Fargo, N.D. — Kevin C. Miller, assistant professor of athletic training at NDSU, was recently interviewed by Outside Magazine regarding his research on the causes of muscle cramping. The article will discuss Miller’s observations that dehydration does not increase the risk of developing muscle cramps. The article will be published in Outside Magazine’s January 2012 issue. Outside Magazine has approximately 700,000 subscribers.

Anita Welch, assistant professor in the School of Education at NDSU, presented the paper “P-12 Robotics Competitions: Building More than Just Robots” at the School Science and Mathematics Annual Convention in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Greg Sanders, associate dean/professor in the College of Human Development and Family Science, recently published an article in Gerontology and Geriatrics Education titled “The Great Plains IDEA Gerontology Program: An Online, Interinstitutional Graduate Degree.”

Jared Tucker, assistant professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences, gave a research presentation at the national Obesity Society Conference in Orlando, Fla., titled "Obesity Contributes to Reduced Physical Activity Levels Over 20 Months in Women: A Prospective Cohort Study."

Tom Carlson and Christi McGeorge, associate professors of human development and family science, and their colleague, Russell Toomey from Arizona State University, presented the paper “Establishing the Validity of the LGB Affirmative Training Inventory” at the annual conference of the National Council on Family Relations.

Gary Liguori, associate professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences at NDSU, was recently granted Fellow status in the American College of Sports Medicine. Liguori currently serves as chair of American College of Sports Medicine’s Health Fitness Specialist certification committee and also is the senior editor of its first edition Resource Manual for the Health Fitness Specialist.

Heather Fuller-Iglesias, assistant professor of human development and family science, and co-authors from the University of Michigan presented two papers at the biennial meeting of the Society for the Study of Human Development held Oct. 28-30 in Providence, R.I. The first paper, “Does family support influence well-being differently for men and women?” was written by Fuller-Iglesias and Noah Webster. The second paper, “The racial context of health effects on changes in social networks,” was written by Webster, Fuller-Iglesias and Toni Antonucci.

Linda Manikowske, associate professor, and Sara Sunderlin, senior lecturer, both in the Department of Apparel, Design and Hospitality Management, presented two poster sessions at the International Textile and Apparel Association conference in Philadelphia. The presentations were "Clothing and Connections: A Partnership for Service Learning" and "The Salvation Army Store Project: Students Make a Difference."

Kelly Sassi, assistant professor of English and English education, attended the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council for Teachers of English in Chicago where she presented during the panel session, “Common Core Standards and the Dilemma of Writing District-Wide Curriculum.” According to the convention program, the session draws on one year of curriculum work by an English Language Arts Committee comprised of a dozen sixth through 12th grade English teachers as they analyze the affordance and limitations of adopting the common core standards.

Counselor education master’s degree students recently completed their comprehensive exams and all students passed. Students take the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Exam, which is a nationally normed exam. Students from the NDSU counseling program scored well above (almost one Standard Deviation) the national mean on the exam.

Abby Gold, assistant professor of health, nutrition, and exercise sciences, with co-authors, Nan Yu and Elizabeth Crawford, from the NDSU Communication Department, had the paper “Combating Childhood Overweight: Effects of Informational and Narrative Radio Messages on Parents of Children and Teenagers” accepted without revisions to the Journal of Health and Mass Communication.

Faculty in the Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences were notified their article,  “Promoting Healthy Eating and Exercise Through Online Messages: A Pilot Study,” will be published in the December issue of the Journal of Extension. This represents the master’s degree work of former graduate student Helen Nyquist. Her co-authors are associate professors of health, nutrition, and exercise sciences Yeong Rhee (adviser) and Ardith Brunt; and Julie Garden-Robinson, associate professor of food and nutrition Extension.

Members of the Eating Disorders and Body Image Lab, led by Beth Blodgett Salafia, assistant professor of human development and family science, presented research at the National Council of Family Relations conference in Orlando, Fla. A paper and a poster were presented. The paper was titled, “Marital conflict and girls’ disordered eating: Parenting as a mediator,” and authors were faculty member Blodgett Salafia and graduate students Mallary Schaefer and Emily Haugen. The poster was titled “The effects of teasing by family members on adolescents’ body image,” and authors were Schaefer and Blodgett Salafia.

Kendra Erickson, a gerontology doctoral student, and Brandy Randall, associate professor of human development and family science, presented a poster on “Links among hope, grit, and perceptions of community for older and middle-aged adults” at the 2011 Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in Boston. The study used data that was collected as part of a larger, intergenerational study funded by National Institutes of Health Grant Number P20 RR016741 from the INBRE Program of the National Center for Research Resources, the dean of human development and education, and the Department of Human Development and Family Science.

Kristen Benson, assistant professor in the human development and family science department, presented the paper “A Qualitative Exploration of Transgender Perspectives of Therapy” at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla. Benson also presented the poster, “The Bi-Directional Nature of Women’s Body Image and Sexual Experiences” with Beth Blodgett Salafia. She also was interviewed by Prairie Public Broadcasting for a segment on gender identity that will air on “Morning Edition.”

Brent Young, assistant professor, agricultural and Extension education, was elected as chair of the Managing and Editing Board of the Career and Technical Education Research Journal. Young will preside over the 2012 meeting of the board held in conjunction with the Association for Career and Technical Education annual conference. Career and Technical Education Research publishes refereed articles that examine research and research-related topics in vocational/career and technical education, career development, human resource development, career issues in the schools (Grades K-12), postsecondary education, adult and lifelong learning and workforce education.