Retectix and Onshore Outsourcing recently moved into UMSL’s Innovative Technology Enterprises, an incubator for startup companies. (Photo by August Jennewein)

A University of Missouri–St. Louis incubator for startup companies continues to grow, with the addition of two new tenants.

Retectix and Onshore Outsourcing recently moved into UMSL’s Innovative Technology Enterprises, which brings the ITE tenant count to eight.

Retectix is a medical device company that specializes in the development of nanofabricated surgical materials. The company plans to launch its first product, a surgical mesh used by neurosurgeons, next year.

Onshore Outsourcing is an information technology services company with an emphasis on keeping jobs in the United States.

The companies were recently profiled by the St. Louis Business Journal. An article about Onshore Outsourcing ran Sept. 24, and an article about Retectix ran on Sept. 26.

Innovative Technology Enterprises at UMSL supports innovation in high-growth fields including information technology and life sciences, providing the physical, mentoring, business development and computational resources required for startup companies to grow.

Featuring wet and dry labs and a high-performance computing center staffed by onsite scientists, ITE provides the expertise to help startups in a variety of technical fields. It also solves fundamental research and business development issues, including those that require sophisticated computational resources. ITE is located at 4633 World Parkway Circle in St. Louis County.

UMSL education expert Cathy Vatterott recently talked to KTVI (Channel 2) about a new study that concludes too much homework is not effective. (Photo by August Jennewein)

As the rush continues to purchase last-minute school supplies and clothes, thoughts begin to focus on the upcoming school year. With a new school year comes new homework assignments and the ongoing discussion about how much is too much.

Cathy Vatterott, associate professor of secondary and K-12 education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, recently talked to KTVI (Channel 2) about a new study that concludes too much homework is not effective.

Vatterott, who is referred to by many as “the homework lady,” said the study is accurate, to some degree.

“What we’ve seen, especially at the elementary level, is that homework doesn’t necessary correlate with achievement,” she told KTVI. “Now that doesn’t really make sense to us because you’d say, ‘Well of course if you read you become a better reader and if you do math, you become better at math.’ So what we are looking at is that it doesn’t help to do a lot of homework.”

Vatterott suggested that teachers “work smarter, not harder” and use homework as a checking point and not for new learning. Also, she recommended parents become an advocate for their child if they need too.

Vatterott is widely regarded as a national expert on the topic of K-12 homework. She is the author of “Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs.” And she is currently working on research about grading practices.

She first became interested in homework as the frustrated parent of a fifth-grader with learning disabilities. Since then, she has presented her homework research to more than 10,000 educators and parents in the United States, Canada and Europe and she has been interviewed as a homework expert for radio, television and articles appearing in such magazines as Parents, Better Homes and Gardens, Child, and Working Mother, and for articles appearing in numerous U.S. newspapers and educational websites.

Her research about K-12 homework has led to a new research interest in K-12 grading practices, especially standards-based grading. She frequently presents at international, national and regional conferences, most often about the topics of homework and grading practices.

Haim Mano, associate professor of marketing at UMSL, recently weighed in on the marketing gains of the Missouri sales tax holiday and advertising during the Olympics in a pair of St. Louis Post-Dispatch articles. (Photo by August Jennewein)

When it comes to advertising, consumer behavior is the key to any successful campaign, according to marketing expert Haim Mano. Whether selling school supplies or car rentals, he explained to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that advertisers must appeal to the buyer.

Mano, associate professor of marketing at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, recently talked to the newspaper about the upcoming sales tax holiday and a car rental company’s use of emotion in its advertising during the Olympics.

Missouri’s back-to-school sales tax holiday starts this weekend. This is the ninth year for the tax holiday, which eliminates the 4.225 percent state sales tax on eligible clothing, school supplies, computers and other items.

Mano agreed that the event is great for consumers.

“But it’s even better for the marketer,” he told the Post.

The holiday, he said, brings in more shoppers who are in good moods and generally pick up additional items not on their list.

“People buy more stuff when they think it’s on sale,” he said in the article.

While some retailers appeal to consumers’ wallets, others grasp for the emotional heartstrings of Americans. Enterprise Holdings, for example, unveiled its new “thank you” commercial campaign, which is airing on NBC throughout the Olympic games. In the commercials the car rental company, based in Clayton, Mo., thanks consumers for their business and pledges to plant 50 million trees in appreciation.

Mano said the commercial is a good move for Enterprise.

“I think it is going to be a very successful ad,” he told the newspaper. “It’s creating goodwill for the company. They are doing good for the country — it’s patriotism. The emotions stay, linger, and come back in the future when you are about to rent the car. Emotions have been used by advertisers for years. There’s no other artistic medium that can move people to tears in 30 seconds.”

(Photo by Null Value via Flickr)

How does mass trauma affect us? How do you talk to children about traumatic events?

University of Missouri–St. Louis psychologists talked to KSDK (Channel 5) reporter Kay Quinn about how to recover from events as tragic as last week’s theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., where a lone gunman opened fire on the audience of a sold-out screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.” He killed 12 and wounded more than 50 people.

Tara Galovski and Dorothy Denny spoke about the mass anxiety that traumatic events can have on people and how parents can talk to children about what occurred.

Galovski, an assistant professor of psychology at UMSL, told KSDK the shooting currently is in our forefront due to widespread media coverage. While attention given to the tragic event will taper off, anxiety could remain.

“When we do go through these security situations, at a ball game or at an airport, it serves as a reminder that something like this can happen in our backyard,” she said.

Galovski added that while the events are sad and can’t be undone, people shouldn’t rearrange their lives to avoid potential tragedy.

Denny, a social worker at the Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis at UMSL, said parents should provide children with accurate information about the events that happened, and gauge their conversations based on the child’s age.

“For a young child, they may not even recognize what has happened, we need to answer their questions directly,” Denny told KSDK.

If a child asks why a parent is sad, she suggested telling them because someone did something bad. Denny added never to lie to children.

For older kids, she recommended asking them about what they know of the tragic events and how they feel about what happened.

(Illustration by Yelena Bryksenkova for St. Louis Magazine/ybryksenkova.blogspot.com)

With his most recent book, “Sublime Dreams of Living Machines,” Minsoo Kang tracked our love-hate relationships with robots, automata and other machines that mimic human behavior. The associate professor of history at the University of Missouri–St. Louis further discussed the topic in a feature about his work that ran in St. Louis Magazine.

In Jeannette Cooperman’s article “Our Friends, the Killer Robots,” Kang touched on technophobia, what people in other parts of the world think about robots and the three basic theories about how our relationship with our cyber friends will evolve.

“Sooner or later, machines are going to gain sentience and rebel, and if we are lucky, we will win,” Kang told St. Louis Magazine of one possible future relationship scenario.

The other theories he discussed are perhaps a little more pleasant. One is a peaceful coexistence. The other would involve a merging of man and machine through an exchange of biological and mechanical parts.

More can be read about Kang and his book “Sublime Dreams of Living Machines” at UMSL Daily.

Tara Galovski, assistant research professor at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, spoke with KTVI (Channel 2) Friday about a recent study conducted by Chicago-based Careerbuilders suggesting texting while driving may be an instigator for road rage.

“I think two important elements are essential,” Galovski told KTVI. “Texting is preventable, it’s not a roadway accident. We can prevent it. So if an accident occurs because someone is texting, you can understand why people get upset.”

Galovski is an expert on the topic of road rage. She wrote the 2005 book, “Road Rage: Assessment and Treatment of the Angry, Aggressive Driver.”

Lydia Vaughan, a junior majoring in communication at UMSL, has a new music video out for her first single, "Speechless." (Photo by August Jennewein)

“I don’t sleep as much as I’d like to,” said a chuckling Lydia Vaughan.

The 19-year-old junior majoring in communication at the University of Missouri–St. Louis is extra busy these days balancing her school work, a part-time job and a thriving music career.

Vaughan grew up in O’Fallon, Mo., where she was homeschooled. She started singing as a young girl in her church choir. As a teenager she played saxophone in a jazz band, later graduating to lead singer of an alternative rock band.

About a year ago she embarked on a solo singing career. She describes her sound as pop-rock. Recently, she starred in her first music video for her current single, “Speechless,” which she wrote. It’s about that awkwardness some people feel when they’re around someone they like.

Vaughan penned her first song when she was 12. She’s prouder of her songwriting skills than her singing abilities.

“I think writing is actually my strong point,” she said. “If I don’t become a successful artist I would love to go into the music industry and be a writer, and write for other artists.”

She said even if she doesn’t end up in the spotlight, she wants to remain in the music industry in any capacity.

“Hey, if I can write good songs and have other artists sing them better than I can, that’s fine with me,” she said.

So does Vaughan have a strategy when it comes to writing songs? Yes and no.

“Sometimes I’ll be doing the most random thing in the world and lyrics will pop into my head, and I’m like ‘Oh, I’ve got to get my notebook and write that down,’” she said. “Other times I’m like ‘All right, I really need to write something, and I’ll go sit at my piano and work until something comes.”

Vaughan filmed the music video for “Speechless” over a four-day period at Christian Brothers College High School in Town and Country, Mo.

She said making the video was more difficult than she thought it would be because it actually required some acting on her part. The scenes involving dozens of extras made her really nervous.

“I’m lip-synching to my own words and having to act all cute or whatever and it was really hard,” she said. But after a couple of takes she eventually got her nerves in check. In the end, she said making the video was a blast.

Vaughan credits her parents with providing a great foundation for her to launch her music career. She said they’re extremely supportive of her musical dreams, even though, she admits, “Sometimes they think I’m crazy for trying to do everything. Sometimes they’re like ‘Lydia you’ve got to slow down.’”

It was actually her father who made her realize she had a good voice. When she was young he used to tease her that she sounded like a cow when she sang in choir, but one day he told her, “You’re starting to get good Lydia.”

“I guess then I kind of knew that I sounded better,” she said.

This morning, Vaughan performed her single “Speechless” on KTVI (Channel 2). Click here to view her performance.

Click here or below to view Vaughan’s music video for her single “Speechless.”

St. Louis-area high school students work in a lab during UMSL Bridge Program summer classes in this 2011 file photo. (Photo by August Jennewein)

When the rest of their friends are sleeping this summer, hundreds of high school students are lining up for 8 a.m. classes at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

The UMSL Bridge Program, the university’s award-winning precollegiate program, is now in its 26th year. And its enrollment has climbed to more than 400 this summer including its middle-school program.

You can also find many of the same students enrolled in Bridge’s Saturday Academy during the school year. And parents attend their own Saturday morning classes learning about the college admissions process and financial aid. When it comes time for those students to graduate from high school, 100 percent are accepted into college or other post-secondary institutions.

A recent story in the St. Louis Beacon chronicles Bridge’s history and some of the reasons for its extraordinary success.

Tom Meuser, director of the Gerontology Graduate Program at UMSL, was featured Sunday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (Photo by August Jennewein)

University of Missouri–St. Louis gerontology expert Tom Meuser has done some great things since taking over the helm of the Gerontology Graduate Program at UMSL. Many of those were touched on in a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch profile of the gerontologist.

In addition to growing the program, which was only created in 1981, Meuser, professor of social work, has added additional courses and online classes. He’s created the UMSL Life Review Program, which allows students to interview participants on camera about their lives, and he’s established a mock assessment course giving students real-life experience in diagnosing individuals.

Meuser, who is an alumnus (PhD clinical psychology 1997), has also done some pretty great research himself. He’s worked with the Missouri Department of Transportation to improve the state’s elderly driver patient evaluation form. The new form enables physicians to assess driving ability by rating patient vision, cognition, alertness and movement.

His recent paper “The American Medical Association Older Driver Curriculum for Health Professionals: Changes in Trainee Confidence, Attitudes & Practice Behavior” won the 2011 David A. Peterson Award for best article from the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. And he’s a newly appointed member of the Independent Transportation Network America’s Research Group, a door-through-door transportation service with affiliate branches all over the United States.

For more on Meuser, check out the question-and-answer piece by reporter Denise Hollinshed published Sunday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"The Inverted Forest" by John Dalton, director of the MFA in Creative Writing program at UMSL, is a selection by KMOX for their list of great summer reads.

To paraphrase KMOX (1120), you don’t have to travel far from the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus to find great summer reading. “The Inverted Forest” by John Dalton, director of the MFA in Creative Writing program at UMSL, made the radio station’s list of “Books by St. Louis authors to read this summer.”

KMOX pointed out that the novel, Dalton’s follow-up to his award-winning debut “Heaven Lake,” received rave reviews since its release last year. Entertainment Weekly, for example, called it a “gripping, tender and at times disturbing tale.”

“The compelling characters and the controversial themes the novel covers make ‘The Inverted Forest a great summer read,” KMOX concluded.

Read more about Dalton’s novel in the fall 2011 issue of UMSL Magazine and in the UMSL Daily archives.