Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
‘Fukushima 50’ risk lives to prevent meltdown
The National Post (Canada)
…David Richardson, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, regards the Fukushima 50 as heroes. And he is right. He has studied the long-term risks for nuclear plant workers in the United States. He knows the facts, and he speaks in the language of millisieverts (mSv), the unit of measure for radiation dose rates.
Experts weigh radiation risks in Japan
The Vancouver Observer (Canada)
"The Japanese government has told people that the radiation levels from Fukushima won't affect public health, but is this true? Why are experts saying there are serious risks?" A Japanese reporter posed these questions to leading radiation exposure experts by telephone at a news media briefing by the Physicists for Social Responsibility on Wednesday. During the briefing, three leading radiation exposure experts discussed the health impact of the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan. …David Richardson, associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, said the radiation levels on the site are "extremely high" and that workers were running serious health risks.
Miners should dig deeper (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Financial Post (Canada)
…Which makes the results of a new study from a couple of U.S. business school researchers all the more puzzling. Douglas Shackelford of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Kevin Markle at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth have just published a comprehensive study of the corporate taxes paid by 11,602 public corporations from 82 countries from 1988 to 2009.
Skype security weaknesses could endanger 'vulnerable users'
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
The free messaging and internet phone service Skype carries a number of worrying security concerns which could put users living in oppressive regimes in danger, says the advocacy group Privacy International. …It also points to the VBR audio compression codec which it says is an "extremely specious and vulnerable means of protection", despite encryption – recent research at the University of North Carolina suggests that phrases can be identified with a high degree of confidence.
National Coverage
How much radioactive material is at the Fukushima plant?
"The Rachel Maddow Show" MSNBC
Professor of epidemiology at UNC-Chapel Hill David Richardson was featured on "The Rachel Maddow Show" speaking about the chances of radiation exposure in and around the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. Professor Richardson talked about the risk of exposure based on proximity to the plant as well as risk factors to people based on age groups as well as location.
Note: This interview was broadcast live from the Carolina News Studio.
From Bad to Worse: Are the Problems at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Spiralling Out of Control? (Blog)
Time
…As a sign of just how bad things are getting, the Japanese government raised the amount of radiation workers could be exposed to from 100 millisieverts to 250 millisieverts. "The workers are in a situation from an occupational health and safety perspective is really serious and daunting," says Dr. David Richardson, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina and an expert in radiological health.
Fukushima 50 Stay Behind to Prevent Nuclear Meltdown
Fox News
…"These workers, in a few hours, are getting fairly high doses I would say by contemporary standards for worker protection, and that's likely to pose some risks down the line," David Richardson, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, told the BBC. He added that the radiation the Fukushima 50 would receive in an hour is the same amount a U.S. nuclear worker would be exposed to over an entire career.
Law School Loses Its Allure as Jobs at Firms Are Scarce
The Wall Street Journal
Student applications to law schools are down sharply this year, as college seniors grow leery of a degree that promises certain debt and uncertain job prospects. …"I'm hearing from the students I work with that they are concerned about the value of a law degree," said Tim Stiles, a career adviser at the University of North Carolina. Students, he said, often tell him they have read press accounts about the difficulty of finding law jobs.
Regional Coverage
"At Issue with Ben Merens" Wisconsin Public Radio
An on-going war takes its toll on many of us . . . but what happens when Americans just become accustomed to war? Today after five on At Issue, Ben Merens and his guest discuss how long-term war impacts our society. Guest: Richard Kohn- Professor of History and Peace, War, and Defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Our Values: Do Americans fear domestic Muslim terrorism? Do we need to? (Column)
AnnArbor.com (Michigan)
…King says he sees a growing threat. However, research doesn’t support that claim. Since “9/11”—161 Muslim Americans have been suspects or perpetrators, according to a new report by The Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security. This Center is a consortium between Duke University, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and RTI International. There is no clear trend.
Live by the Plane
"The Brian Lehrer Show" WNYC-FM
John Kasarda, professor at University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and the co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, along with fellow co-author and journalist Greg Lindsay, talk about the way airports are becoming their own residential and business hubs.
Note: This interview was conducted from the Carolina News Studio.
Related Link:
http://www.thetakeaway.org/people/john-kasarda/
The Rise of the Aerotropolis
NHPR-FM (New Hampshire Public Radio)
For most of us, air travel is reminiscent of the stockyard. The indignities of shuffling lines, removing one’s shoes, the parking, the noise, the smell of jet fuel and recycled air… many Americans regard airports as necessary nuisances. John Kasarda has another idea. He envisions airports as vibrant urban centers, economic engines, and connecting dots in a global marketplace. Kasarda and co-author Greg Lindsay detail what they say is the way we’ll live next in a new book, Aerotropolis.
Note: This interview was conducted from the Carolina News Studio.
Come on, Honey. Live a little.
The Boston Globe
…A good marriage certainly makes people happy, but except for couples with a weight-gain limit clause in their prenups (yes, these reportedly exist), all that wedded bliss may mean a few extra pounds. A 2009 study done by University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers found that married men and women were twice as likely to become obese over five years as those in romantic relationships who are not living together.
State and Local Coverage
Visiting imam says U.S., Muslims are linked
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's view, the United States and the Muslim world are intertwined, whether they like it or not, and could use some marriage counseling. …"A lot of what's happening between Americans and the Muslim world is like a bad marriage," Abdul Rauf said Wednesday night during a lecture at UNC-Chapel Hill. "We don't really hear each other with the same voice."
Related Links:
http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/mar/16/controversial-imam-speaks-chapel-hill-and-proteste-ar-869137/
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8017899
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9282819/
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/12382885/article-Imam-discusses-
citizenship-in-Chapel-Hill?instance=homesecondleft
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/12382893/article-9-11-survivors-appear-with
-the-Christian-Action-Network?instance=homethirdleft
Expert: Children with diabetes face trouble
The Salisbury Post
Children with diabetes are not eating as well as they should be, which is putting them at risk for serious health complications down the road. That was one of the messages delivered Tuesday by Dr. Beth Mayer-Davis at the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Building. …Mayer-Davis is a professor of nutrition in the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health and a professor of medicine in the UNC School of Medicine. She was also recently appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health, which directly supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity initiative.
Students of law educated (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Oh, hell, yeah. The two dudes walking along a darkened South Blount Street on Sept. 25, 1991 thought about calling the cops, alerting them that a dead body was in a ditch. Who wouldn't? Then they thought better of it. "We debated whether to call the cops," Greg Taylor told me Wednesday, after he'd kept a standing-room crowd of about a hundred UNC law school students and professors captivated with tales of a Dostoevskian judicial nightmare that kept him in prison 17 years.
Really, the crusades don't fit our politics (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
During a visit to the Oakbrook Preparatory School in South Carolina last month, Rick Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and a 2012 Republican presidential hopeful, fired a salvo against "the American left," this time for its failure to understand the crusades and its hatred of Christendom. (Brett Edward Whalen is an assistant professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Issues and Trends
Bill aimed at accreditation flap
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…The bill, introduced Monday in the state House, would prohibit North Carolina-run universities, colleges and community colleges from using school accreditation to make admissions, scholarship and loan decisions unless applicants come from high schools accredited by a state agency. It also would require the state Board of Education to begin accrediting North Carolina public high schools at the request – and expense – of the school districts. …The bill also drew concerns from University of North Carolina officials. "I'd hesitate long and hard before encouraging our board to step into campus admissions activities," said Hannah Gage, chairwoman of the UNC system's board.
An Architecture Geek Picks His Final Four (Blog)
The Chronicle of Higher Education
I’m not much of a sports fan. So when I look at the names in this year’s March Madness brackets — or any year’s, really — I don’t see players or coaches or even mascots, but campus architecture. …Here’s my thinking. In Newark, Princeton beats North Carolina to advance to Houston. Princeton has one of the strongest all-around collections of campus buildings anywhere.