News from CLASS

Research explores relationship between social media and drinking

A psychologist at the University of Houston is exploring the ways in which social media influences alcohol consumption among college students. Dr. Mai-Ly Nguyen Steers, a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer, will use a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study how social media, and Facebook in particular, shapes students' drinking habits. Read more

Do animals think rationally?

Previous research has shown that animals can remember specific events, use tools and solve problems. But exactly what that means whether they are making rational decisions or simply reacting to their environment through mindless reflex – remains a matter of scientific dispute. Dr. Cameron Buckner, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Houston, argues in an article published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research that a wide range of animal species exhibit so-called “executive control” when it comes to making decisions, consciously considering their goals and ways to satisfy those goals before acting. Read more

Dr. Daphne Hernandez wins Best Research Article Award from the National Council on Family Relations

Health and Human Performance faculty Dr. Daphne Hernandez has won the Best Research Article Award given by the Men in Families Focus Group from The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR).  Dr. Hernandez won the award for her paper, “The role of boomerang fathers in adolescent female depression” published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 78 (October 2016). The Men in Families Focus Group - Best Research Article Award is intended to honor peer-reviewed journal publications, on men in families, that are innovative and that advance the field. It is presented to the author(s) of the best research article related to men in families for the year prior to the award. Read more

Researchers shift focus to adolescents struggling to read with $8.4 million grant

Reading experts have effective strategies to help many of the youngest children who struggle to read, but those approaches have been less effective with older students. Children with reading difficulties whose first language isn’t English pose special challenges for intervention. The Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, a multidisciplinary research center led by the University of Houston, will tackle the issue with an $8.4 million grant from the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development. Read more

UH embarks on oral history of Hurricane Harvey

As Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, a group text message began ricocheting between researchers at the University of Houston Center for Public History. Assured everyone was safe, the focus quickly shifted to what stands to become the biggest oral history project ever undertaken by the university. Read more

Dr. Roberto Tejada participates in a tribute to Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide

Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of English, Dr. Roberto Tejada, participated in a tribute to Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide, who was honored in December with a lifetime achievement award named in honor of anthropologist Fernando Benítez. The event took place at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico (Feria Internacional del Libro, FIL). Read more

Creative Writing professor co-edits anthology on translating poetry

On any given day, on a quick walk across the UH campus, you can hear a symphony of language that represents our diverse student body. Kevin Prufer, professor in the Creative Writing Program, recently co-edited Into English: Poems, Translations, Commentaries, an anthology of essays on different traditions, strategies, and approaches to translating poetry into English. Read more

Creative writing doctoral students publish work, earn award

Luisa Muradyan Tannahill, a doctoral student in poetry, won the 2017 Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. Her manuscript was chosen from more than 1,200 submissions from around the world. Doctoral student Novuyo Tshuma’s novel, House of Stone, is set for release this year with WW Norton/Atlantic Books, an international major press publication. This past summer, she was invited by the Rockefeller Foundation to attend a residency at the Bellagio Center in Italy. Read more

HHP doctoral student Katherine Arlinghaus wins student research paper contest

Health and Human Performance doctoral student Katherine Arlinghaus has won the 2017 Annual Student Research Paper Contest organized by Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD), a peer-reviewed electronic journal established by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Katherine won the award in the Doctoral Student Paper category; her paper was titled, Using “Compañeros” in a School-based Obesity Intervention for Hispanic Adolescents (Houston, Texas), 2013-2016.  Read more

Valenti students earn recognitions

Two Jack J. Valenti School of Communications students recently earned awards. Katrina Madrinan was named ‘Most Promising Minority Student’ by the American Advertising Federation and Sydnee Spruiell won first place at UH’s Graduate Research and Scholarship Projects (GRaSP) Day. Read more

CLASS’ youngest graduate earns two degrees in two-and-a-half years

Three years. That is how long 20-year-old Ansiya Arakkal gave herself to complete her degree once she graduated from high school. This month, not only has she reached her goal, but she beat it. Arakkal is graduating with two degrees – one in psychology and one in computer science in only two-and-a-half years. Read more

AFROTC cadets volunteer at Wings Over Houston airshow

A group of about 30 AFROTC cadets from Detachment 003, located at the University of Houston, had the opportunity to volunteer at the Wings Over Houston airshow in October. Wings Over Houston is an annual airshow hosted at Ellington Field just outside of Houston, which attracts thousands of visitors. Read more

Psychology department hosts event dedicated to advancing diversity in the discipline

The Department of Psychology at the University of Houston recognizes that the most successful scholars and professionals come from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and educational settings, and that recruitment efforts targeting students from disadvantaged and/or under-represented groups increase the likelihood of recruiting the most exceptional individuals for doctoral training in psychology. To address this issue, the department hosted an event titled, “Stepping into Graduate School in Psychology.” It was a unique event dedicated to advancing and celebrating diversity and inclusion in psychology. Read more

Political science students explore graduate school options during November workshop

In early November, political science majors from all over Texas -  and beyond – attended a workshop on the University of Houston campus to learn about opportunities for graduate studies in political science, public policy and related fields. The two-day workshop was sponsored by the UH Department of Political Science and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).  Read more

CLASS co-hosts International Literature Festival

Casa Cultural de Las Americas (CCA) and the Department of Hispanic Studies  presented the International Literature Festival Houston 2017, which was held at the A.D. Bruce Religion Center at the University of Houston last month. This event featured the first national, university-level, poetry contest in English and Spanish which is called Poetic Bridges. This was an exceptional and unprecedented opportunity for attendees to see a group of writers who are some of the most renowned women poets from Latin America and Spain.  Learn more

English alumni experience professional success

Fiction writer Thea Lim, an alumna from the Creative Writing Program, will publish her second novel, An Ocean of Minutes, in June 2018. It was picked up by major international publisher Touchstone / Simon & Schuster, and will be released in the UK, the US, and Canada. Another Department of English alum, playwright Alvaro Saar Rios, recently visited campus for the UH School of Theatre’s production of his play Luchadora! Read more

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