UM researchers have received $955,927 in Insight Grant project funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Insight Grants support research in its initial stages in the social sciences and humanities sector. Funding is available for research initiatives of two to five years in length to provide stable, long-term support.
"These projects will help understand human thought and behaviour and advance the UM strategic priority for fundamental research underlying all advances of clinical, scientific, economic and societal value," said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice President (Research and International) at the University of Manitoba. "I congratulate these five leading innovators, whose fundamental threads serve as a foundation upon which future inter- and multi- disciplinary themes can be built."
UM 2024 Insight Grant recipients include:
Dr. Lara Rosenoff Gauvin, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Seeking Rest for the Ancestors Once More: Loving and Proactive Rematriation from the University of Manitoba
Emerging from the University of Manitoba's ongoing Respectful Rematriation and Repatriation Ceremony, this work will facilitate the respectful and loving return of Indigenous Ancestors to descendant Nations and communities according to their own protocols, laws, and sovereignties. The removal, acceptance, and continued holding of Ancestors by and in Canadian heritage institutions is an undeniable and stark reminder of institutional complicities in genocidal policies against Indigenous people in Canada. With this work, Rosenoff Gauvin and the team hope to not only reddress these grave human rights abuses, but to provoke necessary institutional introspection and transformation that can begin to atone for the violence.
Changqiu Yu, Assistant Professor and CPA Research Fellowship, Accounting & Finance Department, Asper School of Business
Carbon Emissions, Environmental Transition Risks, and Firm Valuation: Evidence from Financial Analysts
Climate change is a critical global issue, and there is an urgent need to mitigate global warming by significantly reducing carbon emissions. Companies with higher emissions face greater transition risks to a low-carbon economy, however, there is little understanding on how such emissions information is incorporated into firm valuations. This research program aims to fill this gap by studying how financial analysts incorporate carbon emissions into firm valuations, particularly since analysts often explicitly include both cash flow and discount rate forecasts in their reports.
Jessica Cameron, Professor, Department of Psychology
Friends-First Initiation as a Foundation for Egalitarian and Satisfying Romantic Relationships
Longstanding inequities in power that exist within many romantic relationships threaten the ability to fulfill their basic human needs, increase their risk of violence and undermine health and well-being. Recent research by Cameron reveals that the most prevalent method of relationship initiation today is transition from long-term friendship, however, this form of relationship initiation has been virtually ignored by relationship scientists. Cameron seeks to investigate equity-relevant factors that different paths to romance nurture to enhance our understanding of the emergence of romance within a platonic friendship.
Fenton Litwiller, Associate Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management
Genderplay, gender euphoria and contexts of oppressions: Experiences of queer youth in central Canada
For queer youth, the challenge of living in a queer-phobic society and seeing themselves predominantly represented in trauma-centered ways can constrain opportunities to explore their identities in positive ways. This project responds to this singular narrative by using drag performance as a participatory research context to understand 2SLGBTQIA+ youth experiences. Litwiller (they/them) collaborates with queer organizations to host genderplay workshops in underserved locations in Manitoba. Within this context, they investigate the potential of genderplay to facilitate joyful experiences for queer youth within the context of intersecting oppressions.
Jieying Chen, Associate Professor Business Administration
Immigrants' proactive socialization tactics, adaptation, and career success
Many studies have found that people immigrating to Canada have poor employment outcomes when compared with those born in the country. This research seeks to identify and understand contributing psychological and behavioral factors by focusing on newcomers' initial adaptation process, which has profound implications for their employment success in the long run. This research will use a lens of individual proactivity in understanding immigrant workplace experiences to highlight socialization tactics and evaluate the success of intervention programs.
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.
