UAlberta Law 3L student and Roger S Smith Undergraduate Research Award recipient Arooj Shah
As one of 15 Roger S Smith Researcher Award recipients, Arooj Shah, 25, is working closely with Assistant Professor Anna Lund on research related to gambling and its link to bankruptcy and the insolvency trustee system.
The research Shah, a 3L student, and Lund are working on is a continuation of Lund's previous work looking into insolvency trustees and the way they deal with people with gambling disorders.
In this project, Arooj and Lund look at research on problem gambling as an evolving field and attempt to apply it to the bankruptcy context. Their end goal is to create guidelines to help insolvency trustees who may not be aware or know how to identify the situation to ensure problem gamblers receive the assistance they need.
Throughout the summer, Shah gathered and analyzed existing research on problem gambling - like how it is identified and treated - and now she and Lund are applying that research to the field of bankruptcy law. Currently, Shah is working on an article with Lund as co-author, wherein her tasks include identifying financial indicators that could be red flags for someone with a gambling problem as well researching financial interventions that could possibly help a problem gambler.
For Shah, one of the most enjoyable aspects of her research topic is its interdisciplinary nature.
"It takes the evolving area of problem gambling and determines how it can be applied in the legal context. We're not necessarily changing the legislation, but at the very least we're helping change the way the law is practiced to be more in line with the growing understanding of gambling as a problem," said Shah.
With Lund's support, Shah will be presenting the research at an undergraduate festival in March, as well as at a conference in April held by the Alberta Gambling Research Institute.
Shah said Lund's passion for the topic has inspired her to continue the work in the future.
"The law should always keep pace with what's happening in broader society and the issues we're identifying within it. There is something inherently wrong with treating people with a disorder differently, but over time, I think society has come to recognize that not everyone who gambles is a problematic person and that laws should be applied fairly."
The Roger S Smith Undergraduate Research Award is intended to cultivate and support research partnership between undergraduate students and Faculty members in SSHRC-fundable disciplines at the University of Alberta. More information on this award is available here.