Ribbit! Frog species found in New York City has a croak of its own
CNN – March 18
Amid the skyscrapers, sidewalks and subways of New York City, scientists have discovered a new species of frog within view of the Statue of Liberty. In fact, the researchers who discovered the frog say the center of its range is Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The newly identified animal is among more than a dozen distinct leopard frog species. And, while it’s fairly common to find new species of animals in the remote wildness or in rain forests, to discover one in marshes and ponds within an urban area such as New York is nothing short of amazing, according to Leslie Rissler, program director with the National Science Foundation. “The species is completely distinct,” said Rissler, part of the team of scientists that found the species. “It has a very small range and it was quite a surprise to find a new species in New York City.” Researchers used DNA testing to find this so-called cryptic species, which is one species hidden within another. Researchers basically stumbled across the new frog, Rissler said, adding the discovery is “extremely rare.” “We were doing a study on a related organism, the southern leopard frog, in my lab at the University of Alabama and another colleague contacted us to say we have these frogs that look like southern leopard frogs, but they don’t quite sound like southern leopard frogs, can you add some of these to your genetic analyses? And we did and that sort of began the study.”
BBC News – March 14
Yahoo! News India – March 18
The Tuscaloosa News – March 17
KTLA (CBS – Los Angeles) – March 18
C4K (Minneapolis)– March 18
DailyKos.com – March 18
Innovations Report – March 18
HappyNews.com – March 14
Infozine.com – March 14
Bio-medicine – March 14
Physorg.com – March 14
Esciencenews – March 14
TheDailyTargum.com (Rutgers University)– March 18
UCLA Newsroom – March 14
‘Old Havana: Spirit of the Living City’ full of vibrant photography
Al.com – March 18
“Old Havana: Spirit of the Living City” (Alabama, $49.95) by Chip Cooper and Néstor Martí is a gorgeous visual meditation on flaking paint, sun-warmed stone, centuries-old facades, vintage automobiles and some of the most beautiful people on the planet. Every picture is in color, and most of them nearly fill to the edges the glossy outsize pages. Many Alabamians will be familiar with Cooper, who was director of photography for 33 years at the University of Alabama and whose pictures have graced the pages of Alabama Heritage magazine as well as numerous books, including “Alabama Memories” and “Silent in the Land.”
Santorum takes early lead in Alabama GOP presidential primary
Montgomery Advertiser – March 13
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum shot to an early lead in the Alabama Republican primary on Tuesday. With over a third of the votes counted, Santorum gradually widened his lead over Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney…Romney is the national frontrunner, but not by much, noted Bill Stewart, a University of Alabama political scientist. If Romney lost Alabama and Mississippi, “that means he hasn’t won a single Deep South state. This is the heart of the Republican Party,” Stewart said before the polls closed. “It weakens him as a challenger to President Obama.”
Hey, Y’all: Why Romney Might Just Win In The South
OPB News – March 12
Mitt Romney’s stilted efforts to relate to Dixie voters by tossing off a few “y’alls” and references to grits have been roundly mocked as awkward pandering…A similar Tea Party split appears to be playing out in Alabama, where Paul’s isolationism and “lack of hawkishness on military issues [don’t] … wash with voters,” says Steve Borrelli at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa…With no defining moment for the candidates in recent days (while Santorum was winning the Kansas caucuses over the weekend, Romney came out on top in Wyoming, Guam and the Northern Marianas), Romney’s on-the-ground organization may make the difference. “Even though he doesn’t have the mass appeal, his organization and his money will do a good job in getting his faithful to come out,” says the University of Alabama’s Borrelli.
Alabama big prize for GOP Tuesday
Florence Times Daily – March 11
Before the polls close Tuesday night, Republican presidential candidates will have spent several million dollars trying to get your vote. The advertising campaign began more than two weeks ago with former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich trying to get a jump on his competitors … If Alabamians want to talk to the GOP presidential candidate, they better do it now. “This is the last time we will see presidential candidates for a long time,” said Bill Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama.
Low-profile SuperPAC targets powerful incumbents
KOSU (Oklahoma City, Okla.) News – March 13
In the past few weeks, the superPAC has been after Alabama Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus, ahead of the state’s primary on Tuesday … “Basically it seems like it’s attacking Bachus for being a shrewd manager of money,” says William Stewart, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama. “And generally speaking in Alabama, that’s not a real big handicap.”
Alabama unemployment lowest in more than 3 years
Associated Press – March 13
Alabama’s unemployment rate has dropped to 7.8 percent, the state’s lowest level in more than three years.State Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said Tuesday that the January rate was down from 8 percent in December. It was the sixth straight monthly decline since Alabama’s rate hit 10 percent in July. The national average in January was 8.3 percent. Even though the state unemployment rate went down, the statistics show there were fewer Alabamians working in January than in December. There were also fewer working in January than a year ago, when the unemployment rate was 9.3 percent. The reason is Alabama’s labor force has shrunk by 42,000 during the past year.Sam Addy, an economist at the University of Alabama, said it’s part of a national trend with some people giving up on looking for work and unemployed baby boomers who are at retirement age deciding it’s time to officially retire. In both cases, they are no longer counted among the unemployed.
Area students learn about opportunities at Gadsden State’s Explore Tech Day
Anniston Star – March 16
Sparks flew to the sound of sizzling metal inside a small building Thursday at the Ayers Campus of Gadsden State Community College. Ranburne High School junior Logan Butler stood with anticipation, wearing his protective gloves. Butler had for some time considered welding as a possible career choice and was ready to try his hand at putting fire to steel … A 2011 State of the Workforce report from the Center of Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama highlights a skills gap across the state and Calhoun County. The report, which breaks the state into nine regions, indicates that Calhoun County is part of a region with the lowest number of educated workers compared to the rest of the state.
A big share can yield low prices
Wall Street Journal – March 19
Regarding L. Gordon Crovitz’s criticism of the possible antitrust action against Apple Inc. and book publishers, it is important to note that the economic rationale for antitrust law is that price fixing results in higher consumer prices and a corresponding loss in welfare—not just for consumers but for the economy as a whole (“Steve Jobs, Price Fixer?,” Information Age, March 12)… Prof. James Peery Cover, University of Alabama
Community colleges play vital part in rural areas’ economic development, professor says
The Tuscaloosa News – March 18
During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., University of Alabama education professor Steven Katsinas stressed the importance of community colleges in the economic development of rural areas while making the case that Pell Grants are vital in making these institutions more accessible. Katsinas, the director of UA’s Education Policy Center, was invited by the Rural Community College Alliance to make three presentations, one of which was held March 2 at the White House before the White House domestic policy issues staff.
University Business – March 18
NCAA tournament math: More than adding up ones, twos and threes
Physorg.com – March 12
This weekend the official selection committee convenes to choose and seed the teams for this year’s contest. The proposed alternative method would not change the seeds, but the way teams are assigned into the four regional brackets. The researchers’ technique might not make for more exciting games, but in 2011 it would have reduced the travel burden on schools by more than 28 percent. Operations researchers Sharif Melouk and Burcu Keskin at the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, developed a method to reduce travel distances when assigning teams to the initial tournament game locations.
Academic journals coercing professors for citations: study
Calgary (Canada) Herald – March 12
Academic journals that decide which research discoveries count as important are practising widespread “coercion” to gain influence, at the expense of their own credibility, a new survey says. At stake are the reputations of journals that decide whether to publish a researcher’s work — which gives it a stamp of approval in the academic world … “Gentler language may be used, but the message is clear: Add citations or risk rejection,” says the study by the College of Business Administration at the University of Alabama. “As editors game the system and authors acquiesce, the integrity of academic publications suffers.”
Google, Facebook and consumers must work together regarding privacy concerns
The Tuscaloosa News – March 11
Most recently, Google changed its privacy policy, allowing it to spread, across all of its services, the sometimes staggering amount of data it has collected on its users. That’s important for Google because the company makes the bulk of its money by selling ad space around its search results, mobile apps, Gmail service and more. This is hugely significant to the advertising industry. And, according to David Mothersbaugh, a University of Alabama marketing professor, these are very uncertain times for online advertisers. As people become better educated about the way the Internet works, they worry about online entities using their personal information for shady marketing purposes.
COLUMN: Roman Empire shows how church and state came together
The Gadsden Times – March 11
These days we have a lot of experts on the First Amendment to the Constitution and the separation of church and state. Just read this newspaper. Or, even better, Google it and stand by for a blast from cyberspace. But how many know how the church and state first came together in a symbiotic relationship that lasted — or continues to last in some parts of the world — for centuries? This year we commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Battle of Milvian Bridge. That battle was fought in the era of the Roman Empire …Larry Clayton is a professor of history at the University of Alabama.
UA student, musicians shine in Albany
The Albany (N.Y.) Times Union – March 18
“Alex and I are both on our spring break from school,” Sarah Jarosz admitted rather matter-of-factly on Saturday night at The Egg … Accompanied by violinist Alex Hargreaves and cellist Nathaniel Smith (currently a student at the University of Alabama) she led the compact but oh-so-versatile trio through her haunting, high-mountain adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabelle Lee,” a rousing rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells,” a two-tune medley of Tim O’Brien’s Celtic instrumentals and capped it all off with a country gospel treatment of Tom Waits’ “Come On Up to the House” for her encore.
Looking back
The Tuscaloosa News – March 19
25 years ago this week … The University of Alabama received a $5 million bequest from the estate of the late Robert Nabors Alston to be used to construct a new complex for the College of Commerce and Business Administration.
Seale to be recognized by UA Rural Medical Scholars program
The Tuscaloosa News – March 18
Danny Seale of Northport, a 2011-12 University of Alabama rural medical scholar, and other members of the UA Rural Medical Scholars program will be recognized at the 16th annual Rural Scholars Convocation on April 27 at the Hotel Capstone. Members of the class entered the first year of the program this fall. The five-year medical education program for rural Alabama students leads to a medical doctor degree.
How to victory dance like a penguin
Pittsburgh Post Gazette – March 18
Like a football player who just scored a touchdown, male white-flippered penguins (Eudyptula minor albosignata) perform triumph displays after defeating an opponent. Now, researchers in New Zealand have found that those victory dances — complete with a braying, donkey-like call and flipper waving — make it less likely that nearby penguins will challenge the winner … “I thought it was a fascinating paper,” says Ryan Earley, who studies animal behavior at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He especially liked the technique of measuring heart rate with a fake egg. Collecting the data as the stress response occurs provides more convincing evidence that the penguin is reacting to the triumph calls than if researchers had caught the penguins after the fight sequence to measure stress levels, Mr. Earley says. “This is a really nice, carefully done study,” he adds.
Tate named to Savoy Magazine’s ‘Top 100 Most Influential Blacks’
The Midland Daily News (Mich.) – March 17
Jeff Tate, vice president of finance at Dow Performance Plastics, has been named to Savoy Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America 2012 issue … Tate earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Alabama and is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Fundraiser to benefit meal program for children
The Tuscaloosa News – March 15
Students in the University of Alabama’s advertising and public relations programs are teaming up with Alabama Credit Union for a fundraiser to benefit Secret Meals For Hungry Children. The event will be from 7-10 p.m. Tuesday at Opus Restaurant, 430 Main Ave., in downtown Northport.
Clanton native to perform in Tuscaloosa
The Clanton Advertiser – March 14
Clanton native Randy Atcheson will perform a piano concert at the Moody Music Building on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa on Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m Tickets are free of charge and the concert is to benefit the Mal and Charlotte Moore Alzheimer’s Caring Day facility, which is under construction in Tuscaloosa.
Southern Historian George Rable to speak at Athens State
Athens News Courier – March 19
The Livingston Concert Lecture Series of Athens State University will host a lecture by Dr. George Rable, the Charles Summersell Chair in Southern History at the University of Alabama. Rable plans to speak on the role of religion in the Civil War.