The US won 70% of the Nobel awards this year, but the prize is a lagging indicator; Nobels are usually given to scientists at the end of their careers. Are we looking back through a time tunnel, and do these American achievements reflect the past instead of the future? An article by Fareed Zakaria Is America Losing Its Mojo in the November 23rd issue of Newsweek discusses the possibility that we are falling dangerously behind the rest of the world in innovation. For example, Zakaria claims we are far behind the rest of the world in one key resource: human capital. Our students are not measuring up -- and thus America is not producing the kind of workers needed for a knowledge-based economy. The gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world is closing on many fronts, but is most evident in the high tech arena. Can we rekindle the American spirit? Or is Zakaria a new Gibbon, describing the beginning of the end?
Stanford Professor Bob Sutton muses about the squeaky wheel syndrome, in respect to both complaining students and health care. He notes that there is research to suggest that complainers get rewarded, and cites a 2004 study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine on the outcomes of over 3000 disputes filed by patients over insurance payments. Researchers found that patients who filed formal complaints through the appeals process won more than 90% of the time; the average size of the bill disputed was over $1,000. Ready for your check? Read more on Sutton's blog.
For those of us who dig maps, NPR has posted a page with a map of the national electrical power grid. There are other components as well, including a map of principal power stations and wind power transmission lines. Check it out.
GSB Alum Tom Peters on his blog enthuses on civility, a quality in short supply, and mentions some recently read books on the same. Peters mentions The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It, by Pearson and Porath, with a ringing endorsement by Warren Bennis. Two others are by E. M. Forni of Johns Hopkins University, Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct and The Civility Solution: What To Do When People Are Rude. Included in his reflections are apt quotes by past greats, such as Seneca's "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness," or the famous admonition from the New Testament, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: For thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Is not our age ripe for such guidance? At least something to think about, next time one is awash in the rising tide of incivility.
Should you ever repeat tweets in Twitter? Apparently it is frowned upon by twitiquette, but Guy Kawasaki did a test where he tried to build Twitter traffic with tweet repeats. He did get a few complaints and threats from folks to "unfollow" if he persisted, but read his blog to get the full story. Then you can decide whether you want to follow suit and excercise your "freedom of tweech". Boy, all this talk about Twitter is a real twongue twister ....
As usual, Stanford Professor Bob Sutton has tapped into some interesting stuff. He cites a 1993 study which apparently showed that people (female students in this case) accurately echoed, after observing only a brief video clip of instructors, the feedback of other students who had sat in the instructors' classes an entire semester. The 'thin slices' of experience viewed by the test students were a mere 30 seconds long, with sound turned off. Scared yet? Sutton notes that even shorter clips were used, down to 6- and 15 seconds -- with basically the same results. Subsequent research corroborated the findings. Perhaps the folk wisdom of the ages is right: first impressions are not only lasting ... they're accurate.
No, this is not the 1800s, this is July 2009 in West Bend, Wisconsin, a city 30 miles from Milwaukee. A huge battle has erupted that has divided the city. Residents have battled for months on blogs, airwaves and at meetings -- including one where a man told the city's Library Director that he should be 'tarred and feathered'.
It all began when West Bend couple Jim and Ginny Maziarka objected to some of the content in the City Library's young-adult section. Mrs. Maziarka asked the Director to remove items from the shelves. He refused, she hit the blogosphere, and the battle began. Outside West Bend, the fight caught the attention of Robert Braun (President of a Milwaukee group called the Christian Civil Liberties Union) who, with three other Milwaukee-area men, filed a claim against West Bend calling for one of the library's books to be publicly burned. Read the whole story
Ed Batista, GSB Alum and instructor, reviews a recent presentation in San Francisco by Chris Anderson about his new book Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Especially interesting is the idea of the promotion of celebrity, and of 'quantifiable reputation', something which may now be possible with social networking, where one can constantly track "friends" and "followers". Ed goes on to reflect on his experience as an executive coach, and how that relates to these developments.
Need a break? Note the storefront signs that Guy Kawasaki photographed while in the city of Edinburgh. No doubt every city has fascinating shop marquees, but this is a pretty good collection to scope out. And eating the haggis is optional. VERY optional.
New research suggests that woman playwrights may be on the receiving end of sexual discrimination -- from women. Stanford Professor Bob Sutton on his blog describes studies by undergrad Emily Glassberg Sands, mentioned in the New York Times, that purport to turn up bias in unusual places. Other aspects of the research include evidence that works by women on average are 18% more profitable than plays authored by men.
Harvard researchers recently conducted a study of Twitter. Among its conclusions: women and men both tend to follow men rather than women (reversing a trend in online social networks, where men often follow the lead of women), and the top 10% of prolific Twitter users account for over 90% of tweets. Oxford University Press has also been looking at Twitter; check out their blog. Some bloggers are worrying that Twitter will degrade the language. Is Twitter for the birds ?
Stanford Professor Bob Sutton writes about the use (and misuse) of others' ideas. Not that one is always obligated to run one's every attribution to ground; those of us who have tried to verify widely used quotes in our papers know how problematic that can be. Sutton in his blog ruminates on the spread of quotes and ideas, and how easy it is for them to become part of our collective background, so that writers believe that something is burbling up from their own genius. He notes how difficult it is to come up with something truly original, and reminds us that the dogged pursuit of the novel idea or quote at all costs can have a potentially dangerous edge. Sutton concludes with a quote by his colleague Professor Jeff Pfeffer -- that being correct may be worth striving for more than being 'new'.
Do you dread that Monday morning wake up call to work after your glorious weekend? Well Stanford Business School Professor Jeff Pfeffer says epidemiological studies show that holding a lower-level position where one does not have much control over job activities and decision making puts employees at a higher risk of having—or dying from—a heart attack. "There’s nothing more stressful than being in an environment in which you have a lot of pressure but relatively little power," Pfeffer says. Read more about it.
Who will be First Lady, and Second Lady, and ... ? That is the question in South Africa these days. The newly elected President of South Africa is an avowed polygamist with two wives and a third wife to be. The practice of polygamy is legal in the Zulu culture, but gender activists view the practice as "unconstitutional", since men are allowed to have more than one wife while women aren't allowed more than one husband. However, the issue has not been tested. Will this legitimize the practice of polygamy in South Africa? Will others be willing to move to a country that accepts this life style? Stay tuned.
Are we 'naturally good'? Stanford Professor Bob Sutton blogs about the book Born To Be Good: The Science Of A Meaningful Life by Dacher Keltner, which argues that people are hard wired to be good and generous, not greedy and selfish. Sutton notes that while many economists may bridle at this notion, the author does an interesting job of presenting his case, drawing on research into facial expressions and body language. Not sure what the implications for capitalistic theory will be if this argument is accepted; guess we'll wait and see if it makes more than a ripple.
From Sarah Wilson, Archivist at the Stanford Law School, comes note of a video discussion on Technology and the Future of the Book. Part of the annual conference of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the panel discussion was held on March 1. Panelists include eminent scientist Edward Feigenbaum of Stanford, Donald Lindberg, Director of the National Library of Medicine, Daniel Clancy of the Google Book Search Project, Stanford University Librarian Michael Keller and others. It's a two-hour discussion; I am told that one can skip the first 10 minutes of introductions.
If the title of this post sounds weird to you, here is a translation: New Language. Though both expressions are written in plain English, they signify different contemporary cultural trends. The Nu Speak is the language of IMs and short text messages and it’s expressed primarily in abbreviations. And, according to the author of the Changing Language of Search article, the new lingo cannot be ignored. With over two billion mobile devices users, the conventions of Nu Speak seep into communication with a broad audience including librarians or even college professors. For some people all these abbreviations are easy to decipher, but others are puzzled at their meaning. The good news is that you can now find online dictionaries which translate the Nu Speak shortcuts into traditional English language. If you are interested in reading the article, ask for a copy of January issue or Seacher magazine at the Info Desk at Jackson Library. Stanford users can read the article online.
Crooked Timber takes its name from a quote of Immanuel Kant -- "Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made". How true, on this day of Bernie Madoff's trial. But I digress. The site, which we have mentioned before on this blog, is a compendium of reflections, speculations, polemics and whatnot from academics, intellectuals and social thinkers on a gamut of topics. A quick check yielded quite a smattering, ranging from dissections of the current economic crisis to political ruminations about GOP leader Michael Steele to book reviews to advice for prospective grad students to a post on kissing to a site of resources on Rousseau to the recent Chinese 'mud horse' phenomenon. Perhaps the (frequently) whimsical nature of the beast can be captured by this self-description of one of the regulars : "A man of excellent naturall Parts; but very Sarcastick and the greatest Buffoon in the Nation."
We all recall the grammar school joke: "What's black and white and red all over? A newspaper!" Well, a new day has dawned. As Time magazine points out in its cover article How To Save Your Newspaper, news is still widely read, but ... nobody wants to pay for it. More people in the U.S. now get their news free online than pay for print newspapers and magazines. The Deal February 8 issue Black And White And Red All Over notes that the industry was already suffering before being hit by the latest economic whammy, and describes some the desperate strategies news services now employ. It probably has not escaped your attention that both of the articles cited in this blog are free online. So what is the future? And what are we gonna wrap fish in ?
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Today we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the births of two remarkable men whose imprint remains all about us. Abraham Lincoln, whose staunch defense of the Union during the Civil War and abhorrence of slavery have remained a model for all future presidents, was born the same day in 1809 as Charles Darwin, architect of the theory of evolution that is without doubt one of the most influential concepts to shape modern human civilization, becoming absolutely determinative in the biological sciences. These men grew up in radically different settings -- Lincoln amid rustic log cabins on the American frontier, Darwin in an educated English family that included paternal grandfather philosopher Erasmus and maternal grandfather industrialist Josiah Wedgwood. And historians know, of course, that not all Lincoln's ideas have stood the test of time, nor was Darwin alone in the development of evolutionary theory. But this does not detract from their monumental achievements. Let us hope that in future we continue to see the emergence of similar bright lights in our cultural firmament. Huzzah !
US News & World Report highlights America's best leaders -- doctors, educators, soldiers and others who are changing the world. Included are names both familiar and new, such as social activist Marian Wright Edelman, economist Jeffrey Sachs, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Miami mayor Manny Diaz, director Stephen Spielberg, entrepreneur Linda Rottenberg, musicians Terence Blanshard and Herbie Hancock, physician Regina Benjamin, executive Jeff Bezos and educator Freeman Hrabowski.
Is it 'curtains' for California? The American magazine (November / December) opines that our state is in eclipse, its economic and political dominance a thing of the past. Filled with discouraging statistics, cover story 'Sundown for California' notes growing out-migration from the state, a declining job growth rate, unaffordable housing in urban centers, statewide budget troubles and the 15th highest poverty rate in the nation. The cause? Well ... take a look at the issue, on the Current Periodicals Rack in Jackson Library.
A settlement has been reached in lawsuits between Google and author and publisher groups after two years of negotiation, regarding the company's scanning of copyrighted books. Under the terms of the settlement, yet to be approved in Federal court, Google will pay $125 million to resolve a suit brought by authors and the Authors Guild. In return, Google will now show up to 20% of a book's text to users at no charge, with the entire book online for a fee. Partner schools such as Stanford, MIchigan and UC announced their support for the settlement, though Rick Prelinger of the Internet Archive mused on the danger of having a single access point develop for world culture. Read more in the magazine American Libraries.
The latest issue of the New Yorker recounts the life and times of Lionel Trilling (1905 - 1975), famous critic, Columbia professor and all-around intellectual about town. The article goes a considerable distance in helping resolve the confusion some of us have had, over the years, in situating this famous figure on the sociopolitical spectrum. Trilling, one of those handful of names to inevitably pop up in any cultural discussion of the Twentieth Century, is all too easily adopted these days by warring philosophical camps. So it is with relief that we now learn (to use the Trilling royal "we") that this obfuscation may have been an intentional ploy on the great man's part. Indeed, it may just have been part of a subtle game Trilling played with himself and others around questions of identity and discontent. Or so author Louis Menand suggests. Take a break from our current financial woes and read more online or in the issue in Jackson Library.
Do you think you'd honk someone if they had a gun rack in the back of their truck? According to GSB Prof Bob Sutton's blog, research has suggested that, counterintuitively, people are in fact provoked by such signs of aggression -- and become more aggressive themselves. And to back it up he proffers a hardcore 1975 academic article from a psychology journal. Or, from a less scientific perspective, recall those words from 2000 years ago: "He that taketh up the sword shall perish by the sword". Or honk.
The New York Times Magazine (6/29/08) highlights the depopulation of Europe and other places in 'Childless Europe'. The piece by Russell Shorto speculates that birthrates in parts of Europe (and elsewhere) may be in decline because of a discrepancy between progressive hopes fostered among modern women and lingering patterns of pre-modern society which deflate those hopes. This civilizational schizophrenia leads to psychic disillusionment and a reluctance to bear children. Or so Shorto says. Benedict XVI recently lamented "Europe is infected by a strange lack of desire for the future." Is he right? Read more in the issue on our current periodicals rack in Jackson Library, or online.
Have you noticed that it has become more and more difficult to read through a long article? Do you think and work in 'bullet points'? You are not alone. According to an article in the July/August issue of the Atlantic Magazine, "Is Google Making Us Stupid", the Internet has changed the way we process information. There has been no long term study, but short term studies suggest that people use a form of 'skimming' when reading non-fiction, jumping from one source to another and rarely reading past two pages before moving to another site. The author contends that although we are reading more today, the way we read can impact our ability to analyze and interpret nuances in the text. You can read the full story online or in the print copy in the periodical display rack of Jackson Library -- although I must warn you, the article is 6 pages long.
Now, did you get all that, or were you skimming ?
As is my custom, I am highlighting the latest issue of New Perspectives Quarterly, a magazine specializing in big-ticket ideas and issues contributed by thought leaders and diplomats from around the world. The Winter 2008 issue lists the introductory Commentaries for issues of NPQ from 2001 - 2007. Topics covered are 'Civilizations Out of Sync', 'The Future of Anti-Americanism', 'No Shortcuts to the "End of History" ', "From the Faith Gap to Post-Liberalism', 'Globalization's New Left', 'DeGlobalize the Jihad', and 'China: From Democracy Wall to the Shopping Mall and Back', among others. Actual articles included are 'Modernization Will Arrive in Arabia From Asia', 'India: Sacred Cows and Software', and 'Hollywood in the World', for example. And the authors or people interviewed in these issues over the years? Samuel P. Huntington, Rem Koolhaas, Jorge Casteneda, Kofi Annan, General Wesley Clark, Lester Thurow, Amartya Sen, Robert McNamara, Coretta Scott King, Francis Fukuyama, Vladmir Putin, Mohamad Mahathir, Hillary Clinton, Edward Said, Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Wolfowitz, Mohammed Yunus, Henry Kissinger, Carlos Fuentes, Al Gore, Gore Vidal ... and the list goes on. Read all this and more in the latest issue on the Jackson periodical racks.
Scientists who study play in animals and humans are beginning to view it as an important part of neurological growth and development. They believe play can help children build "complex, skilled, responsive, socially adept and cognitively flexible brains." But what about the darker side of 'play'? Read Robin Marantz Henig's complete story of play and its importance in human development in the February 17th issue of the New York Times Magazine.
Has the 'tipping point' toppled ? Guy Kawasaki in his blog cites an article by Clive Thompson in FastWired magazine that takes on the currently popular concept fostered by Malcolm Gladwell. The gist of Thompson’s piece is that the theory that a select few 'key influencers' matter more than 'the rest of us' in viral and word-of-mouth marketing campaigns is flawed. Has Gladwell tipped too far ?
恭喜發財 "Gung Hay Fat Choy!" We wish everyone a happy Chinese New Year, as the lunar new year eve falls today. Chinese and non-Chinese around the world will join in the celebrations, which kick off this evening. Reuniting with one's family at this time is considered highly important. This 'Year of the Rat' is 4706 by the ancient counting, and begins the 12-year zodiacal cycle anew. Accounts of the origins of the calendar vary; they lie in the mythical past. New year parades are held in different parts of the United States, including our local one in San Francisco Chinatown. Check for the parade nearest you !
Can there be peace in a glass of cabernet? In Lebanon’s Bekka Valley they are harvesting grapes that will produce more than 4 million bottles of wine each year. The industry is succeeding, despite Lebanon’s diverse demographics. Christians, Sunni and Shiites work side by side toward a common goal – an exceptional bottle of wine. Religious differences are set aside as workers get to know each other as fellow laborers and human beings. Most Bekka Valley wines are exported, but the focus is to build up domestic sales. This concept may seem surprising in a country where most of the population is forbidden alcohol, but at home behind closed doors, winemakers smile, it is different. Here's a toast -- and a wish -- to an acceptance of differences.
'Made in China: From Tiananmen to Tainted Toys' is the focus of the latest issue of New Perspectives Quarterly. The Fall 2007 issue is now on the current periodical racks in Jackson Library. Included are articles '"Made in China" Label Won't Survive Without Rule of Law' with Minxin Pei, author of China's Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy, 'Chinese Hacking Signals Age of Info Warfare' with former Director of the National Security Agency Bobby Ray Inman, 'Brangelina vs. Chinese Mercantilism in Africa' with former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, 'Pakistan at a Crossroads' with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, 'Countdown to War With Iran' with former U.S. chief negotiator on Middle East peace issues Dennis Ross, 'Is America on Course to Fall Like Rome?' with U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker, and 'The End of Darwinian Evolution' with renowned scientist Freeman Dyson. In addition, a section highlights 'The 11th Hour', a documentary directed by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and features comments by world thinkers such as Stephen Hawking, Paul Hawken, Paolo Soleri, James Woolsey, Mikhail Gorbachev and others. Come to the Library to learn more.
Chairman of the House Appropriations committee David Obey explains why he’s not going to approve the President's request for an additional $46 billion for the war in Iraq. Obey plans to slow down the supplemental funding until the country gets a better idea of what the future spending for the war is going to look like. Listen to this interview on NPR
"Long lines, late flights, near collisions -- everyone is unhappy with the state of the U.S. air travel system. Unfortunately, no one, especially not the FAA, seems able to do anything about it." So begins the cover story of BusinessWeek September 10 issue, Fear and Loathing at the Airport. 68% of flights in arrived on time in June 2007, down from 78% in 1998. After this latest 'Summer from Hell', authors Christopher Palmeri and Keith Epstein lament that the situation in the air is only likely to get worse. The FAA predicts that by 2015 there will be one billion passengers a year, a 30% increase. Agency chief Marion C. Blakey is stepping down this month after five frustrating years of trying to bring order out of chaos. Blakey is quite frank about the rising risk of flying; there have been 339 incidents this year where planes were dangerously close to other planes, including a case at Los Angeles International last month when a jet came within 37 feet of another. The authors distribute blame across the board -- passengers, airlines, unions, Congress, and the FAA, among others. Timesaving tip? Don't fly between 8 and 9 PM; half of all U.S. flights departing this hour are delayed.
"Lock-box." Not long ago, he was the butt of jokes, putting on weight, a wanderer in the wilderness. No longer. Al Gore is back. Fast Company magazine (July / August 2007) features a cover story on "the untold story of how an epic loser engineered what may be the greatest brand makeover of our time." Gore has cannily used Silicon Valley and Hollywood to restore his image -- and his net worth, which at one time was a paltry $1-2 million but now exceeds $100 million. He's known worldwide for his championing of environmentalism and, in particular, his clarion call on global warming. An adviser to Google, a boardmember of Apple, notable author ( The Assault on Reason ), Chairman and co-founder of cable's Current TV, with almost 40 million subscribers, he is also the star of An Inconvenient Truth. Recently he helped produce the Live Earth concerts, seen and heard by millions -- if not billions -- to raise climate awareness. Ready for the 2008 Presidency? Well ... read the article.
What you do or say in public can be your undoing, your 15 minutes of infamy. Tom Friedman points out in a thought provoking June 27 New York Times op/ed piece that around every corner lurks a potential, publisher, filmmaker or paparazzi. No one is safe. If you have a little too much to drink and dance the night away with the proverbial lampshade on your head, you can emerge from your hangover a star in your own film, courtesy of YouTube. Friedman contends that our reputations are set in stone much earlier than in past generations. In the Good Old Days, young adults could make mistakes, learn from them and be none the worse for wear. The present generation does not have this luxury; their foibles are recorded for all to see in Face Book, My Space or YouTube. So boys and girls, remember that when you grow up and start looking for a job, there is a good chance your employer will do a Google search and download all those skeletons in your electronic closet.
An article in the June 17th New York Times Magazine discusses a study by Harvard Political Science Professor Robert Putnam ( Bowling Alone ), that contends that people living in ethnically diverse environments tend to "hunker down" and distrust those around them. The more diversity, the more of a cluster the group becomes. The distrust is not limited to those of another race, but also affects those of the same race. For some reason a diverse mix drives down social capital and makes people withdraw. In spite of his findings, Putnam himself sees long-term benefits from diversity. Read his complete study in Scandinavian Political Studies, June 2007, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p 137-174.
May issue of Fortune magazine published Andy Grove’s Open Letter to the presidential candidates where the founder of Intel and our very own GSB professor, Andy Grove, makes his suggestions on improving the health care system. Rather than approaching the problem fundamentally, Andy Grove suggests to take one (or to be more exact two steps) at a time and implement two programs: fix the “emergency room emergency” and “keep parents at home”. Find more details in the article.
Change.org makes it possible for young donors to make small contributions together for a social cause and/or for politics.
“People care passionately about social issues, but many — especially those under the age of 40 — have a hard time figuring out how to translate that concern into practical action, says Ben Rattray, the 26-year-old chief executive officer of Change.org.
Change.org has raised no venture capital to finance the site. But its founders are starting to look for socially minded investors that will be more focused on the site's mission than on getting high returns quickly.”
Story at The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Fascinated with all things New Yawk? Or just a Brooklyn expat on the West Coast, pining for home? Check out Gothamist blog, which tracks odds-and-ends of life in New York City, past and present, from a pavement-level view. In addition to highlighting interesting restaurants and bars, it notes entertainment and events and the occasional (?) New York curiosity -- such as an entry on the mysterious murder in the Hotel Chelsea of Nancy (of the once-famous punk rock couple Sid and Nancy), or a recent stolen vehicle chase which caused an accident in the Village, or a raid on Middle School 54 on the Upper West Side, where -- say it ain't so! -- prohibited cell phones were seized en masse by the NYPD. Da Bronx is up and da Battery's down. Even hardened Westerners like Barry Goldwater might enjoy this slice of life from the Eastern seaboard. Read all about it -- at Gothamist.
iMedia reports that what is different from the 2004 campaign is that the candidates are utilizing blogs, RSS feeds, videos on YouTube, podcasts, and social networking sites such as MySpace, Facefook, etc. to create "candidate-generated" content.
The table below illustrates interactive media adoption by some of the leading candidates.
Official Candidate-Generated Content
Supporter stats by platform for the top candidates are available at the Tech President blog. … and of course it remains to be seen whether the impact of interactive media will actually translate into votes.
According to a New York Times story of May 11, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) will now consider smoking in films one of the criteria for assigning ratings along with violence, sex and language. Under the new policy, a film will be rated on all tobacco use -- not just use by teenagers, as was the rule in the past. The change in policy is the result of pressure from anti-smoking groups. Many an adult smoker of the past was influenced by the sexy Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart or Paul Henreid and Bette Davis sharing a cigarette in Hollywood's golden age.
As the presidential campaigns heat up, Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig is calling upon both political parties to eliminate any unnecessary restriction of speech. "Technology has exploded the opportunity for people to comment upon, and spread political speech," Lessig says. "Democracy is all about encouraging citizens to participate in that debate. And all of us, whether Democrats or Republicans, should push to remove unnecessary burdens to that participation." On his blog he posts two letters, one to the RNC and the other to the DNC, requesting, among other things, that no debate get official sanction of these bodies unless contract terms specify that video footage will be put into the public domain, or licensed under a Creative Commons (Attribution) license, so that after the debate the video will be free for anyone. The list of signatories is impressive and bipartisan, including Lessing himself, Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia), political author Arianna Huffington, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, Kim Gandy (President of NOW), Matt Margolis of GOP Bloggers and Blogs for Bush, Jay Harris of Mother Jones, and Adam Green of MoveOn.org. It will be interesting to see how this affects the ebb and flow in the partisan battles to come.
Double check that parking ticket on your windshield before you send in your check! It may not be yours. According to San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Lazarus (Friday, April 20) the scam is easy. The scammer finds a ticket on his / her windshield, picks it up, walks or drives a few blocks, finds someone potentially in violation, and puts the ticket on their windshield. There's virtually no downside for the scammer, who is betting that the victim will simply accept the ticket and pay it. And if not, the scammer is no worse off, because most municipalities send out a courtesy notice before the original ticket accrues fines. If the scam fails, the scammer can still pay without accruing penalties. The moral of our story? Read first, pay later.
Who is the real force behind much of the evangelical movement? According to the new book The Jesus Machine, by U.S. News & World Report Senior Editor Dan Gilgoff, it's not Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, or the usual names in the media, but a relatively quiet man: James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family organization. Dobson's group has developed into perhaps the most powerful organization in the so-called Christian Right. Few people outside evangelical circles know his name or have seen his face, yet he influences millions of Americans through his daily radio broadcasts and Focus on the Family. Consequently, Dobson has emerged as powerful force in American politics. Gilgoff ties together the races and issues in which Dobson has had a hand -- the defeat of Tom Dashchle, the Republican sweep in 2004 and the nomination of Roberts and Alito -- to name a few. The book is being critically acclaimed by both the Left and Right. A refreshing look at Dobson and the evangelical influence on America and its politics.
Tuesday at midnight was the deadline for everyone to file their taxes. Why are taxes due on a Tuesday? Well it’s Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia. The Tax Foundation, based in Washington D.C., puts out a report each year entitled What Does America Think About Taxes? (PDF version). The report originated with Gallup, however the Tax Foundation asks similar questions. Among them are: Is the federal income tax you pay too high? How high should taxes be?
In this years Berkshire Hathaway’s letter to shareholders Warren Buffett covers a lot of ground. He make suggestions on what to name your offspring and quotes Churchill and Ben Franklin. Buffett throws in a joke or two but also speaks of the environment and its effect on business as well as his philanthropic endeavors this year. He even gives a great overview, in plain English, of retroactive transactions accounting. You will also get Buffett’s take on executive compensation which he describes as “Ratchet, Ratchet, Bingo”! Read the letter.
The article in January 2007 issue of Fortune magazine is an essay based on the speech delivered by Bill Gates at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Bill Gates was presented with the James C. Morgan Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic work. In his inspirational speech, Bill Gates gives an insight on what made him shift his attention and efforts to the philanthropy. Learn how Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation got started, how it’s evolving in Bill Gates own words, and find statistics on how 13,215 billion dollars of the Foundation money have been spent since its inception in 2000 through 2006.
Warren Buffett wants to see the proceeds from all Berkshire shares he owns at death to be used for philanthropic purposes quickly. ... "I've set this schedule because I want the money spent relatively promptly by people I know to be capable, vigorous, and motivated." He says that these managerial attributes sometimes wane when institutions - "particularly those exempt from market forces" - age. Story at CNNMoney.com.
Fortune magazine has created a map which will tell you exactly how many millionaires are in your state total as well as how many per 1000 households. Take a look at this snapshot of the Almanac of American Wealth.
Our very own California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is no.1 on the Fast Company magazine annul ranking list, Fast 50. Based on thousands of readers’ nominations, the magazine every year compiles a list of top 50 people and companies which correspond to the selection criteria of "leaders who are fueled by courage, integrity, passion, and a commitment to results". Check out the list in the March 2007 issue of Fast Company in the Library’s magazine display area. The article is not yet available online.
Are husbands and marriage going the way of the Pet Rock?
A recent New York Times study (January 16, 2007, read abstract) found, based on 2005 census results, that for the first time in American history there are more women (51 percent) living without husbands than with them. Unlike their forebears, women today have many options. They no longer need to depend on a man for economic support. More women are financially independent, well educated, and under less pressure to marry. Today the title "wife" is not viewed with the same reverence it once was; increasingly, women today are "single", with heads held high.
Stanford users can access the article online via the Factiva database.
In a ruling sure to make cheating spouses nervous, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital affair can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in prison. That is what a literal interpretation of sentencing law would bring to adulterers. Although a life sentence seems unlikely, this Court of Appeals opinion could be construed as a jab at the Republican majority that took over the Michigan Supreme Court, which decreed that judges must enforce statutory language adopted by the Legislature literally, whatever the consequences -- thus taking away a judge's ability to reject literal interpretation of the law if they believe it would lead to an absurd result. A literal interpretation of the law might send some of those same legislators to the Big House .....
There is a new breed of SF bay area philanthropists reports the SF Chronicle. Laura Arrillaga, 36, a Stanford Business school lecturer, has started her own foundation called Silicon Valley Social Ventures. She states that there are many people in their 20's and 30's who have amassed fortunes these days more quickly than a generation ago where it would take a lifetime to acquire such fortunes.
Thomas Carlyle famously pronounced economics the 'dismal science', at least partly because many economists of his day were, in his opinion, fruitlessly trying to measure human happiness. In the wake of research by Nobel laureate and Princeton psychologist Daniel Kahneman, however, many economists now feel that 'hedonimetrists' can achieve a degree of success. "The view that hedonic states cannot be measured because they are private events is widely held but incorrect," according to Kahneman. The article 'Economics Discovers its Feelings' in the Economist goes on to review the work of Robert Frank, Richard Layard and others to illustrate the way the 'dismal science' has been transformed. Feeling happier now?
Fast Company in its December / January issue offers the Social Capitalist Awards for 2007. Quoth the article's author Cheryl Dahle, "We are awaking to the idea that if business inevitably shapes the future, it has a responsibility to choose what that future will be." The fourth annual Awards honor leaders who combine savvy business models with solutions to pressing social needs in a way that challenge normal assumptions about making a profit. This year's winners include ACCION International, which trains banks to be microfinance partners, Aspire Public Schools, which builds and operates public charter schools in underserved neighborhoods, Citizen Schools, which recruits more than 2,000 professionals to provide after-school apprenticeships, Endeavor Global, which helps entrepreneurs in Africa and Latin America build businesses, and the Grameen Foundation, which creates links between large banks, microfinance partners, and impoverished individuals.
Fortune (12/11/06) brings you up to date with the corporate lives of gays and lesbians. 'Queer Inc.' by Marc Gunther surfaces a little-known milestone in corporate America: Last June, for the first time, more than half of Fortune 500 firms offered health benefits for domestic partners. Many workers also get bereavement leave when their same-sex partner dies. Opines Joe Solomonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign: "Corporate America is far ahead of America generally when it comes to the question of equality for GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender] people." Companies are also taking support for gay rights into the political arena; last spring, Microsoft supported legislation to ban discrimination against gays. Said CEO Steve Ballmer, "Diversity in the workplace is such an important issue for our business that it should be included in our legislative agenda." The article notes opposition movements, but it would seem that corporate America is now moving in single direction.
Jackson Library's magazine collection is full of happy surprises. Take the November issue of Ethical Corporation. Included in the issue: a piece on the 2008 Beijing Olympics and how China is responding to increasing scrutiny of its human rights record, what a sustainable global economy would look like, how British Petroleum's U.S. arm may be threatening the goodwill generated by BP's Lord Browne, how Dubai firms are beginning to encounter ethical concerns, highly sceptical views from George Soros on corporate responsibility, and 'BrandWatch', which tracks the latest big brand moves in ethical products (did you know Wal-Mart is helping MTV convert its flagship NYC store into a showcase for green living?)
This latest issue is on the Current Periodicals racks in Jackson Library. Stay tuned to this blog as we uncover other "hidden gems" in our collection.
The Fall issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review includes 'A New Take on Tithing' by Tim Stone, President of the NewTithing Group, and NewTithing Chairman and noted philanthropist / GSB alum Claude Rosenberg. Be prepared for big numbers. The authors note that individual charitable contributions in the U.S. could increase more than $25 billion if affluent households donated as high a proportion to charity as do the middle / lower classes. "If affluent donors gave as much as we think they could afford, based on our conservative donation benchmarks, charitable giving in the U.S. would rise by about $100 billion per year." Warren Buffett's recent $31 billion commitment to the Gates Foundation is noted. The article includes tables on giving, as well as the authors' suggested giving benchmarks.
Also in the same issue are pieces on corporate social responsibility, the German ProFridA program to retrain sex workers, reshaping social entrepreneurship, and an interview with Alan Bersin, California Secretary of Education. To read these, or to subscribe to the SSIR, check out their Website.
Denmark is the happiest country in the world, according to researchers at University of Leicester.
The first 'World Map of Happiness' covers 178 countries, and was based on a battery of statistics and responses of 80,000 people worldwide. The most significant factors were health, the level of poverty, and access to basic education. Six European countries ranked in the top 10. The U.S. came in 23rd.
The study will be published later this year. You may read a brief summary at BusinessWeek Online.
'Catch the Wave of Wealth' is the title of an interview with pioneering futurist Alvin Toffler in the October issue of Associations Now. Author Apryl Motley notes that Alvin and Heidi Tofflers' new book, Revolutionary Wealth: How It Will Be Created and How It Will Change Our Lives, forecasts how wealth will be generated and distributed in the global economy of the future. According to the Tofflers, who serve as advisors to companies and governments, we are entering a 'third wave of wealth', characterized by the importance of knowledge in wealth creation. Toffler opines: "Today's mass pessimism is a function of the historical upheaval through which we are moving. It's a typical reaction ... The assumption that there are fixed amounts of resources is limited conceptually. Knowledge is becoming our most important resource -- the key to all the rest -- and there are no fixed limits to knowledge."
There's no altar call at 'The Church of the Non-Believers' -- cover story of the November Wired magazine. Author Gary Wolf talks about a growing skirmish in the ongoing Culture Wars: The New Atheism.
Voices in science and elsewhere are taking an ever more aggressive stance against religion, including Richard Dawkins of Oxford University, authors Sam Harris (Letter to a Christian Nation) and Warren Allen Smith (Who's Who in Hell), philosopher Daniel Dennett of Tufts University -- and Vegas showmen Penn & Teller. Whatever side you're on, this is an interesting take on a highly flammable current issue.
September's Entrepreneur magazine hits 'The Right Spot' -- name of its twelfth annual survey of 'hot cities' for entrepreneurs, broken down by US region.
The winners? Phoenix, Memphis, San Antonio and Las Vegas, among others. Plus a number of runners-up, including Denver, Indianapolis, Nashville and Rochester. Interspersed in the article are cameos of successful entrepreneurs from around the nation -- such as Brenda McCaffrey, resident of Phoenix and founder of the circuit-testing company White Mountain Labs, a seven-year-old business which projects $3 million in sales this year.
This is the title of the October 23 U.S. News & World Report cover story, which outlines growing challenges posed to traditional religious and philosophical concepts by ever more sophisticated scientific inquiries. Author Jay Tolson notes that "during the past 20 years or so (consciousness) has become the focus of an expanding intellectual industry involving the combined, but not always harmonious, efforts of neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, artificial intelligence specialists, physicists, and philosophers." The article notes the evolution of speculation on the 'soul' from Plato to William James, and examines how contemporary science is bringing new insights to bear. Tolson concludes that new findings suggest that "if religion can learn something valuable about the unity of body and mind from science, then science might be able to relearn something from religion about the deepest purposes of our minds."
Think laws are made at our U.S. Capitol building? Think again. So argues 'The Shadow Capital', cover story from the October 9 New Republic. Quoth author Thomas Frank, "Visitors to Washington who want to see democracy in action traditionally waste their time at the viewing galleries of the Capitol building, where -- if they are lucky -- they might see one or two legislators mumbling mechanically for the C-SPAN cameras. ... My advice to those visitors: Walk across the street to Charlie Palmer Steak. This is the place for political spectatorship in the age of Abramoff ... " The upscale eatery is housed at 101 Constitution, ground zero for shadow policymakers and political operatives, where "10 stories of lobbyists plot their next thrust on behalf of the life-insurance industry, the mining industry, or the retail hardware industry." Light up your $20 cigar and enjoy this walk through the legislative sausage factory, birthplace of more pork than a Virginia hog farm.
Want a new perspective? New Perspectives Quarterly tracks global trends and civilizational changes at the highest level through articles and interviews. Sample items from recent issues:
• 'Planet of Slums' by Mike Davis
• 'Psychopaths of Faith vs. The Muse of Irreverence' by Wole Soyinka
• 'Will Groundbreaking Movies Move the Middle East?' by Graham E.
Fuller
• 'In the End China will Vote Against Iran at UN' by Chris Patten
• 'Populism and Globalization Don't Mix' by Fernando Henrique Cardoso
• 'George Bush's Suicidal Statecraft' by Zbigniew Brzezinski
• 'The Triangle of Peace' by Shimon Peres
• 'Ratzinger is Right' by Rene Gerard
• 'Ending Poverty in Africa: We are Not There Yet' by Jeffrey Sachs
What makes this magazine fascinating is its stunning roster of contributors, a veritable global Who's Who: Salman Rushdie, Rene Girard, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Carlos Fuentes, Madeline Albright, Jeffrey Sachs, Andrew Young, James Watson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Milton Friedman, Hans Blix, Shimon Peres, Daniel Barenboim, Jorge Castenada, Chris Patten ... and the beat goes on. Check it out at Jackson Library.
The October Atlantic reports that for most of the Twentieth Century, the typical American workday grew shorter. But since 1970, a paper points out, this trend has reversed itself. The trend is most acute among highly skilled workers. In The Expanding Workweek? Understanding Trends in Long Work Hours Among U.S. Men, 1979-2004, authors Peter Kuhn and Fernando Lozano argue that this reflects a changing attitude toward compensation.
Newsweek (August 28, 2006) in 'Poking a Stick into the "Hive" Mind' observes that Jaron Lanier -- famed virtual-reality pioneer, New Age composer, and artificial intelligence expert -- has got a bone to chew with Wikipedia. Dismayed at trends of digital collectivism, where preferences of thousands or even millions are aggregated on the Web, Lanier has coined the term 'Digital Maoism' -- also the name of an essay he wrote, widely circulated online. In it, Lanier draws comparisons to negative outcomes in China during Mao's reign, and warns against subsuming one's identity into the electronic mass. Retorts Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, "Lanier is objecting to the writing style of the Wikipedia being neutral rather than biased," and goes on to contend that imbalances in coverage are just a temporary effect in its development. Likewise, Kevin Kelly, author of Out of Control, responds "The hive mind can't do everything, but it's not stupid and boring. There's no evidence that it subsumes individual expression."
Fast Company highlights in its July / August 2006 issue the 'Rise of the Aerotropolis' -- the emergence of giant airport-cities around the globe. An example is Suvarnabhumi, near Bangkok, intended to have the largest terminal in the world when it opens later this year; by 2036, it is estimated that a city of 3.3 million -- larger than present-day Chicago -- will have surrounded it. The immense new Chek Lap Kok airport that serves Hong Kong, the most expensive ever constructed, contains a luxury mall and the city's largest hotel, plus residences for 45,000 workers nearby. And an even larger complex, the $33 billion Dubai World Central, will open late next year -- the size of O'Hare and Heathrow airports combined. It will eventually include housing for over 100,000, one of the world's largest malls, a Four Seasons golf course, and on-site office towers.
Different takes on the fascinating global phenom called Wikipedia. Is it the ultimate vindication of universal education, or a widening crack in the edifice of our culture? Check out "Can Wikipedia Conquer Expertise" in the July 31, 2006 New Yorker, and "The Hive" in the September 2006 Atlantic.
Are you aware of the cool podcast channel, Social Innovation Conversations, from our Center for Social Innovation (CSI)? It brings you the voices of people at the forefront of creating social change around the world. Discover what they have to say about how we can improve society and the environment.
HEAR THE LATEST ON
Corporate Citizenship · Philanthropy · Responsible Investing · Social Entrepreneurship · Sustainability · International Development · Disaster Relief · and more
Go to Social Innovation Conversations at www.siconversations.org
The October Atlantic captures quotes from figures at its Aspen Ideas Festival (full-text available on Stanford network), co-sponsored with the Aspen Institute.
Among the participants were History Professor David Kennedy of Stanford, scientist Bill Joy, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, preacher T.D. Jakes, Karl Rove, Acumen Fund CEO Jacqueline Novogratz, Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright.
Online communities formed around games good for our youth? Not if you're Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy. Joy decries the idea that young Americans are gaining anything appreciable by playing video games: "If I was competing with the United States, I would love to have the students I was competing with spending their time on this kind of crap."
Dutch intellectual Rob Riemen weighs in on the Decline of the West, a popular topic these days. Riemen criticizes the decline of spiritual identity and the socioeconomic phenomena attendant on this development. The result, he says, is "the total utilitarian society. It's all about economics, what is measurable, and material values."
Dana Gioia, poet and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, talks about his underprivileged childhood and how he was inspired by poetry and art to awaken to the full potential of his life. Speaking of hearing Chopin in his school classroom, he concluded as a boy that " ... I wanted to go wherever this stuff was."
And former president Bill Clinton on foreign relations: "But the point is ... you want people to admire and not to resent America. ... You want them to think, basically, we are the good guys on the right side of history, and we are pulling for them ... "
Marti Barletta authored one of Tom Peters' favorite books, Marketing to Women -- and she coauthored with him one of the four "Tom Peters Essentials" books, Trends. And in January 2007, he says, she'll offer her newest: PrimeTime Women.
"Baby Boomer facts" Peters pulls from his copy of Barletta's book:
A boomer turns 50 every 7 seconds. By 2009, the majority of U.S. households will be headed by someone over 50. By 2006-2016 U.S. population will be up 22.9 million; 22.1 million of the increase will be in over-50 group. By 2006, 1 in 5 adults is female, over 50. The percentage of women between 50-70 who are single: 35. Ages 45-54 have highest average income, $59,021 (national average is $42,209). Fastest growing income category is women, 55-64 (4X men in same category). Of women, age 60-64, 50% still in workforce. Highest net worth? Families, 55-64 ($182,000). People over 50 have 70% to 79% of all financial assets; 80% of all savings accounts; 62% of all large Wall Street asset accounts; 66% of money invested in the stock market. Age 50+ is 29% of population, has 40% of total consumer spending, 50% of discretionary spending. In next 2 decades: boomers will inherit $14 - 25 trillion ("largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history").
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