L. Sebastian Purcell
L. Sebastian Purcell, Philosophy Department, presented “What the Aztecs Can Teach Us About Happiness” at the Chautauqua Institution on Aug. 10. Purcell has written widely on topics of moral, political and Latin American philosophy, from topics addressing environmental ethics to his comparative scholarship on Aristotle and the Aztecs. In 2016 he received the American Philosophical Association’s national prize for best essay in Latin American Philosophy for his comparative work on Aztecs, happiness and the good life. A philosopher by trade, he has learned that creative and critical thinking can have an impact on living better, and he applies these thoughts to investing, art and society. He writes about natural goodness, the ethics of cosmopolitanism, and what he calls the “Normativity Challenge: Happiness across Cultures.”
Tyler Bradway
Tyler Bradway, English Department, had his review of Long Term: Essays on Queer Commitment (Duke UP, 2021) published in American Literature History, available here.
Robert Spitzer
Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, is the author of an article titled, “What’s Old Is New Again: Political Science, Law, and Constitutional Meaning,” published in the most recent issue of PS: Political Science and Politics, the professional publication of the American Political Science Association.
Fang “Faye” Yang
Fang “Faye” Yang, Communication Studies Department, was the lead author of the article “Do Violent Movies Scare Away Potential Visitors,” published in a recent issue of the International Journal of Advertising. The article explores transportation theory’s role in the relationship between movie watching and tourism.
Theresa Curtis
Theresa Curtis, Biological Sciences Department, and students Nicholas Puoplo ’15 and Joseph Hannett ’17, co-authored a paper recently published in Neurotoxicology. It is titled “The secretome of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells protects SH-SY5Y cells from arsenic-induced toxicity, independent of a neuron-like differentiation mechanism.”
Jill Murphy
Jill Murphy, Health Department, and her project staff team of 15 undergraduate and graduate students and alumni surveyed more than 500 adult cigarette smokers and e-cigarettes users over 13 days of the 2019 New York State Fair as part of the “Patterns of Electronic Cigarette Use Among Adults in New York State” research project.
Murphy’s research interests include tobacco control and cancer prevention. Previously she conducted a survey of tobacco users at the fair in 2011. This latest research at the fair will allow her to compare changes (from 2011 to 2019) in the patterns of electronic cigarette use among adults in New York state and examine smokers’ beliefs about the harm or safety of various tobacco and nicotine projects.
Murphy teaches epidemiology courses where students learn about how to collect, gather and analyze survey data to answer a research question. This project at the fair provided a fun and real-world experience for students to see how data is gathered from humans “in the field,” which in this case was the fairgrounds.
Several SUNY Cortland undergraduate and graduate students took part in experiential learning and were able to apply and practice their survey research skills and communication skills as they interacted with fairgoers and invited them to participate in a brief survey. Also, the students had the chance to speak with potential college-bound students who are interested in attending SUNY Cortland and speak with numerous proud SUNY Cortland alumni who were at the fair.
Now that the surveys are complete, Murphy will work with undergraduate students to compile the data, analyze it and then write up the results for publication and dissemination. The findings from this research will be important given the public health epidemic of vaping which has received considerable attention in the news.
Amy Russell and Chris Scagnelli
Amy Russell and Chris Scagnelli, Academic Support and Achievement Program, conducted presentations at the annual SUNY Council on Writing conference. Russell presented “Ignore the Writing: A Framework to Recognize and Validate Student Learning” and Scagnelli presented “I H8 Numb3rs: A Skill-Building Activity for Numeracy and Research Writing.” Both presentations were delivered on Oct. 20 in Farmingdale, N.Y. to multi-national audience.
Tadayuki Suzuki
Tadayuki Suzuki, Literacy Department, and Darryn Diuguid of McKendree University, wrote an article titled “A Visit with Princess Boy, Jazz, Kyle, Morris and Jacob: Analyzing Recent Picture Books with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Characters.” The article was published in the February issue of the Journal of Interdisciplinary Education, Volume 15, Issue 1.
John Suarez
John Suarez, Service-Learning Coordinator at the Institute for Civic Engagement, has been accepted into the new Community and Civic Engagement Corps of New York Campus Compact (NYCC). Suarez’s expertise is in the area of developing and delivering tailored role-play and simulation events. The purpose of this Corps is to provide “a searchable database of Community and Civic Engagement experts from across the state. We are doing this in order to serve higher education better and move New York to the forefront of national community and civic engagement in higher education movement.”
Nance S. Wilson
Nance S. Wilson, Literacy Department, presented a paper and a workshop at the International Literacy Association Annual Convention in St. Louis, Mo. On July 18, she presenter her paper, “Keeping Our (Hi)stories Alive: Providing Perspective on Current Practice and Policy,” and on July 19 she presented the “Integrating E-Readers into the Secondary Classroom” workshop.