Patient beware: Check first that your hypnotherapist is licensed

Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is a form of focused attention or intense state of concentration where the subconscious can emerge. Recently, hypnosis is being heralded as a safe and effective form of adjunct therapy or treatment for anyone in need of an extra push to make a change. "It\'s being used by many people now,\" explains Arnold B. Coven, associate professor in the WSU College of Education. But he cautions, "If you're gong to use hypnosis to help you, go to someone who has the proper credentials."

February 24, 2005

Governor supports math-science funding

The Southeast Michigan Junior Science/Humanities Symposium, to be held at Wayne State March 10-11, is noted in a story about Gov. Granholm's commitment to fund math-science funding. Granholm has indicated that funding for six advanced learning centers in Michigan will be part of her proposed state budget for 2005-06, according to State Representative John Espinoza (D-Croswell).

February 23, 2005

Hormone pills make incontinence worse, study claims

"We were hoping to find a gleam of hope for estrogen" after earlier negative findings said Dr. Susan Hendrix, study lead author and gynecologist at Wayne State University.

February 23, 2005

Immigration insights

William H. Dance, WSU Law professor, wrote on recent legislation, H.R. Bill 418, which considers asylum and the effect this bill will have if passed by the Senate.

February 23, 2005

WSU's Developmental Disabilities Institute receives grant to fight abuse

The Developmental Disabilities Institute at Wayne State has been awarded a two-year, $885,000 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation to implement and evaluate a program to prevent abuse of women with disabilities. Sharon Milberger, associate director for research at the institute, said the new grant will facilitate research that will build on a base of knowledge gained through earlier research at the institute that identified the risk factors for violence. The foundation also funded the earlier research.

February 23, 2005

Search for schools, superintendent begins to take shape

The State Board of Education met Wednesday to discuss a replacement for Tom Watkins, who resigned as state superintendent of public instruction in late January after a public feud with Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The board refined what it is looking for in its next schools chief, but didn\'t say when it planned to hire one. The article mentions that Watkins has been hired as a special assistant to Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid, specializing in K-12 initiatives.

February 23, 2005

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On the 10 o'clock evening news, the station ran a brief report about two armed robberies on the WSU campus this week. The report, which said "students at Wayne State are being warned" about the robberies, was taken from information provided in a campuswide alert notice from the Public Safety Department. The segment included background shots of the campus at night.

February 23, 2005

Process yields semiconductor foam

Researchers from Wayne State University have made crystalline aerogels, new semiconductor materials that are extremely porous, giving them very high surface areas. The materials could eventually be used as chemical and biological sensors, solar cells and photocatalysts that trigger chemical reactions in the presence of light. Practical applications could be 10-20 years away, according to the article.

February 23, 2005

Search for schools, superintendent begins to take shape

The State Board of Education met Wednesday to discuss a replacement for Tom Watkins, who resigned as state superintendent of public instruction in late January after a public feud with Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The board refined what it is looking for in its next schools chief, but didn\'t say when it planned to hire one. The article mentions that Watkins has been hired as a special assistant to Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid, specializing in K-12 initiatives.

February 23, 2005

Study touts Wayne State's economic benefit

Great Lakes IT Report also included a story regarding Wayne State's announcement Tuesday about the university's economic benefits to Michigan. Editor Matt Roush noted that Wayne State attracts around $200 million in research funding a year, including a significant amount of technology research. The university has in recent years licensed technologies in medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, drug discoveries, research tools and engineering. Recent examples include a new method of removing arsenic from drinking water, a magnetic resonance microscopy method for studying biological systems, novel cancer detection technology and more. An estimated 35 to 40 percent of its technology licenses go to Michigan firms. Wayne State also has 14 start-up companies based on its technologies, 10 of which are in Michigan. For further information and to view the full report, visit www.wayne.edu/docs/eirwsu.pdf or www.AndersonEconomicGroup.com.

February 23, 2005

NextEnergy education grants

Wayne State University is mentioned as a recipient in 2003 of a portion of the NextEnergy Phase One grant to develop basic and advanced AET curriculum. Recently, Phase Two grants were awarded totaling $290,000 to four Michigan universities and two community colleges, including Wayne State. In another brief, Wayne State's TechTown is noted under construction updates. The construction of the NextEnergy Center, a 45,000-square-foot AET innovation center, will be completed in May 2005.

February 23, 2005

Hypnosis gains mainstream acceptance

Associate Professor Arnold Coven comments in another story about the mainstream acceptance of hypnosis. \"It\'s being used by many people now,\" says Coven. \"Actually, people are in states of hypnosis frequently. Have you ever taken a shower and wondered what happened to the time? That is a state of hypnosis.\"

February 23, 2005

Hormone pills may make incontinence worse

Dr. Susan Hendrix, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, commented about a study revealing that hormone pills taken at menopause seem to worsen incontinence. The findings, published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, come from research on 27, 347 women, ages 50 to 79, participating in the Women's Health Initiative study. Hendrix was the lead author of the study. "We were hoping to find a gleam of hope for estrogen" after all the earlier negative findings, but the results with incontinence were disappointing, too, said Hendrix.

February 23, 2005

Sound of music is music to his ears: Wayne State professor uses medium to enrich the lives of students all over the world

Dennis Tini, chair of Wayne State's music department, is profiled in a piece about his contributions to the field of music education both at the university and internationally. Tini founded the International Music Relief Effort for South Africa 13 years ago while he was serving as president of the International Association for Jazz Education. He also helped start the South African Jazz Educators Association. Every couple of years, Tini and some of his colleagues at Wayne State take instruments and textbooks to high school and college students in Africa and hold workshops for as many as 200 teachers and 700 students at a conference he sponsors with the university\'s support. \"I think music can help to heal the world, which is plagued with violence and global conflicts,\" said Tini. \"It\'s my mission in life to use music and education as a means of communication and to spread the message of peace and understanding.\" Photos of Tini are included.

February 23, 2005

Exhibit highlights the life of Bernie Firestone

The life of labor activist Bernie Firestone is captured in an exhibit titled "Bernard J. Firestone: Joy in Solidarity," currently at the Walter P. Reuther Library on Wayne State's main campus. Wayne State archivist Kristen Chinery spent four months putting the exhibit together with the help of Firestone's widow Charlene and daughter Nita. "I want this exhibit to inspire people and show them that one person really can make a difference, because he did." Chinery said. "He changed the lives of so many people in the community and in the labor movement. He was relentless in his pursuit of equality and justice."

February 23, 2005

Judge allows tapes as evidence

Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning, a former Justice Department lawyer, commented about a higher court ruling on evidence used in a case involving former Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga and Warren real estate broker Ralph Roberts. Marlinga and Roberts were implicated in a scheme to swap prosecutorial favors for political contributions. Henning said the admissibility of taped conversations between Marlinga and Roberts are crucial to the charges against Roberts, but that the ruling could be challenged later. \"This will be an issue on appeal if there is a conviction because this is the linchpin of the government\'s case,\" Henning said.

February 23, 2005

Romance writers join for discussion

Romance authors Karen White-Owens and Angela Patrick-Wynn, both part-time faculty in CULMA's department of interdisciplinary studies, are joining other authors in a roundtable discussion at the Oak Park Library at 7 p.m. tonight. They will examine how music influenced their writing. Beginning in 1998, the writers formed a critique group through the Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America. Patrick-Wynn was first to be published in 1999, then White-Owens in 2001.

February 23, 2005

Playwright dreams big

A feature story profiles Wayne State University junior Marcia Elam who has written a musical drama titled "Undergo," about a young homeless woman. Elam also will be directing and performing "Undergo" today, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in Wayne State University\'s Studio Theatre at the Hilberry. It is her fifth musical drama.

February 23, 2005

Analysis: Budget crisis stalls Detroit

Kurt Metzger, research director for CULMA's Center for Urban Studies, comments in a story about Detroit's budget crisis and loss of population base. "They should be tracking what neighborhoods have really been hit and where people are leaving," Metzger said. "Is it just schools, is it crime, is it services and what people feel needs to be done to get people to stay."

February 23, 2005

Medical center set for Detroit

Henry Ford Health Care System plans to open a $1.4 million adult medical center near Belle Isle, providing area residents with medical care six days a week. The 7,500-square-foot center in the Harbortown retail center just west of Belle Isle is the first new Henry Ford facility to open in Metro Detroit since the late 1990's. After seeing patients volumes shrink for years, Detroit hospital leaders say they are seeing an increase in residents who are turning to city hospitals for medical care rather than going to the suburbs.

February 23, 2005