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Home > Newsroom > In the News > In the News 2001

Abt Associates in the News — 2001

Welcome to the Abt Associates' In the News Section. Many members of our staff are frequently quoted as expert sources for news articles. Below are summaries of selected articles in which our experts are cited. Many of these summaries list on-line access information: access is sometimes free, but sometimes a small fee is charged once the article is archived. For more information or for a hard-copy of the original article, contact Corporate Communications at 617-520-2982, or e-mail newsroom@abtassoc.com.

In the News, December 2001

In the News, November 2001

In the News, October 2001

In the News, September 2001

In the News, August 2001

In the News, July 2001

In the News, June 2001

In the News, May 2001

In the News, April 2001

  • "New Principals," E-News, The Council for Excellence in Government Newsletter, March/April, 2001

In the News, February 2001

In the News, January 2001



December2001

In an Op-ed piece, Dick Pace, Abt Associates Vice President and Wendy Jamieson, Abt Associates Principal Consultant, outline four Web site drivers of customer acquisition and retention for financial services institutions: efficiency, speed, content, and security. According to the article, the top-tier preferences for Web sites include improved site availability, e-mail security alerts for unusual activities, increased page load speed, security of transactions, e-mail transaction confirmations, and easily downloadable financial software. Hard Copy Available.


November 2001

In response to a request by the Wellness Corporation, a national Employee Assistance Program (EAP), two psychologists visited the Abt Associates' Chicago office to address employee fears and concerns after September 11 terrorist attacks. Issues raised by staff included fear, anxiety, depression, and concern for the future. EAP psychologists advised employees to discuss fears openly and provided counsel on how to talk to children about the attacks. According to Glenda K. Poindexter, Abt Associates Senior Human Resources Generalist, the work of the Wellness Corporation is "outstanding and very beneficial to employees. Hard Copy Available. (Similar article appeared in the November 22, 2001 edition of the Mundelein Review,Vernon Hills Review, and The News-Sun).


This article discusses the dramatic rise in the national unemployment rate since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Rick McGahey, Managing Vice President of Abt Associates and a former Assistant Secretary of Policy for the U.S. Department of Labor, says that while it's not surprising that the unemployment rate went up, the extent of the rise is. He is further quoted as commenting that despite the fundamentals looking good for economic recovery, that is little consolation for those who have just lost their jobs. Hard Copy Available.


October 2001

In the wake of the September 11th attacks on America, the football coach for the University of Colorado says he does not fear for his daughter, Courtney Barnett, Regional Program Manager for Abt Associates' health reform projects in Almaty, Kazakstan. This article describes Mr. Barnett's pride in his daughter and the work she does in helping developing countries.


Senator McCain supports enhancement of a national service program, citing an independent study by Abt Associates demonstrating the success of AmeriCorps, a domestic version of the Peace Corps. Noting the impressive list of its achievements, Senator McCain remarked that "AmeriCorps has transformed the lives of young people who have participated in its ranks. They have begun to glimpse the glory of serving the cause of freedom. They have come to know the obligations and rewards of active citizenship." (free).


September 2001

This article discusses the correlation between power plant emissions and public health problems and premature deaths. Many environmentalists, public health advocates, and citizens groups contend that plants' emissions are a danger and that these plants should be shut down or changed to reduce emissions. Industry officials state that there is a limit as to how much they can spend on anti-pollution measures and still remain competitive. According to a study by Abt Associates cited in the article, as many as 30,100 deaths a year nationwide are related to power plants emissions. (for a fee) by searching archives for "Abt Associates".


Joseph P. Newhouse, Ph.D., Abt Associates Board member and John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard University, has been appointed to the Aetna Board of Directors. .


This article discusses the Tennessee's state senate bill that would reverse the permitting process for asphalt plants and other industries. According to activists quoted in the article, this bill allows polluting industries to build a facility and then go and get a permit from the state's Division of Air Quality. In a nationwide study completed last October by Abt Associates, the communities of Asheville and Johnson City, Tennessee, ranked No. 5 and 6, respectively, as the worst areas of air pollution and resulting deaths in the whole country. Hard copy available.


A study issued by Abt Associates and the Actuarial Society of South Africa examines the macroeconomic effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on South Africa over the next 15 years. The article states that between 4 million and 6 million people, or about 11 percent of the South African population, are estimated to be HIV positive. According to the study, this translates into South Africa's total labor force potentially falling by 21 percent by 2015. The study also projects a negative effect on household consumption expenditure due to a projected decline in the population and in employment and income levels. Hard Copy Available.


This article discusses the predominance of abusive and deceptive mortgage lending practices in the subprime mortgage industry on a national level. A study of foreclosures in Atlanta done by Abt Associates showed that, from 1993 to 1998, the number of subprime refinance loans had increased by over 500 percent, and that the subprime share of foreclosures is highest in lower-income and predominantly minority neighborhoods. Hard Copy Available.


In a controversial decision, the Florida state legislature has decided to end car emissions testing, although some public health advocates say that will be a big mistake. According to a report issued by Abt Associates Inc., 12,600 people went to Florida emergency rooms in 1998 suffering the ill effects of ground-level ozone. The article also quotes Florida legislative analysts as stating that the elimination of the tests will save taxpayers $53 million a year. Hard Copy Available.


A report issued by Abt Associates states that half of all adult deaths in South Africa can be attributed to AIDS. It also discusses the controversy surrounding the numbers reported for adult, AIDS-related deaths due to lack of information on death certificates, adult deaths often being recorded as resulting from opportunistic diseases such as pneumonia or tuberculosis, and partly because of patient confidentiality. Hard Copy Available.


August 2001

The implantation of the first of a new kind of totally self-contained artificial heart in a patient in Louisville, Kentucky in July was preceded by complex preparations behind the scenes concerning how to evaluate its safety and effectiveness. Abt Associates Clinical Trials (AACT), a division of Abt Associates Inc., has been working with ABIOMED, Inc. to provide clinical and data management services for the initial clinical trial of the AbioCor(TM) Replacement Heart. The world's first fully implantable mechanical replacement heart device, the AbioCor is intended for individuals who have irreversible, life-threatening biventricular heart failure and a life expectancy of less than 30 days. (free).


A National Multiple Sclerosis Society press release announced the completion of the first stages of recruitment and data collection for the Sonia Slifka Longitudinal Multiple Sclerosis Study. The study, conducted by Abt Associates, will attempt to follow a representative sample of the MS population in the United States. Over time, the data will help to understand the factors related to prognosis, economic status, and clinical course of people with multiple sclerosis. (free).


Health officials in Maryland release a report card that ranks more than 200 nursing homes. According to the article, this report card is the first of its kind in the country and users can check inspection reports and examine rankings in categories such as the prevalence of bed sores and use of restraints. A consultant to the state of Maryland on the project, Soeren Mattke of Abt Associates, said that while the type of cases treated at a nursing home could influence the scores in the report card, "that doesn't mean they are only determined by case mix." He further comments that the scores can be an important indicator of nursing home quality. (free).


This article discusses an eight-week parenting project headed by the Calhoun County Family Independence Agency in Michigan. The project is designed to help parents receiving welfare find out what factors are keeping them from getting jobs, by providing the project participants with self-esteem, computer skills, literacy, home management, nutrition and child care classes. Representatives from Abt Associates and the University of Michigan will survey the families who completed the project to identify what changes were made in their lives. Hard copy available.


This article discusses a comprehensive study conducted by Abt Associates, which convened two expert panels-one interdisciplinary (consisting primarily of allopathic physicians) and the other of chiropractors. Both panels concluded that, with respect to a list of 53 primary care functions found to occur daily in medical offices, chiropractors are capable of making diagnoses in 92% of these instances and making therapeutic contributions in more than 50% of them. The study confirms other recent findings that between 60-90% of diagnoses seen in outpatient primary care settings can be handled by certain alternative providers. (free).


July 2001

Bhavya Lal, Abt Associates Policy Analyst, discusses her study for the National Science Foundation, which found that in the engineering arena, women earn almost as men when experience is controlled. Hard copy available.


June 2001

In this article, the Arizona Works program, the state's controversial welfare privatization program, is discussed. The article cites the results of a study conducted by Abt Associates that shows the effect of the program on earnings and hours worked by welfare families. Hard copy available.


Dr. Malcolm Steinberg, a senior researcher in Abt Associates' Southern Africa Regional Office, discusses the AIDS crisis in South Africa. He states that there is still a stigma surrounding AIDS in Africa, causing many infected individuals to shy away from sharing important health information with others. He also states, "Interventions that we can make work here could serve as a model for the rest of the world." The article also describes other topics relating to the AIDS epidemic in South Africa that were the focus of the AIDS Conference held in South Africa. (free).


May 2001

According to this article, an estimated 10% of South Africans are infected with HIV or AIDS, and the government says it cannot afford to provide drugs at current prices or subsidize the medicine to an affordable level. A study conducted by Abt Associates found that more than 60% of new infections are occurring in people 15 to 25 years old, and of those young people, half are expected to die before age 35. Malcolm Steinberg, an epidemiologist in Abt Associates' Southern Africa Regional Office who led the study, stated, "We are looking at another lost generation." Hard Copy Available.


A HUD report prepared by Abt Associates indicates that reverse mortgages have become increasingly popular among cash-poor but equity-rich senior citizens. According to this article, reverse mortgages provide elderly homeowners a financial vehicle to tap the equity in their homes without having to sell or move from their homes. They receive regular monthly payments or advances from a line of credit from the lender. As the homeowner receives payments and interest is accrued, the amount of debt secured by the reverse mortgage rises over time. Hard Copy Available.


This article discusses the first in a series of five forums convened by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo and Treasury Under Secretary Gary Gensler designed to call attention to predatory lending practices. HUD is concerned about the number of home foreclosures as a result of predatory lending practices. According to an Abt Associates analysis of mortgage foreclosures in 12 of 16 counties in the Atlanta area, while overall foreclosure volume fell 7% between 1996 and 1999, subprime foreclosures rose 232% in the same period. Hard Copy Available.


April 2001

Richard McGahey, Managing Vice President of Abt Associates, is among the new principals (members) of the nonprofit, Council for Excellence in Government. Many of the new principals are former presidential appointees. Dr. McGahey is a former Assistant Secretary of Policy for the U.S. Department of Labor.


February 2001

Abt Associates' Southern Africa Regional Office and the Agricultural Research Council hosted a presentation, where Dr. John Mellor, Abt Associates Vice President and Principal Associate of the International Development Area, discussed the need for technological change to agriculture for production and income growth. "The reason is the increasing capacity of technology to exceed the limits imposed on agricultural growth by natural resources." Hard copy available.


When it comes to building loyalty with customers, a company has to address many issues. A study conducted by Abt Associates shows that when a complaint takes too long to resolve or involves too many people, customers become so dissatisfied with the process that they don't come back - even if the problem is eventually resolved satisfactorily. Hard copy available.


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services engaged Abt Associates to conduct a national study of child care for low-income families. The reported found that, due to the strong economy, more parents working, and more leftover TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) funds, states are spending significantly more on child care. The report, however, also cites a concern that if and when the economy weakens, welfare roles will bounce back and the use of TANF funds for child care will diminish. Hard copy available.


January 2001

Abt Associates conducted a study for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which pointed to the "need for better support and education for people with MS and the people who care for them, as well as medical, human service, and law enforcement professionals." The study examined records from the Protective Service Program (PSP) of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission of reported cases of caregiver abuse in Massachusetts. Investigators found that 83% of the reported abuse cases were at the hands of a family caregiver, with the remainder at the hands of a paid caregiver. Hard copy available.

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