Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Duchess Casts Midwife Tradition Aside for Royal Birth
Bloomberg News
…Kate, the first woman from outside royalty or the aristocracy to marry so close to the throne for 350 years, probably picked what seemed like the safest approach for the high-profile birth of her first child, said Nancy Chescheir, an obstetrician at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Yet scientific evidence suggests a hospital delivery under the care of an obstetrician isn’t necessarily best for routine births.
Related Link:
http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/birth/duchess-drops-midwives-
for-royal-birth-1.1551231#.Ue6FLlPgI18
Textbook publishers revamp ebooks to fight used market
Reuters (Wire Service)
…Michael Hardison, who is studying political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is among the skeptics. He likes straight-forward e-books, but said textbook software with built-in tutorials made him feel that he was being spoon-fed the information instead of letting him wrestle with the material on his own. Cost is another concern for many students.
National Coverage
Searching for Meaningful Markers of Aging
The New York Times
… Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently implanted a firefly gene into mice, engineering animals whose cells light up as they age and become “senescent,” losing the ability to divide and renew damaged tissue. This loss is tied to aging-related ills in many species, including degenerative diseases and dwindling muscle mass. …That means “we can literally see the earliest molecular stages of cancer” unfolding in the mice, said Dr. Norman E. Sharpless, a professor of medicine and genetics at UNC who led the study, published in January in the journal Cell.
U.S. Weighs Inquiry Into Big Banks’ Storage of Commodities
The New York Times
…Tuesday’s hearings, led by Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, will focus on banks’ ownership of aluminum warehouses, oil tankers and other facilities. Among those scheduled to testify is Saule T. Omarova, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has been critical of bank ownership of commodities operations, and Tim Weiner, an executive at MillerCoors, the big brewing company.
Related Links:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100904649
http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2013-07-23/lme-faces-growing-heat-on-warehousing
Why Summer Makes Us Lazy
The New Yorker
…In 2012, a group of researchers from Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a field study of Japanese bank workers and found a similar pattern: bad weather made workers more productive, as measured by the time it took them to complete assigned tasks in a loan-application process.
Faculty Leader at Chapel Hill Sought Change in Report on Academic Fraud
The Chronicle of Higher Education
A faculty leader at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sought a revision in a faculty report on the university’s academic-fraud scandal in order to reduce the chances that the NCAA would return to the campus to investigate, The News & Observer reported. …Ms. Boxill told the newspaper that she had only relayed the suggestions of others on the council’s executive committee, and said their concern “was to make sure the facts were reported correctly without implications and innuendos we were not in a position to know.”
Regional Coverage
Autistic children benefit from high-quality developmental programs
regardless of treatment model, study finds
The Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
Autistic children can benefit from high-quality early development programs regardless of the treatment model used, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found. These findings could cut costs for the educational system. Researchers tested the difference among two frequently used comprehensive treatment models — LEAP and UNC’s own TEACHH Autism Program — as well as other special-education programs without a specific model.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/6122/71/
State and Local Coverage
Some may escape park-and-ride fees
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
…The new fee will coincide with UNC’s also beginning to charge motorists’ who use its park-n-ride lots. The town, university and the town of Carrboro are partners in Chapel Hill Transit and share the cost to operate Chapel Hill’s fare-free transit system The discussion to move to a fee system for park and ride lots began in 2010 and is a response to the rising cost to operate the transit system and a reduction in federal and state funding. The fee is expected to raise about $150,000 for the town and more than $500,000 for UNC next fiscal year. UNC is the largest contributor to Chapel Hill Transit.
Hairston still faces UNC, NCAA questions after charges dropped
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and driving without a license that P.J. Hairston faced after his June 5 arrest in Durham have been dropped, a Durham County clerk of court said Monday. Even so, Hairston, the UNC-Chapel Hill junior guard, still faces questions about how he came to drive rental cars paid for by a felon with a long criminal history, and what impact that might have on his NCAA eligibility.
Related Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/acc/2013/07/22/unc-north-
carolina-pj-hairston-charges-dropped-dismissed/2574413/
Issues and Trends
Where the money goes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Here’s a look at some of the proposals in the compromise House and Senate state budget for fiscal year 2013-2014. … Proposed spending: $2,583,048,270; New spending: Almost no new spending; Cuts: Implements UNC-proposed efficiencies and imposes additional cuts: • Mandates a $66 million cut to UNC system budget, to be decided by UNC
Related Link:
http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/292248/57/Educators-Concerned-
About-The-States-Budget?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large