A Sampling of Clips for
December 24, 2003 - January 05, 2004
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UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing
the University
Communications Office
50 People
To Watch in 2004
San Diego Magazine, January-Three
UCSD faculty are among the 50 People to Watch
named by San Diego Magazine. UCSD's chair of anthropology department,
Guillermo Algaze, associate professor of bioengineering,
Sangeeta Bhatia and president of the Institute
of the Americas, Jeffrey Davidow were all named
by the magazine as "worth keeping an eye on."
http://www.sandiegomag.com/issues/jan04/featurec0104.asp
Just Like,
Er, Words, Not, Um, Throwaways
New York Times, Jan. 3-If you were
hearing this instead of reading it, you might notice a pause
here and there tucked between the phrases, filled with a familiar,
soft hum or rumble -- an um or uh. These interruptions, it turns
out, plague machines more than people -- speech-recognition
systems in particular -- so researchers have increasingly been
turning their attention to uh and um (among other so-called
disfluencies). (Cites research by Nicholas Christenfeld,
a psychologist at the University of California, San
Diego.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/03/arts/03TANK.html
Winners
and Losers Since the Passage of NAFTA 10 Years Ago
National Public Radio, Jan. 1-Ten
years ago today, the North American Free Trade Agreement, or
NAFTA, went into effect. Leaders of the United States, Mexico
and Canada promised that more trade among the three countries
would bring prosperity to all of them. One region in need was
the area along the US-Mexico border. Immediately following NAFTA's
implementation, a rush of foreign investment flooded Mexican
border cities. The boom brought with it increased pollution,
traffic and a huge migration from Mexico's interior. From Tijuana,
Mexico, NPR's Carrie Kahn reports that the 10-year-old trade
agreement is getting mixed reviews. (Q & A with Jeffrey
Davidow, president of the Institute of the Americas
at UC San Diego.)
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No link available online.
Building
Better Bomb Resistance
Wired Magazine, Dec. 24-Researchers
at the University of California at San Diego
announced last week that they are working with government counterterrorism
agencies to build what they say is the world's first full-scale
bomb blast simulator. The $9 million program is being funded
by the U.S. Techinical Support Working Group, an interagency
organization managed by the State Department and the Department
of Defense.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,61737,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2
Pressure
to Excel as Funding Cut
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 30-California's
public schools, colleges and universities could have used a
good campus psychologist in 2003 to help them cope with their
budget burdens and other struggles. The K-12 schools endured
a wrenching year of cuts in services despite increased pressure
from Sacramento and Washington to improve results on standardized
tests. Students at community colleges, California State University
and University of California campuses unhappily faced higher
fees and, in some cases, larger class sizes. The UC system weathered
other changes as well, such as the replacement of President
Richard C. Atkinson, who retired Oct. 1 after an eight-year
tenure, by UC San Diego Chancellor Robert
C. Dynes, a physicist.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-education30dec30,1,7106733.story
Foreign
Policy as Moral Imperative
Los Angeles Times, Opinion, Jan. 4-Chalmers
Johnson's "The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy,
and the End of the Republic" explores the present extent
of what Johnson regards as U.S. militarism and empire. It is
a disquieting revelation of the effects of current affairs upon
American freedom and democracy. Johnson, president of the Japan
Policy Research Institute and professor emeritus at UC
San Diego, is a formidable writer whose many books
have garnered considerable acclaim.
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No link available online.
Commune
to Close, After Years of Strife and Striving
New York Times, Dec. 25-On 300 lush
wooded acres in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, in a
compound dotted with Craftsman-style homes and organic garden
plots, exists one of the last true communes left in this country.
But after surviving decades of internal turmoil and years of
battling with the county government here over plans to create
a self-sustaining village near this town 60 miles north of Seattle,
the community, called Love Israel has run out of money and is
closing down. (Quote by Bennett Berger, professor
emeritus of sociology at the University of California
at San Diego.)
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No link available online.
Engaged
to Marry, Eventually
USA Today, Dec. 31-The average American
engagement has stretched to a leisurely 16 months, up from 11
months in 1990, according to a recent survey by the Conde Nast
Bridal Infobank. The rise seems surprising, considering other
marriage trends, namely that newlyweds are older and ostensibly
more secure. (Quote by Ann Hawthorne, an event
coordinator at the University of California-San Diego.)
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2003-12-31-longer-engagements_x.htm
Dr. Seuss
Exhibit Opens At UCSD
NBCSandiego.com, Jan. 5-The first
of three exhibits dedicated to the work of the late children's
book author, Theodor Seuss Geisel, opens Monday at the University
of California, San Diego. Geisel, better known as Dr.
Seuss, is known around the world for is imaginative rhyming
books, which include "Green Eggs and Ham," "The
Cat In The Hat" and "How The Grinch Stole Christmas."
The exhibit opening at UCSD's Geisel Library
is called "The Dr. Seuss You Never Knew."
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/entertainment/2741212/detail.html
Caring
for the Community; Students Learning More than Medicine at Mid-City
Clinic
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 29-A
handful of San Diego college students are studying their craft
in the heart of City Heights, in a community where the choice
can be going to the doctor or putting food on the table. Twice
a week, a congregation hall in the Church of the Nazarene in
Mid-City is transformed into a free health care office, where
medical students from nearby universities, including UCSD,
treat patients. (Quote by Margaret McCahill
M.D., a clinical professor at the UCSD School
of Medicine.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20031229-9999_1m29train.html
Latino Youths Find Their
Own Tongue
Washington
Post, Dec. 25-Dominicans now number more than
half a million in New York City and soon will overtake Puerto
Ricans as this city's largest Latino group. But the glue that
often holds ethnic communities together -- language -- is changing
as fast as the community itself. A recent study by the Pew Hispanic
Center found that second-generation Latinos are substantially
bilingual and that English is the dominant language for the
third generation. That has in subtle ways changed how Dominicans,
and more broadly Latinos, frame their powerful sense of cultural
identity. (Quote by Ana Celia Zentella, an
anthropolitical linguist at the University of California
at San Diego.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28835-2003Dec24.html
Planning
for Growth
La Jolla Light, Jan 1-UCSD
is forging ahead with its 2004 Long Range Development Plan,
a new general land-use plan and capacity analysis guiding physical
development on campus through 2021.This is the university's
fifth comprehensive long-range plan.
http://www.lajollalight.com/2004/01/01/n040101planning.html
An Issue
of Food Safety
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 4-The
more Americans learn about the animal discovered in Washington
state with mad cow disease, the more some might wonder what
they're eating. Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE), belongs to a group of rare but infectious neurodegenerative
diseases that are incurable and fatal. The human version of
the disease, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD,
is believed to be primarily contracted by eating BSE-infected
beef. (Quote by Edward Gorham, an epidemiologist
and assistant adjunct professor in the department of family
and preventive medicine at the UCSD School
of Medicine.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20040104-9999_1n4feed.html
Hospitals
Face New Staffing Law Today
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 1-A
new law takes effect today establishing nurse-to-patient ratios
in all California hospitals that, depending on the argument,
eventually could relieve or exacerbate an ongoing nursing shortage.
Proponents of the law argue that by setting ratios that ease
work conditions for nurses, more nurses will want to work in
hospitals. Critics argue that the existing shortage will make
it tough for hospitals to comply with the new rules. (Quote
by Geri Jenkins, a registered nurse in the
intensive care unit at UCSD Medical Center.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20040101-9999_1b1nurses.html
Prosecutors:
Peterson Fueled Publicity
Modesto Bee, Jan. 3-Prosecutors Friday
blamed Scott Peterson and his attorney for fueling publicity
in the double-murder case, and said there was no evidence to
show that moving Peterson's trial would make it fairer. The
defense is seeking to relocate Peterson's trial, arguing "pervasive
and negative" media reports have created a "lynch
mob atmosphere" in Stanislaus County. A hearing on the
issue is scheduled for Thursday. (Quote by Ebbe Ebbesen,
a psychology professor at the University of California
at San Diego.)
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7962621p-8836040c.html
NAFTA gets
Mixed Reviews after 10 Years
San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 2- After
10 years of NAFTA, California is enjoying a boom in exports
to Mexico even as it continues to struggle with problems along
the border that include illegal immigration, pollution and poverty.
(Quote by James Gerber, an economist at University
of California, San Diego.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20040102-9999_1n2nafta.html
Same article
appeared in:
Copley News Service, Dec. 31
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No link available online.
Digital Dieting; Blogs Track Weight-Loss
Successes and (Frequent) Failures
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 29-In
this season of resolutions, a growing number of Americans will
look to technology for an edge in one of the vexing problems
of modern life: getting in shape. The Internet offers Web page
confessionals and online nutritionists. Offline, companies market
electronic body-fat monitors, heart-rate monitors and devices
to measure the number of calories burned in a day. There are
also software programs that help dieters plan meals and track
calorie consumption. (Quote by University of California,
San Diego nutrition researcher Cheryl Rock.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/computing/personaltech/20031229-9999_mz1b29digita.html
Same article
appeared in:
Copley News Service, Jan. 5
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No link available online.
Kicking it up a Notch; County's Economy
Glided over Hard Times, Looks Set for Moderate Upturn
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 28-While
"robust" isn't a term forecasters are using to describe
San Diego County's economy in 2004, it should build on the modest
gains of 2003. The national economy has begun to percolate,
economists say, and cornerstone industries in San Diego such
as defense, biotech and tourism are set to move in the right
direction next year. (Quote by University of California,
San Diego economist Ross Starr.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20031228-9999_mz1b28kickin.html
Political
Jigsaw Creates some Interesting Pieces
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 27-Back
in the early '60s, the city of San Diego raided deep into the
heart of inland North County, annexing two prizes: The freshly
developing Rancho Bernardo and the groundwater-rich San Pasqual
Valley area. Representing these northern jigsaws are two bright,
capable councilmen seeking re-election next year. Their prospects
are worlds apart, a reflection of the men, their politics and
the districts they represent. (Quote by Steve Erie,
a political science professor at UCSD.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/jenkins/20031227-9999_1mi27jenkins.html
New Play
to Focus on Serial Killer Cunanan; Three Receive Grant from
NEA for Project
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 24-San
Diego-bred serial killer Andrew Cunanan, whose killing spree
ended with the death of fashion designer Gianni Versace, will
be the subject of a musical theater piece to be developed next
year for an eventual premiere at UCSD's La
Jolla Playhouse. Former Playhouse director Michael Greif, writer
Jessica Hagedorn, and composer Mark Bennett will work on the
project next year under the terms of a $35,000 National Endowment
for the Arts grant.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20031225-9999_7m25cunanan.html
Return
of the Misfit; Production Company is Back with Quirky One-Acts
San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec. 28-From
Shakespearean dramas to one-act plays that unravel the mystery
of how Nancy Drew got pregnant, Fred Tracey has donned about
every theatrical hat there is -- actor, producer, costume designer
and marketing director. After packing the house with a production
at Escondido's Patio Playhouse of "Man of La Mancha,"
which he directed, Tracey returned to his love of quirky comedies,
revivifying Misfit Productions. (Quote by Debbie Wenck,
a personnel analyst at the University of California,
San Diego.)
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No link available online.
