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NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF HAIRY KANSAS
FRIDAY MARCH 13, 2009
RESEARCH
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009
Graduate students showcase studies in Topeka
BY KEVIN HARDY
khardy@kansan.com
Students from four state universities showcased research on cancer, the environment and bilingual education, among many other topics in Topeka Thursday. The University of Kansas and University of Kansas Medical Center were represented by 13 students at the sixth annual Graduate Student Research Summit.
Wichita State University and Kansas State University also competed in the summit.
KansasBIO, a nonprofit trade group for the bioscience industry in Kansas, presented $3,000 in awards — $500 to two students from each university.
Audra Sterling, South Bend, Ind., doctoral student, and Brittany Gorres, New Ulm, Minn., doctoral student, received the University's awards.
The eight KU students were
chosen from the University's graduate research competition, which was held Feb. 23. Ryan McCabe, executive director of the graduate and professional association at the University, said researchers whose work was pertinent to the entire state were chosen to represent the University in Topeka. McCabe said the summit was a great way to influence policy makers both in the state legislature and the Board of Regents.
"It's a chance for people who make decisions on educational funding to see what it is that graduate students do — that they're not just sitting in some ivory tower," McCabe said.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius proclaimed the week of Mar. 9 to Mar. 13 to be Graduate Student Research Week.
In that proclamation, Sebelius said, "Cutting-edge research that is conducted by students highlights the importance of the integration
of higher education, research and the health of our state
MIGRAINE MANAGEMENT
Nicholas Stucky, Spokane Wash., medical student, presented his research on how chemicals in the brain affect migraine headaches.
Because women are three times more likely to suffer from migraines, Stucky said he was examining the role played by hormones such as estrogen.
"As we learn more, we plan to identify therapies that can shut down these pain pathways," Stucky said.
CANCER TREATMENT
Natalie Ciaccio, Champagne, Ill., doctoral student, is currently researching a new type of brain cancer treatment. Because of the dangers associated with surgery and the severe side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, Ciaaccio said she was studying new protein treatments that could give new hope to patients.
"It is apparent that new and improved treatment options are needed for this disease," Ciaccio said.
Ciaccio is studying the way a particular protein affects survival in brain cancer patients. Ciaccio said she and others hoped to eventually develop a new drug to help treat brain cancer.
BILINGUAL LEARNING
Leah Kapa, Cedartown, Ga., doctoral student, presented research on the differences in learning cognition between monolingual and bilingual students. Kapa said her research showed bilingual children had an increased ability to ignore misleading information during problem solving because of the constant need to manage two languages.
RESEARCHERS COMPETING IN THE SIXTH ANNUAL RESEARCH SUMMIT
Students from the University of Kansas, Lawrerr
campus:
Madhav Ghanta
Jing Guo
Leah Kapa
Shuang Cai
Natalie Ciaccio
Audra Sterling
Kapa said her research suggested children who were learning English as a second language should be encouraged to maintain their native languages in order to maintain increased learning abilities.
James Stoutenborough John Shelley
Kapa said the research summit was a great opportunity to reach
Students from the University of Kansas Medical Center:
Brittany K. Gorres
Katryn Allen
Brian R. Earl
Carol Kemper
Nicholas Stucky
out to policy makers in Topeka.
"Specifically, the summit allows legislators to see how the research that graduate students are conducting around the state may affect various policy decisions in Kansas."
LAWRENCE
Edited by Liz Schubauer
City proposes transit system changes
Recommendations include fewer bus routes, more stops
BY MIKE BONTRAGER mbontrager@kansan.com
KU on Wheels and the Lawrence Transit System will have fewer bus routes and more stops if the city supports recommendations for a consolidated transit system.
"The proposed service better connects students to south Iowa commercial shopping or downtown entertainment." Meier said. "Students living along the route corridor will have decent transit service even on days when the University is not in session, and also two hours later into the evening."
Derek Meier, Independence, Kan., sophomore and transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels, said the recommendations would provide benefits for students.
The recommended changes include combining KU on Wheels
to 31st and Iowa streets.
Alyssa Jordan, Olathe freshman, lives in McColllum and said she would use the bus on the evenings and the weekends because of the convenience.
"As long as it came up to Daisy Hill," Jordan said. "Normally I have to take a bus to get down to campus."
Bo Herring, Lenexa freshman, said he would use the bus to go shopping.
routes No. 24, 31st and Iowa and No. 25, Downtown, into what would be route No. 11.
The proposed route No. 11 would run an alternate route in the evening and on the weekends, stopping at Daisy Hill and Oliver Hall and traveling downtown and
City route No. 8 would also be added into route No.11., Route No. 11 currently runs through Daisy Hill, around Pioneer Cemetery near West Campus to 19th Street, and down to Ousdahl Road from 19th to 23rd streets.
"The proposed service better connects students to south Iowa...and downtown entertainment."
"With Wal-Mart being right there, I would definitely use that bus," Herring said.
A minor change is also suggested for KU on Wheels route No. 26, 25th and Melrose. The proposed change would cut Oread Avenue from the current route.
Other changes include coordinating city route No. 1 with route No. 2, and city route No. 3 with route No. 4. The current system interlines city route No. 3 with route No. 2 and city route No. 1
DEREK MEIER KU on Wheels
Graphic by Nick Gerik
with route No. 4.
The KU Transit Commission will hold a public hearing from 4 to 6 p.m. this Wednesday in the Relays Room at the Burge Union for students to give feedback on the recommended changes.
Meier said KU on Wheels would explore the possibility of implementing a designated-stops-only system at off-campus locations. This would replace the current flag-down system, which allows students to hail buses off campus at locations other than at designated stops.
Meier said there would be more stops put in place to compensate for the change to the system.
"Designated stops only improve the safety, reliability, and timeliness of the transit system." Meier
said. "If the Transit Commission decides to move forward with implementing such policy, sufficient time will be given for students to request stop locations."
There will also be a Public Transit Advisory Committee meeting from 4:10 to 5:30 p.m., March 24 in the Lawrence Public Library Auditorium for any member of the public to comment on the route recommendations.
Casey Toomay, budget manager
and interim transit administrator, said PTAC would take any public comment into consideration and then give recommendations to the city commission. The recommendations are on the agenda for the March 31 city commission meeting, where commissioners will decide whether to approve the new routes.
Edited by Susan Melgren
Shoe-throwing Iraqi journalist gets 3 years
INTERNATIONAL
BAGHDAD — A court convicted an Iraqi journalist of assault Thursday for hurling his shoes at George W Bush and sentenced him to three years in prison, prompting an outburst from his family and calls for his release from Iraqis who consider him an icon for a nation decimated by war.
Muntadhar al- zeidi, 30, defiantly shouted, "Long Live Iraq" when
ASSOCIATED PRESS
the sentence was imposed, according to defense lawyers. Some of his relatives collapsed and had to be helped out of the courthouse. Others were forcibly removed by guards after shouting "Down with Bush!"
"This judiciary is unjust," al-Zeidi's brother, Dargham, said tearfully.
Other family members shouted insults against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who like Zeidi
Although al-Zeidi received the minimum sentence — it could have been 15 years behind bars — his lawyers denounced the verdict and said they would appeal, possibly hoping a public outcry would aid their cause.
is a Shiite.
Al-Zeidi's brazen act during a Dec. 14 press conference by Bush and al-Maliki in Baghdad's Green Zone turned the young reporter into a folk hero across the Arab
world, where the former U.S. president is reviled for invading Iraq in 2003 and for other policies highly frowned upon there.
Many Iraqi interviewed after the verdict believed the sentence was too harsh and that al-Zeidi was a hero for standing up to the American president. Supporters defended his act as a political statement in Arab culture, where throwing shoes at someone is considered an especially serious insult.
BLOG (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
media is that political blogs are usually visibly biased toward one party or another. Hodge said that unbiased content in mainstream media was hard to come by and that at least with blogging, the writer is honest about his or her affiliation.
Danedri Thompson, blogger for Redcounty.com, has worked in five newsrooms. She said journalists don't necessarily mean to be partisan. She found that the subjects reporters chose to write about were largely based on their political affiliation. A benefit of blogging, she said, was that readers could get multiple viewpoints while understanding exactly what the blogger's agendas, intended or unintended, were.
Although some readers may be skeptical of the credibility of bloggers, Jason Croucher, who writes for the left winged blog Kansas Jackass, said a blogger's credibility stemmed from his content. He said readers would hopefully be able to verify facts on their own, and understand a blog was more like the opinion page than the front page.
"There are tons of small bills in the Legislature that affect us that
Another benefit Simon saw was the scope blogs could cover that mainstream media couldn't.
SOME KANSAS POLITICAL BLOGGERS
Jason Croucher http://kansasjackass. blogspot.com/
Ben Hodge
http://www.
kansatProgress.com
Artur Bagyants http://www.bagyants.com
Danedri Thompson
http://www.redcounty.com
aren't worth a whole news story but you can find a blog about, Simon said.
NATIONAL
Croucher said the key to having a successful blog wasnt just credibility and coverage, but also exposure. Croucher puts links to his blog on internet pages like Twitter and Facebook to reach a broader audience. He said that using free advertising always helps attract more readers.
Edited by Justin Leverett
In her first major advocacy mission, the wife of President Barack Obama spent the afternoon visiting with soldiers and their families at North Carolina's sprawling Fort Bragg. She then told a crowd of community leaders in nearby Fayetteville that Americans need to reach out to members of the military.
"Our soldiers and their families have done their duty — and they do it without complaint," Mrs. Obama said. "And we as a grateful nation must do ours — do everything in our power to honor them by supporting them."
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — First lady Michelle Obama, venturing away from Washington to define her White House role, called on the American people Thursday to embrace the military families in their communities.
Mrs. Obama has said she wants to focus on military families during her time as first lady. She spent time hugging military members at a dining facility and talking with their spouses in a private session — all in a support center that had some windows boarded up with plywood.
First lady visits with families of U.S. soldiers
BY MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer
"Military family members have their own special courage and strength," she said later.
Later she visited a classroom of kids, ages 3 to 5, at a Fort Bragg child development center. She gave an animated reading of "The Cat in the Hat" — a book she used to read to her daughters — and then did a few minutes of crafts with kids preparing "Thank You" cards for wounded soldiers.
To emphasize her commitment to the military community, Mrs. Obama also gave her first network television interview since her husband took office, sitting down at Fort Bragg with ABCs "Good Morning America."
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In the interview, to be broadcast Friday, she said she wanted military families to know they have a friend in the White House.
1119 mass. | 785.838.3600 around the corner from "Brothers"
"It hurts. It hurts," the first lady said of hearing about military families on food stamps. "These are people who are willing to send their loved ones off to, perhaps, give their lives — the ultimate sacrifice. But yet, they're living back at home on food stamps, it's not right, and it's not where we should be as a nation."
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