Hillary Hart

Acute inhibitory effect of alcohol on fibrinolysis

In contrast to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) with light to moderate alcohol consumption, heavy alcohol intake and binge drinking are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. Alcohol has an acute and profound effect on fibrinolysis that may be relevant to the pathogenesis of CHD.

The University and the Responsible Conduct of Research: Who is Responsible for What?

Research misconduct has been thoroughly discussed in the literature, but mainly in terms of definitions and prescriptions for proper conduct. Even when case studies are cited, they are generally used as a repository of “lessons learned.” What has been lacking from this conversation is how the lessons of responsible conduct of research are imparted in the first place to graduate students, especially those in technical fields such as engineering. Nor has there been much conversation about who is responsible for what in training students in Responsible Conduct of Research or in allocating blame in cases of misconduct. This paper explores three seemingly disparate cases of misconduct—the 2004 plagiarism scandal at Ohio University; the famous Robert Millikan article of 1913, in which his reported data selection did not match his notebooks; and the 1990 fabrication scandal in Dr. Leroy Hood’s research lab. Comparing these cases provides a way to look at the relationship between the graduate student (or trainee) and his/her advisor (a relationship that has been shown to be the most influential one for the student) as well as at possibly differential treatment for established researchers and researchers-in-training, in cases of misconduct. This paper reflects on the rights and responsibilities of research advisers and their students and offers suggestions for clarifying both those responsibilities and the particularly murky areas of research-conduct guidelines.

Making a meaningful model for technical communication

This work documents a qualitative research project designed to develop models that adequately describe the multiform nature of technical communication practice today. The research uses a combination of surveys of and dialogues with experienced technical communicators in focus groups conducted in three North American cities. Our hypothesis is that we are moving from a linear model of one-way communication, through a richer (though still linear) model of two-way communication between communicators and designers, to a new and richer model of communication as a collaborative process of meaning-making. In the focus groups, we test a hypothetical model of technical communication that reflects this collaborative reality and then brainstorm additional models and metaphors with participants. The first completed session may indicate that the focus of technical communicators is moving away from a narrow suite of deliverables and toward a broad suite of communication roles and processes. The models and metaphors suggested by participants so far indicate little or no emphasis being placed on specific deliverables, or on sequential step-by-step processes. These observations will be further tested in at least two subsequent focus-group sessions.

Envisioning sustainable community decision-making

Helping engineering students become strong communicators in diverse situations with diverse audiences is an important challenge for Engineering Communication instructors. Most civil-engineering students have little opportunity to practice the skills involved in working with stakeholders or to experience the collaborative process of communal decision-making, skills that will be particularly useful to them as engineers. To meet this challenge, I have devised a series of activities that engage students in constructing a collaborative space in which to discuss and analyze problem-based technical and social issues: a Town Meeting in which students role-playing environmental engineers present a plan for containing storm-water run-off to a diverse group of townspeople and officials. This mock Town Meeting is then followed by assignments asking students to reflect on what they saw, heard, and learned. This reflective writing reveals, for some students, a growing awareness of the complexity of both communication and engineering problems, as well as a recognition that communication styles vary widely. To enhance the situated learning experience and to facilitate richer assessment of its pedagogical effectiveness, I will expand the exercise to ask students to analyze the engineering design itself and will make more use of student teams to set their own agendas and mini-projects within the overall project module.