Highlights - 1996 (fwd)

[Anne Nothof]

To all ACTR/ARTC members who would like to know just where the fees to HSSFC
are going -

Forwarded message:
> From alvinf Wed Jan 15 23:56:29 1997
> Message-Id: <m0vklkQ-0018KHC at aupair.cs.athabascau.ca>
> From: alvinf (Alvin Finkel)
> Subject: Highlights - 1996 (fwd)
> To: faculty
> Date: Wed, 15 Jan 97 23:56:26 MST
> Cc: alvinf (Alvin Finkel)
> X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]
>
> Forwarded message:
> > From hssfc.ca!fedcan Wed Jan 15 15:15:48 1997
> > Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 17:47:08 -0400
> > Message-Id: <199701152147.RAA25218 at bud.peinet.pe.ca>
> > X-Sender: fedcan at mail.cycor.ca (Unverified)
> > X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 1.4.4
> > Mime-Version: 1.0
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> > To: adamson at ace.acadiau.ca, cynthia.alexander at acadiau.ca,
> >         easpevig at acs.ryerson.ca, badone at mcmaster.ca, berkok-u. at rmc.ca,
> >         boadwayr at qed.econ.queensu.ca, arnd_bohm at carleton.ca, cbold at uoguelph
.c
> a,
> >         rbond at ucdasvm1.admin.ucalgary.ca, jrbrown at chass.utoronto.ca,
> >         carolec at yorku.ca, chamberl at qucdn.queensu.ca, ecobley at uvic.ca,
> >         pcolilli at nickel.laurentian.ca, sojrc at trentu.ca,
> >         cowper at chass.utoronto.ca, jkcoyle at aix1.uottawa.ca,
> >         wcragg at mail.fas.yorku.ca, cruiksha at mcmaster.ca, davey at sparc.uccb.ns
.c
> a,
> >         tdebruyn at cyberus.ca, jdebarde at ccs.carleton.ca,
> >         patricia.demers at ualberta.ca, mdesjard at mach1.wlu.ca,
> >         livio.dimatteo at lakeheadu.ca, cpasci at psych.utoronto.ca,
> >         cdunn at morgan.ucs.mun.ca, pedwards at mailserv.mta.ca,
> >         peter_emberley at carleton.ca, ens at brandonu.ca, afilewod at uoguelph.ca,
> >         findlay at sask.usask.ca, alvinf at aupair.cs.athabascau.ca,
> >         rforrest at ubishops.ca, gerson at sfu.ca, ngolfman at morgan.ucs.mun.ca,
> >         mgupta at sparc.uccb.ns.ca, jhackler at uvic.ca, arpiham at alcor.concordia.
ca
> ,
> >         bryan.hillis at uregina.ca, nargess.kayhani at msvu.ca,
> >         elaine_keillor at carleton.ca, kkrug at spartan.ac.brocku.ca,
> >         kubicek at arts.ubc.ca, mlarsen at shark.stmarys.ca, lautard at unb.ca,
> >         jbmlmac at ns.sympatico.ca, maclachlan at hg.uleth.ca, bmassam at yorku.ca,
> >         jmather at mach2.wlu.ca, maticka at uwindsor.ca, mccormick at hg.uleth.ca,
> >         mckim at stthomasu.ca, michelmann at sask.usask.ca, miller at sask.usask.ca,
> >         millgate at chass.utoronto.ca, mitchell at acs.ucalgary.ca,
> >         stevem at einstein.unipissing.ca, owenm at duke.usask.ca,
> >         janet at artsci.utoronto.ca, apowers at ace.acadiau.ca,
> >         gpuglies at credit.erin.utoronto.ca, apurdy at julian.uwo.ca,
> >         mrandall at bosshog.arts.uwo.ca, mratclif at bosshog.arts.uwo.ca,
> >         reimer at vax2.concordia.ca, rosenber at qucdn.queensu.ca,
> >         jsivell at spartan.ac.brocku.ca, rsmith at mach2.wlu.ca, dsmith at upei.ca,
> >         rspielma at nickel.laurentian.ca, thomas at cc.umanitoba.ca,
> >         vorst2 at ccm.umanitoba.ca, jwelsh at acs.ryerson.ca, michael.welton at msvu
.c
> a,
> >         wern at morgan.ucs.mun.ca, zeytino at mcmaster.ca
> > From: fedcan at hssfc.ca (HSSFC Secretariat)
> > Subject: Highlights - 1996
> As AU's HSSFC rep, I'm sending this summary from HSSFC of its recent
> accomplishments. It may sound like the usual bumpf but in fact HSSFC,
> in my opinion, serves the academic community, particularly in Humanities
> and Social Sciences very well. As president of the Canadian Association
> of Learned Journals, I can attest to the pivotal role that HSSFC
> played this past year in preventing SSHRC from gutting the Aid to
> Learned Journals program. If you would like info about any of the
> HSSFC's programs as described below, please let me know.
> Alvin
> >
> > At the request of some of our members, we are forwarding to you a modified
> > version of the document which was sent to you recently entitled 1996
> > Activities and Programmes.  This version summarizes the contents of the
> > document in a way which we hope will make it easier to use for newsletters,
> > either association or university, or for general dissemination to your
> > colleagues.  Please advise us is you have any difficulty receiving the
> > following text:
> >
> >    FEDERATION ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMMES
> >    HIGHLIGHTS - 1996
> >
> >
> > 1. Breakfasts on the Hill
> >    The Federation's Breakfasts on the Hill programme is intended to foster
a
> > broader understanding of the role of social science and humanities research
> > in the development of public policy.  Topics are selected for their
> > relevance and timeliness for the political and public service communities i
n
> > Ottawa.  They are held in the parliamentary restaurant and consist of a
> > 45-minute presentation followed by a question and discussion period of
> > approximately 40 minutes.  Presentations are distributed and posted on the
> > Federation's web site.  A total of six Breakfasts have been held since thei
r
> > inception in 1994, with a total attendance of 614 people!  A new series wil
l
> > be held in 1997-98 with continuing financial assistance from the SSHRC and
> > will include a small working breakfast meeting the following day with the
> > speaker, senior policy makers and civil servants.  There are also plans to
> > introduce the programme at the provincial level.
> >
> > 2. Community Research and Information Crossroads (CRICs)
> >    The Federation is developing a proposal to establish Community and
> > Information Crossroads (CRICs) at Canadian universities which will
> > facilitate the transfer of knowledge in the social sciences and humanities
> > to meet the needs of communities.  Inspired by "Science Shops", which have
> > operated at Dutch universities for over twenty years, CRICs will operate in
> > a number of different ways depending upon local and regional needs.  The
> > project will involve students as well as faculty and will raise the profile
> > both of the university and of research in the humanities and social
> > sciences.  At the same time, it will afford easier access to university
> > resources and allow community groups to be more effective in meeting social
> > needs.
> >
> >    These centres would be linked not only to each other but also to centres
 in
> > the Netherlands, the United States and the U.K. to encourage sharing of bes
t
> > practices.  Occasional workshops and conferences would be held to build on
> > experience and evaluate progress. In January and February, the Federation
> > will be lobbying intensively to convince the federal government to allocate
> > $15 million to establish some 25 crossroads at universities across Canada
> > over the next five years.  Copies of the CRICs report will be available fro
m
> > the Federation office and on the Federation web site (http://www.hssfc.ca).

> >
> > 3. Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities
> >    The inaugural Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities will be hos
ted
> > by the University of Ottawa, May 27 to June 6, 1998.  The principle
> > objectives of the Congress are: to raise the significance of the annual
> > meetings of the humanities and social sciences within the academy, both
> > nationally and internationally; and to raise the profile of scholarship in
> > these disciplines across all sectors of society.
> >
> >    Work has already commenced on the 1998 Congress.  A survey of delegates
was
> > conducted at the Brock Congress to gain important feedback for the planning
> > process.  This will be supplemented by a survey of associations to collect
> > information relevant to their needs for the annual meetings.  Also being
> > established is a communications and fundraising strategy to help guide the
> > development of the Congress.
> >
> > 4. Career Vision
> >    Career Vision is a pilot programme funded by Human Resources Development
> > Canada (HRDC) under the Youth Experience component of the Youth Internship
> > Canada programme.  Its objective is to provide employment assistance, for a
> > 26-week period, to university graduates in the social sciences and
> > humanities (BA-MA-PhD) who are un- or under-employed or, in the case of the
> > MA or PhD, could be about to graduate.  The programme is intended to provid
e
> > participants with employment experience related to their education and to
> > enhance their chances of finding long-term employment and, at the same time
,
> > to promote among Canadian employers the value and pertinence of a social
> > science and humanities education and the employability of graduates in thei
r
> > sector of activity.
> >
> >    In order to ensure a wide diversity of experience for this pilot project
,
> > which focuses on environment and health, the Federation selected a total of
> > six universities, three in the environment sector and three in the health
> > sector, with each university providing 10 candidates.  The goal is to
> > develop a full-fledged programme, opening it up to more Canadian
> > universities and possibly more sectors.  The programme is well underway and
> > 60 graduates will have started their work placement in the coming months.
> >
> > 5. Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme
> >    In 1996, the Federation continued to administer the Aid to Scholarly
> > Publications Programme (ASPP).   Created in 1942, the ASPP subsidizes 140
> > books a year in the humanities and social sciences.  The process of
> > evaluation is conducted through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Committee
,
> > composed of scholars from across the country who are nominated by the membe
r
> > learned societies.  Information on the ASPP can be obtained from the
> > Programme's web page (http://aspp.hssfc.ca).
> >
> > 6. Women's Issues
> >    In 1996, the Federation continued to support the work of the former
> > federations in the area of women's issues.  At the Brock Learneds, it
> > sponsored a panel discussion Creating and Maintaining an Identity for Women
> > in the Social Sciences and Humanities.  With the election in the fall 1996
> > of a Vice-President responsible for women's  issues, a new network will be
> > established with representation from member societies and universities
> > together with an advisory committee to support the work of the
> > Vice-President.
> >
> > 7. Health Services Research Fund
> >    In its March 6, 1996 budget, the federal government announced plans to
> > establish a Health Services Research Fund of $65 million to be administered
> > by the Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC).  Although pleased by the
> > announcement of new monies for research, the Federation was disappointed
> > that the government did not establish the fund as a partnership linking the
> > MRC and the SSHRC to ensure the full participation of the social sciences
> > and humanities research community.  The Federation immediately made its
> > position known to the ministers responsible for the two granting councils.
> >
> >    In order to push for a wide definition of health services research, the
> > Federation, in collaboration with the Canadian Psychological Society and th
e
> > Canadian Nurses Association, has set up a broad health services coalition.
> > This coalition seeks to advance the views of its members on the research
> > carried out by these health service stakeholders.  A first step in achievin
g
> > a satisfactory outcome is that SSHRC be one of the members of the interim
> > board that will be set up for this fund.  In December, the Federation met
> > with Minister Dingwall during the annual lobby of the National Consortium o
f
> > Scientific and Educational Societies to express its concerns about the HSRF
.
> >
> > 8. Tri-Council Code of Conduct for Research Involving Humans
> >    In Spring 1996, a Working Group appointed by the three granting councils
> > released a Draft Code of Conduct for Research Involving Humans.  To ensure
> > that it received wide attention, the Federation informed its members about
> > the preliminary document and urged them to respond.  As a result of the
> > strong reaction and numerous comments received from the humanities and
> > social sciences community, in particular with regard to the strong
> > bio-medical approach, the Working Group received approval from the granting
> > councils to allow more time for comments and for consideration of the issue
s
> > raised by respondents.  In addition, the representation of the social
> > sciences and humanities community on the Working Group was expanded by
> > including Dr. Cannie Stark, then incoming Vice-President for Women's Issues
,
> > and Dr. Chad Gaffield, then incoming President.
> >
> >    It is possible that this winter the Federation will facilitate a broader
> > consultation throughout our community on this important issue and its
> > possible repercussions on research in the humanities and social sciences.
> >
> > 9. Support for Learned Journals
> >    Following the announcement of the results of SSHRC's Aid to Learned
> > Journals Programme in April 1996, the Federation and the Canadian
> > Association of Learned Journals (CALJ), reacted quickly and strongly to the
> > substantial funding cuts and to the inherent inconsistencies in the
> > announcements.  Subsequently, SSHRC Council agreed to establish a committee
> > with representation from Council, the Federation and CALJ to address both
> > the funding issues and future direction of the programme.  The committee's
> > deliberations culminated in the very positive report and in the
> > re-instatement of approximately $1 million annually in funding for Canadian
> > journals and recommendations that will establish new and clearer principles
> > for the next competition.
> >
> > 10.     Data Liberation Initiative (DLI)
> >    Coordinated by the former Social Science Federation of Canada (SSFC)
> > working in conjunction with Statistics Canada and the academic community,
> > the DLI aims to provide affordable access to non-confidential statistical
> > micro data files and data bases in electronic form for research and teachin
g
> > activities.  Funding for the DLI comes from a variety of government
> > departments and from participating universities.  To date, 51 universities
> > have agreed to participate in this five-year pilot project and each of them
> > has established a data service to order files and provide access to them.

>
> >
> >    Officially announced in the context of the Federal Science and Technolog
y
> > Strategy in March 1996, the DLI was launched at Carleton University on
> > October 22 by Dr. Jon Gerrard, Secretary of State (Science, Research &
> > Development).  The following week, Jennifer Lewington wrote an article on
> > the DLI in her Globe and Mail column, The Learning Beat.
> >
> >    For further information on any of these programmes or activities, please
> > contact Jacqueline Wright at jawright at hssfc.ca.
> >
> > Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada
> > Federation canadienne des sciences humaines et sociales
> > 151 Slater Street, Suite 415, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3
> > Tel:  (613) 238-6112; Fax:  (613) 238-6114
> > Email/Courrier electronique:  fedcan at hssfc.ca
> >
>