SPOTLIGHT ON RESEARCH
THE PRENTICE INSTITUTE HAS BECOME A LEADING RESEARCH CENTRE, ONE OF ONLY A FEW WORLDWIDE THAT IS FOCUSED ON GLOBAL POPULATION CHANGES AND THE ECONOMY.
expertise includes demographic aging, generational relationships, family change and the social impacts of technology. Before joining the Prentice Institute and the U of L Department of Sociology two years ago, McDaniel was a professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah and a senior scholar at its Institute of Public and International Affairs. Having lived in Alberta before, McDaniel’s return north of the border has helped attract other researchers to the Prentice Institute. Among them is Dr. Kathrin Komp, a post-doctoral fellow from VU University Amsterdam. Other researchers, such as Drs. Harrison and Alexander Darku, who were U of L faculty members before the Prentice Institute was created, currently serve as the institute’s associate directors. Their collective experience and expertise have made a significant impact on the institute. For example, Darku, an assistant professor of economics at the U of L, previously taught at McGill and Concordia Universities. He has also served as a consultant to the World Bank at its Washington, D.C., headquarters and has worked as an economist in Ghana. Through his association with the Prentice Institute, Darku has noticed a shift in his research interests.
Whereas he was previously focused strictly on economic policies and international development, he now studies the interplay among international trade, migration and health. Specifically, Darku is currently looking at the growth of multinational companies in developing countries and the resulting impact on populations’ eating habits. The situation, Darku has found, contributes to a “nutritional shift” within a population and can increase obesity rates. “The interdisciplinary nature of the Prentice Institute has brought many new dimensions to my research,” says Darku. Harrison, meanwhile, has shared his research with new audiences; he has spoken at a number of presentations hosted by the institute. Once a visiting professor at the University of Alberta and Hokkai-Gakuen University in Japan, Harrison was the 2010 Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Canadian Studies at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University. As a researcher and guest lecturer at the university, he brought a Canadian perspective to the relationship between Canada and the United States since Sept. 11. Today at the Prentice Institute, Harrison – like Darku – balances his research with administrative responsibilities. And it seems both areas involve big-picture thinking.
“We’re developing programs that will keep the institute moving forward. Ultimately, we’re creating a research infrastructure that supports creative thinking and incubates good ideas.” One example is a policy concept known as a guaranteed annual income (GAI). While there are many different approaches to a GAI, the initiative would essentially provide each citizen with a base sum of money. Harrison has studied this complex issue since the 1970s, and while the logistics of implementing a GAI system would be considerable, it would also offer a number of advantages. They include administrative efficiencies, the reduction or elimination of poverty and an increasingly mobile workforce that can afford to move around the country.
systems and individuals have to address,” says McDaniel. “But once they have the information they need, they have the potential to act upon it. “People are hungry for knowledge. And we’re training them how to look beyond myths and build a better society. It will lead to better voters, parents, consumers and caregivers.”
GAI supplements, however, are just one of many ideas being analysed at the Prentice Institute. And it’s all part of an effort to inform public and private policies that will better reflect, and keep up with, a changing Canada and world. To raise awareness of this vital work, Prentice Institute researchers participate in conferences and dialogue sessions, and contribute to articles, journals and books. Finally, there are future plans to build international partnerships with sister institutes. “There are many challenges that governments, corporations, education
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