Of Human Interest: News lite

CHANGING PRIORITIES AFTER SEPT. 11

American workers have taken a second look at their lives since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and as a result about 45 percent have considered switching jobs, a workplace survey by CIGNA Behaviorial Health says.

"With retirement nest eggs cracking, job security waning and terrorist threats still on the radar screen, employees are facing stresses that are causing them to rethink their priorities," CIGNA Behavioral Health President Keith Dixon said.

The survey found 44 percent of respondents feel their jobs are more stressful now than a year ago. Forty-seven percent are still coping but 11 percent describe themselves as overwhelmed.

Nearly all said their attitude toward work has changed since last year because of the economy, worries about getting fired, distrust of corporate America and the reduced value of their retirement plans.

(Thanks to UPI's Marcy Kreiter in Chicago.)

HOT COLLEGES

Newsweek magazine and Kaplan Inc. have released their list of the 12 "hot schools" for 2003, and for the first time named a college or university from another country.

Canada's McGill University in Montreal was one of the dozen schools named.

The others were Arizona State University, Boston College, University of California at Santa Barbara, Davidson College, George Washington University, Kenyon College in Ohio, Macalester College in Minnesota, University of Maryland of Baltimore County, University of North Carolina, Pepperdine University and University of Washington.

Kaplan said the events of Sept. 11 shook up the college admissions landscape, noting, "applications are up, savings are down, community service is hot and studying science and technology is popular."

(Thanks to UPI's Les Kjos in Miami.)

FAMILIES WITH FOOD SEND GIRLS TO SCHOOL

The Global Food for Education program hopes to help 150,000 people in one year, using commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Assist News Service reports.

The program will be set up in Yemen by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency. The Commodity Credit Corp., using USDA goods, will supply 5,000 metric tons of soybean oil and wheat flour to support female students access to primary education in Yemen.

The goods will be packaged into take-home rations for distribution to 30,000 female students attending grades one through nine in the Taiz governorate. The take-home rations will provide support to families while their daughters attend school.

In Taiz, females comprise only 39 percent of the school enrollment.

CORAL REEFS IN DANGER

Researchers say an analysis of hundreds of coral reefs worldwide shows human activities are having a profound negative impact on the health of these delicate ecosystems.

Reef Check, a five-year study of the planet's coral reefs and the threats to them, found many signs the health of coral systems is in decline. Globally, for instance, there were no spiny lobsters found at 83 percent of shallow reefs, indicating overfishing.

"The mean abundance of Diadema sea urchins decreased significantly in the Indo-Pacific from 1998 to 2000, approaching levels similar to those found in the Atlantic and possibly indicating ecological destabilization," the report said.

Virtually every indicator examined by the study showed some reason for concern. There were no moray eels on 81 percent of the reefs. Four species of fish -- Nassau grouper, barramundi cod, bumphead parrotfish and humphead wrasse -- are in critical condition, missing from nearly 90 percent of the reefs. Mean hard coral cover was only 32 percent of expected levels.

(Thanks to Dan Whipple, UPI Science News.)