Double Take Project: Using Applied Theatre For Campus Climate Change

Despite research gathered in the Campus Climate Report, I believe that it underrepresented the student experience of the social scene. The document primarily served as an identification tool for four major problems on campus: binge drinking, sexual assault, diversity, and disengagement in the classroom. Double Take Project also identifies similar issues however, this project uses theatrical techniques to gather the anecdotal reality of the student perspective. Double Take Project expands beyond the Campus Climate Report to inspire dialogue in a variety of student-to-student interactions and, more importantly, the project seeks action and solution plans. The social scene dominates our culture and its many issues result in concern for the safety, self-identity, and development of Bucknell students into thriving adults. Double Take Project is rooted in the belief that theatre is a palpable tool for social change. Over the course of many events, Double Take Project has utilized facets of theatre to provide opportunities to voice discontent, widen perception of normalcy on campus, and inspire confidence to act on personal beliefs. The Double Take Project uses many Applied Theatre methods to impact the social scene. For example, I conducted 36 student interviews and transformed the stories into a one-woman show, Rage Behind Curtains, which I performed at multiple venues across campus. I also used interviews to create a radio show airing one story per day. I conducted ten workshops with student groups, Fraternities and Sororities, and in the classroom utilizing Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) techniques. I also created a “social scene confessional” where I stood outside the Elaine Langone Center with a sign that read, “Tell me a story about the social scene” from a wide variety of Bucknell students. Finally, I have assembled a Forum Theatre Company based on Augusto Boal’s method of the spect-actor, utilizing participants as both actors and spectators in the theatre piece. All of the names indicated in this paper have been altered to protect the identity of the participants. While planning events and conducting various theatrical experiences, I learned that there are a series of internal and external issues contributing to our social environment. Internally, students are conflicted with personal beliefs while battling outward social pressure. Whether they are on the outskirts or center of the social scene determines their response to this conflict. For example, I have discovered that students on the borders of the social culture respond with criticism because they feel excluded, whereas the student’s centrally involved critique the culture in private and while their persona appears to not want change. Externally, there are many structural issues that contribute to the current social climate such as without Fraternity meal plans, Cafeteria space is not sufficient to feed all of the students, exclusive party culture, and gendered housing. Through meetings with Deans and staff, I have learned there are also problems between administration and students, resulting in resentment and blame. Although addressing structural issues would instigate immediate change, in my opinion, internal student conflicts are the primary cause for the current negative social atmosphere. I believe that pressure to conform is rooted in lack of personal identity. Because students simply do not know themselves, they form strong social groups that become the definition of themselves. Without confident self-awareness, large and powerful groups coerce students to accept social norms resulting in the individual’s outward distaste for change, yet internal discomfort.

Institutional Identity and Anticipatory Socialization: a Qualitative Analysis of Multi-Campus University Websites

A document analysis of institutional websites was conducted to infer the extent to which affiliated campuses are integrated with one another within multi-campus university systems. The factors that contribute to either a common or differentiated sense of institutional identity, as expressed in the campuses’ individual web presences, were a primary focus of the investigation. This study then sought to determine the effect that institutional identity has on the anticipatory socialization of students who relocate from branch campuses to their parent institutions. Once an analysis of the findings had been conducted, recommendations for further research in this area were made.

Locational and Temporal Risk Associated With Campus Sexual Assault

The present study investigates the rates of victimization of sexual assault reported by undergraduates at Bucknell University. Specifically, the study aimed to determine where and when sexual assault took place, in order to pinpoint both temporal risks and locational risks associated with certain events on campus. Results of the survey were analyzed for victimization rates across class year, time of year, where victimization took place, as well as where victims and perpetrators met. Data for the study was gathered by means of anonymous survey, sent out to 1752 randomly selected undergraduates via email. Participants filled out the survey which asked if they had ever been sexually assaulted or committed a sexual assault during their past year studying at Bucknell. The results of the survey indicated that dormitories, fraternity houses, and off-campus student houses displayed significantly higher rates of victimization than other locations. In addition, increased risk of unwanted sexual contact in the fall semester was shown to be statistically significant. Moreover, results of the current study support that parties were statistically significant locations for meeting perpetrators of sexual assault. The results suggest that it may be beneficial to direct special attention towards campus sexual assault, specifically to certain locations, times of the year, and campus activities.

Preparing writing centers and tutors for literacy mediation for working class campus-staff

Writing centers work with writers; traditionally services have been focused on undergraduates taking composition classes. More recently, centers have started to attract a wider client base including: students taking labs that require writing; graduate students; and ESL students learning the conventions of U.S. communication. There are very few centers, however, which identify themselves as open to working with all members of the campus-community. Michigan Technological University has one such center. In the Michigan Tech writing center, doors are open to “all students, faculty and staff.” While graduate students, post docs, and professors preparing articles for publication have used the center, for the first time in the collective memory of the center UAW staff members requested center appointments in the summer of 2008. These working class employees were in the process of filling out a work related document, the UAW Position Audit, an approximately seven-page form. This form was their one avenue for requesting a review of the job they were doing; the review was the first step in requesting a raise in job level and pay. This study grew out of the realization that implicit literacy expectations between working class United Auto Workers (UAW) staff and professional class staff were complicating the filling out and filing of the position audit form. Professional class supervisors had designed the form as a measure of fairness, in that each UAW employee on campus was responding to the same set of questions about their work. However, the implicit literacy expectations of supervisors were different from those of many of the employees who were to fill out the form. As a result, questions that were meant to be straightforward to answer were in the eyes of the employees filling out the form, complex. Before coming to the writing center UAW staff had spent months writing out responses to the form; they expressed concerns that their responses still would not meet audience expectations. These writers recognized that they did not yet know exactly what the audience was expecting. The results of this study include a framework for planning writing center sessions that facilitate the acquisition of literacy practices which are new to the user. One important realization from this dissertation is that the social nature of literacy must be kept in the forefront when both planning sessions and when educating tutors to lead these sessions. Literacy scholars such as James Paul Gee, Brian Street, and Shirley Brice Heath are used to show that a person can only know those literacy practices that they have previously acquired. In order to acquire new literacy practices, a person must have social opportunities for hands-on practice and mentoring from someone with experience. The writing center can adapt theory and practices from this dissertation that will facilitate sessions for a range of writers wishing to learn “new” literacy practices. This study also calls for specific changes to writing center tutor education.

EXTRACTION OF PICTORIAL ENERGY INFORMATION FROM CAMPUS UNMETERED BUILDINGS USING IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

In recent years, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has been the main research focus due to the traditional power grid has been restricted to meet development requirements. There has been an ongoing effort to increase the number of AMI devices that provide real-time data readings to improve system observability. Deployed AMI across distribution secondary networks provides load and consumption information for individual households which can improve grid management. Significant upgrade costs associated with retrofitting existing meters with network-capable sensing can be made more economical by using image processing methods to extract usage information from images of the existing meters. This thesis presents a new solution that uses online data exchange of power consumption information to a cloud server without modifying the existing electromechanical analog meters. In this framework, application of a systematic approach to extract energy data from images replaces the manual reading process. One case study illustrates the digital imaging approach is compared to the averages determined by visual readings over a one-month period.

Affirmative Action Endures Three Decades of Challenges: The Pursuit of Diversity on Campus

Race and affirmative action are among the most contentious issues in higher education. This talk will explore the constitutionality of affirmative action in college admissions. What principles and technicalities are dominating the discussion, and what strategies show the most promise?

Computergestützte Lehre an Hochschulen (Blended Learning). Der Virtuelle Campus Erziehungswissenschaft der Universität Bern

Blended Learning-Angebote - Lehrveranstaltungen, die aus Präsenzanteilen und virtuellen Anteilen im Internet bestehen - halten zunehmend Einzug an Universitäten, Fachhochschulen und Pädagogischen Hochschulen. Diese neuen Lehrformen stehen im Spannungsfeld zwischen technischen Möglichkeiten, ökonomischen Erfordernissen und hochschuldidaktischen Anforderungen. Den Mittelpunkt des Buches bildet das computerunterstützte Lehrangebot des «Virtuellen Campus Erziehungswissenschaft» an der Universität Bern, das der Ausbildung zukünftiger Lehrpersonen an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Bern dient. Zum einen soll dieses in der Praxis bewährte Lehrangebot theoretisch analysiert werden. Zum anderen erfolgt ein Einblick in die Praxis des «Virtuellen Campus Erziehungswissenschaft», um anderen Bildungsinstitutionen Anregungen zur Einrichtung ähnlicher Angebote oder zur Modifizierung ihrer Blended-Learning-Kurse zu geben. Dabei werden die Bereiche (a) Planung und Entwicklung von Lehrangeboten, (b) Methoden der Vermittlung und Einsatz neuer Technologien, (c) Betreuung von Studierenden, (d) Assessment der Studierenden, (e) Qualitätssicherung der Lehre und der eigenen Lehrtätigkeit und (f) Selbstmanagement und Professionalität im Hochschulkontext abgedeckt. Schliesslich wird auch nach der hochschuldidaktischen Vernunft solcher Angebote gefragt.

Does Immediate Access to Birth Control Help Prevent Pregnancy? A Comparison of Onsite Provision Versus Off Campus Referral for Contraception at Two School-Based Clinics

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of different policies on access to hormonal contraception and pregnancy rates at two high school-based clinics. METHODS: Two clinics in high schools (Schools A and B), located in a large urban district in the southwest US, provide primary medical care to enrolled students with parental consent; the majority of whom have no health insurance coverage. The hormonal contraceptive dispensing policy of at School clinic A involves providing barrier, hormonal and emergency contraceptive services on site. School clinic B uses a referral policy that directs students to obtain contraception at an off-campus affiliated family planning clinic. Baseline data (age, race and history of prior pregnancy) on female students seeking hormonal contraception at the two clinics between 9/2008-12/2009 were extracted from an electronic administrative database (AHLERS Integrated System). Data on birth control use and pregnancy tests for each student was then tracked electronically through 3/31/2010. The outcomes measures were accessing hormonal contraception and positive pregnancy tests at any point during or after birth control use were started through 12/2009. The appointment keeping rate for contraceptive services and the overall pregnancy rates were compared between the two schools. In addition the pregnancy rates were compared between the two schools for students with and without a prior history of pregnancy. RESULTS: School clinic A: 79 students sought hormonal contraception; mean age 17.5 years; 68% were > 18 years; 77% were Hispanic; and 20% reported prior pregnancy. The mean duration of the observation period was 13 months (4-19 months). All 79 students received hormonal contraception (65% pill and 35% long acting progestin injection) onsite. During the observation period, the overall pregnancy rate was 6% (5/79); 4.7% (3/63) among students with no prior pregnancy. School clinic B: 40 students sought hormonal contraception; mean age 17.5 years; 52% > 18 years; 88 % were Hispanic; and 7.5% reported prior pregnancy. All 40 students were referred to the affiliated clinic. The mean duration of the observation period was 11.9 months (4-19 months). 50% (20) kept their appointment. Pills were dispensed to 85% (17/20) and 15% (3/20) received long acting progestin injection. The overall pregnancy rate was 20% (8/40); 21.6% (8/37) among students with no prior pregnancy. A significantly higher frequency of students seeking hormonal contraception kept their initial appointment for birth control at the school dispensing onsite contraception compared to the school with a referral policy for contraception (p<0.05). The pregnancy rate was significantly higher for the school with a referral policy for contraception compared to the school with onsite contraceptive services (p< 0.05). The pregnancy rate was also significantly higher for students without a prior history of pregnancy in the school with a referral policy for contraception (21.6%) versus the school with onsite contraceptive services (4.7%) (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: This preliminary study showed that School clinic B with a referral policy had a lower appointment keeping rate for contraceptive services and a higher pregnancy rate than School clinic A with on-site contraceptive services. An on-site dispensing policy for hormonal contraceptives at high school-based health clinics may be a convenient and effective approach to prevent unintended first and repeat pregnancies among adolescents who seek hormonal contraception. This study has strong implications for reproductive health policy, especially as directed toward high-risk teenage populations.