News and Events - Research

The Serious Business of Play

norrisma1 — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:40:36 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

May 16, 2013

Parents who want their children to succeed in school might help them more by encouraging them to play rather than to study academic subjects.

Reva Fish, assistant professor of social and psychological foundations of education, and Laura Klenk, assistant professor of elementary education and reading, are observing activities in pre-K classrooms. What they see is limited time for free play, and they share a concern: the importance of play is not understood by parents and educators.

“We are trying to find a way to talk about play that encourages people to take children’s play seriously,” said Klenk. Both educators agree that play—free, unstructured activity that children choose to engage in—is, among preschoolers, a developmentally appropriate way to learn. Substituting developmentally inappropriate activities may undermine children’s ability to develop the skills that underlie academic success: engagement, persistence, and stamina.

The focus on measuring academic achievement—testing—is occurring even among children ages 3 and 4. “We’re assessing reading and math skills at younger and younger ages,” Fish said. “We’re changing the activities, the lessons, the goals. But the problem is that children haven’t changed. Developmental milestones haven’t changed—drawing a straight line, drawing a figure.”

Klenk said that children engaging in play are developing academic skills as well as the emotional and behavioral skills that will enable them to succeed as they continue through childhood. “If they are playing among themselves, they have to learn how to talk to each other, and that’s developing language skills,” she said. Klenk, who has studied play for 25 years, added that the concept of quantity—counting—also develops through group play. “And play also has strong emotional and social development components,” she said.

Both educators agree that children who are engaged in unstructured, creative, self-chosen activities develop stamina for learning. Because they have freedom to choose, they stick with their play longer. “Learning is deeper, and it lasts longer,” said Fish. “This pattern is important as children move up through the grades.”

On the other hand, if teachers direct children’s learning too much, even through play, with directions such as “Make this,” or “Show me what you can make,” the learning is shallow and easily forgotten.

It’s not just educators or even testing, however, according to Fish and Klenk. “Parents are pressuring their pre-K classrooms and even day care centers to teach academic skills like word recognition,” said Fish. “It’s as if we’ve lost our faith that kids are born wanting to learn.”

Fish and Klenk were featured presenters at the 2013 Conference on the Value of Play held at Clemson University in February. The U.S. Play Coalition awarded them a seed grant to continue their research on the importance of play. They are meeting with other faculty members from the School of Education to discuss ways to persuade educators and parents to provide developmentally appropriate learning activities in pre-K classrooms. “Play is so important,” said Fish. “It’s short-sighted to take it away.”

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May 20, 2013

Student Research Explores Music, Physics, and Everything in Between

norrisma1 — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:20:07 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

May 1, 2013

To see the wide range of student and faculty interests at Buffalo State, check out the schedule for the fifteenth annual Student Research and Creativity Celebration. The celebration opens with a reception on Friday, May 3, at 5:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library lobby, and it runs all day Saturday, May 4. Students will present their original research and creative projects during the all-day event.

Students will discuss papers at oral presentations that begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and run until about 5:30 p.m. Poster presentations will take place all day. And it’s hard to imagine a topic that isn’t covered.

The oral presentations are divided into five major categories: business, computer information systems, and technology; education; humanities; science, mathematics, and health; and social sciences. A sample the topics: "Safety in the NFL"; "Mathematical Modeling of Tuberculosis"; "Efficient Verification of Medical Device Software"; "An All-American City: Building Buffalo with Pride."

Many of the students conducted their research in conjunction with a class. Other students are presenting their senior or master’s theses, or research conducted as independent study.

Long before the celebration, students learned how to conduct scholarly research, build on the work of other scholars, and critically evaluate evidence and arguments. Behind each student-project is a faculty member who provided direction, guidance, encouragement, and expertise.

Daniel Potts, assistant professor of biology, served as a mentor to several students who are participating in this year’s celebration. “Giving students one-on-one time with faculty is a strength here at Buffalo State,” Potts said. “This celebration shows that. It also gives students and faculty members the opportunity to share their experiences with one another across disciplines. Another important aspect is that it gives students a genuine opportunity to practice communicating their ideas to people outside their own areas of study.”

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May 3, 2013

Tower Foundation Grant Funds Px20 Initiative

norrisma1 — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:24:42 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

April 30, 2013

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation has awarded a grant of $277,406 to Buffalo State. The grant will enable the Center for Health and Social Research (CHSR) to provide evaluation, data collection, and data utilization services to Px20. The Px20 collaborative group of prevention agencies was formed to respond to the need for improved substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion services as identified by the Erie County Department of Mental Health.

In addition to the data collection and analysis services provided by CHSR, the Tower Foundation’s generous grant will support implementation of substance abuse prevention activities, organizational development and capacity-building activities associated with the Px20 collaborative, and training for community-based substance abuse prevention coalitions.

Substance abuse prevention activities include a broad media campaign, using evidence-based environmental prevention approaches to target parents, youth, and the general population via cable television, radio, social media, buses and mass transit, and local print media.

"The benefit of this media campaign is that it ties Px20’s efforts and the efforts of local coalitions together into a coordinated prevention campaign,” said William Wieczorek, director of the CHSR. CHSR is one of Px20’s member organizations.

A third component of the grant-funded project is hiring a national consulting firm, La Piana Associates, which will guide Px20 through the process of identifying a formal model for ongoing collaboration and developing a governance structure for implementation. Once the model has been implemented, it will be used to include other agencies and community entities in the Px20 collaborative.

“As a result,” said Wieczorek, “the prevention efforts of many Western New York agencies will present a united front, maximize resources, and increase the impact of those efforts.”

Funds will support the training of Px20 agency staff in the use of evidence-based prevention practices, which will focus on school health initiative planning, obesity prevention, and bullying prevention. Jonathan Lindner, an associate of CHSR who is certified as a coordinated school health model trainer by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will provide the school health initiative planning at no cost. Funds will also support the training of trainers in other prevention strategies, which will provide Px20 member agencies with in-house resources and minimize, over time, the need for outside training.

“To conduct the surveys necessary to collect data,” said Wieczorek, “we will recruit undergraduate and graduate students who are trained in human subject ethics and scientific survey protocol. This provides Buffalo State students and the Western New York community with a synergistic dynamic that benefits both.”

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May 1, 2013

Biology Interns Prepare for Biotech, Research Careers

norrisma1 — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:00:45 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

April 25, 2013

Biology students have more than a new science building to enjoy. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Derek Beahm, research assistant professor of biology, students also have some exciting new internship opportunities.

The Biology Department offers three concentrations: aquatic biology, biotechnology, and integrative biology. Because of the Great Lakes Center and its scientists, aquatic biology majors have had several internship opportunities. Beahm is focusing on developing internship opportunities for the other two concentrations.

“Students tell me what their interests are,” said Beahm, “and I try to find them internships that will help them reach their goals.” Beahm said that internships expose students to work activities that can help guide their career choices. “And of course,” he said, “any student benefits from working off campus and developing a professional network.”

Beahm, who joined the Buffalo State faculty in fall 2012, is focusing on several categories of internships, including internships in the medical or allied health fields, in basic or applied research, in zoo or museum work, and in biotechnology firms.

One such firm is CH3 Biosystems, an award-winning supplier of high-performance molecular tools and services used in research, including medical research. Director of research John M. Aletta, Ph.D., who co-founded CH3, is the site supervisor for interns.

“I’ve been very happy with the students from Buffalo State,” said Aletta. “Last semester, a student helped a great deal with early experiments, and this semester Kayla Schaeffer picked up where he left off.” As the owner of an early-stage company, Aletta especially appreciates students who are interested in the intersection of biology and business.

Schaeffer said that she’s learning a lot at CH3. “I’m getting a lot of hands-on experience working in a lab and learning new techniques and equipment,” she said. Schaeffer, who became interested in biology in high school, said that she doesn’t want to be a doctor. “I’d rather help people behind the scenes,” she said.

Anthony D’Auria, a senior, has been interning at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in a lab that’s focusing on a particular protein, NADPH oxidase, and its importance to the immune system. “I majored in biology because I want to become a surgeon, but this experience is making me consider a career in science,” he said.

D’Auria has learned a lot, beginning with a crash course in the immune system. “I’ve learned a lot of different lab techniques,” he said. “For example, PCR—polymerase chain reaction—is a technique that allows you to amplify DNA. I learned to use a confocal microscope, which gives you a three-dimensional image of a cell. Plus, I’ve learned what it’s like to work in a lab, and to see how people collaborate and bounce ideas off each other.” He is also included as a coauthor on a paper published in the Journal of Immunology.

To ensure that each student has a meaningful experience, Beahm customizes a learning plan for each intern. “Students send me a weekly log, and I make site visits to see what’s going on,” said Beahm. He plans to incorporate resume preparation and interview skills into the internship program.

The number of internships in the integrative and biotech concentrations has tripled this year. “We have affiliations with seven new partners,” said Beahm, “and we’re working on developing more with partners who want to help us prepare tomorrow’s scientists."

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April 29, 2013

Fashion and Textile Technology Department Forms Exchange with Beijing University

norrisma1 — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:51:07 +0000

Author:

Laurie Kaiser

Published Date:

April 23, 2013

When Lynn Boorady, chair and associate professor of fashion and textile technology at Buffalo State, visited Beijing University of Technology’s College of Art and Design last October, she was struck by the diligence and friendliness of its students—and the beautiful clothes they created. The faculty in Beijing, in turn, was impressed with the contributions Buffalo State students are making to the fashion world, and suggested creating a mutually beneficial exchange between the two institutions.

On Thursday, April 25, two days before Runway 6.0, Buffalo State’s annual fashion show, an exchange agreement will be formalized in a small ceremony in E. H. Butler Library from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Buffalo State's Center for China Studies is also supporting the exchange, which will enable six to eight fashion students to travel to Beijing for two weeks beginning in spring 2014. Every spring thereafter, the two institutions will alter sending students and a faculty member to the other school to study, exhibit work, and share ideas.

Two faculty members and three students from Beijing University, along with a Chinese fashion industry professional, are visiting Buffalo as part of a 10-day visit. Along with signing the agreement, participating in a few classes, and touring the region while learning about traditional American arts and crafts, they are participating in Runway on Saturday, April 27, in the Campbell Student Union’s Social Hall.

”I saw their ideas and inspiration when I was over there. I’m excited to see the completed projects,” Boorady said. “I know they are going to be fantastic.”

The exchange not only will expose Buffalo State students to another culture, it will boost their resumes, as fashion and textile companies do the majority of their international work in China and India. While any travel experience is beneficial for students, showing a potential employer that they “have the mettle” to study in India or China is impressive, Boorady said.

“These students in China are their competition. It’s not just the students sitting next to them in class,” she said. “We are competing with the world now.”

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Buffalo State Scientists Receive $1.1 Million EPA Grant via Cornell

norrisma1 — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:55:51 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

April 22, 2013

Alexander Karatayev, director of the Great Lakes Center at Buffalo State, and Lyubov Burlakova, research scientist with the center, have been named project directors on a $1.1 million grant awarded via subcontract from Cornell University.

The entire grant of $3.9 million was awarded by the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Lars Rudstam, director of the Cornell Biological Field Station, is the principal investigator. Burlakova will be responsible for the grant management at Buffalo State.

The five-year grant will enable a team of researchers to study the lower trophic (food web) levels of all the Great Lakes from Lake Superior to Lake Ontario. Two technicians and two graduate students from Cornell, plus a technician and a graduate student from Buffalo State, will complete the core team.

“We’re studying the benthos [organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom] in the Great Lakes,” said Karatayev. “We were invited to be part of the team that submitted the proposal because we have experience in benthos research and invasive species.”

Karatayev and Burlakova are internationally known experts in invasive species, particularly certain kinds of molluscs; an article they published with coauthors Demetrio Boltovskoy and Dianna K. Padilla in Journal of Shellfish Research about invasive bivalves has been cited by other scientists more than any other article published by the journal in the last two years.

The project, which began this month, will provide data to agencies charged with managing the Great Lakes.

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New Master's Programs: Great Lakes Ecosystem Science

norrisma1 — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:06:50 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

April 19, 2013

The Great Lakes Center at Buffalo State is offering two new master’s programs in Great Lakes ecosystem science beginning August 2013. Both programs share certain required and elective courses, but they differ in their objectives. The master of science program is designed to prepare its graduates for management positions in the environmental sciences; the master of arts program prepares graduates for research positions or academic careers.

With water from four of the five Great Lakes flowing past the Great Lakes Center Field Station at the mouth of Lake Erie, both programs offer extensive hands-on experience. The field station maintains three large research vessels and a fleet of smaller boats.

The programs respond to demand from both students and employers throughout the Great Lakes ecosystem. “These programs meet a need for people trained to apply scientific data and processes to the questions and concerns related to the Great Lakes,” said Alexander Karatayev, professor and director of the Great Lakes Center.

The interdisciplinary degree will draw on graduate courses already being offered in the biology, chemistry, geography, geology, and planning programs at Buffalo State. “We have a strong, hands-on GIS program in place,” said Kelly Frothingham, program coordinator and associate professor and chair of the Geography and Planning Department. “Students will be able to choose electives that are relevant to their area of specialization.”

The Great Lakes Center will offer specialized seminars, internships, and coursework for students enrolled in the programs. “Throughout the Great Lakes region, we see questions and concerns relating to water quantity and quality, lake diversion, climate change, land use change, brownfield development, and invasive species,” said Karatayev. “Our new programs will prepare students to bring scientific solutions to these issues.”

The master of science program is modeled on the guidelines for professional science master’s (PSM) degrees. PSM programs provide students with business leadership training through courses in communication, economics, and project management. Plans are in the works to apply for official affiliation status with the national PSM agency—the Keck Graduate Institute. Government agencies, environmental consulting groups, and non-governmental agencies have indicated, through surveys and meetings, support for such a program. Eligible students are invited to apply.

“The Great Lakes Center, its research scientists, and its faculty associates have established a reputation for expertise on the issues facing the Great Lakes and on the biology of invasive species,” said Mark Severson, dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences. “With these new graduate programs, we fill a very important niche in educating students to manage one of the world’s most crucial natural resources.”

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April 22, 2013

Sobol Shares Findings on Gun Buyback Programs

norrisma1 — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:50:56 +0000

Author:

Laurie Kaiser

Published Date:

April 10, 2013

James J. Sobol, associate professor of criminal justice, will share his research on the effectiveness of gun buyback programs on Friday, April 12, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.

“Reducing Gun Violence: The Rhetoric and Reality of a Gun Buyback Program” is part of the Year of the City lecture series. It is free and open to the public.

“There are a number of assumptions about guns—that fewer guns result in less crime and, at the other end of the spectrum, that we should give people more guns to protect themselves,” said Sobol who will address how these two divergent perceptions factor into the hotly debated nationwide conversation on gun ownership.

What Sobol has discovered is that gun buyback programs do not result in lower crime rates.

“The results of the study show that there has been no significant impact in the cities (including Buffalo) that offered a gun buyback program,” he said. “The population of people turning in guns is likely not the same population of people committing crimes in the city.”

Additionally, the new gun legislation being considered in some states and adopted in others is intended to stop a type of shooting that occurs very infrequently, Sobol said.

“We need more sensible gun policies that respond to crimes that occur frequently,” he said. “We need to seize this window of opportunity to evaluate the effects of various gun policies and formulate policy based on sound social scientific evidence.”

Finally, Sobol concluded that enhanced background checks that close the loopholes and police efforts that focus on high-risk places and high-risk people, should be emphasized if we hope to have an impact on gun crime rates.

Sobol’s research includes empirical assessments of violence reduction strategies and police behavior, attitudes, organizations, and management.

For more information on this and other Year of the City lectures, call (716) 878-6674.

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Scientist to Research Niagara River’s Turtles

norrisma1 — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:42:38 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

April 5, 2013

Biotelemetry pioneer Ed Standora, professor of biology, has been named principal investigator of the first behavioral research ever conducted on turtles in the binational Niagara River. Kenneth Roblee, senior wildlife biologist at the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Buffalo office, is co-principal investigator.

The project, sponsored by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and funded by its Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Fund for $365,000 for two-and-a-half years, is part of NYPA’s Niagara Power Project relicensing implementation.

“No one has ever done any behavioral or tracking studies of turtles in the Niagara River,” said Standora, who has been studying turtles in Central America and along the Mid-Atlantic States for decades. With the assistance of Brian Haas and Jeremy Henderson, both of whom are pursuing master’s degrees in biology at Buffalo State, Standora is putting the pieces in place so the project can begin as soon as the weather breaks.

Standora’s turtle research is only part of his expertise. He started his career developing a biotelemetry system to study sharks off the California coast in the late 1960s. Biotelemetry is the use of technology to collect information about animals in their natural habitats.

The two species of interest in this project are the common map turtle (Graptemys geographica) and the eastern spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera). “The first step of the project will be to catch 20 turtles of each species,” said Standora, “so that’s the first thing Brian and Jeremy will do this spring.”

The next step will be tagging each turtle with a radio transmitter, a sonic transmitter, and a data logger. “The equipment doesn’t affect the turtles’ mobility any more than a pair of shoes affects ours,” said Standora. “It will be less than five percent of their body weight.”

The radio transmitter will enable the research team to monitor the turtles above water; the sonic transmitter will emit a signal that can be detected underwater, and the data logger, a conical device that’s about half the size of the tip of a pinkie finger, will record depth and water temperature every minute. In addition to actively tracking the animals by boat, there will also be remote receiving stations recording turtle activity at constriction points in the Niagara River around Grand Island and ending at the Great Lakes Center Field Station at the mouth of Lake Erie.

The study will provide a population count of both species; information about their movement in the Niagara River and Lake Erie; and information about their life cycle. “We’ll find out where they nest, where they bask, and where they brumate,” said Standora. “They have to bask to collect energy from sunlight to digest their food. Brumation is the reptile version of hibernation in mammals.” The study will also provide information about the turtles’ behavior in the winter.

Both Haas and Henderson will tag the turtles, locate them through the use of telemetric devices, snorkel to retrieve them to download the data logger information, and release them. Haas said, “I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, so this project is very exciting.” Henderson has enjoyed “herping”—looking for snakes and other reptiles—since he was a little boy. Both share Standora’s excitement about the use of biotelemetry, because it allows them to learn how animals behave in their native habitats.

For this team, spring can’t come soon enough.

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Insertion Date for Daily Bulletin Feature:

April 9, 2013