Carolina in the News Carolina in the News: Wednesday, August 6, 2008
| Carolina in the News: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 |
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| Wednesday, August 06, 2008 | |
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Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media: International Coverage Distressed homeowners more likely to vote United Press International U.S. homeowners in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to vote than renters and homeowners in more privileged communities, researchers said. Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill led by sociologist Kimberly Manturuk investigated the relationship between homeownership and political participation and found that as neighborhood disadvantage increases, homeowners become more likely to vote while renters are less likely. At Doggyspace, social networking goes to the dogs Associated Press Cici confesses on her Web page that she likes to greet everyone by licking their feet. Dolce admits to being a mamma's boy. And Jake and Tycho posted a video that chronicles their adventures of rolling around on their backs. ... "It's not so much social networking, it's having a social experience around things that we care about, so pets are just such a great example of that," said Fred Stutzman, an Internet researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. National Coverage Behavioral Approaches Overlooked in AIDS Fight The New York Times While the world awaits findings from new AIDS prevention trials, millions of people are becoming infected because governments are overlooking studies showing that behavior modification works, AIDS experts said Tuesday. ... Researchers involved in each field “need to get married today,” said Dr. Myron S. Cohen of the University of North Carolina. “We need to be one community.” A 50-member panel known as the Global H.I.V. Prevention Working Group, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, released a report saying that prevention efforts must address a number of perception problems. Commonly Used HIV Infectivity Rate Misses Risks HealthDay News A widely used HIV infectivity rate doesn't take into account multiple risk factors, say U.S. researchers who reviewed published data. The heterosexual infectivity of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) is often cited as a fixed value of one transmission per 1,000 sexual contacts. However, most studies estimating this value were conducted among stable couples with a low prevalence of risk factors, which can increase the risk of HIV transmission by several to several hundred times, according to Kimberly Powers, of the University of North Carolina, and colleagues. Global Warming May Up Allergies, Asthma WebMD Health News Global warming poses a threat to asthma and allergy patients, according to a new research review. ... People with allergies and/or asthma "are at risk of worsening disease, more symptomatic days, and reduced quality of life as a result of these environmental changes," and a warmer world could make allergies and asthma more common, write the reviewers, who included Katherine Shea, MD, MPH, of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Accusations of Sex Abuse Trail Doctor The New York Times For children struggling in school, Dr. Melvin D. Levine has been a great advocate. For decades, Dr. Levine, a pediatrician, has championed the idea that poorly performing students are not lazy or dumb, but instead need to be educated in a different way. Or, as he has summed up his philosophy: “Every child has strengths. No exception.” Dr. Levine’s advocacy made him famous. PBS broadcast a multipart series, “Misunderstood Minds,” based on his work. He appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and his book “A Mind at a Time” became a New York Times best seller. All Kinds of Minds, the nonprofit he founded with Charles Schwab, has trained 42,000 teachers in his methods, and contracts with dozens of schools each year to carry out his ideas. State and Local Coverage Opening of Olympics should boost journalism students' satisfaction The Herald-Sun (Durham) UNC journalism students working at the Olympics in China should experience an increase in job satisfaction when the games begin later this week, a program organizer from the university's School of Journalism and Mass Communication said Tuesday. Jan Johnson Yopp, dean of the summer school and a journalism professor, acknowledged that some of the students working in Beijing have complained about job assignments that have included working at an information desk and checking "on the status of toilet paper in the bathrooms" of the International Broadcast Center. That was in early July, when the students first arrived in China, and the IBC was not yet completed or fully staffed. UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/ journalism-students-faculty-providing-multimedia-coverage-for-special-olympics.html Scientists: Shape is key in nanomedicine The News & Observer (Raleigh) The emerging science of nanomedicine has researchers rushing to make smaller and smaller particles in an effort to infiltrate the microscopic world of cells, strands and proteins that keeps our body functioning. But a team of researchers from the UNC-Chapel Hill Medical Center says that making the particles tiny is not all that's necessary. Instead, the key to interacting effectively with our bodies' microscopic systems is molding the drugs into the right shape, UNC-CH scientists reported this week in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. UNC News Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-study- shape-not-just-size-impacts-effectiveness-of-emerging-nano-medicine-therapies.html Health coverage sparks debate The News & Observer (Raleigh) Several Triangle governments that offer health benefits to former elected officials may be breaking the law, according to a UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government professor and the Mecklenburg County attorney. Durham and Orange counties offer continuing health coverage to board members who leave office, but professor David Lawrence and Mecklenburg County Attorney Marvin Bethune agree they're probably not allowed to do it. Lawrence thinks the same reasoning applies to cities and towns such as Cary, which offers health insurance to former board members, as well. UNC reaches agreement with Shanghai school WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill) An agreement between UNC and a prominent university in Shanghai, China hopes to prove beneficial for both schools and perhaps, someday, the social policy of both countries. Breast cancer survivor thankful for UNC services WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill) Fayetteville native and breast cancer survivor LaTeacha Coleman was the first in her family to be diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 25. This month, she underwent her final chemotherapy session at UNC Hospitals. Indian student groups to hold welcome event The Chapel Hill Herald Music and information about American Indian student organizations at UNC will be part of a welcome event on campus beginning at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 21. The UNC American Indian Center will host the event, a Welcome Extravaganza for the Carolina American Indian Community and Friends, on the lawn of Abernethy Hall at South Columbia Street and Cameron Avenue. UNC Event Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/ music-to-enliven-american-indian-welcome.html 'One of the forgotten' The Independent Tribune (Concord/Kannapolis) Sixty-three years ago, Dewey Moose was sworn to secrecy for his involvement in one of the biggest wartime decisions of the past century. Now, he fears contributions he and several others made will be forgotten. ... "Before the decision was made to drop the bomb, the military was preparing for a full-scale invasion of Japan,” said Richard Kohn, a military historian and professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. “There was a massive undertaking of procuring thousands of pounds of bullets, beans and medical dressings to begin that assault.” Roses & raspberries The Chapel Hill News ROSES to Betsy Taylor, who retired last week after 30 years as graduation coordinator at UNC. ... Her colleagues honored her on Wednesday with a "graduation" party herself. They praised the way her calming presence helped students ease their jitters, and presented her with a "Worker of Wonders" degree signed by Chancellor Holden Thorp and UNC System President Erskine Bowles. Issues and Trends CharlotteLaw offering deferred fee, tuition options Charlotte Business Journal For students who have to wait for federal student loans, Charlotte School of Law says it will wait with them. The for-profit law school says it will defer fall semester tuition and fees for students requiring federally guaranteed loans. The move is expected to benefit about 35 students. ... Some local lawyers and industry watchers have wondered how difficult it will be for graduates to find work when competing with graduates from better-known programs such as Duke, Wake Forest and UNC Chapel Hill. |