Hyperlinks

Here are the hyperlinks for all of my stories that were published online by The Gainesville Sun.

2007

1. College Life can be a real pain in the back

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20071206/NEWS/712060330

2008

2. Students, faculty reeling over cuts in Korean, Vietnamese languages

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080523/NEWS/805230311

3. UF student witnesses China’s earthquake

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080529/NEWS/805290344

4. Students going abroad look to economize

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080610/NEWS/806100303

5. Can video games form healthy habits?

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080623/NEWS/806230316

6. Beware students: Germs are everywhere

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080826/NEWS/808260291

7. Virus protection helps computers live longer

(Hyperlink unavailable, see article below)

Virus protection helps computers live longer

By Lance Fuller
Campus Correspondent

*Note: This story about virus protection was not posted on The Gainesville Sun's Web site. The story originally ran on Sept. 2, 2008 in the campus edition of The Sun.

Marcus Keyes believes your college computer can last beyond graduation and even into graduate school.

Experts will tell you that common computer problems -- viruses, spyware, registry errors -- will slow your computer's performance or cause it to crash.

But proactive maintenance such as running anti virus software, as well as using a spyware sweeper and a registry cleaner can keep your computer young, fast and clean, experts say.

Keyes, trade coordinator at the University of Florida Bookstore, said all of these services can be downloaded for free and will extend a computer's life.

Anti-virus software such as Norton, AVG or McAfee is easy to operate and can scan your computer on a regular basis, Keyes said.

Viruses are programs written by people and programmed for any type of harm, he said. There are trillions of different viruses and new ones every day.

People activate viruses through everday actions such as surfing the Web or opening an e-mail, Keyes said.

More a threat to the user's privacy than to the computer, spyware is software installed on a computer, most often without the user's consent, and monitors the user's behavior, said Wang Weixun, University of Florida computer science graduate student.

Spyware can run itself without the user's knowledge and detects user names and passwords to send the information to the person running the spyware, Wang explained.

Spyware comes from pop-up advertisements on the Internet and from downloading music from unsecure Web sites, Wang said.

Keyes said to combat spyware, a program like Spybot -- Search & Destroy will remove spyware from a computer.

While not as well-known as viruses or spyware, registry errors occur over time when a user adds, removes or upgrades software.

Using a registy cleaner notifies the user of any erroneous programs and files that need to be removed, Wang said.

When programs are added and deleted, unusable files remain on the hard drive, and this cluster of information can slow the computer's performance, he said.

Yet despite the abundance of resources available to prevent problems, most computer users wait until serious damage has been done before doing anything about it, Wang said.

Many students do not encounter computer problems when they first use a computer, so they feel lucky and do not bother to incorporate protection like anti-virus programs, Wang said.

While running the right type of software can protect from viruses and spyware, the user must also remember not to expose a computer to extreme temperatures and avoid eating or drinking around it, Keyes said.

Beware students: Germs are everywhere

By LANCE FULLER
Campus correspondent

Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 8:30 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 8:33 p.m.

Lurking around every corner, they live on keyboards, door knobs and eating utensils.

Most students don’t even know they harbor colonies of them.

As thousands of returning students and freshmen streamed onto the University of Florida campus this week, they brought with them germs from all over the world.

These germs are responsible for upper respiratory infections – the flu, cold, sore throat, sinus infections – which are the most common illnesses that college students contract, said Jane Cullen, director of nursing at the University of Florida’s Student Health Care Center.

Germs are spread by everyday actions such as not washing your hands and not covering your mouth with a tissue when sneezing or coughing, Cullen said.

UF’s GatorWell, a service that educates students about healthy living, created a coalition called Healthy Gators 2010 that has several campaigns intended to hammer home the importance of getting flu shots, hand-washing and other healthy behaviors, said Jill Varnes, UF professor of health education and behavior.

According to Varnes, the most effective way to reduce the transmission of germs is to wash your hands often.

It is also important to clean frequently used surfaces, such as tables and desks, and to minimize touching your eyes, nose and mouth, especially after coming in contact with someone who is sick, she said.

People can also prevent getting sick by using a hand sanitizer and cleaning off door knobs, the keypads on microwaves and refrigerator door handles, she said.

For students who have succumbed to germs and are sick, staying home and getting proper rest, drinking enough fluids and eating light meals will help the body recover, especially from viral infections, Varnes said.

If someone is sick with a bacterial infection, using antibiotics and seeing a health care provider are the best options, she said.

However, health care providers sometimes mistakenly prescribe antibiotics for viral infections, she said, which she adds ultimately leads to resistant strains of viruses and makes the medicine less effective.

Germs are not the only reason why college students get sick, said Jane Emmerée, health promotion specialist for UF’s GatorWell.

High levels of stress, poor dieting and a lack of sleep and exercise also weaken the immune system, Emmerée said.

When students take midterm exams, stress levels rise drastically, leaving students more susceptible to illness, she said.

College students can prevent becoming sick or exhausted by maintaining a balance in their lives, Emmerée said.

On a large scale, students need to juggle a social life, school and a proper sleep schedule, she said.

On a smaller scale, keeping your hands clean and coughing or sneezing into a tissue will significantly help prevent illness, she said.

Can video games form healthy habits?

By LANCE FULLER
Special to The Sun

Published: Monday, June 23, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 10:50 p.m.

More senior citizens will soon join the video game craze.

The University of Florida's College of Public Health and Health Professions has been awarded a two-year $100,000 grant to explore whether playing video games can motivate healthy behavior among the elderly.

UF joins 11 other universities that received grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focusing on improving mental health using video games.

"In the past decade, video games have often been looked at to measure improvement in cognitive skills," explained UF occupational therapist Patricia Belchior.

Belchior, Associate Professor of Clinical and Health Psychology Michael Marsiske, and Occupational Therapy Chairman William Mann will start this summer conducting the two-year study, which will consist of 72 people playing "Crazy Taxi" for about three months. These adults will then be monitored for improvements in driving.

UF researchers will monitor how playing "Crazy Taxi" on the PlayStation 2 affects visual attention in the elderly.

Prior to receiving the grant, UF performed a pilot study using the World War II first-person shooter video game "Medal of Honor" to detect and measure visual attention. That study was also performed at the University of Rochester.

"Visual attention refers to the amount of information that you retain at a glance. It is a skill that can be improved across a lifespan, particularly in driving and mobility," Marsiske said.

UF decided to use "Crazy Taxi," an action-adventure game based on driving, instead of "Medal of Honor" because of its simple controls and because of issues with violence.

The broad association between video games and violent behavior was an important concern for Marsiske and Belchior, so they decided to move away from a first-person shooter game to a driving game in their study.

Marsiske and Belchior want to focus on the physical and mental benefits of video games for the latest generation and how it can help older generations.

While there are no studies about whether age matters when playing video games, there are studies that show some games work for all ages.

"The old myth that you can't teach an old dog new tricks is false," Marsiske said. "Other research has shown that substantial training games effectively teach new software to older people - the only difference is that older people need more time to learn."

Innovations in video game controls and interface, such as the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, are being marketed more toward older adults, Marsiske said. According to one study, 25 percent of video game users are over 50 and that age group is the fastest-growing market for video games, Marsiske said.

"If interactive media holds the lion share of media output, it behooves us to use the Internet and video games to improve mental health," Marsiske said.

Students going abroad look to economize

By LANCE FULLER
Special to The Sun

Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 9, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

With a weak dollar and the high price of oil, many University of Florida students are finding their plans to study abroad more expensive than originally intended.

So with the high cost of living in countries with the euro or pound, students planning to go abroad are considering exchange rates and other economical programs when they decide where to go, said UF Study Abroad Adviser Kirsten Eller.

In the last couple of years, the UFIC created programs in China, India, New Zealand and Fiji to provide students with less expensive alternatives. According to its Web site, UF has a three-month-long program in Beijing, China for $6,795, which is roughly the same price as the program in Rome for six weeks for $6,752.

"It is exciting to watch the Asia-Pacific region grow. We wouldn't have those students overseas if it weren't for these programs," Eller said.

When faced with the choices of either absorbing the economic hit of poor exchange rates or not traveling at all, UF students are electing to go abroad, Eller said.

"(They) will more than likely alter their plans and spend less than not going abroad," Eller said. "Studying abroad changes your world and your perspective of it. You will not be the same person when you come back to the U.S.," Eller said. "If you don't do it in college, chances are you won't do it later on."

Despite the dollar's unfavorable exchange rate in many countries, UF has more students studying abroad this year compared to last year.

There is a 4 percent increase in UF students abroad this year, according to the UF Study Abroad Services Coordinator Susanne Hill.

As of Thursday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Web site stated every $1.55 equates to one euro, while every $1.95 equates to one British pound.

This summer, UF has 1,250 students abroad with 853 of those students on UF-sponsored programs. There are 52 programs spanning 28 countries that offer courses ranging from religion and women's studies in India to business in Ireland.

Some of the most popular countries include Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom.

Even with a weak exchange rate to the euro and the pound, UF students are not deterred from traveling to Western Europe and abroad in general, said Eller.

"There are a couple of reasons why UF students continue to study in expensive countries like Britain and France," Eller said. "The opportunity to go abroad and the fact that costs are expected to continue to increase mean students are better off studying abroad now than later," Eller said.

UF student witnesses China's earthquake

By LANCE FULLER
Campus correspondent

Published: Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 11:32 p.m.

Since the earthquake on May 12 that left tens of thousands dead or missing and millions homeless, China has not been the same.

Click to enlarge

UF senior Anthony Paglino was an eyewitness to the quake and aftershocks that have ravaged parts of China.

Special to The Sun

For University of Florida student Anthony Paglino, life has not exactly been the same either.

Paglino, an economics senior, was getting ready for his first day of class at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu at the time of the earthquake.

Paglino was carrying his video camera when the earthquake hit and began recording as the building started to shake. As he was running down the stairs, he quipped, "All right, so maybe we don't have class."

"At about 2:28 p.m. it sounded like a train running down the hallway and we didn't know if it was normal," Paglino said. "At the time, it was nothing too serious. There was no immediate response or chain of command, so we were just waiting for someone to tell us what was going on."

The university was spared major damage, the extent coming from collapsed tiles and cracked plaster, he said.

The hardest aspect of dealing with the earthquake was not the initial hit, but the mind-games and psychological aspect that the aftershocks posed, Paglino said.

"The earthquake was not scary at the time," he said. "But the aftershocks and not knowing if the building you're in is going to fall on your head was very scary."

On May 13, relief efforts and response to the disaster were unreal with donations from other countries and student involvement with helping the victims, Paglino said.

"The army shipped orphans from the villages to our campus right next to our dorms," he said.

The UF students also helped with the relief effort as they bought parcels of milk and delivered them to the Red Cross.

On May 18 the earthquake agency expected another quake and the entire city of Chengdu moved outside in tents for fear of more buildings collapsing, Paglino said. "Imagine everyone in New York City in Central Park living in tents."

Paglino compares the differences in China's response to the earthquake and America's response to Hurricane Katrina. "The responses to these disasters are side-by-side. There are obviously more vivid differences as China did a very good P.R. job with no one making excuses," he said. "Somewhere down the line someone will be blamed for poor construction of these buildings, but China did the best it could."

The timing of the earthquake could not have come at a worse time for China with the Olympics in August and recent issues concerning Tibet and China's poor environmental policies.

However, the earthquake provided an opportunity for China to come together and work as a cohesive unit, Paglino said. "The response to this earthquake definitely showed a softer side of China that showed more of a human aspect and not the Communist Party."

Hopefully this disaster is a chance for China to make the best out of a bad situation, he said.

Paglino and seven other UF students were studying abroad in Chengdu through a UF-sponsored program and arrived the weekend prior to the earthquake. The students were studying first year Mandarin Chinese language along with Chinese economics and Sichuan culture classes.

The UF students only spent about 10 days in Chengdu before the UF International Center decided to relocate the program to Tsinghua University in Beijing, where UF has an existing program with about 30 other UF students.

"We had class for two days after the earthquake and then (the government) put out a warning saying that another earthquake was expected in the next three days," Paglino said. "Then we found out we were going to be shipped out to Beijing."

Aftershocks and fear that dams might burst prompted the UF International Center to relocate the UF in Chengdu program to a safer location.

Cynthia Chennault, professor of Chinese poetry at UF and the program's director, said in an e-mail that the students were never endangered, but there was concern that remaining in an increasingly congested city, with hospitals filled with the injured, was not conducive to the academic program.

"We will try to revive the program next year to offer a more economical alternative for summer study abroad in China," she wrote in an e-mail interview.

Since relocating to Beijing, the UF in Chengdu students are slowly acclimating to their new surroundings. They are continuing classes at Tsinghua University taking first year Mandarin Chinese language and a Beijing culture class.

Paglino earned the Freeman-Asia Scholarship, which will require him to speak and give presentations about studying abroad in Asia when he returns to the U.S. in August. Paglino plans to help educate Americans about that part of the world, because many Americans are not familiar with Chinese history, he said.

"With this opportunity to travel China and because of the earthquake, I plan to help break many of the stereotypes about China," he said.

"Nothing could have prepared me for the experience I have had. China is an enigma, and I am learning things every day," Paglino said. "Every day I step out of the door, something happens."

Students, faculty reeling over cuts in Korean, Vietnamese languages

By LANCE FULLER
Campus correspondent

Published: Friday, May 23, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 8:46 p.m.

By fall 2009, University of Florida students will no longer be able to learn the Korean and Vietnamese languages on campus because of the recently announced $47 million budget cut to the university.

Over the last two weeks, UF students, faculty members and staff have signed petitions to President Bernie Machen vehemently opposing the elimination of Korean and Vietnamese language courses. Supporters of the petitions believe that UF's Asian Studies program will lose credibility once these programs are gone.

"No Asian Studies program that lacks instruction in Korean can now be highly regarded," wrote Cynthia Chennault, associate professor of Chinese poetry, in a petition. "As for Vietnamese, the large Vietnamese-American population of Florida adds special reason for the state's flagship university to retain the program."

Joe Glover, interim dean of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, cut these programs because they do not serve a large portion of UF students and have little connection to students' majors, said Ann Wehmeyer, chair of the department of African and Asian languages and literatures.

In the petition, Chennault wrote that both Korean and Vietnamese courses fill to capacity and provide students with immense educational and professional benefit.

In cutting these language programs, the department will save about $100,000.

Korean lecturer Kyung-Eun Yoon is one of six faculty members from the African and Asian languages and literatures department who will be fired following the 2008-2009 school year because of the budget cuts.

"There is this mindset about minority language programs that administrators do not see any importance in them at all," Yoon said. "In language courses, we are not just lecturing or just delivering knowledge. We try to implement as many cultural aspects as well."

"Joe Glover's decision of cutting these language programs is a calculation, not a consideration of language and cultural instruction," she said.

The Asian-American community at UF is also adversely affected by these budget cuts, Loc Nguyen, president of the Asian American Student Union wrote in an e-mail interview.

The Korean and Vietnamese language courses provide a means for second generation Asian-Americans to understand more about their cultural identity through speech and writing, Nguyen wrote.

Won-ho Park, assistant professor of political science, believes that these budget cuts will do more damage to the university than administrators realize. The impact of cutting language programs ranges from the students in the classroom to UF's relationship with international universities, Park said.

Student interest in language courses creates an academic synergy that transcends into studying other subjects related to that language such as anthropology and politics, he said.

The budget cuts will severely damage UF's reputation concerning hiring future faculty and among academic associations of Asian and Korean studies, Park stressed.

Park added that UF's largest overseas alumni concentration is in Korea and UF has many exchange programs with Korean universities.

"Language precedes everything," he said. "You can't teach humanities, anthropology and politics of a foreign country without the native language. It is like teaching engineers without math."

College life can be a real pain in the back

By LANCE ROBERT FULLER
Campus correspondent

Published: Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.

Whether walking across campus in flip-flops, carrying a backpack full of books or sitting down hunched over at the library studying for too long, all these activities can lead to damaging one of the most important parts of the body - your back.

Click to enlarge

Bryan Steinman, far back, and fellow classmates study at UF's Library West for biology. For stressful classes like biology, I often study at Library West for hours on end without noticing that I slouch, Steinman said.

LANCE FULLER/Campus correspondent

"Pretty much the older you get, back pain is the most common, biggest complaint. I have never met a back-pain-free individual," said Dr. Karen M. von Deneen, who works for UF as a massage therapist running her own practice.

"Technically, we are meant to walk on all four. Walking standing up puts a lot of stress on the joints and in the lower back," von Deneen said.

Man or woman, people in general develop back pain, although through different methods, she said, and college students are also at risk.

Men develop back pain often because of their own carelessness, von Deneen said.

Men often lift heavy objects without using proper technique by not bending their knees and lift the object with their back instead of their knees and hips.

Also because of the biomechanics of different sports like soccer and football, men "throw out" their backs, she said.

Women, on the other hand, are more anatomically at a disadvantage because of a wider pelvis and breasts. Some women have breast implants that put stress on the middle back, and others wear the wrong bra size, she said.

Women also do too much and are on their feet a lot, stressing the trapezius, the muscle between the shoulder and neck, and middle back, von Deneen said.

In the weight room, many people develop poor lifting habits that result in back pain, such as arching their back on the bench press and poor form on the dead lift, squat and leg press, certified personal trainer Marc Rosa said.

"It's all about your hips," Rosa said. "Tight hips are what create back pain. The glutes are the prime movers of hip extension and when the hips are tight, the glutes deactivate, and the lower back over-compensates, creating back pain."

Back pain happens when the nerves of the spinal cord are pinched, von Deneen said.

A common injury with discs is when they rupture or herniate and must be put back in order by physical therapy, a chiropractor or even surgery, von Deneen said.

Surgery is recommended only in certain cases because it can result in permanent back pain, von Deneen said.

"The causes of back pain are multi-factorial," said Dr. Guy W. Nicolette, chief of staff at UF's Student Health Care Center. "Relieving back pain does not have an exact equation."

To counter the activities of everyday life that cause back pain, anyone can perform exercises to strengthen the lower and upper back, Rosa said.

In the gym, doing seated rows, or using the erg machine that simulates rowing, help with posture, he said.

Lunges, back extensions, yoga and pilates all help strengthen the core and lower back, von Deneen said.

The way people sleep also heavily affects back pain, von Deneen said.

For people who sleep on their side, they should sleep with a pillow between the legs so that there is no strain on the hips and pelvis, she said.

People who sleep on their back should place a pillow under the knees and a foam roll under the neck. People who sleep on their stomachs should place a pillow under the stomach and another pillow under the face to stabilize the neck, she said.

Other methods of treating back pain include stretching, massage and approaches involving Eastern and Western medicine, von Deneen said.

However, with all these exercises and preventative measures, people have to take time to take care of their bodies through good nutrition, exercise, good posture and more self-awareness, she said.

People predispose themselves to back pain because they bring stress on a daily basis through the small nuances of everyday life, von Deneen said.

"There are many modalities to prevent and cure back pain, but people don't take time to ask the body why it is hurting."