SBS Newsletter – September, 2009
In this issue
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events Faculty/Department Notes As a member of the “Committee to Investigate the Relationship between Threatening Communications and Actual Behavior” within the Intelligence Division of the U.S. Secret Service, Assistant Professor Stuart Shulman (political science) helped develop a two-day workshop in September on the relationship between threatening communication sent to Secret Service protectees and actual behavior. The workshop marked a first step toward examining communication factors and sparking a new research initiative within the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC). Read more...[pdf] Assistant Professor Maryann Barakso (political science) has been elected president of the American Political Science Association (APSA) Women & Politics Research Section. She will be the program chair of the section for APSA in 2010 before serving as the President in 2010-2011. Steve Fox (journalism) participated on a panel recently at the Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop, Online News Association, talking about "When the News Find You Through Social Media." The panel dissected issues of competition, accuracy and ethics to consider when using social networking sites in reporting. Watch a video of the event. The 12th Online Dispute Resolutio (ODR) Cyberweek online conference, sponsored by the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (legal studies), will be held October 26–30, 2009. This is an all-online set of discussions, simulations, demonstrations and other activities. Among the special activities planned for this year's Cyberweek is an exploration of ethics and ODR that will be coordinated with the Committee on Ethics of the American Bar Association Section on Dispute Resolution. Click here for more information about Cyberweek activities. Emeritus Professor Paul Hollander (sociology) was a panelist in a Sept. 21 conference at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., on freedom and prosperity in Eastern Europe two decades after the collapse of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He discussed the evolution of institutions and ideology in the post-communist era. Click here for more information and a podcast. RIchard Wolff (economics) has published Capitalism Hits the Fan, a book of short, 1000-word essays on the history and dimensions of the current economic crisis as well as government responses and political implications. The essays, published from 2005 through mid-2009 on the Monthly Review webzine, have been edited with new introductions for maximum clarity, brevity, and accessibility to many audiences. Described in a review as "A breathtakingly clear analysis that breaks down the root causes of today’s economic crisis," the book, Wolff suggests, might be useful for teaching purposes as well. To watch a video about the book and to order, click either on the website of the publisher, Interlink Books, or the author. As the Karl Deutsch Visiting Professor at the Wisseschaftszentrum Berlin from Oct. 9 through Dec. 24, Peter M. Haas (political science) will work on a book manuscript on the evolution of multilateral environmental governance. In addition, he will be a keynote speaker at the Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change and participate in the Berlin conference on Functional Differentiation in World Politics. For his new CD, “Altar of the Bottom Line,” and a forthcoming book by the same name, singer-songwriter Tom Juravich (labor studies) draws upon the struggles and dreams of workers detailed in more than 100 interviews conducted over the past five years. Read more... Alumni News The Salem News published a profile of Anissa Talantikite '09, who is a Fulbright Fellow in Morocco. Read more... Melinda Katz '87 (political science) is running for city controller in New York City. Read more... Ward McCarthy '73 (economics) is the new chief financial economist and managing director in fixed income at Jefferies & Co., one of 18 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve. Read more on Bloomberg.com. James Foudy '68 (government/history), publisher of the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, MA, will receive the Yankee Quill Award for his contribution to New England journalism. The presentation is Nov. 13 in Lawrence at the New England Society of Newspaper Editors conference. Please send us your news! Also, view upcoming alumni events, sponsored by the Alumni Assocation, on their Events Listing. Also, check out MaroonCentral, the Alumni Association's online community. This is a FREE social networking service that encourages communication and professional networking among alumni and students through class notes, profiles, a searchable directory, and more. SBS in the News New York Times, 9/28/09. Nancy Folbre (economics) writes about why health insurance reform is a woman’s issue. She argues that women generally need more health care than men because of the demands of pregnancy and family planning and because women often are the primary caregivers for children. Women also serve as health providers in families, she says. Time, 9/16/09. Folbre comments in a story about how some economists are questioning the value of the gross domestic product, or GDP, a statistic that measures wealth. An increasing GDP has long been viewed as a critical measure of national and international well-being. Folbre says growth isn’t a bad thing, but it also doesn’t have to mean the accumulation of “more stuff.” Folbre was a member of a 24-person panel called the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress that looked at the GDP. New York Times blog, 9/8/09. Folbre writes a column about lessons learned in the last year since the financial meltdown and one of its key events, the failure of Lehman Brothers. Folbre says one key thing economists have gotten wrong is the relationship between the economy and what we generically call “the market.” Politicalaffairs.net, 9/28/09. Richard Wolff (economics) says worker productivity increased by more than 6% in 2009, even as unemployment increased. He says the figures show that employers got a large increase in output from workers, but pay didn’t keep pace. National Post, 9/19/09. Wolff, who has found his ideas about dismantling capitalism in favor of a form of Marxism are much more accepted following the recent economic meltdown, is profiled. The Hill, 9/8/09. C.N. Le (sociology) comments in a story about why there are so few Asian-Americans serving in Congress. Business West, 08/31/09. Tom Juravich (labor studies) comments in a story about the Employee Free Choice Act, the pending bill that would centralize the process by which employees join unions. Juravich says unions are beneficial to American workers, who do not have rights granted through citizenship, as in Western Europe. 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. Or, send a check to the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Draper Hall, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 40 Campus Center Way, Amherst, MA 01003-9244. Questions? Contact James Mallet, 413.545.3945. 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, director of communications and marketing. If you wish to add your name to the mailing list, or if you wish to unsubscribe, please contact us. 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. |
