Drug Use Increasingly Glamorized in
Rap Music
Rap music has gone from an art form that largely warned
against the dangers of substance abuse to one that often glorifies illegal
drug use, according to the first systematic social science study of the genre
covering nearly two decades. The research team sampled 341 lyrics from the
most popular songs in rap between 1979 and 1997.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/drug-use-increa.php
Using Teledentistry
to Provide Orthodontic Services to Disadvantaged Children
Socially disadvantaged children have limited access
to orthodontic services. A team of scientists studied a novel approach using
teleconferencing to determine the possibility of increasing access to limited
orthodontic treatment for these children.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/using-teledenti.php
**Civic Engagement
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Hosts Teen Town Hall to Discuss Violence and School Dropout Rates among Our Nation's Teens
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
(BGCA) announced a national initiative to ignite conversations about the issues
faced by America's
youth in our local communities. The purpose of the initiative is to give
America's
youth the skills and the motivation they need to reach their full potential,
while protecting them from crime, violence, drugs and other problems they
face every day.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/boys-girls-club.php
Discrimination Varies by Gender and
Race
Men are more likely to tolerate discrimination than
women, however both sexes tend to accept prejudice against
poorly educated immigrants and Arab-American airplane travelers, according
to a study by the USC-Caltech
Center
for the Study of Law and Politics.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/study-finds-tha.php
**Community Building
Active Living in Diverse and Disadvantaged
Communities
As obesity continues to increase while physical activity
continues to decline in the United States,
the disparity between the general population and low-income and minority populations
continues to grow larger. These issues are addressed in a special issue of
the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Active Living in Diverse and
Disadvantaged Communities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/active-living-i.php
Alcohol and Malt Liquor Availability
and Promotion Higher in African American Inner Cities
It appears that living in a poor neighborhood with a
high concentration of African Americans is associated with greater alcohol
availability and promotion -- especially malt liquor -- according to a recent
study by University
of Minnesota
researchers.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/alcohol-and-mal.php
**Economic Security
Financial Literacy Programs Build Financial
Stability
Local Goodwill agencies across the U.S.
offer financial literacy programs that teach good financial habits, help people
access the tax credits for which they are eligible, and offer strategies for
asset accumulation and investment. Using courses such as Goodwill's Good$ense
curriculum, the programs aim to encourage savings by helping people manage
their paychecks, improve budgeting skills and maximize their money.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/goodwill-indust-1.php
Reading the Labor Market's Vital Signs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics release of its jobs report
on Friday, April 4, provides an important set of labor market vital signs,
which are key indicators of our overall economic health and the living standards
of the vast majority of working families who rely primarily on wage income.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/reading-the-lab.php
Households with Kids with Autism Likely
to Earn Less
New research suggests that the average household with
children with autism not only spends thousands of dollars toward educational,
behavioral and health care expenses each year, but also suffers from a lesser-known
cost that hits them up front -- a sizeable chunk of missed household income,
perhaps as much as $6,200 annually.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/households-with.php
Coalition Urges Bush Administration
to Reconsider Proposals to Water Down Family and
Medical Leave
Led by the National Partnership for Women & Families,
a coalition of over 100 organizations, representing tens of millions of workers
is urging the Bush Administration's Department of Labor (DOL) not to use administrative
procedures to reduce workplace protections for millions of workers and their
families that are entitled to protections of the 1993 federal Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA).
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/broadbased-coal.php
**Education
Education Department Will Move to a
Uniform Graduation Rate, Require Disaggregation
of Data
The U.S. Secretary of Education announced it will take
administrative steps to ensure all states use the same formula to calculate
how many students graduate from high school on time, and how many drop out.
Tthe data would be made public so that people nationwide
can compare how students of every race, background, and income level are performing.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/us-secretary-of-3.php
Educating America's Newest Greatest Generation
The current Montgomery GI Bill accounts for only 50
percent of the average cost of college today, and the benefit for Guard and
Reserve members is drastically less. The new GI Bill would provide our troops
a with benefits more representative of today's cost
of education in our nation's colleges and universities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/educating-ameri.php
Educators Call for Major Overhaul of
California's School Finance System
A new report calling for a major overhaul of the state's
K-12 school finance system was released by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute
on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity at the University of
California, Berkeley,
School
of Law.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/educators-call.php
**Health
Leading Pediatrician Addresses the
Future of Children's Health
Can diseases such as Alzheimer's, obesity and diabetes
be prevented before birth? According to researchers at the Washington University
School of Medicine, studying whether diseases that strike adults are already
genetically encoded in individuals while still in the womb may enable physicians
to one day address and prevent diseases in infancy.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/leading-pediatr.php
Childhood Mental Health Problems Blight
Adult Working Life
Mental health problems in childhood blight adult working
life, suggests research published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental
Medicine. And problems in working life are associated with mid life depression
and anxiety.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/childhood-menta.php
Individual Intervention with Low-Income
and Minority Patients Increases Colonoscopy Rates
Patient interventions are necessary to achieve higher
rates of colorectal cancer screening in low-income and minority patients.
Because the rationale and required steps for completing colonoscopy are complex,
individual intervention with patient navigators -- non-clinical individuals
who are specially trained to navigate the health care system -- may be particularly
helpful.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/individual-inte.php
Health and Wealth: Measuring Health
System Performance
In invited testimony, Commonwealth Fund president Karen
Davis presented evidence from other countries--as well as from some states
within the U.S.--that
shows it is possible to have better health outcomes while spending less on
health care.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/testimonyhealth.php
Want Doctors to Treat the Underserved?
Make Sure They Train at Community Health Centers
University of Washington researchers have found that
community health center-trained family physicians were more likely to work
in underserved settings than their non-community health center-trained counterparts
(64 percent versus 37 percent), based on a study published in the April issue
of Family Medicine.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/want-docs-to-tr.php
Majority of U.S. Physicians Favor National Health Insurance
The largest survey ever of American physicians' opinions
on health-care financing has found that 59 percent of doctors support government
legislation to establish national health insurance while only 32 percent oppose
it.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/indiana-univers.php
**Nutrition and Healthy Living
Children Benefit from Drinking Chocolate/Flavored
Milk
The study compared nutrient intakes and BMIs among 7,557 U.S.
children and adolescents ages 2-18 years drinking flavored milk (with or without
plain milk), exclusively plain milk and no milk. Results showed milk drinkers
(flavored and plain) had significantly higher intakes of vitamin A, calcium,
phosphorus, magnesium and potassium than non-milk drinkers.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/new-study-shows-3.php
Why High School Boys Dodge 'Phys Ed'
As obesity and inactivity among youth becomes a growing
concern for North American families, new research based at The University
of Western Ontario is asking why some high school boys are reluctant to participate
in Grade 9 health and physical education classes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/researchers-stu.php
Overweight Kids Have Fewer Cavities
Contrary to conventional wisdom, overweight children
have fewer cavities and healthier teeth compared to their normal weight peers,
according to a study published in this month's issue of Community Dentistry
& Oral Epidemiology.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/overweight-kids.php
Early-Onset Obesity in Father Linked
to Increased Potential for Liver Disease in Child
A history of early-onset paternal obesity increases
the odds of elevated liver enzyme levels in offspring and points to the potential
for a genetic link between obesity and liver disease, according to a study
in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological
Association (AGA) Institute.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/earlyonset-obes.php
**Substance Abuse
Do We Need Alcohol Prevention Programs
for 'Tweens?'
Much research has been conducted on the problems caused
by alcohol abuse for both adults and teenagers. Recent studies, however, have
shown that some kids are starting to drink earlier -- even before sixth grade
-- opening up the door to many additional social, behavioral and developmental
problems.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/04/do-we-need-alco.php
