Monday Morning Update

February 28, 2011

Violent Content: In recent years, PG-13 movies have become increasingly violent, according to new research conducted by Communications Professor Ron Leone. In a recent aolnews.com opinion piece Leone points to the critically acclaimed movie, True Grit, which, despite many graphic scenes, received a PG-13 rating. Given the explosion of violence, Leone asks, is the PG-13 rating safe for kids anymore? To read the aolnews piece, which has a potential audience of 28 million readers, visit here.

The Price of Admission: A college degree increases earning power and expands career choices, but how do students and their families choose the right school and navigate the admissions/financial aid process? Stonehill's Eileen O' Leary will be among the experts addressing these and other questions at a WBZ Business Breakfast, Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Assistant Vice President for Student Financial Services O' Leary is an authority on financial aid issues and will be joined on the panel by the two college presidents, a financial planner and an education reporter. Business Editor Anthony Silva will host the session, which will be streamed live at http://boston.cbslocal.com/breakfast/.

Home Reconsidered: For many people, the concept of home conjures up images of happiness and safety, but not everyone has such positive experiences. Until April 8th, a new Cushing-Martin Gallery exhibit explores The Dark Side of Home, focusing on themes of desolation, sadness and loneliness. With pieces ranging from landscape paintings to hydrostone recasting of Fisher-Price toy houses to full room makeovers, six artists depict the dark side. Co-director of Watertown's Drive-By Gallery Beth Kantrowitz is the guest curator. All are welcome to an opening reception, March 4, 6 p.m. 8 p.m. in Cushing-Martin. For more, visit here.

Unsustainable Economics: Twice last week, students gathered in the Martin Institute to hear visiting business ethics scholar Ernst von Kimakowitz discuss the tenets of humanistic management. For von Kimakowitz, our economic model is unsustainable. Despite the creation of enormous economic wealth, we see widespread personal dissatisfaction within society, uneven distributions of rewards and opportunities within and between nations, and environmental problems that threaten our existence.

Market Intelligence: While it is tempting to blame the market for our socio-economic problems, von Kimakowitz argues that the bigger challenge is how to use the market more intelligently and in a more humanistic way. Along with Professor Claus Dierksmeier, von Kimakowitz and other humanistic scholars believe that businesses can rise above dog-eat-dog competitiveness and excel at doing well by doing good. Their new book Humanistic Management in Practice provides 19 case studies from around the globe, demonstrating instances where companies earned healthy profits while putting people first. For more on humanistic management, visit here.

Contact

For more information, contact Communications and Media Relations at 508-565-1321.