Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Computer scientist wins social psychology award

Jesse Hoey is an Associate Professor at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. He is a University of Waterloo Graham Trust Faculty Fellow 2018–19, and was a Cheriton Faculty Fellow from 2014 to 2017. 

This is an excerpt of an article that was originally featured on the School of Computer Science's news site.

Cheriton School of Computer Science Professor Jesse Hoey has teamed up with Professor Robert Freeland, a sociologist at Wake Forest University, to conduct novel research at the intersection of computer science and social psychology.

Their research has culminated in a paper that has received the prestigious 2019 Outstanding Recent Contribution in Social Psychology Award from the American Sociological Association’s Social Psychology Section.

In their paper, titled “The Structure of Deference: Modeling Occupational Status Using Affect Control Theory,” Professors Hoey and Freeland developed and validated a new generalizable method — which they call deference scores — to quantity occupational status. Individuals with high status are less likely to defer to those with lower status, so the extent to which deference does not follow expectations can provide insight into the relative status of various occupations.

Using Bayesian Affect Control Theory — or BayesACT— a formal mathematical theory of social action and cultural meaning, the researchers computed the likelihood that an individual holding a given occupation will defer to an individual holding another occupation. In an interesting twist, Professors Hoey and Freeland examined the validity of the deference scores using data from Harris public opinion polls, which ask respondents to rate an occupation’s prestige rather than the social standing of an individual who holds it. In contrast, most sociological studies on occupational status use General Social Survey prestige scores, even though some researchers contend that they do not assess what they claim to assess.

Read the rest of the article on the Computer Science site.

Experiential education is more than co-op

This is an excerpt of the latest post on President Feridun Hamdullahpur's blog.

Canada and the world are in need of talented individuals prepared to hit the ground running and who can enable our future prosperity. They will be the catalyst for positive change, strengthened by their adaptability. At the heart of developing that talent will be experiential education.

We have a strong commitment to all of our students which means the power of experiential education should be open to all. An education at the University of Waterloo, no matter the program should have some element of experiential learning, not only for those in STEM disciplines.

We have a powerful legacy of educating our students in and out of the classroom. The University of Waterloo’s co-operative education program is second to none. It is the largest program of its kind in the world that has more than 21,000 students taking part in our co-op program with nearly 7,000 employers in more than 60 countries. Over 1 million interviews took place on our campus last year leading to a placement rate of 98.5% of co-op students.

These statistics are truly remarkable for any higher education institution. We gain so much as an institution and what our students gain is more than a paycheque. The relationships, confidence and drive to contribute to society are heightened with every passing week when working throughout one’s university studies. While we will continue to improve and expand our co-op program, we will work to ensure that all of our students have access to an education that includes the benefits that come from experiential education, and it’s not limited to only co-op.

Read the rest of the post on President Hamdullahpur's blog.

SLC construction closures and other notes

Construction season on campus is kicking into high gear, with work continuing on the SLC/PAC expansion. Beginning at 6:00 a.m. today and continuing tomorrow (Wednesday, May 29), there will be several closures inside the Student Life Centre, including:

• the SLC Marketplace; 
• the stairwell to the second floor (the elevator will remain open); and
• a portion of the dining area.

Things should be back to normal by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29.

The Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS) is inviting members of the University community to join them at the Stratford Theatre Festival for a performance of Nathan the Wise, the 18^th-century play by German playwright G.E. Lessing. Ticket purchase includes a seat at the play, an introduction to the play by Dr. Andrea Speltz of Waterloo's Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies, and a light dinner reception before the show. For more information and tickets visit the WCGS website. 

The WatITis committee is extending the conference speaker proposal submission deadline for an additional 4 weeks, ending on Thursday, June 20. "Consider how you can contribute to this year’s conference as a speaker, panel participant or poster presenter," says a note from the organizing committee. "Submit a brief synopsis of your topic or idea to our program committee at watitis2019@sharepoint.nexus.uwaterloo.ca."