Social workers from China visit UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 30
The University of Alabama welcomed educators from China to The Capstone today. It’s part of a four-day visit for four social work professors. UA is one of seven American universities working with universities in China to create master’s level programs in social work. Since 2012, UA faculty have traveled to China on two trips and held workshops for Chinese officials. One of their issues in China is the one-child policy and who will take care of the aging population. Through the partnership, China and UA hope to have faculty exchanges and several Chinese PhD students enroll at the university.
Latest episode of “Alabama Ghostbusters” available on Halloween
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 31
The creators of “Alabama Ghostbusters: A Web Series” plan to release the latest episode of the fan series shot in Tuscaloosa on Thursday, for Halloween. The Web series, inspired by the 1980s science fiction comedy, is co-written by University of Alabama film professor Adam Schwartz, a member of the statewide fan group Alabama Ghostbusters, and Nicky Stevens. Schwartz directs the episodes, which are produced by UA telecommunication and film students. The characters are played by members of the fan group, Theatre Tuscaloosa and students. The episode will be available today on the Alabama Ghostbusters YouTube channel and via links on its website and Facebook page, according to Schwartz.
Researchers study tornado’s psychological effects on children
Crimson White – Oct. 30
While buildings begin to fill the lots demolished by the April 27, 2011, tornadoes, many wonder what the storm’s lasting impact on Tuscaloosa will look like. It takes more than a city planner to sketch the psychological toll of the tornadoes. Led by John Lochman, a clinical psychology professor, and Nicole Powell, a research psychologist; a team observed the impact of the trauma on children’s functioning and behavior in the 90 days immediately following the natural disaster. “There were some surprising findings that emerged there,” Lochman said. “So in general, across the entire sample, according to both teacher and parent ratings, the children initially had fewer internalizing problems, so they were less depressed, less anxious, and according to teacher reports, they were also having fewer acting-out problems, fewer externalizing problems.” He also said there proved to be positive effects for parents as well.
Poet and pianist’s ‘Uncanny Valley’ to continue Sonic Frontiers series tonight
Al.com – Oct. 30
The 2013-14 Sonic Frontiers Concert Series will continue tonight as poet Jon Woodward and pianist Oni Buchanan perform “Uncanny Valley” at 7:30 p.m. in the Moody Music Building Recital Hall. This event is co-presented by the University of Alabama English Department’s Bankhead Visiting Writers Series and Sonic Frontiers. “Uncanny Valley” features a performance of Woodward’s serial poem with music by composer John Gibson. Gibson provides a concert-length sonic environment for Woodward’s poetry that reflects the poem’s text in ever-changing ways. Pianist Oni Buchanan and author Jon Woodward perform while audio samples triggered by the reader enmesh the piano and spoken text with echoes of itself. “Uncanny Valley” is a poem in 16 sections, meant to be read out loud, with numerous optional repeats throughout the text, according to UA.
County gets grant to scan historic documents
Alexander City Outlook – Oct. 30
Ever wonder what Tallapoosa County looked like before Martin Dam filled a large portion of it with Lake Martin? The Tallapoosa County Revenue Department has quite a few…County employee Eva Middlebrooks, who works as a mapper and appraiser, didn’t like the thought of that history fading away. So she began a project to commit the historic documents to digital form. The revenue office was recently awarded a $2,100 grant from the Alabama Department of Archives and History that Middlebrooks believes will help finish the important preservation project…The project began in earnest a few years ago, Middlebrooks said, when county commissioners agreed to donate $2,000 each in discretionary funds to get the project going. Middlebrooks began carefully boxing up the resources and shipping them to cartography experts at the University of Alabama. There, faculty and graduate students trained to handle time-worn documents scan the documents into digital form. The high-resolution files are then stored on a portable hard drive and sent back the county. The university charged only a minimal fee, because researchers there want access to the historical records of the state almost as much as county residents, Middlebrooks said.
Bullying Prevention Event; Scholastic Book Fairs App; CapOne’s Big Lit Giveaway | News Bites
School Library journal – Oct. 30
…The University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies has announced its 2014 National Latino Children’s Literature Conference will be held in Tuscaloosa, AL, on March 13–14, 2014. The event was created to promote high-quality children’s and young adult books about the Latino cultures, and to offer a forum for librarians, educators, researchers, and students to discuss strategies for meeting the needs of Latino children and their families. In keeping with the theme of “Connecting Cultures & Celebrating Cuentos,” the organizers are calling for poster and program proposals that contribute to and extend existing knowledge in key areas. The submission deadline is December 9, 2013.
Visiting philosopher declares time travel to past impossible
Crimson White – Oct. 30
Fanciful ideas of time travel to the past were dispelled by modern philosopher Ned Markosiah at Tuesday night’s “Philosophy Today” lecture. “So my argument is that time travel to the past is not possible if a certain theory of time is true. Namely, the dynamic theory of time, which I do think is true,” Markosian, a philosophy professor at Western Washington University, said. “So, I do think time travel to the past is not possible. As for time travel to the future, that could still be possible.” The talk compared two competing schools of thought about time: static time and dynamic time. According to static time, all times are equally real. So what happened a few days ago still exists in the same way as what is happening right now. According to dynamic time, time is like a moving spotlight that shines on certain moments, and only the moments that are under the light exist. The spotlight keeps moving and cannot be stopped, just as time cannot be stopped.
Creative Campus hosts All Hallows Happening performance art event
Crimson White – Oct. 30
Dry ice fog, candles reminiscent of a séance and costumed individuals howling to the moon greeted students who attended Creative Campus All Hallows Happening Tuesday at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum. “Our goal was to put on an event that blended art and life so people aren’t necessarily coming to a performance and passively watching,” Summer Upchurch, director of All Hallows Happening, said. Happenings were commonplace during the 1960s and are most often associated with drugs, alcohol or political movements, Upchurch said. A happening is a gathering of individuals coming together to make art, specifically performance art, and to commit to being open with each other through anonymity. To encourage attendees to be open with each other, guests were told to wear costumes and were given masks upon entering. “The idea was for people to come and feel like a different person so they would feel more comfortable participating,” Upchurch said.