In Brief

A ceremony will be held at Memorial University on Monday, Dec. 6, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre and to recognize the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Towards Women.

The event will continue the tradition of previous memorials, “First mourn, then work for change.” The vigil will include a candlelight procession, music, scholarship presentation, and the unveiling of a special plaque in memory of the Montreal women. In addition, many community groups will dedicate an action or a portion of their work to one of the 14 student victims. The collective presentation of positive acts is a tribute to the women and an encouraging statement about the work underway.

The vigil will begin at 6 p.m in Room EN-2006, located in the S.J. Carew (Engineering) Building on Memorial’s St. John’s campus. All are welcome. For further information, call Carolyn J. Emerson, 737-7960, emerson@engr.mun.ca.

Christmas caution from CEP

Campus Enforcement and Patrol would like to remind everyone on campus to be aware of petty theft leading up to the Christmas holidays. Incidents of petty theft rise in proportion to the increase in money being collected for parties and charity and stored in desk drawers and filing cabinets, and all the gifts stashed in offices or automobiles. CEP suggests not leaving cash in the office overnight and not leaving valuables and packages in your car.

Marine Information Skyway launched

Canada’s marine sector has received a boost of $2.5 million. The investment by the Canadian Space Agency was announced at a media conference Nov. 16 linking St. John’s and Ottawa.

Speaking from the Telemedicine Centre at Memorial, Newfoundland and Labrador Industry Trade and Technology Minister Sandra Kelly applauded the impact of the new investment.

“The Marine Information Skyway initiative will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the commercial development of marine satellite communications applications in this province and across the country. We are a world leader in marine industrial capability, and I am extremely pleased that this initiative will be facilitated through the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications office in our province.”

Eligible applications under this initiative include but are not limited to: image communications/conferencing at sea; interactive training for ship’s crews; navigation applications; scientific and survey data transmission; as well as telemedicine and tele-maintenance when offshore.

CCMC collaborates with the Canadian marine information technology industry in the development of products and services that capitalize on the latest advancements in marine communications, navigation and information technology. It facilitates strategic partnerships between industry, research centres, academia and government in support of the growth of the Canadian marine information technology sector.

Memorial hosts special educators

Institute ’99: Special Matters Beyond 2000, the national conference of the Canadian Council for Exceptional Children, was held on Memorial’s campus Nov. 12-13. It was the first occasion since 1984 that Newfoundland hosted the large-scale annual national event. Exceptional individuals and their social and educational needs were the focus. Five hundred educators, and others who define responsibilities in the area of exceptionality attended from across Canada. CEC Institute ’99 offered a robust menu to the attendees, with over 100 presentations in six major strands including: Policy, Programming, Family Support, Assessment, Behavior Problems, and Technology.

Joining the Newfoundland and Labrador CEC Federation, the venture was co-sponsored by Memorial’s Faculty of Education, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association and the Department of Education. Memorial education faculty members were highly involved and contributed in two ways essentially — as members of the Conference Planning Committee, and as presenters within the diverse conference strands. As noted by Dr. Wayne Nesbit and David Philpott, Institute ’99 co-chairs, without Memorial’s supportive involvement Institute ’99 would not have become a reality.

Dr. Clar Doyle, dean of education (pro tem), said, “I am particularly encouraged by the partnership modelled by the teachers’ association, government, and university. The work which the Council for Exceptional Children is doing is crucial to our children and our communities.”

Certificate program in career development

Memorial’s Senate has approved the School of Continuing Education’s latest certificate program, the certificate program in career development.

The new program addresses what the Canadian Guidance and Counselling Foundation describes in its 1996 report to the Canadian Labour Force Development Board as “a significant need for an accessible, university-level program built around the principles of life-long learning and new standards of practice in the career services field.”

Diana Deacon, the program developer responsible for the school’s certificate offerings, echoed the foundation’s point.

“New models for career development practice and the demands of a rapidly changing economy have made the need to upgrade to the current state-of-the-art in the field more pressing than ever,” she said.