New programs/course offering highlights

Brock’s Niagara Community Observatory – remote work as a long-term strategy Remote work shouldn’t be for every organization, but when it’s done right, it can be a boost for worker wellbeing and help maintain “a healthy and productive work culture,” says new Brock University research. “For those organizations that do choose some form of remote work, our research suggests that success depends on building a culture rooted in human connection, supported with clear communication plans, the right digital tools and a compatible managerial style,” says Kate Cassidy, co-author of the latest brief produced by Brock’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO). “To be, or not to be, remote? Examining the essential factors needed for ongoing remote work success,” explores the benefits and potential downsides of remote work.

brocku.ca/brock-news/2021/10/brocks-niagara-community-observatoryexamines-remote-work-as-a-long-term-strategy/ Brock awarded more than $500K in federal funds for early-stage research As one of nine Brock University researchers who received an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Professor of Finance Ernest Biktimirov is exploring the relationship between the price of houses and people’s attitudes and beliefs about the housing market as conveyed in news stories. “Research results will help develop recommendations on house price movements for households, real estate investors and developers, regulators and policymakers,” says Biktimirov. Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon says he is pleased by the number of Insight Development Grant recipients this year. “Our researchers’ curiosity and creativity have propelled them to expand into novel areas, contributing fresh insights on issues that are important to society,” he says.

brocku.ca/brock-news/2021/08/brock-awarded-more-than-500k-in-federal-fundsfor-early-stage-research/

Workers sift for precious metals and minerals at a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Accounting research unearths true cost of cheap conflict minerals Cheap in the short term – expensive in the long term – when sourcing minerals mined in conflict zones, is what a Brock research team has found. Professor of Accounting, Fayez Elayan is lead author of a paper published in the Journal of Business Ethics, which examines if and how investors value mandatory human rights disclosures of conflict mineral usage. Elayan and his colleagues examined the files of 3,639 U.S. registrants to determine the market’s reaction to companies’ disclosures concerning their sourcing of minerals originating from conflict zones.

brocku.ca/brock-news/2021/07/accounting-research-unearths-truecost-of-cheap-conflict-minerals/

Brock team awarded $250,000 grant to explore links between childhood adversity and allergies A Brock University research team is conducting a first-ofits-kind study to see if and how abuse, severe household dysfunction and other childhood traumas set the stage for a lifetime of suffering with allergies. “Allergy prevalence is rising rapidly and understanding why requires new transdisciplinary thinking, outside the box,” says Associate Professor of Health Sciences Adam MacNeil. “Many of the contributing factors remain elusive.” Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Karen Patte says the team is “taking a unique approach by linking sociology and psychology with immunology and physiology – fields that seldom collaborate – to help determine the mechanisms linking childhood adversity and allergies.”