Biological sciences associate professor Jeff Leips’ research on “The Adaptive Significance of Population Differentiation in Offspring Size of The Least Killfish, Heterandria formosa” has been profiled by DugDug.com.
DugDug seeks to widen the scope of scientific, medical, economic, and political information available to the broader public.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget bill Thursday that would avoid another government shutdown next year after it’s passed by the Senate.
Roy Meyers, professor of political science, analyzed the budget deal in detail in The London School of Economics USApp blog.
“Coming just two months after a foolish government shutdown caused by the antithesis of bipartisanship, the current budget agreement must be seen as an effort in reputation repair,” Meyers writes.
He notes the deal offsets spending increases with minor savings and extends “sequestration” ceilings on programs such as Medicare and fees for customs and border protection.
“This agreement symbolizes a ‘time out’ from major budgetary conflicts in anticipation of the primary and general elections,” Meyers writes.
With strong Republican opposition to any kind of tax increase and Democrats strongly against entitlement savings options, Meyers notes it could be a long time before any long-term budget deal is reached.
“The Bipartisan Budget Act may thus be more than a time out; it could be the practical end of the “grand bargain” illusion, at least for the next several years.”
You can read the full blog post on The London School of Economics USApp website here.
Tension has been building in recent weeks between Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Attorney General Douglas Gansler, both Democratic candidates in Maryland’s race for governor.
The Gansler campaign has criticized Brown for his handling of the state’s rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Brown’s campaign has come under fire for using a tracker to document any Gansler missteps.
Laura Hussey, assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for a Capital News Service article about the growing level of tension between the two campaigns.
“It’s a little bit nastier than I recall from recent races [in Maryland]. They had their disagreements. But I don’t recall it as being as uncivil as this one,” Hussey said.
She added the sparring between the campaigns is a reflection of the current political culture.
“It’s part of a trend toward greater incivility in our politics that is afflicting everybody,” Hussey said. “Politics is nastier. We can see that [on the national level] in what goes on between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.”
“They don’t have the same social ties that they used to. They don’t practice the same norms of politeness and deference,” she said.
You can read the full article in the Capital News Service here.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced on December 11, 2013 that Gymama Slaughter, an assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE), received an NSF CAREER Award.
NSF notes, “The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.”
“We are delighted about this NSF CAREER Award to Dr. Slaughter,” says Dr. Karl Steiner, Vice President for Research at UMBC. “This prestigious award recognizes Dr. Slaughter’s rapidly growing reputation as a productive and promising researcher and teacher and it also reflects well on UMBC’s ability to attract and nurture top faculty talent as embodied by Dr. Slaughter.”
Slaughter will use the $400,000 award to “fabricate and characterize a self-powered biosensing microsystem that simultaneously generates bioelectricity and monitors glucose.”
It’s not often you find someone who has an art gallery in their home. But that’s exactly what UMBC professor Carolyn Forestiere and her husband, Asher, decided to do in the fall of 2012 when they opened the David Mikow Gallery in their living room. Make sure to check out their newest addition, Brianna Faulkner ’11, visual arts, on December 13 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, click here.
The David Mikow Art Gallery
1002 Vineyard Hill Road
Catonsville, MD 21228
A recent column in The Washington Post argues the ongoing technical problems with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in Maryland are unlikely to have a negative impact on Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown’s chances in the race for governor.
The article states Brown has six months until the Democratic primary to correct problems with the state’s health care exchange and has secured endorsements and support from almost all of the party establishment.
Political science assistant professor Laura Hussey was interviewed for the column and said the health exchange problems will likely fade away come election time.
“This is not a scandal that breaks important social mores or ethics. This isn’t something that is going to be a hot election issue . . . that’s going to fly in sound-bite politics,” Hussey said.
You can read the full article in The Washington Post here.
UMBC has been named one of the nation’s top 100 public universities, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. The ranking, released today, cites four-year schools that deliver a quality education at an affordable price.
UMBC made Kiplinger’s list of Best Values in Public Colleges thanks to its high four-
year graduation rate, low average student debt at graduation, abundant financial aid, low sticker price, and overall great value. UMBC has appeared on the list multiple
times – a testament to the value the university consistently provides.
“The college landscape today is very different—tuition increases and student debt
dominate the national conversation surrounding higher education,” said Janet Bodnar,
editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. “This year’s top 100 schools have made
admirable strides to maintain academic integrity and standards while meeting the
financial needs of their students.”
The annual public school rankings appear in Kiplinger’s February 2014 issue and are
also available online now at kiplinger.com/links/college.
In his latest op-ed in The Baltimore Sun, Political Science Professor Thomas Schaller writes about the Obama Administration’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act, calling it a “disaster.” He compares it to the rollout of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or “the stimulus,” which had far fewer technical problems and glitches.
“To be fair, ACA is a bigger, more complex and permanent law than ARRA,” Schaller writes. “But the uncomfortable fact is that this administration had more than three years to prepare for the implementation of ACA’s key policy innovation: the state health care exchanges and their attendant websites.”
Schaller notes the president charged Vice President Joe Biden and other top officials to oversee the ARRA implementation, which had a strong, functioning website that recorded every dollar spent. He also observes that it’s surprising the Affordable Care Act has experienced so many technical problems after past success with other programs, including the president’s two election campaigns.
“Why such technical expertise and rigorous detail was absent from Obamacare’s implementation will remain one of the enduring — and embarrassing — mysteries of this presidency,” Schaller writes.
You can read the full op-ed in The Baltimore Sun here.
UMBC has been named one of The Baltimore Sun 100 Top Workplaces in the Baltimore region. UMBC ranked no. 11 among large employers in the Top Workplaces list, published on Dec. 8 in a special section in the Sunday Sun and online.
The Baltimore area winners included on the list were selected from employee surveys measuring qualities such as company leadership, career opportunities, workplace flexibility, compensation and benefits.
UMBC was recognized by its employees as an organization with strong leadership, vision and direction and one that operates by strong values and ethics. Some comments shared by faculty and staff include:
“I am provided a great deal of flexibility and respected for my efforts.”
“I get the opportunity to grow professionally and I work with great people. ”
“I use my experience and skills to the fullest and feel a sense of accomplishment in my work.”
“Strong sense of community; high motivation to help students/faculty succeed.”
“The people, the projects, and the possibilities.”
During the summer, UMBC was nominated to participate in The Baltimore Sun Top Workplaces program, which identifies and compares top places to work in the Baltimore Metropolitan area, based solely on the opinions of employees. In late August and early September, UMBC faculty and staff responded to a confidential independent survey conducted by research company WorkplaceDynamics, LLC.
For more information about the Top Workplaces lists and WorkplaceDynamics, please visit topworkplaces.com.
Christine Mallinson, associate professor in the Language, Literacy & Culture Program, has co-authored a new book, “We Do Language: English Language Variation in the Secondary English Classroom” (Teachers College Press, 2014, with Anne H. Charity Hudley of the College of William & Mary).
The publisher’s website notes, “We Do Language builds on the authors’ highly acclaimed first collaboration, Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools, and examines the need to integrate linguistically informed teaching into the secondary English classroom. The book meets three critical goals for preparing English educators to ensure the academic success of their students. First, the book helps educators acquire a greater knowledge of language variation so they may teach their students to analyze the social, cultural, and linguistic dimensions of the texts they read in class. Second, the chapters provide specific information about language varieties that students bring with them to school so that educators can better assist students in developing the literacy skills necessary for the Common Core State Standards. Third, the text empowers educators to build their linguistic awareness so they may more fully understand, respect, and meet the needs o f culturally and linguistically diverse students. We Do Language features concrete strategies, models, and vignettes, as well as classroom materials developed by English educators for English educators. It is essential reading for anyone interested in learning about the role that language plays in the experiences of students, both in secondary and postsecondary environments.”
Professor Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University writes in an endorsement to the book, “Full of advice and support for walking hand-in-hand with students into imaginative ways of understanding the realities of language variation, this book is pure joy for teachers and college counselors. Even more important is the guarantee that when these educators embrace the humanity and philosophy so touchingly illustrated by the authors, the intrigue of thinking deeply about speaking, writing, and reading is sure to follow for students.”
For more information, please visit the authors’ website, http://charityhudleymallinson.com/wdl
UMBC’s Center for Aging Studies research team attended the Gerontological Society of America’s 66th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans, November 20-24, 2013. They joined 3600 of the world’s leading gerontologists presenting symposia, papers, and posters under the theme “Optimal Aging through Research.”
CAS participants included Robert Rubinstein, Ann Christine Frankowski, Leslie Morgan, John Schumacher, Colleen Bennett, Michael Brazda , Patrick Doyle, Laura Girling, Regina Hrybyk, Mary Nemec, Amanda Peeples.
The Center presented a symposium entitled “Sex, Teasing, and Constraints: Ethical Dilemmas in Assisted Living” highlighting findings from the study “Autonomy in Assisted Living: A Cultural Analysis” funded by the National Institute on Aging. Kevin Eckert was the discussant and Ann Christine Frankowski and Robert Rubinstein co-chaired the symposium which included the following papers:
Other papers presented by the CAS research team (noting lead authors only) included:
Bmoreart blog’s Cara Ober interviews Steven H Silberg (Lecturer, Visual Arts) about ‘Mining the Crowd: Artifacts of Crowdfunding,’ A New Exhibition to Explore the Process of Funding with Kickstarter.
Silberg and his research partners have launched a Kickstarter project to fund an exhibition, which will be made up entirely of rewards offered by other crowdfunding artists to their campaign contributors. Their research aims to inquire about the sustainability of a dependence upon the social network for an artists continuing practice in the visual and performing arts. By making their first hand experience public, they hope to offer transparency, informing those who may chose to engage in crowdfunding while highlighting those who have been successful with it.