Core Priority: Applied Social Sciences
Applied social sciences became a CALS priority more than a century ago when Liberty Hyde Bailey committed college resources to strengthening the agricultural economy and rural communities in New York. From that vision, CALS' programs in development sociology, education, communication, and applied economics and management have expanded to encompass issues of national and global importance as well as those particular to New York state.
Social scientists provide the means to translate research into public good, particularly where the new life sciences, environmental sciences, and business intersect.
By pursuing scholarship that addresses how people inform, interact, learn and do business, social scientists at CALS foster economic vitality and facilitate individual and community health and well-being. This includes informing decision-makers and public officials, increasing awareness of the roles of technology and science in society, influencing public policy and economic development, and evaluating technologies for business creation and economic development.
If you stood at the intersection of science and business, what would you see? Students in William Lesser's class, International Technology Marketing of Biotechnology, are asked to consider a tomato that's been engineered to ripen after it's been shipped.
Though the technology behind this particular tomato succeeded, consumers nixed the product when it was introduced in the United States, largely because it had little flavor.
But Lesser asks the class to imagine that in India, where 20 to 40 percent of a tomato shipment is typically damaged in transit, there might be interest in a tomato that survives the trip to market.“That kind of saving is easier to predict than consumer preferences,” notes Lesser, who is the Susan Eckert Lynch Professor in Science and Business and chair of the Department of Applied Economics and Management. But the problem is not nearly that simple.“This would be the first application of this technology in a developing country,” he continues, “so there are many
unanswered issues.”
Among such issues, he says, are consumer acceptance, patent protection for life forms, ownership of genetic resources, contracting of production among a large number of very small producers, and cultural sensitivities about food. A central component of the course is for each student to work out the best among multiple options for each dimension of technology transfer.
“The course attracts students of biotechnology, public technology policy, and international technology marketing,” says Lesser. “Bringing together such diverse interests into one classroom while delving into complicated and often controversial topics makes for a lively learning environment.”
When Microsoft's Bill Gates visited Cornell not long ago to offer $25 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a new center for computing and Information Science, Geri gay was among the half dozen faculty and staff members invited to a panel discussion with him.
The Kenneth J. Bissett Professor of Communication, Gay is also a professor of information science and director of Cornell’s Human Computer Interaction group, which has its own teaching lab.
“We live in a digital world, and my interest is to understand the impact of computing on the way we live, work, and entertain ourselves,” Gay says.
Her lab has developed programs that use cell phones and PDAs to help people find their way around museums and outdoor spaces. Gay says she thinks there is potential to use these devices to enhance the memories of older people and to help enable disabled individuals to navigate independently.
When she is not thinking about improving quality of life, Gay investigates other aspects of computing, such as the way that ordinary search engines can act as go-betweens to retailers.
“We leave digital traces of ourselves whenever we go online, and these traces can be used in ways that we might not be aware of, such as to tailor advertising,” Gay points out.
“When you use a search engine, the key words you search can tell a retailer which ads to pop up on the side of the screen. As your search becomes more specific, so does the advertiser’s ability to target your interest,” she says.
Gay points out that the algorithm for Google was developed at Cornell, and a Cornell alumnus at Google developed AdSense, a program that allows advertisers to bid on placing ads next to keywords during your search process.
Brain Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing in the Department of Applied Economics and Management, studies how container size affects how much people eat.
Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing in the Department of Applied Economics and Management, studies how container size affects how much people eat. Wansink and his research assistants offered moviegoers free popcorn in two sizes: large and extra-large buckets. Some of the popcorn was freshly popped, but the rest was 14 days old. People with extra-large buckets of fresh popcorn ate 45 percent more; but even the people with the stale popcorn ate 34 percent more from the biggest buckets. Wansink’s research on bottomless bowls of soup showed that people eating from bowls that don’t empty ate 73 percent more soup. For his quirky “bottomless bowl,” Wansink, the author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, was accorded a 2007 Ig Nobel (as in “ignoble”) award.
Gillian Irving '07 found many advantages to studying business in a program that's captured national attention for its rapid rise into the top ranks of undergraduate business programs. For starters, she has an exceptional peer group.
And the course offerings and range of faculty experts in Applied Economics and Management are expanding in new directions of great potential and relevance to business on a global scale. Irving says that was perfect for someone like her who had not yet fully decided what shape her business career would take when she first started.
“A lot of schools I applied to would have made me decide between being a finance major or a marketing major,” notes Irving, who developed a strong taste for economics back in high school. “At Cornell, I was not limited to one or the other but got an all-around business experience.” Irving also appreciated that all of her classes—even the large introductory lectures—offered meaningful opportunities to work with her student colleagues. In her introductory business management course, for example, small groups collaborated in analyzing cases based on real businesses.
She also benefited from occasional opportunities—won by lottery—to take part in small-group lunch discussions with guest speakers from successful companies. Irving got pointers on putting her best foot forward at such occasions by attending an evening workshop sponsored by the Minority Business Student Association, of which she was co-president. A summer internship at Lord & Taylor in Manhattan further enhanced her growing understanding of business.
"Becoming an outstanding teacher and educational leader is a process that has no end; there are always new things to understand and new methoods to learns," says Deborah Trumbull, professor of education and director of the Cornell Teacher Education (CTE) Program.
That is why CTE has a unique dual focus of academic depth and teacher education. The program is designed to support the development of toplevel high-school and middle school teachers and to create inspirational educational leaders. Nearly all of the 15 to 25 graduates a year complete a B.S. in their content area, followed by a master of arts in teaching (M.A.T.). They spend one semester in full-time, supervised teaching. Students have been placed in schools all over the state, from Lafayette to Elmira, Rochester to New York City, working side-by-side with outstanding master teachers.
The CTE program specializes in core areas of rising national importance — agricultural science, mathematics, and science — disciplinary areas with significant and important overlap. Students in the CTE program work as colleagues to plan and evaluate their teaching activities, develop a strong supportive teacher-mentor, and learn to constantly evaluate and improve their own teaching methods.
The CTE program integrates current educational research with work in area schools, where CTE students assist teachers, tutor youngsters, and design and teach their own lessons, combining hands-on classroom experience with the latest research and education tools and techniques.
“A good teacher must understand his or her subject matter deeply, especially now when new discoveries continually challenge our existing ideas. And they must encourage learners to care enough for the subject matter to engage with it, and come to use that new knowledge in their lives,” says Trumbull.
Agronomist Jane Mt. Pleasant, who directed the American Indian Program (AIP) from 1995 to 1999 and again from 2002 to 2008, was recognized in 2005 by Smithsonian Magazine as one of "35 Who Made a Difference": innovators of our times, those scientists, scholars, and artists whose life work enriches lives and inspires generations.
Over a 30-year career, Mt. Pleasant revitalized interest in the ancient Iroquois tradition of growing food through polyculture, a system that protects soil quality, minimizes erosion, and allows interdependent plants to flourish. Her work with the Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—has given Native Americans a strong presence in the emerging field of sustainable science.
Formally established in 1982, AIP offers an undergraduate and graduate minor, about 20 courses, and extensive recruitment and support services for native students. The new director, Eric Cheyfitz, is the Ernest I. White Professor of American Studies and Humane Letters.
At Cornell, residential opportunities support academic interests. Akwe:kon (pronounced “a-gway’-go”) is the only American Indian residential program housed on a university campus in the country. Roughly half of Akwe:kon’s 35 residents are of American Indian heritage, with the other half of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Students from all backgrounds live in the house and participate in activities that reflect the philosophies and heritage of many Native cultures of North America.
Akwe:kon’s distinctive building and landscape, designed with extensive input from Iroquois people, incorporates symbols that reflect the theme of communal spirit. Akwe:kon functions as a student community center, just as the AIP functions as community builder, bringing together Native knowledge and Western science, balancing tradition and spirituality with the high-tech world of research and education. The AIP is a prime example of CALS’ land-grant mission in action, engaging the peoples who were the original residents of New York and devoting university resources to positive interactions that benefit both.
The Cornell Farmworker Program (CFP), in the Department of Development Sociology, is a collaborative effort among CALS, the College of Human Ecology, and Cornell Cooperative Extension, with a mission to provide leadership in sponsoring, conducting, and disseminating research to address needs of farmworkers.
Through these efforts, the program plays a critical role in providing information and support to employers, service providers, communities, decision-makers, and other stakeholders.
Strong student participation characterizes the CFP. Since the student internship program began in 2006, an increasing number of students have elected to work in the popular summer program, providing on-farm tutoring in English, conducting farmworker needs assessments, and tracking farmworkers’ social and economic contributions to the communities in which they live. Working throughout the state, students often return to their hometowns to explore ways the Cornell Farmworker Program can work with local Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) offices and other organizations to meet farmworker needs.
“The students’ dedication and participation is vital,” says Mary Jo Dudley, the program’s director. “Moreover, collaborations between students and their faculty advisers form a central pillar of the program’s research and extension agenda.”
The program’s research has a measurable impact at the state level by raising awareness of farmworkers’ issues and influencing public policy. The governor’s office established a high-level working group and appointed Dudley and other Cornell faculty to raise the profile of the approximately 65,000 farmworkers in the state.
