Posted on: 2:57 pm, November 20, 2012, by Katie DeLong, updated on: 02:58pm, November 20, 2012
MADISON ? The 2012 Wisconsin State Capitol Ornament has been unveiled, and is now on sale.?
The 2012 ornament features a replica of the State Capitol?s glass tile mosaic ?Liberty? ? one of four mosaics located between the arches in the Capitol Rotunda.
The ?Liberty,? ?Legislation,? ?Government,? and ?Justice? glass tile mosaics symbolize the divisions of the powers of the state and liberty, the foundation of all power in a free country.
The non-profit Capitol Ornament Program began nine years ago and has raised thousands of dollars for the State Capitol Restoration Fund. Proceeds allow the state to acquire items for the ongoing restoration of the State Capitol.
The 2012 State Capitol Ornament sells for $16.
CLICK HERE to purchase the 2012 State Capitol Ornament via the Wisconsin Historical Society website.
NEW YORK (AP) ? The players' association will monitor the Miami Marlins following their payroll purge. The union says it's too early to determine whether the salary cuts will cause any issues under baseball's labor contract.
Baseball's labor contract requires that revenue-sharing money be used in to improve a team's performance on the field.
The Marlins opened last season with a $112 million payroll and cut it to $90 million by the end of the season. With the trade of All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes and four others to Toronto on Tuesday, Miami's payroll next season is projected at about $36 million.
Commissioner Bud Selig approved the deal Monday. Union head Michael Weiner said Tuesday he is not surprised by Selig's decision, but "we'll be monitoring the Marlins for compliance" with baseball's labor agreement.
Researchers develop guidebook for promoting healthy lifestyles among Hispanic populationsPublic release date: 20-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Debra Bolton dbolton@k-state.edu 620-275-9164 Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, KAN. -- A collaborative guidebook involving Kansas State University researchers is helping individuals, families and communities improve the health of Hispanic populations.
Recent studies have shown that Hispanic populations living in the U.S. have higher rates of obesity and diabetes, and lower rates of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, compared with Caucasians. The higher rates of obesity and diabetes among Hispanic populations are connected with the adoption of new lifestyles.
University researchers wanted to improve Hispanic health and health-related behaviors by developing a culturally relevant resource guide for physical activity and nutrition. Working with three communities in southwest Kansas -- Garden City in Finney County, Dodge City in Ford County and Liberal in Seward County -- the researchers addressed Hispanic community and health needs. The research is published in a recent issue of the journal Ethnicity and Disease.
The collaborative project involves Debra Bolton, instructor and K-State Research and Extension specialist in family and consumer sciences; Daniel Kahl, the program coordinator of the Kansas PRIDE Program and the K-State Research and Extension liaison for the Center for Engagement and Community Development; as well as Melissa Bopp and Elizabeth Fallon, both former assistant professors of kinesiology.
"Because of where I live and because of my research, the professors called and said they wanted to do research," said Bolton, who is based in Garden City and performs research centered on Hispanic populations. "It was a good place for them to get into communities and understand health and habits."
Hispanics make up 8 percent of the Kansas population, but southwest Kansas has higher populations of Hispanics. Hispanics make up 48 percent of the population in Finney County, 49 percent of the population in Ford County and 51 percent of the population in Seward County.
"We are way beyond the state average," Bolton said. "That's why southwest Kansas was such a prime place to do this research."
With obesity prevention efforts, community-based participatory research is becoming a popular way to reach ethnically diverse populations. But little research has focused on ways to help Hispanic communities. For the guidebook, the researchers combined community-specific cultural and historical information with physical activity and nutrition health education materials.
The work focused on several areas: heart disease, diabetes, overweight, nutrition, physical activity and access to health care. The researchers used surveys and statistics and spoke with community leaders.
They discovered that many Hispanic residents were new immigrants and possibly unaware of community resources that support healthy behaviors. The researchers found that it was beneficial for these residents to have a guidebook tailored to resources available in their city.
The researchers developed a guidebook available in English and Spanish and distributed it to residents in that community. The guidebook focused on ways to promote and increase awareness of physical activity and healthy eating resources in each community. The researchers included photos of parks, trails and recreational facilities, photos of families and individuals engaging in activities, and photos and nutritional information for ethnically relevant foods.
When conducting surveys to evaluate the guide, the researchers found that the guide was accepted by community residents and had moderate dissemination.
"I think it's a good start to understanding access to physical activity and health," Bolton said. "In my own research, I understand these residents don't come to the U.S. as unhealthy people."
Bolton noted the paradigm shift -- called the Latino Paradox -- that Hispanic populations experience when they come to the U.S. Before emigrating, they often walk a lot and eat home-cooked meals, Bolton said, but when they arrive in the U.S. they drive cars everywhere and have access to inexpensive and convenient fast food, which they often view as a form of prosperity.
"Because it's a new, different way of eating than their bodies are used to, they are more prone to diabetes and other diseases," Bolton said. "I hope that this research helps this population understand that how they ate and exercised in their former country was the healthy thing to do."
In their publication, the researchers noted that while the primary outcome of the research was the development of the guidebook, the collaborative partnerships that were formed between researchers and the community were just as important. Because community engagement breaks barriers, Bolton said it was important for researchers to go into the community to understand the culture.
"It is important out of respect to the community," Bolton said. "Garden City has a long history of integrating the population. This brought a national issue to a local level. That helps us understand the population."
###
The research was funded by a grant from the Center for Engagement and Community Development at Kansas State University.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Researchers develop guidebook for promoting healthy lifestyles among Hispanic populationsPublic release date: 20-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Debra Bolton dbolton@k-state.edu 620-275-9164 Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, KAN. -- A collaborative guidebook involving Kansas State University researchers is helping individuals, families and communities improve the health of Hispanic populations.
Recent studies have shown that Hispanic populations living in the U.S. have higher rates of obesity and diabetes, and lower rates of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, compared with Caucasians. The higher rates of obesity and diabetes among Hispanic populations are connected with the adoption of new lifestyles.
University researchers wanted to improve Hispanic health and health-related behaviors by developing a culturally relevant resource guide for physical activity and nutrition. Working with three communities in southwest Kansas -- Garden City in Finney County, Dodge City in Ford County and Liberal in Seward County -- the researchers addressed Hispanic community and health needs. The research is published in a recent issue of the journal Ethnicity and Disease.
The collaborative project involves Debra Bolton, instructor and K-State Research and Extension specialist in family and consumer sciences; Daniel Kahl, the program coordinator of the Kansas PRIDE Program and the K-State Research and Extension liaison for the Center for Engagement and Community Development; as well as Melissa Bopp and Elizabeth Fallon, both former assistant professors of kinesiology.
"Because of where I live and because of my research, the professors called and said they wanted to do research," said Bolton, who is based in Garden City and performs research centered on Hispanic populations. "It was a good place for them to get into communities and understand health and habits."
Hispanics make up 8 percent of the Kansas population, but southwest Kansas has higher populations of Hispanics. Hispanics make up 48 percent of the population in Finney County, 49 percent of the population in Ford County and 51 percent of the population in Seward County.
"We are way beyond the state average," Bolton said. "That's why southwest Kansas was such a prime place to do this research."
With obesity prevention efforts, community-based participatory research is becoming a popular way to reach ethnically diverse populations. But little research has focused on ways to help Hispanic communities. For the guidebook, the researchers combined community-specific cultural and historical information with physical activity and nutrition health education materials.
The work focused on several areas: heart disease, diabetes, overweight, nutrition, physical activity and access to health care. The researchers used surveys and statistics and spoke with community leaders.
They discovered that many Hispanic residents were new immigrants and possibly unaware of community resources that support healthy behaviors. The researchers found that it was beneficial for these residents to have a guidebook tailored to resources available in their city.
The researchers developed a guidebook available in English and Spanish and distributed it to residents in that community. The guidebook focused on ways to promote and increase awareness of physical activity and healthy eating resources in each community. The researchers included photos of parks, trails and recreational facilities, photos of families and individuals engaging in activities, and photos and nutritional information for ethnically relevant foods.
When conducting surveys to evaluate the guide, the researchers found that the guide was accepted by community residents and had moderate dissemination.
"I think it's a good start to understanding access to physical activity and health," Bolton said. "In my own research, I understand these residents don't come to the U.S. as unhealthy people."
Bolton noted the paradigm shift -- called the Latino Paradox -- that Hispanic populations experience when they come to the U.S. Before emigrating, they often walk a lot and eat home-cooked meals, Bolton said, but when they arrive in the U.S. they drive cars everywhere and have access to inexpensive and convenient fast food, which they often view as a form of prosperity.
"Because it's a new, different way of eating than their bodies are used to, they are more prone to diabetes and other diseases," Bolton said. "I hope that this research helps this population understand that how they ate and exercised in their former country was the healthy thing to do."
In their publication, the researchers noted that while the primary outcome of the research was the development of the guidebook, the collaborative partnerships that were formed between researchers and the community were just as important. Because community engagement breaks barriers, Bolton said it was important for researchers to go into the community to understand the culture.
"It is important out of respect to the community," Bolton said. "Garden City has a long history of integrating the population. This brought a national issue to a local level. That helps us understand the population."
###
The research was funded by a grant from the Center for Engagement and Community Development at Kansas State University.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
When we visited BeatBots' San Francisco headquarters a few days back, the company's co-founder Marek Michalowski was a bit hush-hush when it came to discussing the future of Keepon, not saying much beyond alluding to upcoming updates for the move-busting little 'bot. He was, however, more than happy to talk about hacking the beat-monitoring toy, something the company had in mind when it first designed the consumer-friendly toy. "We felt it was important to allow people to hack it and be able to do more things with the toy than it can do out of the box," Michalowski told us.
The company left the toy's 12C bus open, so interested parties can easily manipulate My Keepon by way of microcontrollers like Arduino and its ilk. We've already seen some crafty individuals get the robot to do their bidding, something that's only likely to increase when Michalowski releases a guide for hacking My Keepon in the very near future. In the meantime, click through after the break to see the robotics PhD discuss Keepon hacks. A YouTube full of choreographed "Thriller" Keepon videos surely can't be that far off.
KSL's Children's Television Programming Reports, as well as its FCC public inspection file, are available for viewing during regular office hours at the KSL Broadcast House or online. The station representative who can assist a person with disabilities with issues related to the content of the public files is Mike Dowdle, available during regular office hours at closed_captioning@ksl.com and (801) 575-5555.
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No matter that Bollywood film director Yash Chopra was 80 years old and suffering from kidney problems. When the official cause of his death on October 21 was confirmed as dengue fever it only served to heighten fears as cases of the disease have climbed in India this year.
The Ministry of Health has recorded 12,470 cases up to October versus just over 10,000 for the whole of last year. So far in 2012, 92 people ? including Chopra ? have died.
The National Vector Borne Disease Control Program, India?s front line against dengue fever which receives reports on the disease from every corner of the country, says the real figure is much higher; it estimates as many as 32,000 cases to date this year. But while statistics can be debated, nobody is denying that the disease is clearly on the rise.
South India has been particularly badly hit with 4,949 cases and 39 deaths in Tamil Nadu alone in 2012. Health professionals are also pointing to a growing number of dengue reports from New Delhi.
Last month, in a remote township of Dimapur in the far-flung northeastern state of Nagaland on the Myanmar border, two cases were reported.?However, local health officials said both victims had traveled to the capital which has become increasingly at risk.
?These were cases of dengue being imported from Delhi,? said F. Kikon, a local voluntary health worker in Nagaland.
With one more person succumbing to the disease last week in the capital, the number of deaths attributed to dengue has risen to four and there is a probe into Chopra?s death to determine whether he acquired the disease in the capital or on a film shoot in Jammu and Kashmir.
Recently the Delhi High Court served a notice to the federal government to submit a report on the implementation of a long-term plan to control the outbreak, but critics say the policy remains muddled and inadequate.
A relative of a dengue patient in a government-run hospital in New Delhi said patients are sharing beds due to a lack of space, one of a handful of problems. [More]
With New York City as their backdrop, Cooper Union engineering students use their technical skills to reimagine photography
By Larry Greenemeier
ORIGAMI IN MOTION: Students in The Cooper Union's Albert Nerken School of Engineering in Manhattan discovered their artistic sides as part of Alan Wolf's "Scientific Photography" class.Image: Courtesy of Eric Leong, The Cooper Union
When Alan Wolf challenged his engineering students to get artistic earlier this year, he wasn't sure what to expect. As disciples of math and science, these students were used to knowing what the outcome should be for any given project. What would happen when he had them build their own cameras and set them loose on the streets of New York City?
Wolf, physics chair and acting dean of The Cooper Union's Albert Nerken School of Engineering in Manhattan, offered his inaugural "Scientific Photography" class in January primarily as a means to encourage budding Cooper Union engineers to tackle complex technical projects. "The first day as I'm standing in front of the students, making up the course as I'm speaking, I said, 'Oh, by the way, each of you will be responsible for a small artistic portfolio consisting of 12 images,'" he says. "I encouraged them to bring their technical mind-set to bear on whatever their artistic theme was."
Admittedly, he didn't expect the students to turn in groundbreaking artwork. "Twenty years ago when I would ask students in a big lecture class how many of them have taken and developed photos in a darkroom, it was two thirds of the class," Wolf says. "These days, nobody does wet photography in a darkroom. People take photos with their cell phones, not with a decent camera."
The artistic assignment was meant to complement the students' primary workload for the class, which required each of them to complete a technical project. One such project included designing and building a thermal-imaging camera, while another project saw students create their own high dynamic range video camera. In fact, although the students were very excited about doing the technical projects, they objected a bit to having to do artistic portfolios. "They had no self confidence that they knew how to make art," Wolf says.
Much to Wolf's surprise and immense gratification, his students produced captivating images that expressed a mix of latent artistic creativity mixed with an engineer's ingenuity.
These portfolios are on exhibit at The Cooper Union throughout December.
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Public release date: 20-Nov-2012
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