kris Somers Engineering (five seats acclaimed) Ali Hassanali Sidra Abid Joseph Diening Maisara Kobaisy Bhavik Patel Health Sciences (three seats acclaimed) Amanda Bateman Sean Park Hanieh Rahimi Humanities (four seats elected) Samantha Keddy Natalie Ott Erin Robinson Matthew Watts Kinesiology (two seats elected) Lindsay Campbell Kevin Nizi Science (six seats elected) Kerstin Erickson Brandy Grafton Jeff Hargot Lindsay Minard Tom Nault Jonathon Thon Social Science (six seats elected) Tyler Chalk Monica Gharabaway Umair Khan Shano Mohan Matt Sumner Aliyana Yusuf Social Work (one seat elected) Robert Cosby Complete election results are posted at the MSU office, Room 201, McMaster University Student Centre.

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Posted on March 25: An economist’s view: beauty is a labour market matter

Posted on March 24: Researchers help develop intelligent lumber mills

Posted on March 24: CanChild researchers measure impact of research on the community

Posted on March 21: Class of 2003 learn about life as alumni

Posted on March 21: Students vote on bus pass

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