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Aug. 23, 2005Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:National Coverage
A Techie, Absolutely, and More
The New York Times
Jamika Burge is heading back to Virginia Tech this fall to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science, but her research is spiced with anthropology, sociology, psychology, psycholinguistics - as well as observing cranky couples trade barbs in computer instant messages. ..."Computing has become the third pillar of science, along with theory and experiment," observed Daniel A. Reed, director of the Renaissance Computing Institute, a collaboration of researchers from the University of North Carolina, Duke University and North Carolina State University.
Purdue promotes in-state technology transfers
The Indianapolis Star
Call it the Technology Roadshow. ...Although most universities are looking for ways to encourage "technology transfer," Purdue's roadshow may be unique, said Mark Crowell, president of the Association of University Technology Managers and head of economic development and tech transfer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Linemen know the drill: Be big or be gone
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sam Rayburn can imagine just what would happen if he walked into Andy Reid's office and suggested that instead of his normal playing weight of 303 pounds, he'll give his season a go at, say, 275. ...Like a lot of people in the league, Eagles players take exception to the notion that big equals out of shape and in trouble. They pooh-poohed a recent University of North Carolina study that found, by body-mass index standards, 56 percent of the NFL would be considered obese.
Living Large, Dying Young (Editorial column)
The Washington Post
When we think of big, we think of strong. Big enough to move another 325-pound man, strong enough to win a job on an NFL roster. ...The NFL ridiculed a study released in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year by a University of North Carolina endocrinologist, a study that said as much as 56 percent of the league is considered obese by BMI standards. The league criticized Joyce Harp's findings for only using height-to-weight ratios rather than body muscle vs. fat ratios.
Death raises issue of health risks for extra-large players
The San Jose Mercury News
Since the news spread that a San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman had died Saturday after a game, many medical experts have been speculating about the likely cause. ...``They're not the exceptions. That's the scary part,'' said Kevin Guskiewicz, director of the Center for Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In a 2001 health survey of retired NFL players, the center found that those who played during the 1990s were more likely to be overweight or obese than those who played during the 1940s.
Mmm, yummy
MSNBC
This week the American Beverage Association announced it is recommending limiting soft drinks in schools, a move that comes amid increased pressure to curb the epidemic of childhood obesity. How do you pack a health lunch that your kids will eat? Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, Nutrition Researcher, University of North Carolina, was interviewed by Helen Chickering of MSNBC to discuss tips on preparing healthy school lunches.
On pain's trail
The Los Angeles Times
For years, pain, stiffness and fatigue clung to Lauren Armistead like an invisible shroud. It was tough enough to live with fibromyalgia — but the skepticism she encountered when she discussed her condition was intolerable. ...The central sensitization theory hasn't convinced everyone that fibromyalgia is a real illness, said Dr. Nortin M. Hadler, a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina.
Hope - and hype - in the cancer war
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Over Sunday brunch in 1999, Peter J. Levine threw out an idea that would propel the lawyer-turned-entrepreneur to the frontier of molecular research. ...David Ransohoff, a University of North Carolina epidemiologist, says results cannot be trusted unless they can be produced again and again: "Figuring out whether a result is real and not simply caused by chance is determined in part by validation - by reproducing the result in an independent set of samples."
State & Local Coverage
Area colleges cited for programs
The Charlotte Business Journal
Several North Carolina schools have been included in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of America's Best Colleges for 2006. In the category of national universities, Duke University was the only N.C. school to crack the Top 10, ranking No. 5. UNC Chapel Hill tied with Wake Forest University at No. 27, and N.C. State University ranked No. 78.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/aug05/USNewsAdvance081805.htmColleges get cheers, jeers
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The latest college rankings have a mix of news from Triangle universities -- some good, some bad and some, well, ugly. ...UNC-Chapel Hill; THE GOOD RANKINGS: 3rd nationally in best college newspaper; 5th nationally in students packing the stadiums for sporting events; 8th in the nation for happiest students; 16th nationally in popularity of both intramural and intercollegiate sports.
Southern Identity
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
William Ferris, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and John Shelton Reed, professor emeritus of sociology at UNC-Chapel Hill, were featured on today's edition of "The State of Things." The American South is still stereotyped and misunderstood. Its cultural and political vibrancy, which seems to set it apart from the rest of the country, stirs pride in Southerners. Are Southern stereotypes founded in fact? Host Frank Stasio talks with two long-time scholars of the American South concerning the question of "What is Southern Identity?"
Assignment plan stands
The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools won't have to defend its student-assignment plan in court, but it must answer to civil rights lawyers, parents and students about the failings of some of its high schools, Judge Howard Manning Jr. has ruled. ...Manning's order lets lawyers from the UNC Center for Civil Rights -- and the parents and students they represent -- request documents, question CMS officials and launch a "sharp and searching" probe, said Jack Boger, the center's deputy director.
Everywhere you look, it's time to get back to school (Editorial column)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The calendar says that summer ends Sept. 22 Traditionally, summer's end has seemed to be more neatly captured by Labor Day than by the equinox itself. ...Both Duke and UNC will be completing projects that promise to add to the cultural richness not just of the campuses but of the communities. UNC's renovated Memorial Hall will reopen next month.
Making do for coastal habitat
The Jacksonville Daily News
No state money will come this year for environmental agencies to inventory docks and piers in coastal North Carolina. ...It's an effort between marine scientists, Hans Paerl, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, and Joseph Ramus, of the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, who place specialized equipment on state ferries to monitor water quality.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jul05/Paerl10071505.htmECU professor studies treatment plant's effect on waterway
The Greenville Daily Reflector
An East Carolina University biologist is giving a water treatment plant in the Albemarle Sound its first-ever bill of health. ... The professors were selected for BRIDGES XIII, which is designed to help women identify, understand and move into leadership positions. The annual program, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, consists of a series of workshops.
Issues & Trends
UNC on guard (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As a rule, the rejection of college applicants would be considered terrible news. But the violent deaths of two students at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington last year demanded that the admissions process do far more than select the applicants most likely to succeed. Rules adopted for the 16-campus UNC system last winter were intended to screen out predators. An assessment of how well the rules worked their first time out, as reported by The N&O's Jane Stancill over the weekend, is encouraging even if not yet totally convincing. University administrators need to review admissions practices annually until the public is reassured that student safety comes first on UNC campuses.
Businesses, schools dare to dream
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The goals set out by business and education leaders for Triangle high schools are lofty -- no one will drop out and nearly all graduates will be ready for college. ...Of those, 90 percent are expected to have completed college preparatory or vocational programs and 80 percent are expected to have met course requirements for UNC system admission.
Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.
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