麻豆直播app

Top emerging 麻豆直播app scholars joining Royal Society of Canada鈥檚 new college

Barb Gibson
Barbara Gibson: 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited about it. It鈥檚 a great honour.鈥

A physical therapist involved in treating children with disabilities and an anthropologist studying animal activism may not seem to have much in common.

But at the heart of their research is a desire to change perceptions, to deepen discourse and disrupt or expand outmoded ways of thinking.

Today, physical therapist and bioethicist Barbara Gibson and anthropologist Naisargi Dave were among six 麻豆直播app scholars named by the Royal Society of Canada as members of its College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. See the full list of recipients below.

In 2014, the society decided it needed to create a special college to recognize and foster scholarly leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration among Canada鈥檚 鈥渘ew鈥 generation of scholars, artists and scientists who鈥檝e received their PhD within the last 15 years.

鈥淚t means a lot to be a part of it,鈥 said Dave, who is hoping to finish writing her second book this academic year. 鈥淚 was especially honoured that my senior colleagues sought fit to nominate me for this award.鈥

鈥淚鈥檓 really excited about it. It鈥檚 a great honour,鈥 added Gibson.

鈥淭he Royal Society of Canada is to be commended for their decision to recognize and support the work of Canada鈥檚 emerging scholars,鈥 said Vivek Goel, 麻豆直播app鈥檚 vice-president of research and innovation. 鈥淲e鈥檙e extremely proud of 麻豆直播app鈥檚 newest members of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists and look forward to seeing new collaborations and more exciting work from them as a result.鈥

Since publishing a book on queer activism in India, Dave (left, photo by Wan Park) has turned her attentions to animal-human relationships in the second most populous country in the world. Her research is challenging the commonly held notion that only upper class Westerners are concerned with animal welfare.

She鈥檚 also exploring how clashes between what are seen as normative actions (which value consistency and placing issues in context as 鈥済ood鈥) and non-normative actions (contradictions) play out in the animal rights activism sphere.

An example, she said, is how a vegetarian or vegan is often questioned about the contradictions in their conduct, e.g. not eating animals but wearing leather shoes. But 鈥渘ormative values rarely need to account for or explain themselves.鈥

In Gibson鈥檚 case, she鈥檚 pushing rehabilitation to expand its thinking beyond the confines of biomedicine to include newer areas of research that see disability less as a medical problem to solve and more of a social problem to tackle, e.g., I am disabled by my society, not by my body.

鈥淲hat I鈥檓 interested in is how do we think, talk and add this to the discussion in everyday practice in rehabilitation?鈥 said Gibson, a 麻豆直播app associate professor and senior scientist at Bloorview Research Institute at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where she directs the Critical Disability and Rehabilitation Studies unit.

As part of her research, Gibson has interviewed young people with cerebral palsy, aged eight to 19, to hear first-hand how they view their experiences in rehabilitation.

Gibson says that professionals can now predict fairly accurately the likelihood of an individual child with cerebral palsy will be able to walk in adulthood.  Nevertheless children continue to receive hours of therapy over several years.  While she agrees it鈥檚 important for children with cerebral palsy to work at strengthening their muscles and keeping fit, she cautions that focusing too much on walking detracts from other pursuits. 

鈥淭herapy  consumes a tremendous amount of energy, resources, time,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t leaves less time to just be a kid.鈥

In the research children were conflicted and ambivalent about the value of walking. When choosing whether to walk, crawl or wheel, they considered the amount of energy needed, the activity, the environment and their preferences. They didn鈥檛 necessarily see disability as a problem and expressed pride in the speed, colour or features of their wheelchairs. 

鈥淚鈥檓 not saying rehabilitation isn't valuable,鈥 Gibson said. 鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to do is encourage clinicians to promote acceptance of diverse bodies and abilities and have these conversations with parents and kids.鈥

The six 2016 麻豆直播app members of the Royal Society of Canada鈥檚 College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists are:

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

  • Hani Naguib, department of mechanical and industrial engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

  • Naisargi Dave, department of anthropology   
  • Stephen I. Wright, department of ecology and evolutionary biology                

Faculty of Medicine

  • Barbara Gibson, department of physical therapy and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Wolfgang Kuebler, department of surgery and St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital
  • Sharon Elizabeth Straus, department of medicine and St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital
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