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Spring 2015
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  • Spring 2016

    Spring 2016: Premium Blend

    Found in everything from space shuttles to dental fillings, composite materials have thoroughly infiltrated modern society. But their potential is still greatly untapped, offering researchers ample opportunity for discovery.

  • Fall 2015

    Fall 2015: Collision Course

    Within the particle showers created at the Large Hadron Collider, answers to some of the universe’s mysteries are waiting.

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    Spring 2015: Almost Human

    Model systems like pigeons can help illuminate our own evolutionary and genomic history.

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    Fall 2014: Small Wonder

    UT Arlington's tiny windmills are bringing renewable energy to a whole new scale.

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    Winter 2014: Overdue for an Overhaul

    The stability of our highways, pipelines, and even manholes is reaching a breaking point.

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    2012: Mystery solved?

    Scientists believe they have discovered a subatomic particle that is crucial to understanding the universe.

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    2011: Boosting brain power

    UT Arlington researchers unlock clues to the human body’s most mysterious and complex organ.

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    UT Arlington researchers probe the hidden world of microbes in search of renewable energy sources.

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    2009: Winning the battle against pain

    Wounded soldiers are benefiting from Robert Gatchel’s program that combines physical rehabilitation with treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

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    2007: Sensing a solution

    Tiny sensors implanted in the body show promise in combating acid reflux disease, pain and other health problems.

  • 2006

    2006:Semiconductors: The next generation

    Nanotechnology researchers pursue hybrid silicon chips with life-saving potential.

  • 2005

    2005: Imaging is everything

    Biomedical engineers combat diseases with procedures that are painless to patients.

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hall monitor

Safe at Work

Research outlines strategies to positively influence dangerous employees 

photograph by C.J. Burton/Corbis

Keeping dangerous employees positively engaged can limit risk in the workplace.

Loss of life, decreased production, psychological damage, and increased security costs are among the potential consequences of workplace violence.

To help reduce the risk, College of Business faculty members James Campbell Quick and M. Ann McFadyen advocate “mindfully observing” employees. They believe that employers can prevent reckless office incidents by keeping dangerous workers positively engaged and closely supervising them to ensure they get the help they need.

“The causes of these problems are understandable and predictable,” says Dr. Quick, who holds the John and Judy Goolsby-Jacqualyn A. Fouse Endowed Chair in the Goolsby Leadership Academy. “Corporations need to plug troubled employees into the social network immediately so they don’t store up negative feelings whenever and wherever they get them.”

He and Dr. McFadyen, an associate professor of strategic management, analyzed FBI reports, case studies, and human resource records. Focusing on the 1 to 3 percent of employees prone to workplace aggression, they found that HR professionals can advance well-being and performance while averting danger and violence by identifying and managing high-risk employees, anticipating their needs, and providing support and resources.

“Businesses often look at these problems only after they happen,” College of Business Dean Rachel Croson says. “This research offers companies action steps they can take to prevent such tragedies from occurring. It not only helps people but could also save lives.”

Quick and McFadyen teamed with Oklahoma State University’s Debra Nelson on the study, which was published in the Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance.

Photography by C.J. Burton/Corbis

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