Multimedia Reporting (Adler-Noland)

While corporations are bringing in profits from new videogame systems on the market such as Playstation 3, X-Box 360 and the Wii, some gamers are looking to locally owned businesses that carry older games and systems that cannot be found elsewhere.

Two locally owned stores in downtown Lawrence provide their customers with used videogames, equipment and good deals. One used videogame store, Game Nut Entertainment, is in the process of creating a gaming loft where players can come to participate in a variety of gaming activities.

“What I do is 99 percent pre-owned sales,” said Gene Nutt, owner of Game Nut Entertainment. “We buy and sell games, systems, CDs, and movies in VHS and DVD.”

It may appear that older game systems such as Nintendo, Playstation, Sega, are going out of style, but sales continue improving.

“This past Christmas has been my best ever,” said Brian Harris owner of Game Guy Video Games.

“The transformation year from when new consoles come out is always rough. It takes a while for the newer stuff to come in, but after that I have more new consoles then I want, sooner then I want.”

The used-gaming niche has found its way into the community.

“Every time I walk past I come in. It’s convenient because it is in downtown and I can drop in whenever,” said Lawrence resident Blake Davis, Game Nut Entertainment customer. “Since it’s locally owned instead of a franchise it has a local feel and fits in well with downtown.”

The two stores, only a block away from one another are competitors between themselves and also with other carries of games and entertainment items.

“My primary competitors are the big-box boys and Game Nut,” Harris said.

Harris has had numerous chains compete over the nine years he has be operating his store. Game Nut Entertainment, open for a year and half, has a slightly different philosophy competition.

“I don’t really have a lot of competition in the corporate area. They are the source of the newer products, so we need them in order to have our products here.” Nutt said.

Used gaming stores are one of a kind in the community and are known as such for business around the area.

“We went to CD Trade Post and they told us to come here because they didn’t have what we were looking for,” said Mary Beth Brown, Lenexa senior who purchased a Sega Genesis from Game-Guy. “They had 100 percent of everything we wanted. My friends and I will be back in about a month or two for more games.”

In search of new ideas and ways in which gaming can be expanded, Game Nut Entertainment is launching a gamers’ loft on second floor of the store. The loft will include several big-screens TV’s, comfy chairs, a soda-snack bar and will charge customers per day or per hour to play video games or watch movies.

“It’s going to be like bowling alleys where teams can have leagues, and tournaments,” Nutt said. “I found one is St. Louis. They are popping up on the east and west coasts since the decline of video arcades.”

In addition to games, Game Nut Entertainment also profits greatly from movie sales.

“I come here to find old movies I have not seen in a while, they are cheap and the selection is non-traditional, they have things that you would not find at Wal-Mart,” said Carlos Mata, Overland Park sophomore and Game Nut Entertainment customer said.

Regulars, who know the quality and trust the service, provide a lot of the business in both stores.

“It’s the old rule, 80 percent of revenue from 20 percent of your customers,” Harris said.

The idea of locally owned business with a unique product to offer is what attracts a lot of consumers.

“We have been to quite a few places, but we tend to comeback here a lot, we want to support our community rather then go corporate,” Debbie McClelland, Game Guy customer and Lawrence resident said.

In order to draw a winder target customer, both stores provide other entertainment items of interest.

“Movies and music make up for a lot of the profit, but games are still the bread and butter,” Nutt said.

The results at the end of the day are what keep Harris happy with his business.

“For me success is the ability to measure in units of time. Freedom to do the things I want when I am not at the store. Money is less of a concern.”

Both gaming stores are doing well, but each owner measures their success differently.

“I think a business that is profitable is successful,” Nutt said. “You have to find a target customer and do the things they want. So many small businesses focus on what they want to do, but you have to mold with your market to be successful.”

Lawrence Police Officer Jay Bialek recently sat inside the station’s training room with a pamphlet, “Jihad, An Internal Struggle,” clasped in his hand.

Moussa Elbayoumy director of the Lawrence Islamic Center stood at the front of room telling him and other officers why in Muslim, a woman is not allowed to look an officer in the eyes.

“People have conflicts with Muslim behavior from lack of understanding about their culture,” Elbayoumy told officers.

Lawrence Police are required to go through 40 hours of community training each year. This year, for the first time training includes talks on diversity, reflecting the changing nature of Lawrence and its ethnic and cultural make-up. The diversity training session are presented by the Lawrence Alliance, a group dedicated to educating the community about diversity.

“Cultural learning serves to broaden our awareness and sensitivity to those citizens who represent different ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs,” Bialek community services officer said.
“These are the citizens that make up our community and that we serve.”

The diversity in Lawrence has increased in the past several years, both in number and range.

According to the American Community Survey Lawrence’s diverse populations are rising. Between 2000 and 2005, the Hispanic population rose 2 percent, individuals for whom English is a second language rose 1.5 percent. The Asian and Native American populations are up .7 and .1 percent respectfully.

“Lawrence is comprised of a wide variety of individuals from many cultures,” said Trent McKinley, neighborhood resource officer. “Having diversity training significantly improves officers’ awareness of other cultures and perspectives that they may otherwise have limited knowledge of.”

During trainings, which started in December and take place six times a year, officers hear from leaders representing disabled, racial, religious, gay and elderly populations.

“Moussa came to speak about things officers should know when and if they need to interact with someone from the Muslim community,” Deb Taylor, director of the Lawrence Alliance said. “He explained that in the Muslim culture women do not look men in the eye. If an officer is looking at a female and she is not looking at him, it means that she listening respectfully.”

Officers listened to a lecture, received literature regarding the topics, and had a question and answer session at the end of the presentation.

“I personally took away a much greater understanding of the Muslim culture, which is something I really knew nothing about. I thought that it was presented in a very understandable way,” Bialek said.

“It certainly gave me a greater awareness of the importance of how religion is a much devoted value and part of the Muslim culture and way of life.”

The presenters also felt that the lecture served its purpose.

“From the reaction of the officers, it went well. We could tell by how much participation we saw,” Elbayoumy said. “They filled out an overall-form at the end, which showed they were very positive and appreciative. They even asked for more resources.”

The Alliance surveyed the officers and decided afterward to make the next presentation about Hispanic groups.

“We will cover cultural beliefs specific to Latinos and Hispanic in the country. We will also talk about systems from countries that many have come from and how their native language affects their actions and interactions,” Lydia Leon, coordinator of the Hispanic Resource Center said. “We want to facilitate the bridge of understanding.”

The Alliance approached the police department early last year to determine their interest in the program and to make sure that this was the only program of its kind

“It is something that we are committed to explore,” said Lawrence Police Spokesman Capt. Mike Patrick. “It is good that we have this opportunity, it will help when we come in contact with diversity.”

In the future the Alliance plans to approach the Lawrence fire departments, emergency and medical services and downtown business owners about participation in the lectures.

A warm, powerful mezzo-soprano opera voice suddenly fills the performance hall. “Darum lasst uns hier eine Stadt grunden,” meaning “so we might as well build a city here,” Campbell belts out in German.

Campbell, Albuquerque, N.M. graduate student and another KU student won the regional level of the annual Lotte Lenya Competition for Singers and will perform at the finals April 21 in Rochester N.Y. The two were selected as finalists out of 26 entrants in their region, which was one of five regions including Chicago, Rochester, Boston and New York City.

“This is the first time that KU has placed in the national competition,” Joyce Castle, KU voice professor said.

Campbell was excited when she first heard about the results of the contest’s regional level.

“I really want to give credit to myself there as a singer, do a great performance,” she said.

She has been practicing for the voice competition since last October, but has been singing since kindergarten.

“Music has always been in her life, from the first time she sang in public during her Kindergarten Christmas show,” said Libbie O’Connell, Sharon’s mother.

She remembers singing in class and everyone looking at her as if they could not believe what they were hearing. It was not until high school that Campbell began looking for a professional voice teacher and honing her talent.

As a freshmen in at the University of New Mexico Campbell was an undecided major, but after taking some music classes she choose to study what she loved.

“I started studying music in college, I never thought it would be my degree,” Campbell said. “But once I sang in my first opera I was hooked. The music was luxurious.”

Campbell graduated from with a Bachelor of Music in voice performance. Unsure of exactly what to do next, she began working on her master’s degree and performing in the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. It was during the Opera’s performance of “Macbeth” that music again took her life in the direction it needed to go.

Campbell first met her husband during the “Macbeth” performance when they both sang in the chorus.

“We were both in the show’s chorus. Everyone was a professional singer, but she just stood out to me,” Joseph Campbell said. “Her singing drew her to me and I just knew that she was the one.”

After the couple wed and Campbell finished her masters degree at KU, she decided that she wanted to be a voice teacher and began working on her doctorate while teaching classes university and performing in her spare time.

“She is such an effective teacher,” said James Levy, Shawnee sophomore and student of Campbell. “She has taught me a lot about technique and becoming a better vocalist.”

Campbell recently gave birth to her first child. She said that taking care of her son Amon, takes a lot of time, but that does not stop her determination in music. The four-day Lotte Leyna competition will take Campbell away from her son for the first time, but she is grateful for her family’s constant help and support.

“What impresses me most about her is that she is such a dedicated singer, mother and wife, she does and amazing job at all of them,” Joseph Campbell said. “Being a singer myself I understand the work and the process she must go through.”

Aside from monetary prizes and professional feedback, the Lotte Leyna competition finalists often attract opera companies and musical theater producers.

Campbell will finish her Doctorate in Music next year and will then go on to teaching and continuing her own vocal performances.

“I know that she will do amazing,” friend and singer Julie Trujillo said. “There is really no error to her talent. She has worked and studied so hard. Listening to her, you feel at ease and comfortable. It’s magical.”

While after the Sept. 11 attacks many were learning how to cope with loss, engineers world-wide including KU’s civil and engineering professor Bai Yong, began research on efficient and fast city infrastructure reconstruction for future emergencies.

Yong and his team, which focused specifically on rapid bridge replacement, received a $36,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in mid-April to organize a workshop in China to do further research on the topic.

“Bringing in two mirror image groups to set up lines of communication is ideal,” said professor of civil engineering, Steven McCabe. “It is an opportunity for interaction.”

If a bridge were used to get to school or work each day or it was used to transport supplies, everyone would be asking the same questions, Yong said. “How long will it take for the bridge to be fixed, what technology will be used, what will it cost?”

The project gained even more importance after natural disasters like hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in South Asia.

“Bridges are key components in the economic life of communities and represent the key elements in moving emergency services following extreme events,” Yong said.

Workshop leads to discussions

The workshop will consist of seminars such as Chinese and US civil engineering education systems, development of multidisciplinary curriculums on rapid bridge replacement after extreme events and roundtable discussions in which both professors and students will contribute ideas.

Christine Atkins, Moorland senior will be the only undergraduate student of the 10 KU members to participate in the workshop.

“I am excited for the privilege to be a part of this,” Atkins said. “As an undergrad with a major in architectural engineering and in hopes of getting masters in structural engineering, I know that I will benefit from all of the information.”

China was chosen as the summit location because of its immense infrastructure system including hundreds of highways, bridges and railway systems.

“We are going to identify communication issues and problems that both countries face. We will then develop research agendas in areas that need to be reviewed,” McCabe said. “With on going collaboration between the two groups we will have an eye towards the future.”

An old project gains new interests

Yong began working on the rapid bridge replacement project as a student in Texas, but in 2004 when he came to teach at KU his research began to accelerate. Yong used the money he received from the new faculty general research fund toward his work.

His research included examining 26 case studies of damaged bridges and outlining needs for future improvements. The professor found that a lack of communication between parties involved in bridge replacement was a key issue. He also found that projects often ended up with an increase from the estimated price and scheduled time.

After using static methods for organize and analyzing the data of construction productivity and using specialized software packages to detected possible errors, Yong applied for received another grant from the KU Transportation Research Institute (KTRI).

Technology used for research

The professor and his team then began work on the wireless real-time productivity measurement system.

The system includes a video-camera, data processor, a laptop, antennas and an AC transformer. It is designed to be used by construction crews to measure efficiency and estimate the cost and amount of time it will take for the bridge to be replaced.

“[The system has] great promise to address communication and coordination issues, to control cost overruns, to improve construction schedule forecasts, and to increase emergency response capability after extreme events,” said KTRI director Robert Honea. “The idea is to eliminate any wasted steps in the total construction process and save money and time.”

The workshop, which will take place in the fall for a week and a half, is being organized by Yong and his team.

Aside from KU participants of the meeting will include Clemson, Iowa State, New Mexico and Hawaii universities as well as Tongji, Chongqing and Tsinghua universities in China, which will also serve as hosts of the workshop.

KU’s Quarked! program has helped middle school children learn about physics just by playing online and attending interactive shows. Students learned about the states of matter, the elements of subatomic particles and the electromagnetic process.

KU department of physics professor Alice Bean successfully used funding from a grant to produce the Quarked! program in 2006, but she is now facing new challenges in order to further the program with a television show.

“We have chicken-egg problem,” Bean said. “We have the TV stations saying that the product is great, but they don’t know how to fund it, and the funding companies saying they will put money into it if it is televised.”

Due to a limited number of channels, a variety of children’s programs are competing for airtime. High costs for a show’s production are another hurdle in getting Quarked! on air.

Storyboards are used to create the videos.
Source: Quarked!

“Each year the type of programs that are being sought by networks changes, so there's a lot of perseverance, timing, luck and keeping up with the trends involved with pitching a series,” said Deb Haller, the executive producer of Three Chicks Media who is working on the Quarked! project. “Getting an animated series developed, produced, tested, marketed and ready for air with a Web site and a year’s worth of episodes in the can, can cost more than 10 million dollars, so it often requires multiple funding partners.”

The Three Parts to the Program

The program uses cartoon kids who are also quarks, particles that make-up protons and neutrons. The cartoon characters go on subatomic adventures of the universe to explain complex physics concepts in an understandable way. The program uses an interactive Web site, hands-on shows as well as TV “webeisodes.”

One webisode story line involves a quarked kid injuring his knee and getting an x-ray, leading the team to discover how magnetic forces work.

The six main types of quarks that are used in show.
Source: Quarked!

“Informal learning experiences provide a great opportunity for youth to explore science outside of school,” said Teresa MacDonald, director of education at the KU Natural History Museum, which hosts the interactive Quarked! performances. “It supports the material they are learning in school, and also introduces them to new topics and ideas in an exciting way.”

Both teachers and students who attended a Quarked! interactive show had a positive experience.

“They were engaged and excited and were able to follow the new, fairly complex information in part because of the easy hands-on experiments and simple explanations the scientist gave us,” said Debby Francisco, second grade teacher at Deerfield Elementary School.

Creation of Quarked!

Bean began brainstorming the program after receiving a lot of negative feedback from educators when asking why children could not be taught physics.

“It is viewed as such an abstract idea, but I think that kids can get excited about science,” Bean said. “There is research that says if kids do not have a positive science experience by the time they are eight, they are not going to be scientists. We need more scientists and science teachers.”

Each of the characters was
developed from a sketch to a 3D image.
Source: Quarked!

The project began to come together after receiving a $200,000 grant from the Epscore division of the National Science Foundation at the start of the year and a $75,000 Web development grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., at the end of the year.

“We did a lot of research about how kids learn,” Bean said.

The program was a collaboration of the physics department and several other KU departments including English, computer science and visual arts. Outside help also came from National Institute of Child Health, 3-D animation studio Bazillion Pictures and Three Chicks Media Production Company.

Bean asked KU design professor, Dick Varney, to join the project in order to create the cartoon.

“I had never written an animation script, produced working storyboards, or art directed an animated film before,” Varney said. “It was learning the process under fire that was amazing. The students and I were thrilled to see the way the characters we had developed from a simple idea come alive and talk as animated characters within the movies.”