OBRE presents in Tampa
Christy Brinkley, Ed.S., and Dr. David Saarnio, Psychology, co-directors of the Office of Behavioral Research and Evaluation (OBRE) in the College of Education, presented two posters at the 23rd Annual Research Conference in Tampa, Fla., held March 7-10. The conference features research from various Systems of Care in the nation that are funded through the Center for Mental Health Services, a division of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The posters focused on formatively assessing the "inner workings" of Systems of Care and on caregiver perceptions of the ACTION for Kids Systems of Care. Yolanda Jones, OBRE's Family Liaison, also attended and contributed to the poster discussions with national and international attendees. Both posters can be viewed on OBRE’s website. 

Dr. Rahill awarded National Science Foundation grant
Dr. Guitele J. Rahill, Social Work, was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant in the amount of $45,441, as a co-principal investigator (co-PI) for an inter-institutional and international project titled "Re-Housing Urban Haiti After the Earthquake: The Role of Social Capital." The universities involved are Florida International University, l’Université d’Etat d’Haiti, and Boston University. The objective of the research is to: (1) document pre- and post-disaster social capital in three diverse Port-au-Prince communities, using as a measure of social capital rekonnèt, which emerged as an important finding in Dr. Rahill’s previous research among Miami-Dade Haitian immigrants; (2) document the housing recovery process in three selected Port-au-Prince communities; and (3) assess the impact of pre- and post-disaster social capital on the speed and quality of housing recovery in these communities. The selected communities are Pétionville (a high-income area), Delmas (a middle-income area), and Canapé Vert (mainly a squatter area).

Dr. Kher presents paper at conference
Dr. Shubhalaxmi Kher, Electrical Engineering, recently presented a research paper, “Bridge monitoring using heterogeneous wireless sensor networks,” at the International Society for Optical Engineers (SPIE) Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems Conference IV. The conference was held in San Diego in March. Dr. Shivan Haran, Mechanical Engineering, co-authored the paper, along with Vandana Mehndiratta Krishna, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ghaziabad, India. The paper presents a cluster-based approach using sensor networks in structural health monitoring.  Preliminary experimental results, based on a bridge model, were presented along with plans for further work. The approach considers sensing, processing, collecting and communicating the data in a wireless manner over physical bridge structures and provides an energy-efficient model for deployment of sensors. The peer-reviewed paper will be published in the Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems 2010 Proceedings Volume of SPIE, edited by Tribikram Kundu, expected to be available April 22.

Susan Tonymon to speak as presenter/facilitator at jam
Susan Tonymon, program director, ASU's Beck PRIDE Center for Wounded Veterans, will be an invited presenter/facilitator during the upcoming Veteran Success Jam, Monday-Thursday, May 3-6. The Veteran Success Jam is a three-day live online virtual collaboration that will bring together thousands of veterans and their families, service members, campus leaders, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies from around the country to discuss various aspects of veterans' lives. Tonymon will serve as facilitator for Forum 6 on Wednesday, May 5, from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. Eastern Time, on the subject of physical and psychological health challenges for veterans. The Veteran Success Jam is sponsored by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Kresge Foundation, and will allow listeners/viewers to participate in a national conversation about how higher education can contribute to the successful reintegration of returning veterans. Participants can join from any computer with Internet access. The Veteran Success Jam launches Monday, May 3, at 12 noon Eastern Time, and closes Thursday, May 6, at 12 noon Eastern Time. E-mail the Veteran Success Jam Team (jam@ace.nche.edu) , or contact Susan Tonymon at ext. 2624

CMVAS presents lecture, 'The Land of Allah,' May 4
The Central Mississippi Valley Archeological Society presents a lecture by Louis Intres, "The Land of Allah," Tuesday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in the ASU Museum's Room 182. While spending the best part of a month in the Middle East, Heritage Studies PhD candidate Louis Intres visited many of the fabled locations of antiquity, including ancient sites in Jordan and Egypt, and he interviewed ministers of culture and other leading professionals in the field of archaeology. From the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan, to the Great Pyramids of Giza, just outside Cairo, Egypt, Intres will share his photographs and the substance of his interviews with the top officials of cultural heritage preservation in Jordan and Egypt. The lecture is free and open to the public, and there will be edibles available for a nominal donation to the Central Mississippi Valley chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society. Books on Arkansas archeology, and information about the upcoming excavations at Toltec Mounds State Park will be available. New T-shirts with the Old Town Ridge “birdman” gorget will also be available. For details, contact Dr. Julie Morrow, ASU station archeologist, Arkansas Archeological Survey, at ext. 2071.

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