Speights Advocates for Medical Education in Arkansas Media

Oct 03, 2018

Shane Speights, D.O., site dean, NYITCOM at A-State, recently published an op-ed in Talk Business & Politics regarding the physician shortage in Arkansas and the importance of the region's residency programs. He writes:

“As a state, we must expand opportunities to retain medical school graduates from seeking other options. Residency programs, which are largely based out of hospitals, are not one size fits all. However, every hospital can participate in residency training at some level. Unity Health, St. Bernards Medical Center, NEA Baptist Memorial and White River Medical Center each started graduate medical education in ways that fit their needs and the needs of their communities. Others are exploring the benefits of GME, and hopefully more will come.”

He further reminds Arkansans that physicians who study at rural medical schools must remain and practice in needed areas, stating, “Studies show physicians are more likely to practice in areas they are familiar with or have been exposed to during medical training.”

 

Kirk cited on "la psicología de la propiedad" in BBC Mundo

Sep 25, 2018

Assistant Professor of Marketing Colleen P. Kirk, D.P.S., is cited extensively in a BBC Mundo article about psychological ownership (“la psicología de la propiedad”). The article explains the principle that people view some products as an extension of themselves; it then discusses Kirk’s findings about psychological ownership’s potential to spark territorial behavior. (Non-readers of Spanish can read a translation of the article on Chrome by right clicking to “Translate to English.”)

Kirk answers the question, “Is using psychological ownership a form of manipulation?” by distinguishing manipulation from influence. “In my teaching, I try to influence my students’ behaviors, and even use psychological ownership to do it. For example, wherever I can give them control, such as over the topic of a major project, I try to do it because it enhances their feelings of ownership of the outcome of the work, and they perform better.” In contrast, manipulation is an effort to change behavior by using deceptive or abusive tactics.

 

Sotiropoulos Answers Questions for WalletHub

Sep 24, 2018

Associate Professor of Marketing Veneta Sotiropoulos has participated in an expert Q-&-A with WalletHub, sharing her expertise about credit cards for young people. Describing potential pluses and minuses of an introductory interest rate, Sotiropoulos says, “An introductory limited term APR of 0% can be a valuable tool in key periods of time (e.g., beginning of the school year) so long as students have experience managing their credit cards. However, it can also have adverse financial consequences if students overspend and then are unable to pay the balance, resulting in higher interest payments.” She also answers questions about advertising to vulnerable credit users and about targeting certain markets for particular credit cards.

 

Anid Calls for Support of University-Level STEM Education

Sep 21, 2018

Vice President for Strategic Communications and External Affairs Nada Anid, Ph.D., published an op-ed this week in University Business. Pointing to the increasing need for college-educated cybersecurity and machine learning experts, Anid calls for wide-ranging support for students who prepare themselves to work in critical STEM fields.

Anid says that colleges and universities need to be “nimble” to keep costs down while simultaneously bringing new technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence into their curricula. Private industry and the government have roles to play as well. “American students should know that if they become qualified in tech skills, the government will help pay for their education,” she says. She adds, “The private sector should match these efforts, offering to pay off loans for students who accept in-house security positions.”

 

Long Island Business News Features Quigley’s Appointment to Dean

Sep 21, 2018

Daniel Quigley, Ph.D., the newly named dean of NYIT College of Arts and Sciences, is featured in the Movers & Shakers column of Long Island Business News. “It’s a role for which Quigley is well-prepared. For the past 14 months, Quigley served as interim dean of the college. And he has been an NYIT faculty member since 1988,” the article reads.

 

Harper Named One to Watch in Education by Long Island Business News

Sep 20, 2018

Brian Harper, M.D., medical director and associate professor, Clinical Specialties, NYITCOM, was featured in the Long Island Business News Ones to Watch in Education column, which recognized his recent appointment as co-chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Each week, the regional newspaper highlights Long Island professionals from a given industry who are making great strides in their field.

 

Kirk Warns Brands About Psychological Ownership in Harvard Business Review

Sep 17, 2018

Assistant Professor Colleen P. Kirk of NYIT School of Management has published an op-ed in Harvard Business Review online. Explaining the psychological ownership customers feel about brands, Kirk advises marketers to use this force with care.

“Companies that encourage psychological ownership can entice customers to buy more products, at higher prices, and even to willingly promote those products among their friends,” says Kirk. “But if businesses disrespect this feeling,” she warns, “sales can suffer.”

 

Toma Discusses Jockey Helmet Research in The Paulick Report

Sep 14, 2018

Milan Toma, Ph.D., assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, was featured in an interview with The Paulick Report, a publication targeting the horseracing community. Toma discusses his research, which was funded in part by a $15,000 donation from the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and his plan to apply his knowledge of fluid movement in the body to testing helmets currently on the racetrack. Toma, who has engineered computer simulation models of jockey falls, said there are lots of models aimed at replicating the movement of the brain during head trauma, but few are as complete as the one he has created.

“When you look at existing brain models out there, none of them looks at the interaction between the fluid that surrounds the brain and the brain,” he said. “They all neglect the fluid because it's very expensive to include it.”

 

Kutasovic Gives Perspective on the Economy

Sep 13, 2018

Paul R. Kutasovic, Ph.D., a specialist in finance and economics in NYIT School of Management, provides his thoughts about state tax revenues in a story for Yahoo Finance.

The story examines states’ “rainy day funds” given the current economy. “Last year was a perfect storm of good news in the revenue side,” Kutasovic says. “We now have a pretty good job market, income tax collection is strong, sales tax collection is strong and property taxes are rebounding with housing prices and oil prices much higher.”

The article also cites Kutasovic on cash reserves in states that depend on oil revenues. “They have to put more aside," he explains, "in case oil prices go down again.”

 

Gibb Poses Solution to Antibacterial Resistance in Salon Op-Ed

Sep 09, 2018

In an op-ed published in Salon, Bryan Gibb, Ph.D., assistant professor of life sciences, proposes a solution to drug-resistant bacteria: viruses. As Gibb mentions, this year, approximately 700,000 people worldwide, including 23,000 Americans, will be killed by “superbugs,” disease-causing bacteria that can’t be killed by antibiotics. Gibb recommends researchers and the U.S. government dedicate resources to new treatments like bacteriophage therapy. He states:

“It may seem absurd to fight disease with viruses, but phages are already working wonders in some parts of the world. Doctors in the Republic of Georgia and Poland have used them for decades.”

Phages, which quickly evolve just like the mutating bacteria they fight, have a major edge over antibiotics, but their flexible nature also makes phages difficult to evaluate in a traditional clinical trial setting. To overcome this obstacle, Gibb recommends a separate FDA approval track for phage therapy.