recognizing research excellence in the Faculty of Social Sciences

The annual Social Sciences Research Colloquium is an opportunity to hear from the faculty recipients of two awards presented each year by the Faculty of Social Sciences: Distinguished Researcher and Early Career Researcher. Typically, the Colloquium features presentations by faculty awardees from the previous year.
In addition to faculty award winners, the Research Colloquium features presenters selected from among recent recipients of the FOSS Student Research Award. All awardees from the previous year are invited to apply; selected students are included in the final program of the Research Colloquium.
The Research Colloquium on December 8, 2021, was held online and live streamed to a virtual audience.
Watch a video of this event.
Click here to view the simple agenda that includes a list of presentations and times when they appear in the video.
Click on the titles below to reveal presenter information and abstracts.
2021 Presenters and Presentations
Graduate student presentations:
Guest speaker: Suzanne Curtin, Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies
Jillian Booth, recipient of a 2021 FOSS Student Research Award, will present the following talk:
A Holistic Approach to Mapping Priority Sites for Low-Impact Development
supervisor: Julia Baird, Associate Professor, ESRC and Geography and Tourism Studies
Alec Moore, recipient of a 2021 FOSS Student Research Award, will present the following talk:
Tracing the Colonial Dimensions of ‘Special Education’: History, Disability, and Settler Colonialism
supervisor: Hannah Dyer, Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies
Niruba Rasuratnam, recipient of a 2021 FOSS Student Research Award, will present the following talk:
Evaluating Video Prompting to Teach Prospective Parents and Caregivers Correct Installation of Child Passenger Safety Restraints
supervisor: Kimberley Zonneveld, Associate Professor of Applied Disability Studies
Faculty presentations:
Julia Baird, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies and the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, will present the following talk:
Water resilience for a rapidly changing world
We are increasingly recognizing the uncertainty and complexity of our world, and how we make decisions and take action matter more than ever. This presentation focuses on Dr. Baird’s group- and individual-level research, through the lens of water resilience.
Jessica Blythe, Assistant Professor in the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, will present the following talk:
Empathy and Equity for the World’s Oceans
Despite being remote for many, the world’s oceans are under an extraordinary set of pressures by an elite few. Fostering ocean empathy and equity offer pathways towards repairing relationships with our blue planet.
Guest speaker: Michelle McGinn, Associate Vice-President Research



Presenters at the 2019 Research Colloquium: Master’s student in Popular Culture Russ Martin, Professor of Child and Youth Studies Rebecca Raby, and Master’s student in Geography Aaron Nartey. (Read more.)
About the Awards
The faculty awards recognize members of FOSS who demonstrate consistent records of outstanding research achievements as reflected in the quality and quantity of refereed publications, grant awards and other research activities. The Distinguished Researcher award for tenured faculty considers accomplishments from the past five academic years. The Early Career Researcher (formerly called Untenured Researcher of the Year) award considers accomplishments within the previous academic year. As part of the award, each recipient is invited to deliver a research presentation to the Brock community.
The Student Research Award recognizes student research that contributes to, and advances research and scholarship in, the Social Sciences. The award is open to PhD candidates and to senior undergraduate and MA students whose programs include a research component. All awardees are to be congratulated for their achievements. More information on the award, including how to apply, is available here.