Friday Roundup

Here is a listing of articles published in the last 7-10 days that may be of interest:

Health
1. Preschoolers in surgery for a mouthful of cavities; New York Times, March 6, 2012
Brief Introduction: The number of preschoolers requiring extensive dental work suggests that many other parents make the same mistake. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted an increase, the first in 40 years, in the number of preschoolers with cavities in a study five years ago. But dentists nationwide say they are seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with 6 to 10 cavities or more. The level of decay, they added, is so severe that they often recommend using general anesthesia because young children are unlikely to sit through such extensive procedures while they are awake.

2. Digital records may not cut health costs, study cautions; New York Times, March 5, 2012
Brief Introduction: Computerized patient records are unlikely to cut health care costs and may actually encourage doctors to order expensive tests more often, a study published on Monday concludes.


Education
1. Minorities get harsher discipline in U.S. schools, survey shows; Bloomberg.com, March 6, 2012
Brief Introduction: Black children made up 18 percent of students in a survey of U.S. schools while accounting for 35 percent of those suspended once, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Black students are more than 3 1/2 times as likely to be suspended or expelled than their white classmates, the survey showed.

2. California schools establish 'early warning system' to identify potential dropouts; Huffingtonpost.com, March 6, 2012
Brief Introduction: Some school districts in California are working to establish an "early warning system" to identify middle grade students who are at risk of dropping out, and then to vigorously intervene so they don't.


Race
1. Autism not diagnosed as early in minorities; Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 4, 2012
Brief Introduction: Landa's preliminary research suggests that even when diagnosed in toddlerhood, minority youngsters have more severe developmental delays than their white counterparts. She says cultural differences in how parents view developmental milestones, and how they interact with doctors, may play a role.

What's new in Philanthropy

Articles of interest in philanthropy and nonprofits published in the last 10 days:

1. U.S. investors lack interest in companies doing good; Reuters.com, February 27, 2012
Brief Introduction: Top U.S. chief executives lamented on Monday a lack of interest from investors in their efforts to do social good and suggested the creation of a social responsibility index of companies that would help educate shareholders on the value of philanthropy.

2. Pa. Senators move to curb lawmakers' nonprofit ties; Chronicle of Philanthropy, March 6, 2012
Brief Introduction: Hours after a former Pennsylvania representative was convicted of misusing funds he steered to a nonprofit organization, a state Senate committee endorsed a move Monday to limit legislators’ ties to charitable groups, the Pittsburgh Tribune - Review reports.

3. Gates Foundation calls for 'wacky' new ways to say that aid works; kplu.org, March 1, 2012
Brief Introduction: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation officially calls it the Grand Challenges Exploration program and it was initially launched to fund unorthodox — some might even say "wacky" -scientific research projects aimed at solving problems in global health and development.

March Virtual Learning Session - Archives 101

Archives 101

What is an archive and why is it important to your organization? Technically speaking an archive is a collection of individual or organizational records that are important enough to be preserved in perpetuity. What it really is for your organization is institutional memory.

This session will explore:
-the importance of creating an archive
-how to get management on-board and legal off your back
-use of archival material in research by staff and historians

Presenter: Bruce Compton is the Senior Manager, Research and Records at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Bruce started at Pew as a consultant in 1990 to develop an archive for the foundation. Since 1991, he has served as Pew's archivist and head of the Research Department. Prior to coming to Pew, Bruce was vice president at Gardner Associates, a business history consulting firm. He has also worked for the National Park Service, the National Archives, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He holds degrees in Philosophy and History/Archives Management from LaSalle University and a certificate in Oral History from Vermont College.

Deadline to register is March 16th. You can sign up using this link to the form:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEFmMDNSSGpQRnVmMi1DSjVybXJfQXc6MQ