USC in the News 11/26 to 11/30/2009

The New York Times ran an op-ed by Mary Sarotte of the USC College on the expansion of NATO following the reunification of Germany, which occurred despite the United States' pledge to Russia to not expand the Atlantic alliance. "By acknowledging that there might be some substance to Russian grievances, the Obama administration would strengthen our relations with Moscow," Sarotte wrote. "Given that NATO enlargement has already taken place (and efforts for further expansion are stalled), little would be lost with such an acknowledgment but much could be gained. Certainly, Western attempts to manage everything from Iran's nuclear program to European energy supplies during the coming winter would be a great deal easier with Russia's cooperation.

The New York Times, in an Associated Press story, quoted Delores Conway of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate about a Hemet, Calif., housing project that has stalled due to lack of financing. Conway said that the development's residents will likely have to wait for years before construction resumes. Once banks are willing to offer construction loans again, builders will first focus on areas closer to the region's employment centers, Conway said.

Los Angeles Times highlighted Steven Chen of the USC School of Pharmacy and quoted Jeffery Goad and Kathy Besinque of the School of Pharmacy in a series of articles about pharmacists. One article detailed how Chen worked with a diabetes patient on nutrition, exercise and the proper way to inject insulin, with the result that the patient was able to control his blood sugar with a single pill and stop taking insulin completely. The story described Chen as part of a growing subset of pharmacists called clinical pharmacists, who provide direct care, using their expertise to ensure that patients receive the most appropriate medications and that they take them properly. "They may be afraid to tell their physicians they're not taking all their medications," Chen said. "But they'll tell us." In the second Los Angeles Times article, Goad said that the days in which pharmacists wouldn't even tell patients what was in their medications are gone. Besinque said that patients are often most concerned about whether their medication is covered by their insurance. "If it's not, sometimes they just won't get it at all," she noted. Additional Los Angeles Times stories are here and here.

Los Angeles Times ran a book review written by Dinah Lenney of the USC College, about the memoir "Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession" by Julie Powell. "[D]espite some fine writing about butchery, and some not-so-fine writing about romance, 'Cleaving' turns out to be not much more than a rambling recitation -- not to say defense -- of all sorts of bad behavior," Lenney wrote. "No doubt Powell has been as honest as she knows how to be, but she's an unreliable narrator, vain and self-pitying by turns, and lacking necessary perspective."

Los Angeles Times highlighted several USC-related events taking place this week. Today at USC's Doheny Memorial Library, Brighde Mullins of the USC College will moderate a panel on writing for stage and screen. On Tuesday, Roger Dingman, professor emeritus of the College, will lead a book talk at L.A.'s Central Library; and the College's Master of Professional Writing Program will present a discussion with "Braided Sorrow" author Marisela Trevino Orta at USC's Waite Phillips Hall.

Los Angeles Times cited a USC study in a story on the lack of affordable rental housing in Los Angeles. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles was $1,397 at the end of last year, the study found.

Financial Post (Canada) quoted USC Marshall School Dean James Ellis about retailer strategies for the holiday shopping season. "When you drop inventory down by 30 percent or 40 percent, you cut the sales volume down," Ellis said. "But [with less discounting on that inventory], you can sell product at higher margins and make more money. Business may be down 15 percent, but profit is up 15 percent and that's a win." He added that media attention on the skimpier inventory could end up boosting sales. "Retailers are generating a sense of urgency. There are so many stories about not enough inventory that there's a sense of, 'You'd better get it or it will be gone.'"

CBS News ran a Q&A with Dan Schnur of the USC College on ways for the Republican Party to refashion its message ahead of the midterm elections and the presidential election in 2012. Schnur said that in this year's November elections, Republicans learned a lesson that both parties have learned periodically in the past: that while a party's base is its source of strength, success is framed on the party's ability to reach beyond that base. "So you need a balance," he said.

U.S. News & World Report, in a HealthDay News story, featured research by Nathanael Fast of the USC Marshall School on the infectious nature of blame. Observing people blame others for their lack of success increased the likelihood that people will make subsequent blame attributions for their own failures, according to a paper written by Fast and a Stanford University colleague. "When we see others protecting their egos, we become defensive too," Fast said. "We then try to protect our own self-image by blaming others for our mistakes, which may feel good in the moment."

Toronto Star (Canada) quoted David Wertheimer of the USC School of Cinematic Arts about the technology behind director James Cameron's new movie "Avatar." Wertheimer said that Cameron's use of newly developed computer-generated imagery and stereoscopic 3-D technologies is going to change audience expectations and spur other filmmakers to follow his lead. "Whether or not this film does huge numbers at the box office or just okay numbers, Jim Cameron will have moved the industry forward in terms of a new track from an entertainment perspective and greatly accelerated the pace of change and the audience acceptance of 3-D," Wertheimer said.

SmartMoney quoted Richard Green of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate in a story about the Federal Reserve's program to buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities, which seems to have stabilized the housing market but is scheduled to expire in March 2010. "The question is: Are they really going to stop the program next year?" Green said.

The Miami Herald quoted Henry Jenkins of the USC Annenberg School about artist Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic "Hope" poster for President Obama's campaign using an Associated Press photograph. "He embodies this new dispersed, grassroots, participatory culture about as well as any contemporary figure,'' Jenkins said. "The battle between AP and Fairey is an epic struggle between the old media and new-media paradigms, a dramatization of one of the core issues of our times.''

Advertising Age quoted David Carter of the USC Marshall School about the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The BCS will be the system of record through 2014, now that the BCS and ESPN have signed a four-year, $500 million deal for the Walt Disney Co. network to televise the games, the story stated. "Currently, college football's leadership has limited motivation, for a variety of reasons, to fundamentally overhaul the post season," Carter said.

The Tennessean cited "The Climate Gap," a study by the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at the USC Center for Sustainable Cities. The research found that green economic solutions can also reduce public health epidemics in low-income communities and communities of color.

The Sacramento Bee cited the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll, which found that African Americans in California were less likely than other groups to say they planned to get the H1N1 flu vaccine.

The Journal-Gazette cited research by Richard Easterlin of the USC College, who found that as people possess more, they desire more. The level of possessions that makes people happy changes at the same rate as income, but happiness is unchanged, according to Easterlin. "What makes me happy: Family, good health and research on happiness," he said.

The Kansas City Star quoted David Carter of the USC Marshall School about sports fans combating high ticket prices by watching games in their home theaters instead. "Pretty amazing what you're able to accomplish at your home these days," Carter said. "I don't see any limit in the foreseeable future, either."

Star-Tribune quoted David Carter of the USC Marshall School about the marketing potential of World Cup ski champion Lindsey Vonn. She represents a safe bet in a time when the public has grown weary of badly-behaved athletes, Carter said. "If she has natural energy and charisma, you put that together with the all-American girl, and that's the kind of theme that resonates now," he added.

Los Angeles Times quoted USC Chief of Public Safety Carey Drayton in an Associated Press story about text-a-tip programs, which allow informants to send anonymous text messages from their cell phones. The Department of Public Safety promotes a text-a-tip service for use at football games, the story stated. The department gets tips on things like line-cutting, which could potentially turn into fights, Drayton said. "We are trying to stop things before they get too big," he added.

Los Angeles Times quoted Todd Boyd of the USC School of Cinematic Arts about the film "Precious." Boyd said that the movie could start a new trend of black films that are more individual-oriented and inward-looking. However, the story stated that given the nature of the movie business, critical acclaim for one black movie doesn't mean that others will follow in its path. "What Spike Lee was doing in the '80s was more challenging and visionary than 'Precious' -- and he talked stuff while he did it," Boyd said. "He's still working, he's still making movies. But nobody talks about Spike anymore. With features, it's about the money vehicles now, like what Tyler Perry is doing. The days of the small 'impact' film are over."

Los Angeles Times quoted Roger Clemens of the USC School of Pharmacy in an article about L-carnitine, a common ingredient in energy drinks that allegedly boosts energy and helps burn fat naturally. Clemens said that taking too much L-carnitine has drawbacks.

Los Angeles Times quoted Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development about Abel Maldonado, a Republican California state senator who has been nominated for lieutenant governor. The article reported that Maldonado faces opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, with Democrats objecting along party lines and Republicans angered by his endorsement of tax hikes. However, the article noted that Maldonado is Latino, a representative of California's fastest-growing ethnic demographic. "The Democrats now have to think about voting against a Latino," Jeffe said. "And so do the Republicans."

Los Angeles Times quoted Richard Little of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development in a story about slow progress on green jobs in California, despite targeted federal stimulus funding. The real effect will probably be seen in the first quarter of 2010, as projects move from the planning stage to implementation, Little said.

Los Angeles Times quoted Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development in a story about gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and cited the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll, which found that while 40 percent of Republican men supported her, only 30 percent of women did. "The rhetoric that she's using is somewhat out of date," Jeffe said. Whitman's comments about lack of female engagement in politics and her failure to vote is either insensitive to what happened or appealing to a certain segment of the Republican base that still believes in this, Jeffe said.

Los Angeles Times quoted David Carter of the USC Marshall School in an article about golfer Tiger Woods' recent car accident, which was described in the initial news release as "serious." "The media frenzy the word 'serious' ignited was illustrative not only of Woods' global fame, but of the rapidity with which the media can spread news whether it is entirely accurate or not," Carter said. Advertising Age also quoted Carter about the accident.

Deseret News highlighted the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll, which found that almost 60 percent of California voters didn't want to revisit the same-sex marriage issue during the 2010 elections.