[Irtalk] Highlights of NDLTD ETD Award Winners - 2011

[Elsabe Olivier]

NDLTD promotes ETD innovation and leadership in scholarly communications through their annual awards program

The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) international consortium is pleased to congratulate the 2011 ETD award winners. The awards recognize students who have written exemplary electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) as well as leaders who have helped to promote ETD programs. Winners have demonstrated new dimensions of scholarship being explored by individuals who have made significant contributions to the worldwide ETD movement.
The Awards Program includes several categories of appreciation. The Innovative ETD Award recognizes student efforts to transform the genre of the print dissertation through the use of innovative software to create cutting edge ETDs. Use of renderings, photos, video and other multimedia objects that are included in the electronic document were considered as part of the innovation of the work. The Innovative Learning through ETDs Award recognizes a graduate whose professional life has been enhanced by the ETD process. Finally, the ETD Leadership Award recognizes members of the university community whose leadership and vision has helped raise awareness of the benefits of ETDs, and whose efforts have improved graduate education through the use of ETDs. Criteria for consideration of the awards are available online. The Innovative ETD and Innovative Learning through ETDs Awards offer a $500 cash prize. Leadership awards are honorary. Award winners are also eligible to receive up to $500 in travel scholarship funding to attend the awards ceremony at the international conference. 
The 2011 ETD awards were presented at the ETD 2011 Symposium, held September 14, 2012 at The Pavilion Conference Centre, Cape Town, South Africa. For program details please visit the ETD 2011 Conference Website.
The NDLTD ETD 2012 Awards Call for Nominations will be forthcoming in mid-March. The 2012 ETD Awards will be presented at the ETD 2012 Symposium to be held in Lima, Peru in September 2012. Stay tuned for further details and think of the interesting multimedia ETD works in your repository collections as well as your ETD leaders your area you would like to nominate for the awards!
This summary report highlights details about the 2011 ETD Awards winners, including biographic information, the nature of their multimedia innovation, their research topics and leadership accomplishments as well as video of each winner's acknowledgment speeches presented at the ETD 2011 Symposium.
NDLTD ETD Awards ceremony at the ETD 2011 Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa



Innovative ETD Award 
Tomislav Dimov / D.M.A. Musical Arts / West Virginia University 2010, U.S.A. 
In his doctoral research project “Short Historical Overview and Comparison of the Pitch Width and Speed Rates of the Vibrato Used in Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Johann Sebastian Bach as Found in Recordings of Famous Violinists of the Twentieth and the Twenty-First Centuries”, Tomislav Dimov provides a very novel and innovative approach to musical performance studies. His research explores pitch width and speed rates of the vibrato violin solos by contemporary performers, utilizing tables and graphics for comparison, sorted by the year of recording, and followed by a discussion of the results. 

Access to sound samples/files is available through a virtual CD linked to the document via the Internet. Tomislav’s doctoral research project files include PDF with music score interlinked to MP3 audio files, so the end user may simultaneously hear the audio result of the music score they are viewing on the page. This provides an interactive approach to the listener which allows for enhanced “visualization” of the music score by making it come to life as it was intended to be heard. Very few examples of this interactive approach exist in the field of music, thus Tomislav’s path breaking approach serves as an excellent model of enhanced learning experiences through multimedia integration into the research document. 
Tomislav is working full time on the faculty of the Pelita Harapan University and serves as Head of the String Department and teacher of violin, Head of the Orchestra Department and Artistic Director and Conductor, and Head of the International and Domestic Relations for UPH Conservatory of Music in Indonesia.
To view Tomislav's acknowledgments click on the main video panel above.


Martha C. Giraldo / Ph.D. Plant Pathology / Kansas State University, 2010, U.S.A. 

In her doctoral dissertation “In planta characterization of Magnaporthe oryzae biotrophy-associated secreted (BAS) proteins and key secretion components”, Martha Giraldo examined the disease known as "blast," which can infect crops such as wheat, rye, barley, pearl millet, and even turf grasses. Its greatest impact, however, is on rice, where it is estimated that each year blast destroys enough rice to feed more than 60 million people. Rice blast is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Martha’s research is clearly one that has global impact on agriculture and hunger. 

Martha’s dissertation is unique in that she provides video files that allow the reader to view images of fluorescent proteins and the infection mechanisms. Given the global importance of rice blast, it is important these images be made available to researchers who may not have access to instruments and technology to otherwise view and understand the development of the disease. In addition to the in vivo videos, Martha also provides an 8 minute video of the techniques she used to inoculate rice plants and prepare the diseased tissue for imaging. 
Martha is presently completing a post-doctorate fellowship at Kansas State University in the Department of Plant Pathology. 


Wendy M. Stack / Ph.D. Leadership and Change / Antioch University, 2010, U.S.A. 

In her doctoral dissertation “The Relationship of Parent Involvement and Student Success in GEAR UP Communities in Chicago”, Wendy Stack studied why the education pipeline in the United States is not preparing enough students for success and high school dropout rates in the nation’s urban areas are alarming. Her study assessed “Gear Up” (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) in the Chicago area; her findings showed a significant relationship between parent involvement and 9th grade GPA and overall student success. 

Video clips integrated along with the dissertation text effectively illustrate parents’ perspectives and provide meaningful narrative to reveal the complete picture that data alone could not. Wendy’s dissertation story began with a video clip of parents actively lobbying for the GEAR UP program and ended with a series of skillfully inserted videos of parents talking about how parent involvement affects student progress in their lives. 
Wendy is presently Director, Chicago Teachers’ Center and Chicago GEAR UP Alliance at Northeastern Illinois University. 


Innovative Learning through ETDs Award 


Ryan D. Kennedy / Ph.D. Psychology / University of Waterloo, 2010, Canada

In his doctoral dissertation “Evaluation of the City of Woodstock’s Outdoor Smoking By-law: A Longitudinal Study of Smokers and Non-Smokers”, Ryan Kennedy designed his entire Ph.D. project to guide and support development and implementation of outdoor smoking bans. The study focused on a ground breaking municipal ban on smoking in outdoor spaces in a community in the Ontario, Canada region. It was designed to provide other jurisdictions with the evidence needed to make the case for, and to implement, such a ban. 

To promulgate the policy, he created a high quality video – despite a very modest budget. The video was carefully designed to support advocacy and political decision making. To ensure it would reach advocates and public health officials in Canada, Ryan distributed the video through networks linked to the Canadian Cancer Society and other influential tobacco control organizations. He also disseminated it internationally through the World Health Organization, using channels that reach 171 countries implementing the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control. To supplement this, Ryan has conferred with public health leaders contemplating implementation of outdoor bans in jurisdictions beyond Canada (e.g., New York City, Australia). In Canada, he has worked with community leaders (e.g., in Ottawa, Ontario) to conduct outdoor air quality monitoring on patios at pubs. 
This work has documented the need for bans to protect the public against exposure to second hand smoke, using local data that has triggered media stories and support for such bans. This dissertation provides a model for other students who are seeking to do studies that not only advance knowledge, but provide societal betterment. The “Woodstock”video is available on a number of websites worldwide. 
Ryan is now a Scientist at the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, with an adjunct appointment in the Center for Global Tobacco Control, Harvard School of Public Health. 


ETD Leadership Award 
Laura Hammons / Texas A&M University, U.S.A. 

Laura Hammons is the Director for the Thesis Office at Texas A&M University (TAMU) serving a graduate student population of over 9,000 graduate students. Laura and her staff are responsible for providing effective guidance to students in the preparation of a thesis/dissertation through conducting pre-submittal conferences for each thesis/dissertation and reviewing final manuscripts to ensure compliance with TAMU thesis/dissertation requirements. 
Laura has led efforts state of Texas for the Vireo User’s Group, which facilitates communications regarding the state-wide repository system for Texas Digital Library Consortium. Additionally Laura was the founder of the Texas ETD Association (TXETDA), which provides a network of support for ETD professionals in the state of Texas. Most recently Laura has been an integral founding member of the United States ETD Association (USETDA), which provides information on best practices, develops and disseminates information on ETD initiatives, supports the development of state-wide ETD associations and provides networking opportunities to support ETD program faculty and staff throughout the United States.


Felix N. Ubogu / University of Witwatersrand, South Africa 

Felix Ubogu is the University Librarian at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is responsible for the strategic management of the university libraries and the provision of high-level library and information services for all of the University’s students, academic staff and other employees. 
For over a decade, Felix’s landmark achievements include having made Rhodes theses and dissertations available on the web (the first library in Africa to do so) in 1998; having served as Project Manager of a UNESCO pilot project to improve the management of and access to theses and dissertations prepared at universities in two of UNESCO's Member States in Africa – Ethiopia and South Africa, 2003-2004; and having served as Chair for the Advisory Committee of the Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) Pilot Project, July 2000 to February 2005. 
Felix’s dedication to digital library developments and open access in scholarly communications has put the South African national and African continental ETD programs in many nations on the global map. 
- John H. Hagen, Elsabe Olivier, NDLTD ETD Awards Committee Co-Chairs, 1 March 2012


This announcement is available online at http://www.ndltd.org/events_and_awards/awards/highlights-of-ndltd-etd-awards-2011-winners
PDF version of this press release


The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international non-profit organization that, through leadership and innovation, promotes the adoption, creation, use, dissemination and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations. The NDLTD encourages and supports the efforts of institutes of higher education and their communities to develop electronic publishing and digital libraries (including repositories), thus enabling them to share knowledge more effectively in order to unlock the potential benefits worldwide. Visit NDLTD online at http://www.ndltd.org/ 



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