RESEARCH General 2000 2001

TOPICS: Arts | Education | Government | Health | Home & Garden | Illinois | Law | Sociology | World Affairs

ARTS
Literature: A UI scholar says he sides with those who believe Abelard and Heloise were, indeed, the authors of the famous anonymously transmitted medieval love letters. (12/1/01)

Poetry: A new anthology of 20th century poets with a connection to Illinois highlights a hallmark of the state's poetry -- its "tremendous" diversity, an editor of the anthology says. (11/1/01)

English: The author of a new book of poetry of the American left says it's the first to look broadly at the works, examine why they've been suppressed and explain what people can learn from them. (10/1/01)

Cubism: An exhibition at the UI will focus on the work of pioneering cubist sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, whose friends included Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Amedeo Modigliani and Diego Rivera. (9/1/01)

Musical Instruments: An instrument maker has created an exquisite viola pomposa – a stringed instrument that combines the ranges of the viola and violin – for a UI music professor. (9/1/01)

Music: Nearly a decade after John Cage's death, a new staged version of his radio play will receive its U.S. premiere Sept. 29 at the UI’s Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. (9/1/01)

Discrimination: Women, people of color and, to a lesser extent, gay and lesbian architects, have not had the same measure of success in the profession as their white, male counterparts. (9/1/01)

Industrial Design: A team of recently graduated University of Illinois students has won a design award for developing a stronger and more practical version of the thumbtack. (8/1/01)

Proust: New evidence of the incredible extent to which Marcel Proust tinkered with his copy has surfaced in the form of six unpublished letters, previously held in private hands. (8/1/01)

Film: Eight UI students will travel to Hong Kong to take a course that will steep them in many aspects of the East Asian film industry that has become a cult phenomenon.

Literary Journalism: The Shana Alexander collection at the UI Library illuminates her career as author, writer for Life, editor of McCall's, columnist for Newsweek, and TV commentator. (5/1/01)

Literature: A new book traces one of the strangest creative writers' colonies, one that just happened to nurture the likes of James Jones, the author of "From Here to Eternity." (5/1/01)

Franco-American Relations: A new book offers a salvo-by-salvo analysis of the culture wars being fought by the intellectuals and journalists of France and the United States. (5/1/01)

Art: A new exhibition on view through Aug. 5 at the University of Illinois' Krannert Art Museum highlights the cabaret poster art of French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. (5/1/01)

Music: The conventional way for student conductors to hone their craft -- before a mirror -- will change when UI researchers finish creating a virtual training environment for conducting. (4/1/01)

Two Thumbs Up: Roger Ebert has announced the 12 films he will screen at his third annual film festival, among them Woody Allen's 1996 musical "Everyone Says I Love You." (4/1/01)

Creative Writing: A new UI graduate program designed for students who already are talented creative writers will help them perfect their craft, the program director says. (4/1/01)

Literature: A UI English professor who said he yearned for a better description and understanding of wit in literature has written a new book on the topic. (3/1/01)

Entomolomovies: Visitors at the Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois Feb. 24 can learn the truth about beetles and see some cinematically inept renditions of them, too. (2/1/01)

Poetry: A new massive and comprehensive learning environment will give anyone with an Internet link the ability to survey the world of modern American poetry. (2/1/01)

EDUCATION
Attacks' Aftermath: Next semester, University of Illinois students will have the opportunity to explore topics such as homeland defense, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. (12/1/01)

Language: The UI's expanding Arabic language program now includes more than 100 students, and a Web-based language project, "Arabic-Online," is under development. (12/1/01)

Teacher Education: With $3.2 million in funding, the UI College of Education is completing a sweeping effort to weave technology throughout the teacher-training curriculum. (12/1/01)

Early Learning: Parents, caregivers and teachers of preschoolers have a new online resource to help educate children and prepare them for school: The Illinois Early Learning Project. (12/1/01)

International Issues: A new program administered by the UI's International Programs and Studies unit aims to improve high school studentsÕ knowledge of international issues. (12/1/01)

Business and Technology: A UI alumnus and former president of the Montgomery Elevator Co. has arranged funding to expand the campus's pioneering Technology and Management Program. (11/1/01)

Child Welfare: A new Web-based learning environment gives beginning child-welfare caseworkers on-the-job training without the on-the-job risks, a UI professor of social work says. (11/1/01)

Online Education: The Certified Firefighter II online program, thought to be the first of its kind directed at working firefighters, is being offered by the UI-based Illinois Fire Service Institute. (10/1/01)

History of Education: Quality of education, rather than integration, was the chief aim of those who fought to end the system of segregated schools, a UI professor of education says. (9/1/01)

College Teaching: Outstanding college teachers share several traits, including a desire to create intellectual excitement in the classroom and to develop rapport with students, a survey shows. (8/1/01)

School Helpers: Public schools lag behind other nonprofit groups in enacting policies that protect children and volunteers from potential harm, a legal scholar says. (7/1/01)

Preschool: Sensitivity training aimed at teachers has put a hole in the myth that fathers are uninterested in becoming involved in early education programs for at-risk kids. (6/1/01)

Homework: Low-achieving elementary students raised both their daily and long-term performance when their mothers became more involved, a psychology professorÕs study indicates. (5/1/01)

College Life: A new oral history project at the UI is helping to preserve what life was like for students who attended college during the Great Depression. (4/1/01)

School Choice: The results of a survey in Chile, which has had a school-voucher program for 20 years, run counter to what many U.S. voucher advocates say about student achievement. (2/1/01)

Science Education: In his latest book, UI astronomer James Kaler uses clear, precise and light-hearted prose to bring the subject of stars down to Earth for the general reader. (2/1/01)

Elderly & Computers: A group of high school students in Champaign, Ill., are working with a local nursing home to help residents surf the Web and send and receive e-mail. (2/1/01)

Print vs. Online News: A study confirms what many experts have suspected about people's use of Internet news sites: Online readers tend to avoid goings-on in the larger world. (2/1/01)

GOVERNMENT
Gambling & the Law: Evidence that gambling has created "problem gamblers" makes the industry susceptible to class-action suits along the lines of state-initiated tobacco lawsuits. (12/1/01)

War: The Sept. 11 attacks awakened America to the threat to the homeland, and, in addition, eliminated limits on what the United States will do to fight terrorism, a military historian says. (10/1/01)

Missile Defense: If the proposed missile shield is proven reliable, any future U.S. adversaries will circumvent it by choosing another method of attack, a scholar says. (8/1/01)

City Planning: Instead of relying on a comprehensive plan, most cities would be better off relying on a number of plans -- which, in fact, is how most development occurs, a professor says. (7/1/01)

Risk Analysis: Using new tools that make it easier to assess potential levels of damage resulting from earthquakes, researchers have been able to assign a dollar amount to that risk. (7/1/01)

The Media: U.S. newspapers not only are failing readers, they also are failing democracy, according to the authors of a new critique of the news media from colonial times to the present. (7/1/01)

The Presidency: As he ends his first 100 days in office, President George W. Bush has proven surprisingly interventionist in domestic matters -- especially in labor-related issues. (5/1/01)

American Indians: American Indian culture has persisted largely because of Indian reformers who spoke out in the early decades of the 20th century, the editor of a new book says. (4/1/01)

Blackouts: The root cause of the California power crisis was flawed legislation that traded economic realities for short-term fixes to satisfy consumers and utilities, a UI expert contends. (2/1/01)

HEALTH
Disability Research: When trying to interact with children with severe disabilities, therapists have found that nothing gets their attention like a visit with an animal. (12/1/01)

Nutrition: A plant estrogen linked to the health benefits of soy has been shown to stimulate the growth of estrogen-dependent human breast-cancer cells implanted into mice. (11/1/00)

Kinesiology: Frequent hydration and consumption of beverages high in carbohydrates and electrolytes appear to reduce the serious health risks of heat strain that firefighters face. (11/1/00)

Uncertainty: People should back off a bit from information seeking, if only from time to time, because, in some cases, too much information can be hazardous to oneÕs mental health. (11/1/00)

Telemedicine: A project will use the Internet to connect radiologists at small hospitals with professionals at big-city hospitals to help stroke victims with dysphagia -- difficulty swallowing. (11/1/00)

Sunburn: Although most sunscreeens are ineffective against ultraviolet light, adding antioxidants such as vitamins E or C to them can help prevent skin cancer, a researcher says. (9/1/01)

Mental Health: A new study indicates that what appear as signals of distress among Asian Americans simply may reflect a culturally adaptive sensitivity in social situations. (9/1/01)

Health Diagnostics: Higher doses of energy may produce better ultrasound images, but they pose a greater risk of lung damage than many scientists previously believed. (9/1/01)

.Diet: New research suggests a diet higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates than currently recommended may help people maintain desirable body weight and overall health. (4/1/01)

Disability Research: A national Disability Research Institute, funded by a grant from the Social Security Administration, officially will open its doors April 27 at the UI. (4/1/01)

Sexual Lies: Everyone's dishonest at times in sexual situations, but people say they're more honest when it comes to things that might threaten their partner's health, a UI scholar says. (2/1/01)

Nutrition: Researchers have found that legumes contain a resistant starch that travels into the colon and is converted into a fatty acid desirable for its cancer-preventing qualities. (2/1/01)

HOME & GARDEN
Online Education: The Certified Firefighter II online program, thought to be the first of its kind directed at working firefighters, is being offered by the UI-based Illinois Fire Service Institute. (10/1/01)

Gambling: Although promoted as an economic development tool, casino gambling is a losing hand when subjected to rigorous cost-benefit analysis, a UI economist says. (10/1/01)

Land Use Ethics: People are reinvigorating their ties to the land practically and in the ways they think about themselves and their communities, a scholar says in a forthcoming book. (9/1/01)

Work & Family: A survey of fathers in India indicates they behave far differently at home and with their children than American fathers do, a UI professor of family ecology says. (9/1/01)

Child Development: A study suggests that life at home -- including family stability and stress -- affects children's behavior and how they pursue success in academics and relationships. (7/1/01)

Recreation: Thanks to a partnership between two universities and communities in Illinois, children in 11 small towns have the opportunity to get involved in summer recreation programs. (7/1/01)

Advertising: Parents should intervene in their children's consumer lives so that they learn about "the motivated, persuasive intent behind most product appeals," a scholar says. (7/1/01)

Housing the Elderly: The nation's most successful housing program for the elderly is grossly underfunded and failing to meet current and future demand, a University of Illinois scholar says.

Elder Care: Lack of access to nursing-home care -- a longstanding problem for non-white Americans -- will become more acute unless policy-makers address the issue, a researcher says.

The Elderly: With more senior citizens choosing to continue living at home, it is important to modify their homes to take into account the reduced abilities of the occupants, an expert says. (5/1/01)

Consumer Illiteracy: Consumers who are illiterate or unable to do math often choose what to buy based on the size of a container and trust clerks to provide the right change. (4/1/01)

Urban Planning: Urban sprawl is increasingly on the minds of urban planners, government officials and everyday people, but little is being done to address the problem, a study indicates. (4/1/01)

Natural Resources: With about $2.9 billion in sales, the "green industry" in Illinois has blossomed, surprisingly outdoing traditional agricultural front-runners corn and soybeans. (2/1/01)

ILLINOIS
Illinois Economy: Despite signs of a national slowdown, Illinois will have enough tax revenues this year to support its current budget without major tax increases or spending cuts. (2/1/01)

LAW
Gambling & the Law: Evidence that gambling has created "problem gamblers" makes the industry susceptible to class-action suits along the lines of state-initiated tobacco lawsuits. (12/1/01)

The Federal Bench: Judging the future actions of judges through the lens of "hot-button" political issues is not only unfair, it's not possible, a UI scholar told a U.S. Senate subcommittee. (10/1/01)

Judicial Conduct: A UI legal scholar says that a prohibition against judges talking to the media "should be absolute whether dealing with print or electronic media." (9/1/01)

Disability: Almost 10 percent of working adults with disabilities faced job discrimination in the early 1990s, despite protections of the Americans with Disability Act, two scholars say. (9/1/01)

Computers and the Law: The Internet has eliminated time, space and national borders but erected formidable legal hurdles that the law has been slow to address, two scholars argue. (7/1/01)

Artifacts and the Law: Rightful claim to historical artifacts should be based not on the area of their origin but on what a legal scholar calls the components of a common human culture. (7/1/01)

Fleeing From Debt: A legal scholar says the most intriguing question about the bankruptcy bills before Congress is how they'll address the loophole that allows debtors to keep their mansions. (4/1/01)

Legal Rights: Restricting the movement and freedom of students in the name of school safety is sending "the wrong message" to young people, a UI-trained legal scholar argues. (4/1/01)

Cyberstalkers: Rules should be developed by Internet service providers that prohibit cyberstalking and require users to supply verifiable identities and locations, an editor of the UI Law Review says. (3/1/01)

SOCIOLOGY
Child Welfare: A new Web-based learning environment gives beginning child-welfare caseworkers on-the-job training without the on-the-job risks, a UI professor of social work says. (11/1/01)

History: A book of essays honoring a historian of Victorian Britain examines many aspects of 19th and 20th century England, including "picture houses" and market halls. (7/1/01)

Cultural Icons: Oprah Winfrey is the subject of a new UI course that examines within the context of many social, cultural and economic factors, how she built her empire. (2/1/01)

TERRORISM
Attacks' Aftermath: Next semester, UI students will have the opportunity to explore topics such as homeland defense, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. (12/1/01)

Foreign Language: The UI's expanding Arabic language program now includes more than 100 students, and a Web-based language project, "Arabic-Online," is under development. (12/1/01)

The Muslim World: There is nothing in standard Islamic thought that allows terrorism or any attacks on non-combatants, a professor of religious studies at the UI says. (11/1/00)

Islamic Fundamentalism: Islamic fundamentalism is mainly a revolt of young people caught between a traditional past and a secular education with all its ramifications, a scholar says. (11/1/00)

War: The Sept. 11 attacks awakened America to the threat to the homeland, and, in addition, eliminated limits on what the United States will do to fight terrorism, a military historian says. (10/1/01)

September 11: Unionized labor, from ironworkers to seamen, have been at the forefront of rescue and cleanup efforts, a University of Illinois labor professor says. (10/1/01)

Architecture: The terrorist acts that destroyed the World Trade Center will not signal the end of skyscraper construction, a UI architecture professor says. (10/1/01)

Foreign Relations: Arms control, energy and diplomatic cooperation are among topics to be explored during an Oct. 13 UI forum that will examine U.S. relations with Russia. (10/1/01)

WORLD AFFAIRS
Argentina: At the root of ArgentinaÕs dire economic crisis is a political conflict that makes reaching a national consensus difficult, a UI economist says. (12/1/01)

Turkey: Inflation continues in Turkey because it has been around for so long that the public expects it -- to the tune of 50 to 100 percent a year, two scholars say. (12/1/01)

International Issues: A new program administered by the UIÕs International Programs and Studies unit aims to improve high school students' knowledge of international issues. (12/1/01)

Housing: Unless more is done to increase access to home ownership among women in Third World countries, the end result will be the "feminization of homelessness," a UI scholar says. (11/1/00)

The Muslim World: There is nothing in standard Islamic thought that allows terrorism or any attacks on non-combatants, a professor of religious studies at the UI says. (11/1/00)

Islamic Fundamentalism: Islamic fundamentalism is mainly a revolt of young people caught between a traditional past and a secular education with all its ramifications, a scholar says. (11/1/00)

Foreign Relations: Arms control, energy and diplomatic cooperation are among topics to be explored during an Oct. 13 UI forum that will examine U.S. relations with Russia. (10/1/01)

Travel Information: Tourism is the largest industry in the world, yet crucial parts of the industry have barely realized the potential of the Internet, a UI researcher says. (6/1/01)

International Affairs: A new UI program for visiting scholars from South Asia is aimed at building bridges between countries and encouraging collaborative relationships. (3/1/01)

World Poverty: A UI economist argues that land reform has had limited success as an economic tool and offers a "very indirect means" of political and social reform. (2/1/01)