Presenter: Romina Babazadeh

Title: “Impact of Lifestyle Intervention on Depression and Anxiety Score of Patients With Metabolic Syndrome”

There is evidence to suggest that an increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome results in an increase in the severity of depression and anxiety. However, it is unclear whether lifestyle intervention targeting metabolic syndrome also benefits individuals' anxiety and depressive symptoms. The objective of this thesis was to investigate the impact of lifestyle changes on the symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with metabolic syndrome. Additionally, this study examined whether changes in diet, activity, or fitness were most closely associated with changes in depression and anxiety. 575 community adults completed the CHANGE program, of whom 208 were eligible for this study. Anxiety, depression, physical activity, diet, fitness, and total metabolic syndrome criteria were measured at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Based on the results, a significant improvement was observed in participants' anxiety and depression scores at the end of the intervention program. Furthermore, it was found that reduced sedentary time and improved shoulder flexibility were significantly associated with changes in depression scores. Surprisingly, no significant association was found between anxiety and different components of the CHANGE program. To conclude, it is presumed that improvements in individuals' lifestyle habits provided a beneficial effect on the symptoms of depression and anxiety among patients with metabolic syndrome.

Date/time/location: Friday April 19, 2024, AVC 286C, 9:00 am

Everyone is welcome.

We went looking for some practical examples of courses that weave many of the principles for EDIID together. One example is Globally Engaged Curriculum, which is built on the pillars of cultural humility, anti-racism, decolonization, and accessibility. Courses developed with this approach intentionally engage students with diverse worldviews and ways of knowing that question western-centric knowledge and teaching practices. Colleagues in the Queen's University Centre for Teaching and Learning have developed resources and a framework for developing curriculum that incorporates the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They also showcase five exemplars to help instructors envision how to integrate global engagement in their own courses. They share some great ideas! Check out Globally Engaged Curriculum.

The deadline for Summer 2024 tuition waivers is April 22, 2024.  We encourage you to have tuition waivers submitted as soon as possible to assist in the timely processing. Tuition waiver forms must be submitted electronically.  

Online employee and spouse/dependent tuition waiver fillable forms can be found on the main page of MyUPEI under UPEI Forms.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at (902) 566-0514 or hrgeneral@upei.ca.

The University of Prince Edward Island’s Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering will showcase the best in sustainable design engineering by its students at the annual Student Design Expo on Friday, April 19, starting at 1 pm. Projects can be viewed until 3:30 pm.

Student projects will be presented in person. Each project is the result of collaboration between FSDE students and an industry or community partner. Students were tasked with designing and creating solutions to their partners’ unique challenges. We look forward to seeing everyone.

Classes are over, and you just have to make it through exams! The library is here to help, and not just with books and research advice. On Wednesday, April 17 from 12-1 pm, join us for Library Coffee Break, co-sponsored with Dana Hospitality. Follow @RobertsonLibrary on Instagram and Facebook so you never miss a Pop-Up Surprise. 

UPEI's fiscal year ends on April 30, 2024.

Purchasing Cut-Offs

Requisition/purchase order:

The last day to create a requisition/purchase order for the 2023-24 fiscal year will be on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at noon, with guaranteed delivery date on or before April 30, 2024.

Requisitions/purchase orders created after April 18, 2024, will have the requisition date changed to May 1, 2024, and the goods and services must be delivered on or after May 1, 2024. If you are unable to change the requisition's date to May 1, 2024, please put a note in the comment section of the requisition indicating it is a new year order.

Receiving goods/services cut-off: April 30, 2024

Goods and services must be received on campus by April 30, 2024. Only the goods that have been physically received or completed services should be accepted at this time. This will ensure that these goods and services are paid in the 2023-24 fiscal year.  Any items received in myUPEI after April 30, 2024, will be considered new fiscal year goods and services and will be deducted from your new fiscal year budget (2024-25).

All departments are required to look at their outstanding purchase order list to see if there are any purchase orders that need to be cancelled. This functionality can be accessed through the myUPEI self-service menu under "Financial Information" and the “Receive Goods and Services” selection.

If the items have been back-ordered for some time, you will need to check with the supplier to see if they are still on their records as back-ordered. If they are not back-ordered, then please email procurement@upei.ca to cancel your purchase order.

If you are in receipt of vendor invoices, forward these to invoices@upei.ca ASAP. Please contact apadmin@upei.ca with questions or concerns regarding billing and invoicing.

Need assistance? 

Please take a look at the “Financial Tools Reference Guide” under the "Self-Service Help" tab on myUPEI. 

A new 10-class small group training program is available on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30 pm from April 17 to May 27 (there will not be a class on May 1). Pre-registration is required.  The fees are as follows:

• UPEI full-time students: $65 (plus applicable taxes)
• UPEI faculty/staff/retirees: $75 (plus applicable taxes)
• All other participants: $150 (plus applicable taxes)

To register, log into recreation.upei.ca, click on the Fitness Programming icon, and then small group training. Select the class and follow all prompts (waiver, payment, check out).  For more information, please contact Angela Marchbank, Fitness and Wellness Coordinator, at amarchbank@upei.ca.

In order to accommodate UPEI computer classroom and lab software adds, drops, or modifications for the 2024 fall semester, we have set a firm deadline of June 1, 2024.

This date is necessary to allow sufficient time to plan and implement the installation of new and upgraded software. This ensures our students will have the software resources they need. Any requests received after the deadline will be applied in the next round of software updates.

Further information is available on the ITSS website, or you can email smahar@upei.ca by June 1 with your request indicating:

• New software requirements (licensed or freeware). Please provide the software name and vendor.
• Version upgrades to existing software (if multiple versions are required please provide specifics)
• Software that can be decommissioned

Presenter: Romina Babazadeh

Title: “Impact of Lifestyle Intervention on Depression and Anxiety Score of Patients With Metabolic Syndrome”

There is evidence to suggest that an increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome results in an increase in the severity of depression and anxiety. However, it is unclear whether lifestyle intervention targeting metabolic syndrome also benefits individuals' anxiety and depressive symptoms. The objective of this thesis was to investigate the impact of lifestyle changes on the symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with metabolic syndrome. Additionally, this study examined whether changes in diet, activity, or fitness were most closely associated with changes in depression and anxiety. 575 community adults completed the CHANGE program, of whom 208 were eligible for this study. Anxiety, depression, physical activity, diet, fitness, and total metabolic syndrome criteria were measured at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Based on the results, a significant improvement was observed in participants' anxiety and depression scores at the end of the intervention program. Furthermore, it was found that reduced sedentary time and improved shoulder flexibility were significantly associated with changes in depression scores. Surprisingly, no significant association was found between anxiety and different components of the CHANGE program. To conclude, it is presumed that improvements in individuals' lifestyle habits provided a beneficial effect on the symptoms of depression and anxiety among patients with metabolic syndrome.

Date/time/location: Friday April 19, 2024, AVC 286C, 9:00 am

Everyone is welcome.

A series of information webinars on the Rhodes Scholarship for Canada will be offered this spring for students interested in learning more about this prestigious opportunity for fully funded postgraduate study at Oxford University! Applicants, advisors, and faculty who may wish to encourage students are welcome to attend and learn everything from the background of the Scholarship, what's needed to apply, and the Oxford experience as shared by recent scholars. There will also be a Q&A with current and recent Scholars.

The Eastern Canada session will take place on May 6, 2024, starting at 4 pm AST. Follow the link to register.

The full list of webinars and events will be posted on the Rhodes Trust website, including a Canada-wide session on June 3, 2024, starting at 4 pm AST: 

https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholarships/events-to-learn-more/

The Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, invites all to attend Joshua Peters' public dissertation defense presentation of his PsyD research titled “Faggy Butterfly”: Stories of Gay Liberation, Transformation, and Resilience on Rural Prince Edward Island.

Please join us on Friday, April 19, 2024, from 11:30 am-1:30 pm ADT

In person: SDU Main Building, Room 320

Via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81692911320

The University of Prince Edward Island’s Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering will showcase the best in sustainable design engineering by its students at the annual Student Design Expo on Friday, April 19, starting at 1 pm. Projects can be viewed until 3:30 pm.

Student projects will be presented in person. Each project is the result of collaboration between FSDE students and an industry or community partner. Students were tasked with designing and creating solutions to their partners’ unique challenges. We look forward to seeing everyone.

Dr. Brent MacLaine will launch a new poetry book called A Skeptic in Springtime on April 24, 2024, at 7 pm, in the Faculty Lounge (Room 201), SDU Main Building, University of Prince Edward Island. 

A Skeptic in Springtime wrestles with uncertainty and aging, hurricanes, gravity, and particle theory. Amid all the unknowns, “Still, the white-throated sparrow cries I’m here, here, here, here.” Rooted in the PEI landscape where MacLaine grew up, his gaze ranges farther afield to Assyrian myth in “Killing a Lassamu,” to the Song Dynasty in “Su Dongpo Makes Ink,” to art in “Claude Monet in the Waiting Room.”

The book closes with a tribute to the late Dr. John Smith, former poet laureate of PEI. Combining keen observation of the natural world and the human condition, the poems in this collection contain “a universe which has leapt from nothing into something.”

Dr. MacLaine is a professor emeritus at the UPEI Department of English and the author of six volumes of poetry. He grew up in the rural community of Rice Point, PEI, to which he returned after teaching at universities in Vancouver, Edmonton, China, and Singapore. His awards for poetry include a League of Canadian Poets prize, the Prince Edward Island Book Award, and the Atlantic Poetry Prize.

The event is free, and all are welcome to attend. Books will be available for purchase. The event is sponsored by Island Studies Press, the UPEI English Department, and The Bookmark. For more information, contact Bren Simmers at 902-566-0386 or ispstaff@upei.ca.

Presenter: Julia Heckbert

Title: “Food Insecurity, Household Hardships and Coping Strategies Experienced by Prince Edward Island Residents Receiving Social Assistance”

Date/Time /Location: Monday, April 15, 2024, 1:00 pm, AVC 278

Everyone is welcome.

The deadline for Summer 2024 tuition waivers is April 22, 2024.  We encourage you to have tuition waivers submitted as soon as possible to assist in the timely processing. Tuition waiver forms must be submitted electronically.  

Online employee and spouse/dependent tuition waiver fillable forms can be found on the main page of MyUPEI under UPEI Forms.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at (902) 566-0514 or hrgeneral@upei.ca.

UPEI's fiscal year ends on April 30, 2024.

Purchasing Cut-Offs

Requisition/purchase order:

The last day to create a requisition/purchase order for the 2023-24 fiscal year will be on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at noon, with guaranteed delivery date on or before April 30, 2024.

Requisitions/purchase orders created after April 18, 2024, will have the requisition date changed to May 1, 2024, and the goods and services must be delivered on or after May 1, 2024. If you are unable to change the requisition's date to May 1, 2024, please put a note in the comment section of the requisition indicating it is a new year order.

Receiving goods/services cut-off: April 30, 2024

Goods and services must be received on campus by April 30, 2024. Only the goods that have been physically received or completed services should be accepted at this time. This will ensure that these goods and services are paid in the 2023-24 fiscal year.  Any items received in myUPEI after April 30, 2024, will be considered new fiscal year goods and services and will be deducted from your new fiscal year budget (2024-25).

All departments are required to look at their outstanding purchase order list to see if there are any purchase orders that need to be cancelled. This functionality can be accessed through the myUPEI self-service menu under "Financial Information" and the “Receive Goods and Services” selection.

If the items have been back-ordered for some time, you will need to check with the supplier to see if they are still on their records as back-ordered. If they are not back-ordered, then please email procurement@upei.ca to cancel your purchase order.

If you are in receipt of vendor invoices, forward these to invoices@upei.ca ASAP. Please contact apadmin@upei.ca with questions or concerns regarding billing and invoicing.

Need assistance? 

Please take a look at the “Financial Tools Reference Guide” under the "Self-Service Help" tab on myUPEI. 

Are you an Indigenous student who is graduating this year? The Mawi'omi Indigenous Student Centre would like to recognize and celebrate your accomplishments by gifting you an Indigenous stole. Designed by Corinne Chappell, the University's Indigenous affairs adviser, the stole features the four sacred colours and graduating year on one side and a logo that represents the three nations on the other: First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. 

If this is something you are interested in, please contact the Mawi'omi Indigenous Student Centre at mawiomi@upei.ca ASAP to ensure that you have a stole for your graduation photos and Convocation.

Our Coffee Break Conversation will be hosted by Kristy McKinney, Instructional Multimedia Specialist, and Keltie MacPhail, Community History Librarian. Bring your favourite morning beverage and join us in the TLC on April 16 at 10:30 am.

Presenter: Julia Heckbert

Title: “Food Insecurity, Household Hardships and Coping Strategies Experienced by Prince Edward Island Residents Receiving Social Assistance”

Date/Time /Location: Monday, April 15, 2024, 1:00 pm, AVC 278

Everyone is welcome.

The deadline for Summer 2024 tuition waivers is April 22, 2024.  We encourage you to have tuition waivers submitted as soon as possible to assist in the timely processing. Tuition waiver forms must be submitted electronically.  

Online employee and spouse/dependent tuition waiver fillable forms can be found on the main page of MyUPEI under UPEI Forms.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at (902) 566-0514 or hrgeneral@upei.ca.