USA TODAY articles from December 2008

USA TODAY archives from December 2008

Obama seen as father figure.(American Presidency)(Barack Obama)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The presence of children in the White House undoubtedly will have an impact on the image of the U.S. that currently is held by its own citizens and by those in countries around the world, according to Sampson Lee...

A Christmas Carol's relevance today.(Charity)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol may become an even more relevant tale as people cope with what is expected to be an economically bleak holiday season, notes William J. Palmer, author of Dickens and New Historicism....

Finances top resolutions list.(New Year's)
December 1, 2008... With the economy in a desperate downturn, many individuals are vowing--out of necessity--to make financial changes a big part of their New Year's resolutions list. Affinity Card Systems, Vancouver, Wash., offers some suggestions in that area:...

Internet shopping lone bright spot.(Retail Sales)
December 1, 2008... Despite anticipated weak Christmas retail sales overall, Internet holiday shopping is expected to increase at least 10%, indicates Richard Feinberg, a researcher with the Retail Institute of Indiana. Online sales should reach...

Another fine mess for Generation Y.(Student Loans)
December 1, 2008... Some 40% of recent college graduates have more than $10,000 in student loan debt and over 20% owe at least $5,000 on credit cards before age 25, according to a Harris Interactive study. "Generation Y is in some serious money trouble," says...

"Are we all socialists now?".(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... "Are we all socialists now?" asks Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, Washington, D.C., in response to the Bush Administration's bailout plans for the financial markets, as well as Pres.-elect Barack...

Global warming could lead to larger changes in snowmelt than previously was thought in certain regions of the western U.S., possibly increasing wildfire risk and creating difficult water management challenges for agriculture, ecosystems, and urban populations, contend researchers from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.(NOTEWORTHY)
December 1, 2008... Global warming could lead to larger changes in snowmelt than previously was thought in certain regions of the western U.S., possibly increasing wildfire risk and creating difficult water management challenges for agriculture, ecosystems, and...

North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3-4,300,000,000 barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3-4,300,000,000 barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation. A U.S. Geological Survey assessment shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can...

Aggressively replacing the world's incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) could reduce lighting energy demand by nearly 40% and cut greenhouse gas emissions from day one, maintains a report from the Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Aggressively replacing the world's incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) could reduce lighting energy demand by nearly 40% and cut greenhouse gas emissions from day one, maintains a report from the Worldwatch Institute,...

To learn what emissions alternative-fuel vehicles produce and how climate change might affect them, the Environmental Protection Agency is funding a research project at the University of California, Davis.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... To learn what emissions alternative-fuel vehicles produce and how climate change might affect them, the Environmental Protection Agency is funding a research project at the University of California, Davis. "Motor vehicles are a major source of...

A single typhoon in Taiwan buries as much carbon in the ocean--in the form of sediment--as all the other rains in that country all year long combined, reveals research funded by the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.(NOTEWORTHY)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... A single typhoon in Taiwan buries as much carbon in the ocean--in the form of sediment--as all the other rains in that country all year long combined, reveals research funded by the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. Physical...

A fresh start? That depends.(Bankruptcy)
December 1, 2008... People who file bankruptcy eventually recover financially compared to those who never had to file, but it takes 10 to 20 years or more, maintains a study by Lois R. Lupica, professor of law at the University of Maine, Portland. "Bankruptcy is...

Holidays may prove painful reminder.(Grieving)
December 1, 2008... The holidays are a joyous occasion for most but, for those who have experienced a loss, this usually festive time of year can be a painful reminder that their loved one no longer is around. "Traditionally, it is a time of family, friends, and...

Portraits of power.(Museums Today)(Richard Avedon exhibition)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Richard Avedon (1923-2004) was the preeminent fashion photographer and editorial portraitist in the U.S. throughout his 60-year career. Serving in the Merchant Marines during World War II, Avedon was assigned to the...

Button down security amid the festivities.(Business & Finance)
December 1, 2008... Companies with a physical location and Internet presence should make sure security policies and procedures strictly are enforced during the holidays because criminal social engineers are out shopping for others' confidential data, cautions...

Do not stay with relatives.(Holiday Travel)
December 1, 2008... Christmas and New Year's are right around the corner, and that means taking advantage of all of the highlights of the holiday season--delicious food, fun parties, fellowship with family and friends, and leaving the comfort of your own home to...

Trends affecting tomorrow's world.(The Future)
December 1, 2008... The "55 Trends Shaping Tomorrow's World" report has been released by The World Future Society, Bethesda, Md., produced jointly by science writer Owen Davies and Marvin Cetron, a former White House advisor and current president of Forecasting...

Multifamily builders choose to go green.(Real Estate)
December 1, 2008... More of the nation's apartments and condos are going green as multifamily builders and developers respond to growing consumer interest in sustainable building practices, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders....

How to keep your job while still having fun.(Office Party Etiquette)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Once again, it is the time of year for holiday office parties with eggnog flowing and lights a'glowing. We eat and drink too much, and aim to be merry. We let our hair down or loosen our tie, ready to indulge in celebrations. Whether you work...

Family get-togethers can spur concern.(Elder Care)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... As families come together for the holidays, they often notice that older members are not able to take care of themselves like they used to. Making informed decisions about elder care can be stressful and time consuming. Finding appropriate,...

Do not run up unreasonable debt.(Christmas Shopping)
December 1, 2008... The holidays are a time to be generous, particularly to children and charity, but there is no requirement that you have to enter or deepen debt that you will be paying off for months and possibly years, advises the Financial Planning...

Promoting physical activity in kids.(Gift Giving)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Adults planning to give gifts this year to promote physical activity in children should be sure to set aside their time as well, indicates a childhood fitness specialist and lecturer from the Power Over Pounds program, Lafayette, Ind. "If...

Good pet parenting always is in season.(Animal Care)
December 1, 2008... There approximately are 74,800,000 dogs and 90,000,000 cats in American households, according to the U.S. Humane Society, Washington, D.C., and consumers will spend around $3,000,000,000 on Christmas for their pets this year. Since Fido and...

Techies prefer to give personal gifts.(Technology)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Do not count on scoring a new laptop computer or PDA from the technology executive in your life. According to a survey developed by Robert Half Technology, Menlo Park, Calif., a provider of information technology professionals on a project and...

Extra time off hard to come by.(The Workplace)
December 1, 2008... Santa's elves will not be the only ones working hard as Christmas nears. A survey developed by OfficeTeam, Menlo Park, Calif., a staffing service specializing in the placement of administrative professionals, indicates that four out of 10...

Amazon rain forests again losing trees fast.(Deforestation)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Deforestation of the Amazon rain forest looks to be on the rise, according to high-resolution images released by an agency of the Brazilian government. The pictures suggest an end to a widely hailed three-year decline in the rate of...

More access needed to biotech crop data.(Agriculture)
December 1, 2008... Biologists maintain that they should have greater access to maps indicating the locations of biotech crops. Such availability on a county and township level would give researchers more ability to analyze the effects of biotech crops on...

Ethanol demand fueling shortages.(Food Production)
December 1, 2008... The worldwide food crisis is a direct result of the choices made by policymakers and the lack of attention paid to the agricultural system and its relationship to global warming and fossil fuels, according to Samina Raja, assistant professor of...

Greenland's glaciers continue to break up.(Global Warming)
December 1, 2008... Daily satellite images of Greenland have uncovered breakups at two of that country's largest glaciers in the last several months, report scientists from Ohio State University, Columbus. They expect that part of the Northern Hemisphere's longest...

Revolutionary C[O.sub.2] maps zoom in on sources.(Greenhouse Gases)
December 1, 2008... A new, high-resolution, interactive map of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has found that they are not all where we thought. "For example, we've been attributing too many emissions to the northeastern United States, and it's looking...

How mosquitoes survive the winter.(West Nile Virus)
December 1, 2008... Two genes that help insulin regulate mosquitoes' growth have been identified as key contributors to how the insects enter a dormant state to survive winter's cold. The research finding broadens the understanding of the mosquito life cycle and...

People prefer precise percentages.(Statistics)
December 1, 2008... Would you rather support research for a disease that affects 30,000 Americans a year or one that affects just .01% of the U.S. population? The numbers represent about the same amount of people, but how you answered explains the way in which you...

What a long strange trip it's been.(USA Yesterday)
December 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Four decades ago, Robert Altman was chief staff photographer of Rolling Stone magazine. "For me. the 1960s is the time of Sgt. Pepper, Woodstock, the Summer of Love, be-ins, anti-war protests, and everything else in...

Vaccination helps older adults.(SHINGLES)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... A major cause of severe, chronic pain in older adults, post-therpetic neuralgia can be prevented or reduced in severity by immunization to cut the risk for herpes zoster (more commonly known as shingles), according to researchers at the...

Women conflicted concerning IT jobs,.(Information Technology)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Peer networks among women in information technology careers can go a long way toward helping them feel satisfied in the job. "Women face special issues when they pursue careers like being a CIO where it is not unusual to have 70-hour...

Nothing trivial about shopaholics.(Psychology)
December 1, 2008... It is not surprising that compulsive buying disorder is considered a relatively recent psychiatric condition and one that merits little consideration among mental health professionals. After all, most people see compulsive buyers as...

Blueprint needed for science reform.(Federal Regulations)
December 1, 2008... In a variety of ways during the Bush Administration, scientific findings, the scientific process, and scientists themselves have come under attack as never before, maintains the Center for Progressive Reform. Washington, D.C. On issues ranging...

Digital evidence just as important as DNA.(CSI)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... With the majority of the public now owning cell phones, computers, personal digital assistants, or other such technology, it is more important than ever for law enforcement---especially crime scene investigators--to learn how to extract...

E-mail: when is enough enough?(Workplace Productivity)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Productivity specialist Marsha Egan is troubled by the findings of AOIL's e-mail addiction survey. While almost all U.S. citizens with accounts check their e-mail frequently, this new research shows that a significant percentage of the...

Depression era mentality haunts baby boomers.(Property Value)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... During the Great Depression of the 1930s, people learned quickly to save whatever they could. Resources were scarce--thus even more valuable. Many of the 78,000,000 baby boomers whose parents learned how to hoard in order to survive are finding...

Squeezing stress from the season.(Christmas)
December 1, 2008... If you have kids, it is quite possible the holidays will cause more stress than actual holiday cheer. Sure you love seeing their faces light up when they open their gifts, but the weeks prior to that special day can be exhausting. The major...