Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
As Foreign Profits Rise, Corporate Tax Rates Fall
Bloomberg News
…Another reason that corporate-tax reform is so hard is that tax rates vary significantly across and within industries. Consider, for example, a comparison of rates made in a National Bureau of Economic Research paper by Kevin Markle of Dartmouth College and Douglas Shackelford of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: From 2005 to 2009, the effective corporate-tax rate in mining amounted to just 6 percent, while in manufacturing it was 26 percent and in retail trade, 31 percent.
How many miles to run off a burger?
The Independent (Ireland)
It's January, and most of us are struggling to fit back into our jeans after the annual pig-out of the festive season. Similarly, most of us can't afford to buy new ones – so the only option, we're afraid, is to shift those Christmas pounds quicksmart and get back to a healthier lifestyle once again. But how best to go about it? A study at the University of North Carolina – published in the journal Appetite – found that food health labels were more effective when they told consumers how far they'd have to walk to burn off the calories eaten or drank.
National Coverage
Scan may detect signs of NFL players' brain disease
CNN
…"Sometimes I wish (study authors) would hang on and wait until they have a more meaningful sample size," said Kevin Guskiewicz, a concussion expert and director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "I think that then people would be less skeptical of the findings." Still, Guzkiewicz is encouraged by the study results. "Unfortunately we tend to identify these (CTE) cases when they're already on the slippery slope toward dementia and it's too late to do anything," said Guskiewicz. "I'm all for trying to build on studies like this."
Conclusions? Too Early
Sports Illustrated
…Junior Seau's damaged brain is a harrowing symbol, but it is also only a single data point in the study of brain trauma in football. For scientists, its value as evidence is not at all weighted by Seau's nine All-Pro selections, two Super Bowl appearances or status as a football icon. "It's one more case in a series of case studies that's now added to the data," says Kevin Guskiewicz, a neuroscientist, athletic trainer and director of North Carolina's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes.
Does taking vitamin D help ward off the flu? (Column)
"Marketplace" American Public Media
You may have heard that vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin”, when taken in sufficient amounts may provide added protection against wintertime colds and the flu. The important word here is may. Vitamin D (which is actually a hormone) has become a hot topic in recent years as a result of increased awareness of its positive effects on health including support of bone mineralization, heart and blood vessel function, anti-cancer actions and a general boosting of immunity. (Russell Greenfield, M.D. is assistant clinical professor with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and visiting assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.)
Taking a Harder Look at Fracking and Health (Blog)
The New York Times
A coalition of academic researchers in the United States is preparing to shine a rigorous scientific light on the polarized and often emotional debate over whether using hydraulic fracturing to drill for natural gas is hazardous to human health. …The university’s Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology has organized a working group with researchers at other top universities including Columbia, Johns Hopkins and the University of North Carolina to investigate and analyze reports of nausea, headaches, breathing difficulties and other ills from people who live near natural gas drilling sites, compressor stations or wastewater pits.
UNC student sues NYPD over shooting
The Associated Press
A UNC Chapel Hill student hit by police gunfire during a shooting last summer outside the Empire State Building argued in a lawsuit Tuesday that the police department and the officers involved need better training to deal with such confrontations in the future. Nine bystanders, including 32-year-old Chenin Duclos, were hit by police bullets, ricochets and fragments when two officers fired at a man suspected of gunning down a former co-worker outside the Manhattan landmark.
Related Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/nyregion/bystander-shot-by-police-near
-empire-state-building-sues.html?_r=0
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-22/nypd-sued-by-woman-hurt-
in-shooting-near-empire-state-building.html
Rewriting the Rite: Bill T. Jones and Anne Bogart Meditate on The Rite of Spring
The Huffington Post
…"We were appalled at the idea of another Rite of Spring coming into the world," said Bill T. Jones recently — strong words for a choreographer about to bring A Rite, a 21st century meditation on The Rite of Spring, to the stage of University of North Carolina's Memorial Hall. The first-ever collaboration between the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and theater director Anne Bogart's SITI Company, A Rite glosses on what Stravinsky and Nijinsky's masterpiece means a century after its premiere.
Regional Coverage
Through The Wire: Reuters Layoffs
The Observer (New York, N.Y.)
…Last year, Reuters introduced the new Eikon terminal, which received a lukewarm reception. Chris Roush, the director of business news initiatives at the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism & Mass Communication, who broke news of the layoffs on Talking Biz News, attributes this to a combination of Wall Street’s struggles and tough competition from Bloomberg. “Thomson Reuters overall is still trying to determine what it is,” Mr. Roush told OTR. “They are still not fully integrated as a company.”
State and Local Coverage
Roses and raspberries (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp for bending DOT’s ear and saving the towns and taxpayers a bundle. It’s only luck that’s kept traffic on the South Columbia Street entrance to campus and UNC Hospitals from killing a patient headed to the ER. …As we reported last week, Thorp wrote Transportation Secretary Eugene Conti Jr. last month to ask if that work schedule could be shortened. The cash-strapped university is a partner in the fare-free bus system. And just like that, the six-month project has become a three-month project.
Leaders see Gig-U as path to opportunity
The Chapel Hill News
Local leaders took the first step last week toward routing ultra high-speed Internet service to every home and business in Carrboro and Chapel Hill. The regional North Carolina Next Generation Networks project – Gig-U – is part of a national collaboration between 37 universities and the communities that surround them. While the regional partners in Orange, Durham, Wake and Forsyth counties are working together to find service providers, each will sign its own contract for a community network.
Loads of calories lurk in restaurant food (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
While you’re making plans to lose weight this year, put this strategy on your list: Curb the restaurant habit. That’s because eating out accounts for about one-third of calories eaten in a typical day for most of us. The catch is that what you’re getting when you eat out is often more than you think. Way more. It’s hard to accurately estimate the calories in foods you eat away from home. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)