Daily IU News Round-up
November 19, 2009
IU report calls for better traffic safety measures
Chicago Tribune, Indiana Daily Student, Theindychannelcom, The Bloomington Herald-Times, WISHTV8, Nov. 19 -- A report on traffic safety conditions at Indiana University says the school should install better pedestrian crosswalks and launch an education campaign to help prevent campus accidents. The task force's report says crosswalks should clearly mark a safe zone where pedestrians can cross safely and have the right of way. The group wants two such crosswalks at Fee Lane with more sites possible later. Full story. Full story 2. Full story 3. Full story 4. Video.
Indiana University Receives NIH Grant To Improve Health Care In East Africa
Medical News Today, Nov. 18 -- A $1.3 million grant to Indiana University from the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center will establish the East African Center of Excellence in Health Informatics. The new center will connect the expertise of one of the world's foremost informatics programs at IU and the Regenstrief Institute with one of the leading academic medical centers in East Africa at Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital to increase the capacity for electronic health records in one of the worlds' poorest regions. Full story.
Indiana tries to improve its revenue forecasts; Panel is tweaking its revenue model to get more accurate results
The Indianapolis Star, Nov. 18 -- Under pressure to be more accurate, the state's revenue forecasters are reworking their economic model as they prepare their yearly forecast due out in December. The nonpartisan State Revenue Forecasting Technical Committee that draws up the annual December forecast for the State Budget Agency has made "fundamental changes" to its forecasting model in the past year to try to better predict the state's falling revenues during the recession but is frustrated that actual revenues still lag its estimates, said John L. Mikesell, an Indiana University professor of public and environmental affairs.
Full story.
Recovery here; jobs aren't
IU panel predicts high unemployment as consumers uneasy
Journalgazette.net, Nov. 19 -- To economists, Indiana and the rest of the country will continue to emerge from recession in 2010. But most of us can be forgiven if we don't feel that way. Economic output will grow, but unemployment and consumer worries will stay high through the year. That was the consensus the IU Business Outlook offered Wednesday at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. About 100 people attended. The four-person panel used data generated by Indiana University's Center for Econometric Model Research to make its predictions. Full story.
Plymouth business leaders asking people to shop local this holiday season
WSBT-TV, Nov. 10 -- Business leaders in Plymouth are asking people to shop local for the holidays. Economists say shopping locally helps provide jobs, which brings in more business, and eventually gives shoppers more options. "We improve quality of life by increasing choice, and we have more choice when we support our local businesses," said Morton Marcus, an economist with the IU Kelley School of Business.
Full story.
Indiana tries to improve its revenue forecasts; Panel is tweaking its revenue model to get more accurate results
The Indianapolis Star, Nov. 18 -- Under pressure to be more accurate, the state's revenue forecasters are reworking their economic model as they prepare their yearly forecast due out in December. The nonpartisan State Revenue Forecasting Technical Committee that draws up the annual December forecast for the State Budget Agency has made "fundamental changes" to its forecasting model in the past year to try to better predict the state's falling revenues during the recession but is frustrated that actual revenues still lag its estimates, said John L. Mikesell, an Indiana University professor of public and environmental affairs.
Full story.
USA Today give students free e-edition of paper
WebEditorsBlog and WIBC-AM, Nov. 17, 18 -- USA Today have launched a new initiative in collaboration with Penn State University, Indiana University and the University of Missouri to test how students respond to e-paper versions of the print publication. Full story. Full story 2.
IU voices in the news
Can Indiana Avoid Tax Increases Indefinitely?
Experts Say State Leaders' Anti-Tax Promises May Be Impossible To Keep
Theindychannel.com, Nov. 18 -- The Census Bureau lists Indiana's per capita state and local tax burden ranks at 13th, although the Tax Foundation reports Indiana is tied for 17th when its low wages are taken into account. Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis political science professor William Blomquist said politicians who've dug their feet in against tax increases may be locked into that position. "I think that they're stuck for this biennium. I think it would be extraordinarily difficult to go back and do a tax rate increase during the current budget biennium," he said. Full story.
Shot, spray or nay?
Some skeptics are choosing to skip the H1N1 vaccine
The Indianapolis Star, Nov. 19 -- Dr. Herb Cushing, a professor in the infectious disease section at the Indiana University School of Medicine is quoted in this article. Full story.
This tangled Web
Instant messages, texts affecting how rudely we chat - and respond
Journalgazette.net, Nov. 19 -- Michelle Drouin, an assistant psychology professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne is quoted in this article. Full story.
Suddenly, everyone wants to suck your blood
Vampires have been making a comeback with their recent portrayals as supernatural romancers
Bsudailynews.com, Nov. 19 -- Indiana University Assistant Professor of folklore Michael Dylan Foster said vampires are popular among fans of all ages and both genders because they represent more than just the undead. Full story.
Trends
New mammogram guidelines questioned
Many local women, health professionals still favor starting at 40
The Bloomington Herald-Times, Nov. 19 -- The task force experts say mammograms are not very reliable for women in their 40s unless they have a history of breast cancer; and that they needlessly expose women to potentially harmful radiation and produce false positives that create undue worry and prompt unnecessary follow-up testing and biopsies. They also say women ages 50 to 74 need a mammogram only every two years, not annually as they've been told for years; and they recommend that women forgo the breast self-exam because there is little evidence it can prevent cancer deaths. Full story.
From the Chronicle
Professors of the Year Are Celebrated for Innovative Teaching
One professor of geology drove his students into the wilderness of Montana to so they could put lessons from textbooks to work evaluating government policy. A psychologist encouraged students to generate their own ideas for research, even if that meant he had to investigate pick-up lines to vet one of the projects. Those professors and two others are being recognized for excellent teaching by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Full story.
In Appalachia, a Researcher Makes Honey From Coal
The library at the Lotts Creek Community School is buzzing with excitement as a half-dozen grade schoolers struggle into full-body protective "wee bee" suits. As they labor with zippers and wrestle with veils, a visitor lowers herself into a pint-size chair in their midst. Full story.
Academe and the Decline of News Media
Newspapers, newsmagazines, and broadcast-news outlets are drastically cutting staff members, bureaus, page counts, and news holes -- that is, when they're not simply going out of business. The Chronicle Review asked some prominent thinkers on issues of education, communications, and news and cultural literacy how the decline of those news media will affect higher education. Here are excerpts from their answers. Full story.
Daily IU News Round-up is distributed to faculty and staff at IU, and it contains a short review of media coverage relating to IU administrative and student news, federal and state legislative policy, and trends and issues in higher education. Prepared by the IU Office of University Communications, the Daily IU News Round-up is not an all-inclusive gathering of news featuring IU faculty and staff. To subscribe to the Daily IU News Round-up list or to have your name removed, please contact Susan Williams, Office of University Communications, sulwilli@indiana.edu.
