Five faculty in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences are among the 11 University of Guelph faculty named as recipients of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council [1] (SSHRC) Insight Development Grants [2].
Research in the social sciences and humanities is key to addressing pressing economic, cultural, social, environmental and technological issues. SSHRC, the federal research funding agency that supports and promotes research and training in the humanities and social sciences, funds research excellence that will build valuable knowledge with which to inform the research community and the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Insight Development Grants are competitive grants offered by SSHRC to support research in its initial stages. They enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approach and/or ideas.
Congratulations to the following CSAHS faculty who have received these grants to investigate their compelling research questions:
Dr. Andrea Breen [3], Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition (FRAN) with U of G co-applicants Dr. Carla Rice [4] and Dr. Lauren Van Patter [5]
Family Care Work in Interspecies Homes. Dr. Breen’s research will shed light on the relationships between dogs and humans to better understand the experiences of caring for pets who are sick, injured or struggling with behavioural problems as well as the contributions of dogs within families and the potential for closer dog-human relationships.
Dr. Elisabeth Militz [6], Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics with U of G co-applicant Dr. Roberta Hawkins [7]
Feminist social media research methodologies. Although feminist research methodologies are often concerned with face-to-face methods and their relationality, emotion and power-dynamics, research over social media platforms takes place in an impersonal and disembodied space. Dr. Militz’s research aims to get a nuanced understanding of feminist social media research experiences in order to advance change towards socially just ways of researching social media spaces.
Dr. Karine Gagné [8], Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Domesticating Wildness: snow leopard conservation in the Himalayan Anthropocene. Looking at the conservation of snow leopards, Dr. Gagné’s research will examine the commodification of the snow leopard and snow leopard tourism on the local Indian Himalayan communities and the role played by conservation organizations. This research hopes to inform the future of species conservation efforts and shed light on their ramifications on marginalized populations.
Dr. Susan Chuang [9], Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition (FRAN)
The complexities of separation, divorce, child custody and the aftermath: Fathers’ perspectives and lived experiences. Dr. Chuang’s research plans to delve into the psychological impact that fathers experience as they go through difficult situations such as divorce, conflict, inter-partner violence and being separated from their children. The results can then be used in order to inform policymakers in creating programs that meet the needs of fathers and inform the family justice system.
Dr. Deborah Powell [10], Department of Psychology
Impression management in resumes: Effects on human and AI decision makers. In order to better understand how job applicants can craft a resume that will get them hired, Dr. Powell’s research will explore the resume techniques that job applicants use to stand out, as well as the components that hiring managers believe make a good resume. From that research, she will develop an intervention to teach job applicants how to honestly use impression management tactics on their own resumes and test its effectiveness.