Category Archives: General

Dr. Livingstone’s Lost 1871 ‘Massacre’ Diary Recovered; Discovery Rewrites History

By Guest PostNovember 3, 2011Culture, General1874, account of a massacre, adrian wisnicki, africa, arab slavers, birkbeck, british academy, british government, central africa, congolese village, david livingstone, doug emery, east african slave trade, eastern democratic republic of congo, evening standard, expedition, henry m stanley, horace waller, imperialist in africa, indiana university of pennsylvania, ink from berry seeds, keith knox, livingstone 1871 field diary, london standard, mike toth, national hero, new york herald, nyangwe, original diary, roger l easton jr, slave trade, spectral imaging, the last journals of david livingstone, the unspeakable horror, ucla, united states, university of london, victorian explorer

In Africa 140 years ago, David Livingstone, the Victorian explorer, met Henry M. Stanley of the New York Herald and gave him a harrowing account of a massacre he witnessed, in which slave traders slaughtered 400 innocent people. Stanley’s press reports prompted the British government to close the East African slave trade, secured Livingstone’s place in history and launched Stanley’s own career as an imperialist in Africa.

Today, an international team of scholars and scientists led by Dr. Adrian Wisnicki of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, publishes the results of an 18-month project to recover Livingstone’s original account of the massacre. The story, found in a diary that was illegible until it was restored with advanced digital imaging, offers a unique insight into Livingstone’s mind during the greatest crisis of his last expedition, on which he would die in 1873. (more…)

Online Housing Discrimination Primarily Done by Roommate-Seekers, Based on Familial Status, MU Study Finds

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2011Culture, Generaladvertise apartment vacancies, awareness of familial status, craigslist, federal housing act, fha, find roommates, housing discrimination law, indiana law review, online housing ads, people seeking roommates, private parties, public attitudes, rigel oliveri, us cities, websites

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As more and more people use websites like Craigslist to find roommates and advertise apartment vacancies, the opportunities increase for housing discrimination law violations. Rigel Oliveri, an associate dean for faculty research and development and associate professor of law at the University of Missouri School of Law, found that discriminatory online housing ads are almost always posted by people seeking roommates, and are primarily based on familial status.

In a study published in the Indiana Law Review, Oliveri reviewed 10,000 housing advertisements from 10 major U.S. cities. Despite a huge number of housing ads placed daily on Craigslist in cities across the country, Oliveri found relatively few instances of illegal housing discrimination. Of the 10,000 ads she reviewed, she found that only five percent were potentially problematic or illegal. (more…)

Study of HIV Increase in Pakistan Could Benefit Other Research

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2011General, Healthafghanistan, aga khan university, behavioral data, blood samples, disease, dna sequences, dow university of health sciences, genetic evidence, hiv, hiv epidemic in pakistan, hiv positive groups, hiv strains, karachi, marco salemi, middle east, north africa, Pakistan, virus, willi mcfarland

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Rates of HIV have increased in Pakistan’s general population, as the virus has spread beyond at-risk groups to women and their children, according to an international team of researchers, including a University of Florida scientist.

The researchers raise concern that the transmission across subgroups into Pakistan’s general population may serve as indication that the virus may be spreading into populations within neighboring Afghanistan. The team’s epidemiological findings were published in July in the journal PLoS One. (more…)

Jailhouse Phone Calls Reveal Why Domestic Violence Victims Recant

By Guest PostAugust 21, 2011Culture, Generalamy bonomi, chris locke, criminal justice system, david martin, detention facility, domestic violence victims, felony assault, felony charge, felony domestic violence, group health research institute, heather katafiasz, jailhouse telephone conversations, king county prosecutors office, ohio state university, perpetrators, phone calls, rashmi gangamma, seattle, state supreme court, victims, Washington, washington state detention facility

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study uses – for the first time – recorded jailhouse telephone conversations between men charged with felony domestic violence and their victims to help reveal why some victims decide not to follow through on the charges.

Researchers listened to telephone conversations between 17 accused male abusers in a Washington state detention facility and their female victims, all of whom decided to withdraw their accusations of abuse. For each of the couples, the researchers analyzed up to about three hours of phone conversations. (more…)

Healthcare Reform Must Involve Psychologists, Medical Providers, Educate Patients, MU Researcher Finds

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2011General, Healthaccountable care organizations, aco, american psychological association, healthcare reform law, medical care, members of congress, nancy cheak zamora, oxford university press, patient protection and affordable care act, policymakers, psychologists, psychology and rehabilitation, united states, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. — While some members of Congress and others are trying to repeal the healthcare reform law that was passed in 2010, known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” medical providers have begun to implement requirements as the law slowly phases in over the next several years. For reform to be successful, one University of Missouri public health expert has determined that professional associations for psychologists and other medical providers need to be at the forefront of the planning stages, and that everyone, including providers and patients, will need to be educated on rights and responsibilities.

“We looked at psychology departments here in the United States and in other countries to determine what worked best when implementing the policies outlined in healthcare reform,” said Nancy Cheak-Zamora, assistant professor of health science in the MU School of Health Professions. “Many providers, especially psychologists, work independently, but the new healthcare law is encouraging providers to develop a medical team approach, one that can tackle many different aspects of a disease.” (more…)

Earliest Image of Egyptian Ruler Wearing “White Crown” of Royalty Brought to Light

By Guest PostJuly 8, 2011Culture, Generalakap, archaeologists, aswan, aswan kom ombo archaeological project, belgium, cutting edge digital methodology, dynasty 0 and narmer, egypt, egyptian crown, egyptian dynastic power, egyptian ruler, egyptian western desert, egyptologists, epigraphic survey in luxor, fifth dynasties, following of horus, gatto and antonio curci, Germany, hieroglyphic annotation, hieroglyphic text, human and divine power, image, italy, john coleman darnell, labib habachi, maria carmela gatto, nag el hamdulab, nag el hamdulab scenes, northern nubia, palermo stone, pharaonic cycles, predynastic jubilee, provinciale hogeschool of limburg, royal court, royal economic control, royal jubilee, royal pharaonic jubilee, the nile, university of bologna, west bank, white crown, yale university

The earliest known image of an Egyptian ruler wearing the “White Crown” associated with Egyptian dynastic power has been brought to light by an international team of archaeologists led by Egyptologists from Yale University.

Carved around 3200 BCE, this unique record of a royal celebration at the dawn of the Egyptian dynastic period was found at a site discovered almost a half-century ago by Egyptologist Labib Habachi at Nag el-Hamdulab, on the West Bank of the Nile to the north of Aswan. (more…)

Youth Cybercrime Linked to Friends’ Influence

By Guest PostJune 26, 2011Culture, Generaladam bossler, american journal of criminal justice, computer hacking, criminologist, cyber-trespassing, cybercrime, david may, digital piracy, eastern kentucky university, georgia southern university, juvenile cybercrime, michigan state university, online and offline, online bullying, online bullying and harassment, online pornography, peer influence, scientific survey, sexual messages, thomas holt, youth cybercrime

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Peer influence and low self-control appear to be the major factors fueling juvenile cybercrime such as computer hacking and online bullying, according to a new study led by a Michigan State University criminologist.

Thomas Holt, assistant professor of criminal justice, said the findings reinforce the need for parents to be more aware of their children’s friends and Internet activities.

“It’s important to know what your kids are doing when they’re online and who they are associating with both online and offline,” Holt said. (more…)

Red Light Cameras Critical to Public Safety, MU Traffic Researcher Finds

By Guest PostJune 20, 2011Generalautomated traffic monitoring systems, carlos sun, drivers, legal system, national highway traffic safety administration, panacea, potential for abuse, red light cameras, traffic fatalities, traffic problems, troy rule, university of missouri

*Evaluation of numerous automated traffic studies indicate safety benefits outweigh drawbacks*

COLUMBIA, Mo. — As automated traffic monitoring systems such as red light cameras keep a law enforcement “eye” on the streets across the country, many drivers accuse city governments of installing the monitors as a way to generate revenue. New research from the University of Missouri says the safety benefits of automated traffic monitoring systems far outweigh the potential for abuse. (more…)