Fuel Innovation Tweaking is Near

The future for car fuel is not that far away after all.

“Until recently, most people experienced clean- energy cars at auto shows, in the pages of magazines, or as image advertising they weren’t tangible. All that’s changed now: You can actually see electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the street, picking up groceries with early adopters at the wheel, taking the kids to Little League, and-lo and behold-even charging up at public stations,” the Futurist writer Jim Motavalli said.

Motavalli went on to say that there are battery electrics, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell cars.

“Battery electrics are cars that have electric motors and battery packs, and no other means of propulsion. The range is generally 100 miles, but that’s not likely to remain the standard for long. The model Tesla Roadster can deliver 245 miles on charge”, said Motavalli.

“The Plug hybrids cars act like an electric car for the first 15 to 50 miles, but then they can switch to an on board internal-combustion engine that, in many cases, acts as a generator instead of directly driving the wheels. The Chevrolet Volt is an example of the plug-in hybrid, as is the Fisher Karma”, said Motavalli.

”Hybrids either use their electric motors as assists for the gas engine, or allow short bursts of electric-only driving. The Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion hybrids are examples of this car”, Motavalli said.

Motavalli defined hydrogen fuel-cell cars stating, that fuel cells produce electricity from hydrogen which replaces the battery pack. Seeing as hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe; we will never run out of it. The main challenge is not having enough hydrogen filling stations.

“Nearly every major automaker is planning new clean-energy models, Ford intends to roll out five new models in 2012,” Motavalli said.

Ronald Berger Strategy Consultants forecasts that 10% of new cars globally will be electric by 2025, and the larger category includes hybrids and plug-in hybrids will have 40% of the market also. This would mean that car showrooms around the globe would be 50% electric with this new optimistic outlook, with the deciding factor being gas prices.

“Hydrogen fuel-cell cars should be ready for mass use in just a few more years, in addition, four car companies Daimler, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai plan to roll out tens of thousands of hydrogen powered cars by 2015,” Motavalli said.

Motavalli went on to say that the near obstacle is the lack of hydrogen infrastructure. By saying this he stated that there are recently fewer than a hundred hydrogen stations in all of the United States and only a handful are public. Though some entrepreneurs such as, Tom Sullivan; the founder of Lumber Liquidators, has just recently started Sun Hydro, which is a private chain of hydrogen fueling stations along the U.S. east coast.

“As it stands now though, the upcoming hydrogen powered cars may end up being sold in Europe, South Korea or Japan where public commitments on hydrogen infrastructure are much stronger than in the United States. The U.S. government has had an on-again, off-again relationship with hydrogen –powered cars,” Motavalli said.

Motavalli went on to say that American consumers don’t like electric cars, because demand is higher in the U.S. than anywhere. But demand in China could surpass the U.S. demand very quickly, China will likely become the world’s largest electric car market: It has put in place some of the world’s best incentives for electric cars and quite a few manufacturers are lining up to sell them to Chinese buyers.

“Demographic trends might also help the electric car market, as more people move to cities. Electrics will help fill the need for vehicles that can take people short distances at low speeds due to traffic and pedestrians, the obstacles for electric vehicles as city cars is the problem of  charging them in cities like New York, we’re not likely to see on-street parking and charging units for electric vehicles,” Motavalli said.

Motavalli went on to say what we probably will see are electrical vector charging units in garages and buildings, but the rules and protocols have yet to be developed and that there need to be guidelines for apartment dwellers to charge electrics and right now that doesn’t exist. While there are some good reasons to be optimistic for electric cars in the future, at first a fairly small percentage of people will buy electric and plug-in hybrid cars solely because they expect to save money on them and most will be motivated by environmental concerns, but then oil prices could certainly affect the popularity of electrics.

“It is true that auto makers face major challenges to transitioning to electricity, but they are taking a chance with these new clean-energy cars. The revival of the electric car is now well underway, pushed forward by technological leaps, the imperatives of global warming and the sobering prospect of peak oil.  That the electric cars are going to jumpstart our lives and do good things for the planet too,” Motavalli said.

The Vice President of Environment and Energy Beth Lowery stated that, Henry Ford had a great fascination with soybeans and took great liking to finding new uses for the soybeans he personally grew and not only did he create soybean meals sometimes to the dismay of his family and staff but he also used soybeans to produce plastics used in Ford vehicles, as well as ethanol produced as a gasoline alternative.

“We think E85 fuel currently available in our dependency on oil and improving the environment and it’s time to Live Green and Go Yellow,” Lowery said.

Lowery backed her statement by saying that the most significant development of ethanol has taken place in Brazil, Sweden and the United States. Brazil has excelled in developing a brand of ethanol derived from sugar cane, while U.S. ethanol has been made mainly from corn and Brazil’s ethanol industry got going in the late 1970’s. Today, ethanol production from sugar cane is very strong there and GM supports the industry by offering many popular vehicles that offer Flexpower the ability to run on 100 percent ethanol.

“The history of the past century shows us that whenever a nation has developed a resolve to run cars and trucks on a certain fuel, it has set a national fuel policy, gotten businesses on board, mobilized public opinion and met its goals. These examples should encourage all of us who hope for increased use of alternative fuels here in America,” Lowery said.

Lowery also stated that autonomy, the world’s first vehicle designed expressly around a fuel-cell propulsion system; and Sequel, a concept car debuted in 2005, that takes fuel cell vehicles to the next level.

“There’s no magic bullet so we’re concentrating our energies on a number of different fronts, and believe that many of these technologies will co-exist in the marketplace,” Lowery said.

Lowery went on to say I’d just like to mention that we remain committed to our long-term strategy , the hydrogen fuel cell and that’s  the logical next step to reinventing the automobile and transforming our entire industry.

Mark Phelan, a critic who researched and reported on natural gas and stated that natural gas got a strong vote of confidence as a future vehicle fuel at the Society of Automotive Analysts Strategic Planning Summit.

“New methods of extracting the gas are one of the biggest changes affecting the auto industry in years,” General Motors Chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem said.

Mohatarem said the U.S. now has a 100 year supply of natural gas and he said I’d make a bet it’s the next big transportation fuel. The price is much lower than gasoline and people will find a way to use it.

“We’re also very high on natural gas, it’s a massive change for the United States, and probably a big deal for the motor industry,” said senior managing director of investment banking at Guggenheim Partners.

Kim Dong-Min the author of cars suggest the future of chemical materials stated that, the ability to manufacture lighter, stronger, fuel-efficient cars at lower cost is the Holy Grail of automakers.

“High gasoline prices continuously spur consumer demand for fuel-efficient cars, and government regulations and pressuring heavy industries to help reduce carbon emissions,” sad Min.

Min went on to say that the use of chemical and plastic materials not only answers the demand for fuel efficiency and lower production costs, it satisfies the safety and environmental consciousness needs of consumers and governments.

Min closed by stating that, cars with jointly developed sophisticated technologies will bring a transformation of the automobile.

Jim Lentz, the President of Toyota Motor sales stated that, since we can’t live with cars in their current form and we can’t live without the benefits they bring, we have to find a better way.

“And that’s what Toyota and other major automakers are doing today, developing better cars and other creative mobility solutions to do so we’re concentrating on  two critical areas increasing fuel economy and reducing emissions that harm our planet,” Lentz said.

Lentz closed by stating that the auto industry is also making great progress on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that create electricity from hydrogen and oxygen without generating any harmful emissions and that industry is exploring all these technological fronts because there is no one solution for future mobility needs, but the need for many.

Timothy Gibson article on the future of car fuels stated that, in truth some people are unlikely to be satisfied by any of the alternative fuel options currently available, but if we are to seriously address the world’s diminishing reserves of oil, and the damage caused to the environment by the internal combustion engine we will be forced to train ourselves into new habits or worst give up on the car altogether.

Unemployment for Recent College Graduates is Terrifying

 The Associated press stated that the unemployment and underemployed  rate for young college graduates is staggering.

The Washington Post stated that after graduation universities and schools don’t tell graduates that, “next year you will probably either be unemployed or live in your parents’ basement or be unemployed and live in your parents’ basement, and that 29 percent of 25 to 34 year olds live in what the poll taker was kind enough to refer to as multi generational living arrangements, rather than your old room.”

During this year election run Mitt Romney, the republican candidate, stated that “fifty percent of kids coming out of school can’t get a job”.

This statement came from an Associated Press release that stated a weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don’t fully use their skills and knowledge, and that young adults with bachelor’s degrees are increasingly scraping by in lower wage jobs whether it be a waitress, bartender, retail clerk or receptionist.

The AP release went on to say that its confounding hopes of a degree that would pay off despite higher tuition and mounting student loans, and that about 1.5 million or 53.6 percent of bachelor’s degree holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless and unemployed.  Out of the 1.5 million who languished in the job market, about half were underemployed which was considered an increase from the previous year.

The Associated Press closed the article by stating that rather than roughly half of recent college grads are not being able to find a job and that the reality is that about 50 percent of recent college graduates are either unemployed or employed in jobs that aren’t commensurate with their degree and of this 50 percent figure, about half are unemployed and the other half are in jobs that don’t require a college degree.

In an article produced by James Gaskins for ITworld, Gaskins stated that graduates in technology, science and health fields do well but a college degree now means that only a 1 in 2 chance of avoiding unemployment or underemployment.

Now, “Worse in non technical fields, median wages for lucky graduates that get a job are below the levels in 2000, the Associated Press analyzed government data and found last year’s graduates faced the lowest employment uptake in more than a decade and this comes as college tuition keeps rising and total student loan debt tops one trillion dollars,” Gaskins said.

But Gaskins stated on the bright side that careers that can’t be replaced or haven’t been replaced by technology are doing well with fields such as computer science, accounting, nursing and even teaching, while those in humanities, philosophy, anthropology, art history and zoology were least likely to find jobs appropriate to their education level. This in turn led to taking job spots that were traditionally filled by those without degrees.

Reporter Jordan Weissman wrote an article titled 53 of recent college grads are jobless or underemployed how? In the article Weissman stated that more than half of America’s recent college graduates are either unemployed or working a job that does not require a bachelor’s degree and that regardless of the education acquired in the wake of the Great Recession it is a terrible time for the youth who are looking for jobs.

Weissman stated that this hurts the economy once again because a degree is very expensive and students are piling on debt to finance their educations and now it becomes much harder to pay back loans while working for smaller wages at restaurant for tips than when you have a decent office job. And secondly, when college grads take a lower paying job, lower skilled workers become displaced because they are less educated workers. For every underemployed college degree holder, there is a decent chance someone with just a high school diploma is without a job entirely.

So is a college degree becoming less valuable? “ The number Americans under the age of 25 with at least a bachelor’s degree has grown 38 percent since 2000, and not nearly enough jobs have been created to accommodate them which has resulted in falling wages for young college graduates in the past decade as well as the employment problems we’re now seeing,” said Weissman.

Weissman also stated that, when there were fewer graduates, a generic college degree use to be a valuable credential and that now the market is flooded, diplomas count as less and specific skills count more and that for people seeking to fix America’s employment picture, the saying college for all is the wrong statement in this current economic state it is more about skills.

The Huffington Post detailed a story about a woman named Serena Whitecotton. Whitecotton graduated last May, with a grade point average of 3.5, had great experience working at her school newspaper and a degree in communications from California State University at Fullerton. She applied for 400 journalism and public relations jobs. And for her valiant efforts she has been granted 10 interviews that have not led to a single job offer, she still lives at home and has been unable to find work since her internship ended in November.

The post reported that nowadays, “Whitecotton said she sleeps until 9a.m. because she has nothing to wake up for, she applies to five to six jobs per day and spends the rest of her time watching TV and reading; all while wearing makeup just in case an employer calls for an in person interview,” the post stated.  Whitecotton closed by stating that, “it would be really nice to be rejected at this point, just to know that people are reading my resume and know that I am looking for a job,” the post stated.

An article by Travis Detherage explored some other possibilities of the unemployment rise in recent graduates and reported to the Shorthorn that, “according to a study by Rutgers University, 50 percent of students who graduated within the last five years are unemployed or underemployed,” Detherage said. The study compared a job outlook for grads of the post recession before the economic issues of 2008, two-thirds of recent college graduates reported that they were satisfied  with their first jobs and of the five 21 percent said they were dissatisfied.

David Falcheck reported to the Times Tribune that, “only half of 2009 University of Scranton graduates found full-time employment within six months after graduation, the lowest percentage since 1983, meanwhile more graduates than ever, 40 percent have gone on to obtain advanced degrees.”

Falcheck went on to elaborate and state that typically between 60 and 70 percent of graduates find full-time jobs by that time and that historically the back to school rate is between 25 and 35 percent.

“Continuing schooling has become more common when employment prospects, since conditions don’t look good for them these students expect to improve their skill level and enter the job market when the economy improves,” said Satyajit Ghosh a professor of economics and finances at the University of Scranton.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that those between 20 and 24 years of age with bachelor’s degrees, which is usually a group that would include new college graduates had an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent in November which turned out to be lower than the double-digit national but more than double the three percent jobless rate for the group in the late 1990s.

The study by Falcheck also highlighted the fact that nationally more students were looking for unconventional options with jobs in the nonprofit sector under groups such as Teach for America and the Peace Corps.

“According to the Ohio to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family services, in 2011 the percentage that was unemployed directly was directly inverted to the age group being measured, 16-19 year olds had a 19.5 percent unemployment rate while 20-24 year olds, the age range for most college graduates in the fall had a 11.9 percent unemployment rate with the total in the state in 2011 at 8.7,” said the Daily times journalists Justin McClelland.

Ben Johnson, the spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, went on to say that, “it’s a domino effect of their being less job, as jobs are being lost, people with better qualifications, experience and references than those just entering the job market begin competing for entry-level jobs, effectively pushing out new college graduates.”

Bill Even a professor of economics at Miami University stated that many longer tenured employees have built up a valuable skill set that newer hires don’t posses and that new employees are viewed as less vital to the company’s survival which in turn leads to them being let go.

Now, “new graduates face further difficulties with the rising cost of tuition and the ensuing debt accrued from it,” McClelland said.

Steve Giegerich, a reporter from the St. Louis Post Dispatch stated that, “what seems universal across sectors and social classes and unprecedented in the past downturns is the harsh new reality of long-term unemployment.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the average length of national unemployment has soared in ten months and more than doubled that of any period since 1990.

Giegerich said that these numbers although can’t fully capture the impact on individuals because many idled through no fault of their own are struggling to beat the stigma and emotional pressure of joblessness and that joblessness is measured now  in years rather than weeks, which has resulted in future employees lowering their expectations.

Cholesterol Is Serious Are You?

Cholesterol and cardio vascular disease have a correlation between each other that is often times fatal if not handled with care and the number of deaths related to these two health concerns are staggering.

Hidden factors that play a role in coronary artery disease include: total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

The Center for Disease Control stated that having high cholesterol puts you at risk for developing heart disease and it is the leading cause of death in the United States and that people of all ages and backgrounds can have high cholesterol.

The CDC rattled off some staggering statistics,

“71 million American adults or 33.5 % have high LDL or bad cholesterol, only 1 out of every 3 adults with high LDL cholesterol has the condition under control, less than half of adults with high LDL cholesterol get treatment, people with high total cholesterol have approximately twice the risk of heart disease as people with optimal levels( a desirable level is lower than 200 mg/dl) and that the average total cholesterol level for adult Americans is about 200 mg/dl, which is borderline high risk.”

The rates for high cholesterol do vary by race, ethnicity and gender. The CDC stated the breakdown of percentages of people with high LDL cholesterol (LDL-C> 130mg/dL) in the U.S.

The CDC went on to highlight ,Non Hispanic black men are at 34.4 %, women are at 27.7%, Mexican Americans men are at 41.9%, women are at 31.6%, Non Hispanic White men are at 30.5%, women are at 32.0% coming out with a combined total for all groups with men at 32.5% and women at 31.0%.

The CDC stated from 1999 through 2010 the percentage of American adults with high total cholesterol dropped from 18.3% to 13.4%, though the percentage of American adults with high LDL cholesterol has remained around 34% over the past decade while treatment of high LDL cholesterol has increased from 28.4% in 1999 through 2003 to 48.1% in 2005-08.

More recently, analyses of components of cholesterol referred to as lipoprotein fractions have granted specific information about the role of the components in the prevention or formation of plaques and heart disease.

The CDC specifically stated that, “high density lipoproteins may help to protect an individual from developing heart disease and very low levels of HDL indicate that the individual is lacking his or her natural protection against heart disease, and that a level below 40 mg/dl has been identified as placing a person at increased risk of developing heart disease.”

This information is essential in the battle against high cholesterol because information on chronic disease risk factors provides help for prevention tips, detection efforts and could possibly help in evaluating other effect ways to solve this issue.

Wizdom Powell Hammond PHD, MPH, Derrick Matthews MPH, Dinushika Mohottige, MPH, Amma Agyemang MPH and Giselle Corbie-Smith MD, MSc, believe African-American men could possibly be struggling with cholesterol from a mixture of masculinity and medical mistrust ideas.

“Higher levels of traditional masculinity identity salience were associated with a decreased likelihood of delaying cholesterol screening, and that African-American men with higher medical mistrust were significantly more likely to delay routine checkups for blood pressure and cholesterol screenings,” said Hammond, Matthews, Mohottige, Agyemang and Smith.

Against popular belief, higher traditional masculinity is associated with decreased delays in African-American men’s blood pressure and cholesterol screening while routine checkup delays are attributable to medical mistrust, said Hammond, Matthews, Mohottige, Agyemang and Smith.

Hammond, Matthews, Mohottige, Agyemang and Smith stated that with the issues being broken down as such for African-American males, better service utilization, use of polices to lower biases in healthcare and the delivery of increased mistrust could eliminate disparities in the use of healthcare service for African-Americans.

Hammond, Matthews, Mohottige, Agyemang and Smith said that African-American men also do not use preventive services rather the reason be underutilization, fatalism, socioeconomic barriers, limited health knowledge or awareness, medical mistrust or masculinity.

“Compared to non Hispanic White men, African American men attend fewer preventive health visits and  are less likely to know their cholesterol levels, have poorer Bp control, and face greater morbidity and premature mortality from conditions amenable to early interventions,” said Hammond, Matthews, Mohottige, Agyemang and Smith.

African-American men also experience higher death rates from heart disease and cancers detectable through screenings, recent data says that the Black to White life expectancy gap has tightened, but African-American men still are behind non Hispanic White women, Hammond, Matthews, Mohottige, Agyemang and Smith said.

“Theorists differ over how masculinity impacts African-American men’s healthcare use, largely because this group has experienced socioeconomic challenges to fulfilling traditional male provider role expectations and defines masculinity differently than non Hispanic White men, some argue that since African-American men hold relatively lower social positions, they may delay healthcare utilization to symbolically exercise masculine dominion over their bodies,” said Hammond, Matthews, Mohottige, Agyemang and Smith said.

While others believe, that barriers to traditional male role fulfillment push African-American men to reject traditional masculinity and adopt patterns of health treatment that go against the normal practices of males.

CJ. Brahler, C Wilson, JT Bear stress that atherosclerosis and CHD are the leading causes of death within the United States, and various forms of CHD have been positively correlated with diets high in saturated fats and cholesterol.

“It has been shown that diets high in saturated fat increase the LDL an TC in the blood, and decrease HDL, which further impairs removal of LDL and leads to the formation of fatty plaques, coronary heart disease and is inversely related with HDL levels and accumulation of fatty plaques, which is not solely a pathogenesis of adults; it begins early in childhood with small fatty deposits in the arteries that can progress into plaque as the individual matures,” said Brahler, Wilson and Bear.

Despite high dietary fat consumption and high lipid levels in Caucasians, African Americans are prone to have a greater connection with CHD than other races. It has been researched and reported that, “African-American women aged 20 – 74 show no significant association between high serum total cholesterol and CVD, another study compared the diet profiles of African-American and Caucasian women and found that in the African-American group, less than a third of the population kept their total fat intake below 30% of their total dietary intake,” said Brahler, Wilson and Bear.

Brahler, Wilson and Bear stated that this research shows that increased cholesterol intake and serum cholesterol does not consistently predict a risk of CHD among African-American women between the ages of 22 and 51, thus, race plays an independent effect on normal blood lipid levels who consume high fat diets.

“However, given the fact that African-American women are at higher risk CV and metabolic diseases, young African-American females should be encouraged to decrease their daily total fat intake as it is associated with the increased body weight and increased waist to hip ratio and both body weight and waist to hip are inversely related to HDL,” said Brahler, Wilson and Bear.

An US National Cholesterol Education research study showed the most prevalent risk factor was low HDL cholesterol, affecting 53.6% of women and high triglyceride levels and hyperglycemia were present in 49.3%, 48.4%, 37.7% and 12.7% respectively. The study demonstrated a significant reduction in the incidence of new cases of diabetes after a 4 year program of healthy lifestyles that included weight reduction, decreased saturated fatty acid consumption, increased ingestion of fiber and physical activity.

C. Jayne Brahler, Jewel Harden, Michelle Mchone, Matthew Soules, Eric Evans, Ann Alyanak, Fred Diakpieng, Paul Vanderburgh stated that, “ The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends total cholesterol levels below 170 mg, and the LDL cholesterol levels below 110 mg, common causes of high cholesterol include heredity, high cholesterol diets, excess weight and lack of physical activity. Hypercholesterolemia may be monogenic or polygenic, where polygenic disorders expressed in concert with environmental factors result in the highest cholesterol levels in children and strong families’ aggregates are often found where environmental and genetic factors act in concert.”

Some ways to reduce high level cholesterol are vitamins and minerals and doctor visits.

“Dietary flaxseed supplementation lowered total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by approximately 7 % and 10% respectively; however, the levels of high-density lipoprotein HDL send triglyceride remained unaltered,” said Anagha Patade M.B.B.S., M.S.S, Latha Devareddy Ph.D, Edralin A. Lucas Ph.D, Kiranmayi Korlagunta M.S., Bruce P. Daggy Ph.D and Bahram H. Arjmandi Ph.D and R.D.

A cholesterol guide by, Jennifer Moul on About.com stated that, niacin is a popular and widely used cholesterol lowering supplement because it is fairly inexpensive, easy to obtain and appears to have been known to effect many aspects of cholesterol profiles and can be found at local GNC store or other health and vitamin stores.

The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that all adults have their cholesterol levels checked once every five years.

Cholesterol is a serious issue in the US. but with careful adherence to certain dietary guidelines and regular doctor checkups you could better your life and overall health.

 

Athletes Graduation Rates taking a Turn for the Better

Athletes gradaution rates are doing great and have been on the incline in recent years, it may come as a surprise to many but its a bright future for the NCAA.

Schools that are doing the best job of graduating all their athletes over the four-year stretch are Colgate at 100% and Notre Dame at 99%.

Jeff Selingo from the Chronicle reported, ” that every year, the method by which the government measures the graduation rates gets further and further from what’s actually happening on campuses.

“If not for two former Olympic basketball players who made their way to Congress and wanted college athletes to know about their chances of graduating, we might still be in the dark about how well a college does in graduating the students it enrolls,” said Selingo

Now, More than 300 public four-year colleges have joined the Voluntary System of Accountability program which has created a new completion metric that includes transfer students, using data from the National Student Clearinghouse.

Moreover, “misperceptions of student athletes as dumb jocks or academically under motivated individuals have granted a lack of support for one of the most diverse student populations on college campuses today,” said American College Personal Association member Noel Harmon. Harmon said we need to ask ourselves why we continue to hold onto negative perceptions when we fight so hard to shed ourselves of other negative stereotypes.

To be able to support student athletes and their graduation rates we have to support them and get to know more about their experiences even if that means understanding their roles as scholarship athletes better. “For us to examine how in our own individual roles or  as educators we can reach out to support our student athletes and explore ways to collaborate across campus constituents in order to best meet their needs and foster their individual growth and learning during their unique collegiate experience,” said Harmon.

The services provided for athletes also have a lot to do with graduation rates at universities across the country.

Professor B. David Ridpath believes that academic services for intercollegiate athletes are a significant reason that athletes are separated from the student body in general, that it is disconcerting that a disproportionate amount of male minorities feel the motivation that they must have these certain services to remain eligible, persist or graduate. The lack of these services or the help that athletes’ could possibly have or not have could skew the amount of student athletes’ campus populations negatively or positively and affect graduation rates of institutions negatively or positively.

Todd Crosset from the University of Massachusetts, Kevin Filo of Griffith University and Joseph Berger from the University of Massachusetts believe that a factor affecting graduation rates of athletes has to do with the term “Anomie” and Personal Organization Fit.

Anomie is the personal feeling of the lack of norms. Scientists have researched this term and understands it as a lack of agreement with or degradations of moral orders produce this. POF is shown when; employees are more committed and less likely to transition out of an organization’s ethical work climate is congruent with their own level of moral development.

But where does this come in to play college athletes’ and graduation rates? With these factors, we can assume that when applied to college athletes’ that there is a lack of POF between the school, athletic department and the student athlete, which causes the athletes’ to experience anomie and thus less committed to the institutional goals, which in turn creates more space for bad behavior and violation of team rules and furthermore student athletes begin to lose their way academically, fall behind and then they may not be able to attend that college or university. This hurts the athlete’s good academic standing which is incorporated in the graduation rates also.

Crosset, Filo, Berger went on to state that scholarship student athletes are engaged.  With that being said, it was researched and shows that African-American athletes at Historically White Institutions could suffer from anomie due to moral orders and the perception of unfair practices among their white peers.

Melendez said, “Black football players at predominately white institutions struggle to decode what they call “unwritten rules, but that it is too simplistic and inaccurate to suggest that whites are treated differently than blacks at HWI, nor is it accurate to imply that racial disparity can be explained by discriminatory practices.”

The question then arises why are most whites students entering institutions whose operations feel familiar? The answer is because systems of adjudication and reward make sense to them but on the other hand for black students and other students of color, the movement to college may be a shift in moral orders, resulting in anomie and the feeling that there are unwritten rules that need to be more discovered or decoded.

From the different studies and reports circling athletes and graduation rates the NCAA and the Federal government have both taken actions to address issues of academic integrity in college athletics.

In 1990, the federal government passed the Student Right to Know and Campus Security Act, which requires universities that receive federal funds to report graduation rates for all students and more specifically to report separately the graduation rates for student athletes, this is known as the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR). In 2003, the NCAA formed the Academic Progress Rate (APR) and the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) which are key indicators of academic reform programs.

The APR and GSR are unique in that they apply only to student athletes receiving athletics financial aid, though there is no comparable measure to APR for college students who are not athletes,  GSR  also takes an alternate approach to measuring graduation success rates rather than the FGR methodology.

Now, NCAA division one member institutions are keeping up with the APR and GSR of their athletic teams and other minimum NCAA academic regulations as a condition to participate in NCAA sponsored events.

However, each individual school must determine the amount of emphasis that is placed on the FGR, APR, and GSR when reviewing and assessing the congruence off the athletics program with the overall institutional mission, while adhering to the academic performance of student athletes as members of the entire study body and special admissions and other academic policies like class attendance for athletes.

Another problem that the NCAA detected was that, “developing institutions academic polices based upon the NCAA metrics and the federal metric are concerns that FGR may not provide an accurate measure of student athletes’ academic success.”

Larry Laforge and Janie Hodge who research these different complications stated that, student athletes may have opportunities to leave the university prior to graduation to enter professional sports, which are often very lucrative financially, yet in reporting the FGR, a student athlete who leaves the university prematurely for a professional sports career is considered in the same manner as a student athlete who leaves the university for academic reasons. This plays a crucial role is assessing overall graduation rates, academic performance and establishing academic policies for student athletes.

The pressure on athletes to succeed is also often comprised seeing as “nearly one third of faculty who responded to a recent survey believes that academic standards are lowered to achieve high levels of success in the sports of football and basketball,” said Laforge. And these pressure also impact admission practices, graduation rates, and the overall academic reputation of institution.

A lingering agreement is that athletic success comes at the expense of academic integrity. “Some argue that relaxed admission policies for high-profile athletes threaten academic integrity and the ideals upon which the university was built,” said Libby.

In 1983, “the NCAA passed Proposition 48, which mandated that student athletes meet certain minimum academic eligibility requirements to participate in intercollegiate athletics at Division one member institutions,” said Covell and Barr.

In 1993, the NCAA created an athletics certification requirement for member schools in Division one, the principles of academic integrity  in the NCAA Division one Athletics Certification Program require each institution  to compare graduation rates of student athletes with the overall student body, and analyze and explain any significant disparities.

“The NCAA Board of Directors recently reaffirmed its commitment to the academic reform program, and has appointed task forces to study poor overall institutional APR performance in the sports of baseball, basketball, and football and in addition the NCAA has created  a coaches’ version of APR that will provide a lifetime,” said Hodge. These actions reflect that APR and GSR will continue to play a major role in the NCAA’s academic reform efforts.

Though, Graduation success whether measured by FGR or GSR will more than likely be higher for an elite private institution than a public institution that have a mission dedicated to higher education standards. With this being stated there is a, “very serious error that sometimes occurs is the comparison of the GSR of an athletic team on campus with the FGR of the overall student brings another dimension to the measurement of student athlete academic success that does not come into play with the federally mandated FGR measure,” Hodge.

On the Brightside, the NCAA has offered some resounding news that some major college football graduation rates have risen.

Reported by Jack Carey, “player graduation rates for black players have jumped five points to 61% of those who entered school in 2003.”

In Women’s basketball, on the other hand has Connecticut at 92% and remains with four-year rates of better than 90%.

Overall, more than two- thirds of the NCAA’s roughly 5,000 Division 1 teams reported graduation success rates of 80% or higher, while only a measly 4 % percent of teams reported rates of 50% or lower.

Mark A. Emmert the NCCA’s president believes that academic reform is working. Emmert stated that, “students are better prepared when they enter college, and they are staying on track to earn their degrees. Some doubted our efforts, but the resolve of presidents is strong, we are reaping the fruit of several years of hard work.”

Hybrid Cars, Good Bad and Efficient

Erwin Johnson Jr.

September 24, 2012

The Toyota Prius hybrids’ emerging popularity surge, shows that a rapidly growing number of people want the overall hybrid revolution and the skyrocketing gas prices and the dwindling global supply components make the hybrids an increasingly wise investment.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included a new incentive that offers tax credits to hybrid buyers but the cash you’ll shell out will not match the extra zeros that go into purchasing a hybrid.

A major concern for hybrid car owners are the maintenance cost and the battery packs which though they are created to last from 150,000 to 200,000 miles could cost as much as 3,000 to replace.

But, Toyota claims that not a single Prius battery has had to be replaced due to wear since the car hit Japan in 1997.

John Rockhold stated that hybrids represent the most exciting advancement in personal transportation since the internal –combustion engine.

Surprisingly, car buyers also are willing to pay extra for hybrids anywhere from 1,000 to 10, 000 more than conventional vehicles. With tax incentives for hybrids and the rising cost of gas is it possible to make up the low-end of the hybrid premium in about five years.

Rockhold went on to give an example that compared a conventional vehicle with the average U.S. fuel economy of 21 miles per gallon to a 46 mpg hybrid, which is the mpg for an Accord, Civic, Escape, Insight and Prius. In which you pay 2. 20 dollars a gallon for engines, four-wheel drives or leather seats that a hybrid investment would actually pay dividends for years to come.

Terry Penney, technology manager for advanced vehicle technologies at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory stated that there are a lot features that are not worth the extra cost, but people pay for them because they want those features.

Penney and his team have worked on some ways to develop and improve hybrid systems since the early 1990s. He went on to say that, “you have to take the longer view, the real cost of gas and the environmental consequences of pollution. People have recently seen how gas prices can be volatile, oil is now about 60 dollars a barrel when is it going to stop.

Sales of Hybrid and Electric car sales estimated for 2010 by region complied by all electric vehicles. Com based on JD Power and Associates stated that the

USA overall car sales would be 11,640,000, Hybrid sales 291,000 which equaled a result of 2.5 percent of overall hybrid sales

Japan 4,472,700, 492,000 with an 11 percent hybrid overall sales

Europe 15,715,000, 110,000 with a 0.7 percent hybrid overall sales

Other-12,870,000, 90,400 with a 0.7 percent hybrid overall sales

World Wide total – 44,700,000, 983,400 with a 2.2 percent hybrid overall sales

The top 5 ranked bestselling hybrids by driverside.com are listed as 08 Toyota Prius, 08 Toyota Camry hybrid, 08 Honda Civic Hybrid, 08 Toyota Highlander Hybrid and 08 Ford Escape Hybrid.

Global Autos, which analyzes the cost and potential fuel-efficient technology expects full hybrid technology to gain further traction in the U.S. and forecasted an achieved 5-6 percent market share by 2015, 14 percent by 2020 and 20 percent 2025. This would translate into 800k 900k full hybrids sold annually in the short-term.

Production of hybrids is continuing to increase in an effort to keep up with demand.  Some hybrids that are available now are Chevrolet Silverado truck , GMC Sierra truck , Honda Accord midsize , Honda Civic compact , Honda Insight two – seater, Ford Escape SUV, Lexus RX 400h SUV, Mercury Mariner SUV, Toyota Prius midsize and Toyota Highlander SUV.

Some down the road hybrids are, Chevrolet Equinox SUV, Chevrolet Malibu midsize, Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, Dodge Ram truck, Ford Fusion, GMC Yukon SUV, Lexus GS 450h midsize, Mazda Tribute SUV, Mercury Milan midsize, Nissan Altima midsize, Porsche Cayenne SUV, Saturn VUE SUV, Toyota Camry midsize and Toyota Sienna minivan.

Although, unsold hybrids are rare on dealers’ lots are spoken for before they arrive and the wait time is around just a few weeks. With the new demand driving up the price of hybrids you will not be able to negotiate with dealers for a bargain in high demand areas but the best way to get a good deal on a hybrid is to be patient and search high and low.

The best way to shop for a hybrid is to arm yourself with knowledge so you do not get gouged and there are several web sites that list prices recently paid for automobiles with two examples being www.hybridcars.com and www.kbb.com which is the only version of the Kelly Blue Book.

With more and more manufacturers bringing hybrids to the market, it is a now a good time to examine their pros and cons. What’s best for you, the environment, and your wallet?

Two engineers named Victor Wouk and Charlie Rosen created a prototype hybrid gas-electric car using a Buick Skylark body. Then in 1999 Honda released the first hybrid car to hit the market in the U.S.

“Some people still think hybrid cars are some sort of plug in electric auto”, says Kate McLeod, car expert and author of the newspaper column Girl Driver, USA.

This is a common misconception a plug-in has a high-capacity battery that can be charged by plugging them into an electrical outlet or charging station.  Plug- in hybrid electric vehicles can store enough electricity from the power grid to significantly lower the petroleum use under typical driving elements.

There are different kinds of PHEVs which are Series and Parallel PHEVS.

In Series only the electric motor turns the wheel and the gasoline engine’s sole purpose is to generate electricity. They can run solely on electricity until the car needs to be recharged, if the trip is short enough it might not need any gas at all.

Whereas with Parallel both the engine and electric motor are mechanically connected to wheels and both push the vehicle under harsh conditions and electricity use only usually occurs at low speeds.

The benefits are that they use less petroleum and have less Greenhouse Gas Emissions while some short comings are higher vehicle costs, a good measure on fuel economy and that the re- charging takes time.

PHEVs have an estimated use of about 40 to 60 percent less petroleum than conventional vehicles, because electricity is produced primarily from domestic resources these reduce our dependence on oil. They also are expected to emit less GHG than conventional vehicles, but the amount generated relies partly on how fuel is used at electrical power plants.

Hybrids on the other hand, have two power sources a regular engine and are electric motor powered   by a super battery. They usually work together but the inner workings can vary depending on the car.

Hybrid electric vehicles combine the benefits of gasoline engines and electric motors and can be configured to obtain different objectives, such as improved fuel economy, increased power, or additional auxiliary power for electronic devices and power tools.

Hybrids technologies usually consist of regenerative brakes, electric motor drive assistance and automatic start and shutoff.

The braking systems causes the vehicle to ease to a stop which in return the energy from the wheels turns the motor which triggers the generator to converting normally wasted energy from coasting brakes into electricity which the battery re uses. The drive assistance allows a smaller more efficient engine to be used. In some vehicles the motor provides a standalone power for low mph driving conditions where internal combustion engines fall short. The automatic stop and start triggers when the vehicle comes to a stop and begins when the accelerator is compressed which in turn prevents wasted energy from idling.

“The Toyota Prius, for example, is considered a full hybrid, running solely on electric power until you get up to around 20 miles per hour, then the gasoline engine takes over”, McLeod says.

Hybrid cars increase gas mileage by limiting how much gas the engine uses when accelerating, which is when a car burns the most fuel. This use to pose as an easy equation for people interested in saving both money and the environment, increase the miles per gallon rate and decrease the amount of gas you’ll use overall. Which equals spending less money and pitching in your part to keep pollution down, so what’s changed?

“Part of the way you get good gas mileage with a hybrid is by having a small engine and a light car”, says McLeod. Because the heavier the car the lower the mileage which is why hybrid SUVs do not come to hitting 50 mpg that smaller hybrids aim for.

Instead, SUVs get 28 mpg and though that’s better than a regular SUV, you’re paying for it with a hybrid costing as much as 6,000 to 8,000 dollars more.

Some hybrids barely have any added mpg incentives, considering the Honda Accord. A May 2005 consumer reports article pointed out that the hybrid version of the Accord gets 25 mpg, while the original Accord gets 23 mpg. So if this is so, why would you, as a consumer pay up to 13,000 more for it, performance and the added power when speeding away from a stop.

Now, the question then arises, what is the point of a hybrid car?  McLeod says, go back a few years ago and hybrids were a political statement; owners were emotionally involved in the idea of these cars, seeing them as a solution to pollution, oil lust and global warming.

This is still a validated point today and hybrid ranks are continuing to grow. McLeod reports that about 200,000 hybrids were sold in 2005, versus 9,350 five years ago.

Scott Nathanson, the national field organizer for the Union of Concerned scientist’s clean program said the only vehicles that are currently able to get very high gas mileage while simultaneously reducing both smog forming emissions and global – warming emissions are hybrids, when they are done right.

Nathanson went on to say that, the environmental dream is being muddied by muscle hybrids, which are SUVs and cars that use their electric motors to produce greater power, not better mileage.  And that their higher sticker prices will likely eat up any money saved at the pump and the government would not make up the difference.

The bottom line is if you’re trying to do your part for the environment than there is no question a true hybrid is the way to go, either the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight .But if you can’t manage the high prices then opt for a small gas engine car that gets great mileage, for instance the Honda Civic or Toyota Echo, both which were on Edmund.com’s list of the 10 most fuel-efficient cars of 2005. This may be a compromise but it’s a pretty good one.

Mitt Romney is Traveling to Battleground States

Mitt Romney is going to launch a four-state bus tour through Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio on Saturday. His campaign announced these new destinations for Romney Monday afternoon.

The announcement set off a whirlwind of speculation. Romney could announce his running mate also during the tour. The only time indication Romney’s campaign has given, is to say the Vice President announcement will come before the Republican national convention begins, in Tampa, Florida on Aug. 27. 

All four stops on the bus tour are crucial swing states that Romney would need to carry if he’s going to win the presidency.

The “Romney Plan For a Stronger Middle Class” bus tour will start in Virginia on Saturday and roll south to North Carolina, and then stop in Florida for a day before jumping over to Ohio next Tuesday.

Three planes almost collide?

Federal officials are investigating  a report that states there were three U.S. Airway jets that nearly collided in mid-air.

It happened near Ronald Regan Washington Airport on Tuesday.

The Washington Post stated air traffic controllers were reversing the path of planes coming into the airport in response to a close storm forecast, but the information wasn’t fully relayed.

As a result, the three planes carrying 192 passengers and crew came within seconds of crashing.

Thankfully, they didn’t and all planes involved reached their destinations safely.

The FAA issued a statement saying it is looking into the communication lapse.

Romney aide loses cool, curses at press in Poland

Posted by: CNN National Political Correspondent Jim Acosta

Warsaw, Poland (CNN)-

The traveling press secretary for Mitt Romney lost his bearings and cursed at reporters who attempted to inquire questions about the Republican presidential candidate in a public plaza near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw Tuesday.

After, Romney paid respects to Poland’s war soldiers that were slain and shook hands with a small gathering of the nation’s military veterans. The GOP contender walked approximately 100 yards away from the memorial as he chatted with Warsaw’s mayor.

As Romney made his way to his car, reporters attempted to shout questions to the candidate. The former Massachusetts governor, who has answered just three questions from his traveling press corps during a week- long overseas trip, declined the inquiries.

When members of the press tried to ask Romney about some of his problems on his trip, his traveling press secretary, Rick Gorka verbally assessed reporters.

Here, are some examples of the inquiries and Gorka’s responses…..

 

CNN: “Governor Romney are you concerned about some of the mishaps of your trip?

NYT: “Governor Romney do you have a statement for the Palestinians?

Washington Post: “What about your gaffes?

NYT: “Governor Romney do you feel that your gaffes have overshadowed your foreign trip?”

CNN: “Governor Romney just a few questions sir, you haven’t taken but three questions on this trip from the press!

Gorka: “Show some respect”

NYT: “We haven’t had another chance to ask a question…”

Gorka: “Kiss my ass. This is a Holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.”

Moments later, Gorka told Jonathan Martin, a reporter for Politico, to “shove it.” About a half-hour later, the aide called reporters to apologize.

Gorka’s comments to the media came just hours before Romney’s foreign policy speech in Warsaw.

Aides to the GOP candidate say Romney visited Poland to highlight the nation’s growing economy and honor its contributions to the war in Afghanistan.

From New Hampshire to Gardner-Webb University

From New Hampshire to Gardner-Webb University.

Internship expierence

Internship expierence.