ADVANCES IN HEARING LOSS

Researchers in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology in the College of Health and Public Service are working to understand how factors such as emotions, psychological wellbeing, social relationships and stress impact whether adults continue to use hearing aids once they’re purchased.

This Way Forward

Te TEDxUNT event hosted in October featured nine speakers — including faculty members and UNT alumni — tackling issues centering on the theme “Tis Way Forward.”

Teir talks described how technology, personal development and other issues can shape people’s lives for the better.

Andrew ColomboDougovito ofered a call to action for people to take a

Read more about the speakers and watch videos. tedxunt.org

Te study by Erin Schafer, Sharon Miller and Boji Lam — supported by a grant from the Hearing Industry Research Consortium — will include 40 participants between the ages of 50 and 85 who purchase hearing aids from the UNT Speech and Hearing Center.

Separately, Miller also was involved in research targeting people with hearing loss. Miller was part of a team of researchers whose work led to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating its cochlear implant candidacy criteria and providing coverage for a broader spectrum of hearing loss. step toward equitable change by recognizing ableism and acknowledging our complicity and Angel Durr urged that fghting cybercrime is not just one of the most urgent issues facing modern society — it’s a matter of equity.

Miller took part in the CMS National Coverage Analysis that led to the recommendation that older individuals who receive Medicare benefts with speech test scores of greater than 40% and less than or equal to 60% qualify for cochlear implantation.

Previously, only those whose score was below 40% could qualify. Te change to coverage will drastically expand care for older adults with a broader spectrum of hearing loss.

Violinist Scott Tixier (right) encouraged people to harness the power of improvisation while artist James Turman said people should embrace their inner child and never stop trying to answer the question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Fulbright Hsi Leader

UNT was one of 43 HispanicServing Institutions nationwide to be named a Fulbright HSI Leader by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Afairs.

Te designation is given to HSI universities who have demonstrated noteworthy engagement with Fulbright exchange participants during the 2021-22 academic year and have promoted Fulbright Program opportunities on campus.

For the 2022-23 awards cycle, 11 faculty members and students earned awards from the prestigious Fulbright Program.

Tree former students — Samuel Gaskin (’18 M.M.), Alexa Torres Skillicorn (’22 M.M.) and Megan Kelly (’22 M.S.) — will conduct research as recipients of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program Award for 2022-23.

Andrew Torget, associate professor of history, was named an award winner in the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. He is teaching at the University of Bremen in Germany this spring and is working to advance his research on German migration to Texas. Additionally, faculty members Sarah Moore and Cindy Watson were selected for the Department of Education’s Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad to Norway in Summer 2022. Faculty members Rose Baker, Dorothy Bland, Sian Brannon, Julie Leventhal and Dipakkumar Pravin were selected for the Fulbright Specialist Roster.

Career Training

Te UNT Workplace Inclusion & Sustainable Employment (UNT WISE), in collaboration with Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), will use a $12.7 million grant to educate employers who use subminimum wage contracts about the benefts of competitive, integrated employment.

Te partnership will create the Texas Beacons of

Machine Tool Workforce

Te UNT College of Engineering and Texas A&M SecureAmerica Institute are collaborating to ofer the America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) Machine Tool Workforce Development Program for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

ACE is supported by the U.S. Department of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program from the Ofce of Industrial Policy.

Te initiative was launched in 2020 to reestablish American leadership in the machine tool industry through transformative thinking, technology innovation and workforce development.

Te program uses online coursework and hands-on machining camps to connect top national experts with students such as John Creley (right) and incumbent industrial workers from all backgrounds, levels of education and work experience. Hector Siller-Carrillo, a mechanical engineering assistant professor, is leading the ACE bootcamps at UNT’s Discovery Park.

Excellence (TBE) to help employers enhance their skills in recruiting, retaining and accommodating employees with disabilities.

UNT WISE will provide training across communities and connect employers, self-advocates, Section 14C certifcate facilities, educational staf and community rehabilitation providers in order to create communities of practice that enhance opportunities for competitive, integrated employment.

“UNT WISE is thrilled to have an opportunity to partner with TWC where together we will improve competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities, enhance the labor market for Texas businesses, and create a lasting and meaningful impact on our communities across the state,” says UNT WISE Director Lucy Gaford.

“Te most important thing is to cultivate curiosity in students,” Siller-Carrillo says. “Since the ACE program is very engaging, they’ll be more interested in learning practical applications.”

Sustainable Packaging

Iva Jestratijevic (below), assistant professor in merchandising and digital retailing, is looking at ways the fashion industry can reduce waste produced from packaging throughout its supply chain.

In October, Jestratijevic and her research partner Urška Vrabič-Brodnjak presented the frst global report on sustainable packaging innovation in the fashion industry in scientifc journals Sustainable Production and Consumption and Sustainability. Teir research earned the Distinctive research award from the International Textile and Apparel Association.

Trough her research, Jestratijevic also found that a combination of sustainability strategies could help fashion brands lessen waste from their packaging. Te seven strategies include – rethinking packaging logistics, refusing to use single use packaging, reusing packaging, reducing the packaging quantity, recycling packaging, repurposing packaging and providing rot or compostable packaging solutions.

Sweet Creativity

Research published by Lidan Xu, assistant professor of marketing, and her co-authors in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes shows that just a taste of something sweet can boost your creativity.

It’s not due to a sugar rush to the brain, but is related instead to the positive experiences people tend to associate with a sweet taste, such as celebrations.

Book Usage

An international team led by UNT scholars was awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to develop core scholarly infrastructure for the community governed sharing of quality, interoperable, open access book usage data.

Te

OA Book Usage

Data Trust project aims to make book usage data more accessible for libraries, presses, publishers and others interested in scholarly impact.

Christina Drummond, an expert in data stewardship,

“We often associate sweet things with a positive and safe environment,” Xu says. “When we are in this environment, we are more willing to take risks.” joined UNT Libraries as executive director of the OA Book Usage Data Trust and principal investigator of the research.

Xu says this research is a frst step in understanding how what people eat can infuence how they think and behave, which could be valuable knowledge for employers to use in boosting innovation in their companies.

Learn about UNT research in The Lab series on YouTube.

As a pioneer in open access, UNT was the frst public institution in Texas to adopt a policy in support of open access and has hosted an annual Open Access Symposium since 2010.

“Advancing accessibility to research is a priority for UNT as a Tier One public research university,” says Diane Bruxvoort, dean of UNT Libraries.“We are proud to remain on the forefront as leaders in open access.”