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Research examines outdoor effects on children with autism

A participant takes an outdoor walk.
A participant takes an outdoor walk with researchers.

Birds sing and a cool breeze rustles through the leaves as a pair of squirrels scurry through the tall, green grass and up a tree — all under blue skies and sunshine.

Such scenes are typical during a leisurely, summer walk through a park — relaxing and uplifting for most people. For a team of University of Nebraska researchers, however, those elements may prove to be even more significant. Full Article

Mindfulness study includes CYFS faculty member, affiliate

From left, Michelle Howell Smith, CYFS research assistant professor; Holly Hatton-Bowers, CYAF assistant professor; and Tuyen Huynh, CYAF doctoral candidate
From left, Michelle Howell Smith, CYFS research assistant professor; Holly Hatton-Bowers, CYAF assistant professor; and Tuyen Huynh, CYAF doctoral candidate

A research team behind recently published findings on the use of mixed methods designs in mindfulness studies included a CYFS faculty member and a faculty affiliate.

The article, “A Critical Methodological Review of Mixed Methods Designs Used in Mindfulness Research,” appeared in the October issue of Mindfulness, a journal of peer-reviewed papers that examine the latest research findings and best practices in mindfulness research. Full Article

NAECR, Nebraska Extension co-host early childhood research networking event

From left, Jaci Foged, Learning Child Extension educator, and Holly Hatton-Bowers, assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, share information on their collaborative project.
From left, Jaci Foged, Learning Child Extension educator, and Holly Hatton-Bowers, assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, share information on their collaborative project. View photo gallery

Focused on building and expanding early childhood research across the University of Nebraska system and beyond, the Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research recently co-hosted a networking event with Nebraska Extension to share examples of their collaborative efforts. Full Article

Research provides INSIGHTS into child temperament

From left, Kathleen Rudasill and Gwen Nugent, co-principal investigators, introduce children to a few of the puppet characters of INSIGHTS.
From left, Kathleen Rudasill, professor of educational psychology and associate dean for research and faculty development at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Gwen Nugent, CYFS research professor, introduce children to a few of the puppet characters of INSIGHTS.

Gregory is having a bad day. A school field trip has been canceled, and he is angry.

He is joined by a teacher and a kindergartner, who together discuss ways Gregory might cope with his emotions and keep his behavior under control.

“These are some things he might want to do,” the teacher says. “But there are other things he could do instead.” Full Article

Summit on Research in Early Childhood helps connect research, practice, policy

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, delivers the summit’s keynote address
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, delivers the summit’s keynote address. View Photo Gallery

Creating connections among early childhood research, practice and policy — and how each element can enhance the lives of young children and their families — provided the central theme of the 2018 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood.

More than 200 attendees, including researchers from across the University of Nebraska system, practitioners, administrators, community partners and policymakers, gathered April 25 at Nebraska Innovation Campus for the daylong, fifth biennial summit, which highlighted the latest findings in early childhood research from NU-affiliated faculty, and those findings’ implications for practice and policy. Full Article

Tippens explores well-being among older refugees

Julie Tippens
Julie Tippens

Like many large cities, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is a patchwork of coexisting prosperity and poverty. Nebraska researcher Julie Tippens is navigating this city’s urban divide in search of refugee families from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tippens is investigating how Congolese refugees, particularly older refugees, are faring in Tanzania’s urban environments. Six of 10 refugees now live in cities — many lacking legal documentation — and the majority still live in countries of first asylum where they initially arrived after fleeing violence and unrest in their home countries. Full Article

Hong hosts Brazilian researchers for early childhood science collaboration

Visiting scholar Gisela Wajskop discusses literacy-based play with undergraduates in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies. Wajskop is researching early childhood science teaching with UNL's Soo-Young Hong.
Visiting scholar Gisela Wajskop discusses literacy-based play with undergraduates in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies. Wajskop visited Lincoln, Nebraska, as part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln/Brazil Early Childhood Initiative. View photo gallery.

CYFS faculty affiliate Soo-Young Hong, associate professor of child, youth and family studies, recently hosted Brazilian researchers Gisela Wajskop and Patricia Pastorello for a weeklong visit in Lincoln, Nebraska, as part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln/Brazil Early Childhood Initiative. Full Article

Faculty provide training, outreach to support international Zika study

Natalie Williams (right), assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, visits with mother in Recife, Brazil. Williams recently traveled to Recife as part of an international collaboration studying how families are affected by Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome.
Natalie Williams (right), assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, visits with a mother in Recife, Brazil. Williams is part of an international research collaboration studying how to help families affected by Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome. View photo gallery.

Recife is the capital city of Pernambuco, a northeastern state in Brazil — and one of the regions most affected by the Zika virus outbreak.

Natalie Williams, assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, and Christine Marvin, professor of special education and communication disorders, recently traveled to Recife, Brazil, as part of a joint study with Brazilian researchers at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. Full Article