Bush anecdote draws attention to miscarriages

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 1:25 PM - 2 Comments

In an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC News, former U.S. President George W. Bush described his mother, Barbara Bush, handing him the remains of a just-miscarried fetus in a jar when he was just a teenager. This tale has started a conversation about the psychological impact of miscarriage, the New York Times reports, noting that, when a middle-class woman miscarried in postwar America, doctors would react as if there were no loss of life involved, and women would rarely discuss it openly. In recent years, support groups and therapists have emerged to address it. Most women don’t experience lasting psychological trauma, but some can be hard-hit, as if by the death of a spouse or any other family member.

New York Times

Roadkill oldest bald eagle ever found

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 1:21 PM - 1 Comment

The bald eagle found on a New Brunswick highway this year turned out to be the oldest documented specimen of its kind. The bird was hit by a car in April, but after biologists investigated a metal tracking ring on its leg they were able to trace it back to a 1977 bird-branding program that took place in Maine. They found the bird was a record-setting 32 years old. Scientists were encouraged by the discovery of the road kill: they say that it indicates that the bald eagles are living longer and healthier lives.

Montreal Gazette

Young teens who don’t like school are more likely to drink

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 1:03 PM - 8 Comments

In a study of 3,641 students aged 11 to 14, British researchers found that those drinking once a week were 10 times more likely to have sex, and also found links between general unhappiness and alcohol use, the BBC reports. Children who don’t like school are twice as likely to drink, and 2.5 times more likely to engage in sexual activity (including kissing, touching and sex), they said. What’s more, those with an unhappy home life, and unable to talk to their parents, were also more likely to drink.

BBC News

How we rank

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 12:54 PM - 0 Comments

University of Victoria | Photograph by Deddeda Stemler

Maclean’s places universities into one of three categories to recognize the differences in levels of research funding, the diversity of offerings, and the range of graduate and professional programs.

Medical Doctoral universities offer a broad range of Ph.D. programs and research; all institutions in this category have medical schools.
For Medical Doctoral results, click to enlarge.

Comprehensive universities have a significant degree of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees.
For Comprehensive results, click to enlarge.

Primarily Undergraduate universities are largely focused on undergraduate education, with relatively few graduate programs.
For Primarily Undergraduate results, click to enlarge.

University rankings

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 12:53 PM - 97 Comments

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO | PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW TOLSON

Which schools are doing better than ever? Which have slipped? What are the hot topics in and around Canadian universities in 2010? How can students find the perfect fit for them?

For 20 years, Maclean’s has been bringing together parents, presidents, professors and prospective students in a conversation about education. This, its 20th anniversary rankings issue, is its biggest and most ambitious edition ever, covering 120 pages-with 21 stories and complete rankings for 49 schools. It’s not only a valuable resource about Canadian universities, but also a personalized guide that answers the many important questions students have on the road to deciding where they belong, where they will thrive, and ultimately, which school they can confidently choose to spend the next four years of their lives.

Maclean’s places universities into one of three categories to recognize the differences in levels of research funding, the diversity of offerings, and the range of graduate and professional programs:

Medical Doctoral universities offer a broad range of Ph.D. programs and research; all institutions in this category have medical schools.
For Medical Doctoral results, click to enlarge.

Comprehensive universities have a significant degree of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees.
For Comprehensive results, click to enlarge.

Primarily Undergraduate universities are largely focused on undergraduate education, with relatively few graduate programs.
For Primarily Undergraduate results, click to enlarge.

It gets better

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 12:31 PM - 90 Comments

Michael Ignatieff adds his contribution to Dan Savage’s It Gets Better project.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have also contributed. The project has also made famous a city councillor for Fort Worth by the name of Joel Burns. Continue…

It's the Arts

By Jaime Weinman - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 11:53 AM - 1 Comment

I wanted to highlight John Doyle’s complaint, in the Globe and Mail, that the Giller Prize and occasional author appearances on talk shows aren’t enough: there needs to be genuine arts programming on TV, and the CBC isn’t doing it any more. The operative term being “any more”; the CBC has a long tradition of great arts programming ranging from music to original TV plays, but there hasn’t been much of that in a long time.

It’s not just the CBC, of course. Arts programming — meaning not just talking about the arts, but actual displaying and performing — has been in decline in a lot of countries for a long time. This is one of those things that cable was never fully able to take over; remember there was this idea, in the ’90s, that cable would make public TV obsolete. But cable channels like Bravo! (both versions) have commercial pressures that inevitably push them toward a different mission statement and more conventional program choices.

Meanwhile, pressures on public television have a lot to do with a perception that they’re elitist and use public money to show things the general public doesn’t like. Fighting back against this perception is not the only reason why Highbrow (or high Middlebrow) material is hard to find on PBS or CBC, but it does help explain why it would be difficult to get these things back on the channels. Plus much of traditional arts programming has its roots in theatre, and the whole idea of theatrical television is on the ropes in an era when film, not theatre, is the most respected dramatic art. The concept of a studio-bound “TV play,” once one of the things the CBC did best, has been hard to come across for a while, except for one-offs like George Clooney’s live version of “Fail Safe.” Not that the “TV movie” is in much better shape. The collapse of anthology programming is just something that makes it very tough to find a regular slot for the work of playwrights, screenwriters, composers and performers.

Most of the TV plays the CBC did, like the BBC’s, seem to be lost or at least hard to find. But this clip has some bits of a CBC live TV play, written by Arthur Hailey, that had quite a bit of cultural impact: the following year it was adapted into a U.S. feature called “Zero Hour!” and you know what other U.S. feature that eventually became.

The downside of fear-mongering

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 11:35 AM - 66 Comments

Former NDP campaign Brian Topp links the public’s relative acceptance of Stephen Harper to Paul Martin’s fear-based campaigns against him.

Here the Prime Minister continues to be the long-term beneficiary of Paul Martin’s foolish 2004 and 2006 campaigns, which set out to paint Mr. Harper as a demonic figure who would destroy the planet if elected. He would point guns at your face; unload troops on your lawn; and fill the skies with black smoke. Mr. Harper has done none of these things, so far – and so he continues to benefit from the expectations game created for him by his less politically skilful predecessor.

Oddly, that description of the boogieman is rather reminiscent of a certain campaign ad that ran during the 2008 campaign… Continue…

Idea alert

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 10:28 AM - 17 Comments

Belinda Stronach calls for a roaming Parliament.

“I think we should consider some radical adjustments to the way that Parliament does its business,” she said. “We could, for example, institute video-conferencing and afford people the option to participate in committees or caucus meetings by video-conferencing. We now have the reliable technology and it’s used elsewhere, all the time, for distance work.”

Similarly, she asked why in this day and age, MPs actually have to be physically present in the Commons to cast a vote. “We could even put in place electronic distance voting in the House. This would allow a greater number of women and men to feel more able to balance family and public service,” she said.

Where do I belong?

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 10:09 AM - 0 Comments

Studying into the night at Mount Saint Vincent | Photograph by Andrew Tolson

Deanna Jarvis, the 19-year-old first-year student on our cover, says she knows the University of Guelph is the right place for her. She’s just not sure why. Maybe it’s the gold and red leaves that litter the campus in the fall. She could never live in a concrete jungle, she says. Perhaps it’s that Guelph offers a rare major (adult development, families and wellbeing) that will teach her how to help people. “I just like to listen to friends and help them,” she says. Or maybe it’s that Guelph is a big enough school to keep famous playwrights like Judith Thompson on staff. Jarvis, a parttime actor, is a huge Thompson fan. Whatever the reason, Guelph just seems to fit.

Parents, students, university presidents and even education marketers are trying to nail down exactly what makes a school fit. Traditionally, school size and city size were the shorthand for determining where a particular student should go. Big schools offer more cultural opportunities; tiny schools offer more personal interaction, or so the theory goes. Those rules still apply, but sociologist James Côté, of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., has found another predictor for what he calls the “goodness of fit.” His research found students do best when their inner motivations match what the environment has to offer.

Continue…

The enrollment controversy*

By Stephanie Findlay and Nicholas Köhler - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 9:51 AM - 1,904 Comments

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW TOLSON/ SIMON HAYTER

When Alexandra and her friend Rachel, both graduates of Toronto’s Havergal College, an all-girls private school, were deciding which university to go to, they didn’t even bother considering the University of Toronto. “The only people from our school who went to U of T were Asian,” explains Alexandra, a second-year student who looks like a girl from an Aritzia billboard. “All the white kids,” she says, “go to Queen’s, Western and McGill.”

Alexandra eventually chose the University of Western Ontario. Her younger brother, now a high school senior deciding where he’d like to go, will head “either east, west or to McGill”—unusual academic options, but in keeping with what he wants from his university experience. “East would suit him because it’s chill, out west he could be a ski bum,” says Alexandra, who explains her little brother wants to study hard, but is also looking for a good time—which rules out U of T, a school with an academic reputation that can be a bit of a killjoy.

Or, as Alexandra puts it—she asked that her real name not be used in this article, and broached the topic of race at universities hesitantly—a “reputation of being Asian.”

Continue…

MySpace cleans house

By Chris Sorensen - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 9:40 AM - 1 Comment

Getty Images

It’s never easy to resurrect a company in decline, never mind when the business in question is a social networking website. Nevertheless, that’s what MySpace’s owners are attempting to do as the former online juggernaut succumbs to the same disease—uncoolness—that brought down predecessors like GeoCities and Friendster. With traffic down 20 per cent and red ink leaking from every line of code, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. has unveiled a dramatic remake of the site in an attempt to win back users, many of whom have moved on to Facebook, which now boasts more than half a billion users, compared to about 120 million for MySpace.

The new look will be more streamlined and focused on music (traditionally one of the site’s strong points), an apparent response to criticisms that the site had become an unwieldy hodgepodge of garish profile pages that bogged down browsers. News Corp. has reportedly been considering its options for MySpace, including a possible sale, in a bid to recoup some of the US$580 million it paid for the property in 2006, a time when Facebook was merely a blip, albeit a fast-growing one, in the rear-view mirror. Either way, it may finally be time for diehards to think about turning off the lights.

Would we better off without political parties?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 9:22 AM - 51 Comments

Scott Adams wonders if the Internet could replace political parties.

I think political parties made sense in pre-Internet times. It was a good way to organize and to produce candidates who had a legitimate chance of getting elected. Now it’s easy to imagine the Internet being a better platform for electing the right people. The problem is that there’s no way to get to a different type of system from here. The major parties are too entrenched to give up power, and belonging to organizations is a fundamental freedom … If Thomas Jefferson sprung back to life today, and learned about the Internet, I wonder how he would recommend changing the Constitution of the United States. I think he would favor banning political parties.

Gordon Campbell, fiscal genius?

By Cathy Gulli - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 9:20 AM - 6 Comments

CP Images

Lately, it seems like Gordon Campbell is the kind of premier only economists could love. Despite an embarrassing nine per cent approval rating among British Columbians—many of whom are annoyed about having to pay the HST, not to mention their leader’s recent $240,000 TV promo funded by taxpayers—Campbell has been crowned the country’s most fiscally responsible premier by the Fraser Institute.

In a recent report, the Canadian think tank ranked 10 premiers on how they’ve handled government spending, taxes, debt and deficits since coming into power. Campbell bested the other provincial leaders with an overall score of 89.1 out of 100. Newfoundland’s Danny Williams, who finished third, is the only premier east of Manitoba to crack the top five. Meanwhile, Ontario’s Dalton McGuinty ranked last with a paltry 29.7 points out of 100.

Continue…

Condoleezza Rice in conversation

By Kate Fillion - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 9 Comments

Photography Colin O'Connor

The 66th U.S. secretary of state also served as president George W. Bush’s national security adviser during his first term. A long-time faculty member at Stanford University, Rice currently teaches two courses, and recently published a memoir of her parents’ influence on her life, Extraordinary, Ordinary People.

Q: You grew up in a completely segregated city. But you write that as a child, the sense of injustice didn’t sink in. Why not?
A: When you’re young, your world is pretty limited. My parents, my family, my church dominated my world. And because Birmingham was so segregated, you didn’t really have to encounter the slings and arrows of racism on a daily basis. Obviously, from time to time you did, like when my parents took me to see Santa Claus and he wasn’t letting black children sit on his knee. But my parents tried to insulate me as much as they could.

Q: Like not wanting you to use “coloured only” facilities?
A: Right. They were pretty clear that “coloured” meant, usually, inferior. My grandfather on my mother’s side was determined that his family would never use a “coloured” restroom. My aunt remembers a lot of uncomfortable road trips where they really needed to go to the bathroom but he wouldn’t let them. It’s a way to shield against linking skin colour with something second-rate.

Continue…

Amid the chaos, a few kind words for the Tea Party

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 2 Comments

Win McNamee/Getty Images

From a call for hope in 2008 to a cry of anger in 2010. The politics of the United States is nothing if not malleable.

After Barack Obama’s historic and hope-filled ascension to the presidency two years ago, the American electoral scene has been swamped by disillusionment over the policy direction of the federal government, massive increases in public spending, persistent unemployment and a sense of unfulfilled national promise. The surprising success in this week’s mid-term elections of the Tea Party movement, a loosely organized group of mostly Republican voters, has revealed a legitimate and deep-seated anger among American voters. It may be flawed, but the Tea Party cannot be ignored.

Inspired by an on-air rant in February 2009 by CNBC business editor Rick Santelli, the Tea Party has quickly grown into a political movement with very specific interests. Its supporters are hyper-focused on limiting the powers of the federal government, lowering taxes and bending Washington’s ear to these demands. Critics contend, with some justification, that such simplicity ignores the complexities of the real world. And a few high profile Tea Party candidates are clearly not ready for prime time. But simplicity sells. Grassroots populist movements such as the Tea Party have a long and respectable history in North America because of their ability to express popular sentiment. And anger seems a perfectly understandable emotion for Americans to be feeling in 2010.

Continue…

'Heroes in our midst'

By Irwin Cotler - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 0 Comments

Thomas Manuel (left) with David Johnston; Medal of Bravery | Adrian Wyld/CP/ Sgt Serge Gouin/Rideau Hall

While the media was suffused last week with the gruesome evidence of Russell Williams’s criminality, a remarkable and inspiring event took place in Ottawa. Although it went largely unreported in the mainstream national media, it represents—as someone fortunate to witness it first-hand—the best, and I would say authentic, face of Canada.

I am referring to the awarding of Canadian Bravery Decorations to those who risked their lives to save others, and in some instances even lost their own lives in the effort. People from across the country—ordinary Canadians who engaged in extraordinary acts of courage—were presented with decorations from newly installed Governor General David Johnston in the Rideau Hall ceremony.

In the words of the Governor General, “Behind every one of these beautiful medals is an amazing story. A story of a life saved, a family preserved, a community strengthened. Stories, too, of fear overcome, because bravery is not the absence of fear, it is the judgment that something else—and someone else—is more important than fear.” Regrettably, space constraints allow me to highlight the heroism of only some of the 53 persons honoured.

Continue…

It's our 20th birthday, and the future never looked so bright

By Cathrin Bradbury - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 8:58 AM - 6 Comments

Megan Johnson (left) and Denise Davison take a study break at UPEI | Photograph by Jenna Marie Wakani

Going to university is like standing on the edge of your life—one of many edges, we later discover. It’s an optimistic moment, especially if you believe Oscar Wilde when he said that the basis of optimism is sheer terror. Students have to figure out not only where to go, but more importantly and subtly, where they belong—the “goodness of fit,” as one of our experts described it. We parents have to stand aside (okay, not too far aside) and let them choose, negotiating our own desires and fears alongside theirs. We hand them off to their professors, who take on the daunting task of literally educating our darlings—roomfuls of ambitious, cocky, nerve-wracked kids—to become the very best and smartest versions of themselves. Meanwhile, we all look to the leaders of our universities, presidents from the University of Victoria to the University of Prince Edward Island, to navigate and define what it means to be an institution of higher learning in Canada in 2010. And while we’re on it, just what is the purpose of a university education today—to expand your mind? Get a job? All in all, it’s a lot to think about.

Which is where Maclean’s comes in. For 20 years, we have been bringing together parents, presidents, professors and prospective students in a conversation about education. This, the 20th anniversary issue of our university rankings, is our biggest and most ambitious edition ever. Our goal is not just to be the most valuable resource in the country—and we are that—but also to personalize the university decision by making it as easy as possible; everything you need to make up your mind is right here in one place. It’s not a cheap decision, either: a four-year degree in Canada now costs about $60,000. On the other hand, university graduates earn an average of 75 per cent more over their lifetime than non-graduates, and have a substantially higher employment rate. Not bad, as investments go.

Continue…

20th Annual University Rankings

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 8:58 AM - 0 Comments

	Click here for the overall rankings For more the complete rankings, pick up an issue on newsstands now.
Features

The future never looked so bright Bringing together parents, presidents, professors and prospective students in a conversation about education	‘Too Asian’ A term used in the U.S. to talk about racial imbalance at Ivy league schools is now being whispered on Canadian campuses	Where do I belong? That mysterious substance guidance counsellors call ‘fit’ is not so mysterious anymore
In Conversation with Linda Frum (audio) McGill student Linda Frum upset the establishment by writing the first honest guide to Canadian universities	Future graduates, dropouts and cast-offs A few words of advice from a man who spent six years in school, for a four-year degree

Illegal tiger trade killing 100 cats each year

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 5:27 PM - 2 Comments

More than 1,000 wild tigers have been killed in the past decade due to the illegal trade in tiger parts, the BBC reports. Despite efforts to protect them, over the past century, tiger numbers have fallen from 100,000 cats to just about 3,500, according to a study from Traffic International, which monitors trade in wildlife. Using data from 11 of 13 countries where they live, it estimated that between 1,069 to 1,220 tigers were killed to supply illegal demand for tiger parts, with skins, bones and claws the most common items seized. Any commercial trade in their parts has been banned since 1987. Of the 481 seizures analyzed, over 275 were in India, where half the world’s tigers live.

BBC News

Texting is linked to an assortment of risks: study

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 4:55 PM - 4 Comments

High school students who spend the most time texting, using social networking sites, or both, are at highest risk for troublesome behaviours, like smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, absenteeism, eating disorders and depression, the New York Times reports. In a new study, researchers from Case Western Reserve University surveyed more than 4,000 students at 20 urban high schools in Ohio. About one-fifth sent at least 120 texts a day, and one-tenth were on social networks for three hours or more. Four per cent did both, and they were at twice the risk of nonusers for fighting, smoking, binge drinking, missing school, sleeping in class, thinking about suicide, and becoming cyber victims. Those who used texts and social networks most frequently also listed their parents as most permissive.

New York Times

Mag publisher takes over NYC schools

By Luiza Ch. Savage - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 4:45 PM - 1 Comment

Public school reform in the US  is lately attracting a lot of money, intellectual energy, and education “outsiders” to run school systems.

In DC, we had the Michelle Rhee experiment which raised enormously high hopes and  looked good on the big screen but divided the city and contributed to the mayor losing his job — though will continue in some sort of watered down form under his successor. School reform is also one area that the Republicans in the new Congress may be able to work with the Obama administration — that is, if they can work together on anything.

Now comes news that publishing executive Cathie Black, chairwoman of Hearst magazines, is taking over as chancellor of NYC public schools, one of the original hotbeds of reform. Chancellor Joel Klein is heading to News Corp.

Asked why he didn’t pick somebody with a traditional education background, the mayor said he wanted a chancellor who could build on what Klein started and prepare the city’s school children for the jobs of the future.

“Cathie is a world class manager,” added Bloomberg, who said he told Black as part of his job pitch that it was “a chance to change the world.”

(…)

Asked how much experience she’s had dealing with unions, Black conceded, “I’ve had limited exposure to unions.” She also acknowledged that two kids attended a boarding school in Connecticut, not city schools.

Ken Whyte interviewed Cathie Black a few years ago in Maclean’s about her experiences rising through the ranks, how she convinced Oprah to launch a magazine, and her advice for younger women.

A mutually destructive relationship

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 4:35 PM - 22 Comments

Two weeks ago, Ken Dryden lamented for the press gallery, leading Susan Delacourt to lament for Mr. Dryden’s tone, which apparently prompted Mr. Dryden to respond.

You see the country; you talk to people; you are in the incredibly privileged position of being able to knock on almost any door, phone up almost anybody, and have them talk to you about what they’re doing, feeling, hoping.  My point is that political reporting, for the most part, day-to-day, whether because of dictate, habit, tradition, evolved instinct, ease – I don’t know why – doesn’t reflect this.  Instead, it’s about Harper charges this, Ignatieff complains that, and as much as we – politicians and political media – find all this fascinating, most Canadians do not.  Who’s to blame is not the point.  I think, in fact, we – politicians and political media – bring out the worst in each other.

Unrelatedly, but relatedly, Jeff Jedras sighs in all directions.

Cross-border crime forum in DC

By Luiza Ch. Savage - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 3:51 PM - 3 Comments

From the Inbox:

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will meet with their Canadian counterparts during the 2010 Cross-Border Crime Forum  on WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 2010 with a brief photo opportunity at 1:45 P.M. EST. The officials will discuss key cross-border crime and security issues, including counterterrorism cooperation.

 

WHO: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

Department of Homeland Security

Secretary Janet Napolitano

Canada Attorney General and Minister of Justice

Rob Nicholson

Canada Public Safety Minister Vic Toews