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Released Time for Research & Creative Works (RTR)

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Link to submit interim and final reports

2021-2022 RTR Awards

Comprehensive Atlas of Population Health Vulnerabilities for Communities in the US.
George Avirappattu, School of Mathematical Sciences

There is increasing agreement that structural and social determinants are powerful in
explaining the effects of natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic we are in the
midst of, on communities; however the relative contribution of each factor and their
generalizability across different locations is still unclear. Our team (includes the Division of
Population Health at New York University) have set out to researching the association of
social and structural determinants in community health resilience. To this end we will the
most powerful data analytics tools (including deep learning) to disentangle such relationship
using data from different at various resolution and explore their generalizability within US.
The Phase I on our project, that I am seeking support here for, is to develop a framework to
completely map all regions of the United States at various granularity level (such as zip codes,
census tracts and blocks) and make it available on Web portal.

  

The Development of a Remote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Education program to Improve Pre-service Teacher Preparation
Dina Rosen, School of Early Childhood

In stage one of this project I will work with selected Kean partner elementary schools on analyzing examples of remote science instruction for the purpose of identifying key components and best practice strategies. Some of the clinical faculty members have already been selected and this work has begun. During this stage I will guide the selected faculty to engage in action research, a form of self-reflective inquiry that allows teachers to learn about practice through action for the purpose of making improvements in one’s own teaching and learning activities. In stage two of the project I will carefully review the data from stage one, identifying patterns and considering the implication of this data for teacher preparation at Kean University and in the broader community. As appropriate I will engage participating K-5 faculty. Our shared reflection on their teaching practices are expected to have positive benefits for them, their schools and the children they teach. At this point I will also examine the impact of the work on the teachers’ instructional practice. In stage three of the project involves the development of a Remote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Education program to Improve Pre-service Teacher Preparation. After development the program will be piloted in Kean Classes. In stage four of the project I the goal would be to disseminate project findings; I will present at local and international conferences and submit articles for publication. 

  

Assessing Nonprofit Organizations’ Diversity Practices in New Jersey: Developing
Diversity Management Database System and Launching Diversity Management Center at Kean
Bok Gyo Jeong, Public Administration

This study will contribute to scientifically identify and confirm variables that affect the decision of nonprofits’ incorporating diversity practices. Second, this study contributes to broadening the currently board-focused nonprofit diversity literature to incorporate the comprehensive management aspects. Third, this study also provides practical implications for nonprofit leaders on their policy decision that involves diversity practices. Fourth, this study will reflect the theoretical link between social equity and nonprofit diversity through synthesizing multi-methods: quantitative statistical analysis, survey methods, and focus-group interviews. Fifth, this study will provide baseline data for launching “Diversity Management Center” at Kean University, which will serve as the first and one-and-only database to provide nonprofit organization’s statistical data on nonprofit diversity management in New Jersey.

  

Creating through the COVID Pandemic: Rock composition as a form of personal expression for adults with special needs 
Lyn E. Schraer-Joiner, School of Curriculum and Instruction/Music

The primary objective of this study is to Engage 5 adults with special needs in scaffolded creative activity that will lead to large group, team, and individual music compositions resulting from 3 workshops held during the 2021-2022 academic year. The participants’ experiences in their composition process will be documented throughout. The primary outcome will be 3 performances (January 2022, March 2022, June 2022) that will feature the creative endeavors of the 5 adults. Post-event surveys will help to capture the specific experience of the performance in addition to the composition process. The results of this study will be growth in the body of knowledge pertaining to the postsecondary experiences of individuals who have “aged out” of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). With this information, public schools and similar continuing education programs may be able to provide improved support services and resources needed to better prepare these individuals for the demands of living in and contributing to their communities. In addition to this, the experiences of this population during the pandemic and the important role that music played in offering both a social and emotional outlet will be critical to future planning of community-wide activities involving Community Access Unlimited working in tandem with Kean University students, alumni, faculty, and staff. 

  

Creative Collaboration
Robin Landa, Robert Busch School of Design

The three main goals of my research project are to research and write a new book, provisionally titled Creative Collaboration, to use that research to enhance courses in the Robert Busch School of Design (RBSD) BFA: Graphic Design/Interactive Advertising academic program, and to create course content about collaboration across disciplines for a proposed MFA in Immersive Design for the School of Design. Today, more than ever before, when having insights into the audience and having one’s finger on the pulse of culture and style means being able to hop on pop-cultural moments and ignite audiences, it is critical to collaborate creatively. For advertising or branding to work, it has to be based on an insight into its audience and it has to be authentic and engaging. Advertising and branding have to start meaningful conversations with people, fire connections, fuel communities, do social good, and be shareworthy.

  

Silence or Solidarity?: Consumers’ perception of corporate response to Black Lives Matter
Min Chung Han, School of Management and Marketing

The result of this research will contribute to enacting marketing practices that ensure active interest in, and respect for, often overlooked minority consumers. The study also will help the general public to better understand what can be done to mitigate racial injustice and systemic discrimination in the marketing perspective. This research topic will be shared with the Kean Association of Marketing (Student Club) to discuss in their seminar series “Understanding cultural appropriation and inclusivity in marketing” which is co-sponsored by The Kean Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Kean students will identify actions they can take to fight against racism, stereotyping and discrimination in marketing as future business leaders. 

Revision of and Kean Student Production of my new full-length play, Dreams on Fire
Jan Balakian, English

The goal of producing my new play with Kean students is to afford me the opportunity to  revise the play and to make possible an Off-Broadway production, which makes the play eligible for publication. Dreams on Fire is the first play ever to explore college students, mental health, epigenetics (the transmission of trauma), and The Armenian Genocide, set during the election of 2016.  It is groundbreaking in the way it links mental health to historical trauma, personal in the story it tells about a grandmother and a grandson, and about the relationship between two college students.  I wrote this play for our students, and when I sent out a call for theater majors to direct and act in the play, students knocked on my door.  Although two professional directors would like to direct Dreams on Fire, I want to give the first opportunity to Kean’s David Rivera, because he plans to make a career as a high school theater director. The same is true of our Kean actors.  In addition, I will be hiring at least two professional actors to work with them.  My work is twofold: revising the play, as I hear it, and orchestrating a production with our students. 

Dead wood mycobiome: molecular and biochemical diversity
Maria Shumskaya, School of Biology

Objectives: The aim of this project is to study the diversity of species of dead wood inhabitants among managed and unmanaged forests around in New Jersey to identify critical communities and microhabitats in need of focused management and conservation. In addition, we study specific dead wood fungi for their metabolites to identify chemicals with industrial use. We are working on a database of fungal species growing on dead wood, to identify and compare various decomposes in different environments so we will be able to compare the communities and assess the species richness and the health of the ecosystems across the NJ state. The database itself is shared online at inaturalist.org (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/saproxylic-fungi-of-new-jersey) and is available for the Global Biodiversity Information Center (www.gbif.org, see the publications list) for the world research community. We upload new information constantly as we progress through identification. We also perform statistical analysis of the studied communities, and develop new techniques to assess dead wood fungi diversity in a specific area. 

Caremanag-e: Enhancing the Capacity of Care Managers
Daehan Kwak, Computer Science and Technology

Care Managers (CM) are recognized to serve a critical role to promote care services, health equity, and embrace to serve these individuals to help address their needs to increase positive health outcomes. However, the majority of care managers that deliver care management services are with minimal training and experience and there are no national standards guiding the work of this discipline. Care managers do not require formal training and often need consultation when providing g-uidance to consumers. Seeking guidance from supervisors and getting back to the consumer is a lengthy process and supervisors are not always available when guidance is needed. We seek to develop Caremanag-e, a web based interactive decision tree, that will guide CMs through a decision-making process embedded in a best practice framework enabling them to optimally address social or environmental impediments to care. Currently available technology only offers searchable resource databases. Caremanag-e will provide a means for identifying interventions based on the needs and circumstances of each individual client thereby improving client outcomes. This will promote the efficacy of Care Managers and provide solutions for easy access to resources and services to individuals living with SMI/SUD.

Mobile Sensing and Geospatial Analysis of Environmental Characteristics that Promote Mental Health
Feng Qi, School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences

This study proposes to investigate the characteristics of therapeutic environmental settings and measure the quality of environment for promoting mental health through mobile sensing and geospatial analysis. A mobile sensing app has been developed through an SpF project directed by the applicant. The app is designed to collect data on participants’ perceptions of their surrounding environment and related psychological measures at different locations. High resolution aerial imageries collected with drone mapping will be used to construct virtual realizations of the objective environments corresponding to the perceived environments. Through geospatial analysis, key properties of the objective environment that lead to specific environmental perceptions will be identified and the extent how such properties relate to stress and its management will be quantified. Hypotheses will be generated regarding relations between stress and aspects of the environment, as well as how these are moderated by individual differences such as sociocultural backgrounds.

Bystander Incrimination, 1940s-1990s
Dennis Klein, Department of History

By framing this project historically, this inquiry argues that the bystander’s reputation deteriorated in the mid-to-late 20th century from a conventionally benign spectator–the “invisible third”–to a tacit collaborator. This transformation occurred during the Holocaust era and reached a high-water mark in the 1960s when survivors, writing their memoirs against an ascendant popular impatience with Holocaust memory, wrote defiantly about the shocking abandonment and wholesale betrayal of their compatriots when they were victims of Nazi-era brutality and destruction. As they collectively observed, their compatriots’ historical failure to intervene was rife and, indeed, normative. The intensity of their condemnation is explicable in light of European Jews’ post-emancipation zeal for social acceptance, a zeal so strong that for the most part they believed they actually did belong as compatriots.

Audio Signal Processing Design Tools for Non-Engineers: Effects Realization and Music Composition
Matthew Halper, Department of Music

This project seeks to address this “implementation boundary” by creating audio-effect development kits (analog and digital) and a software-based tool to facilitate rapid effect prototyping. Through the use of these tools, professional and student musicians need only focus on understanding the specific audio process they wish to implement and then either conceptually breadboard or code those specific elements into an existing framework (in the analog or digital domain respectively) to have those algorithms realized in a standalone hardware effect. In addition to the development of these tools, standard, as well as novel music effects processes will be realized and then demonstrated and showcased in original music compositions through live performances and recordings.

Horse: A Borrowed National Pride
Xurong Kong, Department of History

This paper project aims to answer the following questions: How did ancient Chinese elites react to this distressful and could-be-fatal plight? How did they view foreign goods and ideas in general? What were their strategies for accumulating and ensuring supply of foreign goods? How do their international strategies suggest other global exchanges across other cultures? How might their medieval strategies help us better to assess our own modern cultural exchange? Might we understand the unfolding of history as ever-morphing cultural exchanges in which international boundaries are immaterial? Just as personal identities (chosen or given) are fluid, so are cultural identities. In order to answer these questions, this project will focus on the horse, one of the important Chinese symbols; trace its immigration history from other lands to China; sort out its ways of merging to Chinese culture; and analyze the encounters and integration between Chinese and other cultures. Evidently, this project will reveal that the interrelated and interdependent are the fundamental styles and features of cross-cultural exchanges, not just between China and others but also for all.

Art Exhibition
Lewis Kachur, Department of History

My research and critical sensibility pinpoint five landmark exhibitions in three competing Manhattan institutions, to be discussed in chronological order.  They are Guggenheim Museum’s Joseph Beuys of 1979 and Maurizio Cattelan: All (2011); the Museum of Modern Art’s Artist’s Choice series from 1988 to present, their Robert Gober (2014), and the Whitney Museum biennial of 1993, bracketed by an introduction and a coda on the current situation.  This book will further the expanding field of exhibition studies, and the understanding of the trajectory of artworld institutions still understudied.