Tag: york university

Categories
Academia

Gavan Watson, PhD

A Little Shorty
Creative Commons License photo credit: clydeorama

I achieved a personal milestone yesterday with the successful defense of my PhD dissertation (What is the link to picture above? I “scored” a personal “goal” yesterday). Even more exciting than the “Congratulations” from the chair as I re-entered the room was the word that my work required no revisions and it was being submitted for consideration of a thesis prize. Unexpected (the no revisions and thesis prize part, not the successful defense) and pretty freakin’ awesome.

I’m still processing the fact that I’ve reached the termination of a terminal degree and that, largely, I’m done. I think it will take a day or two for me to fully process that fact.

I was especially lucky, however, for all the support I received yesterday and along the way. That Heather was able to watch the event was especially great—not only is she my love, but we’ve been graduate student co-workers for the length of my PhD. Having her share the culminating moment was great. Also observing the defense were my Dad and PhD friends. My father has been an unabashed champion of getting the PhD done, especially during the dark moments about mid-way through where it just doesn’t seem like it might be worth it to finish. Nadine and Josh—Nadine a friend from undergrad and a member of my PhD student cohort; Josh a fellow environmental education scholar, conference co-conspirator and the “piano guy”—stayed for the three hour event and their interest and presence was inspiring. The tweets and Facebook messages from friends near and far really helped too!

I also need to thank my examination committee: my external, Dr. Janis Dickinson, travelled to Toronto over American Thanksgiving to attend the exam; my internal-external Dr. Steve Alsop; FES Dean’s representative, Dr. Martin Bunch; Exam chair and committee member Dr. Jennifer Foster; and my other committee members, Dr. Ray Rogers and Dr. Alice Hovorka. The questions in the defense were thought-provoking, fair and challenging; I look forward to engaging with these in future work.

Finally, I have to recognize the support, friendship, critical thinking and mentorship of my supervisor Dr. Leesa Fawcett. We’ve been working together since I arrived on-campus at York in the fall of 2002 to start my Masters in Environmental Studies and I feel like we share my success yesterday.

OK, as I tweeted yesterday, I’m off to add “, PhD” to everything I own.

Categories
Dissertation

York University Dissertation Template

(almost) all of the completed dissertations in Visual Studies at UC Irvine up to 2008
Creative Commons License photo credit: G A R N E T

York University’s Faculty of Graduate Studies provides students with a list of formatting guidelines ((If you want the direct PDF link, here it is)) (requirements more like it) to assist graduate students with the preparation of their dissertation or thesis.

The rules and regulations are somewhat convoluted and, in my humble opinion, if left to the last step of preparation, a pain in the ass to integrate with work completed thus far. So follow my lead and begin formatting your chapters as you write them to match the guidelines. This will save a ton of work when you finally integrate all the chapters.

Also saving you a ton of work? A template that is formatted to meet FGS’ guidelines. Surprisingly, FGS does not provide students with such a template. So I’ll provide one:

York University Faculty of Graduate Studies Dissertation / Thesis Template (MS Word Template, compatible with editions 2007+)

Some caveats:

I’ve used the formatting of the document to create my own dissertation. I’ve tried to make sure there are no errors and its completely in line with FGS’ requirements as of September 2010, but you’re using this template at your own risk, so to speak. I’ve heard stories about the thesis secretary measuring margins and throwing 900 printed pages out because the page number was printed too low on the page, so check and double check all the requirements before you print your final version and visit FGS.

And drop a comment below if it proved helpful!

Categories
Teaching

Reflections on my first use of Twitter in the classroom

@torontonature

Update (5-17-11): This post has turned into a book chapter, which, in turn became a presentation. Feel free to visit both.

Inspired by others’ use of Twitter in higher ed, I decided to try and integrate Twitter into the course that I’ve developed and instructed while a PhD student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University.

Continue reading “Reflections on my first use of Twitter in the classroom”
Categories
Strike

York University Back-to-Work Legislation Round-up

January 24th statement by Premier McGuinty:

The strike is also at the point where the academic year is in jeopardy for York students. In challenging economic times, when we need all our people at their best, we simply cannot afford to delay the education of 45,000 of our best and brightest young people. [Link]

Toronto Star: McGuinty to recall the Ontario legislature for 1 pm, Sunday January 25th, 2008 to introduce back-to-work legislation (BTWL)

Earlier today I was advised by Mr. Pearson that there is no reasonable prospect of a negotiated settlement between York University and CUPE Local 3903,” McGuinty said. “The sides are in a clear deadlock, and despite our best efforts to bring the sides together, that has not changed. [Link]

CBC News: Backgrounder on back-to-work legislation

Back-to-work legislation is generally used to end a strike – or lockout – in an industry that the government decides is essential to the operating of the economy. It can also be used to end an illegal strike, either by a group that is deemed essential and is therefore prevented by law from going on strike, or workers who have gone out in violation of an existing contract.[Link]

When will classes begin?

Update, 11:30am, Sunday: Toronto Star: Feb 2nd return date.

York officials said that means classes could not begin until Feb. 2, extending the school year until June 2, and costing students one of the four months they have to work or study in summer. [Link]

Update, 2:50 pm, Saturday:Toronto Star: NDP will delay BTWL; Thursday is the earliest return to class.

Hampton said CUPE’s willingness to continue talking — despite York’s refusal to budge — proves that bargaining should continue. That’s why the NDP is opposing the back-to-work bill. [Link]

Update, 2:15 pm, Saturday: Reading unconfirmed reports (blog comments right now, so caveat emptor) that the NDP will not be supporting the BTWL. If this hold true, then BTWL will take somewhere in the range of a week to pass all the readings. In addition, the union executive, flying squad and strike committee are meeting this afternoon. I’m expecting to hear something from them later in the day.

11:15 pm, Saturday: NDP & BTWL. This time it will be political: The NDP passed the TTC BTWL without holding it up. Will this hold true for the York BTWL? Not necessarily so: because there is a leadership contest and 25% of the leadership vote comes from affiliated unions. Andrew Steele, writing for his Globe and Mail blog, suggests that this means:

As a result, each of the four leadership candidates will compete to be the most against back-to-work legislation.

Not only will that mean failure for the government to secure the unanimous consent of the Legislature to dispense with debate of the legislation, but a potential filibuster that could extend the debate far beyond a few days. [Link]

Coleman on Campus: Conjecture from early January as to why McGuinty would not introduce BTWL & how long it would take to return to class:

It will take a minimum of 24 hours to recall the legislature and will take the better part of a week (if not longer) of sitting in the house to pass back-to-work legislation, which will also face opposition from the NDP. [Link]

What is the union’s reaction to this?

10:00 am, Sunday: In a posting last night, CUPE 3903’s Bargaining Team and Executive  released a statement within which they write that they are rejecting binding arbitration:

We are convinced that by rejecting binding arbitration, we are keeping members’ best interests in mind. We lose very little by refusing binding arbitration. We have rejected binding arbitration since bargaining began, and it would be inappropriate to accept it now. We considered carefully the larger political implications of our decision. We want to continue to bargain on our own terms. We refuse to undermine the dignity of our members by accepting an offer that our members already rejected. [Link]

I’m not quite sure how, once BTWL is passed, they’re going to do this beyond a symbolic gesture. They could decide to defy the BTWL, but the union’s spokesperson has said they wouldn’t be doing that:

Tyler Shipley, spokesperson for the striking CUPE employees, said the union will instruct its members to return to their jobs despite the possibility of challenging the law in court. “We’re certainly not going to encourage our members to do anything illegal,” he said. [Link]

According to today’s CUPE 3903 Strike News, picket lines will be up this week, 7am – 5pm.

CUPE 3903 is organizing a grievance and work-to-rule campaign (WTRC) when classes resume. The details of what this will look like are very loose at this time. 3903 WTRC in the past , like all WTRC, have involved following the contract to the letter. This has meant, for example, that TAs would not answer student email as it is not required by the contract. What I’m hearing is that this WTRC will try to be more disruptive than WTRC in the past. How this will affect students, if it is enacted, is difficult to say for two reasons: the first is that no details have been given. The second is that, in my experience, implentation by individual union members will be uneven.

2:15 pm, Saturday: There is a 3903 protest planned for 1pm 12pm tomorrow (at Queens Park, I would expect) in front of Queens Park. So, this will get a lot noisier…

Could the BTWL be challenged in court?

Update Saturday, 12:30 pm: Supreme Court decision (Health Services and Support – Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia) that was touted as the reason why BTWL wasn’t an option. Now it is suggested that the exception of a “clear deadlock” has been met, which is why the BTWL is a reality.

Even where a s. 2(d) violation is established, that is not the end of the matter; limitations of s. 2(d) may be justified under s. 1 of the Charter, as reasonable limits demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.  This may permit interference with the collective bargaining process on an exceptional and typically temporary basis, in situations, for example, involving essential services, vital state administration, clear deadlocks and national crisis. [Link] via Torontoist

Doorey’s Workplace Blog: Legal analysis as to why any BTWL could be challenged by CUPE

So there is little doubt that, if McGuinty ordered a legislated end to the York strike, the government would face a new complaint before the ILO, which it would no doubt lose.  This hasn’t frightened governments in the past, because the ILO’s only power is public embarrassment, and our governments have not cared about that.  But now the stakes are raised, because in addition to the ILO complaint, the McGuinty government could also find itself facing a Charter challenge.  Were the government to lose that argument, and the Court find that Section 2(d) protects a right to strike, governments across Canada could then find themselves unable to use back to work legislation in other cases–garbage strikes, transit strikes, etc. [Link]

Categories
Strike

Implications of CUPE 3903 rejecting forced ratification

At the brink

Quickly trickling down my network of contacts is the news that members of CUPE 3903, of which I am a member, have rejected the offer that was put to a forced ratification vote. ((The official results: 63% overall, 61.7% from Unit 1 (TAs), 59.3% from Unit 2 (Course Directors) & 70% from Unit 3 (Graduate Assistants) ))

Also surfacing, in the form of a press release, is York University’s President York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. When York has anything to say, it’s usually done through spokesperson Alex Bilyk, so Shoukri getting a voice now is especially noteworthy. And what does he have to say?

“We made it clear before the vote that we were making a fair, reasonable and comprehensive offer to settle the contract, especially in this worsening economic climate. The Union characterized our offer to its members as a negotiating tactic, but it was not. We have no intention of negotiating for the sake of appearance. This is our offer for settlement. Now it is up to the Union and its members to reconsider their demands and step back from the brink.”

‘Dems fighting words, no? Shoukri goes on to say “the clock has run out on CUPE” (whatever that means) he’ll make plans to shorten or cancel the summer term.

I’ll make the quick point that the University is just as much a part of this brinkmanship as the union they’re blaming. It seems that we’ve now moved into the phase of the strike were the University tries to union bust.

For some context, in the often quoted 2000-2001 strike, the University forced a rejection vote, received a no vote from two units withing the union and within less than a week, there was a new offer and a settlement. I say often quoted because this is the same logic the union was using to, in part, convince members to vote no to this forced ratification. A no vote would force the University back to the bargaining table.

Here where the past doesn’t map to the present: I don’t think the administration of the University feels it has anything to gain from making concessions to the union. This means no quick settlement. I, obviously, have no proof of this beyond their actions for the past seventy days. Yet, they have shown me by negotiating for only seven eleven days in the past seventy, by sending out a deal to be ratified that was wholly underwhelming (and likely to be voted down by the union), by upping the economic rhetoric and by playing the media game almost perfectly, that they’re in no rush to come back to the bargaining table.

Image: “At the edge of the glacier.” Creative Commons License.  Thanks to Beppie K.

I hope I’m proven wrong; that there is a quick return to barganing and a new, negotiated contract. A return to the classroom to teach and the posibility of finishing degrees (undergrad and grad and grad alike). I’m writing this hunch down because I’m frustrated by the President’s statement and the brink we’ve both come to. That he lacks the ability to see the other side is just more proof that we’re nowhere close to being done this strike.

Categories
Strike

York Universirty strike issues, as I see them

Barricade sunrise, day 2I’m not a part of the bargaining team, union executive or even a union steward. I’m simply a union member, a course director / teaching assistant who is walking the picket line. Had you asked me four weeks ago if this was something I was going to do, I would have said no. A strike wasn’t even on my horizon: I was interviewing participants for my doctoral research and teaching a first year course. I am on strike now and the issues, as I understand them, are important enough for me to be on strike. Here is why I’m walking the line:

1. Contract Faculty need better Job Security

Currently, contract faculty know that they are employed for 12 weeks at a time, so a contract faculty (any contract faculty–whether they’ve worked one year or twenty) could be let go at the end of their current contract without any warning or impediment.

2. Classes–including lectures and tutorials–need have an improved student to teacher ratio.

For both the quality of education for undergrads and workload for TAs and Course Directors, these ratios should be smaller.

3. Child and Healthcare Funds indexed to to growth in the union.

Our union has increased in size by 28%, so the funds available for childcare have increased accordingly.

4. A wage indexed to Inflation.

In their final offer before strike action, the University offered a wage increase of 3% for 2008-2009. Current inflation is greater than the wage increase, so in a year we would be earning less than we do now.

Categories
Photos Strike

CUPE 3903 Strike: Day 1 at the Northwest Gate

Northwest Gate Picket Line

Today was my first experience walking a picket line ever in my life. While I had hoped that negotiations wouldn’t have come to a strike, now that it’s official, I can now add “picketing” to my list of skills on my C.V.

Continue reading “CUPE 3903 Strike: Day 1 at the Northwest Gate”

Categories
Strike York

My union (CUPE 3903) is poised for a strike and I’m feeling naked

This time next week, I might be on strike.

Here’s the local media’s take on the potential disruption:

York University faces possible strike (Toronto Star)
York plans to cancel classes in event of strike (Globe and Mail)
NORTH YORK: Strike looms at York U. (insidetoronto.com)

Follow the most recent Google-indexed updates

Optics are big when it comes to strikes and the fact that the union has asked for a 30% wage increase, especially in this time of “financial crisis”, will make winning the opinion war on this strike especially difficult. You’ll read from the comments on the above articles that people are already pointing out that CUPE 3903 employees are “already” the highest paid TAs in the country. While I hardly agree with the logic behind the argument (those students are nothing but GREEDY!), I’m afraid that most people will see it in that simple way.

There are other, in my opinion, important issues that are being brought to the bargaining table, but the wage issue will colour public perception. Part of the problem is that CUPE 3903 represents so many kinds of university teachers: TAs, GAs, RAs and sessional faculty. Each of these groups have different needs — sessional faculty, for example, have significant job security concerns that should be addressed (a problem with being a sessional is that you can work for X years for the university and be “let go” at the end of the current teaching assignment without warning, renumeration or an attempt to turn these long-term sessionals into tenure-track positions). There isn’t one issue that we, as union members, can get behind and offer the general public as an easy-counter position: all of our issues are mired in institutional practice and minutia. People aren’t going to take the time to be interested in it.

Generally speaking, I do not want to walk a picket line or strike. I would rather keep with my day-to-day staus quo. But my prediction if we do strike: it will be long and bitter. The general public will have a hard time understanding what we’re striking about. So, before we picket, I think it would be wise to would drop the 30% wage increase demand and elucidate one, significant issue that would be easy for the general public to understand and (potentially) support. But I’m no union tactician.

Thursday, November 6th is the big date…