Research News

• UB's Transportation Researchers Helped Develop U.S.-Canada Traffic Alert System
  The University at Buffalo's Transportation Systems Laboratory is only a year old, but already its researchers are helping enhance the mobility of travelers in Western New York and southern Ontario.
• Night Beat, Overtime and a Disrupted Sleep Pattern Can Harm Officers' Health
  A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep. Add frequent overtime to that schedule, and an officer may be climbing into bed as the sun comes up, setting the stage for short and unrestful slumber.
• MS Is More Aggressive in Children but Slower to Cause Disability than in Adults
  Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in childhood show that pediatric onset multiple sclerosis is more aggressive, and causes more brain lesions, than MS diagnosed in adulthood, researchers at the University at Buffalo have reported.
• Aisle Placements Affect Grocery Sales, UB Research Shows
  Supermarkets could increase their sales of related items, such as chips and soft drinks, by moving the items closer to each other in their stores, according to research by Ram Bezawada, assistant professor of marketing in the University at Buffalo School of Management.
• "Clickers" in Science Class Is Subject of UB Professor's Half-Million-Dollar NSF Grant
  Clyde (Kipp) Herreid, Distinguished Teaching Professor in the University at Buffalo's Department of Biological Sciences and co-director of UB's National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, has received a $500,000 grant to explore innovative and improved methods of teaching science using "clickers," electronic response devices that allow professors to gain immediate student feedback in large classes.
• Implications of Past Forecasting Errors Often Underestimated
  When managers issue a forecast of their firm's earnings, they do not always take into account prior forecasting errors, according to research in the current issue of the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting.
• Contracts Foster Trust, but Flexibility Is Needed, Research Says
  While detailed contracts can foster trust between parties, there needs to be flexibility in negotiating potential changes, according to research recently published in MIS Quarterly.
• UB Study Explores How Women Make Decisions About Breast Cancer Surgery
  For women just diagnosed with breast cancer, one of the important decisions confronting them is whether to have a lumpectomy or mastectomy. Most studies investigating how women make this choice have surveyed women months and sometimes even years after their decision was made. Recently, however, the publication of a new University at Buffalo study, one of the few to focus on the time period between women's breast cancer diagnosis and surgery, provides insight into what women are thinking when faced with this decision.
• Two New NIH grants Use Cell Phones to Collect Real-Time Data on Substance Use
  Scenario: A group of friends are drinking at the local pub, when one gets a cell phone call. He takes it in a quiet corner; nothing unusual. But this isn't a "What's Up" call from a friend: It's a "What-are-you-doing-right-now?" call from an automated voice system programmed to collect data in real time, via cell phone, from participants enrolled in research studies on alcohol, marijuana and the situational factors that surround their use.