book Archives | Research & Innovation

Author of winning FES Reads! book comes to 91��ɫ

fmaquito — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

In the fall, the 91��ɫ community discussed and debated the political relevance and literary qualities of Michael Crummey’s Galore as the winning book in FES Reads! Next Tuesday, the author will read and discuss his own book.

Galore and Beyond: A Reading and Discussion will take place Feb. 14, from 12:45 to 2pm, at 140 Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building, Keele campus. The event is hosted by 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES).

A discussion of Galore at the FES Reads! event

A novelist, poet and short-story author, Crummey will also read from his latest works of poetry. In addition to Galore (Random House, 2009), a family saga and love story spanning two centuries in remote and isolated rural Newfoundland, he is the author of the novels The Wreckage (2005) and River Thieves (2000). Crummey’s poetry collections include Went With (2007) and Emergency Roadside Assistance (2001).

He won the inaugural Bronwen Wallace Award for Poetry and the Writer’s Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award for Poetry. Having grown up in Newfoundland mining towns, much of Crummey’s work takes in the characters, nuances and essence of his birth place. Galore begins in Paradise Deep, on the coast of Newfoundland, as the body of a man is sliced from the belly of a beached whale.

At FES Reads! Part II, a collective discussion about Galore was led by FES Professors Gail Fraser, Tim Leduc and Cate Sandilands. They were interested in people’s personal responses to the book, how the novel spoke to them, if it did, and how might it shine new light on their work in FES.

For more information, visit the FES website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Robert Muller wins international award for trauma therapy book

fmaquito — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ psychology Professor Robert Muller has won a prestigious international award for his book about how to treat adult trauma survivors who resist therapy.

The International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation () presented its Written Media Award to Muller for his 2010 book . Muller’s award is one of only two Written Media Awards given this year by ISSTD, the leading international academic group devoted to research and treatment of complex psychological trauma.

Right: Robert Muller

Muller, a professor of clinical developmental psychology in the graduate program at 91��ɫ, is also an active clinician who works with adult survivors of physical, sexual and mental trauma. His book offers clinicians methods to work with those who are most difficult to treat – those who avoid talking about their history of abuse, which continues to affect them.

In his book, Muller explains the defensive and interpersonal patterns seen among avoidant individuals, and lays out a game plan for effective treatment. Through detailed case examples and practical clinical instruction, he illustrates how to build trust with clients, help them connect with and commit to the treatment process, and facilitate mourning to face the loss associated with trauma.

“It deals with a population of trauma survivors that therapists often view as untreatable,” says Muller. “These people tend to come in focusing on symptoms – often depression or anxiety – and then through the course of therapy they will begin to reveal aspects of their traumatic history.”

It then becomes important for therapists to use techniques such as challenging them about their defensive statements and also to use the therapeutic relationship to help them change, says Muller.

The theoretical framework driving Muller’s approach is attachment theory, pioneered in the 1970s by psychiatrist John Bowlby, who posited that humans form attachments as a survival mechanism to seek protection from real or perceived threats. Even when a protector’s caregiving skills are lacking, the developing child does what is necessary to maintain the relationship; this shapes negative patterns of defence and affect, carrying over into adulthood.

In addition to his role at 91��ɫ, Muller is a supervising psychologist at the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, specializing in the areas of trauma, attachment and psychotherapy. He is lead investigator in a multi-site program to treat intra-familial trauma, and has over 20 years of clinical experience in the field. His lab is funded by the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Joseph Baker edits new book delving into science of sports stardom

fmaquito — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:00:00 +0000

A new book edited by a 91��ɫ professor examines the factors that may help predict pro-sport prowess.

The book, Talent Identification and Development in Sport, (Routledge, 2011) offers an overview of current scientific research along with practical information for parents and coaches looking to spot talent and nurture it.

“We’re hoping this book helps inform a better system for spotting talent early on and making the most of it,” says Joseph Baker (left), professor in 91��ɫ’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health. “We’ve tried to answer questions that have thus far been elusive, such as, ‘how do elite athletes develop, and when is the most appropriate time for talent identification and development interventions?’,” he says.

The book features an interdisciplinary group of contributors from sport psychology, motor learning and skill acquisition, exercise physiology and coaching. Leading researchers from the field of athlete development explain their research and how it informs our understanding of the process of sport skill acquisition. Topics include genetics and secondary factors such as birth date, cultural context and population size, perceptual motor skill acquisition and sports development policy.

Baker, who contributed a chapter on genetics, explains that performance-related genes are by no means a magic bullet for identifying natural ability.

“There are now companies that scan for performance-related genes in newborn babies. Theoretically such criteria should be able to predict an individual’s potential to become an elite athlete – or anything for that matter. The problem is that scientists aren’t sure exactly what criteria they’re looking for quite yet,” he says.

“Alongside biological realities, we must look at factors like where and when an individual grew up, cultural norms, and the sport programs and polices in place at that time. These variables can all have an enormous impact,” says Baker.

The volume’s latter half offers case studies examining international success stories from the “trenches” of talent identification and development, from individual sports like track & field and gymnastics, to team sports including soccer and rugby.

“Athletic prowess is commonly thought of as a combination of nurture and nature, but the interplay of these factors is quite complex,” says Baker. “Our aim was to give a state-of-the-science overview that would be accessible for parents, coaches, athletes and anyone interested in talent development.”

The book is co-edited by Steve Cobley, senior lecturer in skill acquisition and sport psychology within the Carnegie Faculty at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, and Jörg Schorer, research associate at the Institute of Sport Science at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster, Germany. Baker is part of 91��ɫ’s Lifespan Health & Performance Laboratory and is a visiting research fellow at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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