HandsNettag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://12008-11-20T08:50:23ZMovable Type 3.35Eastern Connecticut State University Awarded Grant to Assist At-Risk Student Populationstag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295942008-11-20T07:41:53Z2008-11-20T08:50:23ZFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: Eastern Connecticut State University has received a $200,000 "Project Compass" grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to help more students from underrepresented populations graduate with a college degree. The Project Compass initiative provides money to increase...
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Eastern Connecticut State University has received a $200,000 "Project Compass" grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to help more students from underrepresented populations graduate with a college degree.
The Project Compass initiative provides money to increase retention and progress to graduation for minority, low-income and first-generation college students, groups that make up more than 50 percent of students attending Eastern Connecticut State University.
"We are delighted to be one of four New England colleges to receive a Project Compass grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation," said Eastern President Elsa Nez.
At the same time, we recognize that enrolling more first- generation and other underserved students is not enough; the ultimate measure of success is retaining and graduating those students.
In 2007, Eastern was one of six New England universities to receive initial $100,000 grants from the Foundation to support planning and capacity building.
The grant was also used to develop a statistical tracking model to target services to students identified as most at risk of withdrawing from Eastern.
The University also determined which academic services were most needed by students in the Project Compass cohorts, and how to deliver those academic services in a more effective way.
Currently, it primarily provides funding through five strategic initiatives: Early Learning, Time for Learning, Pathways to Higher Learning, Adult Learning and Systems Building.
We provide direct, immediate access to mainstream national media for 600 colleges, universities, medical centers, public-policy groups and other leading nonprofit organizations.
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Even in Poor Economy, Consumers Urged to Prioritize Health Caretag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295852008-11-20T07:33:19Z2008-11-20T08:58:44ZFrom PR Newswire: Household budget cutbacks are becoming commonplace as most Americans struggle to make ends meet, but experts warn that health care needs should not be among the forfeited services. Recent research indicates that more than 20 percent of...
PR Newswire:
Household budget cutbacks are becoming commonplace as most Americans struggle to make ends meet, but experts warn that health care needs should not be among the forfeited services.
Recent research indicates that more than 20 percent of people have cut back on medical visits to save money and The Vision Council warns that this cost-saving strategy could have serious consequences.
Vision disorders are the second most prevalent health problem in the country, affecting more than 120 million people, so the effect of postponing or avoiding eye care because of the cost -- which 40 percent of Americans report doing -- could be dangerous.
According to a report recently issued by The Vision Council, two-thirds of Americans say they would be more willing to get an eye exam if they had some vision coverage, yet only 17 percent of employers report offering vision insurance.
Uncorrected vision problems also have an impact on the bottom line for employers, costing more than $8 billion in lost productivity every year.
For those who lack vision insurance, or even those whose benefits don't cover all the costs associated with an eye exam, one way to make maintaining healthy vision more affordable is to use funds in a flexible spending account (FSA) toward that care.
FSAs enable participants to use pre-tax income to pay for out-of-pocket health expenses, such as an eye exam or a new pair of eyeglasses.
"A regular eye exam is the best way to keep your eyes healthy and your eyeglass prescription current," reminds Greene.
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Poor understanding of medicare leads to worse healthcare accesstag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295762008-11-20T07:25:13Z2008-11-20T09:45:14ZFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A study appearing in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that Medicare beneficiaries' understanding of their healthcare benefits may affect their ability to access needed care effectively and could lead them to the delay...
EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
A study appearing in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society shows that Medicare beneficiaries' understanding of their healthcare benefits may affect their ability to access needed care effectively and could lead them to the delay or avoid seeking care.
In the study, 2,997 White, Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries from across the United States were surveyed.
About one-third of the respondents regarded themselves as being unfamiliar or very unfamiliar with their Medicare program.
While Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than Whites to be unfamiliar with their Medicare benefits, poorer familiarity with the Medicare system was widespread and stretched across demographic groups.
Researcher Robert O. Morgan, principal author of the study and a professor of Management, Policy and Community Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health, said that familiarity with Medicare benefits is also lower among enrollees in Medicare managed care plans, as well as among beneficiaries with lower incomes and less formal education.
However, the relationship between familiarity and healthcare access persisted even after controlling for all of these factors, as well as for overall exposure to the health care system.
"This is a problem that affects a substantial portion of the Medicare population and extends across races and ethnicities, and across educational and income levels," Morgan said.
Dr. Morgan conducted the study with colleagues from the Houston Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center's Health Services Research Center of Excellence, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of California at Davis, the University of Miami and the University of Minnesota.
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Researchers: Ban on fast food TV advertising would reverse childhood obesity trendstag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295632008-11-20T07:14:02Z2008-11-20T09:48:00ZFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The study also reports that eliminating the tax deductibility associated with television advertising would result in a reduction of childhood obesity, though in smaller numbers. The authors found that a ban on fast food television...
EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
The study also reports that eliminating the tax deductibility associated with television advertising would result in a reduction of childhood obesity, though in smaller numbers.
The authors found that a ban on fast food television advertisements during children's programming would reduce the number of overweight children ages 3-11 by 18 percent, while also lowering the number of overweight adolescents ages 12-18 by 14 percent.
"Hopefully, this line of research can lead to a serious discussion about the type of policies that can curb America's obesity epidemic."
The study also found that the elimination of tax deductibility tied to advertising would similarly produce declines in childhood obesity, albeit at a smaller rate of 5-7 percent.
Advertising is considered a business expense and, as such, it can be used to reduce a company's taxable income.
The authors deduce that, since the corporate income tax rate is 35 percent, the elimination of the tax deductibility of food advertising costs would be equivalent to increasing the price of advertising by 54 percent.
The study---the largest of its kind to directly tie childhood obesity to fast food advertising on American television---is based on the viewing habits of nearly 13,000 children using data from the 1979 Child-Young Adult National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, both issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.
A 2006 report issued by the Institute of Medicine indicated there is compelling evidence linking food advertising on television and increased childhood obesity.
"Some members of the committee that wrote the report recommended congressional regulation of television food advertisements aimed at children, but the report also said that the final link that would definitively prove that children had become fatter by watching food commercials aimed at them cannot be made," says Grossman.
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Primary care provides patients with better outcomes at lower costtag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295602008-11-20T07:11:26Z2008-11-20T09:50:26ZFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A white paper, How is a Shortage of Primary Care Physicians Affecting the Quality and Cost of Medical Care?, released today by the American College of Physicians (ACP) documents the value of primary care by...
EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
A white paper, How is a Shortage of Primary Care Physicians Affecting the Quality and Cost of Medical Care?, released today by the American College of Physicians (ACP) documents the value of primary care by reviewing 20 years of research.
An annotated bibliography based on a literature review of more than 100 studies documents the evidence to support the critical importance of primary care in providing patients with better outcomes at lower cost, and the urgency of the need to prevent shortages of primary care physicians.
"The evidence for the value of primary care is clear," said Jeffery P. Harris, MD, FACP, president of ACP.
"It manifests itself in better quality of life, more productive longevity, and lower costs as a result of reduced hospitalization, improved prevention and better coordination of chronic disease care.
The ACP paper notes that policymakers are more likely to take the steps necessary to assure a sufficient primary care workforce if they are aware of the research on the importance of primary care to a high-performing health care system.
ACP calls on the federal government, large employers and other purchasers, health plans, and the medical profession itself to take immediate action to create a comprehensive national health-care workforce policy.
In addition to this white paper, ACP is developing a new policy paper to provide a comprehensive set of recommendations to assure that the supply of primary care physicians is sufficient to meet current and future needs.
ACP members include 126,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students.
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Track your fitness, environmental impact with new cell phone applicationstag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295582008-11-20T07:09:39Z2008-11-20T10:31:22ZFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Soon, your cell phone may be able to help you maintain your exercise routine and keep the pounds off over winter months, without your having to lift a finger to keep track. Researchers at the...
EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
Soon, your cell phone may be able to help you maintain your exercise routine and keep the pounds off over winter months, without your having to lift a finger to keep track.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Intel have created two new cell phone applications, dubbed UbiFit and UbiGreen, to automatically track workouts and green transportation.
The programs display motivational pictures on the phone's background screen that change the more the user works out or uses eco-friendly means of transportation.
In a three-month field experiment, people using UbiFit with the background display kept up their workout routines over the winter holidays, a period when people typically slack off on exercise, while people without the display let their regimen slide.
UbiFit and UbiGreen are part of a larger project at the UW to use mobile computing in everyday activities and long-term goals such as fitness, said project leader James Landay, UW computer science and engineering associate professor.
The sensing device determines what the user is doing based on how it gets jiggled around, Landay said -- the localized motion at your waist will be different if you're walking, jogging, or sitting in a car.
The sensing device sends signals three times per second via Bluetooth to the cell phone, where the application averages these rapid signals and translates them into, for example, a 20-minute jog or a drive to work.
UbiGreen automatically logs a trip that involves walking, running or biking using accelerometer data, and uses cell phone tower signals to determine if someone is riding in a vehicle.
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American Lung Association Applauds Greenhouse Gas Plan as Right Prescription for Global Warming Problemtag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295452008-11-20T06:58:19Z2008-11-20T10:40:01ZFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: The American Lung Association of California announced its support for the state plan to control global warming pollution to be voted on Thursday, November 20, by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and called on the board...
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The American Lung Association of California announced its support for the state plan to control global warming pollution to be voted on Thursday, November 20, by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and called on the board to adopt several strengthening improvements to better protect the lung and public health of all Californians.
"The Scoping Plan provides the right prescription for the critical public health problem of global warming," said Tony Gerber, MD, an American Lung Association of California volunteer, pulmonary specialist and assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
"Everyone who is concerned about breathing polluted air in California should be supporting a strong global warming plan," said Gerber.
The measures in the plan are critical not only to not only reducing California's carbon footprint, but also to reduce smog, soot and toxic air contaminants that plague communities across the state.
With asthma at epidemic levels and thousands of premature deaths, hospitalizations and illnesses caused by air pollution each year, California must take the strongest possible action to control global warming and protect vulnerable populations.
- Strengthen Land Use Provisions - CARB must boost greenhouse gas emission reductions from the transportation and land use sectors by increasing the state land use target to 11-14 million metric tons (MMT) and adopt state requirements for air districts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from developments (indirect source rules).
The public health crisis in California caused by the state's dependence on polluting petroleum fuels requires the strongest possible greenhouse gas reduction measures.
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Another extension to unemployment benefits neededtag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295172008-11-20T06:43:12Z2008-11-20T10:37:32ZFrom Economic Policy Institute: In June, it was clear that the U.S. economy was faltering. Since that time, the job market has deteriorated even more. The unemployment rate has increased to 6.5% nationally, and it is above 8.5% in some...
Economic Policy Institute:
In June, it was clear that the U.S. economy was faltering.
Since that time, the job market has deteriorated even more.
The unemployment rate has increased to 6.5% nationally, and it is above 8.5% in some states.
In the second week of November, an additional 516,000 workers filed for unemployment insurance, the highest level of new claims filed since the aftermath of September 2001.
Over 890,000 unemployed workers already have exhausted their 13-week extension,2 and another 1.2 million are projected to exhaust benefits by year's end.3 Without these benefits, the Congressional Budget Office finds that about 50% of the long-term unemployed fall under the poverty line.4 Congress should act swiftly to extend benefits for another seven weeks in all states, and an additional 20 weeks (for a total of 33) in states with unemployment over 6.0%.
Check out other recent Snapshots on unemployment trends: The unemployment trend by state (Sept. 24, 2008) Got work?
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The Wallace Foundation Awards $7.7 Million to Support Seattle's Arts Communitytag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.295022008-11-20T06:37:20Z2008-11-20T08:46:41ZFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: The Wallace Foundation, the Washington State Arts Commission and the Mayor's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs today announced an innovative, four-year arts funding partnership designed to foster growth in public arts attendance and to identify, develop...
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The Wallace Foundation, the Washington State Arts Commission and the Mayor's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs today announced an innovative, four-year arts funding partnership designed to foster growth in public arts attendance and to identify, develop and share useful lessons on how arts organizations can reach more people.
Nine Seattle arts organizations will receive $6.1 million in grants, and another $1.6 million will support audience building throughout the region.
In recognition of their commitment to community and audience building activities, The Foundation is giving its prestigious Wallace Excellence Awards to Experience Music Project / Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, One Reel, On the Boards, Pacific Northwest Ballet Association, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Opera, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Youth Symphony and SIFF (Cinema Seattle).
"The Excellence Awards honor organizations that have made a commitment to engage more people deeply in the arts part of their DNA," said Christine DeVita, president of the Foundation.
In addition to the grant, each Excellence Awardee will also receive technical assistance to help better understand the attitudes, preferences and behaviors of the target groups the organization is trying to reach, to design more effective strategies for building participation and to gather reliable evidence on program effectiveness.
The initiative will bolster the region's arts "eco-system" by adding knowledge-sharing resources and a small pool of project grant funds for local arts organizations to support technology upgrades and targeted outreach to diverse communities.
Philadelphia and San Francisco were chosen in 2007, Chicago and Boston in 2006.
Established in 1961, the Washington State Arts Commission is a state agency that advances and supports arts and culture in Washington State through leadership, knowledge, funding and resources that build participation in, and access to, the arts.
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K-State economist's research on low-income homeownerstag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.294982008-11-20T06:35:11Z2008-11-20T10:47:27ZFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Programs that help low-income and minority individuals and families purchase a home may be doing more harm than good, according to a Kansas State University economist. When vulnerable homeowners don't get support after they purchase...
EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
Programs that help low-income and minority individuals and families purchase a home may be doing more harm than good, according to a Kansas State University economist.
When vulnerable homeowners don't get support after they purchase a home -- maybe one they really couldn't afford in the first place -- they're more likely to return to renting, said Tracy Turner, K-State assistant professor of economics.
"Moving vulnerable renters into homeownership without post-purchase support wastes tax dollars as well as creates great hardships for these new homeowners who lose their homes," Turner said.
"Our research sheds light on homeowner sustainability and the need for post-purchase support for vulnerable households.
From 1970 to 2005, they found that low-income homeowners were consistently more likely to exit homeownership than higher income households.
Turner said this could be because policies in the 1990s that encouraged minority homeownership were not sustainable in the long term.
Turner said their research is the first to find that the homeownership gap before 1997 is because fewer blacks were becoming homeowners in the first place, not because they were leaving homeownership at higher rates.
Because homeownership offers many benefits, Turner said it is important to understand why black, Hispanic and low-income households are less likely to own their housing.
An important area of future research, Turner said, would be to look at how much of the foreclosure crisis is attributed to these types of policies versus how much of it is because of liberalized lending standards, predatory lending and house-price declines.
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Major League Baseball, McCormick Foundation Raise Nearly $6 Million For Veterans Through 'Welcome Back Veterans'; Initiative Addresses Challenges of Mental Health Injuries, Employment for Returning Vets and Their Familiestag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.294942008-11-20T06:33:25Z2008-11-20T06:34:15ZFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: The McCormick Foundation's Board of Directors has approved more than $2.9 million in grants of nearly $6 million raised to nonprofit organizations serving veterans as part of Welcome Back Veterans, it was announced Tuesday. Read more from...
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The McCormick Foundation's Board of Directors has approved more than $2.9 million in grants of nearly $6 million raised to nonprofit organizations serving veterans as part of Welcome Back Veterans, it was announced Tuesday. Read more from this post.
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Purdue Expert: Nice Holiday Gifts for Kids Don't Require Big Spendingtag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.294902008-11-20T06:31:52Z2008-11-20T06:32:36ZFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: A Purdue University child development specialist says parents can give their children nice holiday gifts without spending a lot of money. Read more from this post....
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A Purdue University child development specialist says parents can give their children nice holiday gifts without spending a lot of money. Read more from this post.
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Council on Contemporary Families Sources and Story Ideas for the Holidaystag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.294872008-11-20T06:30:45Z2008-11-20T06:31:51ZFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: Holidays are a great time for family fun. But they also present real challenges for families, from coping with in-laws and former spouses, to fending off awkward questions about partners and children (or the lack of same),...
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Holidays are a great time for family fun. But they also present real challenges for families, from coping with in-laws and former spouses, to fending off awkward questions about partners and children (or the lack of same), to avoiding over-indulgence in food, drinking, and gift-giving. And this year there may be more stress than usual as many families face lay-offs, housing problems, or other economic pressures. Read more from this post.
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Kids from juvenile justice system 7 times more likely to commit criminal actstag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.294162008-11-19T11:13:16Z2008-11-19T08:29:18ZFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A new study shows that juvenile delinquents sentenced to either a juvenile retreat, probation or unsupervised community service were seven times more likely to commit criminal acts as adults than youngsters from the control group...
EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
A new study shows that juvenile delinquents sentenced to either a juvenile retreat, probation or unsupervised community service were seven times more likely to commit criminal acts as adults than youngsters from the control group who managed to avoid the juvenile justice system.
The findings come from Frank Vitaro, a psycho-education professor at the Université de Montreal and researcher at the Research Unit on Children's Psycho-Social Maladjustment, who collaborated with UdeM colleague Richard Tremblay as well as Uberto Gatti of the Universite de Genes.
They compared kids who went through the juvenile justice system with a control group that had similar behavioural and socioeconomic conditions.
They analyzed the cases of 779 francophone, underprivileged Quebecers between kindergarten and age 25.
They found 113 youngsters out of the 779 were subjected to judicial intervention between the ages of 12 and 17.
To evaluate this impact on their behaviour into adulthood several factors were measured and controlled: verbal ability, impulsiveness and hyperactivity, premature delinquency, family structure, family revenue, parental supervision and the delinquency level of their peers.
The study showed that kids who went through the system were seven times more likely to commit criminal acts as adults that correlated with the severity of their sentence.
For instance, for the least severe sentence (community service) the risk of relapse is 2.3 percent.
Several factors can help identify children at risk: young parents, anti-sociability of parents, lack of support, aggressiveness of the child and family setting.
Screening programs must be consistent and permanent support should be provided to select youngsters.
"Studies show that prevention programs can help reduce criminality by as much as 50 percent," says Vitaro.
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Alcohol sponsorship linked to hazardous drinking in sportspeopletag:webclipper.handsnet.org,2008://1.294832008-11-19T07:49:48Z2008-11-19T09:15:14ZFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A new study provides the first evidence of a link between alcohol-industry sponsorship and hazardous drinking among sportspeople. Researchers from The University of Manchester and the University of Newcastle in Australia quizzed nearly 1,300 sportspeople...
EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
A new study provides the first evidence of a link between alcohol-industry sponsorship and hazardous drinking among sportspeople.
Researchers from The University of Manchester and the University of Newcastle in Australia quizzed nearly 1,300 sportspeople and found alcohol-related companies sponsored almost half of them.
The sponsorship ranged from financial incentives, such as payment of competition fees and the supply of sports kit, but nearly half of the sponsorship deals included free or discounted alcohol for sporting functions and post-match celebrations.
This figure increased significantly when the sponsorship deal included free or discounted booze, and among those sportspeople who believed there was an obligation for them to drink the sponsor's products or attend their establishments.
"Sportspeople receiving direct alcohol-industry sponsorship of any kind, including payment of competition fees, costs for uniforms and the provision of alcoholic beverages, reported more hazardous drinking than those not receiving sponsorship," said Dr O'Brien.
"Similarly, those receiving free or discounted drinks from sponsors and those sportspeople that felt they were required to drink their sponsor's alcohol product at their establishments reported even higher levels of drinking.
"While finding that provision of free or discounted alcohol is linked to higher-reported drinking seems common sense, we needed to show clearly that this form of sponsorship occurs, and that it is actually associated with hazardous drinking."
The research, say the authors, raises serious ethical issues for sports administrators concerned with the health of sportspeople.
Alcohol-industry sponsorship was reported by 47.8%, with 46.7% of these reporting being given free or discounted alcohol products; the remaining 53.3% received non-alcohol-related sponsorship, such as payment of fees, team kit or equipment.
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