Vol. 16, No. 36	July 10, 1997

A selection of items in the national and local media about the UniversityÐits faculty, staff and students:

Birder's World, June 1997. Deep woods serenade, "The tranquil melody of the Wood Thrush is fading away in many forests where the species breeds and overwinters. The gradual disappearance of its woodland habitat appears to be the culprit for the decline in Wood Thrush numbers.... According to ornithologist Roland Roth [entomology and applied ecology], who has studied the Wood Thrush at the University of Delaware since 1973, males sing an average of 120 songs in the half-hour period befor e sunrise in May...."

Sunday News Journal, April 20. Child-abuse system to be probed. "Gov. Carper has ordered an in-depth look at everyone, including police and medical personnel, who take care of Delaware's abused and neglected children. Marion Hyson is one of five ex pert panelists who evaluated Bryan Martin's death. Hyson, a professor who chairs the University of Delaware's Department of Individual and Family Studies, said the panel's responsibility was 'quite specific' and the group produced 'a very thorough investi gation....'"

The Washington Times, Feb. 24/The Baltimore Sun, April 6/The Des Moines Register/The Plain Dealer/The TampaTribune, from a column distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, March 28-27. From the Times: Illegitimacy tied to income, education. " Higher welfare benefits for young mothers may encourage more births, but factors such as family income and education levels are bigger contributors, a University of Delaware economist says. Prof. Saul Hoffman's findings are in contrast to an influential s tudy by University of Pennsylvania economist Mark Rosensweig."

The New York Times, Science Watch, March 18/ The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Arts & Living Section, March 30. From The Times, A bug in the bug zapper. "Douglas W. Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware...collected all of the insects ki lled over the course of one summer by zappers in six yards in Newark. They counted 13,789 dead bugs, but only 31 were biting flies."

The News Journal, Neighborhood rattled by quake, April 17. "A big boom rattled Sharpley residents Tuesday night. Once the Earth stopped moving, people started shaking their heads. What residents of this suburban neighborhood heard at about 9:30 p.m . was an earthquake. Geologist Stefanie Baxter of the Delaware Geological Survey at the University of Delaware said it registered 1.6 on the Richter scale of ground motion, with an epicenter that appears to be in Sharpley off Concord Pike."

National Public Radio/Morning Edition, Creativity's rewards, March 28. Reporter Michelle Trudeau interviewed Robert Eisenberger [psychology] about his study on how creativity in children is affected by rewards. "We looked at 291 fifth and sixth gra ders, and we decided to take a look at different ways in which we might reward them to see which ways would make them more creative," he said.

Sunday News Journal, May 18. Delaware Bookshelf, Phila. sportswriter gets fond tribute. "Bill Conlin's columns for the Philadelphia Daily News have been collected by University of Delaware English professor Kevin Kerrane. Kevin Kerrane writes natio nally acclaimed books about baseball when he's not teaching students about English literature. In collecting Bill Conlin's articles and columns for Batting Cleanup, (Temple University Press, $27.95) he showcases the work of a sports writing pioneer who sp ecializes in Kerrane's favorite game."

The New York Times, Planting hope with the Lima Bean, March 19. The story lamented the passing of the lima bean and quoted Sue Snider, food and nutrition specialist, in support of the bean. "They measure up as well or perhaps even better in certain categoriesÐ compared with other beans," she said.

The News Journal, March 24. The Geriatric Puzzle: A new program helps families sort out the myriad social, medical and emotional needs of the elderly. "HEALTH, a nurse-managed program of the College of Nursing at the University of Delaware is locat ed in the Newark Senior Center. It provides routine health and preventive care, and counseling by peers for those with normal, but difficult, emotional problems associated with aging. It also has a Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Team."

The Baltimore Sun, Features, Dolly's dad comes to town, March 11. "Dr. Ian Wilmut, walking emblem of a Brave New World, was introduced in Baltimore yesterday to polite applause. Calvin Keeler [animal and food science]...hastened to point out that W ilmut's work [in cloning]...is only one of many facets of work in molecular biology that has an impact on research in agriculture and pharmaceuticals."

The News Journal, April 21. Jews celebrate Passover amid a divisive debate. "It is the different ways in which Jews celebrate Passover and live their lives that concerns the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada. The 600-member group, the oldest organization of rabbis in the United States, recently labeled any practice of Judaism outside strict Orthodoxy an alien religion. David Kaplan, [educational studies] a University of Delaware associate professor, says Judaism is an evolving faith. 'We are constantly reconstructing Judaism.'"

UPIÐScience News, Cities: heat wave deaths may jump, March 10. "A study of heat waves suggests that climate change could raise the yearly death toll from hot weather 50 percent in big U.S. cities in the next 25 years. Laurence Kalkstein, geography, who conducted the study, said, 'the deaths will not be just among old or frail people who would have died soon anyway.' "

Sunday News Journal, April 27. Information highwayÐfast lane for cheats? "On the Internet, students can buy bootleg term papers. Marcia Halio, assistant director at the University of Delaware Writing Program said, 'The pool [of papers] is huge. We' re trying to deal with it by getting the word out to students that we know about it and that we might be able to trace it.' So far, UD has not had a clear cut case of a student buying a paper on the net, said Nancy Geist Giacomini, assistant dean of stude nt judicial affairs at the University of Delaware. A student can be suspended or expelled if found guilty of such an offense. UD's Halio said it's easy to detect a bought paper, because it's usually much better than anything a student has produced to date . Or sometimes its worse."

Orange County Register, March 9. Implant lawsuit fuels debate on corporate ads. "A growing number of companies have been using advertising to speak up when they are sued. Not incidentally, the messages are reaching jurors raising questions about wh ether they interfere with the right of plaintiffs to fair trials. Valerie Hans [criminal justice] said, 'many jurors parrot themes that corporate advertisers stress.'"

The News Journal, A comet as spectacular as Hale-Bopp doesn't happen by Earth often. Don't miss the view, April 5. "Comet Hale-Bopp, you can see it from just about anywhere, according to Norman Ness, president of the space-oriented Bartol Research Institute at the University of Delaware. 'It's high enough and bright enough to be quite visible to the unaided eye,' Ness says. 'Just find any big open field and make sure any city lights are behind you when you look to the northwest.É It's quite spectac ular right now. You can see its two distinct tails,' Ness says. 'One is the gases being ionized by its pass near the sun and being pulled toward the sun by solar wind. The other is the sun reflecting off the debris of dust and other material left behind i n its orbital earth.'"

National Public Radio, Feb. 21. Talk of the Nation, Science Friday. Risk Assessment. In a program on how risks from natural and human causes are assessed and how people confronted with these protect themselves host Ira Flatow interviewed Kathleen T ierney, sociology. "It doesn't do any good to give people advice on controlling risks that require them to change their entire lifestyles. They're simply not going to do that," she said.

The News Journal, April 10. Solar storms may soon cause electronic havoc. "Scientists have noted a cyclical increase in solar activity every 11 years; so the next 'solar maximum' is expected around the turn of the century. It may last several years . During that time, sunspots, giant solar flares and solar storms could have 'drastic effects on Earth's surface, such as shutting down electrical transmission systems nationwide,' said Dermott Mullan, an astronomer and professor at the Bartol Research In stitute at the University of Delaware. 'The long-distance phenomena are the result of electrically charged atomic particles building up in the Earth's ionosphere (30 to 350 miles up),' said electrical engineering Prof. Robert G. Hunsperger of the Universi ty of Delaware."

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