SHARP Opportunities (Fall 09-Spring 10)

Overview of Opportunities
1.  Archival Apprenticeships at the Old Dominion University Archives
    a. Special Collections Projects
    b. Disegregation of Virginia Educatioin Project
2. Digital/Media Studies at the Center for the Study of Mediated Experience
    a. Digital/Media Studies (1 or more students, prefer A&L, Psych, or IS majors)
    b. Software / Database Developers (2 students, prefer CS or IS majors)
    c. Webmaster (1 student, prefer English/PW major or CS major)
    d.  Visual Designer (1 student, prefer A&L major)
3. Research Apprenticeships at the Social Science Research Center (fall 09 only)
    a. Student Travel Study

Opportunitiy Details

1.  ARCHIVAL RESEARCH APPRENTICESHIPS

A. Archival Apprenticeship
Location:  University Archives and Special Collections, Perry Library, Old Dominion University
Faculty Mentor:  Sonia Yaco, University Archivist (syaco@odu.edu)
Description:
Archival research apprentices are trained to process, arrange and describe archival collections. Interns will process one or more collections as well as write finding aids and  reseacher guides to collections. Interns may also assist patrons using the collections. Past interns have found the experience valuable for learning research skills, and several interns have used their experiences collections they processed in their thesis and dissertations. We have had interns in English, Political Science, History, Women's Studies but welcome students from any major.
We have a variety of collections and are usually able to match collections to interns interest. Current collections available for interns include the papers of:

• Defenders of State Soverenty, a segregationist group formed in opposition to Brown v. Board
• Irvine B. Hill, radio station owner and past mayor of Norfolk
• Mason Andrews, a past mayor of Norfolk and physician who helped to found the Jones Institute and EVMS.
• Robert C. McClelland, a history professor and dean of the School of General Studies whose papers include 1950s political tracts
• Carolyn H. Tunstall, an English professor whose papers include material from the 1920s
• Robert C. McClelland, a history professor and dean of the School of General Studies whose papers include 1950s political tracts
• Albert I. Godden, a theatre professor

Required Skills:  ability to organize ideas, write well, work independently, intellectual curiosity, commitment to a semester-long project, avilable to work between 8am-5pm M-F.

B. Desegregation of Virginia Education (DOVE) Project
Location:  University Archives and Special Collections, Perry Library, Old Dominion University
Faculty Mentor:  Sonia Yaco, University Archivist (syaco@odu.edu)
Description: 
The DOVE project was created to identify, locate, catalog and preserve records that document Virginia's school desegregation process. The scope of the project is records related to the desegregation of public and private schools in Virginia, grades K-12 and institutions of higher education. The time span would be 1945 - 1986. Papers, photographs, existing oral histories, newspapers and audio-visual materials will be included.
This would include:

• Governmental records: City Council/County Board minutes; School Board minutes and administrative papers; school district correspondence with parents, city and county officials, Virginia Department of Education and Pupil Placement Board, decisional papers, legal advice and policy statements.
• Non-governmental records: teachers' diaries, oral histories, records of informal tutoring groups that existed when public school were closed, organization papers of ad hoc citizen groups for and against Massive Resistance, papers of associations such as Virginia Education Association, Virginia State Teachers Association, Virginia Association of School Superintendents, Virginia School Boards Association.

Required Skills:  ability to organize ideas, write well, work independently, intellectual curiosity, commitment to a semester-long project, available to work between 8am-5pm M-F.

2. RESEARCH APPRENTICESHIPS IN DIGITAL/MEDIA STUDIES

A. Social Media Project: Tracing Digital Culture
Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Liza Potts, lpotts@odu.edu
Location: Center for Mediated Experience (Batten Arts & Letters, Room 2027)
Description:
We will trace major and minor events as they move across different genres of digital culture. We will examine social software systems such as Flickr YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as mainstream media sites such as the BBC News. As we trace the movements of data as it becomes information and transforms into knowledge, we will gain a greater understanding of how participants use these systems to communicate and how we as designers can improve these systems.
 
Researcher (1 or more students, prefer A&L, Psych, or IS majors) You will learn how to trace digital culture, research new innovative experiences for social media, and aid our researchers.

Required Skills: Detail oriented, Excel, experience using social media tools such as those listed above
 
Software / Database Developers (2 students, prefer CS or IS majors)

You will learn how to trace digital culture by using your coding skills to extra data from social media websites. You will increase your data management skills by creating, managing, and maintaining this database of information.

Required Skills: Experience with APIs, PHP, Perl (preferred), MySQL

B. Center for Mediated Experience
Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Liza Potts (lpotts@odu.edu)
Location: Center for Mediated Experience (Batten Arts & Letters, Room 2027)
Description:
Come be a part of the newest interdisciplinary lab at ODU. At the Center for Mediated Experience (CeMe), we are looking for you to help us innovate the technologies we deploy and the interfaces we use.
 
Webmaster (1 student, prefer English/PW major or CS major)
You will learn how to build, manage, and maintain the lab's website, social media tools, and related technologies. You will learn how to manage and maintain a CMS (content management system) and social media tools. Required Skills: HTML, CSS, Blogspot/Blogger/Etc, Wiki familiarity preferred
 
Visual Designer (1 student, prefer A&L major)
For this position, we are looking for a visual designer who can aid us in creating visual collateral for the lab and the lab's research projects. You will apply your visual and verbal communication skills to improve current materials and develop new materials related to all CeMe activities.

Required Skills: Detail-oriented, Visual Design Skills, Photoshop, Illustrator
 
3. The Social Science Research Center - Student Travel Study
Location:  Batten  Arts & Letters, Room 2016
Faculty Mentor:  Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, tvandeca@odu.edu
Description:
This study involves a web survey of ODU students with some telephone follow-up.  We are working in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Transportation, three other Virginia Universities (UVA, VCU, and VT), and Dr. Asad Khattak in Engineering.  We will be surveying up to 3,000 ODU students regarding their travel patterns and behavior.  The information collected will be used to forecast travel demand and congestion in the Hampton Roads' area.

Students working on this project will assist with mailing out pre-notifications of the study, managing email reminder schedules, and making telephone calls to remind students about the survey and encourage their participation.  Students will have the opportunity to participate in meetings and teleconferences with the study principal investigator, VDOT, and representatives from the other participating Universities as well as regular staff meetings to learn about other SSRC research projects.

Required skills: attention to detail, pleasant and engaging telephone presence, ability to enter information electronically while talking on the telephone, ability to learn new software programs quickly, ability to complete tasks within given deadlines, willingness to work some evenings, and willingness to work in a small team environment.

Skills to be learned/acquired: basic understanding of telephone and web survey methodologies and processes, experience with telephone interviewing and mail surveys, experience with CATI (computer assisted telephone interviewing software), working collaboratively with multiple long-distance partners, some knowledge of survey research contracting, and exposure to the science of travel demand forecasting.