TEMPLE STUDY FINDS HIGH STRESS LESSENS TEEN FATHERS' INVOLVEMENT -- After all the splendor of Mother's Day--lavish bouquets, snazzy brunches and mounds of gifts--most dads are lucky to get a garish necktie on their special day. Moms may get all the love, but perhaps the Father's Day dearth occursbecause one in four American kids lives in a fatherless home. A recent Temple study--headed by social administration professors Jay Fagan and Marina Barnett--sought to determine which teen fathers stay involved with their child during the prenatal stages. "The finding most interesting to me is that stress between the teen mother and father is a prime indicator of the father's involvement, whether or not the young mother and father are still in a romantic relationship," Fagan says. "If it's highly stressful, the father tends to be less involved." Fagan and Barnett tracked 60 father-mother pairs between the seventh and eighth month of pregnancy at Temple's OB/GYN clinic. Fagan notes that the research also suggests that fathers with jobs, fathers still in a romantic relationship with the mother, and fathers able to express their feelings in a positive way are more likely to remain a presence in their child's life.
NO SUMMERTIME (JOB) BLUES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS -- Amid all the chatter about the weakening U.S. dollar, a double-dip recession and the stagnant job market, college students can cling to their traditional economic savior: the summer job. Whether it's flipping burgers or jockeying a cash register, company demands for summer help remain stable despite flagging hiring rates, says Chet Rispoli, director of Career Development Services. "I wouldn't say it's plentiful, but the numbers have certainly not decreased at the rate they have for full-time employment," Rispoli says. "Traditionally, summer employment stays steady or increases when the job market is down for full-time employment. For companies, it's cheaper labor and they're hesitant to make long-term commitments to employees." While returning students use summer break as a chance to earn extra cash, Rispoli sees it as a viable option for recent grads trying to make inroads in a turbulent market. "Given that the market is so tight, a lot of graduates will lay back and take the part-time work," Rispoli says. "That way, they can make a few dollars, get their foot in the door and use the job as a starting point."
RECENT RAINS MEAN MORE WEEDING FOR GARDENERS -- As a result of the wet spring, home gardeners are now facing a new barrage from an insidious enemy--weeds of all shapes and sizes. "Basically, gardeners right now should be weeding like crazy," says Stephanie Cohen, a nationally recognized horticulturist and director of the Landscape Arboretum of Temple University Ambler. "All of the rain has essentially doubled the number of weeds, which steal water and nutrients from the plants that you have worked so hard to grow." One sure measure that the home gardener is in the middle of a weed emergency is if "the weeds have grown larger than your plants," Cohen says. "That's a good sign that you've waited a little to long to do your weeding." Now is also an important time to care for perennials, Cohen adds. With all of the recent rain, perennials such as sunflowers, asters, and chrysanthemums may be getting a bit "too tall and too floppy. If it is a perennial that has a bloom time of late summer or fall, now is a good time to cut them back by about a quarter to a half. They'll be shorter and sturdier and you'll get just as many flowers, if not more," she says. "Of course you don't want to cut back your spring plants since they are flowering right now."
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