Recent local TV coverage

The University of Rhode Island has been featured in several recent local television news reports that deserve attention. In addition to the daily news reports about the success of the men's basketball team, stories have aired about the URI Theatre production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," advice about caring for holiday poinsettias, a new book about a global census of ocean life, and Prof. Robert Ballard's webcast about his archaeological oceanography research. All these news reports can be viewed here.

More URI experts in the news

URI experts continue to regularly be asked to comment about the news of the day, and this week was no exception. Women's Studies Professor Donna Hughes contributed insight to a Los Angeles Times story about child prostitution; Natural Resources Sciences Professor Y.Q. Wang was quoted in the Asheville Citizen-Times (North Carolina) about satellite imagery of the Appalachian Trail; Dan Doyle, director of the Institute for International Sport, offered an opinion to the Associated Press about sports role models in the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal; and GSO Marine Scientist Bob Kenney discussed seals in Narragansett Bay with the Jamestown Press.

URI's Robert Ballard profiled by 60 Minutes

The top-rated CBS news program "60 Minutes" profiled Professor Bob Ballard and URI's Inner Space Center, Sunday, Nov. 29. In the program, Ballard discussed the discovery of the Titanic and other modern and ancient shipwrecks, as well as how the University's newly opened Inner Space Center will revolutionize ocean exploration. View clips and much more from 60 Minutes, add your comments on the "60 Minutes site", read the release. In addition, on Dec. 3, Ballard headlined the first Webcast from the Inner Space Center that was transmitted to students at schools around the country via www.immersionlearning.org. Read the New London Day report on this first voyage.

Expertly speaking

URI faculty members were called upon as experts by several news outlets around the country for stories that appeared this weekend. The Seattle Times quoted from oceanographer Ted Smayda in a story about an algal bloom that killed birds in the Pacific Northwest; the Hartford Courant referenced psychologist Jim Prochaska and his studies of how to make positive behavior changes; and the Berkshire Eagle Tribune spoke with botanist Keith Killingbeck for its story about invasive species in holiday decorations.

New findings show feedback that helps couples stick together

According to the largest clinical trial with couples to date, couples who had systematic client feedback methods incorporated into their therapy sessions were 46.2 percent less likely to wind up divorced or separated. URI Human Development and Family Studies Professor Jacqueline Sparks conducted and co-authored this study that shows how therapists can greatly increase the chances that struggling couples will stay together. The Providence Business News interviewed Professor Sparks about her results (Nov. 20). The findings of the two-year study were published in the Aug. 3 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Sparks conducted the survey in Southern Norway with Barry Duncan of Heart and Soul of Change Project and Morten Anker of the Family Counseling Office in Vestfold, Norway. Their work has received significant attention from media worldwide, including in the Science Daily, Psychotherapy Networker, TRAK.in News, Innovations Report, and Zamp BioNews among others. Read more about this research.