McGill receives $5.4 million
SSHRC funds research on topics ranging from phonetics to origins of classical phrase structure
How people motivate themselves to attain personal goals is about to be examined by McGill University researcher Richard Koestner, thanks to new funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Koestner is among the 65 McGill researchers to receive SSHRC funding announced today.
SSHRC is distributing $81.6 million among 77 universities and colleges across the country for 981 projects. McGill will receive $5.4 million in new SSHRC funding to support 56 research projects, ranging from the study of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Imperial China. "The research funded today truly demonstrates the wealth of creativity, innovation and expertise that exists in this country," says Marc Renaud, SSHRC president.
Koestner, a professor of psychology at McGill's Faculty of Science, will use his $127,380 SSHRC grant to examine the influence of motivational factors on the achievement of personal goals. "Most people fail to reach their personal goals," says Koestner. "A case in point is how people make six attempts at New Year's resolutions before attaining their goals."
So what actions should be taken in pursuing goals? "If people develop specific action plans and choose goals that reflect their interests," Koestner says, "they can achieve excellent progress, while also enhancing their well-being."
Martin Grant, dean of the Faculty of Science, and John Hall, dean of the Faculty of Arts, lauded SSHRC for supporting Canadian scientists. "McGill researchers are committed to creating new knowledge that will improve society," they said. "As Canada's top research-intensive university, McGill looks forward to improving knowledge on a gamut of subjects that are important to Canadians — everything from how to boost self esteem to how to improve returns on mutual funds."
The complete list of McGill research projects includes:
| Jean-Jacques Rousseau's melodious politics: language, rhetoric, and the anti-democratic impulse Abizadeh, Arash, McGill $84,486 | Depression, positive illusions, and the self-protective hypothesis in children and adolescents with learning disabilities Heath, Nancy Lee, McGill $108,327 |
| Exploring Muslim teachers', students' and parents' understanding of evolution Alters, Brian, McGill $175,359 Derayeh, Minoo, York University, Schwartz, Marc S., McGill | China or Chinesia: interpretations of the Chinese culture by western philosophers: 17th-20th centuries Hsia, Adrian R. C., McGill $40,291 |
| Critical assessment of alternative transport fuels in a rapidly motorizing low-income country - Delhi, India Badami, Madhav G., McGill $137,188 Kandlikar, Milind, University of British Columbia | L'indemnisation de l'infection nosocomiale : défi contemporain du droit de la responsabilité civile Khoury, Lara, McGill $69,433 |
| Activation and inhibition of relational knowledge and its effects on self-esteem Baldwin, Mark W., McGill $152,420 | Having the cake and eating it, too: using compensatory beliefs to regulate temptations Knäuper, Bärbel, McGill $108,892 |
| Consumer media choice and media specific information search Barlas, Sema, McGill $91,625 | Influence of identity and integration on personal goals Koestner, Richard F., McGill $127,380 |
| Cross-functional knowledge and IT project performance Bassellier, Geneviève, McGill $68,194 | Dividing and ruling the world: an analysis of the British Colonial lineages of modern ethnic conflict Lange, Matthew K., McGill $88,047 |
| From protest to resistance: the enigma of Ulrike Meinhof Bauer, Karin, McGill $30,923 | Planned behaviour and cohesion to reduce aggression in youth hockey Loughead, Todd, McGill $75,991 Bloom, Gordon A., McGill, Carron, Albert V., University of Western Ontario, Todd Lu |
| Variation and change in the phonetics of Canadian English Boberg, Charles S., McGill $145,135 | Humanitarianism and the use of force in World politics Lu, Catherine Y., McGill $64,996 |
| The architecture of Theophilos Hansen Böker, Hans J., McGill $60,670 | A naturalistic account of linguistic meaning McGilvray, James A., McGill $71,253 |
| The use of competitive intelligence technology by competitive intelligence practitioners: a comparison between the private and public sectors Bouthillier, France, McGill $119,498 | Visual methodologies for self-study with teachers in addressing HIV/AIDS Mitchell, Claudia A., McGill $163,909 Larkin, June A., University of Toronto Weber, Sandra J., Concordia University |
| Analysis of alternative government policies for resource recovery Boyaci, Tamer, McGill $89,584 Verter, Vedat, McGill | Exploring team boundary disagreement Mortensen, Mark, McGill $85,520 |
| Sunk costs in natural resource industries Cairns, Robert D., McGill $55,089 | Political economy of crime and regulation in the precious gemstones business Naylor, Thomas R., McGill $96,220 |
| The origins of classical phrase structure Caplin, William E., McGill $65,109 | Les nationalismes et l'appropriation de Calderón au XIXe siècle Perez-Magallon, Jesus, McGill $66,062 |
| The politics and poetics of contemporary British tragedy Carney, Sean, McGill $55,682 | Heine and Baudelaire Peters, Paul, McGill $34,385 |
| Mathematics in Kant's critical philosophy Carson, Emily, McGill $62,095 | The new environment for global media governance Raboy, Marc, McGill $127,426 |
| Option valuation with volatility components Christoffersen, Peter F., McGill $87,451 | The rise of ideology, the decline of Realpolitik Rathbun, Brian C., McGill $79,440 |
| Trading behaviour of mutual funds Christoffersen, Susan EK, McGill $84,162 | Self-directed motor learning of children with movement coordination difficulties Reid, Greg, McGill $84,651 Bouffard, Marcel, University of Alberta |
| The Sacheverell trial: media politics and the state trials of early 18th century Britain Cowan, Brian W., McGill $90,000 | Gabrielle Roy : inédits et manuscrits (suite) Ricard, François, McGill $141,607 Everett, Jane, McGill, Marcotte, Sophie, Concordia University |
| Use of emblems in 16th century England and in Germany Daly, Peter M., McGill $22,465 | Slow time in contemporary art: towards a theory of the spectator Ross, Christine, McGill $47,434 |
| Les arts du roman Daunais, Isabelle, McGill $162,163 Biron, Michel, McGill, Ricard, François, McGill, Rivard, Yvon, McGill | Development and experience of musical performance anxiety in children Ryan, Charlene A., McGill $130,031 |
| Historical transformations of environment and culture in the irrigated coastal plain of Putian county, Fujian, China Dean, Kenneth, McGill $189,708 | Academic leadership for teaching and learning Saroyan, Alenoush, McGill $93,922 |
| Beyond the New Atlantis: natural knowledge and colonialism in the British Atlantic world Delbourgo, James D., McGill $71,000 | Cyberbullying: are schools obliged to prevent bullying in a virtual school environment Shariff, Shaheen, McGill $92,974 Cassidy, Wanda E.M., Simon Fraser University, Jackson, Margaret A., Simon Fraser University |
| Regional trade agreements, legal and related economic issues de Mestral, Armand L.C., McGill $178,546 Biukovic, Ljiljana L.B., University of British Columbia, O'Brien, Martha, University of Victoria, Watson, William G., McGill | Income support, labour market behaviour, and income outcomes in Canada and Australia Smith, Michael R., McGill $81,617 |
| Feasibility of digitizing early music on microfilms for the creation of a database Fujinaga, Ichiro, McGill $145,838 | Dance, disruption, displacement: Devadasi identity, performance culture and colonial modernity in 19th and 20th century South India Soneji, Davesh, McGill $82,772 |
| Self-regulatory strategies by which personal goals promote successful goal attainment Gaudreau, Patrick, McGill $78,000 | Digital audio and the condition of sound culture Sterne, Jonathan E., McGill $120,624 |
| Effects of input on early language learning in simultaneous bilingual and cross-language adopted children Genesee, Fred H., McGill University $179,726 | Making Canadian culture: periodicals in the 1930s Straw, William O., McGill $72,490 |
| Late life transitions: understanding the fit between policy and personal experience Grenier, Amanda M., McGill $121,613 Leonard, Peter, McGill | Reforming art: 17th century Dutch depictions of religious space Vanhaelen, Angela C., McGill $35,628 |
| Processing of intra-sentential dependency relations subsequent to focal brain damage Grodzinsky, Yosef, McGill $121,554 | Conceiving the state through the family: the family in early Imperial China in rhetoric and reality Vankeerberghen, Griet, McGill $61,000 |
Total: McGill University $5,377,605
About SSHRC
SSHRC is an independent federal government agency that funds university-based research and graduate training through national peer-review competitions. SSHRC also partners with public and private sector organizations to focus research and aid the development of better policies and practices in key areas of Canada's social, cultural and economic life. Following a national peer-reviewed competition, SSHRC's Standard Research Grants program awarded grants of up to $250,000 over three years to individual researchers and small teams from universities and colleges across the country. A significant portion of this funding will be used to help prepare graduate students for careers, not only in research, but in positions throughout the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
About McGill University
McGill University is Canada's leading research-intensive university and has earned an international reputation for scholarly achievement and scientific discovery. Founded in 1821, McGill has 21 faculties and professional schools which offer more than 300 programs from the undergraduate to the doctoral level. McGill attracts renowned professors and researchers from around the world and top students from more than 150 countries, creating one of the most dynamic and diverse education environments in North America. There are approximately 23,000 undergraduate students and 7,000 graduate students. It is one of two Canadian members of the American Association of Universities. McGill's two campuses are located in Montreal, Canada.
