Daily Bulletin

It'll come upon the noon-hour today, that glorious song of old, as the fourteenth annual Christmas carol sing led by Jake Willms takes place in the Modern Languages lobby. Willms retired in 1996, but he wouldn't let a little thing like that keep him from coming back to conduct "Joy to the World" and "Calypso Noel". And many of us wouldn't let a Christmas season go by without taking part in this UW tradition, sticking around for "O Come All Ye Faithful" as the finale, with (surely again this year) timbits and hot cider to follow. All are welcome -- the music starts at 12:15.

The pause before exams begin

It's not too late to boost your performance, according to Judy Carscadden, psych grad student and exam preparation guru for UW counselling services. A combination of mental and physical training, with emphasis on balance and moderation, is the key to surviving the pressure of exams. The following tips, taken from her exam stress management workshop, can help minimize anxiety and maximize success:

• Develop a realistic schedule that includes time for exercise, eating, relaxation, socializing and sleep -- as well as studying.
• In the final days before the exam, focus on reviewing course content rather than on learning new material.
• Make the time and effort to plan meals and eat well. Try cooking ahead and freezing some for later.
• Achieve balance by scheduling time for exercise and a social life. Lack of exercise leads to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the body. Exercise releases tension, clears out the CO2 and stimulates the production of norepinephrine, a feel-good chemical.
• Giving up social activities to study can make you feel apathetic or burned out. Joining a club, doing a sport and spending time with friends -- in moderation -- can actually help improve marks.
• Get a good night's sleep before the exam. Pulling an all-nighter will result in cloudy thinking and fatigue anxiety.
• Do breakfast.
• Stop reviewing at least a half hour -- preferably an hour or more -- before the exam.
• Avoid arriving at the exam room too early. To kill time and unwind, take a walk or do a relaxation exercise. Steer clear of people who are busy scaring themselves and others by speculating about what is on the exam, what they didn't study, etc.
• If you have trouble focusing on the exam, jot down distracting thoughts and deal with them later.
• Intimidated by multiple-choice exams? Try covering the answers, figuring out what the right answer might be, then go looking for it.
• Have a healthy snack if energy flags.
• Don't forget to breathe.
• Sign up for the exam stress management workshop next term.

A final talk about heritage

Gordon Nelson of the geography department and Stephen Lauer of the planning school will give a joint presentation entitled "Forces Promoting Active Citizenship in a Civic Society," beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Environmental Studies I room 132. The session is sponsored by UW's Heritage Resources Centre and the Heritage Canada Foundation, in association with the planning school.

The focus of tonight's presentation will be to describe changes and trends related to citizen engagement in civic life and in heritage management. For example:

• Changing roles of government and its associated funding at the federal and provincial levels as well as underlying economic, social, environmental and political forces.
• Increasing citizen awareness of the environment and heritage sense of place.
• Downloading functions to the local level.
• Assessing the implications to citizens.

Lauer has 22 years of experience in community development and heritage throughout Canada. He has been regional director of the Heritage Canada Foundation for 13 years, coordinating the foundation's national main street program, and has been involved in strategic plans and development strategies in hundreds of communities. His academic background is in economics; ecology and he is currently an adjunct professor in the planning school.

There is no charge for admission for tonight's talk, but people interested in attending are asked to call the HRC in advance at ext. 2072, or e-mail hrc@fes.

Meetings this week about Emergis

Johnny Wong, who became ICR director on July 1, will coordinate UW's involvement in the multi-million-dollar Bell Emergis project

"At both sessions," I'm told, "Johnny Wong will give an overview of the Bell Emergis University Labs project, and discuss how one may apply for research funding from this project. Barry Scott will address issues related to intellectual property and publication." Wong is coordinator of the Bell Emergis University Labs and director of UW's Institute for Computer Research; Scott is director of contracts research and industrial grants in the research finance office.

Two information sessions will be held: tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2:30 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m. Both meetings are scheduled for Davis Centre room 1302.

Three other notes of interest

"The world of statistical analysis is moving very quickly," says Vern Farewell of University College, London, who will give a talk today sponsored by two academic departments at UW with impressively long names -- "statistics and actuarial science" and "health studies and gerontology". "Claims of new improved methodology abound," Farewell adds. "In this talk, I will consider some recent investigations in which older methodology made a contribution. Applications to be discussed will relate to quality of life, the measurement of pain, agreement measures, and clinical trials. A suggestion to expand the practical application of likelihoods will also be made." "In Praise of Old Tools: Regression Models, Design of Experiments and Likelihood" begins at 1:30 p.m. in Math and Computer room 5158.

The local branch of the Canadian Federation of University Women will meet tonight (7 p.m.) at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in central Waterloo. Speaker for the evening is Ann Roberts of UW's department of fine arts, talking about "Canadian Identity in Clay".

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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