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Student Success

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2012Educationacademic support, african american, american issue, campus, center, climate, commission, delaware, diversity, energy, freeman hrabowski, higher education, hispanic, middle states, newark, patrick harker, program, social journey, success, super nerd, trabant university, umbc, university, university leader, vincent tinto

UD conference highlights diversity and student retention

Freeman Hrabowski and Vincent Tinto both believe that creating a culture of trust and support is a key ingredient in retaining students from underrepresented groups while achieving genuine campuswide diversity.

Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), and Tinto, Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University, shared their expertise on diversity and student retention during the Student Success and Retention Conference, held Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Trabant University Center on the University of Delaware campus in Newark. (more…)

African-American Males Most Likely to Lose Academic Scholarships, MU Study Finds

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2012Culture, Education, Generalacademic success, african american, charles menifield, culture, dormitories, Environment, holistic approach, hope scholarships, male, missouri, retention rate, scholarship, tennessee residents, university

MU researcher recommends a “holistic” approach to student scholarship retention

COLUMBIA, Mo. — College student retention and low graduation rates are the most significant problems associated with state-provided financial aid. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that African-American males are the most likely to lose state lottery-funded scholarships with academic stipulations. Charles Menifield, a professor in the Truman School of Public Affairs at MU, found that more than 50 percent of African-American males lost state-funded scholarships over the course of a four-year academic career.

“Race turns out to be one of the best predictors of scholarship retention rates,” Menifield said. “This research strongly suggests that colleges and universities that desire to maintain diversity should at minimum target minority students, particularly African-American males, and determine how best to improve academic success.” (more…)

Diagnostic Technique Uses Immune Cell DNA

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2012Scienceafrican american, bladder cancer, blood samples, brock christensen, brown university, carmen marsit, cd4, cell carcinoma, cell membrane, chemical alteration, devin koestler, DNA, granulocyte leukocytes, immune cell, karl kelsey, leukocytes, methylation, ovarian cancer, t lymphocytes

By looking at signature chemical differences in the DNA of various immune cells called leukocytes, scientists have developed a way to determine their relative abundance in blood samples. The relative abundance turns out to correlate with specific cancers and other diseases, making the technique, described in two recent papers, potentially valuable not only for research but also for diagnostics and treatment monitoring.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — When a person is sick, there is a tell-tale sign in their blood: a different mix of the various types of immune cells called leukocytes. A group of scientists at several institutions including Brown University has discovered a way to determine that mix from the DNA in archival or fresh blood samples, potentially providing a practical new technology not only for medical research but also for clinical diagnosis and treatment monitoring of ailments including some cancers. (more…)

Clergy can fight HIV on faith-friendly terms

By Guest PostMay 20, 2012Culture, Healthafrican american, african american clergy, aids epidemic, amy nunn, black americans, black clergy, blacks, brown university, hiv, hiv infection, hiv prevention, michelle lally, miriam hospital, philadelphia, sex, sexuality, tim flanigan, united states

In the United States, where blacks bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, black religious institutions could help turn the tide. In a new study in PLoS ONE based on dozens of interviews and focus groups with 38 of Philadelphia’s most influential black clergy, physicians and public health researchers find that traditional barriers to preaching about HIV prevention could give way to faith-friendly messages about getting tested and staying on treatment.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The public health community has long struggled with how best to reduce HIV infection rates among black Americans, which is seven times that of whites. In a new paper in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of physicians and public health researchers report that African-American clergy say they are ready to join the fight against the disease by focusing on HIV testing, treatment, and social justice, a strategy that is compatible with religious teaching. (more…)

Study Shows That, In Restaurants, Race Matters

By Guest PostApril 25, 2012Culture, Generalafrican american, anti black perception, customer, discrimination, inferior service, race, restaurant, sarah rusche, tableside racism, united states, zachary brewster

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that more than one-third of restaurant servers discriminate against African-American customers.

“Many people believe that race is no longer a significant issue in the United States,” says Sarah Rusche, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study. “But the fact that a third of servers admit to varying their quality of service based on customers’ race, often giving African-Americans inferior service, shows that race continues to be an issue in our society.” (more…)

Life Scientists Use Novel Technique to Produce Genetic Map for African Americans

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2011Scienceafrican american, african american dna, african ancestry, african and european ancestry, african caribbeans, ancestry, bioinformatics, biological process, cag, chicago asthma genetics, chromosome, collaborative study on the genetics of asthma, csga, daniel wegmann, david reich, discover genes, disease mapping, DNA, european populations, european rate, genestar, genetic diseases in african americans, genetic map, genetic network of arteriopathy, genetic research on asthma in the africa diaspora, genetic study of atheroscleoris risk, genoa, genome, graad, high resolution genetic maps, john novembre, journal nature genetics, nelson freimer, recombination, saarp, scales of the genome, searle foundation, severe asthma research program, simon myers, snp typing for association with multiple phenotypes from existing epidemiological data, stampeed, ucla life scientists

UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced one of the first high-resolution genetic maps for African American populations. A genetic map reveals the precise locations across the genome where DNA from a person’s father and mother have been stitched together through a biological process called “recombination.” This process results in new genetic combinations that are then passed on to the person’s children.

The new map will help disease geneticists working to map genetic diseases in African Americans because it provides a more accurate understanding of recombination rates among that population, said the senior author of the research, John Novembre, a UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of bioinformatics. The map could help scientists learn the roots of these diseases and discover genes that play a key role in them. (more…)

Walking, Sex and Spicy Food are Favored Unprescribed Methods to Bring on Labor

By Guest PostJune 28, 2011Healthacupuncture, african american, castor oil, cervix, hormone oxytocin, jane fischer, jonathan schaffir, labor, laxative use, masturbation, nipple stimulation, nipples, ohio state, pregnancies, sex, sexual intercourse, spicy food, survey at a midwestern hospital, uterine contractions, uterus, zaid chaudhry

COLUMBUS, Ohio – More than half of the women in a recently published survey reported that near the end of their pregnancies, they took it upon themselves to try to induce labor, mostly by walking, having sex, eating spicy food or stimulating their nipples.

Of the 201 women who responded to the survey at a Midwestern hospital, 102, or 50.7 percent, used these or other unprescribed methods to try to bring on labor. Other techniques they tried included exercise, laxative use, acupuncture, masturbation and herbal supplementation. (more…)

Political Narratives On Race, Southern Identity Influence National Elections

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2011Politicsafrican american, american south, americans, christina moss, democratic party, democrats, factor, god fearing, Obama, political power, President Obama, racial prejudice, regionalism, republicans, southern states, white voters, zell miller

New research from North Carolina State University shows how attempts to define the South by Republicans and Democrats may have set the stage for President Obama’s victories in Southern states – and shaped the way Americans view themselves.

“Every presidential election is a chance to discuss what it means to be American,” says Dr. Christina Moss, teaching assistant professor of communication at NC State and author of a paper on the research. “The South garnered a great deal of attention in the 2004 election season, and the narratives from that election may provide clues to Obama’s success in 2008.” (more…)

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