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“Ethical Issues with Criminal Offenders”—A Panel Discussion presented by the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Sun, 18 Oct 2009

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences will present a faculty panel discussion titled "Ethical Issues with Criminal Offenders," on Monday, November 9, 2009, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., in the Parker Building, room 338.

Medical technology has created a number of ethical dilemmas for correctional professionals. This presentation will focus on several current ethical dilemmas involving criminal offenders. These dilemmas include:

• Organ transplantation—Should convicted felons be allowed to receive transplanted organs when there are non-criminal citizens who could benefit from the same organ? Likewise, should criminals—including those sentenced to death—be allowed to volunteer organs for transplants? If so, who should pay for these transplant procedures?

• Medical Research—Should convicted felons be allowed to volunteer for medical experimentation in exchange for sentence reductions or other favorable consideration?

• Transgendered Criminal Offenders—Should transgendered criminal offenders be allowed to continue hormone therapy during their incarceration? Should they be allowed to proceed with sex reassignment surgery? If so, who should pay for the hormones/surgery—the offender or the public?

• Assessing Psychopathic Behavior—If psychopathy can be diagnosed in children before they engage in violent criminal offenses, should precautions be taken to isolate these children?

This presentation will involve a panel discussion, examinations of actual case studies relating to these issues, and active audience participation. Panelists will include faculty members from the college’s Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences: Thomas Fagan, Ph.D., division director; George Kakoti, LL.M., Ph.D., associate professor; and Jessica Garcia-Brown, J.D., LL.M., assistant professor and coordinator of paralegal studies.

"Ethical Issues with Criminal Offenders" is a companion event to the college’s Distinguished Speakers Series talk featuring bioethics expert David Magnus, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics, medicine, and philosophy at Stanford University, on Thursday, November 12, 2009. These events enrich the college’s investigation of the current year-long academic theme, “Good and Evil.”

For more information, please visit www.fcas.nova.edu/articles/dss/davidmagnus.

Associate Professor to Examine ‘Evil Regime’ of North Korea

Sun, 04 Oct 2009

Tim Dixon, J.D., associate professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Humanities, will close the fall 2009 Faculty Lecture Series with a presentation titled “The Evil Regime? North Korea Unveiled.” The event will take place on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, from noon to 1:00 p.m., in the Parker Building, room 240. This talk will explore the development of the Kim regime in North Korea, the world's only dynastic communist regime. What is the North Korean “cult of personality” really like? What is life really like there? Should the world fear or pity North Korea? What will a change of leaders bring to it? Dixon’s lecture will provide a look inside the closed society of North Korea. The Faculty Lecture Series draws from the knowledge and expertise of more than 120 full-time faculty members within the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. The series explores the faculty’s diverse areas of interest in the arts, humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, biological sciences, and performing arts. This year’s lectures examine topics related to the college’s 2009–2010 academic theme of “Good and Evil.”

These talks are free and open to the public. For more information on the college’s Faculty Lecture Series, contact Jim Doan at (954) 262-8207 or visit www.fcas.nova.edu/articles/fls.

Division of Humanities to Present Screening, Discussion of Film Gattaca

Mon, 26 Oct 2009

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Humanities will host a screening and subsequent discussion of the film Gattaca, on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, beginning at 5 p.m., in the Carl DeSantis Building, room 1049. The event, titled “Gattaca: Good, Bad, and Ugly Genetics,” is a companion event to the college’s Distinguished Speakers Series talk featuring bioethics expert David Magnus, Ph.D., on November 12.

Gattaca, a 1997 film starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, explores many issues that the public sees increasingly as science fact rather than science fiction. For example: the growing trend of scientists isolating gene for particular diseases or traits; the idea that mental and emotional characteristics (a religious susceptibility for instance) may be attributed to our DNA; and the trend of insurance companies wanting to increase genetic testing in order to identify high-risk applicants for life insurance. Gattaca explores both the good and evil resulting from the prospect of humanity being defined by its genetic makeup.

Magnus, an associate professor of pediatrics, medicine, and philosophy at Stanford University, will present his Distinguished Speakers Series talk—“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Contemporary Biomedical Technology”—on Thursday, November 12, in the Miniaci Performing Arts Center. These events enrich the college’s investigation of the current year-long academic theme, “Good and Evil.” For more information, please visit www.fcas.nova.edu/articles/dss/davidmagnus.

Final Fall Hot Topics in Psychology Lecture to Discuss Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Sun, 18 Oct 2009

Jason Gershman, Ph.D., assistant professor and coordinator of mathematics in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science, and Technology, will present “America’s Idol? How the Contestant Most Voted for Doesn’t Always Win” on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, from noon to 1:00 p.m., in the Mailman-Hollywood Building, room 310. The event is the fifth talk in the college’s new Mathematics Colloquium Series.

The reality television show American Idol is a hit among audiences, with each episode drawing millions of viewers. Its popularity stems in part because of viewer participation, in that Americans get the chance to “vote” for their favorite singers each season, eventually crowning a new Idol. However, there are some biases in the show’s format, which display themselves in data charts and curves of contestants’ telephone voting patterns.

In this lecture, Gershman will examine bias such as issues of geography and performance order. The data used is intriguing because it comes from an extremely biased sample but leads to an unbiased population estimate. Overall, this is a fascinating—and somewhat counterintuitive—problem in applied probability and queuing theory. All NSU students, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend this talk. For more information on this lecture or the college’s Mathematics Colloquium Series, please contact Vehbi Emrah Paksoy, Ph.D., or Iuliana Stanculescu, Ph.D., assistant professors in the college’s Division of Math, Science, and Technology.

Distinguished Speakers Series: Bioethics Expert David Magnus

Mon, 26 Oct 2009

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science, and Technology will welcome bioethics expert David Magnus, Ph.D., as part of the college’s Distinguished Speakers Series. Magnus will present "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Contemporary Biomedical Technology," corresponding to the academic theme for 2009–2010, “Good and Evil.” The event will take place on Thursday, November 12, 2009, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., in the Miniaci Performing Arts Center. An associate professor of pediatrics, medicine, and philosophy at Stanford University, Magnus is the director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and co-chair of the ethics committee at the Stanford Health Center. He also is the director of the Scholarly Concentration in Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities in the School of Medicine. Magnus is the principal editor of a 2002 collection of essays titled Who Owns Life? He is associate editor of the American Journal of Bioethics, the top journal in the bioethics field. He has published in leading journals such as Science, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Reports Stem Cells, and the British Medical Journal, and he has more than 100 publications on diverse topics such as genetics-genomics, biotechnology, stem-cell research, organ transplantation, research ethics, and clinical ethics.

This Distinguished Speakers Series event is free and open to the public; however, tickets are required for admission. Tickets are now available in the college’s Office of the Dean, located in the Mailman-Hollywood Building, second floor. For more information, visit www.fcas.nova.edu/articles/dss/davidmagnus.

Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra to Open 10th Season with Stars on Broadway Concert

Mon, 26 Oct 2009

In partnership with the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra—opening its 10th season—will present Stars on Broadway on Saturday, November 14, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. in the Miniaci Performing Arts Center at Nova Southeastern University.

The concert highlights musical numbers from hit Broadway shows, such as Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and My Fair Lady. The production will feature Bill Adams, D.M.A., assistant professor in the college’s Division of Performing and Visual Arts.

The morning of the event, Ars Flores will also present Music for Munchkins, a free, 30-minute mini-concert geared toward children and their families, at 11:00 a.m. in the Miniaci Performing Arts Center.

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences is proud to continue its partnership with the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, further connecting campus and community creative resources. Tickets to Stars on Broadway are available for purchase at $30, $20, $10 (seniors/students), and $7 (select seats). Tickets may be purchased through www.arsflores.com, or at the door on the day of the event. For more information, email info@arsflores.com, or call (954) 764-4455.

Students: Apply Now for Omicron Delta Kappa—National Leadership Honor Society

Thu, 05 Nov 2009

Are you a student leader? If so, you are encouraged to apply for membership in Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society. Admission into ODK at Nova Southeastern University is one of the most distinguished honors a student leader can obtain. Members of ODK exhibit leadership in at least one of the following five categories: scholarship; athletics; campus or community service, social and religious activities, and campus government; journalism, speech, and the mass media; and/or creative and performing arts. To be eligible for membership into ODK, students must have completed at least 60 credits and rank in the upper 35 percent in scholarship of their school or college. Interested students must also complete an ODK application packet by the posted deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 14, 2009. For more information on Omicron Delta Kappa, contact Heidi Hassel, faculty secretary; or Timothy Chin, faculty adviser.