Nov. 14, 2006

Carolina in the News

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:

International Coverage

The New Federalism in Life Sciences Policy
The Scientists (United Kingdom)
Lately, individual states have become more interested in the ramifications of life sciences research and more assertive in forming policies that affect it (see "The State of Science Funding," The Scientist, March 2006). ...Although the University of North Carolina ranked 25th, it is part of the strong commercial culture in Research Triangle.

National Coverage

Childhood: Fathers Influence a Child’s Language Development
The New York Times
In families with two working parents, fathers may have more impact on a child’s language development than mothers, a new study suggests. ...“It’s well established that the mother’s language does have an impact,” said Nadya Pancsofar, the lead author of the study and a graduate research assistant at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct06/fpgfatherslanguage103006.htm

New Tests, New Future for Doctors
The New York Times
Gastroenterologists are worried about their future. ...Asked how much chronic ulcers have diminished in incidence, Dr. Robert S. Sandler, chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of North Carolina, replied, “I can’t give you a statistic, but a lot.”

Daily Packs Increase Adherence to Prescriptions
The Wall Street Journal
Elderly patients who are prescribed several prescription drugs are more likely to take them if pharmacists provide them in daily packets rather than individual bottles, suggesting a simple solution to a common and costly health-care problem. ...In an editorial in JAMA accompanying the study, Ross J. Simpson, a physician at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, noted that results from such a study at a military facility may be difficult to achieve in the general population, where such factors as out-of-pocket costs for patients and the ability of pharmacists to provide such individualized service may hinder compliance.

Difference of opinion on stents with drugs
The Chicago Tribune
Cardiac researchers agreed Monday that they lack a clear answer on which kind of stent is safest to place in patients who have had clogged arteries cleared with balloon angioplasty. ... This therapy, which consists of aspirin and the drug Plavix, can be underrated by patients and physicians, said Dr. Sidney Smith Jr., a University of North Carolina professor of medicine.

Doctors Debate the Merits of Drug-Coated Stents
HealthDay News
Coating angioplasty balloons with a drug also used to coat stents prevents arteries from closing over again. ...Dr. Sidney Smith Jr., past president of the AHA and professor of medicine and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, called the new study results "very interesting and very promising, but with a small number of patients. We have to see if the results can be extended in randomized trials."

Tar Heels tap Davis to end their misery
The Associated Press (National)
Former NFL and Miami Hurricanes coach Butch Davis will return to the sidelines as coach at North Carolina, which is 1-9 and hasn't beaten a Division I-A team this season.

Regional Coverage

Tar Heels hire 'star' coach, Butch Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After nine years of bad and boring football, North Carolina needed a coach who was a star, not only on the sidelines but in recruits' living rooms.

'Resilience': Lean times changed lives for 'Greatest Generation'
The Gainesville Times (Ga.)
Rachelle "Rae" Oakley is sitting in the soft sunlight of her Gainesville apartment, reading a letter her oldest sister wrote about their family during the Great Depression. ...The boys turned men focused more on work, said (Glen) Elder, the Howard Odum distinguished professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Marine museum opens Monday
The Benton County Daily Record (Ark.)
Lance Cpl. Matthew Stephens, who returned from Iraq in September, figures that for the new National Museum of the Marine Corps to truly convey his experience in Ramadi, the exhibit hall would have to be the pitch black of night. ...The tools of war draw the curiosity of children and adults alike, said Richard Kohn, a former chief of history for the Air Force and a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “ It’s a fascinating issue. Why do people kill each other ?”'

Neighborhood rules proposed
The Columbus Dispatch
Columbus is considering new rules that would help protect neighborhoods from development that doesn’t fit in with what’s already there. ...Development close to the University of North Carolina and the downtown area was threatening working-class neighborhoods by making them unaffordable, Clark said.

Family matters
Detroit Free Press
Researchers have long known how important it is for mothers to talk to their babies. ...Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that the number of words a father uses when a child is 2 might influence the child's vocabulary a year later.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct06/fpgfatherslanguage103006.htm

State and Local Coverage

Racial gaps in income persist
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Decades after the civil rights movement, racial disparities in income, education and home ownership persist and, by some measures, are growing. ...In North Carolina, many families have been hurt by the loss of manufacturing jobs with little or no job training to help make the transition to other careers, said Laura Hogshead, assistant director for UNC Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

Citizen of the world
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Who: James L. Peacock, a mild-mannered anthropology professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Who says so: International Affairs Council of North Carolina

No separation (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Regarding your Nov. 8 editorial, "Paying, playing": We're sorry to disappoint The N&O's conspiracy theorists, but your fundamental premise is wrong and has no basis in fact. Citizens for Higher Education is not about removing UNC-Chapel Hill from the UNC system. ...Paul Fulton, Chairman, Citizens for Higher Education

Within the system (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Your Nov. 8 editorial "Paying, playing" made big assumptions about the motivations of volunteers like me who devote considerable time and energy to supporting UNC-Chapel Hill. Nelson Schwab, Chair, UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees

UNC's football future in Davis' hands
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill believes it has the facilities, fan base and funds to win in football. Now, it believes it has the right leader, too. ..."We believe that, absolutely, we can be very good in both," athletics director Dick Baddour said Monday.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/509967.html

This time, Tar Heels land their first choice
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
More often than not, common sense says that when what you've done before didn't work, try something different. North Carolina's burning desire to improve a disappointing football program, one that has not measured well against other ACC teams under former assistants Carl Torbush (17-18) and John Bunting (25-44), has led the school to make a move that should surprise absolutely nobody.
Related link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/16003566.htm

Sweet Home: Wake Forest trying to get area's high-school grads to stick around
The Winston-Salem Journal
Stephen Menesick has lived in Greensboro for almost his entire 17 years. ...Though few other local colleges say they have recruiting events strictly for local students, next spring the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will invite high-school students who have been admitted to a "behind the scenes" look at research labs or athletic facilities.

Researchers revise 'First School' model
The Chapel Hill Herald
Ten months ago, when researchers unveiled plans to turn a local school into a state-of-the-art "First School," parents, teachers and school board members balked. ...Sharon Ritchie, who heads the project for the institute, said researchers are willing to work with two schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district.

UNC pressed on green issues
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Former Town Council candidate Andrea Rohrbacher spoke against more parking along Manning Drive. ...UNC facilities planner Anna Wu said the proposed buildings hadn't been designed yet, but she would return to the council with more information.

UNC talks of plans, takes some heat
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC officials spent part of their time before the Town Council on Monday talking about plans for a new park-and-ride lot along Sage Road, meant as a step to reduce traffic on major roads such as U.S. 15-501.

A chicken in every pot and every store
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Once upon a time, chicken was a treat. Among Christians it was the centerpiece of Sunday dinner, especially if the preacher were coming. ...From "Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South" by Jack Temple Kirby. Copyright 2006 by The University of North Carolina Press

Issues and Trends

Bowles pushes frugal course
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC President Erskine Bowles is pushing new efficiencies that could hold down costs by as much as $440 million during the next five years across the UNC system.

WSSU committee down to 8 chancellor candidates
The Winston-Salem Journal
The committee charged with finding candidates for the next chancellor at Winston-Salem State University has narrowed its field of applications to eight. ...The committee will select three to five people from that short list and turn them over to Erskine Bowles, the president of the University of North Carolina system, but their names won't be released to the public.

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.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

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