The links to the stories summarized on this page are time sensitive, so stories might no longer be online at that URL. We also include links to the original source publication itself.
Friday, 21 September 2012
1. Election 2012: Campaign finance measure trails among likely California voters
Sacramento Bee
A survey by the Field Poll and Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) has found that many voters, of all parties, remain undecided about Prop. 32, the campaign-finance initiative on the November ballot, just weeks before the election. According to political science professor and IGS director Jack Citrin: "Prop. 32 is an effort to limit the political power of unions — they certainly see it as such. ... They are going to continue to pour in huge resources into defeating this because they have more at stake. The yes side, if they lose, it merely maintains the status quo." Other stories on the IGS poll appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News (AP), and Sacramento Bee Online. Full Story
2. Despite their cities’ similarities, Boston and San Francisco residents find happiness in different ways, study suggests
Boston Globe
A study co-authored by law and social science professor Victoria Plaut has confirmed that the cultural differences between the West Coast and East Coast are real, not just stereotyping. “I’ve lived in both Boston and the San Francisco Bay area, so I’ve been thinking about these differences for a while,” professor Plaut says. “What we found is that common stereotypes — such as Boston is old, established, and traditional, and that San Francisco is new, innovative, and free-spirited — actually reflect something much deeper.” Full Story
3. Economix Blog: Income Inequality and Educational Opportunity
New York Times Online (*requires registration)
Writing about the widening gap in educational attainments of children in rich and poor families, business professor Laura D'Andrea Tyson writes: "Providing all Americans with the opportunity to realize their potential, regardless of their origins, is a core value. It is also a wise down payment on the nation’s future prosperity. 'A mind is a terrible thing to waste' is more than a clever slogan." Full Story
4. How inequality hurts Romney's happiness
CNN Online
Writing about Mitt Romney's comments about the 47% of Americans "who are dependent upon government," Jason Marsh, an editor at Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, says that new psychological research suggests the rich themselves are victims of inequality and that "Romney's comments could make him the poster child for this research." Full Story
5. Dot Earth Blog: Single-Study Syndrome and the G.M.O. Food Fight
New York Times Online (*requires registration)
Writing about "single-study syndrome" in the controversy over a proposed requirement that genetically modified foods be labeled, the blogger quotes associate genetics and genomics professor Michael Eisen: "It’s a really messed up field. The vast majority of research on GMO safety — on both sides — is done by people out to prove something rather than investigate something. This affects every aspect of the work, from study design, to execution, interpretation and publicity. ... The result of all of this severely tainted work (and there’s plenty from the pro-GMO side too) is that the really good science in the field gets drowned out, and isn’t taken seriously because people just assume that it, too, must be biased." Full Story
6. PBS NewsHour Propagates Confusion On Climate Change
Media Matters
A commentary on a PBS NewsHour interview with Anthony Watts, a climate-change skeptic, claims that the interview was a false counterbalance to the mainstream scientific opinions otherwise presented by the program. Saying that although the segment focused on research by Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller that confirmed climate change, the blogger charges that the NewsHour reporter neglected to ask any challenging questions based on those findings. Full Story
7. Stability to a fault
San Francisco Business Times (*requires registration)
A review of the seismic retrofit and renovation of Memorial Stadium says that through the project, "Berkeley faced two mammoth tasks: Make the 89-year-old facility seismically stronger and don’t mess with any of its iconic elements. ... They succeeded in both, thanks to some creative thinking." Full Story
8. No charges for pepper-spraying UC cops
San Francisco Chronicle
A Yolo County district attorney has concluded that the UC Davis pepper-spraying incident at a protest there was not a criminal act, and so those policemen will not face charges. A civil lawsuit filed against UC in the case is still pending. The article concludes: "This incident and the forceful use of batons on students by UC Berkeley police in November prompted UC officials to examine their response to protests across the 10-campus system. UC spent nearly $1 million on two studies, outside attorneys and insurance, said Steve Montiel, a UC spokesman." Full Story
9. Letters to the editor
San Francisco Chronicle
Public health graduate student Sophie Egan responds to the article "Today's doctors want a real life" (Sept. 15), saying: "This is welcome news. We cannot continue to act as if doctors' well-being somehow matters less because they're in the business of ensuring our well-being. ... Instead, we need to advocate for policies that further reduce caps on doctor shifts and weekly hour totals. ... If doctors could enjoy a broader range of human experience, they'd be better equipped to relate to patients. Shorter shifts could also improve the quality of care. Fatigue while driving has been compared with drunken driving — I can only imagine how that translates to fatigue while, say, performing surgery." Full Story
10. Berkeley comes out to watch historic flyover
Berkeleyside
Berkeleyans swarmed outside to watch the space shuttle Endeavour fly over the campus Friday as it made its final voyage, this time to Los Angeles. Link to videos. Full Story
11. A Violin Once Owned by Goebbels Keeps Its Secrets
New York Times & International Herald Tribune (*requires registration)
Adjunct law professor Carla Shapreau, a violin maker and author of Violin Fraud: Deception, Forgery, Theft, and Lawsuits in England and America, relates the story of the "whispers" that have followed a violin that Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels gave to Japanese musician Nejiko Suwa during World War II. Full Story