U.S. Public and Private Higher Education
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from public, private and community colleges in the U.S.
Featured Stories
University of New South Wales: The Rhythm of the Night - Music for a Good Night's Sleep
SYDNEY, Australia, April 6 -- The University of New South Wales issued the following news release:
UNSW PhD candidate Thomas Dickson is researching the ways music can help people fall asleep.
Developing a habit of listening to music at bedtime for at least a month can have a positive effect on your sleep patterns, says Thomas Dickson, a PhD candidate at UNSW Arts & Social Sciences.
Music changes "trying to sleep" from a stressful experience to a pleasant one, as well as inducing relaxation by encouraging muscular sedation that puts the body into a sleepier state, his research found.
"I'm very
... Show Full Article
SYDNEY, Australia, April 6 -- The University of New South Wales issued the following news release:
UNSW PhD candidate Thomas Dickson is researching the ways music can help people fall asleep.
Developing a habit of listening to music at bedtime for at least a month can have a positive effect on your sleep patterns, says Thomas Dickson, a PhD candidate at UNSW Arts & Social Sciences.
Music changes "trying to sleep" from a stressful experience to a pleasant one, as well as inducing relaxation by encouraging muscular sedation that puts the body into a sleepier state, his research found.
"I'm verypassionate about music, particularly in its use for sleep," the musician and composer says.
But building the habit is very important, he says.
"Just like working out at the gym, you don't have muscles straightaway; similarly with music, the research shows the effect becomes more profound with time."
Mr Dickson is in his final year of a five-part thesis by publication on music as a sleep aid.
His thesis investigates music as a sleep treatment program, reasons people listen to music as they fall asleep, features of successful music for sleep, and musical variation.
His research also examines six significant ways music can aid sleep: through entrainment, distraction, masking, enjoyment, expectation and relaxation.
Listening to music might entrain your heartbeat to synchronise with the rhythm of the music to slow your body down, Mr Dickson says.
Music can also offer a distraction from stressful thoughts, or mask - 'block out' - distracting noises in the environment.
Mr Dickson says music is mostly effective for people suffering primary insomnia in relation to anxiety, worry or stress rather than medical issues such as restless leg syndrome or sleep apnoea.
One research participant said music offered a chance to fantasise: "If I listen to Billie Holiday when I sleep, I can imagine I am a struggling jazz singer in the middle of New York in the 1940s."
Our cultural expectations also play a part, Mr Dickson says. "For example, a person who might come from an Indian background might listen to an Indian classical sleep raga and fall asleep to that more successfully," he says, "whereas [Western cultures] might associate a lullaby with sleep or even ambient or sedative music."
Mr Dickson says his interest in the psychology of how music can change a person's emotions was the catapult for his PhD on music as a sleep aid.
"What really interests me is composition, particularly looking at how a composer can make a listener feel through music," he says.
Mr Dickson hails from a family of musicians - his father was a clarinettist in the Melbourne and Sydney symphony orchestras - and he spent his younger years as a guitarist in rock bands.
His own preference is for string orchestras and string quartets which, he says, often force the composer to create interesting musical layers or harmonies instead of focusing on instrument timbre - for example Symphony N3 - 1 by Henryk Gorecki.
Alongside his upcoming research publications on sleep, Mr Dickson's iPhone and Android app 'Can't Sleep' is in growing demand which composes your ultimate lullaby with instruments and sounds you choose.
It does this with artificial intelligence by creating tunes in real-time based on the listener's musical preferences, and there's everything from brass to woodwind, string and percussion.
University of Melbourne: Climate-Related Disasters Increase Risks of Conflict in Vulnerable Countries, Research Shows
MELBOURNE, Australia, April 6 -- The University of Melbourne issued the following news:
Researchers have found strong evidence that the risk for armed conflict is higher after a climate-related disaster, but only in vulnerable countries.
Lead author Tobias Ide from the University of Melbourne said the disasters include storms, floods and droughts - the frequency and intensity of which will increase in the future, due to climate change.
"Bushfires in Australia will not spark a civil war as the state is democratic and able to provide relief," said DECRA Fellow Dr Ide. "But when it comes to droughts
... Show Full Article
MELBOURNE, Australia, April 6 -- The University of Melbourne issued the following news:
Researchers have found strong evidence that the risk for armed conflict is higher after a climate-related disaster, but only in vulnerable countries.
Lead author Tobias Ide from the University of Melbourne said the disasters include storms, floods and droughts - the frequency and intensity of which will increase in the future, due to climate change.
"Bushfires in Australia will not spark a civil war as the state is democratic and able to provide relief," said DECRA Fellow Dr Ide. "But when it comes to droughtsin Nigeria or storms in Pakistan, where you have large marginalised populations and little state presence, the picture may well change."
The paper, published in the Global Environmental Change journal, provides invaluable evidence for policy makers such as the United Nations Security Council, which has been called on to invest in climate adaptation and risk reduction for the millions of people already suffering from the effects of climate change.
"The question 'Will a warming world also be a world with more violent and armed conflicts?' has been a very real one for political leaders and civil societies across the world," Dr Ide said. "Climate change makes tense social and political situations even worse, so climate-change disasters may act like a 'threat multiplier' for violent conflicts."
"Only countries with large populations, the political exclusion of ethnic groups and relatively low levels of economic development, are susceptible to disaster-conflict links. Measures to make societies more inclusive and wealthier are, therefore, no-regrets options to increase security in a warming world."
Research on the effects of climate change have on armed violence have previously been open to interpretation but Dr Ide and his colleagues say their study shows that climate-related disasters enhance armed conflict risks. "We find that almost one third of all conflict onsets in vulnerable countries over the recent decade have been preceded by a climate-related disaster within seven days," said co-author Carl-Friedrich Schleussner from Climate Analytics. "This does, however, not mean that disasters cause conflicts, but rather that occurrence of disasters increase the risks of an outbreak."
Dr Ide said: "If we look at what happened in Mali when a severe drought occurred in June 2009, we can see that the militant Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group exploited the resulting state weakness and desperation of local people to recruit fighter and expand its area of operation. The Philippines were another country where recurrent disasters weakened government structures in contested regions, hence opening a space for rebel groups."
In the large majority of cases, opportunity factors drove the onset of armed violence. Rather than aggrieved populations, rebels exploited the temporary weakness of the state after a disaster, to stage attacks. Michael Brzoska, a co-author and Associate Senior Researcher from the University of Hamburg, said: "The most surprising result of our study for me was the prevalence of opportunities for armed violence over those related to grievances in post-disaster situations."
The study employed an innovative approach combining different research methods. "For the first time, we brought together statistical analysis on the global level with case study assessments allowing us to assess the robustness of our findings as well as to compare the individual circumstances of each case," said co-author Jonathan Donges from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research.
Tel Aviv University: Donated Equipment Aids in Urgent Coronavirus Research
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 6 -- Tel Aviv University issued the following news:
* * *
- Shmunis family gift ramps up the scientific capabilities of the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology
* * *
With COVID-19 coronavirus infections surging in Israel and worldwide, TAU biomedical specialists have dropped everything to push forward the fight against the virus. Eleven teams at the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology are working to expand the arsenal of vaccines, drugs, testing methods and public health insights aimed at saving lives.
Now, a significant and timely gift
... Show Full Article
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 6 -- Tel Aviv University issued the following news:
* * *
- Shmunis family gift ramps up the scientific capabilities of the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology
* * *
With COVID-19 coronavirus infections surging in Israel and worldwide, TAU biomedical specialists have dropped everything to push forward the fight against the virus. Eleven teams at the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology are working to expand the arsenal of vaccines, drugs, testing methods and public health insights aimed at saving lives.
Now, a significant and timely giftfrom philanthropists Sana and Vlad Shmunis of the San Francisco Bay Area is providing the School with much needed core equipment for the research push.
"We needed emergency scientific funding and, when we turned to the Shmunises, both TAU Governors, they responded immediately and generously," said TAU Vice President Amos Elad. "It's heartwarming to see the concern of our TAU friends take such concrete form and so quickly." The funding has gone toward the purchase of a new ultracentrifuge and a new high capacity autoclave.
"This vital equipment will bolster the ability of our research teams to conduct molecular virology and immunology research much faster than before and with the highest quality," said Prof. Tal Pupko, Head of the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. Among the School's urgent research goals are:
* Aiding the authorities focus quarantine efforts, understand if there are "super-spreading" infected individuals, and predict how quickly the disease spreads or wanes.
* Screening Israeli COVID-19 survivors for antibodies as a basis for therapies and a vaccine.
* Developing novel inhibitors for viral entry and viral activity.
* Finding candidate compounds to kick in the body's natural immunity to COVID-19 and ability to overcome infection.
* Understanding lung immune responses to viral infection.
* Introducing a robotic system for much faster detection of coronavirus presence in tests.
* Repurposing known and FDA-approved drugs for prevention and treatment.
Among local and international collaborators in the research are the Israeli Ministry of Health, Israel Biological Institute, IDF, major TAU-affiliated hospitals, and universities in Israel and abroad including Stanford University and University of Washington, Seattle.
Boosting national coronavirus testing
In addition to the research, the School joined forces with TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine to convert an existing lab into a coronavirus testing facility. The newly renovated lab will expand public testing and assist Israel's overburdened hospitals. Professors, students, engineers and a construction crew worked 24/7 for three days straight to build the lab and bring it up to the highest safety and research standards. School members are also volunteering to operate it once the test samples come in.
The lab project followed a move by several researchers at the School to help enlist medical students and biomed graduate students as volunteers for collecting and processing samples in hospital laboratories. The nationwide initiative recruited over 2,000 medical and graduate students as volunteers in the national public health operation.
Tel Aviv University Sets Up Emergency Lab to Expand COVID-19 Testing
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 6 -- Tel Aviv University issued the following news on April 5:
* * *
- The specialized lab, run by TAU researchers and graduate students, was built in 3 days
* * *
Tel Aviv University has built an emergency COVID-19 testing lab, which will allow Israel to perform an additional 2,000 coronavirus tests per day. The new facility was born virtually overnight of the interdisciplinary efforts of TAU researchers, graduate students and management staff of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences.
Construction for the lab began on Tuesday,
... Show Full Article
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 6 -- Tel Aviv University issued the following news on April 5:
* * *
- The specialized lab, run by TAU researchers and graduate students, was built in 3 days
* * *
Tel Aviv University has built an emergency COVID-19 testing lab, which will allow Israel to perform an additional 2,000 coronavirus tests per day. The new facility was born virtually overnight of the interdisciplinary efforts of TAU researchers, graduate students and management staff of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences.
Construction for the lab began on Tuesday,March 24th, at 7 a.m., and was completed Friday, March 27th, with engineers, construction workers, professors and graduate students working around the clock. A Health Ministry official reviewed the lab to ensure that it meets health and safety protocols before commencing operations.
"We realized immediately how critical testing was and how we at the University could contribute to Israel's diagnostic landscape," explains Prof. Ariel Munitz of Sackler's Faculty of Medicine, who spearheaded the establishment of a testing lab on campus. "It was not an easy decision. It was unclear whether the Health Ministry would approve, and we did not know exactly what the protocol was or what was required - but we knew we needed to act."
"We all understood that there was a national crisis at hand, and our first thought was how to help and contribute - we have put all other considerations aside," adds Prof. Eran Bacharach of the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, who is in charge of the TAU BSL2+ facility dedicated to studies of viruses and bacteria.
Prof. Bacharach also helped coordinate a TAU volunteer initiative currently underway at Israeli hospitals. "A week ago we had to convince laboratories to accept our volunteers, but today labs are approaching us."
As a result of the TAU volunteer initiative, some 170 student volunteers are currently embedded in 12 laboratories in hospitals, including Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital), Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), Rambam Health Care Campus, Soroka Medical Center, and HMOs across Israel.
But after technicians at the Sheba Medical Center's laboratory were quarantined as a result of exposure to COVID-19, TAU recognized an opportunity to contribute even further to Israel's coronavirus efforts by performing public testing.
"We contacted University management, who got involved immediately and quickly approved an emergency budget for the project," says Prof. Munitz. "The safety of the team operating the lab is and remains our highest priority, and we are taking every necessary precaution in strict alignment with Health Ministry regulations. The goal was to design a lab that could process up to 2,000 tests a day, and we have accomplished it."
"Usually, setting up a lab takes 4-6 months," concludes Ofer Lugassi, VP of Engineering and Maintenance at TAU. "To do so within a few days required the extraordinary efforts of project partners working around the clock and adopting innovative ideas, including architect Daniel Zarchi who designed the lab. Without the full mobilization of the entire team, it would never have happened. We learned and solved everything 'on the go': from building a new ceiling, something we didn't anticipate we would need to do, to installing a complex air filtration system that normally takes about a month to set up. Everything was done overnight."
More People Are Worried About Food, Friends and Family Than Getting Ill From COVID-19
LONDON, England, April 6 -- The University College London issued the following news:
Concerns about getting food and for friends and family rank highly for most people, according to the first wave of results from UCL's Covid-19 study on adults' psychological and social experiences.
The study also finds that and one in four people say they have had no exercise or even gentle physical activity in the past day.
To date, over 47,000 participants have signed up to take part in the internet study, which launched two weeks ago led by Dr Daisy Fancourt and Professor Andrew Steptoe (UCL Epidemiology
... Show Full Article
LONDON, England, April 6 -- The University College London issued the following news:
Concerns about getting food and for friends and family rank highly for most people, according to the first wave of results from UCL's Covid-19 study on adults' psychological and social experiences.
The study also finds that and one in four people say they have had no exercise or even gentle physical activity in the past day.
To date, over 47,000 participants have signed up to take part in the internet study, which launched two weeks ago led by Dr Daisy Fancourt and Professor Andrew Steptoe (UCL Epidemiology& Health Care).
In the first week, 64% of people reported being worried about family and friends, and 54% said they were concerned about getting food. Just under half (44%) of the sample were worried about becoming seriously ill from Covid-19.
In the second week of the study, the researchers looked at exercise and social behaviours and found that many adults appear not to be following government recommendations to exercise.
When asked to report on the last weekday's activity, 85% of people sample reported engaging in no moderate or strenuous exercise at all and nearly 40% of people said they had not done any gentle exercise such as going out for a walk. Even amongst the youngest age group (18-30 year olds), four out of five people report not doing any moderate or high intensity activity. Combining all types of gently, moderate and vigorous physical activity in the home and outside shows that one in four people had no exercise at all in the previous 24 hours.
People living alone and people with lower household income are also engaging less in all kinds of social activity. Phoning or video-calling friends or family is more popular amongst adults under 30 or over 60 (and amongst women), and people with mental health conditions appear to be communicating less via messaging and calls than others.
Although the study does not aim to be representative of the UK population (currently around 75% of respondents are female, for example, and participants have to be able to complete the assessment online), it has a strong representation across all major socio-demographic groups (41% of participants have a household income of less than 30K annually). Recruitment has been via public engagement, targeted advertising at under-represented groups, and partnerships with third sector organisations to ensure engagement from vulnerable people.
Dr Daisy Fancourt (UCL Epidemiology & Health Care) study lead, says "Although this study is not representative of the population, we are pleased that some many people have sent us data. This gives us crucial information on how people are feeling and what they are doing during this crisis. We will be following participants weekly in order to track changes in mental health, loneliness, and behaviours; factors that will all be critical in how people cope with this pandemic."
In terms of social distancing, the study also shows large majority of respondents report following government recommendations to a moderate or substantial degree with adults aged 18-30 showing marginally less adherence.
Confidence in government is also reported to be higher amongst older adults. Of adults aged 60 and above, 62% place themselves at the higher end of the 'confidence' in government scale compared to just 49% of adults aged 31-59 and 36% of adults aged 18-30.
The researchers are still encouraging people to sign-up to the study at http://www.covid19study.org. Results will be published on a weekly basis and uploaded to the website.
Baylor University Environmental Scientist to Speak at Pandemics Webinar Presented by World Health Organization, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
WACO, Texas, April 6 -- Baylor University issued the following news:
* * *
- Event will focus on the need for stronger coordination among disaster managers and health workers during pandemics such as COVID-19
* * *
Benjamin Ryan, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of environmental science at Baylor University, will be a keynote speaker at a global webinar presented by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Health Organization at 8 a.m. Tuesday, April 7.
The webinar -- "Resilience of local governments: A multi-sectoral approach to integrate public health
... Show Full Article
WACO, Texas, April 6 -- Baylor University issued the following news:
* * *
- Event will focus on the need for stronger coordination among disaster managers and health workers during pandemics such as COVID-19
* * *
Benjamin Ryan, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of environmental science at Baylor University, will be a keynote speaker at a global webinar presented by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Health Organization at 8 a.m. Tuesday, April 7.
The webinar -- "Resilience of local governments: A multi-sectoral approach to integrate public healthand disaster risk management" -- will address how public health system capacity is crucial to reduce the impact of pandemics. Experience from past epidemics and the current COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate the need to break down silos between disaster managers, health workers and other sectors.
A multi-sectoral approach is required to integrate public health and disaster risk management into everyday practices, according to a statement by UNDRR and WHO. This can only be achieved through systematic integration of health into national and sub-national disaster risk reduction policies and plans.
This session will introduce the Public Health Addendum of the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities and describe how this tool can systematically support strengthened planning and coordination among disaster managers and health workers, said Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNDRR.
Mizutori urges national and local disaster management agencies to include health emergencies as a top priority, alongside earthquakes, floods, storms and other natural hazards. Governments must prioritize resilient health systems, she said.
"This is a great opportunity, and recognition of Baylor University's global exposure, to demonstrate how we can influence, shape and participate in resilience building strategies across the globe," said Ryan, who also is program coordinator for Baylor's environment health science program.
Key questions will be:
How can public health aspects be integrated into disaster risk reduction and resilience planning?
What is the Public Health Addendum of the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities and how can this tool support and strengthen planning and coordination among disaster managers and health workers?
The capacity of public health systems is crucial to reduce the impact of pandemics, as clearly discussed in the practical experience from countries like P.R. China and the Republic of Korea practical experience from countries like P.R. China and the Republic of Korea.
Promoting systematic integration of health into national and sub-national disaster risk reduction policies and plans is a key recommendation of the Bangkok Principles for the implementation of the health aspects of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
The Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Framework (HEDRM) of the World Health Organization is the overarching framework. The public health addendum of the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities is a tool designed for use by local governments to enhance resilience, as guided by the HEDRM Framework.
In addition to Ryan, other key speakers will be Peter Williams, Ph.D., retired IBM Distinguished Engineer; and Rajib Shaw, D.S., professor of the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University, Japan.
* * *
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 18,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.
Bar-Ilan University: Researchers Work Around the Clock on Coronavirus-Related Study
RAMAT GAN, Israel, April 6 -- Bar-Ilan University issued the following news:
Approximately 30 teams from Bar-Ilan University are working around the clock on research projects related to the coronavirus. This extensive activity is being led by University President Prof. Arie Zaban and Vice President of Research Prof. Shulamit Michaeli, who have identified the value of interdisciplinary research that addresses a variety of aspects - from scientific-medical to social psychological - related to the virus.
Developing a vaccine, bacteria-resistant fabrics, rapid detection, and mathematical models detailing
... Show Full Article
RAMAT GAN, Israel, April 6 -- Bar-Ilan University issued the following news:
Approximately 30 teams from Bar-Ilan University are working around the clock on research projects related to the coronavirus. This extensive activity is being led by University President Prof. Arie Zaban and Vice President of Research Prof. Shulamit Michaeli, who have identified the value of interdisciplinary research that addresses a variety of aspects - from scientific-medical to social psychological - related to the virus.
Developing a vaccine, bacteria-resistant fabrics, rapid detection, and mathematical models detailinglockdown exit strategies, recruiting AI technology to fight the virus, studying the impact of the corona crisis on couples, researching organizational leadership in work-shifting environments and the effect of the crisis on pregnant women are just some of the research projects currently underway at the University. Bar-Ilan's leading researchers, along with international partners and organizations operating in the field, are working to try to address this global challenge.
"We are proud to partner in the national and global effort to curb the pandemic," says Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Arie Zaban. "Our researchers combine their extensive knowledge in medicine and psychology, life sciences and nanotechnology, computer science, math and humanities, to improve diagnostic and treatment capabilities, and to devise strategies to help resolve the crisis that has changed the entire world."
"High level research capabilities and the ability to tackle the challenge in an interdisciplinary manner enable us to work towards a positive impact in dealing with this virus. I am proud of our researchers who, even in a period of traffic restrictions and closures, are in their labs on a daily basis, in accordance with the guidelines, working to find breakthrough solutions to problems that plague us all. "
Alongside this research Bar-Ilan University quickly transferred its courses to an online format so that studies and research would not be compromised. In addition, the University's digital campus offers a package of services including online student administration sections, a service hotline, and extensive electronic databases through the library system.
