2008-2009
Recipients
| Adjunct Faculty Vitality Projects | Collaborative Vitality Projects | Faculty Excellence Projects | ||
| Faculty Vitality Projects | New Faculty Projects |
Adjunct Faculty Vitality Projects
Perceived Barriers and Incentives for Participation in a University Wellness Program
Spring 2009
Trever Ball, Health Promotion and Human Performance
Substantial increases in United States (U.S.) health care costs over the past two decades attribute in large part to an aging population, and a significant increase in preventable diseases (Arias, 2007; McGinnis & Foege, 1993; National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS], 2009). Worksite health promotion (WHP) programs have emerged as a core strategy to prevent disease as well as improve the success of businesses (Chapman, 2005; Harden, Peersman, Oliver, Mauthner, & Oakley, 1999; Ogden et al., 2006; Shain & Kramer, 2004). Successful WHP programs have demonstrated not only to considerably improve the health of employees, but also the financial bottom line of their employers (Chapman, 2005; Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). It is important to collect employee opinions in order to make WHP programs relevant and acceptable (Chenoweth, 1999; Glasgow et al., 1993; Serxner et al., 2004a). Leading WHP investigators suggest that by targeting setting-specific barriers it is possible to compare findings across work settings with similar characteristics (Kruger et al., 2007). A considerable number of people and higher education institutions could benefit from evaluating their employee barriers and incentives to participation in WHP programs. The purpose of this study is to determine the perceived barriers and incentives for participation in an existing comprehensive employee wellness program at Weber State University.
Oral Proficiency Interview Training
Spring 2009
Electra Fielding, Foreign Languages
Professor Fielding has worked in the department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Weber State University since Fall 1999 teaching Spanish courses, both lower and upper division. The department’s curriculum is based on the national standards for measuring language proficiency according to the ACTFL (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages). The ACTFL offers a workshop twice a year in order to train foreign language instructors in assessing how well students communicate orally in the target language. The OPI (oral proficiency interview) workshops not only train instructors to be more effective when rating a student’s progress, but they also offer information regarding the most current educational topics having to do with foreign language education. This workshop will prove beneficial in enhancing her skills of assessing student performance based on oral proficiency, establishing classroom goals based on student performance, and implementing the basic principles of teaching and testing for proficiency into her class programs. The OPI workshops take place twice a year in specific locations. In 2009, the dates and locations are Bemidji, Minnesota (3-6 August), and San Diego, California (16-19 November).
The Euphoria of the Performing Space, Maria Santalo in the Seagull
Spring 2009
Dolores Jasmer, Foreign Languages
Professor Jasmer is requesting funds to pay for the registration fee of the annual convention of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, where she will present a paper. The convention will be celebrated at Snowbird, Utah, in October 8-10, 2009. Her paper focuses on an analysis of Fernán Caballero’s novel La gaviota from a feminist perspective. Cecilia Bohl, under the pseudonym of Fernán Caballero, addresses in her book La gaviota (The Seagull) the dilemma faced by intellectual minded women of the 19th century, who were trapped in the repressive societal conventions of that era. With great skill she brings up this reality without compromising her upper class status. Contemporary readers misinterpreted her message considering it a didactic style of reinforcing the traditional role of women. A more serious reader would come to the realization that her message is one of protest.
Geoeffective Solar Eruptions and Energetic Particles
Spring 2009
Simranjit Kaur, Physics
Activity from the Sun greatly affects the Earth’s magnetic field. It creates temporary worldwide disturbances to the magnetic field known as geomagnetic storms. Professor Kaur's goal is to investigate how the Sun’s activity determined the nature and strength of the geomagnetic storms from 1996 to 2009. The aspects of solar activity that he will include in his study are: the solar wind, solar flares, solar eruptions and solar energetic particles.
Becoming a Better Adjunct Instructor
Spring 2009
Gail Niklason, Information Technology
Professor Niklason has taught as an adjunct faculty member for about 8 years, but she has never had formal training in ‘teaching’. She feels that by obtaining a thorough grounding in learning theory and understanding the unique challenges and opportunities of teaching adults that she could improve her teaching presence and effectiveness. She is requesting support to take two classes through the University of Wyoming’s Adult Learning and Technology program, in which she is enrolled as a doctoral student, during the summer semester.
The Nevada Test Site: Ongoing Victimhood, Complicity, and Denial in a Former Weapons-Producing Community
Spring 2009
Dynette Reynolds, History
Using both historical and contemporary evidence, this project will examine the changing ways in which "nuclear Utah" has been constructed during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Religion has obviously played a key role in the shaping of Utah’s identity over the years, but archetypal American myths as well as political ideologies have also been important. At the dawn of the atomic age, Utahns were viewed by outsiders as the last remnants of the mythical Jeffersonian yeoman farmer. Yet they saw themselves very differently, as fully modern citizens of the nation-state. That self-image may have led them to embrace science and technology so thoroughly that they were easily co-opted into various weapons-making projects during the 1950s, including the nearby Nevada Test Site where atomic bombs were being tested. In the 1980s, after it became clear that atomic testing was covering Utah with clouds of radioactive fallout, a powerful anti-nuclear, anti-government movement developed in Utah. During this era, Utahns were often depicted in the media and popular culture as irrational, reactionary Luddites. At the same time, certain Utahns began denying that damage had occurred, positioning themselves as scientifically enlightened progressives. Bitter social tensions arose among previously harmonious communities as Utahns fought over the risks of nuclear technologies. During the last eight years, Utah’s nuclear identity has changed yet again. Politicians and community leaders who were formerly anti-nuclear have begun to embrace new forms of nuclearism, including nuclear waste storage and nuclear power. This change was heavily influenced by the ideology of free-market capitalism that prevailed throughout the nation under the Bush administration. But the issue is also complicated by the fact that Utah now has its own highly knowledgeable scientists and doctors, who both embrace and contest nuclear technologies, forming yet more layers of nuclear image-making. Professor Reynold's paper will present a fuller picture of what it means to be a complicit and conflicted nuclear community in the contemporary world.
Presentation of a Paper at Latin American Studies Association
Spring 2009
Maritza Sotomayer, Economics
The LASA conference is one of the most well attended events regarding Latin American issues. It is expecting more than 5,000 members this year, from the United States and different countries in Latin America and Europe. It is a good opportunity of present a paper and receive feedback and to attend different sessions. The objective of Professor Sotomayer's article is to review the main theoretical contributions regarding vertical product specialization and their application to the in-bond (maquiladora) industry in Mexico. In particular, the in-bond industry trade has been measured as part of the total intra-industry manufacturing trade. However, according to several vertical specialization theories, data regarding in-bond trade should be calculated separately. For Mexican trade this distinction is significant since the maquiladora industry has been an important source of foreign income and is crucial for trade between Mexico and the United States. Furthermore, the maquiladora industry has been the main industry for the Northern Border of Mexico and it changed the economic landscape of that region since its establishment in 1965. Therefore, a review of the main theoretical studies regarding the vertical production specialization can be helpful in defining which type of measurement could be applied for this type of trade.
Collaborative Vitality Projects
Writing to Learn Initiative
Spring 2009
Shannon Butler, English
Gary Dohrer, English
Adam Johnston, Physics
Brenda Kowalewski, Sociology
John Cavitt, Zoology
This proposal seeks to sustain and expand the Faculty Writing Initiative (FWI), a WSU learning community of faculty from across the curriculum who have been studying and applying writing-to-learn techniques for the past two years. The Wasatch Range Writing Project (The Weber State Site of the National Writing Project) and the Teaching Learning Forum, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Community Involvement will collaborate to sponsor this project. The FWI began Spring ’08 as a series of eight workshop sessions for faculty serious about improving student writing and thinking in their courses. Fifteen faculty from across campus participated in these workshops. In Fall '08, these faculty continued to explore writing pedagogy that facilitates student learning and to workshop their own professional writing. This Spring '09, they will stay engaged through six additional sessions and have invited additional faculty to join them in a book discussion group of John Bean's Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Critical Thinking, Writing, and Active Learning in the Classroom, sponsored by the Teaching Learning Forum (TFL). They plan to design a research project focused on the effects of peer and faculty feedback on student writing that they can begin implementing in Fall '09. Their efforts during these two years have been supported by the Provost’s Office.
Effects of Psychological Interventions to Reduce Stress in Competitive Athletes: A Series of Pilot Studies Assessing Individual Relaxation and Imagery Scripts
Spring 2009
Rodney Hansen, Health Promotion and Human Performance
Michael Olpin, Health Promotion and Human Performance
Current rehabilitation of athletic injury is mainly focused on physical activity or therapy; however, recovery from sport injury is just as much mental and it is physical (Anderson & Williams, 1998; Wiese-Bjornstal, et al., 1998). Specifically, as athletes prepare for a difficult/long rehabilitation, or to return to their sport following injury, relaxation and mental imagery have been shown to aid the athlete in shorter recovery times (Ievleva & Orlick, 1991, 1999; LaMott &Petlichkoff, 1991; Potter, 1995; Ross & Berger, 1996) and lessens pain and anxiety over the course of rehabilitation (Ross & Berger, 1996). Furthermore, Kiecolt-Glaser, Marucha, Malarkey, Mercardo, and Glaser (1995) concluded that psychological stress that accompanies all athletic injuries but varies individually, directly slows wound healing. Existing research supports the effectiveness of imagery in the rehabilitation setting as a self-confidence enhancer (Garza & Feltz, 1998) and as a motivator (Beauchamp, Halliwell, Fournier, & Koestner, 1996; Hamson-Utley & Vazquez, 2008; Martin & Hall, 1995). Additionally, Richardson and Latuda (1995) claim that imagery can be used during sport-injury rehabilitation to increase recovery speed, motivate athletes to adhere to the rehabilitation program, control arousal levels, and to enhance confidence (See also Cupal, 1998; Cupal & Brewer, 2001; Green, 1992; Hamson, 2006; Johnson, 2000; Milne, Hall & Forwell, 2005). Different types of relaxation & imagery scripts are suggested for use during the different stages of rehabilitation; immediately following injury and pre-operatively (Phase I), strength rehabilitation (Phase II), and return to sport (Phase III) (Hamson-Utley, 2007). Practitioners who work with injured athletes (athletic trainers and physical therapists) report to have less confidence in the use of relaxation and mental imagery as compared to goal setting (a more tangible intervention) possibly due to the lack of empirical research to support the claims (Hamson-Utley, 2007; Hamson-Utley, Martin, Walters, 2008). This study will add to the body of research by experimentally examining the effect of psychological interventions on stress levels of competitive athletes, thereby providing validity to the practice of implementing the mental side of rehabilitation/alongside the physical recovery.
Moving Away From Childhood Obesity: A Multidimensional Intervention Program in Head Start
Spring 2009
Wei Qui, Child & Family Studies
Volkan Sahin, Child & Family Studies
Cuauhtemoc Carboni, Health Promotion and Human Performance
Childhood obesity is a prevalent issue that is affecting our society. Minority children from low-income families are at even higher risks of childhood obesity. This project will focus on preventing childhood obesity among children and families in the Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership (OWCAP) Head Start program. Taking an ecological approach, the researchers will implement a multidimensional intervention program in the OWCAP Head Start classrooms as well as children’s homes. The objectives are to increase children’s physical activity, reduce sedentary media time, promote healthy eating, and inform teachers and parents of effective ways to prevent childhood obesity. Evaluation of the program will be done through multiple measures and a pretest-posttest experimental design.
Weber State University Summer Solo and Chamber Music Camp
Spring 2009
Victor Uzur, Performing Arts
Shi-Hwa Wang, Performing Arts
One very effective way to establish strong visibility for Weber State University and attract talented students, is to provide an opportunity for students to come and study with our distinguished faculty in the Department of Performing Arts. At WSU the violin, cello, and piano areas are considered among the finest in the state and the nation. The establishment of the Weber State University Summer Solo and Chamber Music Camp (WSUSMC) greatly helps our visibility and exposure for prospective students.
Faculty Excellence Projects
The Role of Ambiguity on the Preferences for Preservation of Environmental Species: An Experiment
Spring 2009
Therese Grijalva, Economics
The purpose of Professor Grijalva's study is to conduct economic experiments to explore preferences for preserving environmental resources that provide known and unknown future benefits. In an experimental setting, individuals will be asked to make decisions about either preserving or developing resources, where development may irreversibly deplete a critical species. The preservation of environmental resources and species offer many benefits to individuals; however, some of the benefits of preserving species are unknown (e.g., many of the species offer pharmaceutical benefits, yet only a small fraction have been examined for these potential benefits). The study attempts to test a game-theoretic analysis presented by Palmini (1999); Palmini demonstrates that a risk averse society will choose to preserve a resource/species with uncertain future benefits unless the foregone development benefits are substantial. An economics laboratory setting will be used to test this finding.
Weber--The Contemporary West (Vol 26, #3, Fall 2010)
Spring 2009
Michael Wutz
Professor Wutz seeks one-time funding for the publication of one additional issue of Weber—The Contemporary West, Weber State University’s interdisciplinary and cross-cultural humanities journal, in Fall of 2010. The journal typically appears tri-quarterly and is in its 26th year of continuing publication. Recent WSU budget cuts, however, have necessitated a reduction in the journal’s circulation from three to one a year beginning with our 2010 publication cycle. With support from RSPG/Hemingway, he hopes to finance publication and distribution for one additional issue that year (to a total of 2) to give the journal continued visibility and staying power. His understanding is that, as budget woes ease, the University Administration intends to underwrite publication of the journal at its previous level.
Faculty Vitality Projects
Presentation: Class-wide Academic and Behavioral Strategies to Address the Needs of Students in a Variety of Settings
Spring 2009
Melina Alexander, Teacher Education
Natalie Williams, Teacher Education
Funds are being requested to attend the 2009 International Association of Special Education (IASE) conference. This is the 11th Biennial Conference for IASE and the theme is Broadening the Horizon: Recognizing, Accepting, and Embracing Differences to Make a Better World for Individuals with Special Needs. Professors Alexander and Williams feel privileged to be presenting at this conference as it only occurs every two years and the number of presenters chosen is limited. When working with students with special needs the focus is often on interventions for the individual, however these sessions will provide strategies that address the entire class. They will demonstrate how to effectively implement behavioral interventions including establishing classroom procedures, group contingencies, lottery systems, self-management and other class-wide systems. They will also demonstrate how to effectively implement class-wide academic strategies including choral responding, response cards and class-wide peer-tutoring.
Writing, Violence, and Eroticism in the Work of Diamela Eltit
Spring 2009
Isabel Asensio, Foreign Languages
Professor Asensio is requesting travel money to present a paper at the XXVIII International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). LASA is the largest professional organization in the world for individuals and institutions engaged in the study of Latin America. In addition, LASA is the only association that brings together experts on Latin America from all disciplines (from economics, politics, and environmental studies to religion, language and literature) across the globe. LASA International Congress only occurs every two years, the next one taking place June 11-14, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (Catholic Pontifical University in Rio de Janeiro). She believes that the opportunity of presenting at such a prestigious and internationally known event will considerably benefit both her professional career as a Latin American researcher and Weber State University's reputation.
CWCS Workshop on Computational and Theoretical Chemistry
Spring 2009
Laine Berghout, Chemistry
Professor Berghout applied and was accepted to participate in the Georgia Institute of Technology CWCS Workshop on Computational and Theoretical Chemistry. The workshop runs from May 17th through May 22nd, 2009. His participation, including tuition, supplies, room, and per diem, is funded by the CWCS (see attached). However, the NSF grant that supports the CWCS does not pay for transportation. He is requesting support for transportation to and from the workshop through a Hemingway Vitality grant.
Game Based Learning and Professional Committee Presentations for the 2008-2009 Academic Year
Fall 2008
David Berry, Health Promotion and Human Performance
Professor Berry requested funding to present on game-based learning (i.e., game, puzzle, and CBL) at several professional meetings during the 2008-2009 academic year. The conferences were directly associated with educating his own students, they act as a vehicle for him to explore new and innovative pedagogical techniques to improve student learning and impact his teaching.
Conference Presentation and Project Research in Berlin
Fall 2008
Mark Biddle, Visual Arts
Professor Biddle requested funding to support travel to Berlin in February, 2009. The purpose of the travel is to co-present a 30-minute paper at the Third International Conference on Design Principles and Practices, February 15-17 and to gather information and configure plans for project curriculum in Berlin during summer, 2010.
Travel to Present Research on "The Effects of Acute Fatigue on the Quality of Forensic Interviews in Alleged Child Sexual Abuse Cases" at the American Psychology-Law Society's Annual Conference
Fall 2008
Julie Buck, Criminal Justice
Professor Buck will travel to the American Psychology-Law Society’s Annual Conference on March 5-8 in San Antonio, TX to present research entitled "The Effects of Acute Fatigue on the Quality of Forensic Interviews in Alleged Child Sexual Abuse Cases". This study examined the effects of acute fatigue on the quality of interviews in child sexual abuse cases. Forty-eight forensic interviews where evaluated to determine the frequency of each utterance type (i.e., invitations, directive, option-posing, and suggestive) and suggestive techniques (i.e., multiple questions, inviting speculation, interruptions, and other people), and the use of rapport building and ground rules. Acute fatigue was quantified using the number of prior interviews per day and time of day of the interview. The researchers found that acute fatigue was significantly related to lower quality forensic interviews (more invitations and suggestive utterances, and fewer directive utterances).
Stress and Hazardous Alcohol Use in College Students
Spring 2009
Chris Eisenbarth
Professor Eisenbarth requests funds to attend the Annual Meeting of the American College Health Association (ACHA); and, more importantly, to present at the ACHA meeting the results from a research project examining the effects of stress, coping, and self-esteem in the prediction of hazardous alcohol use in a college-student sample. The ACHA is the principal leadership organization for the field of college health and provides services and advocacy to advance the health of students and campus communities in the United States. Given that he is a first-year faculty member, participation in this conference allows him multiple professional development opportunities including, by not limited to, promotion of his scholarship agenda, continuing education, and networking opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the country.
Tourism Redevelopment Strategies: Are Western Theme Towns the Answers?
Fall 2008
Eric Ewert, Geography
Professor Ewert requested funding to attend a professional meeting (March 22-27, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada), at which he will present a paper, attend numerous paper and panel sessions, and very likely chair a paper session (not yet organized). The conference is the 105th annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), geography’s most venerable and prestigious organization. The AAG publishes two flagship journals, both quarterly and both rigorously peer-reviewed. Additionally and importantly, the proximity of Las Vegas makes it possible to hire a car or van from Weber State’s motor pool rather than fly, and thus take geography students to this significant conference. There, the students will be able to hear papers (4000 presentations from 60 countries on every imaginable geographic topic are already scheduled), attend workshops and field trips, interact with industry and government representatives, research graduate schools, and perhaps most propitiously, interview for internships and jobs.
Travel to National Meeting of the American Association for Physics Teachers AAPT
Spring 2009
Ronald Galli, Physics
Professor Galli plans to attend the national meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers. This will take place 25-29 July 2009 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is planning to present another paper on the physics of the falling twisting cat, a mechanical model of which he has invented. The abstract has been submitted to AAPT. He also plans to advance the name of WSU through the promotion of the 200 movies of our lecture demonstrations that Dr. Farhang Amiri and Dr. Galli have developed and put on DVD’s (see samples at www.physics.weber.edu/galli). In addition, he plans to attend meetings to learn about new physics and to learn new and better ways to teach physics.
Presentation at the International Society for Teacher Education Seminar
Spring 2009
Kristen Hadley, Teacher Education
Professor Hadley requests support for the presentation of a paper at the Seminar of the International Society for Teacher Education (ISTE) to be held at Weber State University on June 3-9, 2009. Additionally, she serves on the conference planning Program and Pre-Seminar subcommittees. The abstract of the paper follows. Her paper investigates the relationships among mathematics anxiety, anxiety about teaching mathematics, mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs, and adherence to progressive mathematics instructional practices with pre-service elementary teachers. Preliminary data has been collected and analyzed from a sample of students from the United States. The author seeks collaborators to investigate this concern across an international sample.
Using Games and Puzzles as Teaching Tools to Enhance Athletic Training Student Learning and Retention
Fall 2008
Valerie Herzog, Health Promotion and Human Performance
Professor Herzog will co-present a breakout session three times with David Berry at the 2009 Athletic Training Educator’s Conference. She will attend the pre-conference workshop “Best Practices in Athletic Training and Accreditation” sponsored by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). Even though her department just completed the accreditation site visit for the undergraduate Athletic Training program, the department must now begin writing the accreditation self-study (due Sept. 15, 2009) for the new Master of Science in Athletic Training program which will include a site visit for that program during the Spring 2010 semester. Professor Herzog will also attend the other session of the Athletic Training Educator’s Conference to learn new pedagogical strategies for teaching Athletic Training coursework, specifically looking for ways to reach the millennial students (the theme of the conference) such as integrating them into the clinical education experiences with clinical instructors from other generations, online teaching, improving reading comprehension.
Spanish Immersion for Fish Ecology and Conservation in Northern Mexico
Fall 2008
Chris Hoagstrom, Zoology
The goal of the project is to improve the literacy and fluency of Professor Hoagstrom in Spanish via a four-week immersion course in Guanajuato, México (Academia Falcon Language School). Achievement of this goal will support Dr. Hoagstrom’s acquisition of a new skill (Spanish speaking), support initiation and continuation of a Field Zoology (ZOOL 4950) course, and promote his individual research in Cuatro Ciénegas, México with potential field opportunities for WSU students.
Presentation of Writing Workshop for Graduate Students in Science Education
Fall 2008
Adam Johnston, Physics
Professor Johnston requested funding to attend and co-host a writing workshop for graduate students in science education at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) in Hartford, CT in January 2009.
Alluvial Plains: Art in the United Arab Emirates
Spring 2009
Suzanne Kanatsiz, Visual Arts
Professor Kanatsiz's project is to live, teach and produce a solo exhibition of visual art in the United Arab Emirates for the academic year of 2009/10. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences at United Arab Emirates University invited her to teach and do research at their University for the 2009/10 year. With this invitation, she applied for a Fulbright grant, and also sabbatical leave through WSU. She has been notified that she has been selected for a Fulbright grant, and she is waiting to hear confirmation from the Fulbright Commission and the State Department. This is a lecturing/research grant so both teaching and research will be among her responsibilities. In addition, she has been invited to have a solo exhibition of her visual art at XVA Gallery in Dubai, during the time she is in the U.A.E. Her project “Alluvial Plains” is to prolifically produce visual art for this solo exhibition in the U.A.E, and continue her exploration of mixing Eastern and Western art forms.
Generational Differences in the Provision of Library Reference Services
Spring 2009
JaNae Kinikin, Library
Professor Kinikin's project involves surveying and interviewing librarians to determine if generational differences exist in the choice of tools and sources used to answer patrons inquiries at reference and information desks at college and university libraries in Utah.
Presenting a Paper and Attending Workshops at the American Society for Engineering Education
Spring 2009
Daniel Magda, Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology
Professor Magda will be presenting a paper that has been accepted by the American Society for Engineering Education conference (ASEE) this June 2009. At this four day conference he will be presenting to the Mechanical Engineering Materials division. The title of the paper is “Hands on Lab Demonstration to Teach how Mechanical Properties Change Due to Cold Working and Recrystallization”. While attending the conference he will also participate in two teaching and learning workshops sponsored by ASEE. These ASEE workshops are developed from the research and current trends of master teachers in the area of engineering education. He will be exposed to new innovative teaching techniques and learning styles in his field of engineering technology. These particular workshops that he will be attending directly relates to engineering courses that he is currently teaching and one that is being developed. By participating in these workshops and attending selected paper secessions he will be able to achieve some of his objectives on his path in becoming an better educator where the students at WSU will continue to capitalize on his professional interest and teaching capabilities.
Presenting at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting
Fall 2008
Marek Matyjasik, Geosciences
Professor Matyjasik requested funding to present two papers at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union at San Francisco from December 14 to December 19, 2008. Professor Matyjasik is mentoring two co-presenting students. Their conference cost has been approved to be funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Travel to Give a Presentation at National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference in Dallas, Texas
Fall 2008
Wei Qui, Child and Family Studies
Professor Wei Qui presented a paper entitled “Increasing moderate and vigorous physical activity in early childhood settings” at the 2008 Annual Conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in Dallas, Texas on November 7. The NAEYC Annual Conference is widely recognized as one of the largest events and most valuable professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators working in programs for young children and for people who prepare early childhood educators.
Online Time vs. Face to Face Time: Time Commitment for Instructors
Spring 2009
Shelley Thomas, English
Weber State University students typically comment that they take online classes to fit their schedule, working around work and family commitments. Furthermore, many businesses use online training to maximize instructor (and employee) time. Interestingly, few studies have actually measured the time required to teach online and to convert courses to online delivery. According to 103 individuals who completed The e-Learning Development Time Ratio Survey conducted online by The e-learning Guild between June 14 and July 8, 2002, 71% of the respondents tracked the time required to develop online courses (e-Learning Development, 2005). Based on Professor Thomas' research, comparing her Technical and Professional Writing face-to-face (F2F) course and an online Technical and Professional Writing course, she argues that the time spent on online classes and in F2F classes occupy approximately the same amount of an instructor's time, albeit at differing times during the semester. She collected data on course preparation, grading, email, etc. in fall ?05 and fall „06 (using the same assignments and textbooks).
Does Caring Matter in Education? Anecdotes, Evidences, and Implications
Spring 2009
Loretta Walker, Teacher Education
Anecdotes: Loretta Walker and Susan Kenney will share anecdotes of university and elementary music students who do or do not thrive in educational settings.
Evidences: Loretta and L. Rick Walker will discuss research literature from the converging fields of education, psychology, and brain research will be cited to explore how the nature of critical interpersonal relationships affect students’ ability to succeed in a several key aspects of education, broadly defined, such as learning and memory, trust and healthy risk-taking required for growth, the cultivation of supportive relationships that nurture learning, and cultivation of the disposition to apply what one has learned for the betterment of one’s own life and the lives of others. These issues will be examined through the lenses of trauma studies (clinical and neuroscientific), attachment theory, emotional intelligence, positive psychology, and educational philosophy.
Implications: Presenters will discuss implications for educational practice in the interrelated arenas of public education, teacher education, and the ongoing growth of teacher educators.
Visiting Professorship at Haydn Conservatory of Music in Austria
Fall 2008
Shi-Hwa Wang, Performing Arts
Professor Shi-Hwa Wang seeks funding from to allow her to travel to Eisenstadt, Austria to conduct teaching, research, and performing activities at the Joseph Haydn Conservatory of Music (Joseph Haydn Konservatorium des Landes Burgenland), Austria. Austria has the foremost music conservatory/education system in the world. The Haydn Konservatorium is one of the six state-run music conservatories in Austria. Professor Walter Burian, director of the Haydn Konservatorium, invited her as a visiting violin professor and an artist-in-residence to the Konservatorium in the Sommer-Semester 2009, between February and June 2009, in Eisenstadt, Austria. The city of Eisenstadt is located 50 km southeast of the capitol city Vienna. Her main activities during her visit of the Haydn Konservatorium will be to conduct teaching (violin lessons / master classes), research (mainly string pedagogy), performing recitals, and be involved in Haydn - The Progressive Project in celebration of 200 anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn (1732 -1809). Haydn – The Progressive is a project that will take place in the second part of April in 2009. The Haydn Konservatorium is the host of about 50 students and several professors from many European countries who will be participating in activities related to Joseph Haydn’s music.
Presenting Paper "The Rape of Nanking - Why is it a Forgotten Holocaust?" at the Association of Chinese Professors of Social Sciences in the United States 14th International Conference on East Asia: Challenges of Comples Realities in an Era of Globalization
Fall 2008
Huiying Wei-Arthus, Sociology
Professor Wei-Arthus is presenting her paper "The Rape of Nanking - Why is it a Forgotten Holocaust?" at the ACPSS (Association of Chinese Professors of Social Sciences in the United States) 14th International Conference on East Asia: Challenges of Complex Realities in an Era of Globalization at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, November 7-9, 2008.
New Faculty Projects
Exploring Messages Influencing Behavior and Attitude Change Toward Exercise
Spring 2009
Anne Bialowas, Communication
Professor Bialowas' project is designed to understand the most effective ways of communicating messages of physical activity participation. She is interested in understanding what makes behavior and attitude change towards exercise. Her main research question is: What influences attitude change toward increasing level of physical activity?
The Fantasms of Science: French Psychical Research 1853-1926
Spring 2009
Brady Brower, History
The purpose of Professor Brower's May research trip to France is to conduct additional research for revisions of a book manuscript entitled The Fantasms of Science: French Psychical Research, 1853–1926. In February, he received two favorable readers’ reports on a draft submitted to the University of Illinois Press. Both outside reviewers have recommended his work for publication contingent upon specific revisions. His manuscript is concerned with the role that a field of inquiry called ?psychical research played in France from the late nineteenth century to the interwar period. Psychical research was an international field drawing the interest of leading scientists to the astonishing mental and physical phenomena produced by spiritualist ?mediums. His analysis links the activities of this curious field of research to efforts undertaken elsewhere in the human sciences to measure and regulate the underlying conditions of social order. His analysis contrasts psychical research with the other human sciences to argue that, while these other disciplines succeeded because they produced serviceable norms of conduct and forms of subjectivization, psychical research failed due to its inability to render mediumistic subjectivity transparent to the prevailing regimes of knowledge and power. His current research project aims to better situate the French debates surrounding the study of mediums within larger developments in European thought by comparing the enthusiasm French scientists showed for psychical research with their aversion to the approach that Freud was taking during the same period in his response to questions surrounding the origins of hysterical symptoms.
Travel to Support Research on Ocean Waves and Attending the 20th IASTED International Conference on Modeling and Simulation
Spring 2009
Maomao Cai, Mathematics
Professor Cai has submitted a manuscript titled “Coupled Kuramoto-Sivashinsky-KdV Equations for Surface Wave in Multi-Layered Liquid Films” to the IASTE conference on Modeling and Simulation 2009. If the manuscript is accepted, he plans to attend this conference to present his findings. Attending this conference is a way not only to share his research work with peers but also to communicate with other researchers and explore the trends of the advanced research fields. He also plans to travel to West Virginia University in July 2009 to meet with his collaborator on research related to ocean waves.
Music's Role in Image Construction: The Case of Apple, Inc.
Spring 2009
Carey Campbell, Performing Arts
The purpose of Professor Campbell's project is to examine the role of Popular music in television advertising. Specifically, it will involve a case study of electronics manufacturer Apple, Inc. and their use of new, unknown bands for many of their ads. This practice is contrary to the precedent set by other advertisers, who tend to solicit music from established artists. Professor Campbell will argue that in some of Apple's advertisements an image is being sold along with the product, and the particular musical subgenres represented in the ads play an important part in this strategy. This case study will reveal how Popular music subgenres are understood and employed as a commodity by some advertisers in the “marketplace of image,” and, in its final form as an article, Professor Campbell's project will contribute to the ongoing musicological discourse about the commercial and social roles of Popular music in today’s society.
Entertainment Venues and Cinema in Early 20th Century Spain
Spring 2009
Luis Guadano, Foreign Languages
During Professor Guadano's stay in Madrid he will do research in the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) and Filmoteca Nacional (National Film Society) archives to collect data about the shows (theatrical, variety, and film) offered in different venues located in Madrid and the sociocultural implications of these locations. The purpose of this project is to find the connections between venues and audiences to establish the transfer and adaptations of shows from a certain type of venue to a different one. From the study and analysis of these transfers from one venue to another, he will be able to determine how the elements that constitute these spectacles become the core of the Spanish national film tradition.
Presentation at the National Athletic Trainers' Association Clinical Symposia
Spring 2009
Jordan Hamson-Utley, Heath Promotion and Human Performance
Professor Hamson-Utley will be presenting her research at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Clinical Symposium 2009 which is entitled, "The ATEP Certified Athletic Trainer: Educational Satisfaction and Technique Use Within the Psychosocial Intervention and Referral Content Area" (see attached acceptance letter, Addendum A). This project is connected to her line of research ("Using Psychological Interventions with Injured Athletes") as it is studying the academic preparation of student athletic trainers within the Psychological Intervention & Referral content area.
Development of a Heuristic for the Multi-Depot, Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem
Spring 2009
Stephen Hill, Business Administration
The focus of Professor Hill's research project is the development and testing of a heuristic solution procedure for the fixed-destination variant of the Multi-Depot, Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem (MmTSP). Funds are to be used for travel to the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute in November 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This fixed-destination MmTSP is an important problem with product distribution and military-related applications for which (to the proposal author’s best knowledge) no heuristic solution approach has been developed.
HARBOR Attitude Determination and Control System
Spring 2009
Justin Jackson, Computer Electronics & Engineering Technology
Professor Jackson's proposal focuses on the design and development of an attitude determination and control system for the High Altitude Reconnaissance Balloon for Outreach and Research (HARBOR) project. Currently there is no system in place to control the orientation of the payloads. Projected future missions will require the ability to locate magnetic directions and orient payloads for scientific data retrieval. The attitude determination and control system will have the ability to orient the payload packages and remove the spinning of the payload during ascent and descent of the flight allowing for data collection from a particular direction relative to the balloon.
Travel to Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution
Spring 2009
Jonathan Marshall, Zoology
Professor Marshall will present both a poster and give an oral presentation at the Joint annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB), and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN). The meeting will be held June 12-16, 2009, on the campus of the University of Idaho. This is the premier international meeting for research related to evolutionary biology. As such, the meeting will provide the opportunity for him to meet with several collaborators from Yale University and from the City University of New York and discuss ongoing projects and grant proposals. The meeting will also be a good opportunity to showcase undergraduate research participation here at Weber State University.
Parenting Attitudes and Practices of Chinese Only-Child Parents
Spring 2009
Wei Qui, Child & Family Studies
Thirty years after the one child policy was first mandated in China, many of the Chinese only children have grown up and become parents. Professor Qui's research project will explore parenting experiences of the “only child” generation in China. About 300 Chinese parents with a child younger than five years will complete a survey to answer question about their parental attitudes and child-rearing practices. Results of the project will help explain the lasting impact of a massive birth control legislature like the one child policy on family life.