State University Faculty Research Articles

Systematic speaker variation and within-speaker center of gravity correlations in the TIMIT database

The systematicity of speaker variation in consonants was examined by measuring the noise component of consonants in the TIMIT database. Fricatives and stops were compared by measuring at the temporal middle of fricatives and at the release of stops. There is a high correlation between many of the center of gravity measures. For example, if a speaker has a particularly high center of gravity in the sound /t/, she or he will also have a high center of gravity in /d/, /s/, /p/, /k/, and other consonants. The full set of correlations will be described in the paper. The correlations appear to stem from individual differences and not from dialect variations. The implications of the results for rapid speaker adaptation in speech recognition will be explored. [Work supported by San Jose State University Faculty Grant.]

Bridging the gap between ecological research and land use policy: The North Sonoran Collaboration

A key factor in bridging the gap between ecological research and public land use policy is translating information from the language of research into the language of public policy making. Creating effective translations of research is often beyond the skills of urban planners and environmental researchers individually, and thus collaboration between the two is needed. Examples of such translation and partnerships can be found in the projects of an interdisciplinary group coined the North Sonoran Collaborative. This group consists of Phoenix, AZ, USA city staff, Arizona State University faculty, graduate students, and staff, and people from other local private companies and government agencies. The group, through its collaboration, has sponsored a series of environmental research efforts and translated those into successful land use planning activities and policies. The focus of the collaboration is the northern, largely undeveloped portion of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. This group has pursued three principles: desert ecosystems should be protected, a diversity of development should be pursued, and a sense of community should be created in new developments. This paper discusses this unique approach to planning and how it has proven effective in responding to the local communities needs quickly.

18: The Hesburgh Certificate and Portland State University's Faculty Development Approach to Supporting Service Learning and Community-University Partnerships

Service learning now has a prominent home in hundreds of diverse campuses across the nation. Developing service-learning expertise and other community-campus partnership enhancement strategies for faculty requires innovation. Recently, Portland State University's Center for Academic Excellence received the Theodore M. Hesburgh Certificate of Excellence for Community-University Partnerships. This chapter outlines the center's three-tiered approach to supporting and sustaining civic engagement practices that are sensitive to individual needs on campus and in the community, while also working toward ongoing departmental and institutional transformation.

Not Your Parents' Language Class: Curriculum Revision to Support University Language Requirements

Abstract: Indiana State University's (ISU) foreign language requirement curriculum serves as a model for the 21st century. Unique to the program is an emphasis on integrating the common goals of general education and multicultural studies with the development of critical thinking skills to reach overall objectives of communicative competency, cultural awareness, sensitivity to diversity, and a holistic application of strategies and skills for lifelong learning. This article traces the process of curricular development (outcomes standards, statement of course pedagogy, and course requirements) and program implementation. Of particular interest is the expanded use of learning journals. A comprehensive assessment program is also outlined. Early feedback indicates that the program is meeting its goals and is favorably received by students.

18: The Hesburgh Certificate and Portland State University's Faculty Development Approach to Supporting Service Learning and Community–University Partnerships

18: The Hesburgh Certificate and Portland State University's Faculty Development Approach to Supporting Service Learning and Community–University Partnerships

The Muncie Race Riots Of 1967, Representing Community Memory Through Public Performance, And Collaborative Ethnography Between Faculty, Students, And The Local Community

In October 1967, a footnote in the larger national struggle over civil rights for African Americans occurred at Southside High School in Muncie, Indiana. On the nineteenth, a fight broke out between about 100 black and white students in the halls of the school, where the football team was named the “Rebels,” and a modified Confederate flag flew just in front of the building. In spring 2001, a group of Ball State University faculty and students along with a group of more than thirty consultants from the Muncie community engaged in a collaborative ethnographic project to present the community’s memory of the event as a theatrical performance. This essay details this process as well as its consequences for practicing reciprocal and collaborative representation.

E-journal Acceptance at Colorado State University: A Case Study

Colorado State University faculty, graduate students, and administrative professionals were surveyed in Spring 2001 to determine their usage and acceptance of e-journals. A majority of respondents used e-journals at least monthly and preferred multiple access points on the Libraries Webpage and OPAC. Almost all respondents supported adding electronic access to print journal subscriptions, but fewer respondents supported canceling print subscriptions and relying on the electronic subscriptions. Respondents strongly supported having access to journal back runs older than four years and believed that the Libraries had a good balance of print and electronic resources. Serials Review 2003; 29:16–25.

E-journal Acceptance at Colorado State University

Colorado State University faculty, graduate students, and administrative professionals were surveyed in Spring 2001 to determine their usage and acceptance of e-journals. A majority of respondents used e-journals at least monthly and preferred multiple access points on the Libraries Webpage and OPAC. Almost all respondents supported adding electronic access to print journal subscriptions, but fewer respondents supported canceling print subscriptions and relying on the electronic subscriptions. Respondents strongly supported having access to journal back runs older than four years and believed that the Libraries had a good balance of print and electronic resources. Serials Review 2003; 29:16–25.

The effect of traditional Chinese Therapeutic Massage on individuals with neck pain

Objective: To determine the effect of Traditional Chinese Therapeutic Massage on individuals with neck pain. Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Thirty-one volunteers with neck pain and loss in range of motion, for longer than one year were recruited from California State University staff and faculty. A total 28 subjects completed the study. Intervention: Traditional Chinese Therapeutic Massage (TCTM) and a home based, self-administrated exercise program. Main outcome measurement: A previously published neck pain questionnaire was used to measure pain intensity and the quality of life. A neck range of motion test was used to assess the changes in neck flexibility. Results: The TCTM group had a significant reduction in the scoring of pain questionnaire ( p<0.05) and significant improvement in ROM ( p<0.05), after 6 week’s treatment, and after 6 week’s follow-up. The exercise plus TCTM appeared to be equally effective as TCTM alone. Conclusion: Traditional Chinese Therapeutic Massage provided significant benefit to those suffering from neck pain. Further studies need to address the combination of the treatments using TCTM and the therapies in mainstream medicine.

Conversing Online

Students from diverse cultures in U.S. public schools often encounter stereotyping from peers and even teachers who do not understand their cultures and backgrounds. For this reason, I was interested in ways to encourage our preservice teachers to reexamine their beliefs about different groups of people and possibly discard stereotypes of cultural groups that are unfamiliar to them. I collaborated with two colleagues from Kansas and Japan to undertake a study to examine e-mail dialogues between three diverse groups of students: White preservice teachers in Texas, Native American preservice teachers in Kansas, and Japanese college students studying English in Japan. Qualitative methods were used throughout this study. Through this semester-long conversation, participants developed a better understanding of cultural diversity in U.S. society and other societies worldwide, and they learned ways to promote culturally responsive teaching. This project was conducted under a Stephen F. Austin State University faculty research grant. Pseudonyms are used throughout this article to protect student identities.

Building Bridges with Faculty

In the fall of 1998, the GALILEO (GeorgiA Library LEarning Online) Steering Committee created the GALILEO Training Grant. Chapman and White received the University System of Georgia grant to hold workshops to teach Valdosta State University faculty how to search GALILEO and how to create effective library research assignments that incorporated those skills. The first workshop was held in March, 1999. The experience of and response to the first workshop exceeded our expectations, and we immediately began planning the next. With each successive workshop, the marketing strategies, goals, format, handouts, and exercises were modified in response to comments on participants' evaluations, instructor evaluations, colleagues' suggestions, and changes in the GALILEO system. Ripples and contacts increased with each workshop.

M.O. korshun and her role in developing the microanalysis of organic substances

August 21,2000 marked the centenary of Mirra Osipovna Korshun, the founder of the Russian school of elemental organic microanalysis. In 1937-1954, Korshun headed the laboratory of microanalysis at the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the USSR Academy of Sciences and, from 1954 to 1958, at the Institute of Organoelement Compounds of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Mirra Osipovna was born in Wilno in a family of modest means; therefore, she had to go to work upon leaving the fourth grade. Later, on completing secondary education, she graduated from the Chemical Faculty of the Second Moscow State University and was assigned to the Moscow Chemical Plant no. 1 to the organic synthesis department. Korshun had to deal with large amounts of solvents; therefore, she got poisoning, and, after recovering, she was transferred to the Central Research Laboratory of the plant.

THE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FOR A NEW CENTURY: LINCING WOMEN AND MINORITIES INTO TOMORROW'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP ROLES

The Iowa Association of Community College Trustees, the Iowa Association of Community College Presidents, and Iowa State University Higher Education Program created a partnership to develop women and minorities for leadership roles in community colleges. The Leadership Institute for a New Century (LINC) program, which is in its eleventh year, uses a combination of national and state community college leaders, community leaders, trustees, and university faculty members to offer personal and professional development activities for participants. University credit that may be used as part of an academic degree program and for state licensure purposes is granted. Participants are nominated by their college; participate in monthly seminars; and complete projects related to local, state, and national issues. Nearly 70% of participants reported receiving a leadership promotion or advancement during or since their acceptance into the LINC program. The majority indicated that the program was very influential in their advancement. With the predicted impending administrator shortage, more cooperative leadership development programs need to be developed. The future of our community college system depends on the development of leadership opportunities and an infusion of leadership.

Building Bridges: High School and University Partnerships for Information Literacy

Partnerships between university libraries and high schools have traditionally involved the use of the university library by students in Advanced Placement or other special classes. Tours of the library are often provided and students usually are allowed to check out materials on a limited basis. In a Wayne State University partnering project, faculty members and administrators of area high schools and faculty members and librarians at the university are developing models for information literacy instruction.

Collaborative Distance Education: The Iowa Chemistry Education Alliance

The Iowa Chemistry Education Alliance is a consortium of four chemistry instructors from central Iowa high schools, several members of the Iowa State University faculty, and consultants from an Iowa Area Education Agency. The group was formed to develop a set of concept-oriented, problem-solving, multimedia curriculum modules that could be used collaboratively in a distance education environment. Students and teachers alike used Iowa’s statewide two-way interactive fiber optic system, the Iowa Communications Network (ICN). The ICN connects Iowa's three public universities, community colleges, most private colleges, and most high schools. There are more than 400 classrooms connected to the ICN. This report provides an overview of how modern technology is used to engage teachers and students in collaborative distance education.

The UCF/CIRENT Materials Characterization Facility

Abstract New state-of-the-art analytical equipment is becoming more specialized and more expensive. With the availability of federal funding decreasing over the years, it has become increasingly difficult for University laboratories to maintain and upgrade existing analytical equipment, or purchase new analytical equipment. There are also instances where large industrial laboratories may only need a particular piece of analytical equipment on a part-time basis, or where small companies cannot afford to purchase a particular technique. An obvious solution to these problems is to merge industry and university into a viable working collaboration whereby resources are shared among partners. The University of Central Florida and Cirent Semiconductor (a joint venture of Lucent Technologies and Cirrus Logic) have entered into such a collaboration with the development of the UCF/Cirent Materials Characterization facility (MCF). The MCF is a shared user facility that is available to (i) UCF and other State University System (SUS) Florida University students, faculty, and staff, and (ii) MCF industrial affiliates and others requiring specialized instrumentation and expertise.

Structure and organization of research efforts following the bombing of the murrah building

In the days and weeks following the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19,1995, Oklahoma state authorities, university faculty and staff, and leading experts from across the nation formed a coalition to address issues of clinical service delivery, educational intervention, and research. This article focuses on the centralized approach applied to the administration of research endeavors. This centralization was designed to minimize revictimization of both survivors and affected families, enhance the quality of data collected, and facilitate cooperation between participating investigators. The resultant set of projects includes a variety of research methodologies and study populations and will serve to significantly enhance understanding of the mental health sequelae of such disasters.

Perceived Organizational Support: Fuurther Evidence of Construct Validity

Wayne Shore and Lois Tetrick demonstrated in 1991 that the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS), a measure of perceived employer commitment, was unidimensional and distinguishable from measures of affective and continuance commitment. In the present study, confirmatory factor analysis was used to further examine the construct validity of the scores on the SPOS. Participants were 205 members of the staff and faculty of a large western state university. Consistent with Shore and Tetrick's findings, the SPOS was found to be unidimensional. In addition, the SPOS was found to be distinguishable from two similarly conceptualized correlates of affective commitment: perceived supervisory support and organizational dependability. Findings are discussed with respect to their implications for understanding the commitment process.

Development of solar energy education IASEE-Argentina, Arquisur and Alfa-Built

Three educational experiences are presented in this paper based on the development of national and regional networks to incorporate renewable energy in curricular programmes. IASEE-Argentina, established in 1990 as the National Section of IASEE, the International Association for Solar Energy Education, was designated in 1993 as the Education Working Group of ASADES, the Argentine Association of Solar Energy. It holds annual meetings to coincide with the ASADES conference. Arquisur is a regional network established by Architectural Faculties of State Universities within the Mercosur Region, covering Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, to promote exchange and development between the 19 faculties involved. A Working Group set up by Arquisur with members from four countries developed the programme for short post-graduate courses on bioclimatic design and rational energy use in buildings, which has been given in Argentina and Uruguay. Alfa-Built, a project supported by the European Union for promoting academic exchange in the field of energy efficient building is also introduced. This paper presents the development and initial results of these educational experiences.

Twenty-Eighth Annual National Council on Family Relations Media Awards Competition

Twenty-eight Annual National Council on Family Relations Media Awards Competition* Francisco A. Villarruel,** Gloria Gonzalez-Kruger, Daniel F. Perkins, Yolanda Sanchez, June Pierce Youatt, Esther Onaga, Marsha Carolan, Beverly Schroeder, and Marjorie J. Kostelnik The 1996 Annual National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Media Competition was hosted by the Department of Family and Child Ecology and the College of Human Ecology, Michigan State University, during May and June of 1996. The purpose of the annual competition is to evaluate the quality and conceptual content of videos, endorse excellence in the production of films with themes relevant to family issues, to promote the effective use of these resources, to encourage high standards in the development of creative learning opportunities, and to disseminate media competition results. Entries solicited were placed in one of the following 15 categories: Addiction/Substance Abuse; Health Issues: Infancy, Adolescence, & Adult; Contemporary Social Issues; Families with Special Needs; Family Violence/Abuse; Human Development Across the Life Span; Human Reproduction & Family Planning; Marital & Family Issues & Communications; Mental Health, Stress, Transition, & Crisis Management; Diverse Family Systems; Parenting Issues; Sexuality & Sex Role Development; Teenage Pregnancy & Sexuality; STD/AIDS; and Other (e.g., PSAs). Guidelines for submission required that all videos be first-time entries to the competition, carry a release date of no earlier than January 1, 1994, and be available for purchase, rental, or loan on a nation-wide distribution basis. Each producer/distributor could submit only one entry per category. All entries, which were to be 1/2 videocassette recordings, were to be received by April 15,1996. A total of 100 entries (videotapes) were received. The judging panels included university faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from several academic departments at Michigan State University, Michigan State University Extension, and faculty and students from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Nevada-Reno. Individuals from various community based organizations in East Lansing, MI also participated in this year's review panels. No entries were received for the Human Reproduction and Family Planning category. Following the viewing of each entry, judges were asked to independently make both quantitative (79 possible points) and qualitative assessments. The evaluation form consisted of four major quantitative categories designed to measure the entries based on: (1) content (30 possible points); (2) general issues (9 possible points), which included length, pacing, and flow of the media entry; (3) artistic quality (20 possible points); and (4) ability to meet stated goals (20 possible points). This was followed by an overall rating that was the sum of the four categories and a qualitative section that asked judges for comments on the major strengths and weaknesses, as well as suggestions for improvement. Each video was reviewed by at least two judges. In the event of a tie, the videos were evaluated by an independent third reviewer. If a duplicate score was awarded, the videos were honored with a duplicate award. The following list identifies the Winner, Runner Up, and Honorable Mention recipients for each of the fifteen categories. The synopsis, goals and objectives of each entry was provided by the producer/director and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of NCFR, the competition coordinators, or the judges. Purchase and rental prices are provided courtesy of the producer. Intended audiences are noted in the following manner: PG for primary grades, JH for junior high, HS for high school, C for college, G for general, P for parents, and PRO for professionals. An additional category is other, as specified by the entrant. 1. …