December 5, 2024
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Projects exploring teacher education, robotic pets win CCPA research excellence awards

The annual seed-grant program provides support for College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA) research projects

The University Downtown Center, home of the College of Community and Public Affairs. The University Downtown Center, home of the College of Community and Public Affairs.
The University Downtown Center, home of the College of Community and Public Affairs. Image Credit: Jonathan Cohen.

Several cutting-edge research projects have been selected as recipients for this year’s Binghamton University College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA) Research Excellence Awards.

The annual competitive, seed-grant program provides initial support for proposed collaborative research projects that have strong potential to attract external funding. Recipients receive funds from CCPA and the Division of Research.

This year’s winners are:

Comparing Rehearsals and Exemplar Videos as Tools for Developing Novices Noticing and Instructional Capacity

Lightning Jay, assistant professor
Matthew McConn, associate professor and department chair
Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership (TLEL)

The use of both instructional video and rehearsals are core to teacher education, but does one work better than the other? This project looks to determine and compare the effectiveness of each method on preservice English Language Arts and social studies teachers, challenging the status quo of teacher education research.

Exploring the Interactions Between Robotic Companion Pets and Community-Dwelling Older Women

Suk-Young Kang, associate professor, Department of Social Work

Depression is a major mental health issue found in older adults in the United States. Could social robotics help enrich the quality of life for this population? This project seeks to understand the impact of new technologies and products that could be used to support the well-being of women over the age of 65, particularly robotic pets.

Assessing the Impact of Patient Journey Mapping on Maternal Healthcare in Binghamton, United States: An Empirical Investigation

Saumya Tripathi, assistant professor, Department of Social Work
Sreenath Chalil Madathil, assistant professor, Systems Science and Industrial Engineering (SSIE), Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science (Watson)
Stephanie Jesso, assistant professor, SSIE, Watson

Despite spending more on healthcare than any other developed country, the United States has worse health outcomes for mothers. This project will map patient journeys in the Binghamton area to identify where the disparities are when it comes to maternal health and develop strategies to address them.

Everyday Information and Communication Technology Use and Cognition in Older Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Applying Social Determinants of Health Framework

Kun Wang, assistant professor, Department of Social Work

In collaboration with researchers from Mount Sinai and Michigan State University, this study focuses on the association between cognition and everyday information and communication technology on Chinese American dementia caregivers, with the goal of developing culturally and linguistically sensitive tools for recruiting more older Chinese Americans in future Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia research.

Family Acceptance of LGBTQ+ Youth: A Delphi Study to Determine Expert Clinical Consensus

Sarah Young, associate professor, Department of Social Work
Adam Zhao, PhD student, Community Research & Action

This study looks to determine, through a Delphi panel method of expert mental health practitioners, a consensus about how to clinically foster family acceptance and decrease rejection for LGBTQ+ youth, looking at which accepting and rejecting behaviors are most impactful.