‘Familiar faces’ Roff, Alston inducted into Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame
Al.com – Sept. 29
The University of Alabama Social Work Community paused Friday afternoon to pay tribute to two “bold” women who dared go “where no others had gone before” and proved crucial to the advancement of the field. Both women, “familiar faces” around the University’s School of Social Work, were inducted into the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame during a Sept. 26 luncheon and ceremony. Dr. Lucinda Roff, who served as dean of the school from 1988-2000 and as interim dean from 2010-2014, retired from the University this year. She, along with Phyllis Alston, former instructor and site coordinator of the Montgomery distance education Master of Social Work Program at UA, were honored at a ceremony at Cypress Inn Pavilion in Tuscaloosa Friday afternoon. Well-wishers, family members, former students and faculty members packed the pavilion to congratulate the most recent inductees. School of Social Work Dean Dr. Vikki Vandiver—Roff’s successor—said both women have devoted their lives to the social work cause; they have been “first responders,” the ones to “go toward the flames of injustice.”
Job Woes Linger in 29 States as U.S. Recovers Unevenly
Bloomberg – Sept. 29
Kevin Yearout has added about 80 jobs to his Albuquerque, New Mexico, contracting company since July of last year. That still leaves him with less than half the number he employed in 2009, at the end of the deepest downturn since the Great Depression … Even as the U.S. economy reached a milestone in May with employment exceeding the prerecession peak, 29 of 50 states have yet to match that accomplishment, according to Labor Department data compiled by Bloomberg. New Mexico, for instance, still had 4 percent fewer employed workers, ranking among the bottom 10 percent of states … Alabama’s job level remains 4.6 percent below the peak during the downturn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Job creation has been hurt by weakness in construction, manufacturing and government spending, said Ahmad Ijaz, an economist at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. “Commercial construction is still relatively weak due to sluggish consumer and business spending,” he said. “Nondurables, particularly the textile and apparel industry, will not be adding any jobs anyway because of off-shoring and automation. Government spending is weak because of cutbacks in federal spending which in turn also impacts state and local government spending.”
Discipline or Abuse? The case of NFL player Adrian Peterson calls corporal punishment methods into question (Print Edition Only)
The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro) – Sept. 28 How far is too far when it comes to administering punishment to children in an effort to teach them right from wrong? This question has been placed squarely in the spotlight over the past several days stemming from an incident involving Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson. Earlier this week, the Vikings placed Peterson on indefinite paid leave while he faces a pending felony child abuse charge in Texas. Peterson was indicted by a Texas grand jury for allegedly beating his 4-year-old son in May with what has been called a tree branch or wooden switch. According to the charges, the child suffered cuts and bruises to his back, buttocks, legs, hands and private area … While other methods have become more popular and accepted in today’s society, physical punishments are still used in homes across the country. Although research shows that physical punishment is less effective over the long run than other methods, it’s not surprising why corporal punishment is still used, said Dr. John Lochman, director of the University of Alabama’s Center for the Prevention of Youth Behavior Problems. “It’s very understandable why today’s parents use corporal punishment because that’s how most of them were raised,” Lochman said. “Not that it was right back then either, but it’s just what these parents are familiar with.” Dr. Laura Bloom, assistant professor in the University of Alabama’s College of Human Environmental Sciences’ Department of Human of Development and Family Studies, agreed.
“Parents often discipline the way they were disciplined as children. It’s a repetitive cycle,” Bloom said.
New State Park Lodge Update
CBS 5 (Mobile) – Sept. 29
Nature has reclaimed a two mile stretch of beach property that once was home to the Gulf State Park Hotel and Convention Center. Ten years after Hurricane Ivan destroyed it there are still signs of what once was. The carpet is still here from when the Governor made the announcement more than a year ago the lodge and convention center would be rebuilt. That’s the only thing different out here over the years but that could be about to change. Proposals for a master plan of project are expected next week. “Once the proposals are submitted, the Governor will review them and be able to select someone for the master plan,” says park director Lisa Larraway. The University of Alabama has been contracted to get the project rolling.
Editorial: Voters must pay more attention to Iowa politics
Iowa State Daily – Sept. 29
The debate between candidates Joni Ernst and Bruce Braley, who are running to fill Sen. Tom Harkin’s vacant seat, went into full swing Sept. 28, and the heat was on. Both candidates spent a lot of time talking about what issues they supported and what ones their opponent didn’t, and many shots were fired. The real kicker was that most of this happened without students noticing. Normally people do not want to sit around and talk about politics. In fact, it is one of the subjects that you purposely avoid talking about. While it may be uncomfortable to discuss, it is not something that should be completely ignored. Knowing what is happening in our state politically is the responsibility of the people who live in this state, and that applies equally to every citizen … The issues being talked about during these debates are issues that will directly affect Iowa for years to come. People are seemingly most concerned with minimum wage, energy and social issues. As students, we should be aware of what these issues are and be able to confidently declare which side of the fence we stand on. Iowa has a large population of independents. Generally independents pay less attention to politics than people who have a chosen political party, according to George Hawley, assistant professor of political science at the University of Alabama.
UA researchers study Parkinson’s
Crimson White – Sept. 30
Thanks to research co-authored by University of Alabama researchers, Americans can likely expect to see a decrease in the nearly 60,000 patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease each year. Parkinson’s Disease is a chronic progressive movement disorder that worsens with time. Currently there is no cure for the over one million diagnosed Americans. The UA portion of the study, led by Dr. Guy Caldwell, focused on phosphatidylethanolamine, a lipid known as PE. PE is thought to be linked to Parkinson’s because of its role in folding proteins. Low levels of PE result in misfolded proteins and, consequently, cell death of
neurons important in motor functions. “This gets right to the heart of understanding, possibly, the mechanism by which one form of lipid is
impacting the process of neuron degeneration,” Caldwell said. The study was started by researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and went on to focus on a second lipid ethanolamine, or ETA, which can potentially boost levels of PE.
Increase in Game Day ridership numbers
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 29
Tuscaloosa transportation officials say the agency’s football game-day ridership numbers are on pace to set a new record. The transit authority has served almost twice as many riders during the University of Alabama’s three home games so far than it did last year. About 2,000 riders used the transit service when it launched in 2010. That number is up to an average of about 4,400 riders per game this season.