Kathleen Macdonald (left), Chair of Nursing, Atkinson College; professor Nursing and Administrative Studies; and coordinator of Health Studies, Health Administration and Informatics. Janet Jeffrey, (right) professor, Department of Nursing, Atkinson College

The Department of Nursing at Atkinson College has a philosophy that permeates its teaching program. Faculty believe that adults are capable of being, and have the right and responsibility to be, self-directed learners. Because this tenet is basic to the curriculum and program, the department views learners as partners in a cooperative learning process.

"Learners bring valuable knowledge and experience to the learning situation," said Kathleen Macdonald, Chair of Nursing and Coordinator of Health Studies, Health Administration and Informatics. "We believe that caring is vital not only to nursing practice but also to teaching and learning in nursing. Teachers embody the caring curriculum by supporting, encouraging, and valuing students; thereby promoting trust, creativity and innovation."

The department uses the Bevis-Watson Caring Curriculum paradigm as a framework for both the Post-RN BSCN and the new Collaborative Honours BScN programs. As Janet Jeffrey, Assistant Professor of Nursing, explained: "The role of the teacher is not to impose information, since students do not retain a significant portion of what they are 'told'. Instead, given students' preparation of reading assignments for the topic of the week, we may start the class by providing new information, clarifying what was read, or answering questions. Then the work of the class and the teacher is to apply the information in the context of the real world, and share their experiences."

As part of one course for example, students are asked to read an autobiography of someone who has experienced chronic illness, and think about this person's story. "The assignment is to answer questions, including 'how has this story changed the way you think about a person who has a chronic illness....how might this understanding change your practice?'," said Jeffrey. "Our goal is for students to get into their patients' lived experience. When we discuss topics, students share their insights and we, as faculty, share ours."

She and Macdonald said that, while they plan about half the content in courses , to include such things as professional issues, students decide the rest of the issues that they feel need to be discussed. Although it may seem unorthodox for faculty and students to interact in such a way, Macdonald explained that they "like to 'walk the walk', and be role models and mentors for students."

Students are evaluated on individual and group work. "Individual assignments include 'one-pagers' and scholarly papers. Students develop learning activities for their classmates and teachers to share the results of their projects, taking both leader and group roles. They are expected to get involved in class and their own learning," said Jeffrey.

Two clinical (practica) courses are a major part of the program undertaken by students in addition to their regular class and workplace responsibilities. "Like most students at Atkinson, somehow they cope. Most are women working full time, and many have children," said Jeffrey. "Yet they manage to complete innovative practica that can have a lasting contribution to health care settings."

The program is not designed to punish, despite its gruelling timetable. "The whole idea is to help stimulate praxis," explained Macdonald. "They need to step back and see how what they've learned can be applied. Universities which emphasize praxis expose students to a breadth of learning opportunities in both nursing and other research-based disciplines. This evidence-based approach to learning prepares students for the rapidly-changing health care environment, and for further education at the graduate level."

Macdonald said that 25 to 30 per cent of BScN graduates go on to take a master's, and "virtually all who apply from here get accepted in the first program of their choice."

Jeffrey added: "They want to continue as life-long learners."

Four candidates have been nominated for one (1) position on the Board of Governors. Ballots have been mailed to all full-time non-academic employees of the University this week at their campus work address. The deadline for returning completed ballots to the University Secretariat (Room S-883 Ross Building, 4700 Keele Street) is 4:00 pm on Wednesday, May 26, 1999. Each nominee has submitted a personal statement (maximum length of 150 words), and these are reprinted here.

Charmaine Courtis:

Thirty years of involvement at York as student, alumnus and long-serving employee have provided me with the opportunity to develop both an extensive knowledge-base and an affinity for the University. At a time when York is developing many new initiatives and programs, my understanding of the University and its complexities is a definite asset. My success in establishing excellent student services, team-building, developing career paths, mentoring and creating professional opportunities for both the professional as well as the support staff gives me first-hand knowledge of important HR issues facing York. My adaptability and ability to reframe issues permit me to be a creative problem-solver. The international exposure I receive through the recruitment activities, work with exchange partners/ students, and developing York's alumni in the field make it possible for me to understand and better appreciate the diverse population we serve. I never miss an opportunity to promote York's excellent reputation.

Ilpo Lehto:

You may have met me through my numerous activities at York throughout the years. You might have seen me at convocation ceremonies, usually as one of the staff. Or you might have had dealings with me as your caretaker in just about all the buildings on the main campus. I have also had dealings with some folks in labour relations matters, as I have been the president and chief steward of CUPE Local 1356 over the years. Currently, I am in Student Housing Operations as one of the guys who repair things that break in the rooms and apartments. As a York science graduate of 1977, working with the current students, and as a worker dealing with a great many departments of this University, I felt compelled to seek your vote as your representative at the Board of Governors in the inaugural election for the non-academic staff.

Patrick Legris:

I have been at York University since September 1980 as a student, research assistant and staff member. From 1980 to 1984, I was an undergraduate student. I was involved in student government (Bethune College Council 1982-84) and varsity athletics (Fencing Team 1982-84). I graduated in 1984 with a Specialized Honours BA in Political Science. Except for a brief hiatus, I have worked at York since 1985. I currently work in the Office of Student Affairs as student relations assistant. Over the years, I have come to know many people at York. The issues that are important to people are often very similar - regardless of employee affiliation. Remuneration, workload, parking fees, technological change, accessibility, etc., form a common thread for all employees. I am aware of the issues that affect employees, and have the knowledge and vigour to represent my fellow employees on the Board of Governors of York University.

James McMillan:

I would like to introduce myself as a candidate to represent you on the Board of Governors of York University. I have worked at York for 12 years as an engineer in the Central Utilities Building. I am a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers, and have represented our members at various levels, including shop steward, health and safety representative, employment equity representative, as well as on many other committees. I am currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the York pension plan. I feel that my experience will allow me to effectively represent the non-academic staff on the Board of Governors, and would welcome the opportunity to do so.

By Andrew McRae

York History Department Chair Adrian Shubert (right), shown here with one of the OAH delegates, hosted the reception.

Domestically, York University's History Department in the Faculty of Arts, has long been recognized as the best in Canada. At the recent annual convention of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) held in Toronto on April 22 to 25 at the downtown Sheraton Centre, the reputation of the department spread south of the border. 1999 marks the first year in its 92 year history that the OAH convened outside the United States.

During the conference, the department hosted a highly successful reception for publishers of academic presses and Chairs of US history departments, funded by Faculty of Arts Dean George Fallis. Among the dignitaries in attendance - including York University President Lorna Marsden - were numerous publishers and editors from high-ranking US academic presses, such as the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Oxford University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of North Carolina.

Members of the History Department were also involved in arranging off-site sessions with their American counterparts, including organizing a concert by Puirt a Baroque at New City Hall, attended by some 650 conference registrants.

The department's productivity was quickly acknowledged by representatives of the American universities. The senior editor of the University of Chicago Press, the Chair of the Department of History at the University of California (San Diego), and the editor of the Journal of the History of the Behavioural and Social Sciences from Ohio State University all found the professionalism of York University and its historians impressive. Furthermore, they commented on the number of books published by members of the department in the last two years as "impressive and intimidating," adding they would find it difficult to find any American department that could come close to York University's record, even over a five-year period.

A preliminary display of a conference to be hosted by York's History Department in April 2000, and co-organized by Nicholas Rogers and Marlene Shore entitled "Historians and their Audiences" was announced at the conference. Once again, attendees expressed their admiration of the number of history conferences hosted at York and its willingness to engage other historians and share research interests.

York's academic standing in history has been steadily increasing in the US as York doctoral students have recently been successful in winning prestigious fellowships and gaining placements there. For example, James Moran is the recipient of an Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship which he will hold in 2000 at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of History and Sociology of Science. In addition, Fiona Miller was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship which she will use at the Center for History of Recent Science at George Washington University.

By Susan Scott

From left: Robert Prince, dean,
Faculty of Pure and Applied Science; John Mangold, general manager Central Data, SGI; Lorna Marsden, president York University; David Wharry, president, SGI, with the Origin2000 computer

There were superlatives uttered and accolades extolled during a reception at York to describe the arrival, at the University's Steacie Science Building, of one of the largest computers in Ontario, the result of a co-partnership between York's Faculty of Pure and Applied Science and SGI (formerly Silicon Graphics Inc.).

About 30 people from the University and SGI gathered for the event in the Chemistry and Computer Science Building April 20. SGI, based in Mississauga, is a manufacturer of high-performance computer hardware and software primarily serving scientific and engineering industries.

The new mega-computer will greatly accelerate the research capacity of the University's Faculty of Pure and Applied Science while helping to turn out and train a new generation of the best and brightest scientific researchers. "Big brain," and "super-computer" were just a couple of the phrases used to illustrate the computing power in the Origin2000, dubbed "Genesis".

Robert Prince, dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, said the new high-performance machine is drawing a lot of attention and demand from the more than 30 principal users across the University who have been waiting for years for this kind of technological tool.

"This machine ranks amongst the most powerful in the province," said Prince, "and it is already running at full capacity" on various projects for the Departments of Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Atmospheric Science, Physics and Astronomy, and the University's Centre for Vision Research.

Eshrat Arjomandi, associate dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, headed a group that has worked for the past several years drumming up support for the project after an Ontario high-performance computing centre, based at the University of Toronto, was dismantled in 1992. This left many York faculty members without research facilities.

"Every university that is research intensive needs a high-performance computing facility, and we are grateful to SGI for its contribution to our endeavour to produce top-notch science students to advance the next generation of knowledge," said Arjomandi.

The main advantage of the new machine is its power, she said. "Nowadays, scientists have jobs that run for days. This will allow them to get their results faster."

Prince said there is a great demand for highly skilled people trained in information technology. The Origin computer will be used to train senior computer science students on high-performance platforms and is the first time that such a machine has become available to senior level computer science students at York.

During the reception, Prince read a congratulatory letter from David Johnson, Ontario's Minister of Education, who praised the University's partnership with SGI. He wrote, "this is a tremendous opportunity for the scientists at York University which will no doubt lead to continued success in research and development. The resources and expertise which private sector companies contribute to partnerships such as these enhance the programs" provided by universities like York "to benefit Ontario's students and the province's economic prosperity." He extended best wishes with "continued ground breaking research" at York.

Earlier this year, the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science signed a development deal with SGI, which pioneered the development and delivery of shared-memory parallel processing systems like the Origin computer. Under the co-investment arrangement, York provided about $500,000 and SGI contributed about $889,000, in both cash and services.

David Wharry, SGI President, explained he has been involved with York for the past seven years. "This is the culmination of a shared vision," he said. Having the new computer, he said "will put York on the map in a big way. There is already a lot of leadership from York in computer science. You are a leader, but there will be followers."

The Origin2000 has a 16-node central processing unit (CPU), which is expandable to 32, and 91 gigabytes of storage capacity. As Wharry explained, "this machine is 1,000 times more powerful than your desktop PC. To put that in perspective, if it takes this machine 15 days to run a program, it would take a PC 15,000 days to complete the same job. That's like walking away from the computer and coming back when you're almost 80 years old."

By Cathy Carlyle

Professor Doug Smylie, puzzling out the mysteries of Earth's magnetic field.

Have you ever stayed awake at night wondering about the Earth's magnetic field; about what causes it and how it is relevant to you? Perhaps not. Yet there are people, from sailors to scientists, who know the importance of learning about the subject.

Doug Smylie, professor in York's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, for years has been grappling with the mystery surrounding the magnetic field. Recently, he had a paper published in the journal, Science, entitled "Viscosity Near Earth's Solid Inner Core".

"One of the great puzzles in geophysics is the origin and maintenance of the Earth's magnetic field, which protects us from lethal cosmic radiation," he said. "Some people thought that it originated in the interior of the earth. In fact, in as early as 1600 William Gilbert published a book in Latin, entitled De Magnete. He presented evidence that the Earth is a great magnet.

"In those days, lodestones - naturally-occurring magnets - were widely used to navigate at sea. Sailors noticed that the magnetic field varied with time and with where they were on the globe, and that threw off their navigation. The importance of solving that puzzling phenomenon was broadly recognized, and regular observations were begun, especially in England, an important sea-faring nation."

To understand the findings of today, you have to know something about the scientific research of the past. C.F. Gauss, known, says Smylie, as "the Einstein of the 19th century", made the first major contribution in that area. He showed that the magnetic field was 99 per cent of internal origin, not caused by external forces. His data came from observations made around the world, including some made near the old phsyics building at the University of Toronto.

"The currently-accepted theory now dates back to research done in the 1950s," said Smylie. "It is based on the idea that the magnetic field originates from a 'self-exciting dynamo' in Earth's fluid outer core, a largely molten alloy." In the centre of the Earth is the inner core with a radius of 1,220 kms. After that comes the outer core, extending from the 1,220 km starting point within the earth and extending to 3485 kms, where the mantle begins. Walter Elsasser, a physicist in the United States, had the idea, and Edward Bullard, in the Physics Department at the University of Toronto, did improved calculations on the dynamo theory, assisted by his graduate student, Harvey Gellman.

To better understand what Smylie's research is about, you could cast your mind back to some basic facts that you may have learned during science classes in junior high. You were told that the earth had a solid inner core, a molten outer core, a stony mantle, and a relatively thin crust on which we walk. The areas focused on by Smylie are the dynamics of the inner and outer cores. He is particularly interested in the small back and forth motions of a few centimetres which the solid inner core undergoes. These motions are detected by a network of instruments, called superconducting gravimeters, which are stationed around the globe.

Because of the Earth's rotation, the periods of these motions are split into three distinct values by the Coriolis acceleration, named after the scientist by that name. It arises because our frame of reference on Earth is rotating - in this case, proportional to the speed of motion in the Earth frame. It is all because mass particles tend to move in a straight line in space (think back to Newton's first law of motion).

In the 1950s, said Smylie, the energy source to drive the geodynamo - the reason for the existence of the magnetic field - was thought to be radioactive heating. Scientists wanted to do research on material considered similar to what was in the Earth's core, so they studied iron meteorites from the core of a broken-up planet. "The data showed too little radioactive heating for it to be a source that would drive a dynamo," he explained.

"In 1963, the famous dynamo theorist from the old Soviet Union, Stanislav Braginsky, had the idea that the energy source was really from the freezing of the lower part of the outer core. When something freezes, it releases latent heat. Braginsky showed that the energy driving the dynamo was from this latent heat."

The outer core, because it is not a single component, freezes unevenly, said Smylie. Certain particles freeze first, becoming solid and sinking to the inner core if they are heavier. That, in part, is why the inner core is expanding. If they are lighter, they rise to stir convection and drive the dynamo. After these solid particles sink and move closer to the inner core, the area of the outer core from which they stem from becomes a special kind of fluid layer, "what we describe as solid-liquid. It is slushy, viscous. It's this viscous layer that has long been suspected to affect seismic rays."

Random motions in the outer core, associated with the dynamo action, are thought to excite the oscillations of Earth's solid inner core. This inner core is suspended near the centre of the fluid outer core by gravitational forces. These oscillations are what interested Smylie in his quest to gain further information about Earth's magnetic field.

"Earth is rotating, so it splits the periods of oscillation into three distinct values," he continued. "One mode of movement is along the axis of rotation and is termed 'axial'. These oscillations are up and down. The other mode is in the equatorial plane, where there are two different types of movement. The prograde one is counter clockwise, and its movement is lenthened by the Earth's rotation. The retrograde mode is clockwise, and is shortened by the rotation."

"The Coriolis acceleration is what gives rise to clockwise motions in the atmosphere in the Northern hemisphere, and counter-clockwise motions in the Southern. It causes the period of the prograde equatorial motion of the inner core to lengthen, said Smylie. "Conversely, it causes the period of retrograde motion to shorten.Viscous drag reduces this splitting of periods, allowing the measurement of viscosity." By measuring the reduction of the rotational splitting of the periods of the two equatorial motions, Smylie is able to calculate the resistance to motion of the fluid in the region within 400 to 500 kms above the inner core.

He has analyzed over 300,000 hours of data recorded by superconducting gravimeters stationed in Canada, the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France and Belgium. What has come to light is that the viscosity on the prograde and retrograde modes is different.

Smylie elaborated: "We have been able to measure the viscosity by how much the outer core fluid resists the motions of the inner core. This is the first confirmation that you can actually measure its resistance to motion. The viscosity is very high. It is direct confirmation of Braginsky's idea that the energy source for the dynamo is, indeed, the 'compositional convection' coming from the slushy, solid-liquid fluid region around the inner core, long thought by seismologists to be affecting seismic waves.

"Our magnetic field, used for navigation by the ancients and Elizabethans, and which shields us from lethal particles and radiation, is becoming less of a mystery. Information on the magnetic field's energy source, put forth by Braginsky, has been substantiated. Theories propounded by seismologists, who suspected that a solid-liquid mixture was affecting seismic waves, now have been confirmed through measurements made by Smylie with superconducting gravimeters.

By Susan Scott

As you read this article, Caryn Narvey, a graduate student in York's MA Art History program, is starting a four-month internship at the Camden Arts Centre in London, England, part of a collaborative project coordinated with the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU).

Initiated by Loretta Yarlow, AGYU Director/Curator, Narvey will work in London with Peter Cross, Coordinator for the Camden Arts Centre's Public Art Project. The Camden centre has been described as one of Europe's most dynamic centres for new art. Narvey's internship begins this month and continues through August and will be supervised by Yarlow. As a liaison with the Camden staff, Yarlow will facilitate graduate-level course credits for this special internship.

Narvey will be assisting in the education arm of the arts centre, working on a series of off-site 'intervention projects' by a number of international artists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Brazil/Switzerland and Japan. A highlight of this project will be the opportunity to collaborate with local audiences and communities.

During the 1998/99 academic year, Narvey worked at the AGYU as a graduate assistant. When she returns to York in the fall, she will resume her work as an assistant at the gallery.

The AGYU has had a long-standing interest in the training of Canada's future arts professionals. Renowned for contemporary art, the gallery has a full-time staff of three, and has relied heavily on a strong corp of students and volunteers to carry out its acclaimed program of cutting-edge contemporary art. In addition, the gallery has been an important place for youth to learn the hands-on skills necessary to run a professional art gallery.

"It is my hope that students who have an interest in contemporary curatorial work look to the AGYU," said Yarlow. "We are an important training ground within the profession."

By Cathy Carlyle

Professor of Chemistry Clifford Leznoff, winner of this year's prestigious Alfred Bader Award for his work on solid phase organic synthesis

Clifford C. Leznoff, professor of chemistry at York University, was the recipient of the Alfred Bader award at the 82nd Canadian Society for Chemistry conference held in Toronto May 30 - June 2. The prestigious award was in recognition of his work dating from 1970 on solid phase organic synthesis, which became the major platform of combinatorial chemistry; and for his pioneering research in phthalocyanine chemistry.

Robert Merrifield, chemist at Rockerfeller University, developed methods of automating the synthesis of peptides (long chains of amino acids) on minute, insoluble, chemically-inert polymer beads, for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1984. In parallel findings, Robert Letsinger of Northwestern University developed polynucleotide synthesis on solid phases, which led to the development of the gene machine.

While working as a post-doctoral fellow in Letsinger's laboratory, Leznoff realized that the solid phase technique could be applied to advantage in all aspects of synthetic organic chemistry, not just the narrow fields of polypeptide and polynucleotide synthesis. In describing his work, Leznoff says, "It's as if someone had been using a loom to make only scarves instead of many types of clothing."

"The solid phase method has inherent advantages in some synthetic processes, in that undesirable by-products may be removed easily by filtration and yields of reaction may be higher," he explained. "Other advantages include the immobilization of odiferous and/or environmentally dangerous materials, and the recovery of optically-active materials. Using this basic platform, drug companies are using solid phase organic synthesis in a process called combinatorial chemistry. This process is used to prepare thousands of possible drugs simultaneously for rapid biological screening.

In his other area of research, Leznoff has prepared unusual compounds called phthalocyanines, which have been used in car paints and in the blue ink of ballpoint pens. His findings have more long-range practical applications, one of which is in the treatment of certain types of cancers (photo-dynamic therapy).

"Bladder cancer is well-treated this way. The bladder used to have to be removed if there was a tumour, but now we can put an optical fiber into the organ and irradiate it with light to destroy the tumour." He said that a certain compound, PhotofrinTM, is being used in this therapy at present. "However, phthalocyanines, being more thermally stable and having very efficient red light absorption, would make phthalocynanines more efficacious."

Leznoff, who obtained his PhD in organic chemistry from McGill University, first joined York University in 1967 after post-doctoral positions at Northwestern and Cambridge Universities.

In the May 5, 1999 Gazette article "Schulich business students win case challenge at Nestlé Canada Scholar awards banquet", certain information was incorrectly stated.

All of the prizes were awarded, not won at the banquet as originally stated. Cynthia Page and Michael Emsley, the first-place award winners in the Nestlé Canada National Case Study Competition, are Schulich School of Business students. Second place went to another York team, composed of Vered Kogan, an MBA student, and Annie Bérubé, an MES student. Nancy Sutherland is the Associate Director of the Erivan K. Haub Program in Business and the Environment. The additional scholarship awards specifically for York University students were for those studying in business and/or the environment. In addition, Nestlé Canada has agreed to sponsor the Case Competition and the York awards next year.

Deputy Minister of Environment Canada Leonard Good, keynote speaker at the banquet, spoke candidly to the audience about climate change, its impact on Canadians, Canadian business and the Kyoto accord. He stressed the need for major educational and public outreach on the subject of climate change, saying that the issue and its impact are still not well recognized.

By Cathy Carlyle

Jonathan Myers, York student chosen to present a paper at a prestigious world conference.

When student Jonathan Myers was invited to present a paper at an important world conference, his first questions were, "What's a conference and what do I do at it?" At least, that's the legend bantered about by his thesis advisor, David Bell, Director of the York Centre for Applied Sustainability.

"Well, I knew what to expect, but I was amazed to be accepted because I'm an undergrad," said Myers, a modest but confident 22-year-old who will graduate from York this year with a bachelor's degree in environmental studies. He said he was delighted with not just the honour of being asked to attend as a delegate, but also with having the chance to meet distinguished scholars.

"I was happy because I got to go away in the middle of the exam period, too," he added, half-jokingly. (Despite the necessary rescheduling of his exams, he obtained an 8.0 GPA in December. As well, he has been nominated for the Murray G. Ross award for scholarship and outstanding participation in undergraduate student life.)

Myers presented his paper, "New Directions for ARET", last November at the University of Gent in Belgium, the only student to participate in the conference and one of just two other North Americans. No sooner had he arrived back - in fact, only minutes earlier he had taken his shoes off at the door - than he had a phone request to present his paper and talk about the conference at a Pollution Probe workshop.

The paper that generated such interest was a case study of the Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET) program, a study included as part of his thesis. ARET is a national initiative involving many companies, some of which are from the industrial sector, as well as the government. "ARET aims to achieve the virtual elimination or reduction of toxic emissions," Myers elaborated. "It has achieved significant reductions but has suffered from problems of credibility and public mistrust.

"Environmental groups used to be involved with ARET and other similar voluntary approaches (VAs), but they have pulled out. That's one of the main controversies," said Myers. He explained that, although it seems incongruous that environmental groups would not support a reduction of pollution, they have their reasons.

"One of them is that Voluntary Approach is not a well-defined title. For instance, the question is, are the approaches voluntary if business is actually motivated by cost?

"While governments have taken on increasingly greater roles in environmental regulations, there has been a recent shift away from this type of policy approach. To avoid having government regulations imposed upon them, business leaders have encouraged the use of such approaches as voluntary agreements, industry codes of conduct, and market-based economic instruments," he said. Supporters of Voluntary Non-Regulatory Initiatives (VNRIs) believe that such initiatives provide greater flexibility for achieving environmental objectives and that they are more cost-effective.

However, critics of VNRIs, such as environmental groups, argue that there is no historical evidence to support the claims. They question the reduced role for governments in protecting the public interest, and express concern with the propsect of having pollution regulations cast aside.

"The withdrawal of support from these groups leaves the ARET program entirely in the hands of industry and government," said Myers, "and this has resulted in public skepticism about ARET's claims. It has been shown in lots of studies that [for pollution controls] to work effectively, you have to maintain a threat about regulations, because business usually only acts to avoid having such regulations forced on them."

Myers claimed that government is encouraging the VAs because it is less costly for them to do that than police the laws. "That raises the question of whether VAs can be an effective, long-term method of dealing with environmental problems."

As far as ARET goes, his case study revealed to him that the initiative has been successful in reducing the output of some toxic substances and in gaining the participation of many companies that are known as polluters. "But none of these achievements is appreciated and trusted by the public because there is no independent party to verify the claims," Myers remarked.

In passing judgement on just how successful ARET has been, Myers said that they have exceeded the targets of the New Directions Group (NDG) in certain areas. The NDG is an initiative that has arisen in Canada to help ensure the credibility and quality of all VNRIs as a policy alternative. "However, ARET has been less successful in reducing the most dangerous substances. Danger is based on three criteria: toxicity, biocumulativeness, and persistence [lasting a long time]."

By Andrea O'Reilly

Andrea O'Reilly with daughters Erin O'Reilly-Conlin, 12, on left and Casey O'Reilly-Conlin, nine. This photo will be on the cover of O'Reilly's book, Mothers and Daughters: Connection, Empowerment and Transformation, Rowman and Littlefield, fall '99.

The Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) is the first feminist international organization devoted specifically to the topic of mothering/motherhood. ARM was officially launched in September 1998. In the six months since, close to 300 members have joined this new and vibrant association, thanks to a strong membership drive. We aim to have a membership of 1,000 by the new millennium. ARM members include people from all backgrounds and walks-of-life, as well as numerous local and international agencies, governmental and social, and community groups that work for and on behalf of mothers.

Our mandate is to provide a forum for the discussion and dissemination of maternal theory and praxis, and to establish a community of individuals/institutions working and researching in the area of mothering-motherhood. ARM, first and foremost, seeks to promote maternal scholarship, both at the university and community level, by bringing together interested individuals to share their insights, experiences, ideas, stories, studies and concerns about mothering/motherhood. It is committed, in both membership and research, to the inclusion of all mothers: First Nations, immigrant, refugee, working-class, lesbian, mothers with disabilities, of colour, and those of other marginalized groups.

To date, ARM has undertaken numerous initiatives to build and sustain a community for individuals/institutions working and researching in this field. A year before ARM was officially launched, 150 women from Canada, the United States, and Europe participated in the first international conference on mothering and motherhood. Coordinated by Andrea O'Reilly and sponsored by the Centre for Feminist Research (CFR) at York, it focused on "Mothers and Daughters: Moving into the Next Millennium." The interest and enthusiasm generated by the conference motivated a second Mothering conference in September 1998 entitled "Mothers and Sons Today: Challenges and Possibilities".

Three books and a special journal issue have been/will be published from the two conferences: Sharon Abbey and Andrea O'Reilly's Redefining Motherhood: Changing Identities and Patterns, Toronto, 1998; Andrea O'Reilly and Sharon Abbey, Mothers and Daughters: Connection, Empowerment and Transformation, Rowman and Littlefield, summer 1999; Andrea O'Reilly, Mothers and Sons: Feminist Perspectives, Routledge, winter 2000; and Looking Back, Looking Forward: Mothers, Daughters, and Feminism, Canadian Woman Studies Journal, special 20th anniversary double issue, 1998.

The overwhelming response to the conferences and the subsequent publications demonstrate the compelling need for women to come together and to talk about motherhood, as it is lived and researched. And so in response to this demand, ARM was formed. Its commitment to the creation of a community of individuals/institutions working and researching in the field of motherhood has been the primary aim in its first six months.

In the fall and winter 1998/99, the National Advisory Board of ARM was established. Members include O'Reilly, Dolana Mogadime (Graduate Student Rep, O.I.S.E), Sharon Abbey (Brock), Andrea Doucet (Carleton), Susan McCallum-Whitcomb (University of New Brunswick) and Alison Thomas (University of Victoria). We are currently seeking board representatives from Quebec, the Prairies and the Territories, and those who research and/or work on behalf of First Nations and lesbian mothers, and mothers of colour and mothers with disabilities. The board, for at least the next few years, will be Canadian-based, though we have links with individuals and institutions from around the world. ARM undertook a major membership drive. As well, programming was finalized for the third annual ARM conference for what promises to be a landmark conference; over 100 speakers from around the world will be presenting at "Mothers and Education: Issues and Directions for Maternal Pedagogy" October 1-3, 1999, at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

In the spring of 1999, O'Reilly initiated an international conference entitled "Mothering in the African Diaspora: Literature, Society, History, Popular Culture, and the Arts" to take place Feb. 4-6, 2000, featuring keynote speaker Patricia Hill Collins, as part of ARM's congress grant application to the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, (SSHRC) to secure a three-year governmental grant. Spring 1999 also saw the birth of ARM's inaugural journal, The Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering is the first and only journal publication devoted specifically to scholarship on motherhood. It will be published twice annually and will focus on a particular topic or theme of motherhood.

As ARM has expanded globally, it has also remained committed to local programming through the collaborative development of community based initiatives with agencies that provide services and programs for mothers in Toronto. To consolidate this local and community base of ARM in Toronto we have formed a "daughter" organization called Community and Academic Research on Mothering Association, cARMa, which is committed to bridging the gap between community work and academic research on mothering. It is under the umbrella of ARM and is composed of two groups: community and academic.

Our efforts towards responding locally have resulted in several activities: a four-part lecture series entitled "Redefining Motherhood" in celebration of International Women's Day; a fundraising Mother's Day dance in celebration of the special day and to launch the inaugural issue of ARM's Journal; and with 519 Church, a local community group, an international symposium on Lesbian Mothers in June, in celebration of Pride Day. Future events include a lecture series for Women's History Month in October 1999, as well as programming for Disability Awareness Week in January 2000.

Those, and other cARMa sponsored events, are free for cARMa and ARM members who will be informed of all such events through mailings. Our mandate is to provide a forum wherein knowledge can be shared and dialogue fostered between the community and academics so that we can best learn how to implement supports addressing the diverse experiences, insights and concerns of mothers. In 1999/2000, ARM will establish other local cARMa associations across Canada.

ARM will remain committed to the development and promotion of a community of individuals/institutions who research and work in the area of mothering-motherhood through an ever-expanding membership base, conferences, a list serve, Web page, annual membership directory, the publication of the Journal, cARMa events in the Toronto area, and, by 2000, in other Canadian cities; and finally by creating a network of maternal researchers that will span the globe, bridge academe and activism, and link lived mothering to examined motherhood.

Over the last year, as ARM was being born, I found myself , as mothers will often do, describing in minutest detail the labor of this beloved child, every contraction, rush, pain, thrill I have shared with colleagues, friends, family, acquaintances, and, more often than I care to admit, passersby at airports, restaurants, in taxis and at the mall. And while most people listened patiently and congratulated the birth, many expressed puzzlement: Why would I want such a "baby"; or more to the point, was such a baby really needed, in other words, why do we, society, university, government, depending on the context, need or want an "association about motherhood". Such remarks while certainly not welcome were hardly surprising.

Adrienne Rich opened her now classic work Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (1976) with the observation: "We know more about the air we breath, the seas we travel, than about the nature and meaning of motherhood". In the close to three decades since the publication of Of Woman Born, the topic of motherhood, as Laura Unmansky has documented in Motherhood Reconceived: Feminism and the Legacies of the Sixties, has become increasingly central to feminist activism and scholarship.

However, it still remains, in many disciplines, at the margins of scholarly inquiry. Real academics don't do motherhood (either in research or in life); at least not ones who seek a "real" tenured job. As a mother of three young children in the '90s, when I wrote my dissertation on motherhood based on Toni Morrison's writings, I encountered many a raised eyebrow among my male English colleagues. As an undergraduate student and later a graduate student, motherhood was seldom discussed, even in my women's studies courses. And when motherhood was considered in the classroom the frame of reference for theoretical discussion was more often than not, the "prison of domesticity" theme of late 19th century literature or the "motherhood-as-patriarchal trap" paradigm of early 1970s feminist thought.

When I began to teach women's studies in 1989, and brought the topic of motherhood into the classroom I discovered two things: the students had not studied motherhood; and they were most eager to do so. In response, I designed in 1991 a full, third-year women's studies course on Mothering and Motherhood, the first of its kind in Canada. When colleagues and acquaintances inquired why I was designing a course on motherhood (they never seem to ask such questions of historians or political scientist who develop courses on war) I reflected upon a comment made by Toni Morrison: "I wrote the books....I wanted to read". My course on mothering-motherhood was the course I had always wanted - and needed - to take.

I am currently conducting, as part of my SSHRC funded research on Motherhood and Feminism, interviews with faculty who research and teach the subject of motherhood in order to assess the positioning of this topic in women's studies curriculum; exploring questions such as, is the subject of motherhood taught? from what perspective? for what purpose? and to whom?

What I have discovered is that, despite the increasing centrality of motherhood in feminist scholarship since the publication of Of Woman Born, scant attention has been paid to motherhood in the women's studies classroom and at feminist conferences. Motherhood, as compared to such topics of work, sexuality, violence, images of women, remains marginal to feminist study at both conferences and in the classroom.

Many professors discussed how they did not consciously exclude the subject of motherhood; it just did not occur to them to include it. Others worried out loud that a specialization in a subject like motherhood could harm their career advancement in securing tenure or promotion. Still others expressed concern that if their colleagues viewed them as the "woman who did motherhood", they and their scholarship would be dismissed as essentialist, particularly by feminists of the post-modernist persuasion. Some admitted to me that they do teach and research motherhood "on the side"; however they seldom made their colleagues privy to this information.

Maternal scholarship, as these comments aptly demonstrate, remains largely invisible to a large number of academics, so much so that scholars trained in women's studies had not even considered that motherhood could and should be a topic of investigation in such a course. And scholars who do research and teach it often downplay and conceal their work; or encounter ridicule and resistance for pursuing their chosen area of study.

ARM was formed to promote, showcase, and make visible maternal scholarship and to accord legitimacy to this academic field. Most importantly, it exists to provide a community for like-minded scholars who research and work in the area of motherhood. Scholarship, both at the university and community level, as we all know, is enriched by dialogue and debate, broadened through knowledge/
resources sharing, and sustained by a sense of belonging.

ARM developed in recognition of the centrality of motherhood in most women's lives. We are all daughters and most women are mothers if we mean by this "othermothers" as described by Patricia Hill Collins, spiritual mothers as mentors, or any woman who is deeply concerned about children. As well many other women engage in work, paid or otherwise, that is deemed, culturally and politically, as an extension of the maternal function. This view is neither essential nor pro-natalist; it simply acknowledges that discourses of motherhood script all women's lives whether they are biological mothers or not.

Normative ideologies of the "good mother", public policies on maternity leave, child care, and so forth, legal rulings concerning same-sex adoptions, governmental decision about children's education and maternal health care, workplace policy on mothering and employment and so on, affect all of us, albeit in different ways. ARM exists to provide a forum for women to discuss with one another their maternal experiences; both as they structured by these controlling discourses and how they are lived in resistance to them. It was developed in the hope of creating a maternal community that Sara Ruddick, among others, has argued is essential for the empowerment of mothers.

The Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering is an integral part of this community-building for researchers, both academic and grassroots, and for mothers. As the mother of ARM, I am proud of this first and only feminist journal devoted specifically to motherhood. Appropriately enough, the Journal was launched on the eve of Mother's Day at a fundraising dance in Toronto. Mother's Day thus marks the official birthday of the Journal, a most fitting tribute to honour and celebrate both mothers and maternal scholarship; better indeed than breakfast in bed!

The Journal will showcase the newest and best in maternal scholarship and will feature numerous book reviews. As well, through poetry, photography and artwork it will give voice to women's lived experiences of mothering in all their complexity and diversity. The inaugural issue explores many and diverse mothering-motherhood themes and issues from a multitude of perspectives; testimony to the depth and breadth of current maternal scholarship. It provides a cross-disciplinary sampling of motherhood research as a way of introduction to ARM and maternal scholarship generally; future issues will highlight a particular motherhood theme or topic.

In appreciation and celebration, the inaugural issue is dedicated to the members of ARM for their commitment to maternal scholarship and their support of this association. The Journal is available through having membership in ARM. You may buy individual copies for $15 plus $3 shipping cost from 726 Atkinson College. Enquiries regarding the Journal and ARM may be made to arm@yorku.ca or by calling ext. 60366.

Andrea O'Reilly is a professor in the School of Women's Studies (Atkinson College), where she teaches courses on Toni Morrison, motherhood, and mothers and daughters. She is the author of numerous chapters and books on these topics. O'Reilly is the founding president of ARM and founding editor/publisher of the Journal for the Association for Research on Mothering. She is the mother of three children.

By Suzanne Dubeau

York University Archives recently acquired - by sheer happenstance - several metres of records from the early days of the Institute of Social Research (ISR), then called the Institute for Behavioural Research (IBR). The lucky acquisition happened because of some quick thinking by an ISR faculty member who called the University archivist to say that ISR was in the midst of major space reclamation, and a "pile of stuff" from ISR's early days was going to be thrown out the next day - were we interested? Of course we were! Why? Because these records are significant documentary evidence of York's early work in this area. With the 50th anniversary of York coming up, these records will be invaluable for the writing of the university's history.

We are now in the midst of appraising, arranging and describing these records to make them accessible to researchers. Among the records we have found minutes of the various IBR units, IBR policy statements and annual reports, IBR briefs to the senate and others, internal and external correspondence, and memorandums. All of these records are important first for their legal or evidential value, and secondly, as historical primary material about a University body. We also found more than a metre of the personal and professorial records of ISR's first director, Fred Schindeler - but more on that later.

When appraising institutional records we differentiate between administrative (or routine housekeeping) records and operational records. Most administrative records are not archival because they are common to all University offices and relate to support functions, for example, personnel, or office expenses and the like. On the other hand, operational records are unique to each University office and relate directly to the mandate, role, or mission of a University office and document the duties, responsibilities, functions, activities and services performed by that office. It may come as a surprise that only about 3 percent of records generated by an office are, in the end, archival.

So, if your office or faculty has been struggling with an increasing volume of files, and a decreasing amount of space, consider calling the University Archives for some expert advice. We would welcome an opportunity to help you develop a records retention schedule and identify which records you should be sending our way. We can also work with you to identify any special access restrictions that some records might require due to their sensitive nature. Best of all, once the records generated by your office are analysed and appraised, they need not be appraised again; your office will be able to make an informed decision on what must be kept and make regular transfers to the University Archives with a minimum of handwringing.

Now, back to the question of the personal and professorial records of ISR's first director. It turns out that his records have archival value and complement those we received from Schindeler in the 1970s. The question is, does anyone know where Fred Schindeler is now?

Suzanne Dubeau is adjunct archivist at York University Archives & Special Collections.

Curtis Lecture Halls

As part of York's 40th anniversary year celebrations, Gazette is producing a number of articles to help us remember our roots. "York Cornerstones" is a series of articles about the origins of the names of our University buildings.

Have you ever wondered who Curtis really was? Perhaps you imagine him to be a professor who made a significant contribution at York during its early years. Or maybe you picture him to be a veteran student who did exceptionally well and was honoured by the University. You may even picture him to be an award winning pilot. If you imagined the latter, you were right.

Curtis Lecture Halls were named in 1971 after Air Vice-Marshal Wilfrid A. Curtis, Chair of the founding organizing committee and first Chancellor of York (1959-1968). Outside of the University, he was the founder of the Toronto Flying Club and awarded a gold medal by the Canadian Flyers Club Association in 1936. This exceptional man served in the Royal Naval Service during the first and second world wars. In addition, he was director of six different organizations including the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation.