Front Page News at Indiana University
March 21, 2007
Front Page News at IU delivers top headlines of the day from the campuses of Indiana University. It comes to you courtesy of IU University Communications in the Office of University Relations.
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IUPUI announces renewable energy center named for Senator Richard G. Lugar
Danger? Men not working; IU ed school students focus on lack of male teachers in elementary, early childhood settings
Anxiety disorders surprisingly common yet often untreated; New screening tools make it easier for physicians to diagnose
Kelley School students succeed in bringing 'Mad Money' to IU Bloomington on April 4
Beneki gift will provide Kelley School students with opportunity to market Florida island property; Dog Island property valued at $1.95 million
Incidence of fatty liver disease rises as obesity in children increases
IU Bloomington Scoreboard
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IUPUI announces renewable energy center named for Senator Richard G. Lugar -- A newly created renewable energy center at IUPUI has been named the Richard G. Lugar Renewable Energy Center, IUPUI Chancellor Charles R. Bantz announced today. Bantz said the campus wanted to name the center for Indiana's senior United States Senator because of Lugar's steadfast leadership on renewable energy issues. "Developments at the federal level underscore the growing awareness that renewable energy will play a leading role in ensuring U.S. energy independence," Bantz said. "The creation of the Richard G. Lugar Renewable Energy Center is a direct response to that recognition. Senator Lugar's strong support for renewable energy research has had an immeasurable influence on our nation's collective thinking about the need for energy security." "I look forward to working with the IUPUI administration and faculty of the Richard G. Lugar Renewable Energy Center in the year's ahead," Lugar said. "Renewable energy research and commercialization of new energy technologies present unbelievable possibilities to strengthen U.S. national security and bolster the economy. Establishment of a center dedicated to the task of reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources creates an additional opportunity for Indiana to lead the nation to a new energy future." Read the complete story.
Danger? Men not working; IU ed school students focus on lack of male teachers in elementary, early childhood settings -- Historically low numbers of male teachers at the elementary and early childhood levels are the impetus for a new class offering at the IU School of Education in Bloomington. "Men in Education and the Male Teacher" is a graduate class developed by doctoral student Shaun Johnson. According the National Education Association, the number of men working as elementary school teachers is at its lowest point in four decades. The NEA reports that only 9 percent of elementary school teachers are men. Less than a quarter of all public school teachers are male. The state of Indiana actually has one of the highest percentages of male public school teachers, at nearly 31 percent. Johnson's interest in the subject came out of his teaching experience — a year in a Washington, D.C. public school, then three at a school in Montgomery County, Md. Johnson said he "stuck out," particularly in Washington, where he was one of three men teaching alongside 45 female teachers. He also said he felt some colleagues and acquaintances didn't take him seriously as a professional both within and outside the school. "I sort of got frustrated after a while with people telling me how 'cute' it is that I teach," Johnson said. "You know, 'isn't that adorable?' It was a profession to me and it still is, and I take it very seriously." Read the full story.
Anxiety disorders surprisingly common yet often untreated: new screening tools make it easier for physicians to diagnose -- A new study by researchers led by Kurt Kroenke, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. reports that nearly 20 percent of patients seen by primary care physicians have at least one anxiety disorder. The study outlines the effectiveness of a new screening tool which can alert busy primary care physicians to those patients with one or more anxiety disorders. The study is published in the March 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Read the full story.
Kelley School students succeed in bringing 'Mad Money' to IU Bloomington on April 4 -- Thanks to the efforts of a group of Indiana University students, Jim Cramer and his crew at Mad Money soon will be getting a hospitable Hoosier "ba-ba-boo-yah" when the exuberant former hedge-fund manager brings his popular CNBC television program to IU Bloomington. The site of the April 4 broadcast -- IU's Assembly Hall -- seems appropriate. Like many basketball coaches, Cramer frenetically paces, gestures and sometimes shouts as he preaches the virtues of the stock market on CNBC's top-rated business program. Catch phrases such as "boo-yah" and "house of pain" are a staple, along with sound effects and other props… "Cramer does what a lot of people do -- analyze the market -- but he does it in such a creative way," observed Mark Bohling, a senior from Schererville, Ind., majoring in finance and operations management. "You don't have to have a complete understanding of the markets to watch his show. He explains everything in such easy-to-understand methods that everyone can watch his show and like it." Read the complete story.
Beneki gift will provide Kelley School students with opportunity to market Florida island property; Dog Island property valued at $1.95 million -- It's not unusual for college students to be thinking about warm Florida beaches this time of year as spring break approaches. However, an Atlanta-based developer of luxury homes has given students at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business an educational reason to reflect on such a place. Stanley W. Benecki, who earned a bachelor's degree in real estate from IU in 1981, has donated five undeveloped, beachfront lots now valued at $1.95 million to the Kelley School. The lots are on historic Dog Island, Fla. Under the direction of faculty and the IU Foundation, students will be given the opportunity to assess, market and ultimately sell the land at a much higher price to maximize the value of Benecki's gift. "It gives them an opportunity to play developer by getting out there and figuring out ways to market and increase the lots' value," said Benecki, who is president of Benecki Fine Homes. "When I was in school, we didn't have hands-on opportunities to play with real estate -- especially at these dollar amounts -- and I think it will be exciting for students. It's a real project. They'll get to learn how to put things together, and that's where real value is." Read the full story.
Incidence of fatty liver disease rises as obesity in children increases -- Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are taking a closer look at a disease whose incidence is rising as obesity in children increases. Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, more popularly known as Fatty Liver Disease, occurs in approximately 15% of obese children. Fatty Liver Disease, in which fat accumulates in the liver, while not life threatening in children, can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, sometimes requiring transplantation by adulthood. "Until now the only treatment for Fatty Liver Disease has been to offer diet and exercise counseling, but this is often not effective. As part of a national multi-center research network, we are now looking at Vitamin E and at Metformin, a drug used to treat Type II diabetes, as possible therapies" said Jean Molleston, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics at IU School of Medicine and director of pediatric gastroenterology at Riley Hospital for Children. Read the complete story.
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Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard
Schedule for Wednesday, March 21 -- No varsity teams in action
Results for Tuesday, March 20 --
Men's golf -- The IU men's golf team captured the team title at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate, with sophomore Jorge Campillo, the 20th-ranked player in the country, claiming the individual title with a three-under-par total of 213 (73-67-73). Read more.
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IU in the News
Many parents want distance between own kids and those with mental illness
Science Daily, March 21 -- New research suggests that Americans are more likely to socially reject children with mental illness than they are those with physical illnesses such as asthma. "Many respondents did not want their children to become friends with other kids identified as having mental illnesses or have them come over to spend an evening socializing," said IU's Jack Martin, Ph.D., lead study author. The Indiana University research team looked at data from a national face-to-face interview of adults who were given descriptions of children of various ages with symptoms that were similar to asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression or "normal troubles." The interviewer never mentioned a specific diagnosis. "We used asthma as a baseline condition because it represents a physical problem with a known and standard treatment," said Martin, who is executive director of the university's Karl Schuessler Institute for Social Research, in Bloomington. "We wanted to see if Americans felt differently about a child with a mental health problem." Read the full story.
EGG lays groundwork for online games study
Laboratory Talk (U.K.), March 21 -- There's a teeming universe whose inhabitants travel in cyberspace through fantasy worlds of dungeons, dragons and demons, and real-world simulations of war and life in ancient and futuristic times. And though they may be computer games their global popularity is such that they merit serious consideration in academia. That's what Jeff Bardzell, assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Informatics and other researchers are probing with their recently formed Enlightening Games Group (EGG). 'There's a genuine belief that game studies deserve more attention than they are getting,' said EGG director Bardzell, an expert in human-computer interaction design. Read the complete story.
Vocalist to compete at the Met Sunday; Jacobs graduate student hopes to make it to the finals
Indiana Daily Student, March 21 -- If Facebook is any standard, Jacobs School of Music graduate student Jamie Barton is already an established celebrity. There are not only one but two groups in her honor: "Jamie Barton is the most popular girl on Facebook," which claims she has more wall posts and Facebook gifts than anyone, and the noticeably less-flattering "Jamie Barton steals my lunch money," which accuses Barton of nothing less than being a "bully who kicks puppies and scares freshmen with wedgies and wet willies." Barton seems to be taking the allegations in stride."I think it's hilarious," she said with a laugh over lunch at Lennie's last weekend. Then again, she has plenty of reason to stay positive these days. It has been a busy but rewarding semester for Barton. She's been to Indianapolis, to New York, Houston and back and has plenty of stories to tell. Read the entire story.
How ironic: Video games may save kids' educations
Gizmo Café, March 20 -- Back in the late 1980s and early 90s, U.S. state and federal governments tried just about everything to keep kids from dropping out. The most popular method seemed to involve paying off millionaire celebrities, like Michael Jordan, to don posters and even t-shirts with the "Stay in School" message. Now, there's a new initiative to keep kids both entertained and firmly positioned in their desks: video games. The plan is being hatched by a number of educators, with Indiana University professor Sasha Barab at the head of the class. Barab doesn't believe the answer is Doom (or any other game stereotyped as the downfall of society), but instead titles that challenge the mind without violence. Read the full story.
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