- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/kinko-ito/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Wed, 09 May 2018 15:21:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad wants to be “a beacon of light” /news-archive/2018/05/09/kenneth-edwards/ Wed, 09 May 2018 15:21:02 +0000 /news/?p=70474 ...]]> Kenneth Edwards’ path to college took many detours as he struggled to find out who he was and who he wanted to be. He’s done much soul searching over the past three years, and he’s found his answers. On May 12, Edwards of Little Rock will graduate cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sociology during the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s commencement at the Jack Stephens Center. He knows that his calling is a career working with youth, particularly those who are at-risk. He feels a connection to them because he was one of them for many years. Raised in Little Rock, Edwards spent much of his youth in and out of school and at times, homeless. “What I witnessed growing up was a lot of violence and drug,” he said. He found positive role models at (Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids), a Little Rock program that works to keep at-risk youth in school and on track to graduate. Edwards violated terms of attendance, though, and was kicked out of the program. At 15, he also left home and eventually dropped out of Central High School. “I got detached from school and focused on making money,” said Edwards, who went to work as a car detailer. He stayed with various relatives for periods of times, often not knowing where he would sleep at night. One of his aunts eventually took him to Clarksville, Tennessee, to live with her, but Edwards didn’t adjust well to the transition. “She tried to keep me on target to graduate in 2009, but school wasn’t my main focus. I went from hustling to make ends meet to having everything at my fingertips. I was complacent. I wanted love and didn’t know how to receive it.” With three months left to graduate, Edwards was expelled from school. He was able to finish his diploma through a homeschool academy. He moved back to Little Rock in 2010, this time intent on making some changes. He completed a nine-month program at Little Rock’s Union Rescue Mission where he focused on sobriety, discipline, and faith. He also completed a three-month, pre-employment training program through Our House. “Every time I felt like giving up, I had someone to prop me up,” Edwards said. Knowing he needed an education, he enrolled in ��Vlog��ý-Pulaski Technical College and earned an Associate of Arts. With good grades, he received a transfer scholarship to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2015. He originally wanted to be a teacher, but his sociology courses resonated with him. He credits sociology professors Dr. David Briscoe, Dr. Neveen Shafeek Amin, and Dr. Kinko Ito for helping him find his passion. “They changed my life and my mindset, literally,” he said. “I found meaning in sociology. I was able to heal from my lost victories through a different perspective. I think I’m able to see and empathize because I was shown empathy.” In college, Edwards was part of of the TRiO program, which serves first-generation college students. “Kenneth has continued to deal with and overcome formidable challenges and obstacles,” said Dr. Ge Chen, director of TRiO programs at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “He was determined to complete his bachelor degree. He has been working two jobs throughout his college years to cover education expenses, and he also has volunteered at local programs helping at-risk youth. He is a role model for many young people with similar backgrounds and experiences.” Edwards has even been back to P.A.R.K – this time as a mentor for at-risk youth. Along the way, Edwards has also reconnected with his mother, Golden Edwards, who has returned to college after dropping out when she first had Edwards. She graduates May 11 from ��Vlog��ý-PTC and plans to continue her studies at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Edwards is now applying to graduate schools and hopes to earn a master’s degree in counseling education. Eventually, he wants to work with at-risk youth. “I want to be here for these kids,” he said. “I want to be a beacon of light for them. I know that if you don’t change the environment, you become a product of it. I spent my whole life trying not to be a statistic.”]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock offers unique course choices for spring 2018 /news-archive/2018/01/12/ua-little-rock-offers-unique-course-choices-spring-2018/ Fri, 12 Jan 2018 17:49:40 +0000 /news/?p=68992 ...]]> Anyone who is on the lookout for an interesting course to take during the spring 2018 semester has many options recommended by the professors of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock courses offer students the chance to create innovative products and learn how to market them as well as explore everything from art and architecture in London to how countries rebuild in the aftermath of civil war. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has courses for students interested in exploring unique career choices such as archaeology, costume design, forensic anthropology, and the military. Check out the following guide for choices that will satisfy an interest in the history of China, France, the U.S. as well as public health policies and the role of women in modern history. On Campus ANTH 3313: Archaeology 12:15-1:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by Krista Lewis This course is a gateway to so many opportunities to participate in uncovering clues from the past here in Arkansas and around the world. Some students from the class are selected to travel to Oman, where Dr. Lewis has been working on a medieval port city archaeological site. ANTH 4355/5355: Forensic Anthropology 1:40-2:55 p.m. and 3:05-4:20 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays by Kathryn King By examining skeletal characteristics, students will learn to estimate sex, age, and ethnic origin. They will also delve into how trauma, disease, fire, and time affect bones. This course is appropriate for anyone who plans to study anatomy, medicine, animals, and crime. ARHA 4310/5310: Special Topics, London: Art, Artists, and Society 1:40-2:55 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by Floyd Martin This course focuses on the city of London, its architecture, and visual arts and artists associated with the city, especially in the 18th century. GNST 2300: Intro to Gender Studies 12:15-1:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays by Rohn Muse This course discusses gender and how it is defined by people and societies. It takes a cross-cultural examination of gender identity and cultures in politics, economics, family, health, religion, and multiple other areas. HIST 3328: Modern France 11-11:50 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by Tom Kaiser France, America’s oldest ally, shares with the United States a strong republican tradition. Yet, where the U.S. had only one revolution and one constitution since the 18th century, France has had many. What accounts for this instability? This course seeks the answers by tracking competing notions of the French nation since the French Revolution and their impact on French politics. HIST 3342: Modern China 1:40-2:55 p.m. Mondays and Fridays by Jeff Kyong McClain Do you know the story of Hong Xiuquan, self-proclaimed younger brother of Jesus, who started the world’s deadliest civil war? Or how about The Society of Righteous Fists, who could allegedly repel bullets with their mystical arts? This course will explore these and other mysteries of China. HIST 3356: The Gilded Cage, 1876-1900 9:25-10:40 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays by Carl Moneyhon This class examines major economic and demographic developments in the 1870-1900 period that helped to create modern America, industrialization, big business, and urbanization. It also explores the impact of these changes on American society, culture, ideas, politics, and foreign policy. Issues explored include the emergence of the Robber Barons, development of the middle and professional classes, realistic literature, professional politics, foreign adventures, and the Spanish American War. HIST 3358: Recent America 9-9:50 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by Barclay Key The course will invite students to examine the most important events in U.S. history, from World War II to the present. The course will discuss secret communiqués between Japanese diplomats before the Pearl Harbor attack, the most effective protest strategies of the Civil Rights Movement, and explore the political philosophies of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson. Students will also analyze the most significant films and songs since 1940. HIST 4371: Women in World History Taught 11-11:50 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by Marta Cieslak Have you ever wondered why we talk about “women’s history” but never about “men’s history?” This course explores this question and many other questions that the men who for centuries wrote, studied, and taught history refused to answer or even pose. We will examine how women around the world were exploited, abused, and restricted but also how they resisted, ruled, and controlled their own destiny. A complex network of social, political, and economic factors that shaped women’s experiences will guide this investigation throughout the last five centuries of “women’s history.” IFSC 4302/5302: Strategies for Innovation 6-8:40 p.m. Thursdays by Dan Berleant and Linda Holzer This course examines strategies for developing innovative products. Topics include how to choose promising problems that are ripe for innovative solutions, how to generate multiple ideas for solving these problems, how to select the most promising solutions, and how to sell your solution to potential partners, managers, and investors. MSCI 1101: Leadership 1 and Leadership II 10-11:50 a.m. Wednesdays by Major Eric Weatherman MSCI 1101 Leadership I (10-10:50 a.m.) emphasizes the importance of communication, decision making, and the understanding of human behavior in leadership situations. MSCI 1101 Leadership II (11-11:50 a.m.) is a continuation of Leadership I and focuses on leadership development and basic tactical skills. Both courses are required for students who want to qualify for college scholarships through the ROTC program, but any student can take the courses as one-hour electives. ROTC is a college and university-based program for training commissioned officers of the U.S. Armed Forces.

PHIL 3375: Environmental Philosophy 3:05-4:20 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by Keith Robinson

This course will examine philosophical accounts of value in the context of the “Anthropocene,” a period in which humans have impacted the climate, species diversity, and the very geology of the planet. We will consider some of the most difficult moral issues that face us today, including population, food, climate change, pollution, and the loss of species life.

PHIL 4388: Truth (Seminar in Metaphysics/Epistemology)

1:40-2:55 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by Jan Thomas

What does it mean to say that a claim is true? The answer seems straightforward, but it may not be. Do facts presuppose certain points of view? Are there alternative facts? Some suggest that there really is no such thing as truth, or that to say a claim is true is merely redundant, a linguistic shortcut, or a kind of social arm-twisting. This course will examine a variety of theories of truth to attempt to sort out these and other issues. POLS: 4365/INTS 3321: Peace building and Post-Conflict Reconstruction 12:15-1:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm This course examines the challenges of rebuilding social, political, and economic institutions in the aftermath of civil war. When peace processes are being negotiated or one side emerges victorious, politicians, rebels, activists, victims, and the general public must decide how society is to move on. The international community, too, likely has some interest in the outcome of the conflict. Building peace first requires understanding the factors that gave rise to conflict. The course begins by briefly exploring the literature on the causes of civil war before examining the politics of war-to-peace transitions. From there, discussion will be a range of issues that frequently must be dealt with during the rebuilding process, including disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of fighters; rule of law capacity building; post-conflict justice; and economic reconstruction. Finally, there will be a review of the state-of-the-art in terms of how the international community can play a constructive role in promoting lasting peace in conflict-affected societies. SOCI 4365: Sociology of Organizations 10-10:50 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by Kinko Ito This course will examine how organized groups, jobs, and environments affect the social world and how people relate to each other. The course will explore intriguing questions many of us have pondered. Why is my boss so incompetent? How is a political party different from a cocktail party? Why do so many instances of ofkaroshi (death from too much work) take place in Japan? This course is important for anyone who exists within an organization, which is all of us. THEA 2310: Costume Techniques 10-11:15 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by Donald Bolinger The course is aimed at sewing construction for the stage but has practical applications for any beginning sewer. The course consists of two major projects; a sample bag project where numerous machine and hand-sewing techniques are practiced and utilized to realize a finished carry-all bag, and a final garment project where the student uses skills learned in the sample bag process to cut, construct and finish a complete garment of their choice. Online: HHPS 7310: Theoretical Foundations in Health Education This online graduate course taught by Amar Kanekar discusses diverse health behavior change theories and their applications in health education and public health. Weekend: PADM 7331: Public Health Policy Feb. 2-4 and March 2-4 by Nichola Driver This graduate course in public health policy will be taught over two weekends in February and March. The course will review the U.S. healthcare system, its components, the social determinants of health, public health disparities, and other key health policy challenges. It will focus on the major health policy institutions and important issues that cut across institutions, including the federal/state financing programs. ]]>