Knowledge domains | Faculty of Health Sciences

Socio-cultural

Socio-cultural analyses of physical activity and sport constitute a fundamental dimension of Human Kinetics. Scholars in this area examine the issues, debates, and social problems associated with physical activity and sport by using theories and approaches from sociology, anthropology, history and political science. Members of this group are frequently called upon by the media to comment on and to provide advice pertaining to various social issues, including social inequalities and health, obesity and sedentary lifestyles, and sport violence and ethics.

Research areas

The role of physical activity and sport in international development and international cooperation
The role of sport and games in community building
Young people’s, adults’, and elderly people’s participation in physical activity and sport
Women, physical activity and health
The body, inequality and health
Indigenous people’s involvement in physical activity and sport
Indigenous food practices and health

Members

Employment opportunities

Our graduates have found employment in many domains:

Research (University research centres, public health agencies, organizations that promote participation in physical activity and sport)
Sport and physical activity development at national, provincial, and local levels
Organizations involved in injury prevention
Communication (journalism, researcher, public relations)
Community and social development

Leisure

Leisure Studies courses, which involve the integration of knowledge from many different disciplines, examine leisure as a social and cultural phenomenon, investigate leisure behaviour, consider the delivery and management of leisure services, and explore the ecological impacts of leisure.

Careers in Recreation and Leisure:

Work as a leisure programmer or a program evaluator
Work in the tourism, culture, arts, or environment/conservation industries
Work as a policy advisor or manager for different levels of government
Work as a leisure specialist with at-risk populations

Leisure Studies Professors

Alexandra Arellano Indigenous studies, tourism, community development
Audrey Giles Indigenous health, community-based research
François Gravelle Education & psychosocial aspects of leisure
Paul Heintzman Outdoor recreation & parks, leisure & spirituality
George Karlis Leisure, multiculturalism & society, volunteerism
Eileen O’Connor History of sport & medicine, experiential learning

Sport management is about the planning, organizing, leading, controlling, and governance of sport organizations, systems, and events.

Description

Governance of sport organizations, systems and events
Marketing, branding, and ambush marketing of sport organizations and events
Social and economic impacts, legacies, and leveraging of sports events
Athlete development and experience in major sports events
Leadership and organizational culture in sport organizations

Careers

Research and teaching
Manager or director of a local, provincial or national sport or recreation organization …
Manager in a municipal, provincial or national recreation or sport department
Fitness centre manager
University athletics department manager
Manager in a professional sport organization (e.g., sport team or golf course)
Manager for sport apparel companies (e.g., Nike and The North Face)
Sport marketing agency
Sport management or marketing consulting

Members

Research/teaching awards

Milena Parent:

Government of Ontario Early Researcher Award;
North American Society for Sport Management Research Fellow

Marijke Taks:

2005 and 2010 Special Recognition Award University of Windsor Celebration of Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity, University of Windsor, Canada, Ontario;
1996 Mgr. Boymans Award (Social Research Excellence Award, Mr. Boymans Foundation, Netherlands).

Research projects and opportunities

1. National Sport Organization Landscape Study on Governance, Branding, and Social Media

The study's purpose is to understand the interrelationships between governance, brand and social media in Canadian national sport organizations (NSOs). We use a mixed methods approach, starting with a landscape study (online survey) of Sport Canada-funded NSOs, followed by in depth interviews with a sample of NSOs. We will then assist NSOs to align and maximize their governance, brand and social media practices through a knowledge translation/transfer workshop and webinar. This study's findings offers NSO directors and managers recommendations on how to govern their brand and social media activities in order to maximize benefits for their various clients and stakeholders.

Student research project opportunities are available for this project.

2. Athlete Experience at the Youth Olympic Games

In collaboration with the International Olympic Committee, this study examines the longitudinal impact of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) on its participants. The project includes three parts:

Part 1: To determine the impact of previous YOG participation on key stakeholders (young athletes, reporters, ambassadors and athlete role models);

Part 2: To understand the athlete experience pertaining to the learning environment; and

Part 3: To understand the young athletes’ intentions to continue along the high-performance pathway. This is intended to capture the athletes’ desires to attend future events or determine if they are no longer interested in pursuing high-performance and why.

3. Building Capacity for Sport Participation through Events

The overall aim of the research project is to assist Local Sport Organizations’ (LSOs) to build capacity to increase sport participation opportunities with and without events. Our previous research has shown that capacity building must take place well in advance of an event so that the necessary skills and resources are adequately established prior to the event. To that end, phase one of the project consists of: (1) benchmarking LSOs’ capacities (e.g., funding, human resources) to deliver their sport programs; and, (2) investigating LSOs’ willingness and readiness to build capacity and implement change to recruit and retain new participants. LSOs are invited to participate in the study either with, or without an event.

Student research project opportunities are available for this project.

4. Commonwealth Sport University Network: Games Related Research Portfolio

Through a working collaboration with the Commonwealth Games Federation, students have the opportunity to research a number of different aspects related to the events, the impact the events have on the athletes and community and other outcomes of the Commonwealth Sport Movement. The identified priorities for this research include coach and athlete development, sport and reconciliation, inclusion and diversity in sport and, leadership development.

There are a number of student research projects available for this project.

5. Socio-economic Impacts of Sport Events

In this line of research, we examine economic, tourism, social and sport participation impacts of different types of sport events (e.g., large/small; spectator/competitor; uni-sport/multi-sport; national/international) to maximize positive and minimize negative outcomes from hosting events.

Student research project opportunities are available for this project.

Through our theoretical and applied research and our applied consulting in the field we aim to understand, promote and enhance physical activity, quality of life, learning, and performance and the processes that facilitate these important outcomes. Our work is conducted with various populations ranging from diseased and aging individuals to underprivileged youth to elite performers to physical education teachers and coaches.

Members

Psychology of physical activity
Jennifer Brunet
Michelle Fortier

Sport and performance psychology and consultation
Natalie Durand-Bush
Brad Young
Diane Culver

Pedagogy in sport and physical education
Martin Camiré
Pierre Trudel
Brad Young
Diane Culver

Continued education options and Careers stemming from our domain

Teacher’s college
Students can enter Teacher’s College within a Faculty of Education with a focus on Physical and Health Education.

Graduate studies

Students interested in conducting research on the psychology or pedagogy of physical activity or sportcan pursue a Masters with thesis or a Doctoral degree. Students most interested in consultation/counseling can pursue an applied Masters degree without thesis.

Career Options

Studies in the psychology and pedagogy of physical activity and sport domain can prepare students for employment within sport organizations, public health systems, and private fitness facilities. Students can achieve trained status in certain contexts of the National Coaching Certification Program of the Coaching Association of Canada.

Teaching

Students can work in private and/or public organizations that involve the teaching of physical activity programs and enhanced mental skills for populations (e.g., children, adolescents, adults, elderly) in settings such as Schools, Hospitals, the Boys and Girls Club, Community Health Centres, Campus Recreation Departments, Daycares, Residences, Resorts, Summer Camps, and YMCA.

Highlights

We are the largest Psychology and pedagogy of physical activity and sport faculty group in North America
Most of our professors have been and\or are SSHRC funded
Our consultants work with Olympic athletes and other high level performers
We have a cutting edge training and research center “Training Centre for Intervention and Consultation in Sport, Physical Activity, and Health” (TCICSPAH) which is intended to provide professional students with the best opportunities to learn and develop requisite skills for consultation and intervention in various contexts.

This group is interested in the biomechanical and physical basis of human motion and the effects of forces on the human body. Current research programs cover a breadth of areas in biomechanics including joint biomechanics, novel technologies for human movement analysis, neuromuscular control, balance and posture, ergonomics, and head injury biomechanics. Through ongoing projects, this group seeks to understand and improve human mobility in healthy, elderly, pathological, athlete, and occupational populations. Labs are equipped with novel technology that allows the dynamics of human movement to be precisely captured and investigated. Combining this with advanced computational methods provides a means to better understand the neuro-musculoskeletal system and its disorders and treatments as well as to develop standards and technologies to prevent injuries in the workplace, sport, and everyday life.

Important collaborations exist with local area hospitals and community-based organizations, government agencies, leading research teams nationally and globally, private industry partners, and more.

Members

Careers enabled by specialization in Biomechanics

Ergonomics and Occupational Biomechanics
Training/Coaching
Motion Analysis/Animation
Sport/Equipment Testing
Product Design and Optimization
Gait Assessment
Biomedical Engineering
Data Science
Physiotherapy
Medicine

Research/Teaching grants and funding

R. Graham, University Research Chair, Ontario Early Research Award (ERA), Canadian Society for Biomechanics Promising Young Investigator, NSERC, CIHR, Government of Canada, Private Industry
T. Blaine Hoshizaki, Industry grant funded.
Jing Xian Li, CIHR, SSHRC and industry grant funding.
Julie Nantel, Ontario ERA, NSERC, Parkinson Canada, Weston Brain Institute, CIHR

Motor control

This domain group is interested in the neural and psychological basis of how humans adapt, control and learn skilled movement. Current research covers a wide range of topics in sensorimotor control, skill acquisition, and posture control by examining performance in normal, elderly and pathological populations. Several important collaborations exist with local area hospitals, other departments on campus and research institutes.

Several important collaborations exist with local area hospitals, other departments on campus and research institutes.

Members

Careers enabled by specialization in Motor Control and Learning

Ergonomics
Training/Coaching
Clinical psychology
Physiotherapy
Occupational therapy
Motion Analysis/Animation
Medicine

Physiology

This domain group investigates the physiological basis associated with a variety of human conditions. The two primary research areas are energy balance, and human thermoregulation. Current research programs include:

Understanding the contribution of certain physiological and endocrine factors to obesity.
The effects of different factors (i.e. nutrition, eating behaviour, environmental pollutants, energetic supplements and physical activity on energy balance and adipose tissue-derived proteins involved in the control of body weight control and insulin sensitivity.
Understanding how humans orchestrate metabolic fuel selection to improve chances of survival and increase performance in adverse environmental conditions such as changing climates and important modifications of dietary behaviour.
Studying the impact of physical activity in the maintenance of weight loss and glycemic control in type 2 diabetics.
Understanding the thermal and non-thermal factors influencing the control of sweating and skin blood flow and core temperature regulation during and following exercise and/or work in the heat.
Advancing modeling efforts that predict human thermoregulatory responses, fatigue and tolerance during heat and cold stress
Understanding the cellular and molecular networks responsible for adaptations to exercise
Examining the impact of maternal behaviours, and intrauterine exposures on the promotion of optimum health focusing on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) paradigm