CT Would Be 22nd State to Require CPR Training in High School

Connecticut is poised to become the 22th state to pass legislation requiring CPR training as a high school graduation requirement, according to data from the American Heart Association and the National Center for Education Statistics. The state legislature’s Public Health Committee approved a bill last week that would establish the requirement in Connecticut schools, following passionate testimony supporting it, from the public and legislators.  The bill must be approved by the House and Senate before moving on to Governor Malloy to sign into law.

West Virginia recently became the 21st state to pass a CPR bill, which was signed into law by that state’s Governor earlier this month. A similar bill is now being considered by state legislatures in Missouri and Florida.

Every hour in the U.S. approximately 48 people will have a cardiac arrest event outside of the hospital. Nine out of ten people will not survive. However, if lifesaving CPR is performed, a victim’s chance of surviving can double, or even triple, according to the American Heart Association.

The AHA is among the organizations supporting the legislation, working in Connecticut and across the country to pass state laws “that will assure all students are trained in life-saving CPR before they graduate from high school.”  In addition, a website, becprsmart.org, has been developed to provide information related to the national initiative.

The organization’s CPR in School Training Kit is portable, durable, designed to train 10 to 20 students at once, and comes with “everything you will need to quickly and easily teach your students,” the AHA website points out, noting that “one CPR in Schools Training Kit can train hundreds of students!”

In testimony at the Connecticut State Capitol, Elizabeth Schiller, president of the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians, said that CPR “may mean the difference between life and death. By instituting education at the high school level, young adults will become familiar with the process and hopefully will feel comfortable assisting others in a time of need.”

The CPR in Schools Training Kit empowers students to learn the core skills of CPR in under 30 minutes, and it teaches AED skills and choking relief, according to the AHA. Described as an “easy-to-use kit,” it is designed “specifically for the needs of school educators. It’s portable, allowing for convenient movement from classroom to classroom and easy storage. It’s also reusable.”

The CPR in Schools Training Kit was developed by the American Heart Association and “incorporates the very latest science.”  The American Red Cross also offers a range of first aid courses for students, including CPR.

https://youtu.be/G68pDlloGZI

Additional information:  www.cprcertificationtrainingonline.com/

Norwalk Among 15 Finalists for City Livability Awards; Energy Program Highlighted

The City of Norwalk and Mayor Harry Rilling have been chosen as one of fifteen finalists for the U.S. Conference of Mayors City Livability Awards in the national division of cities with populations under 100,000.  The awards recognize mayoral leadership for developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities. The program is characterized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors as “the most competitive award program” sponsored by the organization, and honors mayors and city governments for developing innovations that enhance the quality of life in urban areas.        

In its application, the City of Norwalk recognized the work of the Mayor’s Energy and Environment Task Force, chaired by Council member John Kydes, according to city officials.  Mayor Rilling created the Task Force in February 2014 to promote environmentally responsible use of energy and natural resources among citizens and businesses in Norwalk, and to offer them green energy alternatives.

As a finalist, The City of Norwalk has been invited to submit a second application to the judges for the final round of decisions, which will take place in late spring.  A first-place city and four runners-up will be announced at the organization’s annual meeting in June.

The other cities reaching the second round are Aguadilla, PR; Camuy, PR; Carmel, IN; Davie, FL; Hattiesburg, MS; Norcross, GA; Orland Park, IL; Pontiac, MI; Renton, WA; Rochester Hills, MI; Sumter, SC; Sunrise, FL; Warren, OH; and Westland, MI. 

Last year, New Orleans, LA Mayor Mitch Landrieu and West Sacramento, CA Mayor Chris Cabaldon were awarded first place honors – for cities above and below 100,000 population respectively -  in the 2014 City Livability Awards, from a pool of over 200 applicants. Honorable mention for cities with populations of less than 100,000 was given to Beverly Hills (CA), Braintree (MA), Roanoke (VA) Tamarac (FL) and York (PA).

Mayor Bill Finch and the City of Bridgeport were recognized with an Outstanding Achievement Award among cities with populations over 100,000 in 2012, for the city’s Brownfields Remediation and Redevelopment Program – the City’s focus on reclaiming dormant brownfields to spur redevelopment.  That same year, Hartford and Mayor Pedro Segarra also earned an Outstanding Achievement Award.

Established in 1979, the City Livability Awards are given annually to ten mayors and their cities--a first-place award and four Outstanding Achievement Awards for cities under 100,000 population, and a first-place and four Outstanding Achievement Awards for cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.

Tough New Anti-Smoking Ads to Air in Connecticut, Nationwide

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching its 2015 “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign with a series of powerful new ads featuring former smokers who suffer from smoking-related illnesses, including vision loss and colorectal cancer. Ads also highlight the benefits of quitting for smokers’ loved ones, and the importance of quitting cigarettes completely, not just cutting down. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year and remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. For every American who dies from a smoking-related disease, about 30 more suffer at least one serious illness from smoking.

Beginning March 30, the ads will run for 20 weeks on television, radio, billboards, online, and in theaters, magazines, and newspapers. Connecticut is included in the national ad buy, which includes cable TV, magazine, and digital media, according to CDC officials. 

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that in 2013, 15.5 percent of Connecticut adults were smokers.  This was lower than the national average of 18.1 percent, and lower than the other New England states, which ranged from 16.2 percent (New Hampshire) to 20.2 percent (Maine).

CDC’s successful Tips national tobacco education campaign has helped prompt millions of smokers to try to quit since it began in 2012, officials said. It has also proven to be a “best buy” in public health by costing just $393 to save a year of life.

“These former smokers are helping save tens of thousands of lives by sharing their powerful stories of how smoking has affected them,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.  “These new real-life ads will help smokers quit, adding years to their lives and life to their years.”

In 2014, Tips ads had an immediate and strong impact. When the ads were on the air, about 80 percent more people called the national quitline, CDC officials noted, for free help. Since 2012, Tips ads have generated more than 500,000 additional calls to the toll-free quitline number, 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Nationally, about 3 in 4 adult e-cigarette users also smoke cigarettes. If you only cut down the number of cigarettes you smoke by adding another tobacco product, like e-cigarettes, you still face serious health risks, according to CDC offcials. Smokers must quit smoking completely to fully protect their health -- even a few cigarettes a day are dangerous, they emphasize.

The agency website, www.cdc.gov/tips, includes personal stories from the campaign.  The website also includes detailed assistance developed by the National Cancer Institute to support smokers trying to quit.

Besides the human cost, smoking takes a devastating toll on the nation’s economy, CDC officials point out. Those costs exceed $300 billion a year—nearly $170 billion in direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity.

The Tips campaign serves as an important counter to the more than $8.3 billion spent annually by the tobacco industry to make cigarettes more attractive and more affordable, particularly to young people, officials said.

https://youtu.be/GEWky9PEroU

Connecticut Ranks #39 Among States for Retirement; Lowest In New England

Connecticut, ranking 39^th overall and lowest among the six New England states, came away with a mixed bag of results on a list of the “Best and Worst Places to Retire,” compiled by the financial data website bankrate.com and published this week. The good news:  Connecticut ranked #6 in crime rate, the state’s highest ranking among the six categories included in the survey, and just outside the top ten at #12 for health care quality.  Undeterred by the challenging February weather this year, Connecticut ranked #14 for weather among the nation’s 50 states.  Not so good – Connecticut ranked near the bottom, at #48, in cost of living, and at the middle-of-the-pack, at #24, for community well-being.

The survey of around 1,000 adults in the U.S. questioned what Americans' priorities are when it comes to retirement. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said being close to family was the deciding factor. But when it came to climate, while around a quarter prefer being close to a beach, nearly 40 percent of people want access to the great outdoors, rivers and mountains, according to published reports highlighting the survey results.

The top 10 states were Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Virginia, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, Arizona and Nebraska.  The highest ranked New England states were Maine at #12, Vermont at #15 and New Hampshire at #16.  Massachusetts came in at #18 on the list, and Rhode Island was just ahead of Connecticut at #38.

By category, Minnesota topped the list in health care quality, Hawaii was #1 in community well-being, New Mexico was #1 in weather, and Mississippi (which ranked #36 overall) had the lowest cost of living.   Vermont had the lowest crime rate and Wyoming the lowest tax rate.

Bankrate provided the following breakdown of the origin of the data used in compiling the rankings:  The cost-of-living data was provided by the Council for Community and Economic Research, a Virginia-based group that tracks retail prices in more than 300 communities around the country. Crime statistics include property and violent crimes reported by police departments to the FBI.

Health care quality scores come from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a federal office that measures each state's performance on about 160 different health-related issues. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provided weather data, including readings on temperature, humidity and sunshine. The "well-being" scores for seniors were from Healthways, a research group that works with the Gallup polling service to survey the public about their happiness and general satisfaction with their surroundings.

There are worse places than Connecticut to retire, according to the survey.  Among them:  Oklahoma, Oregon, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, West Virginia, Alaska, and Arkansas, as well as New York and New Jersey.  Hawaii also ranked in the bottom 10, largely due to its highest-in-the-nation cost of living.

Too Much Sharing on Social Media - by Parents, Survey Finds

Earlier this month, the Lymes’ Youth Services Bureau offered a program for parents on social media and internet safety.  The focus, as is usually true of similar sessions in communities across the state, was on protecting children, and understanding how they are using social media. What is often overlooked in such community meetings is how parents – especially parents of young children - are using social media. Recent statistics from a national poll by the University of Michigan indicate that the parents of today’s youngsters are increasingly online using social media, often for reassurance, advice and guidance.  And they are concerned about how other parents are using - or overusing - social media.

Most parents of young children (84% of mothers, 70% of fathers) report using social media like Facebook, online forums, or blogs, according to the national poll. Over half of mothers (56%), compared with only 34% of fathers, discuss child health and parenting topics on social media.  When sharing parenting advice on social media, common topics include getting kids to sleep (28%), nutrition/eating tips (26%), discipline (19%), daycare/preschool (17%), and behavior problems (13%).

Parents rate social media as useful for making them feel like they are not alone (72%), learning what not to do (70%), getting advice from more experienced parents (67%), and helping them worry less (62%).  In contrast, about two-thirds of parents are concerned about someone finding out private information about their child (68%) or sharing photos of their child (67%), while 52% are concerned that when older, their child might be embarrassed about what they have shared on social media.

The majority of parents who use social media (74%) know of another parent who has shared too much information about a child on social media, including parents who gave embarrassing information about a child (56%), offered personal information that could identify a child’s location (51%), or shared inappropriate photos of a child (27%).

Parents in this national poll cite many benefits of using social media to seek and share parenting advice, most notably around feeling that they are not alone with parenting concerns. In the poll analysis, it is pointed out that connecting with another parent who is awake in the middle of the night can help to counteract feelings of isolation. Asking for other parents’ recommendations can facilitate the choice of a new childcare provider. And hearing about strategies used by other parents can offer practical tips to deal with a toddler’s behavior problem.

Parents also recognize that there can be downsides to sharing too much information about children on social media. Although there are no hard and fast rules about what is appropriate to share, this poll found that three-fourths of parents think another parent has shared too much information about their child online.

Other concerns about social media use pertain to fears that postings could be used to identify a child’s home, childcare or play locations. In certain situations, such as child custody disputes or domestic violence cases, disclosure of identifying information could pose a significant risk.  Many parents employ privacy settings on social media to control who can see their personal information; however, privacy settings are not well understood by all users, the poll indicates.

The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital has coined the new term “sharenting,” the social media violation parents continue to commit with a simple keystroke and click.“By the time children are old enough to use social media themselves many already have a digital identity created for them by their parents,” research scientist in the U-M Department of Pediatrics Sarah J. Clark, associate director of the poll. “Parents are responsible for their child’s privacy and need to be thoughtful about how much they share on social media, so they can enjoy the benefits of camaraderie but also protect their children’s privacy today and in the future,” Clark said.

The survey, for the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, was administered in November/December 2014 to a randomly selected, stratified group of adults age 18 and older. Responses from parents with a child 0-4 were used for this report.

https://youtu.be/o_xn6xwl0BI

CT Ranks #18 in Volunteering; Teenagers, Young Adults in Top 10 Nationwide

A federal study shows that 1 in 4 Americans volunteered through an organization and two-thirds helped their neighbors.  Connecticut has an annual volunteer rate of 29.1 percent, with 797,150 volunteers serving 87.1 million total hours per year, ranking the state 18^th in the nation.  The annual Volunteering and Civic Life in America research, released by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), shows that service to others continues to be a priority for millions of Americans. The report found that 62.6 million adults (25.4 percent) volunteered through an organization in 2013.  Altogether, Americans volunteered nearly 7.7 billion hours.  The estimated value of this volunteer service is nearly $173 billion, based on the Independent Sector's estimate of the average value of a volunteer hour.

Overall, in Connecticut:

• 1% of residents volunteer
• 797,150 volunteers
• 1 million hours of service
• $2.0 billion of service contributed
• 4 volunteer hours per capita
• 1% of residents engage in "informal volunteering" (for example, doing favors for neighbors)
• 8% frequently discuss politics with family or friends
• 8% frequently eat dinner with other members of the household
• 7% frequently talk with neighbors

The levels of formal and informal volunteering in Connecticut both exceed the national average.  Connecticut’s volunteer rate among teenagers placed the state at #5, and among young adults was #10, the state’s highest rankings.

Nationwide, more than 138 million Americans (62.5 percent) also engaged in informal volunteering in their communities, helping neighbors with such tasks as watching each other's children, or house sitting.  Other civic health indicators found that two-thirds (68.5 percent) of Americans have dinner with their family virtually every day, while three in four (75.7 percent) see or hear from friends and family at least a few times a week. More than a third (36.3 percent) are involved in a school, civic, recreational, religious, or other organization.

"The civic health of our country is strong when people trust and help their neighbors and engage with their government," said Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of the National Conference on Citizenship. "Civic engagement is essential to the life our country. That's why all sectors of society from non-profits, to businesses, to our government must redouble their efforts to promote greater connections among Americans."

The research shows that overall rate of volunteering is slightly lower than the previous year, but the overall rate remains stable across demographic lines:

Americans ages 35-44 had the highest volunteer rate (31.3 percent) followed by those age 45-54 (29.4 percent). One in five of those defined as "Millennials", those of ages 16-31, (21.7 percent) volunteered.  The age groups with the highest median hours among volunteers are ages 65-74 (92 hours) and those 75 and older (90 hours).

The volunteer rate of parents with children under age 18 (32.9 percent) remained higher than the population as a whole (25.4 percent) and for persons without children under 18 (22.7 percent).  The volunteer rate among young adults (aged 18-24) attending college was 26.7 percent, nearly double the volunteer rate of young adults not attending college (13.5 percent).

The research also found that volunteers are almost twice as likely to donate to charity as non-volunteers. Nearly eight in 10 (79.2 percent) volunteers donated to charity, compared to four in 10 (40.4 percent) non-volunteers.  Overall, half of all citizens (50.7 percent) donated at least $25 to charity in 2013.

"Volunteers enrich our communities and keep our nation strong. Service also connects us with our neighbors and provides a chance to use our skills for the common good.  There are so many ways we can make a difference for those in need,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The top 10 states were Utah, Idaho, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Washington and Alaska and Oregon, tied for #10.

Between 2011 and 2013, average values in states ranged from 17.8 percent (Louisiana) to 44.6 percent (Utah). Rankings are based on a three-year moving average.   Among Connecticut’s neighboring states, Vermont ranked #12, New Hampshire ranked #24, Massachusetts ranked 33rd, Rhode Island ranked 42nd, New Jersey ranked 45th, and New York ranked 50th, according to the NCoC data for the 50 states and Washington DC.

As the federal agency for service and volunteering, CNCS engages more than five million Americans in service through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, National Days of Service, and other programs. NCoC is a congressionally chartered organization dedicated to strengthening civic life in America.

Two CT Students Show Inventions at White House Science Fair

Two Connecticut students were among the featured participants Monday as President Barack Obama hosted the 5th annual White House Science Fair, celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions across America. The high school students, whose ingenuity has been encouraged by their participation in the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC), were Mallory Kievman of Manchester and Lilianna Zyszkowski of Southfield, MA, who attends the Indian Mountain School in Lakeville.  Zyszkowsi invented a series of products, including most recently the PillMinder, a pill cap that reminds users when to take their medication. Kievman invented Hiccupops, the world’s first-ever lollipop to help suppress the hiccups.

In addition to meeting with students and reviewing their innovations, President Obama announced new steps as part of his Educate to Innovate campaign to get more girls and boys, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, inspired and prepared to excel in the critical STEM fields.

This year is Lilianna Zyszkowski's fourth year with the CIC and her second year as part of the organization’s Next Step Inventor’s Program. Driven to invent things that help people, the 9th grader  has developed a series of CIC award winning inventions that use networked sensors to "mind" things for people.  Her first invention, created with a grandparent in mind, used capacitive touch sensors, LED's and a networked microcontroller to remind people to take their medications on schedule. The PillMinder alerts caregivers via Twitter and SMS whether the proper pills had been taken on time. As a CIC Next Step Inventor, Lilianna is working with a Silicon Valley firm, SaferLockRX.com, to bring the PillMinder technology to market as a pill cap that addresses pill safety and pill taking compliance.

The Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC) is an award winning, internationally recognized, 501(c)(3) educational organization, open to K-8 students statewide, designed to develop, encourage, and enhance critical thinking skills through invention, innovation and entrepreneurship.  The CIC curriculum is standards-based and enables students to research, analyze and effectively focus on and solve their real-life problems.

This year marks the first time that two CIC students were selected to participate in the White House Science Fair.  The Connecticut Invention Convention is the oldest kid invention curriculum and competition in the United States. Annually the CIC serves more than 15,700 students from more than 215 participating schools.  Each year, the top 1,000 student inventors participate in the annual state convention held at the University of Connecticut.  

After enduring recurring bouts of hiccups over an extended period in the 7th grade, Kievman researched the physiology of hiccups and the associated folk remedies that have persisted over time. Hiccups are a nuisance for most, but also a little-known side effect of chemotherapy, kidney dialysis, anesthesia, and other medical treatments—affecting quality of life for already-suffering patients.

Kievman, now in 11^th grade at Loomis Chaffee School, identified three approaches that worked to soothe her own hiccups: consuming apple cider vinegar, consuming sugar, and sucking on a lollipop. She combined all three approaches and coined her invention the “Hiccupop” – and is now a patented inventor (US Patent #8,563,030).

Her creation appears to work by over-stimulating a set of nerves in the throat and mouth that may be responsible for the hiccup reflex arc. She has contracted with a specialized facility in Texas to produce her product in volume, and the production line is already moving Hiccupops into the market.

Kievman and Zyszkowski were among 100 students from 30 states who were selected to present their inventions at the White House Science Fair.  As part of the Fair, President Obama announced over $240 million in new private-sector commitments to inspire and prepare more girls and boys – especially those from underrepresented groups – to excel in the STEM fields. With those commitments, the President’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign has resulted in over $1 billion in financial and in-kind support for STEM programs.  The initiatives announced Monday include a “Let Everyone Dream” campaign to expand STEM opportunities to under-represented youth and a Department of Education competition to create science and literacy themed media that inspires students to explore.

"It’s not enough for us to just lift up young people and say, great job, way to go," President Obama said.  "You also have to have labs to go to, and you’ve got to be able to support yourself while you’re doing this amazing research.  And that involves us as a society making the kind of investments that are going to be necessary for us to continue to innovate for many, many years to come."

In addition, the President announced that 120 universities and colleges have committing to train 20,000 engineers to tackle the “Grand Challenges” of 21st century  and a coalition of prominent CEOs, Change the Equation, has committed to expand effective STEM programs to an additional 1.5 million students this year. The White House also recently launched “Untold Stories of Women in Science and Technology” on the White House website.

The White House Science Fair, including remarks to the students by President Obama, was live streamed from the White House.  The White House website includes brief profiles of the students, including Kievman and Zyszkowski, and their innovations were featured in White House announcements during the day.

Last year, Kievman delivered a keynote speech at the CT Invention Convention, and issued a challenge to the inventors: to develop and commercialize their products and to give back to the community.  She has committed a percentage of the profits from Hiccupops to support programs like the CIC that encourage youth entrepreneurship and innovation.

Attendees joining President Obama and the students at the White House Science included Susan Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Mariette DiChristina, Editor in Chief of Scientific American; Jim Gates, Member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST); Dean Kamen, Entrepreneur, Founder of FIRST; Dan Mote, President of the National Academy of Engineering and Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

https://youtu.be/OvPEhk5v7nc

Boston Children’s Hospital Delights with Interactive Wall Developed at UConn

It lives in Boston, but was built at UConn.  Boston Children’s Hospital’s recently installed Interactive Media Wall is an immense, high-tech, engagingly interactive product of the University of Connecticut’s Digital Media and Design program – a collaboration of students and faculty that is bringing smiles to children and families who encounter the massive 30-foot wall in the facility’s reconstructed lobby. For a team of animators accustomed to designing for screens a few inches across, the task of designing a scene three stories high was daunting – but a challenge they took on energetically.  The electronic wall consists of a large high-definition video screen, and a series of cameras and sensors that observe the presence and movement of people in the space below it, allowing people entering the space to control what appears on the screen.  It can be a powerful experience, for children and adults, as their movement defines the action on screen.

Rather than just showing a pretty picture, the wall hopes to offer some therapeutic benefit to the children who interact with it, in support of the mission of the hospital, which is widely considered one of the best pediatric hospitals in the world.

“The idea was to empower emotionally and physically challenged children to take control of something in their life, at a time when things were spinning out of control,” Tim Hunter, Department Head of Digital Media & Design and Director of the Digital Media Center told UConn Today.

How did a major healthcare facility in Boston connect with Connecticut’s flagship university for the project?

Prior to joining UConn’s faculty in 2007, Hunter spent 25 years developing and producing national and international design projects through his New York City based company. His areas of expertise are in digital animation design & production, digital media design & production, lighting design, scenic design and video projection design.

Through that firm, he had worked for many years with Boston-based Elkus/Manfredi Architects, which in turn worked with Boston Children’s Hospital on various projects.  When the project to renovate the facility’s lobby came along, the architects suggested that hospital leadership contact Hunter to see what he would envision as a centerpiece, interactive experience. 

It was a good match.  Initial work began on the project at UConn in the fall of 2011, accelerating during the spring 2012 semester.  Plans called for the UConn Digital Media Center faculty and students to develop a unique imaging and sensing system that would be controlled by guests of the hospital as they traveled through the lobby.  The work was completed in mid-November 2014, and has been well-received by patients, visitors and staff, earning a not-to-be-missed following.

The UConn team drew on the expertise of faculty members from a broad range of disciplines. Experts in child psychology, in human behavior, and in several disciplines of computer science and engineering contributed to the development of the installation.

That kind of collaboration was critical to the success of the wall, says Hunter, even though such projects are not usually developed at an academic institution. “A university is not the first place you would look for something like this,” said the industry veteran-turned-educator.

Among the students participating in the project were William Pritchard, interaction design and project management; Somaiyeh Ghaffarnia, animation and character development; Sean Dexter, 3D animation; Kevin Richetelli, 2D animation; Samantha Menza, game design; Tom Lee, game design and music composition; and Tiffany Hoang, game design. Prtichard and Ghaffarnia began working on the project as undergrads and continued while pursuing their graduate degrees.  The other students were undergrads.

UConn faculty involved in the project, along with Hunter, were Samantha Olschan, animation and character development; Mike Vertefeuille, technology and installation; and Zsolt Palatinus, data mathematician.  Also participating were staff member Michael Toomey, interaction design and project management, and CHIP members Tim Gifford and Christian Wanamaker, engineering and coding.

There may be more to come.  UConn’s Digital Design department – with students in Storrs and Stamford - and Boston Children’s Hospital now have an ongoing relationship, with plans for UConn to develop new interactive experiences for the next five years.

https://youtu.be/DD7gk2kHP3g

As Competency-Based Education Gains Interest, Charter Oak State College Among Leaders

“Competency-based education has the potential to streamline the path to a college degree for a significant number of students, both working adults who can apply their skills and experiences to earn credit for what they already know and other students who prefer self-paced learning over the traditional time-based model of earning credits.” That is the conclusion of a new report analyzing the current status – and future potential – of competency-based education (CBE) in the United States, researched by the American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Higher Education Reform.

The study, “The Landscape of Competency-Based Education,” found that there are currently 34 colleges nationwide that have CBE programs, with at least 18 more colleges working on developing programs.  One of those 34 colleges is Connecticut’s Charter Oak State College, the state’s on-line degree-granting institution.  It is the only Connecticut college highlighted in the report. 

For Charter Oak, the approach is wholly consistent with its mission, not a new concept, and growing in interest and popularity among potential students.

The report indicates that a growing number of colleges and universities are offering, or soon will offer, college credits in exchange for direct demonstrations of learning, NPR recently reported. “That's a big shift from credit hours — the currency of higher education for more than a century — which require students to spend an allotted amount of time with instructors.  A ‘competency’ might be a score on a standardized exam or a portfolio of work. The major argument in favor of competency-based programs is that they will offer nontraditional students a more direct, more affordable path to a degree,” the NPR story indicated.

Charter Oak State College has been very involved in the competency based education national movement for some time. The institution’s President and Provost are part of the steering committee of C-BEN, the Competency Based Education Network which is comprised of colleges who are interested in “pushing the traditional college delivery envelope.”  The initiative is funded by the Lumina Foundation, one of the nation’s most respected education foundations.

Charter Oak State College President Ed Klonoski participated in a panel of leading higher education innovators in Washington, D.C. to discuss new and emerging models of academic learning and assessment. The panel was moderated by Jamie Merisotis, Lumina Foundation President & CEO (and a Connecticut native), and took place in The Dirksen Senate Office Building nearly two years ago.

Klonoski pointed out that "at Charter Oak we have been offering competency based approaches to higher education since our founding in 1973,” adding that “these approaches are now being highlighted as ways to lower the cost of higher education and accelerate degree attainment."

Panelists addressed the growing importance of identifying and assessing learning outcomes and their impact on shortening the time toward degree completion, and shared insights about innovative and effective models in linking learning and degree attainment.

Also in 2014, the federal Department of Education sought proposals from institutions seeking status as experimental sites focused on competency-based education. Charter Oak submitted an individual college response and a joint response with C-BEN members.  By late last month, the federal agency designated Charter Oak as one of 11 CBEN institutions to participate.

Charter Oak’s proposal would create an Experimental Site in financial aid that would offer aid to students for prior learning (established via portfolios and tests), with the aim of making a college degree more affordable and accessible.

The American Enterprise Institute report calls for more data to be gathered in rigorously examining the range of CBE programs being offered and developed, to better identify strengths and weaknesses of the various types of programs, and the students who would benefit most from particular programs.  The report was researched by Robert Kelchen, assistant professor of higher education at Seton Hall University, who noted of the evolving field, “there is still no consensus definition of CBE, even among the institutions that provide it.”  Programs fall into two main areas, according to the report:

• Well-established prior learning assessments (PLA), which grant credits for content that a student has previously mastered; and
• Newer competency-based coursework, where students progress toward a degree as they demonstrate mastery of new academic content.

The American Institute plans additional reports on additional aspects of CBE, as the field continues to “catch the attention of federal and state policymakers, foundations, and colleges.”

Women at Disadvantage in Seeking IPO Investments, Research Study Finds

A new study by academic researchers into decisions regarding the financing of Initial Public Offerings (IPO) of fledgling businesses has found "one significant and persistent effect on investor perceptions that did influence those evaluations—the gender of the CEO.” Even though women-owned firms represent almost half of U.S. new businesses, female founders and CEOs of start-ups fared poorly in an IPO simulation involving MBA students, the researchers found – a result of interest to Connecticut’s business start-up, venture capital, and entrepreneurial communities, at a minimum.

The study found that the amount of money that participants recommended for investment in a fictionalized initial public offering for a cosmetic-surgery company was almost 4 times higher if the CEO was identified as male.  In fact, the anticipated share price of IPOs led by male CEOs was approximately 11 percent higher than those of female-led IPOs, suggesting that bias explains why successful female-led IPOs are an "extremely rare phenomenon," the researchers point out.

The paper,recently  published and now available through the Social Science Research Network, was conducted by Lyda S. Bigelow, Leif Lundmark and Robert Wuebker of the University of Utah and Judi McLean Parks of Washington University in St. Louis.

“Skirting the Issues: Experimental Evidence of Gender Bias in IPO Prospectus Evaluations,” stresses that “given the impact of entrepreneurial activity around the world, the question of how entrepreneurs finance their ventures is a crucial question, as adequate capitalization for a new venture can make the difference between firm survival and failure. Whether a spin-off or start-up, firms that seek to grow beyond initial size at founding rely on the decisions of potential investors for the necessary financial resources.”

Given that women executives are present in the top management teams of IPO firms in increasing numbers, the lack of female-led IPO firms is a “curious fact, especially since women-owned private businesses represent almost half of the new businesses formed in the United States, with patterns of founding similar to male-owned businesses.”

In the study, using a sample of MBA students the researchers constructed a simulated initial public offering (IPO) manipulating the gender demographics of the top management team. Their results suggested that female CEOs “may be disproportionately disadvantaged in their ability to attract growth capital when all other factors are controlled.”

Despite identical personal qualifications and firm financials in the scenario, the study results indicated that:

• firms led by females were seen as having a poorer strategic position than those led by males,
• female Founder/CEOs were perceived as less capable than their male counterparts, and
• IPOs led by female Founder/CEOs were considered less attractive investments.

“The disparity is significant, as is its potential economic and social impact,” the researchers state. “If companies led by females are disadvantaged in their ability to raise cash through the stock market, it can impact the viability and financial health of their companies, their ability to expand and compete in an increasingly global and competitive environment, and if they are unable to remain viable, their employees’ livelihoods.”

The 43-page research report also suggests that gender bias may extend beyond IPO’s to other disciplines within the financial world, and urge additional study.

Future research, they suggest, “could explore whether or not these findings extend to financial professionals such as bank loan officers or venture capital investors, and could investigate the role that prior experience plays in that process. This is an important question, as financial professionals, making investment decisions for individuals and institutions, control enormous amounts of money (for example, the combined assets of the nation’s mutual funds exceed $7.4 trillion, retirement funds exceed $2.7 trillion, closed end funds exceed $20 billion and exchange traded funds weigh in at $174 billion,” the research team pointed out.

Photos:  Judi Parks (left), Lyda Bigelow