UW Bothell Invests in Faculty Research

Published: March 27, 2013

Four faculty members at UW Bothell have been named 2012-2013 Worthington Distinguished Scholars. The faculty scholars are: Karam Dana and Gwen Ottinger from the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences; David Socha from the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and Deanna Kennedy from the School of Business.

The Worthington Fund was established by the late Richard and Lois Worthington to promote excellence and scholarship at UW Bothell.

“It is important to recognize and support the promising work of some of our junior investigators,” says Carolyn Brennan, assistant vice chancellor for research. “This seed money helps launch their research career and advance their research goals.”

Research Projects

Karam Dana, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
“Anti-American Sentiment in the Arab World: A Clash of Civilizations?”

Reports of anti-American feelings in the Arab world are frequent but rarely well understood. Dana plans to conduct a public opinion survey to explore whether or not anti-American attitudes exist, their nature, and their potential causes. The research will start with a public opinion survey in Palestine, and will be expanded at a later stage to include a number of other countries in the Arab Middle East. The research project will also explore whether (as typically claimed and reported) high levels of religiosity or socio-economic conditions play a role in these anti-American attitudes. Using the results of the survey, Dana also plans to work with academics in the region to design courses aimed at addressing stereotypes about the United States that exist in the Middle East.

Deanna Kennedy, School of Business
“Examining Triggers and Trajectories: A Study of Healthcare Team Disruptions”

Disruptions are a normal part of life and they have important consequences on outcomes including team satisfaction, cohesion and retention. Kennedy will work with healthcare teams to examine the types and characteristics of disruptions that affect teams in the healthcare environment.

Gwen Ottinger, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
“Community-Based Air Monitoring: A Demand for Epistemic Justice?”

Ottinger aims to bring the idea of “epistemic justice” into current definitions of environmental justice. Ottinger plans to travel to Portland, Ore., New Orleans and the San Francisco Bay area to interview people who have been involved in fenceline air monitoring activities.

David Socha, School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
“Collaboration in the Wild”

Collaboration is essential for the complex computer-aided systems that are involved in nearly all aspects of our lives. However, there is a lack of detailed, observational studies of how software developers collaborate. Socha plans to study how professional software developers collaborate on their authentic work in their place of work. The work could lead to insights that inform the design, choice and use of collaboration techniques.