Posted on May 20: Student research projects investigate child nutrition, suburban growth, HIV/AIDS in media aimed at women
McMaster students in the Faculties of Social Sciences, Business and Humanities are integrating research and learning this summer with their involvement in the Undergraduate Student Research Awards.
The awards are co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President (Research & International Affairs) in partnership with the Faculties and provide students with the opportunity to develop skills, gain experience in the research field and develop a positive working relationship with a faculty member.
Twenty research grants of $5,000 were awarded to students in the three Faculties for the summer term. The award winners were selected based on their research proposals and opportunities that they had created with their faculty sponsors. This year, students will undertake research projects involving topics such as representations of HIV in the media, the access of women into political parties, nutrition, and international labour standards.
“This program is a great example of the Faculty's commitment to experiential education,” said Alan Harrison, Faculty of Social Sciences dean. “The students who participate enjoy a wonderful opportunity to experience research first-hand and are able to relate this experience to their future studies.”
The number of available awards has doubled since the inaugural program launched last year. This year, the Faculty of Social Sciences received 10 awards, the Faculty of Humanities received six awards and the School of Business received four awards.
Anthropology professor Tina Moffat said the research award allows her to expose student Anne Bain to significant hands-on research approaches and work.
“Anne will join a team composed of myself and two graduate students in anthropology working on a SSHRC-funded three-year study called Child Nutrition and Food Insecurity in an Urban Canadian Context,” said Moffat. “We are completing the end of the first year, during which we have been working with three schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board investigating the nutritional status of elementary school children in affluent and less affluent neighbourhoods in Hamilton. Anne will work with me to design, collect and analyze children's physical activity recalls. As well, she will do community-mapping exercises with children and an environmental assessment of children's opportunities for physical activities in their neighbourhoods.”
Bain believes the research opportunity will enrich her learning experience and aid her quest to attend graduate school.
“The Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) will enable me to expand my research experience and embrace new academic challenges,” said Bain. “My research schedule includes conducting a literature search, developing a research protocol, collecting and
analyzing physical activity data. This program offers me valuable experience at all phases of the research process, including practical
and ethical considerations of doing anthropological research with children. I hope to attend graduate school and I am certain that this
experience will serve me well in the future.”
Student Award Winners
The Faculty of Social Sciences research award recipients are:
Anne Bain, Department of Anthropology
Research Title: Child Nutrition and Food Insecurity in an Urban Canadian Context
Andrew Burdeniuk, Department of Political Science
Research Title: Ontario NGOs and International Labour Standards
Ian Burnes, Department of Political Science
Research Title: Globalization and Quebec Nationalism
Victoria Dhillon, Department of Kinesiology
Research Title: Speed-Accuracy Relations in Goal-Directed Movement
Krissy Doyle, Department of Psychology
Research Title: Finding Residual Inhibition in Schizophrenic Hallucination
Nadia El-Shaarawi, Department of Anthropology and Health Studies
Research Title: Representations of HIV/AIDS in Media Aimed at Women
Randa Lawrence, Department of Kinesiology
Research Title: Effect of Resistance Training on Arterial Compliance
Paul Maxwell, School of Geography & Geology
Research Title: The Remaking of Canada's Suburbs (1945-1960): The View From a Lumber Dealership
Carly Salvador, Department of Kinesiology
Research Title: Motivational Determinants of Exercise Adherence Among the Elderly
Rebecca Sciarra, Department of Anthropology
Research Title: Evaluating the Effect of Left-Wing Parties upon Women's Access to Elected Political Bodies
The Michael G. DeGroote School of Business research award recipients are:
Massoud Abbasi
Topic: Development of Greener Products: The Role of Partnerships
NanNan Liu
Research Title: Culture Diversity Between East and West
Ryan O'Rourke
Research Title: Measurement and Management of Intellectual Capital: Utilizing Human Resources To Maximize Value In The
Knowledge Organization
Zhaolei Xu
Research Title: Executive Compensation
The Faculty of Humanities research award recipients are:
Julie Hyde, Peace Studies and Women Studies programs
Research Title: The Pedagogy of Peace Studies
Jesse Lagault, Comparative Literature Program and Department of Philosophy
Research Title: Neuroethics: The Ethics of Neuroscience
Julia Nefsky, Department of Philosophy
Research Title: Logic and Humour
Sara Pilip, Departments of French and Modern Languages and Linguistics
Research Title: Digitizing, Annotating and Analyzing Documents for the Multimodal Micmac Cultural Archive
Danielle Robinson
Research Title: Environment of Disaster: Hurricane Hazel and Hamilton
Sarah Roger, Comparative Literature Program
Research Title: The Deconstruction of Time and the Creative Process in Postcolonial Postmodern Literature
