PERGSS Christmas Party

Ho! Ho! Ho!
Whether you have been naughty or nice this year, come join us for a Christmas Celebration!

As Christmas is the time to be surrounded by family and friends, guests are welcome.

Please RSVP by December 6 to Meaghan (kmcarey@ualberta.ca) or Jodie (jodie.stearns@ualberta.ca).

PERGSS Christmas Party
December 14 - 7:30pm
Earl's Restaurant (Campus)
112th Street

**RSVP is required by Earls to accomodate our large group**
Should be a great way to wind down at the end of term!

FGSR Grad Student Resources

FGSR have produced a list of resources available for grad students on the University of Alberta. Copy and paste the link below to your browser to see what they have to offer:


http://www.physedandrec.ualberta.ca/en/GraduatePrograms/~/media/University%20of%20Alberta/Faculties/PhysEd/Faculty/Documents/Grad/campusresourcesforgradstudents.pdf

Upcoming Scholarship Deadlines

The University of Alberta General Awards Scholarship Deadlines have been announced.

Applications for the Killam award, Dissertation Award and Andrew Stewart award are due by Tuesday January 11 2010.

Applications for the Queen Elizabeth II awards are due by Monday February 7, 2010.

Information regarding these scholarships is available on:

http://www.gradstudies.ualberta.ca/awardsfunding/scholarships/queenelizabeth/index.htm

Good Luck with your applications!

December 3rd: Speaker Series

The next speaker series is this Friday - December 3rd at 3.00pm in E-121, followed by a reception in the Bear's Den.

This week we have a guest speaker all the way from Birmingham University in the UK.

Dr Andrew Coney, from the school of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, will be providing a fascinating presentation entitled:

                                             "Balancing the tone - some sympathy for resistance?

Everyone is encouraged to attend, we hope to see you all there!

PERGSS Bake Sale

Last week PERGSS held it's annual bake sale to raise funds for Grad student events. With only 5 muffins left at the end of the morning and $175 dollars made, we couldn't have asked for a more successful event. Our massive thanks go to Catharine for organizing the event and to everyone who gave up their time to work at the sale and most importantly, to all the students that donated their baked goods. They were enjoyed by all!

Pub Trivia Success

The first annual PERGSS pub trivia night was a great success!!! With over 30 people competing for the coverted title of PERGSS pub trivia champions it was a close fought battle - with the "A team" from the Saville Centre on South Campus eventually coming out on top! Set to be an annual event the PERGSS executive are confident that this event will go from strength to strength.

Many thanks to Dean Kerry Mummery for co-hosting this event and congratulations to the PERGSS social convenors for such a well organized and successful event.

Already looking forward to next year - hope to see you all there!

PERGSS 1st Annual Pub Trivia Night

PERGSS 1st Annual Pub Trivia

How much do you really know about sports, music, and entertainment? More than the other
teams? More than the other departments? Come find out how smart you really are!

The event will take place on Thursday November 18th at RATT on the 7th floor of SUB. Team
registration will take place from 5 to 6pm. Quiz Round 1 begins at 6pm.

With special co-host Dean Kerry Mummery.

The entry fee is $2 per person plus a donation of non-perishable food items for the
Edmonton Food Bank.

Teams are 4-6 people, with a minimum of 2 PER's students/faculty per team. So start
gathering your team together! And thinking of an awesome team name!!

We can reveal some of our exciting bonus questions prizes... like a $20 gift certificate
to Hudson's. The team that wins each round will get a prize. And the amazing grand prize
of an exclusive dinner at Earl's!

Mark November 18th on your calendar, this is an event you will not want to miss!!

International Conference on Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences

CALL FOR PAPERS AND PARTICIPATION

7^th Annual International Conference on Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences, 27-30 June 2011, Athens, Greece in Collaboration with the Panhellenic Association for Sports Economists and Managers (PASEM).

The Sports Research Unit of the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) in collaboration with the Panhellenic Association of Sports Economists and Managers (PASEM) and the Panhellenic Association of Fitness and Health Clubs (Gyms) organize their 7^th Annual International Conference in Athens, Greece, 27-30 June 2011, Athens, Greece on Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences.

The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars and students from all areas of applied and integrated health sciences, including physiology, health psychology, health promotion, epidemiology, biomechanics, sports medicine, training methods, nutrition, and physical education.  This years theme will be PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN with two thematic sessions on:  1) Healthy Growth and Development and 2) Active Aging. For programs of previous conferences and other information, please visit the conference website www.atiner.gr/fitness.htm. For Books and Proceedings of previous conferences you may visit http://www.atiner.gr/docs/SPORTS_PUBLICATIONS.htm where you can download tables of contents and order forms.

Abstracts should be submitted in English by 1^st December 2010. Abstracts should not be longer than 300 words, and should have the follow structure: Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusions. Selected (peer reviewed) papers will be published in Special Volumes of the Conference Books. Abstracts should be submitted by email only (wlmailhtml:%7b4DC0E77A-2361-4F4D-A9CA-CBBC0B7FF172%7dmid://00000001/!x-usc:mailto:atiner@atiner.gr) to: Dr. Nota Klentrou, Academic Member, ATINER, Greece & Professor, Department of Physical Education & Kinesiology, Brock University, Canada. Abstracts should include: Title of Paper, Full Name (s) and Affiliation of all authors, and the email address of the corresponding author. If you want to participate without presenting a paper, i.e. chair a session, evaluate papers to be included in our conference books and/or contribute to the editing of a book, please send an email (wlmailhtml:%7b4DC0E77A-2361-4F4D-A9CA-CBBC0B7FF172%7dmid://00000001/!x-usc:mailto:gtp@atiner.gr) to Dr. Gregory T. Papanikos, Director, ATINER. The registration fee is 250 euro, covering access to all sessions, two lunches, coffee breaks, and conference material. Special arrangements will be made with local hotels for a limited number of rooms at a special conference rate. In addition, a number of special cultural events will be organized.The Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) was established in 1995 as an independent academic organization with the mission to become a forum, where academics and researchers - from all over the world - could meet in Athens and exchange ideas on their research and discuss the future developments of their discipline. Since 1995, ATINER has organized more than 100 international conferences and has published over 80 books. Academically, the Institute consists of four research divisions and nineteen research units. Each research unit organizes at least an annual conference and undertakes various small and large research projects.

2011 SIRC Research Award

SIRC (Sport Information Resource Centre) is proud to announce the official launch of the 2011 SIRC Research Award. The SIRC Research Award recognizes outstanding sport research that benefits the Canadian sporting community.  SIRC invites Canadian researchers to submit sport related original research papers in consideration for the 2011 SIRC Research Award.  Winners receive $2,000, a SIRC membership, media coverage, inclusion in the SIRC Collection and international exposure to the sport and academic community through SIRC’s publishing channels. The 2011 SIRC Research Award has two categories; The social impact of sport on the community: This category contains research in four broad areas; ·         social, cultural, and/or economic benefits of sport ·         health and wellness ·         participation ·         education and lifelong learning The impact of applied research on athletic excellence / high performance: This category contains research in four key areas of study; ·         Sport Psychology ·         Sport Physiology ·         Sports Medicine ·         Kinesiology For full eligibility, please visit www.sirc.ca/researchaward or contact us directly at researchaward@sirc.ca, (613) 231-7472 or our toll free line 1 (800) 665-6413.

Request for Bake Sale Volunteers

PERGSS will be holding a scrumptious BAKE SALE on Thursday NOVEMBER 25th and we're looking for volunteers! If you have kitchen-related talents (or you just like to bake) we hope you'll bake something delicious for the sale. We would need you to drop off your items by 8:30am in the Faculty Lounge Thursday morning and ask that each item be wrapped in Saran Wrap and have a recipe card with the ingredients provided (for health reasons).

If your kitchen skills are lacking but you would still like to help, we'll be needing people to staff the sale, from 9-1pm Thursday. We usually do one hour shifts. So, please let us know how you'd like to help out. Email Catharine. Happy baking!

Catharine Eckersley
PERGSS Fundraising Executive

November 19th: Speaker Series

The next speaker series will be held on November 19th at 3.00pm in E- 121. This speaker series is co-hosted by the CON-SNP and PER faculty. The focus of the session is:

“Life in the Fat Lane: Obesity Researchers Weigh in on Controversial Topics in the Field”

Three experts in the area will be hosting a panel type discussion. The experts are:

·       Dr. Kim Raine (Centre for Health Promotion)

·       Dr. Bill Colmers (Centre for Neuroscience)

·       Dr. Tim Caulfield (Health Law Institute)

It's sure to be an informative and interesting discussion, so come along and join the debate!

Light refreshments to follow in the Faculty lounge.

PERGSS executive update

Latest information from the PERGSS executive (meeting held November 5th):

1)  Marianne discussed use of available time in the gym for monthly physical activity with Stu. There is some availability in the main gym, PERGSS students will have access for 1 hour per month from 2-3pm on Wednesdays; the first date would be on December 1^st, 2010. Further details to follow regarding dates and how this time is going to be used.

2)  The Academic Unit review (External Committee) are coming on November 15^th & 16<sup>th

3)</sup>   New photocopier/scanner are now located in the grad student lounge. Instructions on how to use the machine are posted in the lounge. Any further student questions can be passed on to Marianne, Brian or Joe.

4) Charity: proposal that $1.00 from every PERGSS event goes to support a local organization. Supporting a local organization would help forge ties with the community. Will begin supporting a local organization with a Christmas donation. PERGSS executive to think of suggestions for organizations that will be discussed during the next PERGSS meeting. If anyone has any suggestions of a charity they would like to donate to, please contact a member of the PERGSS executive.

5)  Social events:
·         Trivia Night (November 18^th) 5:30- 9:00 RATT – anyone who has any prizes to donate please contact a member of the PERGSS executive.
·          Faculty Hockey game (December 10^th) 10:30 – 11:45. We are looking for two volunteers to be the score keepers and a photographer – anyone interested?

6)      PERGSS Clothing: PERGSS are potentially pre-ordering PERGSS clothing items. We are looking for a student to design a logo/picture/saying to go on the clothes. Please provide any suggests to a PERGSS executive member by November 30^th 2010.

7)      PERGSS Bake Sale Scheduled for Thursday November 25^th, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

8)      Academic council update: Discussion of duty to accommodate/include students if their participation does not meet the requirements of the core program.

9)      PAC courses: There has been a review of the PAC courses. All students should have received an e-mail from Marianne outlining proposed changed. Any concerns/suggestions please get in touch with Marianne.

10)   Ethics: Still seeking a student representative for this committee. 5 students indicated they were interested, however only 1 submitted a summary of their experience that prepares them for this position.

11)   Members of the PERGSS executive will be meeting with the Dean on November 17^th. If anyone has any issues/concerns/suggestions they would like raising with the Dean please contact a member of the executive.

Congratulations to Chad Witcher

The PERGSS executive would like to congratulate Chad Witcher on his recent appointment at Lakehead University, in Thunder Bay. Chad was offered, and accepted, a position as a term lecturer at Lakehead.

Wishing Chad many congratulations and good luck as he starts the next stage of his academic career!

November 18th: Pub Trivia Night

Following the success of the last PERGSS social the social conveners have been hard at work organizing the next one, so mark you calenders for November 18th and the first ever PERGSS pub trivia night!!

The event will take place at RATT. Team registration will take place from 5 to 6pm. Teams are 4-6 people, with a minimum of 2 PER's students/faculty per  team. Quiz Round 1 begins at 6pm.The entry fee is $2 per person plus a donation of non-perishable  food items for the Edmonton Food Bank.

There are loads of prizes to be won, with the winning team receiving  the grand prize that is so good we can't reveal it yet!!

See you all there!

PERGSS update

Every month the PERGSS executive meet to discuss ideas, concerns etc regarding grad student life. Below are the exciting things that were discussed in October!

1) The executive are looking into the possibility of arranging access to one of the gyms one lunch time for grad students to meet and play sports/games - cost is currently prohibitive, but we'll continue to look into this.

2) The new PERGSS blog has, so far, been a success. We continue to encourage all students to check the blog. More and more information will be posted on the blog, eliminating the number of per-grad e-mails that are sent. If anyone has any information they would like posted on the blog, make sure you send it across to me (cjknight@ualberta.ca)!

3) Upcoming social events:  Pub trivia night (November 15th) at RATT at 5:00/5:30 aim to start the event at 6:00 and wrap up at 8:30, space provided for free and will play 4 rounds, details will be sent out via e-mail.

4) Request for ideas regarding upcoming social events - let the social conveners know if there is anything you want to happen. Suggests include:

·         Christmas party discussed (Wine & cheese?) that could overlap with hockey game

·         Games night

·         Outdoor activities like skating or sledding, snowboarding/skiing

·         Movie night

·         Bowling

·         Golf tournament (the faculty holds one), suggested PERGSS golf tournament or mini-golf event

·         Aiming to have something social/1 social event per month throughout the year

5) PERGSS clothing: Unsure of response from students and degree of funds raised from graduate student clothing sales. It may be possible if order in advance, and order based on samples. Currently we are holding off on moving forward with clothing at this point.  May be more interest if look into water bottles or gym towels. Are any PERGSS Students willing to design a logo for PERGSS?

6)  Tom Hinch, head of academic review, needs another student to sit on the academic review. Judy Liau will sit on this committee to take over as previous student graduated.

7) Brief review of academic council (further details to follow)

8) Brief review of faculty council (further details to follow).

If anyone would like any more information on any of these topics feel free to contact Marianne (mclark1@ualberta.ca) 

November 15th: Presentation by Dr. Norm Boule

On November 15th at 12.00pm in Oborowsky Degner Seminar Hall, Dr. Norm Boule will be presenting on his research examining physical activity and diabetes. The title of the presentation is:

"Physical activity research and the alberta diabetes institute: ADI-funded pilot projects and the future Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory."

Lunch is provided!

November 5th: Speaker Series

Friday, November 5^th, 2010 at 3:00 pm Room E-121, Van Vliet Centre

Professor Gordon Walker and Lara Fenton, PhD Student will be speaking about:

“Institutional and Individual Research Productivity in Leisure Studies”

The first part of this presentation examine whether the institutional concentration of North American leisure research changed between 1990 to 1999 and 2000 to 2008, based on a variety of productivity metrics. Findings suggest that while more universities are doing a little, a few are doing more. The second part examines the personal, institutional, and other factors the most productive leisure researchers reported affected their refereed article productivity between 2000 and 2008. Findings indicate, for example, that the most prolific researchers are intrinsically motivated, committed to the field, able to mentor graduate students, and have sufficient resources available.

Everyone is invited to attend, especially to come out and support a fellow grad student!

Guest Lecture: David Streiner

On November 16th in Room 2-115, CSB, University of Alberta, Dr. David Streiner will be conducting a public lecture. Dr Streiner's presentation is entitled, "Why RCT's rarely yield the truth." Dr Streiner has authored over 15 books on Measurement techniques in health care, biostatistics and epidemiology. He is currently based at McMaster and Toronto and previously sat on the CIHR committee.

Sounds like a talk worth attending!

Guest Blog: Kerry Mummery

Thanks to PERGSS for the opportunity to make a contribution to your grad student blog. Let me start with a brief introduction – my name is Kerry Mummery and I am the (newish) Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation here at the University of Alberta.

I am back in Canada after almost 14 years in Australia where, most recently, I was the acting Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health and CQUniversity in Rockhampton, Queensland.

Australia was a great place to live, and my wife and I thought we would be there for the long term, but an offer to return to UofA, my PhD alma mater, was too good to turn down. We have been back in Canada since mid-June and I am enjoying the challenge of being Dean.

I enjoyed my graduate studies here at the UofA, where I completed a PhD in sport and exercise psychology in 1994. I felt my selection of UofA for my PhD has stood me in good stead over the years, and I tried to give a similar experience to the PhD students I supervised in Australia. When I was asked to write a blog entry for PERGSS I thought I should give some advice to current grad students from my perspective as former grad student, PhD supervisor and Dean. Here, in no particular order, are my thoughts on being a grad student…

Focus on being productive rather than busy – I always think of a 2 (productive/not productive) x 2 (busy/not busy) factorial design. The ideal situation is productive and not busy (if you accomplish this, please let me know how you do it), whereas the worst situation, and the one that leaves me personally in a foul mood if I find myself in it, is busy but not productive. Work smarter, not longer and take time to enjoy your studies.

Teach – I know that the pressure always seems to be on getting your research on track, but make sure you teach during your time as a graduate student. Teaching helps you learn. Learn to enjoy the classroom and the students. One of the most exciting things you can do is excite the next generation of students about the area you are passionate about. Teach enough to make you confident and (relatively) comfortable standing in front of a class.

Go to conferences – First of all, conferences are fun – and it is important to have fun in what you do. Secondly, conferences allow you to put a face to the people who write the articles you read. Seek out the best conferences in the world in your area and get to know the people who attend. This is where you build your networks – and your opportunities.

Publish early, but not necessarily often – The pressures to publish are ever present, but one thing students need to learn is that almost any well-conducted, well-conceived piece of research is publishable – it just depends on where you want to publish it. Get something into submission and learn to defend your work to editors. Once you learn how to publish, carefully consider what to publish. One or two meaningful papers per year that make an impact are, in the long run, much more valuable than more papers of less importance.

Learn to manage your supervisors – Keep your supervisors up to date on what you are doing. Set regular meetings, drop in unannounced, be seen and heard. Learning is a contact sport, and you need regular contact with your supervisors.

Think Big – You are studying at a world-class university, in a world-class program, doing world-class work. You are our academic Olympians, so go out and make a difference to someone, somewhere with your research, your teaching, your leadership and your community service. Universities are great places to study, great places to work and great places to be. We are all fortunate to be in a position to make a difference – make a BIG ONE.

Cheers

Kerry

Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund

The deadline for applications for the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) Projects or Research is Tuesday, February 1, 2011. The terms of reference and application form can be found at: http://www.provost.ualberta.ca/AwardsandFunding/tlef.aspx.

An information session is scheduled for Thursday, November 24, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. in Council Chamber, University Hall. Topics will include applications, budgeting requirements, and the adjudication process.

Knowledge Translation Conference

Knowledge Translation is becoming more and more important in research. It is a requirement of most funding agencies, with some even putting out calls for studies emphasizing knowledge translation. With this in mind the Knowledge Translation Conference is being held at the Marriott Hotel, River Cree, Edmonton on November 21-23.

Overview of the conference:
Knowledge transfer (KT) is about wanting to make a difference and do things better by ensuring that research is relevant, accessible and used to support decisions. Whether you’re a researcher, part of a research team, a health care practitioner, manager, knowledge broker, or a science entrepreneur, you are part of the knowledge transfer process. That process describes how new knowledge (innovate) moves between the producers and potential users (influence) and ultimately results in changes in policy and practice (integrate).

The 2010 RTNA conference will incorporate leading practices in KT and will bring together researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and KT specialists. It will be interactive and will encourage relationship building across disciplines; it will acknowledge the complexity of decision making; it will use storytelling and other effective means of moving knowledge; and it will provide an opportunity to learn about KT from experts and from each other. Come prepared to be challenged and energized as we innovate, influence, and integrate.


Early Bird Registration Early bird registration is available until November 5th, 2010. Visit http://www.ahfmr.ab.ca/rtna/conference10/ to register.

Student Pricing Come and network with leaders in Alberta’s health research and innovation landscape. Early-bird student registration for $78.75. Visit http://www.ahfmr.ab.ca/rtna/conference10/ to register. Dr. Thomas Kerr, B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.  Rahaf Harfoush, Digital Strategist

Alberta Sport Development Centre - Winning Edge Seminars

Each month the Alberta Sport Development Centre hosts Winning Edge Seminars. In these seminars expert speakers discuss a range of sport related topics from both a research and applied stance.

The next Seminar is on November 10th from 7.00-8.00pm in E-120 Van Vliet Centre.

Lindsey Materi (MSc, CSCS, NCCP II), the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Alberta Sport Development Centre - Capital Region will be discussing Drugs in Sport.

This event is FREE and no registration is required - everyone is welcome to attend!

After the Drugs in Sport Seminar, the next seminar is November 16th from 7.00-8.00pm at

Trans Alta Tri Leisure Centre - Spruce Grove Room.

Celeste Lavallee, (Bsc RD, IOC, CISSN), the Head Sports Dietitian for the Alberta Sports Development Centre- Capital Region will be discussing Fuelling a developing athlete. Example discussion topics include: How much should a child athlete eat for training and growth? Are supplements like sports drinks ok, and if so when should they be used? What are some important nutrients to consider?

To register for this event, please call 780-960-5080 or visit http://www.trileisure.com/
Cost - $5 for members, $10 for non-members of trileisure.

Further details on Winning Edge Seminars available on http://www.asdccr.ca/ 

Grad Student Printer and Photocopier

A new Xerox photocopy machine/printer is being installed in the grad lounge on Monday November 1st. The current Toshiba copier will be removed on Friday October 29th. This means that no photocopying will be available over the weekend. For those of you who currently have photocopy accounts, Joe Daniel will be taking an inventory of existing account balances on Friday so that they can be carried over to the new system. You will not lose any money. I encourage those of you who use the photocopy machine regularly to contact me directly so that I can put you in touch with Joe and we can get you a new account, ASAP.

Graduate Student Association Update

The monthly GSA meeting was held on monday. Thanks to Katherine for the following update:

GSA Notes (Meeting Oct. 18, 2010)

GSA representative for PERGSS: Katherine Tamminen, tamminen@ualberta.ca

Tuition Update: Thesis 919 option

Dr. Dru Marshall from the Provost’s office gave a presentation at the GSA meeting to update grad students about changes to tuition for students starting a graduate program in Sept. 2011. Currently, students in thesis-based Master’s programs and PhD programs have the option of registering in Thesis 919 once they have completed their coursework as a way to maintain full-time status but essentially pay a lower tuition than when they were taking courses. So, tuition is higher during the first few years of a program, and lower in the last few years.

The way in which students register and are assessed fees will no longer include the option to register in Thesis 919 (which is for thesis-based students who have completed their coursework). As a result, grad students starting a program as of Sept. 2011 will basically be assessed the same tuition rate each year of their program. These changes are intended to make tuition cheaper than the current model for students who complete their programs in a timely manner (i.e., within 2 yrs for Master’s students, 4 years for PhD students). As it stands, the average time to completion across the university is currently 2.7 yrs for a Master’s degree and 5.9 yrs for a PhD.

Students who are currently registered in their programs will NOT be affected by these changes; it is only for NEW students registering in a program. The changes will not affect students completing a graduate program who will finish with one credential (i.e., MA, MSc, or PhD). So, if you are currently a grad student, you will still have the option to register in Thesis 919 until you complete your degree. Similarly, if you are a Master’s student and you ‘roll over’ your degree into a PhD, you will not be affected. This is only for students starting a new program; for example, it would apply to those who are currently in a Master’s program and will complete it before starting a PhD in Sept. 2011 and beyond.

These changes were approved by the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology over a year ago to bring the UofA’s tuition rates up to par with other graduate programs across Canada. Even with these changes to tuition, ours is still one of the cheapest universities in Canada for graduate tuition rates. For more information on market modifiers, see: http://www.gsa.ualberta.ca/downloads/MarketModifiers.pdf

I do not have exact numbers regarding ‘how much’ tuition will cost for students each year. Once I have more information I will pass it along to grad students within our faculty.

Academic Integrity Survey:

The UofA’s task force on Academic Integrity will be focusing on Academic Honesty and is seeking your views on cheating within the university. As students, teaching assistants, and principal instructors, graduate students likely have unique experience and opinions about what constitutes cheating and its prevalence across campus. For more information, see: http://www.gsa.ualberta.ca/downloads/October2010CouncilAppendix1.pdf

For information and to complete the survey, please go to: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/tie

Professional Development Funding:

Don’t forget that you may be eligible for a Professional Development Grant to help fund travel to conferences, etc. The next deadline to submit an application is Nov. 29^th 2010. Applications are available from the GSA website: http://www.gsa.ualberta.ca/

Also, some recent grant applications have not been considered for funding because the applications were incomplete or not enough information was provided on the application. Please be as thorough and as detailed as possible when submitting an application in order to improve your chances of getting funding.

For other funding opportunities, see: http://www.gsa.ualberta.ca/index.php/funding/

Speaker Series Success

The first student speaker series of 2010/2011 was a rousing success! The room was full of grad students and faculty members and we weren’t disappointed! PhD physiology student Nick Jendzjowsky opened the event with aplomb and reported on ‘The effect of 4 weeks of mild-intensity exercise training on the skeletal muscle vascular response to sympathetic stimulation.’ Nick did such a stellar job on his presentation that even non-physiology types (such as yours truly) were able to keep up – and enjoy! – his presentation.

Next up was MA student Kelley Lefebvre from the socio-cultural area. Her provocative presentation entitled: Playing for rights: A critical investigation of right to play athlete interviews from the 2010 Olympic Games, prompted a fascinating, lively and important discussion among the audience about racism and colonialism in sport and development. Thanks to Kelley for making us reflect on such important issues and keeping things lively!

Finally, PhD student Mike Nelson (also from the physiology area) wrapped things up with his sophisticated study: Biventricular function during passive heat stress: Influence of aerobic fitness. The highlight of this presentation was the Q and A period where physiology bigwigs in the audience challenged Mike with some tough, but interesting questions that went beyond the scope of his study.  Mike rocked his answers in true Nelson style. Again, for a non-physiologist I found myself very engaged.

Overall, the event was a fine display of intellectual engagement and debate. Gotta love the academy!

After the presentations the audience was invited to the Faculty Lounge for poster presentations and pizza. 7 students presented posters and continued the intellectual stimulation while the audience mingled, chatted and enjoyed free, delicious, pizza.

If you weren’t there, I have to admit, you missed out. But, there’s more speaker series to come – stay tuned!!!

Marianne

October 26th - Canadian Obesity Network Journal Club

The University of Alberta Canadian Obesity Network Students and New Professionals (CON-SNP) group are hosting their inaugural journal club meeting on Tuesday October 26th at 12.05-12.50 in the Tory building, room 109. 

The journal club provides a place where people can meet to discuss obesity related research/current issues. If you are interested in attending just read the articles listed below, bring your lunch and show up on the 26th.

The topic for this journal club will be social & economic perspectives on the obesity ‘epidemic’. There are two very short articles for discussion which you can find attached:

Sturm, R. (2008). Stemming the global obesity epidemic: What can we learn from data about social and economic trends? Public Health; 122, 739-746.

Prentice, A.M., & Jebb, S.A. (1995). Obesity in Britain: Gluttony or sloth? BMJ; 311, 437-439. Available at: http://www.bmj.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/content/311/7002/437.full
As with all the faculty research groups and meetings this is a great opportunity to share ideas with fellow students and professionals interested in your area.

Grad student issues or concerns

Over the next month the PERGSS executive committee will be meeting with Stu Petersen and Kerry Mummery to discuss issues, ideas and concerns of grad students. If anyone has anything that they would like raised or addressed at these meetings please contact me (cjknight@ualberta) or Marianne (mclark1@ualberta.ca). This is a great opportunity to ask those burning questions you might have about grad student life, so please get in touch! We'll make sure to provide a review of the meetings on the blog, so check back to see what was discussed.

More grad student success!

In addition to all the Grad students who completed their degrees directly out the faculty, two other grad students with links to the faculty have finished.

Congratulations to:

Joanna Clair who will receive her PhD with an Interdisciplinary degree from Neuroscience and Physical Education and Recreation.  Joanna is currently teaching in our undergraduate program.

Kristy Wuetherick who will graduate with a MED in Educational Policy Studies. Kristy works in our Undergraduate Programs Office with the practicum students and recruitment of new students.

CONGRATULATIONS!

October 29th - Coaching Research Group

The next coaching research group meeting will be held on October 29th at 1.00pm in W-01.

Dr. Andrew Robb will be presenting. The title of the presentation is: Functional Screening for Athlete Health and Performance: An Integrated Perspective.

Dr. Andrew Robb is a national rowing and track and field team therapist (a chiropractor) who is also a physiologist and is quite active in the academic community for athletic recovery and rehabilitation. He has a number of very interesting ideas that have really reformed a number of coaching practices.

Everyone is welcome to attend, a lively discussion is sure to follow the talk!

Dissertation Awards

As the call for dissertations for the 14th annual IIQM (international institute of qualitative methodology) dissertation award was made (they are due by October 31st - check out the IIQM website for more details),  I thought it was a good opportunity to remind people to check into these awards. Most organizations have dissertation awards each year, usually of little monetary value, but great career value! So they are definitely worth checking out. If anyone knows of any that people should be applying for please let me know so we can share the opportunity with the grad students.

PERGSS SOCIAL

PERGSS Social was held this past Friday it had a great turnout of new and returning students, and even a few alumni came out for the festivities!  The evening started out at Hudson’s on Campus following the Student Speaker Series, with a great crowd coming.  We then headed to O’Byrne’s Irish Pub on Whyte Ave. where we impressively filled up the back of the pub! There were lots of laughs and good times. Hopefully everyone had the chance to catch up with old friends and make some new ones!  We certainly did!  Check the PERGSS Facebook page for pictures of the evening - a select few have also been added to the blog!

Thanks to everyone who we chatted with and gave us suggestions and ideas to what events they would like to see throughout the year, we will certainly be putting them to use.  We are now looking forward to our next events, which include the restaurant club and pub trivia night.  Hopefully we’ll see even more people out to the events!!

Cheers,

Jodie & Meaghan

Social Convenors

PERGSS restaurant club

PERGSS is again running a restaurant club. It's not a club in the sense that you have to attend regularly or really do anything, it's just a chance to get together with other grad students once a month and have dinner at a restaurant. The club decides on the restaurant and makes the reservation, so any decision making or organization is taken care of - all you have to do is show up and eat!!

This month the restaurant club is going to the Sicilian Pasta Kitchen on November 4th. It is really easy to get to. Just hop on the LRT going north and get off at Corona station. Then head west on Jasper Ave for 8 minutes and you are there!

If you want to come out for dinner please let Jodie or Meaghan know by November 1st as they need to make the reservation!!!

Queens of the Ice Age 2

The PERGSS beginners ice-hockey team is back in action. If you want to play but haven't signed up yet, contact Kacey Neely (neely@ualberta.ca) I'm sure she can find a spot for you on the team. Or if you just want to laugh at a group of women falling about on ice - and there is a lot of falling I can assure you - come out and support the team. If anyone wants to coach the team (and by coach I mean make sure we have players on the ice when we are meant to and that we don't completely annoy the refs by never knowing the rules) then let Kacey know.

The upcoming games are:

Tues Oct 19 @ 8:30
Thurs Oct 21 @ 7:15
Sun Oct 31 @ 5:00
Tues Nov 16 @ 7:15
Games are usually followed by drinks after, so come and watch if only for the post-game social!

Upcoming BMG series - October 22nd

BMG is the Behavioral Medicine Group seminar. It is usually held on a monthly basis during term and includes researchers and their graduate students from the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. It includes discussions of members’ recent research, methodological issues, and occasionally guest talks by researchers from different faculties/universities. It's a great opportunity for grad students and faculty members to share research and ideas.

The first BMG series is on October 22nd at 2.00 in E-431. Dr. Geoff Ball will be presenting.

 

Celebrating success!

Many congratulations to all the grad students that are convocating in November!!!

PhD: Courtney Mason, Alissa Overend, Lorian Taylor, Tom Wu

MA:Julia Dutove, Alison Jonzon, Richard Klimushko, Yanan Lin (RLS), Keith McDonald, Lorraine Morphy, Melaina Patenaude, Derek Vanderbrink, Cameron Bonertz

MSc: Sanja Bucan, Siri Holm, Iris Lesser, Cameron Mang

Wishing every success in the future! We'd love to hear about life after grad school (there is one right?!), so if you get the time, send us an update on what you are doing and we'll post it for everyone to see!

Upcoming conferences

There are a number of conferences coming up in the next few weeks, including SCAPPS, AASP, and NASSS. As always, the U of A is going to be well-represented by our students and we wish them the very best of luck with their presentations!! Please e-mail any photos you'd like to share with the faculty from these conferences (pergss@gmail.com). Also, if there are any other conferences coming up that you feel other students should know about or apply for, again, let us know!!!

Pizza Friday - October 22nd

Come out for the next Pizza Friday on October 22nd in the Faculty Lounge at 12pm! As it is nearing Halloween this Pizza Friday might have a bit of a theme to it, stay tuned for more details from PERGSS as the event gets nearer. 


Remember to e-mail Marianne Clark (mclark1@ualberta.ca) if you are going to attend.

Student Speaker Series and Social Event - October 15th

Speaker Series presentation with our graduate students on Friday, October 15^th @ 3:00 pm in Room E-121, followed by a reception in the Faculty Lounge. Everyone is welcome to attend and support the grad students as they practice for upcoming conferences. A poster session will be held in the Faculty Lounge after the presentations - if you have a poster that you want to display please contact Marianne (mclark1@ualberta.ca).


Speak Series will be followed by a student social. Tickets are $5 which includes:
Hudson's (6 - 8:30 pm): 20% off food purchases and drink specials, no cover or line-ups
O'Byrnes (8:30 till late): $5.95 pints, no cover or line-ups

AND.. as a special bonus for all new students one free drink of your choice.

Tickets are available from Jodie and Meaghan - email us or stop by the Sport Management Grad Lab next to W1-14 conference room. They will also be available for sale at the Student Speaker Series next Friday, Oct. 15. But act fast there are a limited number of tickets and must be purchased before the night of the event. Feel free to bring friends!

PERGSS Clothing

Who doesn’t love bragging that not only are we grad students but that we’re in Phys Ed? So to boost this sense of pride for our faculty I’m trying to have some PERGSS clothing (hoodies, t-shirts, sweatpants) made up. I’m looking into having the option of ‘MA’ or ‘MSc’ on one of the sleeves, having a PERGSS design on the front, possibly your surname/favourite number on the back. Have any ideas? Let me know!!
Catharine (eckersle@ualberta.ca)

Fulbright Scholarship opportunities and talk - October 18th

Fulbright Canada runs a wide range of programs that support exceptional Canadian students and scholars who wish to study, do research, or lecture in the United States. Jennifer Regan, Chief Program Officer, Fulbright Canada will give a presentation on the Fulbright opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and Faculty, including:

Fulbright Student Program (Available to Canadian graduate students who want to study and/or do research in the United States for nine months during the 2011-2012 academic year)

Fulbright Scholar and Chairs Program (Available to Canadian Scholars and senior professionals who want to lecture and/or do research in the United States during the 2011-2012 academic year)

Killam Fellowships Program (Available to Canadian undergraduate students, usually in their third year, who want to study for one semester in the United States)

A presentation regarding Fulbright Scholarships will be on:  Monday, October 18^th at 11:00 – 12:00pm in HC 2-25.

If you cannot attend the session but would like more information about Fulbright opportunities, please contact Jennifer Regan below.

Jennifer Regan

Chief Program Officer

Fulbright Canada

2015-350 rue Albert Street  Ottawa, Canada K1R1A4

t. 613.688.5517;   f. 613.237.2029;  

jregan@fulbright.ca

www.fulbrightcanada.com

FGSR Hours

FGSR have changed their hours of service in Triffo Hall. They will now be open from 9:00AM to 4:00PM.

Upcoming Sport Management conferences

For those of you working in the sport management field there are two important dates coming up for conferences:

1) North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM)The 2011 NASSM Conference will be held in London, Ontario from June 1 - 4, 2011. The Call for Papers is now available, as is the online submission of abstracts. The submission deadline is November 1, 2010 (11:59 PM PST). http://www.nassm.com/InfoAbout/Conference/CallForPapers2011

2) Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) - Tourism and Sport Management Track
Call for Papers for the 54th annual conference of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. The conference will be held from July 2nd to 5th, 2011 on the UQAM campus located in downtown Montréal. The conference theme is What Matters Most.

PERGSS facebook page

PERGSS has decided it's time to get with the modern technological social networking age! Not only have we started this blog but we've also created a facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31825016136#!/group.php?gid=31825016136

Our social conveners, Meaghan and Jodie, will be using this site to share details on upcoming social events and send out invites. They'll be posting pictures and sharing any funny stories from the events. They've already come up with loads of ideas for social events this year, so make sure you join the group and come out and meet other grad students.

The information about social events will also be on the PERGSS blog, so now there's no excuse not to know about PERGSS socials!

Welcome to Super PERGSS

WELCOME TO SUPER PERGSS!!

Hello and welcome to the PERGSS blog site. Just like the name suggests, we hope this forum will be a super amazing way for students to find out about upcoming social events, important scholarship opportunities and deadlines, academic related issues and other oh-so important news. We wecome your feedback and input and we really welcome photos, announcements and anything else that can make this blog yours! Our communications officer extraordinaire, Camilla Knight, will be maintaining the site so please direct any feedback to myself at mclark1@ualberta.ca or Camilla at cjknight@ualberta.ca. And your only job is to check out the blog regularly - we don't want you to miss out on anything!!

Marianne