Friday, June 23, 2017

UWSpace uploads 500th article

This article was originally posted on the Library's news site.

The University of Waterloo's institutional repository, UWSpace, has just uploaded its 500^th article. This Library service was created to host the publications of Waterloo faculty, students and staff. Building on the success of our electronic theses and dissertations deposits, UWSpace now provides researchers with a free, secure and long-term platform for the presentation, dissemination and preservation of their research and scholarship.

So far, the largest contributors have come from the chemistry department and the Institute for Nanotechnology. However, retiring faculty member John Wright, from the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, added 61 articles and conference papers to UWSpace, wanting to preserve a record of research spanning his career at Waterloo.

Uploaded Monday, June 12, the 500^th article is from Simron J. Singh, from the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, titled: “The role of science in sustainability transitions: Citizen science, transformative research, and experiences from Samothraki island, Greece,” originally published by Island Studies Journal - an open-access publication based out of Prince Edward Island.

Allowing easy deposit of multiple items for faculty, mediated by their copyright review and deposit service, UWSpace is helping researchers ensure their work is compliant with the Tri-Agency Open Access policy on publications. The Library has been running monthly workshops on these requirements and author’s rights, with the next one coming up June 22. UWSpace has also started accepting supervisor-approved 4th year undergraduate student work.

In addition to ongoing workshops – which have now reached over 100 people – the Library's Open Access working group has developed a position paper summarizing a vision for Open Access at Waterloo, including a statement of support from the Library.

Interested in getting involved? The Library is hosting a brainstorming session for faculty and staff on how best to promote Open Access across the university on July 17, in the Dana Porter Library Flex Lab, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Turn off, space out, and give up

People whose minds tend to wander are less likely to stick to their long-term goals, according to new research led by the University of Waterloo.

The research found that those who could sustain focus in day-to-day life were more likely to report maintaining perseverance and passion in their long-term objectives.

“Those who often can’t keep their minds on their tasks — such as thinking about weekend plans instead of listening to the lecturer in class — tend to have more fleeting aspirations,” said Brandon Ralph, the study’s lead author and a PhD candidate in psychology at Waterloo. “We’ve shown that maintaining concentration over hours and days predicts passion over longer periods.”

The researchers’ findings resulted from three separate studies. In the first two studies, surveys measured the mind wandering, inattention and grittiness of 280 participants. In the third study, 105 post-secondary students were asked to report on their mind-wandering habits during class and then fill out questionnaires to measure their grittiness.

Grit is a personality trait involving sustained interest and effort toward long-term goals and is purported to predict success in careers and education independent of other traits, including intelligence.

Next steps in the research involve determining if people who would like to mitigate the impacts of mind wandering can do so with mindfulness training exercises, such as meditation.

“It's clear that mind wandering is related to the ability to focus in the moment as well as on long-term goals,” said Ralph. “As we move forward in this work, we’d like to see if practices such as meditation can assist people in achieving their goals.”

The study, done in cooperation with researchers at Sheridan College, appears in the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Waterloo’s medical director supports students through Keystone Campaign

By Eleanor Doe, Keystone Communications Committee volunteer

Dr. Clark Baldwin’s roots at the University of Waterloo run deep. His long list of achievements include: undergraduate courses, a master’s degree, campus physician, and, currently, that of medical director.

He explains that Waterloo has always been a happy place for him, and provided a great sense of belonging. His parents, Olga and Charles, were his relentless cheerleaders who took great pride in his academic pursuits.

In honour of his parents, Dr. Clark gives back to Waterloo through the Keystone Campaign. He gives monthly to support the “Engineer the Future” endowment fund.

"The opportunity for giving to the University of Waterloo in this manner, as well as to be part of the University community, allows me to feel invested in its work and goals, which is most attractive,“ said Dr. Clark. “My parents would be very proud of the exemplary work and academic pursuits that can be supported by charitable programs such as the Keystone Campaign."

As a proud father of two young sons, Dr. Baldwin dreams that someday their interests and passions might align with Waterloo’s program offerings, and they will become students here too. In the meantime, he is investing in Waterloo’s current students through his gifts to Keystone.

Dr. Baldwin is the Medical Director of the Student Wellness Clinic in the University of Waterloo’s new Health Services building.  (The new building was funded in part by Keystone donors who are proud to see it serving such a valuable resource on campus.). Dr. Baldwin was guest speaker at a recent National Volunteer Week event to acknowledge volunteers of the Keystone Campaign.

The Graduate Studies Office (GSO) has a new name

As the University of Waterloo celebrates its 60^th anniversary and reflects back on all it has been and all that is to come, we are joining in the milestone year by marking the end of an era, and looking forward to a new beginning.  The Graduate Studies Office (GSO) is now officially known as Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA).  This new name embodies our ongoing support to graduate students and highlights our commitment to postdoctoral fellows.

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) is responsible for many facets of graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs, including: recruitment, admissions, financial bursaries and awards, records, professional development, degree completion and ongoing community engagement – with graduate students, postdocs, staff and faculty. 

GSPA remains in the same location in Needles Hall (NH 2201), though there is now an overarching (new) GSPA website that features the services supported by the unit.

Also changed is the academic nature of the graduate studies portfolio; Jeff Casello’s title of Associate Provost, Graduate Studies has been changed to Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.

Friday's Notes

HeForShe has launched a new online and offline campaign #CountMeIn to encourage as many people as possible to add their voice to the gender equality movement, stand on the right side of history and make their commitment to HeForShe!

In doing so, each individual receives their own HeForShe number to wear as their badge of honour. As HeForShe IMPACT Champions, we need to lead by example and encourage everyone to do the same. By making the HeForShe commitment and encouraging others to do the same via social media, we are creating a visible force for gender equality.

There will be scheduled maintenance on the Library catalogue Monday, June 26 at 8:00 a.m. until Thursday, June 29 at 5:00 p.m.

During this time, the following services will be affected:

• Item availability in the catalogue will be accurate as of 8:00 a.m. on June 26
• Holds and recalls will not be available
• Access to "my account" will not be available
• Online item renewals will not be available
• We will not be sending out item-renewal notices
• We will not be able to accept fine payments

During this period, you can check out and return physical items in person; however, these activities will not be reflected in your account until the maintenance has completed, and we are able to process these transactions. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.