Carolina in the News Carolina in the News: Monday, November 2, 2009
| Carolina in the News: Monday, November 2, 2009 |
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| Monday, November 02, 2009 | |
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Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media: International Coverage Harvard brand takes a hit in tough times Reuters (Wire Service) Tough economic times have hurt Harvard University's public standing in the media over the past nine months, while schools perceived as a safer educational investment have benefited, a research firm said. Global Language Monitor, which ranks colleges and universities based on their appearances in print and other media, said the venerable Ivy League institution has fallen from first to third behind University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ...The University of California-Berkeley was among the "public Ivies" making a jump, rising to sixth from 10th, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill vaulted to ninth from 17th. Retail brokers fear new law could bring sea change Reuters (Wire Service) U.S. brokers and financial advisers fear the business they have known for decades could be irrevocably changed by regulations currently under debate in Congress. ..."Its a fundamental problem," said Greg Brown, a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor of finance. "People want to act in their own self-interest as investors, but we find they're often incapable of doing so as securities have become more complex." Novel computer programme identifies new targets for old drugs The Thaindian News (Thailand) A novel computer program has identified thousands of new targets for existing drugs by comparing the molecular structures of drug compounds and chemicals that occur naturally in the body. The technique could be used to uncover new applications or reveal potential side effects for drugs already on the market. “It’s a new approach, and it’s a totally different from what everyone else has done. That’s why it actually works,” Nature quoted study author Bryan Roth, a pharmacologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as saying. National Coverage N.F.L. Players and Union Say They Share Blame on Head Injuries The New York Times ...As a House Judiciary Committee hearing examined football brain injuries Wednesday and strongly criticized the N.F.L. and its concussion committee for their research and approach, lawmakers, players and (Gene) Upshaw’s successor, DeMaurice Smith, accused the union of lethargy while others sounded alarms. ...Upshaw authorized $172,000 in union grants to finance research by the University of North Carolina’s Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, according to the center’s records. But as the published survey studies from 2004 to 2007 crossed his desk and indicated a substantial link between N.F.L. concussions and later-life risk for depression, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment, Upshaw consistently played down the findings and did not push the league to act. Experts: HS football concussions merit more study The Associated Press ...A congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday focused on the NFL. A month ago, a preliminary study suggested that retired football players may have a higher than normal rate of Alzheimer's disease or other memory problems, presumably because of head injuries. ...Every year, as many as 1 in 10 high school football players has a concussion, estimated Kevin Guskiewicz of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is lead author of the National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement on concussion management. At Public Universities: Less for More The New York Times ...In this particularly hard year, in which university endowments have been hammered along with state coffers, federal stimulus money has helped most avoid worst-case scenarios. The 10-campus University of California system, for example, has received $716 million in stimulus funds to offset its $1 billion gap. But that money is a temporary fix. A quip circulating among college presidents: The stimulus isn’t a bridge; it’s a short pier. New York Times Graph (tracking top campuses including UNC in several categories): http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/11/01/education/01data-edlife.html An Inside Look at H1N1 Vaccine Production "60 Minutes" CBS News Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the H1N1 virus is widespread in 48 states. Last weekend, the president declared a national emergency. A new vaccine is supposed to save the country from the worst-case scenario. But that vaccine isn't coming as fast as expected and there's lots of skepticism. Should you get it? Can you get it? Is it safe? ...We called the deans of the top ten schools of public health in America. All of them endorsed the vaccine. Getting personal: Advisers 'Stress-Test' Family Business Plans The Wall Street Journal With conflicting signals about the pace and sustainability of U.S. economic recovery, it's crucial for family businesses to revisit their contingency plans, think about the positioning of their businesses and expectations about growth, according to financial advisers. ... While the stress of the economic situation is leading some families to pull together to save their businesses, in others it is causing long-held gripes or personality differences to bubble to the surface, which can impede clear decision making-???and make for uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinners. Bringing in a professional mediator can help defuse tensions by injecting rationality. James Lea, an independent adviser to family-owned and other closely held businesses, who is also a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is helping three brothers who run a business with slipping sales make cost cuts, breaking months of deadlock. Can Afghanistan Hold A Clean Runoff Election? National Public Radio Afghanistan is scrambling to prepare for a Nov. 7 runoff vote to resolve the political stalemate following the blatant rigging of the August presidential election. ..."There is strong reason to believe that this runoff will be even more flawed than the original election, because the rules are gone and they've taken off the gloves," says Andrew Reynolds, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina who advised the United Nations on previous elections in Afghanistan. "I'm concerned the incentives for malfeasance are even higher today than they were for the original vote." Saving The Sacred Blues Of Highway 61 "All Things Considered" National Public Radio William Ferris grew up in western Mississippi, just outside Vicksburg. As a young man, he listened to gospel and blues music, sacred and secular songs sung by the black workers on his family's farm. ...Later in life, Ferris became an academic. He went on to head the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is now a professor of history and American studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he also runs the Center for the Study of the American South. Studying the blues — and the communities behind the music — is his full-time job. Reading Weber in Tehran (Opinion-Editorial Column) The Chronicle of Higher Education An unlikely suspect was fingered at the recent show trials of Iranian dissidents: Max Weber, whose ideas on rational authority were blamed for fomenting a "velvet revolution" against the Islamic Republic. "Theories of the human sciences contain ideological weapons that can be converted into strategies and tactics and mustered against the country's official ideology," Saeed Hajjarian, a leading strategist in the Iranian reform movement, explained in his forced confession. (Charles Kurzman is a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.) Probe of Extra Help for Men Inside Higher Ed The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has started an inquiry into the extent to which liberal arts colleges discriminate against female applicants in an attempt to minimize gender imbalances in the student body. On Friday, the commission agreed on a set of colleges -- primarily in the Washington area -- to investigate, but declined to release a full list. ...When data in 2005 indicated that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's freshman class was 58 percent female, some trustees suggested that the university consider some form of affirmative action for men. (The idea was rejected.) State and Local Coverage Good times hard to find for blacks The Herald-Sun (Durham) If proverbial gold's been struck in this state, then black people sure haven't found it, according to discussion during a Sunday summit in UNC's Hyde Hall about black folks and money. ...Bruce Carney, UNC's executive vice chancellor and interim provost, stressed the importance of education and said UNC consistently ranks first or second in the country in terms of admitting black students. The university still has more work to do, though, not only in that regard but also with respect to having a diverse faculty. UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3011/73/ Economists Discuss How Recession Affects African Americans WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill) A group of economists and other scholars are gathering in the Triangle to discuss how the recession has affected African Americans. ...Scholars met at UNC-Chapel Hill yesterday and will gather at Duke University today to brainstorm and draft policy recommendations. Related Link: http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/6324614/ Strong storm may have triggered fish kill WFAE-FM (Charlotte) A strong thunderstorm early last Saturday morning may have been the trigger for the largest fish kill on High Rock Lake in at least 20 years. ...The cove was in its path, and UNC Chapel Hill marine scientist Hans Paerl says that kind of weather can cause fish to die. "Here's the scenario to a low oxygen kind of fish kill," explains Paerl. "The system has been stagnant all summer. There's plenty of algae growing in the system. Over time, the bottom water runs out of oxygen and the fish can be perfectly happy as long as the water is not disturbed." UNC Begins Distribution of H1N1 Vaccine WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill) The first of many batches of H1N1 vaccines arrived at UNC this past Wednesday and will be distributed to “high-risk” community members. Mary Beth Koza, director of the UNC Department of Environment, Health and Safety, says the first group that will receive priority is students and health care workers who are either pregnant or have direct patient contact. Quest for clear skin lands UNC junior in Burn Center The Herald-Sun (Durham) Finally, 20-year-old Caitlin Hughes' acne is gone, but getting her new skin nearly killed her. A reaction to an antibiotic of last resort -- prescribed to rid the UNC junior from Charlotte of life-long acne -- caused Hughes to contract Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a rare disorder in which skin and mucous membranes react severely to medications or infection. ..."This is a mysteriously devastating disease," said Bruce A. Cairns, medical director of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center. UNC Release: http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/news/2009/October/fhd6 Resignation of Mission Hospital CEO Joe Damore reflects nationwide trend The Citizen-Times (Asheville) The resignation of Mission Hospital's CEO amid tensions with the hospital's medical staff is not unique to Asheville. Disagreement between doctors and administrators is a common issue at hospitals around the country and is one of the top reasons for CEO turnover. ...Experts said being kept out of the loop is the most common complaint from doctors about hospital administrators. “The underpinning of all of them is that physicians feel powerless,” said Bruce Fried, a professor of health policy and management at UNC Chapel Hill. Hospital facility may face delay The Chapel Hill Herald A challenge to the state's approval for UNC Hospitals to build a Hillsborough medical campus threatens to delay the project, but officials say they will push forward with planning and design of the 68-bed facility despite Alamance Regional Medical Center's opposition. ..."I think that they are concerned that they will be adversely affected by the building of UNC Hospitals' Hillsborough campus," said Karen McCall, vice president of public affairs and marketing for UNC Health Care. A new form of water-quality protection (Opinion-Editorial Column) The News & Observer (Raleigh) When I was a kid, I met my congressman for the first time. He told me a strange story: In the 1950s he got funds from Congress to help a city near my hometown move a creek into a concrete ditch, which people thought would prevent flooding. The project also created jobs and helped the congressman get re-elected. (Todd K. BenDor is an assistant professor of city and regional planning at UNC-Chapel Hill and a 2009 GlaxoSmithKline faculty fellow at NC State University's Institute for Emerging Issues. Research was completed with Hannah Berg, a 2009 graduate of the master's program in city and regional planning at UNC-Chapel Hill.) Can UNCG and UNC-CH meet in middle on pharmacy schools? (Opinion-Editorial Column) The News & Record (Greensboro) When asked about UNCG's hopes to establish a new pharmacy school by 2011, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp, a smart and impressive man, gingerly tip-toed through an answer. "It's not my decision," Thorp said in a meeting with News & Record editorial writers last March. Thorp said he would be happy to help UNCG gather information toward its goal. EmPOWERment fundraiser Nov The Chapel Hill Herald Lee Pavao will host EmPOWERment, Inc.'s Sixth Annual Build-A-Home Fundraiser on Nov. 12 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Carolina Inn, 211 Pittsboro St. Its theme is "You are the Missing Piece" to constructing a community puzzle comprised of home ownership, economic development and community organizing. UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp and Regina Alston, an EmPOWERment tenant, will speak. Thorp and Terri Houston, director of recruitment and multicultural programs, also will provide music for the event. Botanical Garden exhibits are set The Herald-Sun (Durham) There is plenty of art to go around this fall at the N.C. Botanical Garden. Currently in the Totten Center (and moving to the exhibits hall of the new Education Center at the end of November), visitors will find “Notebook Pages From Nature” by North Carolina artist Robert Johnson: 32 watercolor and pencil studies of scenes and natural details from across North Carolina’s unique habitats. Issues and Trends UNC student stabbed after Halloween bash WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh) Police say a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student was stabbed late Saturday after the town’s Halloween bash. ...Paramedics transported the victim to the hospital where he was treated and released. No additional information was available. Related Links: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7095270 http://wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=12266 Franklin Street crowd smaller than usual this Halloween WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh) About 50,000 costumed revelers roamed Chapel Hill's Franklin Street Saturday, a lighter than usual crowd for the annual Halloween celebration. ....In 2008, town leaders implemented the "Homegrown Halloween" policy to discourage out-of-towners from attending while welcoming residents and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students. They cited hundreds of thousands spent on clean-up, security and other costs as the reason for the change. School board race low-key The News & Observer (Raleigh) In contrast to Wake County's contentious school board race and the sweeping change it promises for North Carolina's largest district, the contest for three Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board seats comes off as quiet and quaint. ...Joe Green, director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Upward Bound college prep program for low-income students, is the only educator on the ballot. Green has been a teacher and school administrator for 17 years. Sludge forum back on track The Chapel Hill News Residents of western Orange County started asking about the black goo being spread on local fields in the late 1980s. Twenty years later, the Orange County commissioners are asking questions too. ...The county hoped to begin finding answers with the pilot study with the UNC School of Public Health. But the study never happened. Farmers either wouldn't offer land or the land they did offer proved unsuitable to measure runoff. By the time the county recently tried to revive the study, the researchers said the $10,000 was insufficient. |