Doorey says the main reason he started Doorey's Workplace Law Blog was to better connect with his students. 鈥淚 wanted to make my courses in workplace law and industrial relations interesting and 鈥榬eal鈥� for the students. By linking course theory and readings to real cases and current news events, I can build student interest in the course in ways a textbook never can.鈥�

Right: David Doorey

But then he thought he could do that even better through an app. 鈥淭he iTunes app is the next step,鈥� he says. 鈥淢ost students today have smartphones, and this app means I can now communicate with students daily, wherever they are. They are learning in fun new ways that fit with their lifestyles.鈥�

His central audience has always been students studying in his subject areas at 91亚色 and at other institutions. His blog looks at all aspects of employment law and highlights some of the more interesting and current cases, such as Fraser vs. Ontario: Constitutional Right to Collective Bargaining Survives, a discussion on whether Target Canada will buy unionized Zellers, and how the City of Toronto Committee voted to fire 300 unionized garbage collectors. Doorey's Workplace Law Blog won a CLawBies 鈥� Canadian Law Blog Award 鈥� in 2008 and again in 2009, and was a CLawBies finalist in 2010.

鈥淚'm trying to stimulate their critical thinking in the field and make them want to learn more,鈥� says Doorey. 鈥淭he blog has attracted a much wider audience than just students, including legal and human resources practitioners and other academics, and I anticipate that the app will allow me to connect to more of these busy professionals.鈥�

The blog, and now the app, will help interested students and professionals keep up with what's going on in new case law and in the academic world 鈥渁s they commute to
work or wait in line to order coffee.鈥� Doorey sees the app as a way to provide a service to the professional community in his field by summarizing relevant news. 鈥淚t connects me to a whole new audience that is interested in the subject matter of my blog, but whose lives are too hectic to read it,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ith the app, they just tap an icon, and they can quickly see what's going in the field.鈥�

Doorey points out, however, that writing blogs and creating apps is not for everyone. 鈥淭hey are a lot of work to keep up, and you need to be really committed to it over the long haul for it to work. My motivation is my students, who turn over every few months. The new students give me the energy to keep going, since they respond very favourably, and since the blog and app are always introducing new stories and issues to the classroom, it never gets boring for me or the students.鈥�

He is grateful聽for the help he received from Oksana Silkina and Alex Neumann in 91亚色's e-Services office in getting his app created and submitted to Apple for its approval to be published.

For more information, visit Doorey鈥檚 Workplace Law Blog or . It is compatible with聽the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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

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Carla 尝颈辫蝉颈驳-惭耻尘尘茅, professor of work and labour studies in聽91亚色's Faculty of Liberal Arts聽& Professional Studies and research fellow in 91亚色鈥檚 , has received $1 million over six years from the (SSHRC).

搁颈驳丑迟:听颁补谤濒补 尝颈辫蝉颈驳-惭耻尘尘茅

The award will fund an international project to study the challenge climate change presents to Canadian employment and workplaces. 尝颈辫蝉颈驳-惭耻尘尘茅 will examine seven Canadian employment sectors to seek policy, training, employment and workplace solutions to effectively assist Canada鈥檚 transition to a low-emission economy. By combining research, workplace education, policy recommendations and pilot projects in transnational work adaptation, her project will allow Canada to re-enter the international debate about how best to engage the work world in the struggle to slow global warming.

鈥淲e need to know more about the chain of processes that comprise work, employment and training in key Canadian industries and professions 鈥� and how their decision-makers understand and respond to the challenge that global warming poses to these processes,鈥� says 尝颈辫蝉颈驳-惭耻尘尘茅. 鈥淥ur second goal is to engage community partners active in the work world and the environmental community in research that identifies critical spaces for adaptation, drawing on their hands-on experience and linking it to the expertise of the academics.鈥�

(CURA)聽awards, among the largest awarded by SSHRC, bring postsecondary institutions and community organizations together as equal research partners to jointly develop new knowledge and capabilities, provide research training opportunities, and enhance the ability of social sciences and humanities research to build knowledge in areas that affect Canadians and their changing communities.

鈥淭his award is the latest in a series of funding successes that reflect 91亚色鈥檚 leadership in national and international collaborative research projects,鈥� said Stan Shapson, vice-president Research & Innovation. 鈥淐limate change is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century and climate research and innovation are priorities for 91亚色. Our researchers are working with industry, government at all levels, academia, and the community to find ways to address the complex issues it raises.鈥�

尝颈辫蝉颈驳-惭耻尘尘茅鈥檚 research team includes nationally- and internationally-based climate scientists, senior labour market actors and academics from a wide range of disciplines. A total of 23 researchers, 20 partners, and 10 universities in three countries will participate, including 91亚色 Professors David Doorey, , , Jan Kainer, John-Justin McMurtry, and Steven Tufts.

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science聽& Technology), announced the funding yesterday in Kitchener, Ont. Lipsig-Mumm茅鈥檚 project is one of 20 large-scale research projects funded through SSHRC鈥檚 CURA program.

鈥淭hese grants highlight the excellence of our country鈥檚 talented researchers and recognize the importance of fostering collaboration to keep Canada at the leading-edge of research, development and innovation in the 21st century,鈥� said Chad Gaffield, president of SSHRC.

For a complete list of CURA awards, visit Web site.

Project Partners:

• Canadian Steel Trade and Employment Congress
• Canadian Union of Postal Workers
• Centre for Labour Studies
• Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union
• Environmental Defence
• Forest Products Sector Council
• Learning for a Sustainable Future
• National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy
• National Union of Professional and General Employees
• Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy/Professional Engineers
• Prism Economics and Analysis
• The Clean Air Partnership
• The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
• Toronto Training Board
• United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Local 1000A
• United Steelworkers of Canada
• UNITE-HERE Canada
• Wood Manufacturing Council
• British Columbia Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

University Partners:

• Auckland University of Technology
• Institute of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne
• Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability, 91亚色
• Queen's University
• Ryerson University
• Simon Fraser University
• St. Thomas University
• University of British Columbia-Okenagan
• University of Manitoba
• University of Toronto

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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