Young vs. old: A new American divide
Once most American families had aging grandparents nearby. But in today's mobile society, the majority of American children have little contact with aging adults. This increasing separation of the generations means that children don't understand the process of aging or aging issues, according to research by Charlene Freeman-Coker of Virginia Tech's Center for Gerontology. To bridge this gap, she is developing curriculum materials for public schools.
"When children and adolescents no longer interact with elderly adults daily on a personal basis, the children lose a source of the realities of old age. It also deprives older adults of contact with the young, so that some of these adults forget that being young isn't always easy either," Freeman-Coker says.
Her studies also show that young people without this contact often stereotype older people. Most young people in her statewide survey mistakenly think few of the elderly are poor. They also believe that elders are draining the federal budget, that poor elders are protected by "safety net" programs, and that programs such as social security and Medicare mainly subsidize the elderly.
Such misconceptions can lead to intergenerational antagonism over public policy issues such as health care and Social Security, says Freeman-Coker. They can also result in young people being incautious as they prepare - or don't prepare - for old age.
The curriculum materials will address these false ideas and include exercises designed to help students come to better understanding of age-related issues.
Mind over pain
Recent research conducted at Virginia Tech on using hypnosis to control pain may offer hope to the more than 70 million U.S. citizens who suffer from chronic pain.
Psychology professor Helen Crawford and her graduate students, with consultation from a local physician and the former Stanford neuropsychologist Karl Pribram (now at Radford University), conducted research on whether chronic sufferers of low-back pain can find relief through hypnosis. They found evidence that the prefrontal cortex is involved in reducing or eliminating awareness of pain.
Crawford's research demonstrates that hypnotizable people use their ability to focus attention to eliminate pain. "Pain is an awareness created by the brain. Over time, a strong memory of pain is created so future pain may be easier to feel because the message gets through more quickly," Crawford says. "Hypnosis can help break that memory pattern."
Participants in the study learned pain-control techniques including relaxation and imagery to control the chronic low back pain. Medical treatments, from pain relievers to surgery, had proved unsuccessful. By the end of the study, 35 percent of the volunteers no longer needed bedtime pain medication and most of the others had reduced their dosage.
Crawford suggests that hypnosis and other behavioral therapy pain should be introduced before surgery and drugs and before strong pain memories develop. The National Institutes of Health technology assessment panel has endorsed her suggestion.
The research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Crawford's e-mail address is hjc@vt.edu.
Wood scientists design storm-resistant walls
Virginia Tech research may soon improve structures' resistance to earthquakes and hurricanes. J. Daniel Dolan and Maurice White of the wood science and forest products department have been testing wood-based walls called shear walls, designed to resist sideways pressure.
Timber is an excellent building material for regions of high seismic activity because, rather than absorbing the force, it dissipates it as heat and noise. Dolan and White found that wind-resistant shear walls should be more than four feet long. They recommend using nails, small bolts, and glue, which rub against the wood and dissipate even more force. They also found that applying sheathing, such as plywood, to the wall can increase its strength.
Dolan chairs a committee for the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program responsible for writing building codes. He incorporated research results into codes that go into effect in 1998.
The research was done using a computer program called WALSEIZ, based on a program Dolan developed. This allowed extensive testing without the need for costly physical models. The research has been featured in Life magazine and is being pursued in Japan.
Dolan's e-mail address is jddolan@vt.edu. White can be reached at mawhite@vt.edu.