Research

Amar Saric, a doctoral student in computing and information systems in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “An Approach to Reducing Parameter Uncertainty for Robotic Surface Assembly Tasks’ at 12:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 21, in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 436. Jing Xiao is the dissertation advisor.

The StressWAVES Biobehavioral Research Lab is seeking healthy adults to participate in the Smoking, Immunity and Mood (SIM) study.
Participation would require one, early morning lab session that would last two and a half hours. Subjects would complete a questionnaire and provide blood samples. At the conclusion of the study, participants would be paid a $35 stipend and receive a free health-status snapshot, including blood pressure and fasting cholesterol levels.

James Tabor, professor and chair of religious studies, will discuss the relationship between Israel and the United States at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12, at UNC Charlotte Center City, Room 204, as the fourth speaker in the 2014 Great Decisions lecture series.

 Local communities can expect the number and asset size of philanthropic foundations to increase, due to the rise in health care consolidations driven by health care reform. In the past, assets of this kind may have been underused or even undocumented.  A new database created by UNC Charlotte researchers can help bridge this gap.

For a week, 39 students in a health communication topics course will attempt to live on $29 – the average food stamp benefit for a person in North Carolina.
The assignment, under the direction of Jillian Tullis, assistant professor of communication studies, is one aspect of the course “Health Communication Film and Technology.” Students were introduced to the topic through the documentary “Food Inc.,” a film that examines corporate farming in the United States.

Faculty and EPA staff may be familiar with the cumbersome and sometimes confusing paper process involved with submitting their Conflict of Interest (COI) Disclosures that are required annually by University Policy 102.2 “Conflicts of Interest and Commitment.” For the fall 2014 disclosure submission cycle, this paper process will be a thing of the past.

James Walsh, associate professor and associate chair of political science and public administration, will discuss defense technology at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 5, in UNC Charlotte Center City, Room 204, as part of the 2014 Great Decisions lecture series.
Walsh’s research and teaching interests also include international human rights, national security policy and European integration. Currently, he is studying the relationships between terrorist attacks and human rights abuses and is completing a book on the politics of international intelligence sharing.

Project Mosaic, established by the University to enhance social and behavioral science research, will hold a number of free workshops for faculty and graduate students. Registration is required.
The workshops have been selected by Project Mosaic officials to meet the methodological needs of social and behavioral scientists.
Upcoming workshops include:
“Thinking about Qualitative Software:  NVivo and Its Potential” at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 29, in Atkins Library, Room 273.

Parallels between social media blogs, tweets and other virtual media to that of writings in 17th-century France is the focus of the next Personally Speaking talk scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 13, in the J. Murrey Atkins Library.

For the first time in five years, 2014 is poised to be a “recovery year” for the North Carolina economy, UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton reported today in his quarterly forecast for the state.