Summer Research Fellowship Program (SRFP)

Bok Gyo Jeong & Jung Ah (Claire) Yun, Public Administration/Masters of Public Administration

This research project aims to assess the knowledge and awareness of civic engagement and social justice and what it means to be responsible, socially-conscious citizens of New Jersey, the United States, and the world. This study will help students learn the broad definition of civic engagement and public service, to critically examine key concepts related to civic community engagement and social justice, including identity and social location, community, systemic bias, and systems of power. This project plans to conduct annual surveys with the entire Kean University students as respondents. This summer fellowship project will focus on developing a baseline survey questionnaire on civic engagement and social justice.

Exploring funding behavior using social network analysis
Byeonghwa Park, School of Management and Marketing

This study can support entrepreneurial firms and investors to find funding opportunities and reduce the risk of failed investments. In addition, the result will illustrate interesting features of investors and success factors for IPO companies. This research will be a great opportunity to open up venues for small business and entrepreneurial research.

Successful Ascent of Female Minorities in STEM and Business
Dawn Adams, School of Management and Marketing

This research will study the intersectionality of gender and race with executives in STEM through a qualitative, transcendental, phenomenological approach. The results will shed perspective of how these minority women were supported and encouraged to ascend in their fields, and uncover barriers to their ascendance.

How to increase visibility of Black-owned business: The impact of sharing minority identity and owner’s photo on consumers’ attitude in online shopping
Min Chung Han, School of Management and Marketing

The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to investigate whether the types of minority ownership identification (e.g., self-reported vs. official from certifying agency) would influence online consumers’ attitude toward the company and their behavioral intention differently, 2) to understand whether showing the business owners photos would increase the visibility and improve online consumers’ attitude toward the company, 3) to suggest the managerial implications to ensure the longevity and success of minority-owned business.

The Role of Integrative Medicine Group Treatments in Equitably Advancing the Health and Wellbeing of Local Urban Community Health Center Patients
Ruthann Russo, Public Administration

The Impact of the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games on representation of Disability and the Paralympic Games Using a Sentiment Analysis
Kyoung Tae Kim,School of Health and Human Performance

The purpose of the current study is to explore the impact of the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games (will be held from August 24 to September 5, 2021) on the representation of Sports for people with disabilities and athletes with disabilities using social media data. More specifically, the study will examine 1) what kind of messages people send regarding Paralympics and disability on social media platforms such as Twitter, 2)how they perceived the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games and athletes with disabilities, using sentiment mining approach, and 3) how public perceptions have changed before and after the Paralympic Games.

Read It, Sing It, Learn New Words: Developing Vocabulary for Preschool English Language Learners by Integrating Songs and Books
Robert Messano, Early Childhood Graduate Program

This research project measures the impact of a series of interdisciplinary, early childhood lessons integrating songs and books on the acquisition of English vocabulary by preschool English Language Learners. The study will take place in an urban setting (Perth Amboy, NJ) with young children whose primary home language is one other than English. The research will be a collaborative effort, by a Kean Lecturer/children’s musician and Kean graduate student in Bilingual Education/preschool teacher.

The Kean University Covid-19 Oral History Project A local, community-based, oral history project created to celebrate the stories of the Kean community
Brian Oakes, Communication Media and Journalism

This project was initially inspired by the non-profit Storycorps project, which conducts audio interviews, some of which are used as the soundtracks for short, animated films. According to their website, “StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. We do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, we are creating an invaluable archive for future generations.” Our mission will have a similar goal.

A Rhetorical Analysis Comparing the Environmental Rhetoric of Thomas Berry to the Pope Francis' Encyclical Laudato Si'
Christopher Lynch, Communication Media and Journalism

The goal of this study is to introduce Berry’s thinking on the environment to a wider academic community. It is hoped that this research will be published in The Journal of Communication and Religion. I have published in this juried journal in the past. It is a national journal focusing on the interaction of communication and theology. Griffin (1998) published a rhetorical analysis of journal themes, at the request of the journal on its anniversary. He found that much of the membership comes from the Protestant tradition with some Catholic involvement He encouraged the journal to broaden its scope to be more inclusive. It is hoped that Berry’s emphasis on Asian religions, such as Confucius, and rituals of indigenous peoples will help broaden the scope recommended by Griffin and embraced by the journal. There has not been an article published in this journal related to the environmental rhetoric and theology.

Magical Amulets and Ancient Greek Grammar
Dr. Jacquelyn Tuerk-Stonberg​​​​​​​, Department of History/Art History

PEDAGOGY: Research is in collaboration with recent Kean student graduate to support her career goals. Project supports new course development.
CONTENT: A 6th-7th century amulet from Coptic Egypt is a case study for Greek amulets that spell ‘and’ as ‘κε’ rather than the standard ‘καì.’ Scholars traditionally assume that this is a misspelling. However, if ‘κε’ intentionally indicates pronunciation, then this small discrepancy may help elucidate the amulet’s function. ‘Kε’ may reveal hidden, yet powerful and even subversive, oral traditions. It may suggest how early Christian Egyptians accessed ritual power in a society in which authority was otherwise circumscribed and reserved by the Church. By understanding these amulets, we can better understand how historical people addressed their fears and desires -- and how authoritative control by the early Church was challenged and subverted.

Installation art in New York museums, 1979 to now
Lewis Kachur​​​​​​​​​​​​​​, Department of History/Art History

I am more than halfway through research and analysis of five landmark exhibition installations at three New York museums, the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum, and their critical reception, leading to a book, entitled Installation art in New York museums, 1979 to now. I am proposing to work this summer on my least developed chapter, The Whitney biennial 1993, a highly controversial mapping of politicized art, as well as the graffiti movement. This biennial lent untraditional spaces, including hallway and bathroom, to site specific graffiti works. Daniel Martinez’s word piece, “I Can’t Imagine Ever Wanting to be White" was printed on admission buttons distributed to visitors. The emphasis on identity politics was reviewed critically in most quarters, but has since undergone the most remarkable apotheosis, to where now it is regarded as a classic of contemporary survey exhibitions. Many of the socio-political concerns it addressed have currently resurfaced with renewed urgency.

Borrowed Sounds: Reading Poetry Along the Silk Roads
Xurong Kong​​​​​​​​​​​​​​, Department of History

My book Borrowed Sounds argues that a group of third century literary writers reacted to the influential and powerful foreign music and to attempt to answer the questions such as “Is foreign music corrupt?” “Should foreign instruments be used to reflect imperial grandeur?” “Is it possible or appropriate to conduct Confucian rites with foreign sounds and instruments?” In their works, this group of writers investigated foreign musical instruments, vividly described these instruments in poetic format, and merged them into Chinese traditions. By merging them into Chinese culture, they innovatively completed their political agenda, that is to use cultural hybridity to eulogize their ruler’s political power and cultural superiority through literature.

Detecting depression and mental illness on social media
Daehan Kwak, School of Computer Science and Technology

Objectives and Outcomes: Several numbers of previous studies have shown the increasing amount of user’s emotion or potential mental problems from comments left on social media platforms. This research identifies the types of mental illness, collect large-scale data sets from Multi-Source Social Media Platforms and Google Trends, then analyze the text data using various machine learning methods and natural language processing techniques to detect mental illnesses.

Examining spatial accessibility to COVID-19 vaccination sites
Feng Qi, School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences

This study proposes to use geospatial analysis to investigate the accessibility to vaccination resources at the census tract level in Union and Essex Counties of New Jersey. The objectives are to (1) measure accessibility using an integrated accessibility score (2) examine the spatial heterogeneity of accessibility, and (3)investigate the relationship between accessibility and socioeconomic factors including income and poverty, race and ethnicity, age makeup, as well as integrated social vulnerability indices (SVIs) [1]. The goal is to provide insight into any mismatch of resources and population, provide suggestions for public health planners to guide further efforts in establishing sites and allocate resources in an equitable manner. The methodology employed in this project can also be used to evaluate accessibility to other health resources and in other locations and thus add to the tool-set for public health planning and responses.

Collecting Metadata to Evaluate Biochar Application for Sustainable Food Production
Dr. Juyoung Ha, School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences

Objectives: Use different amounts of commercially available biochar as substrates for a hydroponic system and monitor the difference in the lettuce and dill growth and yields.
Experimental Design: School of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences (SESS) at Kean University already owns a working hydroponic system funded by NSF grant. In this project, the research team will utilize the existing experimental hydroponic system to conduct a pilot-scale proof-of-concept research project to evaluate the impacts of the biochar on the hydroponic systems. Growth of the planted lettuce and dill will be measured and the final biomass will be collected to represent the crop yield over the 5 months of the experiments. We will also monitor the water quality by measuring the dissolved nutrient concentrations and solution turbidity to represent the microalgae growth. Comparing our results and analysis between the system using commercial substrates vs. biochar will provide a direct measure of effectiveness of biochar in improving a hydroponic farm.

Evaluating and Mitigating AI Biases Based on Grey-Box Testing Results
Juan Jenny Li, School of Computer Science and Technology

We dissect this goal into three objectives: 1) to attempt the open problem of interpretable AI/ML through the validation of our interpretation of neurons being similarity estimators, 2) to identify the sources of biases in AI/ML models and to measure their impacts, and 3) to investigate ways to mitigate biases through patches to AI/DL models. Two of our main research questions are: 1) Can our similarity interpretation accurately predict biases? and, 2) can it also pinpoint and suggest fixes to the bias-causing spots in the AI/ML models? Answers to these questions will help us achieve the goal of creating a tool to assess AI/ML system fairness automatically and create new AI/ML systems with minimum biases.

Online Social and Structural Vulnerability Atlas of the US
George, Hennings College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology

The purpose of this study is to create a national online atlas of spatial distribution of social and structural vulnerabilities in relation to COVID-19 of the entire US by ZIP Codes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed four indices including Socioeconomic (SVI 1), Household composition and disability (SVI 2), Minority status and language (SVI 3), and Housing and Transportation (SVI 4). The composite of all these four is termed Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)

An investigation into community buy-in in demographically diverse urban engagement projects
Camille Sherrod, Architecture

The School of Public Architecture can provide opportunities for the surrounding community to interact and collaborate with Kean students and faculty in addition to attracting and retaining students of color through community engagement. To achieve this, substantial research is needed specifically in the area of community buy-in. The focus of this research is to take into account the needs of our diverse community in the success of this type of work. It seeks to gain an understanding of the Union and Hillside community as one that is largely diverse and with unique interests, goals, skills, and motivations. The study will include local surveys, interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups in order to offer insight into community interest, needs, and demographics. The ultimate goal with this research is to contribute towards a rapidly diversifying field and further to establish Kean as a voice in the community.

Book for Routledge publisher tentatively titled: Resonance: A Business Guide to Creativity, Advertising, Branding, and Graphic Design
Robin Landa, Robert Busch School of Design

The overarching goal is to help business executives better understand the creative side of visual
communication well enough so they can commission, evaluate, collaborate, and effectively interact with creatives, be able to knowledgeably and diplomatically discuss creative solutions with the creative team, contribute to the creative process in a meaningful way, and get the effective solutions to drive the results they or their clients need. The content in this book fills a void in business school curriculum. It also addresses what business professionals need to understand about diversity, equity, and inclusion. All professionals in advertising and design who create, approve, and distribute cultural artifacts have a responsibility to all members of society, including those of different races, ethnicities, religions, beliefs, genders, sexuality, abilities, and ages.

Intersectionality among Protest Art against Police Brutality, Mental Health, and Social Justice for African Americans in the Tri-State Area
Juneau Gary, Department of Counselor Education

Protest art (publicly visible creative works that make social justice statements) has proliferated in the Tri-State area in reaction to police killings of unarmed African Americans. It seems to release pent-up emotions for African American artists and spectators, some who feel triggered by police encounters and experience adverse emotional reactions.