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March 1 , 2007
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
In schizophrenia, drugs may be personal matter
Reuters
New drugs may not work much better overall than older drugs to treat schizophrenia, but two studies published on Thursday show doctors may be able to find ways to give patients the best alternative treatment sooner. ...Zyprexa was the drug that worked best if patients had stopped taking perphenazine because it did not control their schizophrenia symptoms, said Dr. T. Scott Stroup of the University of North Carolina.How to train ‘digital natives’
The Financial Times (United Kingdom)
Handling the skills of such “digital natives” is a challenge companies are having to face and they are adopting a number of strategies. ...“It goes beyond technology. It’s the philosophy of the system and what it is doing for the company,” says Arvind Malhotra, a professor at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. “Can you come up with a game that embeds the complex adaptive systems in an organisation that exists in a global socio-political climate? If you can, I’m all for it. But if the game sanitises the situation, you need to supplement it.”National Coverage
Arthur Schlesinger, Hip to History
The Washington Post
There is something time- warpadelic about the man, something positively freeze-frame. ..."He has developed a number of ideological positions that have had an impact on the field," says University of North Carolina historian William Leuchtenburg.Pellman steps down as NFL's top concussion expert
ESPN.com
Dr. Elliot Pellman, whose work as the head of the NFL's concussion committee has been investigated by ESPN The Magazine and criticized by experts in the field, has stepped down from his post. ...But a 2003 report by the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina found a link between multiple concussions and depression among former pro players with histories of concussions.Regional Coverage
Questions about NFL concussions come to a head
The Baltimore Sun
By his count over a 12-year NFL career, former Baltimore Colts safety Bruce Laird endured at least six concussions in which he was unconscious for a half minute or longer. ..."People on the outside see it as industry-funded research and research that is not as accurate or sound as it should be," said Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, the research director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina, which has been criticized by Pellman's group for some of its work.Start your day right with a high-quality breakfast
The San Antonio Express-News
It may be considered the most important meal of the day, but in the daily morning fire drill of getting out the door on time, breakfast can easily become an afterthought. ... "You should be eating something for breakfast, there's no question about it. Your body needs it in order to be able to concentrate and perform at its best," says Anna Maria Siega-Riz, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Intimidation, violence and murder: Transforming race after the Civil War
The Rock River Times (Ill.)
African-Americans were beaten and brutalized for nearly two-and-a-half centuries as white slave owners attempted to preserve patriarchal whiteness through a demoralizing system of slavery. ...Trudier Harris, a professor of English at the University of North Carolina, argued along the same lines as Wells-Barnett in her essay, “White Men As Performers in the Lynching Ritual,” in Black on White.State and Local Coverage
$2 Billion and more
State Government Radio
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has surpassed its $2 billion goal for fundraising in the Carolina First Campaign. Chancellor James Moeser explains the campaign's success.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/breaking2B022107.htmlSummer Reading at UNC
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has announced this year's summer reading pick: "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions," by Sister Helen Prejean. Doug Kelly, chairman of the Carolina Summer Reading Program selection committee, joins Host Frank Stasio in the studio to tell us how they decide on the one book that every Carolina freshman must read.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 6 a.m. on Saturdays.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan07/summerreadchoice012307.htmlSkewed drug studies? (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
The role pharmaceutical companies play in researching new drugs is prodigious. As many as 70 percent of all clinical trials in the U.S. are financed by drug companies. So it's troubling to learn that industry-funded clinical trials of breast cancer medicines report more favorable results than independently funded research. That's what a new study from a UNC-Chapel Hill oncologist found.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/trials022107.htmlDrugs not enough for mentally ill, study finds
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The latest findings from a landmark mental health study involving researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University continue to challenge the notion that people with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses can get better with medication alone, even when they take the newest antipsychotic drugs. A study led by Dr. T. Scott Stroup, a psychiatrist at UNC's School of Medicine, found that nearly 70 percent of patients taking one of three newer schizophrenia medicines -- all thought to have milder side effects than older drugs -- quit taking the pills.
Related link: http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=3050
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar07/stroup022807.htmlDoctor takes on Medical Society
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The N.C. Medical Society, a doctor's advocacy group, has too much control over the board that licenses and disciplines physicians, and as a result has failed to protect patients, a lawsuit filed Wednesday contends. ...Discontent with the ability of medical boards to police doctors' behavior has been growing in many states, said Dean M. Harris, a professor in the UNC-Chapel Hill school of public health.Schools can turn to healthier fundraisers (Commentary)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Support your school, eat a doughnut. Or buy cookie dough, candy and pizza kits. Despite record levels of obesity in children and their family members -- and the health problems associated with excess weight -- school fundraisers regularly pressure children and their families to buy and consume junk. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.Cadaver Memorial
WUNC-FM News
A medical student's first patient is the cadaver in anatomy class. Last week, first-year medical students at UNC-Chapel Hill held a cadaver memorial service to thank donors and their families. Students played music, danced, read poetry and reflected with their classmates. Students and family members described the mood as thankful and celebratory rather than somber. Yasmeen Khan prepared this audio postcard from the service.UNC professor designs kidney questionnaire
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
The National Institutes of Health tells us that millions of Americans have kidney disease but don’t even know it. Abhi Kshirsagar has come up with a questionnaire that will spot people before it’s too late. Kshirsagar is an assistant professor at UNC.City to try again to review strategic plan
The Courier Times (Roxboro)
The City of Roxboro this week will try, for a second time, to revisit the strategic plan that was put into place last year. ...Lydian Altman-Sauer and Margaret Henderson, who facilitated the city’s strategic plan for the University of North Carolina School of Government’s Public Intersection Project, also are scheduled to participate in this week’s meetings.Issues and Trends
College PACs called harmful
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Students from the state's historically black universities hit the General Assembly on Wednesday to oppose political action committees whose members support N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill. About two dozen students met with legislators individually and with members of the legislative black caucus. They passed out letters and asked legislators to sign statements saying the political action committees threaten "irreparable harm to the UNC system of governance."Absurd secrecy (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Well, it would be funny, only whenever the public is shut out of public business by people who ought to know better, there's nothing funny about it. ...It is disappointing that University of North Carolina system President Erskine Bowles apparently supports the idea of secrecy.Downtown group wants to increase budget, programs
The Chapel Hill Herald
he Downtown Partnership is looking to boost both its budget and programs significantly in the coming fiscal year. ..."The passion that some of them have is something we want to build on, not tamp down," said board member Linda Convissor, local-relations director at UNC.
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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