Around the Academy
Academic updates and faculty briefs.
Griffin Conducts Field Research in Kenya for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
In her role as a senior international research consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Patricia Griffin, Ph.D., associate professor of Criminal Justice, traveled to Kenya to design and execute a study in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to assess alcohol and substance use in the organization. The general health and welfare of personnel in the KWS are critical for themselves, their colleagues, and the country, and the Annual Performance Contract between the Government of the Republic of Kenya and the Board of Trustees of Kenya Wildlife Service requires that the KWS report on the status of alcohol and drug abuse (ADA) among employees.
Employing a cross-sectional study, Dr. Griffin examined the current status of ADA and amelioration efforts taken by the KWS over the past five years. The study builds upon the research guidelines specified in “Guidelines to Undertake Baseline Survey on the Status of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Among Employees of Ministries, Departments, Agencies and County Governments” by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Dr. Griffin made recommendations to support the health and wellness of the rangers and personnel that serve the National Parks, Game Reserves, and the community.
The data that Dr. Griffin collected was also provided to the Holy Family Institutional Review Board, and Dr. Griffin will incorporate the data in her teaching for student analysis with the hope that student research will develop into case studies on the collected data.
Murphy-Rozanski Represents Holy Family University at the 2022 CICIAMS XXI World Congress of Catholic Nurses
Michelle Murphy-Rozanski, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CRNP, associate dean and director of Undergraduate Studies in Holy Family University's School of Nursing & Health Sciences, represented the University at the 2022 International Association of Catholic Nurses (CICIAMS) XXI World Congress of Catholic Nurses at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA.
The World Congress of Catholic Nurses event takes place every four years and invites Catholic nurses from around the world. The event offers nurses the opportunity to gain spiritual nourishment, discuss education techniques, share dialogue, and experience professional collaboration. The last time the event was held in the United States was in 1990 in New York City.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, a Prefect of the Vatican, celebrated Mass and spoke to the nursing congress at large. Bishop Joseph Coffey, an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A., participated in the opening Mass and offered dialogue and discussion with the congregation of nurses.
Waddell Receives Grant to Support Research on Black Soldier Fly Research
Edward A. Waddell, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biology in the School of Arts & Sciences, received a $48,000 grant from Rethink Priorities, a nonprofit research organization, to help support his research on nutrition for black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens), a species of insect that originated in South America but is now present in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Both black soldier flies are a source of protein in animal feed, pet food, and, increasingly, human consumption. The species can also consume nearly any organic waste, allowing them to play a significant role in composting. These positive attributes have resulted in black soldier flies becoming a popular species for insect farming, though little is known about the diet of black soldier flies.
“The misconception is that black soldier flies are simply breeding pairs that store all of their nutrients and carry them over from their larvae stage and can just survive on that,” says Dr. Waddell. “However, black soldier flies possess all of the anatomical features of insects that eat, so my work will test that hypothesis and attempt to determine if black soldier fly adults eat and what their preferred food sources are.” In addition to learning more about the species, Dr. Waddell’s research could help develop best practices for black soldier fly farming that could both increase yield as well as establish welfare guidelines. During the project, a room in the basement of Holy Family Hall will be adapted into a research laboratory where black soldier flies will be housed.
Faculty Briefs
Presentations
Brian Berry, Ph.D. presented “Danielson Framework and its Application for Pre-Service Teachers” at Formative Feedback Day ARMIF 2020 as part of his participation in a research project with the University International of Catalunya (UIC) in Saint Cugat, Spain.
Elizabeth Carroll, Ph.D. presented “Ecology of Aquatic Plants” as part of the Lake Appreciation Days programs at Lacawac Sanctuary, a nonprofit nature center, environmental education center, and research facility in Lake Ariel, PA.
Mindy Parisi Cummings, Ph.D., and Diane Menago, Psy.D., presented “Suicide Assessment, Bereavement & Postvention: What Do Mental Health Professionals Need to Know?” at the 2022 American Association of Suicidology Conference in Chicago, IL.
J. Barry Dickinson, Ph.D., and Bernice M. Purcell ’85, DBA presented “Strategic Planning in Business Schools and Programs” at the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Conference in Washington, DC. The presentation contained their initial findings from research they conducted with Don Goeltz, Ph.D., and Luanne Amato, Ph.D.
Roger Gee, Ph.D. shared his research in two presentations, “Digital Tools for Text Simplification” and “Digital Tools for Cloze Activities,” at the Costa Rican Association of English Teachers (ACPI TESOL) Convention 2022, a hybrid convention held in San José, Costa Rica; presented “Mobiles Phones and Video Music Tic Toc: Examining nouns as nominal premodifiers” at the virtual Peru TESOL Association (Peru Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Association) 29th Annual Convention; and presented “Appropriateness of Prenominal Noun Modifiers in the Writing of Spanish L1 EFL Teachers” at the 15th International American Association for Corpus Linguistics Conference in Flagstaff, AZ.
Patricia Griffin, Ph.D., and Darren Stocker, Ed.D. were discussants on a panel about advancing collaboration and examining best practices associated with the Bucks County Drug Court evaluation study at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals Annual Conference in Nashville, TN.