Friday, June 27, 2008
ReCAP economists prepare report on economic impact of 2008 floods in Iowa
AMES, Iowa —We know the 2008 floods devastated Iowa, with 83 of the state’s 99 counties being declared disaster areas by Gov. Chet Culver. But what we won’t know for some time is the actual economic impact of those flood-damage losses, according to a new report by economists from Iowa State University’s Regional Capacity Analysis Program (ReCAP). The report, “Economic Impacts of the 2008 Floods in Iowa,” details how the economic impact of this year’s flooding will be calculated. Once all of the official losses are reported, ISU economists say the total may approach or exceed the $1.45 billion in losses to crops, livestock, and personal property/income reported in the 1993 floods. (ISU Professor of Economics Dan Otto was lead author of that October 1993 report.) But until the current numbers are in, any early projections putting losses in the billions of dollars are premature, the ISU economists say.
“We can measure lots of things. What we can’t measure is the thing that people really, really want to know — and that’s the cost to the state in terms of losses from the flooding,” said Liesl Eathington, director of ReCAP and lead author on the report. “We won’t know that until everyone reports the damage. We also won’t know that until some of the (state, federal and private) aid starts to flow in, which could take months — or in some cases, even years.” Expect 1-3 years until the numbers are in Eathington says economists will rely on government accounts of the economy, which come out quarterly, but only at the state level and usually with a one-year lag. “And so it may be a year, two years, or three before we can actually look at the overall performance of the economy and figure out what the net effect was,” she said. Otto’s 1993 report also figured in the net effect. Taking into consideration offsets such as insurance, federal disaster payments and/or grants, and additional contributions, the report put total net ag losses at $676 million, net wealth losses at $113.1 million and lost personal income at $112 million from the ‘93 floods. Click here for the rest of the article
June 28 Brunch at the Flora’s Home 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. 1902 George Allen Ave. July 4 University holiday, offices closed July 11 Session I courses end August 8 Session II courses end August 9 Undergraduate and Graduate College Commencement
This service is separate from, and precedes, Outlook (and other email client) Spam Filters. If you would like to reject even more spam using your email client and the PerlMX tags placed on all incoming messages, follow the instructions for your email client on the spam page at http://www.it.iastate.edu/spam/.
Inbound Spam Rejection
On June 16, Iowa State University started rejecting incoming email with a spam probability of 99 percent or higher. This rejection is expected to prevent over 1 million spam messages from reaching university accounts each week, in addition to the 1 to 2 million spam messages already blocked each day by the university’s greylisting service.
All university email accounts will automatically have the new spam rejection applied. However, if you would like to opt-out of the new spam rejection: 1. Go to https://asw.iastate.edu/ and login with your Net-ID and password. 2. Select “Manage user [username]”. 3. Select “View/Edit your e-mail spam blocking opt-in/opt-out settings”. 4. Click “Opt Out of Spam Blocking”. If you have any further questions about spam and your university email account, please refer to the spam page at http://www.it.iastate.edu/spam/, the spam FAQ at http://www.it.iastate.edu/spam/faq.html, or contact the IT Services Solution Center at 515-294-4000.
Harron Sseguya Receives the Borlaug LEAP Fellowship Award
Haroon Sseguya has been selected as a Fellow for the Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (LEAP) of the Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program. Haroon is one of only a select few outstanding graduate students who were accepted. Through Haroon’s application and interview, he proved strong promise as a leader in the field of agriculture and his research has great potential to make an impact in sub-Saharan Africa. This Fellowship came with an award of $19,998 and will cover a duration of twelve months. Sseguya will be working in Uganda from June 30, 2008 through May 30, 2009. The Borlaug (LEAP) Fellowship honors Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug who has been hailed as the father of the Green Revolution. Borlaugh has been credited with saving millions of lives, his work virtually eliminated recurring famines in South Asia and helped global food production outpace population growth. Dr. Borlaug’s distinguished career epitomizes the qualities of leadership, scholarship, scientific achievement, international cooperation, mentoring and passion. Through Haroon’s hard work and outstanding research, he will uphold this legacy.
Remodeling on the Fourth Floor
The fourth floor of East Hall is getting remodeled for the graduate students. There will be new paint, flooring and lighting. This remodeling will provide for a better work environment for the students to not only study and perform research, but also to relax from a long day of work. The renovation and remodel of the graduate student area will also help with the recruitment of graduate students. Below I have a couple of “before” shots. Keep watching the Soc Connection to see more updated photos.
Opting Out Revolution a Myth: Study Shows Steep Employment Gains for Women, Mothers
WASHINGTON, DC — Contrary to the popular perception of a so-called “opting out revolution,” new sociological research from the June issue of the American Sociological Review reveals that professional women’s employment rates have continually pushed higher over time, and that the employment gap between mothers and childless women is shrinking. To determine the truth behind the opting out phenomenon described in mass media reports, sociologist Christine Percheski examined trends among college-educated women born between 1906 and 1975 and found that professional women’s employment levels have made steep gains over time, especially for mothers of young children and women in historically male professions. Despite anecdotal reports of successful working women returning to the home to assume child care responsibilities, less than 8 percent of professional women born since 1956 leave the workforce for a year or more during their prime childbearing years, according to the study. Percheski’s research shows that the number of women with young children who work fulltime year-round has increased steadily, growing from a rate of 5.6 percent of women born 1926 to 1935 (referred to as the “Baby Boom Parents” by Percheski), to 38.1 percent of women from Generation X (born 1966 to 1975). More professional Generation X mothers of young children were working full-time year-round than their counterparts in any previous generation. Percheski finds that among mothers of older children (those age 6 to 18), full-time employment is the norm for professional women of Generation X. When examining general labor force participation rates, Percheski finds even more drastic growth. About a third of women with young children from the Baby Boom Parents group participated in the labor force while their children were under age 6, but the rate increased to a little more than three-quarters for Generation X mothers of young children. Click here for the rest of the article.
Global Resource Systems Bachelor’s Degree Approved
The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, has approved a new bachelor of science program in Global Resource Systems which will be administered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The program will provide an interdisciplinary approach, matching a technical component from one of the 21 minors in the College with an understanding of that technical subject within the context of a geographic area. Students will develop expertise in their discipline and will develop transnational leadership skills through an experiential learning component, the study of a foreign language, an immersion experience abroad and a senior thesis. A minor in meat science, undergraduate certificate in occupational safety, bachelor’s degrees in biological systems engineering and culinary science, new names for undergraduate degrees agriculture and life sciences education and insect science were also approved.
Outstanding Business Philanthropy Award
Youth and Shelter Services is Panera Bread’s Operation Dough Nation partner for the Ames Panera Bread Café location. For that program, Panera Bread has cash donation boxes set out at its bakery location. For every dollar a customer donates, Panera Bread matches dollarfor-dollar to Youth & Shelter Services. YSS has received this gift each year since Panera opened its new Ames restaurant. Three years ago, these dollars helped fund several projects, including the remodeling of the kitchen at YSS’ Seven -12 House drug treatment facility for girls and services at YSS’Rosedale Shelter. Since the bakery café opened in 2003, YSS has also been a Day-End Donation recipient. Twice a week, YSS picks up Panera’s unsold bread, bagels, and pastry products and donates the products to programs that help the needy and hungry. Thus far, the in-kind value of this donation to YSS is $73,550.
There is Plenty to do at the Des Moines Art Festival this Weekend
Join fellow art lovers June 27-29 in downtown Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park to celebrate the arts in all its forms. The Festival showcases the work of a multitude of visual artists with 175 professional visual artists in the Aviva Artist Village; 23 Emerging Iowa Artists sponsored by Principal Financial Group®; and over 360 visionary artists from Central Iowa students in grades K-12 in the Des Moines Art Center’s Nurturing a Student’s Vision program sponsored by Hubbell Homes. New programming and activities for 2008 include the explosive Interrobang Film Festival presented by Nationwide, celebrating the art of film with continuous screenings throughout the three days of the Festival at the Pappajohn Higher Education Center. You can create your own masterpiece and be a part of history by helping to create two new billboard-sized interactive murals with the GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural, produced by the Des Moines Art Center. One of the finished murals will be permanently installed on the wall at Hy-Vee Hall following the Festival. Add your own creative touch to the new Kemin Industries Public Art Project. The Bank of America Creative Kid’s Zone offers more hands-on art projects including a musical petting zoo, origami hats, crafts, and 25 organizations in the Prairie Meadows Non-Profit Program. Be sure to check out the non-stop live music on the U.S. Cellular Stage and Meredith Corporation Stage featuring headliners Public Property, Swing Crew, Lady Blue, The Josh Davis Band and much more. Even the streets around Western Gateway Park will buzz with excitement as Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines presents Live Street Theatre from acts including Janet Rayor’s Dancing Stilts, Roberto the Magnificent, Project Dynamite, Bill Robison, and Creations with a Twist. Click here to visit the official web site for more information.