McGill Expert Alert: Holiday sources

We suggest the following sources for your holiday stories:

Consumer/Shopping

robert.soroka [at] mcgill.ca (Robert Soroka)
Professor, Desautels Faculty of Management
Expertise: Retailing, marketing and consumer behaviour, cross-border shopping

sema.barlas [at] mcgill.ca (Sema Barlas)
Professor, Desautels Faculty of Management
Expertise: Marketing and the psychology of shopping: what influences consumer behaviour? Internet shopping

christopher.ragan [at] mcgill.ca (Christopher Ragan)
Professor, Department of Economics
Expertise: The impact of the high Canadian dollar on retail and manufacturing sectors

The Tradition of Gift Giving

shirley.steinberg [at] mcgill.ca (Shirley Steinberg)
Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
Expertise: The culture of "re-gifting"

donald.taylor [at] mcgill.ca (Donald M. Taylor)
Professor, Department of Psychology
Expertise: Social, personality

conrad.graham [at] mccord.mcgill.ca (Conrad Graham)
Curator, Visual Arts Collection, McCord Museum of Canadian History
Expertise: History of gift giving, historic gifts

"Over-gifting"/Appropriate Gifts for the Holidays

jeffrey.derevensky [at] mcgill.ca (Jeffrey Derevensky)
Professor, Faculty of Education, Co-Director, International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems & High-Risk Behavior

Toy Safety/Recalls

joe.schwarcz [at] mcgill.ca (Joe Schwarcz)
Professor, Department of Chemistry; Director, McGill Office for Science and Society
Expertise: Health issues and the application of chemistry in everyday life

Donating to Charity Rewards the Brain

Dr. Alain Dagher
Neurologist, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital; Professor, Department of Neuroscience, McGill University
Expertise: The function of dopamine
Contact via sandra.mcpherson [at] mcgill.ca (Sandra McPherson), Communications Officer, MNI

Grieving during the Holidays

estelle.hopmeyer [at] mcgill.ca (Estelle Hopmeyer)
Director, McGill Centre for Loss and Bereavement
Expertise: How to deal with the loss of a loved one despite constant reminders of holidays past

Holiday Depression/Suicide Rates

Dr. Johanne Renaud
McGill Group for Suicide Studies at the Douglas Hospital
Expertise: The phenomenon of "holiday blues" brought on by stress, fatigue, unrealistic expectations, commercialization and financial concerns
514-761-6131 ext. 3301

Holiday Weight Gain

laurette.dube [at] mcgill.ca (Laurette Dubé)
Professor, Desautels Faculty of Management; internationally respected professor in consumer and lifestyle psychology and marketing, food and health specialist, and founding chair and scientific director of the McGill University Integrative Health Challenge Think Tank
Expertise: The role of comfort foods in alleviating negative emotions; which ones men choose, which ones women choose and why

baerbel.knaeuper [at] mcgill.ca (Baerbel Agnes Knaeuper)
Professor, Department of Psychology
Expertise: How individuals make food-related judgments, compensatory behaviour, whether post-holiday crash diets work

catherine.sabiston [at] mcgill.ca (Catherine Sabiston)
Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education
Expertise: Body image, popular culture

Food Safety

judy.campbell-gordon [at] mcgill.ca (Judy Campbell Gordon)
Dietician/Food Lab Coordinator, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition
Expertise: How to prepare food safely, contamination risks

Healthy Food Choices during the Holidays

louise.thibault [at] mcgill.ca (Louise Thibault)
Professor, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition
Expertise: Smart food choices, avoiding winter weight gain

Food Chemistry

ariel.fenster [at] mcgill.ca (Ariel Fenster)
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Expertise: The chemistry behind alcoholic hangovers and "turkey hangovers"; the effect of eating chocolate on mood

Spirituality

ellen.aitken [at] mcgill.ca (Ellen Aitken)
Dean, Faculty of Religious Studies
Expertise: The spiritual meaning of the holiday season beneath the commercialism

Christianity and the Christmas season

patricia.kirkpatrick [at] mcgill.ca (Patricia Kirkpatrick)
Professor, Faculty of Religious Studies
Expertise: Biblical historiography