TECHNICIAN
september
28 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Students experience survey fatigue Weston Suggs Staff Writer
Response rates at N.C. State have dropped due to an excessive amount of surveys sent to students, otherwise known as survey fatigue. A committee has been assembled to regulate surveys at the University and address the problem. Nancy Whelchel, chair of the survey advisory committee, said the problem is being taken seriously. “We want to do everything possible for N.C. State University to collect information that we can use to make good decisions — that’s the bottom line,” Whelchel said. Provost Warwick Arden assembled the committee, whose members consist of representatives from various academic units at N.C. State and different people on campus who administer surveys. “Every single unit on campus is doing all these surveys along with others outside the University,” Whelchel said. “There are a lot of surveys going on.” There is roughly a 20 percent response rate for external surveys, those done outside the University, and about a 50 to 60 percent rate for institutional surveys, ones conducted within the University, according to the committee. “We don’t want survey fatigue to affect the quality of the data we get to make good decisions,” Whelchel said. “There’s only so many surveys people are going to do.” The survey advisory committee plans to present the provost with
friday
N.C. Research Campus faculty grows Naomi Whidden Correspondant
to recommend is a system where each survey is closely reviewed. If multiple surveys with similar questions exist, some could easily be eliminated. “I’d like to say that I would be able to keep really bad surveys from happening at N.C. State,” Whelchel said. “It’s in the best
N.C. State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute welcomes biologist Tzung-Fu Hsieh in August to lead enterprises on the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, N.C. “Tzung-Fu Hsieh brings a dynamic research focus to our organization,” Mary Ann Lila, PHHI director, said. Hsieh specializes in systems biology, an area of traditional biology that is relatively new and focuses on the interactions between components of biological systems and how those components impact the functions and behaviors of the systems. Hsieh’s particular area of specialization in systems biology is known as epigenetics, a study of understanding changes in gene behaviors caused by factors other than mutations in DNA. “His focus on plant epigenetics will serve as a valuable interface with other research programs at the N.C. Research Campus, creating opportunities with both academic and industry partners,” Lila said. Hsieh is researching ways to better understand endosperm development, including how imprinted gene behavior, or genes whose be-
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GRAPHIC BY BRETT MORRIS
new ideas on how to better organize surveys and data. There are hopes of a publicly accessible calendar that lists surveys and the groups of people being sampled. Whelchel said this would help organize whom the surveys go to, what questions are being asked and when they are being conducted. “People thinking about doing a survey could look at this calendar and see that they don’t need to do
the survey because somebody else already collected that information and can share this,” Whelchel said. “They can also see that groups of students are being asked to do multiple surveys at they same time and think ‘maybe I can wait a little bit.’” If a sample of random students is asked to do one survey, they will be taken out of the rotation for the next sample. Another idea the committee plans
University websites see increase in traffic Elizabeth Moomey
transformation by focusing on current and future students, Chacon said. N.C. State’s website and social As of January, the “Current Stumedia outlets have seen a measur- dents” tab, which has the largest able increase in traffic the past year audience, endured some large-scale thanks to redesign and creative col- changes with the collaboration of laboration, according to director of Student Government. Chacon said web communications, Luis Chacon. this partnership was born out of The University for mer st udent Facebook page has b o dy pre sident reached an all-time Kelly Hook’s goal high of more than to keep a student 60,000 likes, and government blog the Twitter page accessible to stuhas almost 5,000 dents. followers. In the “It was a natural last fiscal year, the partnership, now Brad Bohlander, chief communications officer genera l website we wonder ‘why gathered 12 mildidn’t we do this lion visitors, 40 percent of whom before?’” Chacon said. “Recent were new. presidents are more active…most Chacon attributes this increase to of the content is coming from Andy the work of the web communica- Walsh.” tion office and efforts to celebrate Changes were also made to the the University’s 125th anniversary academic and features calendars by relaying information to students as well as shifting the social media in a “content rich, fun and shareable” way. The website mirrors the TRAFFIC continued page 3 anniversary theme of tradition and Staff Writer
“There has been a shift in social media in this year...”
PHOTO COURTESY OF GRO PRO LAWNS
Gro Pro Lawns offers customers personalized lawn treatments based on an evaluation of their lawns. The package comes complete with all the essentials for a manicured lawn, as well as texts, email updates and reminders when it’s time for customers to use their product.
Entrepreneurship puts students in the green TeShima Brennen Staff Writer
insidetechnician Heading into the eye of the storm See page 8.
Laith Ulaby explores the music of the Middle East See page 5.
viewpoint features classifieds sports
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Gro Pro Lawns, a company started by two N.C. State students, works with local consumers to maintain healthy lawns by providing custom, environmentally friendly and cost-effective fertilizer. Ryan Walsh, a senior in turfgrass science teamed up with Daniel Walser, a senior in business administration, to help consumers balance the cost of fertilizer with the quality of their lawn. “We found that customers wanted to do the landscaping themselves,” Walser said. “The fertilizer consumers would buy wasn’t the best quality, plus the
instructions on how and when to apply fertilizer were unclear.” Go Pro Lawns conducts assessments to provide consumers with individualized lawn care packages that offer more than the generic fertilizer brands. “We realized that different environments need different fertilizers and treatments to help them grow,” Walsh said. “[Generic] fertilizer mostly contains nitrogen because it will work in different grasses across the country, creating one product that is useful to people no matter where they live in the U.S.” Walsh said nitrogen works well, but a lawn needs other chemicals to achieve full growth, like phosphorous and potassium. To find the right package for a lawn owner, Go Pro Lawns visits the
lawn and makes some assessments based on key factors. “There are three factors we look at when evaluating a lawn: what types of grass the lawn has, where the lawn is, and how big the property is,” Walser said. This information is used to create a custom lawn care system for the client with a package that includes six fertilizer applications per year, instructions on how to apply fertilizer, as well as when to apply it. Purchasing a package from Go Pro Lawns is just as affordable as purchasing a generic over-the-counter lawn care program, according to Walsh and Walser. “For a 5,000-square-foot lawn,
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