EurekAlert! - Education

200 leading experts to attend NJIT's Fifth Annual Math Conference set for May 19-21, 2008 in Newark

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(New Jersey Institute of Technology) New Jersey Institute of Technology will host May 19-21, 2008, more than 200 leading experts for the fifth annual Frontiers in Applied and Computational Mathematics Conference, an unusual three-day event featuring leading researchers who will discuss the latest news and research findings in their fields.

IEEE Fellow first woman to receive highest award in engineering profession

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(IEEE-USA) Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, recently received the John Fritz Medal from the American Association of Engineering Societies. She is the first woman so honored.Johnson was one of seven honorees during the AAES' 29th annual awards ceremony in the Great Hall of the National Academy of Engineering on May 5.

Daljit Ahluwalia, acclaimed math chair at NJIT, to be honored

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(New Jersey Institute of Technology) Daljit Ahluwalia, the visionary, vibrant and long-time chair of NJIT's department of mathematical sciences, will be honored at 6:30 p.m. on May 19, 2008.

UN think tank urges legislators to support 'open source' information technologies, software

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(United Nations University) United Nations University-MERIT experts yesterday in Geneva urged parliamentarians to support open source software and information technologies as a way to let citizens participate meaningfully in the information society.

Breaking news: Study revives Olympic prospects for amputee sprinter

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Rice University) Based on Rice and MIT findings, the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland, has ruled that Pistorius is eligible to participate in International Association of Athletics Federations sanctioned competitions. If he qualifies for the 2008 Beijing games, Pistorius would be the first disabled athlete ever to run against able-bodied athletes in an Olympic event.

Separation from mom, dad linked with learning trouble in kids

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Rochester Medical Center) In the wake of divorce, illness, violence and other problems that can unsettle homes, countless young children are liable to experience temporary separations from one or both parents before packing their knapsacks for kindergarten. Published in the May/June issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics, a new, community-wide study from Rochester, New York, warns that such kids are at increased risk for learning difficulties.

Marian Koshland Science Museum forms partnership with Science Center Singapore

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(The National Academies) In a new collaboration, the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences is licensing several components of its global warming and infectious diseases exhibits to the Science Center Singapore. The partnership marks an expansion of the Koshland Science Museum's efforts to bring its work to international audiences by teaming up with other museums and science centers around the world.

Monitor Sanctuary in good health overall, but historic shipwreck still faces threats

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(NOAA Headquarters) The natural resources of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off the North Carolina coast are in good condition overall, but the wreck of the Civil War ironclad encompassed by the site is at risk from human activity and natural deterioration, according to a new NOAA report.

Most ethnic minority teens don't hang out with ethnic school crowds

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Society for Research in Child Development) New research found that ethnic minority teens tend not to hang out in groups based on ethnicity. Only 30 percent of teens were described by peers as part of ethnically-oriented crowds. The researchers found that being associated with ethnically-oriented crowds at school had different implications for different groups. For Asian students, this was associated with positive characteristics (such as pride). For Latino students, the associations were mixed (pride, but also feelings of discrimination and stereotyping).

Spillover effects of family and school stress linger in adolescents' daily lives

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Society for Research in Child Development) A study among 589 9th graders found that stress at home affects adolescents' school life and vice versa. When adolescents experienced family stress, their learning and attendance problems increased at school the following day. Conversely, attendance and learning problems increased family stress the following day. These "spillover effects" lasted for two days after the initial stressor. Also, adolescents with higher family stress in 9th grade saw declining academic achievement in the 12th grade.

Adolescents' values can serve as a buffer against behaving violently at school

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Society for Research in Child Development) A study conducted among Arab and Jewish adolescents in public schools in Israel found that certain values helped protect teens against behaving violently. Surveys among 907 students examined how 10 different values related to violent behavior. Teens who valued universalism reported less violent behavior than their peers. Those who valued power reported more violent behavior. In high-risk environments, programs might be used to promote universalistic values over power values.

Pre-K students benefit when teachers are supportive

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Society for Research in Child Development) New research has found that minimum standards of quality in early education classrooms, including teachers' level of education and field of study, class size, and child-to-teacher ratio were not directly related to children's learning and social development. The research was conducted among 2,349 4-year olds enrolled in 671 pre-kindergarten classrooms in 11 states. The findings suggest that focusing on high quality instructional and emotional interactions within pre-K classrooms has the potential to improve children’s development.

UT Houston Dean Colasurdo named Executive Communicator of the Year

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston) The Houston chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators has named Giuseppe Colasurdo, M.D., dean of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, its Executive Communicator of the Year.

Research examines factors in delaying or declining total knee replacement surgery

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Kent State University) A study led by Dr. Ann F. Jacobson, associate professor in Kent State's College of Nursing, unveils the reasons why people may initially choose to postpone but ultimately undergo total knee replacement surgery and emphasizes the need for better patient education before and after the procedure. Study results identified four overarching themes in patients' experiences of total knee replacement, which the researchers named "putting up and putting off," "waiting and worrying," "letting go and letting in," and "hurting and hoping."

Doing your PGCE at M-Level first student guide aims to de-mystify the 'M' in M-Level

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(SAGE Publications UK) SAGE have today launched the first ever student guide for the Masters-Level PGCE.

NJIT Provost Priscilla P. Nelson honored at National Academy of Engineering

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(New Jersey Institute of Technology) NJIT Provost Priscilla P. Nelson, of West Orange, received the Kenneth R. Row Award from the American Association of Engineering Sciences on May 5 for promoting unity among engineering societies.

DNA fingerprinting simplified

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society for Horticultural Science) Agarose gel electrophoresis? Most teenagers wouldn't have a clue what this scientific term means, but middle school student Andrew Trigiano knows the protocol inside and out. Setting out to compare differences in popular brands of Easter egg dyes, Trigiano's project grew into a full-blown scientific study and set of replicable classroom experiments.

Establishing faster-growing, durable football fields

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society for Horticultural Science) A recent study offers new information that can help schools and contractors get outdoor athletic fields ready for fall sports more quickly.

Depression and anger can plague recent university graduates: Study

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Alberta) The post-university years can start out tough. The good news: it gets better.A new University of Alberta study of almost 600 of its graduates (ages 20-29 years old) tracked mental health symptoms in participants for seven years post-graduation and looked at how key events like leaving home and becoming a parent were related to depression and anger. Graduates showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms over the seven years. Expressed anger also declined over time after graduation, suggesting improved mental health.

£900,000 helps Queen's lead the way in next generation computing

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Queen's University Belfast) The Belfast e-Science Centre at Queen's has been awarded a grant of over £900,000 to continue its role in developing the successor to the World Wide Web.The revolutionary software work of the center could change the face of industry, commerce and academic research in the next few years.

Astronaut health on moon may depend on good dusting

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(National Space Biomedical Research Institute) To prepare for a return to the moon, researchers with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute are evaluating how dust deposits in the lungs in reduced gravity in order to assess the health risk of long-term exposure to lunar particles. The findings will influence the design of lunar bases and could also provide benefits for health care on Earth, such as improved delivery of aerosol medications to the lungs.

Memory lane: Older persons with more schooling spend fewer years with cognitive loss

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Southern California) Those with at least a high school education spend more of their older years without cognitive loss -- including the effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia -- but die sooner after the loss becomes apparent, reveals a new study appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Aging and Health.

Borrowers who complete homeownership education programs make better refinancing decisions

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Wiley-Blackwell) In light of the subprime mortgage crisis that has resulted in extraordinarily high default rates on home mortgages, one might wonder what the government can do to better educate new potential homeowners.

Study finds economics helping to change early childhood policy debate

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(RAND Corporation) A new RAND Corporation study finds that a growing body of economic research suggests that public investment in early childhood programs may be able to lower public costs for social services by improving children's long-term welfare. Such work is helping to promote a reorientation of child and human services toward investment and prevention, moving away from the current system that seeks to "treat" problems.

New agreement works to balance Belize's cruise ship tourism and conservation

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Conservation International) Members of Belize's cruise tourism industry today signed a Declaration of Commitment, in which key industry stakeholders commit to create sustainable cruise tourism practices, such as protecting coral reefs. The commitment is the second such environmental agreement developed for Caribbean passenger cruise line destinations by Conservation International's Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative. It is also the first to address considerations by an established nature tourism destination.