UA Preview

MONDAY, FEB. 18 – SUNDAY FEB. 24

RESEARCH

PROFESSOR: ‘SERIOUS’ IMBALANCE IN NEWS COVERAGE OF TERRORIST ATTACKS – Dr. Erin Kearns, UA assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice, recently published a study in Justice Quarterly that found terror attacks carried out by Muslims receive, on average, 357 percent more coverage than those committed by other groups. Kearns and co-authors at Georgia State say this imbalance can create misconceptions about the prevalence of attacks and fuel prejudice and discrimination. For more information, contact David Miller, Strategic Communications, at 205/348-0825 or david.c.miller@ua.edu. Kearns can be reached at emkearns@ua.edu.

TRIO OF TRAINING, EDUCATION, INFRASTRUCTURE VITAL TO ECONOMY — Workforce training, education and logistics infrastructure are cited in separate UA reports as vital economic-related issues to address. Dozens of Alabama business executives ranked education and workforce training as the top issue facing Alabama, according to a survey by the Center for Business and Economic research. And, according to a report by the Alabama Center for Real Estate, the robustness of logistics infrastructure has become increasingly important as the economy shifts from traditional retail outlets to e-commerce. For more information, contact UA communication’s Chris Bryant, chris.bryant@ua.edu or Adam Jones, adam.jones@ua.edu.

REDDIT STUDY SHOWS HOW GROWTH, AGING AFFECT ONLINE COMMUNITIES – Through studying groups on the website Reddit, researchers at UA found as online groups grow and age, discussion concentrates among fewer contributors and retention of new contributors becomes harder. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu or 205-348-4328.

HIGHER RATES OF FORECLOSURE FOLLOW BLACK HOMEOWNERS INTO WHITE AREAS – Even in predominately white areas, black homeowners are more likely to face a foreclosure than their white neighbors, according to research at UA. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu or 205-348-4328.

BEST BETS

BLACK HISTORY MONTHUA’s Black History Month celebration includes innovative and informative events. UA Crossroads coordinates the activities each year; for more information, go to https://crossroads.ua.edu/black-history-month/. Included in the activities is University Libraries’ exhibit “Celebrating the Life of Frankie Taylor Thomas; The University of Alabama’s First African-American Faculty Member.” This year is the 50th anniversary of the hiring of Thomas in University Libraries, and the exhibit, which features other accomplishments, will be up throughout February on the first floor of Gorgas Library. For more information, contact Richard LeComte, communications, Richard.lecomte@ua.edu or 205/348-3782.

LOOKING AHEAD

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