News stories that feature the University of Connecticut. http://news.uconn.edu/ Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:17:45 -0500 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2998 In 2006, child welfare authorities investigated suspected maltreatment of 6 million American children, three-quarters of them under age 4. In today's rocky economy, that number is likely growing, say researchers. "When parents are out of work or stressed, some react in patterns of aggression, or turn to substance abuse," says Preston A. Britner, PhD, a psychologist and professor at the University of Connecticut. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2993 "We should have a common definition of teacher excellence — not just words on a page, but understanding and instantiation of these standards," said Joan Baratz-Snowden, the president of the Education Study Center ... with the release of two reports "So Long, Lake Wobegon? Using Teacher Evaluations to Raise Teacher Quality," by Dr. Morgaen L. Donaldson, assistant professor at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education, and "Fixing Tenure: a Proposal for Assuring Teacher Effectiveness and Due Process" by Baratz-Snowden. Teacher evaluations have come under fire in recent years because "almost all teachers are rated satisfactory or outstanding," according to Donaldson. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2994 Thirty young historians, resplendent in the colorful costumes they had made, re-enacted life in ancient Egypt, read and wrote hieroglyphs, investigated the mysteries of the great pyramids and sculpted funerary masks, heart scarabs and ushabti figurines. "Gifted education has been underfunded for years," said Sally Reis, principal investigator of the federally funded National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented - located at the University of Connecticut. "Bright children need special opportunities to explore their interests and achieve greater depth of understanding in order to develop their potential." Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2995 The bottlenose dolphins that swam into the Long Island Sound while they chased fish are a good sign that the Sound's waters are clean and well stocked with herring, scientists said Monday. Ultimately, whether the Sound dolphins become regulars will depend on whether fishstocks stay up, said Peter Auster, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Connecticut. "They might've just taken a left turn," Auster said. "They'll make their way out again when their plates are empty." Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2996 The University of Connecticut board of trustees last week doubled the funding to modernize and expand the School of Nursing with a 175-seat case-study room, a 100-seat classroom and simulation labs equipped with video to allow for remote learning. "Large numbers of students will be able to look at the simulation and break it down and put it back together again," said Carol Polifroni, associate dean for the nursing school. "The whole conceptualization is all about the students — what will enhance their learning so that when they graduate from us they will be that much better-prepared for the health care delivery system," Polifroni said. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2997 Representatives of UConn, Southern Connecticut State University and Norwalk Community College cited a surge in student interest, but they framed it as part of a long-term trend in growth. "This isn't a one-year story for UConn," said M. Dolan Evanovich, vice provost of enrollment planning, management and institutional research. "This is a 10-year story." This year has brought a 5 percent increase in applications, he said, but applications increased by 102 percent in the 10 previous years. He credited the increase to a $1 billion investment in UConn's physical infrastructure that began 12 years ago. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2991 New research shows that within a few short years of getting hitched, married individuals are twice as likely to become obese as are people who are merely dating. Amy Gorin, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut, published a study last year that showed if one spouse participates in a weight-loss program, the unenrolled spouse tends to lose about 5 lb. Now Gorin is exploring whether enlisting the support of spouses can help both partners shed more pounds. In June she wrapped up a 16-week pilot study of 20 couples, in one of which, the support person lost more weight than the main participant in the study. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2992 Awareness campaigns and counselling have led to a dip in incidence of HIV-AIDS, extra-marital sex and alcohol abuse among the 700,000 residents of three Mumbai slums, according to a research study. The project's principal investigator Stephen L. Schensul from the School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, said a complex set of factors governed the lives of couples in Mumbai, particularly the individuals staying in low income communities. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2989 Scientist and professor of marine sciences Peter Auster, along with two undergraduate interns from the University of Connecticut, recently docked after a two-week research cruise to Gray’s Reef where they tracked a few of the Southern Coast’s most notorious bad boys. "We're here looking at the ecology of piscivores -- fish-eating-fish -- and the behavioral relationships between predator and prey and predator and predator because there's apparently a level of cooperation between predators that enhances their feeding efficiency," he said. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.uconn.edu/php/tracker.php?source=UConnNews&id=2990 ... As the recession continues and unemployment climbs, surveys suggest many Americans are cutting costs by delaying or forgoing preventive health care."We can all agree that if we want to bring down skyrocketing costs, we'll need to modernize our system and invest in prevention," Obama said. "Here at the University of Connecticut, you will see a lot of people come to you because they didn't get screened in time for cancer," says gastroenterologist Joseph Anderson, clinical director of the UConn Health Center's Colon Cancer Prevention Program. "I think that everybody understands that the bottom line is we all need to sort of pull together to try to fix the holes in the current system," Anderson says. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0500