The Boston Globe (Nov. 20)
State jobless rate declines, bucking trend
The Massachusetts unemployment rate dropped last month for the first time in two years, and job losses slowed - signs the state’s beleaguered job market may be stabilizing. “The only way you can read this employment report is as good news,’’ said Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economics professor. “You need to take monthly data with a grain of salt, but the fall is so dramatic that it’s likely things are improving in the labor market.’’

The Associated Press (Nov. 20)
Fla. jury awards $300 million in ex-smoker's suit
A South Florida jury on Thursday ordered Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million to a former smoker, agreeing that the tobacco company's negligence was the cause of her emphysema. "Large verdicts encourage other large verdicts," said Richard A. Daynard, professor of law at Northeastern University and chairman of the Tobacco Products Liability Project. "I think Philip Morris has finally met its match in Florida. This gives jurors permission to fully compensate plaintiffs for all the harm they suffered and to express their moral outrage at the industry's behavior."

WBUR.org (Nov. 20)
Underemployment Lurks In New Mass. Jobless Numbers
The Massachusetts unemployment rate fell last month for the first time in nearly 2 1/2 years. The rate dropped from from 9.3 percent in September to 8.9 percent in October. But what really bothers economists is the career stunting that can take place, since part-time workers don’t get the benefits that full-time workers do. Andrew Sum, who heads the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, says that part time workers also don’t get the training that full-time workers do, either.

The Washington Examiner (Nov. 20)
Ex-smoker hopes verdict will buy a lung transplant
When Cindy Naugle took the witness stand in her lawsuit against tobacco company Philip Morris USA, she toted an oxygen bottle and had to pause a few minutes to catch her breath. Edward L. Sweda, Jr., senior attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, said appeals of cases like this often take years. "Looking at the track record of these cases, the delay really does serve the company's interest and very much does not serve the interest of the individuals, especially if they are very ill or have a serious disease," he said.

The Christian Science Monitor (Nov. 20)
Five cities that will rise in the New Economy
As the United States emerges from the worst recession in 80 years, a new economy is taking root that will help create the next tier of powerhouse cities in America. Just as the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s and the Information Age of the past 40 years helped shift the urban and regional balance of power in the US, forces are now at work that will shape who prospers in the economy of tomorrow. Demographics will drive change, too. Cities that have expensive housing may find themselves at a disadvantage in attracting young people. “We’re going to be facing what I call the third civil war – it’s going to be a war between cities and metro areas over where young people will settle, because we’re going to have to fill a lot of jobs,” says Barry Bluestone, an economist at Northeastern University in Boston.

Daily News Transcript (Nov. 19)
Dedham resident places third in AT&T app competition
Erica Simone’s handy mobile application, UpperClass, can be used to check out buildings on Northeastern University’s campus, get an update on HuskyCard balances, or peruse the school’s sports schedule.

The Chicago Tribune (Nov. 19)
Large jobless pool could keep pay flat
One inevitable effect of this recession's massive job losses and plunge in consumer and business spending has been downward pressure on the wages and benefits of many of those who still are working. "For many adults, in their entire lives the idea that nominal wages would fall was not a possibility," said Paul Harrington, associate director at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. "This is a completely new issue."

The Boston Globe (Nov. 19)
Leaning to the left, and hoping to be heard
Jeff Santos is on an ambitious mission: For the past year, he has been building Boston’s only progressive radio talk show station. After all, Massachusetts is a blue state. The governor and Boston’s mayor are Democrats. And some left-leaning heavyweights - including Governor Deval Patrick, US Representative Barney Frank, and former governor and presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis - are in radio promos for the show.

The Boston Globe (Nov. 18)
Students urge lawmakers to act on bullying
Students, teachers, and specialists on aggressive behavior filled a State House hearing room yesterday with personal stories about bullying at school and in cyberspace and offered opinions on several antibullying bills under consideration by lawmakers. Northeastern University professor Jack Levin, a criminologist, testified before the committee that bullying, when left unchecked, can have tragic and violent consequences. “Bullying should be a red flag,’’ he said. “The Virginia Tech killer [Seung-Hui Cho] was bullied and harassed, and no one offered a helping hand. The origins of the Virginia Tech massacre can be seen in the killer’s life, long before he got to college.’’

The Boston Globe (Nov. 18)
To derail economy, put the T on hold
Stephanie Pollack,  associate director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, wrote this article: The recent report by businessman David D’Alessandro paints yet another grim picture of the MBTA’s financial situation, concluding that “it makes little sense to continue expanding the system when the MBTA cannot maintain the existing one.’’ The report’s diagnosis - that the T is in critical financial condition - is correct. The recommended treatment - freezing the current system until its financial health can be restored - is a prescription for disaster for the Massachusetts economy.

PhysOrg.com (Nov. 17)
Seeing below the surface to advance safety
Researchers at Northeastern University are developing technologies to protect the United States from a variety of external threats. Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Carey Rappaport is the associate director of both the ALERT (Awareness and Localization of Explosive-Related Threats) Center and Gordon-CenSSIS (Bernard M. Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems). Rappaport is also working on the VOTERS (Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors) project as a lead researcher on the use of radar to monitor the condition of roads, bridges and monuments. All three centers were founded with significant federal funding support.

CrainesNewYork.com (Nov. 16)
Javanka!
It seems to be a match made in real estate heaven for two survivors of tabloid hell.
Freshly wed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are both third-generation scions of rich and infamous real estate clans who've endured having their fathers' worst moments splashed across tabloids and TV screens. “They are in the same industry, so each understands what the other is going through,” says Ted Clark, director of the Center for Family Business at Northeastern University in Boston. Yet being in the same business also sparks jealousy and competition between couples, he adds. “That is just human nature.”

The Boston Globe (Nov. 16)
Downturn isn’t over yet for Bay State
The Massachusetts economy seemed to have begun a turnaround this summer as employment losses in August diminished to just a few hundred statewide. With the national job losses still mounting, it appeared the state would emerge from the recession sooner than the nation as a whole. When the data are comprehensively revised at the beginning of next year, they are likely to show that job losses over the summer were worse than first reported, said Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economics professor. Declines in payroll withhold ing tax collections suggest more people may have lost jobs than were counted in the monthly employment reports.

The Los Angeles Times (Nov. 16)
Fearing pay cuts as the new normal
Wall Street bankers make too much money -- on that the American public may be in near-unanimous agreement. "For many adults, in their entire lives the idea that nominal wages would fall was not a possibility," said Paul Harrington, associate director at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. "This is a completely new issue." Of course, plenty of entrepreneurs and salespeople have long been used to fluctuating incomes. But Harrington's point is that many or most people haven't planned for a significant drop in pay during their working lives.

Lanka Business Online (Nov. 16)
Digital Pipe
Is Rupert Murdoch bluffing? Making a bold high-stakes gamble that will save the troubled newspaper industry? Or pursuing a pipe dream that can only end in failure? "I think that when you're talking about Rupert Murdoch there's one of two things going on," said Dan Kennedy, an assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University. "One possibility -- and I certainly wouldn't rule it out given his track record -- is that he's two or three steps ahead with something that none of the rest of us have figured out yet," Kennedy told AFP.

The Boston Herald (Nov. 16)
New iPhone app maps Northeastern
Northeastern University has a new tool to help the 30,000 prospective students and their family members who visit the Boston school each year. “Discover Northeastern” is a free Apple iPhone application with a GPS-enabled university map that helps visitors find their way from the Stetson West dorm to the Curry Student Center, or anywhere else on the urban campus.

The Seattle Times (Nov. 13)
The high economic cost of dropouts and inadequate education
Amid Washington state's long-shot effort to win billions in new federal education funding comes a new report on the huge costs of high-school dropouts. Male dropouts were 47 percent more likely than their peers to be incarcerated, and 54 percent of dropouts ages 16 to 24 were likely to be unemployed (vs.13 percent for college graduates). Black and Hispanic dropouts are particularly hard hit. The findings come from Professor Andrew Sum at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. Some other key data: mean earnings for dropouts were $8,358 in 2007, vs. $24,297 for young college grads, and taxpayers face a cost of $292,000 for every dropout over his or her lifetime from lost earnings (thus lower taxes paid) and higher social costs.

Newsday.com (Nov. 13)
Manny Pacquiao is hope for battered Filipino community
It's been a tough month  for Ramon Villongco of Ronkonkoma, who like thousands of other Filipinos on Long Island has watched footage of his homeland yielding to the punch of wind and water as three typhoons struck with force, killing 1,000 people. Saturday night, restaurants and bars, basements and living rooms where many of Long Island's 20,000 or so Filipinos congregate will erupt when welterweight Manny Pacquiao, the southpaw who is the Philippines' foremost symbol of pride, enters the ring. Pacquiao captured Filipinos' imagination and became one with national identity, said Dan Lebowitz, executive director of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston. "This fight epitomizes a celebration of diversity, but also a place within that framework where they can find their own identity and pride," he said.

Barre Montpelier Times Argus (Nov. 13)
State Police to track profiling data
If you ask Maj. Bill Sheets, head of the Vermont State Police's Support Services Division, whether Vermont's uniformed state police troopers are guilty of racial profiling, he answers with an unequivocal "No." "I think every police officer in America says that," said Jack Devitt, a professor of criminology from Northeastern University who spoke Thursday to state police officers about racial profiling. McDevitt called data-collection an effective mechanism for identifying police bias that has sparked reforms in other states. He said police officers who engage in racial profiling aren't necessarily racist, and may not be aware of their own bias.

MIT Technology Review (Nov. 13)
Robo-Rehab at Home
When a person suffers a stroke, the interruption of blood flow to the brain can cause lasting loss of function in the limbs. Persistent physical therapy can improve motor control by strengthening connections between the limb and brain. Now, a group at Northeastern University has developed several portable robotic devices that may aid in the rehabilitation process; unlike other rehabilitation devices, these may also let patients continue therapy at home.