Spring 2020 - Archived Newsletter

Faculty Receiving External Awards: October 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020

Faculty Receiving Mini Grants (Fall 2020 to Spring 2021) and Summer 2020 Stipends 

Faculty Receiving ORPS Internal Multidisciplinary Research Grants
July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021

We would like to recognize the winners of the CSULB 2020 Student Research Competition held February 21, 2020. Students were asked to describe their research and/or creative activities related to their discipline and career goals in presentations before a panel of judges. The winners are eligible to participate at the Statewide Student Research Competition. Congratulations to our winners!

Olivia Brush - Behavioral and Social Sciences

Kevin Travis - Biological and Agricultural Sciences

Nicholas Roy - Business, Economics, and Public Administration

Briana Stanley - Creative Arts and Design

Alexander Ordonez - Education

Jeremy Satterfield - Engineering and Computer Science

Josh Murillo - Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Sciences

Anastasia Nesbitt - Humanities and Letters

Ricky Lee - Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Image

Dr. Martinez handling a Royal Flycatcher

Why do different bird species flock together? 

Image

One reason is predators!

Now many of you may say, “makes sense, better to decrease the odds that you get picked off by a hawk swooping through by hanging out with a bunch of other birds” -what some behavioral ecologists call ‘the dilution effect.’ And in many cases, that is definitely true. In the Amazon, however, the answer is a little more complicated. It turns out that birds of different species actually ‘eavesdrop’ on one another.

Image

There are certain species of birds, called antshrikes, that sit up-right and look around for predators. When a forest falcon or hawk comes flying close, they give an alarm call that other species of birds in the flock recognize…….. when they hear that alarm call, it means “dive or freeze” or the grim reaper is about to pay you a visit in the form of talons from a Barred Forest-Falcon.

Image

And yet there are so many different bird species that have different shapes and sizes and that behave in different ways, so why do birds give alarm calls and others do not?

And why do certain bird species pay attention to alarm calls why others do not? 

These are the questions my research aims to address. In fact, things are now just getting more interesting - it’s not just birds in flocks that respond to these alarm calls but also other birds in the forest, and my colleagues and I now have evidence that small primates called saddle-backed tamarins also pay attention to these alarm calls of flocking forest birds.

It looks like certain bird species may be  “key information providers” about social information that everyone else relies upon. In fact the next question is “How extensive are these eavesdropping communication networks in the forest?”

The more different animals have in common with regards to either food or predators, the more likely they are to eavesdrop on each other.  The next facet of my research program will try to understand how extensive these communication networks are throughout the forest and animal communities in general. By understanding these communication networks in diverse bird communities I aim to understand some of the behavioral mechanisms that may explain how different species interact and once we undertand how these species interact, we may then start to make predictions of how changes how forest degradation through logging may ultimately affect bird communities.

Image

Image

CSULB students identifying bird species during a field lab.

I am very excited to start recruiting CSULB students to join my lab, and in teaching ornithology. I aim to recruit the next generation of researchers to continue to address these questions with conservation implications. Stay tuned as a new generation of CSULB researchers will provide some answers to these questions over the next several years.

Image

Avian ecologist, building up his neck muscles,
while taking down notes of birds in the rainforest canopy.

Images courtesy of Ari Martinez

Image

The Effect of Mild to Moderate Untreated Hearing Loss on the Quality of Life of Seniors

Hearing effectively is not like having good vision.  Hearing is more like your ability to read a good book.  It requires stimulation like vision does, but it also requires complicated processing using specific rules of language, memorization, and decent attention skills.  It's probably more cognitive than sensory and losing your hearing can have catastrophic results.

Dementia, anxiety, and even depression are now strongly linked to hearing loss. 

Image

Several recent studies have shown that the more severe the hearing loss, the higher the risk for developing dementia. 

As the only Audiologist on the faculty of CSULB, I am always looking for ways to serve the campus and community with regards to hearing.  In a recently funded research project, I recruited students from the Gerontology Department to assist with screening for hearing loss and to interview participants during the investigation.  I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Iveris Martinez, the Archstone Foundation Endowed Chair in Gerontology and Director of the Center for Successful Aging.

This project was funded through a CHHS Systematic Innovations in Servicing the Needs of Older Adults grant from CHHS and the Center for Successful Aging. This ongoing study is being done at the American Gold Star Manor (AGSM) in Long Beach.  AGSM is a unique independent living facility for older adults in that the residents are connected directly to the military either as veterans or indirectly through their children who were killed in combat.  

Hearing impairment has many negative consequences in older adults, including increased isolation from their community and cognitive decline. The primary purpose of this project was to examine the impact of untreated hearing loss in individuals 60 years of age and older.  I wanted specifically to see how they would benefit from using low-cost personal sound amplifying products (PSAPs).  These devices cost a fraction of what most individuals pay for custom hearing aids.  I also wanted to investigate what effect these over-the-counter devices would have on the quality of life of these individuals. 

How hearing loss contributes to diminished social interaction and cognitive decline is not well understood; however, a strong correlation between untreated hearing loss and the quality of life emphasizes the importance of early identification and management. 

Residents from AGSM were supplied with low-cost PSAP devices.  We are investigating the benefits of their use in these community-dwelling older adults.  We wanted to see what impact these discreet inexpensive devices would have on the quality of life of these individuals. 

Image

I am also trying to raise awareness on the importance of treating even mild age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and how better hearing can influence the quality of life and decrease social isolation in this population.  I hope to demonstrate the importance of having access to these devices that can decrease the effects of hearing loss. Preliminary data has been collected and is currently under review.

Images courtesy of Edward Garcia

Image

Image

Art & Psychology Research to Improve Technology for Vets with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders

We began collaborating on this research project to help veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders at our local VA Hospital in Long Beach. Given their selfless service and sacrifice, we, like our partners at the VA, believe our veterans deserve the very best in healthcare treatment and resources.

Consequently, we have combined our expertise in human factors psychology, graphic design, and user experience to improve the usability of Environmental Control Units (ECU) at the VA Long Beach Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders (SCI/D) Center. Our multidisciplinary team consists of two professors, eight graduate students in the Human Factors Master’s program in the Psychology Department, and undergraduates from the Department of Biological Sciences and the College of Health and Human Services.

Image

CSULB and VA Hospital Research Dream Team. (L-R):  Matthew Nare, Janice Ancheta Kim, Natalia Morales, Dr. Gabriella Hancock, Sam Anvari, Kelsey McCoy, Xiaolu Bai, and Aram Ayvazyan.

Our efforts are centered on a vital piece of technology that significantly affects SCI/D veterans’ daily lives: an ECU. This device, similar to a digital tablet, is designed with specific functionality for patients who are fully or partially paralyzed. The device facilitates the user’s completion of common and important tasks, such as: calling the nurse, making phone calls, controlling elements of the care room, adjusting bed position, watching TV, and accessing the internet. This device is used by our veterans for both in-patient and out-patient care. Past evaluations of these ECU technologies have revealed significant usability concerns. The goals of our research are therefore to analyze the current usability of ECUs, identify usability issues through heuristic evaluations and user interviews, and provide concrete, data-driven guidelines to improve their design. Through these efforts, we expect to improve both the usability and user experience of these technologies and thereby foster the independence of our veterans.

Image

Human Factors Psychology graduate student Kelsey McCoy interacts with the ECU touch-based interface.

We are currently performing heuristic evaluations on the different modes of use for the ECU device with our team of students. These analyses help us to understand how we can improve the design of the device. Our next step is to coordinate with the VA Hospital to conduct interviews with actual end-users (veterans and their caregivers) to gain further insight into how well the system currently helps them to meet their needs as well as how they feel the system could be improved. Finally, based on our results and veterans’ input, we will re-design the ECU digital interface to be more effective and user-friendly. Our ultimate goal is to leverage our knowledge of art and psychological science to improve the quality of life for our veterans.

Image

Assistant Professor of Art Sam Anvari performs a heuristic evaluation on the ECU touch system.

OUR TEAM

Department of Psychology 

Dr. Gabriella M. Hancock,

Nicole B. Mok, Aram Ayvazyan, Xiaolu Bai,

Kelsey M. McCoy, Matthew T. Nare, Gregory P. Mather,

Carmen L. Machado, Rebecca M.E. Chompff

School of Art 

Sam S. Anvari

College of Health and Human Services 

Amanda S. McBride

Department of Biological Sciences 

Natalia Morales

Images courtesy of Sam Anvari

Image

No More Hidden Trading, Please!

A decade ago, during the 2007-08 financial crisis, former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was angry. He had to bail out AIG (American International Group) with more than $180 billion, because it was too big to fail. Among other things, AIG was not able to make payment for the CDS (Credit Default Swap) contracts that they wrote at the time for the amount over $400 billion.

The CDS contract is a financial instrument in which the buyer of a CDS makes periodic payments until maturity date, and the seller collects the payments and will compensate the buyer in the event that the underlying company defaults. The buyers are mostly the corporate bond holders and thus need CDS to protect their portfolios.  The sellers are typically large financial institutions, such as banks and insurance companies. 

The CDS is traded OTC (over-the-counter), meaning that there is hardly any regulation oversight and no one really understands how much risk is out there. No transaction-level data goes to regulators or participants. AIG seemed to have a preference for only one side of the trade - the seller. The company considered it a no brainer to collect premiums to boost profit margins, until it was not.  When companies started to default one after another during the 2008 financial crisis, we know the rest of the story.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, several changes were introduced in the CDS market. In 2009, the G20 leaders called for global improvements in transparency and regulatory oversight of OTC derivatives via a move towards central clearing and trade reporting to repositories.

It is no surprise to see several policy changes, including the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) passed in 2010. Title VII of DFA addresses the gap in U.S. financial regulation of OTC swaps by providing a comprehensive framework for the regulation of the OTC swaps markets. Today, people are asking, what is the impact on the mechanism of derivatives market? 

With my expertise in credit derivatives and risk management, I completed a paper titled,“The Impact of Central-Clearing on Information Asymmetries and Price Discovery in CDS Markets”. In this paper, I find that the CDS market has become less of a “hidden” trading venue for informed investors since central clearing and trade reporting started. It has been circulated in many national and global conferences, including in the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (equivalent to U.S. SEC), Research Seminar International Risk Management Conference (IRMC), Midwest Finance Association, and Financial Management Association Annual Meeting. The paper is now published at Journal of Financial Stability.

We need regulation that is necessary to stabilize the financial market, especially in the downturn.

Image

Images courtesy of Lu Zhu

Image

Improving Mobile Communications Used in a Multitude of Ways

My research is about making communication systems more reliable, faster, and more secure. Communication systems are widespread in our daily lives, including 5G mobile communications, WiFi, satellite communication, etc. The outcomes of my research find many applications, e.g., in remote healthcare, vehicular communications (which is especially important for autonomous cars), smart cities, etc.

Image

One of the many applications of my research is in connected healthcare.

Wireless communications are resource constrained. For example, the transmission power on your cell phone cannot exceed a certain limit. In my research, I have addressed power efficiency of wireless communications.

Another scarce and precious resource for wireless communication is spectrum. Electromagnetic spectrum is a limited resource that is needed by many applications. So far in cellular networks, from 1G to LTE-Advanced, users have been assigned exclusive resources, either in time, frequency, or code domains to keep interference and receiver complexity under control. However, such techniques suffer from low spectral efficiency and they can only support a limited number of users.

In my research, I have tackled the spectrum scarcity by spectrum sharing methods. I have used game theory to model interactions among communication nodes (similar to interactions among players) to increase the security of communication systems. I have also worked on device scheduling. All these need to be done with the goals of maximum throughput, reduced delay, decreased bandwidth consumption and other constraints.

Delay is a barrier against faster communications. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help reduce the delay in mobile cellular systems. The premise for these techniques is integrating intelligence and learning to make more informed predictions and decision.

Most of you have noticed that the amount of data you download from the network (e.g., movies) are different from what you upload from time to time. I work on adapting the communication links to these traffic variations. The benefits of adapting resources to the variations of users’ data traffic include faster, more reliable, and more resource-efficient connectivity.

For future generations of mobile communication (e.g., beyond 5G) it is anticipated to accommodate several users within a resource block as opposed to the orthogonal multiple access in current systems. My research identifies fundamental approaches to efficient and stable non-orthogonal resource allocation. Specifically, I am modeling the underlying structures of this scheme. If we have a model for it, our solutions are not going to be based on heuristics only. I investigated the guarantees to converge to stable solutions for user-channel allocations.

To provide security of data communication, I have worked on preventing a warden from detecting that any communication is taking place between two legitimate parties. With this goal realized, the warden does not even attempt to decode the private message.

Image

Once the warden is left oblivious about any communication taking place, it does not attempt to decode the messages.

Images courtesy of Shabnam Sodagari

Image

Research is Coming to the Beach

Save the dates: April 1 through April 3, 2021.

Cal State Long Beach will serve as host for the 2021 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) that promotes undergraduate student research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study.

Through this annual conference, students experience a unique environment that celebrates and promotes undergraduate achievement, exemplary research and scholarships, and offers research networking on a national scale. 

Cal State Long Beach will partner with Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Northridge, and Cal Poly Pomona for the annual student research event that attracts more than 4,000 students from across the United States.