Olivia DrakeJames McGuire, professor of government, professor of Latin American studies, is the author of the book, Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America, published by Cambridge University Press, 2010. Why do some societies fare well, and others poorly, at reducing the risk of early death? Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America examines this question and finds that the public provision of basic health care and other inexpensive social services has reduced mortality rapidly even in tough economic circumstances, and that political democracy has contributed to the provision and utilization of such social services,…
Bill Herbst, the John Monroe Van Vleck Professor of Astronomy, and Seth Redfield, assistant professor astronomy, are co-authors of the article, "Gas Absorption in the KH 15D System: Further Evidence for Dust Settling in the Circumbinary Disk," published in The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 711, Issue 2, pp. 1297-1305 in March 2010. Their data supports a picture of a particular circumbinary disk as being composed of a very thin particulate grain layer composed of millimeter-sized or larger objects that are settled within whatever remaining gas may be present. Herbst also is the author of "Periodic variability in the emission spectrum of…
Articles in Newsweek and the Cleveland Plain Dealer both tackle the topic of the country’s increasing obesity rate with Newsweek calling it a “Culture of Corpulence” and the Plain Dealer worrying that “Cutting Childhood Obesity Could Involve Controversial Measures.” Both turn to William Dietz ’66, M.D., Ph.D and the director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for his insight. “If you want people to make the right choices, they need to have the right choices to make," Dietz tells Newsweek, suggesting that the availability of nutritious, low-cost food choices…
David LowA streaming video of his talk is now available online here. Note, this is a 270MB video and may take a moment to load in your browser. Quicktime is required to view the video. You also may download the video to your desktop. Bruce McKenna ’84 returned to campus on March 30 to talk about his work on the new HBO mini-series The Pacific, which debuted on March 14 and continues on Sundays at 9 p.m. through May 16. The sprawling show tracks the intertwined real-life journeys of three U.S. Marines—Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone—across the vast canvas…
Pauline Frommer '88, an expert on budget travel, recently talked to Smart Planet about why smart people travel and how traveling abroad can effect diplomacy and the leaders we elect in this country. She recommends travel to China, Europe, and South America. Frommer is the author of award-winning guidebooks, the host of a radio talk show, and a columnist for MSN Travel and Weight Watchers. In the Smart Planet interview, Frommer says, "I don’t think you can consider yourself a fully rounded person if you don’t get out of your native area and see what the rest of the world…
Cynthia RockwellChef and business owner Michael Leviton ’88 of Lumiere Restaurant, in Newton, Mass., was nominated for James Beard Best Chef Northeast, which includes the New England states and New York region. The awards will be presented on May 3, in New York City’s Avery Fisher Hall, with previous award winners Alton Brown, Lidia Bastianich and Wolfgang Puck hosting. Nominations for the Beard awards, considered the Academy Awards of cooking, is open to the public. Culinary professionals and food journalists then use secret ballots to determine the winners. Leviton is not the product of any culinary school. Instead, he has trained…
David PesciWFSB-3, Hartford’s CBS affiliate, recently profiled the after school programming at Green Street Arts Center, Wesleyan’s community arts initiative that provides classes, mentoring and extensive arts instruction of all sorts to youths in the community. "Kids in Middletown can't wait to get off the bus and meet up with their friends at the Green Street Arts Center. It's not your average after school program. For the last five years, it's been one of the city's hidden gems," says the program's host. The newscast is online.
In a report on NPR’s MarketPlace, Alex Dupuy, Class of 1958 Distinguished Professor of Sociology, comments on a United Nations plan to raise and distribute $4 billion of relief funds for Haiti. Dupuy has criticized the Haitian government in the past for settling into a culture of aid instead of trying to build sustainable infrastructure and industry from within. In the report, Dupuy supports the U.N.’s plan to decentralize economic activity, but with caveats that extend to the garment industry and food production.
Claire Potter, professor of history, professor of American studies, wrote an Op-ed titled "Intimate Partner Violence: A Scourge Hauled Out of the Shadows," for the April 4 edition of The Hartford Courant. Potter discusses the often unreported crime of intimate partner violence and how recognition of these incidents has at least increased over the last few decades. While awareness of these incidents as crimes has increased since the 1970s, when Potter was first exposed to it, the patterns and incidents themselves remain entrenched. "Reflecting on this as an adult feminist, I think that we — several women and men —…
A translation by Norman Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures, will be given its world premiere on April 15, 16, 17 at Harvard University. The play, translated from Eugène Labiche's comedy, is titled "PATER OMNIPOTENS (OR A SUITOR UNSUITED)." Shapiro also will be lecturing in the Boston University Translation Seminar series on April 16 on "Tour de Farce: On Translating French Comedy."
A simple, self-directed, 12-week program produced high success rates and results that lasted up to a year
Prof. Potter on how this crime has gained increased awareness but the overall trends remain disturbing