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June 20, 2005
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Older workers exposed to radiation at risk
United Press International
Workers over 55 exposed to radiation at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., had a greater risk for developing cancer, particularly lung cancer. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers evaluated radiation risks by using measurements of workers' radiation exposures recorded on radiation-sensitive badges worn on the job.
(Note: United Press International, an international news wire service, distributed the story.)
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun05/wing8061605.htmNational Coverage
Sex, Sprints, Prostates and Combat: New Studies, Better Lives
The New York Times
Smoking and overeating are bad. Exercise and vegetables are good. Sex is complicated. These are basic truths about fitness and health that all men know, even if they do not always act rationally....Ms. Johnson, a graduate student in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, presented her study at the American Heart Association meeting in April.
Seasonal Hiring Expands --- Employers Save Costs of Recruiting, Training and Some Benefits
The Wall Street Journal
The use of full-time seasonal workers is expanding as companies seek to keep wage and benefit costs low, meet their peak demand cycles and avoid some pitfalls of temporary workers....And anecdotally, employers and analysts say the use of seasonal full-time workers appears to be gaining speed. "It's become much more acceptable to have short-term working relationships," says Arne L. Kalleberg, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Financial turbulence threatens Northwest
USA Today
When Northwest Airlines unveiled the gleaming Midfield Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport in early 2002, executives brimmed with excitement over the future...."It's a very, very gloomy picture for the airline and its union members," said John Kasarda, a University of North Carolina business professor and airline industry expert. "The handwriting is on the wall. Bankruptcy is a real possibility."
Pinehurst won't talk about what lies next door
The Orlando Sentinel
It is one of the most cheerful, chirpy telephone greetings you'll ever hear. Doesn't matter what time of day or what time of year, when you dial the number of the massive and magnificent golfing resort that has made this town famous, the receptionist always answers: "Hello, it's another beautiful day at Pinehurst."..."There's all this economic development, but many black residents have been excluded from even the most basic services," says Anita Earls, a local civil rights attorney and Director of the Center for Civil Rights at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. "These people deserve better."
Southern accent on the upswing
Cox News Service
Could America's mouth be heading south? Depends on who's talking....Harry Watson, director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina, knows about the anti-y'all prejudice from personal experience. "When I was a freshman, people assumed any white person with a Southern accent was a bigot," said Watson, who attended Brown University in Providence, R.I.
Culture Colors Views on Alzheimer's Disease
Health Day News Services
Public health education on the causes and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, along with treatment and research, must take into account people's cultural beliefs if they are going to succeed, according to three studies presented Sunday at a special conference in Washington, D.C...."Alzheimer's impacts all ethnicities and, as these studies show, an effective outreach program must account for existing and meaningful cultural perceptions about this disease," Peggye Dilworth-Anderson, a professor in the department of health policy and administration in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in a prepared statement.
Blood Protein Signals Heart Disease Risk
Health Day News Services
As cholesterol builds up on artery walls, blood vessels shrink and blood pressure goes up. Now, there's a new test to help predict dangerous ruptures in those clogged arteries -- ruptures that can lead to heart attack or stroke....Dr. Sidney Smith, director of cardiovascular science and medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was also a co-author of heart association recommendations on CRP screening, issued in 2003.
State & Local Coverage
House wants airport issues studied
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill officials might have to cool their jets a bit on plans to move the university's medical air fleet to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The state House of Representatives wants a legislative research commission to spend the next year hearing from physicians and pilots in the Area Health Education Centers program.
Laptops take lead, change users' lives
The Charlotte Observer
We're in love with laptops. They've matched the computing power of desktops while getting cheaper. And last month, they started outselling desktops -- a trend expected to continue....Laptops have a built-in audience now that they are required at many colleges. The first college students required to have laptops at UNC Chapel Hill graduated last year. "They've become fixated with them," said Arne Kalleberg, a UNC sociology professor.
Reparations for slavery still big debate
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Even 140 years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in rebelling U.S. territories, there's still debate about who benefited from slavery and who, if anyone, should gain from it now....Wachovia's admission wasn't exactly news to William "Sandy" Darity Jr., the Cary C. Boshamer Professor of Economics at UNC and director of the university's Institute of African American Research.
High schoolers get to explore sciences at NCCU
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Some North Carolina high schoolers will spend part of their summer analyzing global climate changes, creating computer simulations and other scientific pursuits in the Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics program, held locally at N.C. Central University....At NCCU, instructors include faculty from the university and other neighboring colleges and universities, including UNC and St. Augustine in Raleigh, Harris said.
Professor questions scholarships related to intelligence-gathering
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC announced recently that rising senior Matt Kregor had won the David L. Boren Scholarship from the National Security Education Program. The federal government will provide Kregor with up to $20,000 to study Tajik and Russian languages in the Asian nation of Tajikistan....On the one hand, students pay for their education in any number of ways," said Charles Kurzman, associate director for the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations. "On the other hand, if we are serving some government intelligence function by training them, I would like to know."
State & Local Note
Web Site Gets a Facelift
State Government Radio
State Government Radio featured David Walbert, the Editorial Director and Information Designer for LEARN NC at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to discuss the new web site for the program. State Government Radio covers the news of state government and the business of state government in North Carolina. The program will air at 5:30 p.m.
Issues & Trends
Book prices hit students hard
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Samantha Caviness' eyes bulged as she wandered the aisles at the UNC Student Stores on Friday, looking at the books she would need for classes at UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall...."It is really something the university should look into and take on," said Amanda Devore, president of the systemwide UNC Association of Student Governments and a student representative on the UNC board.
Ex-planner hired to consult
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Roger Waldon ended his 21-year stint as the town planning director June 1. On Wednesday, Chapel Hill awarded a $50,000 contract to the company Waldon joined as a consultant...."It's not that there's an exception for services, it's that services are simply not covered by the statutory bidding requirements," Frayda Bluestein, a professor at the UNC School of Government who specializes in contract law, said in an e-mail.
UNC sponsors cultural exchange
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Center for International Understanding of the University of North Carolina is sponsoring a cultural exchange to Japan in October. But you need to get cracking if you want to apply; the deadline for applications is June 27.
Locating responsibility (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
We recently issued a report, "Governance in the Public Interest: A Case Study of the University of North Carolina System" (news story, June 7). It recommends that the governor be given full authority to appoint the UNC Board of Governors and all institutional trustees for the UNC system. We also recommend reducing the size of the board to no more than 15. This would facilitate a focus on central issues, allow thorough discussion and increase each member's accountability.
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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