for inclusion in progress toward proposed goals – educational goals:

• For inclusion in Progress toward proposed goals – Educational Goals:

Breakdown of PIRE Participants

• 63 unique individuals participated in PIRE Activities:– 33 Field Course Participants– 9 Traveled to complete research (not including those who

also attended the Field Course)– 21 Traveled to attend other activities such as meetings,

conferences, workshops, outreach, etc. (not including those who attended the field course or traveled for research)

Amazon-PIRE Fellows, 2007- Present

• 7 Students have been awarded Fellowships

• All:– U.S. Citizens– U of A Graduate Students– White, Non-Hispanic– Have traveled to Brazil

with the program at least once

– Have attended Field Course

U.S. Field Course Participants, N=33 2008-2009

*Other Participants were citizens of Columbia, U.K, Mexico, Hungary, and Spain


*Other U.S. Universities included Rice University, San Diego State University, Duke University, and University of Georgia

Participants Traveling for Research (Not Including Field Course N=9)

*Other Participants were citizens of Canada, China, Columbia, and France

Participants Traveling for Research (Not Including Field Course, N=9)

*Other U.S. Universities included University of New Hampshire

Participants Traveling for Research (Not Including Field Course, N=9)

Participants Traveling for Activities Other than Field Course and Research

(n=21)

*Other Participants were citizens of the U.K.

Participants Travelling for Activities Other than Field Course and

Research(n=21)

*Other U.S. Universities University of Florida and University of Missouri St. Louis

Participants Travelling for Activities Other than Field Course and

Research(n=21)

• For inclusion in Barriers/Challenges• You can use the map for your discussion of

recruitment and say we’ve explored this problem using Root Cause Analysis interviews with students and faculty.

Lack of interest in working in Brazilian

Amazon

Problems exist in recruiting

students to international collaboration

programs

Perception: It is difficult to work in the Amazon

Logistical challengesDistance

Cost

Obtaining VISALack of experience with people who

have worked in the Amazon

Cultural perception that Amazon is “end of the earth”

Health issues

Media portrayal of region

Lack experience of actually being there

Prefer working in Lab

Not adventurous

Lack of awareness that program exists among

target audiences *

*Target audiences:•Undergrads elsewhere•UA/Harvard Grad Students•Minorities

Lack of visibility on EEB, hydrology, geosciences websites

Advisors aren’t getting

information

Not paying attention to info. they do get

Lack of personal contact

Lack of time Personal relationships not being used

Not maintaining relationships (attending conferences, etc.)

Personal relationships with staff underdeveloped

Unable to recruit those who are both aware of the

program and interested (Students and post-docs)

They don’t apply

Personal relationships with students underdeveloped

Numerous competing opportunities

Don’t move fast enough in offering (they find other opportunities)

Lack of communication

Lack appropriate materials for target audiences

Lack word-of-mouth

Students don’t look for programsStudents get discouraged/

think it is too hard to get in

Students don’t have access to sources that advertise (email listservs, universities)

Lack of money/support for students to participateNot a high priority

(federal government)

Government doesn’t understand the benefits of international collaboration- more concerned with # of people with higher degrees (PhD’s)

Language barriersLack of opportunities to learn language

PROBLEM 2SUMMARY MAP9/09

Positive Course Feedback• 100% of participants rated the course as “one of the best” or

“better than average” as compared to other courses they have taken.

• 86% of responding participants indicated they learned “more than usual” to “an exceptional amount” in this course as compared to other courses they have taken.

• 91% of responding participants indicated in-class activities were “usually effective” or “almost always effective” in helping them learn.

• Open-ended feedback - participants greatly enjoyed their experience at Caxiuana including working closely with the course instructors, forming new relationships with foreign students and researchers, and the learning and research opportunities available at the facility.

Identified Areas for Improvement• Many students mentioned language barriers caused difficulty in

completing field and group work, and recommended language crash-courses be a prerequisite for participation in the Field Course

• Additional hands-on and calculation demonstrations were requested

• Students mentioned confusion over abbreviations, graphs, and equations presented in lecture due to varying scientific backgrounds

• Students requested details in daily lecture pertinent to the current field site (e.g., the flora, soil characteristics, carbon dioxide profiles, etc.)

• Students requested additional references in lecture to possible field projects related to the topic

• Students requested additional time to complete reading assignments prior to the course

Amazon-PIRE Evaluation Strategy

Provided by Evaluation Team under the direction of Ralph Renger, PhD Associate Professor

Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public HealthUniversity of Arizona

Levels of Evaluation for Amazon-PIRE

Impact

What effect did participating in the program have on

participants?

Short, Intermediate, Long Term Outcomes

Process

Was the program delivered as

intended? How can program delivery be

improved?

•Course Feedback•Protocol Adherence

Oversight

Describes the Amazon-PIRE

Program and its participants

•Counts•Demographics

Evaluation Strategy for Amazon-PIRE

Evaluation Strategy Oversight & Compliance

Program Monitoring

Impact/ Merit & Worth

(Online Registration) X X (baseline)

Pre-Course Survey X X (baseline)

Daily Feedback Forms X

Post-Course Survey X X

Project Structured Interviews

X

(Online Follow-up) X X

Root Cause Analysis X

Impact Evaluation

1. Conducted Root Cause Analysis Interviews with students and staff to gain better understanding of problem and identify short-term, intermediate, and long term outcomes

2. Met with Key decision makers to align Amazon-PIRE activities to identified root causes and identify areas of overlap – Field Course– Fellowship– Meetings– Research/Fieldwork Trips

Barriers exist to international collaboration

Lack funding for international

research

General shortage of government

research money

Lack political

motivation

Political concerns with using

taxpayer dollars for foreign programs

Lack sight of benefit to U.S.

in having international collaboration

Cultural differences (different attitudes toward work/ambition, 1st/3rd world tensions/imperialistic

motives, cultural prejudices on both sides

Language barriers

People don’t learn the language

Lack opportunity to learn language

Time investment

Unaware of availability

People focus on research goals, not

understanding local culture

Short time spent internationally

Many objectives while on-site Cultural ignorance about

one another

Lack technical/ infrastructural

capacity (including workforce/staffing)

(no motivation to reduce) Bureaucratic issues with our and other governments

(import/export, travel, permissions/visas)

Logistical problems with remote research (power,

cost of transportation, data transfer and quality)

High cost and low technical feasibility of

solutions (ex. solar power, satellite data)

Ignorance of technical know-how

Barriers to communication

Differences in quality of education

Lack previous international collaboration

Scientists have different levels of training

Training is very different in different countries

There is no international standard for training

Lack of credibility

Poor international relationshipsScientists don’t

know each other long enough Scientists are reluctant

to share informationInstitutional Bureaucracy

Lack of face-to-face International Contacts

Absence of opportunities to meet international

scientists in one location

There are not a lot of scientists in the

Amazon (esp. Pará)Lack of fellowships

Few advisors & role models

Uncertainty in asking for assistance in a particular project

Don’t know what types of assistance to

ask of people

U.S. partners don’t know existing jobs/roles/ responsibilities of

international collaborators on a project

MAP 1 9-18-09

Antecedent Conditions targeted in 3+ Activities

AntecedentConditions targeted in 2 or fewer Activities

Impact Evaluation

Next Step:Determine how to measure and evaluate these

items– Establish indicators and data collection protocols

Evaluation Steps for Coming Year

• Continue to develop Online Registration & Follow-up Databases – To assist in collecting Oversight and Impact data

for all program components and store it in a single location

• Refine feedback forms and group interviews• Include activities other than Field Course in

Evaluation

for inclusion in progress toward proposed goals – educational goals:

Documents