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| | VOLUME 30, NUMBER 24 | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2000 | ISSN 1199-5246 | | |
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By Susan Scott
International Alliance for Human Resources Research (IAHRR). Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? It's the name of the newest research organization at York and it clearly states its purpose.
In fact, the alliance's director, Monica Belcourt's vision is for York to be the "first choice" for anyone wanting valid, research-based information about human resources management. Belcourt is also associate professor of human resources management in the Department of Administrative Studies at York's Atkinson College.
The alliance, which was launched earlier this month, replaces the Human Resources Research Institute (HRRI), the research arm of the human resources profession founded by the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario (HRPAO). Belcourt explained, in an interview, she was an HRPAO board member several years ago and realized that unlike other professions that conduct research, human resources didn't. So, HRRI was created. Belcourt's plan was to make HRRI a charitable organization. When that wasn't feasible, the decision was to move the research body to York and rename it.
"I didn't want it to be a centre, but a true alliance" of academics and professionals from across Canada and around the world, said Belcourt.
The alliance will also fund research into issues of importance to HR professionals. Belcourt said one example of this is a study being done SRC="currently on absenteeism. A researcher from the Maritimes did a small sample study on this already and the alliance is now funding a larger sample study. In the small study, Belcourt said, the results revealed that when asked, people underestimate the amount of time they are absent from work while overestimating the time others take (Belcourt said the average number of days per year employees are absent is six for private-sector workers and seven days for those in the public sector). Results from the larger study will be presented at next year's HRPAO conference, she said.
York is ideally suited for such a group, said Belcourt, because the University has the largest undergraduate program in human resources management in Canada with 1,600 students enrolled. There are three full-time HR faculty which will shortly be increased to five when an additional two full-time people are hired.
Belcourt's plans also include creating an endowed chair for the alliance, and she is working on this with the University's Advancement staff.
People wanting more information about the IAHRR's work can check out its Web site at: www.yorku.ca/hrresall
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York's Schulich School of Business has launched a $1.2-million program for public policy research into the financial services sector. By Susan Scott York's Schulich School of Business has launched a $1.2-million program for public policy research into the financial services sector. "This is the first program of its kind in Canada," said Schulich Dean Dezsö Horváth. "Schulich is proud to lead the way in encouraging researchers across the country to channel their energy and talent into Canada's changing financial sector." Schulich is one of Canada's leading schools of management and was the first business school in the country to offer a specialized degree program in financial services. Priority areas targeted for research include a public policy framework for e-commerce in the financial services sector; the impact of increased globalization; competition and industry convergence; and consumer protection and service. The five-year program is jointly financed by 12 organizations directly involved in financial services in both the public and private sectors. They are: The Bank of Canada, Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, Canadian Bankers Association, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, Finance Canada, Financial Services Commission of Ontario, Industry Canada, Insurance Bureau of Canada, Investment Dealers Association of Canada, Investment Funds Institute of Canada, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, and Ontario Securities Commission. "Our industry is facing unprecedented challenges as it responds to technology, globalization and changing consumer demands," said Fred Gorbet, director of the financial services program at Schulich, and Chair of the new program's advisory board. "We must ensure that the country's public policy framework assists change that is in Canada's interest. We need excellent research to help this process and we need to engage the energy and talent of Canada's academic community," said Gorbet. Each organization contributes $20,000 annually for five years and has a representative on the program's advisory board. The board will determine which proposals receive funding. The program supports research proposals from universities and colleges across Canada up to a maximum of $30,000 annually for up to two years per project; doctoral dissertations up to a maximum of $10,000 per dissertation; and case writing up to a maximum of $10,000 per case. The deadline for proposal submissions for this year is May 15th. Gorbet said the financial services program at Schulich developed the idea for the new program. The financial services program trains students to understand the strategic and operational dynamics of that industry, and prepares them for career opportunities in financial services by providing real world perspectives on issues and links with senior executives in the profession. More information, including program and application guidelines, is available from the program's Web site at: www.schulich.yorku.ca/research/fnsv
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Call for Nominations
The President's CPM Award:
1. a purse of five hundred dollars, 2. a York memento, 3. the recipient's name will be engraved on a plaque which records the winners of this award since its inception. The plaque will be available for display in the recipient's home department until the next award is given. The award will be presented to the recipient at the President's Staff Recognition Reception. Eligibility - Employees who have been employed in the CPM group for a minimum of two years are eligible to receive this award.
The Ronald Kent Medal:
1. a medal 2. the recipient's name will be engraved on a plaque which records the winners of this award since its inception. The plaque will be available for display in the recipient's home department until the next award is given. The award will be presented at the President's Staff Recognition Reception. Eligibility - Full-time, continuing, non-teaching support staff, who have been employed at the University for a minimum of five years are eligible to receive this award. CPM employees are not eligible to receive this award.
The President's Voice of York Award:
The award will be given annually. The award will consist of: 1. a purse of five hundred dollars, 2. a York memento 3. the recipient's name will be engraved on a plaque which will record the winners of this award from its inception. The plaque will be available for display in the recipient's home department until the next award is given. The award will be presented to the recipient at the President's Staff Recognition Reception. The Voice of York Award is funded by President Marsden. Eligibility - Full-time, continuing employees who have been employed at the University for a minimum of two years are eligible to receive this award. Nomination Guidelines for each Award: Are available on the President's Web site: http:// www.yorku.ca/admin/comm/ prez/index.html Deadline for all the above Awards: Monday March 20th, 2000
Gene Denzel Award for Outstanding Service to Students:
This honour is to be awarded annually to a full-time member of the staff in the Registrar's Office who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in providing outstanding service to students. Nominations must be submitted in writing to the Office of the Vice-President (Enrolment & Student Services), Room N904 Ross Building by Friday, April 7, 2000. Letters of support (no more than three) may be included.
Non-Academic Employees Board of Governors Election 2000
Notice is hereby given that an election will be held to nominate a full-time non-academic employee to a position on the Board of Governors. The term of office is two years, beginning on July 1, 2000. The election will be conducted by mailed ballot, distributed to each full-time non-academic employee at the University address. Nominations are invited of full-time non-academic employees who are Canadian citizens and who have a record of at least five years of service at the University. Nominations open: Monday, March 13, 2000, at 8:30am Nominations close: Wednesday, March 29, 2000, at 4pm Nominations must be supported by the signatures of 10 nominators who are also full-time non-academic employees. Non-academic employees of York University are those who are appointed to full-time positions within the CPM, YUSA (Unit 1), CUPE (Local 1356 and 1356-1) and IUOE employee groups. In accordance with the board's by-laws, candidates will be required to submit evidence of Canadian citizenship. (Note: Employees who are members of a certified bargaining unit or employee association may not serve as an officer or other official of their bargaining agent or employee association during their term on the Board of Governors. All members of the Board of Governors are required to sign a conflict of interest and confidentiality undertaking.) The Board of Governors consists of 30 members plus the president and the chancellor. The membership includes two faculty members nominated by the senate; two student members nominated by students; two alumni members nominated by the alumni; and two non-academic employee members. (The first non-academic employee position was filled last year.) The remaining board members are appointed from the external community representing a broad range of backgrounds and expertise. The board conducts its work through the following standing committees: executive; academic resources; audit; finance, property and staff resources; investment; student relations; and University advancement. The board holds five regular meetings a year; committees may meet more frequently.
To obtain a nomination form or further information about the board, the election process or
eligibility, please contact the University Secretariat, Room S-883 Ross Building, Keele Campus (736-5012) Details also appear at www.yorku.ca/admin/univsec.
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Distance education like fool's gold, says professor
By Cathy Carlyle
When talking about the downside of distance education - university courses delivered online - historian David Noble makes it clear that he is not against technology per se. In fact, four of his presentations on the subject are posted on a Web site, with his blessing.
"What I am concerned with is the use of distance education as a means of reaping a financial harvest at the expense of sound management, pedagogical principles, established practice and legal probity," said Noble, York professor of social science, at a talk in February. "I call this a cautionary tale. The search for large profits to be gained by the delivery of online learning is like the quest for fool's gold.
"The SRC="current mania for distance education is about the commodification of higher education, of which computer technology is merely the latest medium," he added, giving a brief history of methods of delivering education at a distance, from correspondence schools to the present medium. "Then, as now, distance education has been not so much technology-driven as profit-driven. It is the incessant pressure to minimize labour costs to turn a profit."
He briefly spoke about CULTECH, which once delivered on-line courses through York University. While Onlinelearning.net, in partnership with University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), maintains its grip on UCLA, CULTECH had the plug pulled on its partnership with York. "It wasn't commercially viable and it couldn't deliver what it had promised, according to York administration," said Noble.
To demonstrate what could happen if a company like Onlinelearning.net took hold at York, he gave a synopsis of how the company managed to acquire a stranglehold over UCLA, using reams of information he obtained through the California Public Records Act.
"What I want to caution people about is what became of the financial dreams of people at UCLA when they were fuelled by technological fantasies similar to what CULTECH promised," said Noble. "I want to discuss the bending of rules that took place in UCLA's quest for a financial windfall. And I want to mention the bending of laws, in particular copyright laws."
Onlinelearning.net owner Alan Arkatov first approached UCLA in 1993 with what seemed to be a win-win money-making scheme. Arkatov convinced the administration that by posting faculty members' work on the Web, the institution could cream a percentage of the projected sizeable profits from tuition fees, said Noble. "He believed that his new company, which was initially The Home Education Network, stood to make a fortune on the foundation of UCLA's brand name and curricula."
Noble said the UCLA administration entered a partnership with Arkatov because he had such powerful associates that he effectively persuaded people to accept his proposals, even when they were unsound. He had influential friends in the Democratic party, and important connections within the UCLA Foundation board of governors.
"To the people at UCLA, he sold the whole idea of the partnership by saying the owners of intellectual property would be the leaders and winners in a successful commercial venture," said Noble. "But Arkatov had a problem: the instructors were not stupid. They refused to sign away the copyright to their own course work. They were the rightful owners."
In the arrangement, UCLA agreed to use their "best efforts" to persuade instructors to sign over their copyright. And, although they never achieved an agreement with their instructors, the courses were offered anyway, he said. Starting in the Spring of 1996, the distance education service went online and by the Fall it went international. "Administrators were fully aware that course material belongs to the instructor and knew even before they signed the agreement with Arkatov that the instructors would not give consent," he added. "That's where UCLA administration has bent the laws.
"Arkatov even gained sole rights to produce, reproduce, devise and advertise audio visuals for now and future use throughout perpetuity. And he got all that with no bids, no posting. It was all wired from the get-go. How did he get everything he wanted? Because of his powerful contacts. Why did the guys at UCLA go along with it? Fool's gold. He promised to make them a lot of money."
UCLA bent the rules as well as laws, Noble said. Initially, UCLA projected that it would receive revenues of almost $4 million in the second year and that returns would grow exponentially to $31 million in year four. "But reality set in and is reflected in the steady lowering of the bar on the conditions for termination of the deal. At first they could terminate the partnership in five years if the revenues were less than $50 million. That figure was subsequently reduced to $3 million, then $2 million, and it finally went down to $400,000. Pretty soon they'll be accepting payment in Canadian dollars," he joked. Later, he said that the company recently met its new, enormously-reduced target.
Aside from all the wranglings between private business and university administration, Noble said there is another factor to consider: students themselves prefer face-to-face learning. "If they want distance education at all, it is only as a supplement to their regular classes, rather than as a substitute. The image of a cyber-happy generation is just a myth."
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Class consciousness: Do online students do as well as in-class colleagues? By Michael Todd York students who take Internet courses do as well as or better than students who sit in class, a recent University survey revealed. Canadian students seem to like it too. Canada accounts for 16 per cent of 12,500 online courses offered by post-secondary institutions worldwide. But there is, of course, concern about what cyber-courses offer in terms of quality of content, which is why York's Faculty of Education decided to conduct its own survey. York compared the overall academic performance of its Internet students with its in-class students and found little difference. According to the survey, "Internet students achieved significantly higher grades than in-class students" (adjusted for course dropouts). The survey compared the grades of 1,099 students in Internet courses held between the fall of 1996 and fall 1998 with grades of students in the same courses offered in the lecture-hall format or by correspondence. Correspondence students, who have the least contact with professors, fared the worst. Internet students achieved the highest marks. The survey showed 73 per cent of Internet students surveyed said they would recommend the format to their friends, and 68 per cent planned to take further Internet courses. Fees for regular in-class courses are the same as for Internet courses, and professors are paid the same rate for teaching whether online or in class.
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York cornerstones: What's in a name
By Nishat Karim Lumbers Building Leonard G. Lumbers was always devoted to doing what was best for York and helped the University during a time when it was experiencing rapid growth. Not only was he an early member of the Board of Governor's (1962-1986), who continued his service as an honorary governor until his death in 1994, but Lumbers was also a long-time member of the board's Property Committee and a generous donor to the institution. To honour his remarkable dedication to the University, York chose to name a building for him. The Lumbers Building was built and named in 1985, and SRC="currently houses the Faculty of Environmental Studies. According to the Gazette issue Jan. 18, 1995, William Dimma, Chair of the Board of Governors at the time, noted that Lumbers cared a great deal for the University and for what it stands. He said Lumbers was always active and committed to York. "He was known for his infectious enthusiasm, which was one of his many endearing characteristics." Lumbers was a member of the Order of Canada as well as a member of several companies including the former chief executive officer and Chair of the board of both Noranda Manufacturing Company Ltd. and Wire and Cable Ltd. He was also the honorary Chair of the Olympic Trust of Canada and a member of the Board of Governors of the Ontario Research Foundation. But York always remained close to his heart, and he considered it an honour to be a governor of the University.
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