6A
/ NEWS / WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
WORLD HEALTH
U.N. may have caused epidemic
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A contingent of U.N. peacekeepers is the likely source of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed at least 2,000 people, a French scientist said in a report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.
Epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux concluded that the cholera originated in a tributary of Haiti's Artibonite river, next to a U.N. base outside the town of Mirebalais. He was sent by the French government to assist Haitian health officials in determining the source of the outbreak, a French Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.
"No other hypothesis could be found to explain the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in this village ... not affected by the earthquake earlier this year and located dozens of kilometers from the coast and (tent) camps," he wrote in a report that has not been publicly released.
The report also calls for a further investigation of the outbreak, improved medical surveillance and sanitation procedures for U.N.
peacekeeping troops and better support for Haitian health authorities.
The AP obtained a copy of the report from an official who released it on condition of anonymy-
U. N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York that there is still no conclusive evidence that its base was the source of the outbreak. He said the organization "remains very receptive to any scientific debate or investigation on this."
The report's revelation comes on a day of high tensions in Haiti, as people anxiously await the results of the disputed Nov. 28 presidential election and potential resulting violence.
Piarroux could not prove there was cholera inside the base or among the soldiers, a point the U.N. has repeatedly used to deny its soldiers brought the disease to Haiti or that its sanitation procedures were responsible for releasing it into the environment. He writes that military doctors said there were no instances of cholera within the unit.
But he also hinted strongly at a cover-up.
"It can not be ruled out that steps have been taken to remove the suspected fecal matter and to erase the traces of an epidemic of cholera among the soldiers," he
wrote.
"No other hypothesis could be found to explain the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in this village."
RENAUD PIARROUX
Epidemiologist
ity. Piarroux confirmed he had authored the report but declined in an e-mail interview to discuss his findings. Copies were sent to U.N. and Haitian officials, the foreign ministry confirmed.
The report also notes that septic tanks and pipes that would have helped to confirm sanitation problems and the presence of the bacteria were no longer
at the base when he visited.
Nepalese troops earlier confirmed they had replaced a leaking pipe, between two visits by an AP reporter in October.
Young said she thought phone use and texting in class could be a distraction but didn't see a way to control it.
TEXTING (CONTINUED FROM 6A)
TEACHERTACTICS
Economics professor Sasha Lugovskyy, on the other hand, attempts to do just that — control phone use during his class.
Lugovskyy strictly prohibits phone use during class and clearly states this at the beginning of the semester.
In an Associated Press article, Tindell said, "Students these days are so used to multitask ... they believe they are able to process information just as effectively when they are texting as when they are not"
But Lugovskvy isn't buying it.
"I don't believe in multitasking." Lugovsky said. "Rather they skip from one thing to another very quickly and that's why I feel if people use their phone during class it is only a distraction."
tractions during class.
For his current policy, Lugovskyy adopted professor Bernard Cornet's unique way to deal with phone dis-
When the first phone goes off, the class receives a warning. The next time a phone goes off, the person is required to sing a song to remain in the class. The song is the student's choice and the policy also applies to the professor.
"I haven't had to sing, but I still bring the phone to class," Lugovsky said.
He said the borrowed policy was effective and he hadn't had any significant problems. Lugovskyy said he allowed other things in class, such as eating and drinking, but phone use was something he would not budge on.
Although students haven't protested the policy, Lugovskyy said some felt as though he was taking away their personal freedoms.
"Students are really feeling its their right to use a cell phone," Lueovsky said.
following the study, Tindell and Bohlander advised professors to have clear, written policies on texting, to circulate around the classroom and make frequent eye contact, and to avoid focusing all
of their attention on their lecture notes or Power Point presentations.
UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS
Not all students text during class, however.
Leah Charles, a junior from Wichita, said she never used her phone during class.
"I'm the type that, if you are in front of me, then you have my attention," Charles said.
Charles said texting and using the phone during class was disrespectful. Eric Rath, a professor of history, sees it that way too.
Rath does not allow computers, phones, crosswords or other homework during his classes.
Rath's syllabus states that "The use of computers, phones, and other electronic devices is prohibited in this class; use of these during an exam will mean a failing grade for the course and punishment for academic misconduct."
In an e-mail, Rath said using electronic devices and reading in class was academic misconduct
that polluted the learning environment, disturbing the instructor and other students. Rath said he would ask students who broke his rules to leave the room and would count them absent, while he would drop repeat offenders from the course.
"It is the instructor's view that students who waste his time and theirs by engaging in these activities do not belong in his class," Rath said in the e-mail.
Smith said while he had never been asked to leave class, one time he forgot to turn the ringer off and his phone rang. Luckily, when the professor answered it, the caller was just his mom.
While phone use distracts, Smith said, there have been times when it has been needed, especially with work.
"There's times that it's more important to run out of class for five minutes and make a phone call if you really need to," Smith said. "For emergency purposes it's good, but I know there's a lot of times you're just screwing around."
Edited by Dana Meredith
FRAUD (CONTINUED FROM 6A)
an auditor for a big company. But fraud is becoming more commonplace. Mason said detecting fraud "is becoming part of the accountant's toolkit."
"It takes a thief to train a thief to catch a thief," Mason said. "We teach them the things that crooks do."
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30 in 2010 about nine months there were 282 counts of counterfeiting or forgery in Lawrence, according to the Lawrence police website. There were 52 counts of false pretenses or swindling, 501 counts of credit card or ATM fraud, 33 counts of impersonation, and nine counts of embezzlement.
On campus last year, there was one reported forgery and no embezzlement — better than 2001, when there were nine counts of forgery and 11 of embezzlement. And there were six cases of fraud last year on campus.
The class trained students broadly. It started with an overview of fraud, talking about why people steal and the art of deception. From there, it moved on to specific methods of fraud. Finally, the class broke into groups, each of which mastered a method of fraud.
Mason said forensic accounting was one of the hottest jobs in accounting. But while it's a problem everywhere, even rearing its head here on campus, Kansas City "is not a hotbed" for the job, with many big companies basing their fraud detection in big cities such as Los Angeles and New York City.
The groups are giving presentations this week about the type of fraud they researched, on varying topics: surveillance, fraud gadgets, identity theft, mortgage fraud and even check washing.
"These criminals, they spend all day perfecting these techniques",
Mason said. "We arm our students with the ability to identify them."
Katie Cox, a master's student from St. Louis who plans to work as an audit associate for a public accounting firm, is in the class too. Her group did its presentation on health care fraud.
"I keep feeling like my grandma needs to take this class," she said.
Her group researched ways of swindling the elderly, such as through Medicare or by providing services that people don't need.
"It's made me a little less naive," Cox said. "I had several 'aha' moments."
In addition to preparing students to spot signs of fraud, Mason set up the presentations in an executive format to give students practice at presenting their research professionally. He encouraged students to connect to their audience.
So Cox and her group decided to start their presentation with a class.
stic scene from "Happy Gilmore," where an old woman complains of pain before Ben Stiller's character responds that her back will hurt too because she "just pulled landscaping duty."
There isn't any doubt that the class was interesting for its students and taught them different methods of fraud. But the question remains whether it was more interesting or terrifying.
"It was the one of the most interesting classes I've ever had," Cox said.
But now Mason will have to keep checking his rearview mirror for students with videocameras. And Reber, whose group did the spying, said the class made her more suspicious, too.
"I asked for a shredder from my parents for Christmas," Reber said.
— Edited by Clark Goble