SPRING 2009
New Faculty Scholarship
INSTITUTE FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
Focus on Scholarship Eleven of the newest members of the Stockton faculty community have contributed to this newsletter that features faculty scholarship. The faculty members, who represent several schools in the college, have submitted brief summaries of their current research so that their colleagues will be aware of the type of work that they are doing. If the abstracts whet your appetite for more information, please follow up by contacting the faculty researchers. In this issue…. Arts and Humanities • •
Jeremy Newman, Assistant Professor of Communications Edward Siecienski, Assistant Professor of Religion
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Health Sciences • • •
Surya Shah, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy Kathleen Vito, Associate Professor of Nursing Ann Walker, Assistant Professor of Nursing
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Social and Behavioral Sciences • •
Harry Rhea, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Maggie Mei-Kit Tang, Assistant Professor of Social Work
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Lois Spitzer, Assistant Professor of Education Shelly Meyers, Assistant Professor of Education
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Michael Busler, Associate Professor of Business (Finance) Michele Grottola, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management
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Education • •
Business • •
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Jeremy Newman, Assistant Professor of Communications “The Vase” Experimental Video I completed “The Vase” in January. In the one-minute experimental video, I add crickets to a still life comprised of a vase and flowers. Drawing on my documentary production background, I highlight the tension between photographic realism and formalist aesthetics. Specifically, I direct the insects’ movements inside the vase with light. The crickets fog the glass, giving the imagery a soft impressionistic quality. During the editing process I suggest relationships between visual elements. First, I utilize montage-editing principles to juxtapose shots in thematic patterns. Second, I situate the abstract sequences within Hollywood’s classical story structure to establish chronology. In this manner, I imply meaning and encourage active viewer participation. A woman places the vase on a table at the beginning of the video. The crickets circle around the bottom of the vase in reaction to a light source on their left. I intercut shots of the insects and the woman clipping off sunflower heads to suggest an improbable struggle. It appears that the woman’s senseless actions negatively impact the crickets, causing them to jump erratically. At the work’s conclusion, the woman reaches into the shot to pick up the vase. Her hand blocks the light and the crickets stop moving abruptly. Although they react to the absence of light, the implication is that they freeze because they see and fear her hand. I seek to illuminate the interconnectedness that is overlooked in modern life through this environmental commentary. Notably, I do not conceal my directorial manipulations or editing decisions. My transparent practice as an experimental filmmaker enables me to critique mass media texts, in this case the nature documentary. In March, “The Vase” was screened during a Synthetic Zero event and at the Duo Multicultural Arts Center both in New York, NY.
A. Edward Siecienski, Assistant Professor of Religion Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages Articles on: Maximus the Confessor, Barlaam of Calabria, Gregory Palamas, George Scholarius, and the Council of Ferrara -Florence (Oxford University Press, 2009/10)
“(Re)defining the Boundaries of Orthodoxy: The Rule of Faith and the Twentieth Century Rehabilitation of Origen” Chapter in The Rule of Faith: Festschrift for Joseph Lienhard, Alex Huang and Ronnie Rombs, eds., (CUA, 2009/10)
“Avoiding the Sin of Ham: Dealing with Errors in the Works of the Fathers” Chapter in Studia Patristica: Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies (Peeters, 2009/2010)
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodoxy Articles on: Cyril Loukaris, Michael Caerularios, Nicholas Cabasilas, Council of Lyons, Mark of Ephesus, Theophylact of Ohrid, Gennadius Scholarius (Blackwell, forthcoming)
The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy Oxford University Press, 2009
Forward to The Infancy Gospels of Jesus: Apocryphal Tales from the Childhoods of Mary and Jesus--Annotated & Explained by Stevan Davies Skylight Illuminations, 2009
3 Damn Those Beardless Azymites: Rhetoric and Reality Behind the Byzantine Critiques of Latin Christianity Tia Kolbaba’s book, The Byzantine Lists: Errors of the Latins, argued that for the average Byzantine there was such a strong link between orthodoxy and orthopraxis that differences in practice were seen as clear manifestations of a substantively different faith. The Latins’ use of an interpolated creed, for example, was for most Byzantines proof enough of their heterodoxy, especially since few would have understood the subtleties of trinitarian theology involved in the filioque debates. This paper examines some of the other practices for which the medieval Latins received so much criticism (e.g., the use of unleavened bread and silken vestments, beardless clergy) asking what heresies the Byzantines claimed were manifested, and whether these charges had grounding in reality or were instead raised simply to emphasize the heterodoxy of the religious “other.” While modern ecumenical dialogue rarely concentrates on the issues that once preoccupied medieval polemicists, it has long been noted that from the eleventh to the fifteenth century it was not the theological, but rather the practical, differences between East and West that were often given as the chief reasons for the schism. While the power of the papacy and the theology of the Spirit’s procession occupied men like Theophylact of Ochrid and Nikephorus Blemmydes, most authors wrote about the azymite Latins, who did not fast properly, dress properly, or allow their beardless clergy to marry. While some of the Byzantine charges were manifestly untrue (e.g., that the Latins were iconoclasts who did not adequately revere the Theotokos) most of the items contained in the Byzantine lists were, in fact, based on actual Latin practices at variance with Eastern custom or law. The claim contained in many of the polemical tracts of the medieval period was that these Latin practices were not just different, but heretical. For a Greek to adopt them not only raised the charge of ethnic betrayal (i.e., becoming an azymite meant becoming a Frank), but of heresy. For example, the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist allegedly demonstrated “judaizing” tendencies, or a de facto rejection of Chalcedonian orthodoxy. A beardless clergy again showed this “judaizing” tendency, as did the Latins’ use of certain purification rites during the mass (e.g., washing hands or sprinkling with holy water). The question raised by these claims is whether their authors actually believed them, or whether they were invented for the sole purpose of inciting Byzantine Christians against their Western adversaries. Did the Byzantines really believe that the West had abandoned the faith of Chalcedon, or was this connection made simply because rejection of the ecumenical councils was the clearest manifestation of heterodoxy one could bring forward? If we accept that Western Christians were not, in fact, judaizing non- Chalcedonians, then the Greeks’ charges were either based on an ignorance of Latin Christianity (combined with a willingness to believe the worst about their Frankish counterparts), or were deliberately contrived as rhetorical tools to prove to the general populace the insidious nature of the pope and his minions in the West.
Mariology in Antioch: Mary in the Writings of Chrysostom, Theodoret, and Nestorius It is a commonplace to say that the debates surrounding the title Theotokos, granted to Mary by the Council of Ephesus in 431, were chiefly christological rather than mariological. Nestorius, so the argument goes, objected to the title for properly theological reasons. Often forgotten is the role that Nestorius’s own mariological piety (and that of the School of Antioch) played in the controversy. Examining the writings of John Chrysostom, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Nestorius himself, one discerns distinct patterns in their treatment of the Virgin that certainly could have affected later reaction to her declaration as Theotokos. For example, Chrysostom’s conviction that one could ascribe personal sin to Mary might be (at least) one reason to hesitate calling her the “Mother of God.” This paper will examine the treatment of Mary in the homilies and writings of John Chrysostom, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Nestorius in the hopes of discovering the mariological principles that guided and shaped the Antiochene tradition. We can then ask what part these principles, in addition to the properly christological and theological issues under discussion at Ephesus, played in Nestorius’s objections to the title Theotokos and to Cyril of Alexandria’s more exalted mariological claims. Without necessarily challenging the belief that the debate was christological, this paper hopes to bring to the fore an important, if often forgotten, aspect of the controversy.
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Surya Shah, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy I have focused on five areas of research and scholarship. I was invited by the Institute Golgi and Ministry of Health to Italy in October 2008 to present three five-hour interactive lectures titled, “Current Concepts and Controversies in Stroke Neurological Rehabilitation,” based on evidence from my own research and from that of others, in the Lombardi region of Italy to the geriatricians, physical and occupational therapists, and nurses. I published research in collaboration with my students, Murden, R., Norman, A., Ross, J., Sturdivant, E., and Kedia, M., in 2008 titled, “Occupational therapy students’ perceptions of their cultural awareness and competency” in the journal Occupational Therapy International, 15:3 191-203. I was invited by the Research Council of Singapore to act as an international referee to review an application for a multicenter clinical trial of Singapore hospitals’ rehabilitation outcomes of efficacy. The Japanese group requested assistance with interpretation and reverse translation of my outcome measure for the Japan rehabilitation research. I am currently providing expert opinion every two months with eight other international experts to further develop database JBI-COnNECT emanating from Australia. I provided an expert evaluation on the quality and utility for published rehabilitation research for McMaster Online Rating of Evidence (MORE) from McMaster, Canada each month. The Dean, School of Health Sciences invited me to develop an efficiency and effectiveness of outcome study of Genesis Rehabilitation Services, Pennsylvania. The first commissioned report was just completed. As an invited expert, I assisted a hand surgeon in Tennessee and a lead hand therapist in developing a grant proposal for a Dupuytren’s contracture surgical efficacy.
Lois Spitzer, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education I am first and foremost an educator. My academic interest and entire professional career has focused on the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. When I was hired by Stockton in the fall of 2008, my primary goal was to create a more unified English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement program for those interested in obtaining a teaching certificate in ESL. I envisioned the undergraduate courses leading to this teaching endorsement also being offered at the graduate level as a concentration of an MAED program. In February, the School of Education and the SRI&ETTC hosted a very successful workshop for ESL and bilingual education teachers and administrators led by representatives of the Bilingual Office of the NJDOE. At that meeting and after many discussions with teachers and administrators from all over New Jersey, I realized the benefit of offering courses leading to a bilingual/bicultural endorsement, as well as an ESL endorsement. I created proposals for both endorsement programs and they were submitted to NJDOE and approved in March 2009. As of fall 2009, these graduate courses will be offered. In addition to these new graduate endorsement programs, the School of Education is also planning to start cohorts for teachers who want to take these courses at local sites within their communities. Another exciting development was the approval of an internal grant to begin to identify the non-native English speaking students at Stockton and ascertain what services they think will make them more successful in their academic pursuits. The findings from this research will be used to provide services for these students at Stockton. We have such a wealth of multiculturalism within our college and this project will help Stockton get closer to its goal of internationalizing the curriculum.
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Maggie Mei-Kit Tang, Assistant Professor of Social Work Dr. Maggie Mei-Kit Tang presented her research projects at two national conferences, Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) 54th Annual Meeting (October 30-November 2, 2008) and The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 61st Annual Scientific Meeting (November 21-25, 2008). At CSWE, The topic of her poster presentation was “Informal support and caregiving outcomes among Chinese American caregivers of elders.” At GSA, she presented a paper, “Cultural values, informal support, and caregiver burden among Chinese American caregivers.” and a poster, “Can cultural values help explain the positive aspects of caregiving among Chinese Americans caregivers?" Dr. Tang also presented “Cultural values, informal support, and caregiving outcomes among Chinese American caregivers.” at Stockton Center at Successful Aging in January 2009. Dr. Tang is interested in family caregiving issues among ethnic and racial minority populations. Her research studies indicate that cultural value is one of the important predictors of caregiving outcomes. She will continue her research in this area and identify culturally competent intervention strategies for caregiving families of ethnic and racial minority backgrounds.
Harry M. Rhea, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Harry M. Rhea is Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice. In 2008, Rhea contributed two publications: “The Nuremberg Effect on Contemporary International Criminal Justice,” Criminal Justice Studies 21, no. 4, and “War Crimes,” Encyclopedia of Social Problems, ed. V. N. Parrillo. So far in 2009, Rhea has published two scholarly works: “An International Criminal Tribunal for Iraq after the First Gulf War: What Should Have Been,” International Criminal Justice Review 19, no. 3, and “The United States and International Criminal Tribunals: An Historical Analysis,” ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law 16. In 2008 and 2009, Rhea also published three book reviews in International Criminal Justice Review and Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Rights Law. Also, as Editor in Chief, Rhea published volume 3 (2008) of Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Rights Law. Rhea was recently named Editor in Chief of Eyes on the ICC, the only peer reviewed legal journal dedicated to the International Criminal Court. In 2008, Rhea was cited in the case of US v Omar Ahmed Khadr, a Special Military Tribunal in Guantanamo Bay regarding the issue of juvenile soldiers. Finally, Rhea presented five research papers at the annual meetings for Eastern Sociological Association, Irish Centre for Human Rights, and the Law and Society Association.
Michele Grottola, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management Dr. Michele Grottola will be presenting one paper and leading a round table discussion at the July 2009 CHRIE Conference: 1. Writing Unfinished History: Understanding the Historical Value of Black Voluntary Organizations in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, and 2. Constructing an Oral History of the National Association of Black Hospitality Professionals (Round Table Discussion).
Kathleen Vito, Associate Professor of Nursing My scholarship for the year included the keynote presentation to the NJ HOSA (Health Occupations Student Association) State conference. My presentation was a state of the science review concerning human exposure to PFOA. I plan to re-work the material into an article for publication. I was part of a team from the Cumberland and Salem Health departments to conduct a major exercise in the local emergency response to a fictious anthrax exposure to the entire population of New Jersey, including receipt of medications for 220,000 residents from the National Strategic Stockpile. I also have been working on a book chapter on emergency preparedness as an invited author. One of the editors of the book is Jason Rivera of our faculty and the other editor is a faculty member from Rowan. My draft is due on May 4th. I also have been designing a major emergency preparedness exercise with over 150 "victims" for the Cumberland, Salem and Vineland Health Departments. The exercise will be May 12th.
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Ann Walker, Assistant Professor of Nursing I am interested in public health nurse competencies. A preliminary survey was distributed to expert public health nurse administrators. This information was used to develop curricular themes for a nursing course. I have presented on this topic three times this year and I obtained faculty development funds to continue the research and write an article on the topic. The first of these presentations was in September of 2008, “Survey Results Public Health Nurse Preparation,” for New Jersey Association of Public Health Nurse Administrations in Sayreville, New Jersey. A second presentation was in October 2008 for the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in San Diego, California titled, “Competence in Public Health Nurse Practice: Moving Forward by Integrating Feedback from the Practice Arena into an Academic BSN Program” with M. Hastings, RN, MSN. The final presentation, “Student immersion in public health using the MAPP and Local CHIPS,” took place at the Day of Scholarship at Stockton College in March of 2009. Also in the works, is a Faculty Development Grant for Stockton, “Public health nurse competence,” for the summer of 2009.
Michael Busler, Associate Professor of Business (Finance) I have worked on presentations, articles and have had other contributions from 2008 to April of 2009. I wrote a refereed journal article, “Internetization Management: The Way to Run the Strategic Alliances in the E-Globalization Age,” along with Adli Abouzeedan, published in Global Business Review in 2007. Also, I did three refereed conference presentations,; “The Narrative-Textual Case Study as the Tool to Understand Sustainable Development in Developed Countries” and “Optimization of Organizing Processes for Global Sustainable Development: A Proposed Strategy” with Adli Abouzeedan and “How a Celebrity Endorser in advertisements can influence the credibility and reliability of information received by consumers” at the Sixth International World Association for Sustainable Development Conference in August of 2008 in Brighton, UK. My other intellectual contribution include an editorial column in The Current, “Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit program could benefit from some changes,” on January 8, 2009 and three columns in The Press: “Creating more jobs in public works expensive for N.J.” on November 9, 2009, “Ads on school buses? On balance, why not?” on January 29, 2009, and “Let’s hope sports-betting suit’s successful” on April 5, 2009.
Shelly Meyers, Assistant Professor of Education In collaboration with two colleagues in Special Education: Dr. Norma Blecker and Dr. Rita Mulholland, Dr. Shelly Myers researched and wrote an article on the effectiveness of using Live Classroom/Assistive Technology with students with disabilities. This scholarly work was presented at a national Wimba Connect Conference in Arizona. An excerpt from their work appears below. Wimba use in college classes broadens the graduate students’ insight into how this technology provides multi-sensory support that the students in their own classrooms can benefit from. They also gain confidence and competence in using technology. The Wimba model for incorporating Universal Design principles into instruction enhances the students’ abilities to reach their own students who present a wide range of backgrounds, skills and abilities and presents options for instructional formats (Behrmann & Kinas, 2002). Jackson (2004) emphasizes that the use of technology enhances the inclusive philosophy as a guiding framework to embrace all learners. As students adopt the Universal Design principles, they reflect on and acknowledge the effectiveness of the strategies when used with students who have a wide range of abilities in inclusive and accessible settings (Shaw, Scott & McGuire 2001). Students consider the variety of abilities and make learning accessible for everyone.
Students are taught to apply the principles of Universal Design to the delivery of any course. The process is as follows: course goals and content are selected; students’ needs are identified; standards for research based instructional practices are chosen; methods are designed to ensure implementation of Universal Design principles and students’ progress is monitored on an ongoing basis. (Burgstahler 2004) .When designing classroom instruction based on these principles, more students realize the long-term benefits that will follow their own students throughout their educational experiences (Doyle & Giangreco 2009). References are available on request from the researchers.
