UO E-clips, Oct. 16

Hawaii needs an easy vote-by-mail system (Honolulu Star Bulletin): All of Hawaii experienced a dismal voter turnout for the primary election. On Maui it was a pathetic 25 percent of eligible voters and statewide it was 37 percent. We need a big idea to change the participation for the next round of elections in 2010 because among other important races we will be electing our next Hawaii governor. One way to increase voter participation would be to have Hawaii go to a direct mail-in ballot system like Oregon did in 1997. ... The study "Five Years Later: A Reassessment of Oregon's Vote By Mail Electoral Process" by Priscilla L. Southwell, University of Oregon (2003), found that almost 90 percent of voters over age 65 and those under 25 preferred voting by mail as opposed to voting at a precinct polling place. "One third of the respondents to the survey stated they vote more often with the vote by mail - particularly women, the disabled, homemakers and those aged 26-38 years old," according to the study's authors.

Wall St. forces NASCAR to wave yellow flag (Globe and Mail, Canada): The spreading financial gloom that envelops Wall Street has hit that most Main Street of American sports: NASCAR. The popular race circuit has expanded beyond its redneck roots in the Deep South to capture fat profits and a huge TV audience throughout North America. But now it has turned into another high-profile victim of the global financial crisis and a rapidly slowing economy. ... But at the end of the day, it's the local bank that buys advertising hospitality and season boxes that mean more to the health of a franchise than "Joe Six-Pack and his family," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon.

Cutting through the election polling clutter (KVAL-13, Eugene): One poll shows Barack Obama up 14 percent nationwide. Another says the margin is five points. A third claims it's eight. And a fourth shows a 12-point Obama lead, but a fifth says his advantage is just three. All of these polls came out on the same day. Confused yet? University of Oregon political science professor Joseph Lowndes said each pollster's individual methods lead to the varying results. And polling is made even more complicated this year by a number of factors that pollsters haven't encountered in the past. (Video) http://www.kval.com/news/national/31080789.html#

Parks, recreation plan in the works (Appeal Tribune and Statesman Journal): The city of Mount Angel is working to develop a parks and recreation master plan. The plan would provide a framework for the next 15 to 20 years -- covering everything from maintenance needs to funding options and land acquisition strategy. The city has enlisted the help of University of Oregon's Community Planning Workshop program, in which graduate students work with city officials and the community to create a master plan. Planner and U of O faculty member Bethany Johnson, who will oversee the project, said three students will be involved in the project and will likely complete the plan by March.

The brain knows what the body's up to (The Oregonian): Brain shows plasticity when limb's transplanted, Oregon researchers demonstrate (The Oregonian): Scans of David Savage's brain amazed neuroscientists at the University of Oregon. The 56-year-old Michigan man lost his right hand in a machine press accident at age 19 and used a prosthesis for more than 30 years before undergoing hand-transplantation surgery. Studies show that brain areas devoted to a lost limb gradually give themselves over to input from other body parts. Scientists weren't sure whether those changes became permanent. But MRI scans of Savage's brain showed that his transplanted hand quickly took back the brain territory. Within four months, the sensory region for the hand appeared to be organizing in a near-normal pattern. "The signals are being registered in what would have been the area that represented the hand prior to amputation," said Scott Frey, a cognitive neuroscientist at UO, who co-authored the study appearing in the journal Current Biology. … The new findings add to growing evidence that the brain remains flexible and capable of healing adaptations long past childhood, contrary to long-held assumptions. Frey hopes the work will point to new ways to help rehabilitate people receiving limb transplants and prosthetic devices, as well as those recovering from brain injuries.

Why women are more prone to cavities (Livescience.com story reposted on MSNBC.com): Women had poor dental health compared to men back in the hunter-gatherer era, and it got worse as societies turned to farming. Now an anthropologist is pointing to an overlooked explanation -- hormonal and dietary changes related to higher pregnancy rates. ... "We deal with skeletons," said John Lukacs, an anthropologist at the University of Oregon. "There's no saliva, no hormonal effects to be detected." Lukacs first reviewed studies of both living and prehistoric humans, and found a familiar story across different cultures and nations. Women suffered more cavities than men as they became adults. However, both sexes saw a dramatic boost in cavities as societies became agricultural.

It's easy being GREEN (Columbus Other Paper): Is the green bandwagon a little too crowded? Some worry that a plethora of decals will cheapen their significance. A scant two months have passed since Mayor Mike Coleman unveiled the city's GreenSpot initiative--a program seemingly set on stickering every self-proclaimed environmentally friendly businesses and residence in Central Ohio. ... "Having a one-stop place where people can get easy-to-implement tips on how to make their world at home and at work a better place is a terrific idea," said Kim Sheehan, a communications professor at the University of Oregon and a faculty advisor to the college's Greenwashing Index project. "The biggest problem is the lack of enforcement. If all my neighbors have a green sticker, I'm going to want one, too. However, since there's no way that people report on their progress, all it is is a sticker."