Now you can send it to the Research Forecast, a new online tool designed to assist researchers with submitting their ideas for stories about upcoming discoveries, publications or events to communications staff in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) and the (C&PA).

The purpose of the Research Forecast is to ensure that聽communications staff in VPRI and C&PA are aware of important research underway so that they can first determine its newsworthiness and target audience, and then proactively promote it through C&PA Media Relations to external media, and through YFile to the 91亚色 community.

91亚色 Researchers should consider submitting upcoming news to the Research Forecast if they have advance information about a significant discovery, publication, exhibit, event or other research product that will be made public in the coming weeks or months. Researchers,聽if聽they have knowledge of a research project that will be of interest to the wider public, even though it may still be聽in progress with no findings or products available yet, should also submit the information to the Research Forecast.

Researchers are asked to submit their story ideas and/or notice of upcoming events and publications as far in advance as possible to facilitate the appropriate development time needed for stories when media opportunities are identified. VPRI and C&PA staff will work with researchers to respect publication embargoes.

to access the Research Forecast form to submit your story for consideration, or visit the Research website and click on the Suggest a Story聽link.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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Director of executive programs at the Schulich Executive Education Centre, Middleton has been praised as one of Canada鈥檚 most respected and influential thought-leaders in the field of marketing communications.

"I was totally surprised and delighted with the news of this award 鈥� especially as it means joining such luminaries as John Cassaday, Sunni Boot, Claude Lessard and Frank Palmer," said Middleton. "Hopefully, this signals not only my personal efforts, but the efforts of all those engaged in progressing the discipline of marketing."

Alan Middleton

Middleton's career spans the client side, including international oil and gas sector, agencies, such as J. Walter Thompson in England, Canada and Japan, and academia. He is co-author of Advertising Works II and Ikonica 鈥� A Fieldguide to Canada鈥檚 Brandscape, and he has authored better-practices reports for the ACA on payment-by-results, client-agency relationships and marketing dashboards.

"Alan Middleton personifies the exceptional qualities that constitute the ACA Gold Medal Award. At every level of endeavor, he has served the marketing communications industry with passion, commitment and distinction," said Ron Lund, president and CEO of the ACA. "As an educator, Alan has mentored a generation of successful Canadian marketers and advertising practitioners. As an author, he has been hugely influential in elevating our practice of effective advertising. And as a marketing authority, he has long been the media鈥檚 go-to source of expert commentary."

Middleton sits on the board of ABC Life Literacy Canada, is an Honorary Trustee of the Royal Ontario Museum, co-founder of the annual CASSIES Awards and an inductee into the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends.

First presented in 1941, the ACA Gold Medal Award will be presented at this year's Marketing Awards gala June 8 at The Carlu in Toronto.

About the ACA Gold Medal Award

• It is open to all individuals in activities that have an impact on marketing communications in Canada (client marketers, agencies, media, researchers, academics, associations, etc.)
• Awarded for a single achievement, or for accomplishments over time
• Awarded to a candidate whose contribution represents a measurable, distinctive advancement in the practice of marketing communications in Canada

Since its inception, the ACA Gold Medal Award has been presented to a distinguished vanguard of industry leaders and visionaries. A full list of past honorees is posted on the 's website.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The summit will bring聽together education leaders (administrators, superintendents, principals, deans, faculty, teacher-leaders), private and not-for-profit sector leaders for a聽dialogue and discussion about involving people in the change necessary to achieve new learning cultures that are supported by the effective use of technology.

The one-day summit consists of two sessions in the morning聽("Exploring the Leadership Required for New Learning Cultures 鈥� A Personal Experience" and "Learning and Leading: A Practical Approach to Engage Change"). Delegates will split into break-out groups in the afternoon to discuss Leading a New Learning Culture 鈥� Becoming a Narrative Champion.聽

"This summit is a great leadership learning opportunity for 91亚色 employees involved in the Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) projects that began earlier this academic year," noted Janet Murphy, ABEL program director. The AIF initiative provides support to faculty in order to advance innovation and change at 91亚色 in the areas of teaching, learning and the student experience.

"This innovation and change on campus perfectly complements the topics that will be discussed at the summit," said聽Murphy.

Speakers and facilitators for the summit include: Dean Shareski, a digital learning consultant for Prairie South School Division in Saskatchewan; Alec Couros, a professor of educational technology and media and the coordinator of information and communications technology at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina; and George Couros, the division principal of innovative teaching & learning for Parkland School Division in聽Alberta.

Right: Dean Shareski

In addition to the face-to-face event in February, delegates are also invited to participate in two virtual learning sessions happening in the spring聽鈥� 鈥淯nderstanding the New Learning Culture and Learner Footprint鈥� and 鈥淐elebrating and Planning the Way Forward鈥�.

Left: George Couros

These virtual sessions will be easy to join, and details on how to participate will be provided the day of the summit. The virtual sessions will be hosted by the speakers and facilitators from Feb. 10. Descriptions of the virtual sessions are as follows:

Understanding the New Learning Culture and Learner Footprint聽

This session will explore the specifics of citizenship in a digital context. Rather than focusing upon prevention, participants will develop ideas to create and contribute to purposeful, engaged citizenship while learning online. These ideas will be explored and shared within the context of digital literacy, job-embedded learning, and engagement with parents, family and community.

Right: Alec Couros听听听听

Celebrating and Planning the Way Forward聽聽

This session will provide delegates with an opportunity for 鈥渟how and tell鈥�, sharing their successes and challenges in implementing new learning cultures.聽This session is about reflecting upon your own professional growth and learning from fellow participants鈥� strategies that engaged systems in change and learning more about the road ahead.

To learn more or to register you and/or your team, please visit the website.

As part of the Professional Learning Program, ABEL offers two face-to-face conferences every year 鈥� the Leadership Summit in the winter and the ABEL Summer Institute.

Look for information about the ABEL Summer Institute .

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The commissioner visited the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) on Dec. 2 to speak with students about energy conservation initiatives and to present his newly published report, . The report, submitted annually to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, was released only days before Miller鈥檚 visit to students in Fundamentals of Energy Efficiency, a fourth-year environmental studies class connected to the FES Sustainable Energy Initiative. In his visit, Miller shared a number of ideas on how government agencies, regulators, companies and the government could strengthen and support energy conservation.

Right: Gord Miller discusses strategies for the future of energy in Ontario with students in the Faculty of Environmental Studies

In his presentation, Miller noted that Ontario鈥檚 Smart Grid program 鈥渉as not been well communicated to the public, and thus it is not understood.鈥�

The Ontario Ministry of Energy describes the Smart Grid system as an 鈥渋ntelligent electricity infrastructure鈥� using sensors, monitors, communications, automation and computers to 鈥渋mprove the flexibility, reliability and efficiency of the electricity system.鈥� The Ministry website states the program will allow utilities to identify and repair outages more quickly, enable consumers to better manage and monitor their electricity usage and allow more renewable electricity generation, such as wind and solar power, to connect to the electricity grid. The switch to a Smart Grid, however, will require a series of integrated initiatives over a number of years.

Left: Gord Miller

Because of this, the program received criticism in the October 2011 provincial election, along with public resistance to the need for new meters to be installed on all homes and businesses. But Miller said, 鈥淧eople who are resistant to change, they state and retell a narrative to convince themselves and others of their case. You have to change that narrative and accumulate case studies where meters did not have an adverse effect.鈥�

In addition, Miller identified another vital concern: 鈥渢he absence of leadership at the systems level means there is not one single organization with an overall perspective who will ensure that this program succeeds.鈥� Still he was optimistic, saying, 鈥淓nergy conservation starts with smart metering, [which will allow us to] find out the waste in transmission in the system.鈥�

Another conservation initiative that has had considerable criticism, said Miller, is (TOU) electricity pricing. TOU pricing breaks down electrical consumption into demand-based categories: on-peak (time of day when electrical demand is highest), mid-peak (demand is moderate) and off-peak (demand is lowest). Consumers pay higher rates for electricity consumed during higher demand periods. According to the Ontario Energy Board, the TOU plan was developed 鈥渢o provide stable and predictable electricity pricing, which ensures the price consumers pay for electricity better reflects the actual cost of producing the electricity.鈥�

Right: Several students parted the event with expanded minds as well as pockets, having received USB keys from the commissioner

Miller thinks the negative media and public response towards the plan was overblown. 鈥淭OU pricing was viewed as a 鈥榯ax鈥�,鈥� he said, as if to suggest that 鈥渙ld people would have to do laundry in the middle of the night.鈥澛燞e said peak demand determines the amount of energy which power plants must generate. He further suggested that if Ontarians could lower their peak consumption, fewer power plants would be required in the future, having a direct environmental impact.

Miller, excited about his upcoming climate change report, also spoke about transportation, road pricing and electric vehicles. He promised this report would include further analysis of greenhouse gas emissions, along with a necessary update on the science of climate change.

鈥淟ast year鈥檚 report was very critical of the government's actions [on climate change]. Since then, the programs have fallen apart,鈥� he said, adding that Ontario won't be able to meet its聽. But he said, 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a concerted, sincere effort, I won鈥檛 judge everything negatively.鈥�

Miller feels it is his job 鈥渢o address the white elephants in the room,鈥� tackling difficult subjects and getting closer to solutions in energy conservation. In sharing his insight and optimism with 91亚色鈥檚 environmental students, Miller says he hopes to strengthen the future in preserving Ontario鈥檚 environment.

Submitted by Imelda Nurwisah, FES communications graduate assistant

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The description will be posted until the job is filled.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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For more than 50 years, Prof. Durlak worked on applied research and development projects internationally. He introduced innovations ranging from hybrid corn in Costa Rica to agricultural television programs in Guatemala and connected intelligence in education in Maderia to聽 symmetrical broadband networks in Canada.

Right: Jerry Durlak

He also created and taught more than 20 courses at 91亚色 in the faculties of education and environmental studies, including courses in urban studies, communications studies and for the Graduate Program in Communications & Culture. Prof. Durlak was a faculty member in the Interactive Art & Entertainment Group in the Canadian Film Centre鈥檚 media lab and director of 91亚色鈥檚 Digital Media Lab.

From 1987 to 1990, he was the editor of Minds in Motion, a collaborative publication between 91亚色 and Apple Canada that explored leading edge software developments in Canada. Throughout his career, Prof. Durlak wrote extensively on interactive media, communication networks, new communication technologies, machine mediated learning, computer gaming and simulation, distance learning and urban design.

Prof. Durlak leaves his wife Reccia Mandelcorn and children Alex, Caitlin and Meagan Durlak and step-daughter Rachel Rosen.

A service of meditation and remembrance will take place tomorrow at 11am at The Simple Alternative, 275 Lesmill Road, Toronto. In lieu of flowers, Prof. Durlak鈥檚 family requests that memorial donations be made to聽.

Republished courtesy of YFile.

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A leading scholar in the field of politics and media communications policy in Canada, Prof. Siegel was instrumental in shaping 91亚色鈥檚 Communication Studies聽Program, which has grown to become a full-fledged department in LA&PS.

Left: Prof.聽Arthur Siegel

A special memorial service for Prof. Siegel will be held on聽Tuesday, May 11, from 10:30am to 12:30pm, in the Scott Religious Centre on the Keele campus. Colleagues of Prof. Siegel, students and friends are invited to attend the memorial and celebrate his life an many contributions to the University.

For more on Prof. Siegel's many contributions to 91亚色, see YFile, April 9.

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A leading scholar in the field of politics and media communications policy in Canada, Prof. Siegel was instrumental in shaping 91亚色鈥檚 Communication Studies聽Program. His writings and teachings contributed widely to our current understanding of censorship, press freedoms and referenda.

Left: Prof. Arthur Siegel

Prior to arriving at 91亚色 in 1976, Prof.聽Siegel was a successful journalist and wrote for Time magazine, Life magazine and Sports Illustrated, to name just a few. He also spent years working as a writer and commentator for Radio Canada International.

Prof. Siegel's family fled Germany on the eve of the Second World War, and he grew up in Trinidad. He聽studied at the University of California,聽Berkeley, Georgetown University and the Heidelberg University聽and completed his PhD at McGill University. His doctoral thesis compared English and French newspaper coverage of the 1970 FLQ Crisis.

Prof. Siegel was a devoted and dynamic teacher, colleague and a friend to many at 91亚色.聽Over the course of his 34-year career, Prof. Seigel taught thousands of 91亚色 students. He was an exuberant, colourful and inspired member of the University聽community and he always encouraged his students to aim high. He brought wisdom and laughter to聽91亚色 and he will be missed by his many colleagues in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, his students and the alumni of the Communication Studies聽Program.

Prof. Siegel also聽worked tirelessly as a fundraiser for Toronto's Baycrest Centre, where he was chair of the Honour Roll and chair of the Men's Executive Service Group. He served as Editorial Advisory Board chair of the聽Jewish Tribune, and, at the time of his death, was on the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University. He was also former president of Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University. For several years Prof. Siegel was the chair of the Board of Directors for the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE).

Prof. Siegel leaves his wife Mireille, three daughters (Ariane, Alisa and Maura) and six grandchildren.

Funeral services take place today at 11:30am at Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel,聽2401 Steeles Ave.聽West. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in his memory be made to a favourite charity.

In memory of Prof. Siegel, the 91亚色 flag will fly at half-mast from sunrise today until 1pm on Saturday. Condolences and memories may be sent by e-mail to Alisa Siegel at alisa.siegel@sympatico.ca.

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