Appalachian State University students recently presented at the Southern Appalachian Honey Bee Research Consortium (SAHBRC), held February 16 on the campus of the University of North Carolina (UNCC) at Charlotte.
The event was the 15th annual student and postdoc symposium, and it featured presentations from students and faculty members from schools across North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
The Appalachian researchers are sustainability analytics graduate student Andrew Scott, who presented on Comparing recent years of varroa mite data using software; mathematics senior Preston Macdonald, who presented on Using TAM* beyond behavioral intentions to design software for beekeepers and measure adoption rates; and Rafael Braga, an Appalachian international graduate student from Brazil, who presented on Cluster-classification method for accurate mining of seasonal honey bee colony patterns.
*TAM is the Technology Acceptance Model the researchers are using to help beekeepers accept and use software.
The students traveled to UNCC with faculty mentor Dr. Ed Hassler, professor of information systems and associate director of Appalachian’s Center for Analytics Research & Education (CARE), to present the research.
The presenters also discussed CARE, a research center housed in the Walker College of Business that operates with the mission to do “analytics for good.” Much of the research done for the SAHRC presentations was done through CARE in conjunction with Dr. Hassler and CARE Director Joseph Cazier.
Macdonald said that his research experience at Appalachian has made him a better student, as well as a data analyst and researcher. “When I started my project… I had no idea how much I would learn in both a professional and academic sense,” he said. “This research opportunity gave me a chance to learn and push myself far beyond any other exercise I have performed in academics to date.”
Macdonald added that the SAHRC was an opportunity to reinforce and test his abilities. “The opportunity to network with such a diverse research community has and will continue to contribute in my future endeavors as a data scientist looking to use analytics for good.”
March 18, 2019
Emma Spear
BOONE, N.C.
About the Center for Analytics Research and Education (CARE)
The Center for Analytics Research and Education (CARE) at Appalachian State University utilizes analytics to promote positive behavioral change in the world and do Analytics for Good. Housed in the Walker College of Business, the center enhances the reputation of the university by seeking out projects that have a positive impact on society and avoiding those that would have a negative impact. Big data is inherently interdisciplinary, and CARE faculty work to further research in the areas of sustainability, education, health and wellness, human resource science, and economic development, among others. Learn more at businesscare.appstate.edu.
Andrew Scott, Preston Macdonald and Rafael Braga presenting at Southern Appalachian Honey Bee Research Consortium
Student Researchers, Appalachian