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Volume 52, Number 25   March 7, 2005         

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Newsmakers

Gender and risk
Why men still make more money than women was the focus of a March 2 ABC7 News segment. Commenting on a book that explores the subject, Norma Carr-Ruffino, professor of management, said she disagreed with one premise of the author -- that women are less likely to take risks. "Women, for I guess a decade now, have been starting new businesses at twice the rate that men have been starting them," she said. "I think that to quit your job and start a new business venture is very risky." Carr-Ruffino also said that although discrimination is still an issue, women also are more likely to sacrifice a higher paycheck in order to take a job that is emotionally fulfilling.

Losing your footing on the inside track
Internal job candidates shouldn't believe they can coast into a new position, John Sullivan, professor of management, told the Wall St. Journal. In a March 1 article, Sullivan said that "a growing number of firms now give equal or even superior consideration to an external candidate." Internal candidates should "develop specific arguments as to why [they] are a superior candidate in every key skill, education and experience category," he said.

Careless 'Baby'
A Feb. 27 Oakland Tribune article discussed the reaction of disability rights activists to the film "Million Dollar Baby." In particular, activists are upset that a character in the film chooses suicide after becoming disabled. "It taps into and reinforces the notion that it's better to be dead than significantly disabled," said Paul Longmore, professor of history. "And that's a very widespread prejudice ... [the film] doesn't present any of the alternatives, any of the options, that a real person with disabilities would have."

Hunter's legacy
John Burks, professor and chair of journalism, commented on the life and legacy of Hunter S. Thompson for articles that appeared in SF Weekly, the San Francisco Chronicle and Alameda Times-Star. He also appeared on the Feb. 23 edition of KQED's Forum. "I don't know how it is that Hunter S. Thompson is a hero and Jason Blair is an agent of Satan," Burks said on Forum. "I don't see the difference except that Hunter is the better writer of the two ... and covered events of greater magnitude."

Locating local perspectives
The San Francisco Chronicle featured Venise Wagner's public journalism class in its Feb. 18 issue. Last semester the class focused on Oakland's lower San Antonio district. "I first encountered the notion of public, or civic journalism in a formal way while I was working for the (San Francisco) Examiner," said Wagner, assistant professor of journalism. "We did a series in the late '90s where we went out into neighborhoods and reported from the community. Instinctively, though, it's always been my approach to journalism. At metro dailies, there's often a reluctance to let people tell their own stories, and too much reliance on officials and experts to explain what's going on in specific neighborhoods. I got frustrated that the local perspectives weren't being given more weight."

For more SFSU people and programs in the news, see the SFSU in the News page on SF State News.

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Last modified March 7, 2005, by the Office of Public Affairs & Publications