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Issues & Experts Archive > SFU Issues and Experts: Big boxes, criminal attraction, imaginative learning
SFU Issues and Experts: Big boxes, criminal attraction, imaginative learning
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July 06, 2005
Issue: Big boxes bite the dust
Campbell River's city council is the latest group of civic politicians to rebuff Wal-Mart's expansion efforts. Last week it was Vancouver's city council. In both cases it was in response to residents' strong opposition to the big box outlet moving into their natural and urban environments. Is this opposition the beginning of a new trend that does not bode well for big box chains? Steven Maxwell Kates, an associate professor of marketing within SFU's faculty of business administration, can tackle that question.
Issue: The criminal attraction of rapid transit
With three recent attacks, one of them fatal, at Surrey Central SkyTrain station weighing on the public's mind, the RCMP and transportation officials are fielding concerns about the safety of rapid transit. SkyTrain stations in New Westminster and Burnaby have previously attracted dubious attention because people traveling them were the target of assaults and robberies by youth. Two SFU criminologists, Ray Corrado and Irwin Cohen, have done extensive research on criminal youth behaviour. They can offer some thought on the extent to which rapid transit systems might be a breeding ground for youth crime.
Idea: Making education imaginative
SFU's 3rd International Conference on Imagination and Education: engaging the imagination in teaching and learning will delve into how Kieran Egan's' philosophy of imaginative learning applies across all disciplines. The founder of SFU's Imaginative Education Research Group (IERG) and an education professor, Egan has developed a unique array of courses and teaching strategies. They are based on his theory that students learn best when subject matter triggers their emotions by engaging their imagination. Max Wyman, a leading cultural commentator and the keynote speaker at this year's IERG conference, will discuss why our survival as a society rests on our ability to learn and educate imaginatively. For more information about the conference, July 13-16 at the Coast Plaza Hotel, and to arrange interviews with presenters, contact Teresa Martin.
Campbell River's city council is the latest group of civic politicians to rebuff Wal-Mart's expansion efforts. Last week it was Vancouver's city council. In both cases it was in response to residents' strong opposition to the big box outlet moving into their natural and urban environments. Is this opposition the beginning of a new trend that does not bode well for big box chains? Steven Maxwell Kates, an associate professor of marketing within SFU's faculty of business administration, can tackle that question.
- Steven Maxwell Kates, 604.291.3710, skates@sfu.ca
Issue: The criminal attraction of rapid transit
With three recent attacks, one of them fatal, at Surrey Central SkyTrain station weighing on the public's mind, the RCMP and transportation officials are fielding concerns about the safety of rapid transit. SkyTrain stations in New Westminster and Burnaby have previously attracted dubious attention because people traveling them were the target of assaults and robberies by youth. Two SFU criminologists, Ray Corrado and Irwin Cohen, have done extensive research on criminal youth behaviour. They can offer some thought on the extent to which rapid transit systems might be a breeding ground for youth crime.
- Ray Corrado, 604.291.3629, raymond_corrado@sfu.caIrwin Cohen, 778.808.4817, 604.268.6660, rwin_m_cohen@sfu.ca
Idea: Making education imaginative
SFU's 3rd International Conference on Imagination and Education: engaging the imagination in teaching and learning will delve into how Kieran Egan's' philosophy of imaginative learning applies across all disciplines. The founder of SFU's Imaginative Education Research Group (IERG) and an education professor, Egan has developed a unique array of courses and teaching strategies. They are based on his theory that students learn best when subject matter triggers their emotions by engaging their imagination. Max Wyman, a leading cultural commentator and the keynote speaker at this year's IERG conference, will discuss why our survival as a society rests on our ability to learn and educate imaginatively. For more information about the conference, July 13-16 at the Coast Plaza Hotel, and to arrange interviews with presenters, contact Teresa Martin.
- Teresa Martin, 604.291.4479, tmartin@sfu.ca