Spectrum

By WOUB Public MediaNews

Spectrum episodes

March 01, 2017 Universities Must Reform to Stay Relevant and Affordable Says Notable Economist
Dr. Richard Vedder, Director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, DC, notes that the costs of higher education have increased markedly in recent years while the value of a college degree may be diminishing.

To counteract these trends, he says that colleges and universities must implement reforms and modernize. But, the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at Ohio University notes that reform is an alien concept to many administrators and faculty in high education. In short, universities are reluctant to change and when change occurs it is at the slowest of glacial paces.

Dr. Vedder notes that the costs of higher education have doubled since the mid- 1990’s yet family incomes have not kept pace. He also cites that the cost of college has increased 16.5% between 2006 and 2014..

He also claims that nearly 40 million Americans have college debt which collectively equals about $1.3 trillion dollars.

Yet, the gap between the earning power of a college graduate and a non-graduate is narrowing. In 2014, the earning differential between a college graduate and a high school graduate fell 11 percent for men and 19.7 percent for women ages 25-34, according to the College Board.

To stay relevant, Dr. Vedder says colleges and universities must reform and modernize but many are reluctant to do so. New and cheaper educational delivery systems must be employed and efforts to curtail costs must become a priority. Technology must be more widely used.

He cites Ohio’s proposed cap on textbook costs at $300 per year per student as an example of curtailing fees. Any costs over that amount would be borne by the institutions – thereby, giving administrative financial incentives to rethink the use of traditional text books.

He thinks greater use of online courses and non-traditional teaching methods would cut costs and perhaps even make the educational experience more relevant to the real professional world.

Finally, Dr. Vedder criticizes the “countryclubization” of the college living experience for students as a factor inordinately driving up higher education costs. He cites that many institutions are more concerned with the social amenities offered students in their living environments than the quality of their educational experience.
41 min
February 22, 2017 Courts Are Perceived “Negatively” by People of Color in the USA
Minnesota trial judge Kevin Burke is concerned about negative public perceptions of our courts – especially among people of color.

People too often believe they are treated unfairly and that judges are biased and make their decisions based upon “political views” and not the law. They also think judges are not understandable and that court processes are mysteries.

Judge Burke is on a mission to stem this negative tide. He has studied this issue, done surveys, written about it and is lecturing extensively to judicial groups across the country.

Judge Burke says to counteract the problem, judges need to do a better job with basic “procedural fairness” – making sure everyone feels they are being treated fairly and that people understand what a judge does in court…and why.

He says judges, not only need to explain what they do in understandable terms, but they need to listen better to people who want to tell their story.

Judge Burke believes that people don’t trust what they don’t understand and that it is a duty of every judge to make sure each party understands what the court is doing. If this happens, according to the judge, compliance with court orders increases, recidivism decreases, and public perception improves.

He is a proponent of giving parties before the court “voice and respectful treatment.” In that way, judges can foster a sense of neutrality and fairness.

If judges follow guidelines for procedural fairness, Judge Burke argues that perceptions of the judicial system will improve and become positive instead of negative.
35 min
February 15, 2017 Reporter Security is an Issue Both Abroad and At Home
Award-winning journalist and former Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander just finished co-authoring an in-depth report for National Public Radio about the death of two of its journalists in Afghanistan in June.

He is a strong proponent of increased security measures for reporters in a world ravaged with wars and terrorism. He also promotes improved security for reporters being threatened at home in the USA.

Alexander asserts that it is more dangerous today for reporters in conflict areas than ever before. Although technology is a great asset that allows reporters to generate stories instantaneously from around the world, it also creates a major security risk through GPS tracking and hacking opportunities.

Not only can reporters’ locations be pinpointed by terrorists but news sources can often be identified through electronics and then punished by opposing groups.

To counteract the dangers, Alexander proposes several security measures including hiring outside security firms to assist with security and major security training and protocols for both reporters and editors who are working in high risk parts of the globe.

Alexander notes that threats to domestic reporters also are on the rise. He cites several violent incidents during the presidential campaign, especially with supporters of President Donald Trump.

As reporters and the news media are further demonized by government officials, Alexander is fearful that these incidents and threats will escalate. He suggests the use of some of the same security measures domestically that are applied to war zones.

In addition to prevention measures, Alexander notes that often reporters who cover human tragedy and wars suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after their respective assignments. He feels the news organizations should be aware of that possibility and offer “peer to peer” awareness programs to help reporters who may be suffering.
34 min
February 08, 2017 Paul Laurence Dunbar Documentary Hits Public Television Airwaves Nationally
A new documentary “Paul Laurence Dunbar: Beyond the Mask” is being distributed to public television stations across the nation through the National Educational Telecommunications Association. The film highlights the life and legacy of the first African American to achieve national acclaim as a writer.
The documentary is the result of a collaboration of three Ohio University faculty members: Dr. Judith Yaross Lee – Distinguished Professor in Communication Studies, Dr. Joseph Slade, Professor Emeritus in Media Arts and Studies and Emeritus Director of the Central Region Humanities Center and director, writer, producer and filmmaker Frederick Lewis.

Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio to former slaves in 1872 and died at age 34 in 1906. He is often remembered for his poem “We Wear the Mask.” He also is honored because one of his lines from “Sympathy” became the title of Maya Angelou’s autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

He also wrote essays against Jim Crow laws and lynching and he became friends with many African-American leaders of his time. Although he was considered an intellectual, he wrote many of his poems and stories in “Plantation Dialect.”

During his short life, in addition to his poetry and essays, he also composed songs for Broadway.

As a youth, he was a neighbor and friends with Orville and Wilbur Wright in Dayton. They, in fact, printed Dunbar’s African American newspaper on their printing press.

This documentary, eight years in the making, is a production of the Central Region Humanities Center and received support from Ohio Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
39 min
February 01, 2017 Bullying, Harassment, & Hate Crimes Spike Since Presidential Election
Recently the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released the results of a post-election national survey of 50,000 teenagers between 13 and 18 years old. Some 70 percent reported witnessing bullying, hate messaging, or harassment since the election with racial bias being the “most common motive cited.”

These incidents are far more frequent than before, according to the survey, and they seemed to escalate markedly after the beginning of the presidential campaigns.

The participating young people said 70 percent of the incidents were based on race or ethnicity, 63 based upon sexual orientation and 59 percent “motivated by immigration status.”

Gayle Williams-Byers, an African American mother and trial judge in Northeast Ohio, is increasingly concerned about these alarming trends. She fears that the national rhetoric surrounding the presidential campaigns has given license to some people to act-out their racial hatred and prejudices.

“Words have power and too often hate-words can be translated into harmful actions,” Judge Gayle says. “That harm often is irreparable.”

“I have never seen a time with the potential for such deep divisions between the races and different ethnic and religious groups,” Judge Gayle added. She fears if this trend continues unabated that we could, in this country, have “our own civil war over race.”

She is concerned that we have an “unsettled American conscience” and that actions at the federal level of government have left room for hate to jump into our national psyche and overt behaviors.

From a judicial viewpoint, she is concerned that hate crimes, vandalism, and targeted offenses against minorities and certain religious groups will escalate leading to greater divides between races and religions.
39 min
January 25, 2017 Megan Westervelt Tells Unique Environmental Stories Through Still Images
Megan Westervelt left graduate school with some experience under her belt and some uniquely creative ideas in her head about how she could capture environmental photos.

She labels herself a Conservation Photojournalist which means she tells stories with her still and video cameras about human impact on the environment.

While still in school, she did an in-depth story on exotic animal ownership in Ohio and photo story about human interaction with the coastal environment of oil rich eastern Scotland.

Upon graduation she packed her bags and headed to Ecuador. Her first project was to document the lives of local artisan women in Loja Province and their battle with a parasitic disease called Chagas disease. The women sell their unique artwork to pay for a battle against the disease decimating their population. Westervelt captured that battle on film.

Her second project was working in the Yasuni National Park in the Amazonian portion of Ecuador to create a museum exhibition about biodiversity and some of the traditional cultures of the region.

Specifically, Westervelt concentrated on one group of people who have their own indigenous language and who, most assuredly, are not part of modern life. These people have their own traditions and their own unique way of life that spurns modern conveniences.

Not only did Westervelt capture their culture herself but she put cameras in the hands of 50 of the local residents. She taught them how to take pictures and the group, itself, added to the photo array depicting an almost extinct culture. They created their own photo history.

Their photos were displayed at a major showing in their home country of Ecuador. And, most recently, this photo exhibition was displayed at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University – where Westervelt got her graduate degree in Visual Communication.
34 min
January 18, 2017 America’s System of Athletics is Failing: Expert David Ridpath Has Observed
The American system of amateur athletics is mostly school based: elementary, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities. Yet, that system is failing both the student-athlete and the general public, according to Dr. David Ridpath, the Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Administration at Ohio University.

With a school based system, too many students are “cut” from competitive athletics at an early age and therefore, do not receive the benefits of physical activity throughout their school life, according to Dr. Ridpath.

He also complains that stellar student athletes too often get special benefits to keep them eligible to play – especially at the college and university levels. This, according to Dr. Ridpath, deprives the student-athlete of a broad and useful education. He claims to have known student athletes that have been illiterate when they left their university athletic programs prior to graduation.

Dr. Ridpath also challenges that notion that major athletic success at a college or university brings long term benefits to the institution. It might bring a short-term blip in applications and donations but Ridpath says there is no proof of long-term benefits.

Instead of concentrating on a school based system of athletics, Ridpath suggests in his new and upcoming book that American should embrace the European model of club sports based in communities.

He says that club sports would be more inclusive of a wider swath of the population and include both young and older participants – thereby allowing our country to become more athletic and more physically fit.

Although community-club sports would cost some taxpayer dollars to support, Dr. Ridpath feels that it would be money well spent and would lower health-care costs in the nation.

Dr. Ridpath is a frequent media commentator about college and university athletics. He has appeared on ESPN and other television networks. He also writes an ongoing blog for Forbes magazine. It can be read at http://www.forbes.com/sites/bdavidridpath/#7d7f2c9c1bef.

He also wrote the 2012 book Tainted Glory: Marshall University, the NCAA, and One Man’s Fight for Justice.
46 min
January 11, 2017 Climate Change Escalates Despite Our Partisan Politics
To the vast majority of scientists, climate change exists and it has been exacerbated over the years by human factors.

However, not all politicians agree and most assuredly, most of the dissenters from this proposition reside in the Republican Party – the party now in power.

The GOP now controls both houses of Congress plus the White House and regulatory agencies.

The fact that climate change deniers now hold power, gives some scientists pause and reason for concern. The future of America’s reaction to world climate change issues and previous agreements and accords hang in the balance, according to climate change expert Dr. Geoffrey Dabelko of Ohio University.

Dr. Dabelko is a professor and director of Environmental Studies at Ohio University in the Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Affairs. He also has served as the director of the Environmental Change and Security Program – a non-partisan forum on environment, population, and security issues at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Dabelko talks about how climate change issues might fare in the new Trump administration. He outlines specific worries and concerns from a scientist’s perspective.

To many scientists, time is of the essence, in addressing climate change issues on a global basis. They fear that during the upcoming administration that the United States might become more isolated on this issue and out of touch with other powerful members of the global community, Dr. Dabelko claims.

This, he says, could lead to other countries, like China, taking the lead on renewable resource development and alternatives to fossil based fuels.

Dabelko stresses that there are multiple global problems caused by climate change from the loss of the polar icecaps to issues surrounding the production of food and health concerns. It is difficult, if not impossible, he says, to unravel one problem from another because so many global issues are entwined with climate change.

He is concerned that the United States might chose to ignore the existence of many of these problems, thereby, abdicating its role in solving them.
42 min
January 04, 2017 Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Are For More than Just Gaming
Be prepared in the next couple of years for “virtual reality” (VR) and “augmented reality” (AR) to be more and more parts of your daily lives – from health and medicine to education, journalism and assistance in completing your daily chores.

Although many still see VR and AR as primarily for gaming, that image is no longer accurate. Total immersive experiences are being developed for training and for rehabilitation among other complicated and useful applications.

Researchers are exploring implementation of virtual reality to train physicians and allow them to experience trauma and virtual emergency situations, according to Josh Antonuccio, creator, educator, and researcher in the Immersive Media Initiative at Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication.

VR also is being explored in the treatment of PTSD and other forms of psychological disorders. Experiments are being done with it to help Alzheimer patients and people with limited mobility.

It also is being pursued as a journalistic/storytelling technique. It is a way to put the audience in the exact place of the reporter to see, observe, hear and sense exactly what is happening. People will be able to sense a story in addition to just hearing it, Antonuccio adds.

AG is not a fully immersive experience but it also can assist people in training and even doing daily and routine chores. For example, some medical schools are turning to AG cadavers for students to work with instead of real dead bodies. Disease diagnoses and treatment options also can be shared with multiple physicians simultaneously through AG imaging of body parts and systems.

Other AG applications can be used for data collection such as weather, traffic, and daily reminders of things to be done. AG will soon become a staple in any form of design work and architectural planning.

In short, the horizons for uses for VR and AR are expanding broadly and programs such as the Immersive Media Initiative at Ohio University are in the forefront of research and development for these new and exciting technologies.
40 min
December 28, 2016 Old-Time Radio Dramas Adopt Modern Podcasting Style at WOUB
Karen M. Chan, an actor, director and producer is merging old-time radio dramatic techniques with modern podcasting to bring a new, fresh approach to storytelling for public media.

Chan, a veteran of theater, television and film, has lately been concentrating her efforts on dramatizing works of literature for digital distribution by WOUB Public Media.

She uses unabridged works of literature and brings them to life using actors from Ohio University and the surrounding communities. She marries their dramatic dialogue with original music produced and played by regional musicians and original artwork to accompany the audio stories.

Her youngest actor has been 8 years old and the oldest in her mid-eighties. Over 150 different actors have been used to produce eight different works, to date.

Partnerships also have been established within Ohio University such as an ongoing alliance with the School of Media Arts and Studies in the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University.

The stories are not only being shared publically but they have been used in classrooms and as vehicles for people to learn English as a second language. Chan recently was contacted by a Brazilian man who asked her to produce more stories so he can learn to speak English better.

Chan has had a lifelong love affair with radio dramas and the art of telling stories with one’s voice. She says her passion started as a young child as she would listen to radio dramas with her mother.

So far, Chan and WOUB Public Media have digitally produced: The Sleeping Beauty, Through the Looking Glass, Peter and Wendy, Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, and O Henry’s The Ransom of Red Chief.

The Holiday favorites A Christmas Carol, The Gift of the Magi, and Twas the Night Before Christmas have also been created and are available to wide audiences.

New works are in progress including an original work about the Underground Railroad featuring an African-American cast. Additional stories are in various stages of development and production.

The existing stories can be heard at http://woub.org/ecousticalchemy/
32 min

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Spectrum features conversations with an eclectic group of fascinating people, some are famous and some are not, but they all have captivating stories.