Political pundits are all over the map trying to interpret what Sarah Palin meant when she abruptly announced her resignation as Alaska’s governor. GOP presidential race in 2012? Media career? Conservative commentator? College of Communication Associate Dean Tobe Berkovitz, an expert on political communication, can sort through the ongoing debate. Contact Tobe Berkovitz, 617-353-3447, tobetv@bu.edu
Saying the only alternative would be liquidation, a federal judge has okayed the sale of GM’s assets to a new government-run agency, paving the way for the automaker to emerge from bankruptcy. School of Management Dean Louis Lataif, a former Ford executive, can discuss the implications. Contact Louis Lataif, 617-353-2668, lelataif@bu.edu
America has a fixation with discount retail prices, and it’s costing us. College of Communication Professor Ellen Ruppel Shell, who explores the history, science, psychology, economics, and societal implications of low prices in her new book, “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture,” discusses the subject in a TIME magazine Q&A. Contact Ellen Ruppel Shell, 617-353-5973, […]
New Delhi’s high court today decriminalized homosexuality in India’s capital city, a landmark ruling expected to likely spread nationwide. School of Law Professor Robert Volk, an authority on gay-rights law, can compare and contrast the legal situations in India and the United States. Contact Robert Volk, 617-353-3156, rvolk@bu.edu
The upcoming Senate battle over President Obama’s climate-change bill will center on the “cap-and-trade” system to allow trading of pollution permits as emission levels are increasingly tightened. Energy risk-management expert Mark T. Williams, who teaches finance in the School of Management, says not to expect Senate approval until the economy rebounds and there’s a stronger […]
The inspector general probing the SEC’s failure to discover Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme recommends that whistleblowers should be paid a bounty for information about financial fraud. School of Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law, says such rewards would be a two-edged sword and probably limited to outsiders (insiders thereafter couldn’t […]
After 18 years and nearly three complete orbits around the sun, Ulysses, the interplanetary space probe that provided scientists with a more complete understanding of the solar wind and the solar activity cycle, was turned off. Nathan Schwadron, an associate professor of astronomy, can discuss the space probe’s solar wind observations, which led scientists to […]
In the nation’s annual obesity rankings, 23 states reported higher adult obesity rates over the past year with concerns about Medicare’s higher costs to treat fat baby boomers. Colorado had the lowest rate of obese adults followed by Massachusetts and Connecticut. Caroline Apovian,MD, Director of Nutrition and Weight Management at Boston Medical Center, can discuss […]
In a surprise that “flabbergasted” the National Retail Federation, Wal-Mart says it backs President Obama’s plan to force employers to provide health insurance to workers. School of Management Professor Alan Cohen, executive director of the Health Policy Institute, can discuss what the endorsment by the nation’s largest private employer might mean for the healthcare reform […]
