{"id":76871,"date":"2017-03-29T14:49:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T18:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=76871"},"modified":"2020-09-23T10:03:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T14:03:45","slug":"research-week-critical-thinking-making-difference-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/research-week-critical-thinking-making-difference-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Week: Critical Thinking, Making a Difference in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"
How vulnerable are teenagers in the foster-care system to online predators? What\u2019s the best way to turn a community into a medical-tourism destination? Can nanoparticles be used in a blood test to determine viral infections to more quickly identify outbreaks?<\/p>\n
These are among the many questions UCF students have tackled for Research Week, which kicks off Monday, April 3. The week is dedicated to sharing the work of graduate and undergraduate students. Students present their work during two showcases, and organizers present a series of workshops that look at everything from how to get started doing research at a university to how to communicate their findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur students do\u00a0 amazing work,\u201d said Elizabeth Klonoff, UCF\u2019s vice president for Research and dean of Graduate Studies<\/a>. \u201cWe want those who haven\u2019t engaged in research to realize how important it is to their education, to our local community, and to improving the world in which we live.\u00a0The ability to ask critical questions and to develop ways to answer these questions is crucial in an environment where we often hear about ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts.’ Whether\u00a0a student is\u00a0 studying math, English, biology or the fine arts, research is an enriching educational experience that teaches valuable skills. And the research students do, especially at the graduate level can really make an impact in the real world. These students are tomorrow\u2019s leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n Ying Chao, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in hospitality management, is looking at Taiwan and how the city turned itself into a medical-tourism destination. Medical tourism refers to the travels made to improve or maintain health, a niche market that is mature in Asia but hasn\u2019t taken hold in Florida, Chao said. He is working with Rosen Associate Professor Po-Ju Chen who specializes in social psychology, with an emphasis on generational studies, sustainability and cross-cultural research in hospitality and tourism<\/a>, to delve into the topic.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Karla Badillo-Urquiola is examining the balance between providing teens in foster care access to networked technologies while also protecting them from cyber risks. Her preliminary findings suggest that teens in foster care face unique threats in the real world, such as sex trafficking or rape, which makes them more vulnerable to online risks that lead to equally tragic ends. Badillo-Urquiola found very little existing research in this area and hopes to find ways to address this problem.<\/p>\n