Visiting speaker: Fernand Gobet, University of Liverpool

Title: Extraordinary performance: Practice or talent?

Date: Thursday 23rd January 2014

Time: 1pm

Venue: Room CG01

  

The study of extraordinary performance has been carried out almost independently in two research traditions, the first emphasising practice and the second emphasising talent. The practice tradition has collected empirical evidence strongly supporting chunking as a key learning mechanism and practice as a prerequisite for becoming an expert. The talent tradition has provided convincing data for the importance of (inherited) individual differences in intelligence and working memory as well as for other factors such as starting age and handedness. If future research on extraordinary performance is to be successful, these two traditions must joint efforts to understand the mechanisms involved. Given the number of variables involved, their complex interactions and the fact that they evolve as a function of time, the use of computational modelling is necessary.

Short biography: 

Fernand Gobet earned his Ph.D. in psychology in 1992 at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. After a six-year stay at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, where he collaborated with Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon on chess expertise, he was Senior Research Fellow and then Reader at the University of Nottingham. He moved to Brunel University in 2003 to take up a Chair in cognitive psychology. Since 2013, he is Professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Liverpool. His main research interest is the psychology of expertise and talent, which he has studied in numerous domains. He has written six books, including Foundations of cognitive psychology (2011) and he is currently finishing a book titled Understanding expertise.

http://www.liv.ac.uk/psychology-health-and-society/staff/fernand-gobet/

Department of Psychology Brunel University

Academic Year 2013/14, Seminar Series ‐ Spring Term

January 15th

Changiz Mohiyeddini

Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton

What is an emotion? What is emotion regulation?

January 29th

Carolyn McGettigan

Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London

Speech perception in the brain: signals, Systems and (a)symmetries

February 19th (4:30pm)

Nicolas Geeraert

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

TBA

March 5th

Andre Szameitat

Department of Psychology, Brunel University

TBA

March 19th

Polly Dalton

DepartmentofPsychology,Royal Holloway, University of London

The cocktail party revisited: Mechanisms of auditory attention and awareness

April 2nd

Annemieke Apergis-Schoute

Department of Psychology,University of Cambridge

The neural correlates of threat learning and flexibility in OCD patients

Any queries please email:toshie.imada@brunel.ac.uk

What scientific idea is ready for retirement?

THE 2014 EDGE QUESTION . . . 
____________________________________________________________________

Science advances by discovering new things and developing new ideas. Few truly new ideas are developed without abandoning old ones first. As theoretical physicist Max Planck (1858-1947) noted, "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." In other words, science advances by a series of funerals. Why wait that long?

WHAT SCIENTIFIC IDEA IS READY FOR RETIREMENT?

Ideas change, and the times we live in change. Perhaps the biggest change today is the rate of change. What established scientific idea is ready to be moved aside so that science can advance?  

http://www.edge.org/responses/what-scientific-idea-is-ready-for-retirement

Embedding Social Media in Academic Curricula and Exploring Technology, Enquiry, and Pedagogy

Date: 14 March 2014
Time:  9:30 to 16:30 
Venue: Hendon Campus - Room CG47 (9 to 12) and Room W157 (13:00 to 16:30)
Description:This workshop offers an interactive opportunity for academics, researchers, and practitioners with or without social media experience, to explore the use and applications of social media in higher education, and to examine how the combination of technology, enquiry, and pedagogy may be used to incorporate social media as an e-learning or blended learning strategy in academic curricula, and to support students’ learning and enhance their professional identity.

Conference details: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/detail/2014/Workshop/HSC/14-03-14-elearning-blended-learning 
Provisional Programme: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/disciplines/hsc/Events/2014/Elearning-blendedlearning-prov-prog140314.pdf 

DARTP - PTR Academic Assistant Role

The BPS Division for Academics, Researchers and Teachers in Psychology are looking for a motivated, keen and enthusiastic psychology postgraduate to act as an academic assistant for the journal Psychology Teaching Review. Ideally, the candidate will be able to help in this role for the next 4 months, with a view to extending.The person we are looking for will have excellent communication skills (verbal and written), time management skills and will be able to work independently with very little direct supervision.  The assistant will be available on a flexible basis (max 7 hours in any one week) to work under direction of the Editor to ensure the smooth running of the PTR which has two issues annually (Spring and Autumn).Duties include, setting up and maintaining a database of submitted manuscripts to record date of submission and the following actions:·         

1)   Author submits manuscript

2)   Email acknowledgment sent

3)   Manuscript sent to Associate Editors and arrange for it to be reviewed by two referees

4)   Associate Editor receives reviewers’ comments and makes recommendations to Editor

5)   Author is informed of decision, which normally requires some re-drafting and re-writing

6)   Author resubmits manuscript

7)   Editor accepts or send back to Associate Editor for further review 

To keep the system working, the assistant will need to regularly monitor what stages each manuscript is at, send reminders out to Associate Editors and/or reviewers and keep authors informed.  Sometimes the delay is such that the manuscript needs to be sent to other reviewers.The assistant will also liaise with the publishers to make sure that copyright forms are completed and sent, that proof reading required by authors is completed in time to meet the P4P schedule of deadlines.The assistant will further liaise with the Books Review Editor and Abstracts Review Editor ensuring deadlines are kept, and that reviews are proof read.From time to time, the assistant may be asked to carry out other duties which contribute to the effective and regular production of the PTR.Rate of payBased on hourly equivalent of HERA grade 2, spine point 8£8.22 per hourIndicative hours per month would be between 10 and 30 and there is no average month!If you would like to apply for the role please send your CV with a  covering letter that demonstrates how your skills and experience fits the job description (above) to Dr Jacqui Taylor jtaylor@bournemouth.ac.uk The Deadline for applications is 17th January 2014.

Roundtable discussion: What are children’s ‘best interests’ in international surrogacy?

  

   Hosted by BASW PROGAR           Registered Charity No. 1013235

Workshop Funded by SRIP

Professor Olga van den Akker (Middlesex University) with Colleagues Dr Marilyn Crawshaw (University of York), Professor Eric Blyth (University of Huddersfield), Andy Elvin (Chief Executive Children & Families across borders) and PROGAR are hosting a SRIP funded invitation only roundtable discussion entitled:

What are children’s ‘best interests’ in international surrogacy?

Friday 10th January 2014

There is growing interest and concern about aspects of international surrogacy. We recently produced a paper (Crawshaw M, Blyth E, & van den Akker O, 2013 The changing profile of surrogacy in the UK – Implications for national and international policy and practice, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, DOI:10.1080/09649069.2012.750478) in which we identified some particular issues regarding the lack of systematic data collection across relevant UK agencies and the resulting difficulties for policy development and monitoring. In addition while there is a growing lobby for the ‘right to parent’ through the use of surrogacy arrangements, debates about children’s best interests are more difficult to find.

At this roundtable discussion, we will be bringing together representatives from a range of government departments (Dept of Health, Immigration Service, Office of the Children’s Champion, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Dept for Education, Passport Office, GROs), the HFEA (regulator for assisted conception), relevant professional services and organisations (BASW, Cafcass, CfaB, ISS, NAGALRO), legal representatives, academics and others including consumer groups.  Our aim is to both identify key issues facing those present and, where possible, agree actions to be taken forward, including in the inter-agency, multi-disciplinary context.

The event is being hosted by PROGAR, a coalition of UK child and family welfare organisations and individuals who have worked in the field of surrogacy and donor conception for many years. It is funded by SRIP (Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology). 

For further information about the discussion please contact Professor Olga van den Akker:

o.vandenakker@mdx.ac.uk

ESRC seminar series: Work Life Balance in the Recession and Beyond

Professor Suzan Lewis and Dr Nicky Payne will host the first in a series of seven seminars at Middlesex University on January 17th 2014.

The series of seven seminars will examine the work-life balance challenges for employees, employers and policy-makers posed by economic recession and austerity measures. For example, do economic pressures overshadow social and individual concerns and if so, are policies and practices to support work-life balance threatened? Implications for gender equality, health and well-being, care and care-giving, employment relations and innovative workplace and policy initiatives will be considered in both the UK and in other national contexts. The seminars will also explore the impacts of economic recession and austerity on individuals, families, organizations and the wider community.

An underlying theme of the series is the question of how to meet a triple agenda of enhancing employee work-life balance, sustaining or enhancing organisational effectiveness, and contributing to social justice.

For further information about the seminar series please contact Professor Suzan Lewis or Dr Nicola Payne at worklifeseminars@mdx.ac.uk or visit the website www.esrc-work-life-seminars.org.uk