other news

  • Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use Grows in 2011

    graphIn 2011, 13 percent of all American households relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- the program formerly known as food stamps – with nearly 6.2 million more American households using the program now than five years ago, according to new research from the Carsey Institute at UNH. 

    “The Great Recession had profound effects on families across the United States, and economic recovery has been slow. Poverty and unemployment remained high in 2011, and job growth was stagnant. Amid these signs of a sluggish recovery, social safety net programs have played a key role in supporting vulnerable families,” the Carsey researchers said. 

    The new research is presented in the Carsey Institute brief “Recent Data Show Continued Growth in Supplemental Nutrition...

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  • UNH Professor: For Children in Military Families, Grief Often Misunderstood

    As U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan begins its second decade, more than two million children of military families are currently affected by war. New research from a UNH social work professor explores the unique grief responses of these children, providing guidelines for military families in different cycles of deployment.

    “We’ve never had a war in our country where soldiers were deployed six, seven, eight times. We’re just beginning to learn what implications this has on families and children,” says Pablo Arriaza, assistant professor of social work and the author of “Grief Among Children of Military Families,” published recently in the Illinois Child Welfare Journal.

    Arriaza and co-author Kerri Cornelissen, who completed her master of social work degree at UNH in 2011, discuss the grief reactions of children...

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  • Medusa and her "Bad Hair Day" in the History of Art

    UNH Manchester will offer a free illustrated slide lecture, “Medusa and her ‘Bad Hair Day’ in the History of Art” on Thursday, Feb. 7, from noon-1 p.m. in the third floor auditorium at 400 Commercial Street. The lecture, free, open to the public, will be presented by Andrew Laurie Stangel, adjunct professor of art history at UNH Manchester. 

    Medusa was once very lovely, the hope of many suitors -- and of all her beauties, her hair was most so. But one day she allowed herself to be seduced by Neptune in Minerva's temple. The goddess, punishing the outrage as it deserved, changed Medusa's lovely hair to serpents. Ever since, her terrible visage has turned to stone all who look upon her.   

    Join us for this richly illustrated slide show lecture which will present a very careful and cautious "look" at Medusa's appearances in the history of art from antiquity to the present day. 

    Stangel teaches art history at UNH Manchester and the...

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  • Office for Research Partnerships and Commercialization Seminar Jan. 24

    The Office for Research Partnerships and Commercialization presents “Innovations in...Crowdfunding,” Thursday, Jan.24, 4-5 p.m., at Elliott Alumni Center, 1925 Room.  

    Speakers include Matt Benson, attorney at Cook Little Rosenblatt & Manson, and Tom Elliott, founder and director of Idea Greenhouse Durham. Register: http://orpccrowdfunding-email1.eventbrite.com/#. 

    The internet and social web allows innovators to connect to a global audience eager to financially support a compelling new product, business idea, or research project. With this money, however, comes expectations to manage, and pitfalls to avoid.  

    Attorney Matt Benson and crowdfunding evangelist Tom Elliott will present on a range of topics, including: 

    - What is crowdfunding, and what are the different models (e.g. equity vs reward)?

    - How can crowdfunding be used to raise money for a new...

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  • "InQUEERy: Explorations of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality" Lecture Series at UNH Manchester

    As part of its spring public program offering, UNH Manchester will be hosting “InQUEERy: Explorations of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality,” a free, five-part series exploring identity, aging, health, and the law from a queer perspective that will be held monthly on Wednesdays throughout the spring.

    The first lecture in the series, “Queering Identity,” will take place Jan. 30, from 1-2 p.m. LGBT activist and attorney Mason Dunn will discuss LGBT identities and the challenges faced by this community in a predominantly heteronormative society.

    “Queering Aging,” held on Feb. 27, from 1-2:30 p.m., will include a film viewing and discussion of “Gen Silent” (2010). “Gen Silent” considers the lives of six LGBT seniors and how their gender and/or sexuality impact their survival in the long-term care system. This event will be moderated by Barbara Jago, associate professor of communication arts.

    “Queering Health,” which takes place on March 27, from 1-2 p.m., is a panel...

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  • New Exhibitions at the Museum of Art Open Jan. 26

    Two new exhibitions, one by Portsmouth artist and photographer Carl Austin Hyatt and another of Californian impressionist landscapes from The Irvine Museum opens at the university’s Museum of Art, Jan. 26. A public reception for “Sacred Landscapes of Peru: The Photographs of Carl Austin Hyatt” and “California Impressionism, Paintings from The Irvine Museum” will be held Friday, Jan. 25, from 6-8 p.m. “Sacred Landscapes of Peru: The Photographs of Carl Austin Hyatt” features photographs from Hyatt’s travels to Peru where he documents and studies indigenous spiritual practices.  His black and white pictures range from images of Machu Picchu to abstracted images of Inca stonework, portraits, images of a shaman ritual, and landscape images of Cusco. The exhibition also includes a selection of Q’ero textiles Hyatt has collected during his many journeys.His photography expertly blends the science of photography with the art of capturing the spiritual essence of...

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  • Don’t Give Personal Data Via Email or Phone
    It is the peak season for cybercrime, and none of us is immune from the risk of phone calls, e-mails or other communications that can result in inconvenience at best and significant financial and reputational impact at worst. The most common of these are ‘phishing scams,’ ‘vishing scams’ and other forms of social engineering whereby someone is posing as an organization (e.g. pretending to be a bank or a UNH entity) to get you to reveal passwords or personal data.UNH’s network is protected with managed, modern security technology and practices. The biggest risk to individual, unit or UNH impact is the behavior of individuals when a phishing or vishing attempt is made. Recently, several UNH employees have been contacted by persons posing to be UNH help desk employees or referencing other UNH staff who referred them to call to collect information. Their goal was to get employees to provide personal information, or to install malicious software on their computers, thus opening access to...
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  • Some Preventative Health Care Now Free
    As of Jan. 1, 2013, employees who are covered under USNH’s Harvard Pilgrim health care plan will receive certain preventative care services for free. A provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that went into effect in August 2012 mandates that, among other services, mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer and colon cancer (depending on your age), and prenatal care be provided free of charge, including co-pays. Flu and pneumonia shots are free as are routine vaccinations against diseases such as measles, polio, or meningitis. The provision states that “Non-grandfathered plans and issuers are required to provide coverage without cost sharing consistent with these guidelines in the first plan year (in the individual market, policy year) that begins on or after August 1, 2012.”  Harvard Pilgrim’s plan for USNH employees runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, which is why coverage began this year rather than in 2012. The changes in services are based on...
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  • Global Tipping Points: Free Lecture Series at UNH Manchester

    What Comes Next: America’s Foreign Policy Challenges in 2013 

    The World Affairs Council of New Hampshire along with UNH Manchester’s history and humanities programs will present the three-part lecture series “Global Tipping Points.” This series, which explores foreign policy and national security issues, is open to the public and will be held in the third floor auditorium at 400 Commercial Street in Manchester.

    The first lecture takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 6-7:30 p.m. “How Much for Defense? National Security and Foreign Policy on a Budget*, is presented by Lawrence Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and senior adviser to the Center for Defense Information and former director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

    As the United States begins to emerge from more than a decade of war, Korb will unravel the debate on how best to address the security threats of the 21st...

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  • Making Waves With Dirt
    By Victoria Forester Courtland, WildchatAs the new editor-in-chief of Issues in Ecology, Serita Frey is good at making waves with dirt. In addition to her work as professor of soil microbial ecology in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA), this role with the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) publication enables Frey to make policy recommendations to decision makers as well as inform the public-at-large. “One of my intentions is to build public understanding of ecological issues relevant to society,” says Frey. “Another is to bring information that is more accurate to the folks who are influencing policy.”As editor, Frey will help shape and determine which topics are highlighted by Issues in Ecology, a journal whose primary audience includes policy-makers who need to be presented with the facts of objective science in order to make properly informed decisions. “I will be soliciting people to author relevant issues,” she says, citing an interest in further...
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  • Payroll Questions Addressed
    A directed communication was sent Jan. 4, 2013 to address questions in payroll changes. It read as follows:In response to questions that HR and USNH payroll are receiving regarding the Jan. 4 and Jan. 11 paychecks, we wanted to share the following information:Employees receiving a salary increase effective on Jan. 1, 2013, payment will be received Jan.4 or Jan.11. Employee paychecks include pay for time worked Dec. 23 through Jan. 4. This translates to six days’ pay at an employee’s previous rate and four days’ pay at the new rate for those who received a base salary increase. If an employee received a one-time bonus in lieu of salary increase, the entire bonus amount is included in the Jan. 4 paycheck.Please note that the FICA-OASDI* tax increased from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent effective Jan. 1, 2013.   Wages earned from Dec. 23 through Jan.4 under the IRS regulations are considered 2013 earnings; therefore the 6.2 percent tax applies to the entire paycheck...
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  • NH SBDC Hosts Growing Your e-Commerce Business Conference Jan. 18

    If you sell online or hope to, the “Growing Your e-Commerce Business” conference Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, offers sessions critical to building your business. The event is hosted by the NH Small Business Development Center (NH SBDC) and offers informative and timely topics for the online seller.  

    ...

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  • UNH British Historian Explains Appeal of Downton Abbey

    When World War I hero Matthew Crawley dropped to one knee in the swirling snow and finally proposed to Lady Mary Crawley in the season two finale of the popular PBS drama “Downton Abbey,” it was the culmination of a romance ensconced in an elegant and nostalgic lifestyle that has captured the imaginations of American viewers.

    But what was it like to live in 20th century Edwardian England, especially for women, and why does it intrigue so many of us?

    Today’s independent women would be hard pressed to live with the constraints experienced by early 20th century women of the Edwardian era, according to Nicoletta Gullace, associate professor of history, who studies 20th century British history.

    “We view a series like Downton Abbey with tremendous nostalgia and women, in particular, find themselves wishing they could recapture some of those traditions. What we modern viewers forget, though, is that the vast majority of us would have been Daisys, not Marys,” Gullace...

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  • Legal Study Supports Adoption of New Floodplain Maps by N.H. Coastal Communities

    The coastal communities of N.H. have seen their share of recent flood events, including Mother’s Day 2006, Patriots Day 2007 and the March 2010 floods. With increases in land development, impervious surfaces and bigger extreme precipitation events, local towns are experiencing changes in their floodplain areas and are seeking up-to-date data to better prepare for flood events while keeping their risk of litigation low.

    To that end, a new report written by faculty and students at the Vermont Law School in collaboration with UNH faculty and staff indicates that towns in the Lamprey River watershed can legally use recently updated 100-year floodplain maps to make land-use decisions.

    		 

    With funding provided by the National Sea Grant Law Center, the report  “New Floodplain Maps for a Coastal New...

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  • Frey Receives Department of Defense Grant to Study Soil Fungi and Garlic Mustard

    Serita Frey, professor of natural resources and the environment, has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for a five-year study of how soil microbial communities respond to major ecosystem change. The grant of $2 million is to Frey and Kristina Stinson of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

    “We’ll be looking at how the invasive species garlic mustard is impacting soil biota and nutrient cycling processes and evaluating different strategies for eradication of garlic mustard on DoD lands,” says Frey.

    Soil fungi are particularly sensitive to the widespread invasive plant garlic mustard (Allaria petiolata). Two sets of experiments -- at Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass., where Frey has an ongoing study, and on DoD lands across the Northeast -- will investigate how soil fungi repopulate an ecosystem after a garlic mustard invasion is eradicated. The results, says Frey, will advance fundamental knowledge about soil fungi in forest...

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