Conc ordia's

Publications Mail Agreement No.:40042804

Vol. 26, No. 9 January 24, 2002 pr .. concordia .. ca/ctr

Universities still confronted by student plagiarism The Internet offers new ways of cheating, but most known cases involve sloppy attribution

BY B ARBARA B LA CK

Adramatic case at Simon Fraser University last month in which

4 7 students turned in virtually the same economics paper raised the issue of plagiarism once again, but it's always present on every campus, fes­tering under the surface.

Last fall, Concordia's Centre for Teaching and Leaming Services spon­sored a workshop on plagiarism for interested faculty members. Partici-

pants were reminded that not only do students have free access to the World Wide Web, but our libraries subscribe to more than 5,000 full-text electronic sources, including scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers, from which students might "borrow" mate­rial.

The Web also offers a proliferation of "paper mills" offering term papers and assignments for sale. Over 70 paper mill sites are listed in Yahoo, more than double the number listed

in 1997. Major sites report from 2,000 to 10,000 visits a day. Most of these sites charge a fee . Some will cus­tom-write a paper.

However, Professor Frances Shaver, who adjudicated more than 100 acad­emic misconduct cases over her four years as Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs, in Arts and Science, said that most of the cases she saw involved inaccurate or sloppy attribution of sources in term papers and assignments rather than purchased material. Procrastina-

tion, time pressure and pressure to excel are major causes of handing in plagiarized work.

Some people blame a "consumer mentality" in universities - getting the work done to get the grades or the diploma, rather than to learn the material for its own sake. However, another contributing factor may be the willingness of some professors to tum a blind eye to cheating. Refer­ence librarian Diane Sauve was one of the presenters at the workshop. She

said, "Lack of time and resources to deal with plagiarism were raised. Pro­fessors mentioned the trend towards larger classes and not having enough teaching ass istants to help out , among other things."

Some students patch-write - lift phrases and use them as their own -when they are trying to learn unfamil­iar discourse.

■ Cheating - continued on page 10

■ More on plagiarism - page 10

Psychology's Jim Pfaus may revolutionize the world of sex BY SIGALIT HOFFMAN

Concordia Psychology Professor and researcher Jim Pfaus is rid­

ing the wave of his rapid rise to fame. "lt was bigger than anything I ever

expected," said Pfaus, who is part of Concordia's Centre for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology (CSBN).

Pfaus began receiving nationwide media attention two months ago after testing a new drug that may raise women's sex drive. He believes it's his duty to inform the public of his work.

"The issue of women's sexuality is at a crossroads ," he said. "We 've never had our attention focused on it the way it is now." Indeed , Pfaus admits that there's "never been any­thing in our arsenal" to treat sexual dysfunction in women who are in emotionally healthy relationships but still lack arousal or desire. The prob­lem is widespread, he said. Depend­ing on the study, sexual dysfunction affects 25 per cent to 75 per cent of women.

The drug PT-141 is a synthetic ver­sion of melanocyte-stimulating hor­mone (MSH), a chemical that is produced na~urally in the brain's

pituitary gland. Palatin , a company based in New Jersey, is developing the drug as a nasal spray. The compa­ny called Pfaus after initial tests pro­duced erections in its male test subjects.

Though correcting sexual dysfunc­tion was not the drug's intended use, Palatin wanted to know if the drug would work in females.

Pfaus, who has spent years study­ing the neurochemical basis of sexual behaviour in male and female rats, was fascinated with the drug. He sus­pected it was special because it did something no drug had done before: it increased sexual desire in men in addition to facilitating erection, and it did so by affecting a mechanism in the brain rather than the periphery.

"Usually, human test subjects don't report an increase in desire in the lab ," he said. Pfaus has been testing the drug on female rats and is happy with the results.

"In a normal ejaculatory series, a female might solicit a male rat three to five times. The drug made them solicit the males anywhere from 12 to 24 times. I've never seen a drug do that to female rats."

Psychology Professor Jim pfaus, aka "Crazy Jim."

Though the drug increased the number of times female rats solicited sex from males, it didn't increase the rewarding value of sex. Pfaus said this is a good thing, because it may pre­vent people from abusing the drug.

"A lot of people are worried that someone could. stick the drug in someone else's nasal spray," Pfaus said, "but only in situations where it's a-yes-and-I-mean-yes will the drug have profound effects."

Pfaus is hopeful that the research on this drug will make it into a presti­gious scientific magazine like Science or Nature because the drug's effect is so specific and because it works on females . He added that since the drug's mechanism of action is so fast (its half-life is 20 minutes) , it is less likely to produce severe or long-term side-effects.

Though Pfaus has gained national acclaim for his scientific research, he was originally a journalism major as an undergraduate.

"Science is very much like follow­ing a story," he said. "You get hot on the scent of the story, but scientific stories are never-ending."

Eventually, he decided that the physiology behind sex was too inter­esting , and had too many unan­swered questions, so he switched his major to psychology.

Pfaus saw science as a way of nurs­ing his love of writing, and as an out­let for his creativity. But his creativity is not limited to science alone. He is also the lead singer in the local punk rock band Mold. "It's my other life," he explained. "It's the other side of Crazy Jim."

Sociologist researched PhD thesis in a comedy club BY JAME S MARTIN

A funny thing happened to Anna Woodrow while writing her

PhD dissertation about media repre­sentations of native people during the 1990 Oka stand-off: She changed her mind.

When she moved to Montreal to

pursue her master's degree at Concor­dia, she also began a four-year stint waiting tables at the Comedy Nest nightclub. "I was only working there to make money, bu t I ended up ingrained in the world of stand-up comedy without actually being a comedian myself."

Woodrow was still working at the club when she started her PhD, also at Concordia . Early in her Oka research , she encountered obstacles (including high copyright fees for reproducing news footage, as well as reluctance among the people to trust an outsider) that left her a little dis­couraged.

"I was out for a jog one day. Some things had happened while I was working at the club the night before - I can't remember what, exactly. Because I was so aware of audience reception and had all this theoretical background, I was constantly doing

mini-analyses of the activities in the club.

"I knew how easy it would be for me to access the world of comedy because I was already in it, even though it's a very private and closed place. By the time I'd finished my run, I'd decided to change my thesis topic."

Eyewitness to a dog-eat-dog world Over the course of the next two

years, Woodrow interviewed 41 Canadian stand-ups and a handful of producers, managers, and agents . Most of her subjects came to her, so to speak (attracted by the comedy beacon that is the Just For Laughs Festival), but Woodrow also hit the road, travelling across country with a group of comics.

She witnessed firsthand the bizarre crucible in which our country's comedic talents are forged (or bro­ken), a dog-eat-dog world of long dri­ves, late nights , hostile crowds , isolated rural venues, hard-nut club owners, questionable accommoda­tions, and worse.

"What stand-up comedians have to go through in Canada, is Hell. They start out getting maybe 50 bucks for a show - that's if they're getting paid

Judicial Board rules CSU eledion invalid

The Concordia Student Union's judicial board has annulled the by-elec­tion held in late November. The decision was announced Monday after­

noon. The next step, scheduled for last night, was for the CSU's council of repre­

sentatives to decide how to proceed. The mandate for the executive led by interim-president Patrice Blais expired

yesterday. Though the interim president's mandate ends at the end of the aca­demic year, he promised to leave with his executive.

The board decided the by-election was not legitimate because of several of CEO Jessica l.ajambe's decisions, including her decision to disqualify and later reinstate the Representative Union, led by Chris Schulz.

Board panel to hear Keefer and Marouf A t its Jan. 23 meeting, the Board of Governors ratified the establishment of

1"\.an appeals panel to hear an appeal by Tom Keefer and l.aith Marouf to overturn a decision by the rector last summer regarding their exclusion from the university.

The panel will comprise Me Rita LC. de Santis (chair), Sister Eileen Mcil­waine (vice-chair), Alex Potter, Miriam Roland, Joanne Beaudoin and Rocci Luppicini (ad hoc) . The findings and recommendations of the panel, if any, will be presented to the board no later than March 20, 2002, and will be made public.

Libraries audion hits record for charity

Like the libraries themselves, the Concordia University Library Christmas Auction is a quiet affair, not widely publicized and not ostentatious, yet it

succeeds in raising substantial donations for charity. This year the auction , which took place just before the holidays, raised

$3,485, a record for the event. The participants, mostly library staff, buy raffle tickets, donate gifts, bid on items to be auctioned , and supply the home­cooked refreshments.

The proceeds went to Auberge Madeleine, Can Serve Foundation, Chez Doris, CODE, Concordia University Campus Ministry, Concordia University Financial Aid and Awards, Dans la Rue, The Gazette Christmas Fund, Opera­tion Eyesight Universal, OXFAM, Sun Youth, and the Women's Centre of Montreal.

Congratulations to all the volunteers, donors and prize winners.

2

at all ," Woodrow said.

all kinds of things happening that the average person sitting at the back of the roo m would no t catch"), bu t opened a lucrative avenue of alterna­tive academic funding: "Because I was in the middle of things all the time, I made more money than the waitress­es waiting for people to call them over!"

"One comedian told me about the time a guy burst through the door on a motorcycle, drove right up Lo the stage, revved his mo tor, then rode back out. The comedian left the stage, went over to the bar, and said, 'I want to see the manager righ t now. ' And the bartender said, 'That was the manager."' Anna Woodrow: The waitress took notes.

With her dissertation ("Why are They Laughing? The Re-formulation of Identity in Canadian Stand-up Comedy") completed, and having delivered the valedictory at convoca­tion last November, Woodrow is now teaching humanities fu ll-time at John Abbott College, as well as working with Dr. Bill Reimer on a major Con­cordia research project concerned with changes in the Canadian rural economy. (Ba-dum-bum!)

This isn't to say that Hell doesn't have its up-side. "Canada is one of the best training grounds in the world for stand-up comedy," Woodrow said.

"It sucks the life right out of you, but - because of the size of our ·country, because of the variance between the regions, because of the desperate nature of it - it creates really well-trained, really adaptable comedians." (Woodrow added they

wo uld neve rtheless jump at the chance to relocate to the far more lucrative U.S. market. )

Woodrow conducted clandestine audience research during her shifts, literally crouching down among the front-row hoi polloi to take mental notes on "the dance between the per­formers and audience."

This undercover tactic not only afforded her an insider's vantage point ("I was invisible, and could see

She's hoping to spin her disserta­tion into a book, noting that "very lit­tle has been written about stand-up comedy in Canada." There is, howev­er, one thing she won't be doing any time soon.

"I've never , ever tried to go on stage and be a comic of any kind," she said firmly. "I love stand-up, but I can't write a joke for the life of me. I have horrible timing as well. I'm seri­ous: I'm not funny at all."

Daycare crunch intensified by faculty renewal Loyola facility has 48 children - and 250 on waiting list

BY BARBARA BLACK

New fa culty members Bart Simon and Jill Didur are not

expecting until March, but their baby is already on the waiting list for the daycare centre on the Loy­ola campus.

Debra Brind'amour can tell them all about it. Her Mateo has been on the list for two years. He's now two years, four months old, and being cared for by a babysitter who comes to his home.

Centre de la Petite Enfance les P'tits Profs has a waiting list of more than 250 children, so Brenda MacDonald , who is co-director with Sandra Chang, doesn't hold out much hope. "We only graduate about a dozen children every year, because they stay until they are old enough to go to kindergarten ," she explained.

The daycare centre, located in a large house on Belmore Ave. just east of the campus, is homey, well equipped and highly regarded, but with room for only 48 children, it's too small to meet the demand.

As CUFA representative in his department, Simon has seen a sub­stantial increase in university teach­ers in their 30s. Typically, they have just finished their doctorates, they're in a relationshi p, and

JANUARY 24, 2002

they're ready to start a family . "Within the next four or five years, there's going to be quite the back­log," he said.

Juggling home life and preparing for tenure can be difficult, and he thinks it's in the university's long­term interest to make things go smoothly for new faculty members.

"Making sure that our home life is stable provides an indirect payoff for the university. It could be an important part of its general growth plan."

Brind'amour , who has inter­viewed and researched many day­care providers, says she's happy with the care Mateo gets at home and admits that it makes it easy for her to get out to work in the morn­ing, but she's envious of the cama­raderie and socialization her little boy is missing by not being with other children his age. "It's a won­derful little daycare," she added wistfully.

Looking to expand The P'tits Profs takes advantage

of university resources, using Loy­ola's skating rink, gym and dance facilities, and providing internships for students in the early childhood education program.

It is a cooperative, run by an active board of parents. Together

with the directors, they put togeth­er a business plan last year aimed at convincing the university of the need for expansion into another Loyola building.

However, current construction has made the space crunch at Loy­ola tighter than ever. Instead, the board has proposed building a sec­ond daycare facility nearby , and the university is considering its options.

The P'tits Profs started in 1984 at the initiative of staff members. Half the spaces are reserved for the chil­dren of staff members, one-quarter for the children of faculty, and one­quarter for the children of stu­dents.

If another daycare centre were built , these priorities would be reversed: half the spaces for faculty, one-quarter for staff and one-quar­ter for students. That's because of the influx of young faculty mem­bers.

Concordia also has a downtown daycare centre, and it, too, has a long waiting list.

Brind'amour is Assistant to the Dean of Arts and Science. "We're hiring a lot of new professors for next academic year. Most of them have young families and are from outside Quebec. What do we tell them?"

C on co rdia •s Thur s d ay Re p o rt

Ducking responsibility for refugees Developed countries are getting 'creative,' says Alan Nash

BY FRANK KUIN

W estern governments are increasingly resorting to the

use of geographical barriers to cir­cumvent international obligations on how they deal with re fugees, says Alan Nash, a geography professor at Concordia.

By physically trying to prevent refugees fro m landing on their soil, rich countries, including Canada, strive to avoid the lengthy legal pro­cedures to which eve ry arriving refugee claimant is entitled under the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees , Nash concluded in a recent research paper.

"Geography can be [more effec­tive] than the law if you're trying to kel p people out," said Nash, a geog­rapher by training who has studied immigration issues since he worked at an Ottawa think-tank in the late 1980s.

He cited- several "means and dodges" by which countries try to duck their convention responsibili­ties, including redefinition of parts of their territory, interception of refugees at the high seas, and the imposition of visa requirements which are often practically impossible to fulfill for migrants in distant coun­tries.

"What I have seen happening over the last 10 to 15 years is that Western governments are realizing that if you prevent people ever getting into your country, they don't trigger any of the protections or legal requirements," he said.

Procedures can be lengthy Under the UN Convention, every

migrant who appears in one of the signatory nations and claims to be persecuted at home has a right to a full refugee determination hearing. With appeals taken into account, such procedures can take several years. During that time , claim~nts must be accommodated in the host country.

"Governments are trying to exert greater and greater control on [what is perceived as] an uncontrollable flow of refugees," Nash said. "The legal apparatus is very hard to use, so in some ways I think the geography

Countries are redefining their territory: Geography Professor Alan Nash

of the situation is being used quite cleverly by planners and bureau­crats."

For instance, Nash said, France has declared its international airports not part of the country, so that it can pre­vent refugees from filing a claim upon arrival, and can send them right back to where they came from.

"Geographers would see this as playing around with definitions of the country, of space and territory ," he said.

The United States routinely turns back ships on the high seas bound for North America to prevent people from reaching American soil, Nash said . Similarly, Australia tends to refuse to let refugee ships land.

Canada has focused on overseas visa requirements as a means to con­trol the arrival of refugee claimants, Nash said. Specifically, air passengers to Canada coming from most non­Western countries need a Canadian visa before they can board a plane.

Indeed, such requirements have

been tightened in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the United States of Sept. 11 , when Canada was accused of being an easy prey for bogus refugees . In addition , airlines are fined if they transport people without documents , further reducing the chances of refugees actually reaching Canadian airports.

"ln a sense, they've pushed Cana­da's borders way out to the point of conflict," Nash said. "These are ways of thinking creatively about where Canada's borders are."

In many cases, visas to Canada are made physically difficult to obtain, Nash added. For instance, in the whole of Eastern Africa, only the Canadian mission in Nairobi issues such visas, making them practically impossible to get for refugees from, for instance, Somalia or Sudan.

"I don't like seeing this happening," Nash said. "Refugee critics would claim it's just an opportunity to whit­tle down the rights of refugees to a full hearing."

CONCORDIA HONORARY DEGREE NOMINATIONS Honorary degree nominations are being sought for the convocation ceremonies for 2002-03.

All members of the Concordia University community (faculty, students, staff and alumni) are invited to submit nominations. Please note that current members of the faculty, the administration, or the Board of Governors

are not eligible to receive honorary degrees.

Every nomination must include a detailed curriculum vita and a succinct statement explaining (i) why the nominator thinks the candidate is worthy of the honour, and (ii) what makes the candidate an

appropriate honorand for Concordia University.

To request a nomination form or a copy of the criteria used in selecting honorands, please contact Heather Adams-Robinette, Secretary to the Graduation Ceremonies Committee, by e-mail:

heather.adams-robinett@concordia.ca or by telephone: 848-4853.

Completed nominations may be sent to the Office of the Board of Governors and Senate, S-BC 319.

The deadline for nominations for convocation ceremonies to be held in the upcoming academic year, is April 12, 2002.

C oncord ia· s T h u r sday R ep o r t JANU AR 24 , 002

Concordia faculty, staff and alumnil.E pop up in the media more often than you might think!

Even when he was manager (until earlier this year) of the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, Neil Schwartzman was well known around Concordia as a ferocious opponent of spam, or unwanted e-mail, and he has helped IITS clean out the university's in-boxes. He's still doing it, according to a Gazette column by alumnus Andy Riga . In fact, the peppery Schwartzman is embroiled in an online spat with a spammer that has been reported in Wired News. Good Morning Silicon Valley, Slashdot and Newsbytes. Schwartzman's own site has had 2.4 mil­lion hits over 20 days, Riga reported, and one surfer even wrote a one-act play about it, called Spam/et.

Daniel Salee (SCPA) was among those interviewed by The Gazette about Bill C-36, Canada's anti-terrorism law. Philip Auth ier quoted him as saying he was surprised at the ease with wh ich Canadians flushed away their own rights . "There is a lot of bl indness owing to Sept. 11 . People say it can hurt us but it will not affect us because we are not terrorists . People don't see themselves that way."

Mike Gasher (Journalism) and Bill Buxton (Communication Studies) fired off a letter to The Gazette protesting Southam's imposit ion of national editorials on the local paper. David Gobby (Rector's Cabinet) had a protest letter on the same page, on Dec. 8. Gasher was the studio guest on CBC's Radio Noon. which received blistering phone calls from listeners about this issue, and Enn Raudsepp, chair of Journalism, was on CBC 's The National, taking the owners of Southam to task for their heavy-handedness.

Lillian Robinson, principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, was one of those invited to comment on a CBC Radio Noon phone-in on the subject of gay marriage.

Marc Lalonde (Religion) was interviewed by CBC Radio as part of an item about empty churches in Montreal. He said that the trend away from conventional Christian observance is likely to continue.

Mick Carney (Management) continues to be a leading expert on the volatile airline industry, and has been widely interviewed in recent weeks.

Henry Habib, emeritus professor of political science, was inter­viewed on the CTV national news about the fragi lity of the West's alliance with Pakistan.

Lawrence Kryzanowski (Finance) was interviewed on CBC News­world's business report about Rona hardware's plans for expansion.

Rosemarie Schade (History) was asked by CFCF Pulse News to comment on Indigo Books owner Heather Reisman's decision not to sell Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Frederick Krantz, history professor and vice-principal of the Liberal Arts College, wrote an essay published in The Gazette on Dec. 17 in which he discussed the forces of "nihilistic violence " ranged against the state of Israel and the United States. Among other things, he said, " Despite his support from the social-democratic left in Europe (itself a sad tale of political and moral hypocrisy), [Yasser) Arafat, too, is a fascist."

Colleen Bronson, coordinator of the career centre at the John Mol­son School of Business, was quoted in Stephanie Whittaker's Satur­day column in The Gazette on the subject of career journals, a move she recommends to ambitious students.

Mike Gasher (Journalism) was quoted in an article by The Gazette's Mark Abley on Dec. 13 about the " cops-and-robbers" f lavour of some current w ar coverage . Gasher sa id t hat journalism students are encouraged "put a human face" on news stories, but U.S. coverage has been simplistic. "It's not as if killing bin Laden would solve any­thing, let alone resolve terrorism." Journal ism chair Enn Raudsepp added that the stark good-vs.-evil approach serves President George Bush's right-w ing agenda by making a dubious leader seem strong.

The G/engarry News reports that Bill Gilsdorf (Communication Stud­ies, retired) and his w ife Susan Joiner are going to Thailand to work as volunteers. "We've gotten so much," Gilsdorf told the community newspaper. " Now we want to give back." They will travel for six months, starting with Japan, then to China, and then northern Thai­land. They will visit, and possibly work in, a drug rehabilitation center and an orphanage, and then tour Eastern Europe and Central Europe.

Joan Acland and Fran~ois-Marc Gagnon (Art History) were inter­viewed on CBC Radio 's Home Run on December 14 about the first book publ ished by Concordia 's Institute for Canadian Art History. Called First Nations Artists in Canada, it is a biographical and biblio­graphica l guide for scholars, covering the years 1960 to 1989.

3

~ @(_PJTWU11Jn Albert valentine Mate

His many friends at Concordia were sorry to hear of the death on Dec. 20

of former Director of Libraries Al Mate. Al received his BA in English literature and history from the University of

Western Ontario, and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. He also earned dipl~mas from the Banff School of Management, Carleton Univer­sity , University of Maryland , McGill University and the Universite de Besarn;:on.

Al spent almost 30 years with the University of Windsor Library, including five years, 1980 to 1985, as University Librarian.

He then came to Concordia, where he served as Director of libraries until 1990, when he took early retirement due to ill health.

Al influenced the development of Concordia's libraries in a number of ways but perhaps the two most visible were improved communication between the library's senior management and staff, and the development and improvement of library space. He was central to the planning for the Webster Library in the McConnell Building and the review and redevelopment of the Vanier library at Loyola.

He was also an accomplished violist and an active member of a number of professional and amateur orchestral groups in the Windsor-Detroit area.

Upon hearing of Al's death, Professor Frank Chalk, who was chair of the Concordia University Library Committee during Al's tenure as director, said, "Al Mate was one of those library directors you could always count on to have his priorities right. Whenever the crunch came, he put the good of students, faculty and librarians ahead of his personal welfare and career opportunities.

"Cultured, widely read, serious about music, he represented the highest tra­ditions of librarianship at Concordia University. He will be mourned by many faculty members at Concordia who valued his courage, his grit, and his pro­fessionalism."

Al is survived by his wife of 33 years, Eileen Mate, to whom we extended our profound sympathies.

Donations may be made in Al's name to the Healthy Heart Program, Saint Paul's Hospital Foundation, Suite 164, 1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 1 Y6. Condolences can be sent to Eileen at eileen_mate@telus.net.

A NOTICE FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES

Changes to the corporate card program

The university has entered into an agreement with U.S Bank Canada for the use of a Royal Bank Visa Corporate Card.

On May 1, 2000, U.S. Bancorp purchased the Royal Bank Corporate Card portfolio. Together with the Royal Bank, U.S. Bancorp, under the trade name U.S. Bank Canada, jointly markets the corporate card pro­gram to both commercial and public sector entities in Canada.

U.S. Bank Canada is the largest issuer of Visa corporate cards in the world and a leading developer of corporate payment systems. While the scale of their operations provides advantages to all their cus­tomers, U.S Bank Canada is managed by Canadians on behalf of orga­nizations operating in Canada.

Concordia University's partnership with U.S. Bank Canada for the use of a Royal Bank Visa Corporate Card was made to simplify the acqui­sition, receipt and payment of low-dollar-value purchases and travel expenses. The use of the corporate card for such expenses should result in time and dollar savings and increased user satisfaction, while adhering to government guidelines and university policies.

If you are already a holder of an American Express Corporate Card, please note that your card will expire on February 15, 2002. Current card holders will be contacted within the next few weeks to facilitate the transition to the new Royal Bank Visa Corporate Card. Training sessions on the use of the card, as well as a detailed procedure guide, will be provided to all card holders.

If you have any questions concerning Concordia's new Corporate Card Program, or want to receive an application, please contact Rod Parsons, Manager, Accounts Payable, at: parsons@alcor.concordia.ca

Memorial service for Gabrielle Murphy

Amemorial service will be held in the Loyola Chapel , 7141 Sherbrooke St. W., on Monday, January 28, for Gabrielle Murphy, whose death we

reported in the Oct. 25 issue of CTR. Gabrielle had been the university's liaison with the Loyola Alumni Associa­

tion since 1974. Starting in 1991, these duties also took included the Associa­tion of Alumni of Sir George Williams University.

The mass will start at 4 p.m., and a reception will follow at Loyola High School. Please RSVP to Sonia Pivetta at spivetta@alcor.concordia.ca or (514) 848-3876.

4

' St~nate ~~ notes

· A regular meeting of the Concordia University Senate, held on January 18, 2002

Rector's remarks: Dr. Lowy told Senate that he is planning to make a three-stage presentation to the Board of Governors at successive Board meetings Jan. 23, Feb . 13 and March 20 about the need to

start constructing the new buildings on the downtown campus as soon as possible. The science complex under construction at Loyola is on time and on budget ($85 million).

The downtown buildings are tar­geted at $300 million, of which it is expected that one-third will come from donations and one-third from government. Although it will be a challenge, Dr. Lowy said, he hopes that the Board will support a loan of $100 million so that ground can be broken as soon as permission is granted.

Graduate Studies and Research: Dean Claude Bedard announced that the Office of Research Services has a new director, Benoit Morin (See CTR, Jan. 10, page 4). The frais indirects (from research grants, to cover overhead costs incurred by the university) are being distrib­uted . A Concordia researcher, Marie-France Wagner (Etudes fran~aises) has been awarded a major SSHRC grant for her project, Le spectacle du pouvoir: !es entrees solonnelles des rois dans !es villes fran,aises au XVIieme siecle.

Co-op Institute: Provost Jack Lightstone announced that the Institute for Co-operative Education has a new director, Christine Webb, who directed co-operative educa­/tion at Memorial University of New­lfoundland for 10 years. Welcome to Concordia, Christine.

Textbooks: Patrice Blais (Con­cordia Student Union) remarked that according to a letter to The Con­co rdian , a textbook that costs $98.95 at the Concordia Bookstore

can be bought from chapters.com for only $80. Vice-Rector Services Michael Di Grappa replied that Manager Lina Lipscombe has assured him that Concordia's book­stores charge the lowest profit mar­gin of any university bookstore in Canada. The price differential has to do with economies of scale.

Graduate students on Senate: A motion was introduced by Rocci Luppicini , president of the Gradu­ate Students Association, that would increase graduate students' repre­sentation on Senate from two seats to three. He explained that current­ly, the two are from one Faculty, leaving other three Faculties unrep­resented. The graduate students in business and engineering do not pay fees to the GSA, and having three seats instead of two might encourage them to participate.

Lightstone said that this was putting the cart before the horse , and suggested that the GSA gets its house in order. Michael Oppen­heim (Centre for Mature Students) and Christine Basmaji (CASA, busi­ness students) suggested that the motion be amended to ensure max­imum representation across Facul­ties. Dean Jerry Tomberlin said that it has been difficult to persuade graduate students to fill available seats on JMSB Faculty Council. Dean of Students Donald Boisvert said that whether all graduate stu­dents pay fees to the GSA or not, the university recognizes the GSA as speaking for them.

Students senators argued for more student representation on Senate as a matter of principle . (Senate has 37 voting members, of whom 10 are undergraduates and two graduate students. The rest are faculty or administrators.)

Benoit Desgreniers (CSU) argued

THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE CENTRE FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING SERVICES

Hypermedia-Assisted Instruction in Engineering Education

Dr. Malgorzata Gosha Zywno February 21 , 9 - 11 am Room LB-922-4 Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m.

Dr. Gosha Zywno is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ryerson Polytechnic University, and a research associate at the Ryerson Centre for Engineering Education (RCEE) . She has been developing and

implementing courseware for teaching control systems since 1997.

In this presentation, she will talk about her experiences with hypermedia­assisted teaching, and will demonstrate some of the hypermedia components

used in the classroom and the WebCT website supporting the course.

She will also present results from her current research into the relationship between hypermedia instruction, learning styles and learning outcomes.

Participants are asked to register by phoning the Centre for Teaching and Learning Services, at 848-2495.

■ Correction In our last issue Uan. 10), we published a description of the new Loyola International College, but we supplied an old phone number. The current number is 848-2126.

for more rights for independent stu­dents ( who take three or fewer courses and are not in a program) and students like himself who can't always pay their fees on time. The motion was narrowly defeated , nine for and 10 against.

Special Graduation Awards: Changes, mainly of a housekeeping nature, were proposed to this group of "community" awards, so called because they take into account non­academic achievements. The sub­stantive changes included setting an expected minimum grade-point average of 3.0 for graduating candi­dates. Sarni Nazzal (CSU) suggested that this tnight put engineering stu­dents at a disadvantage since they tend to have lower GPAs because their courses are "harder."

Other student senators argued that the GPA criterion puts deserv­ing students with lower marks at a disadvantage.

Lightstone said that since they are presented at spring convocation, an academic event, they should meet academic standards. Boisvert added that extra-curricular and academic achievement often go hand-in­hand. Bedard pointed out that in the case of the Stanley G. French Award, given to graduate students, a criterion of 3.0 is irrelevant because graduate students have to maintain a 3.0 GPA in any case, and another criterion, that 60 credits must be from Concordia, is also inapplicable to graduate students.

The motion was amended to read that a 3.0 GPA is "usually" expected in candidates, and it was under­stood that the French A ward has its own criteria. Carried, though not unanimously.

The meeting scheduled for February 1 has been cancelled.

Trfursaay Report • Concordia's lhursday Report

is published 18 times during the academic year on a bi-weekly basis by

the Public Relations Department of Concordia University,

1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal, Quebec H3G 1 M8

{514) 848-4882 E-mail: barblak@alcor,concordia.ca

Fax: (514) 848-2814 Material published in the newspaper

may not be reproduced without permission. 7"e Bade Page listings

are published free of charge, and must reach the Public Relations Department

{1463 Bishop St, Room 115) in w riting no later than Thursday

5 p.m. prior to Thursday publication. ISSN J 185-3689

Publications Mail Agreement No.: 40042804 •

Editor Barbara Black

Layout Debbie Hum

Concept and Production Elana Trager

Marketing Communications World Wide Web Site

pr.concordia.ca/ctr

r.-;i Concordia ~ UNIVERSITY

Co n co rd ia ·s T hu rs da y R e p o rt

Help is at hand: Line-ups move quickly at Financial Aid BY JOHN AUSTEN

It just may be the m .;t popular spot on campus during the first

two weeks of the winter term. From Jan. 7 to 21 , the Financial Aid and Awards Office at Concordia is full of students applying for or picking up loans. Many of the students are in dire straits, seeking what is com­monly known as "emergency aid."

"Sometimes there may be a delay in processing loans, so students come to us for temporary advances," explained Brenda Brisson, who is the coordinator of client services.

"We know that emergency situa­tions arise. People have to pay their rent, buy groceries and pay medical bills. We know that money is eventu­ally coming to a particular student,

so we have no problem giving advances in most cases."

In past years, it was common for more than 75 people to be waiting at one time to have their case dealt with at the Financial Aid and Awards Office, in the lower level of the J.W. McConnell library complex. Students would often be lined up in the corri­dors with waits of more than three hours. "Things are much better this time around," Brisson said. 'We used to be more restricted in our times, but now things are more efficient . We have two lines going now, and people are usually in and out within an hour."

The day this reporter visited the office, all two dozen chairs in the waiting room were filled with stu­dents, with another six or seven out-

side patiently waiting to get in. All eyes were on a television screen in the comer of the room, watching a movie. Every student was given a card with either A or B, on it and a corresponding number. The A line is for general information, verification and application, while the B line is for quick pick-up.

"I hope this won't take too long," said Michael, 20, from Toronto, who was last in line outside the office. 'Tm supposed to be getting financial assistance, but it's not ready and I'm not sure it will be before my rent is due (in February). I phoned an advi­sor and was told to apply for a tem­porary loan.

"To be honest, I've heard horror stories from friends at other universi­ties who camped out all night to

German team takes gold at our MBA Case But the Concordia team wins at McMaster University

The Concordia team didn't make it to the semi-finals in

the Concordia MBA International Case Competition , held Jan. 7 t0 12 in Montreal, but virtually the same team won $10,000 in anoth­er competition held at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ont.

Munster University, of Germany, came first in the Concordia compe­tition . Second place went to Helsinki School of Economics (Fin­land) and third to Northeastern University (USA).

The Concordia competition , now in its 21st year, brought 22 teams of business students from schools around the world to Mon­treal for a round-robin competi­tion. Teams argue for the best way of solving business problems , called cases, under severe time con­stra in ts, and the winners are judged by seasoned business exec­utives from the Montreal area.

Although the Case Competition has been held for a number of years at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, renovations are going on there, so the event was held for the first time at the Hilton Bonaventure. It was a great choice, said student organizer Cristina Franco. "Participants really liked the new hotel, and in terms of logistics, the hotel was perfect, with meeting space in one floor."

"We also had, for the first time, simultaneous translation of the finals. However , only English­speaking teams advanced to the finals and so there was not much demand for the translation receivers. This measure was taken because last year, Laval advanced to the finals, and later on won the competition, and many teams com­plained that they were not able to understand the winning team's pre­sentation."

Concordia's MBA case competitions team. Seated, from left, are Devon Cruickshank and coach Tim Field. Behind them are Steffen Hartleib, Isabelle Larue, Noor Shawwa and Chantal Gosselin.

Every year, the organizers arrange for a "live case," an actual business challenge presented by an executive of the company. This year's choice was the Quebec engi­neering giant SNC Lavalin, present­ing issues on privatization of infrastructure.

The competition wasn't all work. The students enjoyed a Holly­wood-theme costume party , a night out at the good old hockey game, and several cocktail recep­tions hosted by corporate sponsors, and a closing awards banquet, with prizes that included Air Canada tickets anywhere in the world.

The Concordia team who com­peted in Montreal comprised Devon Cruikshank, Noor Shawwa, Isabelle Larue and Chantal Gos­selin

Only a week later, the Concordia team, with Hartleib replacing Larue, who was out of town, com­peted.in the first annual case com-

petition held by the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, January 14 to 16, in Hamilton, and won first prize , taking home $10 ,000 in prize money.

Dean Jerry Tomberlin was delighted. "Our team's strong finish is a reflection of the strength of our MBA program and the quality of the students. I am very proud of their achievement.

"A case competition really tests students' ability to think on their feet , using the skills that they have developed to come up with cre­ative, targeted responses to real business challenges."

DeGroote is the business school. The competition drew seven teams from across Canada. A panel of six business people acted as judges. The anonymity of the teams was maintained throughout the com­petition until the final awards cer­emony.

Con c nr(/io •s T l ur.;;tf:i Repo rt JANUARY 24, 2002

make sure they were first in line to get help. It was kind of like a soup kitchen. I'm sure it's not like that here, though."

Less than an hour later, Michael emerged from the office with a big smile on his face.

"No problem," he said, high-fiving this reporter. "I got it. Now I just have to pick up the money. It's a load off my mind I can tell you."

Brisson said that while it's the busiest time of year for the staff in the office, and their normal comple­ment of five front-line staff is down to four, things are going smoothly.

"We aren't getting many, if any, complaints about the waiting," she said. "Of all the people coming in daily, probably 30 of them are seek­ing temporary advances."

Students are eligible for assistance if they are full-time and registered for 12 credits. For out-of-town students, the minimum is nine credits.

Students who defaulted on their student loans and on whose behalf the Ministere de !'Education du Quebec had to repay the financial institution do not qualify for financial assistance under the Loans and Bur­saries Program until they have paid back 50 per cent of their student loan debt.

Applications for financial assis­tance for the 2001-2002 award year or related documents will not be accepted after March 31 , except in cases where students can prove that they could not meet this deadline because of circumstances beyond their control.

EConcordia takes off online BY BARBARA BLACK

The first 100 students of an engineering graduate course met one evening this month for an orientation session , but they won't meet again until

their mid-term exam. The course, whose content was provided by recently retired professor Jeremiah Hayes, is being given on the Internet by a private company called eConcordia.

Andrew McAusland is chief executive officer of eConcordia, which is owned by the Concordia University Foundation. He sees the new venture as a great opportunity to advertise Concordia programs and attract thousands of stu­dents. Its future is open-ended, and likely to include academic and interest courses, plus technical and professional courses specifically designed for client businesses.

The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science was a good candidate for this pilot course, since its enrolment has mushroomed and no courses have so far been delivered online.

A cap was set at 100 students for this first course , Introduction to a Telecommunications Network (ELEC 6861), and there was no difficulty in reaching that number. Two teaching assistants have been hired, and at least one can speak Mandarin, an asset given the Chinese origin of many of the stu­dents. A help line is available, and eConcordia staff will edit and make adjust­ments as the 13-week, four-credit course proceeds.

EConcordia is not a "virtual university"; degrees can only be conferred by the university itself. McAusland stressed that only the university can grant aca­demic credits, and these can only be earned by bona fide students.

However, another course in the works will likely be a non-credit course in investment aimed at the general public. As well as finding a broad audience, such interest courses give users a taste of the university experience, and may draw some of them to enrol in conventional academic programs.

Students expect to have the option of on line courses Leaming digitally is definitely here to stay, said McAusland, and students

expect it. He is also Executive Director of IITS, Concordia's computing services department, and teaches several computer courses in the Faculty of Arts and Science, where he is Director of Academic Technology. He has about 250 stu­dents in each of his online courses, and said that 25,000 students have regis­tered via the university's new Web registration facility , despite minimal publicity.

A participating faculty member is likely to license his intellectual property to

eConcordia rather than selling the material outright. Course content, particu­larly of the kind that suits this kind of delivery, has a relatively short shelf life.

"We will look for courses with potentially wide audiences, and a profession­al edge." McAusland said eConcordia is also looking for content that is unique to the teacher, not simply based on a textbook.

Finance Professor Arshad Ahmad, who is working on a course for eConcor -dia in managing personal finances , has the following advice: "Ensure that the technology will enable or leverage learning. Be prepared to give a lot of time. Don't compromise on creativity or quality. Look for a long-term partnership. Take manageable risks."

£Concordia launch continued on page 8

5

SPOTLIGHT ON CHEMISTRY

Big strides for computational chemists, biochemists Researchers converge at the Second Annual Centre for Research in Molecular Modelling Symposium

BY ANNA BRATULIC

The 15-month-old ·c entre fo r Research in Molecular Model­

ing (CERMM) held its second annual symposium on Jan.19 in the DeSeve Cinema. Fo rty-five scientists and graduate students from the greater Mon t rea l a rea p resented thei r research in the field of computational chemistry and biochemistry.

Growing academic activity Chemistry Professor Russell Boyd,

from Dalhousie University, gave the plenary lecture. He traced the devel­opment of computational chemistry in Canada, which began with the hir­ing of the cou ntry's firs t theoretical/computational chemist at the Universite de Montreal in 1954. A subsequent lull in the 1970s and 80s gave way to burgeoning academic activity in the 90s, as theoretical and computational chemistry began play­ing an increasingly important role in chemistry, with the help of h uge strides in computer technology.

"Promoting excellence in research and graduate training in computa­tional chemistry is the raison d'etre of our annual symposiu m," said CERMM Director Gilles Peslherbe. The event provides an opportunity for graduate students, postdoctoral

Seen at the daylong symposium held by CERMM, Concordia's Centre for Research in Molecular Modelling are, left to right, Russell Boyd {Dalhousie University, plenary lecturer), Gilles Peslherbe (Director, CERMM}, Heidi Muchall {CERMM}, Tony Whitehead (McGill University}, Dennis Salahub {Director-General, Steacie Institute, NRC) and Ann English {CERMM}.

fellows and professors to discuss their research and learn from each other. Students often find it easier to approach professors in such a setting than at larger conferences.

Many of the presentations at the symposi um , wh ich we re often focused on the properties of materi­als, were given by graduate students

from Concordia, McGill, Universite de Montreal and from members of the at ional Research Council in Ottawa.

Part of the research carried out at CERMM is to develop tools and com­puter programs that simulate chemi­cal reactions and materials. CERMM recently boosted its computer arsenal

by adding more processors, bringing the total to 128. Individual worksta­tions are linked to reproduce the cal­culating capac ity of a supe r­computer.

Pes lherbe expects that once CERMM moves into its new home in the Loyola Science Complex, they will be in a position to upgrade all

their equipment in a major way, and to take their computing faci li ty to another level.

Refining predictions While quickly evolving technology

is important in creating software packages with predictive ability, com­putational chemistry is not at the stage where all its predi Lions are 100-per-cent reliable. Biological mol­ecules such as proteins, for example, are very large and are composed of thousands of atoms.

"It is a challenge for the computa-~ tional chemist to treat those large sys-~ terns , and that's where a lot of the g effort goes. Computational chemistry I can make predictions, but we 're "' working on making those predictions 3 more and more realistic," Peslherbe

said. "Of course, we will perform very

realistic simulations of biological systems and materials within the next few years. As the com puter technology advances, we'll be able to do a better job in terms of under­standing chemical reactions and their outcome, but you can't only rely on these advances . You also have to keep up intellectually, by developing new simulation tech ­niques and new theories in order to understand these processes better."

Chemists look forward to real-world equipment in new science complex BY ROBERT S CALIA

W ant to find the quickest way to any chemist's heart? Try a

spanking new state- of-the a rt $160,000 Fourier Transform Infrared Spec trofcopy system and carte blanche in designing their own labs. Dr. Markus Lawrence, chair, and Miriam Posner, technical supervisor, of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, can testify to that.

In fact, both burst into laughter when asked to criticize any aspect of the $85-million Science Complex at Loyola Campus, which will become home in August 2003.

The physical move itself might be rough , admits Lawrence. He'll miss the downtown cuisine and, in retro­spect, the Genomics Centre could have been a little closer to their own department. That's it, though.

"We've been in the Hall Building forever now," Lawrence explained, in his 11th-floor office. "This place is outdated, and pretty much maxed­out in terms of research capacity."

"We're here to provide the best possible teaching environment for students, and expose them to what's being used in industry ," he added, Posner nodding with approval. 'The new building will help us do that.

6

Hoping to avoid cramming these new state-of-the-art labs and instru­ment rooms with "junk," the depart­ment has gone on a shopping spree with a $1-million cash infusion from the Faculty of Arts and Science. Lawrence commended Dean Martin Singer for his commitment to the sci­ences, and for making the new Sci­ence Complex a reality.

An FTIR-Raman, MALO! and LC­MS mass spectrometers and a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system have been purchased at a cost of about $400,000. Five HPLC systems (high-pressure liqu id chro­matographs) have also been acquired, worth roughly $65,000 each.

Experience with the cutting-edge This new equipment will allow stu­

dents to determine the molecu lar structures of novel compounds and conduct cutting-edge experiments. They are necessary tools for a "real­world" education, Lawrence said.

"It's not just knowing what an NMR system does ," Posner added, the excitement creeping up in her voice. "It's actually getting to experi­ence working with the MR and other high-tech instruments."

Chemistry and Biochemistry will occupy one of the largest chunks of

s pace in the complex. Spread over four floors, the chemists and biochemists will have close to 50 lab/instrument areas at their disposal. This will include eight teaching labs , an amal­

MAROSI TROY/JOOOIN LAMARRE PRATTE/CARDINAL HENRY AND ASSOCIATES

gamated computer lab and a lab­Works facility, where students can perform compute r-aided experi­ments. Graduate students, who are now assigned to desks in alread y over-crowded labs, will share offices in the new complex.

All 21 faculty will work out of their own individual research labs , each one custom-designed by its occupant.

"It's a very detailed process," Pos­ner said. These plans, which she and Lawrence ultimately have to verify, are not finished just yet. "You get right into deciding where a sink should go, what faucet to put on that sink, and what the current running through that particular electrical cir­cuit should be."

What is certain is the department

JANIIARV ">A -,nn">

will operate in a more hub-like layout that will group corresponding labs and instrument rooms. Analytical , physical and general chemistry stu­dents working in their separate labs will share a balance room, for exam­ple. The service corridor, meanwhile, will allow for the storage of equip­ment and transport of potentially hazardous chemicals.

"You don't want undergraduate students carrying reagents through the public corridors."

While promoting a safe and effi­cient environment, Posner hopes the mixed-function complex will foster increased sharing and collaboration between departments. The complex will also house Biology, the Centre for tructural and Functional Genomics,

the Centre for Research in Molecular Modelling, Physics, Exercise Science and Psychology. "It will probably give us a better sense of community - we'll be seeing each other more often," Posner said.

Lawrence takes that line of reason­ing a step further. He recalls a time when physical chemists, for example, would only study the reaction of gases. He believes those strict acade­mic divisions are slowly dissolving.

"Now, even physical chemists like myself are getting into genomics, he said . Four faculty members in Chem­istry and Biochemistry are currently work ing with fa culty from the genomics centre. It's by no means a huge stretch to envision a future where such interaction will extend to the undergraduate level.

Ultimately, whether it involves aca­demic trends or those set by industry, the key concern for Lawrence is keep­ing up . He said undergraduate stu­dents don 't get as much hands-on experience as he would have liked. While he realizes no university has the deep pockets of Merck Frosst, for example, he remains optimistic.

"We have to train students to the best of our ability. I think they like to feel like they're on the cutting edge of technology."

STUDENT ACTIVITIES AROUND CAMPUS

Competitive events at the Science Games THE FOURTH ANNUAL SCIENCE Games took place at Concordia for the first time, from Jan. 10

to 13. Organizer Magali Merkx­

Jacques, who is in her last year of a biology honours program, has attended all of the Games so far (at McGill, the University of Toronto and Western), and said that this was the biggest. About So students from seven universities in Quebec and Ontario took part.

Universite Laval, competing for the first time, won the Spirit Cup for all-around excellence and attitude. The University of Ottawa took the prize for highest point score, with Windsor and Concordia coming second and third.

The competitive events included a quiz on science and general knowledge, and a day­long contest to see which team could make the best and most complex machine to deliver a Ping Pong ball to a basket, using materials found in your average dollar store.

How's your grasp of science? Try these questions Here's a sample of the ques­tions asked during the recent inter-university Science Games. 1. What are transport vehicles for lipids called7 (Hint: we're not talking about trucks and trains here.I

2. If I had 10 dollars and bought four crayons costing 11 cents each, how much would I have left7 3. What describes the orbital geometry of an Sp2 hybridized atom7

Conco rdi 9:s Thursday Report

4. What is the charge of an atom7 5. What planet is referred to as ourtwin7 6. Who invented the scissors?

Answers on page 8.

JANUAR Y 24 , 2 00 2

V stands for women

A PRODUCTION OF THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, BY EVE ENSLER, IS BEING mounted by a group of Concordia students. The well-known stage show is a combination of outrageous and unique stories with music, dance and a display of art by women.

All proceeds go to local organizations working towards ending violence against women, and to the united V-Day fro~t, which supports the liberation of women in Afghanistan.

Seen above are {from the top) Ashley Kerr, Leslie Carty, Jocelyn Wickett, and Kristen Forsyth and Sadia Mahmood.

You can see it at the D.B. Clarke Theatre, below the lobby of the Hall Building, Feb. 4 to 6, at 8 o'clock. For tickets, call 281-4194-

Constructive reactions through art FOLLOWING THE EVENTS OF SEPT.

11, students at Concordia

coordinated ART4PEACE, an

exhibit on dealing positively with

racism and war.

Works had to meet two criteria,

relevance and appropriateness -

artistic merit was not a criterion,

as the goal was to encourage the

fullest participation possible.

The screening panel consisted of

three professors: Frances Aboud

(McGill Psychology), Wolfgang

Krol (Concordia Studio Arts), and

Bella Rabinovitch, who lectures at

Marianopolis College and

Concordia.

7

Anjali Agarwal develops new, user-friendly Net services Electrical and Computer Engineeering Professor makes data transmission over the Internet smoother

BY JANICE HAMILTON expected to take over many of the services currently provided by tele­phones, such as voice communica­tion, call display and call waiting, as well as multimedia services such as video-conferencing, says Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Anjali Agarwal.

The challenges include addressing the issues of delay, variance in the delay, and network traffic experi­enced in data transmission and receipt, since some customers may pay extra, to ensure the delay period is short.

Most of us are familiar with the Internet as a source of data, e­

mail and keyboard-to-keyboard chat rooms, but in the future, the Net is

In fact, voice transmission over the Net (engineers call it IP telephony, for Voice Over Internet Protocol) has been around for some years, but it has never really caught on, largely because the voice quality has been poor. Such "quality of service" issues are one of Agarwal's main research

.. interests, along with real-time net-z §l working and broadband wireless ~ communications for corporate net-o ' . !J: works. 0

~ "Most of my work is on real-time § multimedia communication over the

'Tm working on interworking. I provide mechanisms of signalling, or a method to establish a call end-to­end. Both parties may use different standards (they may use different ser­vice requirements, for example,) but nevertheless the connection provides the required service to both users.

"It all boils down to how to deliver end-to-end quality of service, based on appropriate network configura­tions and different classes of service." This research is primarily funded by NSERC.

Agarwal also teaches in this field.

Anjali Agarwal Internet, including voice, video and data transmission," she explained.

Despite the current economic slow­down, she says, many companies are

8

Writers Read @ Concordia A Night of Five Authors• Tuesday, February 12, 7:30 p.m. • Java U Bistro, Hall Building

The Porcupine's Quill publishers presents some of its best writers from Quebec, reading from recent

works of fiction, poetry and essays. ■ Clark Blais is one of the founders of Concordia's cre­ative program. His books include Lunar Attraction, Pittsburgh Stories, If I Were Me, and Southern Shores. ■ Judith Cowan is a writer and translator living in Trois-Rivieres, and author of a book of short stories, Gambler's Fallacy. ■ Eric Ormsby is a poet, and a scholar of Islamic stud-

ies at McGill. He is the author of Facsimiles of Time, a book of literary essays. ■ Norm Sibum is a Montreal poet, and the author of Girls and Handsome Dogs. ■ David Solway was poet-in-residence at Concordia in 1999-2000. His latest book is The Lover's Progress.

Carmine Starnino will be emcee. Writers Read at Concordia is supported by the Depart­

ment of English, the Creative Writing Program, and Con­cordia University.

Cross film on squeegee kids opens tomorrow Daniel Cross, whose MFA thesis film about the homeless of downtown Montreal, The Street, got excellent reviews, has made another full-length film in central Montreal. He calls it SPIT: Squeegee Punks In Traffic. Cross is a Concordia alumnus and teaches film production in the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema.

The French-language version played for three weeks at the ExCentris Cinema - with sellouts, Cross says - and it will enjoy an extended run at the Cinema Parisien, starting Feb. 1. The So-minute, 35mm film also played in Paris, and Cross has entered it in the Goteburg International Film Festival in Sweden from Feb. 1-3.

You can· see the English-language premiere of SPIT tomorrow night, January 25, at the Cinema du Pare, starting at 9:30 p.m. Daniel and Roach, seen above doing his thing, provide a live question-and-answer period after each screening. For more on film, try the Web site http://www.spit.ca/.

JANUARY 24, 2002

still doing a lot of work in her areas of interest, and the graduate course she teaches in real-time multimedia communication over the Internet is a hit with students.

Graduated from Concordia Agarwal has been on the faculty of

Concordia since 1999. She grew up in New Delhi and obtained her undergraduate degree there . Then she accompanied her husband to Calgary, where he was doing a PhD, and she got an MSc in electrical engi­neering from the University of Cal­gary in 1986.

The couple returned to India for several years, where she was a lectur­er at the University of Roorkee, now part of the Indian Institute of Tech­nology.

She received her PhD from Con­cordia in 1996, then worked in industry for several years , first at

continued from page 5

Positron Fiber Systems, then at Harris Communications.

At Harris , she was a protocol design engineer, providing specifica­tions for Internet voice technology for broadband wireless access products. Since coming to Concordia, she has also worked on broadband wireless access issues in a joint research pro­ject with industrial partner BroadTel Canada.

"That was mostly to develop the protocols for the media access con­trol, and to connect the broadband wireless from the customer site to the network site ," she said, adding that that project is now almost finished .

Broadband ·Ni.reless access is a new technology that is competing with telephone and cable companies to provide customers with communica­tions services. It is able to deliver large amounts of data , voice and video information quickly and cheaply.

EConcordia courses launched Ahmad has a good experience with eConcordia so far, and he hopes to

remain active, to continue updating and fine-tuning his material, and possibly develop complementary courses.

Once they've acquired the content, the eConcordia designers go to work. Packaging the course may involve all sorts of media - text, audio, video, even animation.

The real challenge to the new concept is bureaucratic and legal, and it has taken more than a year to get the project up and running. The staff of eCon­cordia, housed in the Faubourg Tower on Ste. Catherine St. W. , is small now, but likely to grow.

Besides McAusland, the staff comprises Caroline Danis, Director of Business Affairs; Christine Daviault , Production Manager; Kaoru Matsui, Marketing Coordinator; Anita Gulens, Web Developer; and Samar Mattar, Web Program­mer. The Web site is at http:!!econcordia.concordia.ca/.

Listings <·ontinuect from the Back Page

Car for sale 1998 Honda Accord, less than 230,000 km. New battery. good condition, nice colour. Only $1 ,000. Call 529-7594 after 6pm.

Parking spot In my driveway or unheated garage, near Loy­ola, $50/month. 481 -9461 .

Educational trip to Italy May 27-June 21, four weeks with 80 hours of Italian lessons. Approx. $1.350 includes regis­tration, lodging. Registration by March 31 . Josee Di Sano 488-1778

Mary's Recovery English/French nonprofit self-help groups for people seeking help dealing with fear. anger, .stress. depression. anxiety. panic attacks. pho­bias. meet weekly. 485-21 94

Workshops EAP Lunch Seminar Expressing Yourself: The Art of Being Heard -Learn the essential skills necessary for effec­tive communication. January 29. 12-1 :15pm, H-

769. To register or for information. call 848-3667, e-mail eap@alcor.concordia or visit our website at http://eap.concordia.ca

Libra!'{ workshops All workshops are hands-on (computer lab). Workshops at Vanier Library (Loyola) are in room VL-122. workshops at Webster Library (SGW) are in room LB-203. Sign up in person at the Reference Desk. by phone (Vanier: 848-7766; Webster: 848-7777/ or from our website (connect to http.//library.concordia.ca and click on "Help & Instruction).

• Two for one - sessions combining CLUES, the website and searching for articles using databases: Webster Library: Saturday, Jan. 26. 10:30 am.12 hours)

• Government infonnation sources: We'o­ster Library: Tuesday, Jan, 29, 10 am.12 hours)

• Searching for articles using databases -in library and from home: Webster Library: Thursday, Jan. 31, 10 am; Wednesday. Feb. 6, 3 pm.12 hours)

• Internet for academic research: Webster Library: Tuesday. February 5, 3 [)Tl. (2 hours)

Answers to Science Games quiz (page 7) 1. Lipoproteins. 4. An atom is neutral. 2. You would have S9.56 left. 5. Venus 3. Trigonal planar 6. Leonardo Da Vinci

•

Mary Ellen Davis brings Guatemalan slaughter to film BY JAMES M ARTIN

The title of Mary Ellen Davis' new documentary, Haunted Land, is

chilling! y apt. Between 1960 and 1996, over 200,000 Guatemalans were killed or disappeared during government-sanctioned massacres. The dead were unceremoniously dis­carded in clandestine graves. Guatemala has many ghosts.

Mateo Pablo, a Chuj Maya Indian, was 24 years old when state troops slaughtered the people of his small farming village in 1982. Most of his family was murdered, but he escaped, eventually settling in Montreal. Haunted Land recounts his return, 18 years later, to his shattered homeland.

Mary Ellen Davis, an instructor in

film production at Concordia's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, has "a long-term interest in Latin America in general, and Central America in particular." She has visited Guatemala annually since 1986, and Haunted Land is her third documentary filmed there. (ln addition to her Guatemala films , The Devil's Dream and Sacred Earth, Davis directed a documentary titled Mexico, Dead or Alive.)

Subjective experiences

Davis is active with Projet Accom­pagnement, a local volunteer organi­zation that provides people returning to distressed homelands with an international observer "to help ease tensions," and it was through these connections that she first met Pablo.

He had seen Mexico, Dead or Alive, in which Davis accompanied Dr. Mario Roj as Alba, a political exile, back to Mexico, and suggested doing a similar project based around his planned returned to Guatemala.

"I try to film the sub­jective experience of individuals," said Davis, explaining what drew her to Pablo 's story . "My films are not strict­ly about political or his­torical affairs - it's like doing a fiction film , rather than going through the macro vision of history."

Filmmaker and instructor Mary Ellen Davis Shooting digital-

video on a shoestring budget, Davis fol­lowed Mateo Pablo and Sarah Baillargeon (a Projet Accompag­nement volunteer) from Montreal to Guatemala City. After meeting up with pho­tographer Daniel Hernandez-Salazar (perhaps best-known for his iconic portrait of Guatemala's "angel" - a man posed in front of "wings" made from a massacre vic­tim's bleached shoul­der-blades), the team climbed to Pablo's for­mer home high in the mountains .

Haunted Land is not an easy film to watch - in one particularly powerful scene, Pablo

Mateo Pablo, a Chuj Maya Indian, was 24 years old when state troops slaughtered the people of his small farming village in 1982

identifies his family's remains lying in an unmarked mass grave - nor was it an easy film to make. Davis was unable to secure interest from a TV broadcaster (the key to obtaining sub­stantial funding in Canada) because, as she was repeatedly informed , Mateo Pablo's story was "not com­pelling" or "not Canadian enough."

As a result, the director was left to seek alternative avenues of funding, forcing her to complete the film in fits and starts over several years.

"I really question why Canada -especially the television broadcasters, with their huge funding - wouldn't think that a project about one of our

immigrant's life experiences is worth sharing with other Canadians ," she said. "I find that very strange."

Commitment to persecute needed

Haunted Land may be finished at long last, but Mateo Pablo's quest for justice continues. He and Davis are circulating a petition demanding the Canadian government strengthen its commitment to the persecution of international war criminals. He also hopes to spread his story by touring with the film , with plans underway to visit Western Canada in the spring.

Davis is already working on her next documentary, a film about Larry

Towell , the Ontario photographer celebrated for his photos of life in countries such as Mexico, Palestine and El Salvador.

"We'll see if Canadian TV is more enthusiastic about this story," she quipped, still smarting from the frus­tration of bringing Haunted Land to the screen. She added with a wry laugh, "A lot of Larry Towell's pho­tographs are taken outside of Canada, so we'll see."

Haunted Land will be screened on Friday.January 25, in the Henry F. Hall Building, H-110. The French version, Le Pays Hante, runs until January 31 at Ex-Centris.

Artists look at what's real in art and the real world BY BA RBARA B LACK Fine Arts should emphasize pure art who is working in communications employers or gallery owners and art Finally, the artists asked them-

at the expense of art with a com- for a leading computer company, dealers will want to see, not his selves, How do we change the real Back in 1963, a Fluxus artist mercial tinge. A third was how and loves it. A student added that GPA. Another student said that world? Ask what we have in com-called Robert Filliou decided important grades should be to the art itself is hybridizing into new some graduate schools - Gold- mon, offered Robert Holland Mur-

that art was one million years old, Concordia art student. -forms, creating new ways to make a smiths Art College in London was ray, a senior part-time faculty and declared Jan. 17 art's birthday. One artist said that only about 4 living. mentioned - look at your marks member. A young woman said that The quirky idea has been picked up per cent of artists can be considered In any case, Plotek said, artists first. she had started out in science and as an opportunity to reflect on what financially successful, and many of who want to create are unstoppable, gravitated to art, but in a sense, they the venerable practice of art means the students looked glum. regardless of whether it pays. "You Studio work most important had similar values. Another young to us. Professor Leopold Plotek admit- can't stop people from doing this The faculty members tended to woman who said she had a business

About 60 students and faculty of ted that the prospect of doing what kind of craziness." support some sort of academic eval- background urged artists to be Concordia 's art school held a you love for little or no money is The dichotomy of high vs. low art uation, although Plotek said that a brave and passionate, and value "gallery in a hat" at the Leonard and naturally a source of anxiety for was raised by a student who was a student's studio work counts for "99 themselves instead of taking soci-Bina Ellen Art Gallery on Jan. 17, young people, but he added that the bit irked that his own style of draw- per cent" when it comes to admis- ety's evaluation. with a birthday cake for afters. The stereotype of the starving artist is ing was seen as something close to sion to graduate school. Hughes "Human beings have a need to idea was to put a question on a slip wrong. cartooning. Art is part of culture, he pointed out that grades have the create," said student Melanie Authi-of paper into the hat - something "ln Canada, artists don't starve; said, and it 's widespread. "The effect of identifying the students er. "l have friends in engineering inspired by Concordia's catch- poor people, disadvantaged people, design of my shoes is part of cul- who are serious and disciplined , and medical school, and they're phrase Real Education for th<:: Real starve." In other words, an artist can ture." lf Concordia doesn't give full and an art scholar is expected to corning to me with questions about World - and moderator Franc;ois usually find a way to make a decent due to popular art, who will , he measure up academically. art, about ways to connect." Morelli would pull them out one by living; in his case, it's teaching at a asked? "Don't restrict it to the elite." Katya Kessin , who teaches at Hughes said that art is underval-one, read them, and get a discussion university. Another student said that the way Concordia, said that the Faculty of ued by the world at large. "It's not a going. In fact, said Professor Lynn she is taught is so conceptual that Fine Arts has changed since she frill, it's incredibly important. It's

The talk centred on the dichoto- Hughes, doing something else for a she finds it hard to explain it to her graduated in the mid-1980s. Now, seen as a luxury - unlike cars and my between the ideal world and paycheque can be stimulating, and parents. students are offered all sorts of other possessions. Yet in the last gritty reality in at least three ways. make you more efficient. A degree How important should grades be choice. "There is more emphasis on years of my mother's life , those One was whether a practising artist in art needn't lead directly to a to a fine arts student? The students informing students what it means to things weren't important to her. The can make a living in the real world. career in art. She had met a recent were divided . One said that after be an artist, and the various roles only thing that mattered was Another was whether the Faculty of graduate in painting and art history graduation, it's his portfolio that they can play." music."

Con ordio •s Thursday R.c .p.orr iJAN1UtRY '2.4, 2002 9

.,.

✓

Detection software is good, but prevention is better

Simon Fraser University will likely now take a look at an Internet service called Turnitin.com, according to the Vancouver Sun Qan. 7).

The same service was· contracted by the University of British Columbia in the fall, in an effort to discourage plagiarism. The search engine com­pares students' work to all written material is available on the Web in an effort to detect similarities.

Detection of plagiarism by electronic means is possible , but expensive and not comprehensive, librarian Diane Sauve says.

"Search engines have limitations. None covers the entire Internet, so there is no guarantee that you will be able to trace a unique string of characters to its source by using them." Also, the contents of subscrip­tion databases of e-joumals are not indexed in search engines.

Some cheating not detected Detection software/services (such as Turnitin.com) also have limita­

tions, as they only compare papers submitted with their own database of term papers, which is limited and will not include most papers available from paper mills or other types of documents such as articles from jour­nals. This doesn't deal with such types of fraud as custom-made papers.

Sauve said that Concordia Libraries doesn't have any detection soft­ware. "Detection of plagiarism does not fall under the mandate of the library," she explained. "In other universities, it is individual depart­ments or the whole university who subscribe and pay for these services.

"What we can do in the library is help increase professors' awareness of the variety of full-text online resources available to students, help them use search engines and some of our full-text databases if they need to track down a document that might have been used to plagiarize -but all search tools have limitations and cover only a fraction of what's out there."

Some institutions are reportedly reluctant to use tumitin.com because of the license agreement: the vendor keeps a copy of all papers submit­ted and adds them to its database, but since students are the authors of these papers, some universities felt uncomfortable with giving something over that doesn't really belong to them. Other reasons for rejecting those products might be pricing and their limitations in coverage.

Concordia professor tests software English Professor John Miller tried a free trial offered by a Web site

called Plagiarism.org. "I submitted a paper which I knew contained plagiarized material, and

the report on the haystack included some of the needles I was looking for (but not all), in addition to hypodermics , space needles, and the occasional pencil."

Miller's conclusion: "It's a rough tool at best. As Diane will have point­ed out, it accesses only certain parts of the Web, is useless for books and articles which exist only in print form, and for 'original' essays which have been bought from an essay mill. The consolation is that those bought essays will be detected the second time they go into circulation.

"As an instructor, I try to impress on students in the first class that pla­giarism is a very serious offence, pointing out that professional writers have lost their jobs and been disgraced for plagiarism.

'Tm sure we all hope to establish a working relationship with our stu­dents such that, if they find themselves caught in a middle-of-the-night temptation to plagiarize, they'd prefer to face the instructor in the morn­ing about their problems with the essay rather than jeopardize their aca­demic integrity. But it doesn't always work that way."

One suggestion from the experts is to ask students for topic proposals, idea outlines, interim working bibliographies and such, to ensure that they are not leaving their assignment to the last moment. Another is to get a sample of their writing, done in class, at the beginning of the terms, as a future basis of comparison with assignments.

Making the assignment unusual and intriguing makes it harder for the student to find a ready-made version on the Net, and is more likely to engage the genuine interest of the student. It will also pay off in their doing some original research and real learning.

Continued from front page

Procrastination can lead to plagiarism "It's even more difficult to write things in your own words if English is not

your first language, or if you have very poor writing skills," Sauve said. There may be a perception on the part of a few students that the Internet is

"free" and therefore. they can borrow from it without attribution, but Frances Shaver's experience, based on more than 100 cases, is that while it may be careless, plagiarism is rarely innocent or unintentional.

I 0

Some students feel overloaded Professor fights back with zero tolerance, strong support Il eligion Professor Lynda Clarke ftsays that when she started teaching at Concordia, the plagiarism in her classes was "massive and wide­spread ," ranging "unbelievably," up to a fifth of all "free" (self-chosen) assignments submitted. It still hap­pens, but it is much decreased , "hov­ering around five per cent."

She had no trouble identifying cases of plagiarism, Clarke said. "It was very easy to find , and it took place in every class but one , and it is easily proved."

Her procedure is to inform the stu­dent and give him or her an opportu­nity to explain or make excuses. Then she sends him or her to the dean.

Some students have paid other people for their work - which they, in tum, have plagiarized!

"Some students are clearly over­loaded with work, and this is a man­agement technique to keep abreast of it. Others cannot handle writing any­thing. Even though I try to help them at every stage, often they are not will­ing to take the 'risk' of showing their own work, which they are certain will result in a bad grade , or failure. "

"Talking to my students, I find that plagiarism is a symptom of a variety

of ills, some of which are , I now believe, embedded in the system," Clarke said. "Five courses a term, for instance, is an unreasonable load, yet completing a degree in three years requires exactly that, and foreign stu­dents and their parents normally expect a three-year stay.

"Many students are admitted with inadequate research and writing skills. When it comes time to write a paper , it seems to them that they have no escape but this. We need to identify and help this stream of stu­dents.

"Actually , Concordia does offer a great deal of assistance through the Writing Centre and the Student Suc­cess Workshop Series, as well as through friendly and willing profes­sors, but for many students, I think it seems too much of a risk."

There are others , however, who clearly intend to cheat their way through university, and may have cheated to get as far as they have.

Clarke makes it absolutely clear in her classes that she has zero tolerance for cheating, and she will catch and pursue every miscreant. Many profes­sors do that, but Professor Frances Shaver says that few go to the lengths

she does to support those students who need her help to write their own work.

Clarity essential It's important for the professor to

clearly define what is expected at the beginning of the term. Shaver, who adjudicated more than 100 academic misconduct cases over her four years as Vice-Dean , Academic Affairs, in Arts and Science, agrees that profes­sors could do more to prevent plagia­rism, by defining it and by structuring their assignments appropriately.

"There are many ways to do this," Shaver said , "such as to get the stu­dents to hand in an outline, and then write their assignment in class."

In many disciplines , she said , group work is encouraged for the sake of effective learning, but it might be fairer to individuals in the group to simply critique a group assignment rather than to assign a grade.

Shaver adds another point about detection. "The Web may make it easier to plagiarize , but students should remember that it also makes it easy to identify." A chunk of text in a very different writing style from the student's own is a dead giveaway.

Penalties for plagiarism can be severe Plagiarism is defined in the uni­

versity's Code of Conduct (Aca­demic) as "the presentation of the work of another person as one's own or without proper acknowledge­ment."

Also verboten under the Code is the contribution by one student to another student of work represented as his or her own; obtaining by theft or any other means of the questions or answers of an examination; and "the falsification of a fact or research data in a work including a reference to a source which has been fabricat­ed."

Procedures at Concordia Sally Spilhaus is Advisor to the

Rector on Rights on Responsibilities and a former secretary of the Acade­mic Hearing Board, which hears cases of academic misconduct.

She said that before the revised Code of Conduct (Academic) was introduced in 1997, professors had considerable discretion, but there was little coordination across the uni­versity. The revised Code has made it easier to track multiple offenders, but it lias also presented faculty members with more procedures to follow.

According to the Code, an instruc­tor who suspects a student of plagia­rism fills in an incident report, which goes to the Dean, or Vice-Dean. This means using search engines or other means to identify the offending pas­sages and highlighting them.

The Dean sends a copy to the stu­dent, the Registrar and the secretary of the academic hearing panel, indi­cating whether he or she intends to interview the student or sent directly to the hearing panel. If this is done, it must take place within 15 days after the Dean receives the incident report.

Within 10 days of the interview, the Dean writes to the student indi­cating his or her decision to dismiss the charge or to uphold the charge and impose sanctions, such as a rep­rimand, direction that the work be resubmitted, a failing grade, or com­munity service.

If the student disagrees with the Dean's decision, he or she has the right to a full hearing before an Acad­emic Hearing Panel. This body has five members, as well as a non-voting chair. It is composed of three faculty members drawn from the Faculty Tribunal Pool and two students drawn from the Student Tribunal

Pool. Provision is made under the Code for the student to have advice and support through this process , from the interview with the Dean through to the hearing.

Attitudes vary When they are caught, students'

attitudes vary. Spilhaus said that in her experience, the attitude of stu­dents charged with plagiarism covers the full spectrum, from arrogant non­chalance to genuine remorse. The extent to which the ~tudent is able to learn from his or her mistake will depend on the attitude.

If a charge is upheld, it goes on the student's permanent file . If two charges of plagiarism are upheld, suspension of the student is manda­tory, subject to confirmation by the Provost.

Her statistics show that there were 202 cases of academic misconduct between June 199 9 and May 2001. Of these, 129 were upheld, and 72 were dismissed.

The full Code of Conduct (Acade­mic) may be found in the policies section of the university's Web site, and in the undergraduate and gradu­ate calendars.

Yes, there are job prospects for Arts and Science students!

The Arts and Science Career Fair February 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Mezzanine, Henry F. Hall Building

SPONSORED BY COUNSELLING AND DEVELOPMENT 848-3545

JANUARY 2-1, 2002 C u n c o r d i a•s Thursday Report

Hockey squad back in the hunt Stingers triumph over McGill Redmen secures the Corey Cup

BY JOHN AUSTEN

They're not out of the woods yet, but the Concordia Stingers men's hockey team made a pair of giant steps towards a playoff spot in the OUA Far East division last weekend. Wins over the Ottawa Gee-Gees (5-2) and the McGill Redmen (3-1) moved the Stingers to within six points of third-place Ottawa and just seven points behind the second­place Redmen. Both the Gee-Gees and Redmen beat first-place Trois­Rivieres on the weekend to tighten up the race considerably.

"I knew if we kept working hard in practice that things would eventu­ally come together ," said Stinger coach Kevin Figsby.

11-·.e Stingers have eight games remaining to try and climb past one of the other teams in the league . Three of the four squads make the playoffs.

Last Sunday"s big win at McGill"s McConnell Arena also gave the Stingers the 15th Corey Cup, played annually between the two Montreal­based universities. Stinger goaltender Philippe Ozga was the star of the day, turning aside 4 2 of the 4 3 shots McGill fired his way. The Stingers mustered only 22 shots, but three of them went in with Luc Messier, Edin Burazerovic and Chris Page doing the scoring.

Stingers captain Michel Tremblay hoists the Corey Cup in triumph.

The Stingers lost the shutout when McGill's Bruno Lemire scored with just 18 seconds left in the third period.

"I must admit I'm surprised the Stingers pulled it off," said Stinger

fan Luc Latendresse. "The goalie was the difference."

Concordia gained revenge for an 8-5 loss to McGill ·the week before at the Ed Meagher Arena.

Coach Figsby is in his second year behind the Stingers bench . The noted motivator has more than 15 years of coaching experience at the provincial, national and international levels. He is probably best known for coaching the Lac St. Louis Midget AAA lions from 1993-'98.

ln 1995, Figsby was head coach of the Quebec entry at the world under-17 championship, winning a

bronze medal. Other coaching expe­rience includes: working as a guest coach at evaluation camps for the Canadian national team, in 1995 and '97, running up a 26-2 record while at the helm of the summer hockey program for Lac St. Louis Midget AAA Selects and six years with the John Abbott College pro­gram.

Figsby was also a respected player. He played his minor hockey with the Ville Emard Hurricanes. He went on to play with the LaSalle Cyclones in the junior B ranks, the John Abbott Islanders and the Bishop's Gaiters.

Sweater retired: Hockey star, alumnus Jim Corsi

Jim Corsi's hockey sweater, No. 1, was retired at a ceremony pre­

ceding the Stingers game against McGill on Jan . 13 at the Ed Meagher Arena on the Loyola cam­pus.

Jim was one of those rare athletes who excelled at two sports. At Con­cordia, he played five years of soc-

cer and three years of hockey, earn­ing All-Canadian honours in both.

Although Jim played on a nation­al championship soccer team in 1973, it is his hockey exploits that brought him the greatest recogni­tion. ln his final year as a goaltender with the Stingers , he had six shutouts and a 1.16 goals-against

Athletics director Harry Zarins congratulates Jim Corsi.

Co n co rdi a•s Thursday R e port

average. In 1976, the year he gradu­ated, he was the first recipient of the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy, which is presented to the outstand­ing ClAU hockey player.

Other honours during Jim's uni­versity career include the Loyola Campus Medal in 1976, the Bro­drick Award, also in 1976, and the Loyola and Concordia Male Athlete of the Year. He was inducted to Concordia's Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

After graduation, Jim's hockey skills took him to the professional ranks , playing for the Quebec Nordiques in the WHA, and the Edmonton Oilers and the Min­nesota North Stars in the NHL

He then moved to Europe and competed in the Italian first divi­sion and represented Italy in sever­al World Championships and at the 1984 Olympics . When his playing career ended, he turned to teaching and broadcasting. He is presently goalie coach for the Buf­falo Sabres.

JANUA R Y 24, 2002

Gunning for top spot Women's hockey team is on a roll

BY JOHN A USTE N

The Concordia women's hockey team is on a roll , thanks to a perfect trip to the nation's capital last weekend. Wins over Carleton (4-1) and

Ottawa (6-3) have given the Stingers an excellent chance of finishing in first place at season's end. Concordia is currently in second spot, one point behind McGill and a point ahead of third-place Ottawa.

'Things are coming around for us now," said Stingers head coach Les Lawton. "A win Qan. 24) against Rivers [Trois-Rivieres], and we'll be in top spot ahead of Ottawa and McGill."

Anouk Grignon-L'Anglais, a third-year journalism student, led the way last weekend with three goals and two assists in the two games. Number one goaltender Jessica Anderson was the winner in the Ottawa game, while Lori Posluns picked up the victory against Carelton.

The Stingers also captured a much-needed victory by defeating the McGill Martlets 4-2 recently at the Ed Meagher Arena.

McGill , Concordia and Ottawa are all ranked in the Canadian interuni­versity sports top 10 list.

After the Jan. 24 match, the Stingers have four games remaining in the schedule, including a game at McGill on Jan. 30 and a home game against Ottawa on Feb. 10.

Lady hoopsters win It was a good news, bad news situation when Concordia's intercollegiate

basketball teams hosted McGill last Sunday afternoon at Concordia Gym. The women improved to 2-4 with an impressive 87-57 win over the Martlets, while the men lost their sixth game in a row, 92-86 to the Red­men.

The McGill men, the fifth-ranked team in Canada, improved its record to 6-0 with the win.

Gavin Musgrave led the Stingers with 20 points. Rastco Popovic and James Aubourg scored 18 apiece.

In women's action, Kristina Steinfort had 18 points and eight rebounds to pace Concordia. Point-guard Marie-Pier Veilleux scored 15 points.

Top athletes lauded Anouk Grignon-L'Anglais of the women's hockey team and Philippe Lan­

glois of the men's basketball team were named Concordia Stinger athletes of the week for the period ending Jan. 13.

Grignon-L'Anglais, a third-year forward, had one goal and one assist in a recent 4-2 win over the McGill Martlets. The assistant captain opened up the scoring at the end of the first period. A native of Town of Mount Royal, Grignon-L'Anglais is studying journalism and communications at Concor­dia.

Langlois, a first-year guard, had 21 points and four rebounds in a 71-54 loss to the Bishop's Gaiters. The 20-year-old is a native of Varennes and is an arts student at Concordia.

Kids summer sports camp at Concordia

The popular Concordia Summer Sports Camp has begun accepting registration for the summer.

Any university employee who registers his or her children by April 1 will receive a 10-per-cent discount, provided they show proof of employment with the university. (A pay stub or employee ID card will do the trick.)

To request a brochure, please call 848-3859 and leave your name and mailing address on the voice-mail.

Concordia wins gold at Commerce Games

Abig contingent of undergraduate business students went to Ottawa to Jan. 11-14 to compete in the Commerce Games, and came home with

first prize in the academic competitions and fourth prize overall. More than 1,000 students from 12 universities took part. The business

schools were from Quebec, plus Ottawa and Moncton. They competed in social, sports and academic events, including a debate and a stock simu­lation.

UPCOMING STINGERS GAMES WOMEN'S HOCKEY

Trois-Rivieres vs. Concordia-January 24. 5:30 p.m.

MEN'S HOCKEY Concordia @ Ottawa Sunday-January 27.

2:00p.m.

BASKETBALL

DOUBLE-HEADER Women: Bishop's vs. Concordia. January 27. 1 p.m. Men: Bishop's vs. Concordia. January 27. 3 p.m.

1 1

/

Events, notices and classified ads must reach the Public Relations Department (BC-115) in writing no later than s p.m. on Thursday, t he week prior to the Thursday publication. Back Page submissions are also accepted by fax (848-2814) and e-mail (ctr@akor.concordia.ca). 'For more information, pLease contact Debbie Hum at 848-4579.

January 24 - F ebruary 7

Applied Psychology Centre The Applied Psychology Centre in the Department of Psychology offers confiden­tia I psychotherapy and assessment for adults. couples. families. children and teenagers. By appointment only: 848-7550.

Art Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery Monday to Friday 11am-7pm; Saturday 1pm-5pm; closed Sundays. 1400 de Maisonneuve W Free. Info: 848-4750. • Facult[e]y exposition 002. Concordia's Annual Faculty of Fine Arts Exhibition. Until Feb. 9.

CPR dasses Saturday, January 2/i BCLS Thutsday, Jam1ary 31 Heartsaver Thursday, February 7 Heartsaver

ca pus Ministry http://advrxacy.concordia.ca/ministry/ Loyola: Belmore House. L-lNr 701. 2496 W Broadway, 848-3588; SGW Annex Z rooms 102-100, 2(BJ Mackay, 848-3590.

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard Thursday nights. 5-7pm in Room 105. 2090 Mackay, Mo' Hubbs serves up delicious vegetarian meals. Concordia students. their roommates or family welcome. Sug­gested donation is a looney or two.

Buddhist Meditation Includes meditation instruction and sitting. Annex Z. Room 105. Wednesdays 11 :45am-1 pm and 5:15-6:45pm. Also Tues­days at Loyola- Belmore House (24ffi West Broadway) 11 :45-1 pm. Begins Jan. 22.

The Lunch Bunch Bring a brown-bag lunch and Campus Ministry will provide coffee. tea and hot chocolate. a friendly atmosphere. Mon­days 12:30-1 :30pm. Annex Z. Room 105.

Outreach Experience Share your gifts and talents with the mar­ginalized of our city. Michelina Bertone -848-3591 or Ellie Hummell - 848-3590.

Prison Visit Program An 8-week program of Monday night vis­its to The Federal Training Centre in Laval. The first visit is the 28th. Advance regis­tration is required. Call Peter Cote at 848-3586.

Centre for Tea . I and Learning Services To register for any of the following 00/k­shops, please contact 848-2495 or ctls@alcor.concordia.ca, or visit our Web site: http://odl-iits.concordia.ca/od//WOrl<­shops.html.

What WebCT Can Do For You WebCT is a powerful software framewonc for putting components of your course on

the Web. The package provides for logisti­cal considerations such as limiting access to your students, tracking students' work. setting up bulletin boards for group col­laboration. conducting on-line quizzes, etc. Tuesday, Jan. 29. 10am-12pm. H-771.

Writing a Letter of Recommendation This workshop explores the strategies of writing effective letters: who should write and when. what sorts of things to say. and how to discuss recommendations with students who ask you to write them. Monday. Feb. 4, 11am-12pm, H-771 .

Conc:ert Hall Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, 7141 Sher­brooke St. W Box office: Monday-Fri­day. 10am-noon, 2-5pm. Reservations through Admission at 790-1245 or www.admission.com. For more listings: http://oscar.concordia.ca.

Saturday, January 2/i The Reconstructionist Synagogue of Mon­trea I presents the Annua l Shabbat Shira/Sabbath of Song Concert. 8pm. Information and reservations: 486-9400. Tickets. $20, also available at the door.

WednBSday, January 31 The Department of Music presents a mat­inee of classical music with works for voice, violin, piano and classical guitar, 3pm. Tickets at door only, $5 general. free for students.

Saturday, February 2 Craig Morrison and the Momentz: From Skittle to Psychedelic - 5th Annual Roots of Rock & Roll Concert, with guests The Lew Dite Skittle Group, 8pm. Tickets $8 general. $5 seniors. free for students. Available on the Admission network.

Sunday, February 3, 10, 17 Concerts in Conversation - A celebration of Leonard Bernstein. hosted by Liselyn Adams & Allan Crossman. With the Bozzi­ni String Quartet. Michael Donovan. Duo Pro Sanos. Shows at 2:30pm. Tickets $20, available on the Admission network.

SGW H-440, 848-3545; Loyola: 2490 W Broadway, 848-3555.

Student Success Centre Drop by H-481 and speak to a success assistant about any of the personal, acad­emic or career concerns you may be expe­riencing. We can point you in the right direction.

Employee Assistance Program The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a voluntary, confidential counselling and information service for full-time, per­manent university employees and their families. 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. 1-lJ(X)..387-4765 (English) 1-llXJ-361-5676 (French)

Log onto the EAP Web site at http://­eap.concordia.ca for helpful information about counselling services. lunch semi-

nars. employee newsletters and lots of interesting links.

Lectures Thursday, January 24 Susan Haack (University of Miami). on "What Man Can Achieve When he Really Puts His Mind To It," 7:30pm. D.B. Clarke Theatre. Sponsored by the Liberal Arts College.

Thursday, January 24 The Concordia Community Lecture Series on HIV/AIDS presents a roundtable on "Le VIH se porte bien dans nos prisons." H-110. 6pm. Info: 848-4234 ·

Thursday, January 24 Carol Stakenas (Creative Time. NYC). invited lecturer of the Studio Arts Visiting Artist Program. at 6:30pm. Bourget Build­ing, 1230 de la Montagne. Room 108. Info: savap_concordia@hotmail.com

Thursday, January 24 MA candidate Julia Pope, on "The Prob­lem of Abduction irt Late Medieval Lon­don," and PhD candidate Evan May, on "Public Ritual, Public Order? The Manipu­lation of Public Display in York's Sixteenth Century House Books." 4:15pm. H-771. Information: 848-2427

Friday, January 25 Lauren Rabinovitz (University of Iowa). presents the Mary Ann Beckett-Baxter Memorial Lecture. on "More than the Movies: A New History of Cinema from Hale's Tours to lmax." 7pm. De Seve Cin­ema, LB-125.

Saturday, January 2/i Lauren Rabinovitch (University of Iowa).

on "Miniature and the Giant: the Percep­tual Spectacular of Postcard and Early Cinema." 1pm. VA-245. Sponsored by the Mary Ann Beckett-Baxter Memorial Lec­ture.

TuBSday, January 29 Patrick Traer. invited lecturer of the Studio Arts Visiting Artist Program. at 6:30pm. Bourget Building. 1230 de la Montagne. Room 108. Info: savap_concordia@hot­mail.com

Wednesday, January 30 Erin Moure, on "Reproduction Was Never My Aim (But Fel icity): Trans-e-lating Alberto Caiero/Fernando Pessoa 's 0 Guardador de Rebanhos into Canadian Engl ish ." 8:30 p.m. LB-540. J.W. McConnell Bu ilding. 1400 de Maison­newe Blvd. W. Presented by the Concor­dia English Department. Departement d'ttudes fran~ises and Simone de Beau­voir Institute.

Wednesday, January 30 Angela Rallis (University of Patras) on "The Morphology of the Greek Lan­guage." 7pm, H-767. The first of the Hel­lenic Studies Lecture Series.

Friday, February 1 The Simone de Beauvoir Institute pre­sents Robe to Robe: Dressing the Acade­mic &xiy, written, directed and performed by Sandra Weber (Education). 1 :30-3pm, 2170 Bishop, Room MU-101. 848-2373

Friday,Febnlaryt Kai Nielsen (Philosophy). on 'The Democ­ratic Deficit of Capitalist Globalization,' 3:~ . H-439. Information: 848-2500

Thursday, February 7 Robert Tittler (History). on "Facing Shake­speare? The Ontario Shakespeare Portrait · in Context." 4:15pm. H-738. Information: 848-2427

Friday, February 1 Monica Mulrennan (Geography), on • A New Era of Aboriginal Control and Partici­pation in Resource Management in the Torres Strait, Northern Australia."12pm. LB-608. Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, 848-8705.

Friday, February B Peter Stoett (Political Science). cin "The Question Of Complicity In Genocide: Key Normative And Analytic Themes." 1 Dam. LB-600. Information: 848-8705

Friday, February B J. Krishnamurti film. The Function of the Brain, 8:30pm. H-420. Information: 937-8869

Legal Information Concordia's Legal Information Services offers free and confidential legal infor­mation and assistance to the Concordia community. By appointment: B48-4960.

Meetings & Events Science College Day Friday, Jan. 25, 1 Oam-6pm, Library Build­ing Atrium. Poster presentations of stu­dents' projects. Invited lecturer and Science College graduate Louis-Eric Trudeau (Pharmacology, Universite de Montreal), on "The Concordia University Science College: My Stepping Stone to Brain Science." 3pm, DeS~ve Cinema. Reception at the College.

History and Philosophy seminar A forum where scientists from Montreal universities and colleges will report their research and exchange ideas. Both under­graduate and graduate students invited. Tuesday, Jan. 29, 4pm, H-507. Info: 848-2595

Consensus Mediation Integrated services for families in transi­tion following separation and divorce. 932-0012

Notices Business employment guides Get your free copy of the Employment Guide 2002 Edition. with 26 industry pro­files of businesses in Quebec. employ­ment trends, and hot jobs. Available at GM-1001.

Pharma Day The JMSB Career Centre has rescheduled Pharma Day to Tuesday, February 5. Learn about the career opportunities offered by the growing biopharmaceutical industry in Montreal. Company presentations. 2:30-4pm. Roundtable networking opportuni­ties. 4-5:30pm. H-769

Parking at Loyola Student permits Loyola Only cost $60 per term. and can be bought at PS-151 (Print­ing Services Bldg.) 1 Oam-1 pm & 2:30-4:30pm. Daily parking is also available at the Terrebonne lot (Loyola) and the Library Building (SGW). Info: 848-8777

Administration lnfonnation Sessions The next information session on the Grad­uate Diploma in Administration and the Graduate Diploma in Sport Administration (DINDSAl is on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 6pm. 1550 de Maisonnewe W.. GM 403-2. 4th Floor. To sign up or for information: 848-2766 or diadsa@jmsb.concordia.ca.lndi­vidual Advising Services

JMSB Career Cantre We offer career advising services to help you succeed in your career planning and job search efforts. If you need guidance on how to organize your job search; some­one to review your cover letter and/or resume; practice for an upcoming inter­view - the Career Centre is here to help you. Advisors are ava ilable by appoint­ment Mondays, Tuesdays, & Wednesdays 9:30am-3:30pm. Call 848-4245.

Bangladeshi Student Association ~ Office of Rights I We welcome all Bangladeshi students at Responsibilities Concordia. Join and make new bangali friends. We are located at H-733-6, hope to see you there. Info: 848-3533

Students for Literacy at Concordia Are you interested in promoting and improving literacy in the community? We are recruiting university students to be part of this non-profit. volunteer-run team which organizes literacy activities and tutoring. Join our team by ca lling 848-7454 or email stu4lit@alcor.concordia.ca.

Concordia Toastmasters Club Would you like to be a successful. confi­dent communicator? Learn to conduct business meetings. motivate people. do job interviews. sell ideas or products. and solve problems in an informal setting. Contact Lucy Wong at 848-4952 or lwong@alcor.concordia.ca.

Concordia Christian Fellowship Join international and Canadian students from different departments in the univer­sity for a time of refreshing in the pres­ence of God every Friday 5-7 pm at 2085 Bishop. Room 107. For more information visit our website at http://alcor.concor­dia.ca/--ccf.

Chinese Christian Fellowship Join Chinese students from different departments at Concordia for a time of fun and getting to know God every Friday. 3-5pm at 2090 Mackay, Room Z-105. For more information visit our website at www.cccf.cjb.net

Story-telling extravaganza The Unitarian Church hosts "Simple Gifts." Saturday, February 2. 8pm. Tales for adults by the Montreal Storytellers' Guild. Tickets, $10, benefit Eco-initiatives newest Victory Garden food project 50.15 de Maisonnewe W. 932-9175

The Office of Rights and Responsibili­ties is available to all members of the university community for confidential consultations regarding any type of unacceptable behaviour. including dis­crim ination and personal/sexual harassment. threatening and violent conduct, theft, destruction of property. 848-4857. or drop by GM-1120.

Ombuds Office The Ombuds Office is available to all members of the University for informa­tion, confidential advice and assistance with university-related problems. Call 848-4964. or drop by GM-1 120.

Peer Support Centre Students Helping Students Peers are students just like you who have been where you are and can relate. Any­thing you want to talk about - the peers are there to listen. It's free and it's confi­dential. If you want to talk to someone who understands what it is like to be a student and who may be experiencing the same thing, then drop by the Peer Centre. We're located at 2090 Mackay, room 02 (downstairs). Monday to Thursday, 11am to 5pm. Feel free to call us at 848-2859 or e-mail us at psp@alcor.concordia.ca.

Unclassified Sublet Loyola. 4 1 rz.. fridge, stove. heat, hot water, indoor parking. Pharmacy, depanneur, day­care centre. swimming pool in bldg. Train

and bus at the door. Avail. immediately. 1st month free. $662/mth. Desmond 848-3476

Sublet available large, furnished 3 1 rz. in Westmount for roo-srrder with no JES, flooi May 15-Aug. 24 (time is f18!¥)tiable). Close to metro, bus and srqis. AC. indoor pool. 450-W-2431

Sublet 4 1/2 $515/mth. heat/hot water incl. St. Laurent near COte-Vertu Metro. 748-2153

Apal1mentforrent NDG. bright. 2 large bdrms. hardwood floors. appliances, new building, $1 ,030. Available March 1. Contact 486-3828

House in NDG for rent June 28-Aug. 23. 2002, some flexibility. Quiet neighbourhood, close to Loyola. transit. Furnished. 3 bedrooms. 1 office. renovated bathroom, kitchen; finished basement; AC. Non-smokers. no pets (allergies). $3,600. watndg@hotmail.com

Sublet Plateau. Carre St. Louis, 700 sq ft studio. furnished; hydro extra. Available January to July 2002. $900 monthly. Call 848-4349.

Looking for a roommate Female non-smoker.18-24 years old pre­ferred. Near Prefontaine. Sherbooke and Saint-Michel Metro stations. Nos 67 and 24 buses. 529-7594 after 9pm Mon-Fri. or after 5pm Sat/Sun.

Wanted: house to rent In NDG or area. preferably furnished. for Australian tutor and family arriving in Feb­ruary. Contact Richard Andrews: Tel 61 2 62724681 or ric_andrews@hotmail.com.

Couple looking for Sublet Looking to sublet a 31{Z. or 41{Z. in the fol­lowing areas: NDG, Mtl-West. Snowdon, Cote-des-Neiges, or downtown, early May (3-7th) to late August. Prospective tenants are very clean (references avail­able). Eugene at 416-503-1 710 or e-mail at bariman24@hotmail.com

SefYices offered Tutor available. Experienced, with univer­sity science degree. Could also help with term papers, research projects and lan­guage translation courses. Chemistry and biology books for sale. 408-0247

Editing etc. Spring graduate. with excellent writing skills. edits papers (BA. MA. PhD). and offers tutoring for a reasonable price. Also. I do income tax returns for students. biancageo@yahoo.com, or 514-989-1838, and 514-816-9915 (leave a message).

Business service I type quality term papers. essays, thesis. reports, etc ., $1.25 per page. Call Kath­leen 487-1750.

Books for sale Comm 215 8th ed. with CD and minitab $85; Econo 201 1st Can. ed. $35. study guide $20; Comm 210. Reflecting on Busi­ness $15. Age of Paradox $15. Built to Last $19. Harvard Business Review Arti­cles $5. Seb at 722-5439 or 578-2347.

Computer for sale Power Macintosh 7200/90 (16 MB RAM, 1 GB hard disk) with Apple Design French keyboard. Apple mouse, and 28.8 Supra fax/modem. $200. Email wamapi@sym­patico.ca or phone (514) 733.1363.

Books for sale Econ 201 & study guide, $68 (incl. prob­lem set and course exercise); Comp 218. $30; Comp 238. $30; Desc 382. $35. In good condition. Call 931-4289

Car for sale Mazda Protege 1992. 177,600 km. auto­matic, good condition. regular mainte­nance. Only 2!m$. Call Luis at 499-1865 before 2i:xn or luischavez@hotmail.com.

Car for sale 1997 green Volkswagen Golf, sunroof, 5-speed, one:year warranty, 52,000 km, $13,500 negotiable. 486-1481 .

Listings contimH·<I Oil 1)<1$ .. W 8