| U of M Alumni Association | U of M Twin Cities |
 |
| ||
| |||
|
Charting School Performances Charter schools exacerbate rather than alleviate educational problems faced by low-income students and students of color in the Twin Cities area, according to a report by the University of Minnesota Law School’s Institute on Race and Poverty. The study found that charter school students scored nearly 9 and 10 percentage points lower, respectively, in reading and math than students who attended comparable traditional public schools. While some charter schools performed well on standardized tests, researchers concluded that most such schools offer low-income parents and parents of color a choice between low-performing public schools and charter schools that perform even worse. The study also found that charter schools that offer cultural specific or ethnocentric programs have deepened segregation within traditional public schools. In one example, a public school district established a Hmong-focused program within an existing elementary school to compete with a Hmong-focused charter school. As the program within the traditional school grew, it had to move from the elementary school, which served primarily African American students, to a new, larger building in another location. What had started as a “school within a school” program that separated Hmong students from African American students eventually led to the creation of two separate school facilities that each primarily serves a specific racial group. Charter schools are independent, tuition-free public schools that tailor their programs to the specific needs of the communities they serve. They tend to specialize in serving specific groups based on interest, ethnicity, risk factors, or other characteristics. The charter movement began in the 1990s as an attempt to provide choice and innovation in public education. The first charter school in the country opened in St. Paul in 1992. The Twin Cities area has approximately 100 charter schools serving nearly 28,000 students. Sex, Evolution, and the Chippy Male Aggression may be linked to reproduction and the desire for status, according to new research co-authored by a professor in the Carlson School of Management. The research examines the role of evolution in determining whether and under what circumstances men are likely to respond aggressively to perceived slights. It found that men who have sexual activity or status on their minds (for example, are thinking about a job promotion) are likely to have a hostile response to a trivial insult, particularly when there are other men around to watch the situation. Researchers say this suggests that aggression isn’t just about self-defense but is also used as a display to gain status and become more attractive to the opposite sex. Long Live Kidney Donors People who donate a kidney are just as healthy and live just as long as non-donors, according to research out of the University of Minnesota Medical School. Researchers examined the long-term outcomes of 3,700 people who donated a kidney at the University dating back to 1963 and concluded that a donor’s risk for developing kidney failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer is very similar to someone their age, gender, and ethnicity who is not a donor. Waistful Television The more television teenagers watch, the worse their diets are as young adults, according to new research at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The study showed that individuals who reported watching five or more hours of TV per day had a lower intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and calcium-rich foods and higher intakes of snacks, fried foods, fast food, sugary drinks, and trans fats five years later than peers who watched less. Researchers said the results could be explained in part by food advertising on television and “mindless” eating while viewing. A Fuel-Hardy Debate New research co-authored at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment and Department of Applied Economics finds that cellulosic ethanol has fewer negative impacts on human health than either gasoline or corn ethanol because it emits smaller amounts of fine particulate matter. Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from wood, grasses, or the nonedible parts of plants. The study found that total environmental and health costs of gasoline are about 71 cents per gallon, while an equivalent amount of corn ethanol fuel costs from 72 cents to about $1.45, depending on the technology used to produce it. Cellulosic ethanol costs from 19 cents to 32 cents, depending on the technology and type of cellulosic materials used. Researchers said the work highlights the need to expand the biofuels debate beyond its current focus on climate change to include a wider range of effects, such as impact on air quality. The study is the first to estimate the economic costs to human health and well-being from gasoline, corn-based ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol. Bloody Good News A pilot study at the University of Minnesota Medical School has found that oxygen levels in banked blood increased during an eight-week period, suggesting that donated blood might have a longer shelf life than the current six-week standard. Further research is needed, but the finding opens the door to the possibility that blood might not have to be tossed after only six weeks of storage—a significant discovery in light of research at the University of Minnesota in 2007 that found that the pool of eligible blood donors nationwide is smaller than originally estimated. The study may also have implications for treatment of acute trauma. Oxygen levels vary from donor to donor according to age, gender, cholesterol levels, and other factors. Researchers speculate that separating stored blood according to oxygen levels could allow doctors to infuse high-oxygen blood into trauma victims, thus improving their survival chances. | |||||||||||||
|
Last modified on 3/24/2009 12:30:28 PM ©2009 by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is an equal opportunity educator and employer. | Trouble seeing the text? | Contact Alumni Association | Privacy |
Print View