We won Best Departmental Exec!

1. Final GeoSpectives Talk
   
2. The McTavish Street Redesign Project
   
3. Vote on the Sustainability Projects Fund
   
4. Campus Swaps
   
5. Talk Given by Inuit Speakers
   
6. Social Science Research Symposium

Hey Geographers! The school year, rather than winding down, is spinning out of control. Projects, finals, essays, and presentations are all coming at full force, and people that you have never seen in your life are crowding out your favourite places at the library. But at the same time, some of the best parties are being thrown. I don't understand it, either.

At the AUS Awards tonight, Geography won Best Departmental Exec! Next time you see a MUGS member, be sure to congratulate them and tell them to keep up with the good work. We're all very proud.

Final GeoSpectives Talk

The final GeoSpectives of the year will be tomorrow (Tuesday) at 4 PM in Burnside 308. Hope to see you all there!

Access to destinations: The use of GIS in visualizing accessibility impacts of transportation infrastructure projects

Prof. Ahmed M. El-Geneidy , School of Urban Planning, McGill University

Transportation systems are built with the aim of providing accessibility to people to participate in activities distributed over space and time. Accessibility is a measure of potential opportunities for interaction (Hansen, 1959). It shows the collective performance of land use and transportation systems. In this presentation I will show how accessibility can be used as a key performance indicator in evaluating infrastructure projects in two transportation plans, Montreal Transportation Plan and The Big Move from Toronto. My presentation will concentrate on the use of GIS as a visualization tool to highlight changes in accessibility levels associated with these new projects.

The McTavish Street Redesign Project

The SSMU Sustainability Case Competition is proud to present this year's Exposition, the McTavish Street Redesign Project!

HAVE A SAY IN THE FUTURE OF McTAVISH STREET!

The SSMU Sustainability Case Competition challenges students to come up with a redesigned plan for McTavish Street on the McGill University downtown campus, bearing in mind principles of environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

Come and see what this year's competitors have been working on and vote for your favourite McTavish Street redesign proposal! Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/157954317702147/

Refreshments will be served.

Vote on the Sustainability Projects Fund

In the fall of 2009, undergrads (as well as grad students) came out in record numbers to vote in favour of the Sustainability Projects Fund. The energy on campus was incredible; this was the first and largest fund of its kind in North America. The administration committed to match every dollar raised by students, and with students giving 50 cents per credit that represents a total of nearly $3M raised in the past three in a half years. The results speak for themselves, with over 90 incredible student, faculty and staff led projects that have literally changed the way McGill operates. The initial 3-year trial is up. The admin has committed to support this again. MCSS said yes, now it's our turn. We either get up to $4.2 million for sustainability over the next 5 years, or $0.

Vote YES to RENEW the SPF! Voting is open from April 5 to April 13.

 www.ssmu.simplyvoting.com

 

Campus Swaps

Graduating?  Moving out?  Trying to figure out what to do with all your extra STUFF?  

Call or email Campus Swaps (cswapsmcgill@gmail.com; 438-878-5774) and we'll pick it up for FREE!  Please make sure all donations are clean and in good condition.  We do not take furniture, sorry!

Pickups will be on April 26, 27, 30 and May 1. 

For more information, check out our facebook event at http://on.fb.me/10mzZed 

Talk Given by Inuit Speakers

The Climate Change Adaptation Research Group is excited to be hosting Jordan and Curtis Konek of Konek Productions all the way from Arviat, Nunavut who will be giving a short talk and sharing some of their films over pizza on Wednesday April 17th between 12:00 - 12:45pm in Burnside rm 308. Their talk is titled Social Media & Culture and will discuss how they use social media today to maintain their Inuit culture as well as share it with others.

Jordan and Curtis Konek are two Inuit youth filmmakers who have become well-known across the Canadian North for their filming. Konek Productions grew out of the Nanisiniq: Arviat History Project, a community-based, participatory research project in which they were part of a group of Inuit youth who interviewed Elders in Arviat to learn about the history of their community. In 2011 they went to Durban, South Africa to share this work at the United Nations Climate Change conference. Since then, they have presented this research at academic conferences around the world, most recently in Washington, DC at the Inuit Studies conference. Universities and organizations across Canada including Nunavut Arctic College, University of British Columbia, Mount Allison University, Born to Explore ABC crew, and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada have brought on Jordan and Curtis to provide filming and editing expertise for various projects. They are partnering with the Climate Change Adaptation Research Group, the Inuit Traditional Knowledge for Adapting to the Health Effects of Climate Change (IK-ADAPT) project, and the Inuit Mental Health Adaptation to Climate Change (IMHACC) project on research exploring the use of participatory video in climate change adaptation work with Inuit youth in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut.

To check out some of their videos go to: http://www.youtube.com/skooltech

For more information please email Joanna.petrasekmacdonald@mail.mcgill.ca

Social Science Research Symposium

The Social Science Research Symposium (SSRS) is a new initiative at McGill that will provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to present their research in the area of the social sciences. Presentations are 20-30 minutes long, followed by questions, and presented to an audience of peers. Research can be completed either independently or with a professor, and may still be in progress at the time it is presented. If you are interested in learning more, please email ssrs.exec@gmail.com

The presentations would start in the fall, but we wanted to get the information out for people doing research over the summer. If you have any questions you may emailssrs.exec@gmail.com as well. 

Cool Thing of the Week

You may know my love of abandoned places by now, so it comes as no surprise that when I found this, I had to share it with you!

www.nature-pictures.info/the-33-most-beautiful-abandoned-places-in-the-world/

And here's another alternative energy link!

www.treehugger.com/wind-technology/enessere-wind-turbine-sleek-works-any-direction.html/

 

Good luck with exams everyone! And remember, it's just school.

 

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MUGS
Dept. of Geography
McGill University
Burnside Hall, Rm 305
805 Sherbrooke West
Montreal, QC