scholarly journals Reading over McLuhan’s Shoulder

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Durham Peters

Background This article1 presents a reworked keynote address given at the “Many McLuhans” conference held at the University of Toronto in September 2018 on the occasion of UNESCO recognizing Marshall McLuhan’s library as part of its Memory of the World program.Analysis  The article explores McLuhan as a reader and suggests that his greatest work might have been what he read rather than what he wrote. Conclusion and implications  The library, as a genre, is one of the great media forms of modernity and antiquity and a marker of the fragility and majesty of the things that humans do with their large brains. Contexte  Cet article consiste en la révision d’un discours principal donné au colloque « Many McLuhans » tenu en septembre 2018 à l’Université de Toronto, à l’occasion de la reconnaissance de la bibliothèque de Marshall McLuhan par l’UNESCO dans le contexte de son programme Mémoire du monde.Analyse  L’article explore McLuhan en tant que lecteur et suggère que sa plus grande œuvre consiste en ce qu’il a lu plutôt qu’en ce qu’il a écrit.Conclusions et implications La bibliothèque, en tant que genre, est une des grandes formes médiatiques de l’Antiquité et de la modernité et une instance de la fragilité et de la majesté de ce que font les humains avec leurs grands cerveaux.

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. E5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joao Paulo Almeida ◽  
Carlos Velásquez ◽  
Claire Karekezi ◽  
Miguel Marigil ◽  
Mojgan Hodaie ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEInternational collaborations between high-income (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been developed as an attempt to reduce the inequalities in surgical care around the world. In this paper the authors review different models for international surgical education and describe projects developed by the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto in this field.METHODSThe authors conducted a review of models of international surgical education reported in the literature in the last 15 years. Previous publications on global neurosurgery reported by the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto were reviewed to exemplify the applications and challenges of international surgical collaborations.RESULTSThe most common models for international surgical education and collaboration include international surgical missions, long-term international partnerships, fellowship training models, and online surgical education. Development of such collaborations involves different challenges, including limited time availability, scarce funding/resources, sociocultural barriers, ethical challenges, and lack of organizational support. Of note, evaluation of outcomes of international surgical projects remains limited, and the development and application of assessment tools, such as the recently proposed Framework for the Assessment of International Surgical Success (FAIRNeSS), is encouraged.CONCLUSIONSActions to reduce inequality in surgical care should be implemented around the world. Different models can be used for bilateral exchange of knowledge and improvement of surgical care delivery in regions where there is poor access to surgical care. Implementation of global neurosurgery initiatives faces multiple limitations that can be ameliorated if systematic changes occur, such as the development of academic positions in global surgery, careful selection of participant centers, governmental and nongovernmental financial support, and routine application of outcome evaluation for international surgical collaborations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Galey

Background  Marshall McLuhan was not only a prolific reader but also an expert annotator of his own books. Taking as a case study McLuhan’s copies of James Joyce’s Ulyssesin the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, this article asks what we can learn about McLuhan’s reading from close analysis of his own books.Analysis  The article begins with a discussion of McLuhan’s media theory as “applied Joyce,” with particular reference to Ulysses, and then turns to an overview of the annotation techniques and strategies visible in McLuhan’s copies of the novel.Conclusion and implications  The conclusion considers McLuhan’s own books as hybrid artifacts that challenge us to rethink rigid distinctions between print and manuscript cultures.Contexte  Marshall McLuhan, en plus d’être un lecteur assidu, était un annotateur expert de ses propres livres. Par exemple, McLuhan a annoté des exemplaires d’Ulyssede James Joyce qui se trouvent maintenant dans la Bibliothèque de livres rares Thomas Fisher à l’Université de Toronto. Au moyen d’une étude de cas de ces exemplaires, l’article actuel examine ce qu’on peut apprendre à partir d’une analyse attentive du processus de lecture de McLuhan.Analyse  L’article commence par envisager la théorie des médias de McLuhan comme étant du « Joyce appliqué », mettant un accent particulier sur l’influence d’Ulyssesur le penseur. L’article continue par un examen des techniques et stratégies d’annotation utilisées par McLuhan dans ses exemplaires de ce roman.Conclusions et implications  La conclusion considère les livres de McLuhan comme des artéfacts hybrides nous invitant à mettre en question les distinctions rigides entre culture de l’imprimé et culture du manuscrit.


1982 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  

In 1921, at a time when Charles Best was only 22 years of age, there appeared in the Medical Building of the University of Toronto a notice which read: ‘University of Toronto Physiological Journal Club Nov. 14th — 4 o’clock — Room 17 Speakers — Dr. Banting Mr. Best Subject — Pancreatic Diabetes’. In this quiet fashion a medical revolution was foreshadowed which ultimately made possible the enjoyment of life, in good health, of millions of diabetic people who otherwise, before 1922, would have faced an early death . In 1972 Dr C. H. Best himself estimated that ‘approximately one hundred and thirty million people have taken insulin since 1922. Some of them have lived 50 years’ (30). To have been the joint discoverer of insulin at the outset of a career in medical science might have been a disability for one w ho aim ed at making subsequent discoveries, but the account that follows later of his research activities shows that this was not so for Charles Best. In a foreword to a Festschrift for Charles Herbert Best which was published in 1968 the Chancellor of the University of Toronto, Dr O. M. Solandt, wrote ‘Most scientists who make discoveries, even ones that lead to important end products, have little contact with those whom they help. Probably all of us have benefited greatly from the work of Einstein, but I doubt if he was stopped on the street by people w ho wanted to thank him personally for the great effect that the theory of general relativity had on their lives. The discovery of insulin was different. Literally millions of diabetics all over the world feel personally indebted to Banting and Best. As with Dr Banting, wherever Dr Best has gone he has been engulfed by an intense personal recognition of himself and his work. He has received quite exceptional public as well as professional acclaim for his achievements.’ But such acclaim did not induce him to rest upon his laurels, as might easily have been true for many others.


2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. i-ix
Author(s):  
Jack Minker

Raymond Reiter, Professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and winner of the 1993 – IJCAI Outstanding Research Scientist Award, died September 16, 2002, after a year-long struggle with cancer. Reiter, known throughout the world as “Ray,” made foundational contributions to artificial intelligence, knowledge representation and databases, and theorem proving.


1988 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-280
Author(s):  
Gregor Reid ◽  
Andrew W. Bruce

The Lister Symposium was held primarily to review the latest concepts of the mechanisms of bacterial infections, and to highlight the research being carried out currently in Toronto and in Canada. The inclusion of several speakers from outside of Toronto added a strong foundation for the meeting.A wide range of topics were addressed and these demonstrated the many areas of research being pursued to better understand the pathogenesis of microbial infections. By drawing together physicians, scientists, and students from a variety of disciplines, it was hoped that the Lister Symposium would contribute, not only to our knowledge of medicine and science in this field, but also to the continued local and national cooperation required for first-class investigative research.This meeting was the first of its kind held under the auspices of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, demonstrating its commitment to research and interdepartmental collaboration. We are most grateful to Professor Bernard Langer, Chairman of the Department of Surgery, for his support in this regard. The assistance of our sponsors and the Continuing Medical Education Office facilitated a wide outreach and enabled recognition of the course and accreditation for Canadian and American Medical participants. It is hoped that this material will provide a useful reference for future developments in the field.


Author(s):  
Ingrid Leman Stefanovic

The author is Guest Editor for the present volume of Ekistics (vol. 71,nos. 424-426 and 427-429, 2004) on The Natural City. Dr Stefanovic agreed to serve as the Director for the new Centre for Environment, University of Toronto, commencing July I, 2005, for a five-year term. She is the former Director of the Division of the Environment, one of the three units now integrated into the new Centre, and former Associate Chair for the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. Dr Stefanovic is a Professor of Philosophy, whose teaching and research focus on values and perceptions of environmental decision making. She has a 30-year teaching and research career in interdisciplinary fields, ranging from environmental ethics to urban planning and environmental policy development. Her most recent book is entitled Safeguarding Our Common Future: Rethinking Sustainable Development (SUNY, 2000). Dr Stefanovic, one of the earliest members of the World Society for Ekistics, having served on various occasions as member of the Executive Council and officer of the Society, was the organizer and acted as Chair of the international symposion on"The Natural City," 23-25 June, 2004, sponsored by the University of Toronto's Division of the Environment, Institute for Environmental Studies, and the World Society for Ekistics.


Author(s):  
Doug Reeve ◽  
Greg Evans ◽  
Annie Simpson

There is an urgent need for engineers to participate more fully in debate and decision-making to address the many challenges, local, national and global, that society faces. Engineering education provides graduates with technical competence but there are relatively few engineering programs that directly address development of leadership capability. At the University of Toronto, we have been developing leadership education since 2002 and presently offer wide-ranging curricular and co-curricular programming through Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT). Leadership can be defined as “a relational and ethical process of people together attempting to accomplish positive change”. Adding leadership capability to an engineer creates a powerful combined capability. A leader-engineer has the capability to leverage and empower engineering competence with leadership competence.


Author(s):  
Ingrid Leman Stefanovic

The author is Guest Editor for the present volume of Ekistics (vol. 71, nos. 424-426 and 427-429, 2004) on The Natural City. Dr Stefanovic agreed to serve as the Director for the new Centre for Environment, University of Toronto, commencing July I, 2005, for a five-year term.She is the former Director of the Division of the Environment, one of the three units now integrated into the new Centre, and former Associate Chair for the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. Dr Stefanovic is a Professor of Philosophy, whose teaching and research focus on values and perceptions of environmental decision making. She has a 30-year teaching and research career in interdisciplinary fields, ranging from environmental ethics to urban planning and environmental policy development. Her most recent book is entitled Safeguarding Our Common Future: Rethinking Sustainable Development (SUNY, 2000). Dr Stefanovic, one of the eartiest members of the World Society for Ekistics, having served on various occasions as member of the Executive Council and officer of the Society, was theorganizer and acted as Chair of the international symposion on The Natural City," 23-25 June, 2004, sponsored by the University of Toronto's Division of the Environment, Institute for Environmental Studies, and the World Society of Ekistics.


Author(s):  
P. Psomopoulos

"For a long time I have considered any opportunity to collaborate with Dr Ingrid Leman Stefanovic a privilege. This time the opportunity was offered by the international Symposion on "The Natural City" sponsored by the University of Toronto and the World Society for Ekistics which took place on the campus of the university and was organized and chaired by her on behalf of both sponsors. I wish to thank her for having accepted to act as guest editor for this volume of Ekistics in spite of her very heavy commitments due to her role as Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Environment, University of Toronto. I also wish to express my admiration for her inspired and inspiring introductory statement on the concept of the natural city (see pp. 8 and 9). In this Symposion, an international and interdisciplinary group of approx. 100 experts and a fairly large number of other participants and students held a very intensive three-day program - 4 plenary and 28 special sessions, with several papers and discussions in each (see p. 2) - determined to challenge the erroneous but still prevailing perception of "human settlements" and "nature" as independent of each other; and, to stress the need for the general adoption of the integration of these two notions , which is inherent in the approach of both convenors of the Symposion."


Author(s):  
Daria V. Chernikova ◽  
◽  
Irina V. Chernikova ◽  

The paper is devoted to the reflections on the work of Ronald Barnett The Ecological University: A Feasible Utopia. The research field of social philosophy of higher education is emerging, and the work of Barnett lays the foundations for the philosophical analysis of the university. It is shown that the ecological university is viewed not as another formation of the university among the many existing today, but as a counterform of the university, opposing such university models as entrepreneurial and digital universities. Applying the ecological ap­proach to the university will require a revolutionary transformation in thinking, denoting such a turn as shaping the university’s ecosophy. It is emphasized that the ecological university interacts with the world not in an instrumental, technical way, but rather in a transcendental, hermeneutic way: not through the imposition of changes, but through understanding. Particular attention is paid to the following main ideas of the book: the application of an ecosophical approach to the analysis of the new identity of the university in a changing world, a new vision of the interaction between the university and the larger world, based on the ethics of responsibility for the well-being of ecosystems in which the university is involved, and also the ideas of the knowledge ecology and epistemic responsibility. The urgent imperative of the ecological approach to rethinking the identity and the future of the university as a social institution is substantiated, starting from the concept of “deep ecology” the university builds new forms of interaction with the world. The main principles of this interaction are integrity, responsibility and critical dialogue. The authors believe that the research optics of the social and philosophical analysis of the university actualizes the purpose, responsibilities and influence of the university in the changing world.


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