Keynote speakers

Professor Kelly Brownell, Yale University

Abstract

Causes and prevention of obesity: Is there the courage for change? (PDF, 119KB)   

Kelly Brownell is Professor of Psychology at Yale University, where he also serves as Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and as Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. In 2006 Time magazine listed Kelly Brownell among "The World's 100 Most Influential People" in its special Time 100 issue featuring those "... whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world."

Dr Brownell was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine in 2006 and served as President of several national organizations, including the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, and the Division of Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Graduate Mentoring Award from Yale, the James McKeen Cattell Award from the New York Academy of Sciences, the award for Outstanding Contribution to Health Psychology from the American Psychological Association, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Purdue University, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Rutgers University. He has served in a number of leadership roles at Yale including Master of Silliman College and Chair of the Department of Psychology from 2003-2006.

He has published 14 books and more than 300 scientific articles and chapters. One book received the Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Book from the American Library Association, and his paper on "Understanding and Preventing Relapse" published in the American Psychologist was listed as one of the most frequently cited papers in psychology.

Dr Brownell has advised the White House, members of congress, governors, world health and nutrition organizations, and media leaders on issues of nutrition, obesity, and public policy. He was cited as a "moral entrepreneur" with special influence on public discourse in a history of the obesity field and was cited by Time magazine as a leading "warrior" in the area of nutrition and public policy.

Dr Krzysztof Kaniasty, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Polish Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Disasters or social catastrophes? On social psychological reactions of communities coping with natural and human-induced disasters (PDF, 175KB)   

Krzysztof Kaniasty studied psychology in Poland and the United States. Dr Kaniasty teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in research methodology, social psychology, and stress and coping at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he is a Professor of Psychology. He also teaches in Poland and is a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Psychology. He conducted and collaborated on several large-scale longitudinal studies investigating social support exchanges, individual and communal coping, and psychological well-being following natural disasters and other major stressors in the US, Mexico, and Poland. His scholarship has been recognized with several prestigious honors including the Individual Award from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education for his book about the 1997 Polish Flood. Dr Kaniasty is perhaps the foremost authority on post-disaster social support, having authored or co-authored numerous empirical and theoretical articles, chapters, and reports on the topic. He is the past editor of Anxiety, Stress and Coping: An International Journal, and president-elect of the Stress and Anxiety Research Society (STAR).

Professor Alfred Allan, Edith Cowan University

Abstract

Respect for the dignity of people and peoples: What does this mean in practice? (PDF, 119KB)   

Alfred Allan qualified, and practiced as both a lawyer and a psychologist and has taught law, psychology and professional ethics in Law, Medical and Psychology Schools in South Africa and Australia. He is a member of the inaugural Psychologists Board of Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). He has served on the boards of national professional organizations and is a past president of the of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Psychiatry, Psychology and Law and a past chair of the APS College of Forensic Psychologists, and the Ethics Committee of the APS. He is the recipient of a range of awards for this teaching, research and professional service. These include the 2010 Australian Psychological Society's President's Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology and the 2010 Australian Psychological Society's College of Forensic Psychologists' award for his important and significant contribution to the field of forensic psychology. He is on the editorial committee of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law and the editorial board of Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine. His current research interests are: Health and professional law, ethics, policy and practice; and Apology, forgiving and reconciliation.

Emeritus Professor Norman Feather, Flinders University

2011 Fellow's Address 

Abstract

Tall poppies, deservingness, and schadenfreude (PDF, 175KB) 

Professor Norm Feather has held academic positions at the University of New England and at Flinders University where he was the Foundation Professor of Psychology. He retired in 2000 but continues to be active in research at Flinders University. He is the author or editor of six books and well over 200 journal publications and book chapters that span research on achievement motivation, the psychology of values, expectancy-value theory, causal attribution and balance theory, the psychological impact of unemployment, "tall poppy" research, sex roles and, more recently, justice, deservingness, and emotions. He is a past President of the Australian Psychological Society and was awarded the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1998. He is the recipient of two Honorary Degrees, one from the University of New England and the other from Flinders University.

Scientia Professor Barbara Gillam, University of New South Wales

2010 Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award recipient

Abstract

Perception of occlusion in early renaissance and Australian Aboriginal art (PDF, 179KB) 

Barbara Gillam graduated from Sydney University with First Class Honours in Psychology during the now legendary days of O'Neil's headship. She did her PhD at ANU with Gavin Seagrim on stereoscopic vision, a field which she approached innovatively as perceptual rather than "sensory" She explored both theoretically and experimentally many hitherto neglected or unknown properties of this remarkable ability, most of which are now universally acknowledged as critical. Her approach can also be characterized as ecological. She briefly taught at the University of Reading UK before following her husband to New York where she was a Research Associate at Columbia University before moving on to an Associate Professorship then Professorship at SUNY College of Optometry, teaching vision science, especially binocular vision. She returned to Australia in 1986 to become Head of Psychology at UNSW where she was made a Scientia Professor in 2005. Professor Gillam has been active on ARC panels, APS committees and helped set up the Psychology Foundation of Australia to actively promote Psychology as a science within the discipline and profession. She is a Fellow of the APS (Australia), the Association for Psychological Science (USA) and the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia. Her theoretical and empirical interests have included space perception generally, geometric illusions, approaches to traditional Gestalt issues (including over many years visual grouping, figure-ground, illusory contours and perceptual completion) and most recently the representation of object occlusion in paintings, including those of the early renaissance and aboriginal art.

Dr Stephen Provost, Southern Cross University

Abstract

Teaching psychology in the age of the smart machine: Who, what, and how? (PDF, 235KB)   

Steve's involvement in the scholarship of teaching and learning began with enrolment in the new Graduate Certificate in Higher Education at UNSW, following the worst lecture ever experienced by first-year psychology students at Macquarie University. Studying for this degree convinced him that psychology had a great deal to offer which encouraged further involvement through grants from the Committee for Australian University Teaching with a number of colleagues while at the University of Newcastle. Somewhat later (2004 to be exact) he was given an opportunity to become involved in the Australian Universities' Teaching Committee Disciplinary Project with another fantastic team of colleagues led by Professor Ottmar Lipp. Since then he has experienced the most wonderful period of involvement with a huge cast of excellent, committed, and supportive educators, has seen the creation, through the project, of an Australian Psychology Educator's Network, and has been part of the team (led by Associate Professor Jacquelyn Cranney) involved in the establishment of the Teaching, Learning and Psychology Interest Group of the APS. Steve's interests in teaching and learning have largely focussed upon appropriate use of information technology in higher education, including the integration of commercial and home-built simulation software into laboratories and other parts of teaching programs. However working at Southern Cross University has also fostered a strong commitment to enhancing the educational experience of students in rural and regional Australia and more effectively broadening the reach of psychology. The development of converged delivery as a model for his units, has been extremely rewarding and enjoyable. Most recently he has been considering how to more fully exploit the nexus between psychological knowledge and teaching outcomes, particularly with respect to the acquisition of writing skills, and this will be the subject of a UniTas teaching grant collaboration with Associate Professor Frances Martin during 2011.