UNews - Fangfang Li

U of L social scientists net SSHRC awards worth nearly $440,000

caroline.zentner — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 19:58:03 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduate students and faculty members will tackle a variety of research projects thanks to funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

“The U of L’s success rate with Insight Development Grants was very positive, higher than the national average and continues our momentum,” says Dr. Erasmus Okine, vice-president (research). “Our social scientists and humanities researchers are conducting leading-edge research and I heartily commend them for their efforts.”

U of L researchers received six Insight Development Grants. Dr. Robert LeBlanc (education) will examine how immigrant teens in a rural Alberta meatpacking town learn the forms and meanings of stylized speech. Dr. Glenda Bonifacio (women & gender studies) will study how the election of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines has affected foreign disaster aid and gender equality following Haiyan, the 2013 super typhoon. Dr. Rhiannon MacDonnell Mesler (Dhillon School of Business, Calgary campus) will look at how consumer identities can divide and unite in an increasingly polarized world. Dr. Paige Pope (kinesiology & physical education) will compare the effectiveness of various messages designed to reduce sedentary behaviour in older adults.

Other researchers receiving Insight Development Grants include Drs. Fangfang Li (psychology) and Noëlle Gunst-Leca (psychology). As well, Dr. Inge Genee (modern languages), co-applicant on a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta-based project called 21st century tools for Indigenous languages, received a Partnership Grant.

Dr. Carly Adams, a Board of Governors Research Chair (Tier II) and a kinesiology & physical education professor, and Dr. Darren Aoki (BA ’90), a professor in world history at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Plymouth and adjunct professor in history at the U of L, received an Insight Grant for their Transforming Canadian Nikkei oral history project. This grant allows them to continue exploring the cultural and social history of Canadian Nikkei (people of Japanese descent) in southern Alberta from 1950 to the 21st century in partnership with the Galt Museum & Archives, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden and the Nikkei Cultural Society of Lethbridge and Area.

Along with the faculty members who received awards, several U of L graduate students received SSHRC funding, including master’s students Jennifer Chernishenko, Margaret Ingram, Quinn Johnsson, Mary Siever, Michelle Sylvestre and Jaisie Walker and doctoral student Serena Visser.

Chernishenko will delve into how girls’ mindsets—whether growth oriented or fixed— affects their sense of belonging and participation in sports. Siever is studying the reasons why parenting and mothering, in particular, receive minimal support in post-secondary study. Sylvestre will examine how social issues and context get transferred into the medical world and how that’s connected to today’s consumption of pharmaceuticals. Visser will explore the impact institutional norms and practices within the mental health system have for trans and gender-diverse people.

U of L Board of Governors appoints five research chairs

caroline.zentner — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 20:01:34 +0000

Five new appointments as Board of Governors Research Chairs highlight the exceptional scholarly work of a diverse cadre of professors at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

“I am pleased to announce these appointments as Board of Governors Research Chairs,” says Dr. Erasmus Okine, vice-president (research). “Each one of these individuals is recognized as an outstanding scholar who has made an impact on his or her field of study. These high-profile academic appointments continue to play a vital role in helping us enhance our reputation and status amongst Canada’s most influential research institutions.”

Dr. Paul Hayes, a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, has been appointed to a five-year term as a Tier I Board of Governors Research Chair in Organometallic Chemistry. He is a leader in the field of synthetic inorganic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis, particularly in the development of new catalysts that generate green materials and those that provide insight into industrially relevant processes.

Also appointed at the Tier I level is Dr. Kevin McGeough (BA ’96), a professor of archaeology. He will be the Research Chair in Archaeological Theory and Reception for a five-year term. His specialty is the archaeology, history and languages of the ancient Near East and the reception of the ancient Near East in contemporary culture.

Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden has been appointed a Tier I Board of Governors Research Chair in Biomolecular Design and Function. A professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Wieden is the founding director of the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute, home to the largest group of primarily RNA-focused research labs in Western Canada. His lab conducts a wide range of research, from rational design of biological nano-machines and over designing and reprogramming of genetic circuits to the development of novel antibiotics.

Dr. Fangfang Li, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, has received a four-year Tier II appointment as Research Chair in Child Language Acquisition. She specializes in first- and second-language acquisition, children’s speech and motor control development and examination of human speech using instruments.

Also appointed for a four-year term at the Tier II level is Dr. Aaron Taylor, an associate professor in the Department of New Media. He will be the Board of Governors Research Chair in Film and New Media. His research projects investigate the psychology of screen acting, comics and the superhero film and the cult reception of sentimental movies.

All terms begin on July 1, 2019.

U of L researchers awarded more than $907,000 in research funding

caroline.zentner — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 17:40:49 +0000

Today, Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s Minister of Science, announced the recipients of several Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants and seven ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are among those who secured funding for their projects.

“I want to commend the grant and scholarships recipients whose tireless efforts help us better understand our world and our relationships with each other,” says Duncan. “Our government is proud to support these talented researchers and scholars who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge to the benefit of Canadians and our growing middle class.”

“We are extremely pleased that seven U of L research projects were successful in this competition,” says Dr. Claudia Malacrida, associate vice-president (research). “It demonstrates the strength of our researchers in the social sciences and humanities and we congratulate each one of them.”

The funding includes Partnership Development Grants, designed to foster new research with new or existing partners, Insight Development Grants that support research in its beginning stages, and Insight Grants for long-term research initiatives. The research projects are diverse, spanning the fields of visual arts, anthropology, psychology, digital humanities, finance and history and gender studies.

Dr. Dan O'Donnell

Dr. Dan O’Donnell, a professor in the Department of English, conducts research in the Digital Humanities, where tools and methods from computer science are applied to humanities fields like history, philosophy and literature. His digital tools, like the Internet, make it easy to share research information widely, but O’Donnell has found the world of research publishing hasn’t changed much, with the same major publishers running the market. He began working on building a different kind of research network called Future Commons where research is freely shared and publicly available and where corporations can still make a profit. The Partnership Development Grant, which includes three other organizations, will facilitate research to further the Future Commons network. For more information visit Future Commons.

Mary Kavanagh

Mary Kavanagh, a professor in the Department of Art, will examine nuclear anxiety in the post-Cold War era through interviews with visitors to Trinity, the site of the world’s first atomic bomb detonation. A rehearsal for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Trinity was the codename for the test blast in 1945, deep in the desert south of the Manhattan project’s headquarters in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Tourists now flock to the site during bi-annual open houses. Kavanagh, through interviews conducted at the site, plans to generate a series of art works or “chapters” that include moving-image vignettes, photographic works, book works, installations and an experimental documentary film that explores urgent questions of the nuclear age. For more information visit Atomic Tourism.

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher, an anthropology professor, will explore urban collective housing communities as non-individualistic approaches to well-being. Such communities work to balance independence and interdependence by including both personal/private and shared/collective spaces, and, unlike many intentional communities, are integrated with, rather than segregated from, society at large. Kingfisher will compare communities in Tokyo and Vancouver to gain insight into how this model of the good life operates in cultural contexts that historically and ideologically have stressed different aspects of individualism and collectivism. The project is situated in the context of increasing academic and governmental interest in happiness and well-being. For more information visit Intentional Communities.

Dr. Fangfang Li

Dr. Fangfang Li, a psychology professor, will examine factors that may influence speech errors in second-language learners. She found that errors made by local students in French Immersion programs persisted over time, even though researchers expected the students would make fewer speech errors when they reached higher grades. Li hypothesizes that the errors persist because opportunities to speak with native French speakers are limited in a community where English is the dominant language. Li’s research will look at a mixed bilingual program in Edmonton to see if the second-language learners there, who have more opportunity to speak with native speakers, produce more accurate speech as they advance to higher grades. For more information visit Second-language Learning.

Dr. Yutao Li

Dr. Yutao Li, a professor in the Faculty of Management at the U of L’s Calgary campus, will explore the costs and benefits of banks’ involvement in lending networks. While greater connectivity in a network can be helpful because it gives a bank more information it can use to evaluate a borrower’s credit risk, it can also be detrimental if risk enters the financial system and spreads throughout the network, as it did during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Li’s study is the first to investigate banks’ lending networks and the research will help build understanding about how banks’ network connectivity affects information acquisition, lending practices and quality of financial reporting. For more information visit Banking Networks.

Dr. Paul Vasey

Dr. Paul Vasey, a psychology professor, will delve into competition for mates in cultures that recognize third genders, specifically the muxes in the Istmo region of Oaxaca, Mexico and the fa’afafine in Samoa. The fa’afafine and muxes are same-sex attracted feminine males or what could be termed transgender in North America. They engage in sexual activity with masculine men who are bisexual, thus creating a competitive atmosphere for heterosexual women. In contrast, women in Euro-American cultures most often face competition from other women. Vasey and his students will conduct research in Canada and at their field sites in Samoa and Mexico to see how the presence of third-gender males affects the behaviour and psychology of heterosexual individuals. For more information visit Mate Competition.

Dr. Carol Williams

Dr. Carol Williams, a professor in Women and Gender Studies and History, and her collaborators, Linda Weasel Head, Hali Heavy Shield and Faye Heavy Shield, will assemble diverse and new historical accounts of Kainai women’s social reform work between 1968 and 1990. The researchers will engage with the Kainai community and propose a series of cultural and historical workshops for all age groups to encourage conversation and storytelling. The study hopes to challenge the colonial character of the archives as they exist and the myths of Indigenous-Settler relations. The study, in line with the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, seeks to expand historical literacy about how Kainai women transformed their communities. For more information visit Kainai Women’s Activism.

U of L humanities researchers secure federal grants

caroline.zentner — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 16:31:45 +0000

Four ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge professors have been awarded more than $300,000 in research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

“This year’s SSHRC results reflect a high standard of excellence amongst our humanists and social scientists, of which we can be rightly proud,” says Dr. Claudia Malacrida, associate vice-president research. “These researchers’ projects touch on vital aspects of cultural, civil and social life and each of them richly deserves this recognition.”

Dr. Abdie Kazemipur, a U of L sociology professor, has been awarded more than $138,000 over four years for a research project called After the Ottawa Attack. Kazemipur will examine the integration of Muslims in Canada in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Canada by Muslim converts. More details about his research project are available on the UNews website.

Dr. Fangfang Li, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge psychology professor, has received a grant worth more than $28,000. She and several fellow researchers at the U of L want to ensure the public has access to correct information about child language learning and are organizing a conference that will bring the various academic disciplines involved in child language acquisition research and the public together. The conference, to be hosted on a rotating basis with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, is planned to be an annual event. Check out the UNews website for more information.

Dr. Gloria Tian, an associate professor of finance at the U of L’s Calgary campus, and two fellow finance professors, will use their Insight Grant worth more than $94,000 to examine partnerships between corporations and the non-profit sector. Visit UNews to learn more about Tian’s project.

Dr. Hillary Rodrigues, a professor of Religious Studies, will investigate a growing component of the ‘spiritual but not religious’ group. The Modern Nondual Spirituality movement centres on the attainment of a key psychological realization where all conceptual dualities, especially those that distinguish the individual from the rest of reality, collapse. The movement hasn’t received much attention from religious scholars and Rodrigues plans to use his grant worth more than $43,000 to correct that situation. Further information on his study is outlined on UNews.

These grants will further knowledge in key areas of research that are of interest not only to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, but also to professionals and the public.

Research team links hand preference in children to executive function

trevor.kenney — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 16:36:03 +0000

Children who have a significant hand preference may have better behavioural control, memory and planning skills, according to a new study published by a team of researchers at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Drs. Claudia Gonzalez, left, and Robbin Gibb are working to formalize the working relationship between kinesiology and neuroscience.

The group found that a more lateralized brain supports the development of Executive Function (EF) - a blanket term that is considered to include self-regulation, working memory and planning. In the study, children (ages 5-6 and 9-10) undertook a series of tests of hand preference for grasping items while their parents filled out a questionnaire to determine their EF.

The study was recently published by Frontiers in Psychology.

“In our experiment, all children self-reported as right-handed, yet many of them failed to show a right-hand preference for grasping. Overall, these children showed more problems with EF,” says Dr. Robbin Gibb, a neuroscientist at the U of L’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN).

Using Lego® blocks, researchers observed how often children who were right-handed used their dominant hand to build a model. What they found is that those who used their right hand at a higher rate also had, according to their parents, higher EF. Children who used both hands to complete the task generally had a lower EF rating.

“Our results suggest that EF enjoys privileged support from the left hemisphere, which also controls the right hand. More likely, however, the results indicate that the greater the degree of lateralization (either to the left or right hemisphere) supports better behavioural control,” says Dr. Claudia Gonzalez, a Canada Research Chair in Sensorimotor Control, and an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology.

Establishing a link between degree of hand use for precision grasping and EF may allow parents and caregivers to predict if children are likely to experience issues in learning and maturing. This would allow for the opportunity to introduce early interventions, something the U of L researchers will explore in the coming year.

Gonzalez and Gibb will study whether exclusively exercising a child’s dominant hand (for brief intervals of time each day) helps to develop EF, and if developing a more lateralized hand preference helps to develop a more efficient brain.

The study was a result of a unique collaboration between Gonzalez’s kinesiology lab and Gibb’s lab at the CCBN, located at the U of L. Funded by the Office of Research Services, this research also included Dr. Nicole Rosen (now at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba), Dr. Inge Genee from the Department of Modern Languages, Dr. Fangfang Li from the Department of Psychology and Dr. Noella Piquette from the Faculty of Education.

Considering the potential of this type of collaborative research, Drs. Gonzalez and Gibb are working to formalize the working relationship between kinesiology and neuroscience.

The Frontiers in Psychology paper can be found at the following link: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00285/abstract.

UNews - Fangfang Li

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