Studies exploring the effects of disadvantaged neighborhoods, a reimagined school recess and customized avatars were among a slate of faculty projects receiving grants this fall from the (CCSS).
In all, the center’s supported 14 proposals, including nine research projects and five academic conferences, with a total of $90,000.
The awards provide seed funding to help early career social science faculty members develop ambitious projects likely to lead to external funding and publication.
“These grants fund cutting-edge research by social scientists across colleges,” said , CCSS co-director and associate professor of communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). “As a recipient of a CCSS grant in the past, the funds made all the difference, allowing me to collect pilot data for a project that led to a ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Institutes of Health-funded grant.”
A CCSS grant will help , assistant professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), research “,” a study of how successive generations of childhood exposure to disadvantaged neighborhoods affect the future well-being of adults and their children. “Inequality in life chances is often rooted in the opportunity structure of previous generations,” Alvarado notes.
, assistant professor in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis in the College of Human Ecology (CHE), will analyze a program that seeks to encourage more creative and self-directed play during recess by introducing “loose parts” – items such as tires, cardboard boxes and tubes, crates and sand. In “,” Loebach will observe outdoor play, learning and social activities at two public elementary schools, one in Ithaca and one in Toronto.
, assistant professor of communication in CALS, will investigate the potential for more realistic avatars that could enhance “a sense of embodiment” important to some medical and educational applications. “” will advance understanding of what choices users want and how avatars affect various social science measures.
Additional research projects receiving small grants of up to $12,000 include:
- led by , assistant professor of policy analysis and management (CHE).
- led by , assistant professor of economics (A&S).
- led by , Provost New Faculty Fellow in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (CHE); and Reah Chiong, a doctoral student in the field of nutritional sciences.
- by , assistant professor of international and comparative labor (ILR School).
- led by , assistant professor of management and organization (Cornell SC Johnson College of Business).
- led by , assistant professor of applied economics and management (SC Johnson).
The five conferences receiving grants of up to $5,000, planned for the spring of 2020, include:
- an interdisciplinary conference exploring connections between moral psychology and contemporary social issues, organized by , the Peter L. Dyson Professor of Ethics in Organizations and Life at the Charles H. Dyson School (SC Johnson) and professor in the Sage School of Philosophy (A&S); , visiting faculty in the Department of Psychology (A&S); and , professor of philosophy (A&S).
- a meeting of the International Conference for the Study of Political Thought, organized by and , professors of government (A&S).
- a one-day conference examining the impact of post-1980 U.S. immigration laws and policies, led by , the Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies in the Department of History (A&S).
- The , which studies meaning in natural language, organized by and , associate professors of linguistics and philosophy, respectively (A&S).
a two-day meeting in California probing “how insights from the social and behavioral sciences can inform climate change communication, advocacy and public policy,” organized by , associate professor of communication (CALS).
