A $20,000 Fulbright Scholar Alumni Initiative Award awarded to senior lecturer Cristina Gonzalez will finance the creation of an online journal that will enable American and Mexican scholars to exchange current research information.
Gonzalez, senior lecturer at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, received the grant in October.
The grant was designed to establish an enduring relationship between the psychology department in Chihuahua, Mexico and ASU, said Gonzalez.
"I though the Internet would be a very efficient way to share information by developing what we call an online journal," Gonzalez said.
The creation of the online journal will allow Mexico to overcome its current limitations, said Gonzalez.
"The difficulty that they (students) have in Mexico is acquiring current research because of economical and geographical limitations," she said.
The journal will be written in English and Spanish and will provide American scholars the opportunity to learn more about research in Mexico. Mexican scholars will have access to a wider range of information.
Jacqueline Martinez, assistant professor at the Hugh Downs School, will be assisting Gonzalez in the construction of the online journal, which will include digital video.
"There is a need on both sides for people to share their research," Gonzalez said.
Currently, ASU and the University of Chihuahua are planning what information the journal would include. The first issue of the journal will be available in 2003.
Gonzalez, Martinez and 15 to 20 ASU graduate students will travel to Mexico where they will meet with faculty members and graduate students at the University of Chihuahua to share ideas and study ethnography. The grant will also provide a partial tuition scholarship to ASU graduate students.
"I am really excited to have a real-life project to work on while I learn some of the advanced skills of online publishing," Gonzalez said.
Graduate students who wish to participate in the program must sign up and receive instructor approval from Martinez. Christina Higdon at grimm119@aol.com.
