10/7/97
The following Ohio University professors are available for insightful interviews on topics in the news. Please contact Dwight Woodward at 614/593-1886 or Todd Anderson at 614/593-1885 to arrange an interview.

BANKS VS. CREDIT UNIONS IN OPENING DAY OF NEW SUPREME COURT SESSION: The U.S. Supreme Court opened its new session Oct. 6 with a case pitting banks against credit unions. At issue is the banks' contention that 3,600 of the 7,000 federally chartered credit unions have members from occupational groups that do not meet the "common bond" requirements of the 1934 law, the Federal Credit Union Act, that created credit unions. Ganas K. Rakes, O'Bleness Professor of Finance and Banking at Ohio University's College of Business, offers an unusual perspective on the case -- he serves on the board of directors of a savings and loan and also is a founding member and chairman of the supervisory committee of the Appalachian Federal Credit Union. "The bankers are pushing to tighten membership requirements to reduce competition," says Rakes. "I can understand the bankers' desire to reduce competition, but from the credit unions' perspective, it's horrendous."

NATIONAL COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CHILD MONTH: Parents and teens often complain they are on different wavelengths and can't communicate. October has been designated National Communicate With Your Child Month in an effort to overcome the generation gap. Ohio University Psychology Professor Don Gordon has developed an interactive CD-ROM, "Parenting Adolescents Wisely," offering parents a hands-on video experience that depicts common problems facing parents and teens. When a problem or argument arises, parents, using a computer mouse, are asked to select the proper behavior that will result in a positive outcome. If they select the wrong option, they return to the beginning of the scene and are asked to choose a different behavior. Gordon says the 2.5-hour program can replace many hours of therapy and has been the focus of a British Broadcasting Corp. documentary on British parents who used the program.

IMMIGRATION: GOOD OR BAD FOR THE UNITED STATES? Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway, both distinguished professors of economics at Ohio University, have been studying various aspects of immigration for years and they generally favor immigration. Whether immigration should be reduced or maintained at current levels, one fact remains: better language skills result in better job prospects and income levels, according to Vedder and Gallaway's recent study, The Economic Impact of English Language Comprehension: evidence for U.S. Immigrants. Immigrants' lack of English skills generally relegates them to low-wage jobs, resulting in a substantial loss of income over a lifetime, according to the study. Still, Vedder says immigrants contribute more to the economy than they take. "The rap against immigrants is that they use welfare more than the American population," Vedder said. "We say that is not so, particularly if you adjust for age and areas that have a lot of jobs."