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Sept. 25, 2007
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Study: Money can prod one to lose weight
The Associated Press (National)
People will lose weight for money, even a little money, suggests a study that offers another option for employers looking for ways to cut health care costs. ... Finkelstein and co-authors Laura Linnan and Deborah Tate, professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Public Health, are currently analyzing data from a follow-up study that observed about 1,000 participants for a year. In that study, financial incentives were tested against a Web-based weight-loss program and changes in the office environment, such as healthier cafeteria food.
Boosting team spirit via toddler seats
The Washington Post
The Harden family was strolling through Chapel Hill one rainy day, revisiting the place where Boyd Harden earned two academic degrees from the University of North Carolina. He was pushing along a stroller carrying his young daughter, who was protected from the showers by a plastic rain cover. He was surprised when, for the 10th time on their short walk, someone stopped and commented on the brilliance of the stroller cover. ... Boyd, a former marine and a fanatic for UNC sports teams, recalls suddenly thinking "I'd pay another $10 for this rain cover if it had a North Carolina logo on it."
What's love got to do with internships?
BusinessWeek
A Kenan-Flagler MBA student compares his dating life—and ultimately finding the woman of his dreams—with landing the most compatible internship.
Regional Coverage
OCD traps people in obsessions
The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.)
OCD is not a personal flaw, experts say. It is a anxiety disorder beyond patients' control. The exact cause is unknown. "It's not anyone's fault, and it's not a personal weakness," says Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz, associate professor and director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Clinic at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It's something that develops as a result of many factors." "There have been many studies on the genetics and biology of OCD, and while we have some leads, we are no where close to establishing the definitive cause," Abramowitz says. "Most likely, there are both biological and environmental contributing factors, some nature and some nurture."
State & Local Coverage
Tool helps with emergency preparation
The Daily News (Jacksonville)
NC-First by Chapel Hill-based Renaissance Computing Institute is providing quick and easily accessible information about the day’s weather — be it a severe thunderstorm, a dry spell putting the county at risk of fire or the information needed to track and predict the im-pacts of tropical storms. ... The presentation on the NC-First program was given as part of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser’s stop in the county as part of a Carolina Connects initiative to strengthen ties between the university and communities across the state.
UNC Chancellor gets firsthand look at IMS
The Carteret County News-Times (Morehead City)
UNC Chancellor James Moeser visited the school’s Institute of Marine Sciences Wednesday to see firsthand what students experience by joining in a class field trip in the Newport River. “They’re learning at a level they’d never get just from books,” the UNC chancellor said about the students. “It (the hands-on projects at IMS) is an incredible learning opportunity.” Chancellor Moeser said UNC is proud of the institute.
World War II is burned into N.C.'s history
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Memories of World War II are being stirred with PBS' broadcast of Ken Burns' documentary "The War." Local coverage features noble contributions and sacrifices to the effort by North Carolinians at home as well as overseas. Yet there's scant mention of the fact that the war was fought within sight of our state's beaches. ... World War II historian and UNC-Chapel Hill professor Gerhard Weinberg called the war zone off the United States, "the greatest single defeat ever suffered by American naval power."
Study: Healthy weight increases breast cancer survival
The Daily Tar Heel
A study conducted by UNC researchers gave women another reason to watch their weight. The study, which came out last week, reports that women can improve their chances of surviving breast cancer by maintaining their weight before diagnosis.
Weight gained between the ages of 40 and 50 will decrease significantly a person's chances of surviving breast cancer.
UNC News: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep07/gammon091907.htmlN.C. Railroad says many neighbors encroach on right of way
The Associated Press (NC)
The state-owned North Carolina Railroad Co. is trying to collect rent from hundreds of property owners it says have encroached on a 200-foot right of way from Morehead City to Charlotte. ... State law allows railroads to make anyone move off their property, said David Lawrence of the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Young and overdrawn
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
College students and other young adults are being hit especially hard by bank fees for overdrawn accounts because of their heavy reliance on debit cards, according to a new study. ... Wachovia of Charlotte has agreements with a half-dozen colleges across the state, including N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.
Issues & Trends
New laws douse smoking on campus
The Charlotte Observer
Smokers may soon have to walk a bit farther to light up a cigarette on UNC system campuses. Many universities already outlaw smoking in main buildings and some dormitories. But under a new law approved this summer, smoking will be banned in all state buildings, including those on University of North Carolina system campuses, starting in January. Some spaces in campus residence halls will still be open to smokers, but will go smoke-free next school year. ... Meanwhile, a proposal from UNC Chapel Hill would ban smoking from the vast majority of campus. The 100-foot limit would cover most of the university's grounds. "Increasing the no-smoking zone would significantly reduce the potential for exposure to second-hand smoke and reinforce our dedication to a healthy work and learning environment," Chancellor James Moeser said in a letter asking for campus support of the proposal.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun07/tobacco-free060707.htmlChatham's growth increases commuters
The Daily Tar Heel
The eastern portion of Chatham County is growing, and an increasing percentage of its residents work in Orange County. Both counties' government officials are concerned about the effects the commuters' traffic might cause. ... There are 1,258 employees affiliated with the University and UNC Health Care and Hospitals that commute daily from Chatham County, according to UNC News Services. That accounts for about 7 percent of a total of 18,771 employees.
Football seems headed for another rough fall (Commentary)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Football has been spilling off the sports pages into the news, highlighting the ever-changing role of the game in higher education. ... All too often, big-time college sports represent a Faustian bargain. ... All of us know that North Carolina takes its sports seriously. Consequently no one should have been surprised when it was revealed that legislators this summer had slipped a provision into the budget that provides state funding for a limited number of college football scholarships on historically black campuses.
Bowles says chancellors will deal with brawlers
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Monday morning after a postgame free-for-all, the athletics directors at N.C. Central and N.C. A&T universities, not the football coaches of the rival schools, were closely reviewing game-day tape. ... Erskine Bowles, president of the UNC system, which includes both universities, talked Monday with new chancellors Charlie Nelms of NCCU and Stanley F. Battle of A&T about the fight.
Duke president plans changes to athletics
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Shrugging off two reports that in different ways suggested throttling back Duke University's involvement in intercollegiate athletics, school President Richard Brodhead is signaling that he wants to improve Duke's long-struggling football team.
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.
Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.