International Education Week 2009 Activities Planned for November 16-19 

During International Education Week 2009, UNK is hosting daily events to consider the culture and concerns of Latin America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Activities at UNK during this week are part of a nationwide celebration of the contributions of international education toward mutual understanding and diplomacy worldwide.

Monday through Thursday, November 16-19, special lunch sessions will be held, each featuring a different region of the world. Regionally-themed appetizers will be served, while Study/Intern Abroad students, current international students and international student alumni present their experiences and issues related to the region of the day. Study/Intern Abroad discussions will be held from 12:00-12:30 followed by International Student presentations from 12:30-1:00 in the Cedar Room of the Nebraskan Student Union.

A Closing Celebration featuring music and dance will be held Thursday evening, November 19, from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. in the Multicultural Affairs Office in the NSU.

All activities are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Ann Marie Park, Coordinator for UNK Study Abroad & Exchange Programs at 308-865-8944 or by email at parkam@unk.edu. 

 - written in collaboration with Ann Marie Park,
Coordinator for UNK Study Abroad & Exchange Programs 

Dr. Susan Shirk to Present at Next E.N. Thompson Forum –
China Focus of 2009-2010 Forum

The third E.N. Thompson Forum for 2009-2010 will take place on Thursday, November 12, 2009, at 7:00 p.m., with a simultaneous broadcast in Room 101 of the Communications Center. Dr. Susan Shirk will expound on the thesis of her book entitled China: Fragile Superpower (2007), exploring the paradox faced by China’s leaders—the more developed and prosperous the country becomes, the more insecure and threatened they feel.

Dr. Shirk’s lecture is a continuation of this year’s forum focus on China and the varied facets of the nation's relationship with the rest of the world. These forums provide information and scholarship relevant to concerns at UNK, especially with an increase in Chinese students adding to the diversity of the student body.

The complete schedule for this year’s E.N. Thompson Forum presentations held at UNL is as follows:  

For more information regarding Dr. Shirk or the E.N. Thompson Forum, see the E.N. Thompson website at http://enthompson.unl.edu/index.shtml#shirk. 

- written in collaboration with John Anderson, Coordinator of the American Democracy Project at UNK

Library - In Brief Online 

3,200 new NetLibrary e-books available By Jon Ritterbush, Electronic Resources Librarian ritterbushjr@unk.edu Thanks to a gift from the Southern California Alumni Association, the library has recently purchased a NetLibrary e-book collection which includes nearly 3,200 titles. Listed below is just a small sampling of new NetLibrary titles: Dawson, Brian, and Matt Spannagle. 2009. The complete guide to climate change. London: Routledge. Dunnan, Nancy. 2009. Recession-proof your financial life. New York: McGraw Hill. Headrick, Daniel R. 2009. Technology: a world history. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jones, Seth G. 2008. Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, Rand Counterinsurgency Study, Volume 4. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center. Perkins, Chad. 2009. How to do everything Adobe Photoshop CS4. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. Spratt, Christine, and Paul Lajbcygier. 2009. E-learning technologies and evidence-based assessment approaches. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. E-books are searchable in one of three ways: Using the Enhanced Catalog, simply type in your keyword search, then look for the Ebooks facet in the “Format” list or  Electronic Books in the “Location” list.  Click on the graphic on the right to view an example of these facets in the Enhanced Catalog. To browse a list of NetLibrary titles, do an author search on “NetLibrary” in the Classic Catalog. This will retrieve a list of nearly 5,600 NetLibrary e-book titles the library has purchased through the end of October 2009. Search the NetLibrary website.

Limiting to e-books in the Enhanced Catalog

Research Birds of North America Online

By Greg Anderson, Reference Librarian
andersong@unk.edu

Was that really a Western Meadowlark you heard while walking in the Oldfather Prairie? The Birds of North America Online has a sound clip to help you find out. Based upon its renowned print predecessor (18 volumes, over 18,000 pages, and seven feet of shelf space at QL681.B625 in the Library’s Book Collection), the  Birds of North America Online (BNA) provides detailed, authoritative scientific information for each of the 716 species of birds nesting in the United States and Canada. Written by hundreds of highly qualified ornithologists, biologists and academics, under the leadership of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Ornithologist’s Union, the BNA Online features: Audio and video galleries for many species to illustrate key behaviors and features of habitat. A detailed, up-to-date, color-keyed map showing breeding and wintering ranges. Detailed accounts of feeding  habits, songs and calls, and other behaviors. Full data on the species’ breeding success, life span, mortality and disease, as well as demographics and population. A comprehensive bibliography for each species.

Western Meadowlark

The BNA Online is a work in progress. Account contents are updated frequently by both  professional researchers and designated citizen scientists. Future work will focus on increasing the number of audio and video contributions, speeding revisions via efforts coordinated online, and significantly  boosting the number of photos available.

The Birds of North America Online is now available in the library’s online resource collection. To get to it from our home page (library.unk.edu), move your pointer over Research Tools, and click on Databases & E-Resources. It can be accessed alphabetically, by clicking on the letter B, or by subject, by clicking on Biology.

Enjoy! 

Undergraduate Student Research Showcased at Annual Fall Symposium

The annual Fall Student Research Symposium for the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Summer Student Research Program, Thompson Scholars, and Undergraduate Research Fellows was Sunday, October 25 at the Nebraskan Student Union.

Congratulations to the following students and mentors for their outstanding work:

Joshua Beck Arapahoe, NE
"The Strength of the Student Model when Applied to Traditional and Activity Based Physics"  
Mentor:  Dr. Trecia Markes, Physics

Shane Riley, Arapahoe, NE 
The Massacre Canyon:  The Last Buffalo Hunt
Mentor:  Dr. Mark Ellis, History

Nancy Oertly, Axtell, NE
Families and Bipolar Disorder:  Developing Strength and Resilience Through Positive Coping Strategies
Mentor:  Dr. Maha Younes, Social Work

Tara Spence, Broken Bow, NE
Women and the Quest for Presidency:  Gender and the Role of the Media
Mentor:  Dr. Joan Blauwkamp. Political Science

Brittany Brown, Cambridge, NE
Exon-Intron Structure of the Immulectin - 1 Gene from Manduca Sexta
Mentor:  Dr. Brad Ericson, Biology

Jeremy Stromer, Doniphan, NE 
Polarizing Efficiency of Lyotopic Chromonic Liquid Crystals under Differing Temperature and Concentration Conditions
Mentors:  Dr. Luba Kreminska, Physics & Dr. Mike Larsen, Physics

Andrew Greer, Grand Island, NE
High School Emergency Action Plan (EAP) Do you have one?
Mentor:  Dr. Nita Unruh, Health, Physical Ed & Recreation

Braeden Tyma, Grand Island, NE
Thompson Scholar Poster
Mentor:  Dr. John Fronczak, Art and Art History

Jessica Bowden, Gretna, NE 
Teaching Sign Language to Help Build the Vocabulary of Those with Down Syndrome
Mentor:  Dr. Jeff Kritzer, Teacher Education

Cheri Theesen, Hastings, NE 
Aromatherapy and Agitation Reduction in Dementia Patients
Mentor:  Dr. Sandy Cook-Fong, Social Work

Danielle Policarpio, Kearney, NE
1) The Development of a Monolithic Column capable of Separating and Quantifying Taurine
Mentor:  Dr. Annette Moser, Chemistry

2) Designing a Redox Responsive Polymer
Mentor:  Dr. Annette Moser, Chemistry

Deidre Isaac, Kearney, NE 
Factors Associated with the Successful Completion of a Housing Program
Mentor:  Dr. Sandy Cook-Fong, Social Work

Denise Rice, Kearney, NE
"Texting and the Family"
Mentor:  Dr. Sylvia Asay, Family Studies

Owen Johnson, Kearney, NE 
Mortality of small mammals and insects in littered bottles along roadways in Nebraska
Mentor:  Dr. Keith Geluso, Biology

Jamie Hubl, Lawrence, NE
Single Parents in College
Mentor:  Dr. Sylvia Asay, Family Studies

Brittany Caldwell, Newport, NE
Month Variation in Bot Fly Parasitism of the White -Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)
Mentor:  Dr.Wyatt Hoback, Biology

Jacob McGlade, Omaha, NE 
"Analyzing eBay's Geographical Influence in the United States"
Mentor:  Dr. Jason Combs, Geography

Jeff Shank, Omaha, NE
Do Term Limits Make Elections Exciting!?
Mentor:  Dr. Claude Louishomme, Political Science

Taylor Carlson, O'Neill, NE
Development of a Chromatographic Method to Determine the Concentration of Virginiamycin in Water Samples
Mentor:  Dr. Annette Moser, Chemistry

Laura Jensen, St. Libory, NE 
Transmission – Written and Visual Art, and the Process Inherent?
Mentor:  Dr. Allison Hedge Coke, English

Chelsey Cook, St. Paul, NE 
"Use of Sodium Thiosulfate in the Water Solution-Based Preparation of Copper Indium Disulfide"
Mentor:  Dr. Chris Exstrom, Chemistry

Kyle Smydra, St. Paul, NE 
Comparative study of the mechanical and physical characteristic differences of E85, 10% ethanol, and gasoline in small non-road engines (SNRE's)
Mentor:  Dr. Mike Larsen, Physics

Annette Bierbower, Wakefield, NE 
Diversity and Design  The Universal Language of Visual Communication
Mentor:  Dr. Rick Schuessler, Art & Art History

Nate Summerfield, Wayne, NE
Social Capital:  Theory into Action on College Campuses
Mentor:  Dr. Peter Longo, Political Science

Anna Carr, Whitman, NE
Digital Poetics
Mentor:  Dr. Allison Hedge-Coke, English

Janae Nienhueser, York, NE 
Effects of energy drinks on resting and submaximal metabolism in college age males.
Mentor:  Dr. Greg Brown, HPERLS-Exercise Science

Laura Housholder, Scandia, KS
Animated Advertisements on Web Pages:  A Content Analysis
Mentor:  Dr. Nanette Hogg, Communication

Derek Ross, St Francis, KS 
Wendell Berry’s Vision of America
Mentor:  Dr. David Rozema, Philosophy

Chen Hou, China
Mercuriation of 3, 3'-Diethyloxacarbocyanine Iodide for Mercuric Ion Detection and Protein Labeling
Mentor:  Dr. Haishi Cao, Chemistry

Megumi Kajigaya, Japan
One-handed Woodwinds Program
Mentor: Dr. David Nabb, Music and Performing Arts

Deepti Khedekar, India 
Corporate Crime:  A Comparison of Culture at Enron and Satyam
Mentor:  Dr. Larry Carstenson, Accounting/Finance

Sapana Upadhyay, Nepal 
A Comparative Study of the Maternal and Child Health System and Status of the United States and Nepal
Mentor:  Dr. Jodi Van Laningham, Social Work

Rahima Rahmonova, Uzbekistan
1) International Financial Reporting Standards Analysis
Mentor:  Dr. Steve Hall, Accounting/Finance

2) Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 in Health Care
Mentor:  Dr. Laurie Swinney 

- from the Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity

Recognition

Items to Note for Faculty and Faculty Committees

• Academic Affairs Committee 
  The link to the CAP ("Course Approval Process") information is located on the Academic Affairs Committee page. CAP, a new initiative of the Academic Affairs Committee, is an electronic approval system that will take the place of the paper forms for course proposals. The new online system will allow department chairs to initiate proposals, which will then automatically route to the next levels in the approval process. The entire approval process can be monitored online. **NOTE** The paper process for making changes to programs will continue; the form and instructions for submitting program proposals are available on the Academic Affairs Committee page.
   
  The schedule of Academic Affairs deadlines for the 2009-2010 academic year has been posted on the Academic Affairs Committee page. The page also contains a committee roster and a link to the approved Academic Affairs minutes. Department or program chairs needing to make curricular changes in the coming year should be aware of these deadlines and instructions. For more information, contact Kim Elliott at elliottkn@unk.edu or 8935.
  
  
• Faculty Handbook
  In a continuing effort to provide faculty with the most current policy information, the Faculty Handbook has been revised and reorganized. The purpose of the handbook is to gather the documents and policies that inform and guide critical decisions, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement (2009-2011).
  
  Please note that the Faculty Handbook is updated in an online version only; refer to the online handbook when looking for the most up-to-date versions of policies, including the new Guidelines for Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure, which have recently been revised. 
    
  
• Faculty Senate
  To keep faculty informed and in the spirit of shared goverenance, the 2009-2010 Faculty Senate Roster is posted on the Faculty Senate home page. The page also contains links to meeting agendas, meeting minutes of both the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate committees, and the Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws.
  
  
• General Studies 
  Instructions have been posted on the General Studies website regarding the submission of courses  for the new General Studies Program. The course submission page includes a document outlining the process for submitting courses to the General Studies Council, deadlines for Fall 2010, and information about the portal courses.
  
  
• Graduate Council
  A webpage has been created for the Graduate Council. It contains information regarding changes to graduate courses or programs, as well as a list of the 2009 Graduate Program Committees and a link to important Graduate Faculty announcements.  
  
  
• WI/CD Committee
  The WI/CD Committee has posted a schedule of deadlines for the fall semester on the WI/CD Committee page. The page also contains instructions for applying for WI or CD designation, as well as a committee roster, agendas, and minutes. These resources are provided for those wishing to offer courses as WI or CD.

Deadlines Approach for Various Opportunities

Calendar of Events within the Academic and Student Affairs Division

Edited by Kim Elliott, Coordinator of Academic Publications

A Publication of the
Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs
University of Nebraska at Kearney
905 West 25th Street
Kearney, NE 68849
Phone: (308)865-8209

For questions or submissions,
contact the Coordinator of Academic Publications at 8935 or academicpublications@unk.edu.