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(11/09/07 4:50am)
IU Hospital, located in Indianapolis, will add a second facility to its dialysis unit next year to aid in the expansion of its home services.\nThe expansion of the dialysis unit is due to the growing need for patients to be able to treat themselves from their own homes on their own terms, said Cathy Cox, the facility’s home training manager. The facility will help train the 400 to 500 patients it expects to use their portable dialysis machines and will likely open in March 2008. \nMichael Kraus, medical director of the dialysis unit for IU Hospital, said the second facility’s function will assist patients who want to do their dialysis from home with the aid of a new portable suitcase-sized dialysis unit. \n“With the new facility, we will be able to treat more dialysis patients and train them on the device,” Kraus said. \nPeople who suffer from kidney failure use dialysis to reduce extra water and waste products that their kidneys can no longer rid the body of, Cox said.\nKraus said they hope to be able to eventually treat 400 to 500 active dialysis patients at the new location. Cox added that the hospital intends to open the new facility by March 2008. \nMary Scourick, market development manager for NxStage Medical Inc., which created the devices, said the new unit allows patients to operate the device with the assistance of a partner, rather than with a doctor at the hospital. Scourick said that once the device has been prescribed by a physician, the patient and their partner must go through a three-week training session on how to use the device. \nThe device cleans the blood, then returns it to the body, Scourick said. \n“The NxStage device acts like an artificial kidney by removing excess fluid and toxins from the body,” Scourick said. \nWith the device, patients will only have to use the machine for two hours a day, six days a week, Cox said. The machine offers more freedom because patients can choose which day not to use the device. It also allows patients to receive treatment at home, instead of in the hospital, she said.\n“Patients take their supplies with them wherever they go,” Cox said. “They can fly and travel anywhere with this portable device which is unusual for dialysis patients.” \nScourick said that NxStage Medical provides patients with 24-hour technical support if they have any problems or if the device displays error messages. There is always a nurse on-call from the clinic where they learned to use the device to offer assistance as well. \n“Having patients on this (portable dialysis device) is a way of giving them their life back,” Cox said.
(11/09/07 2:59am)
An IU study has found strong evidence that prenatal exposure to alcohol causes behavioral problems in children.\nResearchers looked specifically at mothers’ drinking during pregnancy, said Brian D’Onofrio, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. D’Onofrio found that women who drank alcohol while pregnant had children with behavioral conduct problems. These conduct problems ranged from bullying to breaking things on purpose to aggressive behavior. \nThe study included analysis of data that were collected from a large representative sample of mothers in the U.S., D’Onofrio said. Carol Van Hulle, co-author of the study, said data for the study also came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The data used was a representative sample of adolescents ages 14 to 21 collected between 1986 and 2004. \nD’Onofrio said the group studied the findings in children exposed to alcohol, looking for behavioral conduct problems in children. He then compared the results to children not exposed to alcohol during gestation. \n“We were able to control the mothers’ drinking after pregnancy, and were able to rule out other factors,” D’Onofrio said.\nD’Onofrio said the study’s biggest strength was its ability to draw comparisons between siblings who were exposed to alcohol. \n“The study strongly suggests that alcohol exposure actually causes children to have more conduct problems,” D’Onofrio said. \nD’Onofrio added that in comparing siblings that were indirectly exposed, second-born children are much less likely to have conduct problems. \nD’Onofrio said an interesting finding of the study was that, although drinking alcohol is associated with attention and impulsivity problems, other risk factors during pregnancy contribute to these problems more than alcohol consumption itself does. \nBoth Van Hulle and D’Onofrio said the purpose of the study is to build support for public health messages urging pregnant women not to drink.
(11/07/07 3:22am)
IU economists are being “cautiously optimistic” in their forecast for the national, state and local economy in 2008. The 2008 Business Outlook Panel forecast was released by faculty members from the Kelley School of Business on Friday.\nJerry Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center at the Kelley School, said economic indicators are generally staying the same. For example, he said Indiana’s total income level is rising, but on a national standard Indiana is losing ground.\n“Indiana’s personal income level is at about 88 percent of the national average; the lowest it has ever been,” Conover said. “We are growing, but the rest of the country is growing faster.”\nConover said Indiana’s gross domestic product is the 16th highest in the nation; two years ago it was 15th. \nHe added that for the past six months, employment has been rising. There are 18,000 more jobs available in Indiana than there were a year ago. The forecast predicts that in the coming year employment will continue to increase.\nJohn Boquist, the Edward E. Edwards professor of finance, said the panel has forecasted modest changes for the upcoming year. \nConover said rising gas prices have to do with a lot of factors, such as investors turning prices and a lack of oil refineries.\n“We have enough oil, but we do not have the refineries to turn it into gas,” Conover said. \nBoquist said there will be plenty of gas to go around; it may cost a little bit more, but not by a huge amount.\nThis will affect students driving long distances to get home for the holidays, depending on how far they have to travel. Cost for gas may increase by about an extra $10 or $15 every time a gas tank fills up, Conover said.\nAirline prices will also be increasing, as the cost of oil rises. \nStudent loan interest rates are not going to climb substantially in the coming year, according to the report. The interest rates are likely to level off over the next year unless something unexpected happens, Conover said.\nConover advises residents to be careful and smart about their heat this winter. Coal and oil prices have risen, and the increase in fuel costs directly impacts propane and electricity prices. The panel predicted that Northern Indiana natural gas prices will increase, but Southern Indiana should not expect prices to increase much. \nTo combat rising electricity costs, Conover suggests keeping thermostats set at a reasonable level such as between 65 and 68 degrees depending on comfort level. Residents and students can also put weather stripping on their doors to keep heat in. \n“Keeping your heat on a relatively lower temperature can save a lot of money,” Conover said.
(11/01/07 2:31am)
Wanted: volunteers who are ready to rake. \nThe IU chapter of Habitat for Humanity is looking for student volunteers to participate in the 19th annual Rake-a-Thon Nov. 3-4 and 10-11. Money raised will be used to build homes for low-income families.\n“The Rake-a-Thon is a great way to meet new people or to get a group of friends together for the weekend,” said IU Habitat for Humanity President Jessica Donaldson.\nDuring Rake-a-Thon, students will be going door to door asking if residents need their leaves raked. Sean Fick, major events director for IU Habitat said that in previous years, residents have made appointments to get their leaves raked, but this year they decided to try something new and go door-to-door. \n“We try to pick neighborhoods that have a lot of trees, such as Hyde Park and Elm Heights,” Fick said. \nDonaldson said that students will be raking leaves for donations to IU Habitat. Individuals or groups can sign up for shifts, which last four hours. They are from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. Lunch will be provided.\nVolunteers can work with friends or they can be put randomly into a group, Fick said. \nDonaldson said the Rake-a-Thon typically brings in $7,000 to $8,000 each year, and is expected this year to either match or surpass previous years. She added that to meet these goals, Habitat will need as many volunteers as possible. \n“Habitat for Humanity is making a difference in eliminating substandard housing around the world,” Donaldson said. “We have a great time raising money and awareness.” \nHabitat has a project for everyone, Donaldson said. Volunteers can help with event planning, publicity and work at home sites. Additionally, the group puts on winter and spring break trips. \nStudents interested in getting involved with Habitat for future projects can either attend a monthly callout meeting or visit the Habitat Web site at www.iuhabitat.org. Students with specific questions should contact habitat@indiana.edu.
(10/30/07 2:00am)
A profession in business used to primarily be a career for men, but with the economy constantly changing, more women are beginning business-related careers. Though women are still a minority in the field, IU’s Women in Business club is working to change that.\nWomen in Business is a strong asset to female students, but also companies looking to increase diversity in their workplaces, said Angie Smith, president of the organization.\nSmith said that the objective of the club is to uplift the experiences of women who are already seeking business-oriented careers. The group was founded in 1981 as an effort by women in business who felt they were a minority, said Joyce Byrer, the group’s faculty adviser.\n“The group originally started as a way to increase (women’s) skills in business by bringing in guest speakers,” Byrer said. “Now the group focuses on developing social skills; they also volunteer their time with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Hoosiers Outrun Cancer.”\nThe club creates many of its own events, such as holding a networking event with a number of companies such as accounting firms, along with membership development events such as how to handle your personal finance, Smith said. \n“One of our bigger community service initiatives for this semester was to sponsor the Turkey Trot, which helps fight hunger,” Smith said, adding that the event will take place Nov. 17.\nOne of the group’s largest events is the annual intercollegiate conference, which Smith said will take place on March 1, 2008. The goals for the upcoming year are to hold more events that cater to men and women in the business school, she said. \n“We want to set up a framework of unity, and not one of hostility towards men in the workplace,” Smith said.\nThe purpose of Women in Business is to provide an outlet for companies to talk to some of the strongest female students in the business school, Byrer said. She added that nobody in the organization is a member, but each student holds a role in the club to either create events, manage club logistics or oversee the club’s finances. \n“Everyone has a role that she can be proud of and speak about in an interview,” Smith said. \nThe Kelley school has low female enrollment, with numbers in the low 30th percentile range, Byrer said. Smith said that enrollment of women is low at nearly every great business school across the country, since many women are taught to be teachers or nurses while growing up. These are respectable careers, but women are not taught to be investment bankers, brand managers or to seek other great careers that a business degree can provide, she said. \n“Women in Business occasionally participate in brainstorming sessions on how to increase female enrollment,” Smith said.\nSmith said that membership is selected each year by an application and interview process. Any IU student can apply, regardless of major. Byrer added that the club has women whose majors range from those in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and the School of Public Affairs and Environmental Affairs to ones in the liberal arts.\n“We feel that almost any major at IU touches aspects of business in one way or another,” Smith said. “It’s important for a multitude of students to be involved.”\nFor more information, visit www.iub.edu/~wib.
(10/25/07 2:38am)
For students wanting to get ahead when it comes to finding a job after graduation, attending a career fair can be a great start. \nOn Nov. 2, the Indiana Multicultural Job Fair will be held in Indianapolis.\nThe fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Indiana Convention Center’s Sagamore Ballroom. Admission is free with a student ID and the cost for students without an ID will be $10, said Janice Nickless, senior associate director for the career development center and arts and sciences career services at IU. \nShe added that this event is open to any student with a degree or students who will soon have a degree. This fair is also open to anyone from any college or university. \nSenior Jordan Cox said he thinks the fair would be a good event to attend since college students do not always know what they should do. \n“A career fair is one of the best ways to figure out what you want to do,” Cox said. \nStudents planning to attend must submit their resumes to be scanned into a database as part of the registration process, said Sarah Zike, business coordinator for the Solution Center at IUPUI. \nThere will be a virtual career fair available one week after the fair that allows employers access to students’ resumes for up to one month, Zike said. \nStudents should dress appropriately since employers at the event will be performing interviews on the spot, Zike said. She added that students are encouraged to bring any extra material such as clips or portfolios. \n“There will be 100 companies from every business cluster attending the fair,” Zike said. \nThe employers at the fair will come from fields such as finance, sales, health care sciences, government and engineering, among others. Some of the companies attending will be Aerotek, American Marketing and Publishing, Five Star Bank and H&R Block, Zike said. \n“There will be lots of business positions being advertised,” Zike said. “There will also be lots of jobs offered in communications, accounting and finance.” \nNinety percent of the jobs offered at the fair are in Indiana; however, there will be positions available in locations other than Indiana as well, Zike said. \nZike said this is a good opportunity for students to come and meet with potential employers face to face. She added that there are definitely jobs available to students through the employers at the fair. \n“This is a great networking opportunity for students,” Zike said. “There are hundreds of jobs for degree or soon-to-be degree students with both profit and non-profit companies.”
(10/23/07 3:12am)
Looking for a job can be tough, particularly for students who feel strongly about the environment. Global career network Monster has found a solution that can allow students the opportunity to find environmentally friendly jobs.\nMonsterTRAK, a division of Monster for college students and recent graduates, in alliance with the environmental non-profit ecoAmerica, launched the Web site monstertrak.org/greencareers.com at the beginning of October. GreenCareers will be the first environmentally responsible recruitment service for students, according to a Monster press release. \nOn the Web site, students will be able to search jobs classified as green jobs. These jobs can conserve energy or reduce natural resource consumption, according to a news release. There are also links that provide career advice and discuss important issues such as global warming. The site works just like Monster.com, where students can pick the city and state and search the job in the field they are interested in, said MonsterTRAK’s Andrea Abegglen.\nMonster was approached by ecoAmerica and through research learned that this concept was something students were interested in, Abegglen said.\nAbegglen said MonsterTRAK started creating the GreenCareers Web site about six months ago. \n“For students interested in finding jobs that are proactive in helping the environment, this Web site is a dedicated place for students to find green jobs,” Abegglen said.\nIn addition, this site allows employers to advertise that they pride themselves in helping the environment. Thus, employers can differentiate themselves from other (non-environmentally conscious) jobs, she said. \nAbegglen said that MonsterTRAK, like Monster, is geared towards college students and recent graduates because Monster has a strong interest in students.\n“I absolutely would use a site like this because I am interested in finding a job, but I am also interested in protecting the environment,” senior Lee Kirby said.\nEcoAmerica and Environmental Defense, another environmental non-profit, decide what is and is not an environmentally friendly job, she said.\n“The jobs students pull up (on the site) are jobs that are proactively helping the environment,” Abegglen said.\nThe number of employers listed on the site is expected to expand. Abegglen said MonsterTRAK feels there is a demand for these kinds of jobs and their purpose is to bring these opportunities to students.\n“We want to show students that they can have a great job and still protect the environment,” Abegglen said. “There is a huge range of opportunities out there.”
(10/19/07 3:28am)
What do a magic show, a Harry Potter-themed room and a haunted laboratory have in common? They will all be events at the Chemistry Open house 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Chemistry Building. \nFor nearly 10 years, the chemistry department has held an open house in honor of National Chemistry Week, chemistry professor Kim Arnold said. The open house is mostly aimed at families with children, but a few events might interest IU students as well, she said. \n“This is a way to get kids involved in chemistry,” Ellis said. \nThere will be two different chemistry demonstrations. They will be held at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Chemistry Building Room 122 . The magic show is run by chemistry professor Dennis Peters, said Amanda Ellis, undergraduate student services coordinator. \nIn addition to the magic shows, hands on laboratory activities will allow kids to experiment with dry ice, as well as learn how to make slime, Arnold said. All activities are supervised by undergraduates, professors and faculty members in the chemistry department, Ellis said. \nKids who attend will also have the chance to experience a haunted laboratory. A Harry Potter-themed room will also be set up where fans can do different types of “magic” experiments. For example, in past years the department has hosted experiments where kids can learn how to turn a penny into gold or silver, Arnold said. \n“(The open house) provides free family entertainment and great chemistry,” Arnold said. “This is an exciting afternoon activity.” \nArnold said the point of the open house is to try to get children excited about chemistry.
(10/17/07 4:00am)
Last year, the IU Student Association implemented an internship program for freshmen in order to help them become better acquainted with campus and student involvement.\nThis year, IUSA is once again offering its freshman \ninternship program. \n“This year we are increasing our focus on getting the opinions of groups on campus,” said K.J. McConnell, chief of operations \nfor IUSA. \nHe said the program is a learning opportunity for freshmen since they’re able to see how IUSA operates and work with executives. \nThe interns’ main responsibility will be to attend different group meetings to allow organizations to communicate concerns they \nmay have. \nThe interns will then report back to their executives the concerns raised in the meetings they attended, McConnell said. \n“This is a way to get the different groups on campus to communicate more with IUSA,” McConnell said. \nThis program is meant to eventually increase the interns’ responsibility within their respective groups, especially if the interns stumble upon issues they feel strongly about, McConnell said. \nAs a result, the interns could then start an initiative, he said. The internship program provides students with the chance to become acclimated to IUSA and learn what the organization is all about. \nThe purpose of IUSA is to represent student interests on campus, McConnell said. \nCurrently, IUSA has seven executives, so reaching out to all clubs, groups and residential programs can be difficult, he said. \n“This (system) is a way to expand our reach to understanding what different groups’ concerns are,” McConnell said. \nStudents who are interested in the internship program can pick up an application in the IUSA office, located on the third floor of the Indiana Memorial Union Student Activities Tower. \nAll IU freshmen are welcome to apply, he said. The application deadline is 4 p.m. Friday.
(10/17/07 3:25am)
During the first month of school, Bloomington Transit buses carried more students in one month than they ever have before, said Lew May, Bloomington Transit general manager.\n“September was the very first time in (Bloomington Transit) history to break the 300,000 person mark for a month,” May said. Bloomington Transit’s numbers for 2007 have gone up eight and a half percent since 2006. Since 2005, ridership increased 10 percent, May said.\nThese are all-time record highs for the bus system, but right now, May said, there are no plans to add more buses or routes.\nBut there are other plans.\nNext year, the bus service is looking to extend its hours of operation for all of its downtown buses. The routes affected would include routes 1 to 5, which have pick ups in the downtown area, May said. Currently, these buses stop running at 8 and 9 p.m. The extended hours would keep the buses running till 10:30 p.m., May said. \nNine different buses run on the five routes that run through the downtown area. The two campus buses, the C Route and the 6 Campus Shuttle, will not change their schedule and will continue to run till midnight, May said. \nBloomington Transit currently offers 13 routes, 10 of which make stops on campus. Not surprisingly, the two designated campus routes, the C Route and the number 6 Campus Shuttle, have the highest student ridership of all the Bloomington Transit buses, May said.\nStudents like senior Tommy Scott think more buses are necessary. Scott, a C Route rider, said a lot of people ride the bus and put their bags on seats, taking those seats away from other passengers. \n“There are people that never have their (student) ID ready when getting on (and) people that don’t ‘move it back’ when the driver asks them to,” Scott said. \nFor IU students and faculty, the Bloomington bus is free with a school ID or a faculty picture ID. For non-IU students, the cost of riding is a 75 cents.\nMay said more people are turning to alternative forms of transportation due to a multitude of reasons, such as the fact that more students are living off campus, the increase in gas prices and local traffic congestion. \nSophomore Alicia Aronson said she’s waited for the number 6 Campus Shuttle only to find it full once this semester. She said she thinks it will only get worse during the winter. \nBoth Scott and Aronson said having more buses scheduled to run the most popular routes during the busiest times of day would help with the overflow of people. \nBloomington Transit buses haven’t removed any seats like the campus buses have in an effort to fit more people on the bus. However, May said if ridership continues to increase, they may consider different seat configurations.\nFor more information on bus routes and times visit www.bloomingtontransit.com.\nCity & State editor Elizabeth Dilts contributed to this report.
(10/16/07 1:41am)
Whether it’s a convertible, a balloon or a teddy bear, people see different objects when they gaze at the clouds. For MBA student Justin Chafe, the same can be said for the moon. When Chafe’s girlfriend said she saw an old man’s face on the celestial body, he could not see it; instead, he saw a bunny.\nSeeing this image sparked Chafe’s interest in creating a children’s story about a bunny who has a dream of being an artist. The end result was “Bunny Rabbit on the Moon,” a book he wrote and illustrated that was published in August.\n“Growing up I had an interest in writing a book,” Chafe said. “I would enter young author contests in school.”\nJeanie Bush, a part-time page in the children’s department at the Owen County Public Library in Spencer, said the book’s main character, Little Mookey, is an adventurous bunny who keeps trying new things. After accomplishing one goal, he sets another. Bush said Little Mookey believes that it would be great to fly to the moon and create a sculpture there. \n“I want this book to show kids that if they have dreams, they can have fun, be creative and achieve them,” Chafe said.\nThe idea of seeing a bunny on the moon had the potential to be a funny story about why there is a bunny on the moon, Chafe said. He said he started doing research and found that as an unknown author, he could only make a tiny profit. Therefore, he looked into self-publishing, where the potential for profit was more favorable. \n“If you get a publisher you don’t have to put up any money, but with self-publishing you have to,” he said.\nChafe said he spent about $7,500 for printing two thousand copies. He established a business through a limited liability company, or LLC. Chafe said it was easy to set up an LLC because it gets taxed like a sole proprietorship, a one-person business. \n“There are fewer liabilities in the way that the burden of risk is on the company,” he said.\nChafe spent two years working on the book as a hobby. He wrote the book for his three nephews: Andrew, Zachery and Nicholas. He said he is unable to see them often, so he wanted to do something for them. \nChafe was able to get an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, through RR Bowker, a company that sells ISBNs to manufacturing companies. He said the book was printed in China, because the cost was $3,000 to $4,000 less than trying to get it printed domestically. \nChafe has signed with the wholesale book distributor, Baker and Taylor, who is helping him get his book distributed at Barnes and Noble. \nSo far Chafe has sold a little more than 100 copies of his book. In addition to getting his book distributed to booksellers, Chafe also is taking the time to do book readings. On Thursday, Chafe had a book reading for children at the Owen County Public Library. \n“I believe that Justin’s diligence and perseverance helped him to self-publish this book,” Bush said. “Just as the character in his first childrens’ book, he set a goal of completing this book project and did not give up until it was accomplished.” \nChafe said his business background helped him because he has experience with marketing. While attending graduate school, he worked for a biotechnology company where he was in charge of the product catalog. \n“I did not have to overcome any mental hurdles because I knew how the printing process worked,” he said. \nFor more information on purchasing the book, visit www.Amazon.com or Chafe’s Web site, www.bunnyrabbitonthemoon.com.
(10/09/07 2:16am)
Many students around the country suffer from depression but do not realize it. IU’s Counseling and Psychological Services will try to help change that fact on Thursday when it takes part in the National Depression Screening and Awareness Day.\nFrom 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Counseling and Psychological Services will hold the event in three locations around campus: the Kelley School of Business, the School of Education’s atrium and Woodburn Hall, said psychology intern Stephen Wright.\nThe event will have a number of clinicians available, in addition to information brochures about depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. Carolyn Lee, chief psychologist for Counseling and Psychological Services, said there will be a questionnaire, which looks at symptoms of depression. Results and feedback will be available on the questionnaire scores.\nStudents will be unable to make an appointment while they are at the event, but can schedule one over the phone or by visiting Counseling and Psychological Services. Lee said the event will also feature information about the Center for Human Growth and other places off campus where students can seek further assistance. \nLee said the awareness and screening day is important because so many students suffer from depression. Symptoms of the disorder include a feeling of helplessness or hopelessness, loss of interest in activities, sleeping too much or not enough and not attending class, Wright said.\n“In college and in life in general, I think it’s easy to not notice the signs of depression,” senior Michelle McIntyre said. “Many people, myself included, wouldn’t really know what depression is.”\nLee said that if students suspect they may have depression, the first thing they can do is come to the screening day and get an assessment, which will show if they need counseling or therapy. \n“A lot of students, one out of seven, have significant levels of depression,” Lee said. “Often those problems don’t resolve themselves easily.”\nDepression is a highly treatable condition, and once treated, a majority of patients can get better fairly quickly, Lee said. She added that the best treatment is combining medication and counseling. \nFor more information on depression or to make an appointment, call Counseling and Psychological Services at 855-5711.
(10/03/07 4:27am)
The search for a new School of Optometry dean is underway.\nA search committee has been formed and the administration hopes to have a replacement for current dean Jerry Lowther by next summer. Lowther will retire after almost 10 years in office, Lowther’s secretary Sue Gilmore said. \nCharles R. Bantz, Chancellor of IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, said he appointed representatives from different departments, a member of the community and an academic representative to the search committee.\nGilmore said there are 14 members on the committee. Lowther was appointed in October 1998 and will serve as dean until the committee has found a replacement. \nOptometry student Kyle King said he thinks it can be good to bring in someone new every once in a while who has different ideas, but praised Lowther’s efforts. \n“Dean Lowther has done a tremendous job at the IU School of Optometry,” King said. “Under his tenure, many positives have come about, including higher board passing rates.” \nThe committee will be putting out advertisements through a newsletter on the Web to search for potential candidates, Bantz said. He said the committee has not yet written the job description for the new dean. \nThe candidate chosen for the position will need to be able to lead the school and support the research, teaching and clinical aspects of the school, Bantz said. \nThe committee should reach a decision on the position by late winter. During the next few months, potential candidates will be interviewed on campus, but the trustees of the school will have to approve the selected candidate before the position is set, Bantz said. \n“We want someone in place by next summer,” Bantz said. \nKing said that whoever is chosen to fill the position should be willing to work to improve the school for the sake of its students and patients. \n“I have every confidence that the school will find a great person to take the place of Dean Lowther, who leaves very large shoes to fill,” King said.
(10/02/07 3:21am)
Students on the job or internship hunt are often looking for opportunities to practice the skills they have and prepare for their future careers.\nIU’s Kelley School of Business offers its students a chance to do so by holding a variety of career workshops each semester. The school’s Undergraduate Career Services Office aims to help students learn vital professional skills. \nTwo workshops will be available this week. At 5:30 p.m. today, there will be a workshop titled “No Soft Skills, No Jobs” in Room 100 of the business school. The workshop will help students develop personal skills such as communicating, said Mark Brostoff, associate director of undergraduate career services at the Kelley School. At 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the same room, Brostoff will lead a workshop called “Finding a Job in the Federal Government.”\nThe career workshops the Kelley School offers range in topic from writing a killer resume to learning effective interviewing techniques, Brostoff said.\nHe said the federal government workshop allows students to see the job possibilities with organizations such as the CIA or the FBI. It also gives pointers on how to get the jobs. For example, a federal government resume looks much different than a resume for another job.\nBrostoff also said he will show students an interactive federal government Web site during the workshop. He will response technology where students can answer questions electronically through a computer, which will allow students to interact with the workshop presenter.\n“The workshops aim to be as hands-on as possible,” Brostoff said. \nAnnie Oler, a senior in the Kelley School who has attended its career workshops, said that for the resume workshop, presenters actually set up mock interviews with real companies so students could become accustomed to the interviewing process.\n“Workshops are extremely helpful,” Oler said. “(The workshop presenters) literally walk you through all the major important aspects of finding a job.”\nBrostoff said the workshops are held at a specific time of year to coincide with the information students are learning in class. These workshops benefit students because they can help supplement the material students learn in their career education classes, he said. \nAll workshops depend on a student’s interests, Brostoff said. Some of the most important workshops throughout the semester include the federal government workshop and “Straight Jobs, Gay Lives,” a sexual orientation and career decision-making workshop, he said. The “Straight Jobs” workshop, which won an award from the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2006, will be held Oct. 17, Brostoff said. He said he promotes this workshop to other campuses as well.\n“You may not be able to find these workshops at other universities,” Brostoff said. \nThe workshops will run for about 30 to 40 minutes and typically attract 40 to 50 students. Certain workshops might have a smaller crowd than others, \nhe said.\n“I highly recommend the workshops, and I believe they are a true asset to the Undergraduate Career Services Office,” Oler said. “They are what make the Kelley School one of the best (business) schools nationally.”\nFor more information and a full workshop schedule, visit the Web site at www.ucso.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/Workshops/workshops.cfm.
(09/27/07 4:13am)
While changing the water for her peacocks last week, petting zoo owner Rena Kirk received an unpleasant surprise. She discovered one of her peacock’s legs floating in the poultry waterer.\n“Someone would have had to go into my privacy fence, into the peacock cage which is large, taken the lid off to put the leg inside and then put the top back on,” Kirk said.\nIt was not the first attack on one of Kirk’s animals, but was by far the most severe, she said. For more than a year and a half, acts of vandalism have been going on at Barnyard Friends, her Bloomington petting zoo. \n“We didn’t realize what was going on at the time, until it was consistent,” Kirk said.\nThe 14-acre “educational frontier” is home to a variety of exotic breeds, including goats, several breeds of fiber sheep, a lama, a camel, miniature horses and others, Kirk said. She has owned the farm, which is located on East State Road 46, with her husband Dan Kirk for almost 10 years. \nThe same day as the peacock incident, Kirk also found her bunny dead in its cage at her house. She suspects the bunny was poisoned. Two weeks prior to the bunny’s death, the hinges on its cage were turned, so she knew someone was in the cage, she said. \nKirk also said someone spray-painted a derogatory message about her across her fence.\nWith each act of vandalism Kirk and her husband realized that someone was tampering with the farm, so they started making police reports, she said. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department is patrolling the area for extra security, she said, and the Kirk’s have installed video cameras on their property.\nKirk said that she is confident they are dealing with a juvenile. Kirk said on July 5, 2006 someone got into the back door of her gallery, took a rake and pried the doors open to release her red golden pheasant from its cage. She said that weeks later the pheasant was seen at a neighbor’s residence and was unable to be caught. This past spring, she received a call from Brown County State Park to tell her that the pheasant was sighted on the grounds. Unfortunately, she was never able to catch the pheasant because they are very “flighty.” \n“I’m scared to death for my animals,” Kirk said.\nLaurie Ringquist, director of Bloomington Animal Care and Control, said that animal abuse to this extent is not very common in Monroe County. She said that mostly her department receives calls about neglect.\nKirk believes that a local juvenile is responsible for the attacks on the animals, since she said one was caught on the property previously. She said she suspects that the juvenile who was caught has a friend who has been helping with the vandalism. \n“We take this really seriously,” Kirk said. “If there is a juvenile or a parents who has any information about what has been happening, contact the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.”\nKirk described her recent experiences as “traumatizing.” She said she wants the people responsible to “quit or be prosecuted.”\nThe Monroe County Sheriff’s Department did not return calls by press time.
(09/27/07 4:00am)
SEASON 5 PREMIERE: 10 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, on FX \nSUMMARY: Season four was interesting but definitely not as thrilling as previous ones. Last season was full of business-selling, illegal kidney harvesting and devastating baby news for Julia (Joely Richardson) and Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh). Plus Matt McNamara (John Hensley) got married and had a baby with Scientology-crazed Kimber Henry (Kelly Carlson). The season ended with Julia and Sean finally divorcing and Sean moving to Los Angeles. Of course, after his business partner Sean left, Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) also moved to L.A.\nPREDICTION: Season five promises to be bigger and better. Sean and Christian will likely struggle with love and their new role as small fish in a big silicone pond. TV Guide promises Julia will be back this season -- flying into L.A. periodically -- along with Matt, Kimber and their baby. Also, Julia will enter a relationship with a new character played by Portia de Rossi, Ellen Degeneres' real-life love interest.
(09/25/07 3:41am)
The IU School of Optometry will hold its annual open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday in the school’s building at 800 E. Atwater Ave. The event will allow prospective students to take tours of the school and talk to staff members about the field. \n“(The open house) is important because it is the official opportunity for students to explore a career in optometry,” said Joe Boes, the school’s associate director for recruitment and marketing. During the open house, feature sessions regarding admissions and financial aid will take place at 1:30 and 3 p.m., Boes said. In addition to the information sessions, IU Optometry Dean Gerald Lowther will speak at 2 p.m., Boes said.\nAlso available will be building tours given by current optometry students. The IU Optometry lab, as well as the Borish Research Center and Atwater Eye Care Center clinic and dispensary will be part of the tour, Boes said. Staff members from each place will also be ready to answer questions. The IU Pre-Optometry Club and the Optician/Technician Program will be represented at the event as well.\nA table with representatives from the Air Force, Navy and Army will also be available to discuss optometry scholarship opportunities with students, Boes said. \nThe open house is available to anyone who wishes to attend. Boes said the average turnout for the event is between 60 and 100 people, mostly undergraduates. He also promoted the event to high school students in Indiana, and he said there are a few high school students from Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio who also come to the event.\nIU’s optometry program was rated “excellent” in a guide to careers that appeared in the March 19 edition of U.S. News and World Report, Boes said. He added in an e-mail that optometry provides a high cure rate, self-employment possibilities and six-figure average compensation.\n“I personally feel that optometry is a wonderful health career for those who have a passion for helping others,” Boes said.\n“This is a great opportunity to learn about the profession as well as specifics that our program has to offer,” Kyle King, current optometry student and tour guide for the open house, said in an e-mail.\nFor students interested in a career in optometry, prerequisite courses and an admission test called the Optometry Admission Test (OAT) are required, Boes said in an e-mail. For more information, Boes said he encourages students to check out the optometry Web site at www.opt.indiana.edu or to schedule an appointment with the Office of Student Administration at 855-1917.
(09/21/07 3:54am)
Target will be teaming up with IU’s Kelley School of Business this fall, offering more than 1,200 undergraduate majors a chance to increase and enhance leadership skills.\nThe program, Target’s Excellence in Business Leadership, connects students with mentors who will coach them in leadership development opportunities, said Theresa Williams, director of the Center for Education and Research in Retailing in the Kelly School. \nHowever, only students interested in the program will receive a mentor, as the mentors are not automatically assigned, Williams said. \nIssued by Target, the grant will reach $40,000 over a three-year period. The school will begin to create a comprehensive leadership development program, incorporating every aspect of students’ undergraduate experience, beginning with I-Core, the Kelley School’s integrated core program. \nAlthough the I-Core program has already begun this year, students interested in the program should submit an application around Thanksgiving, Williams said. \n“Target has a leadership culture that enables us to attract the best team members and help them achieve their full potential, whether at work or in their communities,” said Target President Gregg Steinhafel in a press release.\nFor three years now, Target has been the top hiring company at Kelley for full-time jobs and internships for their Minneapolis-based corporate headquarters. Many of the 865 companies that recruit at Kelley have expressed a desire for the kind of training that the Target Excellence in Business Leadership program will provide, according to a press release. \n“We are fortunate enough to have a sponsor (Target) that shares a same passion about leadership development for students,” Williams said. \nWilliams said that students were assessed in previous years, but the manner in which they were assessed was not an efficient manner. For example, an electronic video will allow students to see themselves, which is something that was never available to them before, Williams said. These videos are designed to be a record of their experiences, similar to that of a college transcript, according to the press release. Students will then be able to gain an understanding of their current level of leadership and work with a coach who will suggest specific activities to help the students develop more advanced levels of leadership. \nShe added that this new evaluation program will give a detailed assessment on each student’s strengths and weaknesses. \nInstead of having someone say “go be a leader,” this program allows students to have professional and faculty assess their skills to find out what their strengths are and what their weakness are, Williams said. \nWilliams said the Kelley School hopes to increase the number of student’s with good leadership skills. She said this program provides more of a structured environment that offers students resources to help them develop the areas of leadership they may not be strong in and celebrate the areas in which they are. \n“Every student needs to be a good leader,” Williams said. “Leadership is very important in a business environment.”
(09/19/07 4:10am)
Some people spend their lives dreaming about visiting other countries and experiencing their cultures, but senior Erica Goldenberg did not have to. She experienced it. \nGoldenberg spent part of her summer on the high seas with the summer 2007 Semester at Sea program. The voyage took place aboard the MV Explorer, a 24,000-ton passenger ship equipped as a floating university. The MV Explorer was essentially a college campus on a boat, which included classrooms, study areas and an 8,000-volume core library.\n“The ship looked like how you would imagine a cruise ship to look like, except a lot of the rooms are classrooms with projectors,” Goldenberg said. “Each room had two beds that you and your roommate shared; there was also a large closet and bathroom in each room.” \nThere are three different Semester at Sea programs held during the fall, spring and summer semesters. Each semester has a different itinerary, said Suzanne Natz, a University of Virginia student assistant who helps organize the program. \nThe cost for Semester at Sea programs vary depending on the program, but the general costs range from about $10,000 all the way up to $20,000. To be eligible for the Semester at Sea program, a student needs to have successfully completed 12 credit hours as a full-time student and have a grade point average of at least a 2.75, Natz said. \nGoldenberg’s program was a nine-week course that lasted from June 25 until August 21. During the semester, Goldenberg traveled by ship to different Latin American countries, and stopped in eight locations. Stops at each location generally lasted four to five days, Goldenberg said. \nDuring stops, students were allowed to spend their free time as they wished, she said. Goldenberg said Guatemala was her favorite spot. \n“I did a home stay in Antigua for five days,” Goldenberg said. “I stayed with a family and got to know the city. It gave me a lot of time to relax and think about the trip.” \nGoldenberg said she loved that everyone on the ship lived together. There were 300 students on the trip, in addition to faculty, staff and their families. \n“The age range varied, from a 3-month-old to an 86-year-old,” Goldenberg said. “You experience everything as a group.” \nA typical day at sea consisted of getting up and having breakfast and then being in class all day, similar to how things are on campus, she said. At night there were community events such as dance classes and different life classes with topics like how to get into law school. Goldenberg earned 10 credits for the four classes she took during the trip. \nSemester at Sea is a multi-destination program, unlike many other study abroad programs, Natz said. Students who choose to spend their year on the ship have the opportunity to sail around the entire world. \n“If you do Semester at Sea, you may not learn as much about one particular place, but you will get to see more places and experience more cultures,” Goldenberg said. “The trip was an incredible experience. It gives you a new perspective on the world that you can’t get here in Bloomington.”\nFor more information visit www.semester at sea.com
(09/18/07 3:09am)
Password security is rapidly becoming a concern not only for students but for anyone with a password protected account. \nChoosing a good password is a decision that should not be taken lightly, said David Ripley, a researcher at the Pervasive Technology Labs’ Advanced Network Management Lab at IU, in a tip sheet for IU faculty research titled “Living Well Through Healthy Lifestyles.” \nStudents may think a computer cracker or identity thief would never be able to guess their dogs’ names, however, they do not need to guess thanks to computers that can do the guessing for them, according to the tip sheet.\n“Most crackers use automated cracking engines designed to either find directory-based words in the password, or ones that simply try every possible combination, which is the most common,” said Scott Wilson from the University Information and Policy and Security Office in an e-mail. \nCybercrooks try millions of different words, either long or short or foreign, to crack into systems, Ripley said in the tip-sheet. \nHe added that cyber hackers can try every word in every dictionary, in every language imaginable, even common pet names. In the monthly tip sheet, Ripley said the best passwords are when people use a random string of numbers and letters, but the only problem is that these types of passwords can be difficult to remember. \n“I pick things that aren’t related to me, so that people who know me can’t guess,” senior Annie Oler said. \nOler also said she steers clear of obvious things that people typically use. She said she likes to spell common words or names backwards and then finish the password with a number. \nIn an e-mail, Wilson said that the University’s Information Security Office and University Information Technology Services have implemented the use of passphrases at IU to protect users. He explained that the concept is to trade shorter passwords that are hard to remember for longer ones that are easy to remember and type.\nBoth Wilson and Ripley recommended that students not write their passwords down and leave them where anyone can find them. Both agree that it is OK to write them down, but only if you have a secure place in which to store them, such as a safety deposit box. \nSenior Kathleen Huff said she uses capital letters, numbers and spaces to make it more difficult for people to figure out. \n“The words I use are fairly common and easy,” Huff said. \nIU currently requires all new accounts and password changes use passphrases, which are a minimum length of 15 characters, and allow almost any combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, symbols and spaces, Wilson said in an e-mail. \n“The goal of the passphrases is that by adding a few more characters and giving users the ability to choose natural language words, the length offers enough security that it would take automated cracking engines longer than most of our lifetimes to crack,” Wilson said in an e-mail. \nIn an e-mail, Wilson explained that choosing a strong password is only one facet of online safety and security. People learn to take a more proactive approach to protecting their identity and information by changing their passwords often, and by choosing different passwords for different sites.\nOler said that to ensure her information is secure, she changes her passwords about every two months and she never checks her online banking from a school computer.