Law students help local literacy program

What began as a competition between law students has become a big gift to a local literacy program. Vanderbilt University law students collected 1,529 books along with $800 in cash for Book’em. The group will distribute the books to local children. Read more at The Register.

Vanderbilt baseball ranked #8

The season hasn’t started yet, but the Vanderbilt baseball team is already at the top. The team is ranked No. 8 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Preseason Top 40 Poll. Check out the story at vucommodores.com

Vanderbilt scientists’ discovery may cut energy consumption

Vanderbilt scientists have made a discovery that could lead to the development of more efficient lighting. By manipulating existing technology, these researchers are on the path to discovering light bulbs that only need half as much electricity. Get the story at Exploration, Vanderbilt’s science magazine.

Lady Commodores dominate the court

The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team trounced Arkansas on January 4th. The Lady Dores beat #20 Arkansas by 37 points for a final score of 98-61. Sophomore Christina Wirth led the team with a career-high of 24 points, and four other players hit double digits. Vanderbilt faces off against Florida on January 14 at home. Get all the highlights at vucommodores.com

Parents aren’t sure their discipline methods work

Almost a third of parents say they don’t think their methods of disciplining children are working very well, and many of those report using the same discipline their own parents used. That finding comes in a study authored by Shari Barkin, M.D., chief of the Division of General Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

“Discipline is a central issue for parents, yet providers engage parents in limited ways on this topic.” Barkin said. “In this study, we altered the manner in which we asked families about discipline. This created a shared dialogue rather than a lecture.”

Barkin’s broad cross sectional survey of parents from 32 states, Puerto Rico and Canada is entitled “Determinants of Discipline Practices: A National Sample from Primary Care Practices,” and is published in the January issue of the journal Clinical Pediatrics.

The results found a strong association between the discipline parents experienced as children and the methods they reported using with their own children. Forty-five percent reported using time-outs, 41.5 percent reported using removal of privileges, 13 percent reported yelling at their children and 8.5 percent reported the use of spanking “often or always.”

About 31 percent of parents surveyed responded they either “never” or “sometimes” perceived their methods to be effective.

“There was actually an inverse relationship between self-reports of yelling at children and perceived effectiveness of discipline,” Barkin said. “But we strongly suspect that both yelling and spanking might be underreported, because we know when parents perceive their methods are not working, as a third reported, then emotions can quickly escalate.”

More than a third of parents (38 percent) reported using the same methods of discipline they experienced when they were children. But those who reported using the same methods as their parents often considered their approach “ineffective.”

By the time children reached the 6- to 11-year-old age range, parents were about 25 percent less likely to report using time-outs and spanking as they were with younger children (ages 2 to 5). When children reached school age, parents reported a heavier use of taking away privileges and yelling. But even in the older age range, perception that the discipline might not be working persisted.

Vandy football players show their musical talents

The Vanderbilt Commodore Steel band started at Blair School of Music in 2004. Since then the program has expanded to three bands, including the First and Ten Steel Band composed of Vanderbilt football players. Watch the players show off their new skills atVUCast.

Policy center takes pulse of education in TN

The Vanderbilt Peabody Center for Education Policy is releasing data about the state of education in TN. Researchers gathered this info as part of an ongoing annual poll across the state. The poll shows that while Tennesseans aren’t totally satisfied with the quality of education in the state, it is not a top political priority. Find out more about the poll results at VUCast.

Author of media consolidation book to speak at Vanderbilt

Eric Klinenberg, author of Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America’s Media, will lecture at Vanderbilt on January 15. Klinenberg did extensive field research while writing his book, which will be published this month. The event is sponsored by the The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt. Get more info at VUCast.