Dec. 6, 2007
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Faith and marital fidelity go hand in hand: study
The Daily News (Canada)
Where you worship – and whether you worship at all – could be connected to your likelihood of straying from your marriage vows. …"What matters the most is being involved in a religious organization," says Amy Burdette, co-author of the study and a post-doctoral scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tsunami 'overdue'
The Nation Newspaper (Barbados)
Although the epicentr of the November 29 earthquake was in the sea, just north of Martinique, most of the eastern and southern Caribbean shook. …Scientists Nancy Grindlay and Meghan Hearne, both of the University of North Carolina, and Paul Mann of the University of Texas, Austin, writing in Eos, the newspaper of the American Geophysical Union, in 2005, stated that destructive tsunamis have been generated in the past 500 years by undersea earth movements along the boundary between the Caribbean and the North American tectonic plates – two of the moving slabs of rock that cover the ocean floor.
Taking on Thailand’s myths
The Asia Sentinel (China)
Celebrations for King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 80th birthday on Wednesday once again displayed his tremendous popularity among Thais, many of whom wore yellow and pink to express their adoration for a monarch who has ruled Thailand for more than 61 years. …The journal is primarily geared towards an academic audience, according to editor Kevin Hewison, an Asian Studies professor at the University of North Carolina, but a limited number of copies will be made available in Thailand…
National Coverage
Socialized Medicine Belittled on Campaign Trail
"Morning Edition" National Public Radio
In the debate over health care on the campaign trail, the term "socialized medicine" is getting thrown around more and more often. …"The term socialized medicine, technically, to most health policy analysts, actually doesn't mean anything at all," says Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy at the University of North Carolina.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct07/oberlander102607.html
Regional Coverage
Our bad habits are showing up in death rates
The Wichita Eagle (Kansas)
Here's a scary statistic: The rate of death from coronary disease in women ages 35 to 44 went up every year between 1997 and 2002, a new study says. …Even without the eggnog and spiked cider at holiday parties, we're averaging 222 calories more per day from beverages than we did 40 years ago, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov07/popkinbev111907.html
State & Local Coverage
Chancellor: UNC should educate all
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser visited Western North Carolina on Wednesday to meet with educational leaders as part of his Carolina Connects program. Moeser plans to visit 25 locations across the state this fall and another 25 in the spring. After completing his meeting with UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder, Moeser sat down for a chat on UNCA campus about some of the issues facing public universities in North Carolina.
Minimizing blood-clot risks after surgery (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
There's been renewed interest lately in the medical issue of blood clots — deep vein thrombosis and the high number of deaths in Americans due to pulmonary embolism. …Physicians and surgeons at UNC Medical Center have been leaders in the detection and prevention of these complications for more than 20 years.
Note: Paul F. Lachiewicz is a professor of orthopedics at the UNC School of Medicine.
Xenophobia in Wartime America
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
America has long been a nation proud of its ethnic diversity. But, as the melting pot grows, so does the potential for cultures to clash — particularly when the U.S. is at war. Host Frank Stasio explores xenophobia, the fear of strangers, in wartime America with a look at the country's reaction during the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Joining the program are UNC professors Erin Carlston, Charles Kurzman, and Rosa Perelmuter.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.
Bomb After Bomb
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
What does it mean to make beauty out of atrocity? Can art be used as a tool not only to educate, but to spur activism? These are some of the questions addressed in the recent work of artist Elin O’Hara Slavick, a professor of studio art at UNC-Chapel Hill. She joins host Frank Stasio to discuss her new book, "Bomb After Bomb: A Violent Cartography."
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.
A test of tolerance
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Gay West knows what presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is going through. …Laurie Maffly-Kipp, a professor of religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill who teaches about Mormonism, said her students are often willing to question core beliefs of Latter-day Saints without stopping to ask how odd their own beliefs might sound to others.
Make a gift to boost nutrition (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
How are you doing on your holiday shopping? Need some help? I don't have all the answers, but I may have a few. The ideas I've listed here are practical, low to moderate in cost and quick and easy to get your hands on. Best of all, you can feel good about giving these, because they all support health.
Note: Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Tar Heel coach deserved his big raise (Letter to the Editor)
The News-Record (Greensboro)
I feel compelled to respond to Rosemary Roberts' column, "Bad call: UNC rewards coach for failure" (Nov. 30). …Way to go, Coach. You deserve the raise, and maybe in four years when you win a national championship with players you have recruited, like you did at the University of Miami, Ms. Roberts will print a retraction. (Jerry Clark, Greensboro, Class of '65)
Related Links: These are other Letters to the Editor printed in today's edition of the Winston-Salem Journal and the News &Observer (Raleigh).
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/
WSJ_ColumnistArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173353746924
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/story/814164.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/print/thursday/opinion/story/814160.html
Health policy students want health care reform (Letter to the Editor)
The News-Record (Greensboro)
Health care reform, after a nearly 15-year hiatus, is again in the headlines. As students at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health, we wrote and distributed an online survey to the top graduate health policy and administration programs across the country and noted several trends. (Austin Johnson, Durham)
Issues & Trends
Immigration issue awaits community colleges head
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The hiring of a new president State Board of Community Colleges today comes in the midst of a blistering controversy over the system's recent directive to all 58 colleges that they cannot deny admission to illegal immigrants.
College football coaches calling lucrative plays
USA Today
It's a big-money dance that takes place this time every year: One university wants to hang onto its highly successful football coach. Another wants to hire him.