“Management is dead!” declares Mark Addleson, Mason associate professor of public policy and author of “Beyond Management.” In this new book, he explains why the rules, systems and structures favored by management are actually disorganizing and cause breakdowns at work.

“Management is dead because work has changed but management practices have not,” Addleson says. “We can think of management as what we do to organize work to get things done, but most organizations have not adapted to the modern workplace.”

The management systems and structures used today were developed for factories during the industrial era, he says

“The thinking and all the practices around management were designed for a long-gone era,” Addleson says. “We still look at organizations like machines and manage them in highly structured ways. Management is inflexible, top-heavy and outdated.”

He continues: “Manufacturing jobs have all but disappeared. Knowledge workers network, share information, learn from one another, and organize and make decisions collectively. Most workers today have some of these characteristics, whether they are office administrators, restaurant workers, doctors or plumbers.”

In “Beyond Management,” Addleson also details how to replace outdated practices with new ones that empower today’s “knowledge workers.” He also provides strategies that apply to just about any business, nonprofit organization or government entity.

It is widely believed that organizational rules and structures are important to achieving the desired results at work and that someone needs to be in charge. However, Addleson says that knowledge workers are quite capable of organizing themselves, provided there is a shift to responsibility and accountability at work.

“Software developers, for example, need the flexibility to make decisions and manage their own work,” he says. “Adopting agile methods, they tell one another what they’re doing and are engaged in each other’s work without the intervention of management. In many ways, they are archetypes for the modern workplace for knowledge workers.”

A lack of a human element in corporate management has led to a lot of the problems that we saw during the financial crisis over the last few years, Addleson says. “Care and prudence is what we expect from the organizations that handle our money, but most management systems are driven by accounting, and they neither value nor practice the care or accountability that is needed for public trust.”

Undoing cumbersome management takes time, Addleson warns, but he says it is well worth the effort. “Unseating structured management is a tough sell and a long road. There are no easy solutions. What I am trying to do in ‘Beyond Management’ is highlight why organizations are in a mess and what we can do about it.”

Addleson has taught courses on organizations and management and has consulted in the area of organizations and change for more than 30 years. He began his teaching career in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Graduate School of Business, where he headed the school’s general management program and consulted to a variety of organizations.

After joining Mason in 1994, he helped to establish the School of Public Policy’s master’s program in organization development and knowledge management and served as the program’s founding director.

The United States is the best country in the world to start a business, according to the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI), a ranking that is produced in part at Mason and that compares entrepreneurial characteristics of 79 nations and identifies the entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses of their economies.

At the same time, the report notes that the United States has lost ground, and the drivers of entrepreneurship have deteriorated across the globe.

Rounding out the top 10 are Sweden, Australia, Iceland, Denmark, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium and Norway, with the Netherlands and Taiwan tied for 10th. A summary of the 2012 GEDI can be found online.

The annual index, now in its second edition, is a collaboration between Mason, the University of Pecs in Hungary and the Imperial College Business School in England. This year’s index was produced by Zoltan Acs, professor and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Public Policy in Mason’s School of Public Policy, and László Szerb, associate professor of business and economics at the University of Pecs.

The authors provide this information to help international leaders understand the entrepreneurial climate of their countries’ economies and foster productive entrepreneurship through new policies.

“If governments think that entrepreneurship is important, they promote it through their policies, including supporting education, increasing commercialization and making finance available to start businesses,” Acs says. “The basic question we are trying to answer is: What is the incentive structure in a particular country, and how do the country’s residents respond and behave to those policies?”

To compile the index, researchers survey people around the world and gather information from countries related to 15 separate variables, including quality of the education system; likelihood of corruption; amount of research and development; and government incentives related to starting a business.

Using these variables, the index takes the average of three subindices that measure entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial aspirations. The GEDI uses a scale of 0.0 to 1.0 and takes into account that the lowest scores from the variables may drag down the overall score to more accurately reflect the complexity of entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneurship is a multidimensional phenomenon. The GEDI combines the variables in a way that considers the factors where the country is weakest,” says Acs. “Unless you fix the weakest link in the chain, the chain breaks. The factors related to entrepreneurship work the same way. Governments must recognize and improve the areas where they are weak in order to foster a culture of innovation in their country.”

The United States, while leading the list, has a long way to go to regain lost ground, according to the report.

“The U.S. is a society in distress, with communities hurting across the country,” Acs says.  “This does not bode well for American entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship does not emerge from sick societies. It emerges from healthy societies.”

On a scale of 0.0 to 1.0, productive entrepreneurship declined to 0.60 from 0.67, or about a 10 percent drop overall. This drop was larger in the developed world than in the developing world, reflecting the deteriorating institutional conditions in wealthy countries. Because of these factors, the potential for productive entrepreneurship has fallen worldwide.

Other findings in the index include:

• While the global economic crisis has hurt entrepreneurship in most countries, including the United States, the effect on individual countries varied greatly.
• Hungary, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay are tied for having the largest gain since last year at 0.06. Australia, Tunisia, Chile, Jamaica, Croatia, Israel and Turkey had the next largest gains.
• The Asian countries of China, India, Korea and Malaysia had large declines in entrepreneurship.
• The United States is the only country in the top three in all three subindices, but does not rank first in any category.
• The top three countries in the entrepreneurial attitudes subindex are Sweden, the United States and Australia.
• The top three countries in the entrepreneurial activity subindex are Australia, the United States and Canada.
• The top three countries in the entrepreneurial aspirations subindex are Israel, Taiwan and the United States.

Len Nichols. Creative Services photo

Virginia’s approach to health reform could provide a path for the rest of the country, say Mason professors who provided key input to a state advisory council’s recent report to the governor and legislature.

“Virginia is very important to the nation’s appraisal of this law,” says Len Nichols, director of Mason’s Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics in the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS). “Virginia is a bellwether state in a lot of ways. People pay attention to what we do.”

Nichols and P.J. Maddox, chair of the Department of Health Administration and Policy in CHHS, lent their know-how to the Virginia Health Reform Initiative Advisory Council. The council’s multiple task forces crafted a plan for a health benefit exchange as the Obama administration’s deadline for one approaches. A health benefit exchange could give individuals and small businesses the bargaining power of a large employer so they can land a better health insurance deal.

If Virginia doesn’t have its own health insurance plan in place by January 2013, then it becomes a federal program. “I can assure you that the last thing Virginia wants is to have a federal exchange,” says Nichols, a nationally renowned health policy scholar.

P.J. Maddox. Creative Services photo

Nichols, Maddox and other Mason research-generating team members helped to ensure the advisory board had the facts to make their recommendations. Nichols also paved the way for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to fund the council with a $124,484 grant.

Nonpartisan Approach ‘Essential’ for Success

Mason is actively supporting the health care debate. “We’re engaged in Richmond in a way we weren’t before,” Nichols says.

A nonpartisan approach is essential for health reform success, Nichols says. “We’re at a place now where the political leaders have to make basic choices of which direction to go,” he says.

While the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) this summer, Virginia is one of a handful of states to lay the groundwork for health care reform. It’s a gutsy move by a bold governor, says Maddox.

“Virginia has not been on the sidelines, waiting to see what the federal government and other states are doing to implement health reform,” Maddox says. “Even with the uncertainty of the individual mandate, many aspects of the PPACA are going to be implemented. Virginia is wise to move forward to plan how it will implement health reform. There may be controversy about PPACA, but there is wide agreement that we must do more to control the cost of health care, get more value for what we are spending and expand health insurance coverage for many who do not have it.”

A health benefit exchange could save money in the long run because if people have health insurance, they are more likely to go to a doctor early and often, Maddox says. That prevents unnecessary and pricey emergency room visits, she adds.

Health benefit exchanges are critical to stabilizing private health insurance, Maddox says.

“If health insurance costs continue to rise and become more unaffordable, fewer will have insurance, and there will be more uncompensated care,” she says. “Those who pay end up paying for those who don’t.”

Putting a Health Benefit Exchange into Action

The advisory council tackled the technical details of how to put a health benefit exchange into action.

“This is about reorganizing the health insurance market in Virginia for people who don’t have offers from their employer and for small employers,” Nichols says. “Those are the two markets that don’t work very well.”

An exchange is designed to boost small employers and regular people into the big leagues. “In essence, an exchange extends the best of our markets to the worst of our markets,” Nichols says.

To do that, some rules have to change.

“You have to sell to everybody, regardless of their health status, and you cannot charge people more just because they’ve had cancer in their lifetime or a heart condition,” Nichols says. “A fundamental shift in the law and the power of government is necessary to make that happen if your goal is to cover all through private insurance.”

Who’s in charge is another issue the council had to address.

A quasi-governmental agency received the nod from the council as the best way to go for an exchange, Nichols says. A health benefit exchange authority would be a governmental entity but with an independent board. Of the 11 states that have created exchanges so far, nine have opted for this approach.

Even if Obama loses the next presidential election, heath care reform may be here to stay, Nichols and Maddox say. “I think it’s highly unlikely this conversation would end with Obama’s defeat,” Nichols says.

Other CHHS team members who helped compile research for the council included health policy fellow Elizabeth Isaacs Flashner, graduate research assistants Suchita Madan and Ekom Etuk and office managers Sandie MacGowan and Caryn Sever.

Updated: “Gov. Bob McDonnell Issues Statement on Election of Dr. Ángel Cabrera as the Next President of George Mason University” added 12-15-2011 at 3:00PM EST

Updated: Video added 12-15-2011 at 1:45PM EST

The George Mason University Board of Visitors (BOV) has unanimously selected Dr. Ángel Cabrera to serve as the next president of George Mason University.

Dr. Cabrera, 44, is currently president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, ranked consistently as the leading school of international business in the world. He has served in this capacity since 2004. Prior to joining Thunderbird, Dr. Cabrera was professor and dean at IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, from 1998 to 2004. IE is often listed by the international media among the top European business schools.

“George Mason University has gained distinction as a major teaching and research institution, thanks to the great leadership of Alan Merten and his wife, Sally,” says Dr. Ernst Volgenau, rector of the Board of Visitors. “Dr. Merten has been our president for more than 15 years. After he announced his retirement, a search committee, ably led by Lovey Hammel, and the Board of Visitors worked hard to identify someone with the skills, vision and energy to build on Alan’s accomplishments. It is the unanimous decision of the Board of Visitors that Dr. Ángel Cabrera is that person. Dr. Cabrera is a renowned scholar and a proven leader, and he is ably complemented by his wife, Beth. We believe we have selected an individual who is not only perfect for where Mason is now but where we hope to be in the years to come.”

Dr. Ángel Cabrera

The native of Spain is the sixth president of Mason since the General Assembly granted the university independence in 1972 as a freestanding institution of higher learning.

“After eight wonderful years at Thunderbird, I am honored to have been asked to lead one of the most innovative institutions in American higher education,” says Dr. Cabrera. “I am humbled to follow in the footsteps of a great educator and leader, President Alan Merten, and I look forward to working with such a talented community of faculty and administrators.”

The selection of Dr. Cabrera follows an extensive search conducted by the BOV that began when Dr. Merten announced his intention to retire, effective June 30, 2012. Dr. Merten became Mason’s fifth president in 1996.

“As chair of the search committee that recommended Dr. Cabrera, I could not be more excited at the prospect that he will be our institution’s next chief executive,” says Lovey Hammel, BOV member and chair of the search committee. “The members of the search committee worked extremely hard as they reviewed portfolios of leaders from a range of fields, including education, the private sector and public service. The search was extensive and comprehensive, and the result, I am confident, is one in which all of us will take great pride. Dr. Cabrera brings with him an impressive global vision, an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in keeping with Mason’s, and an impressive commitment to collaboration.”

Dr. Cabrera is a recognized global leader and management educator whose work and expertise have been tapped by top international organizations. The World Economic Forum named him a Global Leader for Tomorrow in 2002, a Young Global Leader in 2005 and chairman of the Global Agenda Council for promoting entrepreneurship in 2008. In 2007, the United Nations asked him to chair the international task force that developed the “Principles for Responsible Management Education,” a voluntary framework to promote global corporate citizenship subscribed to by more than 300 business schools worldwide. He has been recognized by the Aspen Institute as a Henry Crown Fellow and by Financial Times as one of the top 20 business school leaders in the world.

An outspoken advocate of corporate social responsibility and management responsibility, Dr. Cabrera in 2005 inspired a student-led initiative that resulted in Thunderbird becoming the first business school in the world to formally adopt a professional oath of honor, a commitment to social responsibility and professional ethics taken by all graduate students. Also in 2005, the school established Thunderbird for Good, a philanthropic effort to provide business education to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Since then, several hundred women entrepreneurs have been trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan and Peru.

Dr. Cabrera earned his PhD and MS from Georgia Institute of Technology, which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar, and a BS and MS in engineering from Madrid Polytechnical University, Spain’s premier engineering school. He has also written numerous papers in leading academic journals and presented at conferences. His book “Being Global: How to Think, Act and Lead in a Transformed World” will be published this spring by Harvard Business Review Press.

Dr. Cabrera is married to Dr. Beth Cabrera, an organizational psychologist. They have two children.

The press conference that followed the announcement of the selection of Dr. Cabrera is available for viewing in its entirety on the GMU-TV website.

“Congratulations to Dr. Cabrera on his selection as the sixth president of George Mason University. George Mason has rapidly gained an international reputation for innovation and excellence and I look forward to seeing its continued success under the leadership of Dr. Cabrera. Dr. Cabrera is coming from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, recognized as Best in International Business, making him uniquely qualified as we equip our students at George Mason to compete in a global economy. I am confident that Dr. Cabrera will find ways to make the university best serve the needs of the students and the George Mason community.

“I also want to thank President Alan Merten for his service and seeing through the vision he laid out for George Mason when he entered the role of president 15 years ago. We have seen student enrollment increased by more than 6,000 students, sponsored research more than triple to $100 million, and you just have to take a walk around campus, as I did last month, to see the significant growth and progress underway. George Mason has a lot to be proud of and a bright future ahead.”

Anthony Pellegrino. Photo courtesy of Anthony Pellegrino

The pre-Revolutionary tune “Yankee Doodle.” Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”

What do these songs have in common? They were all written in response to significant events in American history and have the ability to elicit powerful emotions. Perhaps more important, these songs demonstrate how music is an enduring part of our culture and society.

Mason researcher Anthony Pellegrino couldn’t agree more. As a teenager, he remembers how listening to the music of socially and politically active bands such as MC5, Fugazi, Bad Brains and REM helped shape his own opinions about issues in society. Later, when he became an American history teacher, he wondered if music still had the same impact on students.

This thought led to his most recent study titled “Music as a Tool for 21st-Century Civic Education,” which was published in Action in Teacher Education. In the study, Pellegrino, an assistant professor of secondary education in Mason’s College of Education and Human Development, and his colleagues analyzed the intersection of music and civics.

Teaching History Beyond the Textbook

The researchers worked with high school students from around the country to determine the relationship between civically oriented music and students’ civic knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. In addition, the researchers introduced the idea of teaching history beyond the textbook and offered ways in which educators can effectively use music and culture in their history classrooms.

“We already knew that students were listening to all sorts of music genres from pop to rock to country, but we weren’t sure to what extent this music was influencing their perceptions of the world,” says Pellegrino. “By gaining a better understanding of how students are learning about civic issues, educators can use these sources that teens see as being relevant to their lives.”

For the study, Pellegrino and his colleagues surveyed 213 high school students enrolled in social studies classes in public schools in Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina and Utah.

Students were asked to identify the musical artists they listen to on a regular basis. Some of the favorites that emerged were country music artists Brooks & Dunn and Taylor Swift; rappers Jay-Z and Lil’Wayne; and R&B singer Mary J. Blige. Students were also tested on their knowledge of government structure, American history, world geography and social issues.

The study also measured three aspects of students’ civic attitudes: their opinions concerning politics and morality, their willingness to work for a cause and whether they considered voting the responsibility of all citizens. Also measured were two aspects of students’ civic behaviors: whether they were members of civic clubs at school and whether they discussed politics with their friends.

Civically Oriented Music Encourages Learning

For the most part, students scored low on the civic knowledge questions, answering only between six and 14 questions out of 19 correctly. Students also scored low in civic behaviors, with 74 percent indicating that they do not belong to a civic club at school and 55 percent saying they do not talk about politics with their friends.

However, Pellegrino notes that despite the low scores regarding civic knowledge and behavior, 64 percent of students actually had very strong opinions about politics and morality. The researchers also found that 62 percent of students were willing to work for an important cause and believed that voting is the responsibility of every citizen.

“Although students may not actively be participating in civic behaviors, our research shows us that students who listen to civically oriented music are actually encouraged to raise their civic knowledge, initiate conversations among their peers and learn more about their government and society,” says Pellegrino.

Further in-person interviews with some of the students revealed that the more students talk with their friends about civic issues in society, the more likely they are to participate in civic clubs at school.

In the same way, according to Pellegrino, students are more likely to form opinions about issues in society and to work for a cause when they listen to music that informs them of a social or civic issue. In fact, 53 percent of the students agreed that they have learned about a social issue or event from a song or band.

Based on the results of the study, the researchers concluded that while civically oriented music has the potential to arouse intense feelings about social issues among students, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a complete understanding of these issues, nor does it guarantee students will participate in civic behaviors.

“Many of the students to which we spoke admitted that they tend to believe things without actually looking into them,” says Pellegrino. “This is where the responsibility of the educator comes in to ensure that these attitudes are rooted in civic knowledge and lead to civic behaviors.”

A Tool for Educators

Pellegrino and his colleagues argue that students are detached from civics as it is taught in the classroom; therefore, educators should consider using nontraditional teaching sources such as music and music lyrics to help captivate and inspire students to learn.

“Most social studies educators only use music as a hook in the classroom to get students’ attention,” says Pellegrino. “Instead of focusing solely on sources such as government documents, speeches, photographs or other relics, teachers need to incorporate music into their primary source learning materials.”

Pellegrino and his fellow researchers further expanded on this issue in their forthcoming book titled “Let the Music Play! Harnessing the Power of Music for the Social Studies Classroom.” The book offers recommendations to social studies educators about how to infuse music as part of social studies curriculum and use it as an analytical tool in the classroom to help students better understand historical events.

The book explores how both historical and contemporary songs can be used to educate students about noteworthy themes in American history such as race, labor and class. The researchers identified 30 songs per topic and included detailed lesson plans as a resource for teachers to use music in the classroom.

“As educators and researchers, it is important for us to recognize that an essential element of school is to move students to action,” says Pellegrino. “We owe it to our students to use the most relevant sources available that will encourage them to become knowledgeable, responsible and active members of society.”

Sarah Jean Hanson, BS Biology ’02, traveled to South Sudan earlier this year with Doctors Without Borders. Photo courtesy of Sarah Jean Hanson

Whether it is on an Indian reservation in the southwestern United States, the heat of South Sudan or a rural village in Southeast Asia, Sarah Jean Hanson, BS Biology ’02, has found that people view pregnancy and delivery the same way: it is a special and celebrated time.

“It’s treated slightly different every place you go, but the common thread is how important pregnancy is,” she says.

As an OB/GYN working in the public health field, Hanson has made a career of providing health care access to women around the globe, particularly access to safe labor and delivery.

Hanson, a former University Scholar, arrived at Mason interested in a career in public health but initially wanted to study HIV medicine. When she found herself ready to graduate from Mason a semester early, she took the advice of the former University Scholars director, the late Noreen McGuire Prettyman, who suggested Hanson go overseas to get some additional public health experience. As a result, Hanson constructed a semester abroad in South Africa at an HIV clinic. While there, Hanson found herself most drawn to the troubles of the pregnant women she encountered.

“The HIV patients were really rewarding to take care of, but the women’s problems [with pregnancy] seemed more interesting to me and very easy to fix,” she says. Something as simple as having access to antibiotics or medications to stop hemorrhages could make a significant difference in health outcomes for mothers and babies, not to mention having a trained professional to perform a difficult delivery.

Returning from Africa with a new focus, Hanson attended medical school at the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine) and completed a residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore last year.

In January 2011, she traveled to South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders on a six-month maternal health project where she not only provided clinical services, but also trained local health professionals on running a safe and effective maternity ward at the local hospital.

A semester in Africa while she was a student made Hanson realize that her interest was in maternal-child health. Photo courtesy of Sarah Jean Hanson

During her stint there, the country held a referendum for its independence. “It was definitely an exciting time to be there, but it was a very tense political and security situation,” she says.

Hanson says she always felt safe in South Sudan, mainly because the local population so appreciates the impact the Doctors without Borders program has had there. The hospital where she worked boasts a less than 1 percent maternal mortality rate; the country as a whole averages a one in seven maternal mortality rate.

Hanson now serves with the Indian Health Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health Service. She practices medicine at Gallup Indian Medical Center on the Navajo reservation in Gallup, N.M.

Despite all her global travels, living in the American Southwest is an interesting cultural shift for the Roanoke, Va., native. In particular, she finds practicing medicine in the Navajo culture intriguing. Hanson notes that the entire family is present for the labor and birth, welcoming the new baby into the group by touching and holding him or her. Women also rarely have epidurals, believing that the pain of delivery is part of the experience.

“To them, this is actually not just a medical procedure where someone has a baby, but it is a whole community embracing every aspect of the delivery and arrival of this new person,” she notes.

Hanson credits her time at Mason, particularly in the University Scholars program, with bringing her to a rewarding career. She notes the scholars’ tenets of excellence in academics, service, leadership and community as ideals she still uses in her life. She describes her work as a great privilege.

“In public health, every decision you make is not about money; it’s about what is the right thing for the patient and for the community,” she says. “That’s a cool way to be able to practice medicine.”

This article originally appeared in the fall 2011 issue of the Mason Spirit.

Stroll through the Johnson Center during a weekday afternoon, and you’ll be inundated with signs, posters and fellow students advertising numerous student-run charity events. Whether as part of Greek organizations, student interest groups or academic departments, students find ways to give back to their communities, often focusing on projects that appeal to their own interests.

Many students find their philanthropic niche through the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE), which is extremely active in both the campus and outside communities.

CLCE sponsors numerous events throughout the year, such as the current holiday spirit food and gift drive. With community partner Our Daily Bread, a local nonprofit organization, CLCE participants are collecting food and gift items and delivering them to needy families throughout the area. Students can donate food or gifts, help package the items and even deliver them directly to the families in the area.

Another student organization that has worked to help others on a global basis is Mason Cru, an on-campus Christian organization. Mason Cru hosted Love South Sudan, a program where Mason students collected and packed seeds to send to families of South Sudan, a newly created republic in Africa that is struggling to feed its people.

The packs contained five sets of vegetable seeds, so that each family would have food to grow for themselves and crops to sell, creating a sustainable agriculture. More than 600 students helped to assemble the packs, load shipping boxes and label the boxes.

“From the minute I walked into the room until the minute I had to leave for class, the experience was fun and heart-warming,” says Lakshmi Meyyappan, an electrical engineering major who took part in the event. “I could see that people were truly experiencing the joy of giving.”

Mason’s Student Government also sponsors charitable events. Their latest effort was a kick-off event to spur on Mason students participating in the Annual AIDS Walk in Washington, D.C., which was held on Oct. 29.

A few days before the walk, Student Government provided food, booked musical performers and handed out literature about the AIDS Walk to support those who had already pledged to participate and to encourage other Mason students to take part. Many Mason students who eventually participated in the AIDS Walk signed up as a result of this event, and others did so through the efforts of CLCE, which organized a Mason team for the walk.

The Iota Alpha Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta supported their national philanthropy, Autism Speaks, at the National Walk for Autism Speaks in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Iota Alpha Chapter

Greek organizations at Mason are committed to service, both on campus and in the greater community. For example, the Iota Alpha Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta supported their national philanthropy, Autism Speaks, at the National Walk for Autism Speaks on Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C.

The sorority sisters were on hand to pass out special Halloween trick-or-treat bags to the children of Matthew’s Center, a nonprofit organization in Manassas, Va., dedicated to helping autistic children. The Iota Alpha chapter has adopted Matthew’s Center, sending sisters to help repair and paint the school building. The sisters are also directly interacting with the children and assisting staff with daytime and afterschool programs.

“Our partnership with Autism Speaks is a close one,” says Catherine Miller, an Alpha Xi Delta sister and public relations vice president for the sorority. “Many of our sisters have family members or friends who live with autism and know what it’s like to be personally touched by autism,” explains Miller, a tourism and events management major.

The students who tend the on-campus garden near the Potomac Heights residence hall have found a way to combine their passion for green and sustainable living with a desire to help those less fortunate than themselves.

Sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, the garden produced seasonal vegetables and fruits. Half of all the produce harvested from the garden was donated to Food for Others, a Northern Virginia-based charity.

“We felt it was very important to share the produce with those in need in our local community,” says Danielle Wyman, sustainability projects coordinator with the Office of Sustainability. “On donation days for Food for Others, we would see families coming to pick up the beautiful fresh vegetables that we were dropping off. It is always extremely rewarding to see the food pass right from our hands to the hands of those in need.”

The study will look at 12 high schools from around the country, particularly those that attract underrepresented minority students, to develop a database of effective models and practices. Creative Services photo

Last year, President Obama challenged education leaders across the country to create more than 1,000 new schools throughout the next decade that focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) – fields that are proven to be vital in today’s workplace and for America’s future economic growth.

In response to this call to action, researchers from Mason and George Washington University joined forces on a four-year, $2.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the emerging trend of STEM-focused high schools.

The project will look at12 well-established, inclusive STEM-focused high schools, particularly those that attract underrepresented minority students. The schools will be chosen from around the country.

“The goal of this project is to study the design, implementation and dimensions for a new kind of school that is quietly emerging across the United States,” says Erin Peters Burton, co-principal investigator of the project and assistant professor of science education and educational psychology in Mason’s College of Education and Human Development. “Because this type of study has never been done before, no one really knows what an ‘inclusive STEM-focused school’ looks like and what works.”

She adds, “This project has the exciting potential to develop new sources of STEM talent among underrepresented minority students and provide them with opportunities to succeed in high school and the STEM workforce.”

The researchers will create detailed case studies of the STEM high schools to explore different models of effectiveness in different states. Based on previous research conducted by SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute, the project will explore 10 components that have been found to be crucial to the potential success of students in STEM-focused high schools.

The researchers will compare indicators of success in the STEM-focused schools with those of comprehensive high schools in the same jurisdictions. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Some of these components are course curriculum; use of technology in the classroom; use of qualified teachers with STEM content knowledge and experience; and support from businesses and organizations in the community. The project will also look at the different kinds of support provided to students outside the regular school day, such as internships and mentorships, as well as opportunities for early college enrollment.

During the project, the researchers will employ focus groups, surveys and interviews with students, parents, teachers, school administrators and business partners. In addition, the researchers will visit each school for four days to observe science, technology, mathematics and engineering classes.

The researchers will compare indicators of success in the STEM-focused schools with those of comprehensive high schools in the same jurisdictions.

After the results have been compiled, the researchers will look for best practices and components that are common across all of the schools. From these commonalities, the researchers will develop recommendations for others who want to create STEM-focused schools.

“After the project has been completed, we expect the case studies of each STEM-focused school to provide a rich database of promising and effective models and practices,” says Burton. “We plan to share our findings and recommendations with the larger education community, as well as researchers and policymakers, to be used as a resource to show the effective models that contribute to students’ success in STEM education.”

Students look for fingerprints in the Forensic Science Lab. Photo by Evan Cantwell

While you may have seen agents Abby and Gibbs navigate a crime scene on “NCIS,” there’s more to forensic science than meets the TV fan’s eye. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less cool.

“I don’t want [students] getting a job and thinking, ‘I’m so disappointed, this is nothing like TV,’” says Mason forensic scientist Jocelyn Prendergast. “Forensic science is exciting in its own way — without the glamorized side of it.”

Mason’s program, which recently added an undergraduate component, is so exciting, in fact, that best-selling mystery novelist David Baldacci has said he would like to sit in on a class as part of his research. Baldacci, who lives in Reston, Va., spoke with Mason’s forensic science students after he met program director Bill Whildin at a local book signing.

“Our seminar series is a special part of this program,” says Whildin, a retired Fairfax County police officer who worked for more than 10 years as a medicolegal death investigator. Because of Mason’s proximity to Washington, D.C., he says, the program is able to bring in outstanding guest speakers, not only novelists like Baldacci, but also experts from almost every federal agency.

“It’s a great way for students to network and learn about the agencies, the job opportunities and the credentials they would need to get in,” Whildin says.

Forensics deals with the science that is used as evidence in criminal law, and students can focus on a wide array of concentrations, including fingerprint analysis, crime scene photography or toxicology.

“One of the biggest misconceptions students have is that one person gets to do a little bit of everything,” says Prendergast, who worked as a research chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology before coming to Mason. “Forensic science is actually very specialized. It takes years and years of training and mentorship in one specific field.”

A student examines forensic evidence. Photo by Evan Cantwell

But before students in Mason’s new undergraduate program choose their specialty, they are given a solid foundation of basics. One of the two entry-level courses, Survey of Forensic Science, is taught by a 20-year member of the FBI, Joseph Dizinno, and covers DNA, evidence handling and the law. Introduction to Criminalistics, taught by Prendergast, delves into crime scene investigation, firearms, blood spatter and drugs of abuse.

Classes in the program are a blend of lecture and hands-on experience. For example, a class on forensic biotrace, which covers trace evidence — hairs, glass, soil and fibers — will require analysis in one of the labs. Next fall, Prendergast will teach Forensic Chemistry and Microscopy, which will go more in-depth into toxicology, drugs of abuse and fire investigation.

As part of the program, students also tour off-campus facilities such as police crime labs, and they have the opportunity to practice at a forensic dig site (this year, they will be digging up the remains of a pig). They also put their skills to the test by studying mock crime scenes.

The interdisciplinary forensic science program has kept pace with the field, Whilden says, pointing out that many agencies have raised their accreditation standards and now require a forensic science degree. Mason currently offers a master’s program, a graduate certificate and an undergraduate major and minor. Whildin says that the new undergraduate program is the perfect foundation for prospective graduate students.

“We try to make our students as marketable as they can be,” says Whildin. “And close to 90 percent of students who enter the certificate program like it so much that they convert over into the master’s program. It’s a great compliment to the university and to our program.”

Mark Flanigan helped out with recovery operations in Japan. Photo courtesy of Mark Flanigan

During the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, most people worried about how fast they could leave or fly out loved ones. Mark Flanigan, MS Peace Operations ’06, on the other hand, was anxious about getting back into the country.

For Flanigan, there was no question of whether he would want to continue his studies in Tokyo as a Rotary International World Peace Fellow at the International Christian University. He waited for what felt like an eternity for Rotary International to let students return.

Flanigan first traveled to Japan in 2000 where he taught English to elementary and junior high school kids for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program in Nagasaki. He fell in love with the country’s rich history and culture, and stayed on three years longer than he had originally anticipated.

Flanigan then returned to the United States where he worked for the federal government for several years and studied at Mason’s School of Public Policy.

When he was selected to serve as a Peace Fellow in Tokyo in 2010, Flanigan couldn’t wait for the chance to be immersed in the Japanese culture again.

Flanigan was on spring break visiting his sister in Russia when he first heard of the earthquake and tsunami.  Devastated by the news, Flanigan flew back to the United States to wait for word on the program’s status. Three weeks later, he was given the green light by Rotary International to return.

Upon return, Flanigan immediately jumped at an opportunity to volunteer for the Nippon Foundation Japan Tohoku Relief Project.  He went with a group of 90 Japanese and 35 international university students from 20 countries to Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, a city known for its large fish market. Their main task was to help the fishermen and oyster producers in small seaside communities remove tsunami rubble and debris, and collect fishing equipment that would be needed once the industry began to recover.

“For the first time in my life, I was able to see a disaster firsthand at the grassroots level and participate in the response operation,” says Flanigan. “I felt as though, in some small way, I was finally able to begin putting all my theoretical training into actual practice,” he says.

Flanigan says his four days of volunteering add up to the “single greatest experience” he’s had abroad thus far.

While Flanigan already has plenty on his plate, studying full-time and volunteering in his spare time, there’s still no such thing as summer break for him. On June 13, Flanigan left for Geneva to intern with the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which is responsible for coordinating the international response for natural disasters and complex emergencies.

“We’re working primarily on the further development of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, which is an intergovernmental network under the U.N. that deals with urban search and rescue and related disaster response issues,” says Flanigan.

“Its purpose is to provide a platform for information exchange in order to define standards for international assistance and develop methodology for international cooperation and coordination in earthquake response,” he adds.

Although Flanigan is doing big things overseas, he hasn’t forgotten his roots at Mason.  He says his time spent in the School of Public Policy is what really developed his interest in humanitarianism into something he could pursue.

“I didn’t really know anything about the practical aspects of planning and executing a real-world peace operation,” says Flanigan. “That is the strength of the program at Mason. It’s taught by people who have really worked in the field.”

Flanigan returned to Tokyo this fall, where he continues working on his thesis, which focuses on the nexus between natural disasters and human security, particularly in Asia. He expects to graduate from International Christian University with a master’s degree in peace studies in spring 2012.

This article appeared in a slightly different form in the Mason Spirit.

Robin Remsburg, director of the School of Nursing. Creative Services photo

College students can be a tough crowd — especially when it comes to persuading them to get a flu shot.

Say too little and they don’t get the message. Say too much and it’s just hype to be ignored.

Mason researchers are working on finding the best formula to appeal to this savvy crowd of 18 to 24 year olds.

To accomplish that task, Mason is working on two fronts. Mason researchers teamed with Fairfax County for the “Community Immunity” program, a countywide flu shot push, and added a research project to find out why so many college-age adults skip their shots.

A mere 30 percent of this group gets their annual flu shot — the lowest rate among the U.S. population, says Robin Remsburg, director of Mason’s School of Nursing in the College of Health and Human Services.

The flu shot “community immunity” message is to think about others, Remsburg says. Other approaches, such as suggestions to ward off the flu for their own health, have had little effect on the college crowd. Remsburg and her team want to find out if a “community immunity” approach gets results.

“Don’t do it for yourself,” Remsburg says. “Even if you think you’re healthy and not susceptible to the flu, [you could infect] your grandparents or babies or people who have chronic illnesses or disabilities. Those folks are particularly vulnerable. Do it for them. We’ll see if that message, which is a new message, resonates with students.”

Rumors and Misinformation

To find out if that message works, researchers asked 400 Mason students if they were going to get a flu shot and what they think about vaccinations. Students were interviewed at the Student Health Services clinic while they were getting shots or providing Mason-required vaccination paperwork for enrollment. The data is now being analyzed. Another survey will follow in January to find out how the program affected student attitudes about the flu shot.

Rumors abound. Health care educators have work to do to get correct information out there. The survey results will help them refine their message to grab the attention of college students.

“Most of the people who I’ve talked to think that the flu shot causes the flu,” says Therese Prats, a Mason public administration graduate student and flu project research assistant who surveyed Mason students. “And they think they’re healthy and can’t catch the flu.”

The flu shot does not cause the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People may have already been exposed to the flu before they receive the shot, so it may appear that the shot gave them the flu. It did not. The shot also doesn’t protect against every strain of flu virus, just the top three that researchers think will be on the flu “hit parade” for that season.

Still, misinformation dies hard. “When you constantly hear about it, you think it might be true,” says Zeina Al Khalaf, a Mason communication major and flu project research assistant who surveyed students.

Communicating the Message

How to get the word out is tricky.

“I’m not trusting the web,” Al Khalaf says. “I don’t know what is true and what is not. Everything online is extreme. I’m pulled from one side to another.”

But sometimes too much information creates a backlash. The flurry of news attention around the H1N1 flu soured many students on the need for a flu shot, Prats says. Students thought the virus was more hype than real, she adds.

“If it’s out there too much, it’s too in your face,” Prats says.  “It needs to be more subtle.”

Flyers and posters could be the best way to get the word out, Prats says. The signs in the bathroom that tell people to wash their hands are a good example, she says. The message becomes ingrained.

Messages on TV have become so much background noise. “Kids don’t really watch television these days,” Prats says.

Flu shots have fallen off the radar because so many diseases no longer plague us, Remsburg says. Past successful vaccination programs have given us a false sense of security, she adds.

“By and large, we’re a victim of how healthy our population is — we don’t see the effects of these communicable diseases like Third World countries that aren’t so well vaccinated,” she says.

And many students don’t realize just how bad the flu can be. “When you get the flu, you feel like you want to die,” Remsburg says, laughing. “It’s not something you necessarily bounce back from.”

Any time is a good time to get a flu shot.

“You can get the vaccine all the way through February and March because the worst of the flu season hits around January, February, March,” Remsburg says. “Right now it’s good to get it because it builds up your immunity.”

At Mason, the College of Health and Human Services, Student Health Services, the Communication Department and the Student Nurses Association are working together, along with the Fairfax County Health Department, to bolster flu shot numbers.

Also, the program has become a teaching tool in the classroom. Nurse practitioners in the classroom are looking at how community health campaigns work and how they can be effective.