Using Biases to Understand Spatial Memory By Dr. Nathan M. Greenauer, Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology The ability to remember locations and to relate them to more distant environments is a fundamental prerequisite of many behaviors and is often done preconsciously. Indeed, the constant, non-conscious monitoring of environmental features (e.g. vehicles, obstacles) relative to our own location is what allows us to multitask in many situations (e.g., driving while maintaining a … [Read more...]
Searching for Identity
Cuban Writers in Exile By Lisa R. Baldi Reina del Pacífico was the name of the ship my grandfather boarded at age 16. His name was Julio Mourelo and he came from a small town in Galicia, Spain. He went to Cuba for the first time in 1912… established himself as the owner of a colonial, or small grocery shop… [and] embarked on his final voyage to Cuba in 1951, from which he never returned. He died of a heart attack in 1952, walking on the streets of Havana. For Dr. Belén Rodríguez-Mourelo, … [Read more...]
An Elementary Difference
Professional Development School makes a difference in students’ lives By Lisa R. Baldi If you visit Glenside Elementary School after the last bell rings, you might be surprised to see that many children choose to “stay after school.” Some are working on community service projects; others are exploring what life is like in a foreign country; and still others are learning firsthand about the benefits of teamwork and sportsmanship. These children have joined one of the three after-school clubs … [Read more...]
The Silent Screams of Abuse
By Dr. Brenda L. Russell, Associate Professor of Psychology "I HAVE BEEN VERBALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY battered and abused, I’ve been threatened with bodily harm, I’ve been threatened to be shot right between the eyes, I’ve been kicked, I’ve had to watch while my ex sexually molested my daughter and not dare interfere for fear of retaliation. Then one day she called 911 so fast and had me arrested, my head was literally spinning in disbelief. When trying to tell the officer that I was provoked … [Read more...]
Developing Sensitivity
German Classroom Sets Stage for Lessons in Diversity By: Lisa R. Baldi IMAGINE TAKING A UNIVERSITY COURSE THAT places you in German schools where you don’t know the language, the curriculum, or the culture. That’s what Penn State Berks students majoring in Childhood and Early Adolescent Education have been doing for two weeks each May for the last two years in order to learn about developing sensitivity to diversity. Dr. Jayne Leh, Assistant Professor of Special Education at Penn State … [Read more...]
So Eat Already
By: Kenneth Fifer, Professor of English I know my parents would have been happier if I chose to do something more socially useful, been a gold trader, say, or a shortstop. But there are some activities that choose us, if truth be known, so I’m a poet. I too had hoped it would never come to this. But even my parents’ bemused or hesitant responses couldn’t change me. I’ve tried other things but they’ve all proven to be fool’s errands. … [Read more...]
To Be Or Not To Be
Murillo Examines the History of Existentialism in Latin America By: Lisa R. Weidman Edwin Murillo's foray into the world of Spanish language, Hispanic literature, and U.S. Latino culture was not as straightforward as one might think. Often mistaken as many things, but mostly as an Italian-American in high school, it wasn’t until Murillo, who was born in Miami, began his college career in Texas that he began to truly discover his Latino heritage. He had not been hiding his lineage; he simply … [Read more...]
Freedom from the Dictator, the Dollar, and the Deity
Global Anarchism Today and a Century Ago By: Dr. Kirwin R. Shaffer, Associate Professor of Latin American Studies "The end of history." Those famous words written by Francis Fukuyama in 1992 expressed the supposed fate of the world with the end of the Cold War. Soviet-style state communism had been defeated, grand ideological conflicts were now a thing of the past, and everyone could get on with working, shopping, and consuming. The future sure was bright. So, what happened? Political … [Read more...]
It’s All in the Family
By: Lisa R. Weidman If you have ever watched a group of children at play, you may have noticed that some were very outgoing and assertive, while others were quite timid and shy. But what causes these differences in temperament? Dr. Eric Lindsey, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology at Penn State Berks, has spent his career researching family relationships and how they lay the foundation for children’s relationships with their peers or their “social competence.” … [Read more...]
The Social Network
Social Networks–Inside and Outside the Classroom By: Dr. Kira Baker-Doyle, Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Michael was so stressed about getting up in front of his class every day to teach that his insides were burning, literally; he had terrible ulcers and was spending days at the hospital for help with the pain. But the hospital wasn’t going to help what ailed him... Maria worked one classroom down from Michael at the urban public middle school. Like Michael, she was a … [Read more...]
The Rhetoric of Film
Research on Rhetoric Reveals Idealogical Messages By: Lisa R. Weidman When most people watch a movie, they get caught up in the plot, the nail-biting action, the drama, or perhaps the humor. They leave the movie theatre–or the comfort of their family room–feeling amused, thrilled, and maybe even moved. But for Dr. Michele Ramsey, films are more than vehicles for entertainment; they are rhetorical messages that dramatize the ways people use language and images to tell stories and foster … [Read more...]
Building Bridges
Grobman Unites Cultures, Teaching, and Research By: Lisa R. Weidman At first glance, Dr. Laurie Grobman's research seems to branch off in many different directions. However, upon closer inspection, one can see that all her work is driven by the common principles of multiculturalism and social justice; the effect that writing as it is both produced and consumed can accomplish toward these ends; and the way her teaching can bring students directly into these issues themselves–through … [Read more...]
Casting: Nontraditional, Cross-Cultural, or Color Blind?
By Cleo House Jr., Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Theatre Theatre artists who teach live in the worlds of both the theoretical and the practical. We are in many ways philosophers, theorists, and practitioners. It is our ability to function across these planes that sometimes proves confusing or difficult to grasp for those in fields outside of the arts. Arguably, in the theatre, we engage in such an organic process that one on the outside may assume that a lack of qualitative … [Read more...]
AIDS is Ageless
Program Has Real Impact on Seniors By: Dr. Jennifer Hillman, Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of the Applied Psychology Program As noted by Dr. Patrick DeLeon, former President of the American Psychological Association, the goal of psychology is to make what we know about human nature understandable to others. We are charged to find ways to share psychology “in big and small ways, in many different settings with many different people.” Consistent with this edict, the focus of Applied … [Read more...]
Professor Gets Inside “Smoke-Filled Room” at the DNC
By: Matt Kunkleman When Dr. Randall Newnham, Associate Professor of Political Science at Penn State Berks, received the call asking if he wanted to be part of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, he didn’t have to think very long about his answer—he responded with a “yes” almost automatically. What Newnham agreed to was being part of The Washington Center’s Campaign 2008 Presidential Academic Seminar, a program designed to host internships for college students with … [Read more...]