This engaging and thoughtful book by University of Virginia scholar John Owen looks back on a series of upheavals in Western history to better understand the Middle East's current travails and the challenge posed by political Islam.
Twelve years ago this week, firefighters found Nola Charles and her toddler son William dead inside their burning Crozet home. Someone had duct taped Charles to her bed before stabbing her and slitting her throat. Three-year-old William had died of smoke inhalation. Three teens were convicted of the murders. All of them agree that one of them, Robert Davis, is innocent. A confession is a powerful piece of evidence, explained UVA law professor and false confession expert Brandon Garrett, and it’s often the only one police have to work with in a murder case.
The music that we all listen to on a day to day basis on our computers, phones and iPods, is sourced from files that used to be far more complex, until they were compressed for you to listen to through these devices. Transferring these complex files, we actually cut out a lot of sound from tracks - sounds that are extremely interesting to hear. But what do these omissions actually sound like? Ryan Macguire, a Ph.D. student in Composition and Computer Technologies at the University of Virginia Center for Computer Music, has created a track made entirely out of these mysterious noises, to ...
In the Harry Potter series, a Patronus is a magical guardian conjured to fight Dementors — creatures that drain happiness and hope from those around them. At the University of Virginia, a new group is using this as a metaphor to raise awareness about mental illness on Grounds. “We’re just hoping some of these events will show people that U.Va. students or just students in general are living with these illnesses and they’re still functioning and they’re still doing everything that everyone else is doing,” said founder Caitlin Reilly, a fourth-year engineering...
The first night of the 2015 ACC Championships featured some strong swims as the University of Virginia women claimed two new meet and conference records.
Peter Norton, a transportation expert at the University of Virginia, points out that the way autonomous vehicles are designed will have a profound influence on people’s driving habits. If automation makes driving and parking easier, and in particular if it allows commuters to do other things while in their cars, it could end up encouraging people to drive more often or to commute over longer distances.
Healthcare executives who seek to successfully integrate doctors into their organization may find the task easier said than done, but taking steps to build physicians' trust is a good start, according to Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine. Noting that past generations of healthcare executives often viewed physicians as "occupational hazards," Jeff Goldsmith, Ph.D., the president of Health Futures Inc. and professor of public health sciences at the University of Virginia, notes that it's now more important than ever for the C-suite to learn to peacefully c...
When Luke Ruehlman began talking about a woman named Pam, his mother Erica assumed it was just an imaginary friend. But things became really strange when she quizzed him about where he had got the name from and why he liked it. The then-two-year-old told his parents he used to be Pam, a girl with black hair, he said. It may sound far-fetched to some, but children who say they live past lives are not uncommon, according to Jim Tucker, a medical director of the Child and Family Psychiatry Clinic, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Vi...
The Obama administration appears to be backing away from its stance that Syrian President Bashar Assad must go. Assad has even admitted some level of coordination with the Americans. And President Obama's request to Congress for reauthorization of the use of force makes no mention of ridding Syria of Assad, only the so-called Islamic State. Lionel Beehner, editor of Cicero Magazine, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl is an assistant professor of politics at the University of Virginia.
Political analysts say how the presidential hopefuls fare in Virginia is a crucial step in reaching their goal, especially in the wide-open Republican contest. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the party that carries Virginia will probably win the White House. “It will be tough for Republicans to elect a president” without putting Virginia, Florida, North Carolina and Ohio in their column, Sabato said.
The Dominion Foundation gives away about $15 million per year — in donations ranging from $1,000 to $250,000 — to a huge array of charitable causes in the states where Dominion operates. Many of the biggest gifts are made in Richmond, where the company is headquartered. “No single company even comes close to Dominion in terms of its wide-ranging influence and impact on Virginia politics and government,” said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia professor and political analyst. “It is the first corporate entity most people think about in the Old Dominion. The com...
The Jefferson Education Accelerator will give ed-tech companies the ability to have their products tested in K-12 districts and in colleges through independent reviews—and potentially, be given an imprimatur of evidence-based success that they can market to districts attempting to make sense of a burgeoning and often bewildering array of such products. The Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia is helping advise the accelerator, which will operate as a commercial entity with its own, independent corporate structure.
The state of Washington is well on its way to becoming known for one of the nation's top producers of Peace Corps volunteers. Out of medium schools, Western Washington University took the No.1 spot with 47 volunteers, while American University took the No. 2 spot with 41 alumni currently serving, and George Washington University and the University of Virginia came in third place, each with 36 alumni in service.
The launch of the Green Workplace Program signals a commitment to U.Va workplaces that are taking a leadership role in sustainability. This green office certification program, which was developed by the University Committee on Sustainability, will engage employees in actions that promote environmentally responsible behavior while on the job.
Monday saw the launch of the Jefferson Education Accelerator by the University of Virginia Curry School of Education Foundation and USA Funds, with $11 million committed to the partnership. As part of its mission, the accelerator will assemble a network of K-12 schools and higher education institutions from across the U.S. to test products and services that show potential.
The University of Virginia has begun replacing the capitals on its historic Rotunda. The University unveiled the load-bearing structures at the top of each column last week. The current capitals are more than 100 years old.
Last year, colleges became much better endowed. The value of university endowments rose an average of 15.5 percent from July 2013 to June 2014, the National Association of College and University Business Officers reported recently. The University of Virginia holds by far the largest endowment among schools across the state. Its value grew to more than $5.9 billion last year, placing it No. 18 nationwide.
U.Va. Culpeper Hospital spokeswoman Mary Kay Campbell said Monday while there haven’t been any local measles cases reported, the Culpeper staff knows how to handle the situation if one arises. "We are also working closely with the health department and the University of Virginia to make sure we are all prepared," Campbell continued.
(By Jeff Goldsmith, Ph.D., the president of Health Futures Inc., and associate professor of public health sciences at the University of Virginia) John Gray's popular advice book of 1992, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, portrays the sexes as hailing from different planets. However difficult it is for men and women to communicate, at least they are of the same species. I'm not sure the same can be said for physicians and health care executives. I have believed for years that health care management programs have underprepared their graduates for the complexities of even understan...
Scott Walker, the little-known governor of Wisconsin, is emerging as the main challenger to Jeb Bush in the race to become the Republicans' 2016 presidential candidate. "It's obvious that Jeb Bush is the early Republican frontrunner. It's equally obvious that he is a weak frontrunner," said Larry Sabato, director of University of Virginia Centre for Politics.