"Knowledge translation", says Dr. Indy Ghosh, will be one of the greatest benefits of a partnership between York Central Hospital and York University to foster research and access to research at the hospital, wrote YorkRegion.com March 1.
It will not only ensure patients receive leading-edge care but help build a reputation for excellence at the hospital, the [York Central] chief of emergency medicine says. And that’s why he is participating in the initiative.
Knowledge translation, Ghosh explains, makes that important link between research and its application in health care. "We know there is good evidence-based, science-based research that has not been translated into clinical practice," he says. "A gap exists."
To narrow that gap, York Central Hospital made a decision to forge a collaborative effort with York University about two years ago. Researchers with a specialty in two of YCH’s areas of focus, seniors’ health and chronic disease management, now have offices at the hospital.
For example, Dr. William Gage, whose research focuses on seniors’ health, has connected York Central staff with a York University researcher examining changes in motor performance among patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Researcher Sherry Grace [School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health] worked with Tiziana Rivera, chief practice officer at York Central and others on publishing a review of studies on women and cardiac rehabilitation, program adherence and preference for alternative models of care. YCH staff can use the information when setting rehabilitation programs for their female cardiac patients.
Haiti, Dominican focus of ambassador’s speech at Glendon
When discussion turns to Haiti, it is often centred around the destruction and subsequent repercussions of last year’s devastating earthquake in the country’s capital city Port-Au-Prince, wrote InsideToronto.com March 1. When one speaks of the Dominican Republic, the topic often turns to beaches or baseball.
However, a small group of International Studies students at York University’s multilingual Glendon College are trying to broaden the conversation on Hispaniola, the Caribbean island containing the two countries. Their project will receive a boost Saturday, March 5, when Canada’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic, York alumnus Todd Kuiack [BSc Spec. Hons. ’92], speaks at a forum at the college titled, "Transcending the Border: Dialogues on the Challenges of Hispaniola".
Panellists leading discussion in the day-long symposium following Kuiack’s speech include former federal cabinet minister and longtime Liberal MP Don Boudria, and Ernesto Sagas, a political scientist and expert on Latin America.
Saturday’s seminar is only one part of a year-long endeavour being undertaken by six Glendon students currently under the mentorship of Arturo Victoriano-Martinez, a University of Toronto instructor who specializes in border conflicts between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Their project includes a field research trip and the publication of a variety of papers on issues facing Hispaniola, from sex tourism and child trafficking to the garment industry and social media.
York profs recognized by Polish university
Two York University professors were recognized last October with a Medal of Honour from Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) in Poznan, Poland, for their work in educating aspiring teachers about the lessons of the Holocaust, wrote The Canadian Jewish News March 2.
Mark Webber, a German Studies professor who taught at York for 38 years before retiring last July, and York Jewish studies Professor Michael Brown were recognized by AMU for co-founding the Mark and Gail Appel Program in Holocaust and Antiracism Education – Learning from the Past, Teaching for the Future.
The program, an initiative of York’s Centre for Jewish Studies and the Canadian Centre for German and European Studies, has been bringing Canadian, German and Polish university students together since 2001.
Webber said the Polish university, which he feels turned out to be “a magnificent partner,” wanted to honour him and Brown because of the experience that the program has afforded their students over the past 10 years.
Seeing Clark McDougall in a new light
Guest curator and York University art historian Anna Hudson [Faculty of Fine Arts] has collaborated with Elliot Shaw and a research assistant to pull material which illustrates how [St. Thomas artist Clark] McDougall worked, wrote The London Free Press March 2, in a story about an exhibit at the McIntosh Gallery at the University of Western Ontario.
Cop who did background check on neighbour faces possible charge
A Toronto police officer has received a court summons for using a police computer to investigate a man with whom he was having a dispute, wrote the Toronto Sun March 2.
The charge against Det. Wayne Lakey was brought forward by Jeff Green, a condo board member where both men lived. A Toronto Police tribunal found Lakey had used a police computer to do a background check on Green – a move that is strictly forbidden…[but] did not discipline him further.
Green said he sought expert opinion and has now laid a charge against Lakey privately… on the advice of York University law Professor Alan Young [Osgoode Hall Law School]. "The judge issued a summons for misuse of a computer and now the Crown has to make a decision whether to prosecute," Young explained.
Osgoode prof recommended local police forces for NB
The idea of forming a regional municipal police force was first championed by Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Alan Grant in a report commissioned by the provincial government in the early 1990s, wrote Fredericton, NB’s Telegraph-Journal March 2, in a story about a call on the province by the head of the New Brunswick Police Association to scrap $30 million in policing subsidies for municipalities and local service districts.
Grant recommended establishing six municipal policing regions for the province: Fundy, Codiac, York, Chaleur, Madawaska and Miramichi.
Artists honoured with Governor General’s award
Calling herself a proud Canadian, filmmaker Barbara Sternberg said she was honoured to be recognized as one of eight recipients of the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, wrote InsideToronto.com March 2.
"I am honoured of course to receive this award and the recognition of the arts it entails," said Sternberg, who has taught in York University’s film and visual arts departments. "I’m proud to be a citizen of a country whose government recognizes the importance of the arts with awards like this and supports them through an arm’s-length organization, the Canada Council for the Arts. So that work can be made without political or corporate pressures."
Visual artist Robert Fones said he was "thrilled" to receive the award, as Canada has played an integral role in his work. Fones has work displayed at York University’s Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art.
Recipients will receive $25,000 each at a March celebration.
Bye Bye Birdie lands in Meadowvale
Get ready to Put on a Happy Face with The Clearwater Players as the troupe presents a March Break performance of Bye Bye Birdie, wrote The Mississauga News March 1.
Adding another local touch backstage is choreographer Ashley Lawniczak, a graduate of Meadowvale Secondary School, currently studying dance at York University.