LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 28 - 3A IESEARC " I U' to examine effects of poverty on health status Through a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, searchers from the University will study the health effects of being poor. Public health advocates have identi- fied social inequalities as being a major cause of physical and mental health problems in the United States. School of Public Health department of Epidemiology Chair George Kaplan will head the new research center, called the Michigan Interdisciplinary Center on Social Inequalities, Mind 'd Body. The center will be a collabo- tive effort between research profes- sors from the fields of public health, sociology, education, social work, pub- lic policy, medicine, psychology and economics. Study focuses on age-related mental decline OAt the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, University Ph.D. candidate Anat Geva presented a study that describes how young adults and older adults use different portions of the brain to accomplish tasks. t When young adults were asked to remember a list of words and then asked to do a math problem, they used areas of the front and back part of the brain called the visual cortices. But 64en older adults were asked to per- ",rm the same tasks, they were more likely to use a different portion of the brain --the dorsolateral prefrontal cor- tex, which is found on the left front side % of the brain. The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, found that older subjects were less accurate and slower than younger subjects on both verbal and math tasks. A nat said that the study sheds more ight on the decline in brain perfor- mance that often accompanies aging. Mistaken heart rhythms could cause problems University researchers have discov- d that a certain phenomenon that ,, occur during heart monitoring may lead to unnecessary heart procedures. The problem is called electrocar- diograph electrical "artifact," which can take place during a recording of the heart rhythm. The phenomenon can mimic various heart rhythm problems including ventricular tachycardia, which causes a pattern of fast heart beats that'can lead. to a loss of con- 'ousness or death. The study, led by Bradley Knight, notes that when artifact is misdiag- rlosed, patients may undergo unneces- sary diagnostic or therapeutic proce- dures. Knight, who is an assistant professor of internal medicine, said cardiologists and internists are not always properly trained to recognize artifact. He said he hopes the study will lead to an increase of awareness in the medical nmunity and the general public. Truck drivers miot to blame for fatal crashes Truck drivers are not to blame in most fatal accidents involving commer- cial trucks, according to a study by *iversity researchers. Daniel Blower, a researcher with the University Transportation --,esearch Institute, found that the : wtiens of passenger vehicle drivers 'contributed to 70 percent of the crashes involving commercial trucks. Truck drivers commit dri- ving errors in only 16 percent of the accidents, the study discovered. "Taken at face value, this seems to indicate that passenger-vehicle drivers *itribute disproportionately to fatal crashes involving a tfuck and a passen- ger vehicle," Blower said, adding that the purpose of the study was not to blame either driver but to evaluate the actions that lead to fatal truck acci- dents. -Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Risa Berrin. WCC to offer 1st Internet design degree By Lisa Koivu Daily Staff Reporter In Washtenaw County, the University is usually top dog. With high education standards, alliances with other universities and a strong Athletic Department, it's rare to see another school beat out the University in any field. But this time, Washtenaw Community College is gathering interest with its new Internet Professional Program. The program, said Director of Web Services and Program Initiation Christine Anderson, allows stu- dents to receive degrees in either Internet design, or more technical aspects of computers such as systems administration or programming. Core classes for the program mandate that a stu- dent who wants to go into the design area must also have experience in the technical aspect. "We researched what employers want most. Employers want employees who can design Web pages, but they also want them to be able to explain what they're doing and know the back- ground to it,'Anderson said. Initial courses for the program were offered this semester and were filled to capacity. "We are hitting a huge market of people that want this experience and we have national credi- bility," Anderson said. WCC is the first community college to become a voting member of the Association of Internet Professional's Certification Accreditation Council and the World Organization of Webmaster. Both groups are industry leaders in putting together standards for Internet certification. Companies such as Microsoft, Adobe and Novell also are members of the organizations. Once the program receives accreditation at the end of this semester, WCC will be the first and only educational institution that offers a nationally accredited degree-granting program in the areas of design and technical Internet areas. Anderson said she feels that WCC's program is a not only how to use a specific software pro- gram. We are able to offer a hands on approach that many of the two day courses can't," Anderson said. Options for learning about Internet design are not as widely offered at the University. Engineering senior Jeff Gedeon, a resident computer systems consultant for ResComp, said students who want to learn the basics to Website page design can attend ResComp's Create Your Own Website classes "We offer different classes at different levels. We have the basic classes where students walk away with a working web page, or we have the more advanced classes where students can learn how to make original images and layouts," Gedeon said. Gedeon recommends that students who wish to learn more visit online tutorials. Lija Bentley, an intern at the University's School of Information, said she agrees. "If a student just wants to learn the basics to Web design, the best place to learn the basics is to look on the web or buy a book," Bentley said. The School of Information offers a couple of summer classes with topics such as the funda- mentals of design and HTML that are open to any students during the summer semester. Also, the School of Engineering offers a class through its technology communications depart- ment that concentrates on every facet of Website design such as the available market, content, how-to and what is appropriate to post on a site. Daniel Yang, an LSA junior and computer support technician for the Engineering Administration Building, said the reason so few classes are offered in Website design is because it has become common for people to know how to design a Website. "There aren't many careers that just need people to design a Web page, and everybody knows how to do it now," Yang said. step ahead of many others. "We want our students to learn techniques, -m-" Habitat for Humanity auctions birdhouses to help build homes JEREMY MENCHIK/ Daily LSA senior Rachel Arfa, Marlene Miller and Alex Miller demonstrate the sign for applause yesterday at a luncheon for the Council for Disability Concerns Award. Awaq.rds hghlight disablity concern-s By Charles Chen For the Daily Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley is encouraging others to build houses - but the inhabitants aren't people. The group is asking for birdhouses that will eventually help the organi- zation build homes for needy fami- lies. The local chapter of the national organization plans to hold its inaugural fundraiser, "Building on a Dream" in April 2000 to auction off birdhouses at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. "This is our first major fundraiser and is something that several of our affiliates do," event co-chair Mary Mueting said. "Our goal is to build houses for fam- ilies through sponsorship and increas- ing our funds," she added. Habitat is in the process of finding individuals who would be willing to build and donate birdhouses for its fundraiser. Participants may choose from one of two categories - Anything Goes or Functional Art - when designing the houses. For Functional Art, each bird- house should be able to house birds, and it should be an original example of art. Janet Hinshaw, Museum of Zoology collections manager at the Museum of Natural History, said, "only birds that nest in cavities such as a hallow tree use birdhouses. Many of these tend to be Screech Owls, Blue Birds and House Wrens." The color of the houses also deter- mine what kind of birds visit it, Hinshaw added. "Birds such as the Purple Martin pre- fer light-colored houses; generally white," she said. For birds to inhabit houses, they should also be placed "in the shade where it's not directly in the sun," Hinshaw said. For the Anything Goes category, houses do not have to serve a function- al purpose and do not need to meet species specific criteria. This category is an option for designers who want to interpret their own version of a birdhouse as "gar- den art." The fundraiser is looking for artists, architects and designers, but the oppor- tunity is open to anyone. "We are looking for 40 or more bird- houses for the auction," Mueting said. "We have at least 10 people who have volunteered to donate." Habitat's deadline to receive bird- houses is set for the last week of March, but the organization already has received donations. Paul Little, head design coordina- tor of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, recently made the first contribution by donating a bird- house replicating the historic Kempf House, near the corner of South Division and Liberty streets. "I wanted to kick things off on a pos- itive note,' Little said. The habitat chapter is in the process of making connections with University faculty members in the hopes of getting students involved. Architecture and Urban Planning senior Jeremy Sphar heard about the birdhouse auction from the American Institute of Architects. "I would be interested in getting involved," he said. The event will be a silent auction and is open to public. While the theme of the spring fundraiser is birdhouses, Habitat for Humanity is considering an art festival for the future, Mueting said. The Huron Valley chapter of Habitat for Humanity expects the silent auction to be its largest fundraiser since the chapter began in 1989. "This is our first major fundraiser and is something that several of our affiliates do." - Mary Mueting Building on a Dream co-chair By Jody Simone Kay Daily Staff Reporter When Adam Miller came to the University in 1990, he had already been diagnosed with neurofibromato- sis, a disease that causes tumors to develop along the nerves that control vision and speech. "We know how hard it is to just be a student, but to be a student with a disability is daunting;" said Adam's mother Marlene Miller, accompanied by her husband Alex yesterday at an award ceremony to recognize individ- uals whose actions have benefited local people with disabilities. When Adam Miller,a former sports editor of The Michigan Daily, passed away earlier this year, his parents cre- ated a fund in their son's memory to assist University students with hearing impairments. , "It was always our desire to support the program that supported him," Marlene Miller said. The Millers also established a monthly program featur- ing first-run showings of films with the use of open-captioning. The Council for Disability Concerns recognized the Miller's sup- port and contributions along with nine other recipients. The event was a part of Investing in Ability Week, a statewide week set aside to raise awareness about disabilities. CDC was established 17 years ago as part of the University's Office of Equity and Diversity. In 1993, 161 students registered themselves as dis- abled with the office; in 1999, that number increased to 520. Comprised of 35 University com- munity members, the council assesses the campus, with the goal of removing obstacles for disabled students, said Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator Brian Clapham. In 1996, CDC established an awards ceremony to recognize individuals who made "exceptional" efforts to accommodate disabled students. "It was a very moving program just to listen to all of the stories of the peo- ple who were recognized," said award recipient Diane Baker, director of the genetic counseling graduate program. Baker assisted Shannon Wiltse, who is confined to a wheelchair and needed a physically accessible cam- pus when she entered the Genetic Counseling Masters Program in 1997. Baker made the necessary changes for Wiltse before she arrived at the University. "The real access issue is still peo- ple. It comes down to our whole awareness to embrace disability as a part of people;' Baker said. During her time as a student, Wiltse designed an interactive teaching activ- ity that gave other students the ability to understand the experience of hav- ing a disability. In the activity participants acted out routine tasks that are fairly easy for people who do not have disabilities but can be difficult for the disabled. "It gave them a better idea of what I have to do every morning;' Wiltse said. CDC also honored Wiltse during the awards ceremony. Wiltse earned her master's degree in 1998 and is a professional genetic counselor at St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti. "These people are exemplars. They take the extra time to support individ- ual members of the community of people with disabilities in unique and innovative ways," CDC Chair Jack Bernard said. The'council also presented awards to those people who have implement- ed technology on campus that helps disabled students. This year, the University added a system in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library that converts standard text- books into computer data at about 40 pages per minute, Bernard said. A visually impaired student can then access the information by a computer that will read the material aloud. "Now we're giving students with disabilities the ability to participate in the same environment as everyone," Bernard said. The University also has added closed circuit televisions that magnify book pages and captioning services in classrooms. Ergonomics is the science or art of making machinery adjust to human form by tilting, turning or being raised or lowered for a specific individual, said Jim Knox, the Information Technology Division's director of the adaptive technology computing site. ..a' " - ': . Ii, ; From, the professional s 'Take over HOllyWOOd & ~ ,. K ~ NSh h a's What's happening in Ann Arbor today WIN $50,000II ND purchase necessary to enter or win the $50,000 Geaway Sweepstakes. 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