UA researchers using virtual reality to help people with severe weather anxieties
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – May 8
Are you scared of storms? Since April 27, 2011, storm anxiety has become common in our area. University of Alabama researchers are now using virtual reality to give a realistic approach that one day could help people with this condition. It’s a virtual reality tornado simulator that is being developed by researchers at the Center for Advanced Public Safety at The University of Alabama.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – May 8
CBS 5 (Memphis) – May 8
University of Alabama team wins international advertising pitch contest
Tuscaloosa News – May 8
Three students majoring in advertising at the University of Alabama won the 2015 One Club’s annual Client Pitch Competition, a contest that draws entries from around the world. The UA team consisted of Julia Hoven of Northport, Kristin Clark of Trussville and Ashley Atkinson of Panama City, Fla., all of whom graduated this month. The team submitted a five-minute video summarizing their pitch related to children and technology. It was selected as one of five finalists. The three students then presented their pitch before a jury of agency creative professionals in New York City. The other finalists came from colleges in England, Sweden and the United States. “We chose to focus on an organization called ‘The Trevor Project,’ a suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ youth,” said Clark, who was an art director on the project. “The Trevor Project hosts an online community called ‘TrevorSpace’ that needed greater functionality. We decided it was our job to give it a makeover.”
Council For The Advancement of Nursing Science Elects Leadership Council Chair, Marti Rice
Steam Feed – May 8
The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science has elected Marti Rice, PhD, RN, FAAN and Professor at University of Alabama’s School of Nursing as the 2015-2017 chair of its Leadership Council. The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science fosters better health through nursing science and is an open membership entity of the American Academy of Nursing. Additional Leadership Council members were elected by the Council membership, signifying changes within the Council to create more opportunities for members to engage in Council activities and designate leadership. In the past, candidates have been appointed to Leadership Council positions.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer – May 8
New Appointments or Promotions for Black Faculty Members
Journal of Blacks in Higher Education – May 8
Trudier Harris was named a University Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Professor Harris joined the English department faculty at the university in 2010. Previously, she taught at Emory University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Harris is the author of 10 books including Martin Luther King Jr., Heroism, and African American Literature (University of Alabama Press, 2014). Professor Harris is a graduate of Stillman College in Alabama. She holds a master’s degree in English and a Ph.D. in American literature and folklore from Ohio State University.
Letters About Literature contest rewards reading, writing skills
Tuscaloosa News – May 9
As a little girl, Ella Huffaker’s imagination chased a yellow balloon through the streets of New York City with the eccentric characters in the book lying in her lap. With no words attached to the artwork in her picture book, “You Can’t Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum,” she made up the characters’ names and dialogue as she went. … Huffaker wrote a letter to author Jacqueline Weitzman explaining how the book affected her life as part of the national Letters About Literature contest. She was awarded Saturday for taking second place in Level 3 (grades 9-12). Huffaker was one of about 100 students, teachers, friends and parents who gathered Saturday at UA’s Gorgas Library, the host of the Alabama Center for the Book organization, for the Letters About Literature 2015 awards ceremony. Letters About Literature is an annual contest for fourth- through 12th-grade students, sponsored by the Library of Congress and the National Center for the Book to promote literacy and writing. … “The purpose of the (competition) is to encourage reading in all age groups and to encourage students to develop writing skills,” said Louis Pitschmann, dean of UA libraries and director of the Alabama Center for the Book. “The idea is to help students read more critically, think about what they’re reading and think about what the author’s message both really is as well as what the message might appear to be to the reader.”
Chuck Norris combats aging with exercise
WND – May 8
I long ago made it a principle of my life to cultivate a positive frame of mind, to strive to project it and to share it with those I meet. It is a principle that has served me well. … The pain of arthritis generally results in a decline in physical activity. When this happens, the risk of developing a chronic health problem, such as heart disease or Type 2 diabetes, goes up and performing the tasks of daily living becomes increasingly difficult. According to Patricia A. Parmelee, a professor of psychology and the director of the University of Alabama Center for Mental Health & Aging, arthritic pain and disability very often force people to abandon activities they love. “Some stop moving altogether, brood over what they had to give up and become depressed,” she says.
Port of Mobile shines during Dominican trade mission
Al.com – May 8
The Port of Mobile and its attractiveness as a prime commercial gateway for Caribbean shippers took center stage during a statewide trade mission to the Dominican Republic concluding May 8. “As Alabama’s port continues to grow and expand, there are various opportunities ahead for the state,” Denson White, director of APM Terminals said in a prepared statement issued by the Alabama Department of Commerce … In addition to Port of Mobile interests, the trade delegation also included tourism officials – such as representatives from the city of Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama Center for Economic Development who made contacts with the Ministry of Culture and a national travel agent group – as well as representatives from the University of South Alabama, Auburn University and the University of North Alabama.