UO E-clips, Oct. 30

Research and Markets: Patient Activation Measure: Assessing the Engaged Healthcare Consumer for Self-Efficacy -- Reuters and Business Wire (Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Patient Activation Measure: Assessing the Engaged Healthcare Consumer for Self-Efficacy - 60-minute Webinar on CD-ROM" report to their offering. Much of the focus in the healthcare industry on how to control costs and improve outcomes relies on a more engaged healthcare consumer. The Patient Activation Measure, developed by Dr. Judith Hibbard, a professor of health policy at the University of Oregon, is a relatively new tool that assesses a patient's level of activation to more appropriately tailor healthcare interventions.)

Reality, Eugene-style: Even a Seattle liberal can get that "not in Kansas anymore" feeling about a visit to Eugene, Ore. -- Crosscut.com (I was down there recently for a "Future of Journalism" conference sponsored by the Oregon chapter of Society for Professional Journalists and held at the Communications School at the University of Oregon. I checked into a hotel within walking distance of campus the night before, and bumped into a fellow at the elevator who looked a bit like a bigger version of me: heavy and hairy. He asked if I was there for the "superhero" conference. I said no, what's that? Turns out, the university was also hosting an academic symposium called "Understanding Superheroes," featuring sessions like "Being and Super-Beings: Existentialism, Temporality, and Eschatology," "My Best Enemy: The Signifying Super-Villain," and "Queer Power: Superheroes and Sexualities." I immediately wished I could switch conferences.)

Universities plan big Portland investments: Higher ed system invests in design and manufacturing -- The Portland Tribune, short blurb also in Oregon Business (Leela Morimoto has been designing since she was 4. The Hawaii native started making origami earrings as a child, studied architecture at the University of Oregon, took part in a furniture design program in Denmark (Ikea called her slatted Z-shaped chair design "too simple"), and now she's made her way to Portland, where she plans to stay. ... Morimoto and her peers at the University of Oregon's product design program - the fifth year of which is based at the White Stag building in Old Town - are a dream come true for the Oregon University System. Oregon's public universities with a Portland presence - the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon Institute of Technology - are looking to tap into the sea of creative talent here by identifying product design as one of four major investment areas.)

Holding the Line Against Forgeries -- The New York Times (Forgers have been duping the art world for generations, but advances in computer technology may sound the death knell of this illicit industry — and, at the same time, make it easier for collectors of major artworks to know if they are getting what they pay so handsomely for. Eric Postma, a professor of artificial intelligence at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and an expert on the digital analysis of works by Vincent Van Gogh, explains the new technology and why more museums and private buyers should open up their collections to computer scientists. ... I was recently asked if we could tell whether a "drip" painting by Jackson Pollock was authentic. Clearly there are no brush strokes to work from here, but Richard Taylor at the University of Oregon performed a fractal analysis of Pollock's paintings using computer algorithms and succeeded in demonstrating how these algorithms could distinguish a true Pollock from a forgery.)

Game Day Fashion: Costume, Yellow or Black? -- KVAL News (University of Oregon students say the word around town is to wear black as the Ducks take on USC on Saturday. They say this will 'blackout' the stadium and hopefully intimidate the Trojans. Black t-shirts are flying off the shelves at the university's bookstore. But the athletic department is encouraging fans to wear yellow to show up better during the night game. And if you're feeling festive and in the Halloween spirit, the University of Oregon will allow costumes into the game. View Story)

Made in Oregon's "Public Option" -- Willamette Week (Two weeks ago, WW first reported the "Made in Oregon" sign had been turned off owing to a dispute among city officials, the University of Oregon, the owner of the White Stag building and the owner of the sign. Then The Oregonian reported an additional twist. Commissioner Randy Leonard, in a second attempt to bring the sign under the city's control, would support what the O called a "public option" in which the city would buy the sign to own it. Clever! But now it seems that phrase was too clever, in that mention of a "public option" appears to have cursed the "Made in Oregon" debate with the same bad karma plaguing the federal health-care debate.)

Weekly Farmer's Market Begins at UO Campus -- KEZI 9 News (Good news for fruit and veggie-lovers at the University of Oregon: a weekly farmer's market will come to campus starting Thursday, October 29. The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) announced the official launch of the campus market that will bring fresh fruits and vegetables to the UO students. See Story)

New NCAA definitions of revenues cause a stir at Oregon schools -- The Oregonian (Officials at Oregon, Oregon State and Portland State are bristling at the NCAA's new definitions of "revenues" in athletic departments because the new terms exclude pots of money the schools routinely count as revenue. Without those sources, none of the state's big three athletic departments is self-sufficient in the eyes of the NCAA. The median deficit for an athletic department in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) was $8,089,000 in 2007-08, according to figures in a 110-page NCAA report released last week. By Oregon's and Oregon State's accounts, both produced modest surpluses that year. But under the NCAA's new formula, Oregon's gap between self-generated revenues and expenses was $2,219,094 and Oregon State's was $3,762,471.)