By Susan Scott

An institutional development project, begun in 1997, ended this past June when members of the Central American Women's Forum spent two days at York as part of a week-long visit to Canada initiated and organized by the University's Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC).

The visit wrapped up the 18-month, $240,000 project - "Leadership and Impact of Women in Central American Integration" - implemented by the Women's Forum for Central American Integration, with CERLAC as the Canadian partner, and funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through its Program of Regional Support in Central America (PAR).

"For CERLAC, which has been working with Central American partners for almost 20 years, this is part of a broader commitment to advance the status of women and promote initiatives that support greater civil society participation in Central American societies," said Ricardo Grinspun, director of CERLAC and Canadian coordinator of the project.

The project is a spin-off from another project that CERLAC is pursuing under the support of the PAR-CIDA program. The Women's Forum approached CERLAC in 1997 to be the Canadian partner when they prepared their project proposal for the PAR program.

In June 1998 Epsy Campbell, from the Afro-Costa Rican Women's Centre and coordinator of the Women's Forum, visited Canada and gave a lecture at York University, cementing links with CERLAC. In her talk, she recounted the formation of the forum in 1996, as an umbrella association of more than 100 mixed-gender and all-women organizations in the seven countries of the Central American region - Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. These organizations reflect the diversity of women in the region, including cooperatives, peasants, labour unions, teachers, professors, health care professionals, indigenous peoples, Afro-Central American communities, human rights workers and others.

The forum's mission is to promote and assure the participation and political impact of women in the Central American process. It strives to make women protagonists and to work in consensus with civil society sectors to construct an alternative model of development in the region.

CERLAC's role in the project has been to provide support and Canadian input to the activities. Nadine Jubb, a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Political Science at York, is currently in Nicaragua doing her dissertation research on violence against women, and has served in that key role. A main component was the development of an Agenda for Gender Equity in Central American Integration.

This initiative includes a nine-year action plan developed in a participatory manner in the seven countries, containing concrete proposals for action in the short, medium and long term to improve women's status. The document was brought for political endorsement to a workshop held in El Salvador in January 1999, by a group of high profile members of civil society and government.

Rather than just a list of demands from governments, the agenda is also geared to civil society organizations themselves, to promote participation of women and democratization of these organizations. Focal points include:

1. equitable participation of women in decision-making processes and in leadership positions in civil, non-governmental, and governmental organizations;

2. equal opportunities for women and men in (1) access to employment and protection of their labour rights, and (2) the use and control of productive resources: land, labour, capital, technology and information;

3. promotion of the sustainable use of resources and the environment, avoiding a differential impact of "development" activities on women and men;

4. shaping Central American economic integration in a way that (1) structurally diminishes poverty and promotes quality of life for all; and (2) recognizes and respects the ethnic, cultural, political and historical diversity of its population.

CERLAC played a pivotal role in a second major component of the project, a week-long workshop in Nicaragua this past February on methodology for political organizing and lobbying. This participatory workshop for a group of Forum activists from the seven countries, centred on honing the skills for pursuing a political campaign to advance the Agenda for Gender Equity in each country and in the Central American region. The focus was on issues such as understanding political decision-making, identifying supporters and opponents, and campaign and negotiation strategies.

CERLAC played a central role in developing the methodology for the workshop, and Jubb served as one of the facilitators for this intense activity. She also prepared the report that came out of this workshop, thus allowing for further diffusion of its results. Currently, she is coordinating the establishment of an electronic network for forum participants, as one of the last activities in the project.

The week-long June visit to Canada included seven different events for which CERLAC sought support from local organizations. CERLAC remained responsible for the overall logistics, coordination, and accompaniment of the visitors. Toronto's Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples organized a very well attended evening session with women from the Latin American community in Toronto, in which common challenges such as family violence, the status of women, and economic restructuring were discussed. The National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) organized a meeting with Toronto-based women activists who compared notes on women's issues and initiated an institutional linkage between women's organizations in Canada and Central America. The Americas Policy Group of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation organized a meeting with Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and policy makers in Ottawa to discuss the Canadian cooperation and its role in the reconstruction of Central America following last November's Hurricane Mitch. A meeting at CIDA headquarters in Hull, Quebec, attended as well by a representative from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, a Canadian research agency that, in part, researches issues of the developing world), focused on future Canadian cooperation programs that support gender equality and civil society participation in Central America. Finally, Alternatives, a large NGO based in Montreal and dedicated to North-South solidarity and community-based development, organized a meeting between the Quebec and Central American women's movements, to discuss, among other things, the Quebec-based initiative for a World March of Women in 2000.

The focal events of the week, however, happened at York University, with two day-long seminars which brought distinct groups of scholars and activists together in a lively encounter with the leaders of the forum. The first workshop, held in Spanish, focused on globalization, regional integration and civil society participation. Epsy Campbell, Women's Forum coordinator, talked about civil society participation in Central American integration, and the role women are playing in that process. Ricardo Grinspun talked about globalization, structural adjustment and civil society responses in the North and the South, and Deborah Barndt, a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York, presented the experience of Canadian and Mexican women organizing around issues of food and economic integration. Other Central American participants talked about women influencing public policy in Panama, women's participation in the reconstruction of Nicaragua following Hurricane Mitch, women's struggle to preserve health and the environment in Costa Rica, and a research project to study the impact of Central American integration on women's employment. Canadian labour activist, Judith Marshall, talked about Canadian organizing around free trade and the Canadian role in the Hemispheric Social Alliance, a budding network formed to present civil society responses to the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Much of the discussion centred around common concerns and agendas for social organizations in both parts of the world, Canada and Central America.

The second seminar was held in English and Spanish, bringing together the leaders of the forum with Canadian women activists. This seminar was organized by Lisa Kowalchuk, a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sociology at York, whose doctoral research is on peasant movements in El Salvador. She is also active in another CERLAC project supporting Central American civil society. About 30 women had the opportunity to speak to each other about their efforts to promote gender equity in their respective countries and regions. Members of the forum presented their Agenda for Gender Equity in Central American Integration, and the process that brought it about. Central American presenters also focused on issues such as the role of women in Guatemalan politics, the women's movement in Honduras, and violence against women in Belize. Barbara Cameron, a professor of political science at York, compared women's political mobilization in Canada and Sweden. Joan Grant-Cummings, president of NAC, discussed the challenges of the women's movement in Canada. Another presentation was on pay equity and affirmative action programs in Canada, which are of relevance to the Central American region where labour market gender inequities are much sharper than in Canada. Activist Josephine Gray focused on the impact of economic integration and women's efforts to build North-South solidarity, linking the discussion of the previous day on hemispheric social alliance. At the end of the day, both Canadian and Central American participants emphasized the need to link up women's movements in the North and the South.

CERLAC is an interdisciplinary research unit at York, established in 1978, concerned with the economic development, political and social organization, and cultural contribution of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Centre works to build academic and cultural links between these regions and Canada; to inform researchers, policy advisors, and the public on matters concerning the regions; and to assist in the development of research and teaching institutions that directly benefit people in the region.

By Nishat Karim

Professor Lesley Higgins

York University has four categories of annual University-Wide Teaching Awards that it presents for excellence in teaching. Over the next few weeks, this series will showcase each of the 1999 recipients from the categories of senior full-time faculty, full-time faculty, contract/part-time faculty, as well as teaching assistants. Presented during spring convocation, these awards are sponsored by the York Parents' Association and the recipients are selected by the Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning.

She has a dynamic style, a remarkable capacity to inspire and motivate, and a willingness to provide constant encouragement and advice to her students. Professor Leslie Jane Higgins has been selected as the co-recipient of the 1999 Parents' Association University-Wide Teaching Award for senior full-time faculty.

As a member of the English Department, Faculty of Arts for 11 years, Professor Higgins has a solid record of scholarly publications and presentations and has been the recipient of many scholarships and awards, including the 1992 Faculty of Arts Outstanding Teacher Award.

Noted for her organization and preparedness, and appreciated as a outstanding teacher, Professor Higgins provides her courses with balanced workloads, carefully selected readings and well-designed course kits. Both colleagues and students view her as "a splendid teacher, who has made a major difference in their scholarly and personal approaches to literature." Delivered with authority added to her sparkle of quick wit and humour, her lectures are models of clarity and coherence.

By Andrew McRae

At times Canadians take the state of their health for granted, enjoying a relatively high living standard coupled with, on average, long life spans and low mortality rates. On the other hand, personal health in the tropics has ranged from abysmal to bearable. Addressing these problems was a task leading international historians, geologists and anthropologists undertook at a two-day conference hosted by York University.

Entitled "Colonialism and Public Health in the Tropics" and held on June 18-19 at Founders College, the conference was broken into six sessions, focusing on problems such as public health in the age of empire, gender and health, and sanitation.

The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more than 30 million people. Originating in the mid-west United States, it spread to North Africa, Asia and Australia within months. John Killingray of the University of London told the conference audience about this unfortunate history.

In his essay presentation Killingray suggested: "The [flu] spread rapidly and few areas escaped its malignant breath...It caught the authorities unaware and major offices of state, such as the Colonial Office, barely stirred themselves."

The lack of response from the colonizing nations of Europe (who inadvertently introduced many diseases into the colonies in the first place) is, in retrospect, an aberration. Killingray blamed the laissez faire British government for its incompetence in providing an effective treatment for those infected in its colonies.

Racialism was an integral factor in the colonists' relaxed attitude to the suffering of diseased Caribbean natives they encountered. This thesis, presented by Pedro Welch of the University of West Indies, focused mainly on the island of Barbados, and suggested that the white patriarchal-dominated leadership based their assessment of a Barbadian's ills on the grounds of colour, gender and class.

These are just samples of the variety of theses presented at the two-day event. While the economics of colonization has been extensively studied, the health and welfare of those colonized has too often been neglected.

Sponsoring for the conference was provided by The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine, The Nigerian Hinterland Project (York University), Founders College and The York Centre for Health Studies.

By Susan Scott

Doug Crawford is part of a research team that received a Medical Research Council of Canada grant

Most of us never give it a second thought - at a streetcorner, we survey the scene around us for oncoming traffic, then when the way is clear, we step off the curb. How does our brain help us absorb all that visual information that tells us to move forward? Now, imagine if our brain couldn't give us the information we need because of an injury or disease.

A research team, comprising five principal investigators including Doug Crawford, a York psychology and biology professor, was recently awarded $1.6-million over five years by the Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC) to study how the brain helps us to process what we see and to act on it. The team will use virtual reality to test the movements of people with and without brain injuries. Movements will be measured and analyzed as, for example, people recognize and then reach out for objects under different virtual reality conditions.

Crawford explains this research will take an "integrated" approach to brain research. Other studies have focused on specifics such as brain processes and vision but have not connected brain processes simultaneously with vision, perception and motion.

Ultimately, the research will help in the design of better diagnostic tests and rehabilitation for patients with neurological problems. Detailed math models used in the study will also assist in the development of better connections between people and machines. For example, improved airplane cockpit design, virtual reality displays and robots will become possible.

The research will showcase York's internationally-renowned Centre for Vision Research (CVR) which will participate in the project. In addition, the grant will be used to create refined functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) - a machine that produces sharp images of the brain. The research team will produce images of the parts of the brain that are active while people perform simple visual and motor tasks. Until now, FMRI has been able to show only where activity is occurring in the brain. This project will measure both where and when activity is taking place.

"This grant will help to foster a collaboration with the Centre for Vision Research," Crawford said. "York has an international reputation for its vision research. It is an exciting time for researchers in this field and I'm proud to be a part of it."

The research group - called the MRC Research Group on Perception and Action - consists of Crawford, who is an expert in computational modelling, brain physiology, and recording 3-D motion of the eyes, head and arms; Mel Goodale, psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario (UWO); Keith Humphrey, psychology professor at UWO; Tutis Vilis, psychology and physiology professor at UWO; and Ravi Menon, a UWO professor of diagnostic radiology and medical biophysics, and is a research scientist at the UWO's Robarts Research Institute. The MRC is a federal agency responsible for funding biomedical health research in Canada by universities, research institutions and teaching hospitals. MRC funds are granted on the basis of rigorous peer review of applications.

By Susan Scott

Agnes Whitfield and Yves Gambier sign agreement of cooperation

The Canadian Translation Studies Organization (CATS) - whose president is a professor at York's Glendon College - and its European counterpart, recently signed an agreement of cooperation to foster closer links and enhance the international exchange of research on translation studies.

"We've been working over the past couple of years establishing a closer relationship with the Europeans, and I'm pleased we concluded this arrangement in June," explains Agnes Whitfield, a professor of translation studies at Glendon.

The agreement was signed between Whitfield and Yves Gambier, President of the European Society for Translation Studies (EST) during a conference of the two organizations in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The organizations have agreed to cooperatively promote translation studies and research into the field by sharing resources such as newsletters, research opportunities and events each organization is having. Members will also exchange information about their ongoing research activities.

Whitfield says the idea of an arrangement between the two groups began in 1996 when the Europeans realized the Canadian association could help them develop more of a research focus. She says her organization was "the first of its kind to focus on research in translation studies."

Most of the members of CATS are university faculty members who teach and conduct research into translation studies. Translation studies, she explains, involves more than teaching people to be translators. The discipline looks at the history and theory of translation. There are about 120 members of CATS and Whitfield admits translation studies is a "young but dynamic discipline" that isn't well understood. At the same time, York is well-represented in CATS. Besides Whitfield, other members are Barbara Godard, professor in the Faculty of Graduate Studies (English), Ray Ellenwood, Director of the FGS (English), and David Vaver, professor in York's Osgoode Hall Law School.

Whitfield explains that a number of her colleagues are trying to better understand the field of translation studies by conducting diverse research on the subject. One study, for example, focuses on the actual work translators do when they're translating: how do they do their work and what procedures and processes do they follow? Another looks at the neurological processes that occur when a translator is listening in one language and talking in another: what is happening in that person's brain? Still another project studies the ethics of translating: what is the ethical responsibility of a translator when translating? What values does that person bring to the text or speech being translated from one language to another, and how does that affect the translation?

A further glimpse into the profession is a report on which Godard and Whitfield have collaborated, due out next year. Their report looks at translation studies in Canada and is based on a series of lectures given by numerous translation studies' researchers at a seminar during the winter of 1998 at York.

By Susan Scott

As it celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, York's Psychiatric Dis/abilities Programme (PDP) is a valuable resource for students and one which is not well known.

The challenges of university life can often be daunting enough for most students. Those who live with a psychiatric disability may not know there is a place at the University for them to turn for support.

The PDP is an educational support program available to all part- or full-time York students with a psychiatric disability. However, the program is not clinical, students arrange their medical treatment off-campus. Some of the services provided by the PDP include assistance with admissions; assessment of needs on campus; orientation to campus resources (e.g. registrar's office, financial aid, academic advising); orientation to campus facilities such as the athletic centre, libraries, societies and clubs; discussion of academic studies as requested; assistance with learning skills such as note-taking, writing, exam preparation, time and stress management; academic accommodations including extensions on examinations; peer support group; psychiatric consultation; linkage to community resources; and advocacy and strategies for self-advocacy.

The York program is distinct, explains coordinator Enid Weiner, because it offers specialized support to students with psychiatric disabilities, and is located in the Counselling and Development Centre at the University.

There is also a support group for students that meets weekly. Weiner explains she initiated this group and ran it herself for seven years, then hired an outside facilitator. Gradually, the students became more involved in the group's activities. Now, the group is run by a work/study student at York, and former client of the program.

"The group is incredibly empowering for these students," says Weiner. "It means they can be more self-directed."

In fact the group has progressed to the point that it is moving out of the Counselling and Development Centre to its own location. A student volunteer committee established the group's constitution and new home. There isn't a professional facilitator, and students will rotate handling duties such as chairing meetings. The aim is to create a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for students. It will not replace services offered by the CDC. There will still be information sessions available for new students to York through that office.

One of the students involved on the transition committee says there is still a social stigma attached to people with psychiatric disabilities and it's important to let students know they're not alone.

She credits Weiner for her tireless efforts to get the program going and help students to get involved. Since this student herself became involved with the group, she feels more confident and is speaking out to increase awareness about psychiatric disabilities. She has also gained knowledge about social justice issues - a contributing factor, she says, to her decision to pursue social work as a career.

Confidentiality is key to the program and the group. This student has chosen not to disclose her personal information including her name.

For more information about the program, call 736-5297, or visit the website at www.yorku.ca/ admin/cdc/ and links to the program and support group. There is also a useful online pamphlet called "Making It Through the Maze" with further information about the PDP and tips for students.

by Cathy Carlyle

Professor Pablo Idahosa, right, and PhD student Abdulkadir Moallim Alim were the co-organizers of the Congress of Somali Studies, held at York

The more than 220 scholars and poets at the 7th International Congress of Somali Studies held in July at York wound up four days of stimulating talks by challenging each other to find solutions to problems faced by the Somali diaspora throughout the world.

Other themes discussed were the historical, sociological, political and cultural background of the Somali diaspora, and their conditions of migrancy, alienation from host countries, strategies of assimilation, adjustment, survival and integration. It was the first area-specific conference on Africa held at the University, concentrating on Somali diaspora. This particular diaspora is comprised of refugees from Somalia who fled their homeland after the civil unrest in the early 1990s. In the Toronto area there are 50,000 Somalis, with thousands more living throughout Canada, especially in Ottawa and Montreal. An estimated two million are spread through the rest of the globe, with the largest bulk of Somali people, in proportion to the size of the population, living in Finland.

"The congress was a great success," said co-organizer Pablo Idahosa, coordinator of the African Studies Programme at York. "There were numerous excellent papers and panels, with an incredible richness and diversity. We had to refuse many of the papers because of the large number of people wishing to make presentations. The focus of the conference was not just about the problems which Somalis face in the diaspora, but also the many contributions they make to their adopted countries. Then, at the end was a poetry session, the first time this has happened in all the previous six congresses. Poetry was read in Somali and English. This was an important part of the congress, because Somalia is a country of poets in the oral tradition and the poetry and culture are intertwined.

Many of the Somalis are disconsolate over having to leave their country and not feeling fully accepted by their host societies. "While most of the diaspora recognize that such things as health care, education, and the social welfare system are good in their adopted country, they suffer alienation and anguish at the loss of their own homeland and way of life," said Idahosa. "The diaspora are people displaced not just physically but also emotionally. I think the core problem is, their children are growing up here and want to stay. Their families are in transition."

Congress co-organizer and PhD student Abdulkadir Moallim Alim said, "Some of these people have gone from refugees to diaspora in just a few years. The situation is incipient. Now we're awaiting for ideas on how can we come together and think, and help Somalia transform from a clan society to a civil society." In a paper he presented at the congress, Alim first talked about earlier Somali diasporas, the ones who migrated throughout Africa and Asia over the past hundreds of years in search of livelihoods, but always with the intent to return home. "Today, however, with the collapse of the state [destroyed by the civil war] the Somali diaspora is a vast, growing Black community primarily in the Western world.

"Like any group of immigrants, this 'incipient' diaspora is endeavouring to become a permanent diaspora by creating new channels for long-term settlement through various activities, from business and professional accreditation, to education and the settlement and acculturation of their children. It can be predicted that this phenomenon will continue in the coming decades, if not forever," he said in a summary of his paper.

Alim and Idahosa said gender and family issues were major components of the congress, in roundtable discussions as well as at the panels. More than a third of the presentations were about problems that Somali women face and/or were given by women. York University Education Professor Neita Israelite and PhD student Arlene Herman collaborated with Faduma Alim and Hawa Mohamed of the local Somali Immigrant Aid Organization and with Yasmin Khan of the Community and Social Planning Council of Toronto. They presented a survey entitled Settlement Experiences of Somali Women Refugees in Toronto.

A paper written by Professor Ahmed A. Botan, formerly of the University of Mogadishu and now based in The Netherlands, was read at the congress when he could not attend. His paper concentrated on the break-up of the Somali family in the diaspora. "These people are catapulted into an environment and a reality totally different from the one in which they used to live," he wrote. "Everything is different....for instance, the relationship between parents and their children; the way in which the youngsters approach elders; the lack of solidarity; the excessive individualism....It is almost impossible for a Somali to adjust him/herself to a situation like this, even with enormous effort and sacrifice....The most distressing and destructive of these changes are the ones concerning the rules and regulations governing the life of the family."

He said the colossal differences in expected behaviour between a Somali family in the homeland and one in Canada have caused dire consequences, such as instability, quarrels, divorces, beatings and even killings.... "In short, a shattered family and a destroyed household." In his paper he delved into an analysis of the break-up of the Somali family of the diaspora, and posed questions for ways to help solve the problems.

A special feature of the congress was a roundtable discussion on author Margaret Laurence, whose experience as a resident in Somalia and her role in co-translating literature from that country are seen as Canada's non-paternalistic connection to the country in the post-colonial era. Presenters were York's pre-eminent scholars on Lawrence, professors John Lennox, Ruth Panofsky and Susan Warwick. Other discussions at the congress focused on ways the Somali diaspora contributes and can keep on contributing to the rebuilding of their homeland. Many cling to the dream that they and/or their descendants will eventually return to Somalia.

Idahosa and Alim are confident that people from around the world who attended the congress will continue to discuss their ideas and discover creative solutions to problems raised. Some see books and medicine as ways to help Somalia get on its feet again, they said, but there are many more suggestions out there. "These are agenda-setting questions, " said Idahosa. "It behooves us to keep communicating. This has been the first such congress organized principally through email, although more traditional mediums were also used. I think we've created a network of people who previously didn't exist as a cohesive group. This network is not just with Somalis, but also with non-Somali scholars of that country."

Part of their own agenda is to have East Africa - specifically the Horn of Africa and Somalia - as a subject integrated more broadly into African Studies at York. They said that the bias until now has been toward learning about West and South Africa. "That's because when African Studies was developed, the majority of people of African descent were diaspora from the Western part of the continent," said Idahosa. "South Africa was studied as a political and moral issue, due to the issue of apartheid."

The conference was supported by the Multicultural Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; and at York, the Office of the Dean of Arts, Office of Research and Administration, Division of Social Sciences, the Centre for Human Rights and Equity, and Founders College.

By Nishat Karim

Schulich School of Business

Remember when you got your first break? Whether it was working at a local fast food place, or in a factory packaging boxes - someone gave you that first chance to make it in this hustling and bustling world. Committed to business education, Seymour Schulich felt he should give something back to the community that had given him his first chance.

"The most important $2,000 in my life was a scholarship I received that allowed me to return to university for a business education," says Schulich. So he established a scholarship endowment for the Schulich Award for Entrepreneurship, York University. That was before he donated $15 million to York. To honour his benefaction, York renamed the Faculty of Administrative Studies in 1995 and renamed the building in 1996. Subsequently, Schulich became a member of the York Board of Governors.

Currently the chairman and chief executive officer of Franco-Nevada Mines Corporation Ltd. and chairman of Euro-Nevada Mining Corporation Ltd., both of which are gold royalty companies, Schulich has more than 30 years experience in the natural resource sector. He has served on boards of various mining and oil companies and is a member of several organizations such as the director of Junior Achievement of Canada and a governor of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto.

Schulich has certainly given a great gift back to his community. He has helped to give students the opportunity to experience one of the best educations in the country.

Political science Professor Robert Albritton's new book Dialectics and Deconstruction in Political Economy (Macmillan, 1999) offers the most authoritative reassessment of Marxian political economy since Althusser. Original reinterpretations of thinkers including Hegel, Weber, Althusser, Derrida and Adorno allow Albritton to case new light on the heated battle between Hegelian dialectics and deconstructivist criticism. Marx's Capital is reconstructed as a dialectical theory of capital's inner logic that overcomes the economism and reductionism of much Marxian political economy.

The book makes accessible the sometimes daunting thought associated with both dialectics and deconstruction, drawing upon insights from philosophy, sociology, political science and critical theory.

* * *

History Professor Michiel Horn's Academic Freedom in Canada: A History (University of Toronto Press, 1999) traces the changing nature of academic freedom in English Canada and provides essential background to today's discussions. Based on extensive archival research in more than 20 universities across Canada and in six public archives, the book locates the idea of academic freedom in its institutional and social contexts and traces its conflict-ridden evolution from 1860 to the present.

Providing detailed coverage and analysis, the book exposes previously unpublished information on why selected academics were dismissed or forced to resign, and on how pressure was used to silence others. Horn also identifies and analyzes the challenges that have faced academic freedom in more recent years, mostly notably those of the economy and œpolitical correctness.

* * *

Political science Professor Ian Greene is among several co-authors of a new book Final Appeal: Decision Making in Canadian Courts of Appeal. The book is based on hour-long interviews with 101 of Canada's 131 appellate justices - including eight from the Supreme Court. The authors compiled a database of about 6,000 cases moving from trial to appeal, including a sample of 1,400 criminal cases between 1988 and 1992, cases which managed to go through the entire provincial appeal process.

Final Appeal also explores the appeal judges' "uneasiness" with their new roles of lawmaking under the Charter. Almost half the judges surveyed worried that there might be a crisis of legitimacy over their new power to quash legislation, and about two-thirds worried that their judicial independence might be put in jeopardy by the exercise of that power.

Green's co-authors include: Carl Baar, Peter McCormick, George Szablowski and Martin Thomas, all political scientists from various Canadian universities.

* * *

Clara Thomas, professor emeritus of English, has a new book, Chapters in a Lucky Life (Borealis Book Publishers, 1999). Chapters is a testimony of thanks. In it, Thomas tells her own stories of childhood, education, marriage and of her long teaching career for both the University of Western Ontario, and for York since 1961. One reviewer called it "life writing by a pioneering scholar of Canadian literature - [it] is as engaging and witty as the woman herself....[the book] chronicles her verve, collegiality and dedication in the course of a long and distinguished academic career."

By Cathy Carlyle

York's Retirement Planning Centre has developed a Vision and Mission Statement and Strategic Plan for 2000 to 2005. In keeping with the University's dedication to lifelong learning, the RPCentre is committed to the concept of retirement as a stimulating and fulfilling continuation of that education

York University has aged well to a grand total of 40 years. Its employees have aged, too, and many who were here at the founding of the University have already retired. Others who joined York later have taken early retirement or are in the process of planning what to do, financially and otherwise. It adds up to a lot of work for the University's Retirement Planning Centre.

"I believe our centre is unique in Canada," said coordinator Karen Gray at the West Office Building. "Other employers offer limited retirement seminars, but we are a centre that began as far back as 1983 with staff dedicated to retirement planning and retirees."

Recently, with the comprehensive services it offers, a burgeoning pool of retirees and an increased workload, the RPCentre recognized the need to develop a strategic plan for the future and took action. For instance, in 1985-86 it held seminars for 70 people who were making plans for their retirement; in 1997-98 there were nearly 1,000 participants. Retirees, a large proportion of people assisted by the centre, have jumped in number, too. In 1976 membership in the York University Retirees Association (YURA) was 52 and last year it was 355. The numbers are climbing steadily, in part due to early retirement incentives. The projection for 2003 is that 62 per cent of current employees will be 50 and over - in other words, moving toward retirement - and in 2010 that number will grow to 72 per cent. And what does that mean to the RPCentre? - an even greater amount of work.

"We know that retirees are a part of York's history, that they have contributed so much to the University," said Gray. "They are wonderful role models, and we like having them remain connected to York for all kinds of reasons. I'd like to see a bank of retirees available to speak at York on a variety of subjects. There are many interesting, knowledgeable retired faculty and staff members who could contribute so much."

At the moment, the RPCentre helps the YURA president and executive plan programs and gives them assistance in seminars on such subjects as computer training. It also helps in other ways, for example with desktop publishing, membership drives, flyers about various activities and some types of counselling. "We're a resource for retirees, who are welcome to attend seminars, borrow from our library and utilize our counselling and referral service," said Gray. "YURA membership continues to grow tremendously, so recently we gave them office space at the centre."

However, the principal thrust of the RPCentre is providing programming for the faculty and staff, especially those in the 50 to 65 age range. "We need to focus much of our time on them," she said. "To do this, though, we need to ensure that the staff complement and services are brought into alignment with anticipated increases in the numbers of those needing our services. Our objective is to find ways to grow and adapt."

According to Gray, an increasing number of younger faculty and staff are showing an interest in planning for retirement. "About a year-and-a-half ago we had a focus group of 25 to 40-year-olds to see what their concerns were, after a number of retirees had commented to us that they wished they'd begun planning their futures sooner. We'd hoped to get younger employees thinking about their futures early. And they are. They've seen businesses down-sized and people taking early retirement, and possibly because of that many have started contributing to RRSPs and RESPs.

"One thing we learned about younger staff was that they get a great deal of their financial advice from their parents," she said. "This means that the RPCentre has to make a conscious effort to give people of their parents' generation accurate, complete and understandable information, because their children may be making financial decisions based on the parents' interpretation.

"If I had my dream come true, there would be a retirement research institute with a focus on aging, tied in with what the government is looking at vis-a-vis a national institute on aging," said Gray.

"Meanwhile, in the short term we need to consider the type of information we might add to our Web site and to develop programs that York employees could access at their desks. For instance, some people want to find ways to enrich their personal relationships; others want to know what activities are available for them; many need help on making the adjustment to their new status; and some want a quick lesson on paying down credit. People often feel more comfortable asking questions and getting responses from a computer than in a group setting. And, in many cases, it's just not possible for them to attend seminars on the York campus in the middle of the day."

The centre may have to cut back on the number of seminars it presents each year but balance that with, perhaps, placing more information on the Internet. "For those who don't have computer access, such as CUPE employees who work night shifts, we will have to create new ways of getting the information to them."

Copies of the strategic plan, RPCentre Vision 2000+ , may be obtained by calling ext. 66228 or by emailing retire@yorku.ca. Also, it is posted on their website: http:// www.yorku.ca/admin/retire

By Andrew McRae

Professor Albrecht Riethmuller, chairman of the musicology department at Freie Universitat Berlin is to spend up to one year at York University after being selected as the 1999 John G. Diefenbaker Award winner by the Canada Council for the Arts.

The award, established in 1991, honours the memory of former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, and allows for one German scholar to hold office in Canada for up to one year for the specific purpose of pursuing research in any social science and humanities discipline.

During his one-year tenure at York's Canadian Centre for German and European Studies, Riethmuller will focus his research on the history of music between 1925 to 1945, which will culminate in a thirteen volume publication entitled Musik im 20 Jahrhundert (Music of the 20th century).

With a $1.7 million endowment funded by the Canadian government, the award is jointly administered by the Canada Council for the Arts and the German-based Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Riethmuller, 52, was born in Stuttgard and studied philosophy and German literature at the University of Frieburg im Breigau where he completed a PhD in 1974. In 1986 he became chairman of the musicology department at the University of Frankfurt am Main, and in 1992, at Freie Universitat Berlin.

Riethmuller has taught internationally for over thirty years, and has held positions in the US at Urbana-Champaign and in Germany at Heidelberg and Halle. A number of books have been authored by this distinguished professor on subjects such as the music of classical Greece, and of more recent music of the past two centuries.

He has produced works on the interrelationship of music, literature and politics, and on the terminology of music on film. His most recent works include Beethoven, Interpretationen seiner Werke (1994) and Poems on Music (1996). Currently, Riethmuller is leading a project overseeing a complete edition of the writings of Ferruccio Busoni.

By Susan Scott

Karen Minden, Director, Asian Business Consortium

A York PhD graduate has been named director of theAsian Business Consortium.

As a student at the University, Karen Minden was also a member of the first Chinese language classes at the University. She graduated in 1970 from York with a BA in political science, then received her MA in Asian studies from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1973, Minden was awarded a fellowship from the Canadian government to study for one year at Beijing University, becoming one of the first foreign students to study in China. Afterwards, she returned to York and received her PhD in Chinese politics and history.

The Asian Business Consortium is a collaborative venture of Queen's and York Universities and the University of Toronto comprising the Centre for Canada-Asia Business Relations, the Asia Business Studies Program, and the York-based Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies.

"The consortium's goal is to enhance opportunities for collaborative business and research amongst the three participating universities and to make academic research more accessible to the business community," Minden explains. Ultimately, the partnership among business, academia and government has the potential to make Canada stronger in the Asia Pacific market. With the current downturn in the Asian economy, she says this provides the opportunity to "develop the foundations for business to succeed there."

One of her first activities was to organize a multidisciplinary seminar on the topic: "What Matters in Asia?" This session allowed participants to identify issues of importance in Asia and discuss research going on in the region. Other upcoming consortium sessions include research on strategies for winning international contracts for consulting engineers, a business and economic development forum, and a program for undergraduate and graduate students.

In a related announcement, Minden has also been appointed associate director, business, of the York/University of Toronto Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies. The centre's focus on advancing academic study of the Asia Pacific region attracts more than 50 faculty members at the two universities and visiting scholars from other institutions.

Prior to her appointment with the Asian Business Consortium, Minden was vice-president of research at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and director of the International APEC Study Centre Consortium.

Minden follows her father's footsteps toYork. Harold Minden retired last year from full-time teaching in York's Department of Psychology. He is currently working on contract with the University on several psychology projects.

In 1980, a courageous young man inspired the nation with his message of hope by attempting to run across Canada on an artificial leg, proving the indomitable spirit that lives within all of us. In his memory the Annual Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research is now held in over 50 countries around the world. This year York University will host a Terry Fox Run on Sunday, September 19th beginning outside the Tait Mackenzie Centre between 9am and 3pm. The routes are 1, 5 and 10 kms long and participants may either run, walk, bike or blade.

For more information on how you can participate or volunteer, please contact Steve Scullion at (416) 736-2100 ext. 22104 or (416) 650-3231 or by E-mail at sscullio@ssb.yorku.ca

By Cathy Carlyle

York's online enrolment-through-the-Web pilot project has been a huge hit this August with students - and it has received a lot of hits from those students.

University Registrar Ygal Leibu had been eager to make administrative operations easier for students, regarding their academic record, ever since he became Registrar a year ago. He decided to try the system on a small-scale pilot basis this summer during the open-enrolment period for the fall 1999/winter 2000 courses. He wanted to obtain students' feedback and rectify any problems that arose before full-blown implementation in the next cycle.

"It is a small step in the right direction," he said. Although he does not have definite statistics on how many students actually modified their enrolment through the Internet, he does know, through general feedback, that York students appreciate the additional service option. "We know we had a lot of hits; we just don't have yet the capability to distinguish how many hits were enrolment transactions on the Web, as opposed to enrolment transactions executed at SAS [Student Access System] terminals.

"Until now, students could enrol either by voice response (telephone) or by accessing computer terminals at the University's West Office Building and various Faculty offices," said Leibu. "But my top priority has been to add the Web to their choices, to serve them better. What we did, as an interim measure to immediately enlarge access and improve service, was to take the existing SAS set of applications, which is part of SIS [Student Information System], and adapt them to the Internet. Students can not only enrol online but also change their address, enter or correct their social insurance numbers and view their transcripts.

"I want to pay tribute to the dedication and hard work of the SIS team and the people in the Office of the Registrar, who made this possible in such a short time. It is not yet perfect, but at least students can do now, from any micro [computer] connected to the Internet, what they had to do at great cost in time and energy, waiting in long lines at a limited number of terminals on campus. I call this progress."

Leibu said his next step will be to build the Web services from the ground up, not just to use an adaptation of an existing service which was designed for another medium. "Then we'll be able to take care of any problems revealed by the pilot project and monitor statistics on how well-used it is." He also has plans for the number of phone lines to be doubled so that accessing the Voice Response Enrolment System (VRES) will be easier.

Once a new Office of the Registrar enrolment site is built, sometime in the fall, he will ensure that all students are informed individually about the new services offered. The site will be easy to locate from the York home page. This year, only those who came to the University to enrol through the SAS terminals located in the Office of the Registrar, were given the information, because of the limited nature and scope of the pilot project. "Nevertheless," added Leibu, "the existence of the new services saved the day on the first day of open enrolment, when SAS terminals were down for a few hours because of SIS production problems."

The coordinator of York's Psychiatric Dis/abilities Programme (PDP) has received a national award from the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

Enid Weiner, program coordinator, was awarded a Consumer Participation Award by the CMHA. (A consumer is someone who has, or has had, a psychiatric disability) The award Weiner received recognizes a non-consumer for his or her work to promote and facilitate consumer participation. The PDP provides educational support services to any part- or full-time students with psychiatric disabilities who require support related to their education. It has operated since 1990 and is located in the Counselling and Development Centre at York.

"By recognizing this program, we're hoping others can learn from Enid's work," explained Heather McKee, CMHA project manager who submitted Weiner's name for consideration. She said she believes the York program is unique among Canadian universities because it offers specialized services to students with psychiatric disabilities.

"My wish is that by focusing on our program, there will be more discussion about what we're doing. Perhaps it will encourage people to start similar programs," said Weiner who attended a CMHA ceremony in British Columbia last month to accept the award.