Fiona Starr presents at the BPS Children Young People and Families Conference

Fiona Starr (Chartered Clinical Psychologist) was invited to present her research, ‘UK Clinical Psychologists in Independent Practice’, at the BPS CYPF (Children Young People and Families) Conference in Peterborough last month. The presentation described the survey that  Fiona Starr &  Karen Ciclitira conducted with the help of the BPS. The survey examined the working practices of a growing number if BPS psychologists who are not working in the public sector. Although increasing numbers of psychologists are being forced to set up independently, largely due to governmental cuts, there has been no comprehensive survey of ‘who is doing what where and how in the UK’. There have been several similar studies conducted in the USA, Canada and Australia.  A special interest group for independent practitioners has been recently established by the BPS.  Fiona and Karen are now in phase two of the study looking at thematic analysis of clinician’s experiences.

For further details see:

http://www.bps.org.uk/events/conferences/faculty-children-young-people-and-their-families-annual-conference-2014

Cognitive Archaeology: The Challenge of Understanding Human Becoming

Yvan Russell and Tom Dickins, from the EMU lab, are both presenting invited papers at the Theoretical Archaeology Group conference in Manchester this December:

http://www.tag-manchester.org/

They are taking part in a symposium entitled:

Cognitive Archaeology: The Challenge of Understanding Human Becoming

The symposium aims state the following:

Cognitive Archaeology tries to understand how ancient peoples thought by systematically interpreting the artefacts they left behind. However, the act of interpretation presupposes the need for answers to fundamental questions: What is cognition (Edelman & Tononi, 2000), and what is the role of materiality in it (Knappett, 2005; Malafouris, 2013)? What are the causes of change in hominin–human cognition over the last two million years? Finally, how does understanding the answers to these questions make a better archaeologist?

Neither Yvan nor Tom propose to deal with the final clause!


EMU
https://sites.google.com/site/evolutionmiddlesexuniversity/

Visiting speaker: Lin Norton, Liverpool Hope University

Date and time: Thursday 23rd October, 12:00pm, Room VG02

Title: Researching learning and teaching issues: Reflecting on an action research approach

Abstract: In this seminar, Lin will draw on her book ‘Action Research in Teaching & Learning’ to discuss some of the benefits (as well as how to avoid the pitfalls) of this type of research. Further details can be found on her website: http://www.linnorton.co.uk/pedagogical-action-research  The seminar will be of interest to academic staff who would like to explore the possibilities of such an approach to: i) research some element of their teaching or assessment practice, ii) inform course design and development, iii) enhance their reflective practice or iv) disseminate some innovative learning and teaching initiative. It would also be of interest to students at an undergraduate or postgraduate level who are thinking about developing a pedagogical research study of their own. You can get in touch with Lin by emailing her at nortonl@hope.ac.uk 

Biography

Lin Norton is an Emeritus Professor of Pedagogical Research at Liverpool Hope University and a visiting Professor at the University of Ulster in the Centre for Higher Education Research and Practice. Before retiring in December 2010, Lin developed pedagogical action research as a community of practice within Hope and was the founding editor of the in-house journal, PRIME (Pedagogical Research In Maximising Education) and organiser of three international Pedagogical Research in Higher Education (PRHE) conferences. This work was recognized nationally in 2007, when she was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship.

Lin is a chartered psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society combining her social science training with her practitioner approach to learning and teaching. She has been a member of the Division for Academics, Researchers and Teachers in Psychology (DARTP) since 1997 and was appointed as vice chair (teachers) from 2002-2004, followed by a period as Editor of the Division’s journal Psychology Teaching Review, from 2004-2008. She also served as an associate editor ofPsychology Learning and Teaching from 2008-2013.

In her ‘retirement’, Lin continues to champion pedagogical action research and is invited to give workshops and seminars in the UK and abroad. She has written extensively on the subject, including a book, and a detailed list of her publications can be found on her website: http://www.linnorton.co.uk/. She is also on the editorial board of the SEDA journal Innovations in Education and Teaching International.

Forensic Psychology Research Group to present in Berlin

The Forensic Psychology Research Group is delighted that some of its members (Miranda Horvath, Jackie Gray, Mackenzie Lambine, Ellouise Long and Aliye Emirali) have had papers accepted at the Aggression Workshop at the Technische Universität, Berlin, Germany, which runs from 20th November. The focus of the workshop is on “Social and Media Dimensions of Aggression”.  Ellouise and Jackie will be presenting work that they have been doing around internet trolling, and Miranda, Mackenzie and Aliye will be presenting their work into different aspects of sexual aggression. This will be a great opportunity for the group to mix with some very interesting international researchers, and we look forward to them reporting back on their return.

See the following link for more details of this workshop:

http://www.paedpsy.tu-berlin.de/menue/workshop_aggression_2014/parameter/en/

Visiting speaker: Stanley Gaines, Brunel University

“From global south to global north: measuring inner wellbeing among university students in the U.K.”

Date/time/place: Thursday 9th October, 12:00, room C209 (College Building) 

Abstract:
We examine the extent to which 1-factor versus 7-factor models of inner wellbeing can be generalized from the global South to the global North.  Using a sample of 174 university students in the UK, we found that both a unifactorical model and a 7-factor model (i.e., economic confidence, agency/participation, social connections, close relationships, physical/mental health, self-worth, and values/meaning ) fit the correlational data.  However, contrary to findings of previous studies in the global South (in which the 7-factor model yielded significantly better fit than did the 1-factor model), we found that the 1-factor and 7-factor models yielded equal fit to the data.  Whether calculated as one overall score or as seven separate scores, we found that inner wellbeing was significantly related to Ryff’s (e.g., Ryff, 1989) measures of psychological wellbeing and Diener’s (e.g., Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985; see also Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) measures of subjective wellbeing.

Bio:
Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. is Senior Lecturer in Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Brunel University (United Kingdom).  Dr. Gaines authored the book, Culture, Ethnicity, and Personal Relationship Processes (Routledge, 1997); and he has written or co-written more than 90 additional publications in the fields of close relationships and ethnic studies.  Dr. Gaines is especially interested in areas of overlap between the subject areas of interpersonal relations (as informed by the literature on close relationships) and intergroup relations (as informed by the literature on ethnic studies).

Website:http://www.brunel.ac.uk/chls/life-sciences/psychology/staff-profiles/stanley-gaines

Visiting speaker: Claudia Uller, Kingston University

Visiting speaker: Claudia Uller, Kingston University

Date, time, location: Thursday, September 25, 12:00 PM, room CG01.

Title:

"What babies know about the world"

Abstract:

For the past 30 years, a significant body of research shows that babies are much smarter than we ever thought. From perceiving sounds in the womb, to making use of language, all within the first year of life, infants are built to make sense of the world in a rather sophisticated way. In this talk, I will show evidence that this is the case.

  

Website:

http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/findanexpert/profile/246/Claudia-Uller/

Discourse and narrative analyses: Case studies and applications

Save the Date!

19 September 2014, 11.00am (Room no to be confirmed)

Discourse and narrative analyses: Case studies and applications

A Seminar for PhD students and their Supervisors with Dr Marco Gemignani, President of the  Qualitative Inquiry Section of the American Psychological Association , hosted as a joint initiative between The Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Group, Psychology, and the Social Policy Research Centre.

The seminar will be of interest to all candidates using qualitative and mixed methods in their research and is part of a unique programme of seminars with Dr Gemignani at the beginning of his tenure as President of the Qualitative Inquiry Section of the American Psychological Association.  There will be time for discussion and networking at this exciting event.

The Abstract appears below.

Please email Nollaig Frost, n.frost@mdx.ac.uk, or Louise Ryan, L.Ryan@mdx.ac.uk, to confirm attendance and for further details.

Abstract

To an extent, the separation between narrative and discourse analyses seems to imply that these two forms of inquiry can exist in isolation from each other. My position, instead, is that they are not only complimentary, but that their interplay allows for sophisticated interpretations and deconstructions of complex processes or issues and for culturally-sensitive co-constructions of data. Major epistemological questions about the location of knowledge and the role of individual agency come with the entanglement of narrative and discursive approaches, especially in participatory, applied, or critical modes of research. Using as example a community-based support group in which I collaborated with Iraqi refugees who had recently relocated in the U.S., the collaboration between narrative inquiry and discourse analysis encourages bridging individual and socio-cultural dimensions of experience and knowledge.