A Sampling of Clips for
August 27th, 2007
* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office
What's at the Heart of Happiness?
The Wall Street Journal, Opinion, Aug. 26 -- I am fascinated by academic studies of human happiness, because they bring scientific rigor to issues we all grapple with. We think more money will make us happier and yet studies suggest Americans are no more satisfied than they were three decades ago, when the standard of living was much lower. (Quotes David Schkade, a management professor at UCSD) More
Ice, Cold, Ecological Risks May Hamper Arctic Oil Rush
National Geographic, Aug. 24 -- The prospect of vast oil and gas reserves beneath the Arctic Ocean has prompted countries to begin evaluating exploration options to assess what's really at stake. By one estimate, 400 billion barrels of oil might lie beneath the Arctic seabed. (Quotes Jim Swift, a researcher at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More
Illegal Immigrants Choice: Work Underground or Leave
San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 27 -- Immigration experts say that American jobs are the biggest magnet for illegal immigrants and that the new policy of enforcing a 20-year-old law barring employers from hiring undocumented workers is an important step in reducing illegal border crossings. "It's the only thing that could have a deterrent effect," said Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD. More
How to Encourage Faculty Fund Raisers
Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 24 -- At UCSD, the completion of its first $1-billion fund-raising campaign called for creative thinking — enlisting the help of faculty members, for example. More
Universities Spend to Make Campus Safer
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 25 -- When students return to UCSD next month, they can sign up to receive emergency notifications through a $25,000-a-year system that can send voice-mail, text-message and e-mail alerts to faculty, staff, students and parents. More
Schwarzenegger Signs Budget after He Vetoes $703 Million
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 25 -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an overdue and unusually tight $145.5 billion state budget yesterday after keeping a promise to veto $703 million to make the spending plan balance. (Mentions UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More
Keys to Bridging the Achievement Gap
San Diego Union-Tribune, Letters to the Editor, Aug. 25 -- As a board member of the Preuss Charter School and provost of Thurgood Marshall College at the University of California San Diego, I have to take hard issue with your flawed editorial titled “Explaining the gap/Parents are the difference in test scores” (Aug. 19). (Written by Allan Havis, provost of Marshall College at UCSD) More
Hospitals Won't Be Repaid for Mistakes
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 26 -- San Diego-area hospital officials and consumer advocates say they are cautiously welcoming a new federal policy they hope will mean closer scrutiny of patient care – and far fewer mistakes. (Quotes Dr. Joseph Scherger, a UCSD family practitioner who specializes in making patient care safer) More
Primary Jockeying Puts Uncertainty in Election Landscape
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 26 -- As more states move their contests into January or switch to an even earlier date in January, it becomes a real possibility that the 2008 primary voting will begin in 2007. (Quotes UCSD political scientist Sam Popkin) More
Infectious Bacteria, Viruses Live in Local Labs
North County Times, Aug. 25 -- A recent outbreak in southern England of foot-and-mouth disease, caused by a virus that quickly infects cattle, contains a reminder for San Diego County's biomedical researchers: Even the most highly trained scientists sometimes make mistakes. Steve Benedict, UCSD’s director of environmental health and safety, said that no UCSD labs now work with select agents, although they have in the past and anticipate doing so in the future. More