Experts Matter. Find Yours.

Working together to promote veteran education

Georgia Southern University recently signed an agreement (see attached) with Nine Line Foundation that will assist veterans as they transition back into civilian life. Veterans will be enrolled in an aquaponics training program with the University’s Armstrong Campus’ Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center (SARC) at a compound at Nine Line Apparel in Savannah, Georgia.   Aquaponics, or soilless farming, mixes aquaculture, the farming of fish, and hydroponics, to fuel the growth of plants in water. The SARC, a 4,100 square-foot greenhouse, has four independent recirculating systems, each containing 900-gallon tanks capable of holding more than 100 mature tilapia. Working within the College of Science and Mathematics, the SARC is focused on providing students, faculty and volunteers with the opportunity to conduct fundamental, interdisciplinary research in the area of aquaponics. The partnership with Nine Line Foundation will extend education opportunities to area homeless veterans and provide faculty and students an opportunity to engage with the veterans. Are you interested in learning more about his project and how Nine Line Foundation and Georgia Southern University are working together to provide opportunities and training to veterans? SARC’s director, Brent Feske available to speak with media – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

Notre Dame Fire Marks ‘Dark Day,’ But Beauty Will Emerge, Baylor Architectural Historian Says

In the wake of a massive fire that devasted Paris’ iconic Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday and captured eyes and prompted tears across the globe, a Baylor University expert in architectural history said beauty can emerge from the ashes. Elise King, M.I.D., M.A.,, assistant professor of interior design in Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, is an architectural and design historian. “Something I find comforting is that when you study architecture and design throughout history, there are numerous examples demonstrating that destruction, chaos and loss can beget inspired beauty. No matter the damage, this will not be the end of Notre Dame’s story,” King said. “Architecture isn’t static; it’s designed to adapt and change. The more significant the structure, the more likely its legacy will continue in some built form,” she said. “Whether it’s reconstruction, preservation and restoration, new construction or, more likely, some combination of strategies, Île de la Cité will not be without its cathedral.” French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that he hopes the 850-year-old building could be rebuilt within five years. “We will rebuild the cathedral and make it even more beautiful,” Macron said, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. King said that the Notre Dame the world has come to know from pictures or personal visits is not the Notre Dame of the 12th Century. “The beloved gargoyles, for example, were added in the 19th century during Viollet-le-Duc's controversial ‘restoration' of the cathedral,” she said. “There is no doubt that today will be remembered as a dark day in Notre Dame’s history. But already there is light, as groups of Parisians came together tonight to sing ‘Ave Maria’ on the sidewalk in front of the smoldering edifice. And if the damage is severe, I hope the destruction will inspire new and innovative design solutions.” ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

Transparency from charities about how funds are used builds trust and increases giving

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Charitable and humanitarian organizations are increasingly tapping into a $30 billion crowdfunding market, not only to raise funds but to build donors' trust by being more transparent, according to research from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Certified charities like the American Red Cross regularly use crowdfunding after hurricanes and wildfires. But other, often local, organizations that are quickly created after emergencies can compensate for their lack of government certification by posting frequent updates about how funds are being used. Authors of the paper are Jorge Mejia, assistant professor of operations and decision technologies; Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez, associate professor of operations and decision technologies and Grainger Faculty Fellow; and Gloria Urrea, a visiting scholar of operations and decision technologies. Mejia, the paper's lead author, noted its timeliness in light of several recent fraud cases involving charitable giving, such as the college admissions scandal and questions about the charitable status of politicians' private foundations and religious organizations. "Our paper tackles some of these challenges head on by providing a way to increase the transparency of these organizations online," he said. The paper's findings also have implications for donors, who need to pay attention to how charities are using donations, as shown through regular operational updates and other communication and certification. "Our results indicate that individuals and humanitarian organizations willing to start crowdfunding campaigns benefit from transparency," the researchers said. "As updates have a positive effect on donations, organizations can increase funding by keeping donors informed on a regular basis about the campaign's progress." The process of receiving approval from the Internal Revenue Service as a certified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization can take months, long after the immediate needs of a disaster have passed. In the meantime, local organizations accept donations to help with recovery efforts immediately using crowdfunding. "Donations increased both when campaigns provided frequent updates about the work of the charity and when campaigns were certified," the Kelley professors said. "Strikingly, we found that the size of the positive effect derived from operational transparency -- from communications work -- is much greater than the size of the effect of conventional transparency, from being a certified tax-exempt charity. "But not all updates are the same. Operational transparency increases the financial benefits of updates," they added. "Campaign organizers should focus their efforts on posting work-related updates to describe how the campaign is achieving its objective." Researchers collected data from a large online platform for charity crowdfunding and analyzed nearly 108,000 emergency campaigns over a seven-year period. Just over half of the campaigns posted at least one campaign update, and just 9 percent of the campaigns were certified. Each work-related word in updates increased donations on average by $65 per month, while being a certified campaign raised funds on average by $22 a month. The research article, "Operational Transparency on Crowdfunding Platforms: Effect on Donations for Emergency Response," appears online in the journal Production and Operations Management.

Ungrading – is putting down the pen an A+ idea for post-secondary professors?

It’s a growing movement among professors – ungrading. There’s a popular trend out there that says teachers are spending too much time grading and evaluating as opposed to educating. Some professors feel that students need to be engaged by what they learn and not necessarily fixated on the grades they earn. In a recent blog post (see below) UMW’s Jesse Stommel showed how strongly he backs the concept.  “There are a surprising number of faculty questioning grades in productive ways, and experimenting with alternative modes of assessment,” said Jesse Stommel, executive director of the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies at University of Mary Washington, and an early evangelist of ungrading. “If, as teachers, we just ask students why, when and how they learn, what we can get back is way more valuable than any standardized assessment mechanism can reveal.” Ungrading “creates space for that kind of honest reflection and dialogue,” he said. - TaxProfBlog The concept is novel and has support – but will it catch on?  Will academia take a turn away from the traditional ways of grading? What will students think and how will they measure progress? And what about parents and potential employers who might rely on the old system when hiring or validating the costs of higher-education? Jesse Stommel is the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University of Mary Washington and is an expert in faculty development, digital education and modern learning. Jesses is available to speak with media regarding ungrading – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

What Is Black Twitter and How Is it Changing the National Conversation? Baylor Expert Explains.

“Black Twitter” is a social media phenomenon that is changing the national conversation, but many people – including professional and strategic communicators – do not understand what it is or how it works, says Baylor University’s Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., professor of journalism, public relations and new media. Moody-Ramirez is a nationally recognized expert on mass media representations of minorities, women and other underrepresented groups. She coauthored the 2018 book From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, & Gender with Janette L. Dates, Ph.D., educator and critical commentator on the images of African-Americans in media. First things first, Moody-Ramirez said, Black Twitter is not a separate entity from Twitter. Black Twitter is a grassroots movement within Twitter that has provided a virtual community of mostly African-American Twitter users a collective voice on a variety of issues, including Black Lives Matter. Black Twitter users often identify themselves using the #blacktwitter hashtag or by focusing on issues related to the black experience. “We conclude [in our book] that alternative spaces, such as Twitter, offer a platform for ideas and concerns from a black perspective about social inequalities, politics and social justice, that were historically prohibited from taking root in other communication venues,” Moody-Ramirez said. In the following Q&A, Moody-Ramirez further explains Black Twitter. Q: When do you see the most Black Twitter activity? A: Much of the content on Black Twitter surfaces during a crisis that impacts black people such as race-related incidents that had less than favorable outcomes for the black community. As the saying goes, if society doesn’t handle it, then Black Twitter will step in to handle it. On a lighter note, Black Twitter users also collectively discuss media content such as TV shows, movies and award ceremonies from the black perspective. Q: How can people monitor what’s happening via Black Twitter? A: "Black Twitter" users often identify themselves using the #blacktwitter hashtag or other hashtags such as #BlackGirlJoy, #blackboyjoy, #blacklivesmatter, or any other hashtag focuses on issues related to the black experience. You can also monitor Black Twitter by following individuals who are known for sharing content about the black experience. Q: If someone outside the African-American community feels passionate about an issue or supports an issue raised by the Black Twitter community, how can they engage? Should they? A: As with any other platform, they should be considerate and proceed with caution. Anyone who is not a regular should make sure what they are sharing is appropriate. Q: Do you see Black Twitter or similar movements emerging on other social media platforms? A: Not to the same extent because Black Twitter is driven by hashtags and certain Twitter users who are trendsetters. Q: Is Black Twitter a reflection or an extension of other historical, social African-American grassroots movements? A: African Americans have used Twitter to share narratives on issues of interest to the black community, particularly in the United States. In her 2015 dissertation, Dr. Meredith Clark writes that African-American Twitter users have emerged as a subset of interest for two reasons – (1) their representation on Twitter has eclipsed that of White U.S. users; (2) because of their representation, they possess a unique ability to dramatically influence Twitter trends. Q: How do you feel Black Twitter will evolve? Will it? A: Scholars such as Feminista Jones and Dr. Meredith Clark have traced the history and content of Black Twitter, noting that the platform is used to share content on timely topics such as racial inequalities, politics, police brutality and women’s rights. In 2013, Feminista Jones described “Black Twitter” as a “collective of active, primarily African-American Twitter users who have created a virtual community that participates in continuous real-time conversations.” ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit www.baylor.edu/artsandsciences.

Empowered Storytelling Geared Toward Women Is a Winning Combo for Super Bowl Ads, Baylor Expert Says

Television advertisers who have chosen to appeal to women fans and viewers during this weekend’s Super Bowl have committed their millions of dollars to a wise strategy, according to a Baylor University marketing and advertising expert. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of marketing in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, studies consumer behavior and attitudes, multicultural media and advertising, and movies and entertainment. Each year, she and her students analyze the Super Bowl ads. And each year, she said, she sees more ads geared toward women. In fact, AdAge reports that brands like Bumble, Toyota and Procter & Gamble's Olay are featuring women in lead roles in their Super Bowl commercials this year. “That’s smart,” Lindsey-Warren said. “The current and future market power of women – as a whole and by segments – is undeniable and truly cannot be ignored by marketers.” To make her point, she cited research showing that women influence more than 80 percent of all consumer spending; 89 percent of the financial decisions are made by women; and globally, women control more than $20 trillion in world-wide spending. In addition, nearly 24.3 million African American women are brand loyalists and cultural trendsetters who have influence over the $1.2 trillion dollars in black spending power. Forbes reported in 2018 that “women constituted about 49 percent of the 108 million-plus people who watched” that year’s Super Bowl – and paid closer attention to the ads. “Nowadays, whatever brands plan to do during the Super Bowl must be extremely strategic and well planned when commercials go for over $5 million dollars,” Lindsey-Warren said. “With the #metoo and #times up movements as well as the diversity and gender issues in advertising industry and more, I think brands struggle as to how they approach targeting women on such a global stage.” She said brands that use “empowered storytelling” – storytelling that exudes the emotion of empowerment – make a difference. Good examples, she said, are Always’ “Like a Girl” commercial in 2015 and Audi’s “Daughter” commercial in 2017. “In my research, especially among Millennials and Gen Z, this approach is a powerful combination for brands who want to increase purchase intentions for their products or services,” Lindsey-Warren said. “The emotion of empowerment is multidimensional and promotes encouragement and can be extremely motivational,” she said. “When one is empowered, it can be an ‘aha’ moment and very transformational in a positive manner. In addition, empowered storytelling is a proactive approach to storytelling that demands you keep the receiver of the story in mind at every stage of the process because, at the end of the day, you want the receiver of the story to be better in some way for having received the empowered narrative they just viewed or experienced.” And when consumers are empowered, they tend to tell others. In the digital space, this looks like sharing videos, posts, quotes and more on social media channels. “Essentially, empowered storytelling gives brands the opportunity to achieve the right balance of entertaining and encouraging and, ultimately, healing by showing that they care for their consumers through the motivational messages and narratives they are producing,” Lindsey-Warren said. ABOUT TYRHA LINDSEY-WARREN, Ph.D. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, Ph.D., is a marketing scholar, business executive, artist and entrepreneur. As a consumer behavior scholar, her research is rooted in narrative transportation theory (i.e., storytelling) that exudes the emotion of empowerment and its impact on consumer attitudes, behaviors, purchase intention and message recall. She also studies health edutainment, multicultural media and advertising, as well as movies and entertainment. Lindsey-Warren is an expert in effective communications strategies for leaders, multicultural communications and marketing. Her latest research, “An Examination of Television Consumption By Racial and Ethnic Audiences in the U.S.,” was published in the Journal of Advertising Research. She will be discussing this study during panel discussions in New York City and Los Angeles for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business provides a rigorous academic experience, consisting of classroom and hands-on learning, guided by Christian commitment and a global perspective. Recognized nationally for several programs, including Entrepreneurship and Accounting, the school offers 24 undergraduate and 13 graduate areas of study. Visit www.baylor.edu/business and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/Baylor_Business.

The hidden treasure of digital piracy? It can boost bottom line for manufacturers, retailers

HBO's popular television series "Game of Thrones" returns in April, but millions of fans continue to illegally download the program, giving it the dubious distinction of being the most pirated program. Many may wonder why the TV network hasn't taken a more aggressive approach to combating illegal streaming services and downloaders. Perhaps it is because the benefits to the company outweigh the consequences. Research analysis by faculty in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and two other schools found that a moderate level of piracy can have a positive impact on the bottom line for both the manufacturer and the retailer -- and not at the expense of consumers. "When information goods are sold to consumers via a retailer, in certain situations, a moderate level of piracy seems to have a surprisingly positive impact on the profits of the manufacturer and the retailer while, at the same time, enhancing consumer welfare," wrote Antino Kim, assistant professor of operations and decision technologies at Kelley, and his co-authors. "Such a win-win-win situation is not only good for the supply chain but is also beneficial for the overall economy." While not condoning piracy, Kim and his colleagues were surprised to find that it can actually reduce, or completely eliminate at times, the adverse effect of double marginalization, an economic concept where both manufacturers and retailers in the same supply chain add to the price of a product, passing these markups along to consumers. The professors found that, because piracy can affect the pricing power of both the manufacturer and the retailer, it injects "shadow" competition into an otherwise monopolistic market. "From the manufacturer's point of view, the retailer getting squeezed is a good thing," Kim said. "It can't mark up the product as before, and the issue of double marginalization diminishes. Vice versa, if the manufacturer gets squeezed, the retailer is better off. "What we found is, by both of them being squeezed together -- both at the upstream and the downstream levels -- they are able to get closer to the optimal retail price that a single, vertically integrated entity would charge." In the example of "Game of Thrones," HBO is the upstream "manufacturer" in the supply chain, and cable and satellite TV operators are the downstream "retailers." Kim and his co-authors -- Atanu Lahiri, associate professor of information systems at the University of Texas-Dallas, and Debabrata Dey, professor of information systems at the University of Washington -- presented their findings in the article, "The 'Invisible Hand' of Piracy: An Economic Analysis of the Information-Goods Supply Chain," published in the latest issue of MIS Quarterly. They suggest that businesses, government and consumers rethink the value of anti-piracy enforcement, which can be quite costly, and consider taking a moderate approach. Australia, for instance, due to prohibitive costs, scrapped its three-strikes scheme to track down illegal downloaders and send them warning notices. Though the Australian Parliament passed a new anti-piracy law last year, its effectiveness remains unclear until after it is reviewed in two years. As with other studies, Kim and his colleagues found that when enforcement is low and piracy is rampant, both manufacturers and retailers suffer. But they caution against becoming overzealous in prosecuting illegal downloaders or in lobbying for more enforcement. "Our results do not imply that the legal channel should, all of a sudden, start actively encouraging piracy," they said. "The implication is simply that, situated in a real-world context, our manufacturer and retailer should recognize that a certain level of piracy or its threat might actually be beneficial and should, therefore, exercise some moderation in their anti-piracy efforts. "This could manifest itself in them tolerating piracy to a certain level, perhaps by turning a blind eye to it," they add. "Such a strategy would indeed be consistent with how others have described HBO's attitude toward piracy of its products."

Battling Election Fatigue? Balance It Out with Other Important Things in Life, Baylor Expert Says

It’s happening. Again. Another U.S. presidential campaign. The contentious 2018 midterm elections are barely in the mud-encrusted rear-view mirror, and the next general election is nearly two years away, but telltale campaigning has already begun as presidential hopefuls emerge to take on each other and Donald Trump, who consistently talks and tweets about Election Day 2020. Does this ubiquitous campaigning make you weary? If so, you’re not alone, said expert Patrick Flavin, Ph.D., associate professor of political science in Baylor University’s College of Arts & Sciences. “Election fatigue is real in the United States,” said Flavin, who researches the impact of politics and policies on citizens’ quality of life. “The U.S. holds more elections than just about any other country in the world: primary elections, school board elections, city council elections and more. So, it’s not unreasonable for someone to say, ‘I’m tired of voting because it seems like I’m voting all the time.’” But it’s not just the number of elections that takes a toll. The presidential election cycles are longer now than in years past. Much of that is due to the race for resources, Flavin said. Over the past few weeks, potential Democratic candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar have been making moves – either announcing candidacies or testing the political waters. “Right now, we’re at the start of the ‘invisible primary’ for Democratic candidates whereby they compete for staff, endorsements from other politicians and party leaders, name recognition and fundraising sources,” Flavin said. “For relatively unknown candidates, in particular, it is important to get into the race early to give yourself a head start in trying to compete for those scarce resources. In contrast, a more well-known candidate like Joe Biden can afford to wait for a while before starting his campaign – if he does decide to run.” Flavin said it’s important for citizens to know what’s happening on the national political scene, but he advises people to take a break when it becomes overwhelming. “Being an informed citizen is good and to be admired, but I don’t think it’s healthy to obsess over every single day-to-day political development – especially in the era of 24/7 news,” he said. “Balance it out with other important things in life.” And if you’re in a position (a political science professor, for example) that doesn’t often afford the time to break away, Flavin advises taking the time to approach politics as an observer. “Just like anyone else, political science professors would go crazy if they focused on politics 24/7. So, balance is important. In addition, it is healthier, I think, to approach campaigns and elections as an observer who is interested in better understanding why the candidates take the positions they do, why voters support this candidate over that candidate, etc.” Flavin also said that focusing too much on the national landscape pulls people away from critical state and local issues. “There are important decisions being made at the state and local levels that we need to be aware of,” he said. Flavin’s newest research shows that Americans are happier in states where governments spend more on public goods, such as libraries, parks, highways, natural resources and police protection. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit www.baylor.edu/artsandsciences.

Americans Are Happier in States That Spend More on Libraries, Parks and Highways

Such ‘public goods’ also are less likely to spark political conflict, Baylor researcher says Americans are happier in states where governments spend more on public goods, such as libraries, parks, highways, natural resources and police protection, a Baylor University study has found. “Public goods are things you can’t exclude people from using — and one person using them doesn’t stop another from doing so,” said researcher Patrick Flavin, Ph.D., associate professor of political science in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences. “They’re typically not profitable to produce in the private market, so if the government doesn’t provide them, they will either be under-provided or not at all.” Public goods spending makes communities “more livable, with more amenities,” Flavin said. “If roads are completed and kept up, so that people aren’t stuck in traffic, they have more time to do things they enjoy doing. Large parks are social spaces — and one clear finding of happiness studies is that people who are more socially connected tend to be happier.” Another benefit of spending money on public goods is that such amenities generally boost home values — and “while higher property taxes generally accompany higher home values, it seems that the good outweighs the unfortunate part about having to pay higher taxes,” Flavin said. In his study, published in the journal Social Science Research, Flavin analyzed data on respondents’ self-reported levels of happiness for 1976-2006 from the General Social Survey, a representative sample of Americans that monitors social characteristics and attitudes of Americans and is a project of the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. Flavin also analyzed detailed government spending data for states from the U.S. Census Bureau for 1976-2006. Revenues to fund state public goods are raised from a combination of state taxes and transfers from the federal government to states, averaging 22.5 percent of total state revenues for that 30-year period. “We can look at the city where people live, their neighborhoods, and see how public goods spending predicts happiness after taking other important factors, such as marital status, health, education and income, into account,” Flavin said. He also found that public goods spending has broad benefits across income, education, gender and race/ethnicity lines. “Compared to a lot of the other government spending, public goods tend to be less controversial between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, compared to poverty assistance or unemployment benefits, where there is definite disagreement between political parties,” Flavin said. “I think there is less political conflict over public goods spending simply because if they government doesn’t provide them, they won’t be provided at all.” Flavin cautioned that there is not necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship between public goods and happiness. “It could be that happier citizens self-select by moving to states that spend comparatively more on public goods,” he said. “It also is possible that happier citizens support higher spending on public goods and elect state officials to deliver on that policy.” Because some spending for public goods comes from local government, Flavin hopes to do a study linking citizens to their local city instead of only to the state. And because living a happy and satisfying life is a nearly universal human goal, he predicts that better understanding of how policies concretely impact quality of life will receive increasing attention from researchers in the years to come. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines.

Overhaul of FDA's approval process for medical devices overdue, but balanced approached needed

The Food and Drug Administration has announced plans to overhaul its system for approving a certain category of medical devices, which critics have said fails to protect consumers from risky implants and medical instruments.   George Ball, assistant professor of operations and decision technologies and the ArcelorMittal Supply Chain Faculty Fellow, at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, studies the medical device industry, in particular medical device recalls.   There are two primary approval pathways for medical devices. “510(k)” clearances are reserved for products that demonstrate substantial equivalence to a previously approved device. Clinical trials are normally not required and this method is much faster and cheaper than the other pathway, a “Pre-Market Approval (PMA).”   PMA new product submissions are reserved for those products that are new or substantially modified from previously approved devices. Clinical trials in humans and laboratory study data are normally required to demonstrate safety and efficacy. In comparison to 510(k) clearances, PMA approval pathways are time-consuming and expensive.   “The FDA’s announcement regarding an overhaul of the 510(k) approval process seems to be warranted, as medical device product approvals are currently on two ends of an extreme spectrum,” Ball said. “New PMA products can require years and millions of dollars to successfully obtain approval by the FDA. Conversely, 510(k) clearances are significantly faster and cheaper, as the manufacturer has to simply demonstrate equivalence with similar, already approved products.   “As 510(k) products represent the bulk of new product approvals, they also represent the bulk of medical device recalls, unsurprisingly,” Ball said. “In the last decade, 510(k) products were recalled at a ratio of 17-to-1, compared to PMA products.”   “However, the method of approval currently practiced for 510(k) products has many benefits for manufacturers as well,” he said. “Demonstrating equivalence with prior approved similar devices makes the development time exponentially faster compared to PMA product approval times.   “A middle-ground here seems logical and advisable. For example, the FDA approves products using a two-pronged approach: safety and efficacy. While efficacy may be easily established by demonstrating similarity to prior products, evidence of safety for 510(k) products may require additional verifications and tests. Doing so may help ensure that new 510(k) products, which are often much more technologically advanced than the ones they are compared against for approval purposes, are also safe for patients.”   Ball can be reached at 812-856-0625 or gpball@indiana.edu