USask researchers awarded SAGE Prize for Innovation and Excellence

Four researchers from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) are winners of the 2021 SAGE Prize for Innovation and Excellence from the British Sociological Association (BSA).

The SAGE Prize for Innovation and Excellence is awarded annually to one paper in each of the BSA’s journals: Cultural Sociology, Sociological Research Online, Sociology and Work, Employment and Society.

Dr. Elizabeth Quinlan (PhD), a faculty member in the Department of Sociology in USask’s College of Arts and Science, is the lead author of the award-winning paper “Ameliorating Workplace Harassment among Direct Caregivers in Canada’s Healthcare System: A Theatre-Based Intervention,” published in Work, Employment and Society.

Quinlan co-authored the paper with the late Dr. Susan Robertson (PhD), from the Department of Sociology; Dr. Ann-Marie Urban (PhD), from the University of Regina; Dr. Isobel M. Findlay (PhD), co-director of the Community-University Institute for Social Research (CUISR); and Dr. Beth Bilson (PhD), from USask’s College of Law and College of Education.

Quinlan is an award-winning researcher who recently received funding through Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to conduct a case study on a historic Canadian labour dispute involving 17,000 mine workers in Ontario. By capturing firsthand accounts from participants in the 1958 Inco strike, many of whom are now in their 80s or 90s, Quinlan aims to make a major contribution to the historical record and compile her research into a book.

Robertson, a USask graduate and longtime sessional lecturer and research associate in the Department of Sociology, passed away suddenly on March 21, 2021. An avid reader, the Dr. Susan Robertson Memorial Book Fund has since been established to honour her legacy.

Findlay, a USask professor emerita, is the leader of a research team that has partnered with researchers across Canada to study how different types of affordable rental housing impact the lives of marginalized people and families.

Bilson began teaching law at USask in 1979 and, 20 years later, was named the first female dean of the College of Law, a role she has filled three times throughout her career. She has also served as University Secretary and is currently the interim dean in the College of Education.

The SAGE Prize for Innovation and Excellence is awarded to the paper published in the previous year’s volume judged to represent innovation or excellence in the field.

The judges provided the following comments on the paper by Quinlan, Robertson, Urban, Findlay and Bilson: “We were all impressed by the very innovative methodology, but also by the way it situated the lived experience of workers in the context of managerial practices and the dynamics of contemporary capitalism. Together with its commitment to playing a part in positive change, all of this gave the paper a really strong and memorable impact.”

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