York University researchers will explore new questions, methods and ideas in the social sciences and humanities with more than $1.7 million in federal funding to support early-stage projects over the next two years.
Emerging and established scholars at York University will lead 34 projects awarded Insight Development Grants from Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
The Insight Development Grant program provides short-term funding for early-stage research projects lasting up to two years. The program supports smaller-scale initiatives and encourages innovation and experimentation. Projects can include pilot studies, case analyses and collaborative projects that advance knowledge within or across disciplines.
"The Insight Development Grant awards exemplify the outstanding calibre and creativity of York University's research community," says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. "This significant federal investment enables our social sciences and humanities scholars to pursue bold questions and innovative explorations that respond to complex societal challenges. Congratulations to all York researchers whose innovative efforts have been awarded with this competitive and impactful funding."
Funded projects encompass a broad spectrum of research aimed at addressing critical societal issues including studies on intersectional barriers in abortion care, the lived experiences of refugees and advancements in gender diversity in leadership positions.
Additionally, researchers will explore historical narratives through digital visualizations, examine the impacts of AI on corporate ethics and investigate the socio-economic implications of anti-poverty policies in India.
Other notable projects focus on the intersection of technology and beauty in historical contexts, the economic dynamics within the bond market and the exploration of education theories within broader cultural frameworks.
Below is a list of York University recipients, representing the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, the Faculty of Health, the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, the Faculty of Science, Osgoode Hall Law School, the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design and the Schulich School of Business. Note that all projects are funded over two years unless otherwise stated.
Gemechu Abeshu, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Refugees Resettled in Canada through the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot
Funding: $62,498
Hassan Ahmad, Osgoode Hall Law School
Project: Judicial Lawmaking in the New Frontiers of Canadian Corporate Social Litigation
Funding: $50,398
Kelly Bergstrom, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Context Collisions and Critical Events: Investigating the True Crime Convention Circuit
Funding: $73,181
Sheetala Bhat, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Long-distance Gods: Hindu Nationalism and the South Asian Diasporas in Canada
Funding: $65,433
Sarah Blake, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Technologies of Beauty and Enslaved Practitioners in the Graeco-Roman World
Funding: $67,215
Lina Brand Correa, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Project: Floors and Ceilings: Minimum and Maximum Household Energy Uses for Just Climate Action in Canada with a Focus on Ontario
Funding: $72,235
Jessica Campbell, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Project: Lifeline: Mediumship, AI, and Leveraging Death for Power
Funding: $68,408
Amanda De Lisio, Faculty of Health
Project: Urban Geographies of Abortion Care: Exploring Intersectional Barriers and Community-Based Support in the Greater Toronto Area
Funding: $75,000 (funded over one year)
Zeyad El Nabolsy, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Theories of Education in Nineteenth-Century African Philosophy
Funding: $46,414
Denielle Elliott, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Cinematic Minds: Exploring brain injuries through science fiction horror film
Funding: $74,995
James Elwick, Faculty of Science
Project: The Academic Integrity Archive: an Archival History of Cheating in Canadian Higher Education, 1827-1993
Funding: $74,948
Stephanie Fearon, Faculty of Education
Project: Roots of Leadership: Black Women Principals & Black Student Well-Being
Funding: $74,562
Ida Ferrara, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Advancing Gender Diversity in Leadership Positions: An Integrated Multidisciplinary Approach
Funding: $60,720
Kerry Kawakami, Faculty of Health
Project: The Impact of Participant Race and Facial Features on Perceptions of Trustworthiness, Competence, Warmth, and Dominance on Diverse Synthetic Faces
Funding: $73,332
Benjamin Kelly, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Space and Power in the Flavian Palace: 3D Digital Visualisations as Tools for Historical Research
Funding: $69,030
Sunwoo Lee, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Retirement Planning for Low-Income Households in Canada
Funding: $48,547
Sudeshna Maitra, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: More Skilled Jobs or Subsidized Education? A Micro-to-Macro Approach to Evaluate Anti-Poverty Policy in India
Funding: $71,508
Majid Majzoubi, Schulich School of Business
Project: The Differential Impact of Framing Strategies on Expert and Novice Stakeholders During Organizational Change: A Mixed-Methods Investigation
Funding: $56,980
Patricia McMahon, Osgoode Hall Law School
Project: The Zealous Advocate in History: Contextualizing Henry Brougham's Guiding Principles of Advocacy and Professional Responsibility for Canadian Lawyers
Funding: $59,496
Gabrielle Moser, Faculty of Education
Project: You Can Always Just Leave: Feminist Exit Strategies in Times of Crisis
Funding: $58,446
Angela Norwood, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Project: Mud bricks and pixels: Visualizing intersectional design practices through natural building processes
Funding: $63,964
Margaret O'Brien, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Disagreement, Standing, and Politics
Funding: $43,751
Jacqueline Petropoulos, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Reanimating the Moderns: Canadian Adaptations of World Drama
Funding: $65,820
Leila Pourtavaf, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: From Gulistan to Lalezar: The Urban Life and Afterlife of Slavery in Tehran
Funding: $57,461
Aleksandra Rzeźnik, Schulich School of Busines
Project: Demand Elasticity in the Bond Market
Funding: $69,678
Yifat Shaik, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Project: Pixel Passion: The AI Matrix of Love, a dating sim about consent
Funding: $67,067
Justin Tan, Schulich School of Business
Project: Peer misconduct in AI-driven corporate data responsibility: Do firms succumb to the bad or aspire to the good?
Funding: $65,590
Nicholas Taylor, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Building Good Relations
Funding: $56,215
Natasha Tusikov, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: Governance Challenges of Digital-Contraceptive Apps
Funding: $74,918
Olaf Weber, Schulich School of Business
Project: Exploring the Management of Natural Assets in the Insurance and Banking Industry: Innovations for Enhancing Environmental and Financial Resilience
Funding: $68,881
Cindel White, Faculty of Health
Project: Supernatural Attributions, Actions, and Adornments as Cooperative Signals
Funding: $64,802
Patricia Wood, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Project: Data' in context: Historical and Political Geographies of First Nations' Stewardship on Lake Nipigon
Funding: $75,000
Jun Zhao, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: The Evaluation of Minority Preference Programs in Canada
Funding: $53,823
Jelena Zikic, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Project: How remote workers of an extreme type cope with the connectivity paradox'? From nomadic to lonely work lives
Funding: $63,253
This story was originally featured in YFile, York University's community newsletter
