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(05/22/13 11:10pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ian McIntosh, director of international partnerships at IUPUI, has recently found his name in the news on a global scale.“It’s quite extraordinary,” McIntosh said.In July, McIntosh is set to head an expedition to Australia’s Wessel Islands, where he and his team could rewrite Australia’s history books.The focus of the expedition stems from the discovery of five African coins that were found in Australia’s Northern Territory in 1944. The coins have proven to be more than 1,000 years old.During World War II, an Australian soldier found the coins and held on to them until 1979, when he sent them to a museum to have them identified. “They’re worth not very much themselves, but in terms of Australian history and where they’re found, they’re priceless,” McIntosh said.McIntosh was asked if he wanted to mount an expedition twenty years ago, but there wasn’t enough interest behind it at that time, he said.“We have interest now,” McIntosh said.The Australian scientist said he’s been quoted in articles in Ireland, Great Britain, South Africa, Holland and even Pakistan.Some of the questions he hopes to answer relate to how 1,000-year-old coins made their way to a secluded island off the coast of Australia.McIntosh said that the coins could have come from a shipwreck. The Islands are situated on an ancient trade route that connected regions such as Southeast Asia and East Africa.In addition, McIntosh and his team of researchers are hoping that the coins lead them to other evidence surrounding the continent’s past.“It’s like a big detective puzzle,” McIntosh said, discussing the upcoming expedition. “They situate Australia in a different frame of relevance.”
(04/19/13 1:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Higher levels of mercury exposure at a young age increase the chances of developing type-2 diabetes by 65 percent, according to a new study led by IU professor Ka He.He, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the IU School of Public Health, said exposure to mercury often comes from fish and other sea creatures that humans typically eat.“Fish has some nutrients, like Omega-3 acids and proteins,” He said. “On the other hand, though, fish contains contaminants. When I study fish, we have to consider the contaminants in fish.”The study, which drew its results from 3,875 participants, discovered a link between mercury levels and type-2 diabetes risks. Both women and men were tested.The interesting part of the study, though, was how the researchers tested the participants.“What we did is we collected the toenails of the participants and analyzed the mercury levels in them,” He said.He explained that, during time, mercury will accumulate. By testing and analyzing one’s toenail, they can see how much mercury the participant has been exposed to.The researchers also tested participants’ blood, measuring glucose and insulin levels.The study, which was published in the online journal Diabetes Care, found that the participants with the highest levels of mercury also tended to live healthier lifestyles than the other participants. These participants maintained lower body mass indexes and exercised more frequently, but they also ate more fish.“It is likely that the overall health impact of fish consumption may reflect the interactions of nutrients and contaminants in fish,” He and the authors concluded in the study. “Thus, studying any of these nutrients and contaminants such as mercury should consider confounding from other components in fish.”— John Bauernfeind
(04/03/13 3:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hosted by the Patten Foundation Lectures, Sarah Hrdy gave the first of her two scheduled lectures in Bloomington this week to a full audience. In her lecture, titled “The origin of emotionally modern humans: How did humans become such ‘other-regarding’ apes?” she discussed psychological and emotional evolution in humans. Hrdy is the professor emerita at the University of California-Davis.Constance Furey, associate professor of the department of religious studies, is a member of the Patten Foundation Committee, who chose Hrdy to speak.“Her work is so wide ranging, and it’s relevant to humans,” Furey said. “Her work is very non-deterministic.” Hrdy, a leading anthropologist, focuses on primatology.“We were here before we were warlike,” she said, commenting on the overall theme and message of her speech. Essentially, early humans developed social learning before warfare and violence.Hrdy hit on many points throughout her lecture, discussing in depth the similarities and profound differences shared between apes and humans concerning cognitive abilities.“There are differences,” Hrdy said in her speech. “In terms of social learning, communication and theory of the mind, humans and human children have performed better.”Aaron Stalnaker, associate professor of the department of religious studies, was a member of the packed audience.“It was fantastic,” Stalnaker said, referring to Hrdy’s speech. “Her argument regarding impulses was compelling.”Hrdy talked at length about initial impulses and how they were formed and developed, and how they acted as stepping stones in humans differentiating themselves from apes.“By focusing so much on warfare we forget about more common occupations, like childrearing, that were much more important in initial impulses,” Hrdy said.Hrdy will speak again at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Maurer School of Law Moot Court Room. The title of this lecture is “From Mr. Mom to Deadbeat Dads.” “She (Hrdy) really shows how much of a significant factor diversity is,” Furey said.
(02/25/13 6:41pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s Black Film Center Archive is doing its part to commemorate Black History month, delivering a series of film screenings every Wednesday night during February.“Holding these kinds of programs is a great way to let people know that we’re here, to invite them in,” said Brian Graney, archivist for the Black Film Center Archive. “It gives people an idea about what kinds of programs and films fall within our scope.”BFCA has co-sponsored with the History Department, Black Law Students Association, Indiana chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and the department of African American and African Diocese Studies. The BFCA both coordinates and hosts the screenings. The films, four of them this month, have also been shown at the Monroe County Library in partnership with Delta Sigma Theta Alumni Association, and with Ivy Tech Community College.BFCA had previewed films before selecting the four for their Black History Month screenings, looking for films that unearthed a forgotten piece in history.“As a movie, it does a really good job of vividly documenting an area of history that might not come across as forcefully in another form,” Graney said.The topics covered in this month’s screenings have ranged from the Memphis sanitation workers strike to the history of the black press.“These films help us to reconstruct our past,” said Michael Martin, director of the BFCA. “It’s important that they’re not forgotten.”BFCA, located in Room 044B of the Herman B. Wells Library, is having one more screening this month, next Wednesday. The upcoming screening, titled “Struggles in Steel,” follows the history of discrimination towards black steel workers.“These films address important issues during the long history of race relations in this country,” Martin said. “In doing so, we both have a better appreciation of our past that also illuminates the present.”
(02/25/13 5:34pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With his left hand perched atop his piano and his right hand playing the keyboard, the Hoagy Carmichael Landmark Sculpture rests in a comfortable spot next to the IU Cinema.A flower is often found in the bronze statue’s hand.The flower is not a part of the sculpture. Rather, a real one is placed through the statue’s slightly open hand and on its fedora.“Generally, it’s IU patrons that walk along and pick one off, like our mums or our petunias, and puts it there,” said Mike Girvin, campus division manager of the IU Physical Plant.Girvin said his first year at IU was the same year the sculpture found a permanent home in Bloomington. Still, Girvin said his department had no role in the placement of the flowers and maintains he has never personally placed a flower on the statue.The flowers and the people who place them on the sculpture often change. Except for winter, Hoagy sees a different flower each season.“I’ve seen every different flower that we’ve grown in his hands at one time,” Girvin said.IU normally grows an array of flowers such as tulips and petunias in the spring and mums in the fall.During his time at IU, Carmichael led IU’s band, appropriately named Carmichael’s Collegians, and went on to become an acclaimed jazz composer. Carmichael’s song “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening” won him an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1952.Sculptor Michael McAuley, who also grew up in Bloomington, said it was a year-long process to sculpt the statue. The flowers have become a consistent part of Hoagy’s presence.“They just keep reappearing, because now it’s turned into a tradition,” McAuley said.The statue has its own blog, which includes pictures of the sculpture in different cities and settings, from different angles and with different items in its hand.Here on IU’s campus, in the midst of students hustling between classes and visitors taking a break to sit and enjoy the weather, Hoagy and his flowers remain a constant reminder of the spirit of generations past.
(02/25/13 5:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Between the Indiana Memorial Union and Ballantine Hall lie two landmarks of IU lore and tradition. Beck Chapel and Dunn Cemetery stand adjacent to one another, prominent figures on a campus flooded with icons of the past. Throngs of students shuttle by each day, absentmindedly aware of the history nearby.Allison Sparks, event manager at the IMU, said Beck Chapel was constructed in 1956 and draws mostly wedding ceremonies.“We do not have a waiting list, contrary to many peoples’ beliefs,” Sparks said. “You could get married in the chapel tomorrow if you wanted to.”If a couple so desires, they can call to be married on any Saturday. Sparks said the chapel can hold up to three weddings in a day, and in the months of May through July, each Saturday is typically fully booked.The chapel is also home to some fraternity and sorority initiation rituals, as well as study and prayer of all faiths. The building, made of Indiana limestone, is a non-denominational haven for students practicing any religion. In 1956, Frank and Daisy Beck presented the chapel as a gift to IU, their alma mater. Frank Beck, an alumnus from the class of 1894, wished to provide the campus with a place in which students could meditate and worship.With a slate roof and just 16 golden oak pews, the chapel can only hold 65 people at a time.“I think it’s a little hidden gem on campus,” Sparks said. “We get a lot of alumni to come back. It’s special to them.”Just below the small chapel lies Dunn Cemetery, a small graveyard filled with worn grass and slowly eroding tombs. “Some people call it ‘God’s Little Acre,’” said Thom Simmons, associate executive director of the IMU. “It’s about an acre in size.”Unlike the chapel, the history of Dunn Cemetery is obscure and convoluted, evoking more legend than fact. What is known is that the cemetery was named after the Dunn family, which previously owned a farm across the land on which most of the campus now stands. When the University sought to buy the farm, the Dunn family agreed to sell it to the school on one condition: the cemetery would remain untouched.“My understanding is it was deeded separately, and so that acre is deeded as the Dunn Cemetery,” Simmons said. The University does not own any of the plots or have control over any future burials.The first burial was conducted in 1814, two years before Indiana became a state and six before the school’s founding.Dunn Cemetery is still active, though only relatives and spouses of the Dunn family are to be buried there.Simmons said Edward Hutton, the namesake of IU’s Hutton Honors College, was married to a descendent of the Dunns. When he died in 2009, his ashes were buried in the family cemetery.The histories of Beck Chapel and Dunn Cemetery are intertwined with that of the University, histories in the heart of campus.
(01/18/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With his left hand perched atop his piano and his right hand playing the keyboard, the Hoagy Carmichael Landmark Sculpture rests in a comfortable spot next to the IU Cinema. A flower is often found in the bronze statue’s hand. The flower is not a part of the sculpture. Rather, a real one is placed through the statue’s slightly open hand and on its fedora. “Generally it’s IU patrons that walk along and pick one off — like our mums or our petunias — and puts it there,” said Mike Girvin, campus division manager for IU Physical Plant. Girvin said his first year at IU marked the same year the sculpture found a permanent home in Bloomington. Still, Girvin said his department had no role in the placement of the flowers and maintains he has never personally placed a flower on the statue.The flowers and the people who place them on the sculpture often change. Except for winter, Hoagy sees a different flower each season.“Generally, I’ve seen every different flower that we’ve grown in his hands at one time,” Girvin said. IU normally grows an array of flowers such as tulips and petunias in the spring and mums in the fall. The statue was constructed in honor of Hoagy Carmichael, a Bloomington native and IU alumni. Though Carmichael earned his law degree from IU, he decided to pursue a career in music after graduating. He led IU’s band, appropriately named Carmichael’s Collegians, and went on to become an acclaimed jazz composer. Carmichael’s song, “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” won him an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1952.Michael Macaulay, who also grew up in Bloomington, said it was a year-long process to sculpt the statue. The flower, however, has been consistently maintained.“They just keep reappearing because now it’s turned into a tradition,” Macaulay said.The statue has its own WordPress page, which includes pictures of the sculpture in different settings, from different angles and with different items in its hand. “The only thing that has consistently appeared has been the rose or the red flowers in his hand,” Macaulay said.
(12/07/12 4:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The word “phantom” can describe an illusion, but there is no mistaking the results of the Phantom, a force feedback virtual reality device that helps treat youth with Developmental Coordination Disorder. It was developed in part by professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science Geoffrey Bingham.“The technology that we use to train these kids is a computer graphics display that is connected to a phantom-omny,” Bingham said. “And that’s a desktop robotic arm, essentially.” Bingham likens the Phantom to a virtual version of a toy commonly seen in pediatric waiting rooms, one that contains a board with wires and beads.“The task is like that except you have to do the pushing of the beads using a stylus, like a pen or a pencil,” Bingham said. “So, the idea is you’d be placing it on the wire behind the bead and then pushing the bead along the wire.”Bingham got the idea of using the Phantom from Andy Hanson, a former chair of the computer sciencedepartment, who introduced him to the device.Winona Snapp-Childs, a member of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, has worked with Bingham in testing the Phantom.“It immediately became obvious to us when we were allowed to play with it for the first time that this could be a very nice therapeutic tool given the right circumstances,” Snapp-Childs said.The Phantom is hooked up to a computer screen that displays the virtual wires and beads. Each move the Phantom makes is seen on the computer screen.The goal is to keep the bead, controlled by the Phantom, on point with the diagram on the computer screen, which looks like a roller coaster. The test lasts about 10 seconds, but it can be increased in difficulty. The magnetic attraction can be made stronger or weaker, the latter making it more difficult to keep the bead on point. “The point of the test is that children with developmental coordination disorder would never be able to do this,” Bingham said. “They’d be coming off the wire all the time and then having to find it again, and it would be incredibly frustrating.”Bingham said 5 to 6 percent of children are affected by the disorder, which is similar to autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. After he began research on the subject, Bingham said he had a revelation.“When I encountered this, I recognized myself right away, I’m DCD,” he said. “I flunked handwriting all the way through grade school, and I didn’t read my first book until I was in junior high school. It was torture.”Bingham said studies have linked reading and writing, as children with poor handwriting tend to also have reading issues. The disorder can also ramify, creating social and emotional problems, though it does respond to therapy and remediation.“There’s no known cause for it, which makes it hard to diagnose,” Snapp-Childs said.That may be the next task in addressing the issue of DCD, she said, as diagnosing seems more plausible than curing it. “Generally these kids are intelligent,” Bingham said. “There’s no known physiological basis for the problem. Their problem is that they’re clumsy.”