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Empowering Women in Business
Myths About Women in Business
Many women have been discouraged from im "going for the top" by a set of myths suggesting women are not suited for top management and that any problems are being solved gradually. These myths work to keep women "in their place" and to justify the lack of progress for women. Worse yet, these myths often place blame on women rather than on sex discrimination.
MYTH: Now that women are a third of business school graduates and a significant proportion of middle management, it is just a matter of time before we reach equality in the board rooms and in the executive suites of the corporate world.
FACT: For the most part, women are stuck in middle management - and it has nothing to do with how long they've been in business or whether they have the college degrees considered necessary to advance in management. Despite persistence and hard work, women have made only incremental gains at the top levels of business over the past two decades.
As long ago as 1968, 15% of all managers were women. Assuming it takes 15 to 25 years for a manager to become a senior executive, women today should comprise at least 15% of those at the top. But women make up only 3. 1% of senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, and at the Fortune Service 500 only 4.3% of executives are women. At the current rates of increase, it will be 475 years - or until the year 2466 - before women reach equality in executive suites.
Not even the proper credentials are enough to guarantee a woman a fair shot at the top; two separate studies show that women MBAs have always had fewer opportunities for management careers than their male counterparts. Very simply, women in business are slamming into a "glass ceiling" that prevents them from moving up the corporate ladder.
MYTH: Times are changing and the younger generation of men is more supportive of the idea of working alongside women executives in high level positions.
FACT: Unfortunately, the younger generation of corporate men seems to be holding tight to the negative attitudes their predecessors displayed toward women in top positions. Between 1975 and 1983, men MBA students "retained consistently negative attitudes toward women as managers, while their female counterparts were consistently positive." Nor will sex discrimination automatically decrease as the proportion of women in business increases. In fact, studies suggest that as women increase their numbers and get closer to the top, the resistance from men hardens, and discrimination becomes more open, according to Harlan and Weiss.
MYTH: Contflicts with family and home responsibilities keep executive women from getting "to the top."
FACT: If you ask women executives, many believe their jobs have strengthened their family lives. Of women executives who do have families, "only a tiny minority (3%) feel that family responsibilities have hindered their careers," according to the Wall Street Journal / Gallup Survey.
Few of the women executives reported that family conflicts had ever "prevented them from accepting a job change that would have required relocation" (only 9% of the one-third who say they ever turned down a transfer).
Besides, executive-level women are more likely to get help from their husbands with household chores and family responsibilities. According to the Wall Street Journal / Gallup Survey, "married women ranking near the top of the corporate hierarchy...are much less likely than those with lower status to carry a heavy domestic burden." Additionally, it is easier for executive level women to combine their careers with motherhood, because they can afford to pay for child care and household services.
MYTH: The "mommy track" is a practical way for women to "have it all" and get to the top while fullilling their child-rearing responsibilities.
FACT: The "mommy track" is a blatant form of institutionalized sex discrimination. It is an excuse to pay women less and to swell the ranks of middle-management by keeping women from competing for the top jobs. In effect, the "mommy track" penalizes women who have children by placing them in dead-end jobs which ask them to do essentially the same work as their male counterparts on the "fast track" - but at a fraction of the pay.
The two-fold danger of the "mommy track" is that it provides a rationale for keeping women out of the top and in the middle or bottom, low paying positions. The reasoning goes something like this: obviously, if women cannot keep up, they deserve less pay - after all, these jobs must be easier, or how could they do them and juggle family responsibilities?
It is interesting that talk of a "mommy track" is only directed at the most promising women executives on the "fast track" to the top. It seems that the question "Can women have it all?" is really asked as a way of challenging women who are at the top and who exercise power. No one ever asks women who are on night-time cleaning crews and who often hold one and a half other jobs while raising children whether they can "have it all."
Besides, most women executives do not have the luxury of deciding to go on the "mommy track." In general, women are far more likely than men to be the sole supporters of their family at one time or another. To accept less pay and forego career growth opportunities, a woman would be jeopardizing her ability to adequately provide for herself and her family in the future.
The problem is not that corporations need to provide greater flexibility to women executives balancing career and family responsibilities, but rather to provide women executives the same flexibility and choices already enjoyed by male executives. Corporations readily provide paid extended leaves of absence for male executives who have suffered heart attacks without questioning their returning status or growth potential.
MYTH: Women executives cost the corporation more because they must divide their attention between career and family.
FACT: Considering the proportion of top management that is male, the likelihood is that male-linked habits will cost companies a great deal more than pregnancy ever could.
For example, alcoholism and the problems it causes are overwhelmingly associated with males. In 1985, 11.9 million men were classified as alcohol abusers as compared to 5.7 million women. Forty-five percent of men versus 18% of women were considered moderate-to-heavy drinkers. This male-associated habit creates excessive medical costs and serious performance losses in business. Yet these deficits are tolerated and are not calculated as a "male related cost of business."
As one observer recently put it, "How many maternity leaves could Exxon have funded with the billions of dollars that were lost because the captain of the Valdez was drunk?" - Audrey Freedman, The Conference Board.
MYTH: Women at the top are frequently single, divorced or have no children, proving how difficult it is to combine family and career.
FACT: It is also true that the men at the top of corporate America exhibit very different marriage patterns compared to the national norm. Why do executive men and women show marriage patterns so divergent from the general population? The bias in the system that favors the selection of a certain type of woman - and a certain type of man - discriminates against all other types.
The proportion of executive women who remain single (26%), who are divorced or separated (16%), and who have never had children (52%) are higher than the national norms (Wall Street Journal/Gallup Survey). In fact, the higher her ranking, the less likely the executive woman is to be married - only 46% of top corporate women are married.
The overwhelming majority of executive men (94.6%) are married compared to 81.6% in the general population of men 45 years and older. Nearly 6% of men over 45 years are single compared to only 0.9% of executives.
Corporate management is narrowly selecting its executives, and anyone who doesn't fit the stereotype of the "ideal corporate executive" - the "single woman" and "married family man" - is likely to be cut out when promotional decisions are made. This built-in bias conveniently ensures there will be very few women at the top.
MYTH: Women are not as serious about their careers and often "drop out" to have children or start their own business to better accommodate their family responsibilities. As a result, they are poor investments for companies that must spend considerable amounts on executive development.
FACT: Women executives are no more likely to leave their jobs than men. According to studies of mobility patterns and turnover rates, if anything, women in executive positions have traditionally exhibited lower turnover rates than men, because their chances of finding another high level post were more limited.
And there is also no evidence that executive women leave corporations to have children. In fact, a 1980 study by Catalyst found that 37% of women in two-career families return to work within 2 months of childbirth; 68% are back after 4 1/2 months; 87% are back in 8 months. A followup study in 1986 found that women at the top took even shorter pregnancy leaves of 6 to 8 weeks.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that women are dropping off the corporate fast track to start their own businesses because of the desire to balance family and work. While it is true that more women than ever are starting their own businesses, most are past the age of 40 when child rearing responsibilities are largely ending, according to a 1984 study by Hisrich and Brush. Besides, a new business venture requires neverending attention from its owners - not leaving much time for taking on even more family duties.
For men executives who start their own companies, the move is seen as a bold and positive career maneuver. For women, entrepreneurial ventures are seen as retreats from the corporate world and a chance to devote more time to the family.
Corporate America take note: the "exodus" by women from corporate ranks is more likely the result of carefully calculated career decisions by women who have bumped into the glass ceiling and see little advantage in staying with the corporation.
MYTH:Women are not suited for top management because they aren't aggressive enough and lack the self-confidence required for the top jobs.
FACT: Sexual stereotypes like these persist because the best defense by executive men trying to protect their privileged status is an offense that "keeps women in their place." Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, these stereotypes will be used - until women won't tolerate them anymore. And so, in the mode of fighting one old saw with another, whenever a sexist derogatory comment is made about women, find a parallel to fit men.
Study after study shows there are more similarities in these personal traits between women and men managers than there are differences. One of the most comprehensive long-term studies done found that men and women have very similar "profiles of high power and achievement needs, high self-esteem, and high motivation to manage" (Harlan and Weiss). A separate study of 2,000 men and women managers found "a significant case of no significant difference."
Moreover, women executives often display more modern leadership traits than men. In fact, many recent studies show than women's style of leadership varies from the style exhibited by men and that these differences may make women more effective leaders in today's business arena. These studies indicate that women's manageltent style more often encourages consensus, participation, and interaction - traits which today's employees value - whereas men's management style often reflects a basic commitment to the premise of a "hierarchy."
MYTH: Any woman can make it to the top is she's competent and works hard. That's how men make it and, after all, the corporation is looking for the best person for the job.
FACT: Don't we wish. That's not how men make it to the top. From all the evidence we've seen, it is clear that the corporation is not the meritocracy that we've all been led to believe. At least up until now, "who makes it to the top" appears to be as determined as much by "who you are" and "who you know" - as by "what you know."
The most convincing example of this is found by looking at who is at the top in corporate America: more than half of the board chairmen of the Fortune 500 companies are the sons of former chairmen their single most common shared trait. (One is tempted to ask whether these men had any daughters!) What this is doing to American competitiveness and our long term future should be a big issue today for corporate America.
MYTH: Most women senior executives suffer from the 'Queen Bee' syndrome and are not helpful to younger women below them on the corporate ladder. Or, women are their own worst enemies in the competitive corporate world.
FACT: Since when don't men seek to be "King of the Mountain?" If anything, women executives complain about their treatment by men - not their treatment by other women. Executive women say men patronize them and they often note male chauvinism. None of the women in the Gallup Survey spoke about the attitudes of other women.
In the Korn/Ferry survey, 57% of women executives report belonging to women's groups. The majority (56%) of women in the Gallup Survey are involved in networking with other women - "getting together regularly in groups to discuss problems and offer support." A huge majority (83%) say they "feel responsible for helping younger women advance in business. "


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Photo taken in Rome, Italy, Great Synagogue of Rome.
You can buy a photo printed on forex or on canvas, high quality materials guaranteed by Photobox.Choose the format and type of printing, I will send the order to Photobox, which will ship directly to your home!
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Message Board
Joan Bauer Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Bauer has written!
Author Bauer's Book Reviews
A.J. McCreary is a photographer for her school's newspaper. She is in love with Peter Terris, who doesn't know she exists. She's not doing very well in school because she is spending all of her time looking for the perfect cover shot for the Valentine's Day edition of the newspaper. One day, a cupid shows up. His name is Jonathan, and he can help her in one of three ways: artistically, academically, or romantically. Immediately, A.J. chooses to have Pete...


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Stockton, CA
Katherine Ruth Page
June 16, 1959 - September 13, 2013
Katherine Ruth Page, 54, passed away suddenly on September 13, 2013 after suffering with many
health issues over the years. She was born June 16, 1959 in Stockton to Jeff and Evelyn Page.
Katherine attended Fremont Junior High, graduated from Franklin High and later attended Delta College. She worked at St. Joseph's Hospital in nuclear medicine and pharmacy for many years. For several years she also was a cattle rancher while living in Valley Springs. Katherine was a thirty year survivor of breast cancer. She was an open, vivacious, generous and giving person who loved to garden.
She is survived by her son,
Joseph Joaquin, mother, Evelyn Page, fiance', Mark Hale, sisters, Jean Yeh, Brenda White, niece and nephews, Gina and Jeff Blighton, Eric, Aden and Jennifer White and many aunts, uncles and cousins. She was preceded in death by her father, Jeff Page and a sister, Janice Page. Everyone will miss her in passing. We are all sure the Lord appreciates purity of heart.
Memorial services will be held Tuesday at 2:00 pm at ABC-Wallace Funeral Services, 445 N. American St., Stockton. Committal will follow at Linden Cemetery.
Please go to www.abcfh.com to sign the guestbook and leave condolences.


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Yahoo Small Business Web Hosting: Critical Error When Connecting To FTP Using FileZilla
Yesterday a friend contacted me about moving his site for Yahoo Small Business Web Hosting to another location. This typically can be challenging, regardless of web host, because of having to deal with someone else who has set this up and more than likely is not doing what they are supposed to be doing which is why the person wants to move the site in the first place. I was provided the Yahoo login information to the web and honestly had no idea how Yahoo Small Business has FTP set up. After logging in and searching around a bit I found the information I thought I needed and attempted to create an FTP user to login. After creating the FTP user I attempted to use the Yahoo FTP credentials in FileZilla to login but I continued to receive a "Critical Error" from the Yahoo FTP server. Below I describe the FTP error returned by Yahoo along with how I was able to work around the error.


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UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Tina Charles collected her first WNBA MVP award, then showed the Liberty why she deserved the honor.
Charles had 17 points and four blocks to power the Connecticut Sun to a 65-60 victory over the Liberty in their playoff opener on Thursday night.
"The day is going great," the third-year center said. "I got a [personal] achievement, and we got the first playoff win. Now we have to build on that."
Game 2 of the best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series is at the Prudential Center in Newark on Saturday at 7 p.m.
It was the Sun's first playoff win since they beat the Liberty 73-70 on Sept. 20, 2008.
"I'm happy with the win," Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. "I'm happy with the effort. We need to play a lot better."
Asjha Jones had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Connecticut (26-9), which is the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Kara Lawson added eight points, six rebounds and five assists.
Cappie Pondexter had 14 points, six assists and four steals for the Liberty (15-20). Plenette Pierson finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Sun and Liberty were tied at 45 with over a minute left in the third quarter when Connecticut pulled away with a 12-0 run. It held New York scoreless for a 6½-minute stretch that began late in the third quarter and extended into the fourth.
Renee Montgomery made two free throws early in the fourth quarter, then fed Mistie Mims for a layup. Jones continued Connecticut's run with a pull-up jumper.
A steal and layup by Tan White made it 57-45, prompting a timeout by Liberty coach John Whisenant with 7:57 remaining.
"Once we didn't turn it over and got stops, we were able to get out on the break," Jones said. "Tan and Mistie did a great job coming off the bench.
"Mistie is going to play hard inside, and she does a great job moving without the ball and freeing up people."
The Liberty shot 23 percent (9 of 39) in the second half.
"It was just a frustrating night offensively for us," Pondexter said. "If you're on a team's home court and expect to win, you've got to shoot better."
The Liberty closed to 59-52 with more than five minutes left in the game, but Allison Hightower responded with a spinning jumper and White scored to extend the lead to 11.
The Liberty trailed by seven when Nicole Powell opened the second half with a 3-pointer, her third of the game, to trim the deficit to four. Braxton and Pierson made consecutive layups to tie it at 41 with over seven minutes left in the third.
Charles made eight of 17 shots after she received her MVP award before the game. Charles, who averaged 18 points and a WNBA-best 10.5 rebounds, received 25 first-place votes and 345 points overall from a panel of 41 sports writers and broadcasters, the league said. Los Angeles forward Candace Parker was second with seven first-place votes and 253 points.
Two Sun guards also were recognized by the league. Montgomery took home the WNBA's Sixth Woman Of the Year honor after averaging 11.6 points and Lawson received the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award.


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Employment Discrimination
People with diabetes sometimes face discrimination in the workplace. Learn more about what constitutes workplace discrimination, what rights you have and how to take action to stop discrimination.
The American Diabetes Association has a four step approach to ending discrimination: educate, negotiate, litigate, legislate. In the employment setting, educating your employer about your diabetes can be a particularly useful way to meet your diabetes care needs at work.
Your Rights on the Job
What laws protect me from discrimination? What is a qualified individual with a disability? Find information about your rights on the job here.
Additional Materials
Resources you can use to advocate for yourself in your workplace.
For Employers
Learn ways to accommodate your employees' diabetes and find resources to assist you in understanding how to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.


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Hi Derek;
I saw the new beta post and rushed with much anticipation to download the new beta and try it out. Alas, opening the auto-scan options menu crashes the program, something about a "stack fault in wcbeta" whatever that is. The program closes about 30 seconds after the ok button is clicked, leaving my pc intact. I restarted the machine but still the same message. Everything else looks ok so far. I unzipped the beta into the wavcor directory as you advised.
Anything else I could try? Thanks.


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Your Favorite Acoustic Singer, Niykee Heaton, Says She Can "Booty Pop" Better Than Vanessa Hugdens Can! (She Sings Better Than She Twerks Though)
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A simple concept which is revolutionising the rugby world, Trusox are designed to provide footwear stability and stop your feet from sliding.
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Nordic Photos
Nordic Photos – rights-managed Scandinavian lifestyle stock photos from Denmark, Norway and Sweden
Breathtaking and awe-inspiring. Captivating and colorful. This is a collection of rights-managed stock photos from Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Offering shots of everything from Nordic summer sunset beach scenes to Nordic walking and skiing; meat markets to airport terminals, this collection features photographic representations of all seasons, all ages and all types of weather – all with a picturesque feel that is decidedly Nordic.


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Judging by the obsessive way scientists study (and media outlets subsequently report on) resveratrol, you'd think that the red wine component was literally the elixir of the fountain of youth, or maybe the active component of Ryan Gosling's blood. But a new study shows that resveratrol actually has no real effect on healthy women who are not obese.
Man. I just can't keep track of who is and isn't supposed to drink red wine. A few months ago, we learned that red wine was "miraculous" for anyone with limbs (it's good for mobility); before that, it was found to be awesome for anyone with a brain (Alzheimer's prevention). In the past, red wine has also been declared supposedly beneficial for obese men and people who live sedentary lifestyles in general.
So I just drink it, generally (and generously), and hope for the best. Kudos to the New York Times for making me feel better about that decision with this quote from the study's senior author, Dr. Samuel Klein, a professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis:
"We only show that metabolically healthy people get no benefits to begin with," he said. "We have no way of knowing whether it will prevent future metabolic complications."
Mmm, vague doubletalk has never tasted so sweet.
Image via Mariyana Misaleva/Shutterstock.


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Bears survive a wild finish
Stonington - Stonington finished its game Friday night football game the same way it played all night - bold and devil-may-care.
The Bears were clinging to a seven-point lead against Ledyard, and backed up against their own goal line with four seconds left.
So Stonington decided to blitz.
"We sure did," Stonington coach A.J. Massengale said. "We've got to put some pressure on (the quarterback) in that situation."
Linebackers Harry Calmar and C.J. Dipollino sacked Ty Ebdon to end the game as Stonington won, 28-21, and tied the Colonels atop the Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division.
"They're a very good football team," Massengale said of the Colonels. "We knew we were going to have to play some of our best football to be successful tonight, but we also knew we had to have some things in the toolbox to pull out when needed."
Stonington didn't so much take things from its tool box as it shook everything out. The Bears ran the single wing. They onside kicked twice (recovering one). They also ran a fake punt for what would've been a first down had it not been called back on a penalty.
"The fake punt was freakin' beautiful," Massengale said. "I'm hoping we tackled somebody. I'm hoping the hold was just so obvious."
"You've got to do. ... a little of everything. We did it all tonight."
Quarterback Divante White scored on a 2-yard run with 44 seconds left to give the Bears (6-2, 3-1) the lead.
The Colonels (7-2, 3-1) needed just four plays to go 59 yards down to the Stonington 6. Khary Childs made it possible with successive catches of 20, 15 and 24 yards from Ebdon.
"That kid is a nightmare, man," Massengale said of Childs. "We just said that we have to double this kid, legitimately double him. Put two players right on him because he's just. � I don't even know the word.
"We had to do some fundamentally unsound things at the end."
Ebdon threw an incompletion on first-and-goal. And that's when the Bears opted to blitz.
"We definitely get excited when we get that call," Calmar said after the Bears won their sixth straight game. "Yeah, it is (a risk). If they know that it's coming, or they pick it out during the count, it can definitely be a risk."
The risk worked, sending Stonington into hysterics.
"We didn't play well at all from start-to-finish," Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore said. "We were very poor. You've got to credit Stonington. They made some big, big plays in third down situations. They made some huge plays that you've got to give them credit for."
Calmar was in on another of those huge plays with the Colonels leading, 21-20, with less than three minutes in the game.
Zach Mueller stopped JoJo Shumaker on a third down play, and Pat Dooley and Calmar stripped the ball. Dooley recovered at the Ledyard 40 with 2:38 left in the game.
"I was like, 'Scoop and score!," Massengale said. "'Let's go, man!'"
White scored the go-ahead touchdown. Zach Poirier ran in the two-point conversion.
Poirier ran 28 times for 160 yards while Calmar ran 13 times for 49 yards and a score.
White ran for two short touchdowns. He also completed 7 of 13 passes for 95 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown to Poirier.
Shumaker had 13 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown for Ledyard, which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Jordan Kowalski added 77 yards and a score on seven carries.
Ebdon completed 9 of 17 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. Childs had five catches for 108 yards and a score.
Puerto Ricans in New London call for resignation of island's governor
Supreme Court Justice Stevens remembered for 'deep devotion' to law


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The Christmas tree is the centerpiece of your holiday home, but deciding how to decorate it can be a challenge. Be inspired by these design ideas and give your Christmas tree the stylish and festive look you've always wanted.
1. Traditional Look
When it comes to Christmas tree decorating, traditional red-and-green is a classic look that will never go out of style. For a great back-to-basics look, start with a lush green Christmas tree with a full silhouette, such as the Treetopia Alexander Fir Christmas Tree. This tree is available pre-lit with clear lights, which spares you the trouble of having to install your own lights.
Decorate it with an eclectic mix of ornaments using a predominantly red-and-white color palette. Make sure to choose glass ball ornaments in solid colors, and use iconic holiday décor staples like Santa, candy canes, snowflakes, and stockings. Sprigs of winterberries, clip-on poinsettias, and red-and-gold ribbons add texture to your tree, making it look warmer and more inviting.


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Scoping Out Your Neighborhood Beat
Get to know your beat from the inside out.
NYC Essentials | Visualizing the City | Databases | Hit the Books | Elsewhere
NYC Neighborhoods: Books
Want to learn more about various NYC Neighborhoods? Come into the Journalism Library and browse our related books! Some basic guides are listed below; some of these books circulate, while others must be used in the library only.
- The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Journalism Reserves:F129.B7 N44 2004
- The Neighborhoods of Queens. Journalism Reserves: F128.68.Q4 C67 2007
- Five Points. Journalism: F128.68.F56 A53 2001
- New York: The Big City and its Little Neighborhoods.
Journalism: F128.18 .F44 2009g
- Harlem Today: a Cultural and Visitors Guide. Journalism Reference: F128.68.H3 B3 1994g
- Jackson Heights, a Garden in the City. Journalism: F128.68.J3 K372 1990g
- Chronicles of Old New York: Exploring Manhattan's Landmark Neighborhoods. Journalism Reference: F128.18 .R66 2014g
- AIA guide to New York City. Journalism Reference: NA735.N5 A78 2000
The premier guide to architecturally significant structures in New York City. Includes suggested walking tours.
NYC Statistics & Demographics
- New York City Department of City Planning
The Department of City Planning is an important city agency, since they profile the city's neighborhoods, compile information about land use, and track NYC population trends, and list Community District Needs (data on districts as well as the Community Boards' own annual assessments of their needs). Also provides excellent report on the NYC foreign-born population, The Newest New Yorkers (2013).
- County & City Extra: Annual metro, city, and county data book, 2010
- Encyclopedia of New York City. Journalism Reference: F128.3 .E75 1995
Answers questions such as: Who was the first mayor of New York City? What is a settlement house?
- New Immigrants in New York. Journalism: F128.9.A1 N48 2001 (and ebook)
A 2001 book which includes chapters on specific immigrant groups as well as general essays on immigrants.
- Infoshare Online
How many people live in your beat neighborhood? How many are on public assistance? How many have asthma? What are the crime statistics for your beat? Immigration trends? Answer these questions and many more using Infoshare Online, a collection of statistics about NYC from a number of sources, including the US Census Bureau and various City and State agencies. The data can be retrieved by community district number or neighborhood name, covers demographic, health, and socio-economic variables, and in many cases is available for multiple years, which lets you chart trends.
Newspaper Databases
The following databases provide access to a variety of news sources, and can be tailored to search NYC-area topics and/or sources. All of these tools are available from off-campus to anyone with a valid Columbia e-mail ID and password.
- Factiva
Factiva is an excellent source for New York City news, with archives extending back to the 1980s. This database also provides access to the AP Daybook (search for "nyc daybook"), a daily guide to events going on around NYC.
- LexisNexis Academic
LexisNexis Academic contains the searchable full text of most New York City metropolitan area dailies, with archives extending back to the early 1990s in many instances. (An alternative to Factiva.)
- Ethnic Newswatch
Databases like Factiva and LexisNexis are useful, but do not include many articles from ethnic and minority newspapers, which can add dimension to your beat reporting. Ethnic Newswatch includes the full text of newspapers from ethnic, minority and native communities of the United States (including papers based in NYC). You can limit a search to a particular ethnic group's publications, and both English and Spanish language papers are included.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Once you get to know your beat in its present-day incarnation, use this database to pull up historic articles about it from the New York Times, which is searchable back to 1851.
Visualizing the City
The following sites bring data about NYC to life, by mapping it:
NYC OASIS is the New York City Open Accessible Space Information System Cooperative. The site presents an interactive mapping feature for data such as census demographics, natural resources, and even neighborhood trees. Maps can be created by zip code, neighborhood, or community district.
- Mapping Poverty in New York City
This resource from Community Service Society and United Way maps the impact of poverty on NYC communities.
- Social Explorer
A database product that helps to visually analyze and understand the demographics of the United States through the use of interactive maps and data reports. Explore thousands of historical data maps, from the first US Census in 1790 to the present.
NYC Background & Communities
Online resources useful for background information on the city.
- NYC.gov - the official New York City Web site
Explore this website to find out which agencies do what - it will save you time later on. Each city agency has a site linked to this page. A number of agencies (the Department of Buildings, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to name just a couple) have interactive web tools which give you access to some records.
- Gotham Gazette
This web publication is a good primer on the issues at the forefront of NYC policymakers' and residents' minds.
- City Limits
For coverage of issues from housing to criminal justice to welfare, check out the web version of this monthly magazine (print subscription available at the Journalism Library).
- New York Stories - Columbia's engagement with the city and its communities
This Columbia University web site includes news and information on Columbia's relationships with its surrounding communities and includes links to the The Record as well as planning updates for the Manhattanville campus expansion.
- The Green Book: Official Directory of the City of New York
Directory for city officials and agencies.
In addition to Columbia University's libraries (including Avery, which houses the architecture & urban planning collections, and Butler, which houses many books on the history of New York City), you may wish to explore:
- New York Public Library
Includes the Humanities and Social Sciences Library; Science, Industry and Business Library; Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center; and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
- City Hall Library
The official depository for city agency publications.
- New-York Historical Society
- Brooklyn Historical Society
- Brooklyn Public Library
Includes an online searchable version of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841-1902).
- Queens Historical Society
- Bronx County Historical Society


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NOTE: Events are moderated and do not display immediately. If you need to make changes to an event, please email email@example.com with the changes vs. submitting a new event. To keep this calendar as user-friendly as possible, please view the "Other Calendar Links" section to the right for multiple-day, recurring, or ongoing events & classes.
Art on the Green is a marketplace for fine arts, a performance space for a variety of talented performers and a gathering place for friends and families that is a highlight of summer in Coeur d'Alene. Over 160 artists and 500 volunteers come together to present Art on the Green for more than 25,000 people to enjoy. It is a great place to see and purchase fine art direct from the artists; paintings, photography, pottery, jewelry, clothing, metal sculpture, glass art, handcrafted works in clay, wood, leather, fiber and more. Kids of all ages can create their own special art in our Children's Art Garden. There are free performances on two stages all weekend long and our Beer & Wine Garden enjoys shaded seating at our North Stage. We invite you to join us for tasty food, cold beverages and festival treats while you enjoy this celebration of art, creativity and friendship at Art on the Green. Please see our website for entertainment and events calendars.


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Recently I've been thinking a lot about sequestration. No…I'm not delving into the world of political analysis; honing such a craft disregards the value of one's physical and mental health, if not life.
My thoughts are squarely centered on soil carbon sequestration. It's been many years since I've moved carbon to a place of hierarchy within my brain's gray matter. The element was shoved to the back row seconds following my final college biochemistry exam. Visions of carbon molecules dancing around something called the Krebs cycle still haunt me to this day.
Much has happened since that last round of biochemistry class. Like a dropped-off barn cat, carbon has found its way back into my life by being at the forefront of some major agricultural, environmental, and energy policy discussions.
Element number 6 on the periodic chart has woven together a complicated linkage among important issues related to crop production, biofuels, and climate change.
As with life itself, this story begins with the soil. We don't talk in terms of fertilizing with carbon, yet its role in a healthy, productive soil is unquestioned. Carbon binds soil particles together to form aggregates, provides food for microbes, enhances air and water movement, acts as a docking station for essential plant nutrients, reduces erosion, and combats soil compaction.
Most discussions about soil quality speak of organic matter percentage, not soil carbon content. In fact, the two entities are synonymous. Organic matter is 57 percent carbon by weight.
Carbon enters the soil by way of plant photosynthesis and exits into the air as carbon dioxide, primarily the result of plant and soil microbial respiration. How much carbon remains in the soil is largely a function of environmental conditions, crop management, and tillage practices.
It's a slow and difficult process to raise the organic matter content of a soil. Poor crop management reduces the amount of crop residue that is returned to the soil, while aggressive tillage can send carbon dioxide spewing into the air and organic matter into lakes and streams through erosion. These are the reasons why organic matter generally decreases as landscapes convert from native vegetation to cultivation.
Practices such as no-tillage, strip tillage, cover crops, and growing perennial forages slow the decay of organic matter, which aids in the sequester soil carbon.
Planting seed into piles of soil surface residue rarely meets with success. For this reason innovations and improvements in planter, grain drill, and tillage implement technology have largely been centered on preserving crop residues while at the same time creating favorable seedbed conditions. The result: most planters now weigh and cost as much as an Oshkosh truck.
As this quest for all things good continues, enter the biofuels movement–specifically cellulosic ethanol. Many researchers feel that the most feasible and efficient means of ethanol production is from plant fiber rather than grain.
There is currently a large U.S. research effort looking toward switchgrass, corn stalks, and other plant material as a source of biofuel. At the same time, it's also understood that routinely removing large amounts of crop residue from the field, especially for annual crops like corn, may have severe negative consequences on soil organic matter content. In essence, the carbon once returned to the soil would now be burned for fuel. It's just never easy.
If the biofuels dilemma wasn't enough, the climate change debate also puts carbon front and center and has agriculture sitting in the front half of the room. Carbon dioxide, along with methane and nitrous oxide, are the greenhouse gases most often associated with agriculture. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800's.
Agriculture accounts for only about 7 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Though cultivated soils contribute to carbon dioxide emissions, they also provide a potential mitigation solution as a large sink to capture and hold atmospheric carbon. In other words, crop production practices that help maintain or build organic matter not only improve soil quality and increase crop productivity, but they also reduce greenhouse gases.
Both carbon and money sequestration issues have evoked a lot of finger-pointing, index or otherwise. The solutions to these problems are complicated and will involve some level of compromise. Our government leaders and scientists must heed the famous words of basketball coach Jim Valvano, "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." The long-term health of our economy and environment are at stake. So could be our ability to feed the world.
Mike Rankin, Crops and Soils Agent, UW Extension-Fond du Lac County


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Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry; Assistant Chair for Translational Research, Psychiatry; Director, Yale OCD Research Clinic; Co-Director, Neuroscience Research Training Program
Research Departments & Organizations
Psychiatry: Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit | Connecticut Mental Health Center | Neurocognition, Neurocomputation, and Neurogenetics, Division of | Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP) | Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Research Clinic | Pittenger Lab
Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
Office of Cooperative Research
Research Interests
Basal Ganglia Diseases; Learning; Molecular Biology; Neuroanatomy; Neurobiology; Neurophysiology; Neurosciences; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Phobic Disorders; Psychopharmacology; Tourette Syndrome; Trichotillomania
Research Summary
My research is aimed towards a better understanding of a particular network of brain structures, called the basal ganglia, and the consequences of dysfunction of this network in various neuropsychiatric diseases. The basal ganglia are involved both in motor control and in the formation of habits. Abnormalities in this circuit are implicated in a variety of conditions characterized by maladaptive, inflexible behaviors - habits gone bad. These include obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, and drug addiction.
Our research in the laboratory has two strands. First, we seek to better understand the mechanisms of normal basal ganglia-dependent habit-like learning, by manipulating this circuit in mice and then testing their ability to learn a variety of tasks. Second, we seek to better understand how perturbation of the basal ganglia system can lead to symptoms of psychiatric disease. We do this by recapitulating some of the biology of diseases such as Tourette syndrome, again in mice, and observing the behavioral and neurophysiological consequences.
I also direct the Yale OCD Research Clinic, where our research aims towards the better understanding of the biology of obsessive compulsive disorder and the development of new treatments. We have a number of active research programs. We are investigating abnormalities in the neurotransmitter glutamate in OCD and whehter glutamate modularing medications can be of therapeutic benefit. We are probling the network connectivity of the brain in OCD and Tourette syndrome using recent advances in fMRI imaging. We are exploring the phenomenological heterogeneity of OCD, seeking clues to how we might better personalize effective treatments. We are also developing innovative neurofeedback techniques, in which patients actually learn to control the activity of key brain regions, in an effort to develop a new type of nonpharmacological treatment.
Extensive Research Description
STUDIES OF BASAL GANGLIA FUNCTION IN MICE. The basal ganglia, consisting of the striatum (caudate-putamen) and related subcortical structures, have historically been considered to have primarily motor functions; but it has become increasingly clear that they are also involved in a variety of cognitive and affective processes. Disruption of normal basal ganglia function is seen in a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, and drug addiction.
The striatum has been divided into distinct functional regions, though both the anatomical subdivisions and the functions with which they are associated remain approximate and subject to debate. The ventral striatum, consisting of the nucleus accumbens and related structures, has a well-documented role in reward and reward-driven learning, and has been extensively researched in the context of drug addiction. The dorsal striatum (caudate and putamen, in primates) is thought to have a role in the formation of motor and cognitive patterns and in forms of implicit learning, including the formation of habits.
The Pittenger laboratory is focused on better understanding the mechanisms of dorsal striatum-dependent habit-like learning, and of the consequences of its perturbation in various neuropsychiatric conditions. We conduct our researches primarily in mice, which allows us to take advantage of sophisticated reverse genetic techniques to perturb the striatal circuitry in molecularly precise ways and to target specific striatal subregions and neuronal subtypes.
DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL BEHAVIORAL ASSAYS. A challenge in this line of work is that striatum-dependent learning processes have been less studied than those depending on other brain regions, such as hippocampus, cerebellum, and amygdala, and have barely been studied in mice at all prior to the last few years. A major thrust of our efforts has therefore been the establishment and validation of behavioral assays of striatal function in mice.
CREB IN STRIATAL SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY AND STRIATUM-DEPENDENT LEARNING. Dr. Pittenger's initial work in this direction began during his Ph.D. studies with recent Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel, with the production of transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative mutatation of the ubiquitous transcription factor CREB, specifically in the striatum. CREB has long been known to have a conserved role in the establishment of long-lasting plasticity; for example, Dr. Pittenger's earlier thesis work confirmed its role in the hippocampus in the stabilization of spatial learning (Pittenger et al, Neuron, 2002). However, the role of CREB-regulated processes in dorsal striatum-dependent habit-like learning had not previously been directly studied. We found that inhibition of CREB function in the dorsal striatum disrupts cortico-striatal synaptic plasticity and several striatum-dependent learning tasks (Pittenger et al, J Neurosci, 2006). This study represented the first time that the detailed mechanisms of striatum-dependent learning had been examined using genetic tools in mice. It also established a new paradigm (adapted from earlier work in rats) for the analysis of such learning processes in mice, laying the methodological groundwork for further analyses.
COMPETITIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN LEARNING SYSTEMS. More recent behavioral work in the Pittenger laboratory has examined the interaction of dorsal striatum-dependent learning with other types of learning and other circuits in the brain. We developed a novel cued water maze task for mice (again taking previous work in rats as our starting point), and found that the animals could learn to navigate using distinct strategies driven by either local or spatial cues. Lesions of the dorsal striatum disrupted cue-driven search, while lesions of the dorsal hippocampus disrupted spatial navigation. The remarkable finding came when we looked at interactions: hippocampal lesions not only left cued learning intact, they enhanced it. Conversely, striatal lesions not only left spatial learning unimpaired, they made it better. The same effect was see in our transgenic mice, in which striatal CREB is inhibited and corticostriatal plasticity is impaired: these animals have impaired cued learning but enhanced spatial learning (Lee et al, PNAS, 2008). This study was the first to document this sort of bi-directional enhancement after discrete brain lesions. We interpret the counter-intuitive results in terms of the multiple memory systems theory of learning. This theory posits that the mammalian brain contains several different learning systems, adapted for different types of environmental contingencies. For example, the hippocampus is adapted for the processing of spatial or relational information, while the dorsal striatum is hypothesized to be adapted for the gradual acquisition of discrete cue associations. Under normal circumstances they are activated in parallel; with training, whichever system is best able to master the relevant environmental contingency (e.g. to predict reward) comes to dominate. But in circumstances where two systems produce disparate behavioral outcomes they can destructively interfere with one another, or 'compete'; this is particularly likely early in training, before differential reinforcement has led to the predominance of one system. We interpret the enhancement of the function subserved by one system after manipulations of the other as evidence for the alleviation of such competition.
STRIATAL SUBREGIONS. Our ongoing work in this direction seeks to refine our understanding of the structures underlying cued and spatial learning and their interaction. The dorsal striatum is not a homogeneous structure; different areas receive projections from functionally distinct regions of cortex and are therefore likely to process different sorts of information. In particular, the dorsolateral striatum (the putamen, in primates) receives projections from primary sensory and motor cortices, and therefore is likely to be involved in acquisition of cue-driven learning such as that we are seeing in the water maze task. The dorsomedial striatum, in contrast, receives input from association cortices and may have a more general role. Indeed, studies in rats suggest such a dissociation, and our own preliminary data suggest that restricted lesions of the dorsomedial striatum have very different effects from larger disruptions of the whole dorsal striatum.
We are addressing the question of functional dissociation within the dorsal striatum in several ways. First, we seek to better define what is meant by the 'dorsomedial striatum' and 'dorsolateral striatum' in this context by examining striatal activation by water maze learning in an unbiased way; we have found the different tasks to produce distinct patterns of striatal activation, enen though they share all sensory, motor, and motivational characteristics. Second, we are targeting lesions to putative striatal subregions and examining the behavioral consequences. Finally, we are targeting disruptions of CREB-mediated transcription to striatal subregions using recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAV), to see whether disruption in a restricted subregion is sufficient to recapitulate the effects we see when CREB is inhibited throughout the dorsal striatum in our transgenic mice.
NEW METHODOLOGIES FOR PROBING AND PERTURBING STRIATAL FUNCTION. This latter project highlights another theme in the Pittenger laboratory's research portfolio, the development of novel tools for precise manipulation of specific mechanisms and cell populations in the dorsal striatum, and in other neural circuits. The production of transgenic mice allowed restriction of a molecular manipulation to the dorsal striatum, but it does not suffice for more specific targeting of manipulations to discrete subregions. For that purpose we are now using engineered rAAV vectors to deliver our CREB dominant negative construct, and other gene products, into defined brain areas by stereotaxic surgery. A first-generation vector, which we are currently using, allows expression of a CREB dominant negative in target brain regions of varying size. A second-generation vector, which is under development and working well in vitro, permits the temporal regulation of the delivered gene, such that it can be turned on and off; this will allow behavioral experimental designs not possible with static manipulations, such as dissociating learning from recall.
Another major effort in the laboratory is the targeting of defined striatal cell populations. The striatum, like any other brain region or structure, is not homogenous; it is made up of distinct populations of principal cells and a number of different classes of interneurons. Different cell types are likely to make different contributions to striatal function, and perturbation of one or another cell type may result in discrete behavioral abnormalities or (in humans) patterns of psychopathology. We have developed a method, combining recombinant viruses with transgenic technologies, to perturb defined cell populations, without disrupting similar cells elsewhere in the brain or neighboring cells of different types.
MODELING PSYCHIATRIC DISEASE. We are applying this technology to model neuropsychiatric conditions affecting the striatum, especially Tourette syndrome. This represents a third focus of the laboratory. Modeling psychiatric disease in animals has proven enormously challenging, because etiology is often obscure and symptomatology is often difficult to translate to non-verbal species. We believe that the development of valid models hinges on a sufficient degree of understanding of pathophysiology to ensure validity when translating to animals.
Fortunately, studies at Yale and elsewhere are beginning to produce such understanding in the case of Tourette syndrome. We are using genetic methods to produce putative models of Tourette syndrome based both on post-mortem findings (in collaboration with Flora Vaccarino) and on genetic insights (in collaboration with Matt State). These animals are then being tested in a variety of behavioral assays to assess their recapitulation of Tourette syndrome phenomenology, explore secondary and tertiary consequences of the initial manipulations, and investigate the response to both established and novel medications.
A FOCUS ON TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH: NEW MEDICATIONS FOR OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD). The final focus of the Pittenger laboratory is also translational. Dr. Pittenger is Director of the Yale OCD Research Clinic, where he has found glutamate-modulating medications to be of potential benefit in the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (a condition in which basal ganglia dysfunction is implicated). We are examining the behavioral and molecular effects of such glutamate-modulating drugs in animals, to better understand their role in patients with this and related conditions. As new animal models of disorders of the basal ganglia, like OCD, become available, we hope to use this translational approach to advance our understanding both of the normal role of the basal ganglia in behavior and its perturbation in disease, and to develop new generations of therapeutics for the psychiatric population.
- Striatal subregions in cued-driven navigation, instrumental habit, and other behaviors
- Developing new techniques for the targeted disruption of striatal interneurons
- Modeling Tourette syndrome in mice: genetic and neuropathological approaches
- Histidine decarboxylase knockout mice, an animal model of a rare genetic form of Tourette syndrome
- Histamine modulation of basal ganglia information processing
- Microglial abnormalities in animal models of Toruette syndrome
- Glutamate dysregulation in OCD: an MRS Study
- Functional and structural connectomics in OCD and Tourette syndrome
- Neurofeedback targeting the orbitofrontal cortex for the treatment of OCD
- Biological and phenomenological predictors of treatment response in OCD
- The genetics of OCD
Clinical Trials
|Study Title
|Child Development & Autism, Diseases of the Nervous System, Genetics - Adult, Genetics - Pediatric, Mental Health & Behavioral Research
|Genetic and molecular studies of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders
|Diseases of the Nervous System, Mental Health & Behavioral Research
|Biomarkers of Clinical Subtype and Treatment Response in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
|Diseases of the Nervous System, Mental Health & Behavioral Research
|Neurofeedback for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Selected Publications
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Phenomenology, Pathophysiology, and Treatment.
Pittenger, C. (editor). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Phenomenology, Pathophysiology, and Treatment. New York: Oxford University Press 2017
Histamine modulation of the basal ganglia circuitry in the development of pathological grooming.
Rapanelli M, Frick L, Bito H, Pittenger C. Histamine modulation of the basal ganglia circuitry in the development of pathological grooming. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2017, 114:6599-6604. 2017
Targeted ablation of cholinergic interneurons in the dorsolateral striatum produces behavioral manifestations of Tourette syndrome.
Xu M, Kobets A, Du JC, Lennington J, Li L, Banasr M, Duman RS, Vaccarino FM, DiLeone RJ, Pittenger C. Targeted ablation of cholinergic interneurons in the dorsolateral striatum produces behavioral manifestations of Tourette syndrome. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2015, 112:893-8. 2015
Histidine decarboxylase deficiency causes tourette syndrome: parallel findings in humans and mice.
Calstellan Baldan, L., Williams, K.A., Gallezot, J.-D., Pogorelov, V., Rapanelli, M., Crowley, M., Anderson, G.M., Loring, E., Gorczyca, R., Billingslea, E., Wasylink, s., Panza, K.E., Ercan-Sencicek, A.G., Krusong, K., Leventhal, B.L., Ohtsu, H., Bloch, M. H., Hughes, Z. A., Krystal, J. H., Mayes, L., de Araujo, I., Ding, Y. S., State, M. W., & Pittenger, C. Histidine decarboxylase deficiency causes tourette syndrome: parallel findings in humans and mice. Neuron, 81:77-90. 2015
Global resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis identifies frontal cortex, striatal, and cerebellar dysconnectivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Anticevic A, Hu S, Zhang S, Savic A, Billingslea E, Wasylink S, Repovs G, Cole MW, Bednarski S, Krystal JH, Bloch MH, Li CS, Pittenger C. Global resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis identifies frontal cortex, striatal, and cerebellar dysconnectivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry 2014, 75:595-605. 2014
Effects of ketamine in treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Bloch MH, Wasylink S, Landeros-Weisenberger A, Panza KE, Billingslea E, Leckman JF, Krystal JH, Bhagwagar Z, Sanacora G, Pittenger C. Effects of ketamine in treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry 2012, 72:964-70. 2012


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MasterCard's net income rebounded strongly in the fourth quarter as its overseas business continued to expand, the company said Thursday.
The results benefited by comparison to the year-earlier quarter, which was weighed down by a massive legal charge.
Net income in the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to $605 million, or $4.86 per share, from $19 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net revenue rose 10 percent to $1.90 billion. MasterCard continued to grow by most measures: It processed 20 percent more transactions than a year ago, including 17 percent higher cross-border volumes.
MasterCard is expanding most quickly in Latin America and the region that includes Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Outside the United States, the volume of cash moved in 2012 increased 23.5 percent on a U.S. dollar basis. That compares with growth of 9.7 percent inside the U.S.
The company also has been trying to gain market share in the U.S. credit card market. To that end, it announced a number of partnerships with big consumer brands, including InterContinental Hotel Group, Bass Pro Shops and Shell Oil.
Strong partnerships will add to MasterCard's dollar volumes, but may take some time to have a visible effect, Chief Financial Officer Martina Hund-Mejean said in an interview.
''When you sign an agreement, you have to actually roll out the cards to the consumer in the market, and then you have to get the consumer to use those cards,'' she said.
She said the company's market share in the U.S. credit card business has barely changed over the last few years. The company is providing frequent status updates about its growth in this area, Hund-Mejean said.
The Purchase, N.Y.-based payments network took a charge of nearly $500 million in the year-earlier quarter. The charge covered the cost of a settlement with retailers over the fees they pay on credit card transactions.
For 2012, MasterCard earned $2.76 billion, or $21.94 per share, on revenue of $7.39 billion.
During the quarter, management repurchased 1.3 million shares for $613 million. Repurchasing shares is a way of returning profits to shareholders. It boosts the value of each share that remains in investors' hands.
The quarterly results beat analysts' estimates. Shares were roughly flat in morning trading, up 27 cents at $516.27.


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During winter, the main concern we have in our homes is warmth, and the amount of energy that it requires to heat them. Heating and cooling use more energy and money than any other system in our homes, with almost half our energy bills used for that purpose. According to The Department of Energy, "The average American household spends around $2,000 on energy costs each year – and about 45 percent of those costs are heating-related." More informative information from The Department of Energy is available HERE.
Here are a few tips that can help lower your heating bill, increase the temperature in your home, and lower the impact your heating has on the world.
1. Look out, drafts!
Look for any drafts in your house and seal them. Light a candle or incense and hold it up to doors and window frames. If the candle flame flickers or the smoke of the incense flows towards the window, there is a draft there. Use caulk or weather stripping to seal the drafty areas. Use a draft stopper at the bottom of your doors to keep cold air from seeping under the door and into the house.
Also be sure to check any electrical outlets on walls that lead outside the house. If there's a draft, cover the outlet with felt or another thick material.
2. Install a programmable thermostat that increases the temperature when you're home and lowers the temperature during the times when you don't need higher temps, such as when you're asleep or away. Be sure to turn the thermostat down to 60 degrees for those times.
3. Use heavy drapes or curtains in the winter. A heavy material in front of the windows will block out the cold air that can come in through the glass. If you already have drapes, consider sewing a heavy material to the backside for the winter months.
4. Invest in warm flannel or fleece sheets and comforters, like the OMI wool comforter. Check out the OMI wool comforter and accessories HERE.
5. Install ceiling fans or place fans near heater vents to help circulate heat throughout the house.
Note: Make sure ceiling fans are rotating in the right direction for each season. In the winter the fan should rotate clockwise, which will push cold air up and pull the warmth down.
6. Use only one door when coming and going from your home. When you enter or exit each time the door is open, there is heat loss. If you minimize the heat loss to one particular area it can limit the effect on the entire house.
7. Close doors to rooms you don't use to concentrate the heat in main living areas.
8.To help save energy, set your water heater at or below 120 degrees. Typically, a 10-degree reduction can lower your heating bill by 5%.
9. Be sure to insulate your water heater and insulate any exposed pipes. This can reduce heat losses by up to 45% and lower your heating bill up to 9%.
10. Don't underestimate the power of warm clothing. Get out the cozy sweaters, slippers, and blankets. Dress in layers, wearing long underwear next to your skin. This will significantly help keep you warm and cozy.


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BOSTON, Mass.—Despite valiant efforts across the board, UMass Boston women's tennis (2-6, 0-4 LEC) dropped a 9-0 contest to Bridgewater State (6-2, 4-0) Saturday afternoon at the BC High School Tennis Courts.
Senior captain Hieu Nguyen (Dorchester, Mass.) and Imani Williams (Roxbury, Mass.) were the only Beacons to grab more than one game in singles play, as the Beacons took on the Little East Conference favorites.
In doubles play, Nguyen and Samantha Counts (Bridgewater, Mass.) dropped their number one doubles match by an 8-4 score to Lauren Hopp and Jenna Williamson. Williams and Solveig Castelli (Precojo, France) fell at number two doubles by an 8-3 score at the hands of Ashley Pereira and Brittney Hislop. And at number three doubles, Alison Vautrin and Rachael Eramo took an 8-0 victory over the Beacons duo of Stephony Reeves (Dorchester, Mass.) and Shihyu Yang (Taipei, Taiwan).
Singles action would be more of the same, as Vautrin started off singles with a win at number four over Castelli 6-1, 6-0. In number five singles, Cindy Lee made her Beacons debut (Pomona, Calif.) but fell 6-0, 6-0 to Hopp. At number two singles, Counts couldn't fend off Pereira who took a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Number one singles resulted in a 6-2, 6-1 win for Williamson over Nugyen, while Williams dropped a 6-2, 6-1 contest to Hislop at number three singles.
Finally, Melissa Flynn took down Ngoc Le (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) by a 6-0, 6-0 score to round out the match.
The Beacons will return to the court on Tuesday when they host Salem State at 3:00 p.m.


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I called for a more diverse Lions offense, and with Reggie Bush in the fold, that's exactly what we're getting. The result? A potent attack that makes Detroit one of the league's most intriguing attacks
The Lions offense in recent years had mastered the art of posting big but empty numbers. Last year, the Lions ranked third in yards per game but just 17th in points, finishing with a 4-12 record. In 2011, they were fifth in yards and fourth in points, but the offense was not quite strong enough down the stretch to carry a collapsing defense. After a 5-0 start, the 2011 Lions lost seven of their last 12 (including a first-round playoff game at New Orleans).
The Lions 2013 preview here on The MMQB emphasized the offense's need to sophisticate its high-powered attack. So far this season, head coach Jim Schwartz and, more specifically, coordinator Scott Linehan have done that. A disappointing last-second home loss to the Bengals recently dropped the Lions to 4-3, but that still leaves them near the top of the injury-ravaged NFC North.
Let's examine why the Lions' updated offense is one of the most intriguing (and still prolific) in football. It starts with the most important free agent signing of this past offseason.
Part I: The Bush Factor
Reggie Bush made a great point in a production meeting with CBS's Marv Albert and Rich Gannon prior to the Bengals game last week. The eighth-year veteran said that, as a Saint, he was used just a tad too much in the passing game and not quite enough in the running game. As a Dolphin, he was used a bit too much in the running game and not quite enough in the passing game. Bush feels that his role as a Lion is perfectly balanced (98 carries so far, 32 receiving targets).
Since his arrival, the Lions have finally committed to a foundational ground game, running the ball on 53 percent of their first-down snaps this season (third most attempts in the NFL). Last year, they ran on just 45 percent of their first downs. The year before, 43.5 percent.
A bulk of these first down runs have featured Bush between the tackles. Overall, the results have been hit or miss. The Lions have moved the chains a league-leading 15 times on such carries, as Bush has a sense for hitting the downhill throttle when he's afforded clear initial spacing. However, Bush also has a proclivity to dance in the backfield when his rushing lanes look murky.
But even when those lanes are continuously murky—like they've been the last two weeks with Detroit's offensive line unable to generate much push against the stauncher defensive fronts of Cleveland and Cincinnati—Linehan has remained committed to balance on the ground. That has compelled defenses to stay honest, which has empowered the Lions' play-action game and kept them in more manageable third downs.
Of course, Bush's main value is in the passing game, where he's not just a lethal threat out of the backfield (screens, swing passes, even handoffs from spread sets) but a movable chess piece that Linehan can use to dictate matchups from the slot or split out wide.
This increased flexibility is not the only change Bush has brought forth. Some of his best work as a decoy has come off presnap motion. The Lions, who normally prefer static formations, have made a point to use these new wrinkles early in games.
Part II: The Megatron Factor
Bush never played with a receiver in Miami who regularly commanded safety help over the top. In fact, he never really played with this sort of receiver in New Orleans, either. Now, playing with Calvin Johnson, Bush has the luxury of consistently facing just seven, and sometimes even six, defenders in the box, as described in the graphics above. Lateral agility and willingness (or eagerness) to redirect and change field makes him the perfect type of runner for exploiting a soft box. We saw this fully illustrated against the Bears a few weeks ago.
Johnson this year has not aligned only in wide splits like you see above. The Lions last season started moving the 6-5 dynamo to the slot more (28 percent of the time, according to Pro Football Focus), where he is more difficult to double team. They have continued that this season, with Johnson kicking inside 26 percent of the time, occasionally even off an uncommon presnap motion (like on his 27-yard touchdown last Sunday).
More than the newfound formation versatility, the Lions have diversified their passing game with an influx of quick-timing routes. Johnson's two touchdowns last week were his first two 20-plus-yard catches this season. He is much more of an underneath threat—which the numbers attest to. According to PFF, 61 percent of Johnson's catches have been within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Last season, it was 51 percent.
Obviously, Johnson still runs plenty of deep routes—there isn't a better coverage-lifting decoy in the NFL—but he's very much a part of a Lions' passing game that, as a whole, has contracted in order to help Stafford get the ball out quicker. Stafford, in response, is having a career year.
Part III: Matthew Stafford
A quicker passing game would not work without Stafford's improvements in the presnap phase. He has been sharper at identifying defensive fronts and coverages, plus he's had better discipline to take what's available early in the down. The cannon-armed 25-year-old will always have a gun-slinging style of play. Consequently, he'll always have big-time playmaking ability but also inherent bouts of inconsistency. But no longer are Stafford's bouts of inconsistency compromising the flow of Detroit's offense. They're less frequent and shorter-lived. In fact, his trademark gambles—most notably his throws from weird arm angles when under duress—have been positives more often than not.
The quicker, sharper passing game has also allowed Detroit's somewhat modest front five to survive soundly in pass protection. And it has helped accelerate Stafford's chemistry-building process with receivers Kris Durham, Ryan Broyles and Joseph Fauria, all of whom have bigger-than-expected roles thanks to injuries at their position.
Facing Dallas
The Cowboys front four has been rocked by injuries, but high-effort backups like George Selvie, Drake Nevis and Nick Hayden have overachieved in elevated roles. More importantly, the Cowboys secondary has been outstanding in press coverage on the outside (which they play the vast majority of the time, as Monte Kiffin has substituted his "Tampa 2" for a Seahawks-style hybrid press scheme). The Cowboys linebacking unit—or, really, Sean Lee—has played with speed and discipline in all phases.
Style-wise, this could be Detroit's most challenging foe yet. Lee matches up well to Bush, while cornerback Brandon Carr has the size and flexibility to spar with Johnson. The Lions will have to lean on their ancillary weapons. Fortunately, they've designed their system around Bush and Johnson in ways that make that easy to do.
Thursday Night Preview
Buccaneers offense vs. Panthers defense
One thing—or maybe THE one thing—that Bucs fans can be encouraged about is the play of Mike Glennon. Aside from a handful of typical rookie misreads, the third-rounder has been uncommonly poised in a vertically inclined passing system that demands he hang in the pocket. Glennon has all the instincts and tools of a classic dropback quarterback. Style-wise, there are similarities to Joe Flacco. (That is, when Glennon isn't throwing deep; he must significantly improve his downfield accuracy, especially outside the numbers.)
We'll see if Glennon can remain poised now that the opposing defense don't have to worry much about the run. The likely absence of Doug Martin hurts. With good help from lead-blocking fullback Erik Lorig, this front five can still be decent enough to give rookie Mike James consistent shots at success. More likely, though, the Bucs will have to expand their aerial attack. Carolina's speedy linebacking corps is tough to run against.
Carolina's secondary can be exploited, but only if the dynamic front four it plays behind can be contained. Defensive end Greg Hardy (who also plays inside on some passing downs) might be the biggest breakout star of 2013. (Not that he wasn't an emerging player before this contract year.) The Bucs' pass protection has improved over the past two weeks, thanks in part to the team's willingness to keep extra backs and tight ends in to help. Max protection is pretty much mandatory given the downfield nature of this passing game.
Panthers offense vs. Buccaneers defense
Cam Newton has completed 76.9 and 88.2 percent of his passes over the last two weeks, lifting Carolina back to .500 and applying some much-needed coolants to head coach Ron Rivera's seat. Carolina's last two opponents, Minnesota and St. Louis, both play very standard zone-based defense. It just so happens, that's exactly what Tampa Bay generally plays.
The Bucs' zones, however, are stocked with better defensive backs than Newton has seen lately. Even though Darrelle Revis is not playing a lot of man, he'll likely follow Steve Smith around. That means there will be instances that require Newton to go deeper into his progressions and look for ancillary, or even dump-off, targets. Those are usually the situations where Newton becomes undisciplined and mistake-prone.


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May 29, 2008
LOS ANGELES - UCLA Anderson faculty member Kumar Rajaram has been promoted to Professor, Step I. Professor Tony Bernardo, chair of the Anderson faculty said the following in a statement:
"It is my great pleasure to announce that Kumar Rajaram has been promoted to Professor, Step I. Kumar is a great scholar, a phenomenal teacher, and a wonderful colleague. We are very fortunate to have him on the faculty. Please join me in congratulating Kumar on his well-deserved promotion."
Rajaram is a professor in Anderson's Decisions, Technology and Management department. Professor Rajaram's current research interests include improving operations in the health care industry, non-profit sector and in the process manufacturing sectors including food processing, pharmaceuticals and the petrochemical industry. He has focused on developing analytical models of complicated systems with a strong emphasis on practical implementation. His research has been published in journals such as Operations Research, Management Science, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Marketing Science and the European Journal of Operational Research. He has been awarded the Eric and 'E' Juline Faculty Excellence in Research Award at UCLA Anderson.
Professor Rajaram teaches the MBA core course on operations and technology management, various Executive Education courses and doctoral level courses on operations management and models for operations design, planning and control. He has been awarded the George Robbins Award, the Citibank Award and the Neidorf "Decade" Award for excellence in teaching.
Prof. Rajaram received his Ph.D. in operations management from The Wharton School in Pennsylvania, where he also earned an M.A. in managerial science and applied economics. He holds an M.S. in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, an M.Sc. in Mathematics from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India and a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, also from the Birla Institute.
Visit Professor Rajaram's bio page.
About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management, established in 1935, is regarded among the very best business schools in the world. UCLA Anderson faculty are ranked #1 in "Intellectual Capital" by BusinessWeek and are renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Furthermore, the finance faculty is ranked #1 in research publications in the four leading peer-reviewed journals by the Financial Management Association. Each year, UCLA Anderson provides management education to more than 1,600 students enrolled in MBA, Executive MBA, Fully-Employed MBA and doctoral programs, and to more than 2,000 professional managers through executive education programs. Combining highly selective admissions, varied and innovative learning programs, and a world-wide network of 35,000 alumni, UCLA Anderson develops and prepares global leaders.


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There are signs today (literally) that Bowser is stepping up his war-efforts in the Koopa Kingdom to recruit volunteers to finally overrun the Mushroom Kingdom's defenses and do away with a couple of bothersome plumbers. Pictured above are nine of the propaganda posters that have been seen in the Dark Land, urging its citizens to join their nation in its struggle to rid itself of the oppression of the Mario brothers.
Fans of the classic Nintendo Mario Bros. titles will recognize the humor in the above paragraph, as of course these posters are an artists interpretation of the kind of actions Bowser might take in his latest bid to kidnap Princess Peach. All of the artwork seen above are original pieces that have been created by Fernando Reza, a Los Angeles artist that specializes in geeky pop-culture art. Other works that he has posted on his site involve titles such as Doctor Who, Star Wars and Back to the Future. All of which will make you go looking for a towel to wipe the drool from your chin.
The great news is that if you have $150 that is burning a hole in your pocket you can own the full set of nine posters pictured above. You better hurry however, as the run is limited to 150 individually numbered and signed copies. The world is run by Geeks remember, and a good number of them spend all their days scanning the internet for items such as this. If you are looking for just one or two of the posters, they are priced individually at $30.00 which isn't a bad price at all.
You can see more of Reza's artwork by going to his site Fro Design Co.


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Oregonians are able to live longer and healthier, thanks to the efforts of state, local and federal public health agencies.
6:00 amThe alarm clock buzzes. Stumbling out of bed, you head for the shower and then brush your teeth. The water coming out of the faucet is clean and safe, thanks to public health.
6:30 amAfter waking your children you go to the kitchen. Mornings are rushed, but you have heard public health messages about the importance of eating healthy meals together. You set out milk, fresh fruit and whole grain cereal.
7:30 amPulling on coats and gathering bags, your family heads for the car. Fastening seatbelts is an automatic habit. Public health helped pass Oregon's seat belt and child car seat laws and promotes their use. Oregon ranks third in the nation for seat belt use, saving lives and preventing serious injuries.
7:50 amAfter dropping off your children at school, you head to work. As you go in, you notice that a new "No Smoking or Vaping" sign has been posted. For years, public health has been educating people about the deadly health effects of tobacco and second hand smoke.
10:45 amYour sister calls. She and her new baby have just returned from the pediatrician. The six-week check up was great! Public health promotes early prenatal care for all pregnant women.It also ensures that every baby born in Oregon gets a newborn screening to test for 26 metabolic disorders, which, if not treated, can lead to developmental disability, illness or even death.
12:00 pmYou change into tennis shoes and head out the door for a brisk walk. Public health studies have shown that people who exercise regularly live longer and healthier lives, with less chronic disease.
12:35 pmFor lunch you stop at the cafeteria and make a quick trip through the salad bar. You naturally assume the food is safe to eat, because public health oversees the inspection and licensing of restaurants.
1:15 pmBack at work, you hear the sound of sirens as an ambulance hurtles past your building. Thanks to public health it is fully equipped, the paramedics are certified and a trauma system is in place to ensure that critically injured persons will have the best possible chance of survival.
5:00 pmAnother day ends. You start your car and the radio comes on. You hear a public service announcement advising parents to make sure their two-year olds have all their shots. Public health promotes early childhood immunizations to protect toddlers from serious, sometimes crippling and even fatal childhood diseases.
5:15 pmYou pick up your children and head for home. They want to ride their bikes and you remind them to wear their helmets. Public health was part of the coalition that helped pass Oregon's Bike Helmet Law. Since then, helmet use by children under 16 has doubled. Helmets reduce the risk of brain injury by 85%.
6:30 pmYou call your family to dinner, and tell them to be sure to wash their hands before eating. Public health teaches that proper hand washing is a primary protection against disease and prevents the spread of infections.
7:00 pmThe evening news tells of a mysterious disease outbreak among visitors at a large Portland convention. Thankfully, the illness is under control. Public health authorities say improvements and better coordination with other organizations, all made under the state's federal bioterrorism grant, helped them halt the epidemic quickly.
10:00 pmIt is time for bed and your family drifts off to sleep. Public health has touched your lives in countless ways today, working behind the scenes to keep you all safe and sound.
Adapted from A Day in the Life of Public Health by the Colorado Department of Health.
Promoting health and preventing the leading causes of death, disease and injury in Oregon.


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Name: Carey
Age: 33
Location: Kansas
My fiancée is 27 and in the past 3 to 4 years her libido has become virtually extinct I have tried everything and she just blames her birth control what do I do
You've been engaged to a woman for more than 4 years? Oh wait, maybe you're trying to tell me that you proposed to this woman in spite of knowing she has an extinct libido? Either way, darling, that's messed up, huh? Are you hoping this is "dry spell" is gonna somehow magically resolve itself once you're married? I wouldn't hold my breath for that, if I were you.
It's true of course, birth control pills can seriously impact on a woman's desire for sex. Your fiancée is probably one of these women. Maybe she ought to consult her physician about finding another type of pill that may have a less severe impact on her libido.
Many women find that triphasic birth control pills (which deliver differing amounts of hormones every week) interfere much less with their sex drive than monophasic pills (which deliver the same amount of hormones each dose).
She could also decide to discontinue the pill altogether, and choose another form of contraception, such as a condom or diaphragm. Just realize that once off the pill, her sex drive may only return very slowly.
You see how this predicament is a double bind for your fiancée. If she is more lax with her contraceptive efforts, just to please you and your sex drive; then she opens herself up for an unplanned pregnancy. And that's not good for her, or you. Is there anything YOU can do to free her up from shouldering the full burden of contraception? Have you've considered a vasectomy? Probably not, huh? What man ever imagines he ought assume the responsibility for controlling reproduction?
While I wholeheartedly support the notion that married people deserve a rich and fulfilling sex life, unless there's mutual agreement for another arrangement; that can't happen if one of the partners is inequitably burdened by one thing or another. Perhaps, it's time you and the little woman to have a frank talk about sharing the responsibility for contraception. And if this little talk is successful, maybe, just maybe, you'll get laid again.
Good luck
Name: Tony
Age: 40
Location: Houston
I've loved several women and even married and divorced one. Over the last few years, I notice having similar feelings for men around me…longing, sweaty palms, difficulty thinking and wanting to be with them alone. Is this love? Am I bisexual? Am I a sick man better of dead? I have not crossed the line and I still having great sex with women. But there's now a guy that I think about when I'm with her! Am I gay? Bisexual? Sick in the head?
My first reaction is that what you present is not particularly uncommon. Many people, just like you, inexplicably find themselves behaving in a completely unexpected sexual manner. I'd love to know what triggered you to veer off your comfortable and predictable sexual path?
There's never a scarcity of sexual fascists out there, people who believe that sexual tastes and preferences are carved in stone, or there's only one "right" way to be sexual. They'll persecute anyone who doesn't conform to their strict immutable notions of sexuality and eroticism. Despite the proliferation of these hetero-fascists, homo-fascists, what have you; they are all very wrong about the indomitable human spirit.
For the most part, humans are not sexual automatons. Given a more permissive and sex-positive culture then our own, we'd all be more fluid in our eroticism and sexual expression. Are you one of the lucky few who has discovered the joy of this fluidity? Doesn't quite sound like it to me, at least not yet. I think you're still in the "scared shitless" stage.
For a guy who has yet to "cross the line" and actually act on your fantasy, you sure are preoccupied with your identity. Are you afraid that someone will take away your breeder card if you actually touch a dude in a sexual way? Does having same-sex feelings…sweaty palms and all…make you a gay? Doubt it! Being gay entails a lot more than a sense of longing for something you're not supposed to have. Are you bisexual? I can't say for sure, but you're certainly not exclusively straight either. I suppose you have to come to grips with the self-identify thing when you have a bit more information about your burgeoning eroticism. What I know for sure is that you are not sick.
Who knows, your homoeroticism might very well be situational. It might not extend any farther than the guy you think about when you're fucking chicks. I know all of this is can be pretty disconcerting and it can really mess with your head. But at least you know you are still alive sexually. So many people are sleepwalking through their erotic lives.
Will you act on your inclinations? Will you test the waters, so to speak? What harm could it do? Might just open up a whole new sexual world for you. On the other hand, if you do nothing, or try and repress these natural feelings, you'll always know in your heart of hearts that you have the desire, if not the capacity, to express yourself sexually with a much wider range of humans than what you are currently used to. And something tells me that if you choose the path of self-denial, it will eat away at you until you satisfy your curiosity.
Good luck