Mess Hall: Collaboration at DePaul

How well does DePaul support cross-disciplinary collaboration? While intra-college projects do happen, a model for accommodating partnerships across colleges seems more pipe dream than reality. Moving innovative collaborative projects from the individual “hero-driven” approach to a process supported and valued by the institution was the topic of the May 19 Mess Hall session by Robin Burke of the College of Computing and Digital Media. Within the frame of innovation and supporting collaboration, Robin also discussed CIRSCI, the Collaboratory for Interdisciplinary Research, Scholarship and Curricular Innovation that he and SSRC Director Greg Scott have proposed to DPU administration.

“If you want to work together, you’ve got to be together,” Robin declared. A good starting point, Robin suggested, might be locating informal meeting spaces and federating existing institutes or resources that could facilitate fledgling partnerships. We recorded Robin’s brief presentation, which you can watch here. You can access related documents the links below.

Slides: A Collaboratory to Support Interdisciplinary Projects

CIRSCI Proposal

Faculty Council Resolution: Support for Collaboration

Discussion following the presentation focused on communication and documentation of both new and existing projects. Where can potential collaborators find each other or meet to hatch ideas—temporary pop-up locations and events, perhaps? What examples are underway at DePaul and where can we learn about them—maybe document them through a website? What constitutes an acceptable collaborative end product and how do you demonstrate value?

Let’s continue the discussion and talk about collaboration. What do we need? How do we get there?

Mess Hall: Doug Bruce

Photo via the Cornell University Library on flickr

Mess Hall is a “brown bag” series (bring your lunch!) intended to allow DePaul researchers to present their works in progress at any stage (mess & all). Mess Hall is a safe, fun, supportive and no-pressure environment for presenters to practice conference presentations, talk through data analysis problems, or untangle conceptual or framework issues. For those not presenting, Mess Hall offers an opportunity to learn what scholars in other departments and fields are working on and to become part of a supportive community of research at DePaul.

Bring your lunch and your brains and support your colleagues’ scholarship.
If you’d like to present at Mess Hall, send an email to Jessica Speer.

WHO: Doug Bruce, Assistant Professor in Health Science and the Master of Public Health Program

WHEN: Friday, July 12, 1 – 2 p.m.

WHERE: SSRC Conference Room, 990 W. Fullerton Ave., Suite 3100

Utilizing Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) Methods to
Study Resilience among Marginally Housed or Homeless
Young Men who have Sex with Men

Homeless and marginally housed young men who have sex with men (YMSM) face multiple adversities in their lives and exhibit significant health disparities compared to other persons their age, including stably housed lesbian gay and bisexual youth. In order to better understand how this population responds to the adversity in their lives, Bruce and colleagues are preparing to launch a study of resilience among homeless and marginally housed YMSM using community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods.

CBPR actively engages communities in the design, implementation, and analysis of research that is relevant to the lives of communities’ members, in order to develop programming that is not deficit-based but builds upon the strengths and resources present within such communities. The proposed study reflects a participatory collaboration between the Broadway Youth Center (BYC) and the Community Health Research and Evaluation Group (CHREG) at DePaul focusing on innovative methods to assess health among one of BYC’s target populations.

Particular focus in this discussion will be given to human subject considerations in actively engaging research participants in the design and implementation of CBPR as well as analysis and dissemination of findings.

Mess Hall

Civilian Conservation Corps Mess Hall Photo via OSU Special Collections on flickr. (Click on image for more info)

We’re excited to launch Mess Hall, a “brown bag” series intended to allow DePaul scholars to present their works in progress at any stage (mess & all).  Mess Hall is a safe, fun, supportive, no-pressure environment where you can practice conference presentations, talk through data analysis problems, untangle conceptual or framework issues, or solicit collaborators. For those not presenting, Mess Hall offers an opportunity to learn what scholars in other departments and fields are working on and to become part of a supportive community of research at DePaul.

Bring your lunch and your constructive criticism and support your colleagues’ scholarship. If you’d like to present at Mess Hall, send an email to Jessica Speer.

WHEN: Friday, May 17, 1 – 2 p.m.
WHERE: SSRC Conference Room, 990 W. Fullerton Ave., Suite 3100
WHO: John Mazzeo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology

Social Foundations for a Community-Based Public Health Cholera Campaign in Borgne, Haiti

The rapid and widespread progression of cholera in rural Haiti can be attributed to a “perfect storm” of conditions including the widespread use of unprotected water sources, rudimentary sanitation, the lack of means to afford simple necessities, and the near absence of basic health services to treat the sick. Accessibility of essential health care and reliable sources of clean water in remote areas of rural Haiti are fundamental barriers to addressing acute public health emergencies including the ongoing cholera epidemic. This article explores the notion that positive health outcomes for hard to reach populations can be achieved through community mobilization. The peasant movement (gwoupman peyizan) in Borgne has established an extensive, capillarized social network that served as a model for the mobilization of volunteers in the fight against the cholera epidemic.  This case study from Borgne, Haiti describes the role of Alyans Sante Borgne (ASB), in coordinating community mobilization efforts against the epidemic. It suggests that the treatment of cholera and other infectious diseases requires a model of care delivery that efficiently brings resources to remote areas and recognizes the value of existing models of social organization in this process.