These people tried to improve the world, and succeeded, but also indirectly killed millions of people. That, at least, is the lesson of this week’s Giz Asks, in which a number of historians wrestle with the question of which technological innovation has accidentally killed the most people.Peter NortonAssociate Professor, Science, Technology and Society, University of VirginiaIn 1963, Tiny Helwig of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company said, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” But with the help of guns and other technology, people kill in far greater numbers than they otherwise ...
(Podcast) Rachel Harmon, a professor of law at the University of Virginia, and Vesla M Weaver, a professor of political science and sociology at Johns Hopkins University, discuss the role the federal government, and federal funding, have played in transforming policing in the U.S.
(Commentary by Marlene L. Daut, professor of African diaspora studies and associate director of UVA’s Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies) Here in the United States, we have over a half-dozen statues of Thomas Jefferson. While these monuments are meant to highlight an ideal history of Jefferson as one of the United States’s “Founding Fathers,” they also remind those of us unwilling to forget that our country’s third president, the architect of the Declaration of Independence, was also an enslaver and by many accounts also a rapist. Because he founded ...
Why does it happen? If the doctor has a racial bias, he or she will have a general impression that African American women are more likely to be uncooperative or less likely to do what the doctor has prescribed. Moreover, the gender and race of patients influences whether these doctors follow the usual treatment guidelines. But it’s not only African Americans and women that face physician bias. To overcome bias, Chapman suggests doctors should take the Implicit Association Test, developed by psychologists at Harvard University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington.
This month, the University of Virginia said it would suspend its ACT/SAT mandate for a one-year “pilot” and then evaluate the results in 2021. The halt “will give us an extraordinary opportunity to explore the utility of tests in our overall admissions process going forward,” UVA President James E. Ryan said in a statement.
There's no more talk of 20% declines in enrollment. At regional public universities, the picture is more mixed but still better than a few months ago. At the University of Virginia, 4,000 freshmen have committed to enroll; the target is 3,748. Brian T. Coy, a spokesman, said that “more attrition than normal” was expected.
While many organizations have promoted diversity and inclusion over the years, the idea of being explicitly anti-racist may be a newer concept to some. “To be anti-racist is to acknowledge the permanence of racism through organizations, industries and communities, and to recognize that racism is a system of disproportionate opportunity and penalties based on skin color,” says Laura Morgan Roberts, a UVA professor, author and speaker.
English professor Kiki Petrosino, whose book, “White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia,” was recently published, and MFA alumna Safiya Sinclair are among 15 poets who tell us about the verses and books they are reading, or that they hope others seek out.
Ending up in the neonatal intensive care unit with a new baby is a nightmare for many parents, especially during a global pandemic. Now, a grant is helping nurses and families get through that tough time at UVA Children’s Hospital.
Depending on the sample group, anywhere between 10% and 43% of people infected with COVID-19 had no symptoms, according to a body of research reviewed by William Petri, a professor of medicine and microbiology at the University of Virginia who specializes in infectious diseases.
Some respondents worried the system simply won’t be effective because Bluetooth isn’t precise enough to tell whether people are genuinely close enough to each other to spread dangerous microbes or sitting on opposite sides of an office wall. “Why compromise privacy for a tool that is not the best way to suppress the spread of COVID?” said Ashley Deeks, a former State Department official and professor at the UVA School of Law.
Humanity: A Leader’s Secret WeaponLeading through a crisis with humanity is not simple, acknowledges Morela Hernandez, a professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. “But it’s not an impossible task,” she contends. Hernandez, this week’s guest on the “Three Big Points” podcast, explains that we know from social science how to address the key issues of leading through difficult times at the individual, relational, collective and contextual levels.
A duo of researchers at the University of Virginia set out with a question: could COVID-19 result in similar changes? To answer this question, they traced the local consequences of the Black Death in German-speaking Central Europe because of its “significant regional variation” in death intensity and historically high level of political decentralization. Before getting too far into it, the team notes several differences between the bubonic plague and Covid-19.
The University of Virginia says they’re consulting with experts at UVA Health, the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC about reopening the campus. At this time, the University is operating under the assumption that they will be opening in the fall. Fall courses are scheduled to begin on August 25.
UVA sent its Class of 2020 off into the world (virtually) on May 16. Graduating during a pandemic, with record levels of unemployment and an economic depression likely to last for a long time, means an uncertain future for all of them. But young people entering the medical field are facing unique challenges – from disrupted training to health concerns.
The graduating class of 2019 was smaller than the year before, but more students got jobs, according to the newest employment data provided by the American Bar Association. The report, based on data from more than 33,500 graduates, shows that the employment rate improved from 92.7% to 93.6%. University of Pennsylvania posted the highest employment rate at 99.2%, followed by University of Chicago, Harvard University and University of Virginia at 99%.
(Commentary by William Petri, professor of medicine) I am a physician scientist and have a Ph.D. in microbiology as well as an M.D. My clinical specialty is internal medicine and I subspecialize in infectious diseases. I am working on one approach to COVID-19 vaccination while also caring for hospitalized patients. Here are my responses to common questions surrounding tests and what they can tell you about immunity.
(Commentary by Brian N. Williams, associate professor of public policy) Public attention is focused on ending police brutality like never before. As a professor, I help students and communities rethink and redesign the policies and practices that shape relations between police and the community. The idea is to foster a shared sense of responsibility for public safety and order.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced new guidance for Virginia colleges on Thursday, unveiling the steps they must take in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they bring students back to campus.
A record number of students have been awarded a graduate fellowship by the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. According to a release, 31 students were awarded the fellowships, 24 of whom were named Jefferson Fellows and seven who were named National Fellows.