The arboretum reported July 26 that a construction crew had completed one of the five weirs that will transform the Arboretum Waterway’s eastern half from a relatively flat pond to a gently flowing stream, from east to west. Here’s the link to the update — but, before you click, we’ve got an update to the update: Weir No. 2 is nearly completed, and work has begun on two others.

The weirs, or low dams, will regulate the water level in such a way that water will spill from one weir to another and another and so on, over a 15-inch drop in elevation. Wetland plantings will narrow the channel to direct water over the spillways in each weir.

Minor changes in bus schedules for 2017-18

Unitrans, the ASUCD and city bus service, launched its 2017-18 schedules this week — including minor changes to weekend service and the T Line.

• O-Line Shoppers Shuttle (weekends only) — Hourly service is restored (from the 75-minute service that took effect in 2016). Route changes have been made to accommodate hourly service, but alternative lines can get you to places where the O Line no longer goes.
• K-Line Finals Night Service (after 8 p.m.) — The route has been simplified, to make this service the same at all times of day, under all Unitrans schedules. The route will continue to operate on Humboldt Avenue and Arthur Street.
• T Line — Service has been adjusted to fit the new starting times for Davis High School, and Harper and Holmes junior high schools.

See complete details. Get real-time Unitrans schedules with the UC Davis Mobile App.

DocViewer on Canvas gets a quick upgrade

The UC Davis Canvas learning management system’s annotation tool, DocViewer, has been upgraded just two months after its introduction. Instructors use the annotation tool to comment on students’ coursework, typically as part of grading. (The Canvas grading tool is SpeedGrader.)

According to an article in Information and Educational Technology’s TechNews, DocViewer has more features than what it replaced, Crocodoc, and integrates more smoothly with Canvas. But some of the DocViewer features were not ready when Instructure (which created Canvas) released the new tool in June.

“The post-rollout changes address those shortcomings and fix software bugs, guided by feedback from faculty at UC Davis and other universities,” according to TechNews. “The top three priorities concern comment size, downloading annotated PDFs and extending the life of DocViewer sessions.”

Questions about DocViewer? Contact Academic Technology Services’ instructional technologists by email.

Nominate ‘WorkLife Champions’ among us

WorkLife and Wellness has called on the UC Davis community to nominate “WorkLife Champions” among our managers and supervisors, so they can be recognized during National Work and Family Month.

Through this recognition, university officials seek to “normalize, encourage and model the benefits of work-life integration for UC Davis staff,” reads an article in the summer edition of the WorkLife and Wellness e-newsletter.

In considering a nomination, people should ask themselves questions like these: Does your manager/supervisor provide emotional support, show sympathy, and offer day-to-day assistance and resources to facilitate your management of your professional and personal demands? Does your manager/supervisor create flexibility around when, where and how work gets done, with a focus on outcome? Is your manager/supervisor a model of positive work-life integration?

The recognition nomination form is available online.

Med center rated one of nation’s ‘Best Hospitals’

UC Davis Medical Center is recognized as one of the nation’s top providers in 11 adult medical specialties, in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 “Best Hospitals” rankings released today (Aug. 8).

UC Davis ranked among the top 50 hospitals in cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; gynecology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopaedics; pulmonology; and urology.

The “Best Hospitals” report listed UC Davis as “high performing” in gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery.  

In regional rankings, the report recognized UC Davis Medical Center as No. 1 in the Sacramento metropolitan area and fifth in California.

“The annual rankings help reflect a commitment to the outstanding patient care that our clinical teams provide day in and day out in our hospital and clinics,” said Ann Madden Rice, chief executive officer of UC Davis Medical Center. “We always view ranking as a top hospital as additional motivation to work even harder in our pursuit of excellence in quality and patient care in every way possible.”

U.S. News also released ratings for common types of care, with UC Davis Medical Center rated as high performing in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colon cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, heart failure and lung cancer surgery. The hospital met expected standards of care for hip replacement and knee replacement. 

Read the UC Davis Health news release.

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