Opinions and views by Boston University experts
March 2, 2011 at 11:35 am
Boston University School of Management professor N. Venkat Venkatraman is available to offer expert analysis on a report that Yahoo is in talks to exit its Japanese joint venture. The move would make an estimated $8 billion available to Yahoo to fight Google and Facebook.
Contact N. Venkat Venkatraman, 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu, Twitter: @nvenkatraman
March 2, 2011 at 8:43 am
March 3rd marks the 20th anniversary of the beating of Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department. The beatings, which were videotaped by a bystander, showed footage of LAPD officers striking King several times while he was on the ground. Portions of the video were shown on news broadcasts across the US and the world.
Thomas Nolan, an associate professor of criminal justice at Boston University and a former Boston City police officer, is available to offer expert commentary and analysis on the incident and what, if any, lessons have been learned during the past twenty years.
Contact Thomas Nolan, 617-942-1311, tnolan@bu.edu, Twitter: @Thomas_Nolan
March 1, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Mosaic of 65 images obtained by NASA's Landsat Earth-orbiting satellite. The northern half of the proposed Development Corridor runs through what may have been an ancient delta of the Nile.
A visionary plan for a “Desert Development Corridor” in Egypt, researched and created by Boston University geologist Dr. Farouk El-Baz, has been adopted by the country’s new government as its flagship program. According to El-Baz, the plan – which includes the construction, along 1,200 kilometers, of a new eight-lane superhighway, a railway, a water pipeline, and a power line – would open new land for urban development, commerce, agriculture, tourism and related jobs, and installs new transportation routes to an undeveloped area of desert running parallel to the Nile River Valley and Delta.
March 1, 2011 at 10:26 am
Associate Clinical Professor of Nutrition at Sargent College, Joan Salge Blake (@joansagleblake) offers the one thing she thinks should be done by the President for the good of the economy and the country (via myHealthNewsDaily.com) with regard to nutrition:
"If I could say one thing, it would be to encourage him to continue establishing the proposed preventative health services, which would include nutrition services, because of the cost-saving nature of the services. Preventative services are cost effective and would save the nation money while improving the nations’ health. Both are a good thing."
February 25, 2011 at 10:11 am
The New York Times reports that the continuing political unrest in the Middle East, and Libya in particular, has seen a rise in oil prices. The following Boston Univesity experts are available to offer commentary, analysis and insight on the impact of rising oil prices to the U.S. economy and gas prices.
Mark Williams, Executive-in residence/Master Lecturer in Finance and Economics in BU's School of Management; Expert in risk management in the global banking, financial & energy markets
Contact 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu
Robert Kaufmann, Professor in the Dept. of Geography & Environment; Expert in world oil markets
Contact 617-353-3940, kaufmann@bu.edu
February 24, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Paul Schneider, Chairman of the Department of Film & Television at the College of Communication and a member of the Directors Guild of America, makes his predictions for who's going to take what at Sunday's 83rd Annual Academy Awards:
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
"It's a buzz thing right now. There's a momentum and the Screen Actors Guild also said that."
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
"For reasons I don't quite understand, she's the front-runner. There's a long history of the Academy picking very flashy performances and God knows Natalie Portman in Black Swan with all the hysteria is a flashy part."
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
"Christian Bale is so stunning in The Fighter. I would be shocked if he didn't win because that is also a showy part. But, I do think he's brilliant."
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
"I think she's going to win for two reasons. One, because she's terrific and two, because everyone knows that Amy Adams is going to get an Academy Award at some point. But, for Melissa Leo, this might be her last and only chance. And, she's great."
Best Director: Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
"I think Tom Hooper for The King's Speech which is unusual because he's not well-known. He's not considered one of the world's great directors which some of the others are. But, he won the Directors Guild Award and I think if he won the DGA award, I think he has a good chance."
Best Picture: The King's Speech
"The momentum is so heavy for The King's Speech right now that the only one that could sneak in there and get it instead is The Social Network. But, I think it will be The King's Speech because the Guilds have backed that picture so heavily."
Contact Schneider at 617-353-6651 or paulsch@bu.edu.
February 24, 2011 at 9:12 am
Boston University international relations professor Augustus Richard Norton appeared on NECN discussing Libya and Gadhafi's hour-long speech to the country.
"I think what we're going to see here is a fragmentation of political authority. I don't think Gadhafi's going to be able to hang on for the long haul and I think this could drag out for weeks and maybe even a month of two."
Contact Augustus Richard Norton, 617-353-7808, arn@bu.edu
February 22, 2011 at 10:08 am
The Boston Herald has published an opinion piece by Boston University history professor Nina Silber entitled Slavery at war's root.
February 18, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Many American schools have become academic and extra curricular pressure cookers that often push both students and teachers to their limits. Hardin Coleman, Dean of the Boston University School of Education (SED), discusses the new documentary, "Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture," and how too hard of a focus on school statistics and strong student performance can actually create less successful educational outcomes.
February 17, 2011 at 12:00 pm
The following Boston University experts are available to offer commentary on the recent trend of hotels, motels, and other lodgings that are becoming smoke-free facilities.
Christopher Muller, Dean of the School of Hospitality Administration
Contact 617-353-6327, cmuller@bu.edu
Michael Siegel, Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health; Expert in tobacco control, effects of secondhand smoke
Contact 617-638-5167, mbsiegel@bu.edu
