Research

Bentley University faculty members Jane Fedorowicz, Rae Anderson Professor of Accountancy and Information Systems, and Professor of Government Christine Williams, and Bentley PhD student Arthur Tomasino received a Best Research Paper award from the Digital Government Society of North America. The award, which included a cash prize sponsored by IOS Press, was presented to Williams at the 11^th annual international conference on Digital Government Research held May 17 to 20, 2010, in Puebla, Mexic

Bentley University accountancy professor Jean Bedard is a top ranked researcher among her academic peers, according to the just released study, Individual Accounting Faculty Research Rankings By Topical Area and Methodology. The study by researchers from Brigham Young and Utah State Universities was created to rank research productivity in the most recent six, 12, and 20-year windows, expanding on previous rankings in two important ways: by providing

The Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation awarded Bentley University Professor of Management Joseph Weiss with a 2010 Marion and Jasper Whiting Fellowship. Weiss, who is one of only 20 recipients, will use the funding for research that explores the ethics, values and career prospects of emerging Russian professionals and entrepreneurs.

The topic of gendered analysis and its role in climate change has become an important focus for the United Nations and other international agencies, making it a rich topic for exploration and research. The government of Mozambique (Africa) has taken the initiative and asked Bentley University professor Joni Seager to help develop a national strategy and five-year government policy plan to address gender and climate change. Seager will travel to Mozambique several times during the next few months to work with the Environmental Ministry on the project.

Dipayan Biswas wants to know what you like. More to the point, he wants to know why you like it. The associate professor of marketing has studied people’s responses in sampling “experiential” products -- beverages, music, fragrances, and the like – which appeal directly to the senses.

His research into the factors that influence consumer preferences has turned up a surprise: A product’s impression on the taste buds or ear drums matters less than you would expect. More influential, perhaps, is the order in which products are sampled.

Rating agencies in the capital markets — like Moody’s credit ratings — have dominated the investing landscape for decades.

As a sociologist, Angela Garcia routinely fits together how and why people do things. What unfolds when someone calls 911? Takes part in a divorce mediation session? Visits an Internet chat room? Lately she has fixed on a real conundrum: process and motivation in the construction of jigsaw puzzles.

Behind the scenes, in health-care organizations all across the country, thousands of physicians and allied health care providers are struggling with “compassion fatigue.”

This has been an eventful summer for all of us who care about the world. In June, we marked the 20^th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In July, we recorded the hottest-ever month in the United States. In August and September, we listened to the two presidential candidates as they squared off on climate change in their respective convention speeches. And later in September, we learned that the drastic melting of the Arctic sea ice had set a new record, with ice covering just 24 percent of the surface of the Arctic Ocean.

It’s a fair assumption that few geologists have vials of fake blood in their office. David Szymanski does. For the assistant professor of natural and applied sciences, the liquid is a necessary ingredient for teaching a course in forensic science.

TV shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have helped make the class a popular choice among undergraduates.