USC in the News 10/7/2009

The New York Times ran an op-ed by Bob McCann of the USC Marshall School on whether workplace age discrimination is increasing. "The repercussions of age-laden communication and practices can be devastating to older employees, who may suffer declines in self-esteem and mental health. Such practices also hurt their employers, which may have to deal with declining productivity and age discrimination lawsuits," McCann wrote. "A variety of factors may account for the recent increase in age-bias claims among workers age 40 and above. Most notably, there is the possibility that laid-off older workers, facing a grim job market, may have more incentive to take legal action to recover their lost wages or jobs than before. On the other hand, it may be that companies are targeting older workers for layoffs because of their comparatively higher salaries, benefits and medical costs."

Inside Higher Ed featured the USC Rossier School's MAT@USC, an online master's program in teaching. Early records show that 144 students enrolled in the program's first full cohort in May, 50 percent more than anticipated, the story reported. This month, a new group of 302 students began in the second of three planned "starts" per year, meaning that USC has already quadrupled the number of would-be teachers it is educating this year, the article noted. "So far, we've beaten the odds," said Rossier School Dean Karen Symms Gallagher. "We're growing in scale while continuing to ensure that we have a really good program." The story deemed the new MAT@USC program "exceptional," proof that USC is expanding its reach and that students are willing to pay private university tuition for an online program. "I find it takes more discipline than I needed when I was in the classroom every day," said Rossier School student Haley Hiatt. Compared with the on-campus program cohort, a greater proportion of the MAT@USC students come from science-related fields -- a good sign given the pressure on American teacher education programs to ratchet up the number of science teachers they produce, the story stated. The traditional means haven't been working sufficiently in terms of producing better teachers, Gallagher said. "To just say we need more money to keep doing what we've been doing, people aren't going to be accepting that argument anymore."

The Washington Post cited Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School in an obituary for Paul Burgess Fay Jr., a confidant of former President John F. Kennedy. In a 2002 article in The New York Times, Reeves wrote that Fay would occasionally watch Kennedy inject himself in the thigh with the corticosteroids that kept him from succumbing to Addison's disease. One time Fay told Kennedy that the shots looked like they didn't hurt, "the way you take that jab." "According to Reeves, the president lunged at his old friend and stabbed the needle into his leg. As Fay screamed in pain, Kennedy said, 'It feels the same to me,'" the widely carried story stated.

The Wall Street Journal reported that businessman Elliott Broidy, who is also a member of the USC Marshall School Board of Advisors, is being questioned by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about possible securities violations. Jewish Journal also covered the story.

ABC News cited a study led by LaVonna Lewis of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development which found that one in three grocery stores in low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods often sells expired food. But the researchers also found expired food on shelves in "the posh suburbs along the beaches to the west of Los Angeles," the story stated. "It's an issue that is more widely distributed than I had thought," Lewis said. While some expired food is sold at a "manager's special" discount, Lewis said she isn't 100 percent convinced that the food is safe. "We don't think people are making informed choices, because the information is so hard to find," she explained. "The consequences may be greater in south Los Angeles because of a low health status."

World Journal featured Clayton Dube, associate director of the USC U.S.-China Institute, and Stanley Rosen of the USC College in a special section on China celebrating the 60th anniversary of communist rule. Rosen said that the big issues for China are pollution, income inequality and lack of transparency, though the Chinese have greater access to information than in the past and are primarily focused on improvements in everyday life. Dube said that reducing infant mortality is one of the most important achievements in the regime's history, adding that this has fueled China's rapid population increase from 583 million in 1953 to 1.3 million today. These numbers, combined with China's one-child policy, mean that China confronts many demographic challenges, including caring for a large number of elderly, Dube noted.

ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV reported that USC and Edison International are co-sponsoring a science competition, urging students with ideas for solving energy and environmental problems to submit projects. Winning teams will earn trips to USC's Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island and Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric facility in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Edison International funded the program with a $1 million grant over four years and partnered with the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies to develop it, a Los Angeles Daily News story reported. The article noted that the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies supports marine and environmental science and education, manages laboratories on Catalina Island, and provides opportunities for students to conduct scientific research.

Chicago Tribune quoted Debu Tripathy of the Keck School of USC in a story about advances in breast cancer research. "Eighty percent or more [of those diagnosed with breast cancer] are going to survive long term and will end up dying of something else," Tripathy said. "They're essentially cured of breast cancer even though there's a chance the cancer might come back. The biggest part of that has been earlier detection." Tripathy is hopeful that new methods of breast cancer detection will have even more reliable results and reduce false positives that lead to unnecessary biopsies.

Times of Malta (Malta) cited "The Rise of the Network Society" by Manuel Castells of the USC Annenberg School. The book shows that thoughts shared online can unite environmental activists and other social movements, bringing about tumultuous change, the story stated.

Daily Breeze reported that James Knowles of the Keck School of USC and colleagues have been awarded nearly $9 million in federal funds to map how genes function in different regions of brain throughout human development. The two-year grant, part of the Grand Opportunities program funded through the National Institutes of Mental Health, will allow USC researchers and partner institutions to sequence the genomes from hundreds of brain samples to create a three-dimensional, Web-based model that can be used by scientists all over the world as a basis for future neuroscience research. "This project will allow us to document which individual genes and sets of genes are turned on and off in different brain regions through the whole developmental time period," Knowles said. "This information is essential for understanding normal and abnormal brain development."

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that filmmaker Steven Spielberg will receive the National Constitution Center's Liberty Medal for his human rights work, which includes founding the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. The institute has collected video testimony in 56 nations and 32 languages from survivors of the Nazi and Rwandan campaigns of genocide, the story noted.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review mentioned Bob Mintzer of the USC Thornton School in a story on jazz bands. Mintzer's responsibilities as head of jazz studies at the Thornton School may mean that he has less time to tour with his New York-based jazz group, the story stated.

The Tennessean reported on expense reports by Pedro Garcia of the USC Rossier School from his tenure as director of Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Los Angeles Times quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College about talk show host David Letterman's recently admitted affairs and subsequent public apology. Letterman may not have offered a politician's apology for his behavior, but he handled the matter in a method right out of a political playbook, Schnur said. "By bringing up the information himself rather than letting it come out from other sources and being forced to react to it, he did a lot to protect himself," Schnur added.

Danville Register & Bee cited research by Charles Swenson and Ayse Imrohoroglu of the USC Marshall School and John Ham of the USC College on the effectiveness of enterprise zones. California's enterprise zone program decreases unemployment rates, boosts wages and household incomes, and decreases poverty rates, the study found. Swenson noted that Virginia's grant-based system was unusual because most states use a tax credit system. He said that California has recently voted to expand its program. "All these cities and states are competing for businesses to move in, and it is a competitive landscape because 43 states have these programs," Swenson explained.

Rocky Mount Telegram highlighted a speech that Tom DeMeester of the Keck School of USC gave at a conference on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). DeMeester, the conference's featured guest speaker, is recognized as one of the world's authorities on GERD diagnosis and treatment and frequently speaks to the most prestigious medical and surgical societies, the story stated. "Since 1975, GERD-induced esophageal cancer has increased at a rate that exceeds any solid tumor known to man, and it continues to rise," DeMeester said.

L.A. Weekly reported that a discussion between pastor Craig Gross and pornography actor Ron Jeremy will take place at USC's Bovard Auditorium.

The Orange County Register cited Susan Estrich of the USC Gould School regarding filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was recently arrested in Switzerland in connection with a 1977 statutory rape conviction. "As Susan Estrich wrote, 'Yes, he's made some big films in those years. So what?'" the story stated.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported that Charles Gomer of the Keck School of USC is running for reelection to the Glendora School Board. Board members have been dealing with budget cuts and drug use in Glendora schools, according to the story. "We know that Glendora is no different than other school districts in that kids are going to be experimenting with drugs and alcohol and it does occur," Gomer said. "It is the prescription drug issues I think not all parents are aware of. In the last couple weeks we talked about having a workshop on this. We want to make sure we target parents of kids."