University of Arkansas at Little Rock

New research at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock digs into assumptions about the influence of bots on people's opinions. Some people often assume that disinformation campaigns carried out on social media by bots (a computer program that can automate social media messaging and content engagement) were highly effective in changing people's opinions through repetition tactics. However, Zachary Stine, a UA Little Rock doctoral student in computer and information science, tested this theory through an experiment to determine how easily a group of artificial agents could be influenced under three computation models. Artificial agents are simulated objects in a computer program that represent simplified versions of things, people in this case, in the real world.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock student teams took two of the nine final spots at the UA BlockChain Hackathon at the University of Arkansas held Sept. 28-29. The hackathon featured 21 teams from Arkansas colleges and universities and was sponsored by nine large businesses such as IBM, Tyson, Heifer International, and J.B. Hunt, who provided challenges focused on using BlockChain technology for teams to present during the competition. Each of the nine sponsors chose a team to advance to the finals where they presented their results against the winners of other challenges.

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students were selected as finalists for a national legal writing competition held by the Academy for Legal Studies in Business. As finalists, Maddie Burke, junior international studies major, and Ian Wren, senior economics major, presented their papers at the academy's national conference Aug. 11-14 in Portland, Oregon.

Eight University of Arkansas at Little Rock students who won a Black History Month essay contest took a free trip to explore African-American history in New York City. Dr. John Kirk, director of the UA Little Rock Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, led the trip July 9-16 in New York City.

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students finished in the Top 10 in a national social media challenge for Phi Beta Lambda, the college division of Future Business Leaders of America.

Several University of Arkansas at Little Rock students from the School of Social Work were honored at the National Association of Social Workers Arkansas Annual Conference.

Four University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Music students advanced to the semi-finals during the 2018 spring conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing on February 23-24 at the University of Central Arkansas.

UA Little Rock business students were semifinalists in an international marketing competition that drew 270 teams from around the globe.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Social Sciences and Communication awarded six student research prizes during the college's Research and Creative Works Showcase on Feb. 27.

Twenty University of Arkansas at Little Rock students attended the Bilateral Model Arab League conference Feb. 16-18 at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students brought home the prize for the Best Delegation in Political Affairs at the Bilateral Model Arab League conference Feb. 16-18 at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Amie Alexander, a student at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and at the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, has been named to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Next Generation Delegation for the Global Food Security Symposium, set for March 21-22 in Washington D.C.

Seventy-nine University of Arkansas at Little Rock students were selected as inaugural recipients of the Undergraduate Research Signature Experience Awards for spring 2018.

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student was chosen as a finalist in the 2017 Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition sponsored by the Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The awards recognize outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering media markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students have a chance to win the title of Construction Intern of the Year and a $10,000 scholarship after earning two spots for students who garnered the most online votes for the scholarship competition. The Construction Intern Awards scholarship program is designed to recognize the strongest construction interns in the industry and the companies with the best construction internship programs in the country. They are awarding a total of $50,000 in scholarships.

A cyber security team from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock was one of the top finishers in the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition Southwest regional March 17-19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Two high school students will attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles thanks to financial support from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Engineering and Information Technology.

A cybersecurity team from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has advanced to the second round of the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. Twenty teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico competed during a virtual qualifying round on Feb. 18. The UA Little Rock team and squads from seven other universities will advance to compete in the Southwest regional March 17-19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Future math and science teachers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock participated in the first VEX University robotics team in Arkansas.

A team of University of Arkansas at Little Rock students took third place at an international organization's construction competition.

Six University of Arkansas at Little Rock students presented research at the Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Feb. 25-28 in Washington, D.C.