“Many books and articles claim that younger and older workers see their jobs differently and want different things,” said 91��ɫ faculty member Paul Fairlie, a behavioural scientist, consultant and the study’s researcher. “But some of that is based on opinion and hearsay. More rigorous research is needed.”

Paul Fairlie 

The study found that age and generations had only a zero to three per cent effect how people see their work and what they desire from the workplace. Positive working conditions were far more responsible for people’s satisfaction, commitment, and retention. 

Younger and older workers surveyed in the study reported similar working conditions, satisfaction, commitment, stay intentions, burnout, engagement and discretionary effort. All workers were motivated by similar work characteristics, with meaningful work topping the list. 

“A 10 per cent increase in meaningful work was linked to seven per cent higher satisfaction, commitment, stay intentions and lower burnout,” said Fairlie. “It was almost eight per cent for higher engagement.” 

Meaningful work was measured as self-actualizing work (work that enables an employee to realize their full potential, values and life goals), social impact (having a positive impact on people and things through work), feelings of personal accomplishment and believing that their highest career goals can be achieved within their current organization. 

The study recommends that employers provide the same positive working conditions to all employees, regardless of age, especially meaningful work, which may have the most widespread, pervasive and positive impacts. The study also suggests that meaningful work can often be provided through communication strategies rather than re-tooling the organization. 

The findings, which were statistically significant and replicated in two other studies, will be published later this year in an academic volume on aging, work and society.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Study finds all generations want meaningful work appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The signed by David Fast, Canada’s minister of international trade and minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and Stephen Green, the United Kingdom’s minister of state for trade & development, highlights the importance of collaboration between the two countries in the area of social innovation. Social Innovation takes new ideas and puts them into practice for the public good.  David Phipps, director of 91��ɫ's Research Services and Knowledge Exchange and leader of 91��ɫ’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit and ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche (RIR), Canada’s knowledge mobilization network, played a role in realizing the commitment by both countries to social innovation.

David Phipps

It began in September 2011, when British Prime Minister David Cameron met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The pair discussed many matters, including international diplomacy, national security, the economy and innovation. During their meeting, they decided to build on their countries’ mutual interests in science and innovation by committing to a joint innovation statement. to view a video of Cameron's address to the Canadian Parliament.

In November 2011, some two months after the prime ministers agreed to draft the joint innovation statement, Phipps travelled to the UK for a series of meetings on knowledge mobilization and social innovation. While there, he met with representatives from the at the University of Edinburgh and the at the University of Brighton.

“At that time, I wrote in [a blog about ResearchImpact and knowledge mobilization] about my meetings ,” said Phipps. “What I didn't write about at the time were my meetings with agencies interested in social innovation. I met with the , a global leader in social innovation, and with , the UK’s innovation foundation.”

Accompanying Phipps to the meetings was Caroline Martin, trade commissioner for science and technology with the Canadian High Commission in London. “We discussed the importance of social innovation to Canada and the United Kingdom, a conversation we then continued with Nicole Arbour, team lead for the Science & Innovation Network at the British High Commission in Ottawa. Together we explored opportunities for collaboration on social innovation with Canadian organizations such as and the , organizations whose leadership in social innovation parallels that of NESTA and the Young Foundation.”

Phipps learned that Martin and Arbour were assisting with drafting the Joint Innovation statement that was called for by the prime ministers. “Our conversations helped inform the decision to include social innovation in the text of the Joint Innovation statement,” said Phipps.

Once completed, the Joint Innovation statement included this declaration: “The Participants will consider taking joint initiatives in the following priority areas [including] Social Innovation: Working with academic, government and civil society partners to leverage research and innovation activities for greater societal benefits.”

Phipps said the joint diplomatic commitment to social innovation between Canada and the UK has found another home with the Governor General of Canada David Johnston. On Feb. 17, 2012 he wrote about in an opinion piece published in The Globe & Mail. “So how do we bring about a smart and caring world that is at once prosperous, sustainable and resilient?” wrote Johnston. “Our ability to work together – to practise the diplomacy of knowledge – will be the key to our success.”

"Social Innovation is one outcome of knowledge mobilization for which 91��ɫ is developing an international reputation,” said Robert Haché, 91��ɫ’s vice-president research & innovation. “New discoveries are being made to address persistent social challenges through social innovation. Our conversations with the British and Canadian High Commissions helped inform the decision to include social innovation in the text of the Joint Innovation statement. The outcome reflects the growing international appreciation of the work of 91��ɫ’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit and its leadership role in ResearchImpact, Canada's knowledge mobilization network, in working to turn research into action."

“Collaborating for social innovation is now recognized as a priority for Canada and for the UK,” said Phipps. “RIR-91��ɫ was there and will be there working with colleagues from Canada and the UK to support knowledge mobilization as a process that enables enhanced social innovation.”

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Canada and the United Kingdom commit to social innovation appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The recent federal budget reinforced the importance the government is placing on putting its fiscal house in order with some programs receiving cuts in excess of 10 per cent.

Within that overall context of restraint is a welcome affirmation of the government’s strong commitment to research and innovation, with funding programs largely preserved and substantial new commitments made.  At the same time, the new investments focus predominantly on Canada’s innovation agenda, while the importance of supporting fundamental research is acknowledged in less tangible ways. It is explicitly stated on page 271 of the budget document that "programming in support of basic research, student scholarships and industry-related research initiatives and collaborations are preserved."

The budget has reaffirmed the importance of Tri-Council funding by returning mandated budget cuts in the form of $37 million in new investment, albeit with a focus on industry-academic partnerships. This leaves Tri-Council with stable overall budget envelopes in the present fiscal year and the hope that next year’s mandated budget cut of $31.3 million may be similarly rescued through the infusion of additional new monies.

The long-term investment in the Canada Foundation for Innovation ($500 million over five years, beginning in 2014) and the doubling of support for graduate students to gain workplace experience through the Industrial Research & Development Internship Program, are further positive signals of the importance the government places on high-quality university research, and in attracting and retaining top students and researchers.

Other notable investments in research and higher education include:

• $40 million over two years to support Canada’s Advanced Research & Innovation Network’s (CANARIE) operation of Canada’s ultra-high-speed research network;
• $60 million for Genome Canada to launch a new applied research competition in the area of human health, and to sustain the Science and Technology Centres until 2014-2015;
• $10 million over two years to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research to link Canadians to global research networks;
• $5.2 million in 2012–2013 to establish and integrate a network of mental health-related researchers in the Canadian Depression Research & Intervention Network;
• $67 million to assist the National Research Council (NRC) refocus on business-led, industry-relevant research, as well as doubling the contribution budget of the NRC’s highly successful cross-Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) in aid of small and medium enterprises.

These investments can only be seen as encouraging and a reflection of continuing strong support for university sector research. They provide important building blocks to developing knowledge, creativity and innovation within universities, now and into the future.  This is a reality the government recognizes. We are fortunate to have experienced a significant upswing in university research investments over the last decade, with investments having nearly quadrupled since the mid-1990s and continuing to rise despite economic setbacks. Budget 2012 presents a stable agenda for research funding – delivering a longer term message on research and innovation that reinforces the government’s goal, “to position Canada for increased success in the global economy that depends more and more on knowledge and innovation as a key driver of long-term competitiveness.”

Canada’s societal well-being and future economic health depend greatly on our capacity to innovate and build a highly competitive advantage.  This is a vision that 91��ɫ shares and will continue to foster in benefiting our researchers. With the sustained support towards higher education and excellence in research and technology, we will continue to work with the government to ensure the continuation of these vital investments – and to reinforce the need to invest equally in the ongoing development of fundamental research.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post VPRI responds to the federal budget appeared first on Research & Innovation.

As a proud alumna of 91��ɫ, Lauren Hall has been coordinating 91��ɫ's Transition Year Program since May 2010. With great satisfaction, her colleagues put together a winning nomination file without her knowledge, in order tocelebrate the voice of promise, respect and empowerment that Hall brings to the 91��ɫ community every day.

Hall's manager has noted that she is an advocate for all students and all opportunities, and notes that whether in person or on the phone, her personality welcomes and engages all – and a positive relationship with 91��ɫ begins. Colleagues say that Hall believes passionately in the privilege of pursuing higher education and advocating for accessible education for all those that desire it. Her care and attention with students sees them through to realizing their potential and inspires them to believe in themselves.

On a daily basis, Hall interacts with a wide variety of people. The Transition Year Program sits outside the Faculty structure, rendering navigation difficult. Hall takes this in stride and engages her counterparts in other faculties and administrative departments in order to reinforce a support system. Her exceptional interpersonal skills allow for intervention and advocacy for the Transition Year Program in a dignified and respectful way. Hall systematically removes obstacles and builds processes necessary for supporting students with extraordinary needs.

Hall works hard on a daily basis to create a safe and secure place for students to speak to someone about the University, but who feel intimidated by the institution itself. She is noted for her "yes-it-is-possible" attitude and her compassionate approach to each individual case. Colleagues say that Hall is viewed as a mentor by students in the Transition Year Program. She convinces them of their own power and reinforces their dream of something better.

She regularly brings her voice outside the institution, into the community, recruiting and promoting the Transition Year Program. Her nominators note that her intelligence and professional capacity in representing the program to a wide range of audiences is incomparable. They say that she goes above and beyond the call of duty each day, exemplifying an extraordinary personal commitment to 91��ɫ, and making her worthy of the 2011 President’s Voice of 91��ɫ Award.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post 2011 President's Voice of 91��ɫ inspires students to believe in themselves appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The two professors were each presented with a Faculty of Graduate Studies Teaching Award at the the meeting of the Faculty of Graduate Studies Council. In introducing the awardees, Associate Dean Academic Affairs Thomas Loebel said the professors’ students wrote of them “with an appreciation – and affection – otherwise reserved for family.”

From left, Patrick Monahan, VP academic & provost; Allan Hutchinson, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies; and Professor Joel Katz

Joel Katz, teaches in the Faculties of Health and Graduate Studies. A Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology and affiliated with Toronto General Hospital, he sports a book-length CV of awards, boards, invited lectures and publications in the fields of psychology, anesthesiology and pain management.

In his introduction, Loebel said that Katz’s students were grateful for the his level of care, patience, kindness and enthusiasm. He displays “care for how they think, research, represent themselves and 91��ɫ, and how they interact– care from the macro to the micro levels, in theory and in practice,” said Loebel.

In their letters of assessment and recommendation, Loebel said that students noted repeatedly that learning from Katz’s published findings made them realize that if they wanted to develop their minds and their approaches to their career fields, and if they wanted to participate truly and significantly in the solution of health problems, then they needed to come study with him.

“When I was informed by my students that they wanted to nominate me, I felt I had already gotten the award” said Katz. Though he has received a number of awards, this one, he says, “is by far the most meaningful. I have students who make it easy and enjoyable for me to do my job.”

Paul Lovejoy, a distinguished research professor and an internationally renowned expert on the African diaspora, teaches in the Faculties of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and Graduate Studies. Among his accomplishments and credits, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History and director of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples.

Patrick Monahan congratulates Professor Paul Lovejoy shortly after being presented with the Faculty of Graduate Studies Teaching Award by Allan Hutchinson

A pioneer in the digital humanities, Lovejoy’s work has global significance because it opens access to rare documents and creates online-networked communities. The nomination submissions highlighted how Lovejoy integrates his students in ways that allow them to build skills for their own work. Loebel said that his students expressed great gratitude for his open-access approach to his personal library of volumes and documents that are simply not available elsewhere.

His students repeatedly commented that Lovejoy teaches them to network by example, not only as a career development tool, but more importantly, said Loebel, “as part of the process of learning and discovery, to make community by vibrant communication.”

“It’s the highest honour a professor can receive, based on the ability to share new knowledge and inspire students to achieve their potential,” said Lovejoy, who sees the award as a highlight in his career. “Of the many awards and honours I have been blessed with,” he said, “this one is special – the best.”

Before presenting the awards, Allan Hutchinson, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, said that Katz and Lovejoy were recognized by both peers and students. They are “raising the bar with the extent of their commitment to their students." Most remarkably, he said, “their graduate students described these professors as genuinely caring and as active participants in their development as students, as scholars and as individuals.”

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Graduate Studies honours two professors for excellence in teaching appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The post Call for nominations for the President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Puri, who is Osgoode’s associate dean, research, graduate studies & institutional relations and co-director of the Hennick Centre for Business and Law at Osgoode and Schulich School of Business, was presented with the Women’s Executive Network’s 2011 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award in the Xstrata Nickel Trailblazers & Trendsetters Award Category.

Left: Poonam Puri

Puri joins a community of 584 women who have received the Top 100 Award, recognizing the highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Canada. Winners are selected based on their strategic vision and leadership, their organization’s financial performance and their commitment to their communities. The complete list of 2011 winners can be found on the website.

Dhir was named Wednesday night by Lexpert Magazine as one of "Canada's Leading Lawyers Under 40” at a gala dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, which took place Nov. 30. Dhir, who joined Osgoode in 2007 and teaches in the field of business law, received one of Lexpert's 2011 "Rising Stars" Awards, which pay tribute "to the rising stars of the legal community." Winners were nominated by peers and selected by Lexpert's advisory board, which includes some of the most respected senior lawyers in Canada.

Right: Aaron Dhir

Third-year Osgoode student Sethi was presented with the 2011 Student of the Year award at the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) Annual Gala held Nov. 16 at the Fermenting Cellar in Toronto’s Distillery District. The award is a new award that SABA Toronto presented at this year’s gala, which celebrates South Asian achievement in the Greater Toronto legal community. 

“Poonam, Aaron and Chanakya are proven achievers who have put their extraordinary talents to work both inside and outside the law school,” said Osgoode Dean Lorne Sossin. “They are an inspiration to us all.”

Left: Chanakya Sethi

Puri, who received her award last night at the Top 100 Awards Gala Dinner at the Allstream Centre in Toronto, has received considerable recognition over the past several years for her achievements including Canada’s Top 40 under 40 award in 2005; the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Female Professional of the Year Award in 2008; and the Professional Excellence Award from the Canadian Association of South Asian Lawyers as well as the Lawyer of the Year Award from the South Asian Bar Association in 2010.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority where she chairs its corporate governance and nominating committees, the Board of Governors of Mount Sinai Hospital and the National Advisory Council for Statistics Canada.

Dhir was honoured in 2009 with the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto Young Lawyer of the Year Award as well as the Osgoode Faculty Teaching Award. The following year, he was presented with the Osgoode Hall Legal & Literary Society Excellence in Teaching Award. He was also nominated for the 2011 91��ɫ President's University-Wide Teaching Award.

He has served this summer and fall as the Law Commission of Ontario’s scholar-in-residence and is currently writing a book on corporate governance and diversity, which is under contract with Cambridge University Press.

Sethi earned an A+ average in both his first and second year at Osgoode. He is actively involved in the life of the law school, and currently serves as executive editor of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, a Dean’s Fellow and a member of the Faculty Recruitment Committee. 

This past summer, he was one of two Osgoode students selected to participate in a judicial internship program with the Supreme Court of India. When he graduates next year, he will serve for a year starting in September 2012 as a law clerk for Justice Michael Moldaver at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Three Osgoode high achievers honoured appeared first on Research & Innovation.