When time shifts, remember your body has a clock, too
USA Today – Nov. 2
Today’s the day most of us in the United States switch back from daylight saving time to standard time — giving ourselves a 25-hour day and commanding the sun to rise and set an hour earlier than it did yesterday. At least that’s how it looks on the clocks in our homes. The clocks in our bodies know better — and will be telling us we are hungry for dinner and ready for bed early tonight … Night owl or lark? Some people, born night owls, feel best staying up past midnight and waking mid-morning; others, natural morning larks, prefer an early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine. If you can, choose a schedule that lets you work when you are most alert, sleep when you are tired and wake refreshed, says Natalie Dautovich, an environmental scholar with the National Sleep Foundation and an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Alabama. Seek the morning light. Whenever you get up, seek out bright light. Outdoor light is most powerful, but breakfast in a well-lit kitchen, near a window, will do. Pre-dawn risers and those prone to depression, especially in winter, may want to get a light box that mimics morning sunlight. Morning light “serves as an alerting signal to the body clock” that another day has commenced, Dautovich says.
Florida Today – Nov. 2
WCNC-NBC (Charlotte, N.C.) – Nov. 2
Shelby, Sessions would get gavels in GOP-led Senate
Montgomery Advertiser – Nov. 1
Both Alabama senators would likely become committee chairmen next year if Republicans reclaim majority control of the Senate in Tuesday’s elections. Sen. Richard Shelby would retake the gavel at the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which he chaired from 2003-2007. And Sen. Jeff Sessions probably would be named chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, where he has been the top Republican since 2011. Senate committee chairmanships typically are based on seniority … William Stewart, a retired University of Alabama political science professor, said two Senate committee chairman from Alabama would reflect the strength of the Republican Party in the state. “They would be in a position to do things for the state,” Stewart said Friday. “But obviously they won’t support huge spending increases that would benefit the state because that is contrary to the rhetoric they constantly preach about being conservative regarding fiscal resources.”
Democrats’ influence in peril
Decatur Daily – Nov. 2
The general election Tuesday might be the last for the Democratic Party as a state power broker, an Athens State University political science professor said. If the few Democrats who entered state elections don’t get at least 39 percent of the vote, ASU professor Jess Brown said, the party will start losing the special-interest groups that traditionally support it. Members of groups such as the Alabama Education Association, Alabama Trial Lawyers Association and Alabama Employees Association will start pushing to support the Republican Party, he said. … Alabama is becoming a one-party state, which is why most political observers expect a turnout Tuesday of less than 50 percent. “This is one of the least-exciting election years in Alabama in a long time,” said Bill Stewart, a retired University of Alabama professor.
Accident expert to give talk at University of Alabama on Wednesday
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 1
An expert in transportation accident investigation will give a talk on medicine and engineering as part of a lecture series at the University of Alabama College of Engineering. Dr. Mitch Garber will speak from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday in room 1013 of the South Engineering Research Center as part of the Richard C. Bradt Lecture Series in the college of engineering. Garber, a physician and engineer with more than 20 years of military and civilian experience in transportation accident investigation, is a senior managing consultant with Engineering Systems Inc., which sponsors the annual lecture series. He previously worked as a medical officer for the National Transportation Safety Board, participating in more than 1,000 transportation investigations.
Thesis competition to return to University of Alabama campus
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 1
A campus competition meant to help University of Alabama graduate students more effectively market themselves for jobs and research is returning for a second year. The second Three Minute Thesis competition will hold its semifinal round at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Ferguson Center theater. The campus finals begin at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 in room 159 at Russell Hall. The competition was developed by the University of Queensland in 2008 and is designed to help graduate students present their work in concise displays that anyone can understand. Participants are competing for cash prizes and the opportunity represent UA at the Council of Southern Graduate Schools annual meeting March 8 in New Orleans. This year, camera crews from Alabama Public Television will record the semifinals and finals.
Dance Alabama! to return
Crimson White – Nov. 3
Voted one of the top 10 to see at the University before graduating, Dance Alabama! returns to campus Tuesday. Dance Alabama! is a student-produced dance concert put on twice each year by the UA department of theatre and dance. Christian Timothy, a senior majoring in musical theatre, choreographed a piece for this year’s production called “Inner City Monologues.” The piece explores the rush of living in the city. “I grew up in the surrounding areas of different urban areas in Birmingham,” Timothy said. “The people there are so interesting. They all have their own story, hence why I called it ‘Inner City Monologues,’ because each dancer is going through their own struggle during the dance.” Timothy is also dancing in three other pieces choreographed by senior dance majors. He said Dance Alabama! sits apart from other programs because of the show’s organization and showcasing. “First off, it is completely student-run, which means it is our thoughts, our ideas, our hearts and souls that we are choreographing and putting on stage,” Timothy said.
SODEL hosts dinners
Crimson White – Nov. 3
The University of Alabama has tens of thousands of students on campus every single day, not to mention thousands of faculty and staff members, which means meeting new people is a given. However, one on-campus student organization is taking these social encounters a step further. Students for Open Doors and Ethical Leadership brings students and faculty members together for a formal dinner a couple times a month. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the inspiration for this group. “We wanted to create a space where people could come and meet other people and share a meal,” said Yardena Wolf, the Director of Communications for SODEL. “The Beloved Community is an idea from Martin Luther King, Jr. where people would live peacefully with one another and more relevantly where conflict could be resolved in a positive environment. One of the goals of SODEL is to foster organic relationships among students who may not have ended up in a room together previously, which leads to a more united campus.”
University of Alabama professor speaks on religion and science
Central Washington Observer (Central Washington University’s student newspaper) – Oct. 31
On Oct. 29, Dr. Phil Bishop of the University of Alabama gave a talk entitled “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Evidence of God in Human Physiology.” The event, originally scheduled to last an hour, went from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Bishop lectured to a group of 26 student and non-student listeners. The talk took place in a miniature lecture hall in Purser and was initiated by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). … Bishop, who attended the Naval Academy, said he has been a devout Christian since 1957. “Two of my former students actually are on the faculty here, and they gave me the official invitation,” Bishop said. He added that he was originally invited to give formal talks on physiology as well as suspension trauma.