University of Texas Arlington

New weather alert system shows promise

WFAA Channel 8 reported on a new alert system that sends text messages to all cell phones in an area experiencing severe weather. Matthew Wright, a UT Arlington associate professor in Computer Science & Engineering Department, said he thought the system offered promise for cell phone users. He said he had no concerns about privacy issues because the system works more like a radio and doesn't collect information on the cell phone users. WFAA also had a website story on the alert system.

Online classes leading to education revolution

Online classes in higher education could shift that model toward a more consumer and user-friendly alternative to the traditional classroom experience, a Mitchell Schnurman column said in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Online education already has a major foothold in academia. At The University of Texas at Arlington, 9,300 full-time students took Internet-based programs last year; that's 27 percent of enrollment. Some 4,000 more had at least one online class, a UT Arlington official said.

African-American views on same set marriage evolving

For many African-Americans, views about same-sex marriage are evolving, the Chicago Tribune reported. Jason Shelton, a UT Arlington assistant professor of sociology, said that many African-Americans, most of whom have historical links to the Southern Christian culture, take a more literal interpretation of the Bible than many of their white counterparts. It doesn't matter whether they're in Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, Cleveland or Chicago. "We have relied on a very strict interpretation of the Bible to get us through our experiences of slavery and segregation," says Shelton, co-author of "Blacks and Whites in Christian America: How Racial Discrimination Shapes Religious Convictions," to be released in October. "Faith that God will make a way out of no way has been critical to our survival."