The best-selling second edition of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook teaches basic strategies for overcoming shyness and social anxiety, and offers a comprehensive program of exercises for individuals wishing to undertake a step-by-step self-help program.

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This conference aims to provide a forum for Ryerson undergraduate students to present their best essays to their peers. Arteries 2009 will promote undergraduate research through the sharing of ideas within and across disciplines hosted by Faculty of Arts.

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What makes a great lecturer? Enthusiasm, wit, clarity are some of the qualities cited by students and alumni who have nominated professors from across the province for TVO’s Big Ideas Best Lecturer Competition. This year 12 Ryerson University lecturers have been recognized as among the best in Ontario.

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Developing a greater awareness and understanding of our differences is vital to building partnerships and creating dialogue in the community. That's what Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine told a crowd of Ryerson University students, faculty and staff during the Ryerson University Annual Holocaust Education Week Lecture entitled "Justice, Responsibility and Reconciliation: Legacies of the Holocaust and the Persecution of Aboriginal Canadians."

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In many universities there are few links between theoretical study and the real world. Not so at Ryerson. Recent guest lecturers include Canadian Football League (CFL) Commissioner Mark Cohon who gave fourth-year Sport Marketing students at the Ted Rogers School of Business Management a taste of life at the top and longtime public servant Michelle DiEmanuele who encouraged Public Administration and Governance graduate students in Professor Bryan Evans' course, to not be dissuaded by those resistant to change.

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Imagine never being able to hear music clearly your entire life. Now imagine changing all that by simply sitting in a chair. The Emoti-Chair is a cross-modal, audio-tactile display chair that allows deaf or hard of hearing people to feel the vibrations of music and sound. Created by two Ryerson professors and their associates, the Emoti-Chair is currently on display until Jan. 15, 2009 at the Ontario Science Centre as part of the special exhibition, On Thin Ice: Youth Respond to International Polar Year.

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For researcher Jennifer Brayton, popular culture is more than an interest, it's a career. An Assistant Professor of Sociology, Dr. Brayton casts a critical eye on contemporary cultural products. "My goal is to raise awareness of social inequality as it is manifested through mass media, one our primary socialization agents," she says. "Throughout our lives, we are taught to think about social groups in certain ways and not to challenge dominant ideologies and belief systems."

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Eight faculty members were honoured at Ryerson University's 2008 Faculty Teaching Awards, which honour many kinds of highly engaged, highly effective teaching. The awards reflect the University's core value that students need teachers who, active in their fields, develop creative ways to share knowledge and experience. This year the opportunity to recognize teaching excellence expanded with the presentation of two new awards in Experiential Learning and Interdisciplinary Learning.

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Students in the First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) and Ryerson University's joint program in Public Administration and Governance were recently treated to a straight-from-the-horse's-mouth look at the provincial government when The Honourable Michael Bryant, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs dropped by to engage in an interactive teaching session. The class, normally taught by Dr. Carolyn Johns, Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, was held at Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training Centre.

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 Dr. Martin Antony, Psychology Professor and Director of Graduate Training in Psychology, has been elected President of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), Canada's largest professional association representing the discipline of psychology. Dr. Antony's term as President-Elect began in June 2008 while his term as President will begin in June 2009.

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Universities often cite their ability to teach critical thinking skills as a key factor that differentiates them from colleges and trade schools. Critical thinking skills are essential in today's knowledge-based economy.

But how can we know if university students are graduating with strong critical thinking skills? It's a question that intrigues David Hunter, associate professor in Ryerson’s Department of Philosophy.

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Dr. Trevor Hart, director of Ryerson University's HIV Prevention Lab, is searching for ways to stem the spread of HIV by examining the link between social anxiety and risky behaviour. He’s hoping to develop practical interventions: "Ultimately, we want to know how we can help people."

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Assistant Professor Duncan MacLellan of Politics and Public Administration has found that a place-based approach to municipal policy-making would benefit diverse and immigrant communities by integrating the experience and skills of the residents of these communities. A place-based approach has shaped the revitalization of Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood.

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Ryerson's Alumni Magazine's Summer 2008 edition features Faculty of Arts.

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Arts and Contemporary Studies (ACS) students celebrated the 100th birthday of Canada's most prominent and enduring literary icon, Anne of Green Gables in the Ryerson Showcase: The Anne of Green Gables Centenary. Students, scholars, creative writers, journalists and librarians came together to celebrate the 100th centenary of the first publication of Anne of Green Gables, the celebrated classic novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Part of their senior class project, the Showcase gave students a chance to present new research on Anne of Green Gables and allowed scholars to introduce fresh theories on Canada's most famous redhead. Ryerson Press was the first Canadian publisher of Anne of Green Gables in 1942.

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Ryerson's Faculty of Arts recently celebrated the success of their new Service Learning program with students, faculty and community partners. Service Learning, which takes learning out of the classroom and into the community, enables students to apply what they've learned in the real world. Seven Faculty of Arts courses in Psychology, Sociology, Arts and Contemporary Studies (ACS) and Politics and Governance have incorporated the experiential learning initiative in their curriculum.

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The early 20th century witnessed many turbulent events such as World War I and the Great Depression. Professor Irene Gammel of Ryerson's Department of English believes that these events and upheavals were among the catalysts that inspired the literary and cultural work of avant-garde women who rebelled against traditional Victorian conventions of art and literature.

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Dr. Janet Lum of Ryerson's Department of Politics and Public Administration is bringing awareness to the sector and its important role within the continuum of health and social care for diverse needs groups including seniors, children with complex care needs, and other vulnerable populations such as racialized minorities and LGBT aging populations. Dr. Lum is currently the Co-Chair and Principal Investigator of a unique international knowledge initiative called the Canadian Research Network for care in the Community (CRNCC).

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John Shields, professor and CERIS director at Ryerson University, views the renewed funding of the Ontario Metropolis Centre (CERIS) as an important step in connecting researchers with migration and diversity in the Greater Toronto Area.

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In the last decade, emotional intelligence and its possible link to various areas of human functioning became the focus of much public and academic interest. This popularization led to research on factors that help people cope with depression and other disorders. A recent study, published by Dr. Oren Amitay of Ryerson University’s Department of Psychology and Dr. Myriam Mongrain of York University, explores the relationship between emotional intelligence and depression.

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Irene Gammel, CRC in Modern Literature and Culture, is bringing out Looking for Anne: How Lucy Maud Montgomery Dreamed Up a Literary Classic and curating a national exhibit.

 

Think back to the last wedding reception you attended. Who was the most beautiful person there? The bride as she entered the room with her new husband? The bride's grandmother waltzing lovingly with her husband of 60 years? Or the newborn baby being rocked to sleep by the groom's sister?

For Glenn Parsons, assistant professor in Ryerson's Department of Philosophy, the answer depends on what you mean when you say the word 'beautiful.'

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For many Canadians, the Arctic, if you will pardon the expression, has recently become a hot topic.

Not so for Professor Frank Duerden of the Department of Geography. His fascination with the Canadian North has had a much longer shelf life: 25 years and counting. In fact, the long-time Ryerson faculty member is in a class of his own: he's the only researcher at the university who is studying the Arctic from a social science perspective.

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Political scientists John Shields, Janet Lum and Bryan Evans have found in a recent study more visible minorities, Aboriginals and women hold senior government positions in the northern territories than in the rest of Canada.

More visible minorities, Aboriginals and women hold senior administrative positions within government in the northern territories compared to the rest of Canada, according to a report by researchers from Ryerson's Department of Politics and Public Administration.

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Ryerson University Psychology Professor Oren Amitay's spontaneous and energetic lecture style has him billed as one of the top professors at the University. Students find him so engaging that Dr. Amitay has been nominated in TVOntario's Best Lecturer competition. Outstanding professors from across the province are nominated for this prestigious award, where the winner will receive a $10,000 TD Meloche Monnex Scholarship.

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