Dubai-owned Any Given Saturday, winner of the Grade I Haskell Invitational over Hard Spun and Curlin, has been retired and will stand at stud at Darley at Jonabell in Lexington.
The stud fee will be $40,000 (27,000), the stable announced.
Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum "considered keeping Any Given Saturday in training but it was decided that it was in the horse's best interest to retire him to stud," said John Ferguson, the Dubai ruler's …
1632–1704
Political philosopher
Although John Locke was born in a quiet corner of the English county of Somerset, his youth was shaped by the calamitous events of the English Civil Wars. His father was a solicitor who served in the Parliamentary Army. In 1652, during the chaotic years of the Puritan Commonwealth, Locke entered Oxford, where he appears to have been a diffident student. He was drawn at the time to the exciting ideas of RenéDescartes, but the traditionalism of the English university of his day meant that Oxford's curriculum was still largely taught in the mold of Aristotelian scholasticism of previous centuries. As a result, Locke drifted, although he indulged his curiosity by undertaking medical and scientific studies outside his course of study, an endeavor that paved the way for his eventual election to the Royal Society in 1668. He may have considered a clerical career, but in 1659 he began to serve as a tutor in his college at Oxford. Despite this honor, Locke did not take an Oxford degree until 1674, when he was finally awarded a Bachelor of …
WWC?'s 'Trainspotting' comes off the rails at Ringwald
REVIEW
'Trainspotting'
Who Wants Cake Theatre at The Ringwald Theatre, 22742 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday through June 20, plus 8 p.m. June 15 & 22. $10. 248-545-5545. www. whowantscaketheatre.com
This season has seen some tremendous strides by Who Wants Cake? Theatre. Productions like "Love and Human Remains" and "Killer Joe" have shown authences that they're every bit as capable of tackling dark, gritty plays as they are with the lighter fare that's become their signature. With their newest late night endeavor, Harry Gibson's stage adaptation of Irvine Welsh's breakout novel - and …
A man who admits causing a Southern California commuter train derailment that killed 11 people has apologized from the witness stand at his murder trial.
Juan Alvarez said Tuesday he was trying to kill himself and never meant to harm anyone else. Has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder.
Alvarez asked for forgiveness from families of those …
New York Republicans on Thursday picked a former Long Island lawmaker and an economist to run in a primary for the chance to take on Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Republicans wrapped up a sometimes fractious party convention by giving Bruce Blakeman, a former member of the Nassau County Legislature, the party's official designation after two rounds of balloting, but former Bear Stearns chief economist David Malpass earned enough support to force a two-way Sept. 14 primary.
Gillibrand was appointed last year to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton after Clinton was named U.S. secretary of state.
The little-known former congresswoman from upstate …
The football question today: Who fumbled the ball with apremature announcement that Mike Ditka is joining NBC as an analyst?It's not a done deal - yet. A number of major problems still remain,which NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol and Ditka's agent, BarryFranks, are trying to resolve. And Iron Mike, to avoid all phonecalls to his home Tuesday, ducked out for the nearest golf course.
ANOTHER TV QUESTION: Will Walter Jacobson, after 25 years atChannel 2, find happiness at Channel 32, anchoring its 9 p.m. newsagainst the network prime time shows? There's also an uphill battlefor "Skippy" at the 9 p.m. slot, with Channel 32's ratings only a 4,contrasted to an 8 for rival …
DETROIT (AP) — Nelson Cruz made a rocket throw to keep the score tied, then hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning that gave the Texas Rangers a 7-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday and a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.
The Rangers moved within one win of a place in the World Series thanks largely to Cruz, who backed up the grand slam winner he hit in Game 2 by producing two vital moments in Game 4.
In the bottom of the eighth, with Detroit runners at the corner bases, one out, and the score 3-3, Cruz caught a fly ball in right field and made a strong and accurate throw to home where catcher Mike Napoli tagged Miguel Cabrera rushing in from third …
U.S. and European regulators have cleared the long-discussed Internet search partnership between Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., enabling the rivals to form a tag team as they try to mount a more serious challenge to Google Inc.
The government approvals announced Thursday anointed an alliance that Microsoft and Yahoo proposed nearly seven months ago after years of flirtation and often contentious negotiations.
Microsoft first approached Yahoo about working together in late 2006 and again in 2007. In 2008, Microsoft launched a hostile bid to buy Yahoo in its entirety, only to withdraw the $47.5 billion offer in exasperation.
Yahoo now plans to …
Kansas coach Roy Williams has brought his teams to five of the sixGreat Eight tournaments, but Williams is among those who believe thetwo-day December college event is finished.
"I personally don't think they will get their exemption," he saidof the special NCAA dispensation allowing teams to add a Great Eightgame without affecting their 27-game limit. "I think it will beawfully difficult to pull that rabbit out of the hat again like theydid last year. Athletic directors went to bat for them last time andhelped pull it out."
ESPN and Raycom Sports have been principal sponsors of the event,which played its last scheduled run last week at the United Center.Officials …
LONDON (AP) — A court clerk has become the first person convicted under Britain's new bribery laws after he admitted to accepting cash to clear up a traffic summons, British prosecutors said Friday.
The Crown Prosecution Service said Munir Yakub Patel admitted to taking a 500 pound ($800) bribe to "get rid" of a speeding charge by not entering the details of a traffic summons into a court database when he was a clerk at east London's Redbridge Magistrates' Court.
He pleaded guilty Friday at Southwark Crown Court — making him the first person convicted under the Bribery Act 2010, which took effect July 1, 2011 and updated century-old bribery laws.
"Public servants are …
The Arkansas Medical Board chairman has testified that he suffered many injuries, including the loss of an eye, much of his hearing and sense of smell in a bombing at his home.
Dr. Trent Pierce testified Wednesday against Dr. Randeep Mann. Prosecutors say Mann planned the February 2009 attack as retaliation for the medical board taking away his license to write prescriptions.
…
THE Wise administration has named Tom Susman director of insuranceand retirement services for West Virginia. With the exposure comeshandsome combat pay.
Susman made $75,000 a year as director of the Public EmployeesInsurance Agency. He now also assumes the duty of overseeing theConsolidated Public Retirement Board, the Board of Risk and InsuranceManagement and the Children's Health Insurance Program. His pay willbe $125,000 a year.
Huh?
Each of these entities already has a well-paid leader. It soundslike the Wise administration has quietly moved to create a new supersecretary, the cabinet- level post invented by the Capertonadministration. The highest paid …
Is everything spinning out of control? Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.
Horatio Alger, twist in your grave.
The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country's sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance.
The sense of helplessness is even reflected in this year's presidential election. Each contender offers a sense of order _ and hope. Republican John McCain promises an experienced hand in a frightening time. Democrat Barack Obama promises bright and shiny change, and his large crowds believe his exhortation, "Yes, we can."
Even so, a battered public seems discouraged by the onslaught of dispiriting things. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll says a barrel-scraping 17 percent of people surveyed believe the country is moving in the right direction. That is the lowest reading since the survey began in 2003.
An ABC News-Washington Post survey put that figure at 14 percent, tying the low in more than three decades of taking soundings on the national mood.
"It is pretty scary," said Charles Truxal, 64, a retired corporate manager in Rochester, Minn. "People are thinking things are going to get better, and they haven't been. And then you go hide in your basement because tornadoes are coming through. If you think about things, you have very little power to make it change."
Recent natural disasters around the world dwarf anything afflicting the U.S. Consider that more than 69,000 people died in the China earthquake, and that 78,000 were killed and 56,000 missing from the Myanmar cyclone.
Americans need do no more than check the weather, look in their wallets or turn on the news for their daily reality check on a world gone haywire.
Floods engulf Midwestern river towns. Is it global warming, the gradual degradation of a planet's weather that man seems powerless to stop or just a freakish late-spring deluge?
It hardly matters to those in the path. Just ask the people of New Orleans who survived Hurricane Katrina. They are living in a city where, 1,000 days after the storm, entire neighborhoods remain abandoned, a national embarrassment that evokes disbelief from visitors.
Food is becoming scarcer and more expensive on a worldwide scale, due to increased consumption in growing countries such as China and India and rising fuel costs. That can-do solution to energy needs _ turning corn into fuel _ is sapping fields of plenty once devoted to crops that people need to eat. Shortages have sparked riots. In the U.S., rice prices tripled and some stores rationed the staple.
Residents of the nation's capital and its suburbs repeatedly lose power for extended periods as mere thunderstorms rumble through. In California, leaders warn people to use less water in the unrelenting drought.
Want to get away from it all? The weak U.S. dollar makes travel abroad forbiddingly expensive. To add insult to injury, some airlines now charge to check luggage.
Want to escape on the couch? A writers' strike halted favorite TV shows for half a season. The newspaper on the table may soon be a relic of the Internet age. Just as video stores are falling by the wayside as people get their movies online or in the mail.
But there's always sports, right?
The moorings seem to be coming loose here, too.
Baseball stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens stand accused of enhancing their heroics with drugs. Basketball referees are suspected of cheating.
Stay tuned for less than pristine tales from the drug-addled Tour de France and who knows what from the Summer Olympics.
It's not the first time Americans have felt a loss of control.
Alger, the dime-novel author whose heroes overcame adversity to gain riches and fame, played to similar anxieties when the U.S. was becoming an industrial society in the late 1800s.
American University historian Allan J. Lichtman notes that the U.S. has endured comparable periods and worse, including the economic stagflation (stagnant growth combined with inflation) and Iran hostage crisis of 1980; the dawn of the Cold War, the Korean War and the hysterical hunts for domestic Communists in the late 1940s and early 1950s; and the Depression of the 1930s.
"All those periods were followed by much more optimistic periods in which the American people had their confidence restored," he said. "Of course, that doesn't mean it will happen again."
Each period also was followed by a change in the party controlling the White House.
This period has seen intense interest in the presidential primaries, especially the Democrats' five-month duel between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Records were shattered by voters showing up at polling places, yearning for a voice in who will next guide the country as it confronts the uncontrollable.
Never mind that their views of their current leaders are near rock bottom, reflecting a frustration with Washington's inability to solve anything. President Bush barely gets the approval of three in 10 people, and it's even worse for the Democratic-led Congress.
Why the vulnerability? After all, this is the 21st century, not a more primitive past when little in life was assured. Surely people know how to fix problems now.
Maybe. And maybe this is what the 21st century will be about _ a great unraveling of some things long taken for granted.
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden's immigration authority on Monday rejected WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's request for residency, a potential setback in his efforts to gain protection from Swedish press freedom laws.
The Australian has been exploring ways to take advantage of legal protection for whistle-blowers in the Nordic country, where WikiLeaks has some of its servers. He applied for residency on Aug. 18.
"His application has been denied," Migration Board spokeswoman Gunilla Wikstrom told The Associated Press. She declined to give the reason, saying it was confidential.
Assange has three weeks to appeal.
Wikstrom wouldn't say whether the decision was influenced by allegations of rape and sexual molestation against Assange by two Swedish women. Assange has denied the allegations, made nearly two months ago. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to file charges in the case.
Speaking generally, Wikstrom said only crimes that have been proven would affect the Migration Board's decisions.
WikiLeaks has angered the Pentagon by releasing thousands of classified U.S. war reports from Afghanistan. It's believed to be preparing to release an even larger set of classified documents on the Iraq war.
Assange has said that WikiLeaks is preparing to apply for a publishing certificate in Sweden to take full advantage of its press freedom laws. If Assange fails to get residency, someone else would have to be listed as the publisher responsible for the site.
To get residency applicants either need to have a job offer from a company in Sweden or, if they are planning to start their own business, the skills needed and a solid plan for the business, Wikstrom said.
"The person also needs funds to cover the start-up costs for the business and to maintain a living in Sweden for the first year," she added.
The economy is going to the doggie bags.
In an economic indicator that Alan Greenspan might do well toconsider, restaurants are reporting an increase in doggie-bagrequests over the past year or two. They say it shows that theircustomers are feeling the bite from the unfriendly economy.
"People who wouldn't have thought about it a year ago will say,'You know what? I'm going to take that with me,"' says Izzy Kharasch,a Chicago-based restaurant industry consultant. "They now will takehome the smallest of portions."
The upswing was cited in an industry trends report this month bythe National Restaurant Association, which said one in five dinnercustomers now asks to take uneaten food home. Twenty percent of the450 restaurants the trade group surveyed said their customers wererequesting more doggie bags than two years ago.
Kharasch says he makes extra sure the restaurants he advises dodoggie bags these days, even the expensive ones, where the averagecheck is $80 a person.
"People used to be too embarrassed to ask for doggie bags. Not anymore. They don't want to waste anything," he says.
Who--or what--let the doggie bags out?
Restaurateurs say it is generally the economy, though calorie-counters looking to make today's heftier dinner portions last throughtomorrow's lunch also are doggie-bag users.
Customers at Elliott Fread's restaurant in New York have startedmaking his sandwiches last for two days.
"They won't say it's because of money. They'll say, 'This isreally good. Can you wrap it up?"' says Fread, owner of Bimmy's inChelsea Market. "But I know it's due to monetary reasons."
Judy Katz admits it, to an extent. A book collaborator in NewYork, she and her husband are well-off but "feeling the pinch" fromthe stock market's swoon. They now dine at a neighborhood bistroinstead of the elegant Le Cirque and take their leftovers home.
"My portfolio is gone," she laments. "But I'm not going to give upgoing out to eat. Now we share a meal, and we take home a doggiebag."
Some diners are just staying home.
The average number of U.S. restaurant meals per person per year isdown for the first time since 1990, according to the Port Washington,N.Y.-based NPD Group, which conducts industry research. The numberwas 137 meals purchased per capita over the 12-month period ended inFebruary, down 2.8 percent from 141 the previous year.
Still, the NPD data show the average American still eats out 15times more a year than a decade ago.
"Maybe people think a little more frugally when there is aneconomic downturn," says Steven Anderson, the National RestaurantAssociation's president and chief executive. "But I think we'vebecome such an essential part of people's lives that they're goingout to eat regardless."
| All Times Eastern |
| American League |
| Baltimore vs Boston, 7:05 p.m. |
| Minnesota vs Detroit, 7:05 p.m. |
| Tampa Bay vs Cleveland, 7:05 p.m. |
| N.Y. Yankees vs Toronto, 7:07 p.m. |
| Chicago White Sox vs Texas, 8:05 p.m. |
| Seattle vs Kansas City, 8:10 p.m. |
| L.A. Angels vs Oakland, 10:05 p.m. |
| National League |
| San Francisco vs Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m. |
| Arizona vs Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m. |
| St. Louis vs Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m. |
| Colorado vs N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m. |
| Houston vs Washington, 7:35 p.m. |
| Cincinnati vs Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m. |
| Atlanta vs San Diego, 10:05 p.m. |
| Florida vs L.A. Dodgers, 10:40 p.m. |
| WNBA Basketball |
| Washington vs Detroit, 7:30 p.m. |
| Atlanta vs San Antonio, 8 p.m. |
| Major League Soccer |
| No games today. |
A congressman on Monday protested the return to duty of an Army officer who was cleared more than two years ago of killing two Iraqi civilians, saying he deserves more from the military that falsely accused him.
U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask that 1st Lt. Erick Anderson's return-to-duty order be reconsidered.
"It is unconscionable that after all Anderson has been through _ at the hands of the Army no less _ that the Army thinks he should give it another go as if all is fine and all is forgiven," LaTourette wrote. "This young man lost almost two years of his life defending himself against scurrilous and false murder charges."
Anderson, of Twinsburg, Ohio, and now living in Iowa, separated from the Army in 2006 and went from active duty to inactive reserve. His lawyer, Neal Puckett, said Monday that Anderson has no comment.
Maj. Maria Quon, an Army spokeswoman, said Monday that military privacy regulations prevent her from commenting specifically about Anderson. Receipt of LaTourette's letter could not be confirmed by the Department of Defense late Monday, said Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a department spokesman.
The officer must report to Fort Benning in Georgia on Aug. 3 and could be sent back to Iraq. Puckett said he will offer medical evidence that Anderson suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and should not serve again.
Anderson was a platoon leader in an infantry regiment in August 2004. Four men in the 36-member platoon were convicted of murdering unarmed Iraqis during operations near Sadr City.
On Dec. 5, 2005, the Army dropped murder charges against Anderson, who was accused of giving soldiers in his platoon permission to kill two Iraqi civilians. Anderson could have gotten life in prison if convicted.
The charges were dropped after an Army investigator who presided over a hearing recommended that Anderson not face a court-martial. At the hearing, one soldier who had accused Anderson changed his story, and another refused to testify.
Quon said any soldier receiving an order to return to duty may request a delay or exemption and will not be mobilized until the matter is settled.
"YOU CAN'T FIRE ME, I QUIT!" QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Because I care so deeply about this district and the people in it, I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative, personal campaign."
-former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, announcing his resignation from the House of Representatives on Tuesday morning on his Web site (http://tomdelay.house.gov). DeLay added that it was "time to begin opening new chapters and pursuing new opportunities to engage in the important cultural and political battles of our day," which we take to refer to the battle to defeat the evil insectoids and revive his career as the greater Houston metropolitan area's premiere "Time to Make the Bug Bombs!" guy ... or the battle to choose between ivory backscratchers while living it up on the corporate-kickback nest egg.
SEMPRA PULLS THE PLUG
Looking for a nice spot of ground in central Idaho? Maybe something along the highway from Twin Falls to Sun Valley, just a three-wood or so from the-biggest Idaho Power transfer station in the area? Then today's your lucky day, because something just opened up. On Thursday, March 29, Sempra Energy announced that it will has dropped its plans to build Idaho's first-ever coalfired power plant, which was to be located in south central-Idaho just northwest of Jerome.
Idaho lawmakers have been frantically battling the proposed plant ever since realizing last year, "Whoah, whoah-what kind of power plant is coming to central Idaho? And the only people who can stop it are a couple of Jerome County commissioners? Holy mercury emissions, Batman! Let's go write some new laws fast!"
After trying on several different versions of a moratorium on coal-fired plants, the House and Senate finally approved one last week. Although it hasn't been signed into law, Sempra nevertheless sent a letter to Gov. Dirk Kempthorne saying they received the message-or more accurately, that they didn't but they were leaving anyway.
"No, it was a strategic decision," Sempra president Michael Niggli told the San Diego Union Tribune. Niggli denied that protests to the project had played a large role in the company's decision, saying. "We think they [the Idaho site and another one in Nevada] are excellent sites, and the projects will continue with new owners. We would not be surprised to see them constructed."
Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennet, an opponent of the plant, echoed Niggli's sentiment. After the vote, Stennet told the online news blog New West. "This changes nothing."
IDAHO'S CRAZY LAW CLEARINGHOUSE, PART TWO
Last week, we gave you a preview of some lesser-known bills recently signed into law by Dirk "Catch you on the Flipside, Idaho" Kempthorne. The Governor's pen continued to work overtime this week, and it wasn't just over the much-bally hood pseudophenedrine thingy, the school bullies thingy or the Medicaid reform thingy. For instance, did you know that in Idaho:
* People buying a kit to make their own glider no longer have to pay sales tax on the kit.
* Public employees are allowed to take a monthlong leave of absence in order to donate organs, or five days to donate bone marrow.
* Children between the age of 16 and 18 are now allowed to make "anatomical gifts" for purposes of "transplantation, therapy, research or education," as long as they have parental consent.
* Organ donors are allowed to take up to a $5,000 tax credit after dishing out their bone marrow, intestines, kidneys, livers, lungs and pancreases (or is it pancreai?).
* During all future "disaster emergencies," neither the governor nor any other governmental entity will be allowed to impose restrictions on the possession, transfer, sale, transport, storage, display or use of firearms or ammunition. So y'all have fun and stay safe-ish, ya heart!
* Anyone who refuses to take a breathalyzer test when being grilled by a police officer for possibly driving under the influence will be subject to an immediate $250 fine.
* Anyone who refuses to take a breathalyzer test, and requests a hearing to explain why he (and the law says "he") refused, and then doesn't show up at the hearing, will have his license suspended for a year for the first offense. For a second offense, the suspension is two years.
* Alcohol vaporizers are now illegal to use, possess, purchase, sell or offer for sale in Idaho-that is, unless you're using it for "bona fide research or medical purposes" (wink, wink).
* Anyone who finds a dead body but doesn't tell a county coroner or law enforcement officer can be charged with a misdemeanor and put in county jail for a year.
* Non-profit organizations who put on shooting competitions, or who use shooting ranges, no longer have to pay sales tax on membership dues.
* Anyone who leaks personal information (read: identity theft) from a corporation or agency can be fined up to $25,000 per offense.
* Part-time members of governmental boards, commissions and councils will received $100 per diems. Good for them.
* People who operate title loan companies are now required to have licenses. Good for us.
To wade through these and other new laws, visit www.idaho.legislature.gov.
International
UK GETS AND IDAHO OF ITS VERY OWN
That's right, as of this Friday, the United Kingdom will be home to a new arm of IDAHO. Of course, their version is quite different than ours. In some ways, it's even better. For instance, in the U.K., IDAHO is spelled with all capital letters-which is very dashing. Also, their IDAHO is opposed to homophobia. How do we know this? Because it stands for the International Day Against Homophobia.
You didn't know about IDAHO, you say? That's probably because the United States, unlike Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, the Phillipines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela and now the U.K., does not have an IDAHO branch of its very own. IDAHO is scheduled for May 17, the 16th anniversary of when the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. (Click over to www. idahomophoia.org for more info).
And in other name-game news, IDAHO is very angry with Moscow-but not because its football team stinks. IDAHO groups in five European countries marched in front of their respective Russian diplomatic offices last week to protest Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov's stated intention to ban a gay pride parade in the Russian capital on May 27, according to the UK Gay News. The parade is planned to commemorate the 14th anniversary of Russian President Boris Yeltsin decriminalizing gay sexual relations in 1993. Luzkhov's plan met with support from leaders in Russian Islamic and Russian Orthodox churches, while the Council on Europe and several international human rights groups have requested that Luzhkov to reverse his stance and allow the march to happen.
war in Iraq
U.S. CASUALTIES: As of Tuesday, April 4, 2,338 U.S. service members (Including 12 Idahoans) have died since the war in Iraq began in March 2003: 1, 835 in combat and 503 from noncombat related incidents and accidents. Injured service members total 17,486. In the last week, 12 U.S. soldiers died.
Since President George W. Bush declared "mission accomplished" aboad the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, 2,192 sol-diers have died.
Source: U.S. Dept of Defense
IRAQI CIVILAIN DEATHS: Estimated between 33,821 and 37,943.
Source: www.iraqbodycount.net
COST OF IRAQ WAR: $270,692,434,000
Source: www.costofwar.com
-Nicholas Collias
MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. and Russian defense leaders say they are still divided over the planned missile defense system in Europe but will continue talks to try to resolve the differences.
The issue, which has been simmering for several years, was a major topic during a meeting between U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, although the ongoing military strikes in Libya — and Russian opposition to them — grabbed the headlines.
Gates says the two leaders had an intensive discussion on the missile shield and are making progress.
The plan, which is under way, begins with ship-based, anti-missile interceptors and radars, and would add land-based radars in Southern Europe.
The missile shield is aimed at countering future Iranian threats.
WASHINGTON -- Police and prosecutors are worried that a Web siteclaiming to identify more than 4,000 informants and undercoveragents will cripple investigations and hang targets on witnesses.
The Web site, WhosaRat .com, first caught the attention ofauthorities after a Massachusetts man put it online and named a fewdozen people as turncoats in 2004.
Since then, it has grown into a clearinghouse for mug shots,court papers and rumors.
Federal prosecutors say the site was set up to encourageviolence, and federal judges around the country were recently warnedthat witnesses in their courtrooms may be profiled online.
VICTIMS WON'T TALK
"My concern is making sure cooperators are adequately protectedfrom retaliation," said Chief Judge Thomas Hogan.
The Web site is the latest unabashedly public effort to identifywitnesses or discourage helping police. "Stop Snitching" T-shirtshave been sold and popular hip-hop lyrics disparage or threatenpeople who help police.
Such threats hinder criminal investigations, said RonaldTeachman, police chief in New Bedford, Mass., where murder caseshave been stymied by witness silence.
"Every shooting we have to treat like homicide. The victim'salive but he's not cooperative," Teachman said. "These kids have theidea that the worst offense they can commit is to cooperate with thepolice."
'Things happen to people'
A WhosaRat spokesman identifying himself as Anthony Capone saidthe site does not condone violence.
"If people got hurt or killed, it's kind of on them. They knewthe dangers of becoming an informant," Capone said. "We'd feel bad,don't get me wrong, but things happen to people." AP
Study illustrates the dynamics of managing the solid waste stream, and how increases in collection costs impact generation rates and other variables.
Shanna Hallas-Burt and John M. Halstead
MOST local governments in the United States are facing severe fiscal management crises. Stresses caused by national and regional economic downturns, a steady decline in state and federal support, and opposition to traditional revenue sources like the local property tax have all negatively affected cash flows. Nonetheless, local government continues to bear the responsibility for providing solid waste management, education, police and fire protection, and other services. This has forced public managers to consider new policies which incorporate not only innovative means of waste disposal, but also innovative approaches to funding this expensive service.
In 2001, the New Hampshire Solid Waste Task Force found that transportation costs, tight labor markets, unpredictable fuel prices, and industry concentration resulted in average tipping fees higher than at any time in the previous ten years. The task force found that one of the most successful programs initiated to both reduce generation rates and increase recycling rates was the Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) program.
INCENTIVES, OLD AND NEW
Typically, municipal governments have funded local programs and services through taxation. Services and programs are budgeted, approved or accepted through a town meeting or ballot and the tax rate is set accordingly. In this manner, each household pays a certain amount, a portion of which then goes toward solid waste disposal costs. This leaves every household with a marginal (extra) cost of zero for every additional unit of solid waste they produce - a system with no financial incentives for reducing the waste stream even when free recycling is offered.
Around 1988, a number of cities across the United States - including Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey - implemented extensive and successful programs. Since then, the use of PAYT has grown and today more than 4,000 communities employ such a program, according to M.L. Miranda and colleagues, who studied 21 cities and found reductions in MSW disposal at landfills ranging from 17 percent to 74 percent. These cities also experienced an increase in the rate of recycling. A later study found that in seven of nine communities in the states of California, Michigan and Illinois, MSW waste generation decreased by 20 percent after a PAYT program was instituted, while in the remaining two communities, waste decreased by 50 percent and 38 percent. Factors influencing reduction included higher unit pricing fees, smaller container size, accompanying yard waste collection programs, and free recycling. Eight of the nine communities had significant increases in the recycling rates, ranging from 30 percent to a doubling in the recycling level. In Tompkins County, New York, it was found that a PAYT program combined with a mandatory curbside recycling program increased recycling from 22 to 58 percent (depending on the material).
Several studies have examined diversionary means such as illegal disposal, burning or increased composting. These means of diversion in New Hampshire were not included in this study because of the lack of accurate state level statistics; however, the rural nature of New Hampshire certainly leaves illegal dumping or burning as a potential problem that needs further investigation. When she looked closer at the nine towns from her 1998 study, Miranda reported that seven cited problems with illegal dumping or burning of trash. A four-week observation immediately following implementation of a PAYT program in Charlottesville, North Carolina found that 5.33 percent of households disposed of garbage illegally, with illegal disposal accounting for 28 percent of the overall reduction in MSW.
Regarding costs, two analysts in 1999 concluded that MSW was reduced by approximately 1.6 lbs. per household per day at a savings of $0.06 per household per day. Another study indicated that with a $1.31 per 32-gallon price for PAYT, MSW will decrease by 20 percent (183 lbs.) annually per capita. Table 1 summarizes price elasticities found in previous studies.
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE EXPERIENCE
Our study constructed and tested three basic regression models. The first model tested the hypothesis that the marginal price of a PAYT service (measured by price per bag) is inversely related to waste generation. We also examined other variables which might affect waste generation such as property taxes, population, per capita income level, and whether the town has curbside trash pickup or ordinances on mandatory recycling programs. The second model was designed to test the effect of the existence of a PAYT program on MSW generation rates. To test this hypothesis, we used the same variables as in the first statistical models, but instead of price included a variable describing whether a town has a PAYT program or not. Finally, using the variables from both regression analyses, a logit model was used to predict a community's likelihood of adopting PAYT.
Analyses focused on the year 2000 due to the availability of United States Census data. Thus, all towns used in this analysis had adopted the PAYT program prior to 2000. Choice of explanatory variables used in the estimation was based on previous studies. The average price of a normal garbage bag was used for the unit price variable for towns that do not have a PAYT program. A price of $.0375 cents per 15-gallon bag (based on Wal-Mart prices) was used for the price variable in towns without a PAYT program.
Annual mean per capita waste disposal rates in New Hampshire are 0.488 tons/person. This works out to 2.67 lbs. per person, per day. The number captures the amount of waste reported by the MSW industry in tipping fees per ton. It does not capture the total amount of waste generated, which may include recycled and composted materials. This makes it hard to compare with the 4.46 lbs per person, per day national average cited by the EPA in 1998.
Data were collected for all 235 towns in New Hampshire from state sources. Information on the 34 towns which currently have PAYT programs, and details regarding each program including marginal cost to homeowners in cents per gallon, were obtained from the State of New Hampshire Governor's Recycling Program. Of the 235 incorporated municipalities in New Hampshire, 186 were included in the analysis. Two of the 35 municipalities that had adopted PAYT programs were dropped because they adopted their programs in 2001 and two were dropped because they did not have MSW generation data for 2000. This resulted in 31 PAYT communities included in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
The regression analysis used both double log and linear forms. In order to determine the effect of price of waste disposal on average per capita generation rates across towns, the analysis included average annual per capita municipal solid waste production as the dependent variable and marginal price per 15 gallon bag as one of a series of independent variables. Towns with and without PAYT were included in this analysis.
Several variable coefficients that were statistically significant in other studies were not statistically significant in our New Hampshire study. For example, this study found that income was not a statistically significant influence, and that neither mandatory recycling nor curbside pick-up had any statistical significance in this study.
Average household size, existence of a capital improvement plan, and marginal price to dispose of waste were statistically significant influences. Household size may imply that households with more people tend to buy in bulk resulting in less packaging. Towns that have a Capital Improvement Plan may exhibit characteristics of a more forward-thinking policy-making regimen and may be more apt to adopt a new program such as PAYT.
The results suggest that marginal price for MSW disposal can lower annual per capita MSW generation rates. Using conversion factor where 15 gallons of household MSW weighs 10 pounds, results indicate that a one percent increase in the price of disposal per gallon will lead to a decrease in annual per capita municipal solid waste of approximately 10.53 gallons, or 7.0 pounds per capita per year. The average per capita MSW generation rate in New Hampshire, derived from our database is 0.488 tons or 976 lbs. Applying this to a community of 26,000 (approximately the size of Portsmouth, New Hampshire) would result in an overall reduction in household MSW of 91 tons per year.
Own price elasticities of demand were calculated for both the linear and logarithmic coefficients. For the linear model, own-price elasticity at mean variable values was - 0.31. Elasticity for the logarithmic form was 0.633. Thus own price elasticity of demand for waste disposal is relatively inelastic and comparable to those found by previous studies.
To explore the possibility that simply the existence of a positive marginal price (or the program itself) influenced the average per capita MSW generation across the sample, models were estimated using only existence of PAYT as a dichotomous variable rather than price per gallon. The coefficient for existence of a PAYT program was significant at the 90 percent level in the linear form and at the 99 percent level in the logarithmic form. According to our results, towns with PAYT programs currently being implemented produce 532 gallons less waste per capita than towns that do not have the PAYT program. Using our conversion, 532 less gallons per capita equals 354.6 pounds per capita of MSW, or 0.18 tons. This equates to a reduction in per capita generation of about 37 percent, which is within the range found in other studies.
In order to predict the likelihood of a town adopting a PAYT program based on the variables collected for this study, a logit model was run using PAYT as the dependent variable. Average household size, property tax, and per capita MSW generation had coefficients statistically significant at either the 90 or 99 percent levels. According to the analysis, the larger the average household size in a town, the less likely that town was to adopt a PAYT program. Additionally, the lower the per capita waste generation rate, the more likely a town was to adopt a PAYT program. This raises the issue of causality. It has already shown been that PAYT and average household size do, in fact, have statistically significant negative influences on per capita waste generation rates. This logit analysis questions whether a town with low per capita MSW generation rates is more likely to adopt a PAYT program or whether the existence of the PAYT program is the reason the per capita MSW generation rate has a negative coefficient. Results also suggest that the higher the property tax in a town, the more likely a town may be to adopt a PAYT program. This result suggests some sort of "fiscal stress" category of influence.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This study illustrates the dynamics of managing the State of New Hampshire's solid waste stream. The analysis found that an increase in marginal price for solid waste disposal above and beyond the normal price of store bought garbage bags, and a pro-active approach to community planning, reduce annual per capita waste generation. It was also apparent that certain community characteristics, such as average size of households, can affect solid waste generation.
Although results show that an increase in marginal price reduces per capita MSW generation rates, PAYT may not be right for every town. This study presents results gleaned from analyses using mean annual data taken from all towns in New Hampshire. Each town must consider specific characteristics and variables that may influence solid waste policy and make a determination based on that specific data. The design and implementation of a PAYT program is not without administrative costs, which range from staff time to record keeping to education and outreach.
Although this study shows that implementing a PAYT program lowers solid waste generation rates, the overall savings will only be beneficial to the community if they outweigh the cost of program implementation. These cost analysis studies should look at all aspects of solid waste management options, such as recycling programs and local level composting.
The question of why or how disposal rates decreased was not explored. Further research is needed to explore where the decrease in MSW generation originates. Are households in towns where a PAYT program exists more environmentally conscious with tendencies to buy in bulk or make purchasing choices of items with less packaging or re-use value? Or do these communities engage in illicit dumping or burning because of the increase in cost?
[Sidebar]
The analysis found that an increase in marginal price for solid waste disposal above and beyond the normal price of store bought garbage bags, and a proactive approach to community planning, reduce annual per capita waste generation.
[Author Affiliation]
Shanna Hallas-Burt is City Planner for Laconia, New Hampshire. John M. Halstead is Professor and Chair of the Department of Resource Economics and Development at the University of New Hampshire. Additional details of the study, including full references, are available from Professor Halstead. Thanks to Liz Bedard, Ju-Chin Huang and Mark Morgan for assistance in this research project, as well as the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station for funding support.
Ten years ago, Walsh-Bowers (1998) described in Canadian Psychology the marginalized status of community psychology in Canada. The purpose of this research was to investigate the current status of community psychology training in Canadian universities. The online calendars for undergraduate and graduate programs in departments of psychology in Canadian universities were reviewed for course offerings in community psychology. Subsequently, an e-mail survey of program directors was conducted to confirm and extend the findings of the online search. Results were compared with those of similar previous surveys conducted in 1980-1981 (Nelson & Tefft, 1982) and 1992-1994 (Walsh-Bowers, 1998). Findings show a small amount of growth in community psychology training at the undergraduate level since the last survey in 1992-1994, with more courses available in more Canadian psychology departments. There are also marginally more graduate courses in community psychology offered now than 15 years ago, but these are located in fewer psychology departments. Findings are discussed in the context of contemporary professional psychology and future directions for growing community psychology.
Keywords: Canadian psychology, community psychology, training
Community psychology occupies a rather unique place in the field of psychology. It adopts many of the methods, practises, and concerns of other areas of psychology, such as clinical and social psychology, and seeks greater institutional recognition and security within the psychology family. Nonetheless, community psychology was born of disaffection with mainstream experimental and clinical psychology, and while developing its own theory and research base, it has also advanced an explicit critique of mainstream psychology. Always marginal within the field of psychology, there has been ongoing concern for its ability to gain a secure foothold in the psychological establishment, particularly in terms of its ability to grow through the education and training of future generations of scholars and practitioners.
In the two previous decades, national surveys were conducted describing the status of education and training in Canadian universities (Nelson & Tefft, 1982; Walsh-Bowers, 1998). This article updates these surveys by examining the current status of education and training of community psychology in Canada. We begin by first defining community psychology and providing a brief overview of its history in Canada. Then, we examine community psychology's status in the context of Canadian psychology. Following a presentation of findings from our survey, we discuss their implications for further strengthening training in community psychology in Canada.
The article reflects multiple perspectives that include those of a midcareer academic (Aubry) trained in clinical and community psychology, an early career academic (Sylvestre) trained in applied social and community psychology, and a doctoral student (Ecker) specialising in community mental health and community psychology. All of us share an interest in developing training in community psychology in our home department and elsewhere across Canada.
Definition of Community Psychology
Although numerous definitions of community psychology exist, most touch on one or more of these three themes: values, research, and action or intervention (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005). Nelson and Prilleltensky (2005) have included these themes in their definition of community psychology as
the subdiscipline of psychology that is concerned with understanding people in the context of their communities, the prevention of problems of living, the celebration of human diversity, and the pursuit of social justice through social action, (p. 22)
In terms of values, community psychology involves research and intervention that are focused on improving the living conditions of marginalized people. In this vein, Nelson and Prilleltensky (2005) have advocated an explicit focus on community psychology values in the pursuit of liberation by addressing oppression and promoting well-being. In terms of research, community psychology distinguishes itself from other subdisciplines within psychology by focusing beyond the level of the individual, namely at the programmatic, organisational, community, or societal levels.
Community psychology is concerned with an understanding of the relationships among people, groups, communities, social contexts, and social institutions. A primary characteristic of community psychology is the adoption of an ecological analysis of disability, dysfunction, and disadvantage in terms of personenvironment fit, rather than focusing narrowly on individual-level deficits. Traditionally, community psychologists have been principally concerned with understanding how these relationships lead to challenges in living and the design and evaluation of interventions to alleviate these problems. Walsh-Bowers (1998) identifies active collaboration with citizens in the context of participatory research as a distinguishing feature of community psychology.
Brief History of Community Psychology in Canada
The formal roots of community psychology are traced to the Swampscott Conference held May 4-8, 1965, in Boston (Rickel, 1987). It has been noted, however, that the roots of community psychology can be traced further back in Canada (Nelson, Lavoie, & Mitchell, 2007; Walsh-Bowers, 1998). Nelson and his colleagues (2007) pointed to a nascent community psychology dating back to the focus on human development and mental health in the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto, under the direction of Chair Edward A. Bott. This focus persisted until after World War II, when the focus began to shift toward cognitive psychology (see also Walsh-Bowers, 1998).
Following from Swampscott, community psychology began to more clearly and widely emerge in Canada. The 1970s saw the launch of a master's program in community psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University, doctoral-level training in clinical-community psychology at the University of British Columbia, and the first PhD program in community psychology in Canada at the Universit� de Qu�bec � Montr�al (UQAM; Nelson et al., 2007). The 1980s witnessed increased growth in the presence of community psychology in Canada with the launching of the interdisciplinary journal the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, the formation of a community psychology section of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), and the increased presence of community psychology in undergraduate and graduate programs in a number of Canadian universities (Nelson et al., 2007; Nelson & Tefft, 1982; Walsh-Bowers, 1998).
In a historical analysis of the evolution of community psychology in Canada based on interviews with prominent Canadian and American community psychologists, Walsh-Bowers (1988) noted a lack of cooperation between francophone and anglophone community psychologists and the dominating effect of U.S. community psychology on the Canadian subdiscipline. Despite these challenges, Walsh-Bowers noted in his analysis a number of positive developments for community psychology, including the community section of CPA being one of the largest and the demand for and growth of graduate training in community psychology.
The past two decades have seen some entrenchment of graduate education, with freestanding PhD programs in community psychology now established at Wilfrid Laurier University, Universit� Laval, and UQAM. However, the presence of community psychology in other Canadian universities appears to be tenuous, often linked to the interests of one or two faculty members (Nelson et al, 2007; Walsh-Bowers, 1998). Nelson et al. (2007) estimated that the graduate programs in community psychology in Canadian universities have graduated more than 300 master' s-level students and more than 70 doctoral-level students.
Current Context of Canadian Psychology
In his 2004 Presidential Address to the Society for Community Research and Action, the Division of Community Psychology of the American Psychological Association, Paul Toro (2005) declared that community psychology was in its middle age, noting that it is in middle age when individuals begin to think about their long-term legacy. Certainly, a number of commentators have noted some challenges for academic community psychology. Alcalde and Walsh-Bowers (1996) have suggested that academic training in community psychology may not always be in line with its prevailing values. Walsh-Bowers (1998) pointed to the need to further develop Canadian networks of support to preserve and promote a Canadian community psychology identity. Prilleltensky and Nelson (2009) have raised concerns that community psychology has lost its "progressive edge" and has become a part of the "conservative mainstream" (p. 127) because of an increasing focus on individualist interventions rather than systems-level change (see also O'Neill, 2005).
Academic community psychology is witnessing the entry of a third generation of faculty members. The pioneering community psychologists are retiring or nearing retirement, as their successors enter the later years of their careers. At issue is whether this new third generation of community psychologists, trained by these older generations, will be able to find institutional opportunities to conduct research, teach, and train future generations. There are reasons for hope for community psychology in Canada. It responds to the concerns of many universities for relevance in local communities as well as to provincial and national policy issues. Community psychology research is also well in line with continued emphasis in universities and academic funders for interdisciplinarity, although this trend remains hampered somewhat by prevailing academic cultures and reward structures (Maton, Perkins, & Saegert, 2006; Yoshikawa, 2006).
Within psychology, however, community psychology remains marginal, rarely mentioned in introductory textbooks (Nairn, Ellard, Scialfa, & Miller, 2003) and excluded from many historical overviews of the field (Walsh-Bowers, 1998). Community psychology also appears out of step with the continued dominance of social- cognitive perspectives in social psychology, individual clinical practise, and the increased interest in neurosciences. There is still great emphasis on objective science and experimental research in mainstream psychology in contrast to the emphasis placed on value-driven research and a diversity of methods in community psychology (Prilleltensky & Nelson, 2009). Finally, within mainstream psychology, nonacademic modes of knowledge dissemination and research funding continue to be discounted.
Objectives of the Current Study
To determine the current status of community psychology training in Canada, we replicated the methodology of the national survey conducted by Walsh-Bowers (1996) in 1992-1994. This study was a follow-up to another national survey of universitybased psychologists offering community psychology training and review of graduate catalogues of psychology departments located in Canadian universities conducted in 1980-1981 (Nelson & Tefft, 1982).
In the first study conducted in the early 1980s, Nelson and Tefft (1982) identified 20 universities that were offering graduate courses in community psychology. The courses were offered in the context of graduate programs in community psychology, clinical psychology, experimental psychology, and applied social psychology. Programs varied from offering one or two courses taught by one or two faculty to a sequence of courses offered by several faculty. Almost three quarters (73%) of the universities with courses in community psychology provided students with field placement opportunities. Nelson and Tefft concluded that graduate training in community psychology had grown substantially over a period of 10 years while noting that it rested on the shoulders in many universities on one or two faculty members.
In the second study conducted 10 years later in the early 1990s, Walsh-Bowers (1998) found 19 universities offering graduate courses in community psychology that included foci on primary prevention, community mental health, and program evaluation. Walsh-Bowers noted that seven universities had discontinued offering graduate training in community psychology, whereas six other universities had added the training since the 1982 survey. He also reported that 19 universities offered undergraduate courses in community psychology.
In discussing his findings, Walsh-Bowers (1998) reached a similar conclusion as Nelson and Tefft (1982), notably that with the exception of Universit� Laval, UQAM, and Wilfrid Laurier University, which had freestanding graduate programs in community psychology, training in community psychology relied heavily on the efforts of single professors in psychology departments. In this context, he expressed concern about the long-term survival of community psychology and called for a rapprochement between community psychology and professional psychology that would be mutually beneficial in becoming influential in the public mental health system.
Our survey replicates this previous line of research 15 years after the most recent survey (Walsh-Bowers, 1998). Similar to Walsh-Bowers (1998), the survey investigated Canadian universities offering undergraduate and graduate courses in community psychology. In addition, like Nelson and Tefft (1982), we also identified the universities that offered supervised fieldwork in community psychology.
Method
A two-step process was used for identifying the course offerings in community psychology in Canadian universities. In the first step, we reviewed the 2008-2009 undergraduate and graduate catalogues of courses in departments of psychology in 62 Canadian universities. Each catalogue was retrieved online at each university's Web site and examined to identify offerings in community psychology courses. The titles and descriptions of courses were examined for this purpose. We considered a course as a community psychology course if its title and description fell in the areas of "community psychology," "community mental health," "community development," "program evaluation," "prevention," or "community interventions." In line with the previous surveys, supervised field placements or community practicums were not counted as academic courses but were identified and noted.
The second step of the methodology involved sending an electronic mail survey to the directors of undergraduate and graduate programs to confirm the information culled from their universities' Web site. The survey asked directors to confirm that the courses in community psychology that we had identified in their online course catalogues were offered to students. As well, they were asked to add any additional community psychology courses that were available to students but were not listed in their online course catalogue. Two weeks after the initial contact, follow-up e-mails were sent to those directors who had not responded. Of the 62 universities contacted, 42 completed the e-mail survey, representing a response rate of 72%.
Results
Undergraduate Courses
As shown in Table 1, compared with the 1992-1994 survey, our results indicate growth in the availability of undergraduate community psychology courses in Canadian universities. In particular, there are more undergraduate courses being offered, with these available in more universities. In 1992-1994, there were 33 courses offered in 19 universities, representing 34% of the universities surveyed. In contrast, we found 38 courses offered in 25 universities, representing 40% of the universities surveyed. Six universities that offered undergraduate courses in community psychology in 1992-1994 no longer offered them in 2009. However, 12 universities that did not offer undergraduate courses in community psychology in 1992-1994 now do so in 2009. As presented in Table 2, more than two thirds (69%) of the undergraduate courses offered involve an introductory course to community psychology.
Graduate Courses
A comparison of our 2009 survey results with those of 1 9921994 showed a mixed picture in terms of the availability of graduate courses in community psychology in Canadian psychology departments. In particular, there were marginally more courses in community psychology available in 2009 relative to 1992-1994, but these were located at fewer universities. In particular, 49 graduate courses were offered at 1 7 universities in 2009 compared with 45 courses available at 19 universities in 1992-1994. The number of graduate courses offered in 2009 was lower than the total of 63 courses reported in the 1980-1981 survey. The number of different universities with graduate courses in community psychology was also at its highest in 1980-1981, with 20 universities having these courses. Nine universities that offered graduate courses in community psychology in 1992-1994 no longer offer these courses in 2009. These losses are offset by seven universities that did not offer graduate courses in 1992-1994 now offering them in 2009. Most of the graduate training in community psychology is being offered in universities located in Ontario and Quebec.
As shown in Table 2, more than one third (36%) of the graduate courses offered were general courses in community psychology, a similar proportion (38%) were program evaluation courses, and the remaining proportion (26%) of courses were specialised courses (e.g., prevention). Table 3 identifies the universities according to the combination of community psychology courses and supervised fieldwork that are offered. The majority of psychology departments with graduate courses in community psychology (81%) provided training opportunities in supervised fieldwork, with virtually all of these combining it with a general course in community psychology and a course in program evaluation.
Discussion
Given our survey findings, community psychology appears to remain a niche specialty in Canadian psychology that has a small presence in a minority of undergraduate and graduate programs with the exception of three universities that have graduate programs, notably Universit� Laval, UQAM, and Wilfrid Laurier University. Overall, there has been a small amount of growth in community psychology training at the undergraduate level since the last survey in 1992-1994, with more courses available in more Canadian psychology departments. There are slightly more graduate courses in community psychology offered now than 15 years ago, but these are located in fewer psychology departments. It is noteworthy that community psychology training is not available at Dalhousie University, McGiIl University, University of Toronto, and University of British Columbia, the largest and most wellknown Canadian universities.
The increased presence of community psychology courses at the undergraduate level is an important development as it exposes students to the area at an early stage of their academic career and can be expected to orient some of them toward pursuing graduate studies in community psychology. Despite this growth, only 40% of Canadian psychology departments offer courses in the area. Moreover, "community psychology" is not a core concept covered in introductory psychology courses (Nairn et al., 2003). Our experience as instructors of upper undergraduate and graduate courses is that a large number of students have no prior familiarity with community psychology. Ultimately, an increased presence in undergraduate programs in psychology in Canadian universities is still needed for it to be visible and considered part of core subject matter in psychology.
Given that studies in psychology at the undergraduate level can lead to careers in health and social services, the addition of an undergraduate course in community psychology focusing on psychological theories and practise that address social problems makes sense. Moreover, "community service learning" has become increasingly available in undergraduate programs in Canadian universities over the past several years (Canadian Alliance for Community Service Learning, 2009). Community service learning is an educational approach that integrates volunteer service activities and experiences with community organisations into university and college courses. With the focus of community psychology on theories, research, and interventions related to strengthening communities and assisting vulnerable populations (Nelson & Prilletensky, 2005), undergraduate courses in the area provide a natural fit for community service learning.
As expected, the freestanding graduate programs in community psychology at Universit� Laval, UQAM, and Wilfrid Laurier University offer the largest number of graduate courses. In addition Universit� Laval and Wilfrid Laurier University, both of which launched a doctorate program in 2003, have added professors specialising in community psychology (Nelson et al., 2007). In contrast to these universities with freestanding programs, other psychology departments in Canadian universities offer only a small number of graduate courses in community psychology. These are available as courses in clinical psychology programs (i.e., Lakehead, Manitoba, Montr�al, Ottawa, Victoria, York) and in applied social psychology programs (i.e., Guelph, Saskatchewan, Windsor). In these departments, these courses are taught often by one faculty member who has a background in the area. The courses are at risk of being discontinued if these professors leave the university or retire. Unfortunately, this situation has occurred at Acadia, Brock, and Sherbrooke, resulting in graduate courses in community psychology no longer being offered (Nelson et al., 2007).
The need for succession planning to occur in psychology departments with clinical and applied social psychology programs is critical for community psychology to survive in Canada. This is particularly important as the first generation of community psychologists in Canada retire or are on the verge of retiring. Notwithstanding that there are many job opportunities for PhD-level community psychologists in government, nongovernmental organisations, and the private sector, it will be important that some of the graduates from the doctoral programs at Wilfrid Laurier University, UQAM, and Universit� Laval take up academic positions in Canadian psychology departments. However, given the traditional experimental psychology practised in Canadian university departments, there has been a dearth of academic job opportunities for graduates of community psychology programs; moreover, clinical psychology programs recruit graduates who can qualify for registration with provincial regulatory bodies, which typically require a doctorate or substantial training in clinical psychology.
The development of more doctoral-level programs in community psychology would help grow this area of psychology so that undergraduate and graduate courses are offered in more than 40% of Canadian universities. The support of provincial governments in expanding graduate studies at Canadian universities such as was done recently in Ontario provides an opportunity for the development of new specialities within existing graduate programs (Council of Ontario Universities, 2008).
An immediate threat to a small area such as community psychology is the current fiscal situation of Canadian universities as they navigate the economic recession. Projected consequences include hiring freezes and increased reliance on part-time and sessional staff (Usher & Dunn, 2009). This situation will mean that retiring professors who contributed community psychology training in their departments may not be replaced. As well, courses in community psychology face the prospect of being expendable for economic reasons, particularly if they are not core requirements of undergraduate or graduate programs in psychology.
A limitation of our data is that we were unable to identify the characteristics of professors who teach community psychology in Canadian universities. In describing their sample, Nelson and Tefft (1982) noted that only two of 27 respondents who taught community psychology were women. It is unclear to what extent this situation has changed since this first survey as we did not ask about the demographic characteristics of who was teaching the community psychology courses. Given the importance that community psychology places on diversity, the extent that teachers in the area represent women, First Nations, and visible minorities is an important issue for future research to examine.
Another issue worth examining in future research on community psychology training in Canadian universities is the extent that interdisciplinary training is being fostered in community psychology programs. Although the adoption of an interdisciplinary perspective by community psychology has been advocated throughout its history (Levine, Perkins, & Perkins, 2004), it is unclear the extent to which interdisciplinarity is being encouraged in graduate training programs in community psychology. In a special issue of the American Journal of Community Psychology on interdisciplinary research in community psychology, Maton et al. (2006) assessed the progress made in integrating indisciplinarity in community psychology as being modest at best and less than some other areas of psychology (e.g., biological, cognitive, and health). They noted the importance of graduate training programs providing opportunities for students to be exposed to other disciplines through courses and research and action projects.
Our survey found that more than three quarters (8 1 %) of the psychology departments that offered graduate courses in community psychology also made available to students supervised fieldwork with community groups and organisations, schools, and the government. This proportion of psychology departments with graduate courses offering supervised fieldwork exceeds the proportion of departments found in the 1980-1981 survey (73%; Nelson & Tefft, 1982). They reflect a strength of community psychology training available in Canadian universities. The roles assumed by community psychologists are varied and can include those of program developer, program manager, program evaluator, health promoter, community developer, policy developer, social advocate, and researcher (Feis, Mavis, Weth, & Davidson, 1990; Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005; Sandler & Keller, 1984; Th�roux & Tefft, 1982). Given the complexity of these roles, it is vital that students receive field training as part of their graduate studies.
In discussing future directions for community psychology, Walsh-Bowers (1998) suggested the need for a rapprochement between "professional psychology" and community psychology, two relatively divergent perspectives. His argument was founded on the changing landscape faced by professional psychology in Canada, which included greater participation in the private sector and lesser participation in the public sector, the emergence of program management models replacing discipline-specific departments in public institutions, and the shift to short-term clinical services in public mental health services. In this context, Walsh-Bowers argued for an integrative model that includes both clinical psychology and community psychology.
There is some evidence that clinical psychology is moving in this direction. The most recent accreditation standards for clinical psychology programs require training programs to provide training that produces competencies in the areas of consultation at the organisational level and program development and evaluation (CPA, 2002). Despite these standards, only a small number of clinical psychology programs (Manitoba, Ottawa, Saskatchewan, Universit� du Qu�bec en Abitibi-T�miscamingue, Victoria, Windsor) were identified in our survey as offering community psychology courses and field placements that provide opportunities for developing these competencies. In the United States, this type of hybrid training is also available in some programs (Meissen & Slavich, 1997). The expansion of clinical training to include the development of competencies to work with programs and organisations to meet CPA accreditation standards represents an important growth opportunity for community psychology.
The emergence of professionally recognised master' s-level clinicians by regulatory bodies across North America is another factor that challenges the traditional narrow role of clinical psychologists as clinicians. In this context, some have argued that die role of clinical psychologists needs to be expanded beyond individual treatment into such areas as program development and evaluation, organisational consultation, social policy analysis and research, and population health (Humphreys, 1996; Meissen & Slavich, 1997). Related to this development is the interest in clinical psychology to expand the scope of interventions to include primary prevention (Holden & Black, 1999; Hunsley & Lee, 2006; Weinstein, 2006). Prevention has been a cornerstone of community psychology since its inception 40 years ago (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005).
After more than 40 years since the official birth of community psychology in North America, it remains a resilient but small force in Canadian psychology. The fact that is has survived in Canadian psychology departments with only some small erosion during a conservative political period that has lasted more than two decades is a testament to its durability. The social problems faced by contemporary Canadian society are similar and of the same magnitude and complexity as those that prompted the creation of a community psychology perspective in the 1960s. These include poverty, homelessness, the breakdown of families placing children and youth at risk, the plight of aboriginal populations, and the social and economic exclusion of new Canadians. All of these problems call for a response from psychology. The contribution of community psychology is to assist the discipline to reach higher and adopt a more systemic perspective in conceptualizing research and interventions (O'Neill, 2005). For this reason, we believe that community psychology training will continue to have a presence in Canadian psychology for the foreseeable future.
R�sum�
Il a dix ans, Walsh-Bowers (1998) d�crit dans la psychologie canathenne le statut marginalis� de la psychologie communautaire au Canada. Le but de cette recherche est d'�valuer l'�tat actuel de formation en psychologie communautaire dans les universit�s canathennes. Les annuaires de premier cycle et des programmes d'�tudes sup�rieures sur les sites web des d�partements de psychologie canathennes ont �t� examin�s pour d�terminer les cours offerts en psychologie communautaire. Par la suite, une enqu�te par courrier �lectronique des directeurs de programmes a �t� men�e pour confirmer et �tendre les conclusions de la recherche en ligne. Les r�sultats sont compar�s � ceux des enqu�tes ant�rieures r�alis�es en 1980-81 (Nelson & Tefft, 1982) et en 1992-94 (WalshBowers, 1998). Les r�sultats d�montrent un l�ger accroissement de la formation au niveau de premier cycle depuis la derni�re enqu�te en 1992-94 avec plus de cours disponibles dans plus de d�partements de psychologie canathenne. Il existe �galement un peu plus de cours de deuxi�me cycle en psychologie communautaire offert aujourd'hui comparativement � 1992-94, mais ceux-ci sont situ�s dans moins de d�partements de psychologie. Les r�sultats sont examin�s dans le contexte de la psychologie professionnelle contemporaine. Des directions ult�rieures pour accro�tre la psychologie communautaire sont sugg�r�es.
Mots-cl�s : psychologie au Canada, psychologie et communaut�, formation
[Reference]
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Received April 15, 2009
Revision received August 18, 2009
Accepted August 18, 2009
[Author Affiliation]
Tim Aubry, John Sylvestre, and John Ecker
University of Ottawa
[Author Affiliation]
Tim Aubry, John Sylvestre, and John Ecker, School of Psychology and Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services, University of Ottawa.
The findings in the article were presented at the June 2009 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community Research and Action. We are grateful to Lisa Peeke and Sarah Bimie for their research assistance with the collection of the data. We thank Geoff Nelson and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of the article.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tim Aubry, Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services, University of Ottawa, 34 Stewart Street, Ottawa, Ontario, KlC 3A9. E-mail: taubry@uottawa.ca
A federal judge has refused to block a new version of a Florida voter registration law that critics say could keep thousands of people from casting ballots this year.
U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle issued the ruling Tuesday in Gainesville. Last year, he granted a preliminary injunction against an earlier version of the law. He was reversed on appeal and the Legislature modified the law.
Both versions require elections officials to match Social Security, state identification or driver license numbers listed on voter registration applications with numbers in government databases.
"This ruling puts thousands of real Florida citizens at risk this November based on bureaucratic typos," lawyer Justin Levitt said Wednesday.
Levitt represents the Florida Conference of the National Association of Colored People and other groups challenging the law.
Under the new version, if the state is unable to match a number, an applicant can still register by providing verification of either his or her driver license, identity card or Social Security number regardless of which one was entered on the application.
The old version required that the number on the application had to be verified _ no substitutes allowed.
The lawsuit alleges both versions of the law violate citizens' constitutional rights to vote and equal protection under the law.
In rejecting a preliminary injunction against the new law, Mickle wrote that challengers failed to establish a likelihood of prevailing on the constitutional issues that will be decided later. The judge also found that matching up identification is justified "by the state's compelling interest in fair and honest elections."
AUBURN, Ala. - Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey and Al Horford scored 17 points apiece and No. 1 Florida coasted to a 91-66 victory over Auburn on Saturday for its 12th consecutive win.
The Gators (19-2, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) shot 58 percent from the floor, went 9-of-14 on 3-pointers and nursed a big lead through most of the game.
They had few problems hitting 3s or scoring inside against the Tigers (13-9, 3-4), who were unable to counter the nation's top shooting team.
Horford made all six of his field-goal attempts and was 5-of-6 on free throws. Humphrey was 6-for-7 shooting and made all four 3-point attempts.
Auburn shot just 1-of-13 on 3-pointers. The Tigers were coming off a 24-point rout of No. 12 Alabama.
Joakim Noah had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists for Florida, but his double-figure scoring streak ended at seven games.
Corey Brewer was one of the few Gators who didn't shoot well, going 4-of-14 for 11 points. Florida hit 24 of 35 free throws and committed only eight turnovers for its eighth consecutive win over the Tigers.
Quantez Robertson led Auburn with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and had five assists. Quan Prowell added 15 points, Rasheem Barrett scored 12 and Josh Dollard had 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Tigers had won two consecutive games against ranked teams for the first time in 12 seasons, but couldn't keep up with the Gators.
Florida built 15-point leads six times over the final 8:11 of the first half, including a 51-36 halftime advantage.
Auburn hit the first shot of the second half to cut it to 13, but the Gators went inside to Horford for the game's next five points. Humphrey's second 3-pointer of the half pushed it to 64-44 with just under 15 minutes left.
Auburn never cut it below 20 points after that.
The Gators shot 59 percent in the first half, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers. The Tigers, meanwhile, missed all six of their 3-point attempts and had two players with three fouls.
While Florida was draining 3s, Auburn didn't hit one until Prowell's shot with 13:35 left in the game and the Tigers down by 22.
It was the 400th career game for Florida coach Billy Donovan.
AC/DC made their new album, "Black Ice," available only at Wal-Mart and through their Web site, but that hasn't limited its success: The CD not only has topped the charts in more than two dozen countries, it debuts atop the latest U.S. album chart with sales of more than 780,000 copies.
"It's overwhelming, and quite hard to take in," the legendary group's lead singer, Brian Johnson, said Wednesday after learning the Australian band had 2008's second-biggest album debut.
"Even an old dog like me has a few more surprises in life, I guess," he said, chuckling.
The group beat out "High School Musical" for the No. 1 spot. According to figures released Wednesday by Nielsen SoundScan, "Black Ice" sold some 784,000 copies in its first week of release; the teen-oriented movie soundtrack sold about 297,000 copies. (The year's biggest album debut so far belongs to Lil Wayne, with a million copies sold of "Tha Carter III.")
In making Wal-Mart the only retailer for their album, AC/DC joined the likes of the Eagles and Journey, who have all had strong success selling through the retailer.
"It was a win-win situation, and they decided to make it into a big thing with AC/DC merchandise and good deals with the other albums with the catalog," Johnson said. "This has been a wonderful thing."
The CD has topped the charts in 29 countries since its release in the recent days.
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