The festive season is upon us and researchers at the University of British Columbia are available to shed light on:
HAPPINESS AND STRESS
Mark Holder, Psychology
Tel: 250.807.8728 (Only available until Dec. 12)
Email: mark.holder@ubc.ca
- Enhancing happiness over the holidays
- Children and happiness
Maxine Crawford, PhD student – Psychology
Tel: 778.475.1801
Email: maxcrawford@shaw.ca
- Stress during the holidays
- Exposure to nature and reducing stress during the holidays
- Human connection to nature
CHRISTMAS TREES
Steve Mitchell, Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 604.822.4591
Email: stephen.mitchell@ubc.ca
- Sustainable Christmas trees: pros and cons of different types
- Christmas tree industry in British Columbia
- UBC student-run Forestry Undergraduate Christmas Tree Farm
SHOPPING, MARKETING, AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Katherine White, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.827.3711
Email: katherine.white@sauder.ubc.ca
- Eating and the holidays: People eat more when they are offered multiple smaller portions than if they are given larger portions
- Why fashionistas steer clear of copycats
- Consumer psychology – what makes us choose certain items
JoAndrea (Joey) Hoegg, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.827.4541
Email: joey.hoegg@sauder.ubc.ca
- What triggers our senses when we’re shopping
- Impact of product design
Darren Dahl, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8346
Email: darren.dahl@sauder.ubc.ca
- Advertising, consumer behaviour, crowd sourcing
- Shoppers’ response to sales person’s flattery or similarity
Juliet Zhu, Sauder School of Business
Email: juliet.zhu@sauder.ubc.ca (Only available by email)
- Effects of shopping environment, consumer psychology
- Impact of colours on brain, receptivity to advertising
SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE HOLIDAYS
Christopher Schneider, Sociology
Tel: 250.807.8094
Email: christopher.schneider@ubc.ca (best method of contact)
Web: http://www.chrisschneider.org/
- Social media do’s and don’ts for Christmas parties
- How social media is changing social expectations around global holidays and events
- Pope Benedict XVI begins using Twitter on December 12 – what does this mean for Christmas?
FOOD, FEASTING, HEALTH
Gwen Chapman, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Tel:604.822.6874 (only available until Dec. 19)
Email: gwen.chapman@ubc.ca
- Food practices, social roles, meaning of festive food rituals
- Sustainable eating during the holidays
Kevin Allen, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Tel: 604.822.4427
Email: kevin.allen@ubc.ca
- How to avoid giving your dinner guests food poisoning
- Food microbiology, food safety
- E. coli contamination, foodborne illnesses
CHRISTIANITY AND CHRISTMAS
John Stackhouse Jr.
Regent College at UBC
Email: jgs@regent-college.edu
Blog: http://www.johnstackhouse.com/weblog/
- Is “Buy Nothing Christmas” a Christian idea, or an anti-Christian one?
- Should Christmas be a statutory holiday?
- What does Santa Claus have to do with Jesus?
- What is the true meaning of Christmas?
- What is the role of Jesus in Christianity?
- Why do the birth narratives in the Gospels not agree with each other?
David Gillen, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604. 822.8352 (Only available until Dec. 16)
Email: david.gillen@sauder.ubc.ca
- Increased cost of flights during the holidays
- Travel trips and risk planning for holiday travel, i.e. choose flights that depart from hub airports
WORKPLACE DYNAMICS
Karl Aquino, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822.8378 or 604.786.9384
Email: karl.aquino@sauder.ubc.ca
- Awkward Christmas office parties. Dynamics with coworkers: domination, envy, isolation
- Stories about uncommon acts of goodness make good people even better
- The importance of forgiveness during the holidays
DECEMBER 2012 APOCALYPSE AND THE MAYAN CALENDAR
Marvin Cohodas, Art history and Visual Art
Email: mcohodas@mail.ubc.ca (available after December 11)
- Ancient Maya history, arts and rituals
- Contemporary Maya ritual arts
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