Monday, September 21, 2009

A Reponse to the G&M’s Margaret Wente

I just read this...

Firstly, don’t event get me started with this statement, “Of course some research, especially in the sciences and medicine, matters a great deal to the advancement of society. But a vast amount of it – especially in the humanities and social sciences – does not”.

Secondly, what Wente describes is very far from my experience as a post-secondary student in the Atlantic Provinces.

During my four years at the Université de Moncton (au département de Science Politique), I encountered the best and most encouraging teachers. And smart too! They had brilliant research projects of their own – though probably neglected because of all the time they spent with us -, and offered thought-provoking and enriching classes. I was never turned away when asking for help and further explanation. I would pop by my professors’ offices to chat about class, current issues and career preparations. They are the best of the best. I would also soon find out that the education I received from them more than prepared me to be in a program with graduates from UofT, McGill, Queen’s…their education had nothing over mine.

And perhaps somewhat to my surprise, I was met with the same commitment at the larger Dalhousie University for my Master of Arts program. The Political Science professors here also happily (I think!?) took to the time to answer my 101-questions inside and out of class.

At both of these institutions, professors (professeurs et professeures) pushed me to be reflective, critical and daring. They believed in my academic performance and ability, far more than I did. They were there every step of the way.

So, I don’t know what Wente is talking about – but it’s not my experience of postsecondary education in Atlantic Canada. That is not to say that there is no pressure to rapidly produce research projects in some fields and universities in the country…but please, don’t blame it on the professors.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Lamrock, Democracy 101 et la fracture numérique

Hier, monsieur Kelly Lamrock a annoncé le projet « Democracy 101 » - assumons qu’un titre français sera affiché sous peu -, une initiative cherchant à accroître la participation citoyenne dans les affaires gouvernementales et publiques de la province. Chaque semaine, 101 ménages seront choisis pour dialoguer avec d’autres citoyens, des invités spéciaux et – assumons -, Mr Lamrock et d’autres parlementaires sur certaines questions de l’heure. Je comprends que ce dialogue aura lieu par entremise de médias sociaux tels les microblogues (Twitter), et les outils de gestion de réseau social (Facebook).

Certes (j’espère), ce projet verra une participation jeunesse notable. Je l’ai toujours dit – que les « jeunes », et moi incluse, ne sommes pas apolitiques. Nous participons à la vie politique autrement que nos parents et grands-parents – dans notre préférence pour la nourriture organique, dans nos manifestations contre les hausses de frais de scolarité, et oui, en affichant des liens à des pages web sur notre profile Facebook, etc. Ce projet a le potentiel de faire connaître l’intérêt politique qu’ont les jeunes, déjà familiers avec ses médiaux sociaux.

Cela étant dit comment ce projet va-t-il tenir compte de la « fracture (ou fossé) numérique » (dit Digital Divide en anglais) - un problème dans le monde entier, incluant notre province. Est-ce que des partenariats avec les centres d’accès Internet ou des foyers de personnes âgées seront établis? Comment faire pour s’assurer que ce dialogue soit accessible à tous – jeunes et moins jeunes, autochtones et non autochtones, rural et urbain, etc. ?

Oui, c’est une belle initiative, mais pas sans avoir adressé la fracture numérique (voire, fracture sociale) qui existe dans notre province.

Monday, September 14, 2009

what young public servants are looking for

Wordle: NPI

This word cloud was made after I cut and pasted the entire text of a document that provides the basis for a meeting I'm facilitating tomorrow. It's a group of rising star young public servants from GNB who are helping create a New Professionals Network within government. The bigger words indicate more mentions and thus, so the theory goes, are of more importance. Click on the image for a better view. I'll have more to say on this event and our 21 Leaders weekend later this week.