STM Faculty Awarded Insight Development Grants

The Government of Canada Insight program is the premier funding institution for the humanities and social sciences in Canada. Their goal is to build knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world by supporting post-secondary research excellence in all subject areas eligible for funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada(SSHRC). 

SSHRC started the Insight Grant program in 2011, replacing the existing Standard Research Grants. Within the program are two grants: The Insight Grant and the Insight Development Grant (IDG). The IDG is designed to foster the work of early career researchers and researchers who would like to explore new research questions or experiment with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas. This year there were 1,128 applications and ultimately $31,685,401 was awarded to 565 projects. The overall success rate was 50.1% with STM faculty this year achieving a 75% success rate and awarded $156,640 total for the three successful research projects.

Congratulations to this year's St. Thomas More College faculty SSHRC grant recipients:

Dr. Carie Buchanan (Psychology)

Evaluating Prosocial Bystander Intervention Training with Undergraduate Students in Preventing Sexual Assaults   
Co-PI: Karen Lawson, University of Saskatchewan
Collaborator: Donald McCreary, Brock University
SSHRC Insight Development Grant, 2019-2021

The proposed study will examine the effectiveness of bystander intervention training with university students in preventing sexual violence using a developmental intergroup theoretical framework. A developmental intergroup approach could help explain how peer interactions and social norms relating to gender socialization improve or impede recognition of opportunities to intervene and willingness to intervene as bystanders. Grounding this evaluation research in theory will better facilitate the transfer of effective bystander intervention training across student bodies within and across institutions. This research will be used to inform changes made to the bystander intervention training offered to students to improve efficacy and promote positive change in students' social norms that may support sexual violence. The proposed research will ensure that bystander intervention training offered to students at the U of S is highly effective given programmatic decisions regarding the program will be evidence-based. Equipping students with knowledge and skills in recognizing and safely intervening in situations wherein sexual violence is occurring or may occur will help make campus safer. $50,286

Dr. Tina Greenfield (Religion and Culture)

Mobile Economies: A bioarchaeological approach to food economies and mobility in Southern Mesopotamia in the 3rd Millennium BC
Collaborators: Elizabeth Arnold, Grand Valley State University; Chris Holmden, University of Saskatchewan; Augusta McMahon, University of Cambridge; Cameron Petrie, University of Cambridge
SSHRC Insight Development Grant, 2019-2021

Ancient Mesopotamia provides evidence of the earliest cities, states and empires – with city-states coming to dominate the political landscape in the 3^rd millennium BC. Cuneiform texts of the period record large herds of domestic animals that supplemented irrigation agriculture as the twin mainstays of the economy and diet. While the ancient textual archives are rich in documents recording actions of elite city-state citizens and large institutions, few systematic science-based studies of human and animal diets, mobility, herd management or other forms of human-animal interaction have been undertaken. Combining well-established zooarchaeological analyses with isotopic and trace element studies, this groundbreaking study will provide new insights and form the foundation for reconstruction of economic practices in mature cities in Southern Mesopotamia in the Early Dynastic period (2900-2334 BC). This project will provide important information on the larger issues of themes of food management strategies, mobility, economic flexibility, and environmental resilience not yet explored. Part of this project was also funded with a Research Grant from STM and a pilot study was funded by the University of Cambridge Humanities Research Grant Scheme. $69,050

Dr. Sarah Knudson (Sociology)

Experiences of disability and intimate relationship formation in modestly and under-resourced communities
SSHRC Insight Development Grant, 2019-2021

Historically and cross-culturally, persons with disabilities (PWDs) have been stigmatized, excluded from many aspects of social life, and written off as asexual and undesirable in intimate contexts. Meanwhile, in legal and public policy realms, there has been growing recognition of the full personhood of individuals with disabilities of all sorts. This recognition has included increased attention to PWDs’ right to make their own choices, participate fully in the life of their community, and engage in intimate relationships that are satisfying, safe, and pleasurable. This project will expand knowledge of the socio-spatial dimensions of disabled persons’ intimate lives through interviews and focus groups with adult PWDs in Saskatoon and Prince Albert. This research will give voice to their experiences: the challenges PWDs face as they seek and form intimate relationships, what supports they turn to, and how families, caregivers, communities, and social services might better support them in seeking and sustaining intimate relationships. This project will bring PWDs’ experiences, needs, and requests for support to the fore at a critical time when the Canadian government appears poised to listen and respond, and when nearly 15% of Canadian adults report living with disabilities that cause limitations to daily activities. $37,304

Please check out additional highlighted STM Faculty research success: https://stmcollege.ca/academic-initiatives/faculty-research-success.php