Tip sheets highlight timely news and events at Washington University in St. Louis. For more information on any of the stories below or for assistance in arranging interviews, please see the contact information listed with each story.
‘Think outside of the box’
Job-seeking college seniors must stand out from the crowd
With the slow economy today, the job market in the United States is tough. College seniors graduating this spring with little or no work experience may find it especially difficult to land that first professional job.
But even if a graduating senior doesn’t have a resume together or has never been on an interview, it is not too late to pay a visit to a career center, says Lea Luchetti, director of The Career Center at Washington University in St. Louis.
‘Savings for all’ advocated
Bush’s individual savings proposals fall far short of their potential, says visionary scholar
Sherraden
The social work professor who pioneered the idea of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) — matched savings accounts for low-income Americans — says that President Bush’s new individual savings proposals benefit the wealthy but leave behind the working poor. Michael W. Sherraden, Ph.D., the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development and director of the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, says that President Bush’s proposals to expand individual savings are wise, but fall far short of their potential. Sherraden offers suggestions for making investing opportunities available and profitable to all.
‘It’s about inclusion, not exclusion’
Blind and visually impaired Web users offered taste of multimedia future
A still from *Having a Ball*, one of three circus-themed e-cards by Kristine Ng.
For the estimated 7 to10 million blind and visually impaired Americans, the Internet has proven to be the most powerful — and most empowering — tool since Braille. Widely available software programs such as JAWS for Windows and Windows-Eyes can read aloud online newspapers and magazines and other previously inaccessible materials. Yet as bandwidth and memory improve, businesses have increasingly sought to drive customers to glitzy, graphics-heavy Web sites that are more difficult, if not impossible, for blind users to navigate. Thanks to a group of senior design students at Washington University in St. Louis, blind and visually impaired Web users can now experience some of the Internet’s increasingly expansive potential. The 23 students — design, illustration and advertising majors in the School of Art — have created some of the first Web sites showcasing new accessibility components of Macromedia Flash MX, the increasingly popular authoring tool for Web interfaces, interactive video, Web-based games, streaming music and other multimedia content.
War and its aftermath
Because obesity is a chronic illness, long-term treatment is required to help obese patients make the lifestyle changes to lose weight and keep it off.
From homeland security issues to military tribunals, Washington University faculty provide expertise
Washington University in St. Louis offers faculty experts who can comment on breaking news issues related to the war in Iraq, terrorism and other related topics, including such areas as presidential war rhetoric; national security; bioterrorism; economic and financial implications of war; and the history of anti-war and peace movements.