REU Undergraduate Fellow Newsletter
August 1, 2001

REU: Who We Are and What We Do

Currently there are four National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Fellows working with ADEC Stacey Sanchez, Rebekah Deter, Amanda Coe, and Tiffani Hill. I will be spotlighting, Rebekah and Amanda in next week's edition.

Tiffani Hill
I am a sophomore, psychology major, at the University of Nebraska. My assignment as a NSF Undergraduate Fellow is to learn about Education Effectiveness and networking. I am interviewing researchers and doing background social science research related to the "digital divide". I also write up formal research reports.
As the editor, I will also be posting this weekly newsletter, and conducting visits to NSF field sites. I plan to visit Lexington and Potter Dix, NE sometime next month.

Current Research

The greater issue of the two is equal housing opportunities. This topic causes the largest percentage gap between the two races. Only 48% of blacks, as compared to 83% of whites (a 35point difference) perceive that there are equal housing opportunities. In the last decade the gap has gone up by 15 points. The intriguing component is what determinant might cause such a difference? Other topics, such as experiencing discrimination and finding a common ground among the races, seem to follow the same trend.

Web Health Information
(Submitted by Tiffani Hill)

Health information is one of the most sought-after offerings on the World Wide Web. More than 60 million U.S. residents went online in search of health information in the past year, and more than 70% of them said that what they found influenced their decision about treatment, according to the report in Journal of the American Medical Association.

An article I read, entitled "Prognosis Good for Web Health Information", was about how accurate the Web health information was, and if the data was available in Spanish. The Rand Corporation had skilled researchers focus on evaluating links to, and information about, four common conditions that affect a diverse group of patients: breast cancer, childhood asthma, depression and obesity. I performed the same searches and found that our results were very similar. The breast cancer and childhood asthma sites had the most information, and a couple of the sites were available in Spanish. The depression and obesity sites were lacking. They were based mostly on personal experiences rather than factual information. The worst part is that out of the fifteen sites I checked in both depression and obesity categories, none of them offered Spanish.

I decided to survey four different topics, lung cancer, SIDS, eating disorders, and anxiety disorder. My research was equally conclusive. The only site that I found to be well-rounded was on the topic of eating disorders. The Rader program ( http://www.raderprogram.com/ ), gave great insight, and the majority of the sites offered both English and Spanish. My research indicates that there is information out there, but we still have a long way to go before it can truly reach everyone in this nation.
http://www.y.me.org/
http://www.komen.org/
http://www.socsciresearch.com

Causes of Inner Turmoil amongst Native American Communities
(Submitted by Stacy Sanchez)

In many Native communities there is inner turmoil that arises in individuals through rage. There are many "back-stabbing" events that occur during board meetings, social events, and most open debates. This behavior is referred to as oppression. People who suffer from oppression deal with severe trauma that causes individuals to hurt others, often times it is the people closest to them.

Because of their emotional injuries inflicted during childhood, they hurt each other through lateral violence. This model of behavior transforms into internalized oppression. An example we can all recognize is the childhood bully. This person inhibits pain to their peers, causing violence to others. In essence, the internalized oppression is the main focus behind the rage and anger seen in Indian communities.

Unfortunately, the violence is increasing because of the trauma that Native Americans face. Without counseling and treatment, the trauma turns to fear and rage. Some of the earliest stages of internalized oppression deal with pain that has not been mended. This in turn results in rage. Children learn of this behavior and act out the "language of anger". The retaliation that often results can be linked to various types of music when the lyrics focus on pain and anger.

Many people have lost jobs due to gossip that scars an individual. The aggressors may be jealous and start rumors about the person. On the contrary, most of the time the oppressors are simply envious more than anything else. This pattern of behavior has been linked to the possible racism, molestation and rape the individuals have faced at school.

In many cases, we can not change the pain inflicted as youths or as adults. The pain is scarred and we often see the pain through meetings. But with help, we can recognize these actions and prevent downfall.

The Researchers

Dan Cotton is a very talented and hardworking person. He began his professional career as a music teacher, but today he serves in an important information technology leadership position. The move to computer technology began in the early 80's when desktop computing began to take off. After completing course work in data processing and software development, he went to work for Missouri Cooperative Extension Service. His responsibilities included computer training and developing an organizational network throughout the state.

At the University of Nebraska, Dan serves as the Director of the Communication of Information and Technology (CIT) unit in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resource (IANR). Dan provides professional leadership/support in communication, distance learning, computing, networking, and information technology. He believes his role at UNL is exciting because of the growing convergence of technology, communications and education.

Dan became involved with ADEC in the summer of 1995 when he became a member of the program panel. Today he is assisting with the Advanced Internet Satellite Extension Project (AISEP) which will help extend Internet services to difficult-to-reach areas. In Nebraska, Dan is helping place ADEC CPEs in Lexington, NE Public Library and the Potter/Dix, NE Consolidated School District.

Randy Ross is an intelligent and very intriguing person. His childhood was very remarkable. He grew up primarily in South Dakota. His father was an educator at various Indian Reservations. At the age of 14 he experienced a culture shock when he went from a Native American community to a place where he was a minority.

During college, Randy joined the Air Force. His family was a great support to him because in the Native American culture, military service is traditional, and people take a lot of pride in it. His time spent at the Air Force turned out to be life changing.

It was at that time when he discovered his interest in computer technology. The Air Force offered technology that took hands-on experience. That was something Randy really benefited from. In a short amount of time, he became very skilled with computer technology.

Through the years, he has worked for several organizations which in turn allowed him to continue his work with computer networking technology and bringing it into Native American communities. In September of 1998, he was hired as Executive Director at the Indian Center in Nebraska. Prior to moving to Nebraska, Randy worked with several Tribal Colleges under a NASA grant in South Dakota. He continues to work with Tribal Colleges still today.

He is a strong believer in lifelong learning and self-awareness. Those aspects are the general frameworks of communication. Randy believes that technology is going to make a big difference in unifying the social climate of the future. What he hopes to contribute/demonstrate here at ADEC is that Universities and Tribal Colleges need to learn from each other. The only way to accomplish that is through distance education. " Technology breaks down the walls which allows you to reach out and communicate."

REU's : Who We Are and What We Do

Stacy L. Sanchez's project at ADEC entails research on Native American sites that exist on the web, linking various Native American sites that are relevant to educational effectiveness research questions. Her project will include information research, data gathering, and review as related to the goals and objectives of the NSF satellite Internet extension grant. She will also assist with Tribal College outreach and assist with the preparation for tribal site visits and presentations.

NSF Research Sites

Lexington chosen as ADEC/NSF Site
(Submitted by Tiffani Hill)

What was once a predominantly white rural city, has now become a cultural melting pot. In Lexington, NE, the current population of 5,121 Hispanics represents a staggering growth rate in the last decade. A major factor behind such an increase is the meatpacking plant. It was as if Lexington boomed with Mexican immigrant workers over night.

This recent explosion has brought with it educational needs for the population. Therefore, Lexington became a NSF site. Dan Cotton began working with Lexington, NE Public Library and the Potter/Dix Consolidated School District about three months ago. Thus far the reception has been great. The library computer technology is greatly appreciated by the youth and the adults. Many members of the Hispanic community go there late in the day or early evening.

The reasoning behind the selection of these two places is fairly easy. Both locations met the criteria- a desire to expand into more advanced technology and they were already good partners with local Cooperative Extension. Also, the sites were interested in UNL, national research activity, and ADEC.

Little Priest Community College
(Submitted by Stacy Sanchez)

This community college was founded in 1996, and has overcome many obstacles. Currently, there are 150 students attending LPCC from various tribes. In addition, there are Native American staff members to promote the importance of education. In conjunction with Creighton University, there are several health-related fields such as pre-nursing and radiology.

Nebraska Indian Community College
(Submitted by Stacy Sanchez)

At my first visit to Nebraska Indian Community College, I found the following results to be very astonishing. NICC has an 80% staff turnover. Their vision is to turn this community college to a full four-year credited university. Another insight at NICC is to find a biomedical researcher from the Indian Health Services, University of Nebraska Medical Center, or Creighton University.

A Note from the Editor:

What I hope to accomplish from this newsletter is to inform others in depth about the NSF project. In order to understand the project, readers need to learn more about the people involved, the Digital Divide, and the population groups we are dealing with. Personally, as a REU, I hope to learn the importance of Educational Effectiveness, and to continue to improve my communication and writing skills. Thank you for your time, and I hope that you will log on for next week's edition.