Author: Deborah Mole

Facilities Planner Lonnie Mansell talks about the UAA Campus Master Plan on the Informania radio show, Monday at 9am or Thursday at 5pm on KRUA, 88.1, The Edge.

Lonnie Mansell was hired by the Department of Facilities, Planning and Construction as the Facilities Planner in the Fall of 2012.  Learn more about Lonnie Mansell from the Green and Gold News announcement.

Listen to the Informania interview with Lonnie Mansell.

On Informania, Lonnie shares that part of updating the UAA Campus Master Plan includes collecting information about UAA community needs and interests through interviews, meetings and blog comments, and then analyzing the information.  You can find a link to more information about the UAA Master Plan 2012 , as well as a comment blog on the lower righthand side of UAA’s home page.

Social Work Professor Kathi Trawver talks about her research on mental health courts on Informania, Monday at 9am or Thursday at 5pm on KRUA, 88.1, The Edge.

Listen to the Informania interview with Kathi Trawver .

Kathi Trawver earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011, and her Master of Social Work from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1998.  Professor Trawver’s curriculum vitae can be viewed at  http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/socialwork/Directory/Faculty/krtrawver.cfm

Kathi’s doctoral research was on Mental Health Courts.  You can access the full text of her dissertation, titled Who Succeeds in Mental Health Courts? Identifying Predictors Related to Program Retention and Legal Recidivism, by going to http://search.proquest.com/docview/1095109332 If you are unable to access it from this link, go to www.consortiumlibrary.org, and type in mental health courts and Trawver in the QuickSearch box.  Her dissertation will result near the top of the page of your search results.  Click on the title, and log in with your user name and password to view the dissertation.  The following abstract (summary) of her dissertation is from the ProQuest Dissertation/Theses Online database.

Who Succeeds in Mental Health Courts? Identifying Predictors Related to Program Retention and Legal Recidivism

Trawver, Kathi R.View Profile. The University of Texas at Austin, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2011. 3530277.

Abstract (summary)

The purpose of this research was to examine “who ” was best served by a mental health court (MHC) by identifying the characteristics of participants that were predictive of six-month post opt-in program retention and non-recidivism. Participants were 148 available adults who had recently enrolled in 1 of 4 west coast MHCs, were diagnosed with an Axis I schizo-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression, were legally competent, and provided informed consent. This court-based exploratory study used structured in-person interviews to administer standardized measures to collect demographic, socioeconomic, criminal history, psychiatric, substance use/misuse, health, motivation to change, and therapeutic alliance characteristic data. Additional data were provided by the MHC study sites. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 64 ( M = 36.56, SD = 11.81) and most had less than a high school education (M = 11.46, SD = 2.49). Participants were more typically male (61%), white (58%), unmarried (93%), unemployed (92%), had a prior felony (57%), and were diagnosed with schizophrenia (49%) and a comorbid substance use disorder (68%). At 6-month follow-up, 72% of the participants remained enrolled in MHC and 55% remained arrest-free. Results from chi-square and independent sample t -test analyses showed significant differences in the years of education, GAF scores, number of contacts with a mental health professional, and strength of therapeutic alliance with the MHC judge between retained and not retained participants. A significant logistic regression model identified that more years of education, a higher number of contacts with a mental health professional, and a stronger therapeutic alliance with the MHC judge were significant predictors of participants’ program retention. Additionally, significant differences were found between recidivating and non-recidivating participants’ age, ethnicity, education, income, housing, prior criminal history (e.g., prior charges, arrests, and jail days), GAF scores, BPRS scores, AUDIT scores, DAST scores, and comorbid substance use disorder. Another significant regression model identified being older, more educated, white, and having income other than SSI/SSDI were predictive of non-recidivism. MHC programs may use these findings to better assess potential participants, provide more targeted treatment and other related support services, and consider ways to strengthen their working alliance with participants.

Learn about the UAA Justice Center and criminology research from Professor Marny Rivera, Monday at 9am or Thursday at 5pm, on the KRUA (88.1) radio show, Informania.

Deb the Librarian interviewed Associate Proefessor Marny Rivera on Monday, February 17, 2013 on KRUA, 88.1, The Edge.  This program will be replayed on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 5pm.  You can also listen to the interview conversation with Dr. Rivera by clicking here:  http://www.kruaradio.org/informania-with-dr-marny-rivera/

Dr. Marny Rivera received her PhD in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2002.  This week on Informania she talks about the immense amount of research conducted by faculty in the Justice Center.  Where can you search for research published by Justice Center faculty?  A list of publications, presentations and research products by the Justice Center and Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center products can be accessed by publication title or subject search through the Justice Center’s Research Database.

Dr. Rivera also shared information about the academic programs offered through the Justice Center.  Academic programs are offered in two areas:  1) Justice and 2) Legal Studies/Paralegal.  The programs under Justice include a Bachelor of Arts in Justice, a Minor in Justice, and a Master of Public Administration with a Criminal Justice emphasis.  Under Legal Studies/Paralegal the programs include a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies, a Minor in Legal Studies, an Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal Studies, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Paralegal Studies, and a Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC) Paralegal Certificate.  Justice Center faculty also provide pre-law advising for UAA students.

Are you interested in extra-curricular activities related to justice?  Good news!  There is a Justice Club at UAA!  For more information, go to  http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/justice/studentclubs/justiceclub.cfm

Songs played on Informania this week included “Information”, by Dredg; and “Who are you?” by The Who.

Philosophy Professor Terry Kelly talks about his research concerning “what is a promise” on Informania, Monday at 9:00am on KRUA, 88.1 FM, and repeated Thursday at 5:00pm.

Professor Kelly received his doctoral degree from St. Louis University in 1998.  His dissertation, Rationality, reflexivity, and agency in the critique of everyday life, can be accessed through Dissertations and Theses Online, which the Consortium Library subscribes to.  To find his dissertation, copy the title into the QuickSearch search box at www.consortiumlibrary.org, click search and his dissertation will be the first record that comes up.

See a list of other research conducted by Terry Kelly at http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/philosophy/faculty/terry_kelly.cfm.

Pew Research Center Report, “Library Services in the Digital Age” discussed on Informania radio show (KRUA, 88.1)

As part of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, Pew conducted a national survey of 2,252 Americans, ages 16 and older, about their perceptions and expectations of America’s libraries.  The survey interviews were conducted through calls to people’s cell phones and landlines between October 15 and November 10, 2012, and done in English and Spanish.  Read the the Library Services in the Digital Age report at http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services/.

 

Learn about the UAA Experimental Economics Laboratory from Professor Lance Howe on the Informania radio show, Thursday at 5pm on KRUA 88.1.

Hear a replay of the interview with Assistant Professor of Economics, Lance Howe, December 24 at 9am and December 27 at 5pm on KRUA, 88.1, The Edge.

On Thursday, December 6, at 5pm, Assistant Professor of Economics, Lance Howe, spoke on Informania about the Experimental Economics Laboratory at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Professor Howe shared information about the history of economics, starting with Adam Smith, “the father of economics.”

Professor Howe also shared information about the influence of experimental economics by Dr. Vernon Smith, Nobel Prize winner in Economics in 2002.  Vernon Smith (http://economics.gmu.edu/people/vsmithemeritus) has been a great asset in the development of Experimental Economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage.  Dr. Smith was the first Rasmuson Chair of Economics at UAA in 2003.  What a first-rate way to begin a successful experimental economics program!

Lance Howe also shared information about the International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics (IFREE), inspired by Dr. Vernon Smith and Mary Caslin Ross.  IFREE supports research and education in experimental economics.  IFREE has sponsored experimental economics workshops at UAA.  For more information, go to:  http://www.ifreeweb.org/about/index.php.

Read about Exploring Frontier Economics in Alaska, by IFREE Alumni Kyle Hampton at http://www.ifreeweb.org/WhatWeDo/FrontierEconAlaska.php

For information about the Experimental Economics Lab in the College of Business and Public Policy at the University of Alaska Anchorage, go to:  http://econlab.uaa.alaska.edu/

On December 17, Jodee Kuden, Head of Collection Development at the Consortium Library, shared how the Library decides what resources to order, cut and keep on KRUA, 88.1

On December 17, 2012, Jodee Kuden, Head of Collection Development at the Consortium Library, talked with Deb the Librarian about the cost of books and journal subscriptions, and the process for prioritizing and selecting items for the collection.

The Consortium Library’s faculty librarians are liaisons to the different colleges and departments at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University.  In this role, the librarians not only teach students about conducting Library research for classes in their subject areas, but also order books and journals for the Library’s collection.  This activity in the Library world is called Collection Development.  As the Head of Collection Development, Jodee has been successful in successfully negotiating and obtaining useful academic  electronic book and journal packages for UAA and APU students to access on- and off-campus.

The most recent subscription purchased is Congressional Publications.  This amazing historical resource includes House and Senate Hearings and Congressional Committee Reports as far back as 1789, and numerous other  Congressional documents back into the 1800s.  If you are doing historical research relevant to decisions made by the United States government (for example, Alaska statehood), this is the source for you!

When deciding what sources to purchase, it is essential to know what the strategic priorities are for degrees offered at UAA and APU.  Also, in order to build a useful collection, each subject librarian must also know what courses the colleges and departments in their subject areas are offering, so they can predict the research resource needs of their students and faculty.

 

Learn about UAA’s Office of Sustainability from Paula Williams, Director, on Informania, Monday, 9am and Thursday, 5pm on 88.1 KRUA, The Edge

Paula Williams, Director of the Office of Sustainability at the University of Alaska Anchorage, shared information about the history of environmental sustainability at UAA; efforts by UAA Facilitites, Planning and Construction in creating a Master Plan that includes sustainability; actions that UAA students, staff and faculty can take to help the environment; and opportunities for students to get involved in sustainability efforts on campus.

OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

The Office of Sustainability was introduced in 2009 thanks to the efforts of a faculty-driven council on sustainability.  According to their web site, an ad hoc committe on sustainability was first established in 2003, the year that Faculty Senate and USUAA approved the Talloires Declaration University Leaders for a Sustainable Future.  For more information about the Talloires Declaration, go to http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/sustainability/talloires.cfm.  Read more about the history of the Office of Sustainability at: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/sustainability/About/history.cfm

Information, in general, about the Office of Sustainability can be found at http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/sustainability/

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TAKING A COURSE ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY?

Students interested in taking sustainability-minded courses can find a list at:  http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/sustainability/upload/Sustainability-Courses.pdf

GREEN FEE Grants

A three dollar Green Fee per student was voted on and approved by the Union of Students (see referenda #12-01 at  http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/unionofstudents/structure/upload/Referandum-12-1.pdf )

The Green Fee money will be used to fund projects that are sustainability-focused.  More information to come…

WHAT ARE UAA DEPARTMENTS DOING TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT?

Learn about what different UAA Departments are doing to improve sustainability: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/sustainability/What-is-UAA-Doing/index.cfm