Carter Center gets $40M to eradicate Guinea worm

ATLANTA (AP) ? The Carter Center on Monday announced it received $40 million in donations to help fuel its mission to eradicate Guinea worm disease, a debilitating parasite that once plagued millions of people across the developing world.

The Atlanta-based center said the funding comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation and President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates. It said the grants, along with $31 million committed last year by the United Kingdom, will help eradicate the disease by 2015.

"Millions of people in Africa and Asia will no longer risk suffering one of the most horrific human diseases ever known thanks to the generosity and global health leadership" of the donors, said former President Jimmy Carter.

There were about 3.5 million reported cases of the disease in 20 nations when the Carter Center's eradication program began in 1986. On Monday, the center said an early tally showed that only 1,060 cases of the disease occurred worldwide in 2011.

Most of the cases occurred in the African nations of South Sudan, Mali and Ethiopia. There was also an isolated outbreak in Chad.

Guinea worm disease occurs when people drink water contaminated with worm larvae. Over a year, the worm can grow to the size of a 3-foot long spaghetti noodle. Then they very slowly emerge through the skin, often causing searing, debilitating pain for months. The disease, however, is usually not fatal.

There is no vaccine or medicine for the parasite. Infection is prevented by filtering water and educating people how to avoid the disease.

The Carter Center has worked to stem the spread of Guinea worm in part by handing out millions of pipe filters and educating residents about the dangers of drinking tainted water. The former president has also has used his political bully pulpit to encourage local politicians to devote time and resources to fighting the disease.

The center said it would use the funding to pay for programs aimed at stamping out the disease and to fund surveillance by the World Health Organization to certify eradication over three years.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contributed $23.3 million of Monday's pledge. Nahyan pledged $10 million and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation gave an additional $6.7 million.

"The last cases of any disease are the most challenging to wipe out," said Carter. "But we know that with the international community's support, Guinea worm disease soon will be relegated to the history books."

___

Follow Bluestein at http://www.twitter.com/bluestein .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-01-30-Guinea%20Worm/id-595f90626430410ea3b5aeffb82a8211

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Video: Highlights: Offense rules Pro Bowl

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/46185553#46185553

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Punjab, bread basket of India, hungers for change (Reuters)

LUDHIANA, India (Reuters) ? Punjab made Sunil Jain's family rich, but now he wishes he could afford to leave.

Almost every day, the lights go out and machines shut down at the two factories of his $3-million-a-year packaging business in the northern India state. When the power goes out, the plants have to use generators, at up to three times the cost.

Profits at Oswal Polypack shrink every year, says Jain, a 49-year-old with a penchant for fat gold jewelry and chewing tobacco. The state government seems not to care and has even raised taxes on the raw materials he needs.

"How can we survive?" Jain said from his factory office in an industrial park in the city of Ludhiana whose roads are dotted with potholes.

"How can industry remain here, when there is no power, when you face labor shortages?" he said. "The government has been promising power for the past five years, but what we have got instead is power cuts of up to 12 hours a day."

While much of India has galloped ahead in recent years on the back of a reform drive that began two decades ago, Punjab has somehow been left straggling behind.

The Congress party, which leads the federal government, has leapt on that lag to woo Punjab's voters for a return to power in the state of 27 million people in elections there on January 30.

Firms like Sunil Jain's are moving to neighboring states where land is cheaper and labor is more readily available, he says. Another gripe is that states such as Himachal Pradesh next door have been granted long tax holidays as part of a federal assistance program, putting Punjabi firms at a disadvantage.

GREEN REVOLUTION

In the 1960s and 1970s, Punjab was a rare Indian success story. A star of former prime minister Indira Gandhi's Green Revolution - a massive farm program credited with ending famine in the country - Punjab drove growth at a time when India was throttled by the "Licence Raj," an all-pervading system of permits and quotas.

But after reforms in 1991 unleashed a boom in Asia's third-largest economy, Punjab was unable to capitalize. Its economy grew at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent over the past decade against a national average of about 8 percent. High-flyers such as Gujarat and Maharashtra grew at about 10 percent.

The state government's focus on farming may have earned Punjab the label the "bread basket of India," but it has stifled the growth of manufacturing industries that the state needs to catch up with the strongest performers.

Farmers sitting on some of India's most fertile land - Punjab means "the land of five rivers" - are reluctant to sell their fields to make way for industry, and politicians are wary of upsetting the state's most powerful vote bank.

Slowing growth, a ballooning subsidy bill for power and food staples, and ineffective tax collection have plunged Punjab into debt, forcing the government to sell off state property.

"The crisis in Punjab is very deep," said Sanjay Sharma, the regional bureau chief for the Times of India newspaper.

Since the early 1990s, successive state governments had failed to grasp the importance of industrialization, he said.

"Somehow there was an impression with the rulers here that Punjab is a surplus agriculture state, and that it can survive on this model. They didn't try new things."

Punjab offers a snapshot of the ills that are putting the brakes on India's economic expansion, from chronic power shortages to tussles between industry and farmers over land and policy decisions held hostage by political compulsions.

After two decades of rapid economic growth, India has struggled to develop a manufacturing base to match its world-renowned IT and services companies. Tucked on India's northwest border with Pakistan, hundreds of miles from a port, Punjab has been especially poor at attracting big-ticket foreign direct investment (FDI).

"This is one region that has been just bypassed by FDI," said Sucha Singh Gill, head of the Center for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) in the state capital, Chandigarh.

Punjab used to enjoy the highest per-capita income in the country. It has now slipped to eighth place, and many trace the origins of that decline to the Sikh separatist militancy that killed thousands of people in the 1980s, including Indira Gandhi who was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards in 1984.

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For a graphic on Punjab's economic growth, click http://link.reuters.com/kef36s

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Grappling with the threat of bomb blasts and massacres, Gill said, Punjab's government diverted investment from new infrastructure, schools and research and development to beefing up its security.

Companies such as SEL Manufacturing Company Limited, a textile exporter of the sort that once propelled Punjab's boom, are investing elsewhere. It is setting up a $385 million plant in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where land costs a tenth of the price, CEO V.K. Goyal told Reuters.

"I 100 percent agree that there has been a flight of industry from the state, and we are facing a very severe situation at present," said Harcharan Bains, a spokesman for the state's ruling party, the Shiromani Akali Dal.

"But the reason why they have left is that states neighboring to us have been given concessions by the government of India," he said. "We are asking the central government to stop this or give the same incentives to our state."

DIGGING FOR REFORMS

In Moga, it is rally day. Thousands of farmers wearing Sikh turbans of various hues have gathered to see Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party leader and India's most powerful politician. But fog has delayed "madam" at a nearby airport.

Braving the January chill and drizzle, Amarinder Singh, the party's candidate for chief minister, tries to excite the crowd, helped by a folk crooner singing lyrics such as "there is no power supply, but people face a lot of corruption."

The crowd's clapping and slogan-chanting is sporadic. Talk of free hospitals and tackling police graft gets the biggest cheers, but Singh's assertion that 900 industries have left Punjab on the incumbent government's watch is heard in silence.

Reforming Punjab has always been a tough sell. Manpreet Singh Badal, the nephew of the state's octogenarian chief minister, resigned as finance minister last year in a row over slashing subsidies and cutting the state's debt.

Moga is a farming town where food giant Nestle India Ltd set up a dairy plant in the early 1960s that became a poster child for India's agricultural leap.

But now, even Punjab's farming sector is struggling. Cheap power for wells is sucking the state's water table dry, while crops are drenched in pesticides that are widely blamed for a spike in cancer cases in the region.

The state has a peak-hour power shortage of nearly 30 percent, but ending a policy of free power to farmers could spell disaster for any political party that tries it.

"You need a lot of guts to pull Punjab out of the crisis," said the Times of India's Sanjay Sharma.

Even a reform that seemed tailor-made for an agrarian state -- allowing foreign retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc to set up shop in India -- was hijacked by politics.

Supporters championed the plan because it would cut out middlemen and give farmers better prices as well as draw foreign investment in storage chains. But the state government, although it initially supported Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's policy when it was cleared in late November, distanced itself from the reform when it triggered protests from small-time retailers.

Optimists say life in the state might soon improve. Major power projects are under development and, if the government meets its aim, will make Punjab a power-surplus state by 2013.

Punjab could also be the chief beneficiary of a thaw in relations between India and Pakistan, which could unleash a trade boom between the traditional foes.

Only a trickle of goods is allowed to cross one of the world's most heavily militarized borders, largely closing Punjab and India to a potential 180 million Pakistani customers.

But that may change if Islamabad changes its trade policy, first announced in November, to allow thousands more goods to be traded by naming India a Most Favored Nation.

"If Pakistan gives us MFN status ... this region will experience explosive growth," said CRRID's Gill.

(Editing by John Chalmers)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/wl_nm/us_india_election_punjab

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97% The Artist

"With pleasure!"Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break. REVIEWThis light-footed and warm-hearted souffl? of a movie is a reminder of just how much fun it can be to go to the movies. A film about a silent film star struggling with the transition to talkies that is itself a silent film is the kind of cutesy high concept premise that could go down in flames in the hands of the wrong team. But writer/director Michel Hazanivicius and his stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, know exactly how to sell the material so that it all works beautifully. What I liked most about the movie is that it doesn't spend all of its time winking to itself for its own cleverness, as you might expect it would. It doesn't use its silent film conventions to make any kind of commentary on silent films. Hazanivicius and company wanted to make a silent film because they thought it was the best way to tell this particular story, and that's just what they've done, without apologies.Dujardin and Bejo are being lauded for their performances, and rightly so. It would be easy to dismiss their work as being unchallenging, but I have a feeling both had more difficult roles than one might first assume, and that the fact that they both make it look so easy is part of why they're so good. And the movie looks stunning -- one of the benefits of it being silent is that with words removed from the equation, the images take on extra responsibility to communicate the movie's ideas to us, and what cinephile could resist anything that makes a film more cinematic? Captured with brilliant production design by Laurence Bennett and gorgeously shot by Guillaume Schiffman in scintillating black and white evoking the silent era to perfection. Glamorous and hear-felt with genuine pathos and peppered with enough knowing laughs (thanks largely to Uggie The Dog as Valentin's constant companion) the film is a masterpiece about movie-making and the magic of the movies. One of the year's best and a must see for cinemaniacs!

January 26, 2012

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/

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Information from Australian PM's aide led to clash (AP)

CANBERRA, Australia ? A clash between protesters and Australian police that forced bodyguards to rush Prime Minister Julia Gillard out of an event appears to have been set off by information released by one of Gillard's own aides.

The aide, media adviser Tony Hodges, resigned. Gillard's office said Friday that he told someone that opposition leader Tony Abbott would be at the awards ceremony where the clash occurred. A spokesperson said in a statement that the information was passed on to indigenous-rights protesters who were demonstrating nearby.

The protesters were angry about comments Abbott made about their movement, and about 200 of them surrounded the Canberra restaurant where the ceremony was being held. Gillard stumbled as she was rushed out and lost a shoe, which the protesters picked up.

Gillard said Saturday that Hodges acted alone, and that she accepted his resignation because she considered his conduct unacceptable. She said she was upset that protesters disrupted the awards ceremony, which honored Australians for their service and courage during recent natural disasters.

Abbott on Saturday demanded more details and an investigation into what he called a "serious security breach." He told Sky News the incident appeared to be an attempt to "trigger something potentially dire for political advantage."

"Trouble was triggered and it seems that someone from the prime minister's office had a very big hand in all of that," he said.

Gillard said the suggestion that she played a role in the clash was "deeply offensive" and added that "it is absolutely typical of Mr Abbott's negativity and his tendency to go too far."

The restaurant where Thursday's clash occurred is close to the so-called Aboriginal Tent Embassy, where the protesters had demonstrated peacefully earlier in the day. That long-standing, ramshackle collection of tents and temporary shelters is a center point of protests against Australia Day, which marks the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788.

The Tent Embassy celebrated its 40th anniversary on Thursday, and Abbott had earlier angered activists by saying it was time the embassy "moved on." Abbott said Friday that his comment had been misinterpreted, and that he never meant to imply the embassy should be torn down.

The blue suede shoe Gillard lost was handed to a security guard at Parliament House late Friday and taken to her office.

(This version corrects that adviser resigned rather than was fired.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_indigenous_protest

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Josiah Turner's game epitomizes season as Arizona defeats Washington State

Josiah Turner controlled the game.

Here's how the play progressed in the second half of the Arizona Wildcats' 85-61 victory against the Washington State Cougars on Thursday in McKale Center:

With a 13-point lead, the freshman point guard went down the left baseline, spun off his defender and scored on a lefty And 1 for Arizona's first score. On the push, he finished a layup off a bounce pass from Nick Johnson. On the next play, he read a pass near halfcourt and turned it into a layup. Quickly back on the next play, he found Jesse Perry streaking down the middle of the lane for a dunk.

The Wildcats broke the game open.

But then, with 11:12 left in the game, Turner picked up a technical for jawing -- my lip-reading skills read "I beat your a**" -- at Cougar Brock Motum, and less than a minute later, he picked up another technical for shoving Motum under the hoop, after a play had ended. It being his second, Turner reluctantly retreated to the locker room.

Josiah Turner then put the game back within reach of the Cougars.

His technicals gave the Cougars life and they cut an 18-point lead to 11.

Turner's game of nine points and four assists, which appeared to be his best of the season before he was ejected, was the epitome of Arizona's season. He was assertive, aggressive and focused on pushing the tempo and the envelop. But when he lost his head, it was like the Wildcats in their sleepy losses to teams like Oregon and Colorado, where it was questionable what was going through their minds. It was as if Turner didn't realize that acting the tough guy was worth more than staying on the court to help his team.

Luckily, Turner had help on Thursday. Solomon Hill scored the next 12 points and Arizona ran away with it once again.

Thursday's game was a must-win at home. There was a sense of urgency from the Wildcats, and it all started with their veterans.

Kyle Fogg and Hill did their equal parts in making sure Arizona got the win. In the first half, it was Fogg leading the way with 18 points. He finished with 20 and went 8-for-13 from the field. And just as Fogg scored just two points in the second half, Hill had only scored two by halftime. He finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, combining with Fogg to give the Wildcats that coveted dominating scorer they'd be searching for.

And they had help from everyone across the board. Kevin Parrom continued to impress, scoring nine and dishing out four assists. Brendon Lavender also came off the bench and scored 14 by hitting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

And in general, Thursday's game was as simple as Arizona finding a tempo. Unlike the Colorado game, where their offense looked stifled by the Rocky Mountain air, the Wildcats had a tempo unlike we've seen this season.

That led to a rhythm, and that rhythm led to Arizona hitting 15-of-27 from the three-point line. About the only flaw was their free throw percentage, which was less accurate (50 percent) than their three-point percentage (55.6 percent).

Overall, the game was promising for the Wildcats considering the circumstances.

It was also the perfect lead-in to Saturday's ESPN College GameDay match-up with the Washington Huskies.

Source: http://www.azdesertswarm.com/2012/1/26/2751649/josiah-turners-game-epitomizes-season-as-arizona-defeats-washington

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Armie Hammer arrested for pot possession

SIERRA BLANCA, Texas?? Authorities say Hollywood actor Armie Hammer was arrested at a border patrol checkpoint in Texas after a drug sniffing dog discovered marijuana in his car.

The 25-year-old, who starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in "J. Edgar," spent about a day in jail before paying a $1,000 bond.

Arrest records show he had 0.02 ounces of marijuana, three medicinal marijuana cookies and one brownie when arrested Nov. 20 in Sierra Blanca, a few miles from the Mexican border.

El Paso's district attorney declined to prosecute because a felony requires more than 4 ounces of actual marijuana. The county attorney could pursue lesser charges since the case is going back to the local sheriff, but Hammer's lawyer Kent Schaffer says no charges have been presented.

Hammer also starred in "The Social Network."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46139873/ns/today-entertainment/

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Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Want To Get Married?

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Want To Get Married?

Brad Pitt and his partner of seven years, actress Angelina Jolie, have had a change of heart about marriage. The Hollywood couple previously said they [...]

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Want To Get Married? Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/j62NxFqEhRE/

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Life discovered on dead hydrothermal vents

Public release date: 24-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Perkins
perkinsr@usc.edu
213-740-9226
University of Southern California

New evidence found for ecological succession in microbial communities on deep-sea hydrothermal vents

Scientists at USC have uncovered evidence that even when hydrothermal sea vents go dormant and their blistering warmth turns to frigid cold, life goes on.

Or rather, it is replaced.

A team led by USC microbiologist Katrina Edwards found that the microbes that thrive on hot fluid methane and sulfur spewed by active hydrothermal vents are supplanted, once the vents go cold, by microbes that feed on the solid iron and sulfur that make up the vents themselves.

These findings based on samples collected for Edwards by US Navy deep sea submersible Alvin (famed for its exploration of the Titanic in 1986) provide a rare example of ecological succession in microbes.

The findings were published today in mBio in an article authored by Edwards, USC graduate researcher Jason Sylvan, and Brandy Toner of the University of Minnesota.

Ecological succession is the biological phenomenon whereby one form of life takes the place of another as conditions in an area change a phenomenon well-documented in plants and animals.

For example, after a forest fire, different species of trees replace the older ones that had stood for decades.

Scientists have long known that active vents provided the heat and nutrients necessary to maintain microbes. But dormant vents lacking a flow of hot, nutrient-rich water were thought to be devoid of life.

Hydrothermal vents are formed on the ocean floor with the motion of tectonic plates. Where the sea floor becomes thin, the hot magma below the surface creates a fissure that spews geothermally heated water reaching temperatures of more than 400 C.

After a (geologically) brief time of actively venting into the ocean, the same sea floor spreading that brought them into being shuffles them away from the hotspot. The vents grow cold and dormant.

"Hydrothermal vents are really ephemeral in nature," said Edwards, professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Microbial communities on sea floor vents have been studied since the vents themselves were first discovered in the late 1970s. Until recently, little attention had been paid to them once they stopped venting, though.

Sylvan said he would like to take samples on vents of various ages to catalogue exactly how the succession from one population of microbes to the next occurs.

Edwards, who recently returned from a two-month expedition to collect samples of microbes deep below the ocean floor, said that the next step will be to see if the ecological succession is mirrored in microbes that exist beneath the surface of the rock.

"The next thing is to go subterranean," she said.

###

Their research was funded by the Keck Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Research Council and NASA postdoctoral fellowship programs.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 24-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Perkins
perkinsr@usc.edu
213-740-9226
University of Southern California

New evidence found for ecological succession in microbial communities on deep-sea hydrothermal vents

Scientists at USC have uncovered evidence that even when hydrothermal sea vents go dormant and their blistering warmth turns to frigid cold, life goes on.

Or rather, it is replaced.

A team led by USC microbiologist Katrina Edwards found that the microbes that thrive on hot fluid methane and sulfur spewed by active hydrothermal vents are supplanted, once the vents go cold, by microbes that feed on the solid iron and sulfur that make up the vents themselves.

These findings based on samples collected for Edwards by US Navy deep sea submersible Alvin (famed for its exploration of the Titanic in 1986) provide a rare example of ecological succession in microbes.

The findings were published today in mBio in an article authored by Edwards, USC graduate researcher Jason Sylvan, and Brandy Toner of the University of Minnesota.

Ecological succession is the biological phenomenon whereby one form of life takes the place of another as conditions in an area change a phenomenon well-documented in plants and animals.

For example, after a forest fire, different species of trees replace the older ones that had stood for decades.

Scientists have long known that active vents provided the heat and nutrients necessary to maintain microbes. But dormant vents lacking a flow of hot, nutrient-rich water were thought to be devoid of life.

Hydrothermal vents are formed on the ocean floor with the motion of tectonic plates. Where the sea floor becomes thin, the hot magma below the surface creates a fissure that spews geothermally heated water reaching temperatures of more than 400 C.

After a (geologically) brief time of actively venting into the ocean, the same sea floor spreading that brought them into being shuffles them away from the hotspot. The vents grow cold and dormant.

"Hydrothermal vents are really ephemeral in nature," said Edwards, professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Microbial communities on sea floor vents have been studied since the vents themselves were first discovered in the late 1970s. Until recently, little attention had been paid to them once they stopped venting, though.

Sylvan said he would like to take samples on vents of various ages to catalogue exactly how the succession from one population of microbes to the next occurs.

Edwards, who recently returned from a two-month expedition to collect samples of microbes deep below the ocean floor, said that the next step will be to see if the ecological succession is mirrored in microbes that exist beneath the surface of the rock.

"The next thing is to go subterranean," she said.

###

Their research was funded by the Keck Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Research Council and NASA postdoctoral fellowship programs.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uosc-ldo012412.php

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Mom Is My Wingman

Advances | More Science See Inside

Male monkeys who live at home have more luck with females

By Joan Raymond ?| January 22, 2012

Image: Courtesy Carla B. Possamai/Federal University of Espirito Santo

Human males living with their moms may not expect to have much luck hooking up this Valentine?s Day. But among the northern muriqui monkeys, males that spend the most time around their mothers seem to get an added boost when mating time rolls around.

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, suggest that females in some species may have evolved to play a critical role in their sons? reproductive success. Karen Strier, the paper?s lead author and a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin?Madison, says the paper ?extends? the so-called grandmother hypothesis, a concept in which human females evolved to live past their prime reproductive years to spend more time helping offspring.

The research team observed and collected genetic data from a group of 67 wild monkeys living in a protected reserve in Brazil?s Atlantic Forest: infants, mothers and possible sires. They found that six out of the 13 adult males they studied spent more time in close proximity to their mothers than would be expected by chance. These same six monkeys, on average, sired the greatest number of offspring.

The investigators are still trying to figure out why. ?It?s not like we see moms intervening and helping their sons out,? Strier says. ?Maybe by sitting near their moms, they get to see when females are sexually active, or maybe they just get more familiar with other females.? Strier also found that there was no inbreeding among sons and their close female relatives, a process that might also be mediated by mothers. ?Mating may be less random than we think, perhaps because of the influence of the mothers,? she says.

The findings can help with future conservation efforts for the critically endangered species. ?The last thing we would want to do is take a male out of its natal group,? Strier observes.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=c8208b27e2b1daf66e194f9ed6242cd1

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America's lunch hour on the endangered list

BloomImage RF via Getty Images

Multitasking eats the lunch hour. More people than ever in America are skipping lunch hours and eating at their desks instead.

By Eve Tahmincioglu

Employees of in Hong Kong?s financial district staged a protest last week because their lunch break of 90 minutes was going to be shortened to only an hour.

Here in the United States,?lunch hour is unheard of for many U.S. workers, yet nobody is marching in the streets over it.

More Americans?than ever don?t?have enough time?for an actual lunch break. Only 35 percent of employees in this country say they almost always take a lunch break, according to a 2011 survey by Right Management, an HR consulting firm. Another poll by the company taken in 2010 found nearly 50 percent?of U.S. workers consistently took time off for a midday meal.

?Lunch patterns allow us to infer a few things about the North American workplace; and one thing that we already know is that the pressure for productivity and performance can be relentless,? said Michael Haid, senior vice president of talent management at Right Management. ?This pressure is showing up in various ways like our finding that one-in-three employees are very likely now in the habit of taking lunch at their computers and phones and with supervisors and colleagues.?

About 65 percent of employees either eat at their desk or don?t take lunch breaks at all, according to the company?s recent survey.

It?s not just rank and file workers. A study by CareerBuilder found that?about 40 percent of corporate executives brownbag their lunches, while only 19 percent eat out at a sit-down restaurant, and 17 percent get fast food.

And it?s women executives who seem most lunch-away-from-the-office adverse. More than half, or 57 percent, of women polled said they brought their lunch from home, compared to 36 percent among their male manager counterparts.

Sure, it looks good if you?re busting your butt to get work done, especially in this tough job market, but not taking time out for a healthy lunch could have far-reaching ramifications.

The lunch hour was always seen as a time to get away from the office or factory floor, and that's what workplace experts say workers need to get the full benefits of a meal break.

?It?s well documented that eating more healthily can improve general wellbeing and life expectancy, so there are countless benefits to adopting this approach in the workplace,? said Doug Wright, head of clinical development for European insurance firm Aviva Health, which published a report on workers eating habits late last year. ?It?s also important for people to take a break from their desks where possible as this can help improve both morale and efficiency for employees.?

We all seem to know making time for lunch is probably a good thing.?Despite this, there are no federal laws mandating lunch breaks in this country. ?It?s actually something that?s regulated on a state-by-state basis,? said Marc Mandelman, an employment attorney for Proskauer in New York.

In New York, he explained, ?you have to provide at least a half an hour lunch break to employees in most situations. But depending on the industry, there may be different requirements.?

Today, there are 22 states with some sort of meal-break mandates on the books, according to Department of Labor data. See?this?chart to find out?if your state is one of them.

Most white-collar jobs, Mandelman continued, generally provide about an hour for meal breaks.

Even so, that doesn?t mean workers?are taking the time to munch in peace.

?I wonder if the reluctance to take a break is an expression of devotion or a negative consequence of the unrelenting pressure some organizations are exerting on their workforces to get more done with fewer resources,? said Haid. ?Taking time away from one?s desk for lunch would help reduce tension and boost energy. But our research results might lead us to ask is that still a real option for people now??

{"contentId":"10175875","totalVotes":"1552"}

Do you feel pressure not to take a lunch break?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/17/10175875-americas-lunch-hour-on-the-endangered-list

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'Contraband' takes weekend box office with $28.8M (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The Mark Wahlberg smuggling drama "Contraband" stole the top spot at box office away from the 3-D rerelease of "Beauty and the Beast" and the musical comedy "Joyful Noise" with a $28.8 million debut haul, while "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol" earned $14.2 million in its fifth weekend to take third place.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Contraband," Universal, $28,816,095, 2,863 locations, $10,065 average, $28,816,095, one week.

2. "Beauty and the Beast," Disney, $23,507,000, 2,625 locations, $8,955 average, $23,507,000, one week.

3. "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol," Paramount, $14,200,000, 3,346 locations, $4,244 average, $189,447,000, five weeks.

4. "Joyful Noise," Warner Bros., $13,785,000, 2,735 locations, $5,040 average, $13,785,000, one week.

5. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," Warner Bros., $10,505,000, 3,155 locations, $3,330 average, $172,105,000, five weeks.

6. "The Devil Inside," Paramount Insurge, $9,175,000, 2,551 locations, $3,597 average, $47,522,000, two weeks.

7. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Sony, $8,100,000, 2,674 locations, $3,029 average, $89,281,000, four weeks.

8. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," Fox, $7,825,000, 2,849 locations, $2,747 average, $120,806,288, five weeks.

9. "War Horse," Disney, $7,166,000, 2,856 locations, $2,509 average, $67,338,000, four weeks.

10. "We Bought a Zoo," Fox, $6,800,000, 2,909 locations, $2,338 average, $65,288,534, four weeks.

11. "The Iron Lady," Weinstein Co., $6,474,000, 802 locations, $8,072 average, $7,061,621, three weeks.

12. "The Adventures of Tintin," Paramount, $5,225,000, 2,073 locations, $2,521 average, $68,930,000, four weeks.

13. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Focus, $3,800,000, 886 locations, $4,289 average, $15,742,540, six weeks.

14. "The Descendants," Fox Searchlight, $2,530,000, 660 locations, $3,833 average, $47,534,196, nine weeks.

15. "The Artist," Weinstein Co., $1,470,000, 216 locations, $6,806 average, $9,066,779, eight weeks.

16. "Hugo," Paramount, $1,325,000, 545 locations, $2,431 average, $54,442,000, eight weeks.

17. "New Year's Eve," Warner Bros., $1,275,000, 1,092 locations, $1,168 average, $53,929,000, six weeks.

18. "The Darkest Hour," Summit, $1,265,000, 1,182 locations, $1,070 average, $20,714,174, four weeks.

19. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ? Part 1," Summit, $942,000, 708 locations, $1,331 average, $279,811,685, nine weeks.

20. "Carnage," Sony Pictures Classics, $904,567, 494 locations, $1,831 average, $1,491,032, five weeks.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_en_mo/us_box_office

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Summary Box: Cyprus air traffic controllers (AP)

STRIKE: Air traffic controllers in Cyprus walked off the job for four hours on Wednesday to protest a two-year government worker wage freeze meant to cut the deficit.

WHAT'S GOING ON: The country's latest strike follows last month's package of cost cuts and tax increases. Cyprus is struggling to convince investors that it has a strategy to deal with its problems, which include the financial sector's heavy exposure to Greek debt.

PROTEST: The controllers' union president argued that members have been unfairly grouped with other government workers, because their salaries come from fees airlines pay the government to use airspace.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_cyprus_financial_crisis_summary_box

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North Korea transition "smooth," economy the real test (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? North Korea's new leadership under the inexperienced Kim Jong-un appears to be functioning "relatively smoothly," but he has to look beyond key ally China to rebuild its shattered economy, South Korea's senior most official on the North said on Monday.

Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik told Reuters that despite Kim Jong-il's sudden death last month, the secretive North had clearly been well prepared for the handover to a third generation of the Kim family.

"The succession of power has been stable and well prepared," Yu said in an interview.

"It's difficult to predict the future, but for the time being it is likely they will focus on consolidating power internally and to appear stable to the outside world."

Rumors swirled in markets this month about a possible coup in North Korea, but the South dismissed them as groundless. Yu said on Monday the new leadership appeared to be stable.

He, however, said that given Kim's age -- he is believed to be in his late 20s -- and inexperience there remained questions about whether he could do "the job right."

"But having lived as a successor in a regime like North Korea itself is a significant experience. He may be young, but age should not be a big problem," said Yu, although he conceded South Korea knows little about the man the North dubs the "supreme commander."

He said the North would seek to build a cult of personality around the young Kim, similar to that which made Kim Jong-il and the state founder's Kim Il-sung into god-like figures.

Yu said the young Kim did not yet appear to have the kind of absolute control that his father and grandfather wielded, saying a small band of trusted minders were playing an important role in supporting and influencing his leadership.

He did not elaborate on the makeup of the inner group of leaders, believed to include Jong-un's uncle and aunt and the military chief. A source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing told Reuters last month the North will shift to collective rule from a strongman dictatorship.

"It's difficult to predict what form their role will take," said Yu. "What's important is to think about what sort of help we can offer to encourage them to make changes to stabilize itself."

SEOUL, NOT BEIJING, KEY TO ECONOMY

Yu said Kim's policy choices to stabilize the economy were more important than personal factors in cementing his grip.

Some 30 years ago, the North's centrally planned economy was more vibrant than that of the South, but since the disintegration of the North's then-ally and benefactor, the Soviet Union, the economy has all but collapsed.

North Korea's nominal gross national income (GNI) amounted to 30 trillion won (US$26.5 billion) in 2010 - only 2.56 percent of South Korea's GNI of 1,173 trillion won, South Korea's central bank says.

Yu questioned China's role in rebuilding the economy, saying its influence was limited to the political sphere. Only Seoul, he said, could help save the impoverished state from ruin.

Beijing, the North's main ally and benefactor, has encouraged the North to follow its model of economic reform.

"China obviously wants the North Korean regime to be stable ... To ensure the North's economy does not fall apart, China will invest in the border region and encourage trade, but it is difficult to believe that that will revive the economy."

Beijing provides more than 80 percent of the North's food and oil and has invested heavily as Pyongyang has been subject to international sanctions for nuclear and missile tests.

Over the past year, China has also backed Pyongyang's plans to open special economic zones on its border.

Yu said the North was well aware that only Seoul can offer substantive help, even though the Koreas remain technically at war, having signed only a truce to end the 1950-53 Korean War.

"It is South Korea that has the experience of rebuilding a shattered economy. It is South Korea that understands the risks of rebuilding, and is prepared to take that risk.

"There will be considerable political help from China, but I believe economic assistance will be limited."

HOSTILITIES OR DIALOGUE?

Yu said the North's new "great successor," appeared focused for now on building a militaristic image, and may stage a hostile act to firm up his power base.

"I think a military provocation is a possibility as a way to deflect responsibility if its failure to revive the economy is revealed," he said.

The North has stepped up its rhetoric against the South and Kim has been shown touring military sites in what analysts say is likely aimed at burnishing a hardline image with the army.

On Monday, the North's state media ridiculed South Korean officials, including Yu, as "confrontational fanatics" and "moral imbeciles" who missed the chance of engaging in dialogue when Pyongyang reached out last year for talks.

Yu dismissed the rhetoric and held out an olive branch to the North's leadership, saying Seoul would consider a resumption of food aid if Pyongyang returned to the negotiating table.

"We can discuss the matter of large-scale food aid, including rice, if North-South talks reopen," said Yu, adding no "meaningful" contact had occurred since Kim Jong-il's death.

The South's President Lee Myung-bak cut off all economic aid to the North upon winning office in 2008, demanding Pyongyang's complete denuclearization for the resumption of aid, which amounted to around $4.5 billion the preceding decade.

"The world is changing fast, and it's inconceivable that North Korea will do nothing to solve its problems by waiting," said Yu. "And I expect the North will make the right choice for our common future."

(Writing by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/wl_nm/us_korea_north_minister

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Live-blogging the Golden Globes fashions

By Kurt Schlosser

Updated 5:45 p.m. PT: "Glee" stars Lea Michele and Dianna Agron caught our eye with some fanciful bodice work on their dresses. Michele's look?reminds us a bit of something straight out "Terminator" ... doesn't that look like molten metal? Or something? Advantage, Agron.

AP

Lea Michele, left, and Dianna Agron.

Updated 5:20 p.m. PT: Rounding out the red carpet portion of the show, we'll wrap this up with actresses Mila Kunis, Emma Stone and Michelle Williams. Got a favorite here? Our vote is on Stone, in the center.

Getty Images

Mila Kunis, left, Emma Stone, center, and Michelle Williams.

Updated 5:10 p.m. PT: We're big Kate Beckinsale fans around here. The actress topped E!'s year-end list of the top 10 bikini photos of 2011. That's all well and good. Here she is dressed!

Frederic J. Brown / AFP - Getty Images

Updated 4:55 p.m. PT: One of last year's red-carpet standouts was actress Natalie Portman, who walked the Academy Awards red carpet while pregnant and then went inside and took home the best actress Oscar for "Black Swan." Here she is tonight?in pink!?

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Updated 4:50 p.m. PT: We're not loving the fact that we can't tell where the red carpet?ends and?Reese Witherspoon's dress starts in this photo.

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Updated 4:45 p.m. PT: We're feeling a little blue. Or some shade of it, as actresses Freida Pinto, Sofia Vergara and Tilda Swinton work the red carpet.

Getty Images. AFP

Freida Pinto, Sofia Vergara, Tilda Swinton.

Updated 4:35 p.m. PT: Evan Rachel Wood, Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie all win praise from TODAY's Bobbie Thomas. Our vote from this threesome is on Wood.

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Matt Sayles / AP

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Updated 4:25 p.m. PT: Actresses Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis from "The Help." Davis told Access Hollywood last week she hopes to escape the "wrath" of host Ricky Gervais. "He is absolutely hysterical. He can blast other people and I will laugh with abandon!"

Reuters

Octavia Spencer, left, and Viola Davis.

Updated 4:15 p.m. PT: We showed our love for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" star Rooney Mara recently because we'd been impressed with her style throughout the worldwide promotion for the film. Here she is tonight, continuing the theme:

Matt Sayles / AP

Updated 4:10 p.m. PT: Did the Green Hornet have a girlfriend? He does now. Actress Zooey Deschanel.

Getty Images

Updated 4:05 p.m. PT: Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Updated 4 p.m. PT: Uggie, the dog from "The Artist" who has been charming fans on red carpets around the world, made his appearance. Guess they opted not to put him in a little tux, but he did have on his little bow tie. George Clooney did wear a tux. "The Descendants" star looked his usual movie-star self as he posed with girlfriend Stacy Kiebler.

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

The dog Uggie, featured in the film "The Artist."

Frederic J. Brown / AFP - Getty Images

George Clooney and Stacy Keibler.

Updated 3:50 p.m. PT: They're back! Claire Danes and Nicole Richie shimmer on the red carpet in backless dresses.

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Chris Pizzello / AP

The 69th Golden Globe Awards red carpet is up and running and we'll be bringing you a running commentary and plenty of?photos for you to share your thoughts on as the night progresses. Love a dress? Hate a hairdo? Let's hear it in the comments.

We're?also following a few of our friends out there in Twitter world, notably TODAY style editor Bobbie Thomas,?for some expert insight on dresses and more.

Host Ricky Gervais was the story last year, and is likely to get plenty of attention again tonight. Here's the British comic arriving at the Beverly Hilton.

Matt Sayles / AP

?

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/15/10162598-live-blogging-the-golden-globe-fashions

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Ukraine urged to step up AIDS fight (AP)

KIEV, Ukraine ? The head of a global health fund on Monday urged Ukraine to step up its efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Europe's largest.

Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, called on the Ukrainian authorities to expand opiate substitution therapy, ensure HIV/AIDS treatment in prison and increase government funding of anti-AIDS programs.

"This is the region of the world ? the only region of the world ? where the AIDS epidemic is still growing," Kazatchkine told reporters in Kiev, adding that other countries have managed to stabilize their epidemics.

The Global Fund is set disburse $86 million for HIV prevention and treatment in Ukraine in 2012-2013, part of a massive $305 million five-year grant. The fate of the grant came under threat last year due to the government's failure to ensure an uninterrupted supply of anti-AIDS drugs, but Tetyana Aleksandrina, a government official charged with AIDS prevention vowed that such delays will not happen again.

The United Nations says Ukraine has Europe's worst AIDS epidemic with 1.3 percent of the population above 15 infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_he_me/eu_ukraine_aids

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Car bomb kills at least 8 in Iraq's Mosul: hospital (Reuters)

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) ? A car bomb exploded inside a residential complex housing displaced Shi'ite Muslims in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding four, hospital and police sources said.

The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on Shi'ite pilgrims and other targets since a political crisis erupted a month ago in Iraq's fragile power-sharing government, split among Shi'ite, Sunni Muslim and Kurdish blocs.

"The hospital received eight bodies including four women, three children and a man and another four wounded," said Laith Habbaba, manager of the Hamdaniya Hospital in Mosul.

Police confirmed the number of casualties.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber disguised as a policeman killed at least 53 people and wounded scores in an attack on Shi'ite pilgrims at a checkpoint in the southern city of Basra.

Political tensions in Iraq have been high since December when Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government ordered the arrest of a Sunni vice president, touching off a crisis that has many fearing a relapse into sectarian conflict.

Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, was once an al Qaeda stronghold, and witnessed some of the fiercest fighting during the war that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

(Reporting by Jamal al-Badrani; Writing by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Patrick Markey and Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/wl_nm/us_iraq_violence

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Looming S&P downgrade hits euro zone markets (Reuters)

BERLIN/ATHENS (Reuters) ? Standard & Poor's was poised to downgrade the credit ratings of several euro zone countries on Friday, including France and Austria but not Germany or the Netherlands, rattling markets in the first blow of the new year for the troubled single currency.

In another potential setback, talks on a debt swap by private creditors seen as key to averting a Greek default that would rock Europe and the world economy broke up without agreement in Athens, although officials said more talks are likely next week.

Four euro zone government sources said S&P would cut a number of the currency bloc's sovereigns, making an announcement after New York markets close at 4 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT).

A euro zone official said France and Austria would lose their top-notch triple-A ratings, and Slovakia would also be affected. The Financial Times reported that France and Austria would each drop one notch to AA+.

There was no official comment in Paris but Reuters reporters saw Finance Minister Francois Baroin arrive at President Nicolas Sarkozy's office in the late afternoon.

Government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse told BFM television: "France today is a safe investment. It can repay its debt and the news concerning our deficit is better than expected."

The euro fell by more than a cent to $1.2650 on the news. European stocks, which had been up on the day, turned negative. Safe-haven German 10-year bond futures rose to a new record high while the risk premium investors charge on French, Spanish and Belgian debt widened in reaction.

Greek negotiators who have repeatedly voiced confidence in a deal in which banks and insurers would accept voluntary losses of 50 percent of the face value of their bond holdings said they were now less hopeful, warning of "catastrophic consequences" for Greece and Europe if they failed.

Without a deal, a second Greek bailout package could fall apart, leaving Athens facing default in March when it must meet massive bond repayments.

"Yesterday we were cautious and confident. Today we are less optimistic," a source close to the Greek task force in charge of the negotiations said.

The Institute for International Finance, negotiating on behalf of creditor banks, said in a statement: "Under the circumstances, discussions with Greece and the official sector are paused for reflection on the benefits of a voluntary approach.

The double blow of the S&P news and the stalling of the Greek debt talks came after a brighter start to the year with Spain and Italy beginning their marathon debt rollover at lower borrowing costs this week.

The European Central Bank's move last month to flood banks with cheap three-year liquidity helped ease a worsening credit crunch and provided funds which governments hope some will use to buy sovereign bonds.

RESCUE FUND WEAKENED

S&P declined comment on reports of an imminent downgrade, which several sources said would not affect the triple-A ratings of Germany or the Netherlands. There was no word of a threat to the euro zone's other AAA states, Finland and Luxembourg.

France and Austria were both seen as being at greater risk because of their banks' exposure to the debt of peripheral euro zone countries and Hungary respectively, and the weakening economic outlook for Europe.

S&P warned on December 5 that it was reviewing the ratings of 15 of the 17 euro zone members, including Germany and France, the region's two biggest economies, for a possible mass downgrade due to rising "systemic stresses" in the currency area.

The agency said it would issue a decision within three months, but as soon as possible after a December 9 summit at which euro zone countries agreed to negotiate a fiscal pact with tougher enforcement of budget discipline.

A cut in France's rating would be a serious setback for the centre-right Sarkozy's chances of re-election in May and could weaken the euro zone's rescue fund, reducing its ability to help countries in difficulty.

France is the second largest guarantor of the European Financial Stability Facility, which currently has a AAA rating. Preserving that status would require members to increase their guarantees, which could prove politically unpopular.

After vowing to do everything to preserve Paris' top-notch standing, Sarkozy appeared to prepare voters last month for the likely loss of the prized status before the election.

"It would be one more difficulty, but not insurmountable," he said in an interview with Le Monde.

France has the highest debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio of the euro zone's AAA-rated countries, and the government has refused to take further savings measures before the election, insisting it can meet its fiscal targets.

It was not clear how far a downgrade would increase France's borrowing costs, since markets have already anticipated the prospect by raising the French risk premium over German Bunds.

"One notch is priced in but not more. The Franco-German spread can widen. It is about 130 basis points for the 10-year bond. The maximum level reached was 180 to 190 basis points and it can go back to this level," said Alessandro Giansanti, senior rates strategist at ING in Amsterdam.

(Additional reporting by Annika Breidthardt in Berlin and Reuters euro zone bureaux; Writing by Paul Taylor, editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120113/bs_nm/us_eurozone_sp

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Android Central Editors' app picks for Jan 14, 2011

Guess who's back?! Sorry about last week folks, we know you want your apps and all but we were busy getting ourselves ramped up for CES 2012. Either way we are back in action this week so let's hit the break together and check some out!

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/A20bwmkM4ig/story01.htm

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Emotional news framing affects public response to crises, MU study finds

Public release date: 13-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nathan Hurst
hurstn@missouri.edu
573-882-6217
University of Missouri-Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. When organizational crises occur, such as plane crashes or automobile recalls, public relations practitioners develop strategies for substantive action and effective communication. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that the way in which news coverage of a crisis is framed affects the public's emotional response toward the company involved.

Glen Cameron, the Maxine Wilson Gregory Chair in Journalism Research and professor of strategic communication at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, along with Hyo Kim of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, studied the reactions of news readers when exposed to a story about a crisis. One group read an "anger-frame" story that blamed the organization for the crisis. Another group read a "sadness-frame" story that focused on the victims and how they were hurt by the crisis. Cameron and Kim found that those who read the "anger-frame" story read the news less closely and had more negative attitudes toward the company than those exposed to the "sadness-frame" story.

"The distinct emotions induced by different news frames influenced individuals' information processing and how they evaluated the corporation," Cameron said.

Cameron and Kim also found that a corporate response to a crisis that focuses on the relief and wellbeing of the victims tends to improve the public's perceptions of the corporation as compared to the message focusing on the law, justice, and punishment. This was the case regardless of how the initial news was framed (i.e., anger vs. sadness). Cameron says these findings illustrate the importance of controlling the message during a crisis.

"It is important for corporations to put on a human face during crises," Cameron said. "If a corporation can focus on the well-being of the victims and how the corporation will improve following the crisis, they have a better chance of influencing "sadness-frame" news coverage as opposed to "anger-frame" coverage. If the news coverage remains "sadness-framed," public perception will stay more positive."

Cameron says this research is important, not to help corporations shirk responsibility, but rather to handle crisis situations in the best way possible.

"Crises are going to happen," Cameron said. "Unfortunately, planes will crash and there will be oil spills. This study helps to show how the public will react to different types of news coverage of crises, and subsequently, what the best ways are for corporations to handle any crises they may encounter.

This study was published in Communications Research.

###

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[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 13-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nathan Hurst
hurstn@missouri.edu
573-882-6217
University of Missouri-Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. When organizational crises occur, such as plane crashes or automobile recalls, public relations practitioners develop strategies for substantive action and effective communication. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that the way in which news coverage of a crisis is framed affects the public's emotional response toward the company involved.

Glen Cameron, the Maxine Wilson Gregory Chair in Journalism Research and professor of strategic communication at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, along with Hyo Kim of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, studied the reactions of news readers when exposed to a story about a crisis. One group read an "anger-frame" story that blamed the organization for the crisis. Another group read a "sadness-frame" story that focused on the victims and how they were hurt by the crisis. Cameron and Kim found that those who read the "anger-frame" story read the news less closely and had more negative attitudes toward the company than those exposed to the "sadness-frame" story.

"The distinct emotions induced by different news frames influenced individuals' information processing and how they evaluated the corporation," Cameron said.

Cameron and Kim also found that a corporate response to a crisis that focuses on the relief and wellbeing of the victims tends to improve the public's perceptions of the corporation as compared to the message focusing on the law, justice, and punishment. This was the case regardless of how the initial news was framed (i.e., anger vs. sadness). Cameron says these findings illustrate the importance of controlling the message during a crisis.

"It is important for corporations to put on a human face during crises," Cameron said. "If a corporation can focus on the well-being of the victims and how the corporation will improve following the crisis, they have a better chance of influencing "sadness-frame" news coverage as opposed to "anger-frame" coverage. If the news coverage remains "sadness-framed," public perception will stay more positive."

Cameron says this research is important, not to help corporations shirk responsibility, but rather to handle crisis situations in the best way possible.

"Crises are going to happen," Cameron said. "Unfortunately, planes will crash and there will be oil spills. This study helps to show how the public will react to different types of news coverage of crises, and subsequently, what the best ways are for corporations to handle any crises they may encounter.

This study was published in Communications Research.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uom-enf011312.php

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