/news-archive/tag/survey-research-center/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:32:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2019/04/18/racial-attitudes-conference-pop-culture/ Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:32:37 +0000 /news/?p=74072 ... Little Rock community members discuss race, ethnicity, and popular culture]]> When Jimmy Cunningham Jr. once visited Hawaii, a group of Hawaiian children surprised him with their ideas on how black people act.听 鈥淣ative Hawaiian children, who had seen popular videos on television and social media, told me what it meant to be black,鈥� Cunningham told an audience of more than 70 people at the Racial Attitudes Conference April 17 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥榊ou got to have attitude; you have to be angry; and you have to be able to tear something up,鈥欌�� Cunningham said. 鈥淚 asked the kids, 鈥楬ave you ever seen Oprah tear anything up?鈥� They said, 鈥榃ell, she doesn鈥檛 count.鈥欌�� Cunningham, executive director of the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Alliance, described the encounter during a community panel about the survey results that focused on attitudes toward race, ethnicity, and popular culture in Little Rock. According to the survey results, a majority of blacks and half of whites say the way blacks are portrayed in television and movies hurts day-to-day public perceptions about racial and ethnic stereotypes. This encounter, Cunningham argued, is proof that the way blacks are portrayed in popular culture influences how black people are perceived by others. 鈥淲hen you talk about media portrayals, the representation of what it means to be black is impacted profoundly by people who only see what comes across in popular media,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his was a very eye-opening experience.鈥� During the survey, the Survey Research Center in the School of Public Affairs interviewed more than 400 white and 400 black people in Little Rock by telephone along with 115 Hispanic respondents. This year’s survey covers a wide range of themes related to popular culture including social relationships, social media, television news, media representations of race and ethnicity, music, residence, and sport protests. 鈥淭he survey reveals the very different ways in which Hispanics, blacks, and whites consume and relate to popular culture, as well as demonstrating some common understandings and similarities,鈥� said Dr. John Kirk, director of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity. 鈥淣otably, and strikingly, for example, there seems to be a good understanding of and significant support for the NFL 鈥榯ake a knee鈥� protests across racial and ethnic lines.鈥� In the race, ethnicity, sport, and protest section of the survey, a majority of blacks, Hispanics, and whites believe that the football players鈥� protests are trying to call attention to racism and unfair police tactics and are not trying to disrespect the military or veterans. A majority of all three groups also think that a professional athlete or team who protests an issue by not standing for the national anthem is demonstrating the freedom the anthem represents. Another section of the survey the panel discussed was the results on race, ethnicity, and music. Panel member Stephen Koch, writer/host of 鈥淎rkansongs,鈥� a weekly radio program examining and celebrating Arkansas music and musicians, was disappointed with the results that showed people in Little Rock often listened to music along ethnic lines. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always been told music is a place where our ethnicities don鈥檛 matter,鈥� Koch said. 鈥淚f we are supposed to be sharing culture, we should be sharing our music. Maybe thinking music is a place we can come together is another fallacy.鈥� The survey results found that whites listen to rock, country, and rhythm and blues music often or sometimes, while blacks listen to gospel, religious music, jazz, rap, and hip hop. Hispanics, meanwhile, listened to gospel, religious music, and salsa or Spanish rock often or sometimes. 鈥淲ho are these white people who aren鈥檛 listening to jazz, and I know everybody is listening to hip hop!鈥� Koch said. 鈥淲e can still come together, but we need to start listening to each other鈥檚 music.鈥� Miguel Lopez, Hispanic resource officer for First Community Bank, identified music as one of the avenues that can bring divided communities together. 鈥淲e tend to say Little Rock is a very divided city, but where we鈥檙e not divided is how we interact,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 music or food or sports that can bring us together. We have those avenues where people can come together and realize that we have a lot more in common than we are different. I think the best way to combat racism and bigotry is to interact together.鈥� He was also interested in the survey results that showed Hispanics were the most likely of the three ethnic groups to use social networking sites. 鈥淢ost Hispanics in Little Rock are first-generation immigrants, so social media is a great avenue for us to stay in touch with loved ones,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淗ispanics are also very entrepreneurially minded, and social media is a great place to boost small businesses.鈥� In a follow-up remark, panel member Kara Wilkins, communications and community engagement strategist, felt that social media offers black and Hispanic people a community space where they can connect. 鈥淭hese individuals see a space for themselves on social media that they may not see in their everyday lives,鈥� Wilkins said. 鈥淪ocial media allows minority groups to discuss things among themselves. People feel like they have a community for themselves.鈥� For more information on the Racial Attitudes Survey, contact the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity at 501-569-8932 or race-ethnicity@ualr.edu. In the upper right photo, community members speak at a panel at the Racial Attitudes Conference April 17 in the Jack Stephens Center. The panelists include, from left to right, Stephen Koch, Miguel Lopez, Kara Wilkins, and Jimmy Cunningham Jr. Photo by Benjamin Krain.听]]> /news-archive/2017/07/18/ua-little-rock-survey-research-center-grant/ Tue, 18 Jul 2017 14:05:43 +0000 /news/?p=67460 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Survey Research Center receives grant to assist Arkansas Literacy Councils]]> Survey Research Center has received a $6,039 grant from to evaluate听and capture data for the Arkansas Reads Program.听 This program, led by AmeriCorps members in community-based literacy councils around the state, provides one-on-one and group tutoring sessions to adult learners seeking basic literacy instruction. The program also provides services to adults learning English as a second language and recruits volunteer tutors to assist with these services. The research center will evaluate the program鈥檚 effectiveness and success rate based upon a variety of criteria, including the volume and type of tutoring hours and total number of students served. They will collect student data, examine the success rate of volunteer recruitment, and provide a detailed analysis of the program鈥檚 management, operation, barriers, successes, and opportunities. The research center will also provide questionnaires that will highlight student-learning data, volunteer log records, and examine perceptions, attitudes, and experiences from individuals in the program. This is the third year the center has worked with the Arkansas Literacy Council on this project.]]> /news-archive/2016/06/08/ualr-launches-new-school-of-public-affairs/ Wed, 08 Jun 2016 20:32:36 +0000 /news/?p=64551 ... 糖心Vlog传媒LR launches new School of Public Affairs]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will launch its new School of Public Affairs on July 1 to serve as a hub for 糖心Vlog传媒LR programs that share a focus on government, politics, nonprofit organizations, and public service. 罢丑别听Institute of Government听and the Department of Political Science will merge to form the new school, which will be housed in the 糖心Vlog传媒LR College of Social Sciences and Communication. 鈥淏ringing these programs together opens up new opportunities for collaboration among the faculty and professional staff that will serve both students and the community,鈥� said Joe Giammo, a professor of political science and interim director of the School of Public Affairs. Faculty from the political science department, which did not have a graduate program, will now be able to teach graduate courses through the Institute of Government鈥檚 Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. Undergraduate students interested in entering the MPA program can sign up for an early entry program, which will allow them to take graduate classes that will count toward their undergraduate and master鈥檚 degrees. The new school will serve as a home to existing programs in public administration, political science, international studies, presidential studies, nonprofit leadership, conflict mediation, and nonprofit organizations. 鈥淭he 糖心Vlog传媒LR School of Public Affairs is a perfect expression of our college commitment to interdisciplinary and community-based knowledge and research, engagement, and public service,鈥� said Lisa Bond-Maupin, dean of the College of Social Sciences and Communication. 鈥淪tudents drawn to a careers related to government, law, community development, and nonprofit or public sector leadership will find opportunities here for deep and diverse learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom,鈥� she said. Additionally, the school plans to implement two new majors that are pending final approval. The school鈥檚 new community management and development major will prepare students for professional positions in public and nonprofit management, community organizing, social entrepreneurship, and advocacy. The major will focus on developing student competency in four areas that community stakeholders identified as central needs for careers in this field: professional written and interpersonal communication, managerial skills, analytic thinking, and expertise in urban social science. Meanwhile, a legal studies supplementary major is designed, in partnership across colleges including the William H. Bowen School of Law, as a second major for students who plan to enter law school. Students will be mentored by law students to help gain critical legal skills and guide their entrance into law school. In addition to its academic programs, the school will also house the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium, the Survey Research Center, the Center for Public Collaboration, and the Center for Nonprofit Organization. Jolie Busby, executive director of the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium, said the merger will provide an opportunity for 糖心Vlog传媒LR faculty to collaborate more with the university鈥檚 government policy organizations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a benefit to have improved access to the faculty from political science,鈥� Busby said. 鈥淭hey are subject manner experts in public policy, and that serves our programs well since we draw subject matter experts from 糖心Vlog传媒LR faculty.鈥� ]]>