CBER Economists See Alabama Economic Activity Picking Up in 2014
AL.com – Feb. 14
Alabama should see stronger growth in both output and employment during 2014. That’s the outlook in the first quarter 2014 forecast update from the Center for Business and Economic Research in The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce. CBER uses its own Alabama Econometric Model to drive these forecasts. The state’s economy is expected to expand by 2.4 percent in 2014, up from growth of 1.9 percent during 2013. Output gains could be substantially higher than this average for manufacturers of motor vehicles and parts and other transportation equipment, petroleum and coal products, fabricated metals, machinery, nonmetallic minerals and computer and other electronic products. In the service providing sector, output growth will be strongest among professional and business services firms.
3D printing lab opens new window into cancer research
Medical Design Technology News – Feb. 14
The first 3D print of a G-quadruplex DNA sequence and its molecular structure was recently created at The University of Alabama in the UA 3D Printing Lab, allowing researchers a potentially valuable new tool in the fight against cancer. Dr. Vincent F. Scalfani, the science and engineering librarian for UA Libraries, collaborated with Drs. Stephan A. Ohnmacht and Stephen Neidle, professor, both researchers at the School of Pharmacy at University College London in the UK, to convert laboratory X-ray crystallography data of a G-quadruplex molecule and the drug targeting it into a 3D digital model suitable for 3D printing.
Student creates word game app for Android
Signal (Georgia State University) – Feb. 17
Every day, roughly 70 percent of college students engage in playing video, computer, or online games, according to the PEW Research Center. Sixty-five percent of those college students surveyed claim to be regular game players. Many app games such as Words With Friends, Draw Something and Candy Crush Saga top the “most downloaded” or “most played” charts, according to many mobile app stores. MoWo, short for “More Words,” is a new and free word game, similar to Words With Friends, that was created in a month by University of Alabama student Hakeen Hasan. “From looking at other popular word games out there, I took note on what they did well, and where they went wrong. From that I tried to combine the two aspects into this game (MoWo),” senior electrical engineering major Hasan said.
Spain Park High graduate Danielle DuBose named Miss University of Alabama
AL.com – Feb. 16
Danielle DuBose, a 2011 graduate of Spain Park High School in Hoover, was named the 2014 Miss University of Alabama Saturday night. DuBose, a junior accounting major, beat out 16 other contestants for the title in the pageant at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa. She now will go on to compete in the Miss Alabama pageant. Briana Kinsey, a 2011 graduate of Hoover High School, was named first runner-up, while Bhavika Patel of Andalusia was second runner-up, Kimberly Triplett of Saint Johns, Fla., was third runner-up and Olivia Wilkes of Tuscaloosa was fourth runner-up.
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 17
Breast cancer study shows difference emerging in survival rates
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 15
Women who get breast-conserving surgery and radiation to treat early breast cancer might have better outcomes than those who opt for mastectomies, according to a recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Surgery. According to the study, which reviewed U.S. cancer statistics from 1998 to 2008, 94 percent of women who underwent lumpectomy and radiation survived their cancer after 10 years. Comparatively, about 90 percent of those who received a mastectomy, with or without radiation, had survived after a decade. . . . What is best for each patient varies, depending on family history of breast cancer and whether the person might carry the breast cancer gene, and also how large the cancer is and the size of the breast, said Dr. Joseph Wallace, general surgeon at DCH and chairman of the department of surgery for the college of community health sciences at the University of Alabama.
States make effort to change U.S. Constitution
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 14
Several states are making an effort to change the U.S. Constitution with a national convention. And now the state of Alabama is joining in, saying they want to see changes in the way Congress handles our tax dollars. The Alabama House of Representatives passed a resolution requesting a convention of the states. University of Alabama political science professor Joseph Smith: “It’s very hard to get two-thirds of the states to agree on anything, and especially when they don’t know what the outcome will be.”
Opinion: Smoking progress a pipe dream?
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 15
The announcement by CVS last week that its 7,600 stores would stop selling cigarettes has sparked a torrent of tweets and press releases by health groups, as well as front page headlines, including in last Sunday’s Tuscaloosa News, proclaiming that this is the beginning of the end of smoking in America. Not so fast. CVS’ move was a business decision that only partly resulted from the efforts of anti-smoking advocates. The company has decided it would rather be a provider of health products and services and not a convenience store or supermarket. Yet more than 31,000 pharmacies owned by drugstore chains, supermarkets and discount stores like Walmart will still sell cigarettes. Moreover, the U.S. remains one of the only nations in the world where cigarettes are sold in pharmacies. . . . The decision by CVS to drop cigarette sales is a hopeful sign and may well prove to be a catalyst for change but only if it can spark a better use of funds by federal and state government health agencies and greater engagement on the part of universities, medical societies, health organizations and the business community alike. Alan Blum, M.D., is Gerald Leon Wallace, M.D., Endowed Chair in Family Medicine at the University of Alabama, where he directs the Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society. Readers can email him at ablum@cchs.ua.edu.
Opinion: Hutchinson challenged Puritan leaders
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 16
n 1637 one of the most celebrated trials in early American history was held in Boston. At the end of it, Anne Hutchinson, the mother of 15 children, was unceremoniously booted out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony presided over by the Puritans building their “city on upon a hill,” or the New Jerusalem. The Massachusetts Bay Colony, presided over by John Winthrop, was made up largely of Puritans, a strain of Protestantism in England that was avowedly and openly “puritanical” in its constitution and behavior. As such, it strikes us today as seething with intolerance, bigotry and prejudice. Anne Hutchinson was, on the other hand, a strong woman, who knew her Bible and was not afraid of stating explicitly and with passion what it said, even if it contradicted the collected wisdom of the ministers in the colony. For doing this, she was excommunicated from the church and banished from the colony. . . . Larry Clayton is a retired professor of history at the University of Alabama. Readers can contact him at larryclayton7@gmail.com.
‘Blood Wedding:’ Production’s dark mood features feast for the senses
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 14
Perhaps there’s a more muscular word than foreshadowing — auguring, maybe? — for what “Blood Wedding” warns with its fervent performances, its dissonant yet often hauntingly lovely music, its ripe language, heated lights and flexible, open set. Director John Nara has created — with his design team, cast and crew — moods so pervasive and insistent they allow no breath of hope, in a tale of love gone awry, of never-ending fury and bloody revenge. … Weaving the expressionistic feel of Federico Garcia Lorca’s third act forward, so that even in more realistic moments the pattern emerges, Nara and company have created something so consistently odd and engaging that it may not be until later you feel the lack of emotional enthrallment with the work, beyond its spectacle. Even during the happiest moments, such as an ecstatic-sounding wedding dance, the drums pound with doom, doom, doom. An audience will stand back and watch; there’s an atavistic aversion to joining hands with someone already drowned.
Bama Theatre to host African film festival Saturday
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 17
The Bama Theatre will play host to an African film festival at 6 p.m. Saturday. The event, called a “Tuscaloosa Evening of African Film,” will feature two short and three full-length award-winning African films. . . . Foster said that Thad Ulzen, associate dean of the University of Alabama’s medical school, originally came up with the idea to host the festival. Since they had mutual interests, Foster said they decided to work together to bring the films to Tuscaloosa.
ARDT combines sculpture with original compositions
Crimson White – Feb. 17
Dancers in Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre will sync with more than just the music in “aeolian,” a piece by professor Sarah M. Barry, in the ARDT Spring 2014 Concert. Barry’s piece integrates nearly 200 fiberglass sculptures in the manifestation of its theme and concept. The sculptures, titled in their entirety as “cresente,” are the work of Kelly Shannon, an master’s student studying studio art with an emphasis in sculpture. After seeing Shannon’s work in a gallery over the summer, Barry was inspired as a choreographer, and quickly approached Shannon about collaborating with ARDT. “If you think about creative personalities, there’s no real reason to have set and regimented delineations between the arts – between theater or dance, or music or sculpture, or painting and drawing,” Shannon said. “There’s so many similarities between them that a lot of those divisions seem pointless.”
SCORE seeks to save students money while saving the environment
Daily Emerald – Feb. 16
Focus the Nation is a nonprofit organization located in Portland that empowers young leaders to embrace the reality of our environmental challenges and encourage them to find solutions. Since 2008 it has aided over 300,000 youth in educating their communities about sustainable practices. Universities across the nation such as Western Washington University, University of New England and University of Alabama have adopted programs through the Focus the Nation Forums-to-Action framework to begin campus-wide programs and events.
Shoals Community College to celebrate Black History Month
Shoals Insider – Feb. 17
Northwest-Shoals Community College announces events in celebration of February as Black History Month. This year’s events include movies, music, an inspirational speaker and a taste of “Soul Food.” . . . The Black History Program Thursday, February 20, 2014, on the Phil Campbell campus will feature keynote speaker, Dr. Samory T. Pruitt, University of Alabama Vice President for Community Affairs. Dr. Pruitt became vice president for Community Affairs on August 1, 2004. Dr. Pruitt is responsible for developing and managing the University’s public outreach programs and providing campus leadership through programming that emphasizes cultural understanding through dialogue. He received his Bachelor of Arts in mathematics, his Masters of Arts in public administration, and his Ph.D. in higher education administration from The University of Alabama.
Coffee hour provides opportunities outside curriculum
Crimson White – Feb. 17
Whether it’s discussing scientific research with professors Guy and Kim Caldwell or playing ping pong with Vice President for Student Affairs Mark Nelson, Honors College’s weekly coffee hour gives students the opportunity to interact with professors and peers outside of their usual academic setting. The Honors College Assembly began the weekly coffee hour this past fall. Each week, around 50 honors students and faculty meet in the Ridgecrest South lobby over free doughnuts and coffee. No two coffee hours are alike. Each one offers an opportunity to partake in open discussion on a variety of topics in an informal atmosphere. “Even though students have their own space in Ridgecrest, this is an opportunity for students to come out, get to know each other and be a part of that single Honors community,” said Neil Adams, recruiting specialist for the Honors College.
Humanities focus of program in Oxford
Crimson White – Feb. 17
Every summer, 45 University of Alabama students participate in an interactive learning experience at the University of Oxford in the U.K. as part of the UA in Oxford faculty-led study abroad program. Entering its 35th year, the 33-day program offers students the opportunity to earn credit for English, history and honors courses at Worcester College in Oxford. Harold Selesky, associate professor of history and program director, described the program as multi-faceted in that it can cater to anyone. “Not everybody has the same interests,” Selesky said. “It’s not a program designed or exclusively limited to English or history. It’s not even limited to Honors College.” Recently, program administrators have been trying to reach out to students from all areas of study. Robert Halli, dean emeritus of the Honors College, has been teaching literature with the program since 2002 and described how they have broadened the program’s focus to attract a wide variety of students.
Radio show offers look at mental health: ‘Brain Matters’ airs casual conversations on stress, depression
Crimson White – Feb. 17
BJ Guenther chose her career in psychology because she excelled at it in school and found it fascinating. It wasn’t until later she learned the difference she could make in people’s lives. In graduate school, she realized she had the skills to connect with people and help them. Joining The University of Alabama’s Counseling Center in 2002, Guenther now spends her days helping students with stress and other mental health problems and her nights planning her radio show, “Brain Matters.” “Brain Matters” is broadcast on 90.7 The Capstone and deals with matters on mental health, stress and similar topics. Hosted by Guenther, the show first started in January 2013 and ran for 15 weeks. Guenther discussed various mental health topics, including suicide, sleeping problems and depression before the show took a hiatus in April.
‘Rare as hens’ teeth’: Unlikely partnership bringing hope for Alabama jobs to nation’s poorest place
AL.com – Feb. 14
Determined to capitalize on an extraordinarily rare opportunity, a diverse group of local, county and state leaders began holding regular meetings and brought a collection of training and social service programs together under one umbrella. In a matter of months that initiative grew from being an effort to train Wilcox County residents for Golden Dragon jobs into a unique collaboration of volunteers and public officials with broader and much more ambitious goals. The new “Wilcox Works!” initiative aims to help lift an entire county out of poverty, overcoming generations of mistrust, racism, cronyism and bad luck. . . . Wilcox County Commissioner John Moton Jr. and Joy Norsworthy, a transplanted New Jersey activist, started an outreach effort. . . . Norsworthy and Moton were joined at monthly meetings by Riggs, Emerson and others including Nisa Miranda, director of the University Center for Economic Development at the University of Alabama, and Pebblin Warren, who represents Tuskegee in the Alabama House of Representatives and is a community resources specialist at AIDT.
Prize-winning concert pianist set for free Feb. 19 performance at MTSU
Middle Tennessee Public Radio (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) – Feb. 15
Kevin Chance, a prize-winning concert pianist, will perform a free public concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Hinton Music Hall inside MTSU’s Wright Music Building. Currently on the faculty at the University of Alabama, Chance has won prizes in several regional and national competitions, including the National Society of Arts and Letters Career Awards Competition, Music Teachers National Association Competitions and the Brevard Music Center Concerto Competition.
Students learn Japanese culture
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 15
Local high schools students got to learn a little about Japanese culture and even more about Japanese food, today. The sister cities program, partnered with Tuscaloosa City Schools, are sending these 10th- and 11th-graders to Japan this summer. Today at the Children s Hands-on Museum, they learned some cooking skills from University of Alabama Japan outreach coordinator Yuni Miyatake. Miatake taught the kids how to make rolled eggs and stuffed rice balls.
UA student’s dog wins Best of Breed
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Feb. 14
The Westminster Kennel Club dog show is the largest and most prestigious in the world, and a local unranked pooch has stolen some hearts and “best of breed.” Meet Mint Julep. Her owner is 22 year-old University of Alabama student Brenna Potash. She entered Mint Julep in Westminster for fun, and to her surprise, the 2 ½-year old bluetick coonhound won best of breed. She went on to compete in the televised hound category. “You know, I’ve been to that show six times. I guess the sixth time was the charm for me, this time. I cried, I jumped up and down, I screamed.” Mint Julep was bought as a hunting dog. Her owner has been showing dogs since she was 10.