{"id":51833,"date":"2018-06-13T12:13:55","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T16:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=51833"},"modified":"2019-01-25T14:10:02","modified_gmt":"2019-01-25T19:10:02","slug":"brock-awarded-1-6-million-in-sshrc-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/06\/brock-awarded-1-6-million-in-sshrc-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock awarded $1.6 million in SSHRC funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scores of Ontario residents did something last week that may soon be a thing of the past: they lined up at polling stations, ballot in hand, ready to cast their vote to determine the next provincial government.<\/span><\/p>\n

While elections will remain, the physical queues at polling stations may one day be replaced by online and telephone voting, the implications of which Brock political scientist Nicole Goodman and her colleagues are exploring in their research. <\/span><\/p>\n

Goodman is one of 11 researchers at Brock who were recently awarded Insight Grants of more than $1.1 million from the federal government\u2019s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). In addition, 16 students were awarded SSHRC student grants<\/a> totalling $565,000 for a grand total of $1.6 million at Brock.<\/span><\/p>\n

Examining select municipalities in the 2018 Ontario municipal elections, Goodman is studying how online and telephone voting impacts voter turnout, the composition of the voting population and residents\u2019 attitudes towards local political institutions and representatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a significant issue for Canada. Paper voting has been eliminated and replaced with either online voting or a combination of internet and telephone ballots in select Ontario and Nova Scotia municipalities, making them the only jurisdictions in the world to do so, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnline voting is becoming more commonplace: people are using it, and we know little about the effects,\u201d says Goodman. \u201cNobody knows what happens when you make elections fully electronic. This research will give academics and government officials a sense of what types of effects this policy change could have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, kinesiologist Kimberley Gammage, another Insight Grant recipient, is conducting body image research with a twist. She is looking at how people of all age groups can use physical activity as a tool to love and respect their physiques.<\/span><\/p>\n

She notes how research on body image tends to focus on why mostly young women have negative views of their bodies and how this dissatisfaction leads to harmful practices such as eating disorders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn my lab, we look at positive body image, because it\u2019s different than negative body image,\u201d says Gammage. \u201cIt\u2019s loving and appreciating your body for what it is now and not wishing you were something else. It\u2019s focusing on the functioning of your body as opposed to what it looks like and realizing that what It looks like is not all that important in the overall scheme of things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gammage says her research will contribute to the design of exercise programs for various age groups that use physical activities, such as sports or yoga, to promote positive body image. <\/span><\/p>\n

Brock Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon noted how the success rate for Brock researchers applying for Insight Grants was 55 per cent in this latest competition, up from 32 per cent last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m delighted by the wide range of research being funded,\u201d says Kenyon. \u201cThis variety reflects the diverse interests and expertise of our researchers as we engage with the issues of our community, country and world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Insight Grant recipients include:<\/span><\/p>\n