 Weekly News for Faculty, Staff and Friends of the Worcester State College Community |
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Over 100 Attend Foreclosure Panel Discussion at WSC
Local Agencies and Educators Attend
Susan G. Komen For The Cure's
National Professor Meyer Teaches the MP3 Generation About Hearing Health
Commonwealth Performance Recognition Awards
Julie Frechette (Communication) published the manuscript, "Understanding media literacy in the digital age" in the Journal of Media Literacy [Special Issue: The New Literacy Renaissance: Media Convergence and the Collective Community] Winter 2007, 54 (2&3), pp. 66-72. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, National Telemedia Council, Inc. At the invitation of the school principal Marie Morse, Shiko Gathuo (Urban Studies) gave a talk and held a Q&A session with the teachers of Clark St. Community School in Worcester on Monday, March 17, 2008. The school has been admitting an increasing number of immigrant students from African countries. The aim of the session was to provide the teachers with insights into the contemporary "African experience" for such children, and how the teachers might best serve the children. The talk centered on diversity in the African experience, the similarities and differences between African-raised and US-born/raised children, the academic preparation of students in English-speaking African countries among other things. Rodney Oudan (Business Administration and Economics) recently published a paper titled Macromarketing and Market Orientation Effects on Economic Growth A Conceptualization Model, in the Journal of The Academy of Marketing Studies, Vol. 13 No. 1 (pp 41-58). Professor Oudan will be presenting the paper at the Allied Academics International Spring Conference in April.
Professor
Meyer Teaches the MP3 Generation If you don't have an 8-year-old daughter - or granddaughter - you may be forgiven for not knowing that Barbie now comes with an iPod. Check out the web and you'll find the Barbie iPod docking station as well as the Barbie MP3 player, Mattel's attempt to lure girls away from the Apple iPod. Harmless, you say? Not according to Susanna Meyer (Communication Sciences and Disorders). Meyer deplores the marketing of iPods and MP3 players to such a young audience. She's concerned that the iPod generation will suffer irreparable hearing loss. "The thing about noise-induced hearing loss is that it is totally preventable," said Meyer, who is an audiologist. "We think we're aging children's ears much more rapidly with all these sounds," she said.
Meyer points out that much of the hearing conversation research has been done
among adults in industrial occupations. Her professional association recently turned its
attention to hearing conservation in the iPod generation. Her 2007-2008
mini-grant, "Hearing Conservation in Preteens," focuses on even younger She, Aime St. Hilaire and Lorraine Arnold, the graduate students working with her, have developed a 45-minute presentation aimed at these youngsters that is "fun, informational and interactive." Their project has involved 135 Worcester parochial school children in grades 3 to 6. "Eighty percent of the kids in this study are using iPods," St. Hilaire said. The three administer a pre-test to learn how much children know about their ears and hearing. They then play a game to break down the parts of the ear, with children role-playing parts of the ear anatomy, and show a short PowerPoint presentation that explains how ears react to sound. Children also see how their whispers and shouts appear on a sound level meter. The team also tested the hearing of the children in their study. None had hearing loss. "We didn't really expect to find hearing loss in this sample, Meyer said. The aim of the study is to teach children to learn to conserve their hearing. "We wanted them to learn that if they move out of the noisy environment, the hair cells in their ears can recover," Meyer said. "No exposure to noise allows this recovery." Six weeks later Meyer and her team return with a post-test to see what children have retained. They get it. They've learned that they can protect their hearing by turning the volume down, taking breaks, using earplugs and moving away from noise," St. Hilaire said. Meyer and her team will submit abstracts of their research to two professional organizations, the American Academy of Audiology and the American Speech Language Hearing Association next year. Picture courtesy of www.uneasysilence.com.
Commonwealth Performance Recognition Awards Everyone knows someone on campus who deserves to be recognized for their efforts. The annual Commonwealth of Massachusetts Performance Recognition Program provides an opportunity for this time in the spotlight. The state's Human Resources Division coordinates the program which gives formal recognition to Commonwealth employees who make meaningful contributions, which distinguish them from their peers. These special awards focus attention in consistent, positive achievements by both individuals and teams of state employees, and recognize those who demonstrate: innovation and dedication to their work, concern for the public trust and a commitment to excellence. Awards are given in three categories:
The Commonwealth Citation for Outstanding Performance is given to six people from WSC. Selection criteria include: Attainment of high priority agency objectives; Exceptional managerial, organizational and/or communications achievements; Achievement of significant improvements in productivity and/or costs savings in agency operations. Last year's winners were: Rosemary Naughton, Kaine Thompson, Jackie Sproul, Don Vescio, Dr. Margaret Kerr and Dr. Guillermo Paz-y-Mino. The Manuel Carballo Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Service is awarded to ten employees within the state or groups of employees who exemplify the highest standards of public service. Selection criteria include: Exceptional accomplishments; Exemplary leadership; Creativity and innovation; Achievement of significant improvements in productivity and/or costs savings in agency operations. The Governor will make the final selection decisions. Eugene H. Rooney, Jr. Public Service Award highlights human resource development as a planned, continuous effort to provide personal and professional growth opportunities that will enhance employee competency levels. Such activities serve to improve an individual's performance on a currently held job; and/or provide new skills, knowledge and attitudes that will allow an individual to assume a new role in the organization. Any state, county, city or town employee who has worked in public service for 12 months as of May 16, 2008 is eligible. Selection criteria include: The nominee must demonstrate measurable accomplishments, which affect individual employees and the organization as a whole; The nominator must document the nature of the activity and provide a detailed description of the project, and its impact on the organization; Supervisor/senior manager must include supporting documentation, i.e., comments that corroborate the nominee's accomplishments. Nomination forms for these awards are available in the Human Resources Office on campus (Admin. Village, Room 118). All nomination forms must be in to Carol Faron by Friday, May 16.
Fair Raffle: $50 Home Depot gift card Cherie Milosh Millbury Credit Union Raffle: Anthurium Plant
Janice St. Germain
**Please Note - Links to online newspaper articles may no longer be available after a certain period of time.**
Housing horror Forum aimed at foreclosure crisis
Concluding chapter
He communicates through visual medium
College Town |
Friday, April 4, 2008
THIS WEEK
Monday, Apr. 7
Symposium:
Democracy:
Film/Forum:
Violence
Tuesday, Apr. 8 Diversity Lecture: Wednesday, Apr. 9
Nonprofit Fair
Thursday,
Apr. 10 Film:
Kilowatt Ours &
Student Art Exhibition Women's
Lacrosse vs.
Apr. 10-12 Friday, Apr. 11 Talk:
Hidden Destruction of the Appalachian Mountains,
Saturday, Apr. 12
POGIL Workshop in
Sunday, Apr. 13
Baseball
vs. Nichols College
WSC Theatre UpClose
COMING UP Monday, Apr. 14 Film:
Invisible Children
Tuesday, Apr. 15
Baseball vs.
Softball
vs.
Wednesday, Apr. 16 Baseball
vs. Salve
Regina
Tuesday, Apr. 17 Softball
vs. Nichols
College
Saturday, Apr. 19
Women's Lacrosse
vs.
Sunday, Apr. 20
Monday, Apr. 21 Tuesday, Apr. 22 Softball vs.
Becker College
Wednesday,
Apr. 23
Thursday, Apr. 24
Talk:
Invited Artist Film:
The Great Warming, Women's
Lacrosse vs. Friday, Apr. 25
Talk:
Assessment with
Saturday, Apr. 26
Baseball
vs.
Softball
vs.
Sunday, Apr. 27
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children, those 8 to 12 years old.