Dear Engaged Institutions Initiative colleagues,

Some of your students may be interested in this summer opportunity:

The School of Public Health in the University of Alabama at Birmingham is offering a summer research internship for students interested in studying neighborhood poverty and its impact on adolescent behavior. Students who participate in the internship, which is in its 11th year, will conduct a survey of adolescents living in public housing and other very low-income neighborhoods in Mobile and Prichard, Alabama. This longitudinal survey, which has been administered annually since 1998 and has been funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), addresses challenges that young people face as they grow up in impoverished neighborhoods, including violence, alcohol and drug use, sexual behavior, the development of self-esteem and a sense of the future, and family dynamics.

Interns will also have an opportunity to participate in other studies involving the same population.

They are soliciting applications from students who would like to participate in this unique learning experience. Interns, who may be either undergraduate or graduate students, will be required to live in Mobile between May 19, 2008 and August 1, 2008. The first week, they will receive rigorous training for the project, including recruiting research participants, interviewing, and the general conduct of field research. Following training, they will go out in the field; their work will involve door-to-door recruitment of survey participants (to obtain parental permission and informed consent and to schedule a survey time), documentation of the recruitment efforts, and data collection (through administration of the survey in both group and individual settings). Each student who participates will receive a stipend ($7.50 per hour) to cover living expenses. We are happy to work with students desiring course credit, although this should be arranged through their home universities. International students must contact the International Student Offices at their own university and at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to determine whether they are eligible to participate, and to arrange all of the paperwork for them to be paid. General work hours are between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM, with some limited weekend work required. They will accept 20-30 student interns into the program.

In the past, they have accepted students from a variety of social science and related disciplines, including Public Health, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Political Science, Criminal Justice, Human Development, African American Studies, Women's Studies, Education, and Biology. All interns will have access to the data for academic purposes. Three students have completed master's theses using these data, and others are using the data for doctoral dissertations.

Internship applicants should have good communication skills, be able to work well in a team setting, and be sensitive to issues of race and poverty. They will help interns find either commercial or university (dormitory) housing.

Their preference is for students who can spend the entire summer in Mobile. However, during past years they have accommodated some students who have not been able to join until June, and they will conduct a second training session beginning June 4, 2008. Also, they understand that many students have prior commitments and will have to be gone for a week or two during the summer; they can accommodate this as well.

For more information, please contact John Bolland (contact information is listed below). Interested students should send a note indicating their interest and a resume (with names of and contact information for three references). The will begin screening applicants on March 17 2008, although they will continue accepting applications until all positions are filled (typically at least the middle of April).

John M. Bolland

Department of Health Behavior

School of Public Health

University of Alabama at Birmingham

RPHB 227

1530 3rd Avenue South

Birmingham, AL 35294-0022

(205) 975-7149

bollandj@uab.edu