UNews - SSHRC

New conference to build bridges between academia and the public

caroline.zentner — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 21:02:10 +0000

People often think young children learn a second language much easier than older children or adults but much of the research into second language learning doesn’t necessarily support this idea in a school setting.

Popular wisdom holds that, in contrast to adults, immigrant children in a host society learn a second language quickly and effortlessly. However, new research demonstrates that English language learners take years to approach monolingual language abilities and with varying outcomes.

Dr. Fangfang Li, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge psychology professor with expertise in linguistics, together with her colleagues, Drs. Robbin Gibb, Claudia Gonzalez, Inge Genee and Noëlla Piquette, want to ensure the public has access to correct information about child language learning because language is central to children’s daily functioning.

Many students in today’s classrooms need to learn English as a second language or are in second language immersion programs and their success depends on their ability to learn the second language. Research in child language acquisition is a multi-disciplinary affair that draws on evidence from linguistics, psychology, neuroscience and education.

“Partly because of this inherent intricacy, the area of child language acquisition is frequently filled with myths and misconceptions,” says Li. “Further confusion is generated by commercial advertisements or popular videos prevalent in mass media.”

Li wants to build bridges between the various academic disciplines involved in child language acquisition research and the public through a conference that will be the first of its kind in Alberta. She has succeeded in obtaining a Connection Grant of more than $28,000 through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to make the conference a reality.

“We aim to orient research towards community needs, update the public with current research findings and address common misconceptions in the community,” she says. “These conversations are also timely in light of the booming demand of second language education for children who are immigrants, refugees, indigenous, and second language immersion or bilingual program students.”

Li says the first annual Alberta Conference on Child Language Acquisition Research, taking place from Nov. 24 to 26 at the U of L, will offer keynote addresses, workshops, a poster session and roundtable talks. The conference is designed to enhance the existing research network in Alberta in the area of child language acquisition and to foster further research exchanges and collaboration on a national and international level. The conference will appeal to parents, teachers, policy makers, academic experts and community members. The conference is also expected to become an annual event alternating between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and the U of L.

“Our long-term goal is to retain the two-way communication channel between academia and the community to help ensure decisions and policies are based on the best scientific evidence available,” says Li.

Examining the corporate-charity link

caroline.zentner — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 20:51:45 +0000

Sometimes the corporate-charity link is as obvious as a signpost, as in the CIBC Run for the Cure or the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride. Not so obvious are the ways in which partnerships between corporations and the non-profit sector are formed in the first place and how the two entities relate to each other.

Dr. Gloria Tian, an associate professor of finance at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Calgary campus, wants to know more about the relationship between the two sectors and how it enhances economic and social welfare in a country.

Tian, together with Dr. Ebenezer Asem, a U of L finance professor, and Dr. Olubunmi Faleye, a finance professor at Northeastern ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Boston, have been awarded an Insight Grant through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council worth almost $95,000 over four years to investigate the impact of corporate-charity connections in Canada.

“Corporations are the economic engine of a country but non-profit organizations also make important contributions to the overall economy,” says Tian. “If we don’t understand how the sectors relate to each other, we are missing important information as to how the relations could be enhanced.”

The research team proposes three related studies. One study will look at the relation between corporate-charity connections in Canada, measured through corporate directors’ affiliations with registered charities, corporations’ philanthropic activities and the effect of corporate governance.

The second study will examine whether companies who regularly give are less likely to engage in financial misconduct and, if they are sued by investors, how they modify their corporate policies in response.

The third study will look at the non-profit sector to determine whether corporate connections help improve the operational efficiency and growth prospects of local charities.

“These studies will address important questions of interest to businesses, charities, policy makers and other public and private stakeholders,” says Tian. “Canadian corporations and registered charities face unprecedented challenges in today’s global context. Strengthening the collaboration between these two sectors will help improve corporate decision-making and benefit society at large.”

Rodrigues to investigate modern nondual spirituality

caroline.zentner — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 20:44:12 +0000

Sociological studies show the number of those who call themselves ‘spiritual but not religious’ (SBNR) has been outpacing those who identify with mainstream religious traditions in Canada.

A subset of SBNR groups is the Modern Nondual Spirituality (MNS) movement. Eckhart Tolle, the movement’s high profile teacher, lives in Canada. His books, including The Power of Now and A New Earth, have sold millions of copies. Even so, religious scholars have largely ignored MNS.

“The academic literature is anemic,” says Dr. Hillary Rodrigues, a professor of Religious Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. “MNS is often included in New Religious Movements or New Age religions but little effort has been made to distinguish it from other very different movements within those categories.”

Thanks to an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) worth more than $43,000, Rodrigues aims to rectify that situation.

“My goal is to focus on this fast-growing contemporary phenomenon at this crucial emergent stage using religious studies theories and methods,” says Rodrigues. “The MNS movement provides us with a rare opportunity to study what might be a growing and eventually significant religious movement.”

MNS 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. This nondual spiritual liberation is seen as necessary to achieve inner peace, mental health, social tolerance and a host of other personal and communal needs.

Nondual approaches to spirituality aren’t new; they’ve been a part of Hinduism and Buddhism for millennia. However, in the 21st century, adherents of MNS don’t identify as Hindu or Buddhist. Rodrigues’ project will help clarify the characteristics of the MNS movement and perhaps provide clues about why people are increasingly opting for spirituality over religion.

By attending gatherings held by non-duality teachers around the world, Rodrigues plans to conduct free-flowing interviews with seekers in the movement to gain understanding of their motivations and experiences. He hopes to discern shared key characteristics among members. While his hunch is that those in the SBNR movement, estimated to be 30 to 40 per cent of the population in Canada, find the term ‘religion’ too constricting, his research project will verify if that’s correct.

The results of Rodrigues’ study of MNS will also be of interest to other disciplines such as health sciences, psychology, art and education.

U of L sociologist looks at Muslims in Canada in light of terrorist attacks by Muslim converts

caroline.zentner — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 20:23:45 +0000

Building on the research he did for his award-winning book The Muslim Question in Canada (UBC Press, 2014), ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge sociologist Dr. Abdie Kazemipur will examine the integration of Canadian Muslims in light of recent events like the terrorist attacks by Muslim converts in October of 2014.

Thanks to a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of more than $138,000 over four years, Kazemipur will examine the relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims in public and government institutions, in the mass media, in the economy, and in the community in his new project, After the Ottawa Attack.

“Because of the terrorist attacks that happened on Canadian soil back in 2014 and the fact that some other similar activities have been monitored and discovered, I want to see whether that has triggered any changes in public opinion,” he says. “In other countries, when something of a large magnitude – whether actual or symbolic — happens, all of a sudden you see a change in the overall environment.”

Shocking terrorist attacks, like that on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and on two Canadian forces members in Quebec, have the potential to change popular opinion, social relationships and government policies. People often behave in a reactive way that can damage relationships for years. Many politically conservative parties in Europe have used the public fear that results from terrorist attacks to make their way into public office.

Canada was often thought to be almost immune to the threat of terrorism and a model country for the successful integration of immigrants, including Muslims. When Kazemipur gathered data for his first book, Muslims reported a high degree of satisfaction with their decision to live in Canada. The 2014 attacks and numerous reports of organizations like al-Qaida and ISIS recruiting young Muslim Canadians can create anxiety and nervousness in the general public.

“All of these fears do not just remain in people’s minds. They translate themselves into actions,” says Kazemipur. “Many of these people are the people who are making key decisions in the job market in terms of whom they should employ and whom they should reject.”

The results can lead to a segmented economy in which particular groups are pushed into lower-paying jobs and unemployment. Kazemipur’s data already shows that Muslims in Canada are over-represented among the unemployed and they often find jobs for which they are over qualified. Muslims in Canada also have higher rates of poverty.

“If things do not move on the economic side, then it can create the same kind of resentment and a sense of alienation from the broader society that we have seen in some European countries,” he says.

Kazemipur plans to use data from multiple censuses, surveys, interviews, focus groups and archival documents to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the situation and identify any practical solutions.

The research findings will have implications for policies and programs on immigration and integration and on job market practices, and can provide better guidelines for cross-cultural social interactions and communications.

UNews - SSHRC

New conference to build bridges between academia and the public

Related Topics

Examining the corporate-charity link

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Rodrigues to investigate modern nondual spirituality

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U of L sociologist looks at Muslims in Canada in light of terrorist attacks by Muslim converts

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