2000-07-13. MUN Gazette, vol. 32, no. 21

              Memorial
1 University of Newfoundland
Publications Mail
Registration No. 551988
Volume 32 Number 21
A MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND PUBLICATION
July 13, 2000
New Frontiers, New Traditions conference
Rewarding for all
By Susen Johnson
Over 240 delegates
jammed the Battery Hotel
last weekend to take part
in a prestigious national conference co-hosted by Memorial University's NSERC/Petro-Canada
Chair for Women in Science and
Engineering and the local community group WISE (Women in
Science and Engineering) Newfoundland and Labrador.
New Frontiers, New Traditions: A National Conference for
the Advancement of Women in
Engineering, Science, and Technology brought together students
and industry leaders from across
Canada, the United States, and
Sweden to discuss new research
concerning gendered learning
styles and working in science and
technology fields; to celebrate
women's contributions to these
fields; and to promote opportunities in these areas.
"It's been a tremendous success," said conference chair Carolyn Emerson. "Delegates could
not stop saying how terrific the
conference was and how special
this place is, and the feedback on
the presentations themselves was
equally positive."
Session topics ranged from
emerging trends in retention rates
of girls and women science and
engineering fields, to strategies for
balancing work and family life
and promoting yourself, to an
introduction to "the virtual family"—a java-based game designed
to interest more teenage girls in
computer programming.
Keynote speakers included
Petro-Canada's vice-president of
western canada development and
As part of their three-year
research initiative funded
under the Strategic Grants
Program of the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council, a group of Memorial University researchers headed by Dr.
Wade Locke have chosen five
zones for detailed study of the
implications of the knowledge-
based economy for economic
development within the zonal context.
operations, Kathleen Sendall;
Kathy Penney, the regional vice-
president of Jacques Whitford
Environmental in St. John's; and
American computer engineer Gloria Montano of Compaq Computer Corp. in San Francisco.
Ms. Sendall related that while
her experience as a woman in
engineering has been an overwhelmingly positive one, the main
challenge has been not male attitudes, but isolation — often being
the only woman in the boardroom.
She added that it is important for
girls and women to accept praise
without reservation or guilt,
because "we do all women a disservice when we fail to graciously
accept recognition and celebrate
our accomplishments."
Ms. Penney shared that as an
accomplished student she "just
assumed" when she left Botwood
in 1977 that she would probably
never have the opportunity to
return home, except for the occasional visit. However, citing the
success of the Newfoundland
economy in recent years, Ms. Penney was pleased to note that that
situation has changed and that
now, "Newfoundland and
Labrador is the place to be. The
business community is really
going to take off in the next 10
years here, providing us with
incredible opportunities to set new
precedents and do things in a new
way."
Ms. Montano cited the rising
number of female engineers in the
U.S. to emphasize that the next
"big wave" to sweep through the
North American economy will be
the influence of women on technology.
"Any way you cut it, a quarter
Virtual world
Photo by Chris Hammond
Dr. Maria Klawe, professor of computer science and Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia,
introduces two student delegates to the Virtual Family — a java-based game designed to interest more teenage girls in
computer programming, at a workshop held as part of the New Frontiers, New Traditions conference.
of a million women who are fearless in the face of technology is a
force to be reckoned with."
She added that the theme of the
conference was appropriate given
the threshold women are positioned on in terms of having an
impact on evolving technologies.
"With all that potential, it is
now time to apply ourselves in a
very big way."
Ms. Emerson agreed that the
conference title reflected the fact
of emerging opportunities for
women and men in science and
engineering, and was pleased that
conference attendance was considerably higher than projected estimates.
"There are so many exciting
new directions that women can
forge and explore and benefit
from; this is our chance, collectively, to make the world the place
we want it to be, to the benefit of
as many people as possible. Technology is evolving everyday, so
it's a great opportunity to generate
the New Traditions that will make
science and engineering interesting and rewarding for all."
After consultation with the
research teams, the REDBs and
other study partners, the five zones
chosen are: Zone 5 — Labrador
Straits Development Corporation;
Zone 10 — South Western Marine
and Mountain Zone Corporation;
Zone 12 — Exploits Valley Economic Development Corporation;
Zone 18 — Avalon Gateway
Regional Economic Development
Inc.; and Zone 19 — Capital Coast
Development Alliance.
Research will focus on economic zones
Zoning in
The criteria used in zone selection were: 1) Geography — zones
chosen to have a broad coverage
of Newfoundland and Labrador; 2)
Economy and society — zones
included in the study represent
areas characterized by different
types of problems and face a variety of constraints to potential economic development; 3) Strength of
support — zones chosen have
demonstrated a willingness to participate in the study and have the
ability to do so; 4) Skill-types
-zones chosen have a variation in
their workplace knowledge types,
ranging from new economy skills
to traditional skills; 5) Recognition
of the KBE (knowledge-based
economy) — zones chosen exhibit
different degrees to which they
recognize the importance of KBE
firms to economic development
within     their     region;     6)
see ZONING IN page 2
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