Browsing by Author "Smith, Erin M."

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    2018 R & I Annual Report
    Griffin, Julie; Hilal, Amr E.; Brown, Anne M.; Petters, Jonathan L.; Porter, Nathaniel D.; McMillan, Gail; Cross, Carrie; Pannabecker, Virginia; Smith, Erin M. (Virginia Tech, 2018)
    This is the 2018 annual report for the Research & Informatics division at University Libraries.
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    Creating Healthy Schools: An Analysis of the Federal School Wellness Mandate
    Smith, Erin M. (Virginia Tech, 2013-04-11)
    Childhood obesity has become a growing problem in America; rates have tripled over the past 30 years, and more than 17 percent of America's children are classified as overweight or obese.  To combat the rise in childhood obesity, the federal government mandated in 2004 that all public school districts adopt a local school wellness policy that incorporates goals to improve the wellness environments of these public schools.  Previous research has indicated that the success of these policies is mixed; however, there has been no comprehensive research evaluating the quality of school wellness policies in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. The purpose of this research is to evaluate local wellness policies within the Mid-Atlantic region.  These evaluations include a preliminary wellness policy evaluation based on locale (rural and urban school districts), an evaluation of the strength and comprehensiveness of template-based policies versus locally developed policies, and a comprehensive evaluation of physical activity policies within Virginia, Maryland and DC.  The last study included is an evaluation of the association between physical activity policy quality and physical activity rates within selected middle schools. The results of this research show that wellness policy quality across the Mid-Atlantic region is weak and moderately comprehensive, and that the adoption process may impact the quality of a local policy.  Furthermore, physical activity policy within the region is also weak and moderately comprehensive, and the results show that school districts that have adopted stronger and more comprehensive polices may be associated with higher local physical activity rates.
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    Faculty Research Practices in Civil and Environmental Engineering: Insights from a Qualitative Study Designed to Inform Research Support Services
    Hayes, Whitney; Pannabecker, Virginia; Shen, Yi; Smith, Erin M.; Thompson, Larry (Virginia Tech, 2018-12-14)
    This qualitative study analyzes and reports on in-depth interviews with eight faculty from the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. This project is part of a larger series of studies from Ithaka S+R on the research support needs of scholars by discipline. Ithaka S+R provided guidance on research methodology and data analysis.The goal of the study was to better understand the overall and day to day research practices of civil and environmental engineering (CEE) faculty to inform priorities and needs for research support services. The interviewees represented different career levels (Assistant, Associate, and full Professor) with at least one being from each of the Virginia Tech CEE department’s five fields of focus. Findings address five thematic areas from the interview transcripts: research, collaboration, data practices, information discovery and management, and research communication and dissemination. Implications identify four major support needs and service opportunities: supporting faculty goals to share more of their work in open access venues, supporting use of Google Scholar as a major research tool, data education and services for all - from students to faculty, and the continuing importance of student training in information source evaluation and critical appraisal.
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    Graphic Medicine
    Fralin, Scott; Smith, Erin M. (Virginia Tech, 2019-03-18)
    Book exhibit featuring graphic novels that tell personal stories of health and illness. 2019/03/18 - 2019/08/04
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    Physical activity promotion in Latin American populations: a systematic review on issues of internal and external validity
    Galaviz, Karla I.; Harden, Samantha M.; Smith, Erin M.; Blackman, Kacie C. A.; Berrey, Leanna M.; Mama, Scherezade K.; Almeida, Fabio A.; Lee, Rebecca E.; Estabrooks, Paul A. (2014-06-17)
    The purpose of this review was to determine the degree to which physical activity interventions for Latin American populations reported on internal and external validity factors using the RE-AIM framework (reach & representativeness, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance). We systematically identified English (PubMed; EbscoHost) and Spanish (SCIELO; Biblioteca Virtual en Salud) language studies published between 2001 and 2012 that tested physical activity, exercise, or fitness promotion interventions in Latin American populations. Cross-sectional/descriptive studies, conducted in Brazil or Spain, published in Portuguese, not including a physical activity/fitness/exercise outcome, and with one time point assessment were excluded. We reviewed 192 abstracts and identified 46 studies that met the eligibility criteria (34 in English, 12 in Spanish). A validated 21-item RE-AIM abstraction tool was used to determine the quality of reporting across studies (0-7 = low, 8-14 = moderate, and 15-21 = high). The number of indicators reported ranged from 3-14 (mean = 8.1 ± 2.6), with the majority of studies falling in the moderate quality reporting category. English and Spanish language articles did not differ on the number of indicators reported (8.1 vs. 8.3, respectively). However, Spanish articles reported more across reach indicators (62% vs. 43% of indicators), while English articles reported more across effectiveness indicators (69% vs 62%). Across RE-AIM dimensions, indicators for reach (48%), efficacy/effectiveness (67%), and implementation (41%) were reported more often than indicators of adoption (25%) and maintenance (10%). Few studies reported on the representativeness of participants, staff that delivered interventions, or the settings where interventions were adopted. Only 13% of the studies reported on quality of life and/or potential negative outcomes, 20% reported on intervention fidelity, and 11% on cost of implementation. Outcomes measured after six months of intervention, information on continued delivery and institutionalization of interventions, were also seldom reported. Regardless of language of publication, physical activity intervention research for Latin Americans should increase attention to and measurement of external validity and cost factors that are critical in the decision making process in practice settings and can increase the likelihood of translation into community or clinical practice.
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    Stories Not Symptoms: Designing an Interactive Graphic Medicine Exhibition and Event
    Smith, Erin M.; Fralin, Scott (2019-10-05)
    The exhibit was on display for nearly 4 months in a heavily foot-trafficked area of one of our learning commons. Preliminary analysis show the interactive portion was highly used by students. Some sample panels were drawn about concerns related to mental health, sleep hygiene and insomnia, menstrual health, sexual health, asthma and other respiratory concerns, and transgender health. Since the event and exhibition was such as success, we are exploring ideas to create an anthology of graphic medicine materials created by Virginia Tech students...
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    Supporting the Changing Research Practices of Civil and Environmental Engineering Scholars
    Cooper, Danielle; Springer, Rebecca; Benner, Jessica G.; Bloom, David; Carrillo, Erin; Carroll, Alexander; Chang, Bertha; Chen, Xiaoju; Daix, Daix; Dommermuth, Emily; Figueiredo, Rachel; Haas, Jennifer; Hafner, Carly A.; Hayes, Whitney; Henshilwood, Angela; Krogman, Alexandra Lyn Craig |Kuglitsch, Rebecca Zuege; Lanteri, Sabine; Lewis, Abbey; Li, Lisha; Marsteller, Matthew R.; Melvin, Tom; Michelson-Ambelang, Todd; Mischo, William H.; Nickles, Colin; Pannabecker, Virginia; Rascoe, Fred; Schlembach, Mary C.; Shen, Yi; Smith, Erin M.; Spence, Michelle; Stacy-Bates, Kris; Thomas, Erin; Thompson, Larry; Thuna, Mindy; Wiley, Christie A.; Young, Sarah; Yu, Siu Hong (Ithaka S+R, 2019-01-16)
    Ithaka S+R’s Research Support Services Program investigates how the research support needs of scholars vary by discipline. In 2017 and 2018 Ithaka S+R examined the changing research methods and practices of civil and environmental engineering scholars in the United States with the goal of identifying services to better support them. The goal of this report is to provide actionable findings for the organizations, institutions, and professionals who support the research processes of civil and environmental engineering scholars. The project was undertaken collaboratively with research teams at 11 academic libraries in the United States and Canada.[1] We are delighted to have the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as project partner and sponsor. Angela Cochran, Associate Publisher at ASCE, served as a project advisor. The project also relied on scholars who are leaders in the field to engage in an advisory capacity. We thank Franz-Joseph Ulm (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Antonio Nanni (University of Miami), Anand Puppala (University of Texas at Arlington), and Roger Ghanem (University of Southern California) for their thoughtful contributions. Many of the challenges civil and environmental engineering researchers face are shared with other STEM disciplines – a competitive funding landscape, a fraught peer review system, complex data management requirements. Yet this applied field presents unique opportunities for academic support service providers. Fundamentally focused on finding practicable solutions to real-world problems, civil and environmental engineering is highly collaborative, interdisciplinary, and close to relevant industries. Yet these synergies are largely built on old-fashioned research infrastructures. Inefficient systems for sharing data impede innovation, tools for discovering data and gray literature are inadequate, and career incentives discourage investment in the industry partnerships that shape the field’s future directions. Successful interventions will need to recognize and leverage the field’s strength in building personal, targeted, collaborative relationships, both within academia and between academia and industry. This report describes the distinctive ways in which civil and environmental engineering scholars conduct their research and draws out broad implications for academic libraries, universities, publishers, research technology developers, and others.