Social Sciences

As details continue to unfold, medical, cultural and communication experts at the University at Buffalo are available to discuss the catastrophic earthquake that devastated Haiti last week.

University at Buffalo faculty -- including earthquake engineering, disaster, trauma and communication experts -- are available to discuss the tragic earthquake in Haiti. A listing of the experts and their commentary is available at http://newstips.buffalo.edu.

Parents are acutely aware of the influence of friends on their children's behavior -- how they dress, how they wear their hair, whether they drink or smoke. A new laboratory-based study has shown that friends also may influence how much adolescents eat.

The effective use of multiple layers of intelligence gathering, including existing behavioral identification programs, could have excluded the murderous Farouk Abdul Mutallab from travel before he got anywhere near Northwest Flight 253.

Caffeine is a stimulant drug, although legal, and adults use it widely to perk themselves up: Being "addicted" to caffeine is considered perfectly normal. But how strong is caffeine's appeal in young people who consume an abundance of soft drinks? What impact does acute and chronic caffeine consumption have on their blood pressure, heart rate and hand tremor? Furthermore, does consuming caffeinated drinks during adolescence contribute to later use of legal or illicit drugs?

Kid Corridor zones, student safety education and detailed maps of safe walking and bicycling routes are among the recommendations made by University at Buffalo graduate students in the Department of Urban and Regional planning to encourage students in the Williamsville Central School District (WCSD) to get out of cars and off buses and ride and walk to school instead.

University at Buffalo sociologist Sampson Blair says Tiger Woods' alleged rampant infidelities don't affect the status of marriage and the family because his lifestyle and wealth are regarded by most Americans as an exception to the rule, and his behavior is seen as attached to the lifestyle.

The University at Buffalo Regional Institute welcomed the community to its new space in downtown Buffalo with an open house held Dec. 15 in the UB Downtown Gateway, 77 Goodell Street.

The University at Buffalo has named the first fellows to be funded by the university's Civic Engagement and Public Policy (CEPP) research initiative, one of eight areas identified in the UB 2020 Strategic Plan as the embodiment of a particular tradition of excellence at the university.

The University at Buffalo Regional Institute will welcome the community into its new space in downtown Buffalo at an open house to be held December 15.