USF College of Behavioral & Community Sciences

September 6-12, 2020
COVID-19 Update

COVID found us and we teamed up to give back to our community & save others!

Because they have the COVID-19 antibodies after testing positive earlier this summer, Therese Sandomierski and Heather Peshak George met a few weeks ago to donate plasma at one of the local Tampa blood banks.

We invite you to share your COVID-19 stories in Communique. Let us know how you are coping with working remotely. Submit your photos and captions to cbcsmarketing@usf.edu

As always, you should refer to the official USF coronavirus webpage for the most up to date information.

Stay safe

CBCS Faculty Involved in Round 3 of the USF COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants Program
The University of South Florida will provide seed funding to 14 new research projects designed to address the medical, technological and societal issues of COVID-19. This brings the total of institutional resources invested into pandemic research to more than $1 million.
This third round of funding is unique because researchers were challenged to forge partnerships with community organizations and corporations, so that their projects could more rapidly be put to real-world use. USF Research & Innovation is investing nearly $320,000 in the projects, with the Florida High Tech Corridor Council contributing $100,000 in support of five projects.
Full news article is available here.
Mental Distress Among COVID-19 Responders
PI: Kristin Kosyluk (MHLP); Jerome Galea (SW)
Co-Is: Patricia Emmanuel, Morsani College of Medicine; Lucy Guerra, Morsani College of Medicine; Kathleen Heide, (Criminology); Giti Javidi, Muma College of Business, Sarasota-Manatee; Ming Ji, College of Nursing; Daniel Majchrzak, Information Technology Tampa; Stephanie Marhefka-Day, College of Public Health; Kathleen Moore, (MHLP & FMHI); Tempestt Neal, College of Engineering; Asa Oxner, Morsani College of Medicine; Alison Salloum, (SW), Ehsan Sheybani, Muma College of Business, Sarasota-Manatee; and Charurut Somboonwit, Morsani College of Medicine.
Half of U.S. adults already report pandemic-related mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression. Frontline pandemic responders (doctors, nurses, paramedics, police, social workers) are especially vulnerable and often forgo mental health care because of stigma and fear of job loss. Several evidence-based mental health interventions exist but linking those in need to the right intervention at the right time is often complicated, delaying needed care. Researchers and their partners will develop and pilot-test a chatbot, "TABATHA" (Tampa Bay Area Treatment & Health Advisor) capable of screening pandemic responders for levels of distress and service preferences using text messages and helping them navigate existing mental health services.
A Decentralized Digital ID for Pandemics
PI: Shivendu Shivendu, Muma College of Business
Co-Is: Jean-Francois Biasse, College of Arts and Sciences; Kyaien Conner, (MHLP); Donna Davis, Muma College of Business; Loni Hagen, College of Arts and Sciences; Robert Hooker, Muma College of Business; Marissa Levine, College of Public Health; Moez Limayem, Muma College Business; and Attila Yavuz, College of Engineering.
The proposed project supports the development of a secure decentralized system using blockchain technology to provide essential services during pandemics such as access to reliable information, optimal patient care, essential goods, and privacy-preserving proofs of immunity, and immutable proof of COVID-19 tests.
MHLP Associate Professor Appointed Fulbright Specialist
Congratulations to Dr. Paul Stiles, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy. Dr. Stiles was recently appointed as a Fulbright Specialist to the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Fulbright Specialists engage in limited project-based exchanges with host universities worldwide. Dr. Stiles has previously presented multiple talks in South Africa regarding ethics, international studies, and ethics education.
SW Associate Professor Named Research Fellow

Sondra Fogel, PhD, ACSW , LCSW, was approved to be a Center Research Fellow for the Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation in Treatment Engagement and Service (The MH-RITES Research Center). This appointment builds on the international work that she is doing with the University of Ghana.

SW Online MSW Program ranked 4th Best

TheBestOnlineDegree.com recently ranked the USF Online MSW program as the #4 best online Masters of Social Work Program for 2020. TheBestOnlineDegree.com provides prospective students with unbiased information when evaluating their next college degree opportunity and have helped countless people find the best program or school that meets their educational needs and career goals.

Setting up Groups in Teams

Teams "meeting-based breakout rooms" are under development and we expect it to be launched very soon. Please see the resources section of the faculty toolkit for the most recent update on Teams breakout rooms.

In the meantime, faculty can also setup Teams Private Channels within their Canvas-based Team. This allows instructors to place students into specific groups. This works similar to Canvas groups and provides students with their own area to meet live, chat, and exchange files. Setting this up requires the activation of the Canvas course Team. For specific steps on the activation process and the steps for setting up private channels within the Course Team, please see the Canvas Teams Synch tutorial. Below is a summary of the steps.

  • Step 1: Create a Team through Canvas
    1. Click Microsoft Teams Early Access from the left menu
    2. Click Create Team - it takes 6 hrs to create the team
  • Step 2: Access Team
    1. From Canvas: Click Microsoft Teams Early Access from the left menu and you will see the Team.
    2. From Teams: Click Teams from left menu and you will see your Team
  • Step 3: Get Familiar with the Interface
    1. Canvas has synced with Teams and will auto populate with students from the course, even if they drop/add the course.
    2. When you want the Team visible to the students click Activate Team on the top right.
  • Step 4: Get Familiar with the Interface
    1. Go to your team and Click the ellipses (three dots), then click add channel
    2. Type name of channel, description, and change the privacy to Private. Don't assign students in this window because it will pull up all emails at USF.
    3. To assign students to a Team: click ellipses next to one of the channels you just created.
    4. Click manage channel
    5. Click add member - this pulls the students actually assigned to the class. Keep students as member.
    6. Once students assigned you can use for live sessions, meetings, and chat. Anyone in private channel can click "meet now" and get connected right away.
Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Online Master's

Join the Virtual Information Session September 16 on the fully online master's program in Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health! The program prepares professionals to serve in community, youth, and family agencies and organizations that work to promote the well-being of children, adolescents, and emerging adults. Register here.

As part of National Recovery Month in September, RMHC will share videos, stories, and resources on Facebook and Instagram @USFRMHC revolving around the theme that RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE. Join FMHC faculty Drs. Buckles and DePippo on September 24 at noon as they lead a free webinar, "Trauma and Addictions: What is the Connection and How do We Treat it?" The webinar will explore the intersection of addictions with racial trauma, individual trauma, and collective trauma. Register here for the webinar.
CBCS In the News

Tampa mayor, police chief discuss findings from community task force on policing
WFTS(ABC) and other stations
said Dr. Bryanna Fox. Fox, a criminology professor at the University of South Florida, led the task force. "Some of the ...

What the public should know about police use-of-force | Column
Tampa Bay Times
force." Lorie Fridell, professor of criminology at the University of South Florida, has written/edited three books and 14 articles...

Tampa police will evolve, pledges mayor, police chief
Tampa Bay Times
A task force appointed by the mayor and guided by University of South Florida criminologist Bryanna Fox released its ...

USF tackles 14 more research projects to study coronavirus impacts
Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Bay Business Journal
The University of South Florida announced Wednesday it would provide seed funding for 14 new research projects related to the ...

New Publications
  1. Black, K., & Hyer, K. (2019). Generational Distinctions on the Importance of Age-Friendly Community Features by Older Age Groups. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 39(9), 1025-1034. doi:10.1177/0733464819847885
  2. Cho, S., & Deryol, R. (2020). Examining the impacts of low self-control and online lifestyles on cyberbullying perpetration among Korean adolescents: Using parallel process latent growth curve modeling. Children and Youth Services Review, 117, 105288. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105288
  3. Goodman, S., & George, H. P. (2020). School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1203
  4. Heide, K. M. (2020). Juvenile Homicide Offenders Look Back 35 Years Later: Reasons They Were Involved in Murder. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(11), 3932. doi:10.3390/ijerph17113932
  5. Wareham, J., & Wagers, S. M. (2020). Testing the generality of an internal power theory of interpersonal violence across sex and race/ethnicity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 026540752094861. doi:10.1177/0265407520948618
Adding News/Events/Publications to the CBCS Website and Newsletter

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