Fall 2007 International Opportunity Grant Recipients
Please click on the name of a recipient for a more complete descripton of the project.
Recipient |
School/Department |
Purpose of Travel |
Countries |
Dee Aker |
Institute for Peace and Justice |
Symposium (presenting paper) |
Libya |
Colleen Bee |
School of Business |
Conference (presenting paper) |
Milan, Italy |
Claribel Bonilla |
School of Business: |
Conference (present paper and chair session) |
Puerto Rico |
Sandy Buczynski |
SOLES |
Invited Lecturer |
Lithuania |
Cynthia Caywood |
Arts & Sciences: |
Conference (presenting paper) |
England |
Robert B. Fleming |
Arts & Sciences: |
Seminar Presenter and Participant/Research |
France |
Sarah Gray |
Arts & Sciences: |
Field Research |
Virgin Islands |
Michelle Jacob |
Arts & Sciences: |
Conference (presenting paper) |
Canada |
Kathleen Kramer |
School of Business: |
Presenting Paper and Chairing Session |
Singapore |
Stacy Langton |
Arts & Science: |
Invited Presentation (Leonhard Euler) |
Germany |
Juliana Maxim |
Arts & Science: |
Conference (presenting paper) |
Romania |
Alejandro Meter |
Arts & Sciences: |
Attend NEH Seminar, Present Paper, Book Recognition |
Argentina |
Eric Pierson |
Arts & Sciences: |
Research for Book, Course Prep. |
England |
Sandra Sgoutas |
Arts & Sciences: |
Conference (presenting paper) |
Czech Republic |
Margit Smith |
Copley Library |
Research |
Germany/England |
Laura Taylor |
Institute for Peace & Justice |
Symposium (presenting paper) |
Libya |
Charles Tu |
School of Business |
Conference (presenting paper) |
China |
Zhi-Yong Yin |
Arts & Sciences: |
Conduct Research on Climate Change |
China |
Dee Aker , Ph.D. and Laura Taylor
Intstitute for Peace and Justice
daker@sandiego.edu, laurataylor@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dee Aker and Laura Taylor were invited to submit a paper to the Symposium of Minorities in the Globalization Era convened by the World Center for Studies and Researches of the Greenbook—Sebha Branch, Libya. Their paper entitled, “The Impact of Social Globalization on Gender Inclusion and Local Agency”, was accepted, however due to difficulties to procure visas in the short time frame, they were unable to attend the conference 1-3 May 2007.
Colleen Bee, Ph.D.
School of Business
cbee@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
The purpose of travel is to present a research paper entitled “Examining Trade-Off Difficulty and Anticipatory Mixed Emotions in the Context of Corporate Social Responsibility” at the European Association for Consumer Research to be held at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy from July 11 – 14, 2007. In addition to presenting a research paper, she would also like to collaborate and initiate a research dialogue with international colleagues in cross-cultural/international research on mixed emotions. She has been in contact with her colleagues abroad through email but has not had the opportunity to meet in person to discuss their similar areas of research and research projects. She also would like to use this travel opportunity to initiate international marketing research with her colleagues abroad.
Claribel Bonilla, Ph.D.
School of Business: Engineering
cbonilla@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Bonilla's purpose of travel is to attend an INFORMS international conference in Puerto Rico. She is currently a session search and also a co-author in a paper. She will be meeting with a faculty member at UPRM Puerto Rico to talk about possible research/teaching collaboration with the university and will network with other international faculty for the same objective.
Sandy Buczynski, Ph.D.
School of Leadership and Educational Sciences: Learning and Teaching
sandyb@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
She has been invited by the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science to present two
weeklong professional development workshops for in-service elementary science
educators in Vilnius. The summer seminar is aimed at empowering Lithuanian educators’ practice by presenting relevant and progressive educational practices and research. Seminar teaching is accomplished through interpreters. This trip will also continue a research project started in 2005 in which the beliefs and practices concerning inquiry-based science education by Lithuanian elementary teachers was examined. This summer’s study will revisit the teachers from the 2005 A.P.P.L.E. science education seminar to investigate how the professional development received by the teachers has been incorporated into their teaching practices.
Click here for more information on Dr. Buczynski's project.
Cynthia Caywood, Ph.D.
College of Arts & Sciences: English
ccaywood@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
She delivered a paper at the Literary London Conference, held at the University of Westminster, London, UK. Presenting her ideas at an international conference allowed her to represent the University’s strong commitment to international education and scholarship. The presentation also was consistent with her university service work in support of international education, which includes serving as faculty advisor to USD study abroad semester programs in Oxford, UK and Cork, Ireland; originating and running the College’s “Summer in London” program; serving on and co-chairing the College’s Faculty Study Abroad Committee; and overseeing the College’s sponsored international programming.
Click here for more information on Dr. Caywood's project.
Robert B. Fleming, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Theatre
rfleming@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Fleming researched interdisciplinary connections in performance and, ultimately, applied them in his own creative research project, LES VAURIENS, a solo piece about Malagasy poet Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo and the 2005 Clichy-sous-Bois riots. He attended the summer university gathering for invited members of this theatre collective and presented some of his work at the Centre International Artistique de Roy Hart (CIARH) with some of his fellow artists/collaborators with whom he began realizing the work in the summer of 2006. Finally, as suggested by the organizers of the Avignon and Off-Avignon Festivals, he attended these festivals to investigate presenting his work there in the summer of 2008 while watching some of the finest present day French avant-garde artists’ performances.
Sarah Gray , Ph.D.
College of Arts & Sciences: Marine Science
sgray@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Gray conducted field work to collect sediment samples and oceanographic data, and also established contacts with educators, researchers, and environmental professionals in the Virgin Islands. Ultimately, she hopes this will be the first field season in a long-term ongoing program of collaborative research, education and outreach in partnership with researchers at the University of the Virgin Islands and local non-profit environmental organizations.
Michelle Jacob , Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Ethnic Studies
mjacob@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Jacob traveled to Vancouver, BC to collaborate with colleagues on a project which examined indigenous peoples’ methods of survival. Her team is attended and presented at the International Leadership Association’s 9th Annual Conference, entitled: Leadership: Impact, Culture, Sustainability. Dr. Jacob and her colleagues from across the Western Hemisphere attended the conference to carry out their work of collaborating on the project they have entitled: Teaching and Learning: Indigenous Perspectives on How to Survive and Thrive.
Kathleen Kramer , Ph.D.
School of Business: Engineering
kramer@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Kramer's purpose of travel is to present a peer-reviewed conference proceedings paper and co-chairing a conference session at the IEEE Multi-Conference on Systems and Control in Singapore, Oct.1 -3, 2007. Prominence in research in engineering requires international experiences for faculty; this is well recognized among academics in engineering and no important electrical engineering technical conference or journal lacks significant international contributions. The research being presented is of significant interest to the international research community in her technical field, as the presentation would be to prominent researchers from all over the world. She was invited to co-chair a session after peer-review by at least three reviewers was completed; this is a positive indicator of the significance of the work and will also enhance the reputation of USD. The conference proceedings will be accessible on IEEE Xplore, the most important index of scholarly work in electrical engineering, and available to other researchers through other major indexes (INSPEC, google.scholar, etc.) 3) The conference is truly international with a program drawn from all over the world –and, for the first time, “officially brings together two international conferences with well established track records and long histories of success — the 16th IEEE Conference on Control Applications (CCA) and the 22nd IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control (ISIC) — for greater impact and scientific exchange. It provides the international community of researchers and practitioners a greater opportunity to discuss the latest advancements and future directions in the areas of intelligent systems and advanced control.”
Stacy Langton, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Mathematics
langton@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Langton was invited to be one of 16 Euler scholars, from 9 countries, to participate in a workshop on the work of Leonhard Euler, sponsored by the Mathematics Research Institute at Oberwolfach, Germany.
Click here for more information on Dr. Langton's project.
Juliana Maxim, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Art
jmaxim@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Maxim presented a paper titled “The Paradoxes of a Communist Architectural History, Romania, 1960s” at the international conference titled History, Heritage, and Regeneration: The future of traditional architecture in Eastern Europe in Sibiu-Transylvania, Romania. The conference was sponsored by INTBAU, the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture, and Urbanism.
Click here for more information on Dr. Maxim's project.
Alejandro Meter, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Languages and Literatures
ameter@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Meter attended an NEH Seminar titled "Jewish Buenos Aires" and hosted by the University of Arizona. The seminar was taught by Prof. David William Foster (ASU), a distinguished professor in the field of Latin American Jewish studies. They met Monday through Friday for class and had the chance to work on one-on-one sessions with the director on their own research projects. In addition, twice a week, they were joined by several internationally acclaimed writers such as Ana María Shúa, Alicia Steimberg, Angélica Gorodischer, David Viñas, and Andrés Rivera. At the end of the seminar he delivered a paper and chaired a panel at the XIII International Conference of the Latin American Jewish Studies Association at the National Library in Buenos Aires. There, his book on memory and representation was presented, though the "official" presentation was in Rosario. And lastly, he traveled to the city of Rosario to present his recently published book on Jewish memory and representation at "Museo de la Memoria", a UNESCO sponsored institution with major national and international recognition.
Click here for more information on Dr. Meter's project.
Eric Pierson, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Communication
epierson@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Pierson’s trip had a two-fold propose: book research and course preparation. He is currently working on a book focusing on Blaxploitation film and wanted to include a chapter on the international reception of these films. While doing a phone interview with Gordon Parks, he mentioned with great pride the international success of his film Shaft. This took Dr. Pierson's thinking in a new and exciting direction. In all of his research on Blaxploitation he had seen no mention of international reception. During this trip he was able to access box-office data and local media writings about films of the period. The trip also allowed for course preparation in advance of a course that was taught in London in the summer of 2008. The hands-on focus of the course required that he make contacts with media scholars and professionals in advance of his arrival. He established contacts and began tour planning with individuals at Virgin Radio/Records, Pinewood Studios, the BBC, the London Times and at least two other media outlets.
Margit Smith
Copley Library
mjps@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Supported by a USD Professorship during the 2005/2006 academic year, and other funding, Margit traveled to 19 institutions in Europe to research the construction and distribution of medieval girdle books. Only 23 books of the type remain in their original bindings. With her colleague Jim Bloxam, Sr. Conservator at Cambridge University Library (UK) she is working on a monograph which will concentrate on binding and construction details, as well as attempt to trace the history and provenance of these books. She saw and examined all books in the past two years, but additional details remain to be studied and clarified in order to complete our data collection. Margit and Jim Bloxam have devised a 25-page survey instrument for each book, and they follow a rigorous protocol to document our findings; nevertheless, during the earlier analyses they were not as sure of themselves as towards the end of the survey period. Some measurements and condition matters need to be double-checked which can be done only during a physical inspection of the items. In addition, Jim and Margit need to spend one-on-one time to compare and work out their notes which are the basis of our study. Some of the locations to be revisited are Berlin, Dessau, Halle and Erlangen in Germany, and London and Cambridge in England. One month of travel will afford her the opportunity to visit and re-examine the books, and working in person with Jim Bloxam, arrive at a realistic outline of the monograph.
Click here for more information on Mrs. Smith's project.
Charles Tu, Ph.D.
School of Business
tuc@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
This trip has three purposes, the first of which is to present a paper titled “Portfolio Diversification and Real Estate,
Investment Trusts−The Era of REITs in S&P Indexes” at the 12th Asian Real Estate Society (AsRES) Annual Conference held on July 9-12 in Macau, China. The second purpose of travel is
to discuss new research topics with researchers in Asia. Finally, the trip will help develop new courses related to Asian real estate and mortgage markets.
Zhi-Yong Yin, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Marine Sciences
zyin@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Yin traveled to Beijing, northwestern China and the Tibetan Plateau to perform fieldwork to collecttree ring samples in order to study past climatic variations, with an emphasis on droughts. His team submitted a proposal to various interested U.S. agencies and organizations including NSF, NASA, and private foundations. The proposal focused on the spatial and temporal variation patterns of climate change in northwestern China, where water resources are of great concern to both local residents and government agencies.