Canadian researchers to collaborate on international research projects

Police Accountability—towards international standards (POLACS)

Against the backdrop of increased powers and resources granted to police agencies for combatting terrorism and other newly perceived threats in many mature democracies, the POLACS project compares levels of empowerment for citizens through accountability mechanisms (independent external oversight bodies, police complaints procedures and similar schemes).

Cognitive training effects across the adult lifespan: A diffusion modelling approach

Cognitive training is a promising intervention to slow down age-related losses in mental performance, or at least compensate for these losses. Cognitive training is a program of regular mental activities purported to maintain or improve one's mental abilities. The goal of this project is to investigate how cognitive training, in particular mental processing speed training, produces benefits, so that future interventions can be tailored to boost the relevant components more directly and effectively.

Linking National and Regional Income Inequality: Cross-Country Data Harmonization and Analysis

This comparative study focuses on understanding how patterns of income inequality have changed over time in cities and regions within five high-income countries (Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States). Governments and international organizations have become increasingly aware of the problems associated with national economic inequality, aided by existing research that provides evidence from different countries. To help governments find ways to spread prosperity more evenly across their cities and regions, there is a need for internationally comparable evidence to show how different countries perform in terms of geographic inequalities.

Prosocial development across childhood: Towards a comprehensive mechanistic framework

Humans are a hugely social species, willing to share with, help and comfort others, often with no immediate benefit. Such prosocial behavior has been shown to occur throughout life and to begin very early in development. This project will focus on an uncommonly large age range, spanning early and middle childhood, and use a combination of methods, some shared across three unique cultural contexts and some specific to each site, to investigate how a variety of prosocial behaviours change over the course of childhood.

MAPHIS: Mapping History--What Historical Maps Can Tell Us About Urban Development

Little is known about the patterns of city development during the structural transformation of economies. This project will systematically process high-resolution and manuscript historical maps to make a dormant body of information about our cities and regions' pasts accessible.

Frames in Production: Actors, Networks, Diffusion (FRAMENET)

Political actors emphasize certain aspects, de-emphasize others and influence the way the audience thinks about the issue, in what is called a “framing effect.” This project aims to create a new, comparative research agenda that investigates when and how specific statements emerge in a political debate, by which kinds of actors they are proposed, and whether and how they diffuse to others.

Shaping 21st Century AI. Controversies and Closure in Media, Policy, and Research

Although we have seen spikes of interest in artificial intelligence before the 21st century, it is currently in its formative stage—unsettled in the public debate, but also in expert policy and research communities. This project seeks to contrast both regional and globalized trajectories in four key countries: Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Fiscal Citizenship in Migrant Societies: An International Cross Country Comparison

Taxes touch our lives in many ways, and our willingness to contribute through paying taxes, understood in this project as “fiscal citizenship,” is complicated. All countries have a tax culture—for example, social norms around paying taxes and “tax morale,” or how citizens feel about paying taxes. Our comparative project will address this important issue in a study that comprises Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, and that includes the impact of demographic change in the form of migration, on established tax-paying norms. 

GEP Analysis: Assessing, understanding, and modelling the impact of gender equity policies (GEP) in the film industry

The film industries internationally exhibit marked gender inequality. Improving gender equity in the film industries is critically important for workers, audiences, businesses and societies. This project will use innovative evidence and analysis to help film industries choose more effective gender equity policies, to the benefit of all women, the creative output, audiences, and businesses.