Media releases

• Brock expands cider certificate course offerings

  Thursday, February 07, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 7 February 2019 – R00019

  Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) continues to lead the way for the booming cider industry with the launch of the Advanced Certificate in Cider and Perry Production.

  The advanced-level courses were unveiled Thursday, Feb. 7 by the Cider Institute of North America (CINA) at CiderCon, an annual industry conference being held in Chicago. Brock University joined other CINA program providers, including Cornell and Washington State universities, in making presentations.

  The addition of the advanced courses builds on Brock’s offering of CINA’s Foundation Certificate in Cider and Perry Production offered each year by CCOVI.

  “Brock University is thrilled to bring the CINA program to the Canadian market and be a key player in driving the industry forward,” said Barb Tatarnic, CCOVI’s Manager of Continuing Education and Outreach. “As a program provider of the Foundation and now the Advanced level of certification, this is a critical step in setting widespread industry standards for the rapidly growing cider and perry industry.”

  In addition to being the only Canadian provider of the CINA courses, CCOVI also provides analytical testing services to help cider makers deliver the best product possible.

  “Brock played an instrumental role in developing the courses of the Advanced Certificate program, which is the first educational accreditation for cider makers in North America,” said Steven Trussler, the CINA-certified instructor in CCOVI’s cider program. “It builds upon the foundation certificate with a comprehensive program that is intended to take about three years to complete.”

  To date, around 100 students have earned the Foundation Certificate in Cider and Perry Production through CCOVI.

  “CINA’s curriculum development team represents leaders in the cider industry and partner academic institutions,” said CINA Executive Director Brighid O’Keane. “We’re pleased to announce training opportunities for cider makers to develop their technical skills and gain industry-recognized qualifications in cider and perry production.”

  Brock University will offer the following advanced-level courses: Science and Practice of Cider and Perry Production; GMP, Safety and Sanitation of Cider and Perry Production; Essential Sensory Analysis of Cider and Perry; and Essential Laboratory Testing of Cider and Perry.

  To find out more about CCOVI and upcoming courses, visit brocku.ca/ccovi

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Britt Dixon, Communications Officer, Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University bdixon@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4471

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

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock psychopathy and criminal justice experts available to discuss Bruce McArthur case

  Tuesday, February 05, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 5 February 2019 – R00018

  Horrific details are emerging in court as Bruce McArthur is being sentenced for his brutal murders of eight men between 2010 and 2017.

  The case brings up tough questions about McArthur’s sick, twisted mind and a criminal justice system that many say failed to act quickly enough.

  McArthur fits into the broad category of serial killers called “hedonistic,” says Brock University psychopathy and forensics expert Angela Book. Hedonistic killers tend to have violent sexual fantasies that they play out through their grisly murders, reflecting an element of sadism.

  These types of crimes are also more likely to be committed by psychopaths, who lack remorse and empathy, and are willing to exploit others for their own needs, says Book, Professor of Psychology.

  “Research from our lab suggests that psychopathic individuals share traits with predators in the animal world, including the ability to judge vulnerability in the people around them,” she says. “Psychopathic serial killers see their own fantasies as more important than the lives of their victims.”

  She notes that the 67-year-old landscaper is atypical of sexual serial killers, who tend to start their violent crimes in their 20s.

  “Interestingly, some are speculating that he may have started in the 1970s when 14 men were brutally murdered in Toronto,” says Book.

  Voula Marinos, Brock University’s crime and sentencing expert, says that bias could have played a role in the relatively long time the criminal justice system took to arrest and charge McArthur.

  She notes the presence of a “considerable historical tension between the LGBTQ community and the police in Toronto” and that, while McArthur took great pains to hide his crimes, “his activities did not go unnoticed.”

  “Calls of bias against gay men resulting from this case will hopefully lead to significant changes in policing and missing persons protocols,” says Marinos, Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies.

  Within the court itself, the extensive victim impact statements and use of consecutive sentences are meant to strongly condemn and denounce McArthur’s crimes, she says.

  “Consecutive sentences in this case are as much, if not more, for the public’s confidence in the justice system as they are for the offender,” says Marinos. “The public and victims’ families could benefit from the very public nature of the sentencing process and the lengths by which the judge has gone to ensure restorative justice is achieved, to the extent possible, for victims’ families and the LGBTQ community.”

  Voula Marinos, Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies, and Psychology Professor Angela Book are available for interviews

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

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

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  Categories: Media releases