Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Print, web aids help men decide on cancer screening
Reuters (Wire Service)
…Dr. Daniel Reuland from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who co-wrote a commentary published with the study, said it's not obvious the information men took away from the aids helped them make informed decisions about screening. "I don't think it's clear from the study whether the knowledge that they gained and retained, how clinically important it is and whether it's sufficient to counteract known biases," he told Reuters Health.
As abortion limits sweep US, even 'purple' states join the crackdown
The Christian Science Monitor
…"As North Carolina becomes more metropolitan, more cosmopolitan, Planned Parenthood has strong support," says Ferrel Guillory, an expert on the state's politics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "But you also have the noteworthy legacy of [former Sen.] Jesse Helms and the Moral Majority, and now add on the tea party. So North Carolina comes across about as polarized as the rest of the nation."
On 50th Anniversary, March on Washington Not Over
The Epoch Times
…Carole Blair, professor of rhetorical studies at the University of North Carolina, believes some of the failure to address racial inequality can be traced back to that historic day on Aug. 28, 1963. The focus of that day remains Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, she said. While it remains among the greatest of American speeches, its success, in many ways, has drawn attention away from surrounding issues.
Human cells respond to different kinds of happiness
The Canadian (Toronto)
Human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal, responding in ways that can help or hinder physical health, according to new research led by Barbara L. Fredrickson, Kenan Distinguished Professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Related Link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2381304/Be-happy–genes-thank
-Doing-good-leads-strong-immune-cells.html
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/6145/1/
National Coverage
More padding the issue of concussions and better helmets
USA Today
…At the June annual meeting of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, University of North Carolina concussion researcher Kevin Guskiewicz told attendees said there is no such thing as a concussion-proof helmet. He said while Helmets prevent fractured skulls, he said, but the brain is still "sloshing around" after a hit. "So those neurons are still being stretched," Guskiewicz said, "86 billion neurons that we have in the human brain. … There are no studies … to show that in fact these devices (extra helmet padding) reduce concussion."
Your happiness type matters
CNN
…"I've been studying the physical and psychological impact of positive emotion for 20 years, (and) the pattern of results we found with this study completely surprised me," said the lead author, Barbara Fredrickson. Fredrickson is a professor of psychology and the principal investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/6145/1/
Helping Others Makes Us Happier At Work, Research Finds
The Huffington Post
…But beyond all that, researchers found perhaps the biggest benefit of office altruism: Those who help others are happier at work than those who don't prioritize helping others. …As psychology professor Dr. Barbara Fredrickson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tells PBS, “By creating chains of events that carry positive meaning for others, positive emotions can trigger upward spirals that transform communities into more cohesive, moral and harmonious social organizations.”
Kids With Autism Benefit From Early Intervention, Regardless of Method
HeathDay News
For parents of preschoolers with autism, finding a classroom program for their child may have just gotten a little easier. A new study has found that it's the quality of a teaching program — not the model of instruction — that seems to be most important to a student's success. That means parents shouldn't fret when the local or available program is not a particular type, as long as it is considered good, said Samuel Odom, a co-author of the study and director of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/6122/71/
FDA Warns Consumers About B-50 Vitamin
FOX Business
Associate professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Dr. Kevin Campbell is interviewed about the FDA warning consumers on the B-50 vitamin made by Healthy Life Chemistry by Purity First may contain anabolic steroids.
Degree or start-up? Start-up accelerators give students both
USA Today
…“Any new business venture is all about timing,” says Ted Zoller, director of entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. “Having grown up on the Web, many students today have the skills to put out a new product. With all the market pressures they face, they have to ask themselves: ‘Will this opportunity still be here if I wait?’”
North Carolina Voter ID Law Targets College Students
The Huffington Post
…North Carolina legislators paid particular attention to college students this session, proposing several bills unpopular with young voters. For one, the state Senate pushed to stop a pilot program at the University of North Carolina to implement gender-neutral housing, a policy designed to help LGBT students on campus.
State and Local Coverage
UNC professors declare support for faculty leader Jan Boxill
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Faculty Executive Committee, including the three authors of a 2012 faculty report about academics and athletics, have issued a statement supporting Jan Boxill, the faculty chairwoman criticized for suggesting revisions to the report. The statement, approved by the committee Monday and signed by 16 professors, expressed “our full support for Jan Boxill throughout her leadership as Chair of the Faculty. We have complete confidence in her judgment and integrity.”
Related Links:
http://chapelboro.com/news/unc/unc-professors-issue-statement-of-support-for-jan-boxill/
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/30/3070503/joe-frierson-crossing-the-line.html
UNC sexual assault task force meets for third time
News 14 Carolina
The UNC sexual assault task force will meet for a third time Wednesday. The 20-member group of faculty and students is working to develop a new process for the reporting of and response to sexual assaults. The task force was formed after several women filed a federal complaint against the university about how it handled such cases. The task force hopes to have a new policy in place by the end of the summer.
WakeMed faces first financial loss in years
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
WakeMed Health & Hospitals, one of the Triangle’s largest employers, is facing its first potential financial loss in years at a time that hospitals statewide are scrambling to rein in costs, reduce new hires and in some cases lay off workers. …“We face downward pressure on our finances from every direction, including private insurers, federal government and state government,” said William Roper, CEO of UNC Health Care, which includes Rex Healthcare in Raleigh. “We are being asked to do more with less, and we will.”
Supporters of man accused of shooting Durham cop plan rally
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…A recent paper by UNC-Chapel Hill political science professor Frank Baumgartner for the North Carolina Advocates for Justice Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Bias has pointed out that not only are minority drivers more likely to be stopped in North Carolina, but they are also more likely to be treated differently during the stop.
Time to stop fighting over Silent Sam (Column)
The Chapel Hill News
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the dedication of Silent Sam, the Confederate monument that was erected on UNC-Chapel Hill campus on June 2, 1913, “under the auspices of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, aided by the alumni of the University,” as is inscribed on the plaque. (Lucas Selvidge is a rising senior at Carolina Friends School.)
Related Link:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2013/07/30/3067654/george-entenman-silent-sam-was.html