Wednesday, August 22, 2012
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Welcome back to campus
With fall semester classes beginning, Big Red Welcome events will continue through the week. On Mon. Aug 20 and Tues. Aug. 21, Faculty and staff volunteers will be available to act as guides and answer questions at the Nebraska Union Plaza and East Campus Loop from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
On Thur. Aug. 23, an East Campus Major Welcome at the Nebraska East Union, and on Fri. Aug 24, a Stroll Off will be held on the Nebraska Union Plaza at 5:30 p.m., and a Red Fever Dance in the Nebraska Union at 9:30 p.m.
Nebraska economic indicator improves in July, indicating sustained growth
The Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska increased by 1.24 percent in July, reversing a decline in May and June of this year. Improvement in the indicator after two months of decline suggests that Nebraska will be able to sustain slow economic growth during the winter of late 2012 and early 2013 -- and that an outright economic contraction will be avoided.
"A drop in initial unemployment claims was the primary reason for the improvement in the LEI-N," said UNL economist Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research and lead author of the indicators report. "Falling initial unemployment claims indicate stability in the Nebraska labor market. An increase in single-family building permits and a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar also were positive indicators for the Nebraska economy. The decline in the value of the dollar promotes export growth." Read more about this report in Today@UNL.
Two new contests at 2012 State Fair provide real world experience
Two new contests aimed at exposing youth to real world experience will be unveiled at the 2012 Nebraska State Fair Aug. 24-Sept. 3 at Fonner Park in Grand Island.
"Our goal is to provide youth with hands-on activities which will help them prepare for a successful future," said Shane Potter, extension educator in 4-H youth development at UNL.
The first new contest, scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 26, is an interview judging contest, where participants will be evaluated on how well they complete three steps of a job application process for one of three fictitious jobs: veterinary assistant, 4-H camp counselor and political intern. Read more about these contests in Today@UNL.
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Researchers leading meta-analysis on parental engagement in education
If research studies represent the jigsaw pieces to complex puzzles, meta-analyses assemble them into cohesive pictures that help resolve important questions.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools is currently gathering those pieces to clarify the impacts of two intervention-based approaches for engaging parents in their children's education.
CYFS postdoctoral fellow Elizabeth Moorman Kim and director Susan Sheridan have earned a two-year, $700,000, U.S. Department of Education grant that will allow them to collect, analyze and draw conclusions from several decades' worth of investigations into how parents influence K-12 student outcomes. Read more about this grant in Today@UNL.
Chancellor issues welcome back as fall semester opens
Chancellor Harvey Perlman issued a welcome back message to open the fall semester in an Aug. 16 e-mail to faculty and staff. UNL's annual State of the University speech is 11 a.m., Sept. 11 at the Lied Center. Read the full welcome in Today@UNL.
UNL launches Nebraska App
UNL has launched the Nebraska App, a suite of mobile applications that makes essential university resources available on mobile devices. Students can check grades, access course content and browse the course catalog. They can access the public directory and get in touch instantly, keep tabs on Husker sports, find places on the campus map, stay informed with the latest campus news, watch videos, and even listen to podcasts of popular lectures in iTunesU.
"UNL is moving services to the where the students are in terms of devices and network access"," said Mark Askren, Chief Information Officer. "Students now have a much more powerful connection to UNL via their mobile device." Read more about Nebraska App in Today@UNL.
