News and Events
School of Physical Education Annual Teachers’ Research Day
22 December 2010 On Friday 26 November 30 teachers, plus staff and students from the School of Physical Education, gathered for the annual Teachers’ Research Day event.
Prof Doug Booth, Dr Jim Cotter, Ms Ali East, Dr Shayne Galloway and Dr Elaine Hargreaves, presented their research to attendees, which included secondary school health and physical education teachers from Southland, Central Otago and the Dunedin region as well as to members of Sport Otago.
This event proved a fabulous opportunity to forge closer links between the School of Physical Education, Sport Otago and secondary schools in our region. It provided teachers with the opportunity to utilise physical education research in their teaching, provided up-to-date application information for students wanting to apply to study in the School of Physical Education and enabled physical education staff to become aware of the issues currently preoccupying teachers.
PhD Candidate Koji Koyabashi Wins Another Prestigious Award
12 November 2010 Sincerest congratulations to Koji Koyabashi on winning his second international award. Koji won the Barbara Brown award for “best student research paper” at the recent North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) conference held in San Diego.
His paper, entitled Corporate Nationalism and Glocalization of Nike Advertising in Asia, provides an in-depth case study of cultural production for a Nike advertising campaign in Asia, and Japan in particular, within the framework of corporate nationalism.
Koji was also the 2010 recipient of the Graduate Paper Award at the International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA) conference held in July and has been invited to present his paper to the ISSA conference to be held in July 2011 at Havana, Cuba. Koji is supervised by Professor Steve Jackson and Dr Mike Sam.
Dr Jim Cotter Wins 2010 OUSA Supervisor Of The Year Award
31 August 2010 Congratulations to Dr Cotter on winning the overall award of 2010 OUSA Supervisor of the Year.
Dr Cotter was honoured for his outstanding work in supervising research students. More than 70 supervisors were nominated by 120 students and Dr Cotter was one of 10 Otago academics who received supervisor awards which are given to supervisors who have excelled in the supervisor role, as judged by the esteem of their students.
One student wrote
"Dr Cotter's seemingly endless enthusiasm for his area of teaching and research is matched with a genuine interest and consideration for his students (whether post or undergrads). He continually goes above and beyond his job description to ensure his students understand and succeed."
Health Research Council Funding Award
14 June 2010 Dr Jonathan Shemmell has been successful in the latest Health Research Council's funding round, being awarded $150,000 as an Emerging Researcher for his project entitled Fire together, wire together; sensory synchronisation to enhance stroke recovery".
Dr Shemmell's project will involve testing the effectiveness of a muscle stimulation technique, the objective of which is to improve hand function in people who have suffered a stroke.
Precisely timed electrical stimulation of muscles controlling the hand and the upper arm will be used to induced adaptation in the primary motor cortex.
This is a prestigious award and we congratulate Dr Shemmell on his success.
Wall of Fame Inductions 2010
3 June 2010 The 2010 Wall of Fame inductions featured arguably the most diverse range of inductees to date. Two highly respected academics, two Olympic medalists, an elite coach, and the Chief Executive of a crown entity were recognised for their achievements.
Alumnus Robyn Cockburn (class of 1982) emceed a very entertaining and successful induction ceremony held in the Hutton theatre. A large contingent of alumni, graduands and guests and supporters were on hand to see Pat Barwick, Prof Rex Billington, Trevor Garrett and Arthur Parkin welcomed onto the wall.
Video acceptances from Sally Clark and Prof Roger Enoka rounded out an impressive evening. The exploits of these successful physedders can be viewed here. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Philip Ashton Smithell's Memorial scholarship for 2010 was presented to Bruno Watkins, a 4th year honours student from the far North.
Dr Mike Boyes Honoured
29 April 2010 Dr Mike Boyes, Senior Lecturer at the School, has received the NZ Or-der of Merit from the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, at an investiture ceremony held this April at Premier House, Wellington.
Mike received his award for services to outdoor recreation and mountain safety over a forty year period. He is currently the chairperson of Outdoors New Zealand and the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council's Research Committee and a past chairman of the education committee.
He is a member of the SPARC Establishment Committee for the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Recreational Council, and has been a representative on a number of Ministry of Education working groups to develop safety guidelines and professional development for teachers. Dr Boyes received the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council's 25th Anniversary Award for services to the council in 1991 and a SPARC Supreme Award for service to outdoor recreation in 2007.
Recently, Mike has focussed his research on outdoor leadership and teaching/learning processes in the outdoors. Projects currently underway include: outdoor leadership decision making, sail training programmes and effectiveness, safety management by children, outdoor adventure tourism, and school based outdoor education programmes.
Wall of Fame Induction Ceremony
30 March 2010 This year's graduation weekend will be another special one for Physical Education as we come together to celebrate the successes of our colleagues past and present. Six new names will be added to the School's Wall of Fame at a special ceremony held at the Otago Museum Atrium on Friday May 7 at 6.00p.m.
The Wall of Fame is a permanent display that recognises outstanding School of Physical Education graduates who have achieved renown in sport, education, recreation, outdoor education, dance and business.
The 2010 Wall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be emceed by Robyn Cockburn (BPhEd 1982). Robyn is director of the Wellington consultancy firm ‘Lumin', and is a highly experienced strategist and governor across the arts, recreation and education sectors.
Friends of the School together with staff, alumni, graduands and families are cordially invited to this ceremony. Click through for invite and more information
Symposium - The Big Fat Truth: What are we "weighting" for? It's time to move!
1-3 February 2010 The School recently held a Symposium over 3 days in February to critically examine obesity knowledge and stimulate discussion, debate and understanding of the many issues in physical activity, health and obesity research. Six internationally recognised experts presented keynote addresses and an interactive workshop.
Two public lectures were held, one by Professor Steven Blair, and a panel discussion involving all the keynote speakers. The Symposium was attended by 135 delegates, including students and received local and national media coverage. The Symposium was a resounding success with many delegates asking when a follow-up Symposium would be held. For further information refer to http://www.otago.ac.nz/thebigfattruth2010.
Welcome to Suzanne Cowan, the Caroline Plummer Fellow for 2010
The School welcomes Suzanne Cowan who is the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance.
Suzanne is from Auckland and will be based at the School for 6 months working on her dance project "Sight Lines" which is a result of her desire to make dance choreography more accessible to people with sight impairments. Suzanne has a Master of Creative and Performing Arts with 1st class Honours from Auckland University, and is recognised as a leader in the disabled community.
In 2008, at the Inaugural NZ Attitude Awards, she received the Supreme Award in recognition of her outstanding achievements for people living with a disability, as well as the Arts Prize for her dance and choreography.
Suzanne spent several years travelling internationally with the UK-based mixed ability dance company Cando Company and more recently has been working with the Auckland-based Touch Compass Dance Company. We are delighted to have her join us and wish her well with her project.
