School of Health Sciences

Community-based, Translational & Applied Research
Faculty members in the Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Nutrition Science, Psychology, and Forensic Mental Health programs are actively involved in community-based projects in their research in collaboration with local organizations, hospitals, and schools.  Faculty research informs curricular development and evidence-based practice in their respective fields.  Faculty had more than 78 research-related scholarly works in 2009-2010 as peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national conferences.

Joan Dacher, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Barbara Pieper, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing, are interested in research to support health wellness for individuals with intellectual and developmental disability.  This high risk population is disproportionately affected by chronic illness and historically underserved in terms of their health and wellness.  These factors contribute to poor health outcomes, increased dependence on care givers, and high costs to the healthcare system.  Ongoing research target community-based and educational programs within the conceptual framework of developing health literacy and self advocacy skills of care givers and providers to initiate intentional wellness strategies for the individuals they support as well as themselves.  The research benefits individual and community health, as well as the powerful social capital inherent in the workforce. Their programs of research have focused on the meaning of work for individuals with intellectual and developmental disability, preparing Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) working in nursing homes for participation in the interdisciplinary team, culture change in assisted living and enhancing CNA knowledge and practice capacity in gerontology and Alzheimer's Disease, among other areas.

Sonya Irish Hauser, PhD, Assistant Professor, Nutrition, is interested in collaborative community-based research for health promotion.  Dr. Irish Hauser is currently leading a number of research projects in childhood obesity and approaches to obesity prevention, including the application of web-based technology.  Other interests include environmental approaches to health behavior change and social marketing.  Dr. Irish Hauser's research is currently supported by the Louis and Hortense Rubin Community Fellows Program and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Sybilyn Jennings, PhD, Professor of Psychology, and Julie Mcintyre, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, are conducting research in collaboration with local elementary and middle schools exploring gender differences in young adolescents' perceptions of engineering, self-views with regard to engineering, and jobs desired and not desired.  Results support the following:

• Gender differences were evident in participants' perceptions of the work and family life of engineers, their skills and interests; and
• Gender differences were found in participants' self-categorizations in relation to their sense of efficacy in engineering and their interest in the field of engineering as a career.

The aim of the research is to answer the question, "Do girls fall out of the STEM pipeline or do they just never enter it," by building a conceptual approach that is developmentally sound. The conceptual framework of self-development is intended to fill the gap left by multivariate models that seek to predict decision-making about STEM careers.  The research results will inform teachers, guidance counselors, parents, and developers of informal STEM activities about how to present possible careers in engineering to children beginning in the elementary grades.  The project is currently supported by an internal Sage Faculty Research grant and a proposal to expand the project is pending at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Kathleen Kelly, PhD, MPH, MS, FNP, Assistant Professor of Nursing, leads clinical and translational research at Sage and at St. Peter's Health Care System through a joint-appointment. Currently, she is the co-principal investigator on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant that is utilizing social network analysis to evaluate implementation of the recommendations from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Kelly is working in collaboration with Drs. Kimberly Fredericks, (co-principal investigator), Sonya Irish Hauser, Joanne Carmen (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) and Hyun He (PhD-c, Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University of the State of New York at Albany).  Through her role at St. Peter's, Dr. Kelly is working with Neeti Pathare, PhD, and Nancy Newkirk, Pharmacist, on translational research to improve stroke outcomes. Presently, this team is evaluating several key variables related to stroke outcomes including use of the NIH stroke scale, multiple co-morbidities and referral for rehabilitative services.

Cheryl MacNeil, PhD, Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy, is well established in the field of evaluation and has directed numerous community and peer-driven initiatives.  One current community research project involves the Pioneer Food Market, a local food co-op that opened in October 2010.  Active research involves providing peer education to low-income residents in the City Of Troy that addresses how to plan healthy affordable meals with products purchased from the co-op. The residents will complete a survey to identify grocery preferences to align the co-op with the needs of the community, as well as to design a sustainable model in accordance with the engagement and financial means of consumers. The goal of the project is to devise a sustainable, viable downtown grocery store that strengthens the community by bringing together people of diverse socio-economic and cultural status.  Grant support for the project is pending.

One research interest of faculty in Physical Therapy namely, Neeti Pathare, PhD, PT, Assistant Professor, Esther Haskvitz, PT, PhD, ATC, Interim Dean of Health Sciences and Professor, and Marjane Selleck, PT, DPT, MS, PCS, Associate Professor, is to identify the determinants of being overweight or obese in young children (5-8 years old) in an urban, underserved community.  Overweight children are at increased risk for serious health conditions such as knee osteoarthritis, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.  Exercise is typically one component of recommended weight loss strategies along with nutritional and other behavioral changes.  However, musculoskeletal effects of being overweight may affect the ability of a person to exercise and the effectiveness of the intervention on weight; this is of particular concern in children, as they continue to grow and develop.   Research is underway to determine the differences in gait, balance, muscle strength and exercise capacity in young children comparing those who are normal weight and overweight.  Results will identify critical musculoskeletal structure and mobility factors to guide effective physical therapy interventions to reverse some of the consequences of the childhood obesity epidemic.  The research is currently supported by an internal Sage Faculty Research grant and the New York Physical Therapy Association.

Barbara Thompson, OTD, LCSW, OTR/L, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, and Bronna Romanoff, PhD, Professor of Psychology, are conducting research to understand the grief process of mothers of adult children who died while in military service as a result of wartime service.  The construct of complicated grief has much overlap with the construct of posttraumatic stress disorder, although they are not identical terms.  Both syndromes are thought to be occasioned by a crisis of meaning, a challenge to the self-narrative, expectations and assumptive structures that give our lives order and predictability.  The death of a child is arguably the most profound of losses and a non-normative event in our society.  Parents of children who die by violence are particularly vulnerable to complicated and prolonged grief however, very little is known about the grief of mothers whose children died serving their country.  There is increasing recognition of the need to provide communal support to returning veterans and their families; research in this area would help clinicians and educators better understand and respond to the unique experience and needs of mothers who have lost children in wartime.  Grant support for this research is pending.

School of Management

Practically Applied
The Sage Graduate School of Management has prided itself on strong connections to the professions and to the businesses, organizations, and agencies in the community.  In addition, faculty members have active international collaborations.  The faculty are active scholars, leading dynamic research projects with real world applications.  In 2009-2010 faculty had numerous publications in peer review journals and book chapters, and presented at national conferences.

Kimberly Fredericks, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair of Graduate Programs in Management, maintains an active research portfolio applying social network analysis and evaluation within the public and nonprofit sectors.  Currently, Dr. Fredericks is applying social network analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of disseminating best-practice recommendations across a national network.  The project involves organizations actively engaged in childhood obesity prevention including federal and state government agencies, private foundations, professional societies, large non-profit organizations, small community-based organizations, academic institutions and industry foundations.  Evaluation identifies how various levels and interconnected networks are working together and identify gaps in communication.  Results will contribute to devising effective dissemination practices and knowledge for how to best advance knowledge, practice, and relevant policy changes to maximize impact.  The project is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The research focus of Daniel Robeson, PhD, Dean, School of Management is on innovation. Current research is investigating the dynamics of governance over breakthrough innovation within Fortune 1000 firms. Our primary research question investigates the boundary of agency theory within the firm. Using agency and stakeholder theoretic perspectives, we hypothesize that innovation thrives in firms which combine a board of directors operating in accordance with a high agency theoretic focus together with an innovation governance board operating deeper within the firm that employs a strong stakeholder theoretic orientation in its behavior.  Our model is tested with data from 98 large firms. Results suggest that the relationship between board of director’s behavior and the firm’s overall innovativeness is mediated by innovation decision-making boards that: a) promote projects that are breakthrough in scope, b) incorporate input of diverse constituencies within the firm, c) exhibit patience with financial results and d) engage in frequent, informal interactions with project teams.  Firms exhibiting high board of director agency orientation in combination with loyalty to mandate, patient financial capital disposition, inclusiveness, and project team interaction as described above for innovation governance board decision making prove to be the most innovative as measured by external indicators.  For firm innovativeness, consolidated managerial power and behavior is frequently present at the upper levels of the firm, but must be broken down at deeper levels of the firm.  This research offers implications to innovation decision-makers as to how to proceed if the intent is to offer commercializably successful breakthrough innovations.