A Sampling of Clips for October 1^st, 2009

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

Fat Lady Hasn’t Sung Yet In Housing-Market Opera
Wall Street Journal, Sept. 30 – The fact that Case-Shiller home price index recorded another month of increasing prices is good news for the housing market and shouldn’t be discounted, UCSD economics professor James Hamilton says. But don’t be fooled in thinking the worst is over for housing. Declining existing home sales last month, rising foreclosures, shadow inventory and rising unemployment all could push home prices down even further, he cautions. “In other words, I don’t see the fat lady singing just yet,” Hamilton says. More

Cockpit Chatter Cited in Six Crashes
USA Today, Sept. 30 – Airline pilots regularly violate federal law by chit-chatting or joking during critical phases of flight — the kind of distractions that may have played a role in two recent fatal crashes that killed a total of 62 people, according to government records. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has cited violations of the "sterile cockpit rule" in six crashes since 2004, a USA Today review found. In addition, the pilots of a commuter plane that crashed Feb. 12 near Buffalo were casually talking minutes before the accident that killed 50 people. (Mentions Edwin Hutchins, a professor in UCSD’s Department of Cognitive Science) More 

Is There a Little Pinocchio in All of Us?
ABC News, Sept. 30 -- Deep down inside we're all a bunch of liars, even to our children. At least that's the conclusion of a new study on how and why parents lie to their kids. We're not just talking Santa Claus here. Parents lie about all kinds of things, usually to make life easier for their children, or to get the kids to toe the line. In a new study out of UCSD, researchers found that parents who stress honesty to their kids are just as likely to lie to those same children as parents who were willing to tolerate the frequent "white lies" that children, as well as adults, used to ease their way through the social maelstroms of every-day life. But does it hurt? Yes, according to psychology professor Gail Heyman of UCSD, lead author of the study published in current edition of the Journal of Moral Education. More

Similar story in San Francisco Chronicle

Colleges in S.D. Called Vet-Friendly
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 1 – San Diego County colleges are “military friendly” at a time when an increasing number of veterans is taking advantage of a new bill that provides more education benefits for the military.
Fourteen of the 62 California “military friendly” institutes of higher learning on a list compiled by G.I. Jobs magazine are in San Diego County. Schools on the list made efforts to recruit and retain veterans, and offer benefits to student veterans such as on-campus programs, credit for service, military spouse programs and more, the magazine said. (Mentions UCSD) More

Researchers at UCSD to Lead Breast Cancer Study
XETV, Oct. 1 -- Researchers from UCSD will lead the way on what could become one of the nation's largest breast cancer studies. The goal is to identify what causes tumors in the breast and find new therapies to fight the disease. UCSD Moores Cancer Center will be working with four other UC campuses: UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Francisco and UC Davis. More

Similar story in Del Mar Times

Border-Death Numbers Remain Steady
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 30 -- As the nation's economy has plunged, the northbound flow of illegal border crossers has continued to ebb, with border-crossing apprehensions at a low not seen in almost a quarter-century. However, while fewer people are being apprehended by the Border Patrol, the number who have died while attempting to cross in recent years has remained steady, probably because the crossings are being made in ever more remote locations. (Quotes Wayne Cornelius, director emeritus of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD) More

The Union of Town and Gown
Entrepreneur Magazine, Oct. 1 -- San Diego has long been an innovation base for biotech and telecom. But the community realized a few years ago that it needed more business sense to bring all the ideas to market. The community wanted UCSD to act as a mechanism to create companies and jobs, says Dean Robert Sullivan, who helped launch UCSD’s Rady School of Management to that end six years ago. More

Moon Myths and More
San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 1 -- Just as fruitcake is familiar at Christmas, mooncakes are essential to the Chinese Moon Festival, an autumn celebration of family and folklore. The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum pays tribute to the annual event on Saturday, when children are invited to help prepare the pastries in the museum's kitchen. While they are baking, visitors will be invited to participate in Chinese arts and crafts, watch a calligraphy demonstration and hear the ancient moon myths. (Mentions UCSD) More

After Life, Lady Snowblood, Audition
San Diego Reader, Sept. 30 -- Even though Halloween has little connection to Japan, the ghosts and witches that I associate with Halloween are also a rich part of its lore. Two recent DVDs explore this. Hirokazu Koreeda’s After Life is a wonderful meditation on a liminal realm between death and resting. According to Japanese Buddhist custom, during the first 49 days after death the soul’s unsettled and wanders. After Life is an update, a solemn and comedic look at what people “do” immediately after death. (Written by Stefan Tanaka, UCSD professor of history) More

Levine Drops out of Fall Concerts
New Jersey Star Ledger, Sept. 29 -- Conductor James Levine will undergo back surgery this week to repair a herniated disc and has had to cancel upcoming engagements, including tomorrow’s Carnegie Hall opening night performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the remaining fall performances of the Metropolitan Opera’s "Tosca." (Mentions Steven Schick, professor in
UCSD’s Department of Music) More

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