Columns:: Newsmakers

since 12/15/98

Columns::September 10, 2001

UGA climbs again in ranking of national public universities
Alumna returns to discss the ethics of the political memoir
Making memories
The next step
Finance professor builds global bridges
Georgia Museum of Art exhibits works by American realist Whalley
Research Experience for Undergraduates
Administrative changes
UGA forms hazard assessment response team
Day of caring

Campus News

Newsmakers

Forever courting
The New York Times reported on recent studies dealing with ritualized behaviors among animals after they have selected a mate. Numerous theories have been proposed to account for such behavior; some scientists have argued that one reason may be an attempt to manipulate a partner into assuming additional duties in the relationship. The Times reports, however, that Patricia Gowaty, of UGA’s Institute of Ecology, interprets such displays among bluebirds as an extension of courtship behaviors.

Redistricting and race
For years Democrats, especially in the South, have been hurt by the creation of majority black Congressional districts, because heavily white districts were considered to be more likely to vote Republican. However, black Democratic candidates in several Deep South states “always get at least one white vote in five,” said UGA political science professor Charles Bullock in a recent analysis of redistricting in the New York Times. “The white electorate is increasingly willing to vote for black candidates.”

Advertising medical products
The Food and Drug Administration has ordered the cancellation of advertisements for an anti-AIDS drug made by Merck pharmaceutical company, on the grounds that the actors in the advertisement did not represent typical HIV patients. Medical advertisements have less room to exaggerate, according to a recent story in the New York Times, because of their more significant effect on consumers. UGA journalism professor Kent R. Middleton was quoted in the Times story as saying, “The standard for a false or misleading advertisement is whether the ad makes a material statement that is likely to mislead the consumer. That’s why when you get into the health field more statements are considered material, with greater consequences for consumers than candy advertisements or Coke ads.”

Designing for learning
An increasing number of architects, educators and environmental psychologists believe design elements—especially lighting—can affect students’ abilities to learn. In a New York Times article, C. Kenneth Tanner, a professor in the School Design and Planning Laboratory in UGA’s College of Education, asserts that students taught in windowless classrooms suffer from the disruption of their circadian rhythms by the absence of natural light.

Charisma and scientific research
UGA marine biologist Carolyn Belcher realizes people fear sharks, but she wants people to learn about them and protect them, according to a story carried by the Associated Press. She is currently studying shark behavior and, in research funded by the federal fisheries service, is trying to locate shark nursery grounds. “The needs for research are being documented,” she said. “This is a non-charismatic species. People want to go out and hug a manatee. You can sell a manatee study, but you can’t sell a shark study.”

Not a magic bullet
A fish breeder in Georgia is selling millions of gambusia, a mosquito-eating fish, to people afraid of mosquito bites and the West Nile virus, reports the Boston Globe. Though gambusia is a hot commodity, UGA fish specialist Gary Burtle contends they can do more harm than good. “[Mosquito fish] eat fish and fish eggs and compete for food sources other than mosquito,” he said in the Globe story. “[They] do eat mosquitoes. However, mosquito fish have been in Georgia for many years, and we still have mosquitoes.”

Kim Osborne of the UGA News Service monitors coverage of UGA in local, state and national media. Contact her for information about these or other stories in the news. Newsmakers appears in every other issue of Columns.

UGA Today supports QuickTime, Flash, RealPlayer and Acrobat Reader (PDF files).
Download information about these plug-ins.
Affiliate icons for UGA Today

COLUMNS ] UGA Today ] Subscribe ] News Bureau ]
Office of Public Affairs Directory ] Photo Services ]
Broadcast, Video & Photography ] Master Calendar]
Columns ] Georgia Magazine ]Visitors Center ]
UGA Home ] Alumni ] Admissions ] UGA Directories ]
Sports ] Weather ] Search UGA sites ]

Columns is produced by the UGA News Service, a unit of UGA Public Affairs.
Beth Roberts: Columns editor, Juliett Dinkins: Columns managing editor,
Janet Beckley: Columns art director. Peter Frey: Columns photo editor

Questions or comments should be directed to columns@uga.edu