UCI in the News
Orange County Register, May. 15, 2012 3:54 pm
O.C. women face more domestic violence
Orange County women are relatively healthy, but they don't fare so well in the areas of domestic violence, breast and cervical cancer, and teen pregnancy, according to findings presented Tuesday at UC Irvine. The snapshot of local women's health, in comparison with state and national data, was presented during the inaugural Women's Health Policy Summit. Organizers hope the information, which was complied from more than 200 sources, can help shape policy to better address the unique health challenges faced by women. "In Orange County I do think it's almost like a masking of these hot spots," said Ellen Olshansky, director of nursing science at UCI. "They're sometimes invisible because overall we are doing comparatively well."
Pacific Standard, May. 15, 2012 1:41 pm
Texas, Tom and Jerry, and a thirsty planet
Jay Famiglietti, director of the Center for Hydrologic Modeling at the University of California, Irvine, believes GRACE is helping to transform climate science. Using GRACE measurements, for example, he and his colleagues have shown that aquifers are being depleted in northwestern India and in California’s Central Valley as farmers pump more water in response changing rainfall patterns. “The GRACE data has really revolutionized our understanding of how water is stored across the continents. It’s given us a global picture of what I call real water use, as opposed to something that’s based on statistics,” Famiglietti says.
New Jersey On-line, May. 15, 2012 1:41 pm
Opinion: N.J. minimum wage pay hike would harm small businesses
Most small businesses already pay higher than the minimum wage ($7.25 per hour). Those that pay the minimum wage can’t afford to pay more. Raising the rate by 17 percent would fall hard on the most fragile businesses. They can’t raise their prices by 17 percent. They can’t wave a wand and increase sales by 17 percent. The cost of energy won’t drop by 17 percent. The cost of health care won’t go down by 17 percent. Their lease payments won’t fall by 17 percent. They will have very few ways to absorb higher payroll expenses mandated by the bill under consideration in the Statehouse. Our members have testified that they’ll have to eliminate jobs, reduce work hours for current employees or find ways to stay afloat without creating any new positions. Independent research bears them out. According to studies by the University of California, Irvine, for example, previous increases in the minimum wage have resulted in higher unemployment for people on the lowest rungs of the ladder. Higher wage mandates make entry-level jobs more attractive to candidates with more qualifications. In other words, people with the lowest skills are crowded out of the job market by older and better-qualified competitors.
Gizmodo, May. 15, 2012 1:30 am
We’re Heading Towards A Future Where Brain Scans Replace University Entrance Exams
Imagine if the extent your natural intelligence could be determined with a simple scan where you’d have to do nothing at all. What if it became the new standard for university admissions.
Arizona Foothills Magazine, May. 15, 2012 1:11 am
7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
Pin it « 0 There are all kinds of medications for treating high blood pressure, but artificial methods aren’t the only way to keep hypertension levels healthier.
Idaho Statesman, May. 15, 2012 1:00 am
'Crowd labor' helps spur social networking revolution
The job didn't pay much: four bucks an hour if you really hustled. But for Catherine Fraser, a recent community college grad from Mountain View looking to pick up a little extra spending cash, the work was a hoot.
On Point with Tom Ashbrook, May. 14, 2012 9:04 pm
A breast-feeding three-year-old – and mom �� on the cover of Time Magazine. We’ll talk with the guru of “attachment parenting.” Guests Kate Pickert, a staff writer for Time magazine.
The Daily Pilot, May. 14, 2012 8:07 pm
Aspiring UCI professor lights up school
Twice-weekly science lesson during lunch at Sonora Elementary lets students go beyond state curricula.
OC Metro, May. 14, 2012 3:29 pm
UC Irvine Extension creates wine connoisseurs through summer classes
University of California, Irvine is offering its popular “Wine Service Techniques for the Food and Beverage Professional” course online this summer through the school’s Extension program. After the course’s success during the winter session, UCI will offer the course during the summer term, as part of its Wine Management Specialized Studies Program. This course will be accessible to a range of students across the nation who is curious about the wine/food business and other retail trade business. The course will concentrate on still and sparkling wine and services, including sabering (a ceremonial method of opening a champagne bottle using a sword), decanting and aerating. Students will learn how to properly store wines at appropriate temperatures, pair food with the correct wine, and speak professional vocabulary. On the subject of tasting, they will be educated on how to describe different wines, blind taste theory, and create a suitable wine list structure and inventory control.
Zocalo Public Square, May. 14, 2012 1:41 pm
How we whippersnappers read now
At UC Irvine, students in the class “Narratives in a Digital Age,” taught by journalist and assistant professor in the literary journalism department Erika Hayasaki, are discussing the future of reading. A 2012 report found that “the increased use of mobile devices has provided a boost in readers for long-form journalism.” But is that true? The class discussion led to the below set of essays, called “How I Read.”
Scientific American, May. 14, 2012 1:41 pm
One more year of school found to improve longevity
In Sweden… from 1949 to 1962, all 1.2 million children in the Swedish state education system were set on one of two paths. In a slowly increasing proportion of the school districts across the country, it became compulsory for children to attend a comprehensive school for 9 years. The rest of Sweden provided a control group, in which children stuck to the existing system: mandatory schooling for 8 years, with the most academically gifted children remaining in school for up to 10 years.... It is still possible to do planned experiments on a smaller scale, says Greg Duncan, who studies childhood education at the University of California, Irvine, and has worked on the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a US longitudinal study of socioeconomics and health. "Where state-run services are oversubscribed, you can provide those on the waiting list with a different option," he says.
Scientific American, May. 14, 2012 1:41 pm
Gene linked to increased risk of PTSD
Many researchers think that memory must have an important role in PTSD because traumatic memories are one of its core features, says [Dominique] de Quervain, "but it's very hard to tell that a predisposition for building stronger memory is also a risk for developing the condition." For example, in 2007, de Quervain and his colleagues showed that a variant of the ?2B adrenoceptor is also linked to enhanced formation of emotional and traumatic memories in both healthy Europeans and survivors of the Rwandan civil war, but it was not associated with an increased risk of PTSD. "These findings are of considerable interest," says neurobiologist James McGaugh of the University of California, Irvine. "It's well established that emotional arousal enhances memory consolidation, and it's widely assumed that this may contribute to PTSD, but the finding is important as it provides genetic evidence consistent with that hypothesis."
Science Daily, May. 14, 2012 1:41 pm
Chicago police cameras more effective when clustered
Chicago's network of police cameras is more effective at reducing crime in high-crime areas than in low-crime areas, according to a new study. The report, co-authored by Rajiv Shah, University of Illinois at Chicago adjunct assistant professor of communication, suggests that blue-light cameras should be concentrated in high-crime areas rather than spread throughout a city.... Shah and co-author Jeremy Braithwaite, a doctoral student at the University of California-Irvine, analyzed two previous studies -- one by students at Northwestern University and the other by the Chicago Police Department -- that investigated the effectiveness of Chicago's surveillance network. Their analysis indicates that the initial crime level of an area where a camera was placed had a significant effect on the camera's overall impact. Cameras in high-crime areas were associated with large reductions in crimes, while medium- to low-crime areas experienced minimal change.
Politics News Headlines - Yahoo! News, May. 14, 2012 10:33 am
How Justice Souter Almost Left the Supreme Court in a Blaze of Glory
Before retiring from the Supreme Court in 2009, liberal Justice David Souter penned a dissent so critical of the court's conservative justices, Chief Justice John Roberts went to great lengths to prevent it from being published.
Huffington Post, May. 14, 2012 7:56 am
Unplug and take a break: 8 ways to use tech to kick yourself offline
We're all addicted to tech. After long work days with eyes glued to glowing computer screens, dazed workers across the country depart office buildings with smart phones or iPods in hand. They return home and trade in one device for another, turning on the TV and Xbox 360, booting up a computer, or switching on their iPads. According to a survey of more than 1,200 American adults, over thirty percent of us spend more than seven hours a day on electronic screens. But there comes a time when we need to take a break from tech and unplug -- yes, even the techiest among us. A recent study by the University of California, Irvine, found that those who do not regularly check email during the work day are less stressed and more productive. Professor Gloria Mark, who co-authored the study, suggested certain strategies, such as batching emails (sending them directly to folders) and email vacations, to help email users take a break and focus on their work.
ABA Journal, May. 14, 2012 7:56 am
‘Show Trials’ author advocates for systemic changes to immigration courts
Welcome to the ABA Journal’s new podcast, The Modern Law Library. On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, we will discuss a law-related book with its author and listen to a short excerpt. In today’s podcast, ABA Journal Web producer Lee Rawles speaks with Peter Afrasiabi about his recently released book "Show Trials: How Property Gets More Legal Protection than People in Our Failed Immigration System.... " Peter Afrasiabi is a lecturer of law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law and a founding partner of One LLP, an intellectual property firm in Southern California. He founded the Ninth Circuit Appellate Litigation Clinic at Chapman University School of Law to take on the cases of noncitizens in their federal immigration appeals.
CBS 21, May. 14, 2012 5:56 am
An 'Email Vacation' could save your health
From USNews.com: By Maureen Salamon HealthDay Reporter Email vacations while on the job could benefit people's health, reducing stress levels and contributing to better focus, a new study suggests.
OC Weekly, May. 13, 2012 7:56 am
UC Irvine MFA writers: Your clip-and-save review
The end of the academic year approaches, which finds Mr. Bib looking forward to the arrival of annual literary journals sponsored by local colleges and universities. Alas, The Ear, Irvine Valley College's magazine is long gone as, it appears, is Orange Coast Review, out of OCC. Still, UC Riverside publishes the terrific Crate, and University of Redlands does The Redlands Review. I am probably forgetting somebody. Sorry. One of the best institutionally-sponsored regional journals of writing, photography and graphic art is UC Irvine's own Faultline, edited this year by Jon Keeperman. Mr. K. tells me the spring issue will be out and for sale at a reading celebration on Thursday, May 31 at UCI's bookstore, managed by the heroic Matt Astrella.
Earth Techling, May. 13, 2012 7:56 am
Survival of the fittest for green gym pedalers
Talk about survival of the fittest. Students from the UC Irvine have embraced both fitness and the environment with a little healthy competition. During the three-month beta testing period of a new project from Fit for Green, eight student teams at the UCI Rec Center have generated 100 kilowatt-hours of clean, green energy with nothing but the sweat off their backs.... Blending the concepts of sustainability, fitness and social media, Fit for Green is the brainchild of Executive MBA and Ph.D. graduates from UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, including founder and CEO John Spirko. “Our goal is to make working out on ordinary gym equipment more interactive and rewarding by returning energy to the grid and competing with peers through modern social networking,” he said in a statement. “This new return on investment model will be a catalyst for renewable energy machines in all gymnasiums replacing calories burned with watt-hours created as a measure of fitness accomplishment.” Spirko said the project is not just about burning calories and generating watts, though — it’s about raising public awareness regarding the need for conservation.
In These Times, May. 11, 2012 3:29 pm
Is the revolution really going global?
What might such coordinated actions this month accomplish, then, beyond forging symbolic links between movements? Certainly, protesters in different corners of the world have expressed solidarity for each others’ movements—a now well-known sign coming out of Tahrir Square last February read, “Egypt Supports Wisconsin”—and in some cases actually sent emissaries to help share skills and experiences. But is it too hasty to call this a “global movement?” This was the subject of a recent discussion between four leading social movement scholars on the Society Pages blog. Francessca Polletta, professor of sociology at University of California, Irvine, noted that while “activists communicate with each other; they learn from each other; they are emboldened by one another,” they don’t necessarily yet share common goals—and are still largely targeting national actors. Of course, there’s another reason to throw around a term like “global uprising:” It’s powerful rhetoric. As James Jasper of the City University of New York argued.
The Nation, May. 11, 2012 3:29 pm
Is black and Latino voter registration threatened or not?
On May 4 the Washington Post published what Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo called an “alarming—and darkly ironic” story stating voter registrations have dropped for African-Americans and Latino Americans. WaPo reporter Krissah Thompson wrote in her lead: The number of black and Hispanic registered voters has fallen sharply since 2008, posing a serious challenge to the Obama campaign in an election that could turn on the participation of minority voters.... The most glaring issue with the Post’s story was that the reporter Thompson used Census Bureau voting data that stopped at November 2010. University of California, Irvine professor Marty Wattenberg challenged the Census figures by comparing 2008 and 2012 elections figures in Florida and found that Latino-American registration increased by 9 percent. For Asian-Americans, the increase was 14 percent. Further, Wattenberg told Hasen (and confirmed with me by e-mail) that as recently as 2006, Republicans outnumbered Democrats among Hispanics, but by 2012 the reverse was true.
Science Codex, May. 11, 2012 3:29 pm
Latino illegal aliens unsurprisingly turn to activism
Latino youth in the U.S. illegally face futures clouded by fewer rights than their legal peers and the constant fear of deportation. Such status constraints usually aren't fully understood until young adulthood, said UC Irvine anthropologist Leo Chavez, and the awareness often serves as a catalyst for political and civic involvement. "Rites of passage common to American youth – getting a driver's license, traveling, working and applying to college – are either denied, unattainable or dangerous to pursue for undocumented immigrants," he said. "It's at this point that many realize society sees them as disposable, as easily cast away. Yet, rather than merely give up, they become involved in campaigns to change the law." In a study that appears in the June issue of Current Anthropology, Chavez and co-author Roberto Gonzales, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, use interviews and survey data to shed light on the experiences of undocumented Latinos in Orange County who came to the U.S. as children.
Huffington Post, May. 11, 2012 3:29 pm
The prison system now gets more state funding than universities, which means that the Corrections lobby is more effective than university leaders in working with the legislature. But perhaps that is actually OK with university leaders. And that is why students and faculty continue to protest on campuses, as they did last week on May Day, rather than at the state capital. As one student marcher at University of California, Irvine, said, "We're transforming what is the world's greatest education system, the world's best research institution paid for by the public and by the state and by the taxpayer money, and we are destroying everything that is making the UC system great." As a former member of the faculty at the University of California, Irvine, and at San Francisco State University, I know this student is right. I taught these students for over 20 years.... Some university leaders are open about their complicity. A recent article in The Financial Times of May 7, 2012, entitled "Universities Must Adapt To Financial Realities," written by the Dean of the Business School at UC Irvine, Andrew Policano, says it all. According to Policano, the UC's must become like business schools and the sooner people realize that the better.
Los Angeles Times, May. 11, 2012 1:41 pm
D.A. candidate Jackie Lacey looks to move up
In an office of 1,000 trial lawyers, many of whom can be temperamental and self-centered, Jackie Lacey looks and acts like the adult in the room. It’s her best asset as a candidate. Is it also her worst liability? Lacey, 55, is the chief deputy to Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, and her task in the campaign to succeed him is to demonstrate that she has an agenda, a style and a mind of her own.... Lacey grew up in the Crenshaw district and attended Dorsey High School, the daughter of African American transplants from Georgia and Texas.… After graduating from UC Irvine, she got a scholarship to USC law school and from there went to the Santa Monica city attorney’s office.
Time Magazine, May. 11, 2012 11:23 am
The main story is about Sears, a pediatrician known as “Dr. Bill” who has written more than 30 books on parenting and childcare issues. An academic (UC Irvine School of Medicine) and frequent TV guest, Sears and his physician-wife Martha are the avatars of “attachment parenting,” a child-rearing philosophy in which parents and child caregivers are encouraged to be more “emotionally available” and immediately responsive to the emotional and biological needs of their newborns and toddlers. Such attachment fosters greater socio-emotional development in children, according to Sears.
Science Blog, May. 11, 2012 11:23 am
First forecast calls for mild Amazon fire season in 2012
“There will be fires in the Amazon Basin, but our model predictions suggest that they won’t be as likely in 2012 as in some previous years,” said Jim Randerson of the University of California, Irvine, and principal investigator on the research project. Specifically, sea surface temperatures in the Central Pacific and North Atlantic are currently cooler than normal. Cool sea surface temperatures change patterns of atmospheric circulation and increase rainfall across the southern Amazon in the months leading up to the fire season. “We believe the precipitation pattern during the end of the wet season is very important because this is when soils are replenished with water,” said Yang Chen of UC Irvine.
Orange County Register, May. 11, 2012 11:23 am
Queen Noor's message hits home in Irvine
As Noor speaks, the students wear blue T-shirts emblazoned with “Leap of Faith.” Coincidentally, it's the name of the queen's best-selling book, “Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life.” But on this day, “Leap of Faith” is the mission of a non-denominational project. UC Irvine student Armaan Rowther, the university's Dalai Lama scholar, tells me that immediately after the queen's talk the students will disperse into the community feeding the homeless and handing out hygiene kits.
St. Louis Today , May. 11, 2012 11:23 am
Timing is bad for a minimum wage increase
If a minimum-wage initiative makes it on the November ballot, Missourians will have to choose between economics and emotion...“The research in the U.S. says it's really hard to find an effect on lifting families out of poverty, or raising income levels of poor families,” says Neumark, a professor of economics at the University of California, Irvine. “More than anything else, the minimum wage shuffles income around among poor families. Some gain, some lose.”
ABC Denver, May. 11, 2012 11:23 am
Multi-tasking goes under the microscope
Researchers have been gathering new evidence about how and why we multi-task, and learning that juggling things is neither a guarantee of success nor always doomed to fail... Finally, an experiment described by University of California at Irvine researchers during a computing conference in Austin in early May gives some hint about the health impacts of multi-tasking.
Aljazeera, May. 11, 2012 7:56 am
How ego and ideology are destroying the world's greatest public university
The University of California is home to many of the country's leading scholars in dozens of fields, and for decades it has been an important laboratory for social change in the United States. It has also been at the forefront of many struggles for political, social, civil and labor rights struggles, as both an incubator of new ideas and practices and as a laboratory in which various attempts to change the balance of power and responsibility between social groups, and between society and government, have played out.
OC Weekly, May. 10, 2012 3:29 pm
Jay Famiglietti, UCI hydrologist, hoses state's water future in doc "Last Call at the Oasis"
The water crisis documentary "Last Call at the Oasis" won an "Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking" award at the just-concluded Newport Beach Film Festival. Surely helping propel Academy Award winning filmmaker Jessica Yu's production, which opens in Irvine Friday, is UC Irvine hydrologist Jay Famiglietti, who appears on camera to cold you-know-what on California's water future. "I think California is in trouble," Famiglietti says in the film. "The combination of climate change, growth and groundwater depletion spells a train wreck."
Voice of OC, May. 10, 2012 11:23 am
2-1-1 Orange County recognizes "Neighbors Who Have Made a Difference"
2-1-1 Orange County tonight will honor five local residents for their outstanding contributions to improving the quality of life across Orange County tonight at the organization’s annual “Toast & Tribute fundraising event at the Newport Beach Vineyards and Winery. The five honorees, dubbed “Neighbors Who’ve Made a Difference,” include Vivian Clecak, CEO of the non-profit Human Options that addresses domestic violence issues; Max Gardner, CEO of Orange County’s United Way; County Supervisor John Moorlach for his work on homelessness; Oladele Ogunseitan, who is the founding chairman of the Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention at the University of California at Irvine; and Voice of OC Editor in Chief Norberto Santana Jr. for the newsroom’s work on covering issues involving the health and human sectors.
Huffington Post, May. 10, 2012 11:23 am
Super PACs, conservatives lead surge in independent spending on Congressional races
In a number of states and congressional districts, the driving force in independent spending is mini super PACs, those supporting just one candidate at the congressional or statewide level. The ability of these groups to raise unlimited money from big donors and corporations along with a frequent pattern of a candidate's former aide or associate running these super PACs has raised concerns from those at the other end of the spear as well as campaign finance observers and local media outlets. "If someone drops $15 million in a congressional election, it is earth-shattering," said Rick Hasen, a University of California, Irvine law professor.
Daily Pilot, May. 10, 2012 11:23 am
Virgen's View: Boy with brain tumor honored as part of UCI team
There wasn't a big match to be played on Tuesday, but a member of the UC Irvine men's volleyball team remained nervous for an important event dealing with the Anteaters. If you were at the celebration ceremony to honor the UCI team's national championship you wouldn't notice he was a bit anxious. But you could understand his excitement. There he was, Kevin Freeman, in his No. 1 gold jersey standing with his teammates at UCI. It was a big day for him. "I was happy to be with everybody," Kevin said a day later. Kevin, a 15-year-old from Irvine, became a UCI team member through a group called the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which sets up sports teams to adopt kids with brain tumors.
Orange County Register, May. 10, 2012 11:23 am
UCI to take on LMU in NCAA championships
The UC Irvine women's water polo team returns to the NCAA championships for the second consecutive year Friday, opening against Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals at 5:15 p.m. at Aztec Aquaplex at San Diego State.
Pasadena Weekly , May. 10, 2012 11:23 am
Motherhood is a many splendored thing for the authors of The Pasadena Writing Project... Lisa Hernandez is a native of Pasadena. “Migration and Other Stories,” her first published book, was the winner of the UC Irvine Chicano/Latino Literary Prize. She is currently working on a new novel.
Tech World, May. 10, 2012 11:04 am
Google simplifies use of Analytics API in new dashboard library
Google has developed a tool to automate the creation of custom-reporting dashboards for its Analytics website-usage tracking service. The new Google Analytics Easy Dashboard Library lets developers create these dashboards without the need for them to learn the ins and outs of the Analytics API (application programming interface) and manually write the code.... Google built the tool in conjunction with a team of University of California at Irvine students, and the company is now working with another group of students at the university to simplify the tool further.
Med Page Today, May. 10, 2012 11:03 am
Left main spasm prompts unneeded bypass
"Patients with suspected left main stenosis with minimal coronary disease should automatically be given intracoronary nitroglycerin to confirm whether or not they have a true stenosis," Morton J. Kern, MD, from University of California at Irvine and Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital in Long Beach, Calif., told MedPage Today. "Traditionally, we don't check for vasospasm because we worry about ostial damping as the true diagnostic problem," said Kern, who was not involved in the study. He noted that this is the first paper with a substantial number of patients that "tells us we need to do what we were taught to do, which is exclude catheter-induced spasm."
KPLU 88.5, May. 10, 2012 10:50 am
Herbicide use on commercial timber lands questioned
At the University of California Irvine, developmental biologist Bruce Blumberg says this can happen because developing babies and their mothers respond to certain substances in infinitesimal concentrations. BLUMBERG: So for example the estrogen receptors in a woman’s body is fully saturated at one part per billion of estradiol. The androgen receptor is comparable. So is the thyroid hormone receptor.
Discovery Health, May. 10, 2012 10:48 am
Mind-body exercise connection research
At Princeton University, research showed the number of new brain cells produced per day more than doubled (to 7,000) in adult monkeys who regularly participated in exercises that used motor and decision-making skills. The results indicate the possibility that the structure of the adult mammalian brain can be profoundly altered by a stimulating environment. An analysis by William Shankle, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California at Irvine, found that humans double the number of neurons after birth, especially during the first six years of life.
New Jersey On-line, May. 10, 2012 10:48 am
UMDNJ symposium heralds advances in treating spinal cord injuries
Stem cell implantation in a dozen spinal-cord patients is underway in Switzerland, according to Aileen Anderson, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of California-Irvine who has been involved in the work. She said the human clinical trial involving multipotent cells at the University of Zurich will be going through 2015 at least — but stem cells advances have been moving relatively quickly. "Cholesterol drugs took 30 years to get to market," Anderson said. "Stem cells as potential therapeutics have moved pretty quickly."
Daily Rx, May. 10, 2012 7:56 am
Inequality among women with cancer
Robert Bristow, MD, director of gynecologic oncology services at the University of California Irvine, presented the findings of a study involving 50,000 women at the 2012 Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s annual meeting. “Not all women are benefiting equally from improvements in ovarian cancer care,” Dr. Bristow said. “The reasons behind these disparities are not entirely clear, which is why we need additional research.” For the study, researchers wanted to learn about how race and socioeconomic status affected treatment for ovarian cancer. They also wanted to see if care complied with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines.
Wired, May. 09, 2012 3:54 pm
Water wars documentary "Last Call at the Oasis" keeps dystopia real
Destabilizing futurism set to a pulse-pounding score isn’t just for sci-fi and fantasy thrillers. It works just as well to sell documentaries like Last Call at the Oasis, which thirstily peers into our present and future water wars, as can be seen in the film’s trailer above. Unlike the comic-book vision of global annihilation in The Avengers, the blockbuster whose record-setting opening drowned news of Last Call at the Oasis‘ limited debut last week, director Jessica Yu’s documentary delivers a truer story of civilization on the verge of collapse. Also unlike The Avengers: “We’re screwed,” as [UC Irvine] hydrologist Jay Famiglietti explains in the PG-13 movie, which opens in more markets Friday.
Times Union, May. 09, 2012 10:48 am
More than wages for the working poor
Unlike a minimum wage increase, the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) provides income support only to workers who really need it — without leading to job loss, deterring hiring or raising the cost of labor across the board. By contrast, based on a comprehensive analysis of minimum wage studies, economists David Neumark of the University of California at Irvine and William Wascher of the Federal Reserve Board concluded that a higher minimum wage "neither helps low-income families or reduces poverty." They found that the EITC "subsidizes earnings for low-income working families and creates incentives for employment among families with no workers — pursuing much the same goals as suggested by the rhetoric, if not the reality of minimum wages."
Washington Post, May. 09, 2012 10:48 am
UC Irvine's Skaperdas on Greece debt woes, Euro
Stergios Skaperdas, an economics professor at the University of California Irvine, talks about how Greece's economy may be affected if it leaves the euro. Skaperdas speaks with Scarlet Fu on Bloomberg Television's.
Associated Press, May. 08, 2012 4:33 pm
Surgeon: Chest compression during confrontation with police led to death of CA homeless man
A trauma surgeon said Tuesday that continuous compression of a California homeless man's chest during a confrontation with police officers caused breathing problems that led to his death. The testimony by Dr. Michael Lekawa came during a hearing in response to intense questioning by attorneys for two Fullerton police officers charged with killing 37-year-old Kelly Thomas during an investigation of a reported car burglary at a transit hub last July. Lekawa noted that surveillance video and audio recordings of the incident showed that Thomas' voice changed from initial shouts of "I can't breathe" to long, drawn-out moans before he stopped talking altogether. Lekawa, chief of trauma surgery at University of California, Irvine Medical Center - where Thomas was taken after the confrontation - said he believes the incident caused Thomas' respiratory problems, which deprived his brain of oxygen. "The ongoing compression of his chest ultimately led him to have a respiratory arrest," Lekawa said during the hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence exists for the officers to stand trial.
Cutting Edge News, May. 08, 2012 4:33 pm
Cafe conquerors use high-tech gadgets to make public spaces their own ... for hours
Increasingly "plugged-in" customers are grabbing extra seats, counter space and table tops by using cell phones, laptops and cups of steaming hot coffee to shield others from seemingly public spaces, according to two marketing professors who've studied this brewing consumer clash. Just the act of purchasing a cup of coffee emblazoned with the café logo is enough to give customers territorial rights, which can lead to decreased space turnover and discouraged customers who can't find a place to sit, the researchers found. It's a café conundrum, according to marketing professors Merlyn Griffiths, of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and Mary Gilly, of the University of California, Irvine, who report on the latest territorial consumer behavior in the current issue of the Journal of Service Research. Nowhere is the premium on space to sit and sip greater than in cafes and coffee shops, where establishments like Starbucks, Peet's Coffee and Tea and Panera Bread have invited their customers to linger a while and enjoy the atmosphere along with their coffee beverages.
Orange County Register, May. 08, 2012 4:33 pm
UCI: New device eases painful ringing in ears
The ringing can be loud, constant and debilitating, depriving sufferers of sleep and concentration, even triggering depression. It's known to doctors as tinnitus, and a new, iPod-like device invented by UC Irvine scientists can temporarily blot it out. Called Serenade, the device is unlike older tinnitus treatments, which attempt to drown out the ringing with white noise. "Imagine a loud sound constantly in your ear," said UCI Professor Fan-Gang Zeng, who helped invent the device and is himself a sufferer of tinnitus. "Basically, you play a sound typically louder than your tinnitus, so you mask it. Imagine you've already got something pretty loud; you play something even louder. Which poison do you pick?"
Orange County Register, May. 08, 2012 4:33 pm
UCI celebrates NCAA volleyball title at home
UC Irvine fans cheered from a distance Saturday night at USC's Galen Center to celebrate the third NCAA national title for the men's volleyball team. Tuesday afternoon, some of those same fans met the Anteaters during a noon-time rally in front of the UCI Student Events Center.... The fans didn't seem to mind waiting in line for autographed pictures of the national champions, who brought home the first national title since 2009. In fact, the fans were a big part of UCI's title run, said UCI Coach John Speraw. "There's no doubt that part of what made this national championship sweet was doing it at USC, when there were more UC Irvine fans in the Galen Center, and I had a hunch that was going to happen," Speraw said.... UCI chancellor Michael Drake told the team and the fans that the Speraw's program is an "A-plus program."
Los Angeles Remezcla, May. 08, 2012 4:33 pm
Mark Ocegueda Q&A ~ Mexicans played baseball too
It’s along these lines that the Latino Baseball History Project was created. The project, originally a by the Baseball Reliquary and California State University Los Angeles as the exhibit “Mexican-American Baseball In Los Angeles: From The Barrios To The Big Leagues,” traces the history of Latino baseball during the days of segregation in the 20th century. More importantly, it highlights how these independent leagues helped create a number of civic leaders, educators and professionals who fought against segregation. I had the honor of speaking with Mark Oceguedo, co-author of the project’s latest book, Mexican-American Baseball In The Inland Empire. The book reveals the lost history of the Mexican-American baseball league that thrived in the southern California counties of San Bernardino and Riverside during the early/mid-20th century via photographs. Oceguedo was an undergraduate at California State University San Bernardino where the LBHP collection resides when he began his research into the local Chicano community of San Bernardino as a McNear Scholar. His research led to his involvement with the LBHP’s first pair of book releases, Mexican-American Baseball In Los Angeles as a research assistant and as a co-author on Mexican-American Baseball In The Inland Empire while a graduate student at UC Irvine.
Georgia Telegraph, May. 08, 2012 1:55 pm
Chen's activism focuses on China's one-child policy
Kenneth Pomeranz, a Chinese history professor at the University of California, Irvine, said the communist government in Beijing in recent years has allowed more public debate on issues - but only if they don't involve central policies it sets. "If Chen Guangcheng had gotten into a big dustup with local officials over corruption, his activism would have been acceptable," Pomeranz said. "But when he attacks something that comes out of the one-child policy, which Beijing really cares about, it's much harder for the central government to ignore him. When something is designated a key policy in China, it means public debate is supposed to stop. And the one-child policy has been a key policy."
UK Register, May. 08, 2012 1:46 pm
Boffins baking big-data single chip architecture
A team led by scientists from the University of California have returned to electrical engineering fundamentals with work that will produce a chip combining memory and logic. Only this will overcome what they call the “ultimate limits” of conventional silicon electronics the others are trying to circumvent.... The physics and astronomy – yes, astronomy – professor leading the project is Roland Kawakami, who told The Reg in an interview he reckons the magnetologic gate is just three years away from becoming reality.... His research spun out of work for DARPA, but about six months ago the project went live and landed a helpful $1.85m grant from the National Science Foundation and the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative whose members include IBM, Intel, AMD and Texas Instruments. The cash will fund 14 researchers and experts on five campuses. Kawakami is at UC Riverside and he will be joined by researchers at the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, San Diego as well as two universities in New York State whose expertise spans magnetoresistive memory, theoretical physics, circuit design, and constructing integrated circuits.
Bio-Medicine, May. 08, 2012 10:20 am
UC Irvine study finds racial, economic disparities in ovarian cancer care, survival
Orange, Calif., May 8, 2012 Poor women and African Americans with ovarian cancer are less likely to receive the highest standards of care, leading to worse outcomes than among white and affluent patients, according to a study of 50,000 women presented by UC Irvine's Dr.
Southern California Public Radio, May. 08, 2012 8:13 am
Courtroom riveted by videotape evidence of Kelly Thomas incident
In a Santa Ana courtroom Monday, Orange County prosecutors played video footage of police beating a homeless man with schizophrenia. The scene unfolded on the first day of a hearing to determine whether two Fullerton police officers should stand trial in connection with the death of that man, Kelly
Yahoo! News, May. 08, 2012 8:05 am
Intensifying Hurricanes Have a Need for Speed
Forecasts of the ups and downs of a hurricane's intensity are much less accurate than predictions of its most likely path, with potentially tragic results.
San Mateo Daily Journal, May. 08, 2012 5:00 am
ABC, Univision teaming for news network in English
NEW YORK — ABC News and Univision on Monday announced a joint venture to create an English-language news network aimed at Latinos that will offer online content this summer and be on television next year.
Silicon Valley Mercury News, May. 07, 2012 1:46 pm
Californians to vote once against on modifying term-limits law
For the third time since Californians embraced some of the strictest term limits in the nation 22 years ago, opponents are imploring voters to loosen them. This time, a carefully crafted initiative on the June ballot -- one of only two statewide measures -- has fans of the term-limits law worried. At first glance, the measure appears strict: It would reduce the overall amount of time a lawmaker can serve in Sacramento from 14 years to 12. And its greatest political selling point is it wouldn't benefit any current politicians, unlike two previous initiatives that voters rejected.... "Has term limits been a panacea? No," said Mark Petracca, a political-science professor at UC Irvine. But, he added, given the Legislature's record before term limits were enacted, "What evidence is there that the quality and responsiveness will improve if legislators can serve longer?"
Financial Times, May. 07, 2012 1:46 pm
Universities must adapt to financial realities
Cuts in government funding in Europe and the US have left public universities scrambling for solutions. While broad cost-cutting measures have been adopted, the most significant reaction has been to raise tuition fees. But protests from students, legislators and others about affordability and access limit the ability of universities to charge a tuition fee that is high enough to cover the loss of government funding.
Daily Pilot, May. 07, 2012 1:46 pm
Colleges: UCI shines on huge stage
In its fourth NCAA Final Four in the last seven seasons and its third final in the last six years, UC Irvine encountered something it had not before in Saturday's championship match at USC's Galen Center. The top deck, normally reserved for a few late arrivals at other venues, was nearly filled to capacity as the 9,612 in attendance marked the third-largest crown ever for an NCAA men's volleyball final. No. 2-ranked and No. 1-seeded UCI completed a 25-22, 34-32, 26-24 victory over the No. 1-ranked and No. 2-seeded Trojans that was anything but sweeping.
Lakes Mail, May. 07, 2012 12:08 pm
'Sex, power and melodrama': The meteoric rise and fall of John Edwards
What landed [John] Edwards in federal court is the government's contention that he took illegal campaign contributions in the form of the money used to pamper and conceal his mistress, freelance videographer Rielle Hunter, in 2007 and 2008 while she was pregnant with Edwards' child, and after the girl was born.... The government argues the donors helped hide Hunter because the affair would derail Edwards' candidacy for president, so the funds were political donations, subject to strict limits that they far exceeded. Richard L. Hasen, a professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, has written about the legal issues of the case on his Election Law Blog, electionlawblog.org
Arizona Daily Star, May. 07, 2012 12:08 pm
Prof headed to UC Irvine; led UA to Biosphere 2
Travis Huxman, who led the University of Arizona's efforts to acquire ownership of Biosphere 2 and transform it into a laboratory for scientific research, has been hired away by the University of California. His new post, running an environmental institute in Irvine, will have fewer administrative duties, giving him time to revive his studies of desert annual plants.... At UC Irvine, Huxman will be a professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology and director of the Center for Environmental Biology. "It's a smaller administrative burden with a lot of potential for exciting science, similar to the Institute for Environment here but focused on life sciences," he said.
New Security Beat, May. 07, 2012 12:08 pm
The future of South Asian security: Prospects for a nontraditional regional architecture?
Sri Lanka’s recent history is a testament to this. The country’s youth “played a very important role” in the three major insurgencies that plagued the country since the 1970s, said Amal Jayawardane, an international relations professor at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Today, although the government provides free education up to the university level, youth are hampered by a disproportionately high rate of unemployment – 19 percent compared to a national average of 4.2 percent, according to the latest government labor force report. Investment in workforce opportunities for youth, along with “institutional reforms like good governance, transparency, and … eradicat[ing] corruption” will have to be considered in order to minimize the potential for youth-driven instability in the future, Jayawardane said. “I think that one of the things that this project revealed is that we don’t have a simple definition of what constitutes South Asia per se,” said University of California, Irvine’s Richard Matthew. “It’s an interesting idea, but there’s disagreement over its actual boundaries. And it’s not clear that however we define the boundaries, they align perfectly with the threats. So the threats are messy and the boundaries of South Asia are messy.”
Down East, May. 07, 2012 12:08 pm
The Maine Democratic Party does bind delegates to candidates based on caucus results, but in a Balkanized system that apportions delegates by town before turnout is known. In the 2008 presidential election, that approach resulted in wide disparities in per capita voting power depending on where one lived. Bangor voters got one delegate for every 10 participants, Portland one for every 18.5, and Camden only one for every 27, while many small rural towns had a one-to-one ratio. Whether this altered the overall result in the contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is unknowable, as Democrats didn’t keep town-by-town tallies. These shortcomings and idiosyncrasies have many calling for Maine — and indeed other states — to revert to a primary system. “The choice of president is too important to be made in elections administered by amateurs and the tiny percentage of people who have the time to attend caucuses,” says Richard L. Hasen, an expert on elections at the University of California, Irvine, Law School. “Caucuses hark back to a time that’s passed.”
National Law Journal, May. 07, 2012 10:48 am
The Court and the Fourth Amendment
I long have believed that the best predictor of whether the U.S. Supreme Court finds a violation of the Fourth Amendment is whether the justices could imagine it happening to them. For example, the Supreme Court upheld drug-testing requirements in every case until it considered a Georgia law that required that high-level government officials be subjected to it. The two Fourth Amendment decisions this term, U.S. v. Jones and Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of Burlington County, powerfully illustrate that the justices only seem to care if it could happen to them.
Sacramento Bee, May. 06, 2012 12:08 pm
More college-bound Californians are heading out of state
Fed up with tuition increases and frustrated by rejection at packed California universities, more high school graduates than ever are ditching the state to attend college. Boise State saw its freshmen enrollment from California rise tenfold during the last decade. Arizona State doubled its enrollment of freshmen from California. The University of Oregon has quadrupled it, with freshman enrollment from California growing from 280 in 2000 to 1,100 in 2010.... California still retains a higher rate of high school graduates than many other states, including New York. It's fallen from near the top to the middle of the pack. But California needs all the college graduates it can get, said Thad Domina, assistant professor of education at UC Irvine. "The creation of human capital," he said, "is a major driver for economic growth."
Health Canal, May. 05, 2012 4:33 pm
UCI study finds racial, economic disparities in ovarian cancer care, survival
Poor women and African Americans with ovarian cancer are less likely to receive the highest standards of care, leading to worse outcomes than among white and affluent patients, according to a study of 50,000 women presented by UC Irvine’s Dr. Robert Bristow at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s annual meeting March 27. “Not all women are benefiting equally from improvements in ovarian cancer care,” said Bristow, UC Irvine’s director of gynecologic oncology services. “The reasons behind these disparities are not entirely clear, which is why we need additional research.”
KFI AM 640, May. 05, 2012 1:46 pm
Your inbox is totally stressing you out, says UC Irvine study. It's probably lurking somewhere on your computer screen right this moment, taunting, "Psssst, you haven't checked me in three whole minutes. Stop that very important thing you are working on and pay attention to me now!" Damn email. Can't function with it, definitely can't function without it. Too bad, because it's making you sick...
Orange County Register, May. 05, 2012 12:08 pm
UC Irvine School of Law celebrates first graduation
As with many other commencements, Saturday's graduates strolled into the theater among cranky babies and teary-eyed parents. Some graduates blew kisses to family members; others high-fived friends. This was not just another perennial commencement. This was the first class to graduate from UC Irvine's 3-year-old School of Law. During the afternoon's ceremony, students and professors alike extolled a sense of satisfaction and completion at what they said is already a rising star in the haughty field of United States law schools. "Many people," founding Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said, "worked hard for a long period of time to make this school a reality."
Los Angeles Times, May. 05, 2012 12:08 pm
UC report urges measured response to protests
University of California police and administrators should use mediation instead of confrontation when dealing with most student protests, but pepper spray might remain a necessary tool of last resort, according to a UC draft report on campus civil disobedience. The new study, released Friday, urged that campus police be trained to defuse potentially volatile situations and that UC officials not even mobilize police at peaceful demonstrations. In the rare instances when force is required, the report recommended the campus police try "hands-on pain compliance" such as arm twisting or pressure points "before pepper spray or batons whenever feasible...." Patrick Manh Le, a UC Irvine senior who is the undergraduate chair for the statewide UC Student Assn., said Friday's report was a good "first step," particularly in its recommendations about better communications with protesters. But he said he wished it had moved to ban pepper spray and examined the causes of the recent uptick in student demonstrations, fueled by steep rises in tuition. "The issue is really that UC leadership has failed to listen to students" about higher tuition and reduced services, he said.
Orange County Register, May. 05, 2012 12:08 pm
"I took Cuba Gooding Jr. to the Super Bowl in Arizona and made him pretend he was a wide receiver for a week." That's Leigh Steinberg, former sports agent and model for the film "Jerry Maguire," talking to a classroom of law students in his latest incarnation, teacher at UC Irvine's School of Law.... In the classroom Steinberg uses the words "pressure" and "demand" a lot, particularly when he's talking about the decades he spent negotiating often tense, multimillion-dollar contracts. The words come up, too, when he's talking about running a high-stakes sports management company.
Los Angeles Times, May. 05, 2012 12:08 pm
UCI defeats USC for NCAA men's volleyball championship
Carson Clark seriously contemplated leaving UC Irvine after the 2011 season to begin his professional volleyball career overseas. Irvine Coach John Speraw persuaded the fifth-year senior opposite hitter to stay, selling him on the addition of French import Kevin Tillie and a chance to win a second national title. It all worked out for Clark and the Anteaters. Irvine cut down the net and collected pieces of the floor as souvenirs on Saturday after defeating USC, 25-22, 34-32, 26-24 in the NCAA championship match before a packed Galen Center. "I'm happy I stayed," an exhausted but ecstatic Clark said. "I'm really happy I stayed." Clark, voted the most outstanding player in the Final Four, had 22 kills with a hitting percentage of .465. He fairly willed the Anteaters to victory, especially in the second set when they overcame a seven-point deficit to win and deflate the Trojans. "I thought it was pretty clear that UCI was the better team," USC outside hitter Tony Ciarelli said. "They really, really peaked at the end of the season."
UPI.com, May. 04, 2012 2:38 pm
Work e-mail found to stress employees
IRVINE, Calif., May 4 (UPI) -- Giving employees occasional "vacations" from work e-mail significantly reduces stress and allows employees to focus far better, a U.
Wall Street Journal, May. 04, 2012 1:46 pm
In America the left is redefining individual liberty
The failure of neoliberal policies, rather than any loss of faith in freedom, is at the heart of Chile's current situation. Throughout history, inequality and social injustice have been a prime human concern—a fact that seems to have been forgotten during the past three decades. Freedom should not be considered an adversary of the fundamental human need to reduce inequality and injustice, but must instead be seen as an ally in the age-old struggle to build a just society for all. Freedom is only a mirage in a society ruled by a small, wealthy and privileged elite, where working people and the middle class find it difficult to gain access to education, health care or satisfy their basic economic needs.
Los Angeles Times, May. 04, 2012 1:46 pm
Movie review: 'Last Call at the Oasis' smartly sounds alarm on water
Because America has had ample water until now, we tend to be spoiled, blasé and unaware when it comes to the international water situation. Make no mistake, the film says, water is about to become more valuable than oil — it's the element the wars of the 21st century will be fought over. We are using too much water, and fouling what we use.... "Last Call's" next stop is closer to home, the great state of California, where there is simply not enough water to do everything everybody wants. Whenever experts point out the extent of the problem, all that results is bickering. As UC Irvine scientist James Famiglietti succinctly puts it, "we think we have a right to as much water as we can get our hands on," which has led among other things to a frightening depletion of the state's vast aquifer.
Marketplace, May. 04, 2012 1:46 pm
Gloria Mark is part of a research team at University of California, Irvine that studied stress levels of workers in an office environment. " One group was allowed to use email, one group was not. We found that those people who had email cut off had stress reduced and they also multitasked less.... So we had people walking around having heart monitors strapped around their chest and then we could record second by second heart rate, and this is a very direct measure of stress.... Well, turns out people walked around the office more. So, if they needed to contact someone, they would get out and walk out of the office and walk over and meet with them. We also asked the colleagues in their surrounding workplace networks if they had difficulty getting information or contacting the person, and we found no significant difference between people's ability to reach someone or get information when they had email vs. when they didn't have email."
OC Metro Magazine, May. 04, 2012 12:45 pm
UC Irvine Extension to offer new online class this summer
The addition will be a required course in UCI’s Regulatory Affairs Management Specialized Studies Program
Regina Leader-Post, May. 04, 2012 12:08 pm
Science, memory and the law: Research chipping away at the credence we give to witness accounts
"Memory is not a picture-perfect recollection of all details previously experienced," says Craig Stark, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, who studies the mechanisms of memory. "After some period of time, the accuracy of the memories starts to drift."
Mail & Guardian, May. 04, 2012 12:08 pm
A scientific response to the big question—“What is life?”—may remain elusive for some time, but research in the quickly emerging area of “quantum biology” offers intriguing possibilities. As the name suggests, quantum biology is the application of quantum mechanics to the biological sciences.... The school even delved into “magnetic orientation” in animals. Thorsten Ritz from the University of California, Irvine, presented a lecture series based on the proposal that quantum mechanics can explain the mechanism whereby certain migratory species sense variations in the strength and inclination of the Earth’s weak magnetic field, thereby determining their geographic position.
Lab Manager Magazine, May. 04, 2012 9:41 am
Engineers design nanoparticles that deliver high doses of antibiotics directly to bacteria
Young Jik Kwon, associate professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of California at Irvine, says the new nanoparticles are well designed and could have great potential impact in treating infectious diseases, particularly in developing countries. “Most nanotechnology has been targeted to cancer drug delivery or imaging; not many people have shown interest in using a nanotechnology approach for infectious disease,” says Kwon, who was not part of the research team.
Elle, May. 04, 2012 9:41 am
Filmmaker Jessica Yu on the beauty of water
When asked by Elle, "So were you left hopeful or hopeless after making this film?" Jessica Yu replied, "I would say it is still somewhere in between. The reason I say this is because of the thing that [water expert and professor at University of California, Irvine] Jay Famiglietti says at the end, that it’s not a solvable problem but it’s a manageable one. Now, that sounds pretty depressing, but I like shifting goals to, ‘Can we just do better?’ I think that acknowledges human nature and the reality of the way we work in a more positive way. It could sound like it’s giving up, but I truly believe that the potential to do things is great. We see examples of people when they’ve rallied around a situation, like smoking or something like that, and there are ways that change happens. So with water the biggest thing, the first step, is acknowledging a problem."
Orange County Register, May. 04, 2012 9:41 am
Who won UCI’s business plan competition?
A multi-language communication tool for doctors and patients took top prize in the UCI 2012 Business Plan Competition. Finals were April 27. Here are the winners, some of which took multiple categories: Face2Face, communication tool between doctors and patients who speak different languages, 1st Place, Campus Wide Division, $15,000 and $3,600 in kind from Tech Portal Calit2.... BlueVortex, solar lighting, UCI Environment Institute Clean Tech Award, $7,500, 3rd Place, Campus Wide Division, $2,500.
CNN.com, May. 04, 2012 5:25 am
Was the U.S. naive about the Chen Guangcheng deal?
updated 8:08 AM EDT, Fri May 4, 2012 Editor's note: Yang Su is an associate professor of sociology at University of California, Irvine. (CNN) -- The Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's daring and extraordinary escape to the U.
Los Angeles Times, May. 03, 2012 4:55 pm
You knew this: Work emails are bad for your health, study finds
Are you addicted to checking your work email? Do you check it first thing in the morning and right before you go to bed? Do you check it on work breaks and even on vacations? Well, here's a piece of advice: Stop. According to a new study by researchers at UC Irvine, people who check their work email regularly exhibit higher states of stress, and less focus, than workers who continue to do their jobs while being cut off from email entirely.
New York Times, May. 03, 2012 4:55 pm
When there really is not a drop to drink
[UC Irvine professor] Jay Famiglietti, one of a handful of expert witnesses in Jessica Yu’s “Last Call at the Oasis,” is a thoughtful scientist with an engaging manner who specializes in water. In particular, he studies — and tries to raise public awareness about — the rapid depletion of water supplies caused by agricultural overuse, rampant development and global climate change. His analyses are thorough and clear, and he presents them, at public meetings and straight to Ms. Yu’s camera, with good-natured patience. For the most part, that is. At one point, contemplating a future of unchecked consumption and political paralysis, he sums it all up in blunt layman’s terms: “We’re screwed.”
Huffington Post, May. 03, 2012 12:08 pm
Toxic environmental exposures could cause reproductive harm across generations, study suggests
The environment in which your great-great-grandmother lived, breathed, ate and drank might be responsible for health problems endured by you, your children, even your children's children. This is the disconcerting conclusion of a preliminary study, which experts say could help shift our understanding of disease -- reproductive disorders, in particular -- as well as how we perceive the consequences of everyday choices such as drinking out of a plastic water bottle. "People can be cavalier with their own health," said Bruce Blumberg, a biologist at the University of California, Irvine, who was not involved in the study. "But it's not just ourselves that are at risk. We're condemning our descendants to have increased risks, too."
ABC 7, May. 03, 2012 9:41 am
Greenland losing ice fast, but not runaway pace
One famous glacier on northwestern Greenland called Jakobshavn is now losing ice at a particularly fast pace of 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) per year. That means an ice loss of nearly 3 feet (1 meter) of ice every hour. If you stare at the glacier for about 20 minutes you can notice it move, said University of California, Irvine glacier expert Eric Rignot, who wasn't part of the study.
United Press International, May. 03, 2012 9:41 am
Heart test helps in COPD prognosis
A heart disease test could help determine the long-term prognosis for those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, U.S. researchers say. Dr. Hwa Mu Lee and Nathan Wong of the University of California, Irvine, Heart Disease Prevention Program found people with moderate to severe COPD who had a low Framingham Heart Study 10-year risk assessment rate lived longer and healthier than COPD patients who scored higher on the heart test.
Huffington Post, May. 03, 2012 9:41 am
National mortgage settlement expires in 2015, banks battling to keep reforms from becoming permanent
Katherine Porter, a University of California, Irvine law professor who has written extensively about servicing abuses and who Harris recently tapped to monitor compliance of the national settlement on behalf of her state, agreed that banks probably won't toss aside all the reforms. Still, she understands Harris' push. "It is appropriate that she not wait around to see what the CFPB does based on the severity of the crisis on the ground in California," Porter said.
HealthCanal.com, May. 02, 2012 3:36 pm
Heart disease risk can indicate long-term COPD fate, UCI researchers say
Findings underline importance of cardiac testing in lung disease prognosis, treatment Irvine, Calif. — A simple test for heart disease risk can go a long way toward determining the long-term prognosis for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to UC Irvine researchers.
Reuters , May. 02, 2012 10:11 am
Dozens arrested during May Day protests across U.S.
Occupy Wall Street protesters smashed windows in Seattle, were chased through New York streets by police on scooters, and clashed repeatedly with officers in Oakland on Tuesday in May Day demonstrations intended to revive their movement against economic injustice. While many events involving thousands of people remained peaceful or even festive and few injuries were reported, dozens were arrested at rallies across the country, including more than 40 in New York during a series of skirmishes throughout the day.
CNN Money, May. 02, 2012 10:11 am
Going back to school can be cheaper than you think, with a wealth of free online courses to choose from and an easy way to have your class work accredited. Saving for college can be easier too. We have three expert picks for the best 529 college savings plans.
Los Angeles Times, May. 02, 2012 9:41 am
UC Irvine's John Speraw focuses on volleyball title, not UCLA job
As the top-seeded team in the NCAA men's volleyball Final Four, UC Irvine appears primed for a possible run to its third title in six years. Could this be the last hurrah for Coach John Speraw at Irvine? Speraw, a former UCLA player and assistant, has been regarded as the favorite to succeed Al Scates in Westwood ever since Speraw left the UCLA staff to take over at Irvine after the 2002 season.
California Lawyer, May. 01, 2012 10:11 am
Last December, Second Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi opened his concurring opinion upholding limits on local campaign contributions in New York City by citing the New Testament. Luke 21:1-4 recounts Jesus's parable of the rich giving gifts to the temple treasury, while a poor widow puts in two small copper coins - all she has to live on. "Truly I tell you," Jesus says, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others."
New York Times, May. 01, 2012 10:11 am
“Have you ever seen Herman Melville’s passport?” This was a question from Judy Rascoe, a screenwriter and a well-read friend. I had to admit that I had not. I had not even thought about the question of whether Melville needed a passport. It had just never entered my head.
Modesto Bee , May. 01, 2012 10:11 am
Raley’s labor talks falter; strike is a possibility
Raley's pushed its union work force to the brink of a first-ever strike Tuesday, gambling that it can exert enough pressure to force the cost savings the company says it needs. After months of negotiations, the struggling grocer suspended talks and declared it will submit its "last, best and final contract offer" to the United Food and Commercial Workers. The offer would leave thousands of UFCW members across Northern California with two unpleasant choices: Accept the offer, with cutbacks in health care and other compensation, or reject it and risk the first walkout in Raley's 77-year history.
OC Metro , May. 01, 2012 10:11 am
Dede Aguayo, working in management at UPS six years ago, decided to seek a master’s degree in business administration – an MBA – so she could be a better employee and a better manager for her company. She wound up being neither. She left the job and moved into a more stimulating field – thanks to her MBA. Maureen Rhyne doesn’t have an MBA, but she has a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in psychology. And there are MBAs in her family – a daughter, son-in-law and stepson all have advanced business degrees. She pushes the MBA – but with reservations.
Orange County Register , May. 01, 2012 10:11 am
Home tour showcases South County variety Sunday
According to the calendar, spring has officially sprung, so it might be time for some cleaning and sprucing up at the family homestead. If you'd like some ideas to give your home some extra pizzazz for family and friends, the San Clemente-Capistrano Bay branch of the American Association of University Women will present its 41st annual home tour from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
HealthDay, May. 01, 2012 6:25 am
Study Downplays Risk of CT Scans
Death from disease is much more likely, preliminary research finds
Al Jazeera English, May. 01, 2012 3:30 am
Dear David Horowitz, stop the slander and come to Palestine
Horowitz seems to liken supporters of the BDS campaign against Israel to those who would support Nazi attacks on Jews.
