ort VoL. 2S, N ° S NOVEMBER 9, 2000 http://pr.concordia.ca/ ctr/

The new Age of Energy Men's rugby team wins second provincial title in two years Teaching teachers page 3 page 11 page 2 The Hall Building's face-lift begins New Jab's voiceprint technology will be boon to language learners

he Faculty of Arts and Sci­ istrator, who will oversee the area been refined to the point where Portuguese. French is taught 961 three years ago, or a 53-per­ Tence is about to create a state­ and provide training for users. pronunciation can be minutely through the Departement des cent leap. Enrolment in the Ger­ of-the-art learning centre in the Andrew McAusland, the Facul­ tracked through voice imprinting. Etudes fran<;aises, and the others man program has declined by 20 Henry F. Hall Building. The pro­ ty's Director of Academic Tech­ With the software planned for through the Classics, Modern Lan­ per cent, but that has been offset ject involves the renovation and nology, is overseeing the Hall this learning lab, any language can guages and Linguistics (CMLL) by a 20-per-cent increase in inter­ rewiring of four classrooms on the Building project. He said that the be taught. Lessons can be cus­ Department. Th~ lab will also be est in the Italian program. fourth floor, and construction will language laboratory, the largest tomized by the professor, and stu­ used by the Centre for the Teach­ Derek Cassoff, the Faculty com­ likely start as soon as the Decem­ component of the new area, will dents will be able to access their ing of English as a Second Lan­ munications officer who supplied ber exams are over. have the latest in voiceprint tech­ courses from home. guage (TESL) . these figures, said, "I think these The renovated area will include nology and will revolutionize the Interest in learning modem lan­ Since 1997, enrolment in the numbers demonstrate the rise in a multimedia classroom with way languages are taught at Con­ guages has been steadily growing. CMLL modern languages pro­ popularity of language instruction, video-conferencing facilities, a cordia. Concordia offers degree programs grams have jumped by 30 per and explain, in part, the need for language laboratory, and an Inter­ Language learners have been in French, Spanish, Italian and cent. The biggest increase is in a modem language lab ." net facility. In addition, there will using audio tapes for more than German, and courses in English as Spanish, where 1,470 students are be an office for a full-time admin- 30 years, but the technology has a foreign language, Russian and currently in the program, up from ... please see HALL, page 4 Suzanne Erb wins Governor-General's Gold Medal

he Governor-General's Gold doing behavioural work in rats, received from Dr. Stewart has been behaviour." TMedal for 2000 will go to studying the reinforcing and aver­ pivotal in developing my thinking, This work may have important Suzanne Erb, a recent PhD in psy­ sive properties of drugs of abuse. not only about issues relating clinical implications. "The findings chology, and, like last year's gold­ She spent three absorbing years in directly to substance abuse, but suggest that consideration of CRF medal winner, a student of Jane Dr. Parker's lab. also about issues more generally and NE systems in medications Stewart at Concordia's Centre for "I became very interested in the relevant to our understanding of Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology. issue of drug-induced sensitization; psychopathology, motivation, and ... please see ERB, page 5 When Dr. Erb defended her the­ that is, the enhancement in the sis last February, the external magnitude of drug-induced behav­ examiner, Terry E. Robinson, of iours and neurochemical events From the Art Gallery's permanent collection_ the University of Michigan, wrote, that occur with prior, repeated "In all aspects, this is an outstand­ exposure to the drug." This interest ing thesis. Indeed, it is probably of time working with mentally and broughr her to the lab of Jane Stew­ one of the very best I have had the physically challenged children and art here at Concordia University, pleasure to read in my 22 years as adults in the community, and was where she did her graduate work. a professor at the University of enthusiastic about the prospect of a "The work that I did for my dis­ Michigan. Ms . Erb, her mentor, career in community service. sertation relates directly to Dr. Professor Stewart, and Concordia "In my first year of undergrad at Stewart's own work; it was done have every reason to be proud." Trent University, I took intro­ within the scope of her larger The thesis was called Stress­ ductory psychology and, much to research program on relapse and Induced Relapse to Cocaine Seeking my surprise, was completely substance abuse." in the Rat: Contributions of Central enthralled by the lectures and "I had a fantastic experience at Nervous System Corticotropin readings on the brain and behav­ Concordia," Erb said. "I feel Releasing Factor and Noradrenaline. iour and communication in the extremely fortunate to have had "My interest in psychology central nervous system." the opportunity to study and inter­ developed very early," Erb related She transferred to Sir Wilfrid act with researchers at the CSBN in an e-mail interview from the Laurier University, and was soon who are nationally and internation­ Echoes of poetry University of Michigan. given the opportunity to work as a ally recognized. This fragile, mysterious drawing was inspired by a line of French "Throughout high school [in summer research assistant. Her "ln particular, the extraordinary poetry. Who are the artist and the poet? See page 10. Waterloo, Ont.], I had spent a lot instructor, Dr. Linda Parker, was training and guidance that I

FALL CONVOCATION · MOLSON CENTRE 10 AM · HONORARY DOCTORATES SEE PAGE 5 Intergenerational study holds hope for resilient kids and parents But the children of "problem children" face many challenges

BY )ANICE HAMILTON have IQ scores below 85, meaning they will probably continue to have new study stemming from a developmental delays. Very few of A long-term Concordia project these problems had been identified involving inner-city families shows by health professionals prior to the that a surprisingly large number of study. the children have serious language An additional 11 per cent were and developmental problems, even experiencing serious family prob­ at the preschool level, says Psy­ lems, such as parental alcoholism, Sara Weinberg, Director of Student Training for ECEE in the Department of Education. chology Professor Lisa Serbin, of which indicates that these children the Centre for Research in Human may be at risk for problems in the Development. future. A third also had health Teachers of children The report looks at children of problems, such as frequent ear the original participants, examining infections, heart problems, and how health and psycho-social risk other serious conditions. More boys get their start here factors can be passed from one than girls had behavioural, devel­ generation to the next. It also looks opmental and/or health problems. BY ALYSON GRANT a lot of hard work, but at the resiliency factors that allow While Serbin acknowledges it is when we come out of children to do well, despite their not surprising that problems reap­ 600-page government publi­ ECEE we have a very disadvantaged backgrounds. pear in successive generations, the Acation called The Quebec good grasp of children's The project began in 1976 as a degree was surprising, as were the Education Program landed on the needs, in terms of writing longitudinal study of the health severity of some of the problems, desk of Concordia's Early Child­ lesson plans and teach­ and development of 1,770 children and how early they were visible. hood and Elementary Education ing," he said. attending French-language elemen­ On the positive side, 4 7 per cent program (ECEE) this year. ECEE's teachers deserve tary schools in inner-city Montreal. of the children are not having The docum