Talking marriage? Talk money first

June 15th, 2009

Couples should have a talk about an important issue that will affect their future before exchanging their “I do’s,” according to Kristy Archuleta of Kansas State University’s Institute of Personal Financial Planning Clinic.

“Couples need to talk about money before getting married,” Archuleta said. “If you are already married, start talking now. Many couples know that talking about money is important but either fail or put off talking about it because money can be an emotionally charged issue.”

Archuleta is a licensed marriage and family therapist who teaches in K-State’s personal financial planning program. The clinic blends financial counseling with marriage and family therapy to help individuals, couples and families struggling both financially and emotionally. The institute is part of the K-State College of Human Ecology’s School of Family Studies and Human Services.

Advice to bank on

Archuleta offers the following tips on what newly engaged couples or newlyweds should discuss when it comes to money:

• Talk about each other’s family history about money. “Families are often looked upon as the single most influential source of how to manage money,” Archuleta said. “Understanding your own family’s money history is helpful in understanding why you manage money the way that you do. Equally important is understanding your spouse’s family’s money history. You will be better able to understand why he or she manages money the way that they do.”
• Discuss money management expectations. “Because families, friends, colleagues, media and schools have influenced how we think and feel about money, we develop differing expectations about how money should be handled,” Archuleta said. “Having differing views or expectations about money is OK, but you have understand and respect why the other thinks and feels about money the way that they do.”
• Develop strong communication skills. If you are unable to talk about money effectively, you will have a difficult time resolving conflict about money, discussing family money histories and money expectations. These are key strategies to manage money together successfully, Archuleta said.
• Develop effective conflict management skills. “Most couples will argue about money,” Archuleta said. “Arguing about money is normal because couples have different experiences with money and have received different money messages from family, friends, media, colleagues and schools. A recent study showed that couples believe that money may not be the most argued about topic within the relationship, but it is the most intense issue fought about.” The study, by Lauren M. Papp, E. Mark Cummings and Marcie C. Goeke-Morey, appeared in the February 2009 issue of the journal Family Relations.
• Create a safe environment to talk about money. Timing is important, Archuleta said. “Don’t try to discuss an important money issue while your spouse’s favorite show is on television. Set a time and place to talk about money issues. Have your emotions in check, set fair fighting rules, and be respectful of the other’s points of view. Most all, listen,” she said.
• Talk regularly about money and your budget. “Some individuals who manage the day-to-day budget do not include their spouse in on where they stand financially,” Archuleta said. “This can cause extreme anxiety and stress for both spouses.”
• Set an annual date to review and update financial goals and objectives. Archuleta said setting financial goals are key to staying on track with a budget and achieving financial success. She recommends setting short-term goals for one year or less, mid-term goals for two to five years, and long-term goals for beyond your first five years together. “This makes it important to review goals each year,” she said. “Other goals may change or the strategies in which to achieve those goals may have also altered.”
• Decide together about joint versus separate accounts. “Couples often ask the question about which is better: choosing joint or separate accounts. The answer is not a one size fits all; it depends upon the couple,” Archuleta said.
• Most financial decisions are not set in stone. “If the decision or strategy is not working, try something different,” she said. “It is easy to be narrow-minded when financial stress is encountered, so it is important to take a step back and look at alternatives to solving the problem.”

Prepared by Media Relations

Professor puts Girl Scouts to work

June 3rd, 2009

Promoting physical activity during Girl Scout meetings can be an effective way for young girls to get the exercise they need to be healthy, according to Richard Rosenkranz, assistant professor in human nutrition.

He applied physical activity intervention strategies in three Girl Scout troops, training group leaders to instruct and lead exercise sessions among troop members.

Compared to four troops who received no physical activity intervention, the intervention troops spent significantly more time participating in and learning about exercise, and performed much higher levels of both moderate-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise during troop meetings.

Rosenkranz presented his study recently at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 56th Annual Meeting in Seattle.

“Implementing these physical activity strategies was relatively simple - all it took was a brief training to boost the skills and confidence of the troop leaders,” Rosenkranz said.

“I believe it would be feasible to take this education to a broader scale, to get girls the physical activity they need. Encouraging physical activity when girls are already gathered in groups is an effective strategy as well, and can cement the idea of exercise being fun and socially acceptable.”

Girl Scouts in Rosenkranz’s study averaged between 10 and 11 years of age. The interventions also successfully negated differences in exercise amounts among various ethnicity groups, an important finding because minorities statistically accumulate lower amounts of physical activity.

Traditionally, young girls are less physically active than their male counterparts, especially as they age. Federal physical activity guidelines, released in October 2008, recommend that all children perform at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day.

Source: American College of Sports Medicine

Dining centers win medals

May 19th, 2009

The National Association of College and University Food Services announced the winners of the 2009 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards contest.

Kansas State took a Silver medal in the Single Stand-Alone Concept category and a Bronze medal in the Catering-Special Event category.

The Single Stand-Alone Concept represents the standard menu. The portfolio was created and prepared by Mariel Edwards, a cook senior at Derby Dining and student intern in Public Relations and Advertising, working under the direction of Terry Gleue, graphic design Specialist for Housing and Dining.

The Catering-Special Event entry represented a capstone project for students in HMD 342, Food Production Management II. The class is taught by Missy Schrader and Sheryl Klobasa. The event was completely planned and implemented by students in the class. The portfolio was created and prepared by Terry Gleue.

Hospitality students raise $32,000

May 15th, 2009

Hospitality management students pulled off the most elaborate Travel & Dining Auction yet, bringing in more than $32,000 and bolstering their resumes with experience in fund raising to catering.

The annual spring event features wine, appetizers, more than a dozen tables brimming with silent auction items and a fast-paced live auction. All auction items were donated.

Funds are used for student travel to professional conferences.

Michelle Higgins readies for research career

May 13th, 2009

Michelle Higgins, graduating senior in biochemistry and nutritional sciences, has been involved with research since her freshman year at K-State, and her involvement in multiple projects has given her insight and practice for a research career.

“I really like the methods behind research, and as a freshman at K-State I knew that research might be a career for me,” Higgins said. “In order to find out, I wanted to work on a few projects.”

She now has researched several areas of cancer and is interested in doing cancer research involving drug development. She also is interested in HIV/AIDS and neuroscience research.

Studied diet and cancer with Wang

Higgins began her research experience in 2005 as a freshman working in the lab of George Wang, associate professor of human nutrition. She studied the effects of diet and exercise on cancerous tumor development.

Her sophomore year she worked in the Nutrient Metabolism Lab with a graduate student who was studying resistant starch and glucose blood levels. The student had created a granola bar that she thought would not cause spikes in blood glucose levels.

“I thought that was interesting because it gave me clinical trial experience, and for a long time I’ve been interested in pharmacology, so that project gave me patient experience,” Higgins said.

Concentrates on cancer cells

As a junior, Higgins was a National Exchange Student at Oregon State University. She did research with Emily Ho, associate professor of health and human sciences, and studied applications of nutrient interventions. Through the research experience, Higgins learned how to use pipettes, plate cancer cells and grow populations of cancer cells.

“It gave me a lot of basic knowledge about how a lab runs and how to make solutions, and there I learned a technique called Western blotting,” she said.

The following summer, Higgins spent 10 weeks at the University of Kansas Medical Center for a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She tested pharmacologic interventions for prostate cancer. She said the project involved looking at drugs that target a protein called Hsp90, which folds other proteins that have been linked to helping cancer progress.

Her responsibilities were to maintain populations of cancer cells and treat them with different concentrations of different drugs, Higgins said. She also used the Western blotting technique to determine how much protein was knocked out.

Looks at drugs and cancer

Higgins continued the project in a College of Veterinary Medicine pharmacology lab at K-Sate. She worked with Lisa Freeman, associate vice president for innovation at the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus and a professor of pharmacology.

“I was using the same drugs from the research at the KU Medical Center, but this time instead of looking at how the drugs affect cancer cells on a plate, we were looking at the drugs in vivo in animals versus in vitro,” she said.

Higgins received a Barry M. Goldwater scholarship in 2008. The nationally competitive scholarship, for students in science, mathematics or engineering and who plan a career in research, provides up to $7,500 annually for the final one or two years of undergraduate studies. Higgins said she benefited from the application process of writing essays and answering questions about her research.

“You have to concisely describe your research and how that affects you,” she said. “I’ve worked in all these different labs and did all these different projects, and it just helped me decide among all those things what I liked best, what I learned from them and where I can go from there.”

Named Outstanding Senior

Higgins, who graduates in May, will work in Manhattan until the fall, then take a two-month bicycle tour of the southwestern United States. She eventually plans to pursue graduate studies in pharmacology, possibly through an international program.

Higgins has been a member of the K-State women’s rowing team since her freshman year. She also is a College of Human Ecology ambassador and has been involved with the College of Human Ecology Honors Program, Alpha Chi Sigma professional chemistry fraternity, Pre-Pharmacy Club and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She also was named an outstanding graduating senior of the College of Human Ecology.

A 2004 graduate of Manhattan High School, she is the daughter of Mary Meck Higgins, Manhattan, and the late Randy Higgins.

Prepared by Media Relations

Amber Ziegler researches grocery shopping decisions in older adults

May 13th, 2009

Amber Ziegler, senior in family studies and human services, has been accompanying older adults on their grocery shopping trips to learn more about their shopping habits and decisions. Her research will add information to a neglected subject area.

Ziegler is working with Mary Meck Higgins, associate professor of human nutrition, on a pilot study researching the shopping habits of older adults. She individually interviewed 13 Manhattan-area residents who were between the ages of 54 to 87 as they shopped at a grocery store of their choice.

“What we wanted was for the participants to talk or think aloud as they were shopping so that we could find out what was influencing their decisions,” Ziegler said.

Older adults “deliberate shoppers”

Ziegler joined the participants to learn about their shopping process, the factors that influence their purchasing decisions and their cooking habits. Her preliminary data shows that the participants are deliberate shoppers. They typically use a shopping list, frequently cook at home and cook for one or two people. They emphasized that their meal portion sizes have changed from when they raised a family.

“Now, they either buy less, store food or cook smaller portions,” Ziegler said. “Several participants said they have pantries, and they store extra bread and meat in their freezers.”

When shopping for meat, several participants said the portion sizes of the packaged items were too large, Ziegler said. One participant could only find a package of four pork chops when she just needed to buy two, so she decided not to buy meat at all because she would not use it quickly.

Is milk jug too heavy?

Physical obstacles also affected the shoppers, such as how high items were placed on shelves. Additionally, Higgins said packaging was a factor; for shoppers wanting a gallon of milk, some bought two half gallons because the gallon size was too heavy to lift.

Ziegler said many shoppers mentioned health factors, such as diabetes, high blood cholesterol and cholesterol, that affected their shopping choices.

When entering the grocery store, Ziegler said every participant walked straight ahead or turned right; none turned left. Produce usually was in the front of the store, and this was the area that most participants shopped first. She asked the shoppers how they chose what fresh produce to buy. One participant actually tasted an item before deciding to buy it.

Ziegler also asked the shoppers if they were purchasing items based on price, and she found that they seemed to not look at price per unit, but at total price. She said participants shopped for less expensive products and most were not brand loyal.

Conducted follow-up interviews

In the second phase of the pilot project, after the in-store interview, Ziegler called participants later in the week and did a follow-up interview. She asked questions about their cooking habits, such as cooking appliances, recipe use and how often the participants dined out during a week.

Higgins said she wanted to expand her prior research on grandparents by looking at their shopping and cooking habits, particularly for grandparents raising their grandchildren full time. However, she found that little information was known and decided to focus first on older adults in general. Ziegler’s project serves as a pilot study for the future project and will provide information on the subject since not much is known, including in both national and international literature.

The researchers are completing a written report of their work, and Ziegler gave a poster presentation of her research for the College of Human Ecology Honors Program. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funded the project.

To teach in Asia

Ziegler will pursue a teaching opportunity in Asia after graduating in May, and then she plans to pursue graduate studies. Though she is unsure of her future career plans, she said after her experiences at K-State she is considering teaching at a university.

“Having a research experience as an undergraduate and getting to do pieces of graduate-level work has been perfect,” she said. “If people are interested in continuing their education, I think it is really important that they be involved in undergraduate research.”

Ziegler volunteered with a mission organization during summer 2007 in Tanzania. She is a dual degree student with Manhattan Christian College where she also will graduate in May with a bachelor’s in Bible and family ministry.

Prepared by Media Relations

Faculty in the News

April 29th, 2009

HOP’N Home project earns $125,000 grant

Bronwyn Fees, family studies and human services; Sara Rosenkranz, human nutrition; and Tanis Hastmann, human nutrition, are among those who received a grant of $125,716 from the United Methodist Health Foundation.

They will conduct a study entitled, “Promoting Media Literacy in Parents and Young Children to Provide healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity at Home: The HOP’N Home Environment Project.” The group also includes David Dzewaltowski, kinesiology; Barb Roths, Extension; and Melissa Bopp, kinesiology.

College elects faculty senators

Faculty has elected Peggy Honey, ATID; Carol Kellett, dean’s office; and Kevin Roberts, HMD, to serve 3-year terms as faculty senators. They will join Mark Haub and Jane Garcia in representing the college on faculty senate. Melody LeHew, ATID, begins her term as faculty senate president in May.

Meredith publishes on Ph.D. programs

Bill Meredith, head of FSHS, has been published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy: DuPree, W.J.; White, M.B.; Meredith, W.H.; Ruddick, L.; & Anderson, M.P. (2009). Evaluating Scholarship Productivity in COAMFIE-Accredited Ph.D. Programs, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35 (2), 204-219.

ADA presenters announced

Accepted for presentations at the fall Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition of the American Dietetic Association in Denver are:

• Roberts, K. R. & Barrett, E. Exploring restaurant managers’ beliefs about food safety training . Research and Practice Innovation (RPI).
• Barrett, E. and Riggins, L. Beliefs and Perceptions of School Foodservice Personnel about HACCP Implementation.

Accepted for poster presentations are:

• Roberts, K. R., Kwon, J., & Shanklin, C. W. Food safety practices in ethnic restaurants in Kansas;
• Roberts, K. R., Remig, V., Bryant, T. J., & Snyder, G. Older adults’ technology preferences related to food safety education;
• Remig, V., Roberts, K. R., Bryant, T. J., & Snyder, G. Discussion Groups with Mature Adults Help Identify Food Safety Issues and Barriers;
• Griffith, L., Canter, D., Betts, N., Anderson, J., Kattlemann, K., Harris, M., Brundt, A., Schnepf, M. Multi-Institutional Delivery of Internet-Based Graduate Education to Dietetics Professionals;
• Kwon, J., Ryu, D., Zottarelli, L., Kwon, S., Paulson, R. Food Safety Training Needs for Evacuation Shelters Operated by Faith-based Organizations.

Students in the news

April 22nd, 2009

Held, Stull organize first African sustainable, social justice event here

Courtney Held, senior in dietetics and public health nutrition,  and Valerie Stull, graduate student in public health, organized K-State’s first Fair Trade Awareness, Africa’s Sustainability, Together event set for Sunday, April 25. Activities will include a 5K fun run, music and social justice fair.

The third organizer was Kiera Evans, campus ministry intern. Sponsor is K-State’s Episcopal Campus Community Ministry. The three will be going to Kenya this summer on a mission trip.

The event on Bosco Plaza will feature canvas bags made by women in Kenya and Malawi, on sale for $12. The money raised will go to the two fair trade groups who made the bags, Comfort the Children International in Kenya, and African Bags in Malawi.

Three join Mortar Board

Three Human Ecology students have been selected to join Mortar Board. They are:

• Jesus Garcia, public health nutrition
• Claire Cody, dietetics
• Brittany DeLaney, communication sciences and disorders

Mortar Board is a national honor society that recognizes college seniors for distinguished ability and achievement in scholarship, leadership and service.

Honor society initiates six

The campus chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron has initiated new members. They are:

• Kelsi Hillbrant-Head, junior in family studies and human services
• Kelly Harrison, junior in nutrition and kinesiology
• Madison Peak, sophomore in nutritional sciences
• Sara Fultz, junior in communication sciences and disorders
• Kelsey Flickner, sophomore in family studies and human services
• Gabrielle Sims, sophomore in dietetics and kinesiology

Phi Upsilon Omicron is a national honor society in family and consumer sciences that encourages lifelong learning, excellence in scholarship, leadership and service.

Hightower, Armstrong present research

Carrita Hightower and Cossette Armstrong earned honors at the recent K-State Research Forum where graduate students presented research in the agricultural sciences, biological sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and social sciences/humanities/education, as well as poster presentations.

Hightower, human nutrition, took second place in posters. Armstrong, apparel and textiles, won first place in social sciences/humanities/education.

Little Black Dress event draws elegance

April 7th, 2009

The Little Black Dress - on the Red Carpet raised more than $9,000 for the Historic Costume and Textile Museum. Nearly $3,000 came from the silent auction where high bidders took home handcrafted jewelry and wearable art donated by faculty and friends.

Nearly 250 stunningly garbed supporters attended the winter gala at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, toe tapping to the Kansas Jazz Combo featuring Wayne Goins and sipping Little Black Dress wine. They browsed through the exhibit of black dresses worn by notables such as Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and actress Felicity Huffman. Others on display were created by Halston, Versace, Trigere, Montana and Ungaro.

“The primary goal was to heighten interest in the collection and exhibit,” said Jana Hawley, head of the Department of Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design. The museum is part of ATID.

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Scholarships fund student international study, service

April 6th, 2009

College of Human Ecology encourages student study and service internationally. This year the college awarded six scholarships to help fund students’ international experiences this summer.

• Valerie Stull, graduate student in public health nutrition, will travel to Kenya, Africa, to work on a service project for thesis research;

• Courtney Held, junior in dietetics and public health nutrition, will join the Kenya service project for Honors Project credit;

• Krystin Matusczewicz, junior in family studies and human services, will study in Salamanca, Spain;

• Kelsey Flickner, sophomore in FSHS, will study in Australia;

• Gayathri Pidatala, PhD student in apparel and textiles, will travel to India to do dissertation research;

• Lydia Travis, sophomore in interior design, will study in Italy and France.

The college also awarded Multicultural Scholarships for 2009-2010 to five students.

• Gladys Asiedu, PhD student in family studies and human services;

• Brittany Delaney, junior in communication sciences and disorders;

• Yolonda Guyton, sophomore in interior design;

• Quaumeeka Saunders, master’s degree student in marriage and family therapy;

• Brandy James, PhD student in FSHS.