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UO E-clips, Feb. 15

Top stories for February 15, 2008: the Daily Mail of London and the UK Press Association picked up a UO news release about research by Helen Neville and Courtney Stevens, which Stevens presented this morning in Boston; state schools crafting emergency systems, including the UO with quotes from Andre Le Duc, reports The Oregonian; ticket prices, rising ones, is the focus of an Oregonian story on the proposed UO arena; Slate Magazine quotes the UO's David Frank in a story on 'How Obama does that thing he does'; Congo's bonobos the apple of University professor's eye, says the Oregon Daily Emerald in its coverage of Frances White's Science Pub talk; and the Register-Guard reports that Sacramento may cry foul, in a grievance, over Eugene's selection for the 2012 Olympic Trials

Crash course for parents can dramatically improve a child's behaviour (Daily Mail, London): Parents can be trained to dramatically improve their children's behaviour, a study claimed yesterday. An eight-week crash course in parenting skills led to calmer homes and improved learning among children, the researchers said. Over regular two-and-a-half-hour sessions, mothers and fathers were coached how to better communicate with their pre-school children and keep them under control. At the end of the experiment, which involved 28 children aged three to five, parents reported dramatic reductions of stress in the home and better behaviour. Tests and brain scans also showed significant improvements in the children's language-acquisition skills, memory and mental performance. The experiment targeted poorer families after research in both the US and UK showed links between parents' education and income levels and children's future educational achievement. The findings of the study are also likely to apply in the UK and will lead to calls for greater use of parenting classes here.

Study hails parenting courses (Press Association, UK): A crash course in parenting skills can significantly help children at risk of being left on the educational scrap heap, a controversial study suggests. Scientists in the US tested an eight-week-long programme aimed at showing parents at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder where they are going wrong. Over a number of weekly two-and-a-half-hour sessions, mothers and fathers were coached in better ways to communicate with their pre-school children and keep them under control. At the end of the experiment, participating parents reported dramatic reductions of stress in the home, and better behaviour from their children … Dr Courtney Stevens, from the University of Oregon in Eugene, who led the study, said: "Our findings are important because they suggest that kids who are at high risk for school failure can be helped through these interventions." The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.

State schools crafting emergency systems (The Oregonian): Taking a lesson from last year's Virginia Tech shootings, Oregon's three largest public universities are developing quicker ways to notify students and staff about campus emergencies. Sending a warning to everyone on a large campus takes multiple methods, including text messages, faxes, phone calls, e-mails, Web alerts and loudspeaker broadcasts, campus officials say. "We're looking at a sweep of different tools that we can use for notification, not one thing as the saving grace," said Andre Le Duc, the University of Oregon's director of emergency management.

UO arena's big jump: ticket prices (The Oregonian): For the past week, officials backing the University of Oregon's basketball arena project have rattled the pots of money -- from a marketing deal to a reserve fund -- that could help repay the $200 million in bonds UO wants the Legislature to approve. But the most important pot carries perhaps the most uncertain number: men's basketball ticket and donation revenue. As UO administrators and legislators debate various projections, longtime fans brace for the higher season-ticket prices necessary to reach the university's revenue goals. "It's not (just) that it's going up, it's like a 100 percent increase," said Larry Lawrence, a longtime season-ticket holder from Eugene.

How Obama does that thing he does (Slate Magazine): Barack Obama bringeth rapture to his audience. They swoon and wobble, regardless of race, gender, or political affiliation, although few understand exactly why he has this effect on them. ... A 2005 paper (abstract) by University of Oregon professor of rhetoric David A. Frank unpeels Obama's momentous 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address (video and text here) for clues to his method. Obama's spellbinding oration earned near-universal raves, including one from establishment conservative Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, and its echoes can be heard in every speech he's given as a candidate for president.

Congo's bonobos the apple of University professor's eye (Oregon Daily Emerald): Amidst civil war, a social environment that exhibits free love, peace and sexuality would be a startling find deep within the heart of the African Congo. But primatologist and University professor Frances White discovered groundbreaking evidence that affirms the ability of primates to demonstrate such behavior. Unlike their cousin the chimpanzee, bonobo apes seem to embody the phrase "make love not war," as was articulated by White on Wednesday night at the OMSI Science Pub presentation in the downtown nightclub, Luna.

2012 Trials may draw grievance (Register-Guard): Just how unhappy are Sacramento track officials about Eugene snagging the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials? So unhappy that they are threatening to file a grievance against the track officials who late last year picked Eugene for the prestigious event. The Pacific Association of USA Track & Field, a group based in the Sacramento area, has threatened to file the complaint against individuals involved in the award procedure for the Trials and other U.S. championship events to Eugene.

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Why, oh why, do people live in the danger zones?

paul-slovic05.jpg

A writer for the National Science Foundation went "behind the scenes" to ask why anyone would live in terrain vulnerable to natural disasters, such as the California wildfires in 2007. The resulting, colorful story about the choices people make to do so focuses on the research of the UO's Paul Slovic. (Read Story)

Welcome new UO alumni ... 66 years after their expulsion

Honorary degree from UO

The University of Oregon on Sunday, April 6, honored Japanese Americans who had been students at the UO when World War II broke out. The students -- including Alice Kawasaki Sumida, shown above with UO President Dave Frohnmayer (photo by Dave Martinez, Oregon Daily Emerald) -- were expelled under a federal order and their education cut short. Frohnmayer told the group that "we are proud to claim you as alumni." Read the coverage:

Media Links

Oregon Quarterly Magazine

Newspapers:
Daily Emerald (UO students)
Register-Guard
Eugene Weekly
The Oregonian

Campus Radio:
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UO Alumni News

1) Keep up on alumni news with the official e-newsletter of the UO Alumni Association.

2) Alumni in Portland have their own newsletter: See PDX Ducks.

 
UO physicist creates a laser trap, which acts as a one-way gate to collect atoms

Daniel Steck mugPhysicists, including the UO's Daniel Steck, have created a laser barrier that lets atoms through only in one direction -- the barrier stuffs the gas into a smaller volume with only a minute increase in its temperature. The Science News, online, presents feature coverage of Steck's work, which was published in the June 20 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters. (Read Story)

Turns out great dads make a big difference, reports the R-G

Scott Coltrane mugScott Coltrane isn't on the job yet as the new dean of the UO's College of Arts and Sciences, but he drew media attention on Father's Day. Coltrane, a sociologist who studies the role of fathers, was featured for his research that shows that both moms and dads are happier individuals when the dads get involved in the workings of their households. (Read story)

2006 Clark Honors grad gets leading role in new 'Breakthrough Generation'

Jesse Jenkins, Clark Honors College gradBreakthrough Generation, a new national youth organization sponsored by the Breakthrough Institute, has officially launched, and one of its associate directors is Jesse Jenkins, a 2006 graduate of the University of Oregon's Robert D. Clark Honors College. (Official announcement)

Sun Power: Vignola quoted in Oregon Business cover story

Ore Business June 2008 coverIn the cover story "Here Comes the Sun," on "the rise of the solar industry" in the June issue of Oregon Business, UO physics professor is quoted. He says "two thirds of Oregon receives more solar radiation than does Florida, and even soggy Astoria gets more sunlight than Germany, which leads the world in solar installations." (Read the story)

By ocean 70,000 years ago? UO's Jon Erlandson featured in Discover magazine

ancient points

Mug-Jon ErlandsonPopular science magazine Discover recently spent time with the University of Oregon's Jon Erlandson. The result, a long feature story about Erlandson's research on ancient Ice-Age mariners. (Read the story)

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Indian Country Today features teacher ed program

CoEproject

A University of Oregon teacher education program designed in collaboration with the nine federally recognized tribes of Oregon was featured recently in Indian Country Today. The master's program in the College of Education is open to students with a bachelor's degrees who are members of federally recognized tribes or are descended from members. Students receive tuition and a monthly living stipend as well as book and computer allowances. The program's grads must teach at tribal or Title VII-funded schools. Click HERE to read the story.

 


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