Mary Ann Evans, Network researcher from the University of Guelph recently presented a poster at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Chicago. Shared reading: a yes for vocabulary and phonological awareness: a maybe for beginning reading.

In August, Mary Ann will present at a symposium in Ottawa during the Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development. Predicting parent coaching behaviour during shared book reading; contributions of parent values and child characteristics.
 

Anne McKeough, Theme III researcher from the University of Calgary wrote that the university newspaper, The Gazette, recently published a special section about university professor research. In the article The Network funded research project Studying the Roots of Developing Literacy in Science was featured.

Laurel Trainor, McMaster University and Network researcher was on the television show Body and Health on June 2, 3 talking about relations between language, music and cortical plasticity. June 15 was a busy day for Laurel as she appeared on CBC radio's Quirks and Quarks and talked about the evolutionary origins of music. Additionally, that evening she gave a public lecture at the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music.

Luigi Girolametto, Network researcher from the University of Toronto and Elaine Weitzman, Network partner and Executive Director of The Hanen Centre are planning a symposium on language stimulation in childcare settings (primarily daycare). The Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network is funding the symposium that will gather researchers across Canada and the USA who have conducted research in the area of language facilitation in family or centre-based daycare. We are also inviting researchers whose expertise is in caregiver training and ECE curriculum issues. The purpose of the symposium is to:

• summarize current trends in research on language development and
  facilitation in day care,

•  clarify needs for caregiver training in language facilitation, and

•  identify strategies for meeting these needs.
  
  The invited speakers are: David Dickinson, Luigi Girolametto, Hillel
  Goelman, Kathleen McCartney, Monique Senechal, Genese Warr-Leeper, Elaine Weitzman, and Jeanne M. Wilcox.
  
  The symposium will take place on Friday, October 18 at The Metropolitan
  Hotel, in downtown Toronto. There is no cost for Network funded
  researchers/students to attend the symposium but travel, food, and accommodation
  costs are the responsibility of the participant. If you are interested in participating, please contact Marie Leverman at 416- 978-4648 or email: . RSVP soon as space is limited.

Marc Joanisse, Network researcher and professor of psychology at The University of Western Ontario presented a workshop in April entitled Introduction to The Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network Computational Modeling Core Facility and the Polaris Cluster. The Core Facility structure of The Network is a key feature and a benefit to our Network members. The Core Facilities represent centralized shared resources. The Computational Modeling Core Facility was developed as a low-cost entry point to the knowledge, personnel and hardware that is necessary for developing computational models of cognitive development.

The computing component of this facility consists of a 40-node 'Beowulf'
computing cluster that will be made available to Canadian researchers
interested in developing computational models of language and reading. This
workshop introduced researchers to our newly built Polaris Beowulf cluster and illustrated its research applications.

In June, Mark Phipps, Network Systems Administrator, attended a network security seminar in Markham. The event was sponsored by Lucent Technologies– Bell Lab Innovations Canada. The information gained by Mark at the seminar will go a long way in protecting the proprietary information of The Network.