Tag Archives: university of missouri

Healthcare Reform Must Involve Psychologists, Medical Providers, Educate Patients, MU Researcher Finds

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2011General, Healthaccountable care organizations, aco, american psychological association, healthcare reform law, medical care, members of congress, nancy cheak zamora, oxford university press, patient protection and affordable care act, policymakers, psychologists, psychology and rehabilitation, united states, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. — While some members of Congress and others are trying to repeal the healthcare reform law that was passed in 2010, known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” medical providers have begun to implement requirements as the law slowly phases in over the next several years. For reform to be successful, one University of Missouri public health expert has determined that professional associations for psychologists and other medical providers need to be at the forefront of the planning stages, and that everyone, including providers and patients, will need to be educated on rights and responsibilities.

“We looked at psychology departments here in the United States and in other countries to determine what worked best when implementing the policies outlined in healthcare reform,” said Nancy Cheak-Zamora, assistant professor of health science in the MU School of Health Professions. “Many providers, especially psychologists, work independently, but the new healthcare law is encouraging providers to develop a medical team approach, one that can tackle many different aspects of a disease.” (more…)

MU Professor Creates Resource for Helping People with Brain Injuries

By Guest PostJuly 18, 2011Healthbrain injury, brain injury in veterans and children, centers for disease control and prevention, knowledge of tbi, life changing events, military professionals, police officers, public health impact, social workers, stephanie reid arndt, tbi, traumatic brain injuries, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.7 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries each year. Stephanie Reid-Arndt, chair and assistant professor of health psychology in the University of Missouri School of Health Professions, has launched The Brain Injury Guide and Resources at https:// braininjuryeducation.com/ to provide a resource for people to understand traumatic brain injuries.

“Brain injuries aren’t visible like other injuries, and often, people with brain injuries can be misunderstood,” Reid-Arndt said. “Direct results of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) include cognitive difficulties, changes in behavior or difficulty managing anger that are direct results of the brain injuries. Unfortunately, these symptoms are often misconstrued as willfully uncooperative behavior.” (more…)

MU Psychology Study Finds Key Early Skills for Later Math Learning

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011Educationcomplex math, david geary, elementary school years, fractions and algebra, good foundation, good head start, growth in mathematics, low level arithmetic, math learning, math skills, mathematics, psychologists, understanding numbers and quantity, united states, university of missouri

*Long-term study shows students must know about numbers at beginning of first grade*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Psychologists at the University of Missouri have identified the beginning of first grade math skills that teachers and parents should target to effectively improve children’s later math learning.

A long-term psychology study indicates that beginning first graders that understand numbers, the quantities those numbers represent, and low-level arithmetic will have better success in learning mathematics through the end of fifth grade, and other studies suggest throughout the rest of their lives. (more…)

MU Study Identifies Protective Factors that Help Women Recover from Childhood Violence

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2011Healthabusive intimate relationships, children, domestic violence, economic stability, economic sustainability, kim anderson, mental health problems, model, police involvement, positive adult role models, post traumatic stress disorder, psychological problems, ptsd, risk factors for ptsd, school of social work, university of missouri, women

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Children who witness domestic violence are more likely to be in abusive intimate relationships and experience psychological problems such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A University of Missouri researcher has found that certain protective factors foster resilience and increase the likelihood that the cycle of violence will end for women who, as children, were exposed to their mothers’ battering.

Kim Anderson, associate professor in the MU School of Social Work, found that women are less likely to suffer from PTSD if they are more resilient, or better able to overcome adversity. In regard to childhood protective factors that increase adult resilience, Anderson found that mothers who were employed full-time had a positive influence on their children’s recovery from witnessing domestic violence. (more…)

Civil War Troops Fought the Weather 150 Years Ago During Battle

By Guest PostJuly 4, 2011Environment, Politicsatmospheric conditions, battle of carthage, boonville, british admiralty, captain nathaniel lyon, carthage, civil war, civil war battle, confederate victory, coon creek, european observations, franz siegel, french navy, heavy rain, lupo and madden, mike madden, missouri, thunderstorms, tony lupo, torrential rains, union force, union troops, university of missouri, weather, wet gunpowder

*MU meteorologists say weather played a key role in union defeat*

COLUMBIA, Mo. — One hundred fifty years ago, two armies battled each other and the weather in Missouri’s first significant Civil War battle. While the battle’s course is familiar to historians, virtually no scientific data exists about the atmospheric conditions that influenced the fighting. In a project that blends history, sleuthing and modern weather analysis, Tony Lupo, professor and chair of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Missouri, and Mike Madden, a meteorology student, have scientifically examined the heavy rains that hampered the union forces, eventually leading to a costly defeat. (more…)

‘Angry Online Commenters Can Cause Negative Perceptions of Corporations’

By Guest PostJune 22, 2011Technologyautomobile corporations, bo kyung kim, corporations, Facebook, hyunmin lee, international communication association conference, kim, mu, negative online comments, online sources, pervasiveness of social media, public expressions of anger, Twitter, university of missouri, web based information

*Organizations should monitor online comments from victims during crises, MU researchers say’

COLUMBIA, Mo. – With the increasing pervasiveness of social media and online communication in the operation of most organizations and corporations, little is known about the potential effects of public expressions of anger displayed throughout various online sources. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that angry user-generated comments on Internet sites can further perpetuate negative perceptions of an organization undergoing the crisis.

Based on her findings, Bo Kyung Kim, a doctoral student in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, urges public relations practitioners to consider angry user-generated messages as critical crisis information that has a direct impact on the public in general. She says evaluation is particularly crucial because of how much the public relies on unsubstantiated web-based information. (more…)

Red Light Cameras Critical to Public Safety, MU Traffic Researcher Finds

By Guest PostJune 20, 2011Generalautomated traffic monitoring systems, carlos sun, drivers, legal system, national highway traffic safety administration, panacea, potential for abuse, red light cameras, traffic fatalities, traffic problems, troy rule, university of missouri

*Evaluation of numerous automated traffic studies indicate safety benefits outweigh drawbacks*

COLUMBIA, Mo. — As automated traffic monitoring systems such as red light cameras keep a law enforcement “eye” on the streets across the country, many drivers accuse city governments of installing the monitors as a way to generate revenue. New research from the University of Missouri says the safety benefits of automated traffic monitoring systems far outweigh the potential for abuse. (more…)

Violent Video Games Reduce Brain Response to Violence and Increase Aggressive Behavior, University of Missouri Study Finds

By Guest PostMay 31, 2011Health, Scienceaggressive, behavior, brain response, brains, bruce bartholow, call of duty, christopher engelhardt, grand theft auto, hitman, indicator of desensitization, killzone, Media, popular violent games, scientists, university of missouri, violence, violent video games

*Parental moderation encouraged for children*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Scientists have known for years that playing violent video games causes players to become more aggressive. The findings of a new University of Missouri (MU) study provide one explanation for why this occurs: the brains of violent video game players become less responsive to violence, and this diminished brain response predicts an increase in aggression.

“Many researchers have believed that becoming desensitized to violence leads to increased human aggression. Until our study, however, this causal association had never been demonstrated experimentally,” said Bruce Bartholow, associate professor of psychology in the MU College of Arts and Science. (more…)