The Wellness series continues today with a presentation entitled Managing Stress. The one-hour session will help participants identify destructive cycles that create stress, discontent and fatigue. As well, it will show how to use creative time management and prioritizing techniques to restore a sense of life and balance in times of stress. Noon to 1 p.m., Social Science Centre room 2024. No registration is required. Feel free to bring your lunch and a refreshment.
New COU chief
Bonnie Patterson, President and Vice-Chancellor of Trent University from 1998 to June of this year, has been appointed President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities. Her term runs until September 2012. Patterson served as chair of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada from 2005 to 2007.
Kenya blog
Climate change, resource use and population increases all threaten the Lake Naivasha region of Kenya. Through the support of Ecosystem Health Initiative by the Beryl Ivey Chair for Ecosystem Health and the McConnell Family Foundation support for Ecosystem Health Lake Naivasha Sustainability Project has been initiated. Led by Biology professor Charles Trick, Beryl Ivey Chair for Ecosystem Health at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, the objective is to achieve a sustainable management of resources for the improvement of the lake region’s ecosystem. Follow the recent blog at https://web.me.com/ctrick1/Kenya_Trip_2009/Blog/Blog.html.
Two new books
History professor Charles Ruud published two books this fall, one on Soviet history and the second on Russian history. The Constant Diplomat: Robert Ford in Moscow charts the experiences of the late Ford, Canada’s longest serving ambassador to the Soviet Union. The book assesses Ford’s work as ambassador from 1964 to 1980 and focuses on his knowledge of Russian life and familiarity with the Soviet leadership. Ford, the son of Arthur Ford, long-time editor of the London Free Press, graduated from Western in 1938. Ruud’s second book was published by the University of Toronto Press as the second edition of a history of the Russian czarist system of press controls first published in 1982. The volume is entitled, Fighting Words: Imperial Censorship and the Russian Press, 1804-1906. A new introduction traces recent developments in Ruud’s work on the Russian censorship.
From FIMS to VJ
Faculty of Information and Media Studies student Liz Trinnear may not be quite done with school, but she already has a job lined up – as the newest VJ on MuchMusic. After a fierce, online competition and more than 4,000 entries, the 21-year Trinnear was selected to begin her career at the music station. “Being a MuchMusic VJ is my own personal fairy tale – it’s a dream come true,” says the London resident. She expects to begin work in the new year.
Retirees lecture
The Retired Academic Group will hold its Christmas banquet on Friday, Dec. 11 at noon at Windermere Manor. The guest speaker will be Psychology Professor William Fisher. His topic will be ‘Erotica, Pornography and Behaviours: A Critical Review.” More information at https://www.uworag.com/
Meteorite prospectors successful
Meteroite hunters have so far found 13 fragments from a dramatic Sept. 25 fireball that blazed across Ontario and showered the Grimsby, Ont. area with space debris. Following a search led by University of Western Ontario planetary science academics, the St. Catharines Standard reports three stones were found by area residents, two by meteorite collectors from the U.S. and the remainder by hunters led by Western’s Phil McCausland. Western is planning a clinic to help people identify the meteorite pieces.
National research spending up
Statistics Canada projects spending on research and development in Canada will reach $29.9 billion in 2009, a 1.2 per cent increase over 2008. Of this, spending by the higher education sector (second largest behind business) is expected to reach $10.4 billion, about 35 per cent of the total.
Nagl receives Award
Film Studies professor Tobias Nagl has received international recognition for a recently published book on German Cinema. Nagl’s book, Die unheimliche Maschine: Rasse und Repräsentation im Weimarer Kino (München: edition text + kritik 2009) was awarded the Willy Haas Award in Hamburg, Germany at the Cinefest Internationales Festival.
Professor Nagl’s 800 page book is the first in-depth study of race and racism in German film history. Utilizing postcolonial theory and extensive archival research, The Uncanny Machine analyzes the production, distribution and reception of almost 400 films, many of them lost or little-known, ranging from imperial adventure serials to documentaries and musicals.
Tobias Nagl
In the award commendation, the jury stated: “The role of people of color in Weimar cinema is situated by Tobias Nagl in a bold theoretical framework of national identity and colonial fantasies. He succeeds in presenting an intellectually fascinating analysis that has not lost anything of its timeliness, since what is at stake is the social relation between self and other.”
The award is given to an important international print and DVD publication on German cinema.
Hiring outlook worsens
London employers expect a dim hiring climate for the first quarter of 2010. The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey indicates 10 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (January to March), while 23 per cent expect cutbacks. Another 67 per cent of employers plan to maintain current levels. This outlook is substantially more pessimistic than at the same time last year.