Opinions and views by Boston University experts
June 7, 2011 at 10:18 am
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to comment later today on the U.S. economic outlook. Boston University School of Law professor Cornelius Hurley is the director of BU’s Center for Finance, Law & Policy (formerly the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law) and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors. He is available to offer commentary, insight, and analysis on Chairman Bernanke’s comments.
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, Twitter: @ckhurley
June 2, 2011 at 2:00 pm
By: BU's Joan Salge Blake (@joansalgeblake, salgeblake@comcast.net)
While the Food Pyramid had close to a 20 year run, it's time has come. As a registered dietitian and nutrition professor, I can honestly say that the Pyramid left me scratching my head as it did little to help the public translate healthy eating onto their plate.
Enter the latest graphic symbol of nutrition advice, MyPlate, released today by the USDA to visually help Americans translate the science-based, 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans into their everyday life.
The new MyPlate is a dinner plate split into multiple sections, each representing not only a different type of food but also the relative proportion that these foods should dominate your diet. At a blink of an eye, you will now see that half of your plate should be devoted to waist- and heart-friendly vegetables and fruit with a smaller portion for whole grains and lean protein foods such as fish, skinless poultry, and lean meats. The circle shape next to the plate is a visual reminder to make sure that non fat and low fat dairy foods such as milk are not forgotten at mealtime.
With over 65 percent of Americans overweight, this visual shift of foods on your plate can make a dramatic effect on your calorie intake. Devoting more than half of the surface of the plate to low calorie vegetables will crowd out higher calorie grains and protein foods, potentially cutting over 100 calories from your dinner.
There at also 7 important nutrition messages that accompany the new MyPlate:
Balancing Calories
● Enjoy your food, but eat less.
● Avoid oversized portions.
Foods to Increase
● Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
● Make at least half your grains whole grains.
● Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
Foods to Reduce
● Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods
with lower numbers.
● Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
Goodbye, Food Pyramid. Mangia to the new MyPlate.
For more information, visit: www.choosemyplate.gov
May 27, 2011 at 11:22 am
SED Dean Hardin Coleman discusses the pros and cons of the prevention pyramid tactic for student achievement:
May 26, 2011 at 2:10 pm
School of Social Work (SSW) Dean Gail Steketee, post-doctoral fellow Christiana Bratiotis, and psychotherapist Cristina Sorrentino Schmalisch have published The Hoarding Handbook: A Guide for Human Service Professionals (Oxford University Press), as a resource for those responding to hoarding situations. The guide includes case studies, tips and strategies and suggestions for appropriate interventions.
Organized around the ways hoarding captures the attention of service providers, the handbook provides tools to help professionals assess the problem, coordinate and delegate tasks, and work directly with reluctant hoarders and others affected by the hoarding.
“There is some misunderstanding regarding hoarding, and often professionals don’t know enough about what the other professionals do when intervening with hoarding,” Bratiotis said. “Our goal was to write a book that is used by the many diverse disciplines that assist people with the problem.”
Steketee and Bratiotis are the principle investigator and director, respectively, of SSW's Hoarding Research Team, which also includes Assistant Professor Jordana Muroff and BU graduate and undergraduate students.
The team’s research activities include studying the nature of the problem of hoarding; individual, group and webcam cognitive behavioral treatment interventions; and community task force responses to the problem. In addition, the team provides resource and referrals, professional training and family consultation.
May 25, 2011 at 10:16 am
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced her candidacy to lead the International Monetary Fund. Boston University professor William Grimes is chair of BU's Department of International Relations. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and author of "Currency and Contest in East Asia." He offers the following comments on Lagarde's bid:
"Lagarde's announcement appears to confirm French claims that China has informally given her its support.
"It will be interesting to see what the quid pro quo will be for China -- particularly given the claim by a People's Bank spokesperson that China is more concerned about the dominant voting position of the United States than about continued European leadership.
"In fact, of course, the U.S. has a reasonable quota based on its size and influence (in fact, it is arguably even slightly underrepresented), while Europe as a whole is wildly overrepresented.
"Another irony of the situation is that the U.S. has been pushing for greater Chinese quota shares against European resistance for the better part of a decade."
Contact William Grimes, 617-353-9420, wgrimes@bu.edu
May 23, 2011 at 2:35 pm
President Obama began his six-day tour of Europe in Ireland. The president will travel on to London, Deauville (France), and Warsaw. Boston University international relations professor Erik Goldstein, an expert in diplomacy, is a long-time British government watcher and author of "Winning the Peace: British Diplomatic Strategy, Peace Planning, and the Paris Peace Conference, 1916-1910." He offers the following comment on President Obama's trip"
"President Obama's whirlwind tour of Europe is a mix of his own domestic political needs with re-election looming, by visiting his Irish roots, the high ceremonial of a state visit to London which will include an address to the British parliament (a privilege not often given to visiting leaders), and then a working visit on the continent to meet with key leaders of the G9 summit.
"All this against the ongoing conflict in Libya which involves several of America's key allies and which the president must want brought to a conclusion. With his international standing heightened by the killing of Osama bin Laden, now is his opportunity to crystallize the rebuilding of America's alliance network after the damage caused to these relations during the Bush years."
Contact Erik Goldstein, 617-353-9280, goldstee@bu.edu
May 23, 2011 at 9:55 am
SED Dean Hardin Coleman reacts to the National Council on Teacher Quality Evaluations:
May 19, 2011 at 11:27 am
Professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, chairman of the Information Systems Department at Boston University's School of Management offers the following comment on the recent LinkedIn IPO:
"I think it is the beginning of the new tech bubble focused on social (professional) networks. We are in the early stages of social commerce and the monetization logics are still fuzzy.
"The only logical explanation is short-term speculation, but these valuations are likely to go down very, very soon. I can only imagine the frenzy when Twitter and Groupon go public, not to mention Facebook or Zynga."
Contact Venkatraman at 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu, Twitter @nvenkatraman
May 19, 2011 at 10:41 am
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as the head of the International Monetary Fund as he faces sexual assault charges. Boston University School of Law professor Cornelius Hurley is the director of BU's Center for Finance, Law & Policy (formerly the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law) and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors. He offers the following comment on the impending IMF succession fight:
"As global efforts to harmonize financial regulation founder, the new IMF chief will be in a unique position to redirect the discussion. France's Christine Lagarde has the skills and credibility to play a leadership role among the competing actors on the regulatory stage: G-20, ECB, Federal Reserve, Basel, and others.
"Implementation of national reforms, such as the Dodd-Frank Act in the U.S., is stymied by the ever-present threat of laxer reforms in foreign jurisdictions. The global stage lacks an eloquent spokesperson who can articulate a coordinated approach to financial regulations. Ms. Lagarde could fill that void."
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, Twitter: @ckhurley
