CBHHS Research Symposium Highlights Research and Collaboration Across College
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 College of Business, Health, and Human Services (CBHHS) brought faculty, graduate students, and campus colleagues together Sept. 17-18 for its annual Research Symposium, showcasing the breadth of research across the college and creating opportunities to share ideas, learn from one another, and explore new collaborations.
The two-day symposium featured research presentations from faculty and graduate students who received CBHHS research grants, along with workshops and a guest lecture from Dr. Elizabeth McIngvale, a clinician, researcher, adjunct faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine, and director of the OCD Institute of Texas. Her talk, titled 鈥淭he Un-Fragile Generation: What OCD and Anxiety Research Teaches Us About Educating Independent, Resilient Young Adults,鈥� closed the first day of the symposium.
Drawing from her experience growing up with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and later receiving evidence-based treatment, she discussed how well-intentioned efforts to ease anxiety could sometimes reinforce avoidance. McIngvale encouraged attendees to recognize anxiety without removing the situations that triggered it, connecting the approach to the classroom, where faculty could support students through anxiety and hardship while helping them face those experiences and build resilience.
Research presented throughout the symposium spanned topics ranging from maternal health disparities and workforce skills to artificial intelligence (AI), homelessness services, and community volunteerism.
Assistant professor Judy Staley of the School of Nursing and associate professor Stacy Pendergraft of the School of Literary and Performing Arts examined how culturally responsive simulation could prepare nursing students to address maternal health disparities.
鈥淲e cannot teach students only how to recognize a hemorrhage, manage preeclampsia, or respond to an obstetric emergency,鈥� Staley said. 鈥淲e also have to teach them to recognize the patient in front of them, listen to what that patient is telling them, identify potential bias, and have the confidence to advocate.鈥�
At the School of Business, associate professor Connie Barber examined how skills acquired through online gaming could apply to the digital workforce. Her research focused on how gamers used communication, problem-solving, collaboration, and project management skills in online environments and how employers could better recognize them.
Graduate researcher Meher Mujtehdi Syeda of the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology examined public perceptions of AI therapy, safeguards, and legal accountability. Her study found that safeguards were a primary factor in how participants assigned liability when something went wrong with an AI system.
鈥淲hat really interested me was seeing how much people are starting to rely on AI, not just for everyday tasks, but also for emotional and mental health support,” Syeda said. “AI can respond in a very human-like way and can even sound empathetic, but at the end of the day, it is a chatbot, not a licensed therapist. That made me interested in what happens when someone, especially a young or vulnerable person, starts depending on AI for that kind of support.鈥�
Assistant professor in the School of Social Work, Dr. Esaa Samarah, and graduate students Joanna S谩nchez, Morgan Craven, Myranda James, and Phillip Hill assessed how the use of corporal punishment changed across Arkansas public schools over 15 years. The project was prompted by the continued use of corporal punishment in some Arkansas schools and the broader shift toward trauma-informed approaches and positive school climates.
Katie Helms, an associate professor in the School of Counseling, Human Performance and Rehabilitation, examined another community-based question through her research on volunteers at road races in Arkansas. Using a mixed-methods approach, her study examined why people volunteered, the benefits they gained from the experience, and the factors that might have prompted them to continue volunteering.
Other faculty and graduate student presentations explored employment after incarceration, police reporting and AI, sentencing trends, leadership in law enforcement, telehealth, legal decision-making, and other matters impacting communities and organizations.
The projects presented at the symposium covered a wide range of topics, but each offered a closer look at an issue affecting people, organizations, or communities. The symposium gave researchers an opportunity to share their work with colleagues, hear different perspectives, and learn from research happening across the college.
鈥淭his year’s Research Symposium showcased the depth and range of scholarship happening across the College of Business, Health, and Human Services, which ranged from criminal justice and nursing, to social work and sports management,鈥� said Tusty ten Bensel, associate dean and professor of criminal justice.
鈥淭he interdisciplinary conversations that unfolded between faculty, students, staff, and community members reminded us why this event matters,” she added. McIngvale’s “keynote left a lasting impression on everyone in the room with her message about building resilience in young adults. Altogether, we are proud of the work happening across CBHHS, and grateful to everyone who made these two days a success.鈥�