Research – Research ... it's what we do at UCA

Come join us!

Here is a sample of the many exciting, engaging, and life-changing research activities that are happening EVERY DAY at UCA!

UCA Concussion Management Program

This program was created by Rock Lee (from EXSS) and Richelle Weese (from CSD). As part of the CHBS Center for Healthcare Research, it was designed to provide evidence-based diagnosis and treatment opportunities for individuals with concussions and to facilitate interdisciplinary research and practice opportunities for faculty and students.

For additional information, see: uca.edu/exss/sport-related-concussion-research-lab/

Inter-Professional Education

The inter-professional education (IPE) committee in the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences is developing, implementing, and investigating a model for inter-professional education where students progress from exposure to immersion to competence while learning about, from, and with each other to improve their preparedness to engage in team based healthcare.

For additional information, see: uca.edu/chbs/ipe

Adult Neurological Research Group

This group in the UCA Physical Therapy department, in collaboration with the Center for Translational Neuroscience at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is investigating the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to influence cortical excitability and enhance rehabilitation in individuals with neurological injury.

For additional information, see: uca.edu/pt/researchs

Arkansas Center for Research in Economics (ACRE)

The Arkansas Center for Research in Economics (ACRE) is an Arkansas focused research center housed in the College of Business at the University of Central Arkansas. ACRE scholars and policy analysts use academic research and original analysis to educate the public on important issues of public policy in Arkansas. Our research focuses on barriers to employment, taxes and subsidies, K-12 education, property rights, and government transparency. ACRE promotes solutions that respect the personal and economic freedoms of individuals because protecting and expanding these freedoms has a proven record of improving the lives of people around the world and here at home.

Pictured here are ACRE Director Dr. Mitch Mitchell and ACRE Scholar Dr. Thomas Snyder, both professors of economics, giving feedback to a UCA student at the College of Business Research and Project Presentation Day, one of ACRE’s many student programs at UCA.

For additional information, see: uca.edu/acre/our-people/

Client Feedback in Counseling

Outcome informed therapy (i.e., the use of standard measures to monitor progress in treatment) has been shown to be beneficial for clients in therapy (Lambert et al., 2005) and student therapists in training (Reese et al., 2009). Our research program focuses on one feedback system called, The Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS). It’s impact has been empirically supported through multiple RCTs (Miller, 2006; Reese, 2009; Anker, 2009; Reese, 2010), a meta-analysis (Lambert, 2011), and has been successfully utilized with children (Duncan, 2006; Cooper, 2013), groups (Quirk, 2012), and a variety of public behavioral health settings (Reese, 2014).

For more information, see: uca.edu/psychology/faculty-research/

Corrections, Culture, and Career Lab

We conduct research on juveniles and adult offenders, the role of work on the life of criminals, and risk and protective factors in criminal behavior. We have been developing an innovative career intervention for offenders. We also do research on telepsychology as well as Asian Indian psychology and philosophy.

For additional information, see: uca.edu/psychology/facultystaff/femina-varghese/

Camp Halsey Archaeological

The upcoming UCA archaeology field school at Camp Halsey is part of a long-term collaborative project between researchers at UCA and Faulkner County Museum to map, evaluate, and document historical and archaeological resources in Faulkner County. This larger project and the work at Camp Halsey is organized into three themes that serve to frame to our inquiries: site administration and management, pedagogy and public archaeology, and research.

Camp Halsey is located east of Greenbrier and about one mile east of Woolly Hollow State Park and was the first Soil Conservation Service (SCS) camp in Arkansas and later the location of one of many of the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camps situated throughout Arkansas.

For additional information, see https://camphalsey.com/research/field_school/

Taxation and the Behavior of Individuals, Entities, and Governments

The faculty of the UCA Accounting Department and College of Business are engaging in research on various types of tax (e.g., sales tax, income tax), and how changes in those tax laws are affecting the behavior and financial position of individual taxpayers, entities such as companies and not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies. Here are a few examples of completed and on-going studies:

Dr. Karen Oxner and Professor Ashley Phillips are studying the effect the new federal income tax law regarding deferred income taxes will have on corporate financial statements in a variety of industries.
Dr. Paul Jensen investigated the anti-tax-avoidance package of the European Union as well as fighting global tax abuse.
Professor Ashley Phillips and Dr. Ken Griffin are researching the effect of sales tax on internet
purchases on the spending habits of consumers.
Professor Ashley Phillips, Dr. Stephanie Watson, and Dr. Ken Griffin are examining the effects that the new federal income tax law will have on individuals involved in revenue-generating hobbies, recreational gambling, and charitable giving.
Graduate students in Case Studies in Accounting are comparing the application of tax laws in different court cases.