6th Annual Emerging Scholars Workshop

August 8th, 2012
in Partners Newsletter

By Kirsten J. Barnes, Center for Community-Based Partnerships

Before young scholars take part in the National Outreach Scholarship Conference, a select few participate in the Emerging Engagement Scholarship Workshop, a program that pairs doctoral graduate researchers or recent graduates with proven faculty members who will assist them in mapping out their research plans.

This year the workshop, held in conjunction with NOSC 2012 at The University of Alabama, is co-chaired by Dr. Lisa Townson of the University of New Hampshire and Dr. Becky Reamey of UA.

Townson has been a part of the workshop since its inception.

"It wasn't my idea, but a group of doctoral students who had been attending the conference for a few years said wouldn't it be great to have something like this geared toward emerging scholars as opposed to people who had been doing it for many years," said Townson, who at the time was a doctoral student herself.

That was more than five years ago. Now the workshop mentors 15-20 people each year, connecting them with each other and leaders in their field.

"The Emerging Engagement Scholars Program is an application process that starts in February," Reamey said, adding that applicants are required to submit a paper on their research interests. "We had over 40 people apply for the program."

The program is open to doctoral students and junior faculty members with an interest in engaged scholarship. The applicants come from all research institutions, not just NOSC member universities, and their research involves all subject areas.

"We open it up to everyone doing community engagement scholarship," Reamey said. "We recruited heavily not only from NOSC member institutions, but from outside those institutions as well."

Cheryl Morgan, Auburn University School of Architecture Urban Studio

Those selected this year are Christel Beverly of Michigan State University, researching sports psychology; Jackie Brodsky of the University of Alabama, researching age-related physiological disabilities; Lisa Brown of the University of Georgia, researching civic engagement and private colleges and universities; Robert Coffey Jr., Michigan State, researching postsecondary education; Weston Eaton, Michigan State, investigating decision-making and social movements within the bio-economy; Carie Hertzberg, Johnson and Wales University, doing research related to at-risk college students; Demetricia Hodges, Georgia State University, studying educational leadership; Shelly Hoover-Plonk, East Carolina University, studying higher education; Tanja Karp of Texas Tech University, studying electrical and computer engineering; Bethan Kingsley of the University of Alberta, researching physical activity as it relates to low-income youth; Monica Kowel of New Mexico State University, service-learning; Abigail Julia Lynch of Michigan State, researching the link between fish conservation and management and human systems; Kellie Mayfield, Michigan State, human nutrition; Carrie Menendez of the University of Chicago, urban planning and policy; Quixada Moore-Vissing of the University of New Hampshire, education; Stacey Muse of the University of Denver, researching higher education; Jennifer Purcell of the University of Georgia, engagement as related to higher education; Dana Sanchez of Oregon State University researches studies fisheries and wildlife; Marc Schure of Ohio State, public health; and Nicole Thompson, University of Memphis, elementary education.

Brodsky, who is pursuing a doctorate in Communication and Information Sciences, had already attended two NOSC conferences. Yet, she decided to apply this year because she was farther along in her research than in previous years.

"I wanted to get more information about working with community partners," said Brodsky, who is working on her dissertation proposal concerning how age-related disabilities affect people's use of information technology.

Although she has engaged scholarship experience, she does not have experience working with a community partner as the lead investigator.

"I'd like to have the benefit of working with a community agency and incorporating their goals into my work," Brodsky said. "Just hearing about the research process from someone who has been through it will be helpful. I know that whomever they put me with will have experience in engaged scholarship as the principal investigator."

During the workshop, participants will be exposed to information concerning community engaged scholarship through background literature, facilitated discussion and presentations from national leaders and community partners.

These are the things Townson and her fellow doctoral students had in mind when they discussed the idea.

"We're building a community of junior faculty and advanced doctoral students who are really interested in producing scholarly work that engages communities," Townson said, adding that this community has created scholars who have gone on to become NOSC presenters and who have remained active with community partners while conducting new research, even collaborating with other scholars and mentors for later projects. "They have built their own community of people who are interested in community engagement."

In addition they will work with mentors during the conference and afterward. Although this year's mentors have not been finalized, Dr. Heather Pleasants, director of Community Education at the Center for Community-Based Partnerships, worked as a mentor last year, advising about five Emerging Scholars.

"Across the board, the people who participated in the experience said it was the best part of the conference, hands down," Pleasants said. "The opportunity to get feedback on a work in progress was an invaluable experience."

Pleasants said not only did the mentees have the opportunity to listen to presentations by leading scholars, but they also had the chance to ask questions and talk to them on a more personal basis for an extended period of time.

Although most Emerging Scholars sessions will be on the UA campus, the opening dinner will be in Birmingham, with Cheryl Morgan of the Auburn School of Architecture's Urban Studio as guest speaker.

100 Lenses

August 6th, 2012
in NOSC 2012 Glances

By Kirsten J. Barnes
CCBP Graduate Assistant

Editor's note: UA graduate student Elliot Knight and community partner Kristen Law will be among the more than 250 researchers presenting their findings at NOSC 2012, September 30"“October 3 at The University of Alabama. Knight will be presenting as a student, Law as a community partner.

Elliot Knight grew up in Opelika, Ala., more than 100 miles from the heart of Alabama's Black Belt, the area where he has concentrated his doctoral research. Already a budding photographer when he entered the University, he immediately began using his craft to capture campus life, envisioning ways to get others involved in this most expressive and reflective experience.

Thus, Black Belt 100 Lenses was born. All he needed was a partner. That came when the Black Belt Community Foundation joined forces with the Center for Community-Based Partnerships, where Knight was a graduate assistant.

The program reaches out to high school students who live in rural Alabama to equip them with both cameras and the knowledge to use them. Students learn to become independent community storytellers in words and pictures, and in the process they learn the skills of community leadership, leadership that will result in stronger, more equitable communities.

"This research has given me a much better understanding of the processes and contexts that lead to students feeling more creative and confident," said Knight as he nears completion of his doctorate in interdisciplinary studies, with 100 Lenses the focus of his dissertation.

Knight has seen students become more engaged in their communities and take on leadership roles in their schools and communities. With assistance from CCBP and the Black Belt Community Foundation, this program has helped hundreds of youth develop their leadership and communication abilities.

"This research allowed me to conceptualize, design and implement future programs and creative learning environments that meet students' creative, leadership and educational goals," Knight said.

The title of Knight's presentation is "100 Lenses: How Arts-Based Youth Partnerships Transform Students’ Lives. The title of Law's presentation is "Creative Philanthropy: Engaging Rural Youth Through Black Belt 100 Lenses."

Social Media

August 6th, 2012
in NOSC 2012 Glances

By Kirsten J. Barnes

Center for Community-Based Partnerships

Social media is a fascination for Mohamed Elmie Bin Nekmat. Therefore, conducting research related to the impact of social media on society was a natural fit for the Communication and Information Sciences doctoral student.

"I feel that more needs to be done in understanding the role of communication technologies, particularly the socialness embedded in these technologies, toward bringing social change," said Nekmat, a native of Singapore.

Using undergraduate students at The University of Alabama, his research studied how students perceived and received social media messages and what caused them to react or resend these messages.

"In order for someone to think and learn about campaign messages from others in social media, it is not enough for one to just read the messages received," Nekmat said. "He or she needs to reformulate the message and resend the messages to others."

Furthermore, his research uncovered implications on how some messages cause people to act, but not the way intended by the campaign.

"Unfortunately, I found that the messages they resend to others may not necessarily be positive," he said. "In the case of an anti-drunk driving campaign, they included sarcastic and cynical messages."

Rural Health Care

August 6th, 2012
in NOSC 2012 Glances

By Kirsten J. Barnes

Center for Community-Based Partnerships

Having grown up in Alabama, W. Sim Butler was familiar with health care issues in his home state. However, while working on his doctorate in Communication and Information Sciences, Butler discovered a connection between the medical and information fields.

"The negotiation of health care, especially within rural communities, created an intersection of these interests," said Butler, a Montgomery native working on his third degree from The University of Alabama.

By focusing on rural health care and the shortage of primary care physicians and specialists, Butler was able to gain insight into the medical needs of these communities. "I recently traveled to Greensboro, Ala., an amazing small town in the western part of the state," Butler said. "There, some wonderful community leaders are struggling with unique rural health care issues. Those leaders inspired me to learn more about the training and education of rural health care providers."

Although one-fifth of America lives in rural places, only about 10 percent of physicians practice there. Because they travel greater distances to reach a medical facilitiy, rural residents are nearly twice as likely as urban citizens to die from injuries. These and other issues related to rural life and health care led Butler to pursue his research. The title of his presentation is "Doc Out of the Box: Recruiting Doctors to Rural Communities."

Text4baby

August 6th, 2012
in NOSC 2012 Glances

Richard Mocarski is interested in disenfranchised groups of society. Therefore, the opportunity to look into the efforts of the text4baby program to engage those who have limited access to healthcare providers peeked his interest.

"Our initial analysis of text4baby showed, unfortunately, major flaws in the program," Mocarski said of his findings. "While the program is noble in its endeavors and successfully circumvents some access barriers, the actual information and advice provided via text is mostly useless."

These preliminary findings regarding the free service shifted the focus of the study. Instead of studying the impact of text4babies, Mocarski and co-author Sim Butler, are focusing instead on ways to use the technology to provide better information to participants.

"We are currently working with a lead social worker at St. Anne's in Los Angeles. Her particular program is a half-way-house and counseling center for pregnant teenagers without reliable support networks or means," said Mocarski, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Communication and Information Sciences. "Together we are developing research protocols to engage both healthcare providers and their patients to better understand effective ways to use digital means in providing effective heath information to marginalized populations."

Binge Drinking Among College Students

August 6th, 2012
in NOSC 2012 Glances

By Kirsten J. Barnes
Center for Community-Based Partnerships

Although graduate students conduct most engaged scholarship work at The University of Alabama, undergraduate students also are getting involved in the process.

For public relations major Sam Nathews, the opportunity to assist with a campaign focusing on an undergraduate problem, created a unique opportunity to engage fellow students and gain real-world experience.

LessThanUThink was a campaign launched to raise awareness about binge drinking among college students.

While working with the Capstone Agency, UA's student-run public relations firm, Nathews worked with the Century Council, UA's Student Health Center, The National Alcohol Beverage Control Association and the Alabama Beverage Control Board to partner with six campuses to raise awareness concerning the dangers of binge drinking among students at six campuses throughout the state.

In addition to UA students, the campaign reached out to the following schools: Auburn University; the University of Alabama, Birmingham; Troy University; University of South Alabama; and Alabama State University.

Studying Victims of Abuse

August 6th, 2012
in NOSC 2012 Glances

By Kirsten J. Barnes

Center for Community-Based Partnerships

As an experienced social worker and founding director of the Morgan County Child Advocacy Center, Teresa Hicks Young knows first hand how important it is to have experienced people when dealing with victims of abuse.

However, the idea to conduct research on family and victim advocates in Child Advocacy Centers came about during a conversation with an employee of the National Children's Advocacy Center in Huntsville, Ala.

"She identified the need to learn more about family victim advocates who work in children's advocacy centers," said Young, whose study focused on who the workers were and what they do. "It was this simple question that formed the initial idea for the study."

By partnering with the national organization and four regional Children's Advocacy Centers, the Hartselle, Ala., native developed a survey to determine which job-related functions had the most impact on victims.

"Our analysis revealed that family victim advocates rated critical and non-critical job duties of equal importance," said Young, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in social work. "This is an important issue for children and families in this situation and indicates the need for training to address the importance of critical job duties being given priority over non-critical job duties."

NOSC 2012, September 30 "“ October 3

August 6th, 2012
in News

Scholars to Present Research about Bamboo Farming and Marketing

By Kirsten J. Barnes, Center for Community-Based Partnerships

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Dr. Marcy L. Koontz, associate professor in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, joined by a host of student and community partner assistants, will present “Bamboo as Catalyst for Creative, Educational, and Economic Engagement Opportunities” at NOSC 2012.

Koontz and colleagues Jamie Cicatiello, Hunter Rayfield and Roger Lewis have been at the forefront of bamboo-related research since 2010, using community-engaged scholarship principles.

"I have been involved with the bamboo initiative since it started in Alabama in the spring of 2010," said Koontz, who has worked at UA for 15 years. She believes by using a plant reproductive technique developed by Jackie Heinricher, a professor and researcher at Washington State University, bamboo can become a cash crop in Alabama.

Koontz said she enjoys the community-engaged form of scholarship, because it allows her to introduce her research into her surroundings and to be actively engaged in her community.

"I was seeking in my profession, and in all aspects of my life, a reawakening of that community aspect of my life that I had when I was growing up," said Koontz, adding that she found that familiar sense of community in Northport.

Each year the United States imports millions of dollars worth of bamboo for blinds, flooring and other wood furniture. However, it is not grown locally.

"The unique thing about bamboo is that it only flowers every 60 to 100 years," Koontz said. "It may only flower one time in a person's lifetime." This makes the availability of seeds rare and expensive for the crop to be an option for Alabama farmers.

However, Heinricher has been able to take one plant and produce up to 2,000 tissue cultures, which will develop into their own bamboo plants, making it more economical for the plant to be grown in economically disadvantaged areas like Alabama's Black Belt.

In 2010 Heinricher came to Alabama to talk to farmers about the possibility and to see if they felt it would be a good fit for their farms.

"I came out of that experience with an idea that if Alabama was going to become a leader in bamboo agroforestry, we needed to start with education," Koontz said. Thus she began introducing the concept to farmers, students, academicians and others.

"If they became engaged with bamboo in some way, it could drive this initiative and make it acceptable," she said.

To do this, Koontz came up with an idea to build a learning park made with bamboo. The Friends of Historic Northport had just been given 200 acres within the city limits, said Koontz. She asked the board to set aside five acres for the park, and in November 2010 the award was made. However, the April 27, 2011, tornado delayed the progress.

"We got the land cleared and then the tornado happened," Koontz said. "Our focus shifted to recovery and helping, but after that we regrouped and we are going full speed now. In the next couple of weeks we will be tilling the soil."

In the meantime, Koontz and her colleagues have been going to schools, events and meetings to talk about bamboo and engaging students who are making various things from bamboo, including paper and charcoal.

"One of the good things about working with a project like bamboo is you can be really creative," Koontz said. "We had a bamboo game show at Boys State. We involved them in the learning process."

Once the park is open students will be able to do interactive activities, see how the plant is grown, and use an application that works on cellular phones or tablets that tells visitors about various stations located inside the park as they walk through.

Koontz's NOSC presentation will be in the form of a poster symposium and involve more than a dozen community partners and students. The presentation is entitled "Bamboo as Catalyst for Creative, Educational, and Economic Engagement Opportunities."

IARSLCE Seeks Conference Proceedings Fellows

August 1st, 2012
in News

By Christi Cowan, CCBP Graduate Assistant

The International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE ) seeks applications for its 2012/2013 Conference Proceedings Editorial Fellows. The fellows produce the new online IARSLCE Annual Conference Proceedings in collaboration with the IARSLCE Publications Committee and the Graduate Student Network.

To apply, submit a letter of interest and CV or resume to Senior Editorial Fellows Barbara Harrison (barbara.a.harrison@gmail.com) and Kathleen Edwards (keedwar2@uncg.edu) by February 14, 2012. Please include a motivation for applying, professional or personal learning goals for the process, scholarly or research interests and relevant experience.

The Proceedings is available before, during, and after the annual conference and includes summaries of the sessions from the conference. It provides a platform for dialogue and enhanced access to scholars and scholarship from around the world.

Editorial Fellows also are exposed to professional development, collaboration and co-construction of scholarly products, and participation in an international learning community. The Fellows are led by two senior editorial fellows and two established practitioner-scholar editors. The team includes incoming Fellows and those who participated the previous year.

The role is a two-year commitment. The Fellows are responsible for editing conference proposals, designing creative expressions of scholarly work, corresponding with session facilitators, reflecting critically on the collaborative process, and promoting and disseminating the Proceedings.

Previous editing experience is desirable but not required. Potential Fellows must be willing to participate in regular Skype calls, actively engage in online communication and decision-making, possess a learning-orientation toward the process, be able to follow through on commitments and meet deadlines. Fellows will be appointed and begin their work in late February 2013. Much of the editorial work will occur May through August.

For more information, visit http://www.researchslce.org/.

Month: August 2012

Month: August 2012

Scholars to Present Research about Bamboo Farming and Marketing