ARTICLE DATEARTICLE AUTHOR AUTHOR EMAIL February 01, 2021
Just over one month into 2021, political polarization and tensions in America have reached a new high. In this environment, is it possible to have constructive conversations with family, friends and neighbors on the “other side”? What is the point of even trying to have these conversations?
Rachel Wahl, an associate professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development, studies dialogue between people with opposing beliefs, seeking to shed light on both its benefits and its limitations.
Importantly, dialogue is not debate – it’s not about constructing the best argument to change someone’s mind. True deliberative dialogue, Wahl says, is a reasoned discussion about a political issue where both participants are genuinely seeking to better understand each other’s perspective.
Chris Richards/University of Arizona
COVID-19 case numbers have begun falling nationwide, and the same can be said at the University of Arizona, where last week s test positivity rate was 1.18% – down from 2% the previous week.
However, the state of Arizona still has the highest infection rate in the nation, and improving numbers are not a sign that people should let up on public health precautions such as mask wearing and physical distancing, UArizona President
Robert C. Robbins said Monday during his weekly virtual briefing on the university s COVID-19 status.
The national seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 infections, as reported by The Washington Post, is 46 per 100,000 people. In Arizona, it s 74 per 100,000 people – down from 100 the previous week. In Pima County, it s 66 in 100,000, and the county s Rt number – which refers to the number of people typically infected by a single person with the virus – is 0.73.
Alonda Thomas Howard University
Alonda Thomas serves as director of public relations at Howard University. Recently named among the 2020 Top Women in PR by PRNEWS, Thomas is responsible for the development and management of the communications and media relations strategies designed to enhance the university’s reputation and visibility locally, nationally and internationally. Under her leadership, the Office of University Communications was honored by the Public Relations Society of America and PR Week for outstanding crisis communications work and social engagement. Previously, she was named one of the “Top 25 African American PR Millennials to Watch” in the
Huffington Post and 2019 Communicator of the Year by the Mid-Atlantic Black Public Relations Society,
UA nursing students administered the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to 600 faculty and staff members Saturday as part of Phase 1-B of Arkansas’ distribution plan.
Tree Rings and the Laki Volcano Eruption: A Closer Look at Climate When Iceland s Laki volcano erupted in 1783, its effects rippled around the world. UArizona researchers have analyzed Alaskan tree rings to understand how climate responded in northwestern North America. The work will aid in fine-tuning future climate models. By Mikayla Mace Kelley, University Communications Jan. 27, 2021 UArizona researchers dyed a very thin slice of wood to make ring growth measurements at time scales smaller than the typical year, or season. This allowed them to pinpoint when exactly the trees in Alaska responded to the Laki eruption in Iceland. Julie Edwards