Media releases

• Brock experts available to discuss issues of race, crime, discrimination in wake of US shootings

  Tuesday, July 12, 2016 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: R000147 – 8 July 2016

  Police shootings in the United States this week have re-ignited public outrage over racialized violence.
  Two Brock University experts are available to discuss issues of race, crime and the role of bystander video and social media.

  Sociology Professor Tamari Kitossa researches race, class and crime. Following the killing of two black men at the hands of police, Kitossa echoed the comments of US President Barak Obama who said the deaths are not isolated incidents but symptomatic of broader problems with the criminal justice system.

  “These are not rare, but the normal practices of police brutality. What’s remarkable of late is the democracy of technology. People are actually using technology to confirm their distrust of the police. These are the standard practices of the police and people are now using their phones and exposing it,” said Kitossa.

  In the last three years there have been many prominent cases of deaths of black men at the hands of police, resulting in public outrage and the Black Lives Matter movement.
  But, Kitossa said nothing has really changed.

  “Even with increasing public awareness, nothing will change unless citizens demand it from the political elite. Police do not answer to the citizenry.”

  Pointing to the civil rights movement, he said alliances and allegiances across race and class are needed to effect change and make police accountable.
  “Overwhelmingly, the police forces in North America are not reviewed by civilian oversight. The guardians of the police in society are police — it’s the thin blue line.”

  Canada isn’t immune to the racialized violence we see in the United States, Kitossa said.
  “Canadians have a tendency to look south and imagine that the excesses of violence in the US reflects a moral innocence about Canada so they don’t pay attention to the racism and violence in our own Canadian cities.”

  Popular Culture Professor Scott Henderson looks at social media and its role in public perception. The police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. and Philando Castile near St. Paul, Minn. have re-ignited public outrage over police brutality.

  Video played an important role in raising awareness about both killings — a bystander caught one on tape and the aftermath of the other was streamed live on Facebook.

  “We live in an era of immediacy,” Henderson said, noting the videos went viral and sparked a national conversation almost instantly. “It gives truth to eyewitness accounts and it casts doubt on the police in these cases,” he said, noting it’s clear from these cases and others in recent memory that there is a racial divide that impacts police reactions in interactions with black men.

  However, there is a danger in the “documentary truth” of bystander videos.

  “These things seem to give us an unmediated and direct truth about events, which can cloud potential other perspectives,” he explained. “The unfiltered nature of such media allows conjecture to become truth without the gatekeepers of traditional media so, as evident in other recent global events, immigration, race, religion all become causes – simple answers to far more complex issues.”

  Goodman School of Business Professor Lisa Barrow is an expert on bullying. She is available to comment on racism, discrimination, violence in the US and Black Lives Matter in connection with the Toronto Pride Parade.

  Tamari Kitossa can be reached by email at tkitossa@brocku.ca

  Scott Henderson can be reached by email at shender@brocku.ca

  Lisa Barrow can be reached by email at lbarrow@brocku.ca

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
  * Erica Bajer, Writer/Editor, Brock University ebajer@brocku.ca,
  905-688-5550 x4420
   
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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock experts available to weigh in on physical impacts of Tour de France

  Friday, July 01, 2016 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: R00145 – 30 June 2016

  It’s three weeks of torture that has been described as one of the hardest events in professional sports.

  The 103rd edition of the Tour de France starts Saturday, July 2 with 198 riders leaving the Grand Depart in Mont-Saint-Michel, France. By the time the race finishes on July 24 in Paris, the field will be significantly smaller.

  Competing in a Grand Tour event is a brutal experience according to a pair of Brock University researchers.

  Department of Kinesiology Chair and professor Brian Roy is a specialist in nutrition for high performance athletes. He has researched what it takes for a professional athlete to stay fueled during such a grueling event.

  Roy said riders can burn as many as 3,500 to 4,500 calories on each of the race’s 21 stages, not including what they use the rest of the day. That means they’ll need to eat the equivalent of 13-14 fast food hamburgers a day to keep up with demand.

  “These athletes have rather strict diets that are coordinated by their respective teams to try to keep them well-fueled,” Roy said. “Eating 6,000 to 7,000 calories of good quality food can be challenging, especially repeatedly day after day for 21 stages.”

  He said riders typically eat a carbohydrate-rich breakfast about three hours before each stage followed by a snack right before the start.
  “What they eat during the race depends on the specific stage and the weather conditions that are predicted for that given day,” he said. On-the-bike food ranges from pre-packaged bars and gels to small sandwiches.

  “After each stage, nutrition plays a critical role in recovery as the athletes have to get up the next morning and do it all again,” said Roy, explaining that post-stage food will include snacks right after the day is done, a large protein-rich dinner, dessert, evening snacks and plenty of fluids.

  Kinesiology professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Ergonomics Stephen Cheung specializes in the effect of extreme temperatures on the body. His extensive research specifically on high-performance athletes, including cyclists, has given him insight into how the summer temperatures will change the riders’ physiology, and what role hydration plays in their performance.

  “Everyone is affected by the heat, some to a greater extent than others,” said Cheung, who is the Sport Science and Training editor for Pez Cycling News and co-authored the book Cutting Edge Cycling about the science of the sport.
  He said the wide range of climates in a race that covers so much distance can have a devastating impact on riders.

  “If there is a sudden switch from cooler temperatures in the north of France at the start to down south where it’s hot, some people don’t adjust very quickly,” he said, adding that a rider’s performance can drop 10-15 per cent because of extreme temperatures.

  “It’s a logistical problem — day after day after day, it’s harder to refuel properly. The best riders are the ones who can recover the best. If you get behind the eight-ball because of the heat, the next day you will be starting off in a weaker state,” he said.

  Both Roy and Cheung will be available to the media for interviews at select times during the three-week Tour de France.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases