LEWISBURG, Pa. — The following are Bucknell University story ideas that may interest you in July.
BREACHING DATA PRIVACY — Consumers increasingly rely on digital devises to store their most personal data, but nearly daily data breaches — including two highly public ones at Facebook — have left many tech companies reevaluating their data security practices. Bucknell management professor Eric Santanen teaches a class addressing technology ethics and recently published a paper summarizing the harms to individual dignity, interpersonal relationships, and social progress that result from privacy violations in the journal Business Horizons. In it, he wrote that privacy is a “nonrenewable entity and once information is collected, processed, or disseminated, the harm to the individual cannot be undone.” He concludes that “While there have been many specific threats to privacy throughout the ages, the relentless growth of technological capabilities and the manner in which these technologies become embedded in our daily routines and business practices compound one another, culminating in the single-greatest threat to privacy humanity has ever faced.” Santanan is co-director of Bucknell’s Institute for Leadership in Technology & Management (ILTM), which provides 24 rising juniors with a six-week summer experiential education program that bridges engineering, management, and the liberal arts. Now in its 25th year, ILTM provides students the opportunity to learn from faculty and world-class organizational leaders as well as work on real-world projects sponsored by corporate clients such as General Electric, IBM, Proctor and Gamble, and Comcast. CONTACT: Santanen, 570-577-3652, eric.santanen@bucknell.edu.
MENTAL MUSIC — Music and summer just seem to go together, like a good song. And when you call to mind a favorite song of summer, you’re experiencing auditory imagery. Just ask Bucknell psychology and neuroscience professor Andrea Halpern, who has looked at what the brain is doing during auditory imagery, which musicians use in training. In her new article on the “Inner World of Music (and Other Sounds)” published in the scholarly blog The Junkyard, Halpern concludes that the benefits of auditory imagery are not limited to musicians. For the general population, she wrote “auditory imaging has consequences outside of improving related musical skills and helps regulate both the mind and body.” For instance, many people use music as a motivator during a workout or to stay entertained in a meeting. It is also not uncommon for people to sing their favorite song in their head to help them get through a tough time. Halpern concludes that the power of music is not to be underestimated. She recently co-authored a chapter on auditory imagery for a future book about various aspects of imagination. CONTACT: Hapern, 570-577-1295, ahalpern@bucknell.edu
FARM TO CAMPUS TO TABLE — Central to the human experience, food can literally bring people to the table. Cooking and meals also play roles in religious ceremonies, celebrations, courtship and daily life. And now sustenance — from food biology to cultural practices and sustainability — will be the focus of a new Bucknell Food Residential College. The college, open this fall to about 25 first-year students, will provide an interdisciplinary, immersive experience centered on many aspects of food and food production. “The Food Residential College will explore why so much of our food is of questionable quality, while also examining alternatives for healthier, safer food,” said economics professor Geoff Schneider, who helped to develop the college. Academic co-coordinator of the college, biology professor Steve Jordan, added that, “students in the Food Residential College will benefit from hands-on experience and the chance to contribute to the local community.” You can read more here. CONTACT: Schneider, 570-577-1666, gschnedr@bucknell.edu
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CONTACT: Mike Ferlazzo, 570-577-3212, 570-238-6266 (c), mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.ed