All Posts Tagged With: "McMaster University"
High grades for Canadian schools in subject rankings
Eight universities’ departments among top 50 worldwide
University of Toronto (Jessica Darmanin)
The QS World University Subject Rankings 2013 are out now. The London-based company’s report offers a rare peek at how our school’s history, engineering and law programs—30 subjects in all—are viewed internationally.
Unsurprisingly, the top three universities from the Medical Doctoral category of the Maclean’s University Rankings—the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and McGill University—are also the top Canadian schools on the list. Those three are top five in Canada in 29 of 30 subjects and top 50 worldwide in many.
The highest ranked Canadian subject is geography at the University of British Columbia, which is tenth globally. There are also several subjects in the top 15: environmental science at UBC along with medicine, philosophy, linguistics, mathematics, sociology, geography, education, English and history at University of Toronto.
Continue reading High grades for Canadian schools in subject rankings
Panoramic scope ‘maps’ colon to find cancer
McMaster researchers inspired by Google Maps
Researchers have taken a page out of Google’s book to develop an advanced scope that may enable doctors to look deeper into the colon and with more precision to better detect signs of cancer.
The scope would not only allow doctors performing a colonoscopy to get the standard forward-looking view, but would also capture images of the sides of the large bowel, similar to the way Google Street View provides a 360-degree picture of a road and its buildings.
“Unlike conventional colonoscopy, which only looks straight ahead, this new method can be likened to Google Street View, giving us a panoramic view of the colon and helping us identify the exact locations of suspicious growths or lesions,” says Dr. Qiyin Fang, Canada Research Chair in Biophotonics at McMaster University.
The device is armed with a near-infrared light camera that takes thousands of pictures and uses blood vessels as landmarks to create a map of the colon.
Continue reading Panoramic scope ‘maps’ colon to find cancer
Canoeing to class, men’s rights & Joyce Murray
What students are talking about today (February 28th)
McMaster (TechnicolourCity/YouTube)
1. Students at McMaster University got creative crossing their slushy Hamilton, Ont. campus after a major winter storm hit Ontario on Tuesday. They paddled across it in a canoe. Someone made a video and posted it to YouTube where it already has 55,000 views and was shown on air by CBC News Network. Meanwhile in Ottawa….
2. Ryerson University student Sarah Santhosh wants to start a men’s issues group on campus called the Ryerson Association for Equality that would discuss mental health, male youth violence, misogyny, as well as gender disadvantages in education, the workplace and custody battles. “Universities are supposed to be places where any and all ideas are accepted and discussed. Nothing should be too taboo for discussion,” she told The Eyeopener. It’s unclear whether the Ryerson Students’ Union will prevent the group from gaining status considering vice president equity, Marwa Hamad, previously said that, “marginalized or underprivileged student members should be the focus of equity service groups on campus.”
Continue reading Canoeing to class, men’s rights & Joyce Murray
UBC student dead in L.A., sexual assault & chicken wings
Five things students are talking about today (February 20th)
Elisa Lam (AP Photo/Los Angeles Police Department)
1. Elisa Lam, a University of British Columbia student reported missing Jan. 31st, has been found dead inside a water tank atop a Los Angeles skid row hotel. A hotel worker discovered the body while investigating complaints of low water pressure, reports to The Canadian Press. Guests told reporters gathered outside that they were disgusted by the idea they were possibly drinking water from the tank, reports CBC News. Lam, who was vacationing alone in California, was last seen on Jan. 31st in the hotel elevator. There were reports she was acting strangely.
2. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs’ list of ways to deter a sexual assault includes the following tips: “Tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating,” and “Vomiting or urinating may also convince the attacker to leave you alone.” The list was widely criticized by conservative and liberals pundits alike (finally—they agree!) on Twitter before the university took it down. The university says the list, which was first published in 2006 and provided to women who took a self-defense class, was taken out of context.
Continue reading UBC student dead in L.A., sexual assault & chicken wings
CrossFit crazy, bell curve beaten & what teens are drinking
What students are talking about today (February 12th)
CrossFit (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson/Flickr)
1. CrossFit, the intense group workout craze, has found a following at Queen’s University where a Facebook page calling for it to be offered in the campus Athletics and Recreation Centre has more than 500 likes. But the ARC powers-that-be are concerned the instructor who wants to offer it isn’t certified as a personal trainer or an employee. They also say the exercises could have health consequences. The Queen’s Journal isn’t buying the explanation, citing the fact that student-run fencing and archery clubs already use the gym.
2. Science, yes science, has determined that underage American alcohol drinkers are sticking to a relatively small number of, what are in my opinion, dreadful tasting brands. Almost 28 per cent of the 13 to 20-year-old study participants drank Bud Light within the past month, 17 per cent guzzled Smirnoff malt beverages, 15 per cent downed regular Budweiser and 13 per cent sipped on Coors Light. Researchers at Boston University and Johns Hopkins surveyed 1,032 teens online. Their paper is published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Continue reading CrossFit crazy, bell curve beaten & what teens are drinking
The new underclass
Why a generation of well-educated Canadians has no future
Melanie Cullins (Chad Hipolito for Maclean's)
Melanie Cullins is no pipe dreamer. She chose a vocation that, by unanimous opinion, represented a path to steady employment—teaching English as a second language to the thousands of immigrants pouring into B.C., a good many of whom, the experts predicted, would be making their way to Victoria, where she grew up and wished to make a home. That was back in the early 2000s, when opportunities for the young and industrious appeared unlimited. A rewarding career seemed within reach for all.
Cullins’s degree in applied linguistics was the gold standard of ESL qualifications. But she graduated in the thick of the 2008 financial meltdown, and the entry-level position she imagined would launch her career never materialized. Governments cut back on language transition programs. Resumés piled up in recruitment offices. Her calls to program directors went unanswered. “For me, that was a huge blow,” she says. “I had almost perfect performance reviews from my practicums, but I couldn’t even get an interview. You start to wonder: what’s wrong with me?”
What students are talking about today (November 23rd edition)
More Quebec protests, oil debate & democracy at U of T
Nov. 22 protest in Montreal (Graham Hughes/CP)
1. It’s that time of the month again. Several thousand students marched in Montreal Thursday to demand free tuition, despite already winning frozen tuition from the Parti Quebecois government. The demonstration was supported by the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante, whose now-disbanded CLASSE wing was considered the most radical student group during the protests that shut down campuses earlier this year. Speaking of shutting down campuses, some students blocked certain entrances to the Université du Québec à Montréal on Thursday, reports the Montreal Gazette.
2. The University of Toronto Students’ Union’s annual general meeting drew a lot of angry voters who refused to approve the agenda at the beginning of Thursday’s meeting. While most AGMs are poorly attended, students waited in line for hours to get in to this one. Sam Greene, who heads of Trinity College, urged members to not approve the agenda unless the UTSU considers electoral reforms. Corey Scott, vice-president internal for UTSU, told The Varsity that the way students vote showed their “privilege.”
3. There is support among some of Canada’s premiers to ship Alberta oil to Eastern Canada. Two men whose provinces don’t have much oil themselves, Manitoba’s Greg Selinger and Nova Scotia’s Darrell Dexter, say they are interested, and Alberta’s Alison Redford and Quebec’s Pauline Marois agreed Thursday to examine the benefits and environmental effects of such a project.
Continue reading What students are talking about today (November 23rd edition)
What students are talking about today (November 19th edition)
A Nicki Minaj t-shirt at Harvard, football & bike-sharing
Harvard State
1. As the deadly Israel-Gaza conflict continues, CNN has footage of Anderson Cooper ducking from rocket strikes on repeat while Maclean’s Michael Petrou explains what to watch for next and Nick Taylor-Vaisey analyzes the headlines.
2. Proving that Harvard is still a refuge for the world’s foremost intellectuals, the student-run clothing store Harvard State is selling t-shirts with singer Nicki Minaj’s likeness and the words “Yale You a Stupid Ho.” The photos have offended some (at Yale I assume), but they need not worry. Unlike the shirts that proclaim “Veri Drunk Since 1636,” these ones aren’t yet sold out online.
3. McMaster University’s Marauders football team beat the Calgary Dinos on Saturday at the Mitchell Bowl held at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton in front of nearly 6,000 fans. That means the 48th Vanier Cup on Nov. 23 in Toronto will be a rematch of the 2011 final when McMaster barely beat Laval’s Rouge et Or. Read more in The Silhouette.
Continue reading What students are talking about today (November 19th edition)
Seven Canadian universities on “most employable” list
Ontario and Quebec schools well-regarded by recruiters
Engineering students at the University of Toronto (Jessica Darmanin)
There’s a new piece of information to consider when applying to universities. A survey of 2,500 recruiters in 20 countries has found the 150 schools with the “most employable graduates.”
British and U.S. universities dominate, while only seven Canadian schools made the list. All of the Canadian entries are in Ontario and Quebec, despite the fact that western Canada’s schools fared well in the 2013 Maclean’s University Rankings. The University of British Columbia, for example, came second in the Maclean’s Medical Doctoral ranking but didn’t register here.
With that noted, here are the seven Canadian universities that made the 2012 Global Employability ranking, a list by from French firm Emerging and German pollster Trendence:
24. University of Toronto (3rd in Maclean’s Medical Doctoral ranking)
Continue reading Seven Canadian universities on “most employable” list
What students are talking about today (November 12th edition)
Elmo scandal, Concordia on homestays, a regrettable tattoo
Kevin Clash (Bill Thompson/Wikimedia)
1. Concordia University has responded to complaints by Chinese students about homestays advertised through a link on its website. One student told CBC News that she hadn’t been fed enough, losing weight as a result. “While Concordia is not involved in providing homestay services, it has undertaken a careful review of the allegations,” reads Concordia’s statement.
2. Kevin Clash, the 52-year-old puppeteer behind Elmo, has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a man who was 16 at the time, according to a statement from Sesame Street. Clash denies the boy was underage, but he has taken a leave of absence and has been disciplined for inappropriately using work computers.
3. The Fiscal Cliff, a Jan. 1st deadline of doom that the U.S. economy faces if Congress doesn’t amend its agreed-upon package of tax hikes and spending cuts, is apparently a subject of interest for Star Wars fans. They took to Twitter with the hashtag #StarWarsFiscalCliff. Here’s one such missive from Tweeter John Podhoretz: “Ben Bernanke? That wizard is just a crazy old man.”
Continue reading What students are talking about today (November 12th edition)
What students are talking about today (November 9th edition)
Movember jewelery, discovery at McMaster & Instagram
FallingTreasures.com
1. Four Kwantlen University students are fulfilling their business degree requirements and raising money for prostate cancer research by selling Movember-themed jewelery. Their mo necklaces, sold online, are so popular that they ran out at one point, reports the Vancouver Sun. Movember is an annual mustache-growing fundraiser.
2. Just in time for Remembrance Day on Sunday, librarians in McMaster University’s special collections discovered several poppies preserved in the travel diary of a soldier’s wife. Librarian Wade Wyckoff told Metro that he believes the petals originated from Flanders fields, that famous World War One graveyard where the poppies grow, between the crosses, row on row.
3. If you’re on Instagram, there’s a new reason to be concerned about your privacy. The social photo sharing site has done you the favour of putting all of your photos on the web. They’re at Instagram.com/your username. Users can turn off the profiles through their mobile devices.
Continue reading What students are talking about today (November 9th edition)
What students are talking about today (October 22nd edition)
A pipeline protest, a really bad cartoon & black cats
Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr
1. Critics of the Northern Gateway pipline project are hoping at least a thousand people will turn up today for a protest rally at the B.C. legislature in Victoria, reports The Canadian Press. The protests have been endorsed by unions such as the the Canadian Auto Workers, the B.C. Teacher’s Federation and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, plus celebrities including actor Ellen Page and singer Dan Mangan.
2. A student newspaper cartoonist has been fired from the Arizona Daily Wildcat after an anti-gay comic strip prompted thousands of complaints. The comic shows a father telling his son that if he’s gay, he will be shot with a shotgun, rolled into a carpet and thrown off a bridge. The boy says, “Well I guess that’s what you call a ‘Fruit Roll Up.’”
3. Animal welfare advocates say they no longer ban adoption of black cats at Halloween—a practice that stemmed from fears the animals would be harmed. In fact, the Ontario SPCA is now offering a discount on the adoption of black, orange and calico cats, reports The Canadian Press. How cute.
Continue reading What students are talking about today (October 22nd edition)
Canada’s first black MP dead at age 90
Lincoln Alexander was chancellor at University of Guelph
University of Guelph
Lincoln Alexander, Canada’s first black MP and former Ontario lieutenant governor, has died at the age of 90.
Current Lt.-Gov. David Onley tweeted the news Friday morning, offering his condolences to Alexander’s wife Marni and his family.
The man known to all as “Linc” was a “living legend” in his hometown of Hamilton and a man whose life and career were “a series of groundbreaking firsts,” Onley said in a statement.
“At a time when racism was endemic in Canadian society, he broke through barriers that treated visible minorities as second-class citizens, strangers in their own land,” he said.
“Lincoln Alexander’s whole life was a rebuke to those who would equate ability with skin colour,” Onley added. “He overcame poverty and prejudice to scale the professional and political highs.”
Alexander served as Ontario’s lieutenant governor from 1985 to 1991 — the province’s first black vice-regal — among his many accomplishments.
What students are talking about today (October 3 edition)
Important cat research, Blasphemy Day & Justin Trudeau
Mr. T in DC/Flickr
1. Japanese researchers have published an article in PloS ONE entitled “The Power of Kawaii: Viewing Cute Images Promotes a Careful Behavior and Narrows Attentional Focus.” In sum, viewing photos of cute animals could make you more productive at work. Thank you Japan.
2. Speaking of important cat research, a powerful 2011 earthquake has affected the psychological state of cats in Turkey. They are attempting suicide on a regular basis, according to Abuzer Tas, a lecturer in a local veterinary school. “After the quake… a large number of cats are throwing themselves from heights,” he said. Seriously.
3. A student group at the University of Saskatchewan offered cookies for human souls last week as part of International Blasphemy Day, an annual demonstration on the anniversary of the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammad in Denmark. Visitors to the Freethought Alliance booth could spin a wheel to see which version of hell they would go to. “We’re trying to express that in this country, and all free speaking countries, we are allowed to say things about religion that might not be kind or informed, yet we have the right to say it,” leader Brandon Gerbig told CBC News.
Continue reading What students are talking about today (October 3 edition)
What students are talking about today (Sept. 24 edition)
Texas tuition freeze, a stabbing & mandatory women’s studies
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
1. Two people were stabbed during a fight at a house party near McMaster University early on Sunday. This isn’t the first stabbing at a house party near McMaster. Many of the people in attendance were from out of town, police say.
2. Rick Perry, the conservative Texas governor who ran for the Republican presidential nomination, has endorsed a four-year tuition freeze at state colleges and universities. Anti-tuition advocates usually have more success with left-wing parties, but this statement won’t surprise anyone who has heard of Perry’s push to create a $10,000 degree in the Lonestar State.
3. The York Federation of Students is pushing for “a mandatory equity or women’s studies course to help students gain awareness of the root causes behind sexual assaults and violence.” A professor in York’s the School of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies says it may not be the best idea and that there is no guarantee such a course would actually reduce sexual assaults.
Continue reading What students are talking about today (Sept. 24 edition)
The perils of drinking on Canadian campuses
A timeline of injuries, deaths, scandals and crackdowns
Graphic by Jessie Willms. Text by Josh Dehaas.
Don’t forget to follow @maconcampus on Twitter and like us on Facebook here.
Five tips for dealing with stress and anxiety
A McMaster psychiatrist’s best advice
Photo by Randy Faris/Corbis
This week’s Maclean’s cover story looked in-depth at the mental health crisis on Canadian campuses.
Earlier this year, the Maclean’s Guide to Canadian Universities solicited advice on dealing with stress before it becomes a problem.
Dr. Michael Van Ameringen, a professor in the department of psychiatry at McMaster University and former co-director of the anxiety disorders clinic on campus, suggested students build these five habits to stay mentally well.
1. Manage expectations: “It’s important to learn to have reasonable expectations of yourself when you go to a new place. You’re not going to instantly figure out the way to learn and get 90s in all classes.”
2. Take a break: “There’s no doubt that people are more efficient when they work for fixed periods of time, followed by planned breaks.”
Continue reading Five tips for dealing with stress and anxiety
What students are talking about today (Sept. 5 edition)
Michelle Obama, Quebec election, Adderall & Harry Potter
BarackObama.com
1. U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama gave a heartwarming speech at last night’s Democratic National Convention. She mentioned that she and her husband Barack struggled with college debt, contrasting them with Republican challenger Mitt Romney. She said her husband believes “success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”
2. The Gateway student newspaper obtained documents that “revealed serious health and safety concerns” in Lister Residence at the University of Alberta, where alcohol was recently banned in common areas. Problems included “a Floor Coordinator and a student vomiting on each other, collecting it in a pitcher, and having a third student drink it.” Serious concerns indeed.
3. Another student paper, The Harvard Crimson, has done something less impressive: run online advertisements for ADDTabz, the “Adderall Alternative.” Adderall is a prescription-only stimulant used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. It is sold illegally as a study aid. This advertising partnership seems rather unbecoming of an Ivy League school, much like last week’s cheating scandal.
Continue reading What students are talking about today (Sept. 5 edition)
Psychopaths aren’t suffering mental disorders
Study shows they’re less likely to hurt relatives, not more
Anthony Hopkins plays a psychopath in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Researchers from Queen’s, McMaster, Lethbridge and Saskatchewan are challenging the commonly held belief that psychopaths suffer from a mental disorder. Their new study is published in Frontiers of Psychology. From Queen’s University:
Historically, psychopaths – people who are uncaring about others, extreme risk-takers, and often commit strings of violent crimes – were thought to be mentally disordered.
However, a study led by Queen’s University postdoctoral fellow Daniel Krupp supports more recent thinking, from the perspective of evolutionary psychology, that psychopaths may not be disordered after all. Rather, psychopathy may have evolved to exploit others.
Continue reading Psychopaths aren’t suffering mental disorders
Why the fuss over Confucius Institutes?
Some say Beijing-funded language and culture schools fly in the face of academic freedom
Photo by lubright/Flikr
Admittedly, it does seem worrisome. Within the past decade, a dozen Confucius Institutes, Chinese language and culture schools funded by the Communist government in Beijing, have popped up on Canadian college and university campuses, trumpeting programs to “improve understanding” of China, and to teach Mandarin.
Then, in 2011, as the Globe and Mail reported recently, a teacher dispatched from China to teach at the Confucius Institute at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. quit her post and filed for refugee status. The newspaper reported that the teacher, a follower of China’s repressed Falun Gong movement named Sonia Zhao, was unable to express her political or religious beliefs as a Confucius Institute teacher—it was prohibited in her job contract, which outlaws teachers with Falun Gong affiliations. In her formal complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Zhao accused McMaster of “giving legitimization to discrimination.”
