UB in the News

An article in the Christian Science Monitor about whether Jared Loughner, the man accused of killing six people and wounding 14 others in Tucson, should face the death penalty quotes David Schmid, associate professor of English. The shooting, he said, "might be a turning pointÂ…where it offers a pretty good argument that some crimes are so heinous that they deserve that kind of penalty." The article also appeared on The Crime Report, a news and multimedia information criminal justice website.

A story on CBS News Sunday Morning about the erosion of the importance of penmanship in a world filled with computers, cell phone and other technological advances interviews Tamara Plakins Thornton, professor of history, who said handwriting's decline is an old story. "That goes back to the typewriter, actually. It doesn't go back to the computer. We haven't used handwriting the way we used to use handwriting for well over 100 years."

An article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle about questions over the city's mayoral succession process and the debate focused on whether the city over-reached in installing Acting Mayor Carlos Carballada quotes Rick Su, associate professor of law and a specialist in municipal government law.

David Schmid, associate professor and associate chair of English, is quoted in an article in the Kansas City Star about the role that violent political rhetoric may have had on the weekend's shootings in Tucson, and what the media can do to tone down political discourse. The media, he said, too often rush to find out what's abnormal about the killer and what's normal about the victims. The article also appeared in a number of additional media outlets, including the Charlotte Observer and Pop Matters.

An article in Nature magazine reports on a new interactive video, The Lab, which illustrates some of the ethical dilemmas researchers, graduate students, post-docs and others face in the research lab, with the aim of making research-integrity training more useful and effective. The article quotes John Richard, professor of chemistry, who in 2007 uncovered serious errors in a series of papers published by a Duke University researcher.

NPR's Morning Edition aired a story on the work of UB's Andre Filiatrault, director of MCEER, and Pierre Fouche, a doctoral candidate from Haiti who is studying earthquake engineering at UB. The UB story is part of the NPR's special series, Haiti a Year Later. Filiatrault and Fouche discussed Haiti's struggles to rebuild following a magnitude 7 earthquake, their concerns that people would rebuild using the same shoddy materials and construction that contributed to the devastation, and seminars UB engineers have organized to teach Haitian architects and engineers safe construction techniques. NPR's science correspondent may travel to Haiti with the UB researchers for a follow-up story on UB's work there.

Ronald Huefner, professor of accounting, is quoted in an article distributed by Reuters that reports AT&T plans to report a $2.7 billion non-cash charge for the fourth quarter due to a pension-related accounting change aimed at making its numbers more transparent for investors. "Earnings will probably be more volatile. One of the reasons for the rules that we had is that they tried to take the volatility out, recognizing that there would be good years and bad years," he said. The article appeared in outlets that include CNBC, MSN Money and International Business Times.

An article in Philadelphia City Paper about the increase in the number of slot casinos opening around the country and the implications for creating new problem gamblers reports that a study by the Research Institute on Addictions found that a casino within 10 miles of home was associated with a 90 percent increased risk of someone being a pathological or problem gambler.

An article in the St. Petersburg Times about the first anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and a Florida football player who has helped build schools and orphanages in Haiti for more than a decade reports that Andre Filiatrault, director of MCEER and professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering, is one of 10 American inspectors sent by the United Nations to figure out how Haiti should be rebuilt, given the possibility of hurricanes and earthquakes.

An article distributed by HealthDay News reports lung cancer patients should be assessed for sleep disturbances, anxiety, smoking and alcohol consumption following a study conducted by Grace E. Dean, assistant professor of nursing, and colleagues who found a link between the rates of smoking and alcohol consumption in lung cancer patients and their relationship to anxiety and insomnia. The article appeared in news outlets that include MDNews.com, Modern Medicine and Doctors Lounge.