Two members of the McGill community were elected and re-lected to McGill’s Board of Governors (BoG) in November for terms starting on Jan. 1. Juliet Johnson, professor of political science, was elected for her first term, and Ronald Critchley, president of the McGill University Non-Academic Staff Association (MUNASA), was re-elected[Read More…]
Author: Admin
SNC-Lavalin vice-president discusses social responsibility
On Jan. 18, the Institute for Studies in International Development (ISID) hosted a seminar by Jean-François Gascon, the vice-president of capacity building at SNC-Lavalin. The first event in a speaker series organized by ISID, Gascon’s presentation focused on explaining the concept of “Creating Shared Value” (CSV). Specializing in project management,[Read More…]
What happened last week in Canada?
New HST in PEI to affect universities, colleges In April, Prince Edward Island will introduce a 14 per cent Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) that leverages a large amount of money from colleges and universities, according to media reports last week. Similar to the HST in place for Atlantic Canada and Ontario,[Read More…]
Stocking your bookshelf, saving your money
There are few things in the world that I find rant-worthy, and even fewer that actually elicit a strong emotional reaction once I begin to complain. By definition, a ‘rant’ is supposed to help you vent, and allow your frustration to diminish. There is one topic, however, that works me[Read More…]
AGTMA: A guide to McGill Acronyms
The illustrious acronym. Think NSFW, SUV, or YOLO. From BET to the FBI, acronyms denote institutional authority, and cultural legitimacy. However, to the uninitiated, it can be hard to figure out what these caps lock configurations stand for. To make back-to-school a bit easier, the Tribune is proud to provide[Read More…]
Avian flu mutation has even deadlier potential
In 2011, when scientists at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands pinpointed the necessary mutations to make the H5N1 avian flu virus highly contagious, they had to weigh the risks and benefits of their discovery. H5N1—commonly known as the bird flu—first broke out in Hong Kong in 1997. A[Read More…]
This Week in Research
Earth-like planets If extraterrestrial life does exist in outer space, planet KOI-172.02 is a good candidate to host life similar to that on Earth. Using the Kepler space telescope to find planets, scientists at NASA have detected at least 17 billion Earth-like planets surrounding Sun-like stars in the Milky Way.[Read More…]
Companies jump on smartphone trend: home automation
At the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (ICES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, over 150,000 people watched as companies revealed a new wave of smartphone technology. More than just miniature computers, phones on display at the ICES were designed to be remote controls for the consumer’s life, connecting apps to household[Read More…]
Why are blue eyes blue?
The Tyndall effect is the principle responsible for blue eyes, and also happens to account for the blue colour of the sky. It’s a phenomenon that occurs when light is scattered by “colloid” particles—solid particles of 40-900 nanometers in diameter that float in suspension in a liquid medium. When white[Read More…]
Is Fantino making a mistake on Haiti?
This New Year began on a controversial note for Canada’s International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino. According to a story published in La Presse, Ottawa froze aid to Haiti shortly after Fantino’s visit to the Caribbean nation in November. While some current funding will continue, funding on new projects will be,[Read More…]