1985 |
Shea, Sandra L |
R03Activity Code Description: To provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable. |
Development of Depth Perception in Human Infants @ University of Rochester
The purpose of the present plan of research is to examine the underlying mechanisms that allow for the normal development of depth perception in human infants. Because basic perceptual abilities constrain cognitive and language development, it is essential to describe the perceptual mechanisms that guide behavioral development. Depth perception is one of the most important perceptual capacities because it enables such common abilities as size and shape constancy and the perception of unitary objects despite stimulation captured separately by the two eyes. To examine the development of depth perception, a series of three experiments is proposed. Stereopsis refers to binocular depth perception and it will be assessed in 2- and 5-month-old infants using an automated corneal reflection eye monitoring system and dynamic random element stereograms. Tracking eye movements will be recorded as the infants view either a single moving stereoscopic form or a set of stereoscopic stripes. The goal of these detailed eye movement recordings is to provide a more rapid and sensitive assessment of stereopsis than is provided by current preferential looking techniques. Vergence eye movements used to binocularly fixate the stereograms will also be recorded to determine any developmental improvements in the accuracy of ocular alignment between the youngest and oldest infants. Gross vergence inaccuracies and/or highly variable binocular fixation in 2-month-old infants could partially explain the emergence of stereopsis during the fourth postnatal month. Data from these experiments will provide not only information about the course of binocular development in young human infants, but also the basis for a potentially useful technique for the rapid assessment of stereopsis in clinical settings. Thus, normative data on the development of stereopsis will define the limits of information that is potentially available for other aspects of behavioral development such as maternal recognition, object permanence and locomotor behavior.
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0.951 |
1990 — 1991 |
Shea, Sandra |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Oculomotor and Pupillary Development in Human Infants @ Southern Illinois University At Carbondale
The overall goal of this research program is to investigate oculomotor and pupillary immaturities of the infant's visual system and map how these immaturities change, systematically or otherwise, as the infants mature. In order to carry this out, Dr. Sandra Shea has initiated a series of experiments designed to describe and analyze some of the changes in the human infant's visual system in the first few months of postnatal life. What is of interest is the rate, pattern, and interaction of improvement. The questions under investigation share the common theme of looking at the rapidly changing visual system, but differ in the various aspects of the system being studied. Dr. Shea will concentrate on developing descriptive tests and quantitative measures for saccadic localization and tracking movements in infants. This work is important because until now, most of the work on human eye movement has been performed on adults and therefore, on mature visual systems. When confronted with abnormalities in the infant system, baseline (normal) data is absent which would explain to researchers or clinicians why various components of the oculomotor system are at different stages of development. The work supported by this award will aid in collecting that baseline data.
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0.915 |
1991 — 1993 |
Wright, Mary Shea, Sandra |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Siuc/Community College Women in Science Model Project @ Southern Illinois University At Carbondale
This project provide 20-25 undergraduate women (recruited from SIUC and seven surrounding community colleges) with an intensive two-week workshop in the sciences to expose them to science career options. Sciences include mathematics, zoology, chemistry,plant ecology, geology, psychology, animal sciences, and microbiology. Activities cover such fields as molecular biology and recombinant DNA, assessing ecological integrity, gene expression after bacterial transformation, geologic hazards, and biotechnology of mammalian embryos. Two additional single day workshops and three individual mentoring sessions will follow throughout the academic year. Women scientists from industry give seminars during both the summerand academic year workshops to expand participants' perceptions of science career options. A second group of women will be recruited for the second year for a total of 40-50 participants. Measurable objectives designed to measure project effectiveness include: - The number of participants with undeclared majors who select science majors. - The number of participants who decide to become science teachers. - Of participants who do not enter a four-year college (e.g., for economic reasons), the number who enter science-oriented careers with their two-year degree. - A significantly lower drop-out rate (including change to a non-science major) than among the general population of women science majors.
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0.915 |
1995 — 1998 |
Wright, Mary Shea, Sandra Harackiewicz, Frances (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Mpwg: Development of a Southern Illinois Sem Women and Girls Support Network @ Southern Illinois University At Carbondale
9453099 Shea The long-term objective of this project is to create a climate in which parents, teachers and peers encourage girls to develop their own natural interest in SEM, and to provide a sequence of exciting SEM activities appropriate for age, experience, and skill levels. Geographically, the project targets the Southern Illinois (SI) region consisting of 22 mostly rural counties, including the 9 poorest counties in the state, where the percentage of girls preparing for college is significantly lower than statewide or national averages. The target populations are: pre-college girls, their parents, teachers, and school counselors. The project is unique in that: (1) it encompasses a wide geographic area; and (2) its long-range plan is to provide a sequence of SEM experiences for girls, beginning with a broad "taste" of many SEM disciplines, and leading through successively more intense experiences to a level of mastery in chosen fields that will give the girls the self-confidence to continue on to college. A sequence of SEM activities will be set up in cooperation with the Shagbark Council of the Girl Scouts, in the St. Louis Science Center, and in the Carbondale Science Center. In grade school, the participants' curiosity will be piqued via Science Experiences for Girl Scout troops, including visits to the St. Louis Science Center. Attending Expanding your Horizons Workshops (EYH) will provide more intensive, hands-on experiences, as well as role-models of women scientists at work. For somewhat older girls, participation includes the Science Fair Cooperative Workshops; small-group work on an exhibit for the Carbondale Science Center; and in-depth, hands-on science, engineering, mathematics (SEM) experiences at a WISE summer camp. Guided by female SEM faculty and graduate students, the participants are to interact with older girls who already have experienced a more advanced phase of the project, and with role-model women scientists. Participants also a re to give a helping hand to younger girls in the pipeline. The involvement of parents, teachers and school counselors is essential, in discussions of how females best learn science, what career opportunities are open to women in SEM, etc., and in hand-on SEM experiences that they can share with the girls. The climate change envisioned for SI will be supported by a Database of Science Activities for disseminating information about SEM activities to the community, available to SI students, parents, teachers, and to public libraries, throughout the calendar year. This database will be widely advertised through SI schools, libraries, and community organizations. ***
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0.915 |