twin cities – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Closing ranks on an invader

By Guest PostJuly 27, 2013Environment, Natureash trees, asian ash trees, bwca wilderness, david zumeta, deadly insect, dnr, eab, eab killing wasps, emerald ash borer, entomology class, firewood, grand rapids, insecticides, invader, jennifer kuzma, kathy quick, magic bullet, mda, michigan, public policy problem, shawn bernick, twin cities, university of minnesota

Years ago the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, changed its policy on dealing with the emerald ash borer (EAB), a pretty but deadly insect that has killed many of the state’s ash trees.

Instead of cutting down all ash trees, they allowed residents to treat high-value trees with insecticides at their own expense, says Kathy Quick, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs who was working in Grand Rapids at the time. (more…)

Corporations Favor Elite Nonprofits

By Guest PostDecember 18, 2012Economyann glynn, art institutes, business, christopher marquis, corporation, five percent club, gerald davis, minneapolis, nonprofit, nonprofit organization, private schools, resources, st paul, symphony orchestras, twin cities, university of michigan, vessel

ANN ARBOR — Businesses are good for nonprofits, but they are especially good for nonprofits that directly benefit the corporate elite such as art institutes, symphony orchestras and private schools, according to research from the University of Michigan.

The study asked how locally headquartered corporations influenced the growth of two different types of nonprofit organizations—those oriented to the elite and those focused more broadly on social welfare—in the largest 100 U.S communities from 1987 to 2002. (more…)

Better Monitoring of Food Quantity Makes Self-Control Easier

By Guest PostAugust 27, 2012Healthamerica, carlson school, consumption, eat less, food quantity, joseph redden, kelly haws, mechanism, minneapolis, monitoring, obesity problem, satiation, self control, st paul, twin cities, university of minnesota

UMN study shows eating less is about reduced desire as well as willpower

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL — New research from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management suggests learning how to stop enjoying unhealthy food sooner may play a pivotal role in combating America’s obesity problem. The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, explores how satiation, defined as the drop in liking during repeated consumption, can be a positive mechanism when it lowers the desire for unhealthy foods.

“When people talk about self-control, they really imply that self-control is willpower and that some people have it and others don’t when facing a tempting treat,” says Joseph Redden, an assistant professor of marketing at the Carlson School and lead author of the ‘Healthy Satiation: The Role of Decreasing Desire in Effective Self-Control.’ “In reality, nearly everyone likes these treats. Some people just stop enjoying them faster and for them it’s easier to say no.” (more…)

Microbes in the Mississippi

By Guest PostAugust 5, 2012Environment, Sciencebacteria, bank, barcoded, christopher staley, dna analysis, e coli, fecal indicator bacterium, genetic information, human population, la crescent, lake, lake itasca, m3p, m3p students, mercury, michael sadowsky, microbe, microbial life, microorganisms, minnesota, Mississippi, mississippi river, river, st croix, trevor gould, twin cities, university of minnesota, zumbro

Professor and students study how microbial life changes along the river

The mercury is pushing 100, but professor Michael Sadowsky and two assistants leave the indoor coolness for the bank of the Mississippi River as it flows by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.

The three men send a bucket splashing into the current and haul back a water sample. That doesn’t affect the river much, but information locked away in bacteria from the sample may tell them a great deal about how the river’s microbial communities change along its course through Minnesota and how human activity affects them. (more…)

Tag Archives: twin cities

Closing ranks on an invader

Corporations Favor Elite Nonprofits

Better Monitoring of Food Quantity Makes Self-Control Easier

Microbes in the Mississippi