“MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus] has been spreading in the
U.S. for many years. This is quite a serious problem. MRSA has inched its way
to various populations. [However] the risk of serious illness to a healthy person
is relatively small.” §
“I believe that most of the funds expended on independent counselors [who
coach students applying to colleges] are simply wasted. We do not believe they
have much, if any, effect on who we accept.” §
“[T]he FCC will have another chance this year to create cheaper wireless
broadband services. … The idea would work like this: In many areas, not
all broadcast channels are in use. The unused channels are ‘white spaces’ of
high-quality spectrum that could be made available to local Internet service
providers. Unlike the much higher frequency of Wi-Fi, television broadcast frequencies
can travel for miles and penetrate walls, providing a much broader range for
Internet service. ... While there is a risk that white-space Internet devices
could interfere with some television signals, the potential for cheap, accessible
wireless broadband is too great to pass up.” §
“Under the American Constitution, federal statutes, not executive decisions
in the name of national security, are ‘the supreme law of the land.’ It’s
that simple. So long as a statute is constitutional, it is binding on everyone,
including the president. The president has no supreme, exclusive or trumping
authority to ‘defend the nation.’ In fact, the Constitution uses
the words ‘provide for the common defense’ in its list of the powers
of Congress, not those of the president.” §
“It’s true that we aren’t testing enough people [for HIV].
The high-risk groups have really bad follow-up, really bad linkage to health
care. ... [But] even these high-risk groups come into contact with a primary
health care setting, and making [HIV testing] a routine part of care is the answer.” §
“At primary-school level in the United States, a controversial method called ‘direct
instruction’ (DI) has generated a ferocious battle about how best to teach
schoolchildren. DI is controversial because it is completely scripted. The entire
lesson — the instructions (‘Put your finger under the first word’);
the questions (‘What does that comma mean?’); and the prompts (‘Go
on’) — is written out in the teacher’s instruction manual.
... Could you imagine having to follow a script most of your working day, repeating
ad nauseam stale words of encouragement and correction? It is a stock movie genre
to show teachers getting through to kids with unusual and idiosyncratic techniques
(I remember crying when I first saw ‘To Sir, with Love’). No one’s
going to make a motivational drama about DI.” §
“Despite significant liberalization [in India], government regulation continues
to cripple economic freedom and competition. For example, labor laws designed
to protect employment are inhibiting job creation in sectors like manufacturing,
an area in which India should have a great advantage over other countries. Hiring
and firing workers is so onerous that new jobs are being created only in areas
where enforcing laws is next to impossible … Labor rigidities also cause
employers to substitute machines for manpower or to refrain from expanding production
capacity. This condemns the poor to remaining in the informal economy, where
productivity and incomes are very low.” §
“In fact, the basic distinction between a ‘disease,’ which
conventional medicine invariably respects, and a ‘syndrome,’ which
all too often it does not, is the results of laboratory and radiologic testing. … Examples
of well-known syndromes include chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome,
irritable bowel syndrome and premenstrual syndrome, to name just a few. There
is no abnormal diagnostic test result that establishes the presence of any of
these. ... The good news about no abnormal test results is that the kind of progressive
damage to body tissues, as seen, for example, in rheumatoid arthritis, is simply
not occurring in a syndrome. ... But the bad news about normal test results is
that it leaves your conventional doctor with little to treat.” §
“Around the world we use a lot of humor and euphemism to describe what
is a basic human function. Yet, while some people love talking about it and others
hate it, defecation is something we all have to do. ... Keeping a healthy bowel — with
regular movements to help clean out our system — helps make us feel better
generally. Being aware of our bowel movements and what stools show us can alert
us to symptoms of illness, from irritable bowel syndrome to colon cancer.”
T H I S
— Dr. Robert S. Baltimore, professor of pediatrics and epidemiology, noting
that staph infections are more frequent and severe in hospitals where patients’ skin
is pierced by intravenous and other lines, “More Staph Infections Reported:
3 Albertus Magnus Students Being Treated for Illness,” New Haven Register,
Oct. 19, 2007.
— Jeffrey Brenzel, dean of undergraduate admissions, “I Can Get Your
Kid Into An Ivy,” Business Week, Oct. 22, 2007.
— Judith Chevalier, deputy provost for faculty development and the William
S. Beinecke Professor of Economics and Finance, in her article, “U.S. Wireless
World Opens up FCC’s Frequency: Auction Could Result in New Network,” International
Herald Tribune, Oct. 22, 2007.
— Jed Rubenfeld, the Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law, in his article, “Lawbreaker
in Chief,” The New York Times, Oct. 23, 2007.
— David Paltiel, professor at the Schools of Public Health and Management, “Many
at Risk for HIV Not Being Tested,” Forbes.com, Oct. 24, 2007.
— Ian Ayres, the William Townsend Professor of Law and professor at the
School of Management, in his article “Prepare To Be Supercrunched,” Times
Higher Education Supplement, Oct. 26, 2007.
— Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization,
in his article “India Getting on Board,” Forbes, Oct. 29, 2007.
— Dr. David Katz, associate professor adjunct in public health practice,
in his article “Holistic Medicine Has a Place,” New Haven Register,
Oct. 29, 2007.
— Dr. Anish Sheth, clinical fellow in internal medicine (digestive disease), “Is
Everything Tickety-Poo?” Sunday Sun (UK), Oct. 28, 2007.
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Todai-Yale venture to boost Japanese Studies in the U.S.
Yale dedicates $8 million Clean Room
For some infants, mother’s milk can help increase IQ, says study
Engineering lessons get real-world application . . .
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
Mark Ashton appointed the Jesup Professor of Silviculture
Alicia Schmidt Camacho named Sarai Ribicoff Associate Professor
School of Public Health launches new Advanced Professional . . .
Shareholder activist creates fund at Yale center for corporate governance
Yale ceremony to commemorate Veteran’s Day
Procrastination is not an option at Dissertation Boot Camp
Show features Chinese artist’s works of ‘Revolution and Rebirth’
IN MEMORIAM
George Hersey: Wrote widely on art history and architecture
Eugene Waith: Expert on Elizabethan and Jacobean theater
From the United Way: ‘A Tale of Guiding Young Fathers’
Program to look at company developing innovative . . .
Campus Notes
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