UA researchers develop virtual reality system to treat severe weather anxiety, phobias
WHNT 19 (Huntsville) –May 6
Just over four years ago on April 27, 2011, Alabama experienced one of its worst tornado outbreaks on record. In all, 62 tornadoes and 252 deaths were recorded across the state. Many of the physical scars from that day have begun to heal over time, but the unseen psychological and emotional scars are just as bad — if not worse — for some people. Laura Culp, a business analyst for the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety, is one of many Alabamians who suffers from severe weather-related anxiety. … Using technology originally intended for the video game market, researchers are creating a three-dimensional virtual simulation to help people prepare for and react to severe weather. Dr. Laura Myers, Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Public Safety, is one of the lead researchers involved in the project. “[The virtual reality system] gives [people] the safety and security to experience situations that may assist with things like PTSD,” she said. Myers has devoted countless hours studying how people perceive and respond to disruptive weather, and she says this technology “has the potential to help a lot of different people.” Myers says she has seen “a very elevated” level of anxiety in Alabama, particularly following the consecutive high-impact severe weather events we’ve had in recent years. Anxiety can be a big obstacle when it comes to our response to severe weather. “It does slow down our reaction time; it causes us to make critical mistakes,” explains Dr. Amy Traylor, assistant professor with the School of Social Work. Traylor will also play a key role in the continued research behind this project.
Reducing allergy symptoms without medication
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – May 6
Sneezing…coughing…and itchy eyes…all signs of allergy reactions during this dry sunny season. “When certain trees and certain flowers bloom, they make for the worst allergy season,” says Dr. Richard Friend a family physician and director of The University of Alabama’s Family Medicine Residency. Dr. Friend deals with a lot of allergy sufferers. “There are a lot of medications, nasal sprays, antihistamines, steroid medications that are all helpful.” But there are also some things you can do to help reduce your allergy symptoms without taking medications.
THE BOOKSHELF: The life of Jerry Lee Lewis, in print, available at library
Palo Verde Valley Times (Calif.) – May 6
When Jerry Lee Lewis was 5 years old, the family made a courtesy visit to see his Aunt Stella. When ushered into the parlor, Jerry caught his breath at the sight of a giant piano that took up most of the room. Jerry walked around the piano, luxuriating in feeling the smooth wood under his fingers. He climbed up onto the piano’s bench, touched a key and music exploded throughout the room. He played: he played hard. When he finally stopped playing he had played and sung Silent Night faultlessly. This from a five-year-old who had never, ever, touched a played a piano before. Rick Bragg is a professor of writing at the University of Alabama and author of a trilogy of bestselling books on the people of American South. The story of Jerry Lee Lewis and his pounding music is an unforgettable chapter in the annual of Rock and Roll music. These two men, Jerry Lee Lewis and Risk Bragg, have joined forces to produce a 498-page book on rock and roll music and the men who made it come alive.
UA president makes trip to Tennessee Valley
WAAY-ABC (Huntsville) – May 6
The president of The University of Alabama is making a visit to Scottsboro. Dr. Judith Bonner was named the school’s 28th president in 2012. Today, she’s speaking at the Jackson County Bama Club’s annual scholarship banquet.
University of Alabama alumna to be CEO of Occidental
Tuscaloosa News – May 6
Vicki A. Hollub, an alumna of the University of Alabama, will be the next chief executive officer of Occidental Petroleum Corp., a global oil and gas exploration and production company based in Houston, Texas. Under a plan of succession approved Tuesday by the company’s board of directors, Hollub will succeed Stephen I. Chazen as CEO after a transition period. The board also promoted Hollub to senior executive vice president of Occidental and president of Oxy Oil and Gas during the transition, making her responsible for company operations in the United States, the Middle East region and Latin America. Hollub had served as executive vice president of Occidental and president of Oxy Oil and Gas — Americas since 2014. She graduated from the UA in 1981 with a bachelor’s of science in mineral engineering, petroleum option, which had a concentration in fuels and mineral resources.
Al.com – May 6
Oil and Gas Financial Journal – May 6
Unconventional Oil and Gas Center – May 6
City Biz List (Houston) – May 6
Local Subway stores to donate up to $30,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank
New Orleans Times-Picayune – May 6
Two-hundred New Orleans-area Subway restaurants are donating a percentage of weekend sales up to $30,000 to Second Harvest Food banks through the end of August. Subway’s “You Share, We Share” campaign, which started April 15, will help Second Harvest combat hunger by supplying food to its 474 partners and programs across 23 parishes. “We simply could not fulfill our mission without the generosity of community-sponsored promotions like this one,” said Natalie Jayroe, Second Harvest’s president and CEO. Subway’s campaign to help fight hunger comes more than a year after a French Quarter Subway store made news after a manager there turned away a college student who was offering to pay for a homeless man’s meal. After that story garnered national attention, owners of the local Subway store apologized and donated hundreds of sandwiches to Ozanam Inn. Then, an anonymous donor with ties to Subway gave $4,000 to two New Orleans homeless shelters in honor of the University of Alabama student, Chelsea Brentzel. Brentzel is now working as a television reporter in Idaho
St. Vincent’s St. Clair Auxiliary awards 5 scholarships
Anniston Star – May 6
The St. Vincent’s St. Clair Auxiliary announced the 2015 recipients of five individual $3,000 college scholarships for students pursuing careers in the medical field. Each year, the Auxiliary awards the scholarships to students who are St. Clair County residents and have enrolled in an Alabama university or college, while planning a career in the medical field. This year’s recipients are … Sidney Savannah Pritchett, a graduate of Crossroads Christian School and a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa …
ANSC Convention workshops discuss the “long reach of slavery” to current events in Baltimore
Greene County Democrat – May 6
Members and supporters of the Alabama New South Coalition were treated to a rich mixture of information in four workshops and a keynote luncheon speaker at their Spring Convention at the Maggie Street Dream Center in Montgomery on Saturday. The workshops were centered around the convention theme of “Our History, Our Present, Our Future” and covered the long reach of slavery, recent events with the community reaction to another police shooting in Baltimore, the regressive actions of the Alabama Legislature toward education, workers rights and young people, as well as a discussion of ways to strengthen the collaboration between ANSC and the SOS Coalition for Justice and Democracy … Martha Morgan, a white retired law professor from the University of Alabama and long-time ANSC member spoke about the “shame of slavery”. She recounted that many white people in Alabama, including herself, are the descendants of slaveholders but are reluctant to talk about it.