Event Title
Plenary III: A Multidisciplinary Lens
Location
Moakley Auditorium
Start Time
16-5-2013 9:00 AM
End Time
16-5-2013 10:00 AM
Description
Designing Social Change: Inquiry-Based Teaching in Graphic Design
Prof. Donald Tarallo
This presentation shares an inquiry-based graphic design project and a resultant pedagogic model that outlines how graphic design can be used to instigate positive social change. During a year-long project the author worked as a change agent in service to a partnership of non-profit after-school arts programs in Providence, Rhode Island who are organized as an entity called the Providence Youth Arts Collaborative (PYAC), Providence, Rhode Island. The intention of this project was to investigate ways that graphic design can be used to elevate curiosity and empower youth to make positive choices with their free time after school, and to strengthen the visual identity of PYAC in order to be able to accomplish those goals. The design processes and outcomes are presented as models of civically engaged art and graphic design teaching for high school and college levels that cultivate a heightened systemic awareness of the social power of visual communication.
“Failed States” and Institutional Decay: Understanding Instability and Poverty in the Developing World
Dr. Erica Frantz
Globalization has dramatically changed the role of the state in today‘s world. With increased interdependence between states, states now have less autonomy and find that their sovereignty is weakened. In this context, many states have encountered serious institutional challenges and have been labeled “failed states”; states that have lost their capacity to provide for their citizens and adequately manage domestic and foreign policy. Despite the substantial media attention devoted to “failed states” in areas ranging from Somalia to Pakistan, this critical concept is not well understood. This project provides a critical examination of the concept of “failed states,” ultimately concluding that it faces serious theoretical, empirical, and practical limitations. It argues that a movement away from this concept and toward particular state institutions would alleviate many of these limitations and pave the way for a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by those in the developing world.
A Network of Associations: Examining Patterns of Explicit and Implicit Associations that Contribute to the Underrepresentation of Women in Science Fields
Dr. Laura Ramsey
Research has repeatedly demonstrated a stereotype associating men with science more than women, which contributes to the underrepresentation of women in science fields. That stereotype is often examined in isolation, though it may actually be part of a network of associations that are cognitively consistent. For example, people tend to associate agentic traits (e.g., independent and assertive) with men more than women, and so if they also associate agentic traits with science, then they may be more likely to associate men with science more than women. The present study measured six related associations concerning the self, gender, agentic traits, and science in a sample of undergraduate students (N=151). Results showed that participants endorsed cognitively consistent patterns, both implicitly (i.e., unconsciously) and explicitly (i.e., consciously). Furthermore, these patterns predicted participants’ selection of a science-related task. Understanding the network of associations that supports stereotypes can inform future research aimed at reducing stereotypes.
Plenary III: A Multidisciplinary Lens
Moakley Auditorium
Designing Social Change: Inquiry-Based Teaching in Graphic Design
Prof. Donald Tarallo
This presentation shares an inquiry-based graphic design project and a resultant pedagogic model that outlines how graphic design can be used to instigate positive social change. During a year-long project the author worked as a change agent in service to a partnership of non-profit after-school arts programs in Providence, Rhode Island who are organized as an entity called the Providence Youth Arts Collaborative (PYAC), Providence, Rhode Island. The intention of this project was to investigate ways that graphic design can be used to elevate curiosity and empower youth to make positive choices with their free time after school, and to strengthen the visual identity of PYAC in order to be able to accomplish those goals. The design processes and outcomes are presented as models of civically engaged art and graphic design teaching for high school and college levels that cultivate a heightened systemic awareness of the social power of visual communication.
“Failed States” and Institutional Decay: Understanding Instability and Poverty in the Developing World
Dr. Erica Frantz
Globalization has dramatically changed the role of the state in today‘s world. With increased interdependence between states, states now have less autonomy and find that their sovereignty is weakened. In this context, many states have encountered serious institutional challenges and have been labeled “failed states”; states that have lost their capacity to provide for their citizens and adequately manage domestic and foreign policy. Despite the substantial media attention devoted to “failed states” in areas ranging from Somalia to Pakistan, this critical concept is not well understood. This project provides a critical examination of the concept of “failed states,” ultimately concluding that it faces serious theoretical, empirical, and practical limitations. It argues that a movement away from this concept and toward particular state institutions would alleviate many of these limitations and pave the way for a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by those in the developing world.
A Network of Associations: Examining Patterns of Explicit and Implicit Associations that Contribute to the Underrepresentation of Women in Science Fields
Dr. Laura Ramsey
Research has repeatedly demonstrated a stereotype associating men with science more than women, which contributes to the underrepresentation of women in science fields. That stereotype is often examined in isolation, though it may actually be part of a network of associations that are cognitively consistent. For example, people tend to associate agentic traits (e.g., independent and assertive) with men more than women, and so if they also associate agentic traits with science, then they may be more likely to associate men with science more than women. The present study measured six related associations concerning the self, gender, agentic traits, and science in a sample of undergraduate students (N=151). Results showed that participants endorsed cognitively consistent patterns, both implicitly (i.e., unconsciously) and explicitly (i.e., consciously). Furthermore, these patterns predicted participants’ selection of a science-related task. Understanding the network of associations that supports stereotypes can inform future research aimed at reducing stereotypes.