Story Ideas for Media 8/24/09

News

Solar house under construction next to Ohio Stadium – A team of Ohio State students is battling the clock to finish a solar house being built next to Ohio Stadium. The one-bedroom house of the future is designed to be energy efficient, and both generate and use electricity.
Construction has continued throughout the summer and the house now has rough plumbing and electric, windows, and exterior barn siding. This week, solar panels will be installed on the roof.
The house is supposed to be completed and shipped to Washington D.C. at the end of September. Ohio State is one of 20 teams in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, which takes place October 9-18 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This is Ohio State's first time in the decathlon. CONTACT: Amy Murray (614) 292-8385 or Rob Hedge, (614) 403-4142. SEE: http://solardecathlon.osu.edu/

Experts

Back to School: Ohio State professor has tips on helping kids adjust to going back to school. Many kids are going back to school over the next few weeks, but some will struggle with more than choosing new outfits and cool book bags.
Dawn Anderson-Butcher, researcher and professor of social work, is available to discuss how to help kids adjust to going back to school, tips on how to get back into the routine, and how to recognize signs that kids are not adjusting well. CONTACT: Frankie Jones-Harris, College of Social Work, (614) 292-5300.

Research

Ohio State researcher: Epidemic of student cheating can be cured with changes in classroom goals. Schools have the ability to drastically reduce cheating among their students – all they need to do is follow the relatively simple and inexpensive solutions suggested by research.
"We know when kids cheat, why kids cheat and how kids cheat," said Eric Anderman, a recognized expert on student cheating and professor of educational policy and leadership at Ohio State University.
There's no doubt that cheating among students is widespread and has been growing. In some studies, up to 80 percent of high-achieving high school students and 75 percent of college students admit to cheating, a percentage that has been rising the past 50 years.
In one study, Anderman and his colleagues found that 21 percent of students who say that cheating is "unacceptable" still engage in cheating behaviors.
"What we know for sure is that students cheat a lot," Anderman said. "Parents don't think their kids will do it, but many do. I've seen that in my research, and also in the time I spent as a teacher."
Studies have shown that boys cheat more than girls. Students with high-driving "Type-A" personalities are more likely to cheat. And there is little relationship between cheating and moral development, research shows. CONTACT: Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457. SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/studentcheating.htm

Events

Officials outline plans for football home games – August 27. A media availability highlighting plans for the 2009 home football season will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday (8/27) in the Ohio Stadium home team press conference room, Gate 32, third floor. The availability is the media's best opportunity to gather information on home football games before the Buckeyes' opener Sept. 5 vs. Navy.
Topics will include football parking and transportation, new features fans will notice inside the stadium, football tickets, public safety during gameday and the "Best Fans in the Land" 2009 campaign. New Ohio State sportsmanship videos and an updated campus parking map will be unveiled and available to media on flash drives. CONTACT: Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276.

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice will address summer graduates – August 30. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer has been selected to speak at Ohio State's summer quarter commencement. About 1,900 students will receive degrees during the ceremony, which takes place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 30, at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
Also during the August 30 ceremony, George A. Olah, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at University of Southern California and winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will receive the honorary Doctor of Science degree. Distinguished Service Awards will be given to John M. Shepherd, a two-time alumnus and chief executive officer of The Shepherd Chemical Company; and Christine Warner Powell and her late husband, John L. Warner, whose generous gift provided the new John L. and Christine Warner Library and Student Center at Ohio State's Newark campus. CONTACT: Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385.

The person listed as the CONTACT will have the most current information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story: Liz Cook,(614) 292-7276; Shelly Hoffman, (614) 247-4748; Jim Lynch, (614) 247-4110; or Amy Murray,(614) 292-8385.

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