SBS Newsletter – May 2007
In this issue
 SBS Student is Commencement Speaker |
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 Education Opens Doors for Diversity Consultant |
 Man on the Move Motivated by New Challenges |
 Harper testifies before U.N. on Status of Hungarian Roma (Gypsies)
Faculty Notes The New England News Forum, directed by William Densmore (journalism), conducted its first Civic News Listening Series event in western New England on May 24 in Springfield. Read more... David Mednicoff (legal Studies and public policy) in early May concluded a week-long speaking and research tour of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. During the tour, which was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State, Mednicoff spoke on “International law, Arab politics and U.S. Foreign Policy,” at the Riyadh Institute of Diplomatic Studies, a think tank under the aegis of the Saudi Arabian ministry of foreign affairs. Read more... Jane E. Fountain (political science and public policy), director of the National Center for Digital Government and the Science, Technology and Society Initiative, gave an invited lecture May 4 at a European Union-sponsored conference in Oslo, Norway. Fountain spoke on “Challenges to Change in Government: Technology-based Cross-agency Innovations in the U.S.” at the conference on Research for Innovation in Healthcare and Administration, organized by the Research Council of Norway and the European eGovernment Research Network’s eGovernet project. Read more... Tom Juravich '84G (labor studies and director of the Labor Relations and Research Center) received the Mary Killeen Bennett Alumni of the Year Award, presented by the UMass Amherst Pioneer Valley Alumni Club. As a labor educator and activist, author and singer-songwriter, Juravich has substantially enhanced the public image of UMass Amherst. As director of the Labor Center he is resonsible for two nationally know master's degree programs whose graduates hold responsible positions in labor and community organizations throughout the country. For profile of Juravich, click here. Carol Heim (economics and public policy) participated in a Research and Policy Analysis Roundtable on "Land Use and Growth in the West," held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sponsored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy/Sonoran Institute Joint Venture, the roundtable brought together academics, practitioners, and public officials to identify critical issues in the U.S. West relating to land-use planning, urban form and development patterns, and land and water conservation, and to discuss potential research topics and policy questions upon which the Joint Venture might focus its efforts. David W. Samuels (anthropology) has been named a fellow of the National Humanities Center for 2007-08. He is one of 37 scholars from 27 colleges and universities chosen to be part of this year’s class of fellows. Located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, the center awards more than $1.4 million in fellowship grants that allow scholars to take leave from their normal academic duties and pursue research. Samuels' interest is in relationships between various forms of human symbolic expression, and in finding new ways of linking linguistic anthropology and semiotics to anthropological aesthetics. Read more about the National Humanities Center... Amy Schalet (sociology) presented "Changing our Paradigm for Understanding Adolescent Sexual Health" at a mini-forum on adolescent sexuality, sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of STD Prevention and STD/HIV Prevention Training Center of New England. During this past academic year Schalet also was keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Coalition of STD-Directors (affiliated with the CDC) in San Diego. She spoke at the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health (Columbia University School of Public Health) in New York and offered a seminar for researchers and affiliates (from other divisions) at the Division of STD-prevention of the CDC in Atlanta. For a profile of Schalet, click here. In May at the annual Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change conference in Amsterdam, Peter Haas (political science) presented a keynote address on “Governance Prospects Post Kyoto” and conducted a master-class for the Marie Curie European Summer School on Earth System Governance. Alumni News Welles Hatch '82 (economics) is vice president and CFO on Linear Air. Linear Air offers some regular routes and private air charter services to more than 500 destinations, with personalized service, flexibility and convenience for reasonable fares. The concept is simple. With Linear Air, travellers go point-to-point, starting at a small airport and flying direct to their destination. Read more about Linear Air. Carroll G. Lamb MA '74 (anthropology) is the executive director of The Institute of Black Invention & Technology, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the achievements and contributions of Black inventors, innovators and scientists. Lamb's career includes nearly 30 years in human resources management. He was also a professional photographer for several years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and history from Howard University. Read more... Gloucester lawyer Edward O’Reilly '75 (legal studies) plans to run against U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry in next year’s Democratic primary election. Read more... Martha Simpson '76 (communication) is head of Children's Services at the Stratford (Conn.) Library Association. She has just published her fifth book, Bringing Classes into the Public Library: A Handbook for Librarians (McFarland), coauthored with Lucretia I. Duwel. Read more... Bob Goldman '78 (economics), creator, owner and publisher of GoodHealthNewEngland.com in Portland, Maine, writes, "Hi there fellow UMies. I invite all of you to check out the redesigned www.GoodHealthNewEngland.com. It's a site I created myself and want to spread the word to EVERYONE. The website is a work in progress, just like you. New articles and new health care and wellness providers appear on the site regularly. Your feedback is most welcome." Michael A. Marzelli '06 (communication) has been named sports editor of the Pine Bluff Commercial. Read more... Do you have news you'd like to share? Send it to the SBS Newsletter. SBS in the News FortWayne.com, 5/29/07. Wherever you go, it’s safe to assume a camera or microphone lurks. Assume that its operator has no sense of discretion – even if it’s your friends and family. In this age of no privacy, technology has brought us to a legal limbo, and it will take some court activity to settle what privacy means in the age of YouTube. Alan Gaitenby (legal studies) says professors should expect some students will post videos about them on sites such as YouTube, and in many cases they won’t be flattering. Read more... The Advocate (Stamford, Conn.), 5/26/07. William Densmore (journalism), project director for the Media Giraffe Project, comments about the collapsed efforts of the Tribune Company to sell the Advocate and Greenwich Time, two newspapers in Connecticut. In a joint announcement, the Tribune Company and Gannett said the March agreement was terminated after Gannett declined to assume the contract between Tribune and the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. The union represents 34 Advocate newsroom employees. Read more... Television and New Media, 5/07. An article by Mari Castañeda (communication and public policy) entitled “The Complicated Transition to Broadcast Digital Television in the United States” examines three major policy issues surrounding the transition to broadcast digital television (B-DTV): digital transmission and programming, interoperability and compatibility, and copyright protection. The full article can be accessed from the abstract for a fee (free to Sage Journals Online members).
A Word from SBS Gifts from alumni and friends are vital to the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Your investment allows us to create remarkable opportunities for today’s—and tomorrow's—students. If you are already a donor, please accept our sincere thanks. If not, please consider a donation to SBS for your department, student financial aid, or a purpose that speaks to your personal experiences and priorities. To make a gift online, click here. Questions? Contact: We welcome feedback related to this newsletter, the college in general, specific concerns, or topics of interest. Please address all correspondence, including story ideas, to Sabine Cray, marketing and communication specialist. If you wish to add your name to the mailing list, or if you wish to unsubscribe, please write to the SBS Newsletter. If you have had a change of address, email or other personal information, you can update it online. The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences respects your privacy. Your contact information will not be shared with anyone unrelated to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. |
Washington Post, 5/29/07. In a story about marriage, Naomi Gerstel (sociology) is broadly referenced. It used to be that marriage (especially the arranged variety) was an institution that sought to extend community ties, broaden one's network of allies, friends and benefactors. Contrary to the wisdom of Republicans and Democrats and virtually every authority in the country who view marriage as the linchpin of social and community ties, Gerstel has found that modern marriage actually tends to reduce community ties, noting that it is really about two people setting themselves apart from the larger community and from family members. 
Springfield Republican,
5/22/07. Economists fear that if the cost of fuel stays too high for too long, the entire economy could feel the impact, through increased inflation. "All prices will be affected," said Diane P. Flaherty (economics). 
New York Times, 5/17/07. Ralph Whitehead (journalism) comments in a story about what presidential candidates do and don’t include on their political resumes. For example, Mitt Romney promotes his experience as a governor, but often is coy about where he governed. In campaign ads running in early primary states, Romney says he was “the Republican governor who turned around a Democratic state” and “vetoed hundreds of spending appropriations.” But you would never know where. Says Whitehead, Romney is trying to say that he foiled a robbery in a brothel, the brothel being Massachusetts. But the question people will ask is, what was he doing in the brothel in the first place?
Seattle Times (from the Chicago Tribune), 5/7/07. One-fifth of infants and toddlers under age 2 have a television in their bedrooms, according to a new study that suggests saturation with media could affect brain development as more shows start to target America's youngest children. Daniel Anderson (psychology) says a historic change is under way in television viewing by small children. New polling finds that children now start watching television at age 9 months as opposed to age 3 in 1961. 
