Misak Explains the Storytelling Benefits of Video Games on The Academic Minute

Nov 03, 2017

In the November 3 segment of The Academic Minute, assistant professor of English and director of Technical Communication, John Misak, examines how video games can improve student storytelling and writing skills, noting that many of today’s video games parallel the greatest literature in history, with an added immersive experience.

As Misak states, “Having students play video games or even watch YouTube videos of games can provide visual learners with a critical eye toward other works of narrative, including literature and film. Students learn differently, and for visual learners it’s often a matter of ‘don’t tell me, show me’. Science now backs this up; new research has also shown that video games directly engage the hippocampus, the part of the brain thought to be the center of emotion and memory, and impart environmental enrichment to players.”

 

Marketing Professor Talks Credit Cards and College Students

Nov 03, 2017

School of Management Associate Professor Veneta Sotiropoulos is featured discussing credit cards for college students in a recent WalletHub post. Answering questions about introducing students to credit cards, Sotiropoulos says, “Credit literacy should be a requirement for college students, or anybody else, to get their first credit card. Credit literacy should focus on generating awareness of the components that make up a person's credit score, as well as what constitutes risky credit card behavior that leads to credit card mismanagement.”

 

CAS Adjunct Professor Cited on Executive Communications

Nov 02, 2017

NYIT adjunct professor of communication arts William Scheckel is cited in The Economist’s Executive Education Navigator in a story about wielding influence in an environment of digital distractions. Scheckel advises executives to “keep it brief, and make it sound like you, not your attorney.” Scheckel also recommends caution while trying to communicate humor. “No matter how funny you are in person, don’t assume everyone will get the joke, so explain it, use an emoji, or when in doubt, just don’t do it,” he warns.

 

Solounias Lends Expertise to New York Times Article on Early Giraffe Ancestor

Nov 01, 2017

Giraffe evolution expert and professor of Anatomy and Basic Sciences, Nikos Solounias, Ph.D., was mentioned in a The New York Times article regarding the discovery of an ancient giraffe ancestor in Spain, known as Decennatherium rex. The fossilized remains of the primitive giraffe suggest the creature, which had four horns and a short neck, lived in modern day Spain nine million years ago, and is believed to have migrated from Africa. The article notes Solounias’ observation that the creature looked more like a giant moose than today's giraffes.

 

NYITCOM Research on Health Consequences of the Western Diet Receives Publicity

Oct 31, 2017

Medical Xpress, and InnovateLI have featured the research of Maria Alicia Carrillo Sepulveda, Ph.D., NYITCOM, and medical student Benjamin Kramer. Findings suggest that short-term exposure to the average American diet may increase one’s risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

As stated in InnovateLI, “With the obesity epidemic worsening in the United States – the AHA says 91 million Americans are losing the battle of the bulge, including 13 million children – the research is a slap in the all-beef patty, according to Carrillo Sepulveda, who notes that even short-term exposure to a western diet 'can put individuals at risk for developing vascular damage long before the tell-tale signs of diabetes are present'.”

 

Center for Sports Medicine Highlighted for Brain Injury Awareness Efforts in LIBN

Oct 30, 2017

The NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine Center for Sports Medicine was included in the Nonprofit Highlights of the Week column of Long Island Business News for its support of a brain injury awareness event, which took place on the Long Island campus. Pictured are Hallie Zwibel, D.O., director, Center for Sports Medicine, and Eileen Reardon, executive director, Brain Injury Association of New York State.

 

Insight into Diversity Features Book on Women in Tech

Oct 23, 2017

An article in the November issue (page 9) of Insight Into Diversity focuses on a new book, The Internet of Women, which has been edited by several tech leaders, including NYIT’s Nada Anid. The book profiles 30 women in tech and engineering worldwide and uses case studies to look at how women are succeeding in industries once solely reserved for men. In discussing the book, Anid says, “The glaring absence of women in leadership roles in tech and engineering is a rallying cry for interventions and strategies toward gender equality and culture change [which are] all addressed in this book through an engaging collection of essays that recount the persistence of women in tech and the richness of diversity and inclusion.”

 

SWE Magazine Features Dean Anid Among its Women Engineering Leaders in Academe 2017

Oct 23, 2017

In its fall issue, SWE Magazine features NYIT’s Nada Anid in an interview-style article about women engineering deans in higher education and asks them to  share their perspectives, insight, and advice.

In terms of how she is leading change, Anid says, “I created an Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center because I felt that it would complement what students do in the classroom, equipping them with business skills, and teaching them to pitch their ideas and how to fund and manage a start-up. This was a particularly important project to instill risk-taking and the acceptance of failure in female students.”

Among other insights, Anid shares her view on the role of deans: “Academic deans are leaders who inspire and set a vision that grows and advances their unit. Deans set goals and priorities for their schools … and run their schools with an entrepreneurial spirit, always anticipating new trends and pushing research and innovation. They are responsible for all the students, faculty, staff, and academic programs and majors in their school. Aside from academics, deans manage their school’s budgets and finances, as well as renovations and expansions. They also cultivate relationships and forge partnerships that benefit their school and secure external resources to support various initiatives through fundraising and grants.”

 

Wolf Interviewed by The American Academy of Physician Assistants

Oct 23, 2017

The American Academy of Physician Assistants interviewed Associate Professor of Physician Assistant (PA) Studies, Corri Wolf, regarding the ways in which obesity is addressed in PA curricula. In the article, Wolf notes that PAs often graduate with having learned relatively little about the diagnosis and management of this highly prevalent chronic disease, calling for the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants to reconsider the categorization of obesity. As Wolf mentions, the commission currently lists obesity as a psychiatry/behavioral condition under the category of eating disorders. While eating disorders can be associated with obesity, obesity itself is not an eating disorder.

“This categorization is likely having a negative impact on [obesity’s] coverage in PA school,” says Wolf, arguing that this classification may lead PA schools to rely on psychiatry faculty members to educate students on obesity, an approach which could be problematic, as these individuals may not be informed on the disease’s pathophysiology, medical consequences, lifestyle interventions, pharmacology, and surgical interventions. Instead, Wolf, who is also a nutritionist, recommends classifying obesity under the endocrine category.

 

Reinisch Discusses a Recent Read in The Chronicle

Oct 22, 2017

The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes contributions from senior officials and professors at colleges for "What I'm Reading," a regular feature that responds to the following question: What have you read lately that is insightful and useful to you as you think about higher education? Lou Reinisch was featured in the current issue for his insights about the book Playing by the Rules: How Our Obsession With Safety Is Putting Us All at Risk. “In academe, the ‘rules’ we follow often go unexamined,” he notes. “Any complex organization needs rules, and universities are no exception,” he says, but adds that he agrees with the authors’ challenge to step back occasionally and question those rules. “As teachers, researchers, and administrators, we should look for the evidence to demonstrate that our practices support our institution’s mission.”