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Released: 16-Apr-2008 11:50 AM EDT
President Seeks to Extend Legacy of Inaction on Global Warming
National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

"This is a time for new leaders who believe America can act now and do whatever we set our mind to, not for those who fear the modest measures being proposed in Congress..."

Released: 16-Apr-2008 11:05 AM EDT
Great Strides Made in Nuclear Reduction, More Needed, Experts Say
Rowan University

Internationally recognized experts on nuclear proliferation discussed the state of the world today, 40 years after the Glassboro Summit between Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin and President Lyndon Johnson, during a symposium moderated by Dan Rather.

Released: 16-Apr-2008 10:25 AM EDT
New Data Show Child Sexual Abuse Down 5 Percent Nationally
University of New Hampshire

Child sexual abuse cases nationwide declined 5 percent from 2005 to 2006, capping a 14-year decline of more than 50 percent, according to an analysis of new data released today by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Released: 15-Apr-2008 5:05 PM EDT
Law Expert Available to Comment on Juvenile Sentencing Issue
Indiana University

Jody Madeira, professor at the Indiana University School of Law--Bloomington, explains that there is little legal consensus on whether lengthy sentences for young offenders constitute cruel and unusual punishment. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from a South Carolina youth sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his grandparents when he was 12.

Released: 15-Apr-2008 2:00 PM EDT
Video of Rowan Panel on Nuclear Nonproliferation Available Online
Rowan University

Three world renowned experts in the area of nuclear nonproliferation sat down with former CBS anchor Dan Rather on April 11 for a frank and lively discussion on nuclear disarmament issues and global politics at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. Video footage and photos from the symposium are available online at http://www.rowan.edu/hollybush.

Released: 11-Apr-2008 1:50 PM EDT
Fair Housing Act Celebrates 40th Anniversary
University of Kentucky

Robert Schwemm is the Ashland Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he has taught since 1975. He is considered the nation's top academic researcher on housing discrimination law and an expert on the Fair Housing Act. He has a broad range of knowledge on components and application of the Fair Housing Act.

Released: 9-Apr-2008 11:40 AM EDT
World-Renowned Experts on Nuke Proliferation to Meet at Rowan U
Rowan University

Internationally recognized experts will explore the growing threat of nuclear proliferation worldwide"”particularly in Iran"”and how that will impact the U.S. and its international policies.

Released: 8-Apr-2008 4:30 PM EDT
USC Honored with U.S. State Department Public Diplomacy Award
University of Southern California (USC)

The University of Southern California has been honored with one of four inaugural Benjamin Franklin Awards for Public Diplomacy, a prestigious new honor bestowed by the U.S. Department of State. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented the award in a ceremony on April 8, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Released: 8-Apr-2008 8:30 AM EDT
The 'Other' March Madness: UMD Wins National Mock Trial
University of Maryland, College Park

"You could call this the 'other' March Madness, though this competition is even tougher than the basketball match-ups," says University of Maryland professor and mock trial coach Mark Graber. The team of Maryland undergraduates has captured the win by defeating George Washington University in the 2008 championship competition on April 7 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Released: 3-Apr-2008 5:15 PM EDT
Expert Available to Comment on H1B Visa Controversy and Bodyshopping
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Vikas Anand, management professor in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and one of the few researchers who has investigated bodyshopping, a labor byproduct of the H1B immigration process, is available to comment on the U.S. government's controversial program.

Released: 3-Apr-2008 9:00 AM EDT
World-Renowned Speakers Address Nuclear Nonproliferation and Global Politics
Rowan University

Some of the nation's top minds on the topic of nuclear nonproliferation will participate in a Dan Rather-moderated symposium at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J.

Released: 2-Apr-2008 2:55 PM EDT
Discrimination Varies by Gender and Race
University of Southern California (USC)

Men are more likely to tolerate discrimination than women, however both sexes tend to accept prejudice against poorly educated immigrants and Arab-American airplane travelers, according to a study by the USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics.

Released: 28-Mar-2008 8:00 AM EDT
A Code of Conduct for Outer Space – A Step Forward on Managing Satellite Traffic
Secure World Foundation

A Code of Conduct for Space is moving forward, a necessary step toward space traffic management of satellites to help assure national security and economic advantages provided by spacecraft of all nations.

   
Released: 27-Mar-2008 8:00 AM EDT
Child Sexual Abuse Cases Languish in Criminal Justice System
University of New Hampshire

New research from the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center finds that child sexual abuse cases in the criminal justice system take an unusually long time to be prosecuted and resolved. This is concerning because a prolonged court process has been shown to be detrimental to a child victim's recovery and ongoing mental health.

   
Released: 25-Mar-2008 3:10 PM EDT
UIC Publishes 'Green Schemes' for Urban Design
University of Illinois Chicago

The University of Illinois at Chicago's City Design Center has produced a 96-page electronic publication illustrating ideas for green development in East Garfield Park as a case study for use by Chicago neighborhoods and individuals.

Released: 21-Mar-2008 1:00 PM EDT
Millennials Could Help Determine Next U.S. Leader
Central Michigan University

The highly contested race for president has spurred a sharp increase in participation from young voters. J. Cherie Strachan, an authority on youth participation in American politics, says that politicians may need to change their approach, however, in order to keep this age group engaged until November. She is available for comment on the subject.

Released: 21-Mar-2008 10:45 AM EDT
Presidential Primary Expert Available to Discuss Richardson’s Endorsement of Obama
University of New Hampshire

Presidential primary expert Danta Scala with the University of New Hampshire is available to discuss former Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Released: 19-Mar-2008 10:55 AM EDT
Nepal Struggles for Democracy in the Lead Up to April Elections– Expert
Queen's University

Ronald Watts, fellow at Queen's University's Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, recently returned from a visit to Nepal where he participated in discussions with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) about creating a federal system there.

Released: 12-Mar-2008 8:50 AM EDT
'Creating a Livable Delaware' Topic of March 25 Conference
University of Delaware

A daylong conference titled "Creating a Livable Delaware: Pathways for Enhancing Prosperity and Quality of Life" will be held Tuesday, March 25, at the University of Delaware's Clayton Hall Conference Center in Newark.

Released: 11-Mar-2008 8:55 AM EDT
Superdelegates: Who Are They? Why Do They Matter So Much This Year?
University at Buffalo

Election-law expert James Gardner, professor, University at Buffalo Law School is available to members of the media seeking commentary on the role of super delegates in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Released: 10-Mar-2008 1:20 PM EDT
Out of Step Or Leading the Parade? Public Opinion About Income Support in Alberta
University of Alberta

A University of Alberta study has looked into public opinion on one of the most contentious political topics in Alberta's history, namely the two waves of welfare reform initiated by the Conservative government from the mid-90s onward. In both 1995 and 2004, Harvey Krahn, Chair of Sociology at the U of A and Amber Gazso, Assistant Professor of Sociology, York University, assessed Albertan's opinions on social assistance programs using data collected by the U of A Population Research Laboratory. They found that, even in 1995 when the provincial government was first making substantial cuts to welfare benefits, the majority of Albertans were not supportive of these cuts.

Released: 10-Mar-2008 9:00 AM EDT
Expert Available: News Coverage of Iraq War on Fifth Anniversary
University of New Hampshire

Joshua Meyrowitz, professor of media studies at the University of New Hampshire, is available to discuss news coverage of the Iraq War in conjunction with the five-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 19.

Released: 5-Mar-2008 4:10 PM EST
Law Professor Urges Courts to Re-consider Bar on Emotions in the Courtroom
University of Iowa

The U.S. legal system was put in place by people who believed logic and reason were the highest values. But University of Iowa law professor Todd Pettys says that today we live in the Age of Oprah, and the country's legal system should adapt by allowing emotion into the courtroom. He points to research research in neurology and psychology that shows our emotions play an important role in developing what we perceive to be logical and rational ideas.

Released: 5-Mar-2008 1:55 PM EST
Pennsylvania’s Approaching Primary Crucial to Senators Clinton, Obama Says Prof
Gettysburg College

With Pennsylvania's primary approaching April 22, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will pour millions of dollars into advertising and grassroots efforts across the state to capture the critical urban and youth votes, according to Gettysburg College political science professor Shirley Anne Warshaw.

Released: 4-Mar-2008 8:45 AM EST
Class Project: Young Voters' Take on Election 2008
American University

Sixty-seven percent of young voters ages 18 to 29 in the four battleground states of Ohio, Florida, Colorado and Virginia say the economy is the most important issue in the upcoming election, according to an online survey of 128 young voters conducted by American University students.

Released: 3-Mar-2008 9:00 AM EST
Legal Expert Available to Comment on Crisis in Serbia, Kosovo
Indiana University

IU professor Timothy Waters comments on: 1) Balkan Violence: Strains on Western Security Policy? 2) UN Paralysis: Back to the Cold War? 3) Kosovo and Its North: Independence, Then a Deal? 4) Echoes in Bosnia: What's the Right Response?

Released: 27-Feb-2008 3:15 PM EST
‘Paper” Vote System To Debut in Ohio with Flaws, Researchers Say
University of Maryland, College Park

The new voting system that Cleveland and its suburbs will use in next Tuesday's primary election has serious flaws that risk greater voter error, say members of a research team from the Universities of Maryland, Rochester and Michigan who conducted a comprehensive analysis of the technology over the past several years.

25-Feb-2008 2:20 PM EST
Federal Poverty Line Grossly Underestimates the Needs of California’s Seniors
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

The new Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) for California, developed at UCLA, shows that the Federal Poverty Line (FPL), used to determine income eligibility for most public programs, covers less than half of the basic costs experienced by adults age 65 and older in the state.

   
Released: 22-Feb-2008 11:45 AM EST
Spin Expert Discusses U.S. Election Candidates
Queen's University

David Skillicorn, Queen's University computing professor and expert in political spin, says Barack Obama has a tendency to spin his messages, while John McCain has the lowest level of spin of all the candidates "“ followed by Hillary Clinton. Using computer software designed to detect deception, Dr. Skillicorn analyzed speeches by candidates for the U.S. presidential election from the beginning of 2008 to the middle of February.

Released: 20-Feb-2008 9:00 AM EST
Missile Intercept of U.S. Satellite Highlights Space Policy Issues
Secure World Foundation

The interception by sea-launched missile of a failed U.S. intelligence-gathering spacecraft raises a number of associated policy issues: How best to deal with human-made orbital debris, the need to establish space traffic control measures, and defusing concerns over the weaponization of space.

   
Released: 19-Feb-2008 4:35 PM EST
What Does Castro's Resignation Mean for Cuba?
Canisius University

As an ailing Fidel Castro resigns as Cuba's president after nearly a half-century in power, questions arise as to what his resignation will mean for the Communist country. Born in Cuba, Rene De La Pedraja, PhD, is a professor of history at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, and has done extensive research on Cuba and Fidel Castro. Dr. De La Pedraja offers some insights regarding the situation.

Released: 19-Feb-2008 4:05 PM EST
The End of Castro's Reign: Expert Available for Commentary
Central Michigan University

Cuban leader Fidel Castro stated in an announcement posted on the Web site of the state-run newspaper Granma that he will resign from his 49-year reign as head of state. Central Michigan University professor of political science Orlando Pérez, a Cuban-American who specializes in Latin American politics and U.S.-Latin American relations, is available to comment on the changes that this might bring.

Released: 19-Feb-2008 3:00 PM EST
Professor to Comment on Kosovo
Tufts University

For the past 12 years, Tufts University Professor R. Bruce Hitchner has been involved in public policy initiatives in the Balkans region, especially in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Released: 19-Feb-2008 2:45 PM EST
Prominent Experts Available to Comment on Castro/Cuba
American University

Two prominent American University experts are available immediately to comment on the resignation of Fidel Castro and the future of Cuba and U.S.-Cuban relations: William LeoGrande and Phillip Brenner.

Released: 18-Feb-2008 3:50 PM EST
Arthritis Patients on Medicare Face Losing Their Rheumatologists
American College of Rheumatology (ACR)

If Congress fails to permanently fix the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate, rheumatologists may be forced to close their doors to Medicare patients.

   
Released: 14-Feb-2008 7:10 PM EST
Legal Expert Available to Comment on Independence Crisis in Kosovo
Indiana University

Kosovo is expected to declare independence from Serbia, possibly within days. Timothy Waters, an expert on the region, addresses the implications in terms of regional stability, international law and the fate of Serbs living in northern Kosovo.

Released: 14-Feb-2008 3:15 PM EST
Concerned Families for ATV Safety Statement on New CPSC Data
Concerned Families for ATV Safety

Concerned Families for ATV Safety (www.atvsafetnet.org) co-founders Sue Rabe and Carolyn Anderson today issued the following statement in response to new data released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) showing that 1 in 5 people killed in ATV accidents in 2006 were children.

Released: 11-Feb-2008 8:45 AM EST
Forensic Students Search for Clues in Murder
Western Carolina University

Professors and students from Western Carolina University's forensic anthropology program assisted law enforcement agencies in their search for clues in a remote area of national forestland where the body of a hiker missing since October was discovered on Saturday, Feb 2.

Released: 5-Feb-2008 1:20 PM EST
President Bush Budget Leaves Great Lakes Program 'on Thin Ice'
National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Media briefing on the Bush Administration's recently released 2009 budget and the implications for Great Lakes programs--many of which are core componenets of a $20 billion restoration plan that the President put forward in 2005, and has since distanced himself from as invasive species, sewage contamination and other threats continue to plague the largest surface freshwater resource in the world.

Released: 5-Feb-2008 8:40 AM EST
Election Media Alert
University of Southern California (USC)

USC Marshall expert available to discuss election impacts of social networking and other new-media technologies. How are social-networking technologies transforming this year's election? With Super Tuesday's tsunami of state primaries about to crest, some campaigns have effectively harnessed the power of many-to-many communications technologies such as social networking, while others have struggled. Social networking is this generation's equivalent of the television in 1968 or radio in 1932, a once-a-generation transformative media platform that reshapes the political discourse for those politicians savvy enough to understand it.

Released: 4-Feb-2008 1:00 PM EST
Could the Keystone State be a Presidential Key?
Saint Joseph's University

Randall Miller, Ph.D., political expert and commentator offers insights into the role Pennsylvania might play in the presidential election after the votes are tallied on Super Tuesday.

Released: 3-Feb-2008 9:00 PM EST
TIP/Political Experts for Super Tuesday and Beyond
University of Wisconsin–Madison

With 22 states in play in the Super Tuesday (Feb. 5) jockeying for the White House, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has experts able to analyze the race, its many moving parts and what Tuesday's primary and caucus results might mean for Wisconsin's Feb. 19 primary.

Released: 1-Feb-2008 1:00 PM EST
Speed Cameras Slow Drivers, Even Outside Enforcement Zones
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is releasing two new evaluations of speed camera enforcement in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Montgomery County, Maryland.

Released: 1-Feb-2008 12:00 PM EST
Older Americans Suffer Serious Access Limitations to Exercise Their Right to Vote
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

The US Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing yesterday in Washington, DC, on older Americans and the significant barriers they face in exercising their right to vote. Jason Karlawish, MD, associate professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, testified before the Committee, citing results from a series of his studies examining voting rights for the elderly.

Released: 1-Feb-2008 11:50 AM EST
Judge the Presidential Match-Ups by the Fancy Footwork
University of Maryland, College Park

Forget the polling data on how the remaining presidential contenders might fare against each other in November. You can get a visceral sense of what the match-ups may produce by the way the candidates move. As certified movement analysts, we see campaigns as elaborate dances and, sometimes, athletic confrontations, says Karen Bradley at the University of Maryland and her colleague Karen Studd at George Mason.

Released: 1-Feb-2008 7:00 AM EST
How “Senior Friendly” Are U.S. Presidential Candidates in 2008?
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

With the front edge of 75 million Baby Boomers now hitting sixty years of age, policies that affect seniors could gain substantial attention in this year's U.S. presidential race. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) examined positions from leading candidates and today released their findings on seven issues affecting America's aging population.

Released: 31-Jan-2008 7:00 PM EST
What Influences Young Voters?
Saint Joseph's University

Whether it's out of frustration with the current administration or because they've embraced and identified with a candidate's platform, young people are voting in record numbers this primary season. With this early and significant turnout, candidates and political pundits want to know more about this demographic and their voting behavior before November's election day.

Released: 31-Jan-2008 5:25 PM EST
Super Tuesday: Obama’s Political ‘Movement’ Vs. Hillary’s ‘Organization’?
Rowan University

Has Barack Obama's movement grown strong enough that he can win in states where he hasn't campaigned extensively? That's the overriding question as voters head to the polls on Super Tuesday, says Rowan University professor Larry Butler.

Released: 30-Jan-2008 3:00 PM EST
Law Professor Examines Jack Bauer's Influence on National Security Law
University of Iowa

Sure, it's just a TV show, but a University of Iowa law professor says "24" can have real-world legal implications. "Ruminations on '24' would be just an entertaining diversion if it were not for the fact that the show has slowly seeped into the national debate on antiterrorism tactics," said Tung Yin, law professor and expert on national security law.

Released: 25-Jan-2008 8:00 PM EST
Presidential Oratory Trumps Ideology for Some Voters
Vanderbilt University

To influence voters, especially those without strong ideological beliefs, presidential candidates should pay as much attention to their oratorical skills as stances on issues, said political scientist Christian Grose. Also, highly educated voters are more likely than those with fewer years of schooling to be influenced by complex speech.



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