Monthly Archives: October 2019

NPR: “It’s A Smartphone Life: More Than Half Of U.S. Children Now Have One” (Mimi Ito cited)

October 31, 2019

Teens report spending only 3 percent of their screen time on creative pursuits like writing, or making art, or music — outside of homework or school projects. But some researchers, like Emily Weinstein at Harvard, and Mimi Ito at the University of California, Irvine, note that social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram can be platforms for creative expression in ways that aren’t necessarily captured by a survey like this.

Read the full story at NPR.

Boston Globe: “Amid BC suicide case, a look at how texting can empower abusers” (Gloria Mark quoted)

October 30, 2019

The effect of a text extends beyond the five or 10 seconds it takes to read it, added Gloria Mark, professor of informatics at the University of California Irvine, who studies the impact of digital media on people’s lives. Emotions and anxiety surround anticipating the text, and then reacting to it. Exchanging a torrent of texts every day has got to interfere with a person’s life, she said: “It’s a way of controlling.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe.

Advancing Accessible Technologies for All

October 28, 2019

Two current projects led by researchers from the Department of Informatics represent the broad spectrum of accessible technology users, with one project targeting children with neuro-developmental disorders, and the other targeting older adults and people with vision impairments. Gillian Hayes, the Robert A. and Barbara L. Kleist Professor of Informatics and Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate Division at UCI, and Franceli Cibrian, a postdoctoral fellow in the Social and Technological Action Research (STAR) lab run by Hayes, are working to design a smartwatch app for improving self-regulation in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). At the same time, Informatics Professor Stacy Branham is leading a team that is developing wayfinding technology for older adults and people with vision impairments.

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Global Sport Matters: “Diversity, inclusion remain a problem in esports industry” (Bo Ruberg featured)

At the University of California, Irvine’s Esports Conference 2019, Bo Ruberg, an assistant professor of digital games and interactive media in the school’s Department of Informatics, delved into the subject during a keynote speech. Ruberg stressed how important it is to make changes as the industry is still growing, before those involved are settled into their ways.

Read the full story at Global Sport Matters.

Professor Sean Young named to CDC committee on sexually transmitted infections

October 15, 2019

Sean Young, professor at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine and Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ad hoc committee to address the alarming increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) through the National Association of County and City Heath Officials requested the formation of the committee.

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Informatics Ph.D. Candidate Amanda Cullen Selected as ARCS Scholar

October 14, 2019

The Advancing Science in America (ARCS) Foundation has recognized Informatics Ph.D. candidate Amanda Cullen as one of the “best and brightest” scholars studying science and technology in the U.S. As an ARCS Scholar, Cullen enters “a vibrant network of learning that goes beyond departmental, University campus and regional boundaries.” In support of her research, she will receive a $5,000 stipend per year for two years. The ARCS Foundation has awarded more than $100 million to ARCS Scholars since its founding in 1958.

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ICS Welcomes 8 New Faculty for 2019

The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences is pleased to introduce the following eight faculty who joined ICS in calendar year 2019. These outstanding researchers and educators advance our school’s strategic priorities in the areas of data science, artificial intelligence, and big data systems while strengthening our expanding collaborations across campus in the areas of health informatics and computational science and engineering. With these new hires, the number of tenure-track faculty in our school has increased by 40% within three years, bringing the total count to an all-time high of 93, and reflecting the unprecedented growth in our enrollments and research activity.

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