Job cuts at Sears, Best Buy target managers

Best Buy Canada is reducing the ranks of management as it tries to adapt to a rising tide of online shopping. The electronics retailer said Thursday that approximately 950 full-time employees will be affected at both its Best Buy and Future Shop stores across Canada. . . . “We’re undergoing a change in the structure of how Canadians shop for things that the US went through earlier and more gradually,” said Alan Middleton, professor of marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business, in the Toronto Star Jan. 30. Canadians have typically spent more time researching their purchases online, but spent half as much on a per capita basis compared to US shoppers when it comes to buying via the Internet. “I think we’ve finally begun to shift to online buying in a significant way,” said Middleton. Read full story.

Rob Ford and Justin Bieber: Almost nothing will shake the support of their diehard fans, say experts
Rob Ford and Justin Bieber would have to kill someone to lose the support of their fan base, say experts. And even then, it’s likely some diehards would still show unwavering loyalty. . . . Jennifer Connolly, a professor in York University’s department of psychology who looks at adolescent risk-taking, said she would encourage parents of diehard Bieber fans to have a talk with their children given Bieber’s recent behaviour, which includes getting arrested for driving under the influence in Florida. “I would say point out the dangers that he’s involved in, and the risks of drinking and driving, and the risks of getting into fights,” she said in the Toronto Star Jan. 31. “Just because Justin Bieber is doing it doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.” Read full story.

Pressure mounts on law societies to reject faith-based school’s graduates
Concerned law professors are pressing their provincial societies to rethink recognizing graduates of a proposed new law program at Trinity Western University, a faith-based school that prohibits same-sex intimacy, reported The Globe and Mail Jan. 30. . . . University of British Columbia law professors passed a motion urging the Law Society of B.C. to hold “a transparent, public process of inquiry” to consider the effects of “effectively excluding LGBTQ people” from Trinity Western’s law school. . . . Other schools could soon join the debate, as the law faculties at York University, the University of Victoria and the University of Windsor are each expected to discuss the issue in the next month. Read full story.

Must-sees this week: Jan. 30 to Feb. 5
The week closes with an Art Gallery of York University Performance Bus on Feb. 5, featuring Derek Liddington and his father Wayne, reported Canadian Art Jan. 30. The bus will transport viewers to a collage party and opening at the gallery for “The Centre For Incidental Activisms #2.” Bus departs OCADU at 5pm. Read full story.

Schulich School of Business launches Centre for Global Enterprise
Schulich’s new Centre for Global Enterprise and its founding director Lorna Wright are featured in the January/February 2014 issue of Statements, the monthly magazine published by the Certified General Accountants of Ontario. Read full story.

How to counter lies about Israel? Know the history, know the facts, Kedar says
The best way to counter lies being spread against Israel and the Jewish people is to know history and use facts, according to Middle East expert Mordechai Kedar. . . . He was in Toronto last week on a busy lecture circuit that included a well-attended, interactive session with students at York University, which was co-sponsored by B’nai Brith Canada and Hasbara at York, and held in the Hillel lounge, reported the Jewish Tribune Jan. 28. “Base whatever you say on facts and books from the library at York University,” said Kedar. “Don’t take BS from anybody.” Read full story.