POWRE: Driven Nonequilibrium Systems with Quenched Disorder: A Renormalization-Group Study

This theory project develops a position-space renormalization-group approach to study driven diffusive lattice gases; the theory will be modified and applied to interacting cases and systems with quenched randomness. Systems driven far from equilibrium are prevalent in nature and particularly challenging with respect to fundamental understanding and property prediction. The models to be studied in this project are simple prototypes related to a variety of complex systems such as biological populations, binary fluid flow through random media, and fast ionic conductors. This is a research enhancement grant made under the Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) program. The research will contribute basic materials science knowledge at a fundamental level. An important feature of the program is the integration of research and education through undergraduate student participation in research

S3E4: How does diversity strengthen education and community?

The death of George Floyd is just one of several incidents that pushed issues of race, diversity and justice to the front burner in 2020. At the University of Maine, President Joan Ferrini-Mundy created a new council to examine where UMaine stands in relation to these issues and what can be done to foster a more inclusive and equitable campus atmosphere. The Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion began its work this fall. We speak with council co-chairs Kimberly Whitehead, vice president and chief of staff to the president, and Susan McKay, a professor of physics and director of the Center for Research in STEM Education, or RiSE Center, about efforts to make UMaine and the education it provides more just and reflective of the diverse world students will enter

Transformative spaces in the social reintegration of former child soldier young mothers in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Northern Uganda

A significant but insufficiently considered category of female former child soldiers is those that become mothers as a result of rape or through relationships with “bush husbands”. This article reflects on learning from a participatory action research (PAR) study which aimed to facilitate the social reintegration of formerly associated young mothers and other war-affected vulnerable young mothers in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and northern Uganda. We argue that it is useful to delineate 3 nodes of individual-community relations which we identify as possible transformative spaces in psychosocial programming for social reintegration: the intersection between individual emotional experience and the emotional climate, between individual agency and public engagement, and between individual and community resilience. The PAR study involved 658 young war-affected mothers across 20 communities in the 3 countries. The results demonstrate how the PAR mobilized positive emotions and aligned the activities of the young mothers’ groups with individuals with power to facilitate change (community leaders) and contributed to limited transformative change. Further research is needed on engaging men and on tackling structural factors in interventions with war-affected young mothers

The transformative and emancipatory potential of participatory evaluation: Reflections from a participatory action research study with war-affected young mothers

The Participatory Action Research (PAR) study with Young Mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda which took place from 2006 to 2009 aimed to understand what ‘reintegration’ meant to young mothers formerly associated with armed groups. It also implemented social action initiatives designed by study participants to promote their wellbeing and achieve reintegration. We evaluated the study using multiple participatory evaluation methods, situating evaluation as part of the cycle of research and action. This approach facilitated young mothers’ participation in developing the criteria by which the study and its reintegration outcomes would be judged. We describe each method and what we uniquely learned from using a participatory evaluation approach. We discuss how this approach is well-suited for complex studies, can enhance data quality, increases capacity of all involved in the evaluation and supports the critical reflexivity necessary for participatory studies to succeed

Online News in Australia: Patterns of Use and Gratification

Key findings from the first national survey of the current state of play of online news consumption in Australia indicate that (1) the Internet as a news medium has reached a mainstream status in terms of audience sizes, although its penetration is still within a higher socio-economic segment of the society; (2) many distinctive features of online news have been substantially used and appreciated; and (3) from the perspective of innovation diffusion theory, online news has a notable potential to foster further adoption in the years ahead

Across the Great Digital Divide: Investigating the Impact of AI on Rural SMEs

Rural SMEs are generally at a digital disadvantage due to their size and location. The addition of AI to many business processes has the potential to minimize the existing divide. However, without access to this technology and its responsible usage, Rural SMEs could be placed at a more significant disadvantage. To understand the current situation we conducted interviews with Rural SMEs and related stakeholders. This paper draws on Activity Theory to develop a holistic understanding of the influence AI is having on the business processes of rural SMEs. We also consider the role of AI in terms of the existing digital divide frameworks, as well as the newly proposed fourth wave that captures the novel forms of disadvantage AI can perpetuate