Undergraduate TLO Awards Round 4

Summer 2009  -  Summer 2010
 | Expand All
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Baynard, Chris and Gallo, Andres Cross-country Comparison of Chilean and Argentinean Wine Industry

The objective of this TLO is to examine and contrast Chile and Argentina's wine and pisco (brandy) industry through and economic geography perspective. Chile's industry is well established and now Argentina's is expanding and becoming well-known worldwide. We want to better understand the physical, economic, political, and cultural dynamics that help explain the variations among both countries. This semester-long project has 3 components. It begins with pre-departure meetings, wherein students will learn about the two countries, cultures, landscapes, the business climate and the wine industry. They will begin background investigations and prepare research questions to pursue once in the field. The in-country component involves visiting Chile's capital, Santiago, and business visits to vineyards in the grape growing region of the Central Valley. In Argentina we will visit the town of Mendoza and will visit vineyards in the vicinity. Students will compare and contrast the countries, cultures and industries based on a research question. This TLO concludes with post-travel meetings wherein the students will complete surveys and short interviews, discuss their impressions/experiences, present their work using a Power Point slide show, and submit a 5-page paper summarizing their research project.

Categories:

International, Undergraduate Research
Burk, Heather Expedition Ecuador

Expedition Ecuador is a 23-day study abroad and service learning experience that will allow students to experience firsthand the ecological diversity of South America while obtaining a greater understanding of the peoples and cultures of Ecuador. All student participants will enroll in a 3-credit hour spring semester course on Ecuador: The People, Cultures and Chalenges, a course that will engage students in discussion on South American/Ecuadorian culture including: literature, economics, politics, ecology and kinship. The summer trip will allow the students to engage the country and its people in each of its four main regions, the Amazon, the Andes mountains, the coastal region, and the Galapagos islands.  The center piece of this experience will be the seven days of living and serving in the fishing town, Cojimíes. We will work with the Escuela Manual Maria Sanchez elementary school. The school and town have identified the desire to work together on educational projects, like the curriculum we developed last time, as well as solar and wind power projects.

Categories:

International, Service Learning
Butler, Joe Field Studies on Gopher Tortoise Habitat on UNF Campus

During Fall 2008 the southeast quadrant of UNF campus will be burned to enhance the habitat for gopher tortoises. During the rest of that year and until the new TLO begins, my students will document the succession of new plants into the area; trap, measure and mark tortoises in the area; and evaluate tortoise nesting success during the first season following the burn. All these activities need to continue if appropriate habitat management is to proceed into the future, so
this will be part of the 2009-2010 project. Another part of the new proposal will expand our knowledge of other animals inhabiting the same area. We will deploy 20 small mammal live-traps to document these species. Captured animals will be identified, marked and released. Birds will be documented as encountered, as will the reptiles and amphibians.


Each undergraduate will spend 6 to 8 hours per week in the field, every week, all three semesters. All undergraduate TLO students involved in the project will be select a part of this larger project to be their own. Students will continue to work as a team on the overall aspects of the project, but one may be keep and evaluate all the tortoise demographic data, another will do the same
for the small mammal study, etc. Most will use these studies as their Senior Seminar projects, and I will encourage them to present at a professional conference and publish if appropriate.

Categories:

Undergraduate Research
Febles, Jorge Scholarships for Language Study

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for an international language study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 6 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Scholarships will be funded at the amount of $1,000 for a semester award and $500 for a summer award. Priority will be given to Spanish or French language majors who wish to study abroad for one semester. Priority will also be given to students who have studied Chinese at UNF for 4 semesters having completed Beginning Chinese I and II and Intermediate Chinese I and II. Language majors who choose to study on an established Department of World Languages summer study program in France or Spain will also be given priority (if that program is not already receiving TLO funds). A second priority will be given to language minors. Consideration will be given to non-language majors who wish to study Spanish, French, or other languages, on a funds-available basis.

Categories:

Directed Independent Study, International
Gabbard, Chris Disability: Rights, Realities, and Representation

This TLO is open to all undergraduate majors but especially those in Health, Education (Spec. Ed), Political Science, Public Administration, English, History, and Philosophy. This community-based TLO will combine study of disability rights and cultural portrayal of the disabled with volunteer work each week for at least two hours at the Mt. Herman Sbhool for Exceptional Students, a school for children with disabilities (located near Shands Hospital in downtown Jacksonville). The TLO will be carried on in conjunction with LIT 4931, a course that will meet for a 75-minute
session two days a week; in addition, each student will volunteer at least two hours each week at the Mt. Herman School. Students will be able to volunteer at times that accommodate both their schedules and the school's needs. Students will volunteer for fourteen 2-hour sessions in addition to course work.

Categories:

Service Learning
Gasparov, Lev Optical Spectroscopy at UNF and Abroad

The goal of the proposed TLO is to provide UNF physics majors with research experience in optical spectroscopy at UNF and abroad. The UNF part of the TLO will be carried out in the PI’s optical spectroscopy laboratory. The students will spend a Summer 2009 semester working on the spectroscopic studies of magnetite and novel layered Co-based chalcogenides. The results will be published in a peer reviewed paper. The second part will take place in Summer 2010 and it involves a two week trip to Germany. The first week will be spent in the Aachen Technical University where students will explore complimentary advanced experimental techniques not available at UNF. The trip to Germany will be scheduled in such a way that the students would be able to attend The Nobel Laureate Meeting at Lindau, (June 27th - July 2nd, 2010). Every year about 500 participants attend this meeting that provides “a globally recognized forum for the transfer of knowledge between generations of scientists.” To participate in the meeting one needs to go through a rigorous selection process. UNF students with the best academic record will have to apply and hopefully be accepted to attend this conference.

Categories:

International, Undergraduate Research
Hargrove, Melissa Engaging the Ethnographic Imagination: Anthropology of the Gullah/Geechee

This TLO would expose UNF students to an important cultural minority, thus taking advantage of a decade of the TLO leader’s anthropological research experiences among the Gullah/Geechee communities of the Southeastern United States. Over the course of the semester, students would engage in the following off-site events: a) a day trip to Charleston, South Carolina to study first-hand the politics of heritage tourism (visit to Middleton Place Plantation, followed by the Gullah Tour in downtown Charleston; b) a three-day camping trip to St. Helena Island, South Carolina to participate in community-based workshops devoted to Gullah/Geechee cultural preservation efforts; and C0 a say trip to Fernandina, Florida to dialogue with community representatives battling the rising tide of development and encroachment related to land issues around American Beach.  In  addition, there would be two on-campus activities during which community leaders would present guest lectures. This TLO will take place in conjunction with a course in the Department of Anthropology. 

Categories:

Field Experience
Kemppainen, John and Salmon, Otilia Student Teaching in Honduras

This TLO proposal requests funding for six COEHS students, in their final semester of study, to gain valuable experience in their student teaching by living and learning in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a period of three weeks. Students meeting the academic qualifications and who desire this international experience will travel to Honduras to continue their student teaching assignments on a daily basis in one of five different bilingual schools. These mini-internships are available to all qualified education majors at the elementary, middle-grades, secondary, K-12, and special education levels. This international internship will serve as the culminating activity to the students’ required semester long internship in the greater Jacksonville area. Students will be required to participate in all aspects of the schools’ regular instructional and after school activities while on assignment. By living with host families, UNF students will gain an even greater appreciation for the life style of the Honduran people. Our students will have an excellent opportunity to share with their Honduran counterparts, techniques and strategies they have learned in the course work at UNF as well as well as learn how the educational system functions in another country and the strategies and instructional techniques used in these schools.

Categories:

Field Experience, International
Lambert, David Hurricane Damage Assessment and Recovery Research Team

The primary objective of this TLO is for students, faculty and industry representatives to work together, applying a forensic approach, to improve our understanding of the causes of building failures during hurricanes. Students participating in this TLO course, called "Construction Forensics II", will become members of the UNF-HDARRT research team. The primary mission of the HDARRT is to be prepared to deploy its specially-trained research team members into areas impacted by hurricanes during the first week following hurricane landfall. TLO students will participate in two 3-day field training exercises alongside faculty, staff, and industry team members. These in-the-field simulation exercises will provide each student team member with the technical knowledge and special skills needed to conduct both rapid assessments and forensic-level investigations of building damage. The students will deploy to a hurricane landfall area during the Fall 2009 semester with the HDARRT anywhere in the S.E. USA region. While deployed, each student will conduct an individual research project related to the impact of high winds from hurricanes on the structural integrity of building envelope system components. Each student will prepare a case study report based on their field research, and present their results to the faculty and industry representatives.

Categories:

Field Experience, Undergraduate Research
Lastrapes, Wanda and Salmon, Otilia An Immersive Field Experience in Miami's Hispanic and Haitian Communities: A Cultural Transformational Journey

This Transformational Learning Opportunity will provide students enrolled in EDG 2701, Teaching Diverse Populations the opportunity to experience the multicultural educational and community settings of Miami, Florida during the Summer A 2010 academic session.  Twenty-five students enrolled in EDG 2701 will be selected to participate in this 5-day, 40-hour transformational learning experience coordinated by two faculty members. This TLO will provide opportunities for students to examine multiple facets of multiculturalism namely ethnicity, class, religion and language of Hispanic and Haitian communities. Students will be engaged in dialogue with committed faculty and administrators who teach in diverse urban schools, including high-need challenged educational settings. In addition, TLO students will participate in panel discussions with academically successful students from various ethnic backgrounds. They will also be immersed in the cultural communities of the schools through neighborhood tours and seminars with school-community liaisons, visits to ethnic restaurants, local museums, churches, and other community events.

Categories:

Field Experience
Loh, Chung-Ping Study Abroad to Taiwan and China

The course assembles research groups that consist of students from UNF and peer institutions in Taiwan and China, and shows students how to apply microeconomic and statistic models to examine the impact of cultural, social, economic, and environmental factors on the common choices people make in life . The course has the following components:
- Before the trip: Students will attend lectures on special topics in applied microeconomic analysis, survey methods, and country background introduction. During the developing of research topics, students will be connected with their counterparts in Taiwan and China through Email and Blackboard interface to form international research groups. Students will form interesting research questions and create survey instruments for data collection purpose.
- Field study and data collection during the trip abroad: (10 days in May 2010) During the visit to each country, students will attend selected lectures at a peer institution, conduct interview surveys and collect data. Students will also meet their international research collaborators face to face, and communicate with each other about research, study, and life in general. Students will also spend time visiting cultural and historical sites and experience many aspects of local life.
- Data analysis, group project reports, and presentation after the trip: Data collected in Taiwan and China will be analyzed jointly with those collected at UNF to compare and contrast the choices people made in life across cultural and political boundaries. Students will finish the research reports and present major findings in a concluding meeting. Students will share their research findings with international collaborators.

Categories:

International, Undergraduate Research
Lupi, Marsha and Batey, Jacqueline International Student Teaching Short-Term Internship in Plymouth, England

This proposal will continue to assist COEHS student teaching interns in applying for the invaluable experience of practice teaching, learning and living in Plymouth, England. It will however, direct more focus on secondary education interns since interest in this opportunity has peaked among this group of our students. This internship experience will serve as a culminating activity to the fifteen week internship semester in Jacksonville. Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week for three weeks, five days a week. They will have the unique opportunity to intern besides a British teacher, share planning, and engage in pedagogical and relevant discussions. Students will reside on the campus of the University College Plymouth (Marjon), the best university college for teacher preparation in South West England. They will meet other British students and share seminars with their UNF professor and a Marjon professor. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African and East and West Asian countries increasing the training opportunities of our students in teaching students for whom English is a second language.

Categories:

Field Experience, International
Murphy, Debra Art, History and Culture in Rome

ART, HISTORY AND CULTURE IN ROME, 2010 is scheduled from May 31-June 25, 2010. The UNF program is offered in conjunction with the University of New Orleans. UNF students take 6 hours during the month long program. Classes are offered on site from Mondays through Thursdays with weekends being
available for additional exploration in Rome or travel within Italy. Field trips will be scheduled to Florence and Venice. UNF students will meet with the professors before departure for intensive orientation meetings about Italian culture, language, safety procedures, packing and "street smarts" in Rome. The course will be scheduled within the summer C term, 2010. Students, armed with maps and rudimentary Italian, will navigate Rome using public transportation to find and then analyze in context assigned works of art. For art history majors seeing monuments and sites in context (rather than in darkened rooms via slides) is invaluable. The applied art classes will require students to work in "plein air" or out in the open using the urban fabric of Rome as the studio. The living arrangements are in resident hotels with kitchens so students will have to learn how to shop in grocery stores and markets with Italians, thus being exposed to an added dimension of Italian life. This program will allow students to experience more fully an authentic intersection with Italian culture. Plans are being made to meet with Italian students from the University of Rome.Journal assignments, exams and art projects will be due after returning to the U.S. Journals, drawings and paintings will be exhibited on campus toward the end of the summer C term.

Categories:

International
Ochrietor, Judith Biomedical Analysis of Learning and Memory

This TLO is designed to provide research training for students with biomedical interests. Modern biochemical, molecular, and cell biology techniques will be employed to study mouse brain samples. Specifically, we will generate a molecular profile of mice in which a particular gene has been deleted. These mice, which are housed at UNF, do not express the Basigin gene. This TLO program of study will explore normal and Basigin null mouse brains to identify whether molecules involved in learning and memory are altered in the absence of Basigin expression. This program will allow students to use state-of-the-art equipment both at UNF and the Jacksonville campus of the Mayo Clinic and will prepare them for future careers as biomedical research scientists. Undergraduate students will work directly with  Dr. Ochrietor to accomplish this task during 2009-2010 academic year. The long-term goal of this work is to determine whether Basigin null mice can be used as mammalian model for studies of learning and memory.

Categories:

Undergraduate Research
Pyati, Radha St. Johns River TLO

Students will prepare for a spring immersion experience on the St. Johns River by working with faculty mentors in their respective major disciplines during the previous fall semester. Each student will design a project to be executed on the river during Spring Break 2010. The students will be on a houseboat for 8.5 continuous days primarily in the middle portion of the St. Johns River. They will visit state parks, springs, tributaries, and other points of natural significance and interact with authors, historians, scientists, engineers, artists, and musicians about the river and its people. An important feature of the student designed projects is that they must be shared with the other students on the trip, which is a Project-Based Educational approach. For example, a project designed by chemistry students to perform water quality measurements must include the non-science participants in the taking of the samples and their analysis. Time will be scheduled during the trip for the students to peer teach and after the trip to report the results of their project to the whole group.

Categories:

Field Experience
Robinson, Tim Study Abroad Scholarships

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for the international study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 3 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Priority will be given to students applying for a UNF Exchange Program, a UNF-Connected Program, and/ or any other program that has a formal relationship with UNF. Other Programs may be supported on funds-available basis if approved by the UNF International Center and by UNF academic advisors for transfer credit. The programs allowed for these scholarships will vary in length from 3 weeks to a full semester (a simple majority will probably be semester in length based on 2007-2008 experience). Scholarships are anticipated to be in two categories: short term ($500) and long term ($1,000). The former would be for a summer or shorter study abroad activity; the latter for a semester or longer study activity.

Categories:

Directed Independent Study, International
Ross, Cliff Impacts of Environmental Stressors on Tropical Coral Reefs

This TLO is a 2-credit, direct independent study course that will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to gain hands on experience working with coral reef biology and physiology. The basis for this research opportunity is to work with the understudied, yet extremely important, larval phase of coral reefs using the coral Porites astreoides as a model system. Based upon previous research by the principle investigator, it has been determined that P. astreoides releases its larvae on the new moon of every May. This narrow window (May 14, 2010 ±3 days) dictates the timely offering of this proposed TLO (Total: 2 week duration). Days 1-10 will be designated for the field component of this project (sample collection and experimental set up). Days 11-14 will be used for laboratory analysis of the specimens at UNF (laboratory of Cliff Ross). The field component of this research will take place at Mote Marine Tropical Laboratory. UNF students will be involved in all aspects of this project including adult coral collection, larvae maintenance, experimental setup, and data collection and analysis.

Categories:

Undergraduate Research
Sando, Thobias and El-Safty, Adel United States Transit Field Study

This project is aimed at introducing students to passenger rail systems. This field visit to mass transit systems will enable students to experience different aspects of rail passenger systems. One of the well established commuter rail systems is in Washington DC. The Washington DC METRO system consists of both underground and surface which offers students an opportunity to experience differences in design and operation of both underground and surface rail system. The following schedule is proposed:
-Day 1: Travel from Jacksonville to Washington DC by AMTRAK train - Two lectures to be provided on transit.
-Day 2: Tour the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Management Center to learn about train scheduling and operations.
Ride a train with stops at selected stations for lectures on design of different types of stations based on station type (downtown, neighborhood, and regional).
-Day 3: Lecture on intermodal connectivity and a tour to selected stations with different types of transportation intermodal connections.

Categories:

Field Experience
Scaff, Claudia Promotion in the Public Interest: Art, Design & Advertising in Brazil

This TLO will focus on the development of graphics and promotional materials for Espaco Luminar, a not-for-profit that offers basic educational programs for single mothers. It will be offered in July 2009 with a total duration of two weeks. While in Brazil, students will divide their time between graphics and promotional education and cultural education activities.  Graphics and promotional educational activities will focus on the design and development of promotions for Espaco Luminar. Students will work under the guidance of Brazilian design and advertising organizations to develop and execute promotional pieces consistent with world-class design standards. Students will also engage in a range of professional development activities, for example, client interview techniques and portfolio development, to enhance their professional skills. Because effective design and advertising has a strong cultural component, cultural education will also be emphasized. Cultural education will include activities related to Brazilian visual art and design, but also other cultural traditions, such as music, media and popular culture. It will also feature cross-cultural interaction with Brazilian students and design/advertising professionals. Through this unique TLO students will experience first-hand the challenges faced by emerging markets as they work to transform their societies and educate their populations.

Categories:

International
Schwam-Baird, Shira French Language Study Abroad Program in Strasbourg, France

This program consists of four weeks in Strasbourg, France during which the UNF students learn French fifteen hours a week (total of 45 official contact hours) where native speaker instructors teach the classes entirely in French and their classmates come from all over the world. Moreover, they live with French families with whom they take two meals a day, so their immersion experience continues outside the classroom and real cultural contact fills the greater part of most days.
The faculty leader teaches a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week and conducts their many excursions—short afternoon visits to places of interest in the city, full-day Saturday excursions in the region around Strasbourg, and a long weekend in Paris. An example of a full-day Saturday excursion: a visit to the only Nazi-era concentration camp on French soil, Struthof, a picnic at a castle ruin, a guided visit to a restored castle, and a tour of a small Alsatian village. Afternoon excursions in Strasbourg include guided visits to two important European institutions, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe (both seated in Strasbourg), the Strasbourg cathedral, and other churches and museums in the city. The weekend in Paris focuses on both history and art, but also imparts the sense of Paris as a vibrant city where people live and work, not just a massive museum for the world’s tourists.

Categories:

International
Tinnin, Randy UNF Music Education Outreach

Students from the UNF Department of Music will give musical instruction to under-served middle school students in Duval County in the form of private lessons on musical instruments and group instruction in an ensemble. Private lessons will be given one time per week for 30 minutes each . The ensemble will rehearse one time per week for 60 minutes. The students receiving this instruction will give a concert at their school in just before classes end in December 2009 and June 2010. This instruction will occur for a total of 30 weeks from September 2009 to June 2010, and will take place at the host middle schools in Duval County. This experience will help to prepare the UNF music students for careers as music educators, as the instruction they give mirrors the instruction they will be called upon to provide as music educators.

Categories:

Service Learning
Wang, Debbie and Richard, Dan Beyond War: Culture and Cognition

Beyond War: Culture and Cognition is an enriching and transformational learning experience for undergraduate students interested in psychology, political science, history, and sociology. The project will offer students the opportunity to participate in engaging seminar discussions, interdisciplinary course readings, applied research projects, and international travel. Students will complete research projects related to the causes and explanations of war with cooperation from students in other countries. UNF students will learn about the psychological and political explanations for war using the Second China-Japan War and World War II as a context. The students will propose and conduct a research project on cultural differences in conflict resolution. To conduct this research, the students will establish cooperative relationships with students attending college in China (e.g., Nanjing University) and Japan (e.g., Ritsumeikan University), will travel to Japan and China, and will interview citizens about their reactions to the war and current tensions in the region. The course will be offered in the Summer of 2009 as a 6-credit hour course listed in the Psychology Department. The students will spend approximately 15 days of the summer term traveling abroad to experience the cultures of China and Japan and to conduct research.

Categories:

International, Undergraduate Research
Zeiser, Pamela Long-Term Study Abroad Support for International Studies Students

All students majoring in International Studies must complete an international educational experience as a requirement for graduation. The major requires coursework in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, history, and political science, all of which prepare students for international experiences. Many students participate in short-term, UNF faculty-led study abroad programs and can thus benefit from TLO funding. Increasingly, however, International Studies majors are considering semester- or year-long study abroad programs but find the costs prohibitive. This TLO would provide $1,000 travel scholarships for each International Studies major enrolling in a semester- or year-long study abroad program. Students will choose the programs best-suited to their individual academic needs and interests, though all will be approved by UNF's International Center to qualify for funding. Recent and current locations for long-term study abroad programs by International Studies majors include: China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Morocco, and the United Kingdom.

Categories:

Directed Independent Study, International
   
Directed Independent Study
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Febles, Jorge Scholarships for Language Study

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for an international language study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 6 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Scholarships will be funded at the amount of $1,000 for a semester award and $500 for a summer award. Priority will be given to Spanish or French language majors who wish to study abroad for one semester. Priority will also be given to students who have studied Chinese at UNF for 4 semesters having completed Beginning Chinese I and II and Intermediate Chinese I and II. Language majors who choose to study on an established Department of World Languages summer study program in France or Spain will also be given priority (if that program is not already receiving TLO funds). A second priority will be given to language minors. Consideration will be given to non-language majors who wish to study Spanish, French, or other languages, on a funds-available basis.
Robinson, Tim Study Abroad Scholarships

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for the international study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 3 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Priority will be given to students applying for a UNF Exchange Program, a UNF-Connected Program, and/ or any other program that has a formal relationship with UNF. Other Programs may be supported on funds-available basis if approved by the UNF International Center and by UNF academic advisors for transfer credit. The programs allowed for these scholarships will vary in length from 3 weeks to a full semester (a simple majority will probably be semester in length based on 2007-2008 experience). Scholarships are anticipated to be in two categories: short term ($500) and long term ($1,000). The former would be for a summer or shorter study abroad activity; the latter for a semester or longer study activity.
Zeiser, Pamela Long-Term Study Abroad Support for International Studies Students

All students majoring in International Studies must complete an international educational experience as a requirement for graduation. The major requires coursework in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, history, and political science, all of which prepare students for international experiences. Many students participate in short-term, UNF faculty-led study abroad programs and can thus benefit from TLO funding. Increasingly, however, International Studies majors are considering semester- or year-long study abroad programs but find the costs prohibitive. This TLO would provide $1,000 travel scholarships for each International Studies major enrolling in a semester- or year-long study abroad program. Students will choose the programs best-suited to their individual academic needs and interests, though all will be approved by UNF's International Center to qualify for funding. Recent and current locations for long-term study abroad programs by International Studies majors include: China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Morocco, and the United Kingdom.
Field Experience
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Hargrove, Melissa Engaging the Ethnographic Imagination: Anthropology of the Gullah/Geechee

This TLO would expose UNF students to an important cultural minority, thus taking advantage of a decade of the TLO leader’s anthropological research experiences among the Gullah/Geechee communities of the Southeastern United States. Over the course of the semester, students would engage in the following off-site events: a) a day trip to Charleston, South Carolina to study first-hand the politics of heritage tourism (visit to Middleton Place Plantation, followed by the Gullah Tour in downtown Charleston; b) a three-day camping trip to St. Helena Island, South Carolina to participate in community-based workshops devoted to Gullah/Geechee cultural preservation efforts; and C0 a say trip to Fernandina, Florida to dialogue with community representatives battling the rising tide of development and encroachment related to land issues around American Beach.  In  addition, there would be two on-campus activities during which community leaders would present guest lectures. This TLO will take place in conjunction with a course in the Department of Anthropology. 
Kemppainen, John and Salmon, Otilia Student Teaching in Honduras

This TLO proposal requests funding for six COEHS students, in their final semester of study, to gain valuable experience in their student teaching by living and learning in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a period of three weeks. Students meeting the academic qualifications and who desire this international experience will travel to Honduras to continue their student teaching assignments on a daily basis in one of five different bilingual schools. These mini-internships are available to all qualified education majors at the elementary, middle-grades, secondary, K-12, and special education levels. This international internship will serve as the culminating activity to the students’ required semester long internship in the greater Jacksonville area. Students will be required to participate in all aspects of the schools’ regular instructional and after school activities while on assignment. By living with host families, UNF students will gain an even greater appreciation for the life style of the Honduran people. Our students will have an excellent opportunity to share with their Honduran counterparts, techniques and strategies they have learned in the course work at UNF as well as well as learn how the educational system functions in another country and the strategies and instructional techniques used in these schools.
Lambert, David Hurricane Damage Assessment and Recovery Research Team

The primary objective of this TLO is for students, faculty and industry representatives to work together, applying a forensic approach, to improve our understanding of the causes of building failures during hurricanes. Students participating in this TLO course, called "Construction Forensics II", will become members of the UNF-HDARRT research team. The primary mission of the HDARRT is to be prepared to deploy its specially-trained research team members into areas impacted by hurricanes during the first week following hurricane landfall. TLO students will participate in two 3-day field training exercises alongside faculty, staff, and industry team members. These in-the-field simulation exercises will provide each student team member with the technical knowledge and special skills needed to conduct both rapid assessments and forensic-level investigations of building damage. The students will deploy to a hurricane landfall area during the Fall 2009 semester with the HDARRT anywhere in the S.E. USA region. While deployed, each student will conduct an individual research project related to the impact of high winds from hurricanes on the structural integrity of building envelope system components. Each student will prepare a case study report based on their field research, and present their results to the faculty and industry representatives.
Lastrapes, Wanda and Salmon, Otilia An Immersive Field Experience in Miami's Hispanic and Haitian Communities: A Cultural Transformational Journey

This Transformational Learning Opportunity will provide students enrolled in EDG 2701, Teaching Diverse Populations the opportunity to experience the multicultural educational and community settings of Miami, Florida during the Summer A 2010 academic session.  Twenty-five students enrolled in EDG 2701 will be selected to participate in this 5-day, 40-hour transformational learning experience coordinated by two faculty members. This TLO will provide opportunities for students to examine multiple facets of multiculturalism namely ethnicity, class, religion and language of Hispanic and Haitian communities. Students will be engaged in dialogue with committed faculty and administrators who teach in diverse urban schools, including high-need challenged educational settings. In addition, TLO students will participate in panel discussions with academically successful students from various ethnic backgrounds. They will also be immersed in the cultural communities of the schools through neighborhood tours and seminars with school-community liaisons, visits to ethnic restaurants, local museums, churches, and other community events.
Lupi, Marsha and Batey, Jacqueline International Student Teaching Short-Term Internship in Plymouth, England

This proposal will continue to assist COEHS student teaching interns in applying for the invaluable experience of practice teaching, learning and living in Plymouth, England. It will however, direct more focus on secondary education interns since interest in this opportunity has peaked among this group of our students. This internship experience will serve as a culminating activity to the fifteen week internship semester in Jacksonville. Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week for three weeks, five days a week. They will have the unique opportunity to intern besides a British teacher, share planning, and engage in pedagogical and relevant discussions. Students will reside on the campus of the University College Plymouth (Marjon), the best university college for teacher preparation in South West England. They will meet other British students and share seminars with their UNF professor and a Marjon professor. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African and East and West Asian countries increasing the training opportunities of our students in teaching students for whom English is a second language.
Pyati, Radha St. Johns River TLO

Students will prepare for a spring immersion experience on the St. Johns River by working with faculty mentors in their respective major disciplines during the previous fall semester. Each student will design a project to be executed on the river during Spring Break 2010. The students will be on a houseboat for 8.5 continuous days primarily in the middle portion of the St. Johns River. They will visit state parks, springs, tributaries, and other points of natural significance and interact with authors, historians, scientists, engineers, artists, and musicians about the river and its people. An important feature of the student designed projects is that they must be shared with the other students on the trip, which is a Project-Based Educational approach. For example, a project designed by chemistry students to perform water quality measurements must include the non-science participants in the taking of the samples and their analysis. Time will be scheduled during the trip for the students to peer teach and after the trip to report the results of their project to the whole group.
Sando, Thobias and El-Safty, Adel United States Transit Field Study

This project is aimed at introducing students to passenger rail systems. This field visit to mass transit systems will enable students to experience different aspects of rail passenger systems. One of the well established commuter rail systems is in Washington DC. The Washington DC METRO system consists of both underground and surface which offers students an opportunity to experience differences in design and operation of both underground and surface rail system. The following schedule is proposed:
-Day 1: Travel from Jacksonville to Washington DC by AMTRAK train - Two lectures to be provided on transit.
-Day 2: Tour the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Management Center to learn about train scheduling and operations.
Ride a train with stops at selected stations for lectures on design of different types of stations based on station type (downtown, neighborhood, and regional).
-Day 3: Lecture on intermodal connectivity and a tour to selected stations with different types of transportation intermodal connections.
International
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Baynard, Chris and Gallo, Andres Cross-country Comparison of Chilean and Argentinean Wine Industry

The objective of this TLO is to examine and contrast Chile and Argentina's wine and pisco (brandy) industry through and economic geography perspective. Chile's industry is well established and now Argentina's is expanding and becoming well-known worldwide. We want to better understand the physical, economic, political, and cultural dynamics that help explain the variations among both countries. This semester-long project has 3 components. It begins with pre-departure meetings, wherein students will learn about the two countries, cultures, landscapes, the business climate and the wine industry. They will begin background investigations and prepare research questions to pursue once in the field. The in-country component involves visiting Chile's capital, Santiago, and business visits to vineyards in the grape growing region of the Central Valley. In Argentina we will visit the town of Mendoza and will visit vineyards in the vicinity. Students will compare and contrast the countries, cultures and industries based on a research question. This TLO concludes with post-travel meetings wherein the students will complete surveys and short interviews, discuss their impressions/experiences, present their work using a Power Point slide show, and submit a 5-page paper summarizing their research project.
Burk, Heather Expedition Ecuador

Expedition Ecuador is a 23-day study abroad and service learning experience that will allow students to experience firsthand the ecological diversity of South America while obtaining a greater understanding of the peoples and cultures of Ecuador. All student participants will enroll in a 3-credit hour spring semester course on Ecuador: The People, Cultures and Chalenges, a course that will engage students in discussion on South American/Ecuadorian culture including: literature, economics, politics, ecology and kinship. The summer trip will allow the students to engage the country and its people in each of its four main regions, the Amazon, the Andes mountains, the coastal region, and the Galapagos islands.  The center piece of this experience will be the seven days of living and serving in the fishing town, Cojimíes. We will work with the Escuela Manual Maria Sanchez elementary school. The school and town have identified the desire to work together on educational projects, like the curriculum we developed last time, as well as solar and wind power projects.
Febles, Jorge Scholarships for Language Study

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for an international language study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 6 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Scholarships will be funded at the amount of $1,000 for a semester award and $500 for a summer award. Priority will be given to Spanish or French language majors who wish to study abroad for one semester. Priority will also be given to students who have studied Chinese at UNF for 4 semesters having completed Beginning Chinese I and II and Intermediate Chinese I and II. Language majors who choose to study on an established Department of World Languages summer study program in France or Spain will also be given priority (if that program is not already receiving TLO funds). A second priority will be given to language minors. Consideration will be given to non-language majors who wish to study Spanish, French, or other languages, on a funds-available basis.
Gasparov, Lev Optical Spectroscopy at UNF and Abroad

The goal of the proposed TLO is to provide UNF physics majors with research experience in optical spectroscopy at UNF and abroad. The UNF part of the TLO will be carried out in the PI’s optical spectroscopy laboratory. The students will spend a Summer 2009 semester working on the spectroscopic studies of magnetite and novel layered Co-based chalcogenides. The results will be published in a peer reviewed paper. The second part will take place in Summer 2010 and it involves a two week trip to Germany. The first week will be spent in the Aachen Technical University where students will explore complimentary advanced experimental techniques not available at UNF. The trip to Germany will be scheduled in such a way that the students would be able to attend The Nobel Laureate Meeting at Lindau, (June 27th - July 2nd, 2010). Every year about 500 participants attend this meeting that provides “a globally recognized forum for the transfer of knowledge between generations of scientists.” To participate in the meeting one needs to go through a rigorous selection process. UNF students with the best academic record will have to apply and hopefully be accepted to attend this conference.
Kemppainen, John and Salmon, Otilia Student Teaching in Honduras

This TLO proposal requests funding for six COEHS students, in their final semester of study, to gain valuable experience in their student teaching by living and learning in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a period of three weeks. Students meeting the academic qualifications and who desire this international experience will travel to Honduras to continue their student teaching assignments on a daily basis in one of five different bilingual schools. These mini-internships are available to all qualified education majors at the elementary, middle-grades, secondary, K-12, and special education levels. This international internship will serve as the culminating activity to the students’ required semester long internship in the greater Jacksonville area. Students will be required to participate in all aspects of the schools’ regular instructional and after school activities while on assignment. By living with host families, UNF students will gain an even greater appreciation for the life style of the Honduran people. Our students will have an excellent opportunity to share with their Honduran counterparts, techniques and strategies they have learned in the course work at UNF as well as well as learn how the educational system functions in another country and the strategies and instructional techniques used in these schools.
Loh, Chung-Ping Study Abroad to Taiwan and China

The course assembles research groups that consist of students from UNF and peer institutions in Taiwan and China, and shows students how to apply microeconomic and statistic models to examine the impact of cultural, social, economic, and environmental factors on the common choices people make in life . The course has the following components:
- Before the trip: Students will attend lectures on special topics in applied microeconomic analysis, survey methods, and country background introduction. During the developing of research topics, students will be connected with their counterparts in Taiwan and China through Email and Blackboard interface to form international research groups. Students will form interesting research questions and create survey instruments for data collection purpose.
- Field study and data collection during the trip abroad: (10 days in May 2010) During the visit to each country, students will attend selected lectures at a peer institution, conduct interview surveys and collect data. Students will also meet their international research collaborators face to face, and communicate with each other about research, study, and life in general. Students will also spend time visiting cultural and historical sites and experience many aspects of local life.
- Data analysis, group project reports, and presentation after the trip: Data collected in Taiwan and China will be analyzed jointly with those collected at UNF to compare and contrast the choices people made in life across cultural and political boundaries. Students will finish the research reports and present major findings in a concluding meeting. Students will share their research findings with international collaborators.
Lupi, Marsha and Batey, Jacqueline International Student Teaching Short-Term Internship in Plymouth, England

This proposal will continue to assist COEHS student teaching interns in applying for the invaluable experience of practice teaching, learning and living in Plymouth, England. It will however, direct more focus on secondary education interns since interest in this opportunity has peaked among this group of our students. This internship experience will serve as a culminating activity to the fifteen week internship semester in Jacksonville. Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week for three weeks, five days a week. They will have the unique opportunity to intern besides a British teacher, share planning, and engage in pedagogical and relevant discussions. Students will reside on the campus of the University College Plymouth (Marjon), the best university college for teacher preparation in South West England. They will meet other British students and share seminars with their UNF professor and a Marjon professor. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African and East and West Asian countries increasing the training opportunities of our students in teaching students for whom English is a second language.
Murphy, Debra Art, History and Culture in Rome

ART, HISTORY AND CULTURE IN ROME, 2010 is scheduled from May 31-June 25, 2010. The UNF program is offered in conjunction with the University of New Orleans. UNF students take 6 hours during the month long program. Classes are offered on site from Mondays through Thursdays with weekends being
available for additional exploration in Rome or travel within Italy. Field trips will be scheduled to Florence and Venice. UNF students will meet with the professors before departure for intensive orientation meetings about Italian culture, language, safety procedures, packing and "street smarts" in Rome. The course will be scheduled within the summer C term, 2010. Students, armed with maps and rudimentary Italian, will navigate Rome using public transportation to find and then analyze in context assigned works of art. For art history majors seeing monuments and sites in context (rather than in darkened rooms via slides) is invaluable. The applied art classes will require students to work in "plein air" or out in the open using the urban fabric of Rome as the studio. The living arrangements are in resident hotels with kitchens so students will have to learn how to shop in grocery stores and markets with Italians, thus being exposed to an added dimension of Italian life. This program will allow students to experience more fully an authentic intersection with Italian culture. Plans are being made to meet with Italian students from the University of Rome.Journal assignments, exams and art projects will be due after returning to the U.S. Journals, drawings and paintings will be exhibited on campus toward the end of the summer C term.
Robinson, Tim Study Abroad Scholarships

Funds for these scholarships will be used by individual students for the international study activity of their own choosing (must be credit bearing, with 3 credits minimum required). Students will be required to identify the particular study abroad activity they will use the funds for. Priority will be given to students applying for a UNF Exchange Program, a UNF-Connected Program, and/ or any other program that has a formal relationship with UNF. Other Programs may be supported on funds-available basis if approved by the UNF International Center and by UNF academic advisors for transfer credit. The programs allowed for these scholarships will vary in length from 3 weeks to a full semester (a simple majority will probably be semester in length based on 2007-2008 experience). Scholarships are anticipated to be in two categories: short term ($500) and long term ($1,000). The former would be for a summer or shorter study abroad activity; the latter for a semester or longer study activity.
Scaff, Claudia Promotion in the Public Interest: Art, Design & Advertising in Brazil

This TLO will focus on the development of graphics and promotional materials for Espaco Luminar, a not-for-profit that offers basic educational programs for single mothers. It will be offered in July 2009 with a total duration of two weeks. While in Brazil, students will divide their time between graphics and promotional education and cultural education activities.  Graphics and promotional educational activities will focus on the design and development of promotions for Espaco Luminar. Students will work under the guidance of Brazilian design and advertising organizations to develop and execute promotional pieces consistent with world-class design standards. Students will also engage in a range of professional development activities, for example, client interview techniques and portfolio development, to enhance their professional skills. Because effective design and advertising has a strong cultural component, cultural education will also be emphasized. Cultural education will include activities related to Brazilian visual art and design, but also other cultural traditions, such as music, media and popular culture. It will also feature cross-cultural interaction with Brazilian students and design/advertising professionals. Through this unique TLO students will experience first-hand the challenges faced by emerging markets as they work to transform their societies and educate their populations.
Schwam-Baird, Shira French Language Study Abroad Program in Strasbourg, France

This program consists of four weeks in Strasbourg, France during which the UNF students learn French fifteen hours a week (total of 45 official contact hours) where native speaker instructors teach the classes entirely in French and their classmates come from all over the world. Moreover, they live with French families with whom they take two meals a day, so their immersion experience continues outside the classroom and real cultural contact fills the greater part of most days.
The faculty leader teaches a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week and conducts their many excursions—short afternoon visits to places of interest in the city, full-day Saturday excursions in the region around Strasbourg, and a long weekend in Paris. An example of a full-day Saturday excursion: a visit to the only Nazi-era concentration camp on French soil, Struthof, a picnic at a castle ruin, a guided visit to a restored castle, and a tour of a small Alsatian village. Afternoon excursions in Strasbourg include guided visits to two important European institutions, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe (both seated in Strasbourg), the Strasbourg cathedral, and other churches and museums in the city. The weekend in Paris focuses on both history and art, but also imparts the sense of Paris as a vibrant city where people live and work, not just a massive museum for the world’s tourists.
Wang, Debbie and Richard, Dan Beyond War: Culture and Cognition

Beyond War: Culture and Cognition is an enriching and transformational learning experience for undergraduate students interested in psychology, political science, history, and sociology. The project will offer students the opportunity to participate in engaging seminar discussions, interdisciplinary course readings, applied research projects, and international travel. Students will complete research projects related to the causes and explanations of war with cooperation from students in other countries. UNF students will learn about the psychological and political explanations for war using the Second China-Japan War and World War II as a context. The students will propose and conduct a research project on cultural differences in conflict resolution. To conduct this research, the students will establish cooperative relationships with students attending college in China (e.g., Nanjing University) and Japan (e.g., Ritsumeikan University), will travel to Japan and China, and will interview citizens about their reactions to the war and current tensions in the region. The course will be offered in the Summer of 2009 as a 6-credit hour course listed in the Psychology Department. The students will spend approximately 15 days of the summer term traveling abroad to experience the cultures of China and Japan and to conduct research.
Zeiser, Pamela Long-Term Study Abroad Support for International Studies Students

All students majoring in International Studies must complete an international educational experience as a requirement for graduation. The major requires coursework in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, history, and political science, all of which prepare students for international experiences. Many students participate in short-term, UNF faculty-led study abroad programs and can thus benefit from TLO funding. Increasingly, however, International Studies majors are considering semester- or year-long study abroad programs but find the costs prohibitive. This TLO would provide $1,000 travel scholarships for each International Studies major enrolling in a semester- or year-long study abroad program. Students will choose the programs best-suited to their individual academic needs and interests, though all will be approved by UNF's International Center to qualify for funding. Recent and current locations for long-term study abroad programs by International Studies majors include: China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Morocco, and the United Kingdom.
Service Learning
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Burk, Heather Expedition Ecuador

Expedition Ecuador is a 23-day study abroad and service learning experience that will allow students to experience firsthand the ecological diversity of South America while obtaining a greater understanding of the peoples and cultures of Ecuador. All student participants will enroll in a 3-credit hour spring semester course on Ecuador: The People, Cultures and Chalenges, a course that will engage students in discussion on South American/Ecuadorian culture including: literature, economics, politics, ecology and kinship. The summer trip will allow the students to engage the country and its people in each of its four main regions, the Amazon, the Andes mountains, the coastal region, and the Galapagos islands.  The center piece of this experience will be the seven days of living and serving in the fishing town, Cojimíes. We will work with the Escuela Manual Maria Sanchez elementary school. The school and town have identified the desire to work together on educational projects, like the curriculum we developed last time, as well as solar and wind power projects.
Gabbard, Chris Disability: Rights, Realities, and Representation

This TLO is open to all undergraduate majors but especially those in Health, Education (Spec. Ed), Political Science, Public Administration, English, History, and Philosophy. This community-based TLO will combine study of disability rights and cultural portrayal of the disabled with volunteer work each week for at least two hours at the Mt. Herman Sbhool for Exceptional Students, a school for children with disabilities (located near Shands Hospital in downtown Jacksonville). The TLO will be carried on in conjunction with LIT 4931, a course that will meet for a 75-minute
session two days a week; in addition, each student will volunteer at least two hours each week at the Mt. Herman School. Students will be able to volunteer at times that accommodate both their schedules and the school's needs. Students will volunteer for fourteen 2-hour sessions in addition to course work.
Tinnin, Randy UNF Music Education Outreach

Students from the UNF Department of Music will give musical instruction to under-served middle school students in Duval County in the form of private lessons on musical instruments and group instruction in an ensemble. Private lessons will be given one time per week for 30 minutes each . The ensemble will rehearse one time per week for 60 minutes. The students receiving this instruction will give a concert at their school in just before classes end in December 2009 and June 2010. This instruction will occur for a total of 30 weeks from September 2009 to June 2010, and will take place at the host middle schools in Duval County. This experience will help to prepare the UNF music students for careers as music educators, as the instruction they give mirrors the instruction they will be called upon to provide as music educators.
Undergraduate Research
Faculty/Staff Leader Nature of the Experience
Baynard, Chris and Gallo, Andres Cross-country Comparison of Chilean and Argentinean Wine Industry

The objective of this TLO is to examine and contrast Chile and Argentina's wine and pisco (brandy) industry through and economic geography perspective. Chile's industry is well established and now Argentina's is expanding and becoming well-known worldwide. We want to better understand the physical, economic, political, and cultural dynamics that help explain the variations among both countries. This semester-long project has 3 components. It begins with pre-departure meetings, wherein students will learn about the two countries, cultures, landscapes, the business climate and the wine industry. They will begin background investigations and prepare research questions to pursue once in the field. The in-country component involves visiting Chile's capital, Santiago, and business visits to vineyards in the grape growing region of the Central Valley. In Argentina we will visit the town of Mendoza and will visit vineyards in the vicinity. Students will compare and contrast the countries, cultures and industries based on a research question. This TLO concludes with post-travel meetings wherein the students will complete surveys and short interviews, discuss their impressions/experiences, present their work using a Power Point slide show, and submit a 5-page paper summarizing their research project.
Butler, Joe Field Studies on Gopher Tortoise Habitat on UNF Campus

During Fall 2008 the southeast quadrant of UNF campus will be burned to enhance the habitat for gopher tortoises. During the rest of that year and until the new TLO begins, my students will document the succession of new plants into the area; trap, measure and mark tortoises in the area; and evaluate tortoise nesting success during the first season following the burn. All these activities need to continue if appropriate habitat management is to proceed into the future, so
this will be part of the 2009-2010 project. Another part of the new proposal will expand our knowledge of other animals inhabiting the same area. We will deploy 20 small mammal live-traps to document these species. Captured animals will be identified, marked and released. Birds will be documented as encountered, as will the reptiles and amphibians.


Each undergraduate will spend 6 to 8 hours per week in the field, every week, all three semesters. All undergraduate TLO students involved in the project will be select a part of this larger project to be their own. Students will continue to work as a team on the overall aspects of the project, but one may be keep and evaluate all the tortoise demographic data, another will do the same
for the small mammal study, etc. Most will use these studies as their Senior Seminar projects, and I will encourage them to present at a professional conference and publish if appropriate.
Gasparov, Lev Optical Spectroscopy at UNF and Abroad

The goal of the proposed TLO is to provide UNF physics majors with research experience in optical spectroscopy at UNF and abroad. The UNF part of the TLO will be carried out in the PI’s optical spectroscopy laboratory. The students will spend a Summer 2009 semester working on the spectroscopic studies of magnetite and novel layered Co-based chalcogenides. The results will be published in a peer reviewed paper. The second part will take place in Summer 2010 and it involves a two week trip to Germany. The first week will be spent in the Aachen Technical University where students will explore complimentary advanced experimental techniques not available at UNF. The trip to Germany will be scheduled in such a way that the students would be able to attend The Nobel Laureate Meeting at Lindau, (June 27th - July 2nd, 2010). Every year about 500 participants attend this meeting that provides “a globally recognized forum for the transfer of knowledge between generations of scientists.” To participate in the meeting one needs to go through a rigorous selection process. UNF students with the best academic record will have to apply and hopefully be accepted to attend this conference.
Lambert, David Hurricane Damage Assessment and Recovery Research Team

The primary objective of this TLO is for students, faculty and industry representatives to work together, applying a forensic approach, to improve our understanding of the causes of building failures during hurricanes. Students participating in this TLO course, called "Construction Forensics II", will become members of the UNF-HDARRT research team. The primary mission of the HDARRT is to be prepared to deploy its specially-trained research team members into areas impacted by hurricanes during the first week following hurricane landfall. TLO students will participate in two 3-day field training exercises alongside faculty, staff, and industry team members. These in-the-field simulation exercises will provide each student team member with the technical knowledge and special skills needed to conduct both rapid assessments and forensic-level investigations of building damage. The students will deploy to a hurricane landfall area during the Fall 2009 semester with the HDARRT anywhere in the S.E. USA region. While deployed, each student will conduct an individual research project related to the impact of high winds from hurricanes on the structural integrity of building envelope system components. Each student will prepare a case study report based on their field research, and present their results to the faculty and industry representatives.
Loh, Chung-Ping Study Abroad to Taiwan and China

The course assembles research groups that consist of students from UNF and peer institutions in Taiwan and China, and shows students how to apply microeconomic and statistic models to examine the impact of cultural, social, economic, and environmental factors on the common choices people make in life . The course has the following components:
- Before the trip: Students will attend lectures on special topics in applied microeconomic analysis, survey methods, and country background introduction. During the developing of research topics, students will be connected with their counterparts in Taiwan and China through Email and Blackboard interface to form international research groups. Students will form interesting research questions and create survey instruments for data collection purpose.
- Field study and data collection during the trip abroad: (10 days in May 2010) During the visit to each country, students will attend selected lectures at a peer institution, conduct interview surveys and collect data. Students will also meet their international research collaborators face to face, and communicate with each other about research, study, and life in general. Students will also spend time visiting cultural and historical sites and experience many aspects of local life.
- Data analysis, group project reports, and presentation after the trip: Data collected in Taiwan and China will be analyzed jointly with those collected at UNF to compare and contrast the choices people made in life across cultural and political boundaries. Students will finish the research reports and present major findings in a concluding meeting. Students will share their research findings with international collaborators.
Ochrietor, Judith Biomedical Analysis of Learning and Memory

This TLO is designed to provide research training for students with biomedical interests. Modern biochemical, molecular, and cell biology techniques will be employed to study mouse brain samples. Specifically, we will generate a molecular profile of mice in which a particular gene has been deleted. These mice, which are housed at UNF, do not express the Basigin gene. This TLO program of study will explore normal and Basigin null mouse brains to identify whether molecules involved in learning and memory are altered in the absence of Basigin expression. This program will allow students to use state-of-the-art equipment both at UNF and the Jacksonville campus of the Mayo Clinic and will prepare them for future careers as biomedical research scientists. Undergraduate students will work directly with  Dr. Ochrietor to accomplish this task during 2009-2010 academic year. The long-term goal of this work is to determine whether Basigin null mice can be used as mammalian model for studies of learning and memory.
Ross, Cliff Impacts of Environmental Stressors on Tropical Coral Reefs

This TLO is a 2-credit, direct independent study course that will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to gain hands on experience working with coral reef biology and physiology. The basis for this research opportunity is to work with the understudied, yet extremely important, larval phase of coral reefs using the coral Porites astreoides as a model system. Based upon previous research by the principle investigator, it has been determined that P. astreoides releases its larvae on the new moon of every May. This narrow window (May 14, 2010 ±3 days) dictates the timely offering of this proposed TLO (Total: 2 week duration). Days 1-10 will be designated for the field component of this project (sample collection and experimental set up). Days 11-14 will be used for laboratory analysis of the specimens at UNF (laboratory of Cliff Ross). The field component of this research will take place at Mote Marine Tropical Laboratory. UNF students will be involved in all aspects of this project including adult coral collection, larvae maintenance, experimental setup, and data collection and analysis.
Wang, Debbie and Richard, Dan Beyond War: Culture and Cognition

Beyond War: Culture and Cognition is an enriching and transformational learning experience for undergraduate students interested in psychology, political science, history, and sociology. The project will offer students the opportunity to participate in engaging seminar discussions, interdisciplinary course readings, applied research projects, and international travel. Students will complete research projects related to the causes and explanations of war with cooperation from students in other countries. UNF students will learn about the psychological and political explanations for war using the Second China-Japan War and World War II as a context. The students will propose and conduct a research project on cultural differences in conflict resolution. To conduct this research, the students will establish cooperative relationships with students attending college in China (e.g., Nanjing University) and Japan (e.g., Ritsumeikan University), will travel to Japan and China, and will interview citizens about their reactions to the war and current tensions in the region. The course will be offered in the Summer of 2009 as a 6-credit hour course listed in the Psychology Department. The students will spend approximately 15 days of the summer term traveling abroad to experience the cultures of China and Japan and to conduct research.