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UWindsor researchers have been awarded close to $500,000 for seven projects that will advance understanding of workplaces, addiction services, psychology, the consumer aspects surrounding female fertility, education, and film and theatre.
Social work professor Adrian Guta, history professor Steven Palmer, and School of Dramatic Art professor Michelle MacArthur have been awarded Insight Grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Education professor Naved Bakali, business professors Yanhong Li and Hajar Fatemi, and psychology professor Alexander Daros have been awarded SSHRC Insight Development grants. These grants range in value from nearly $52,000 to $92,000.
Insight Development grants differ from Insight Grants in that they support research in its early stages. Insight grants are intended to allow academics to expand their research, deepening understanding of societal challenges.
The funding to UWindsor researchers was part of more than $123 million in Insight and Insight Development grants recently announced by the federal government.
“Today, we celebrate the remarkable researchers, students and institutions set to benefit from this vital funding,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry. “The government of Canada will continue to empower them by providing the resources and opportunities to advance their groundbreaking work. By investing in their growth and development, we are reinforcing Canada’s leadership in global research and innovation and paving the way for a more prosperous and sustainable future for everyone.”
Shanthi Johnson, UWindsor vice-president, research and innovation, said SSHRC funding is crucial to expanding understanding of Canadian society and the world. In addition to the solid and committed work of our researchers, Dr. Johnson recognized SSHRC coordinator Natasha Wiebe from the research and innovation team who worked alongside each of these researchers to put forward the best application to enhance their chances of success.
“The UWindsor projects being funded through SSHRC’s Insight and Insight Development programs are indicative of the diversity of research, innovation, and creative activity being undertaken at our institution,” Johnson said. “We are truly grateful to the federal government for supporting this important work through SSHRC.”
Dr. Guta will study the surveillance of people who use drugs and how the data collected from and about them may pose a barrier to accessing healthcare and harm reduction services. His team of researchers will study the key issues and trends in surveillance and interview harm reduction stakeholders about their views on these trends. They will also interview people who use drugs about their lived experience of being surveilled.
Dr. Palmer’s project involves analysis of art with medical themes. He will focus on Miracles of Modern Medicine, a multi-media production that left audience members passed out in their seats at Expo ’67 where it was screened. The production was the first instance of a live birth being shown to a public audience on a large screen and in colour. Palmer will produce not only a film on the historic documentary, but articles and a book.
Dr. MacArthur’s project will focus on the changing landscape of theatre criticism in light of declining arts coverage in mainstream media, the rise of digital technologies, and advocacy efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion within the theatre industry. She will analyze how artists and audiences engage with theatre criticism and how they might be mobilized to re-imagine more sustainable and equitable models of criticism.
Dr. Bakali’s project will analyze how prepared pre-service teachers are to work with Muslim students from kindergarten to Grade 12. His team will look at how teacher training programs prepare or do not prepare students, how issues of race and racism are addressed in these programs, and what training is or is not provided to understand the lived realities of Muslim students.
Dr. Li’s project will focus on factors that encourage or discourage, facilitate or hinder employees from engaging in morally courageous behaviours such as speaking up about unethical behaviour in the workplace when they see it. The research will provide insights for organizations and managers to cultivate moral courage in their employees.
Dr. Fatemi’s project will be one of the first to explore consumer psychology and female age-related infertility. After conducting consumer surveys and experimental studies, her research will provide solutions for improving the status of information communication about age-related female fertility preservation solutions available to women in Ontario.
All seven projects will involve teams that include undergraduate and graduate students, training the next generation of scholars and researchers.
Courtesy: https://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2024-09-18/funding-supports-exploration-societal-challenges
