Undergraduate TLO Awards Round 3

The goal of this TLO is to help prepare students to communicate and conduct business in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and otherwise diverse world. The need to provide students with knowledge about intercultural communication becomes more pressing each year as our increasing personal mobility, expanding global economy, changing demographics, and advancing mass communication technology bind the world even closer. Our increased contact with other cultures makes it imperative that we make an effort to understand people who may be very different from us.  Both the increasing friction between the United States and other countries around the world and the increasing tide of globalization heightens that imperative.  This TLO will focus on one of the most critical regions today – the Middle East. 

This proposal is for establishing a new model for transformative learning. The proposal combines three elements – inter-disciplinary learning, cross-cultural collaboration and study abroad. The entire experience will be for 6 credit hours and students will be required to sign up for the entire 6 credit hours. In the classroom, students will examine economic, cultural, historical, social, political and religious issues in the Middle East.  They will explore cultural themes and patterns, business conduct and characteristics, and emerging trends.  Outside the classroom, they will engage in a process of understanding “the other” on a first-hand basis in an attempt to both build bridges between the Middle East and the United States and establish a clear path to international business success.

I would like UNF to become a national leader in providing real world experiences to our students. Internships will be offered for varying amounts of time ranging from one to two months during the summer to a full semester. Potential internship sites include:

Locally:  Mayor's office, US Congressional local offices, State Representatives’ local offices, ACLU, FBI, local businesses, political campaigns, Florida Times Union, local television and radio stations.
State:  Governor’s internship program, State Representatives’ Tallahassee offices, State agencies.
Washington, DC:  Washington Center internships, State Department, International Embassies, Congress, Government Agencies  National Democratic Institute, National Republican Institute, US Institute of Peace, The Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Woodrow Wilson Center, Stimson Center, National Endowment for Democracy, Refugees International, International Crisis Group.
New York City:  International Refugee Committee, Human Rights First, Concern, Lawyers Committee, International Crisis Group, Security Council Watch, International Center for Transitional Justice, Center for Cooperation at NYU, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN.

Internships are transformational in a number of ways.  They provide students with first-hand knowledge of career opportunities in their chosen discipline.  They allow students to build practical skills and apply their discipline-specific knowledge to real world situations. They provide valuable work experience and contacts that will benefit them when they are looking for jobs after graduation.  They help students build their confidence as they realize that they can compete in the world of work.  In addition, the opportunity to live in a major US city or in another country for two months is one of the biggest advantages for some of our students who may never have left home before.

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 and by reading the book “River of Lakes” by Bill Belleville.  Each student will design a project to be executed on the river 2008-09, most probably during Spring Break, 2009.  The faculty mentor will be responsible for guiding the development of a project worthy of one academic credit (to be awarded at the conclusion of the spring 2009 term) and will hold the student mentee accountable for completion of the project.  A final “deliverable” will be required as appropriate for the discipline, for example a scientific report, a completed series of paintings, a term paper, etc.  The students will be on a houseboat for 8 ½ 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, a Project-Based Educational (PBE) approach.  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.  Further, the group as a whole will choose and execute a group project such as a video program, a group manuscript based on a log of trip events, etc.

A National Science Foundation International Research in Engineering Education (NSF IREE) has been awarded to the PI, Daniel Cox, of the NSF sponsored “Florida’s First Coast Manufacturing Innovation Partnership” (MIP) Program in the School of Engineering at UNF. The NSF IREE supports technical exchange between UNF and the Cologne University of Applied Science (CUAS) in Cologne Germany. This is a technical research grant that also has the goals of developing a greater interpersonal relationship for Americans and the members of the global societies. The PI and six UNF engineering students will travel to Cologne in the summer of 2008.

While the NSF IREE provides support for the stay in Cologne, additional opportunities are pursued for expanded cultural experiences in Germany through this TLO proposal opportunity. The students will be spending time with and actively engaged with students at CUAS. This TLO provides additional opportunities for the students to become more engaged with the more citizens and culture of Germany. Germany has a wide array of cultural opportunities. The students have suggested some of these that they would like to experience. Unfortunately, the funding by NSF, while significant, will be limited mostly to support the stay in Cologne. Although Germany is large, it is easily commutable by rail and many unique cultural experiences are available by day trip. There is large number of more significant experiences available by overnight stay at the farther reaches of the country from Cologne. The TLO proposal will support an estimated six to eight additional cultural experiences over the three month period. Some will occur on the weekend while some may occur during the week on occasion either partially or in full.

The proposed TLO is an extension of a research-based, interdisciplinary teaching project currently being conducted by John Davies (Dept. of Communication) and Casey Welch (Dept. of Sociology). The current project is a collaborative effort between the Department of Communication and the Department of Sociology designed to enhance the opportunities for active learning among students from both disciplines. Students from two classes are currently participating in the project: SYA 4930, Media and Society, and MMC 3614 Media Theories and Effects.

In this project, students are engaging in teaching and interacting with their peers within and across disciplines. Basically, students in Sociology are reading, analyzing, and synthesizing key research about media for their counterparts in Communication. Students in Communication are using the information provided by the Sociology students to analyze and integrate media theories and concepts from their own classes with the research. Throughout the Fall 2007 semester, small groups of students from both disciplines are meeting periodically to present and discuss their findings in a panel presentation / Q & A format.

It is anticipated that approximately 10 students from both classes will participate in the proposed TLO as an opportunity to take the theories and concepts learned in the classroom and extend and apply them to address an issue facing residents in Northeast Florida. Specifically, students will conduct a three phase investigation: 1) participate in research and information gathering activities designed to identify major environmental issues specific to Northeast Florida, 2) conduct a content analysis of the local media coverage of said issues, and 3) communicate the results of their findings to the campus community, residents of Northeast Florida, and the academic community.

The Ghana Project is based on an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about West Africa and the developing world on campus for a semester, and then participate in a twenty-one day study trip to Ghana.  The specific service projects that the students participate in while in Ghana are developed based on community needs as identified by our partners in the local communities.  These needs change as the country of Ghana itself develops.  The projects create multiple learning opportunities.  At one level they teach civic engagement, at another level they challenge students to apply their learning in areas like Economics and Nursing to real-world (real developing world) issues.  At yet another level the projects require students to work closely with local people, challenging them to communicate across cultural barriers.

In 2009, we plan to present new and different projects to our students.  We will move the health and political projects to a new part of the country (the Volta Region) as we have done as much as we are capable for these projects in the North.  Nursing students will work in a hospital setting and the rest of the students will collaborate with the civic union serving this area.  The civic union has asked us to help them conduct public opinion surveys similar to the surveys we conducted with the West Mamprusi District in 2005 and 2007.  Engineering students have expressed an interest in carrying out a re-design of the water drainage infrastructure for the Tamale Children’s Home in the North.  A number of senior engineering students are creating an analysis and plan for this re-design for their senior design project.  The idea is to take that re-design and execute it during our trip in 2009.  We would partner with Ghanaian construction workers through an NGO.  Either engineering faculty or the engineering mentor for the senior design students would accompany us on this trip to provide expert supervision of the project.

The funding requested in this proposal will assist COEHS student teaching interns in applying for the invaluable experience of practice teaching, learning and living in another country. A selected group of students who academically qualify and are recommended for this experience, will travel to Plymouth, England where they will participate in a daily teaching internship for three weeks in either an elementary, special education or secondary education classroom. Participating schools have been selected that offer comprehensive K-12 programs and a dedication to making this an excellent learning situation for UNF students. This proposal expands previous student teaching internship opportunities to include secondary education placements.

The international internship experience will serve as a culminating activity to the required fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville.  Students will be required to participate in all aspects of the school day and week for the three week period. They will have the unique opportunity to meet weekly with the head teacher (Principal) of each school to engage in discussions about the curriculum and organization of the British school system. They will also be attending a weekly seminar with UNF faculty and using the campus resources including faculty members, provided to them by their mentors at the host university where they will reside in Plymouth, The College of St. Mark and St. John (Marjon).

The proposed teaching and learning opportunity for which funding is requested is an experiential study abroad course to expose students to the facets of international communication, specifically advertising and broadcasting, within three dynamic and contrasting markets in Asia, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. This course will provide students with the opportunity to understand the challenges and barriers to international advertising within the Asian market, such as the legal and regulatory aspects in regards to media and the cultural differences in regards to consumer behavior. Students will examine the industry, culture, and societal issues in order to gain an understanding of how to effectively communicate to consumers within these differing Asian markets. Students will also have the opportunity to attend classes and interact with international students and faculty from two Asian universities, specifically Tatung University and Renmin University. 

This study abroad program would be a common boundary course, combining two new courses, International Advertising and International Broadcast/ Journalism. Students would initially work on real case studies and projects developed by the multinational corporations within the host countries due to established relationships with Frank Koch, Marketing Director, Proctor and Gamble in Taiwan; and Malcolm Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing in Asia for Federal Express. These connections with multinational corporations were established on a site visit to Taipei, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, funded by an International grant and the Communication department.

Students, working in groups, would be assigned a case study from one of the multinational corporations. Initially students would work on the project by conducting secondary research into the host country’s business environment including cultural, political, technological and regulatory factors. Students would then travel to Asia for two weeks to interact with company executives and their advertising agencies, meet with media organizations, while also interacting with students and faculty at Tatung University and Renmin University to further work together on finalizing the projects. Tatung University has agreed to partner with UNF and provide on-campus housing in Taiwan and Renmin University has committed to meet with students and arrange for tours and meetings with both students and faculty. As for the media organizations, due to connections with China Central Television (CCTV) and leading television institutions in Beijing, such as Beijing TV (BTV), students will visit these facilities and meet with media executives. CCTV is the official broadcaster of the Olympics Games and BTV is the largest broadcaster in the Beijing area.

The proposed program is the Strasbourg French language and culture study abroad program already in existence. The 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) in a language school where native speakers teach the classes entirely in French—no English whatsoever—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.

As faculty leader, I teach a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week and conduct 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 (total 75-80 contact hours with excursions). 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 visit to a restored castle, and a tour of a small Alsatian village. Afternoon excursions in Strasbourg include visits to two important European institutions, the European Parliament and the European Council (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.

At the request of the Liver Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, our electrical engineering students are working to help record the Electrocardiogram (ECG) and Arterial Blood Pressure (ABP) monitoring signals. A wide range of patient samples are being collected for the research and analysis of the medical signals in this project. We have a total of eight students in UNF who have been actively involved in this project. The students are analyzing and modeling the ABP and ECG signal waveforms from the samples with varying degrees of health and age, and are developing classification criteria that will have some forms of signal identification features. The ultimate goal of the research project is to provide a benchmark in diagnosis of patient cardiac and arterial conditions using ABP and ECG monitoring signals.

This TLO project is divided by semester long tasks. Each student will sign up for three credit hours of individual study course, and will write term reports based on the research discoveries. We will need to travel to attend the international conferences to exchange the current knowledge and publish our research results. In summer 2007, there are two papers from this research which were published in international conferences where the faculty authors presented the papers. Our students in the research group will benefit from attending the conferences and presenting their research results. The travel period to the conference is usually 3-5 days. This TLO proposal seeks funding for this purpose.

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 $1,500 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. 

Study abroad in any form is transformational for students.  They can experience other cultures and customs, understand global issues and events from other perspectives, gain a new perspective on and appreciation for their own country, and gain self-confidence and independence.  In the era of globalization, such experience is important to all students.  We all need to be global citizens and better prepared to compete in the global economy.  For students majoring in International Studies, such a transformational experience is vital.  These are students planning on careers in the foreign service, international business, US government agencies, international organizations, and education.

Financial support is being requested for students to participate in a study abroad enrichment program focusing on China’s healthcare system.  This program will be developed in collaboration with Qingdao University’s College of Medical Science.  Qingdao is located in China’s Shandong Province and is China’s fourth largest manufacturing port.  As a result, its healthcare system is challenged as it serves individuals of different nationalities, cultures, and socioeconomic status.  Each student is expected to spend at least 6 hours per day over a 6-day period comprised of in-class curriculum with Qingdao University pertaining to China’s healthcare system.  In addition, on-site visits to the Medical Care and Health Centre for Women and Children, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Qingdao Haici TCM Hospital are being planned.

This course provides the opportunity for UNF students to directly interact with China’s university students who are of the similar age and professional interests but are of a different culture.  Students will understand the culture of providing healthcare in China’s Shandong Province and will gain direct experience and knowledge of students, healthcare administrators, healthcare institutions, and public health issues in Qingdao.  UNF faculty leaders will work with Qingdao University faculty to develop and administer a rigorous curriculum for UNF students.  UNF Faculty will facilitate and engage students in discussions with high-level officials to understand the challenges of a healthcare system that is characterized by a population that is 80% uninsured.  Also, the comparison of both healthcare systems will provide a unique opportunity for UNF students – the future health care leaders to better understand the health care issues that we are facing today and possible solutions in the future.

I would like UNF to become a national leader in providing real world experiences to our students. Internships will be offered for varying amounts of time ranging from one to two months during the summer to a full semester. Potential internship sites include:

Locally:  Mayor's office, US Congressional local offices, State Representatives’ local offices, ACLU, FBI, local businesses, political campaigns, Florida Times Union, local television and radio stations.
State:  Governor’s internship program, State Representatives’ Tallahassee offices, State agencies.
Washington, DC:  Washington Center internships, State Department, International Embassies, Congress, Government Agencies  National Democratic Institute, National Republican Institute, US Institute of Peace, The Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Woodrow Wilson Center, Stimson Center, National Endowment for Democracy, Refugees International, International Crisis Group.
New York City:  International Refugee Committee, Human Rights First, Concern, Lawyers Committee, International Crisis Group, Security Council Watch, International Center for Transitional Justice, Center for Cooperation at NYU, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN.

Internships are transformational in a number of ways.  They provide students with first-hand knowledge of career opportunities in their chosen discipline.  They allow students to build practical skills and apply their discipline-specific knowledge to real world situations. They provide valuable work experience and contacts that will benefit them when they are looking for jobs after graduation.  They help students build their confidence as they realize that they can compete in the world of work.  In addition, the opportunity to live in a major US city or in another country for two months is one of the biggest advantages for some of our students who may never have left home before.

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 $1,500 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. 

Study abroad in any form is transformational for students.  They can experience other cultures and customs, understand global issues and events from other perspectives, gain a new perspective on and appreciation for their own country, and gain self-confidence and independence.  In the era of globalization, such experience is important to all students.  We all need to be global citizens and better prepared to compete in the global economy.  For students majoring in International Studies, such a transformational experience is vital.  These are students planning on careers in the foreign service, international business, US government agencies, international organizations, and education.

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 and by reading the book “River of Lakes” by Bill Belleville.  Each student will design a project to be executed on the river 2008-09, most probably during Spring Break, 2009.  The faculty mentor will be responsible for guiding the development of a project worthy of one academic credit (to be awarded at the conclusion of the spring 2009 term) and will hold the student mentee accountable for completion of the project.  A final “deliverable” will be required as appropriate for the discipline, for example a scientific report, a completed series of paintings, a term paper, etc.  The students will be on a houseboat for 8 ½ 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, a Project-Based Educational (PBE) approach.  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.  Further, the group as a whole will choose and execute a group project such as a video program, a group manuscript based on a log of trip events, etc.

The funding requested in this proposal will assist COEHS student teaching interns in applying for the invaluable experience of practice teaching, learning and living in another country. A selected group of students who academically qualify and are recommended for this experience, will travel to Plymouth, England where they will participate in a daily teaching internship for three weeks in either an elementary, special education or secondary education classroom. Participating schools have been selected that offer comprehensive K-12 programs and a dedication to making this an excellent learning situation for UNF students. This proposal expands previous student teaching internship opportunities to include secondary education placements.

The international internship experience will serve as a culminating activity to the required fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville.  Students will be required to participate in all aspects of the school day and week for the three week period. They will have the unique opportunity to meet weekly with the head teacher (Principal) of each school to engage in discussions about the curriculum and organization of the British school system. They will also be attending a weekly seminar with UNF faculty and using the campus resources including faculty members, provided to them by their mentors at the host university where they will reside in Plymouth, The College of St. Mark and St. John (Marjon).

The goal of this TLO is to help prepare students to communicate and conduct business in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and otherwise diverse world. The need to provide students with knowledge about intercultural communication becomes more pressing each year as our increasing personal mobility, expanding global economy, changing demographics, and advancing mass communication technology bind the world even closer. Our increased contact with other cultures makes it imperative that we make an effort to understand people who may be very different from us.  Both the increasing friction between the United States and other countries around the world and the increasing tide of globalization heightens that imperative.  This TLO will focus on one of the most critical regions today – the Middle East. 

This proposal is for establishing a new model for transformative learning. The proposal combines three elements – inter-disciplinary learning, cross-cultural collaboration and study abroad. The entire experience will be for 6 credit hours and students will be required to sign up for the entire 6 credit hours. In the classroom, students will examine economic, cultural, historical, social, political and religious issues in the Middle East.  They will explore cultural themes and patterns, business conduct and characteristics, and emerging trends.  Outside the classroom, they will engage in a process of understanding “the other” on a first-hand basis in an attempt to both build bridges between the Middle East and the United States and establish a clear path to international business success.

A National Science Foundation International Research in Engineering Education (NSF IREE) has been awarded to the PI, Daniel Cox, of the NSF sponsored “Florida’s First Coast Manufacturing Innovation Partnership” (MIP) Program in the School of Engineering at UNF. The NSF IREE supports technical exchange between UNF and the Cologne University of Applied Science (CUAS) in Cologne Germany. This is a technical research grant that also has the goals of developing a greater interpersonal relationship for Americans and the members of the global societies. The PI and six UNF engineering students will travel to Cologne in the summer of 2008.

While the NSF IREE provides support for the stay in Cologne, additional opportunities are pursued for expanded cultural experiences in Germany through this TLO proposal opportunity. The students will be spending time with and actively engaged with students at CUAS. This TLO provides additional opportunities for the students to become more engaged with the more citizens and culture of Germany. Germany has a wide array of cultural opportunities. The students have suggested some of these that they would like to experience. Unfortunately, the funding by NSF, while significant, will be limited mostly to support the stay in Cologne. Although Germany is large, it is easily commutable by rail and many unique cultural experiences are available by day trip. There is large number of more significant experiences available by overnight stay at the farther reaches of the country from Cologne. The TLO proposal will support an estimated six to eight additional cultural experiences over the three month period. Some will occur on the weekend while some may occur during the week on occasion either partially or in full.

The Ghana Project is based on an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about West Africa and the developing world on campus for a semester, and then participate in a twenty-one day study trip to Ghana.  The specific service projects that the students participate in while in Ghana are developed based on community needs as identified by our partners in the local communities.  These needs change as the country of Ghana itself develops.  The projects create multiple learning opportunities.  At one level they teach civic engagement, at another level they challenge students to apply their learning in areas like Economics and Nursing to real-world (real developing world) issues.  At yet another level the projects require students to work closely with local people, challenging them to communicate across cultural barriers.

In 2009, we plan to present new and different projects to our students.  We will move the health and political projects to a new part of the country (the Volta Region) as we have done as much as we are capable for these projects in the North.  Nursing students will work in a hospital setting and the rest of the students will collaborate with the civic union serving this area.  The civic union has asked us to help them conduct public opinion surveys similar to the surveys we conducted with the West Mamprusi District in 2005 and 2007.  Engineering students have expressed an interest in carrying out a re-design of the water drainage infrastructure for the Tamale Children’s Home in the North.  A number of senior engineering students are creating an analysis and plan for this re-design for their senior design project.  The idea is to take that re-design and execute it during our trip in 2009.  We would partner with Ghanaian construction workers through an NGO.  Either engineering faculty or the engineering mentor for the senior design students would accompany us on this trip to provide expert supervision of the project.

The funding requested in this proposal will assist COEHS student teaching interns in applying for the invaluable experience of practice teaching, learning and living in another country. A selected group of students who academically qualify and are recommended for this experience, will travel to Plymouth, England where they will participate in a daily teaching internship for three weeks in either an elementary, special education or secondary education classroom. Participating schools have been selected that offer comprehensive K-12 programs and a dedication to making this an excellent learning situation for UNF students. This proposal expands previous student teaching internship opportunities to include secondary education placements.

The international internship experience will serve as a culminating activity to the required fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville.  Students will be required to participate in all aspects of the school day and week for the three week period. They will have the unique opportunity to meet weekly with the head teacher (Principal) of each school to engage in discussions about the curriculum and organization of the British school system. They will also be attending a weekly seminar with UNF faculty and using the campus resources including faculty members, provided to them by their mentors at the host university where they will reside in Plymouth, The College of St. Mark and St. John (Marjon).

The proposed teaching and learning opportunity for which funding is requested is an experiential study abroad course to expose students to the facets of international communication, specifically advertising and broadcasting, within three dynamic and contrasting markets in Asia, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. This course will provide students with the opportunity to understand the challenges and barriers to international advertising within the Asian market, such as the legal and regulatory aspects in regards to media and the cultural differences in regards to consumer behavior. Students will examine the industry, culture, and societal issues in order to gain an understanding of how to effectively communicate to consumers within these differing Asian markets. Students will also have the opportunity to attend classes and interact with international students and faculty from two Asian universities, specifically Tatung University and Renmin University. 

This study abroad program would be a common boundary course, combining two new courses, International Advertising and International Broadcast/ Journalism. Students would initially work on real case studies and projects developed by the multinational corporations within the host countries due to established relationships with Frank Koch, Marketing Director, Proctor and Gamble in Taiwan; and Malcolm Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing in Asia for Federal Express. These connections with multinational corporations were established on a site visit to Taipei, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, funded by an International grant and the Communication department.

Students, working in groups, would be assigned a case study from one of the multinational corporations. Initially students would work on the project by conducting secondary research into the host country’s business environment including cultural, political, technological and regulatory factors. Students would then travel to Asia for two weeks to interact with company executives and their advertising agencies, meet with media organizations, while also interacting with students and faculty at Tatung University and Renmin University to further work together on finalizing the projects. Tatung University has agreed to partner with UNF and provide on-campus housing in Taiwan and Renmin University has committed to meet with students and arrange for tours and meetings with both students and faculty. As for the media organizations, due to connections with China Central Television (CCTV) and leading television institutions in Beijing, such as Beijing TV (BTV), students will visit these facilities and meet with media executives. CCTV is the official broadcaster of the Olympics Games and BTV is the largest broadcaster in the Beijing area.

The proposed program is the Strasbourg French language and culture study abroad program already in existence. The 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) in a language school where native speakers teach the classes entirely in French—no English whatsoever—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.

As faculty leader, I teach a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week and conduct 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 (total 75-80 contact hours with excursions). 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 visit to a restored castle, and a tour of a small Alsatian village. Afternoon excursions in Strasbourg include visits to two important European institutions, the European Parliament and the European Council (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.

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 $1,500 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. 

Study abroad in any form is transformational for students.  They can experience other cultures and customs, understand global issues and events from other perspectives, gain a new perspective on and appreciation for their own country, and gain self-confidence and independence.  In the era of globalization, such experience is important to all students.  We all need to be global citizens and better prepared to compete in the global economy.  For students majoring in International Studies, such a transformational experience is vital.  These are students planning on careers in the foreign service, international business, US government agencies, international organizations, and education.

Financial support is being requested for students to participate in a study abroad enrichment program focusing on China’s healthcare system.  This program will be developed in collaboration with Qingdao University’s College of Medical Science.  Qingdao is located in China’s Shandong Province and is China’s fourth largest manufacturing port.  As a result, its healthcare system is challenged as it serves individuals of different nationalities, cultures, and socioeconomic status.  Each student is expected to spend at least 6 hours per day over a 6-day period comprised of in-class curriculum with Qingdao University pertaining to China’s healthcare system.  In addition, on-site visits to the Medical Care and Health Centre for Women and Children, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Qingdao Haici TCM Hospital are being planned.

This course provides the opportunity for UNF students to directly interact with China’s university students who are of the similar age and professional interests but are of a different culture.  Students will understand the culture of providing healthcare in China’s Shandong Province and will gain direct experience and knowledge of students, healthcare administrators, healthcare institutions, and public health issues in Qingdao.  UNF faculty leaders will work with Qingdao University faculty to develop and administer a rigorous curriculum for UNF students.  UNF Faculty will facilitate and engage students in discussions with high-level officials to understand the challenges of a healthcare system that is characterized by a population that is 80% uninsured.  Also, the comparison of both healthcare systems will provide a unique opportunity for UNF students – the future health care leaders to better understand the health care issues that we are facing today and possible solutions in the future.

The Ghana Project is based on an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about West Africa and the developing world on campus for a semester, and then participate in a twenty-one day study trip to Ghana.  The specific service projects that the students participate in while in Ghana are developed based on community needs as identified by our partners in the local communities.  These needs change as the country of Ghana itself develops.  The projects create multiple learning opportunities.  At one level they teach civic engagement, at another level they challenge students to apply their learning in areas like Economics and Nursing to real-world (real developing world) issues.  At yet another level the projects require students to work closely with local people, challenging them to communicate across cultural barriers.

In 2009, we plan to present new and different projects to our students.  We will move the health and political projects to a new part of the country (the Volta Region) as we have done as much as we are capable for these projects in the North.  Nursing students will work in a hospital setting and the rest of the students will collaborate with the civic union serving this area.  The civic union has asked us to help them conduct public opinion surveys similar to the surveys we conducted with the West Mamprusi District in 2005 and 2007.  Engineering students have expressed an interest in carrying out a re-design of the water drainage infrastructure for the Tamale Children’s Home in the North.  A number of senior engineering students are creating an analysis and plan for this re-design for their senior design project.  The idea is to take that re-design and execute it during our trip in 2009.  We would partner with Ghanaian construction workers through an NGO.  Either engineering faculty or the engineering mentor for the senior design students would accompany us on this trip to provide expert supervision of the project.

A National Science Foundation International Research in Engineering Education (NSF IREE) has been awarded to the PI, Daniel Cox, of the NSF sponsored “Florida’s First Coast Manufacturing Innovation Partnership” (MIP) Program in the School of Engineering at UNF. The NSF IREE supports technical exchange between UNF and the Cologne University of Applied Science (CUAS) in Cologne Germany. This is a technical research grant that also has the goals of developing a greater interpersonal relationship for Americans and the members of the global societies. The PI and six UNF engineering students will travel to Cologne in the summer of 2008.

While the NSF IREE provides support for the stay in Cologne, additional opportunities are pursued for expanded cultural experiences in Germany through this TLO proposal opportunity. The students will be spending time with and actively engaged with students at CUAS. This TLO provides additional opportunities for the students to become more engaged with the more citizens and culture of Germany. Germany has a wide array of cultural opportunities. The students have suggested some of these that they would like to experience. Unfortunately, the funding by NSF, while significant, will be limited mostly to support the stay in Cologne. Although Germany is large, it is easily commutable by rail and many unique cultural experiences are available by day trip. There is large number of more significant experiences available by overnight stay at the farther reaches of the country from Cologne. The TLO proposal will support an estimated six to eight additional cultural experiences over the three month period. Some will occur on the weekend while some may occur during the week on occasion either partially or in full.

The proposed TLO is an extension of a research-based, interdisciplinary teaching project currently being conducted by John Davies (Dept. of Communication) and Casey Welch (Dept. of Sociology). The current project is a collaborative effort between the Department of Communication and the Department of Sociology designed to enhance the opportunities for active learning among students from both disciplines. Students from two classes are currently participating in the project: SYA 4930, Media and Society, and MMC 3614 Media Theories and Effects.

In this project, students are engaging in teaching and interacting with their peers within and across disciplines. Basically, students in Sociology are reading, analyzing, and synthesizing key research about media for their counterparts in Communication. Students in Communication are using the information provided by the Sociology students to analyze and integrate media theories and concepts from their own classes with the research. Throughout the Fall 2007 semester, small groups of students from both disciplines are meeting periodically to present and discuss their findings in a panel presentation / Q & A format.

It is anticipated that approximately 10 students from both classes will participate in the proposed TLO as an opportunity to take the theories and concepts learned in the classroom and extend and apply them to address an issue facing residents in Northeast Florida. Specifically, students will conduct a three phase investigation: 1) participate in research and information gathering activities designed to identify major environmental issues specific to Northeast Florida, 2) conduct a content analysis of the local media coverage of said issues, and 3) communicate the results of their findings to the campus community, residents of Northeast Florida, and the academic community.

At the request of the Liver Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, our electrical engineering students are working to help record the Electrocardiogram (ECG) and Arterial Blood Pressure (ABP) monitoring signals. A wide range of patient samples are being collected for the research and analysis of the medical signals in this project. We have a total of eight students in UNF who have been actively involved in this project. The students are analyzing and modeling the ABP and ECG signal waveforms from the samples with varying degrees of health and age, and are developing classification criteria that will have some forms of signal identification features. The ultimate goal of the research project is to provide a benchmark in diagnosis of patient cardiac and arterial conditions using ABP and ECG monitoring signals.

This TLO project is divided by semester long tasks. Each student will sign up for three credit hours of individual study course, and will write term reports based on the research discoveries. We will need to travel to attend the international conferences to exchange the current knowledge and publish our research results. In summer 2007, there are two papers from this research which were published in international conferences where the faculty authors presented the papers. Our students in the research group will benefit from attending the conferences and presenting their research results. The travel period to the conference is usually 3-5 days. This TLO proposal seeks funding for this purpose.