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Started by Robert Brady Jr.
Thu, 01 Sep 1994 17:12
Duke Symposium to Look at Family Issues
Author: Robert Brady Jr.
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 1994 17:12
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 1994 17:12
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Brought to you as a service of the Duke University News Service,
Box 90563, Durham, NC 27708-0563, Phone: (919) 684-2823, Fax: (919)
684-5760/681-7334.
This and other stories and information can be found on Duke
University's gopher server DIABLO. Point your gopher client to
DIABLO.DUKE.EDU.
===================================================================
For immediate release Contact: Judith Ruderman
Aug. 30, 1994 (919) 684-6259
smrjgr@sysa.adm.duke.edu
DUKE SYMPOSIUM TO LOOK AT FAMILY ISSUES
DURHAM, N.C. -- Issues about the American family will be the
focus of a three-day symposium starting Sept. 30 sponsored by the
Duke University Office of Continuing Education.
"Changing Definitions of the American Family: Implications for
Policy and Practice" will address the changing roles of families.
The schedule includes roundtable discussions and lectures that will
be moderated by public service officials and Duke faculty members,
as well as films and workshops designed to stimulate discussion and
debate.
The symposium is funded in part by the Mary Duke Biddle
Foundation.
Judith Ruderman, director of the Office of Continuing Education
and Summer Sessions, said the symposium is being held in
celebration of continuing education's 25th anniversary. She said
the office chose the topic of family because it is an important and
timely issue in today's society.
Ruderman said a lot of emphasis has been placed on the family
structure in the past few years for several reasons. Gender roles
and expectations have changed and social and economic conditions
have placed stresses on the family that public policies have not
been able to ameliorate. Ruderman also said a public acceptance of
"alternative" lifestyles has changed the notion of what family is.
"We're confused and perplexed, saddened and angered by the
changes that have occurred in the family," she said. "That's why
symposiums like this one are important. They allow various
segments of the community to come together to debate the issues and
to engage in give and take with educators who have studied and
analyzed the issues."
The weekend symposium will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30,
in the Gross Chemistry Auditorium, with a keynote address by
Stephanie Coontz of Evergreen State University, who will speak on
"Where Have All the Families Gone? Perspectives on the Historical
and Social Dimensions of Family Life in the United States."
Roundtable discussions on "Social and Educational Implications
of Changing Family Roles" and "Physical and Mental Health
Implications of Changing Family Roles" will be held in the Gross
Chemistry Auditorium Saturday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. respectively.
Four workshops will be conducted and a film shown in the Terry
Sanford Institute of Public Policy. "Making Your Family Strong"
and "Building Male-Female Partnerships" will be held from 2:15 to
3:45 p.m., and "Conflict Resolution at Home and in School" and
"Issues Facing Alternative Families" will be held from 4 to 5:30
p.m. "We are Family," a documentary about alternative families,
also will be shown and discussed from 2:15 to 3:45 p.m. as a third
option. Saturday's events will conclude with a film titled, "The
Vanishing Family: Crisis in Black America," to be held in Gross
Chemistry Auditorium at 7 p.m.
On Sunday from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. in Gross Chemistry Auditorium,
Kate Bartlett, professor and associate dean of the law school, will
discuss "Legal Implication of Changing Family Roles." Following
her talk, a roundtable discussion on "Public Policy Implications of
Changing Family Roles" will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in
Gross Chemistry Laboratory.
All events are free, except the Saturday luncheon from 12:30 to
2 p.m. in the R. David Thomas Center, and are open to the public.
-----
For more information or to register, call 684-6259.
###
Study to Examine Role of Exercise on Blood Pressure in Blacks
Author: Robert Brady Jr.
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 1994 17:15
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 1994 17:15
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Brought to you as a service of the Duke University News Service,
Box 90563, Durham, NC 27708-0563, Phone: (919) 684-2823, Fax: (919)
684-5760/681-7334.
This and other stories and information can be found on Duke
University's gopher server DIABLO. Point your gopher client to
DIABLO.DUKE.EDU.
===================================================================
For immediate release Contact: Rebecca Levine
Sept. 1, 1994 (919) 684-4148
levin005@mc.duke.edu
DUKE STUDY WILL EXAMINE ROLE OF
EXERCISE ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN BLACKS
DURHAM, N.C. -- Blacks have twice the prevalence of high blood
pressure as whites but a Duke University researcher says the
medical treatments for this condition have been tested largely on
whites, who may respond differently.
To rectify this dearth of research on blacks, James
Blumenthal, professor of behavioral medicine in the department of
psychiatry, has designed a research study to determine if exercise
-- believed to help lower blood pressure among whites -- will have
the same effect on older blacks. Blumenthal said the findings may
help doctors tailor their treatments toward the needs of this
population.
"There's reason to believe that blacks might respond
differently to exercise than whites," Blumenthal said.
"Hypertension may have a different etiology among African Americans
-- they may be more likely to retain sodium, to exhibit blood
vessel constriction under stress, and they may respond differently
to certain blood pressure medications than whites."
If exercise proves to be a viable treatment for hypertension,
then exercise could -- in some cases -- replace costly medications
that have unwanted side effects, he said.
The Duke study seeks 80 black volunteers, over the age of 50,
who are not taking blood pressure medication, whose blood pressure
exceeds 135/85, and who are healthy enough to participate in
medically supervised exercise, including bicycling and walking.
Over a four-month period, participants will build up to an hour of
exercise three times a week at the Duke Center For Living's fitness
building.
Researchers will monitor changes in adrenaline (a stress
hormone) and salt retention before and after the exercise regimen
to see if exercise affects sodium excretion and reduces adrenaline.
Scientists at Duke theorize that salt use by blacks may lead to
high blood pressure because of an inherited trait that causes
blacks to retain table salt they eat.
"We hope to find that blood pressure and stress levels will be
lower in subjects who exercise and to identify potential mechanisms
for that effect," said Blumenthal.
In the study, only half the subjects will progress through the
exercise regimen. The other half, the control group, will receive
routine medical care but will be asked to maintain their usual
dietary and exercise habits. At the end of four months,
researchers will compare the two groups' blood pressure.
All participants will receive free blood pressure screenings,
treadmill testing, electrocardiograms, one week of free meals prior
to or after the study, and a $100 stipend. The control group also
will receive a four-month membership to the fitness center after
the study ends. -----
For more information, call Larry Preston or Beth Gullette at
684-5820.
###
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