The Cultivation of Administrative and General Suppport for Individual Events Programs: Some Practiceal Suggestions

In the proceedings for both the first and second developmental conferences on forensics, a number of issues were raised regarding administrative support or lack thereof for forensic programs. Six of the topics discussed in those proceedings are appropriate to the focus of this paper regarding administrative support and publicity: (1) Administrative support needs to be cultivated through enhanced awareness of forensic programs and their benefits for students (McBath, 13; Parson, 42); (2) the forensic community must work together to promote the activity (Parson, 48); (3) professional organizations must serve their members in a variety of ways (Parson, 39); (4) additional research should be done to determine the levels of support for forensic activities that currently exist among chief administrative officials (McBath, 13, 19); (5) increased attention must be given to programs that cultivate support for forensics at the grass roots (i.e., elementary) level (McBath, 19; Parson, 39); and (6) forensic educators need to do a better job of helping administrators to understand the unique creative dimension of the activity (Parson, 95). Each of these areas reflected the need for an additional developmental conference, as was called for in the first conference (McBath, 46), to provide a forum for the discussion of aspects unique to individual events programs. This paper will address each of these areas and provide suggestions in the form of resolutions for the attention of the work group on Administrative Support/Publicity

The Speech of Diversity: A Tool to Integrate Cultural Diversity Into the Basic Course

The Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (1991) documented the demographics of the changing university population and supported the earlier findings of the American Council on Education\u27s study that within the next fifteen years, one-third of the nation will be people of color. As representatives of these diverse groups enter higher education, institutions will be forced to transform their curricula to address and meet the needs of this growing constituency. As Garr (1992) suggested: The question is no longer whether students should learn about diverse cultures, but how (p. 31). Cultural diversity is one of the largest, most urgent challenges facing higher education today. It is also one of the most difficult challenges colleges have ever faced (Levin, 1991, p. 4). This paper addresses cultural diversity as it relates to communication using a series of five questions as a framework for discussion. We offer specific suggestions on integrating cultural diversity into speaking assignments in the basic course later in the paper

Using Community Based Participatory Action Research as Service-learning for Tribal College Students

This work reports the methodological approach used in a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project that incorporated Northern Plains tribal college students from four different communities as data gatherers and co-researchers in their communities. We report preliminary findings of perceptions of service learning among the participating tribal college students based on reflective interviews

A National Profile of Experiential Education Trends in Communication Master\u27s Degree Programs

This article seeks to provide a profile of internships used in communication master\u27s degree programs in the U.S. An internship is defined as receiving graduate credit for practical experience gained outside the classroom, with some degree of supervision by a faculty member. Based upon the data presented, experiential opportunities in communication serve to connect theory and practice. The nature of an internship at the graduate level appears to be more complex than at the undergraduate level. The formal paper appears to be the most common means for evaluating graduate internships. Formal papers are consistently used in academia to measure student understanding of concepts and experiences. The size of the institution and graduate program seems to have no affect on the option of offering internships or graduate students electing to use them in their programs of study

Embracing Service Learning Opportunities: Student Perceptions of Service Learning as an Aid to Effectively Learn Course Material

Educators are aware of the benefits of service learning such as retention or application of course concepts. Students enrolled in courses with a service learning assignment may not be aware of the benefits or may not see the assignment as beneficiary. This study examined student perceptions of service learning to determine if students’ perceptions matched educator perceptions in the literature. Overall, students make the connection between the assignment and course material. Results and themes are discussed

Proceedings of the 40th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium

The Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium (AMS) provides a unique forum for those active in the design, production and use of aerospace mechanisms. A major focus is the reporting of problems and solutions associated with the development and flight certification of new mechanisms. Organized by the Mechanisms Education Association, responsibility for hosting the AMS is shared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC). Now in its 40th symposium, the AMS continues to be well attended, attracting participants from both the U.S. and abroad. The 40th AMS, hosted by the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cocoa Beach, Florida, was held May 12, 13 and 14, 2010. During these three days, 38 papers were presented. Topics included gimbals and positioning mechanisms, CubeSats, actuators, Mars rovers, and Space Station mechanisms. Hardware displays during the supplier exhibit gave attendees an opportunity to meet with developers of current and future mechanism components. The use of trade names of manufacturers in this publication does not constitute an official endorsement of such products or manufacturers, either expressed or implied, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administratio