Virginie Perov's Blog

Repurposing


A nine-year government study just concluded that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) might raise the risk of dementia for postmenopausal women.

“We found about a 50 percent increase risk in the women taking estrogen compared with the women who were taking a placebo,” said Dr. Stephen Rapp, researcher at Vanderbilt University.

This new research seems to suggest that estrogen is not the answer to help women prevent Alzheimer’s Decease.

The study that followed nearly 3,000 women over age 65, found not only does estrogen fail to boost memory, it may actually increase the risk of memory loss.

Previous studies have also linked HRT with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.

However, according to researchers the increased risk of memory loss remains relatively small:

out of 10,000 women taking estrogen alone,23 would develop dementia

out of 10,000 women taking a placebo, 12 would develop dementia

There are alternatives to HRT including lifestyle modifications such as eating habits and exercise.

However, women who suffer from the symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes or osteoporosis, should talk to their doctor.

Here you'll find another article related to HRT.

Press Release Rewrite


The primary election is coming up and the deadline to register to vote in Michigan will fall on July 6.

Secretary of State and Michigan’s chief election officer Terri Lynn Land encouraged all eligible Michigan residents to participate fully in our democracy and register to vote.

“Voting is our most cherished right of citizenship,” Land said.

Residents can register at their county, city or township clerk’s office, at any Secretary of State branch office. Forms are also available online but have to be mailed and postmarked by July 6 to meet the registration deadline for the primary election.

To register, applicants must be:

18 years old by Election Day

a U.S. citizen

a resident of Michigan and the city or township in which they are applying

Land also reminded voters that they need to cast their votes under one political party. Absent ballots are available to voters who:

expect to be out of town

are 60 years or older

are in jail awaiting trial or arraignment

are unable to attend the polls for religious reasons

are physically unable to attend the polls without the assistance of another person

For more information and detail on deadlines and forms, consult the Secretary of State website.


To check the candidates platforms, click here forJohn Kerry and here for Gearge W. Bush.


Extras


With this story, I might include:

a graph or a survey that would show the influence of voters on election day, something to convince people visually of the importance of voting

links to party/candidates platforms

a blinking box with the deadlines in it, to make sure people don't miss it

Respondent


Here is the link to the Poynter Online article.

REPURPOSING


Huffing is the newest fad in terms of teenage fun. Using readily available household products, teens can legally get high. But this inexpensive pastime can cost children their lives.

Cassandra Saunders, SomewhereVille, almost lost her thirteen-year-old daughter from huffing.

“My little girl and her friends snuck out in the middle of the night,” Saunders said, “ they thought it would be cool to get high with some Freon.”

Sounders discovered her daughter and her friend unconscious in a van outside her home. While her daughter was revived, her fifteen-year-old friend was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to Dr. Stephen R. Knazik from Children’s hospital of Michigan, huffing is defined as inhaling something for the purpose of getting high.

“They can pretty much huff and sniff anything that smells,” Knazik said, “but the ones that get them high are things like gasoline products, things that have alcohol in them and things that have what manufacturers call propellants.”

Huffing makes kids feel inhibited and powerful as if they were drunk, but Saunders’ daughter now feels that she is to blame for the death of her friend because she made it and he didn’t.

According to Knazik, drowsiness and sleep usually follow the euphoria. The risk of brain damage and even death is substantial.

Here are a few clues indicating that a child might be huffing or using drugs:

If their breath and clothing smell of chemicals

If their eyes appear dazed, drunk or glassy

For more information on how to talk to teenagers about huffing and drugs, click here.

Scavenger Hunt


Weather Story

1.a. Name the costliest hurricane in the United States since 1900. Hurricane Andrew was the costliest in U.S. history.

1.b. When and where did it occur? It occurred in 1992 in SE Florida and SE Louisiana.

1.c. How much were the damages? $26,500,000,000.

The National Hurricane Center offers more information on the history of hurricanes in the U.S.

2.Here is a website that offers good tips on earthquake preparedness.


Plane Crashes

3.a. How many fatal crashes occurred in the last year? 7 fatal crashes occured in the last year in Michigan.

3.b. How many non-fatal crashes occurred in the last year? 36 non-fatal crashes.

3.c. If the type of plane or company involved has had more than one fatal crash in the last year or two, check the record of that company using the same query site. In the past 2 years, 16 fatal crashes occurred in Michigan and out of these 16 crashes, 5 involved aircrafts made by Cessna and 4 by Piper. Cessna’s number of crash nation-wide for the past 2 years was 212 and Piper’s crashes amounted to 152.

3.d. What major investigation of an airline crash did the NTSB conduct in 2000? What was the name of the airline that crashed? Air France in July 2000 for a crash that caused 113 deaths.


U.S. Census Statistics

4.What is the total population for your state based on the most recent census statistics available? According to the projection, a population of 9,763,000 is anticipated in Michigan by July of next year.


Crime Stories

Ronald Burnette is a listed sex offender. Here is some of the information I was able to find by consulting the Michigan State Police Sex Offender Registry.

5.a. What is this man’s last known address? 25214 GRATIOT LOT 39, ROSEVILLE, MI 48066

5.b. What is his offense as listed on the sex offender registry? Criminal sexual conduct 4th degree (force or coercion).


6. Here is the home page for the state of Michigan.

Study from U.S. Census Bureau


The United States Census Bureau just confirmed what we had
suspected for several decades. Adults with a bachelor’s
degree tend to make substantially more money than
adults who only obtained their high school diploma.

According to a report published by the U.S Commerce
Department’s Census Bureau, adults (18 and over) with
a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $45,687 per year
when the ones with only a high school diploma only earn
$24,572 per year.

The report also included data showing a slightly higher
rate of college completion for women versus men in the
25 to 29 age group, and slightly higher rates for Whites
versus African Americans of the same age group.

College completion rates for age group 25 to 29:

women: 30 percent

men: 28 percent

Obtention of Bachelor's degree for age group 25 and over:

Whites: 28 percent

African Americans: 15 percent

That same report also concluded that younger age
groups tend to attain a higher level of education. For
instance, among the 25 and over, 84 percent have
completed high school and 26 percent have obtained
their bachelor’s degree.

According to Eric Newburger, co-author of the report, this
trend will continue to develop as younger and more
educated age groups replace older, less educated ones.

For more detail on the Educational Attainment report, check the US Census website.

For more Michigan specific data, click here.


How to make this census story work for the web

The story has to be worded fairly simply so it can be read quickly and understood right away.

I might create a graph that would visually explain the different education levels between the age groups mentioned.

Journalism Blogs

Hipclicks

Whitney Matheson’s Hipclicks
Popular culture, gossip, part of USA Today… She defines it as an entertainment blog. I like her voice. A tad sarcastic, very funny and interesting in a gossipy way. Her updates are nice and short and include quite a few links. Fun one!

Girlfriend's Locker Room

Girlfriend’s Locker Room
Part of Philadelphia Daily News.
Don’t go there! I’m still recuperating from the boredom it created in me! A bunch of middle-age moms (I’m guessing…) with common sense/ordinary opinions on mostly health related topics. In Hot Locker Room Topics, there is a link named Men’s standards. As my curiosity was tickled, I made the mistake of clicking on it to read the comment of a single 60-year-old man complaining that he only meets fat women online…YAWN…

Job Blog

This blog is part of the Boston Globe website and focus on information regarding jobs and career from around the web. It is well done, full of interesting short articles and full of links. I find it pretty useful. Jason Butler, the writer, has a nice writing style and is full of resources.

Occupational Adventure

I found this blog link from the previous one, Job Blog. I like this blog for the good advices it provides on career issues. I find it motivational and Curt Rosengren,the gentleman who manages it, definitely has a voice and a tone.

Miss-Information

I like this one because it's a bilangual blog, in English and French, with many links to other international blogs. You can find articles on a tremendous range of topics/issues. A very solid blog in my opinion!

This link is extremely useful!! It's an html cheatsheet. To check it out, click here.

Opinion on "the history of blogs by Rebecca Blood"

This essay is definitely informative and brings many concerns regarding blogs. I agree with Blood on the fact that blogs represent a unique tool of self-expression. More opinions and points of view are available to the public at large, giving offbeat insights on issues going from the content of mass media to the ease of cancelling services with netflix. This gives us more knowledge and develop our awareness of the world. I love it!

However, the accessibility of this medium is also its curse. With so many blogs by so many people on so many different topics, it is difficult to build a "trust relationship" with any of them. The classics are the classics, such as Andrew Sullivan, but figuring out who is relevant and who is not, reveals itself to be more than a challenge.

Lastly, I think that blogs as much as chat rooms, emails or other tools of virtual communication deprive us of true social interactions, person to person, where your entire "you" is important, not just your words. When Blood mentions a blogger "jotting notes about his life" and "sharing his world with whomever", I cannot refrain myself from thinking "how sad!". It would be like leaving a personal journal open on a table and hoping that someone will read it when you're not around. This anonimity or maybe is it fear of our peers tends to make me uneasy.

Anyway, I wonder what the future of blogging is going to be like...