tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4 2011-10-03T15:02:49Z Movable Type 3.34 tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.15310 2011-09-29T15:26:24Z 2011-10-03T15:02:49Z

Michelle Jordan One of UMBC’s top revenue-generating technologies has just been licensed for the third time, this time to GE Healthcare. This demonstrates that the university’s strong efforts to commercialize its research are paying off. “UMBC benefits from technology transfer not just in measurable dollars from licensing revenue but also by building relationships with companies,” says Wendy Martin, director of technology development at UMBC. The technology allows companies to use an external sensor to measure a range of environmental factors including pH, oxygen, and carbon dioxide levels in cell culture. The sensor peels and sticks to the inside of the plastic or glassware. The entire vessel is then sterilized and sold to the customer. The sensor works by looking for a specific fluorescent signature associated with each environmental factor. “It works much like a bar code scanner,” says Govind Rao, a professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at UMBC who developed the technology after almost 20 years of research. Prior methods required scientists to use something like an “electrical dipstick.” That is, says Rao, “they had to place a corded, electrical probe into the cell culture,” risking contamination of the entire culture. “It’s like moving from a corded phone to a cordless phone,” he says. Because the adhesive probe allows scientists to avoid costly contamination it saves companies millions in labor and materials. For the general population this means that the time to market for new drugs can be reduced -- an innovation that positively impacts human health. tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.15215 2011-08-22T18:27:08Z 2011-08-22T19:42:37Z

Dinah Winnick Quality Assisted Living: Informing Practice through Research” (Springer 2011). This innovate volume is unique in its approach—explicitly delving into the lives of those who inhabit assisted living facilities, seeking to understand and evaluate their perceptions of what constitutes quality of life. The book also includes staff and family member perspectives, collected through interviews by authors Leslie A. Morgan, Ann Christine Frankowski, Erin G. Roth, Lynn Keimig, Sheryl Zimmerman and J. Kevin Eckert, chair of UMBC’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Looking for a high quality assisted living facility can be a stressful experience for older adults and their families. Co-author Leslie Morgan notes the challenge starts when we ask, “What is high quality?” In a preview video introducing the book, Morgan suggests a more helpful question would be: “What facility would best meet the individual personality and needs of my loved one?” “Quality Assisted Living” provides accessible discussion of assisted living topics ranging from dining preferences to housing regulations to financial issues. Grounded in rigorous qualitative research funded by the National Institute on Aging, and conveying residents’ own words, the book is of interest to popular and academic audiences alike. ]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.15154 2011-07-25T14:52:05Z 2011-08-01T13:44:47Z

Anthony Lane alane@umbc.edu Patrick Lynch NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 757-897-2047 patrick.lynch@nasa.gov Katherine Leitzell National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colo. University of Colorado 303-492-1497 leitzell@nsidc.org GREENBELT, Md. -- An international team of researchers has combined data from multiple sources to provide the clearest account yet of how much glacial ice surges into the sea following the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves. The work by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Laboratoire d'Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique at the University of Toulouse, France, and the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colo. details recent ice losses while promising to sharpen future predictions of further ice loss and sea level rise likely to result from ongoing changes along the Antarctic Peninsula. "Not only do you get an initial loss of glacial ice when adjacent ice shelves collapse, but you get continued ice losses for many years — even decades — to come," says Christopher Shuman, a researcher at UMBC's Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "This further demonstrates how important ice shelves are to Antarctic glaciers." Shuman is lead author of the study “2001–2009 elevation and mass losses in the Larsen A and B embayments, Antarctic Peninsula“ published online today in the Journal of Glaciology. An ice shelf is a thick floating tongue of ice, fed by a tributary glacier, extending into the sea off a land mass. Previous research showed that the recent collapse of several ice shelves in Antarctica led to acceleration of the glaciers that feed into them. Combining satellite data from NASA and the French space agency CNES, along with measurements collected during aircraft missions similar to ongoing NASA IceBridge flights, Shuman, Etienne Berthier of the University of Toulouse and Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado produced detailed ice loss maps from 2001 to 2009 for the main tributary glaciers of the Larsen A and B ice shelves, which collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively. "The approach we took drew on the strengths of each data source to produce the most complete picture yet of how these glaciers are changing," Berthier said, noting that the study relied on easy access to remote sensing information provided by NASA and CNES. The team used data from NASA sources including the MODerate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments and the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). The analysis reveals rapid elevation decreases of more than 500 feet for some glaciers, and it puts the total ice loss from 2001 to 2006 squarely between the widely varying and less certain estimates produced using an approach that relies on assumptions about a glacier's mass budget. The authors’ analysis shows ice loss in the study area of at least 11.2 gigatons per year from 2001 to 2006. Their ongoing work shows ice loss from 2006 to 2010 was almost as large, averaging 10.2 gigatons per year. “This study shows where the tracking of sea level rise is heading in terms of the level of detail possible and the instrumentation that can be brought to bear,” Scambos said. “We’re showing that glacier changes can start fast, with a single climate or ocean ‘bang’, but they have a long persistence.” An animation showing ice edge changes for the Larsen B ice shelf and its adjacent tributary glaciers is available online, along with a larger version of the map below showing elevation changes of tributary glaciers. A companion paper — “The triggering of sub glacial lake drainage during rapid glacier drawdown: Crane Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula” — by the same three authors, led by Scambos, is also available online in the Annals of Glaciology in the issue “Earth's Disappearing Ice: Drivers, Responses and Impacts.” ]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.15107 2011-06-21T20:27:30Z 2011-06-21T20:31:10Z

Anthony Lane alane@umbc.edu (410) 455-5793 The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) will administer a new NASA research center focused on studying space weather and the impact it can have on human activities. The Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute (GPHI), operating under a 5-year, $10 million cooperative agreement, will provide support and resources for university researchers to collaborate with scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center as they refine efforts to predict the solar activity that ejects charged particles into space. The “weather” created by these events interferes with power grids, telecommunication systems and other activities on Earth, while also threatening spacecraft and creating risks for space travel. “This agreement offers a great opportunity to continue research that is deepening our understanding of solar and magnetospheric physics,” said Jan Merka, director of the new center. “The main goal is to more reliably predict space weather so we can avoid the impacts on space and Earth activities caused by extreme solar and magnetospheric events." The GPHI research portfolio was formerly part of the UMBC-administered Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center (GEST). The cooperative agreement that established GEST in 2000 expired in May, and research now encompassed by GPHI was re-competed separately from the rest of the GEST portfolio. The remainder of GEST is now administered under a new cooperative agreement between NASA and the University Space Research Association. The research group at GEST that focused on heliophysics has expanded to 16 researchers at GPHI. UMBC has a long history of working closely with scientists at NASA and the Goddard Space Flight Center. In addition to GPHI, UMBC administers the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), which focuses on geosciences and is now in its sixteenth year. The university is also a partner in the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST), which focuses on astrophysics. "We are delighted to continue collaborating with NASA in the area of planetary and heliophsyics research as GPHI scientists work to expand our understanding of space weather," said Geoff Summers, UMBC's vice president for research. "This ongoing area of research is particularly exciting as it both increases our understanding of the solar system and helps explain the effect of space weather on Earth."]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.15096 2011-06-16T19:12:06Z 2011-06-16T19:28:06Z

Dinah Winnick Gambling Prevalence in Maryland: A Baseline Analysis, prepared by a team from UMBC’s Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR). The study on gambling habits and pathological gambling behaviors found that although gambling is largely a positive activity for Marylanders, 3.4% of Maryland adults experience problem or pathological gambling. According to the report, the essential features of “pathological gambling” include “continuous or periodic loss of control over gambling, progression in gambling involvement, and a continuation of involvement despite adverse consequences” such as damage to “personal, family or vocational pursuits.” Interventions, such as counseling, can prevent less severe “problem gambling” from progressing to the more serious disorder. This study was mandated by a 2007 law authorizing video lottery terminals and expanding the gambling environment in Maryland. Study team leader Judith Shinogle, MIPAR research scientist, explains “the baseline study determines the geographic regions where Marylanders gambled prior to the implementation of slots.” Future replication studies will be necessary “to determine whether the implementation of slots can be associated with any subsequent changes in problem gambling behaviors and negative social impacts.” Additional study collaborators, beyond MIPAR at UMBC, include Gemini Research, Inc., and the University of Baltimore Schaefer Center for Public Policy, which collected the data. They contacted 56,807 households between September 7, 2010 and October 31, 2010 for a final sample of 5,975. Their survey assessed gambling through casinos, lottery, horse and dog racing, bingo, sports, private games and websites. Tom Carigulo, Director of the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, says, “The results will help us design the next steps directed toward preventing and treating gambling disorders.” The full report is available at www.umbc.edu/mipar. This study is the second major piece of gambling research produced by UMBC social scientists in recent months. Robert E. Carpenter, Evan L. Perlman and Donald F. Norris coauthored “Who Pays for the Maryland Lottery? Evidence from Point of Sale Data” in The Journal of Gambling Business and Economics. The research used a novel interdisciplinary approach including GIS maps to examine lottery sales in relation to demographics. Their findings show “the voluntary tax collected by the Maryland lottery comes disproportionately from census tracts populated by African American s and low-income residents,” specifically those “with less than a high-school education, and people age 65 and older.” Speaking to policymakers, the researchers write that states “must consider if the burden of the voluntary tax represented by lottery expenditures and the fact that lottery revenues are drawn disproportionately from what are commonly thought to be disadvantaged socio-economic groups is consistent with their broader social policies.” ]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.15085 2011-06-08T19:29:19Z 2011-06-08T19:30:54Z

Chelsea Haddaway About UMBC UMBC balances a deep commitment to undergraduate education with its rapid development as a distinguished public research university. For the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report recognized UMBC as the top university in the nation on a list of “Up-and-Coming” schools to watch. The Princeton Review and Kiplingers recently ranked UMBC among the “best values” among public universities in the nation, recognizing educational excellence with affordability. UMBC offers undergraduates an honors university experience with special learning opportunities traditionally found at small liberal arts colleges and is building one of the most inclusive graduate education communities in the nation. For more information, visit www.umbc.edu or contact Chelsea Haddaway, 410-455-6380 or chaddaway@umbc.edu. About the American Psychological Association Based in Washington, D.C., the American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With more than 154,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide. The mission of the APA is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives. The APA Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs convenes a Committee on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training to award the Implementation Grants to various institutions through a competitive application and review process. The ASPIRE proposal was among four applications approved for funding in the Applied Experiences and Service Learning priority area. ]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.15016 2011-05-05T16:36:03Z 2011-05-09T21:17:04Z

Dinah Winnick dwinnick@umbc.edu UMBC associate professor of anthropology Seth Messinger has partnered with University of Washington visual arts professor Ellen Garvens in arts-based research exploring the everyday lived experiences of people who wear prosthetics. Through artwork, particularly photography, they seek to challenge cultural assumptions about limb loss, prosthetics and how technologies redefine the physical body. The researchers argue that although prosthetic technologies capture people’s imaginations, the everyday physical and psychological experiences of prosthetics wearers are underexplored. These include the processes of adjusting to limb loss and adapting to a prosthetic limb. This new collaboration enables Messinger and Garvens to use systematic data collection and analysis, along with non-documentary creative exploration, to examine the prosthetics wearing experience from multiple points of view. Although they have different research processes, the scholars share similar goals. Messinger reflects, “Meaning formation is a deeply personal process and there are many ways to try to access it. Art offers a provocative way to extend the anthropological encounter with bodies and technology.” Messinger and Garvens hope to expand on initial work at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, finding new ways to visualize prosthetic limbs and connect with both soldiers who have experienced limb loss and prosthetics-makers. This research builds on Messinger’s previous work with American servicemembers returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, as described in his recent interview on North Carolina Public Radio’s “The State of Things.” Messinger contributed to the seminal volume "Psychoprosthetics" (2008) and his research findings have appeared in American Anthropologist, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Disability and Rehabilitation, and Qualitative Health Research, among other journals. Garvens is known for her photography, sculpture and drawing, and for working at the intersections of art, social sciences and healthcare. Her artwork has been reviewed in the New York Times, Village Voice, Arts Magazine, Art on Paper, Sculpture Magazine, New Art Examiner, Creative Camera London and SF Camerawork. Photo by Ellen Garvins, all rights reserved.]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14746 2011-03-15T19:18:44Z 2011-03-15T19:21:31Z

Chelsea Haddaway T’ang Studies Society. The society is dedicated to furthering research and education about China during the T’ang dynasty. Shields is a researcher of T’ang China. The society has about 120 members. Shields has served as an elected executive board member and co-organized the society’s 25th anniversary conference in 2009, which attracted scholars from around the world. Shields is the first woman to serve as president, and was the youngest female scholar to be published in their journal. Shields has also been named the East Asia section editor for the Journal of the American Oriental Society. The journal is divided into four regions - Asia, Ancient and Near East, Southern and Inner Asia, and Islam – and examines the literature, religion, and philosophy of each. “As a literary scholar, I’m also interested in religion and philology,” Shields said. She has previously published an article and book reviews in the journal. Shields will be officially installed into both roles at the annual conference of the American Oriental Society this week in Chicago. The T’ang Studies Society is not affiliated with the American Oriental Society. ]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14599 2011-02-24T15:26:56Z 2011-02-25T16:11:48Z

Anthony Lane alane@umbc.edu The goal of personalizing medical treatment on a genetic level is complicated by the human genome’s size: It contains about 22,000 genes that serve as blueprints for an even greater number of proteins needed to make cells function. Linking diseases and disorders to individual protein defects — and underlying genetic mutations — is a monumental and challenging task. Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) are simplifying this task and accelerating progress toward personalized medicine by offering a new tool that catalogs these defects as they appear in the roughly 4,000 protein domains that recur in proteins. The Domain Mapping of Disease Mutations (DMDM) database, bioinf.umbc.edu/dmdm, enables researchers to look for new links between diseases and therapeutic approaches by providing a map of the flaws that show up in what amounts to a “parts warehouse” for proteins. “We are trying to change from a gene-centric perspective to a domain-centric view,” says Maricel Kann, an assistant professor in UMBC’s Department of Biological Sciences. “This approach will provide valuable perspective as researchers grapple with the vast amount of data that gene-sequencing technology has made available.” Kann’s multidisciplinary research team — consisting of undergraduates and graduate students — described the database in an article published in August in the journal Bioinformatics. Updated this month, DMDM now tracks more than 120,000 mutations drawn from the three primary databases tallying research in genetic diseases, mutations and protein structures. The DMDM database currently receives about 1,200 visits a week. Visitors can search by disease, gene, protein or domain. At each level, the database shows the location of known mutations. For domains, the database shows the number of mutations found in each location, with information about the associated proteins. Domains are the basic functional units of proteins. Highly conserved throughout evolution, each domain gives a protein a new capability, such as the ability to bind to DNA or to catalyze a specific reaction. To build the DMDM database, UMBC researchers downloaded the known disease-causing point mutations (a point mutation causes a change from one amino acid to another) from several public databases. They then mapped the mutations to positions within individual proteins and protein domains, finding that more than 75 percent of the disease mutations fall within protein domains. This finding shows that domains are critical to the proper functioning of proteins: When a mutation falls within a protein domain, the protein’s function is often disrupted and disease can result. As more and more individual genomes are sequenced, more new mutations will be identified. Researchers can use DMDM to check if a mutation falls within a domain to see if it is likely to disrupt protein function. Researchers can also check if a mutation in a certain position within the domain has previously been linked to disease. Ultimately, mutation “hotspots” within domains could be targeted by pharmaceutical companies for drug development. A screenshot from the database is below: tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14551 2011-02-18T18:59:59Z 2011-02-18T19:17:11Z

Dinah Winnick dwinnick@umbc.edu Faculty of UMBC’s Center for Aging Studies, affiliated with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, have received several large grants from the National Institute on Aging to support groundbreaking research in recent months, including three beginning this semester. “Autonomy in Assisted Living: A Cultural Analysis,” led by PIs Ann Christine Frankowski and Robert L. Rubinstein, is a four-year grant to study autonomy in six diverse assisted living settings, which provide residential and functional assistance to primarily older adults through a person-centered, consumer-oriented, social model of care. Researchers have demonstrated that older adults’ sense of autonomy – expressed as independence, choice or control – is integral to their health and well-being. The research team will examine how autonomy, a core American value and a key component of assisted living philosophy, is defined, experienced and negotiated by assisted living residents. This ethnographic research will inform policy and practice on how assisted living can provide an environment resulting in a better quality of life and care for the increasing number of adults living longer and moving into senior housing. “Generativity in the Lives of Older Women” (GLOW) is a four-year project led by PI Robert L. Rubinstein and co-PI Kate de Medeiros aimed at better understanding how older women without children invest themselves in future generations. People often wrongly assume older women are mothers and/or grandmothers. In reality, approximately 20% of people 65 and over in the U.S. were “childless” in 2011—a figure that is expected to grow to 30% in 2030. GLOW researchers will interview 200 women to explore their views on the meaning that not having children has had in their lives; talk about ways they have influenced future generations through volunteerism, teaching, passing along personal objects and other creative activities; and discuss their plans for managing future health care needs, which might include family caregiving. This study will allow us to learn more about an important yet often overlooked population with an eye to helping service organizations and policymakers rethink assumptions about family structure in older age. GLOW is accompanied by a supplemental grant focusing on older Russian women who immigrated to the U.S. after the fall of communism. Department chair J. Kevin Eckert and co-PI Brandy Harris-Wallace received a Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research for “Stigma and the Multicultural Workforce.” This project will focus on cultural differences among direct care workers, their experiences of stigma and their own stigmatizing attitudes and behavior toward others in assisted living settings. The researchers will develop and pilot a survey instrument to measure these experiences, attitudes and behaviors, which could be used in the future to identify actual and potential conflict areas and develop training programs to address stigma in direct care work.]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14481 2011-02-08T21:59:17Z 2011-02-09T16:29:19Z

Anthony Lane Feb. 11 episode of PBS's Need to Know will look at the Meyerhoff Scholars Program and curriculum changes at UMBC that have helped more students succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The segment is part of a one-hour special on education. It is scheduled to air on Maryland Public Television MPT2 at 11 p.m. and, in the greater Washington area, on WETA HD and TV 26 at 10:30 p.m. The program also will be available on the Need to Know website. The program “highlights three dramatic stories of academic transformation – focusing on literacy, physical education and science education.” The segment on UMBC is titled, “Reinventing science education at one Maryland university.”]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14477 2011-02-08T20:01:53Z 2011-02-08T20:34:52Z

Dinah Winnick dwinnick@umbc.edu A year after the February 2010 North American blizzards and in the wake of recent storms, government and business leaders are asking how we can better deal with extreme weather. UMBC faculty researchers offer important perspectives on severe storms and Mid-Atlantic meteorology, emergency/disaster preparedness and response and the impacts of school closures on learning. Jeffrey B. Halverson is associate professor of geography and environmental systems and associate director-academics at the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET). He has expertise on severe storms, mesoscale meteorology and meteorology/climatology of the Mid-Atlantic region and he helped pioneer the first system to take direct measurements in the eye of a mature hurricane from 70,000 feet. Halverson has worked at both NASA Headquarters and the Goddard Space Flight Center. He has appeared in hurricane specials on The Discovery Channel and NOVA, and has written columns for Weatherwise Magazine and the Baltimore Sun. Contact him at jeffhalv@umbc.edu or 410-455-3350 (o). Richard A. Bissell, associate professor and graduate program director in emergency health services, is an expert on emergency preparedness and response and EMS system development, with specialties in rural and international EMS. Bissell’s work in emergency health epidemiology and disaster services planning/evaluation has taken him to over 40 countries. He has served on the advisory boards of the American Red Cross and World Health Organization, and as principal investigator on a multi-million dollar U.S. Public Health Service project to train clinicians and logistics personnel in medical response to disasters and terrorism. Contact him at bissell@umbc.edu or 410-455-3776 (o). Dave E. Marcotte, professor and graduate program director in public policy, can offer insight on how resources impact student performance in primary and secondary education, including the effects of snow days on learning. His research has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Baltimore Sun, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Economist, Education Week, Christian Science Monitor and more. For details, see the Education Next article “Time for School.” Contact him at marcotte@umbc.edu or 410-455-1455 (o). Cell numbers available upon request.]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14438 2011-02-04T16:44:22Z 2011-02-14T18:56:29Z

Dinah Winnick Zeynep Tufekci, assistant professor of sociology, is an expert on how digital communications play a role in political change, social organizing and community dynamics. Her analysis on the role of social media in Tunisia and Egypt has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and on public radio. The UN Dispatch described her writing on Twitter and Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution as "the best, most balanced analysis of the role of social media in ousting Ben Ali." Tufekci is well-regarded for her blog Technosociology.org and recent columns in The Atlantic on Wikileaks and Morosov’s "The Net Delusion." Contact her at zeynep@umbc.edu or on Twitter @techsoc. Rebecca Adelman, assistant professor of media and communication studies, can discuss the media’s visual representations of the protests in Egypt. She is especially interested in how these images fit with historic and contemporary visual rhetoric about Middle Eastern nations. Adelman is currently teaching a class on globalized mass media and media practices in non-Western countries and working on an interdisciplinary project that integrates political and cultural studies to discuss how images are created, defined and used in America’s war on terror. Contact her at adelman@umbc.edu or 410-455-2772 (o). Brigid Starkey, lecturer in political science, has expertise on transnational Islamist movements in the Middle East, international negotiation, American foreign policy and security issues. She is the lead author of "International Negotiation in a Complex World," heralded as an “engaging book [that] moves us to a new era of international relations characterized by global diplomacy, nonstate actors, and complex, interlinked issues” by Daniel Druckman of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Contact her at starkey@umbc.edu or 410-744-0706 (o). Devin Hagerty, professor and chair of political science, focuses on Iran and South Asia and can provide a comparative perspective on regional dynamics over time. He also has expertise on protest movements in the broader context of U.S. foreign and security policy. Hagerty is co-author of "Fearful Symmetry: Indo-Pakistani Crises in the Shadow of Nuclear Weapons" and editor of "South Asia in World Politics." Contact him at dhagerty@umbc.edu or 410-455-2185 (o). Brian Grodsky, assistant professor of political science, is an expert on democratization and the forms of transitional justice that outgoing leaders can face after they leave power. He is the author of the new book “The Costs of Justice” and the manuscript “Social Movements and the State.” A three-minute video on his current book is available online. Contact him at grodsky@umbc.edu or 410-455-8047 (o). Cell numbers available upon request.]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14307 2011-01-13T15:30:53Z 2011-01-13T15:40:41Z

Dinah Winnick “Hospital Community Benefits after the ACA: The Emerging Federal Framework,” the brief provides historical background on federal hospital community benefit policy; outlines the new requirements described in the Affordable Care Act (ACA); and identifies new challenges and opportunities for state and federal decision-makers as they begin to develop responses to the new federal requirements. Hilltop’s other new issue brief—“Overcoming Interagency Data-Sharing Barriers: Lessons from the Maryland Kids First Act”—describes interagency data-sharing barriers that researchers and state officials encountered as they implemented and evaluated the Maryland Kids First Act outreach initiative. It provides an overview of strategies used to identify uninsured children who are eligible for public insurance programs; an update on Maryland’s tax-based outreach program, including a description of the interagency data-sharing barriers encountered and their resolution; a discussion of new data-sharing and outreach opportunities outlined in the ACA; and a discussion of lessons for other states. The Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council (HCRCC) also released its final report this week, for which Hilltop’s researchers conducted an in-depth analysis of the provisions of the ACA and developed a financial model to project Maryland’s costs and savings associated with implementing health reform. The HCRCC was created by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to make recommendations regarding Maryland’s implementation of the ACA, and this final report sets a blueprint for that implementation. Learn more about this initiative and view the interim and final reports at the HCRCC website.]]> tag:www.umbc.edu,2011:/research/blog//4.14297 2011-01-11T14:14:39Z 2011-01-11T14:16:51Z

Anthony Lane About UMBC UMBC is a dynamic public research university integrating teaching, research, and service. An Honors University with enrollment of 12,800, the campus offers academically talented students a strong foundation that prepares them for graduate and professional study, entry into the workforce, community service and leadership. UMBC emphasizes science, engineering, information technology and public policy at the graduate level. For the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report America's Best Colleges Guide named UMBC the #1 up-and-coming national university. UMBC was also recognized as a place "where the faculty has an unusual commitment to undergraduate teaching." About SAIC SAIC is a FORTUNE 500® scientific, engineering, and technology applications company that uses its deep domain knowledge to solve problems of vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health. The company's approximately 45,000 employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets. Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of $10.8 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2010. For more information, visit www.saic.com. SAIC: From Science to Solutions®]]>