PHONE FOR ALL: In an effort to increase security, the University of Arizona is installing up to 62 one-touch emergency phones across campus. In the event of an emergency, callers simply push a large red button and they are immediately connected with a dispatcher who can send officers to the scene. No dialing is required and the receiver doesn’t even need to be lifted. A steady blue light above the phone will begin flashing rapidly, illuminating the area until police arrive.

PARTNERS IN SCIENCE: The National Science Foundation, the University of Wisconsin and four public school districts in that state are combining efforts to reinvigorate science and math education. The project - known as the K-Through-Infinity Professional Development Partnership - intends to connect K-12 education with “the excitement of (scientific) discovery,” according to Terry Millar, an associate dean and professor of mathematics. The four main goals of the program include: increasing the overall scientific literacy of K-12 teachers and students; raising interest in science, math and engineering; educating graduate students and undergraduates about the process of learning and the needs of the K-12 system; and raising the status of education-based initiatives.

THE MARRIAGE EFFECT: Marriage improves men according to a University of Virginia sociology professor. In his award-winning book “Marriage in Men’s Lives,” Steven L. Nock says that after marriage, men develop better self-images, are more successful, more generous and more concerned about the welfare of others. Because the standards for being a good husband are so widely known and so rooted in tradition, men can easily determine if they are good husbands. And in meeting those expectations, men come to see themselves as good providers, which reinforces their sense of masculinity, according to the book.

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