Institute for the Social Sciences grants awards

From conducting archaeological research in the Republic of Armenia to exploring how rumors spread through Twitter, the Institute for the Social Sciences’ small grants program funded 22 faculty members’ projects for the 2013-14 year.

Open to tenured and tenure-track faculty members in the social sciences, the ISS’ biannual small grants program awards up to $12,000 for research projects and conferences. According to ISS Director Kim Weeden, the program prioritizes research by early career faculty, that spans across the social sciences, and that is likely to “seed” larger external grant proposals.

In fall 2013, the following faculty members received research awards:

  • Edward Baptist, associate professor, history, College of Arts and Sciences (A&S): “Freedom on the Move: A Database of Fugitives From North American Slavery.”
  • Michael Frakes, assistant professor, Law School: “Does the United States Patent and Trademark Office Grant Unnecessary Patents? An Empirical Analysis of Certain Causes and Consequences of PTO Granting Patterns.”
  • Michael Goldstein, associate professor, psychology, A&S: “Learning to Talk, Learning to Sing: A Comparative Approach to Discovering Mechanisms of Infant Learning from Social Interaction.”
  • Hyunseob Kim, assistant professor, finance, Samuel C. Johnson Graduate School of Management: “Frictions in Real Asset Markets and Corporate Investment: Evidence from Ship-level Data.”
  • Edith Liu, assistant professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS): “The Effect of Globalization on Bank Operations and Borrowing Costs.”
  • Drew Margolin, assistant professor, communication, CALS: “The Dissemination and Refutation of Rumor.”
  • Kelly Musick, associate professor, policy analysis and management, College of Human Ecology (CHE): “Parents’ Time With Children and Subjective Well-Being.”
  • Camille Robcis, assistant professor, history, A&S: “Catholics, Gender and the Gay Marriage Debate in France.”
  • Nathan Spreng, assistant professor, human development, CHE: “Brain Network Dynamics of Goal-Directed Cognition and Behavior Across the Adult Lifespan.”
  • Joshua Woodard, assistant professor, Dyson School, CALS: “Farm Bill Dairy Title Milk Producer Survey in New York State.”
  • Erin York Cornwell, assistant professor, sociology, A&S: “Moving Beyond the Census Tract: Activity Space and Social Networks in Later Life.”

The ISS supported the following projects in spring 2014:

  • Shelley Feldman, professor, development sociology, CALS: “Precarious Lives, Desired Futures: Reimagining Lives and Livelihoods.”
  • Jeffrey Hancock, professor, communication, CALS: “Audience and Self-Concept in Social Media.”
  • Lori Khatchadourian, assistant professor, Near Eastern studies, A&S: “Resilience and Ruination in Mountain Communities: Comparative Regional Settlement Dynamics in the South Caucasus From the Bronze Age to Today.”
  • Beth Livingston, assistant professor, human resource studies, ILR School: “Men at Work (and Family): Caregiving Responsibilities among the Working Class.”
  • Michael Manville, assistant professor, city and regional planning, College of Architecture, Art and Planning: “Congestion Pricing: Equity and Environmental Justice Implications.”
  • Jamila Michener, assistant professor, government, A&S: “Medicaid and the Politics of the Poor.”
  • Sean Nicholson, professor, policy analysis and management, CHE: “Insurance Competition and Network Offerings.”
  • Jeff Niederdeppe, assistant professor, communication, CALS: “Narrative, Metaphor and Inoculation: Communication Theory to Promote Multi-Sector Approaches to Improving Health.”
  • Marina Welker, assistant professor, anthropology, A&S: “Philip Morris in Indonesia: An Ethnography of the Sampoerna Clove Cigarette Company.”

The ISS’ small grants program funded the following conferences in 2013-14:

  • Debra Castillo, professor, comparative literature, A&S: “Counterstories of Greater Mexico.”
  • Pamela Tolbert, professor, organizational behavior, ILR School: “Law and Social Science Conference – Increasing Inclusion/Reducing Discrimination – What Works?”

The deadline for the fall 2014 round is Sept. 9. Applications will be accepted shortly after the fall semester begins.

The program is funded by the ISS and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, with supplementary funding provided by the President’s Council of Cornell Women. 

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John Carberry