The Ohio State University

onCampus

• Help
• Buckeye Link
• Map
• Find People
• Webmail
• Search

  Search Ohio State Go

With money scarce, USAC focuses on what it can accomplish without it

January 18, 2012

By Adam King

It’s the new reality: Money from the state isn’t as plentiful as it used to be and a struggling economy is doing a number on budgets. Groups at Ohio State, as they are everywhere else, are learning to do more with less.

University Staff Advisory Committee Chair Heather Link understands this, and it is affecting how USAC advocates for staff. It doesn’t mean staff priorities that require money are going to be forgotten, but the issues that can be affected without finding more funding are going to be moved to the forefront.

“Historically USAC has always asked and pushed for more,” Link said. “Some of those requests have gotten staff great things, such as the tuition benefit that allows a 75 percent discount if a student has two parents working at OSU. We were able to take survey data, define needs and ask for more, but that was back then.

“Moving forward in the current economic climate, we are not going to be able to get things that require a large capital investment anymore. This requires USAC to think differently.”

USAC revamped its structure last year, which reduced the number of committees and created a chair-elect position, allowing its members to engage at a higher level. As such, Link said USAC has been brainstorming potential partnerships that could enhance staff experience and leverage existing resources.

With the potential privatization of the university’s parking facilities, Link said it might be the ideal time to build upon the relationship Ohio State has with the Central Ohio Transit Authority. USAC wants to see if there is anything that can be changed to increase ridership and decrease the number of cars that are parked on campus.

“When you review the data, there is a scarce amount of carpooling to campus,” Link said. “The question we must then ask is how can we leverage our existing relationship with COTA to make it more affordable? Right now a monthly pass with COTA costs an individual $62 whereas an ‘A’ pass costs $60 per month. If COTA was a more attractive option, a lot of people that live fairly close to the university where the COTA routes are very reliable would utilize this resource. They would likely save time getting to work and decrease the numbers of cars on campus. But the relationship hasn’t flourished like it should.”

USAC also has discussed creative ways to increase staff use of the Recreation and Physical Activity Center to promote a culture of wellness and increase the USAC fund, which is used to fund Staff Career Development Grants.

It’s all just table-talk discussion at the moment, but Link said she hopes even more ideas come out when USAC for the first time hosts a series of focus groups — an online one for the regionals, three on the Columbus campus and three in the Med Center starting in mid-February and finishing in mid-March. Staff will be randomly selected to participate, and out of that, Link said, USAC will build a strategy to tackle issues most important to staff and present the findings to President Gordon Gee and senior leadership in May.

The focus groups will replace the staff compensation and benefits survey USAC has e-mailed out in recent years and will cover job satisfaction, tuition benefits and professional development/satisfaction with a supervisor.

“Surveys are very quantitative and give you a wealth of data to look at. But you have to think of context: Do you use the data or do you not use it?” Link said. “So the point of the focus groups is to complement the numbers, the qualitative side. This is an effort to understand the why and how did we get to the data that we have. We want to fill in  that back story and use the qualitative information to support our recommendations to President Gee.”

USAC also is working to engage regional and local Staff Advisory Committees throughout the university and is looking to create what Link calls a “USAC road show” on the Columbus campus in an effort to reach all college and VP units. Last year USAC visited all of the OSU regional campuses.

Hidden Benefits Fair coming in April

Faculty & Staff, 1/19/12

January 18, 2012

Books

Paul Granello, Physical Activity and Educational Services, Wellness Counseling, (Prentice Hall, 2011).

Rebecca Kantor and David Fernie, Teaching and Learning, coedited Educating Toddlers to Teachers: Learning to See and Influence the School and Peer Cultures of Classrooms, (Hampton Press, 2011), with
Samara Madrid.

Grants

Keith Gooch, Biomedical Engineering, received $294,000 from a National Science Foundation grant for “Collaborative Proposal: Active and Passive Mechanical Environments Interact to Regulate Cellular Structure and Function,” to support research on how cells respond to changes in their mechanical and cellular
environments.

James Gregory, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received a $150,000 Young Investigator Award from the Army Research Office for his research project, “Time-Varying Compressible Dynamic Stall Mechanisms Due to Freestream Mach Oscillations.” The study of compressible dynamic stall will help helicopter manufacturers design rotor blades that enable higher speed flight, and provide weight savings for next-generation helicopters.

Dee Jepsen, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received a $61,000 grant from USDA Smith Lever Special Needs for Emergency Planning and Preparedness Education for “Agritourism Enterprises.”

Gonul Kaletunc, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received a $499,953 grant from the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative for “Enhanced Stability and Targeted Delivery of Microencapsulated Anthocyanins for Improved Food Quality and Human Health,” with Mark Failla, Education and Human Ecology Research Office, Derek Hansford, Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, and Monica Giusti, Food Science and Technology.

Giorgio Rizzoni, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Center for Automotive Research, received a $907,026 grant from the US Department of Energy Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Initiative Award program to fund projects to prepare a new generation of engineers to lead system integration projects in the following areas related to energy-efficient vehicles: efficient energy conversion, advanced energy storage, lightweight body and chassis systems and vehicle systems control, including vehicle-grid and vehicle-infrastructure connectivity.

Presentations

Charles Atkinson, Musicology, presented “Einstimmigkeit: Cradle of (Western) Musical Creativity,” for the international symposium “Monodien: Paradigmen instrumental begleiteten Sologesangs im Mittelalter und Barock,” Basel, Switzerland, under the aegis of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Dec. 1-3; and “The Anonymous Vaticanus in speculo,“ at the Institut für Musikforschung of the Universität Würzburg, Germany, Dec. 8.

Susan Bandy, Physical Activity and Educational Services, presented “Contemporary Literary Treatments of the Female Athlete: Vulnerability or Failure,” at the annual conference of the Sport Literature Association, University of Maine, Me., June 28.

Ada Demb, Educational Policy and Leadership, presented “Beginning Again in Mid-Career,” at the annual conference of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), Denver, Colo., Oct. 3.

Jonathan Fox, Consumer Sciences, gave the closing keynote address, “Helping Clients Turn Wealth into Utility,” at the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors core competency meetings, Columbus, July 21 and 22.

Belinda Gimbert, Educational Policy and Leadership, and Rebecca Parker, Project KNOTtT, presented “Integrating Technology for Professional Learning in Urban Schools,” at the National Summit on Great Teachers for Our City Schools, Denver, Colo., April 27-29.

Josh Hawley, Workforce Development and Education and Glenn School, presented “Strategic Human Resource Development Policy,” to the Human Resource Development faculty, Seoul National University, South Korea; and“Government’s Role in Competency Development for Human Resource Development,” at the Ministry of Labor 2011 HRD conference, Summer 2011.

Mo Yee Lee, Social Work, presented “Offering Integrative Health/Mental Health Practices in the Classroom: Increasing Access and Practice,” at the 15th Council on Social Work Education annual program meeting, Faculty Development Institute, Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 27-30, with S. Tebb, M. Napoli and P. Leung.

Dana Renga, French and Italian, gave two invited talks, “Mafia Movies: A Roundtable,” with 8 contributing authors of her edited volume, at the Calandra Institute, Queens College, Dec. 5; and “Mafia Woman in a Man’s World: Roberta Torre’s Angela,” at the CUNY Graduate Center, New York, Dec. 6.

Publications

David Benfield, Food Animal Health Research Program and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, “Chapter 24: Porcine Adenoviruses,” with Richard Hesse, pp. 392-95, and “Chapter 31: Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (Porcine Arterivirus),” with. S. Zimmerman, D.A. Benfield, S.A. Dee, M.P. Murtaugh, T. Stadejek, G.W. Stevenson and M. Torremorell, pp.461-86, Diseases of Swine, Tenth Edition, Eds. J.J. Zimmerman et al., (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2012).

Tim Berra, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, “Low Genetic Diversity in Nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri (Perciformes: Kurtidae) and an Appraisal of Its Breeding System Using Microsatellite Loci,” The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Vol. 27 (2011), pp. 179-88, with J.A. Sommer, C. Li, J. Brozek, M.L. Bessert and G. Orti.

Terri Fisher, Psychology, “Sex on the Brain?: An Examination of Frequency of Sexual Cognitions as a Function of Gender, Erotophilia and Social Desirability,” Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 29 (2012) pp. 69-77, with Z.T. Moore and M. Pittenger.

Joseph Fiksel, Center for Resilience and Research and Integrated Systems Engineering, wrote “What is Sustainability?” on the National Association of Environmental Health and Safety Management website.

Charles Klopp, French and Italian, “Spazi femminili, spazi maschili, e spazi infantili nel Conservatorio di Santa Teresa di Romano Bilenchi,” Guida, Patrizia and Giovanna Scianatico, Eds. Saggi di letteratura italiana, (Lecce, Italy: PensaMultimedia, 2011) , pp. 253-61.

Rongxing (Ron) Li, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, presented “LASOIS: Enhancing the Spatial Orientation Capabilities of Astronauts on the Lunar Surface,” at the 8th symposium on the Role of the Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, Houston, Texas, April 8-10; and “Development of a Lunar Astronaut Spatial Orientation and Information System,” and the 18th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, Houston, Texas, April 11-15, both with Alper Yilmaz, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, and Shaojun He, Boris Skopljak, Xuelian Meng, Jinwei Jiang, M.S. Banks and C. Oman.

Mark Partridge, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, recently released a policy brief, “The Economic Value of Shale Natural Gas in Ohio.” Various news sources reference the study including The Plain Dealer, Dayton Daily News, Youngstown Vindicator, and a headline story by the Columbus Dispatch, with Amanda Weinstein.

Aaron Zimmerman, Optometry, “Optimizing Vision for Athletes: Performance and Protection,” Refractive Eyecare, Vol.15, No. 11 (November 2011), pp. 5-7.

Recognition

Jill Clark, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, received the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Staff Advisory Council Innovation Award.

Susan Robb Jones, Educational Policy and Leadership, is the recipient of the University of Maryland’s College of Education Award for Outstanding Scholar, which honors UM alumni who have made significant contributions to published research in their field.

Danielle Marx-Scouras, French and Italian, was elected to a five-year term (2012-2017) on the executive committee of the Division on Twentieth-Century French Literature of the Modern Language Association.

Usha Menon, Nursing, has joined the Ohio State College of Nursing as vice dean and professor. Menon most recently held an appointment at the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University where she was the Pamela Kidd Distinguished Researcher Professor, co-director of the T32: Training in Health Disparities Science program, and former director of the Southwest Consortium for Health Promotion and Behavior Change.

Jared Miner, Exercise Science, received a first place for his dissertation poster, “Family Medicine Physician Views of Physical Activity and Exercise Counseling and Prescription; Responsibilities and Barriers,” at the American Academy of Family Physicians meeting, September 2011.

John Volakis, ElectroScience Laboratory, received the 2011 Chen-To Tai Distinguished Educator Award from the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society. Volakis was commended for exemplary contributions as a teacher and mentor, and for advancing electromagnetic technology.

Jin Wang, Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the 2011 IEEE Power Electronics Society Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Award.

Service

Becky Cornett, Medical Center, has been selected to chair the planning committee for the Changing Healthcare Landscape Summit of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the scientific and professional association for over 160,000 members. Cornett has also been appointed chair of the Quality and Compliance Committee and a member of the Board of Directors Executive Committee of Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio.

Calendar, 1/19/12

January 18, 2012

Dance

Jan. 19, A Screening of Contemporary Dance Films featuring Eric Nordstrom’s MFA, 7 p.m., Gateway Film Center, 1550 N. High St., $5 admission, 292-7977.

Events

Jan. 19, Monthly Anime Adventure, 6-8 p.m., OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., free and open to all, 292-8861.

Jan. 19, Department of English, Visiting Writers Reading Series: Jon Chopan, 7 p.m., 311 Denney Hall, 164 W. 17th Ave., 292-6065.

Jan. 19, University Libraries Read Aloud Program, Diane Kinser from Columbus State Community College will read excerpts from her “Black Diamond” trilogy, 3-4 p.m., 202 Thompson Library, 1858 Neil Ave., 292-3955.

Fireside Chat – The Future of Cancer Care
Jan. 19

Join Michael Caligiuri, director, Comprehensive Cancer Center, and CEO, James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, for an informative presentation about the future of cancer research, prevention and treatment from 6-8 p.m. at the Fawcett Center. Free for adult cancer survivors and their caregivers. To register, contact JamesCare for Life at 293-6428 or visit cancer.osu.edu/go/support.

Jan. 24, OSU Department of Plastic Surgery, free seminar on cosmetic surgery, 6-7 p.m., Eye and Ear Institute, 2nd Floor, 915 Olentangy River Road, light refreshments served, registration required, plasticsurgeryinfo@osumc.edu.

Jan. 26, University Libraries Read Aloud Program, Beverley Ervine, Jennifer Hambrick, Boyce Lancaster and Christopher Purdy of the WOSU Classical 101 staff will read music-related writings, 3-4 p.m., 202 Thompson Library, 1858 Neil Ave., 292-3955.

Jan. 27, Office of International Affairs, “Taste of OSU 2012,” 5-9 p.m., Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., free and open to all, must purchase $1 ticket to sample foods (cash and BuckID only), oia.osu.edu.

Jan. 31, Right Now Reading with Available Light Theatre, “Clybourne” by Bruce Norris, 7:30 p.m., OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., free and open to all, donations accepted, 292-8861.

Feb. 2, Paging Columbus! with Hannah Stephenson, 6-8 p.m., OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., contact hannahjstephenson@gmail.com for more information.

Feb. 2, University Libraries Read Aloud Program, Kathy Northern of the OSU College of Law and a few Columbus Public School students in the Law and Leadership Program will present readings honoring Black History, 3-4 p.m., 202 Thompson Library, 1858 Neil Ave., 292-3955.

Exhibits

Through Jan. 26, “Recent Arrivals: Department of Art First-Year Graduate Students,” Swing Space Gallery, 1556 N. High St., art.osu.edu.

Through Feb. 3, “Homesakes: Works by Amy Powell and Daniel Pritchard,” reception 4-6 p.m. Feb. 1, Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery, Morrill Hall, Ohio State Marion, 1465 Mt. Vernon Ave., 740-389-6786.

Through Feb. 4, On View, “Good Design in Hard Times,” reception 6-8 p.m. Jan. 28, OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., 292-8861.

Through Feb. 10, On View, “Bright, Black and Veiled,” reception 6-8 p.m. Jan. 28, OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., 292-8861.

Through Feb. 24, “Family Matters,” Barbara Vogel and Eileen Woods, Faculty Club, 181 S. Oval Drive, ohiostatefacultyclub.com or 292-2262.

Through March 3, On View, “Object/Imprint,” reception 6-8 p.m. Jan. 28, OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., 292-8861.

Through March 24, On View, “Tracing Lines Project,” reception 6-8 p.m. Jan. 28, OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W. Town St., 292-8861.

Through April 29, “Year of Shakespeare: The Exhibit,” Thompson Library 1st Floor Gallery, 1858 Neil Ave. Mall, asc.osu.edu/events.

Jan. 19-March 2, “CONFLUX: Celebrating the Intersection of Art, Science and Technology,” reception 5-8 p.m. Jan. 19, gallery hours, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m., Mon.-Fri., Pearl Conard Art Gallery, Ovalwood Hall, Ohio State Mansfield, 1760 University Drive, (419) 755-4127.

Feb. 2-23, “20th Annual Fergus Scholarship Awards,” Swing Space Gallery, 1556 N. High St., art.osu.edu.

Film

Jan. 25, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Film Series: Winter 2012, Japanese Film: Portraits and Landscapes (English subtitles), “Gate of Hell (Jigokumon)” (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1953), 7:30 p.m., 147 University Hall, 230 N. Oval Mall, free pizza and pop, free and open to the public, 292-7495.

Lectures

Jan. 19, Department of Chemistry, Biological Division Seminar Speaker, Isaac Carrico, SUNY at Stony Brook, 12:30 p.m., 2015 McPherson Lab, 140 W. 18th Ave., 292-2251.

Jan. 19, Department of Psychology Colloquium, Steven Heine, University of British Columbia, 4 p.m., 035 Psychology Building, 1835 Neil Ave., psy.ohio-state.edu.

Jan. 19, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, National Security Speaker Series, “Interrogation, the Law and Ethics: When to Say No,” Glenn Carle, Central Intelligence Agency, noon, Mershon Center, 1501 Neil Ave., RSVP to powers.108@osu.edu.

Jan. 19, Department of Astronomy, “Constraints on the Birth Environment of the Solar System,” Fred Adams, University of Michigan, 3:30 p.m., 2015 McPherson Lab, 140 W. 18th Ave., 292-1773.

Jan. 19, School of Earth Sciences, “Petrologic Clocks: Microscopic Chemical and Isotopic Behavior Put to Good Use,” David Cole, Ohio State, 4 p.m., 291 Mendenhall Lab, 125 South Oval Mall, 292-2721.

Jan. 20, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies 2011-12 Lecture Series: Mapping Minds, Bodies and Worlds, “Mapping the Material Girl in the Household Manuals of Early Modern Japan: Searching for a Catechism of Consumption,” Mary Elizabeth Berry, University of California-Berkeley, 2:30 p.m., 090 Science and Engineering Library, 175 W. 18th Ave., cmrs.osu.edu or 292-7495.

Jan. 23, Mathematical Biosciences Institute, Colloquium Series, “Statistical Approaches to Combining Models and Observations,” Mark Berliner, 2:30-3:30 p.m., 355 Jennings Hall, 1735 Neil Ave., mbi.osu.edu/seminars/current_colloquia.html.

Jan. 24, Department of Physics, Finn Larsen, University of Michigan, 4 p.m., 1080 Physics Research Building, 191 W. Woodruff Ave., 292-5713.

Jan. 25, Humanities Institute, Neighborhood Institute Working Group, “Urbanism Before Columbus: Cahokia, Sunwatch, Newark,” Lucy Murphy and Dick Shiels, OSU Newark Earthworks Center, 3:30 p.m., Knight House, 104 E. 15th Ave., lantz.38@osu.edu.

Jan. 25, Knowlton School of Architecture KSA Lecture Series, “Winter + Spring 2012: Practice,” Bernadette Hanlon, 5:30 p.m., Knowlton Hall Auditorium, 275 W. Woodruff Ave., knowlton.osu.edu or 292-1012.

Immigration conversation: Citizenship’s changing face
Jan. 26

As part of the year-long A Conversation on Immigration, Susan Bibler Coutin, professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Anthropology at the University of California-Irvine, will present “The Changing Face of Citizenship” from
3-5 p.m. in 165 Thompson Library. Coutin is the author of Nations of Emigrants: Shifting Boundaries of Citizenship in El Salvador and the United States (2007), Legalizing Moves: Salvadoran Immigrants’ Struggle for US Residency (2000) and The Culture of Protest: Religious Activism and the US Sanctuary Movement (1993).

Coutin’s presentation will be followed by three 10-minute presentations by OSU’s Comparative Studies faculty: Nina Berman, Leo Coleman and Theresa Delgadillo.

Jan. 26, Department of Geography, Colloquium Guest Scholar, Aaron Wolf, Oregon State University, 3:30 p.m., 1080 Derby Hall, 154 North Oval Mall, 292-2514.

Jan. 26, Department of Astronomy, Phil Hopkins, University of California-Berkeley, 3:30 p.m., 2015 McPherson Lab, 140 W. 18th Ave., 292-1773.

Jan. 27, Department of English, “Ohio Seminar in Early American History and Culture,” Mary Kelley, University of Michigan, 4 p.m., 168 Dulles Hall, 230 W. 17th Ave., 292-6065.

Jan. 28, Department of History, “Clio Society: Dangerous Aesthetics: The Fascist and Nazi Appeal to Emotion,” 10 a.m.-noon, Suzanne M. Scharer Room, Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., stanley.3@osu.edu.

Jan. 31, Department of Physics, “The Physics of Football,” Timothy Gay, University of Nebraska, 4 p.m., 1080 Physics Research Building, 191 W. Woodruff Ave., 292-5713.

Feb. 1, Knowlton School of Architecture KSA Lecture Series, “Winter + Spring 2012: Practice,” Ignacio Bunster-Ossa of WRT, 5:30 p.m., Knowlton Hall Auditorium, 275 W. Woodruff Ave., knowlton.osu.edu or 292-1012.

Feb. 1, Department of History, “The Idea of a University in a Time of Crisis: The Last Professors,” 3:30-5 p.m., 207 Dulles Hall, 230 W. 17th Ave., stanley.3@osu.edu.

Feb. 2, Melton Center for Jewish Studies, “An Israeli Photojournalist in the Hassidic Court: Inside the World of Today’s Hassidim,” Gil Cohen-Magen, 7 p.m., Columbus Jewish Community Center, 1125 College Ave., free, 292-0967.

Feb. 2, Department of English, “Performing Racial Flexibility in the ‘Post’ Media World,” Isabel Molina-Guzman, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, 3:30 p.m., Multicultural Center, Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., 292-6065.

Feb. 2, Education Abroad Discussion Series, “Undergraduate Student Exchanges,” Mari Noda, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures; Paul Nini, Department of Design; Melissa Torres, Fisher College of Business International Programs Office, noon-1 p.m., 156 University Hall, 230 N. Oval Mall.

Feb. 23, College of Social Work, Annual Robert J. O’Leary Memorial Lecture, “Seek Justice,” Justice Yvette McGee Brown, Ohio Supreme Court, 6 p.m., Fawcett Center Auditorium, 2400 Olentangy River Road, event is free and open to the public, csw.osu.edu/research/oleary, contact Lauren Haas-Gehres at 247-7385 or haas-gehres.1@osu.edu.

Meetings

Jan. 19, YP4H Educational Program Classes, “Beginning Meditation Class,” 5:30-6 p.m., 168 Newton Hall, 1585 Neil Ave., wear comfortable shoes and clothing, registration required, osuhealthplan.com/educationalprogramming/YP4H or 292-1894.

Jan. 20, Veterans Lunch Series, open to all Ohio State faculty, staff, alumni and students, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Rooms A-D, Faculty Club, reservation required, free, contact forrest.73@osu.edu or 292-7047.

Jan. 24, Feb. 28, March 20, YP4H Educational Program Classes, “Stress Taming: Focused Wellness,” 5-6 p.m., Suite 410, 700 Ackerman Road, registration required, osuhealthplan.com/educationalprogramming/YP4H or 292-1894.

Jan. 26, Fellowship of Christian Faculty and Staff luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Junior Colleagues Room, Faculty Club, 181 S. Oval Drive, reservation required, fcfs-osu.org/luncheons.html.

Jan. 26, YP4H Educational Program Classes, “Beginning Meditation Class,” 5:30-6 p.m., 4045 McPherson Lab, 140 W. 18th Ave., wear comfortable shoes and clothing, registration required, osuhealthplan.com/educationalprogramming/YP4H or 292-1894.

Jan. 30, YP4H Educational Program Classes, “Build Your Own Boot Camp,” 5-5:45 p.m., Room 143, School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, 305 W. 17th Ave., wear comfortable shoes and clothing, registration required, osuhealthplan.com/educationalprogramming/YP4H or 292-1894.

Music

Jan. 27, Pop a Cappella Concert, 7:30 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Feb. 1, Symphony Orchestra, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Feb. 2, Wind Symphony, 8 p.m., Weigel Auditorium, 1866 College Road, admission, 247-7036.

Schottenstein

Jan. 19, OSU Women’s Basketball vs. Nebraska, 6 p.m., Value City Arena, Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Drive, admission, schottensteincenter.com or ticketmaster.com.

Jan. 20-21, OSU Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Ferris State, 7 p.m. both days, Value City Arena, Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Drive, admission, schottensteincenter.com or ticketmaster.com.

Jan. 22, OSU Women’s Basketball vs. Illinois, 2 p.m., Value City Arena, Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Drive, admission, schottensteincenter.com or ticketmaster.com.

Jan. 25, OSU Men’s Basketball vs. Penn State, 6:30 p.m., Value City Arena, Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Drive, admission, schottensteincenter.com or ticketmaster.com.

Jan. 28, “Winter Jam,” 6 p.m., Value City Arena, Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Drive, $10 admission at the door, schottensteincenter.com.

Jan. 29, OSU Men’s Basketball vs. Michigan, 1 p.m., Value City Arena, Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Drive, admission, schottensteincenter.com or ticketmaster.com.

Theater

Feb. 2-5, 9-11, Department of Theatre, “Matchmaker” and “Real Women Have Curves,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2-4 and 9-11, 3 p.m. Feb. 5, Thurber Theatre, Drake Performance Center, 1849 Cannon Drive, admission, 292-2295.

Training

Jan. 18-19, Financial Training and Documentation, “Debits and Credits,” 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. both days, 231 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.ohio-state.edu/hrfin/trainingregistration.html.

Jan. 19, Management Advancement for the Public Service, “Creativity: Shifting Your Mind, Finding Your Possibilities,” 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, admission for non-members, registration required, glennschool.osu.edu or 292-3242.

Jan. 19, Office of Research, “Proposal Development and Submission,” noon-1 p.m., 200 Bricker Hall, 190 North Oval Mall, registration required, go.osu.edu/ORtraining.

Jan. 20, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, “Facilitating Classroom Discussion,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 150 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required, ucat.osu.edu.

Learn to program in Ruby
Jan. 20

Join the OCIO’s Digital Union and Paul Cook from the Office of Geriatrics and Gerontology at 9:30 a.m. in 060 Science and Engineering Library for a beginner-level introduction to the Ruby programming language. Follow a step-by-step tutorial that will teach you some basic constructs of computer programming and introduce you to the Ruby language syntax.

To register, visit https://registration.it.ohio-state.edu/node/434.

Jan. 23-24, Organization and HR Consulting, “Culture Shaping and Life Effectiveness,” 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. both days, Office of Human Resources, Suite 430, 1590 N. High St., registration required (two-day commitment), hr.osu.edu/training.

Jan. 24, College of Social Work Training, “A Better Understanding of the Grieving Process for Children and Teenagers,” 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 115 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, earn 6 CEU clock hours, open to the public, visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar for description and registration.

Jan. 24, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, “Getting the Most Out of Your International Teacher,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 150 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required, ucat.osu.edu.

Jan. 24-25, Financial Training and Documentation, “The Reconciliation Process,” 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. both days, 231 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.ohio-state.edu/hrfin/trainingregistration.html.

Manage emotions to improve relationships
Jan. 25

Emotional Intelligence and Diversity: Leadership Competencies for Competitive Advantage provides a proven skills-based strategy to help people manage their emotions effectively. Emotions drive behavior, and when people don’t know how to manage them, the results are wasteful at best and tragic at worst.

This interactive session will help participants:

• Develop the ability to deal with differences, ambiguity and change.

• Understand the “whys” behind others’ personal and professional behavior.

• Identify practical tools and methods for building productive relationships with all stakeholders.

The program is from 4-5:30 p.m. at 214 Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Kathy Lechman at 247-7176 or lechman.1@osu.edu.

Jan. 25, College of Social Work Training, “External Listening,” 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m., 115 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, earn 3 CEU clock hours, open to the public, visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar for description and registration.

Jan. 25-26, Human Resources Training, “Hire an Employee,” 1-5 p.m. both days, 112A Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.osu.edu/hrfin/hrschedule/html.

Jan. 25, Feb. 1 and 8, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, “Course Design Institute,” noon-3 p.m., 300 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required, ucat.osu.edu.

Jan. 27, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, “Developing Effective Presentation Skills,” 11:30 a.m.-
1 p.m., 150 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required, ucat.osu.edu.

Jan. 31, Human Resources Training, “Time and Leave,” 1-5 p.m., 112A Mount Hall,
1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.osu.edu/hrfin/hrschedule/html.

Feb. 1, College of Social Work Training, “BioETHICS,” 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m., 115 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, earn 3 CEU clock hours, open to the public, visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar for description and registration.

Feb. 2-3, Financial Training and Documentation, “The Procurement and Payment Process,” 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. both days, 231 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, registration required, oit.ohio-state.edu/hrfin/trainingregistration.html.

Feb. 2, 9, 16, 23, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, “Teaching Today’s Student Veterans: A Reading Group,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 300 Younkin Success Center, 1640 Neil Ave., registration required, ucat.osu.edu.

Feb. 3, College of Social Work Training, “Clinical Skill Building for Social Work with Latino Families,” 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m.,
115 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, earn
3 CEU clock hours, open to the public, visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar for description and registration.

Feb. 22, College of Social Work Training, “Empowering Male Survivors to Thrive in the Aftermath of Recent Sexual Abuse Scandals,” 1-4 p.m., Ohio Union Grand Ballroom, 1739 N. High St., earn 3 CEU clock hours, open to the public, visit csw.osu.edu/trainingforprofessionals/trainingcalendar for description and registration.

Wexner

Through Jan. 27, Wex at Gateway,
“Le Havre” (Aki Kaurismaki, 2011), visit wexarts.org for screening times, Gateway Film Center, 1550 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Through Jan. 31, The Box, “Chevelle” (Kevin Jerome Everson, 2011), Mon.-Wed.
9 a.m.-6 p.m., Thu.-Fri. 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat.
10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., The Box is located across from the Wexner Center Store, 1871 N. High St., free, 292-3535.

Jan. 19, Cinema Latino, Film Studies Lecture, Laura Podalsky, 4 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., free, 292-3535.

Jan. 19, New Worlds: Immigration on Film, “Man Push Cart” (Ramin Bahrani, 2005),
7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 19-22, onStage, “El Pasado es un Animal Grotesco (The Past is a Grotesque Animal),” Mariano Pensotti, 8 p.m. Jan. 19-21, 2 p.m. Jan. 22, Black Box on Mershon Stage, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 20-21, Cinema Latino, “Granito: How to Nail a Dictator” (Pamela Yates, 2011, USA), 7 p.m. Jan. 20, 4 p.m. Jan. 21, Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 21, inSight, Especially for Teens and Tweens, Wex Lab: Object Animation/Claymation! with Rachel Smith Althof,
11 a.m.-4 p.m., Performance Space, 1871 N. High St., free, 292-3535.

Jan. 21, Contemporary Screen, “Silent Souls” (Aleksei Fedorchenko, 2010), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 24, Film History 101, New 35mm Prints, “Weekend” (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 25, Cinema Latino, “The Invisible Eye” (Diego Lerman, 2010, Argentina), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 25, 28, Cinema Latino, “Santo the Silver Mask vs. the Martian Invasion” (Alberto B. Crevenna, 1966, Mexico),
8:45 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 26, New Worlds: Immigration on Film, “Lamerica” (Gianni Amelio, 1994), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 27, Exhibitions on View Opening Celebrations, galleries open at 4 p.m., talk by Carol S. Eliel at 5 p.m., public reception from 6-9 p.m., Galleries, Film/Video Theater and Cafe, 1871 N. High St., 292-3535.

Jan. 28, Cinema Latino, “Chico and Rita” (Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, 2010, Spain), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Jan. 28-April 15, Exhibitions on View, “Cubes and Anarchy” (David Smith), Wexner Center Galleries, 1871 N. High St., admission (free to visitors the first Sunday of the month and every Thursday after 4 p.m.), 292-3535.

Jan. 28-April 15, Exhibitions on View, “Points on a Line” (Sarah Morris), Wexner Center Galleries, 1871 N. High St., admission (free to visitors the first Sunday of the month and every Thursday after 4 p.m.), 292-3535.

Jan. 28-July 1, Exhibitions on View, Ernst Caramelle, Wexner Center Lower Lobby, 1871 N. High St., admission (free to visitors the first Sunday of the month and every Thursday after 4 p.m.), 292-3535.

Feb. 1-29, The Box, “Solar Breath (Northern Caryatids)” (Michael Snow, 2002), Mon.-Wed. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Thu.-Fri. 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., The Box is located across from the Wexner Center Store, 1871 N. High St., free, 292-3535.

Feb. 2, Contemporary Screen, “House of Pleasures” (Bertrand Bonello, 2011), 7 p.m., Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St., admission, 292-3535.

Chandran Kalyanam, Clinical Psychiatry

January 18, 2012

Chandran Kalyanam is an assistant professor of Clinical Psychiatry and the medical director, Electroconvulsive Therapy.

What are your five favorite books and why?

Among many favorites, these come to mind now:

My Antonia by Willa Cather. I enjoyed the story itself, the writing style and learning about the Plains states in yesteryear. If I knew that my then-girlfriend did not share my view of this fine book, she might not have become my wife.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. The power of his magnum opus and the metaphor of “invisibility” still amaze me. Attesting to his skill as a writer, Ellison accomplished a significant feat in keeping the narrator anonymous throughout this substantial book.

Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I love Hardy’s ability to develop characters and immerse the reader into the setting. When Somerset Maugham read Tess, he concluded that he must marry a milkmaid.

Swami and Friends by R.K. Narayan. No one has portrayed traditional South Indian life in such a gentle, witty and engaging manner. Thank God that Graham Greene saw Narayan’s promise and advocated a wider publication.

Burmese Days by George Orwell. Although Animal Farm and 1984 are more popular, this book deserves attention. Orwell was unique in championing the individual facing larger oppressive systems, including imperialism and Big Brother.

What is the last book you’ve bought?

A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam. A fascinating book about desire and sexuality, based on actual data from the Internet. An excellent companion to Christopher Ryan’s Sex at Dawn, also an academically informed book about the history of sex.

What “important book” have you not read and why haven’t you read it?

From the 20th century, I would love to take on the triumvirate thick books of Joyce’s Ulysses, Musil’s The Man Without Qualities and Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past. I lack that leisure of mind and time right now.

What classic novel disappointed you?

I am highly indebted to Pierre Ryckmans (pen name, Simon Leys) who observed rightly that reading for pleasure should be for pleasure and not all books are for all people. That gave me permission to abandon books that just don’t work for me now, contrasting mandated reading for class. I loved many books that I read in class, but not all.

Guoqing Li, Chinese Studies Librarian

January 18, 2012

When is the Chinese New Year celebrated?

Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with
the Lantern Festival, which is on the 15th day. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the “Lunar New Year.”

For 2012, the festival begins on Jan. 23.

Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and observed in a number of countries and territories where a sizable Chinese population resides. In mainland China, the public holiday is seven days in total, including New Year’s Eve, the first two days and two weekends.

The Chinese communities in Columbus have celebrated this holiday for many years. Chinese Culture Link and Ohio Contemporary Chinese School along with more than 10 other organizations successfully had their fourth Ohio Chinese Festival at Westerville Central High School on Feb. 12. It was a family-friendly event with many forms of high-quality Chinese art performances, cultural exhibitions and demonstrations.

The 2012 Ohio Chinese Festival will be held at the same place on Feb. 4. The Chinese Students and Scholars Society at OSU also will have its 2012 Chinese Spring Festival Celebration Party on Jan. 21.

Why is this an important celebration in Chinese culture?

Chinese New Year is the most important social and economic holiday for the Chinese. Traditionally, the holiday was a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It also was a time to bring family together for feasting.

Even with the popular adoption in China of the Western calendar in 1912, the Chinese continue to celebrate the traditional Chinese New Year, although in a shorter version with a new name — the Spring Festival.

Younger generations of Chinese now observe the holiday in a very different manner from their ancestors. For some young people, the holiday has evolved from an opportunity to renew family ties to a chance for relaxation from work.

What are some traditional practices of the Chinese New Year?

It is full of rich and colorful activities. Starting from the 23rd day of the previous lunar month, every family does a thorough house cleaning and purchases enough food for the festival period. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children.

Red scrolls with complementary poetic couplets are pasted at every gate. The Chinese character “Fu” is pasted on the center of the door and paper-cut pictures adorn windows.

Then there is the Chinese New Year’s Eve, a day when Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, also known as Chú Xī or “Eve of the Passing Year.” Regarded as the most exciting event, especially to children during the festival, firecrackers are set off to bid farewell to the past year and welcome the New Year.

The indispensable food served during spring festival is the dumplings (Jiaozi).

On the first day of the festival in ancient times, younger people had to salute the elderly by kowtowing; today they salute them by offering good wishes. During the holiday period, people also pay New Year visits to their relatives and friends as a special way to express good wishes.

Giving the neighborhood a lift

January 4, 2012

By Jeff McCallister

It may come as a surprise to some people that Debra Sampson built up a good part of her 100 hours of “sweat equity” in her new Habitat for Humanity house working on the bathrooms.

After all, the six-year employee in OSU’s Facilities Operations and Development spends almost all of her third-shift hours cleaning the bathrooms in Dreese Laboratories. Seems like she might have wanted to put a little more separation between her work and home lives.

But that’s just not her way of thinking.

Continue reading ‘Giving the neighborhood a lift’

Faculty & Staff, 1/5/12

January 4, 2012

Books

Ben McCorkle, English, Rhetorical Delivery as Technological Discourse: A Cross-Historical Study (Carbondale and Edwardsville, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 2012).

Kathryn Plank, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy (Sterling, Va.: Stylus Publishing, 2011).

Grants

Jill Clark, Agricultural Environmental and Development Economics and Center for Farmland Policy Innovation, has been awarded six grants to support community-based agricultural economic development planning projects in Ohio.

Belinda Gimbert, Educational Policy and Leadership, and Rebecca Parker, Center on Education and Training for Employment, were awarded a $10.3 million federal grant for KNOTtT 3.0 to prepare 1,100 college graduates and professionals to teach in high-need schools.

Traci Lepicki and Robert Mahlman, Center on Education and Training for Employment, received $23,064 to continue the Adult Basic Literacy Education Link (ABLELink) online conversion. The ABLELink site offers support and resources for individuals in post-secondary education, training and employment.

Carol Miller, Family and Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension, Top of Ohio, received $4,000 from the Marriage Resource Center of the Miami Valley project to provide money management education.

Presentations

Doug Haddix, Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism, presented hands-on Microsoft Access database training, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tenn., Oct. 21-23; and “Social Media for Journalists” and “Web for Watchdogs,” at Ryerson University, Toronto, during a Better Watchdog Workshop by Investigative Reporters and Editors, Nov. 5.

Sarah-Grace Heller, French and Italian,  presented “Georges Bernanos’ Journal d’un curé de campagne in its Contexts,” for the Friday Morning Series, St. Thomas More Newman Center, Nov. 4.

Rosemarie Jackson, International Affairs, presented “Exchange Visitor Advising Dilemmas” and “Changes in H-1B Regulations,” at the NAFSA: Association of International Educators regional conference, Louisville, Ky., Nov. 7.

Tomas Koontz, Environment and Natural Resources, presented “Top-down and Bottom-up Collaboration: Implementing Collaborative Watershed Management in Lower Saxony and Ohio,” at the symposium “The Limits of Collaborative Approaches to Environmental Governance: A Critical and Comparative Analysis,” the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Brisbane, Australia, via Skype, Dec. 19.

Mo Yee Lee, Social Work, presented “Offering Integrative Health/Mental Health Practices in the Classroom: Increasing Access and Practice,” with S. Tebb, M. Napoli and P. Leung, and “Re-envisioning Curriculum in the Context of 2008 EPAS: A Community Collaborative Approach,” with Tom Gregoire, Tamara Davis, Jennie Babcock and Lisa Durham, Social Work,  at the 15th annual Council on Social Work Education annual program meeting, Faculty Development Institute, Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 27-30.

Eric McConnell, Environment and Natural Resources, presented ”The Economic Impact of Ohio’s Forest Products Industry” and ”Asian Longhorned Beetle Basics,” at the Ohio Valley Lumber Drying Association Fall Meeting, Clarksville, Ind., Nov. 17.

Richard Morman, University Police, presented on best security practices for large stadiums, at the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance “Campus Security Roundtable.” Law Enforcement administrators from 10 universities that have large stadiums were invited to attend the roundtable.

Mark Partridge, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, presented “Dwindling US Internal Migration: Evidence of a Spatial Equilibrium?” at the Rochester Institute of Technology, N.Y., Oct. 27.

David Rigney, Materials Science and Engineering, presented “Tribomaterial – a Key to Understanding and Controlling Friction and Wear,” at Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan, Oct. 24, at the international Tribology Conference, ITC 2011, Hiroshima, Japan, Oct. 31 and at the Institute for Metals Research, Shenyang, China, Nov. 7; “Tribochemistry and Tribomaterial”, at Tribochemistry Hagi 2011, Hagi, Japan, Oct. 26; “Comparisons of the Results of Experiments and MD Simulations of Sliding,” at the Tribology Simulation Symposium, ITC 2011, Hiroshima, Japan, Nov. 1; and was invited to speak on behalf of the international participants of ITC 2011 at an all-conference gathering on Nov. 2.

Brian Roe, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, presented “Comparing the Risk Attitudes of US and German Farmers,” with Greg Howard, at the 2011 European Association of Agricultural Economists Congress, Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 31.

Roger Williams, Environment and Natural Resources, presented an invited paper entitled ”Feasibility of Using Plantations, Logging Residues and Wood Wastes for Bioenergy – Cost and Scale Considerations,” at the BIT’s 1st annual World Congress on Environmental Bio-Technology, Dalian World EXPO Center, China, Oct. 19-22.

Carl Zulauf, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, was a presenter at the Farm Foundation Forum, at the National Press Club, Washington, DC, Oct. 11.

Publications

John Bowzer, Konrad Dabrowski, Marta Jaroszewska, Kyle Ware and Karolina Kwasek, Environment and Natural Resources, “Evaluation of the Viability and Growth of Walleye Embryos and Larvae after Antiviral Iodine Treatment,” North American Journal of Aquaculture,
Vol. 73, No. 4 (2011), pp. 383-92.

J.T. Campbell, T.M. Koontz and J.E. Bonnell, Environment and Natural Resources, “Does Collaboration Promote Grass-roots Behavior Change? Farmer Adoption of Best Management Practices in Two Watersheds,” Society and Natural Resources, Vol. 24, No. 11 (2011), pp. 1127-41.

Becky Cornett and Tina Latimer, Medical Center, “Managing Hospital Readmissions:  An Overview of the Issues,” Journal of Health Care Compliance, Vol. 13, No. 6,  pp. 5-14.

Charles Klopp, French and Italian,  “Workshops of Creation, Filthy and Not: Collodi’s Pinocchio and Shelley’s Frankenstein,” Pinocchio, Puppets and Modernity: The Mechanical Body, ed. Katia Pizzi (London: Routledge, 2011), pp. 63-73.

Richard Meyer, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, emeritus,  “Subsidies as an Instrument in Agricultural Finance: A Review,” a joint discussion paper with The World Bank, German Federal Ministry Of Economic Cooperation And Development, Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, German Agency For International Cooperation, International Fund For Agriculture Development and the United Nations Capital Development Fund,
June 2011.

Stan Thompson, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics,  “Structural Change in European Calf Markets: Decoupling and the Blue Tongue Disease,” European Review of Agricultural Economics (2011), with Rico Ihle and Bernhard Brummer.

Roger Williams and Yuhua Tao, Environment and Natural Resources, “A Carbon Management Diagram for Oak-Hickory Forests in Southern Ohio,” Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, Vol. 28, No. 3 (2011), pp. 161-65.

Recognition

Martha Belury, Human Nutrition, was recognized in the Ohio State Alumni Magazine November-December 2011, for her role as co-author of a study that suggests that omega-3 reduces anxiety and inflammation, particularly in elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases.

Evelina Guirado Caceres, Center for Microbial Interface Biology, received a renewal for the Senior Research Training Fellowship award for her work titled “Looking for New Targets of Attack on an Old Dangerous Bug,” from the American Lung Association Research Awards Nationwide, 2011-12.

Janet Ciccone, Education and Human Ecology Advancement, received a Gold award and Honorable Mention for “Success for All Readers” and “No More Food Fights” at the 2011 MarCom international competition.

Harvey Graff, English, was a guest of the students and faculty in the School of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Arlington, Dec. 5-6. He participated in several events organized around his 2008 book, The Dallas Myth: The Making and Unmaking of an American City, the urban programs’ and graduate students’ book of the year.

Elena Irwin, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, has been appointed to the National Research Council Committee on Needs and Research Requirements for Land-Change Modeling.

Gemma McLuckie, Education and Human Ecology Advancement, received a Gold Award for “Peer Pressure” at the 2011 MarCom international competition.

Doug Southgate, Agricultral, Environmental and Development Economics, will serve as co-director of Ohio’s developing shale energy industry OSU Subsurface Energy Resource Center.

Michael Brandl, Fisher College of Business

January 4, 2012

What is the payroll tax?

In December 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act, which extended for one year the reduction in FICA payroll tax that began under the American Reform and Recovery Act of 2009, also known as “the stimulus bill.” Are you confused yet? You are not alone.

Here is the basic idea: The FICA tax (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) is a federal tax imposed on payrolls in order to fund Social Security and Medicare. Up until 2009, employers paid a tax of 6.2 percent of gross income on about the first $100,000 of income, while employees also paid a tax of 6.2 percent subject to the same cap. Funding of Medicare works the same way — employers paid a tax of 1.45 percent on income paid and employees also pay a tax of 1.45 percent, but there is on cap on Medicare earnings.

What is the use of a payroll tax in the economy?

The 2009 act temporarily reduced the employee Social Security tax rate to 4.2 percent down from the 6.2 percent rate. The goal of reducing the payroll tax paid by employees was to give employees more after-tax or tax-home pay. It was hoped that households would use this “extra” income to buy more goods and services and thus help to invigorate a morbid economy. Remember consumer spending makes up roughly 70 percent of the US economy — thus getting consumers to spend more is seen as an important step in getting the economy moving again.

But the temporary payroll tax reduction was set to expire at the end of the year unless it was extended by Congress and signed by the president. After a bitter partisan battle, the reduction has now been extended for another two months, setting up another round of debate in Congress at the end of February.

What are the disagreements over the use of a payroll tax?

The basic disagreement is over how to “pay” for the payroll tax reduction and how long it would last. The Senate wanted to pay for a one-year extension in the payroll tax cut by imposing a 1.9 percent surtax on incomes more than $1 million and increased fees on mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The House GOP members at first also wanted a one-year extension but they wanted it “paid for” with reductions in government spending, including reducing the number of federal government employees.

Due to the deep divisions in how to pay for a year-long extension, Congress finally agreed to the two-month extension that will be paid for by higher fees on government-guaranteed mortgages. So, the idea is during the next two months the Democrat-controlled Senate and GOP-controlled House can work out a longer payroll tax extension. If they cannot, payroll taxes will increase (by about $80 a month for an average family making $50,000 a year) and some fear this will reduce consumer spending and potentially push the economy back into a recession.

Other economists wonder if all of this talk about temporarily boosting consumer spending isn’t a case of focusing on the symptoms of the problems and not the causes of it. For example, economists have long worried about the misaligned incentives in our financial system, tax code and currency markets. It is these misaligned incentives that many economists see as the main cause of the global financial crisis that started in 2008.

But instead of addressing these bigger structural issues, the US Congress cannot seem to come to agreement over a temporary payroll tax reduction. One wonders when, or if, it will ever move on to the bigger issues our economy faces.

Crying in science?

January 4, 2012

Sometimes the Statistical Consulting Service is too good at its job

“There’s no crying in science!”

Even though Steven Naber said the words, Chris Holloman knew better. Holloman had seen firsthand how statistical data had upended a graduate student’s theory, derailing the crux of the research. The perceived loss was devastating, and tears ensued.

Who knew hard numbers could elicit such an emotional response?

Naber, Holloman and statistician Jeni Squiric are the trio at Ohio State that operate the Statistical Consulting Service, which offers industry, faculty, staff and graduate students help in research planning, designing and administering surveys, crunching data into a coherent format and independent verification of methods and results. The latter service is where the crying usually ensues.

“Graduate school is not easy, and people spend six years planning a study, executing that study and aggregating the data so they can run the statistical test. But they end up with a P value of 0.3 and their theory is shot down,” said Holloman, director of the SCS.

“Graduate students are very wrapped up in the idea that it’s their job to find something, to be right. Frequently what happens is we don’t find something in the data to prove their theory and they’re upset about it, and I say to them, ‘This is part of the process. It doesn’t mean your experiment failed. This is valuable data.’

“After they start realizing the bigger picture, they’re pretty happy with what they’ve accomplished.”

Statistics attempts to account for the human element in research, but it is impossible to remove it since people ask the questions, search for answers and are often affected by the results.

The SCS, for example, puts together a biennial survey for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to find the market rate paid for childcare. The state uses those results to set the rate reimbursed to childcare providers of low-income families. Those providers, Holloman said, can get a bit upset when the numbers come back and they’re lower than they expected them to be.

“In all our cases, we work with solid evidence and use solid practices,” Holloman said. “Every time somebody says, ‘This can’t be right; I reject these findings,’ we’re always open about how we got our conclusions, what methods we use. People really can’t get mad at you when you’re reporting the facts.”

Naber, the SCS’s senior consulting research statistician, had to stifle a laugh. “No, they can still get mad at you,” he said.

But the SCS doesn’t just produce glum negativity. Some faculty clients have shown adulation, thankful for the SCS’s help in advancing their research — sometimes into groundbreaking areas.

The SCS built a statistical model for Susan Nittrouer in the Department of Otolaryngology, who was studying how people treat deaf children age 12 months to 48 months and how that treatment affects the children’s language acquisition. She turned her findings from the model into one of the conclusion chapters in her book, which challenged current theories, including questioning the benefits of putting a cochlear implant in a child as early as 12 months.

Nittrouer was so pleased with the SCS’s work, she hired the group again for her next study, which continues the research for children age 48 months and beyond.

“Language is a complex human behavior and usually we measure just discreet aspects of it,” Nittrouer said. “Chris was able to take all our measures and combine them in appropriate ways to create one overarching measure of language acquisition, and that’s difficult to do appropriately. We were able to put it into one mammoth construct, and it lets us know what we need to do overall in helping deaf children learn language, so it has immense clinical significance.”

Up until this year, the SCS (scs.osu.edu) merely used word of mouth to market itself to university and external clients. But this year it produced a marketing brochure as well as a video of what the team does and testimonials from faculty and graduate students.

Holloman said he wants even more people to be aware of what the SCS can do for them. Students in every course of study and faculty in every college can be helped.

The cross collaboration is a One University tenet, but there’s another reason the SCS exists: At the root of every statistician, Holloman said, is a scientist whose aim is to conduct ethical research.

“We’re interested in finding out what’s true and what isn’t and add to the body of knowledge that we have,” he said.

Sometimes that knowledge is proprietary, especially under the recurring contract the SCS has with Ohio-based The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., a lawn and garden products manufacturer.

Sometimes, it’s simply whether a cookie will crumble or not. Naber is helping Breanna Wingate discover if the Food Science and Technology graduate student can use prune juice as a natural preservative in lieu of artificial ones. How do different levels of prune juice and other factors affect various physical characteristics of the cookies over time?

Her question to Naber was: Does she have enough data to make her conclusions or does she need more data? Wingate’s advisor had her replicate the experiment again to correct some methodology errors — also known as bake more cookies — even though Naber determined that she had sufficiently good data to address most of her research questions.

“Unfortunately her experiment involves destructive testing, so she wasn’t able to bring me any samples,” Naber said.

Independent review likely will push reforms past next election

January 4, 2012

Since joining Ohio State in late June as the new vice president of Human Resources, I’ve learned much about the benefits available to our faculty and staff. I recognize the importance of retirement plans to a vibrant workplace and have been paying close attention to proposed changes to the state’s pension plans.

I want to share some recent developments in the legislative process.

Continue reading ‘Independent review likely will push reforms past next election’

« go back — keep looking »