May 2003
Program Notes
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First Week (May 3 through May 9)
Biological Timing and SARS
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Inside every one of us is a set of biological clocks that regulates
our bodily functions. A master clock inside the hypothalamus keeps
track of the body's various hormonal, digestive, and sleep cycles.
Molecular biologist Gene Block (UVA) says it may one day
be possible to control these clocks to help boost our energy levels
and reduce our need to sleep. Also featured: Travel to Asia has
been sharply curtailed by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or
SARS. The World Health Organization has declared a global emergency
to halt the spread the pneumonia-like ailment, which so far has
a high rate of fatalities. Infectious disease expert Fred Hayden
(UVA) offers insights into the SARS epidemic.
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Second Week (May 10 through May 16)
North Korea
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With the Bush Administration celebrating a victory in Iraq, what
will the U.S. strategy be to deal with North Korea, which claims
to have nuclear weapons? The president has said that different situations
will require different solutions. Non-proliferation expert Mitchell
Reiss (W&M) has negotiated with the North Koreans. Steve
Yetiv (ODU) is an authority on the Middle East. Also featured:
The United States fought a hot war on the Korean Peninsula for three
years, and has been in a cold war ever since. Historian Edward
Pratt (W&M) explains that the North Korean regime has a
long history of opposing outsiders.
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Third Week (May 17 through May 23)
Memories and Legacies of World War I
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Millions of men were killed on the fields of Europe in a great
struggle for international dominance. Mark Facknitz (JMU)
discusses the way in which France, Britain and the United States
remembered their fallen soldiers. Also featured: After Tsar Nicholas
II was overthrown, President Woodrow Wilson refused to recognize
the legitimacy of the Bolshevik rule over Russia. In his latest
book, Eugene Trani (VCU) traces the history of what he calls
The First Cold War.
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Fourth Week (May 24 through May 30)
Keeping Children Safe
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The Virginia Coalition for Child Abuse Prevention says a child
in this state is abused or neglected every 58 minutes. That could
mean the child is denied medical care or food, left in a hot car
on a summer's day, unsupervised after school, or possibly the victim
of sexual assault. There are no easy solutions to this social ill.
Despite low pay and high caseloads, a dedicated core of social workers
is committed to protecting children. Marvin Feit (NSU) and
Rowena Wilson (NSU) help to train new social workers and
say that more can be done to keep children safe.
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Fifth Week (May 31 through June 6)
Rocky Marriage
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There are many mysteries below the surface of the earth, and rocks
carry the evidence that helps geologists piece together the clues.
Lance Kearns (JMU) and Cindy Kearns (JMU) are a husband
and wife team who conduct the only field geology course in Virginia.
Also featured: The human urge to travel provides a steady revenue
for the tourism industry, a worldwide business that's been hit hard
by the global economic slowdown. David Weaver (GMU) says
though people are drawn to visit former battlefields, a healthy
tourism industry is one ingredient required for a peaceful world.
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