Advocates seeking to end youth homelessness need to shift focus away from emergency support and toward prevention and rapid rehousing, York University Professor Stephen Gaetz told a Markham Convergence Centre audience, reported the Markham Economist Sun Nov. 30. Suggesting a multi-sector approach is necessary, non-profit organizations, universities, governments and other groups in York Region and Canada must work together to end youth homelessness and move forward with one clear vision, he said at the research forum organized by the United Way of York Region and York University. Read full story.
Scholarship rewards ‘inspirational’ C.W. Jefferys graduate
Virak Mao is the first winner of a new scholarship created by the Graduate Business Council of York University’s Schulich School of Business, reported the North York Mirror Dec. 3. The council represents students in the masters of business administration, masters of public administration and international masters of business administration programs. Read full story.
As student stress hits crisis levels, universities look to ease pressure
The end-of-term exam crunch is a harrowing time at McGill University’s mental health services. As classes wind down, the clinic gets more than 20 emergency drop-ins a day – four times the usual rate – from students who sometimes report they have not been to class in weeks, they are struggling to get out of bed, they feel like crying all the time….Yet most students turn to a friend or family member before a professional. Knowing that, Leah State, York University’s coordinator of health education & promotion, organized a two-week mental health campaign last month and trained 200 student leaders to reach out to their peers, reported the Globe and Mail Dec. 2. Read full story.
The best business schools of 2012
In the Asia-Pacific, schools from Hong Kong and mainland China fill three of the top five places, while in Canada, the big winners this year are York University’s Schulich School of Business and McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management, reported the Korea Herald Dec. 3. Read full story.
Man arrested in York University sex assault
Toronto police say a 24-year-old man has been charged in a sexual assault inside a building on the York University campus, reported the National Post and others Dec. 2. Read full story.
Team chosen to supervise Ottawa police collection of race data in traffic stops
A three-member team from York University has been chosen to plan and supervise the collection of racial information on people the Ottawa police pull over in traffic stops, reported the Ottawa Citizen Nov. 30. Read full story.
Rekindling our love affair with the Group of Seven
If Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven is any indication, remnants of our infamous national inferiority complex continue to linger, reported the Waterloo Region Record Dec. 1….Curated by lead curator Ian Dejardin, director of Dulwich gallery, in partnership with Katerina Atanassova, chief curator at the McMichael, and Anna Hudson, professor of Canadian art history at York University, the exhibition doesn’t chart new critical territory. However, it does shed light on aspects of the work that makes for an instructive experience. Read full story.
Almost half of teens with autism bullied — study
Debra Pepler, who researches about bullying among vulnerable children at York University in Toronto, told Reuters Health that there are some strategies that may help reduce bullying toward autistic children. These include creating “circles of support,” which are groups of children who are educated about a student’s condition and able to provide help and support, reported the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation and others Dec. 2. Read full story.
In a constantly plugged-in world, it’s not all bad to be bored
Then there’s the question of how we define boredom. The trouble is that it has been defined, and discussed, in many different ways, said John D. Eastwood, a professor of psychology at York University. After looking over the research literature and putting the idea in front of a focus group of around 100 people, Professor Eastwood and his colleagues defined boredom as an experience of “wanting to, but being unable to engage in satisfying activity,” reported the New York Times Nov. 30. Read full story.
Research: Drug company dependency proves costly for Mac
The number of clinical trials being carried out in Canada dropped alarmingly from 2008 to 2010 as companies look for cheaper alternatives in countries such as India and China. “They have huge populations and lots of sick people because health care isn’t that great to begin with,” said Dr. Joel Lexchin, a York University professor of health policy & management, in the Hamilton Spectator and others Dec. 1. “You can recruit people a lot quicker; you can get your trial completed in a shorter period of time, and that means saving money.” Read full story.
Road map to recovery
Fortunately for Mr. Orsi and his family, they had access to a highly specialized resource just minutes from their door: the York Region District Stroke Centre, located at Mackenzie Health….The centre works with local support service agencies to provide staff training and to offer chronic disease self-management programs. It also recently launched an innovative new cardiovascular rehabilitation program in partnership with University Health Network-Toronto Rehab and the Kinesiology Program at York University, reported YorkRegion.com Nov. 30. Read full story.
Gender versus religion: Woman refused haircut by Muslim barber highlights problem of colliding rights
Societal changes – some more noticeable than others – tend to spark these competing rights clashes, said Bruce Ryder, a professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, in the National Post Nov. 30….“They seem new as values and social realities shift over time, giving rise to new forms of conflict or new understandings of rights, and accordingly, the legal balance drawn between different rights shifts too.” Read full story.
Rob Ford ouster raises question: Does Toronto even need a mayor?
In a city where the mayor is merely one vote on council, and where Mr. Ford’s conservative agenda has been repeatedly hijacked by a powerful centre-left coalition: Does Toronto need a mayor at all? “The mayor doesn’t have a lot of independent power apart from council, so in some respects, in a weak-mayor system, one could say the city doesn’t really need a mayor — though inevitably there will be some things where you will want at least symbolic leadership, if not actual leadership,” said York University political scientist Robert Drummond in the National Post Dec. 1. Read full story.
What’s so cool about living at the office?
An op-ed in the Toronto Star this month argued that politicians should make way for the future, and encourage telecommuting to save taxpayer money on expensive public-transit proposals, reported Maclean’s Dec. 3. (“It’s as if our subway-building, highway-paving, transit-tax-levying politicians are stuck in the 1950s with their transit strategies, instead of looking at 2020 realities,” wrote Paul Barter, professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, and Robert Brehl, a former Star reporter.) Read full story.