NYIT Energy Conference 2013: Extreme Weather

Jun 13, 2013

“The life that we would see forty or fifty years from now will be a life of much more hardship, much more challenge," due to the effects of climate change on land and the oceans, says Sarah Meyland, associate professor of Environmental Technology, on a live broadcast of The Richard French Show during NYIT's annual Energy Conference.  "The only way we can protect our children and those who come after our children is to do what we can now."  Meyland was among the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences organizers of the conference, which focused on extreme weather and its severe social, political, and economic implications.  WBCS-TV, Fios1News, and WINS-1010 AM also covered the conference.

 

Expensive Yet Effective: The Dilemma with Biologic Drugs

Jun 05, 2013

"To some extent, health care is becoming a commodity where, basically, if you can afford it, then you can have it," says Brian Harper, M.D., medical director, Academic Health Care Center of NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Newsday (subscription required). Biologic drugs, those made through special biological processes or even manufactured using patients' cells, are expensive but often very effective. Adds Harper: "From my perspective as a physician, I feel a patient in need should have whatever medicine is required."

 

Introverts Can Overcome Shyness During Panel Interviews

May 30, 2013

Panel interviews for healthcare positions are often stressful but even introverted candidates can reduce anxiety, say NYIT School of Health Professions nursing faculty members Carol Caico, Ph.D., CS, NP and Pam Treister, MSN, CNS, RN, in Health Callings. “To an introvert the stress is magnified and the fear they experience may result in cancelled interviews or poor performance,” says Caico, assistant professor of nursing, who advises anxious interview candidates to consider relaxation techniques or cognitive therapy to overcome severe anxiety. Treister, a clinical instructor, says  “practice is even more essential," and using a tape recorder to practice answering questions can help introverts reduce their fears.

 

How the Turtle Got its Shell

May 30, 2013

The origin of the turtle shell is a "hot topic," according to Gaberiel Bever, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. In Elsevier Connect , Bever explains that he and a team of researchers have concluded that a 260-million-year-old reptile from South Africa, Eunotosaurus africanus, is the earliest known version of a turtle, in part because of its distinctive T-shaped ribs. "Like other complex structures, the shell evolved over million of years and was gradually modified into its present-day shape," says Bever. The team's findings were published in Current Biology.

 

Physicians Adopt Mobile Technology

May 24, 2013

William Blazey, DO, assistant professor in the family medicine department at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, is using an iPAD to access electronic medical records as he treats patients, but he tells AMN Healthcare that while mobile technology improves how he cares for his patients, it does not decrease the time most patients spend in office visits. Yet, mobile software applications for physicians are growing, and Blazey is among the increasing number of physicians using tablets and smartphones on the job.

 

Glazer in Campus Technology: Strike a Balance When Building an Online Course

May 08, 2013

"Using too many types of media, tools, applications, and/or software is bewildering to students," says Francine Glazer, Ph.D., assistant provost and director of NYIT's Center for Teaching and Learning, in Campus Technology. Glazer, is widely quoted in "The 'Dos and Don'ts' of Synchronous Online Learning," and offers numerous tips for faculty members setting up or improving their online learning programs.

"Factor in your students' available bandwidth, what devices they are using and how current their software is," says Glazer. "Just one or two students who haven't updated their computer software, for example, and who need help troubleshooting, can hold up the whole class."  Glazer also advises that professors keep in mind that all students learn at different paces. "Cram in too much content without the opportunity for reflection, application, and integration and you'll wind up with an unengaged group that doesn't get what's going on."

 

Ott in Christian Science Monitor: Transfer Students Should Push for Academic Credit Information

May 07, 2013

Transfer students can spend more money and time if they don't know in advance which academic credits they've previously earned count toward their degree at their new institution, says NYIT Associate Dean Alex Ott, Ph.D., in The Christian Science Monitor. "Many colleges require a transfer student to make a commitment to attend before they will give out information about transfer credits," Ott says, noting that colleges often don't have the human and financial resources necessary to give transfer students the special attention they need. But Ott advices transfer students to ask for information anyway, even if universities normally don't provide it. "If you are forceful enough," he says, "you can get answers."

 

Anid: Gender Barriers in Science Can be Overcome

May 06, 2013

"Science doesn't have a gender," says School of Engineering and Computing Sciences Dean Nada Marie Anid, Ph.D., in a Long Island Business News (subscription required) article about the growing number of women in biotechnology.  

"We should be moving toward parity. There's no reason why science and technology should continue to be gender-discriminated." Anid says gender barriers exist in any field but that sexism "shouldn't stop anyone" from pursuing their chosen profession. At NYIT, she notes, half of all biotech students and almost 70 percent of all biology students are female.

 

Mergers are Like Marriages: They Require Understanding and Responsibility

Apr 30, 2013

"In a small company, you have to look at a merger as you would a marriage, in that you're going to spend so much time together," says William Lawrence, Ph.D., a professor of economics and entrepreneurship at New York Institute of Technology School of Management, in Inc. Lawrence offers several tips to help manage a merger. "You have to understand the sensitivity of turning something you've built from the bottom up into a different animal," says Lawrence. Defining new roles is also important, he adds, particularly when you understand responsibilities and chain of command. "If there's a problem, you'll know exactly what to do to solve it."

 

NYIT Dean Swims with Sharks

Apr 29, 2013

NYIT Vocational Independence Program Associate dean and Executive Director Ernst VanBergeijk, Ph.D., MSW, swam with the sharks at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead after losing a bet with his students. VanBergeijk had challenged his students to exercise -- and when they walked 62 million steps -- the equivalent of walking around the circumference of the earth -- he agreed to reward them with a shark dive. "Sharks are misunderstand and endangered, just like people with disabilities are misunderstood," says VanBergeijk, whose VIP program teaches students with autism and other types of learning disabilities how to work and how to live independently.