Perspectives  






IU conference sets stage for developing energy research agenda

IU Energy Conference Government officials and business leaders presented a consistent message last week to Indiana University faculty members and administrators: IU, they said, can play a key role in conducting research to help Indiana and the nation develop sound energy policies and technologies.  Full Story

Scientists raise concerns about ongoing use of DDT

Mosquito

Thirty-seven years after DDT was banned in the United States, a panel of scientists is sounding the alarm about the pesticide -- both its lingering presence in the environment and its continued use to combat malaria in developing countries. The experts, including Diane S. Henshel of IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, have called for health monitoring, research on DDT's effects and development of better alternatives to its use.

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SPEA policy brief addresses challenges in health reform

stethoscope

Congress may approve health reform legislation this year, but it remains to be seen whether the changes will stem the rising tide of health-care costs that is threatening the U.S. economy, an Indiana University expert writes in a new policy brief. Eric Wright, director of the IU Center on Health Policy and professor and associate dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, writes about the topic in the August 2009 issue of SPEA Insights.

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SPEA students examine sustainability of local brewery

Upland Sustainability

Upland Brewing Co. recently approached Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs to perform a sustainability audit of the business. The resulting agreement allowed three graduate students to work on a project outside of the traditional academic environment, while helping a Bloomington business reach its goal of improved sustainability.

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Social scientist suggests new research framework to study complex systems

Elinor Ostrom

The often-used one-size-fits-all approach to policies aimed at achieving sustainable social-ecological systems needs to be updated with a diagnostic tool to help scholars from multiple disciplines better frame the question and think through the variables, asserts Indiana University social scientist and political economist Elinor Ostrom in an article appearing last month in a special section of Science.

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IUPUI service learning project focuses on renovating canal-side market in Thailand

Thailand

Six students from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis traveled halfway around the world this summer for a service-learning opportunity that made use of the skills they've learned at IUPUI. Their project is titled "Creating a design for the renovation of a traditional canal-side market near Bangkok, Thailand."

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Virtual learning viewed as increasingly viable option for Indiana students, survey finds

Laptop

A new survey of Indiana superintendents, principals and school counselors finds that a majority see virtual learning as a way to enhance academic offerings in public education. Sixty percent of respondents to the "2009 Survey of Virtual Learning in Indiana," conducted by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) at the Indiana University School of Education, said they are offering or may offer online courses.

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Previous issue

Knudsen award

An IU graduate student who helped her employer win a prestigious global environmental award is profiled in the July 14, 2009, issue of Perspectives on Policy. The newsletter also features stories about IU's involvement with "green leadership" training in China, the economic impact of IU Kokomo, a new book about an IU-Kenya partnership, a count of homeless people in Indianapolis, the benefits of whistle-blowing and comments by a range of IU experts on health reform.

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