Daily News

Posted on Nov. 27: Recycling 101: don’t contaminate trash

Pop quiz: True or false Coffee cups cannot be recycled Fine paper bins located in offices should be used to recycle paper only Newspaper, fine paper, envelopes and sticky pads can be put together in the paper recycling containers Contamination renders the entire recycling bin as garbage If you answered false to any of these questions, you may need a lesson in proper recycling. While McMaster's newly reinstated recycling program is one step closer to making the University more environmentally friendly, without the knowledge of how to recycle, these efforts may as well be trashed, says Stephanie Herod, a physical plant environmental student representative who is working with OMG Media to ensure that new recycling bins are installed throughout campus. Tossing garbage into the wrong bin can contaminate the entire container, she says. "Physical Plant can get this going but nothing can get recycled unless people do it correctly," she says. "People need to be educated about what goes in what bins and we need to generate enthusiasm in people to want to recycle."

Posted on Nov. 26: Solar car team fires up for the challenge

Zipping along Route 66 at speeds in excess of 70 km/h, the car won't burn an iota of gasoline. As the sun in the hazy Arizona sky burns overhead, the driver will clinch the wheel and power on in a race against more than 30 teams from around the globe. They call it Fireball II and they know it's going to be a force to be reckoned with. "We're going to be very competitive," says third-year commerce student Tammy Hwang about the American Solar Challenge just eight months away. "We plan to make it into the top five. I know that sounds ambitious, but we have the right kind of teamwork and skills to do it."

Posted on Nov. 25: Refining Directions information sessions begin tomorrow

McMaster has embarked on a new and important strategic planning process called Refining Directions. University President Peter George and Provost Ken Norrie invite all members of the campus community to attend one of three upcoming information sessions to find out more about this initiative, which will help McMaster plan and prepare for the years following the double cohort (beyond 2005). Session Dates and Times Tuesday, November 26: 3:30-4:30 p.m., HSC-1A4 Thursday, November 28: 2:30-4 p.m., Room 241 Downtown Centre Monday, December 2: 1-2 p.m., Room 319, McMaster University Student Centre Refreshments provided

Posted on Nov. 22: Reports examine role of Library in the academic mission

Two recent reports outline challenges and opportunities for McMaster in ensuring our libraries continue to play a vital role in the academic mission. The report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Review the University Library and its Relationship to McMaster's Academic Mission and the Health Sciences Library External Review are posted on the University's Web site. University Provost Ken Norrie and members of the University Planning Committee are inviting feedback from the campus community on the findings and recommendations contained in both documents. "These reports serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of the Library to the teaching and research mission at McMaster and the potential dangers if we neglect it," says Norrie. "Our libraries are among our most important resources and are a crucial component of the academic operation. Academic libraries around the world are in a state of transformation and the change is rapid and unprecedented. The challenge for McMaster, as well as for other academic institutions is to embrace this change, manage it, and, in the end, strengthen and protect a resource that is absolutely essential and integral to our academic mission," says Norrie. Comments on the reports can be sent to Bruce Frank, Secretary of the Board of Governors, by the first week in December. While financial cutbacks have taken their toll on academic libraries, including McMaster, libraries have also been drastically affected by external factors: rapid technological change, the declining value of the Canadian dollar in a largely American book and journal market, and publication monopolies. The reports outline the crisis facing McMaster libraries and others, most notably a decline in intellectual resources. For more details about the reports,

Posted on Nov. 21: Researchers examine policy changes for new moms

The community care component of the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children (HBHC) Postpartum Enhancement program is reaching most postpartum women, according to the results of a study released at the Ontario Public Health Association Conference in Toronto. Nursing professor Wendy Sword and social work professor Susan Watt, of McMaster University, presented the initial findings from a survey of 1,250 women at five hospitals in southern and central Ontario, conducted last winter and spring. This study, called Maternal and Newborn Infant Health Outcomes and Community-Based Service Utilization in Ontario Following Policy Change, is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The expanded HBHC program, announced by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in 1999, responded to concerns about the health and well-being of mothers and their newborn infants. The changes were intended to provide women with the option of staying in hospital for up to 60 hours after a normal birth, a follow-up telephone assessment by a public health nurse within 48 hours of discharge and the offer of a home visit.