1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Kelly Ricaurte
Keene State College
603-358-2119
kricaurte@keene.edu
Keene State College Undergraduate Research Project Studies Parent-
Child Relationships to Understand Cultural Differences
Student and Professor Collaborate as Part of the Program for Undergraduate
Research Experiences
Keene, NH, November TBD, 2014: Keene State College announces a new study on parent-
child relationships that will lead to a greater understanding of cultural differences. Assistant
professor of Communication and Philosophy, Dr. Chitra Akkoor, and Keene State
sophomore, Sara Jane LaFleur, are collaborating on the project as part of Program for
Undergraduate Research Experiences (PURE). The three-year project, which studies how
Euro-American parents and Indian American parents describe the challenges of parenting,
looking at both similarities and differences, is in its initial stages and will be completed by the
fall of 2015. The study will compare the different beliefs of parenthood within the two groups
with a view to understanding differences in culture.
“Based on prior research, I have a tentative hypothesis that Indian Americans will frame their
challenges as a cultural phenomenon of bringing up children in a culture different from their
own, whereas Euro-Americans will describe them as a result of natural developmental
process” said Dr. Akkoor. “Collaborating with students on research is beneficial to everyone
involved. Students gain research skills much sooner than their peers. Students begin during
their freshmen year, and by the time they are juniors, they complete a research project
understanding the methods involved and ways to apply their skills to projects yet to come.
This helps them in their classes and with future academic endeavors. For my part, I have
found tremendous help from our students in accomplishing my research goals.”
The PURE program at Keene State was created in 2010 to grow the College’s emphasis on
undergraduate research. The program engages more first- and second-year students in
research on campus. Involvement in mentored research is proven to have positive effects on
learning, social connection in college, and job and graduate school prospects. Ten to 15 of
the top incoming freshmen are invited into the program each fall semester and offered a
$1000 award. Students attend a one-credit course to learn about research and connect with
faculty who volunteer to visit the classroom and share their research. Students are matched
up with these faculty members based on their interests, becoming research assistants and
co-authors. Some of these research partnerships are within a discipline, and others are
interdisciplinary.
“What lead me to the research was general experience, and I know it is something I am
going to do in the future. But as I got more involved with this specific research, it became
really intriguing to me,” said Sara Jane Lafleur, sophomore studying Communications at
Keene State College from Amherst New Hampshire. “I have an interest in Indian culture and
with communications in general. This project not only allowed me to study a topic that
interests me, but also helped me decide to declare Communications as my major. ”

2. About Keene State College
Keene State College is a preeminent public liberal arts college that ensures student access
to world-class academic programs. Integrating academics with real-world application and
active community and civic engagement, Keene State College prepares graduates to meet
society’s challenges by thinking critically, acting creatively, and serving the greater good. To
learn more about Keene State College, visit www.keene.edu.
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