November 7, 2002

Thursday, November 7, 2002

Chair supports health informatics research
The latest from the Keystone
UW's bloodshed was appreciated
East Asian festival continues
Anthropology medal, other events

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

[Two men with poppies]
Ron Eydt himself was on hand Tuesday as opening celebrations were held for the rebuilt "central complex" in Ron Eydt Village. The residences were built in 1969 as Village II, and renamed in Eydt's honour when he retired as warden of residences in 1996. He's seen, left, chatting with Bud Walker, UW director of business operations (the administrative area that includes residences and food services).

Chair supports health informatics research -- from the UW news bureau

Responding to the critical need for better use of information technology in all facets of the health system, Agfa is providing funds to establish a research chair in health informatics.

This chair is a cornerstone in a major UW research program that will link experts from numerous disciplines to investigate, develop, apply, refine and evaluate health informatics solutions to fundamental problems faced by the Canadian health care system.

The Agfa Research Chair in Health Informatics was announced yesterday by John Glass, general manager of Agfa HealthCare, Steven L. Nakashige, CEO of Agfa HealthCare Informatics, and David Johnston, president of UW.

"The operation and evaluation of the health system are severely hindered by the fact that appropriate data and information are often not available and that existing data and information are not easily exchanged among the various operating units and personnel within the system," explained Dominic Covvey, the chairholder heading the research program. "The health system is a knowledge organization, and data and information are its life-blood," he added.

"As a university with strengths in several key disciplines, including accounting, applied health sciences, computer science, economics, engineering and life sciences, we are positioned to provide leadership in the many areas of the health system that require information to function adequately," commented Johnston.

Health informatics develops at UW
President raises the topic
Early discussions
Diploma program is launched
Seminar series announced
"We are delighted to be a research partner with the University of Waterloo and to be supporting what we believe to be the first chair in health informatics in Canada," said Agfa's Nakashige.

Initially the health informatics program will focus on developing new concepts, methods and tools to identify, define, collect, store, analyze and disseminate information to support evidence-based care in all aspects of the health care system. Enhancing collaboration in multidisciplinary research teams will be a key part of this new research program.

The results of this research program will strengthen the ability of consumers, clinicians, managers and policy makers to access, interpret, evaluate critically and respond to the health information they encounter in their interactions with the health system.

[Newsletter front page]

The latest from the Keystone

The second issue of a newsletter from the Keystone Fund -- It's Our Waterloo -- was distributed on campus this week, with pictures of the campaign's June 20 launch (right). Staff and faculty at the event ate 2,000 hot dogs and 35 kilograms of candy, the newsletter adds.

"We've already reached 40% of our goal," the newsletter (left) tells readers. The Keystone Campaign is seeking to raise $4.5 million from faculty, staff and retirees by the time UW reaches its 50th birthday and Campaign Waterloo winds up in 2007.

"Hundreds of faculty, staff and retirees have made campaign gifts," says a letter from the campaign co-chairs. "Many of you have designated your support toward four student award funds. It's a great choice because the University will normally match these donations 1:1. In other words, for every dollar you give to an award fund, UW gives a dollar."

Elsewhere, the newsletter reports that "The University of Waterloo's senior administration led the fundraising effort with 100 percent donor participation -- 88 percent of those gifts were at the donor circle level of $1,000/year or more."

And it gives news of support for the campaign from UW's president: "Sharon and David Johnston are Building a Talent Trust by pledging $250,000 to establish a graduate award."

Says Johnston: "We have a real personal interest in opportunities for women in graduate studies. All five of our daughters have or will pursue grad studies beyond their first degree. My wife Sharon received her PhD in Respiratory Physiology at McGill just as our last two daughters were finishing high school, and both her mother and grandmother were single parents who undertook advanced studies while raising their own children. We hope our contribution will help others follow in their footsteps."

The newsletter also reminds Keystone donors that they're eligible for monthly draw prizes. Names of the November winners were drawn this week, and are posted on the Keystone web site.

UW's bloodshed was appreciated -- a memo from Canadian Blood Services

CBS would like to thank everyone who Rolled Up Their Sleeves at the recent donor clinic held at the University of Waterloo Student Life Centre from Monday, October 21, to Thursday, October 24.

A total of 246 units of blood were collected over the four-day period -- which exceeded our target of 50 units per day by 46 units. Considering that every unit can help save or improve the lives of up to four people, 984 lives could potentially be affected by these donations. Out of those who attended the clinic, 21 per cent were first time donors -- an outstanding accomplishment.

A special thank you goes out to Nancy O'Neill of the SLC for her efforts in organizing the donor clinics, encouraging students and faculty to donate and for her help during the week of the clinics. We would also like to recognize and thank the students at the turnkey desk for being on hand to manage the appointment schedule prior to and during the clinics.

While only about 3.5 percent of eligible Canadians donate blood, every minute of every day someone in Canada needs blood. If you are, or have been a donor or a recipient, you know the importance a donation can make to the life of someone in need. And that need is increasing every year. Hospital demand for blood is increasing annually by about eight per cent because of the increase in the number of patients being treated, the aging population, more aggressive treatments for cancer and an increase in complex surgeries. CBS projects that it will need to increase its donor base by 40 per cent in the next four years if it is going to meet the needs of patients.

Another donor clinic will be held at the Student Life Centre January 27 to 30. If you cannot attend the University clinics but still wish to donate, please contact Canadian Blood Services at 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283) to make an appointment at the donor clinic located at 94 Bridgeport Road East (at Weber) or at a clinic in your area.

[Book cover]

East Asian festival continues

Rui Umezawa is this year's featured author at Renison College's East Asian Festival "literary evening", which starts at 7:00 tonight at the Waterloo Public Library. Admission is free. Umezawa will be reading from his first novel, The Truth About Death and Dying (left). His book explores the love, loss and heartbreak of a Japanese family over three generations.

Born in Tokyo in 1959, he left Japan with his family at the age of four. Since then, he has lived in Naples, Milwaukee, Edmonton, and, for the last 15 years, Toronto. He also spent two years in China as a student after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta. As well, Umezawa holds a master of arts degree in comparative literature from Alberta and an honours bachelor degree from Carleton University's journalism school.

His articles, reviews, essays and short stories have been featured in many media, and he is the author of Aiko's Flowers, an illustrated children's story published by Tundra Books in 1999.

Umezawa is a storyteller whose performances draw on traditional Japanese folk tales as well as original material. He is an avid martial artist, holding a second-degree black belt in karate with training in judo, aikido, tae kwon do, wrestling and boxing. In 1998, he combined his knowledge of the martial arts and Japanese culture to produce his first book, The Empty Hand; A Karate Wordbook.

Earlier today, the festival will present an academic showcase of student displays, overseas employment and exchange opportunities in East Asia, and UW East Asian clubs. Information on the East Asian studies program will also be available. The showcase is taking place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Life Centre.

Then at 1:30 p.m. at Renison College, there will be a panel discussion on "Environmental Problems and Prospects in East Asia", with geography professor Geoff Wall, the director of the Eco-China project; Ham Suk-Jong, professor of tourism management at Kangnung National University, Korea; and Toshi Mito, ministry of the environment, Japan. Refreshments will follow.

Networking about communication
The department of drama and speech communication is hosting a networking evening tonight, entitled "Careers in Communication: A Step Towards Success". Professionals in human resources, consulting, training and development, public relations, theatre, broadcasting, media and other communication related fields are invited to meet with fellow professionals and students, as well as listen to several speakers.
Everyone is welcome to attend the networking session, which is followed by a reception. The event takes place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Laurel Room, South Campus Hall.
During the evening, speakers will highlight the importance of communication in their various fields. Among them: Fran Gregory, director of integration communication at Sun Life; Mary Ann Seaver, director of human resources at Mercer HR Consulting; Goldie Semple, actor at the Shaw and Stratford Festivals; and Nora Polley, stage manager at the Stratford Festival.
Information will also be available about a new diploma program, EPOC (Education Program for Organizational Communication). EPOC is aimed at professionals "who want to communicate skillfully, effectively and knowledgeably". EPOC offers two university-level options: the Workplace Communication Diploma and the Training and Development Diploma. Each diploma program will be offered part-time and can be completed in 12 to 16 months.

Anthropology medal, other events

UW's department of anthropology will hold its annual Silver Medal Celebration today, as the medal for "academic excellence" is being presented to Lisa Finch. As usual, there's a guest speaker -- this year Regna Darnell, director of the Native Language Centre at the University of Western Ontario, who will speak on "Theorizing Ethnography (Or, How to Think Like an Anthropologist)". The talk will start at 4 p.m.in Arts Lecture Hall room 105. A reception will follow, at which the department will announce the 2002 winner of the Sal Weaver Memorial Tuition Scholarship, named for a long-time anthropology professor who died in 1993. (RSVPs for the reception -- to Jacqueline Macpherson in the anthro department -- were requested by Monday.)

JoAnn Woodhall of the Waterloo Region planning staff will be in the Student Life Centre today with a presentation of the Region's draft "cycling master plan" -- information, questions and discussion starting at 3:30 and again at 6:00.

A one-hour training session and quiz about the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, or WHMIS, is offered at 10:00 this morning -- and again at 2:00 Friday afternoon -- in Davis Centre room 1304.

In the co-op department, architecture students will see the results of the winter term job match process today; teaching option students got their results yesterday. In other programs, some students are already matched with January-to-April jobs, while others are looking at "continuous posting #2" today. For those students, "a drop-in meeting with a co-op field coordinator for advice on job market, resumés, strategy, etc." is an option today: check in at the paging desk on the first floor of Needles Hall.

For students who also have an eye to jobs after graduation, meanwhile, there's a workshop today on "Successfully Negotiating Job Offers", starting at 10:30. The career resource centre in Needles Hall has the details.

A debate under the title "Is the Church Useless?" is scheduled for 4:30 in Davis Centre room 1351, sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ.

The Computer Science Club presents a session today on "The GNU General Public Licence: The Teeth of Free Software" (5:30, Math and Computer room 4063).

The Math Society's Thursday night movies are "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" (7:00) and "X-Men" (10:00), in Davis Centre room 1302

Tomorrow morning, the tourism lecture series continues with Sanjay Nepal of the University of Northern British Columbia speaking on "Tourism in Mountainous Environments" (9:30 a.m., Environmental Studies I room 132).

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY
November 7, 1975: The UW library celebrates acquiring its one-millionth book.