Core Faculty
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Tracey Adams, Ph.D. Department of Sociology Telephone: 519-661-2111 Ext. 85120 |
Research Interests: Dr. Adams' research explores health professions, and other professions more broadly. Much of her research has focussed on the dentistry and dental hygiene professions, and the ways in which gender shapes professional status and professional divisions of labour within health care. She has also published a number of papers on inter-professional relations, inter-professional conflict and professionalization. Her current SSHRC-funded research project examines the relationship between professions and the state in several Canadian provinces, with a special focus on health professions. The research explores why provincial governments regulate some professions and not others, and why modes of regulation change across time, province, and from one profession to another.
William R. Avison, Ph.D. Director of Aging & Health Research Centre, Professor of Sociology and Paediatrics, Chair and Scientist, Child Health and Well-Being Program, Child Health Research Institute, London Health Sciences Centre Telephone: 519-661-2111 Ext. 85515 |
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Research Interests: Dr. Avison's research interests focus on the sociology of mental health with a focus on the effects of family structure and social stress on the health of parents and their children.
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Ingrid Connidis, Ph.D. Department of Sociology Telephone: 519-661-2111 Ext. 86414 |
Research Interests: Dr. Connidis' primary research interest is family ties and aging. Social support is a central feature of social life and family ties are an important facet of social support. A key objective of much of her work has been to broaden our understanding by studying relationships and groups that are often excluded. Sibling ties and the family ties of childless middle-aged and older persons have been the focus of numerous articles. Publications on the confidant and confiding networks illustrate the variety of ways that older persons negotiate their family relationships. Her current research is on three main topics: the family ties of gay and lesbian adults; step ties in adulthood; and sibling relationships in middle and later life. In all of these, the concept of ambivalence is applied in order to link individual action, relationship negotiation, and social structure. Recurring themes in her work include the centrality of gender to family life, the value of a life course perspective, the significance of context when examining any particular relationship, and the policy implications of research results.
Lorraine Davies, Ph.D. Department of Sociology Telephone: 519-661-2111 Ext. 85137 OR 84717 |
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Research Interests: Dr. Davies is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology. Her research focuses on gender inequality; specifically, how social structural arrangements affect psychosocial processes and mental health outcomes. She is interested in understanding the impact of diversity in women's experiences by parent status, marital status, age and employment status on health. Her most recent project is a qualitative longitudinal study that examines how women make decisions about infant feeding.
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Julie McMullin, Ph.D. Director, Workforce Aging in the New Economy Department of Sociology Telephone: 519-661-2111 Ext. 85117 |
Research Interests: Julie McMullin is the Acting Dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences and an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario. She received her B.A. and MA from the University of Western Ontario and her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Her recent work examines social inequality in paid work, especially in relation to older workers. She is currently the principal investigator on a multi-disciplinary research project that is examining workforce aging, the proliferation of employment in information technology, and new economy issues in Canada, the United States, the European Union, and Australia. Her book, Understanding Social Inequality: Class, Age, Gender, Ethnicity, and Race in Canada (2004), was recently published by Oxford University Press.
Kim Shuey, Ph.D. Department of Sociology Telephone: 519-661-2111 Ext. 85135 |
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Research Interests: Kim Shuey's ongoing research includes examinations of inequality in workplace disability accommodations; the relationship between socioeconomic status and health across the life course and in later life; and research on the complexities of intergenerational relationship quality.
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Andrea Willson, Ph.D. Department of Sociology Telephone: 519-661-2111 Ext. 85132 |
Research Interests: Andrea Willson's research is in the area of social inequality over the life course. Her current research projects include examinations of the dynamic relationship between socioeconomic status and health over the life course, including a comparative study of health inequality in Canada and the U.S. Dr. Willson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Director of the Centre.
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