Virginia Sullivan: Ahhh Facebook, You Are a Cruel Mistress

The minute I get up to speed on one new facet of Facebook, something happens and I'm confused. It isn't the technology, that's relatively easy to understand. But there are emotional and moral situations popping up daily that catch me off-guard. Still, I get it. I wouldn't want it to change, but now I see that Facebook can be a cruel mistress.

My most recent dilemma is with my grown kids. They were the reason I got on Facebook years ago. They mounted a campaign. "Get with it Mom" they'd say. They cajoled, they begged, and eventually persuaded me to try it.

Now, I'm a pretty trendy Mom, so I wanted to be cool and hip. I setup a FB page, and posted a picture of myself from my Venice vacation. I started inviting friends and family to join me and mounted my own campaigns with non-users.

And a wonderful thing happened. I saw regular pictures of my grandkids all the time. I connected with my nieces and nephews I never saw; I got to hear about how my girlfriends were doing and whose birthday it was. And, some people were so funny! They posted the best and sometimes the wisest things about life, love, the war and politics.

It was great. Finally, instead of having to read the media-crafted version of news, I got instant thoughts by my favorite people. I connected with the broader world in a way I was never able to do. And, I was able to keep people updated on me since I live between two cities.

Yes, I have to admit -- I'm really into it now. I blog and tweet things. I'm not only on Facebook, but I'm on Google+ too. And my kids? I've left them in the dust. They don't even know what Hootsuite is. I mean, how out of it are they?

All this was pretty fun, until I noticed my oldest son was no longer showing up in my Facebook feed. He'd quit Facebook! He was upset when his friends nominated him for a Facebook best picture contest held by their favorite lakeside bar. He was shirtless in the picture with dollar bills pasted on his chest. Yes, you guessed it. The picture won, getting tons of likes. But as much as everyone liked it, he was shocked that he had no control over his picture. So, he bailed on Facebook.

Right around the same time, the posts from my youngest daughter stopped. This was especially tragic to me because this daughter was a wonderful Facebook contributor. She posted great pictures of funny things she saw throughout the day, made comments on local news that were interesting, and posted many kid photos that I loved. Still, she was having some kind of drama with her Facebook friends knowing her business and getting snarky. Ultimately, she eliminated her entire profile. Without any warning at all she was off Facebook... for good.

Two kids down, two kids to go...

Well, the story continues. Last week, my youngest son had an obsessive old girlfriend make trouble for him at work. Have you ever heard of Facestalking? He didn't realize she was facestalking him until she saw that he had a new girlfriend from his postings. Because of this old girlfriend, my son's job is in question. Of course things will work out in the long-run, but it's shocking to think that Facebook is a risk to his livelihood. Needless to say, I received an invitation to his "jumping off of Facebook" party. It's next Wednesday.

I am now down to one child left on Facebook. She is my oldest daughter, and I hope she continues. She lives the furthest away and posts the most wonderful videos of her kids. I can't see her and her family easily, so her postings make me a part of their lives.

But, here's the rub. I miss my kids more than ever now. I hear from them occasionally and maybe see them every couple of weeks. They have their own families, jobs and responsibilities. But I miss knowing who these people are becoming. I spent so many years helping them get to where they are, and now I don't even get to hear about it. Keeping me updated on their life is the last thing on their minds. And I don't want to be like my nagging mother, begging them to let me know what's happening. So, I feel like something is ending that I won't get back.

I guess the moral of the story is that Facebook isn't for the weak of heart. Hopefully the bonds you feel with those you've friended are true ones. And hopefully you'll do what you need to manage your presence, rather than bail. You may be leaving something behind that would be a true loss.

?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/virginia-sullivan/ahhh-facebook-you-are-a-c_b_2781721.html

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The NHL drafts the wrong players due to birthday bias

Public release date: 27-Feb-2013
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Contact: Dottie Barnes
barnesdo@gvsu.edu
616-331-2221
Grand Valley State University

ALLENDALE, Mich. A hockey player's birthday strongly biases how professional teams assess his talent, according to a new study by Grand Valley State University researchers. The findings were published in the online journal PLOS ONE at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057753.

The research, led by Robert Deaner, associate professor of psychology at Grand Valley State, shows that, on average, National Hockey League (NHL) draftees born between July and December are much more likely than those born in the first three months of the year to have successful careers. In particular, 34 percent of draftees were born in the last six months of the year, but these individuals played 42 percent of the games and scored 44 percent of the points accumulated by those in the study. By contrast, those born in the first three months of the year constituted 36 percent of draftees but only played 28 percent of the games and only scored 25 percent of the points.

The study focused on Canadian players because in Canadian youth ice hockey there is a January 1 cut-off date. This means players born later in the year would have been consistently younger than their age group peers.

"There's no doubt that drafting professional athletes is an inexact science," said Deaner. "Plenty of sure-fire first-round picks fizzle while some late-round picks unexpectedly become stars. But our results show that, at least since 1980, NHL teams have been consistently fooled by players' birthdays or something associated with them. They greatly underestimate the promise of players born in the second half of the year, the ones who have always been relatively younger than their peers. For any given draft slot, relatively younger players are about twice as likely to be successful. So if teams really wanted to win, they should have drafted more of the relatively younger players."

BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE

Previous studies have demonstrated relative age effects (RAEs), which occur when those who are relatively older for their age group are more likely to succeed. For example, in elite Canadian youth ice hockey, roughly 40 percent of players are born in the first three months of the year while only 15 percent are born in the last three months. Although RAEs are well established in many sports and educational settings, their underlying causes remain unclear. The new study provides the most direct evidence yet that selection bias is a crucial cause of RAEs. Selection bias means that evaluators, such as teachers and coaches, grant fewer opportunities to relatively younger individuals than is warranted by their talent.

"There are many possible causes of RAEs," said Deaner. "For instance, a youth coach may mainly select relatively older players because those players' greater size means they are actually more likely to help the team. Researchers believe, however, that selection bias is also a big cause of RAEs, but there has never been a direct test of selection bias. We could make this test because we had a good measure of perceived talent, the order or slot in which each player was drafted. And we had good measures of realized talent, how long they were able to stay in the NHL and how many points they scored there. Because relatively younger players consistently performed better than would be expected based on their draft slots, we've shown selection bias."

The researchers admit that they don't fully understand the selection bias they discovered. "We don't know yet why the evaluations of NHL teams are biased, but there are several ways it could work. Because being many months older than one's peers can be a big advantage as a child or early teen, the relatively older players might be more likely to be on the most elite junior teams when they are 17 or 18, and scouts might be swayed by that," said Deaner. "Another possibility, suggested by educational studies, is an 'underdog' effect. This would involve relatively younger individuals developing better work habits so that they improve more in adulthood."

The authors believe their pro hockey results have implications for education. Deaner noted: "We have to be careful about assuming too much because a teacher deciding which children should be tracked into advanced classes is a much different situation than hockey teams assessing which adults are likely to develop into NHL stars. But, for many reasons, one would think that NHL teams should be less biased than educators. First, NHL teams are evaluating adults not children, meaning that relative age differences are proportionally smaller. Second, NHL teams are aware of RAEs, but educators may not be. Third, NHL teams have vast resources to evaluate individuals while educators do not. Fourth, NHL teams pay a steep price for poor evaluation whereas educators may not. So overall, in many situations, evaluations of ability may be greatly colored by an individual's relative age. This may even happen when the teachers and coaches know about RAEs."

###

Co-authors of the study were Aaron Lowen of Grand Valley State University and Steven Cobley of the University of Sydney.

For more information, contact Robert Deaner at robert.deaner@gmail.com.

Robert Deaner joined the Psychology Department at Grand Valley State University in 2006. He earned a doctorate in biological anthropology and anatomy at Duke University and conducted postdoctoral research in the Department of Neurobiology at Duke. His research focuses on applying evolutionary theory to human behavior and investigating sex differences in performance and motivation.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 27-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dottie Barnes
barnesdo@gvsu.edu
616-331-2221
Grand Valley State University

ALLENDALE, Mich. A hockey player's birthday strongly biases how professional teams assess his talent, according to a new study by Grand Valley State University researchers. The findings were published in the online journal PLOS ONE at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057753.

The research, led by Robert Deaner, associate professor of psychology at Grand Valley State, shows that, on average, National Hockey League (NHL) draftees born between July and December are much more likely than those born in the first three months of the year to have successful careers. In particular, 34 percent of draftees were born in the last six months of the year, but these individuals played 42 percent of the games and scored 44 percent of the points accumulated by those in the study. By contrast, those born in the first three months of the year constituted 36 percent of draftees but only played 28 percent of the games and only scored 25 percent of the points.

The study focused on Canadian players because in Canadian youth ice hockey there is a January 1 cut-off date. This means players born later in the year would have been consistently younger than their age group peers.

"There's no doubt that drafting professional athletes is an inexact science," said Deaner. "Plenty of sure-fire first-round picks fizzle while some late-round picks unexpectedly become stars. But our results show that, at least since 1980, NHL teams have been consistently fooled by players' birthdays or something associated with them. They greatly underestimate the promise of players born in the second half of the year, the ones who have always been relatively younger than their peers. For any given draft slot, relatively younger players are about twice as likely to be successful. So if teams really wanted to win, they should have drafted more of the relatively younger players."

BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE

Previous studies have demonstrated relative age effects (RAEs), which occur when those who are relatively older for their age group are more likely to succeed. For example, in elite Canadian youth ice hockey, roughly 40 percent of players are born in the first three months of the year while only 15 percent are born in the last three months. Although RAEs are well established in many sports and educational settings, their underlying causes remain unclear. The new study provides the most direct evidence yet that selection bias is a crucial cause of RAEs. Selection bias means that evaluators, such as teachers and coaches, grant fewer opportunities to relatively younger individuals than is warranted by their talent.

"There are many possible causes of RAEs," said Deaner. "For instance, a youth coach may mainly select relatively older players because those players' greater size means they are actually more likely to help the team. Researchers believe, however, that selection bias is also a big cause of RAEs, but there has never been a direct test of selection bias. We could make this test because we had a good measure of perceived talent, the order or slot in which each player was drafted. And we had good measures of realized talent, how long they were able to stay in the NHL and how many points they scored there. Because relatively younger players consistently performed better than would be expected based on their draft slots, we've shown selection bias."

The researchers admit that they don't fully understand the selection bias they discovered. "We don't know yet why the evaluations of NHL teams are biased, but there are several ways it could work. Because being many months older than one's peers can be a big advantage as a child or early teen, the relatively older players might be more likely to be on the most elite junior teams when they are 17 or 18, and scouts might be swayed by that," said Deaner. "Another possibility, suggested by educational studies, is an 'underdog' effect. This would involve relatively younger individuals developing better work habits so that they improve more in adulthood."

The authors believe their pro hockey results have implications for education. Deaner noted: "We have to be careful about assuming too much because a teacher deciding which children should be tracked into advanced classes is a much different situation than hockey teams assessing which adults are likely to develop into NHL stars. But, for many reasons, one would think that NHL teams should be less biased than educators. First, NHL teams are evaluating adults not children, meaning that relative age differences are proportionally smaller. Second, NHL teams are aware of RAEs, but educators may not be. Third, NHL teams have vast resources to evaluate individuals while educators do not. Fourth, NHL teams pay a steep price for poor evaluation whereas educators may not. So overall, in many situations, evaluations of ability may be greatly colored by an individual's relative age. This may even happen when the teachers and coaches know about RAEs."

###

Co-authors of the study were Aaron Lowen of Grand Valley State University and Steven Cobley of the University of Sydney.

For more information, contact Robert Deaner at robert.deaner@gmail.com.

Robert Deaner joined the Psychology Department at Grand Valley State University in 2006. He earned a doctorate in biological anthropology and anatomy at Duke University and conducted postdoctoral research in the Department of Neurobiology at Duke. His research focuses on applying evolutionary theory to human behavior and investigating sex differences in performance and motivation.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/gvsu-tnd022513.php

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500-million-year-old sea creature unearthed

Yie Jang (Yunnan University)

Scientists have unearthed a stunningly preserved arthropod, called a fuxhianhuiid, in a flipped position that reveals its feeding limbs and nervous system.

By Tia Ghose
LiveScience

Scientists have unearthed extraordinarily preserved fossils of a 520-million-year-old sea creature, one of the earliest animal fossils ever found, according to a new study.

The fossilized animal, an arthropod?called a fuxhianhuiid, has primitive limbs under its head, as well as the earliest example of a nervous system that extended past the head. The primitive creature may have used the limbs to push food into its mouth as it crept across the seafloor. The limbs may shed light on the evolutionary history of arthropods, which include crustaceans and insects.

"Since biologists rely heavily on organization of head appendages to classify arthropod groups, such as insects and spiders, our study provides a crucial reference point for reconstructing the evolutionary history and relationships of the most diverse and abundant animals on Earth," said study co-author Javier Ortega-Hern?ndez, an earth scientist at the University of Cambridge, in a statement. "This is as early as we can currently see into arthropod limb development."

The findings were published Wednesday?in the journal Nature.

Primordial animal
The fuxhianhuiid lived nearly 50 million years before animals first emerged from the sea onto land, during the early part of the Cambrian explosion, when simple multicellular organisms rapidly evolved into complex sea life. [See Images of the Wacky Cambrian Creatures?]

While paleontologists have unearthed previous examples of a fuxhianhuiid before, the fossils were all found in the head-down position, with their delicate internal organs obscured by a large carapace or shell.

However, when Ortega-Hern?ndez and his colleagues began excavating in a fossil-rich region of southwest China around Kunming called Xiaoshiba, they unearthed several specimens of fuxhianhuiid where the bodies had been flipped before fossilization. All told, the team unearthed an amazingly preserved arthropod, as well as eight additional specimens.

These primeval creatures probably spent most of their days crawling across the seabed trawling for food and may have also been able to swim short distances. The sea creatures, some of the earliest arthropods or jointed animals, probably evolved from worms with legs.

The discovery sheds light on how some of the earliest ancestors of today's animals may have evolved.

"These fossils are our best window to see the most primitive state of animals as we know them ? including us," Ortega-Hern?ndez said in a statement. "Before that there is no clear indication in the fossil record of whether something was an animal or a plant ? but we are still filling in the details, of which this is an important one."

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter @tiaghose?or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.?

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17119273-500-million-year-old-sea-creature-unearthed?lite

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Dan Henderson gets bigger payday than Ronda Rousey, but disclosed sums don?t tell whole story

The California Athletic Commission announced the reported salaries from UFC 157 over the weekend. While Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche dominated headlines with the first female bout in UFC history, it was Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson who made the biggest sums of reported money after squaring off in 157's co-main event.

Here are the reported salaries of the top five fights from the card (via MMA Weekly):

Ronda Rousey: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus) def. Liz Carmouche: $12,000

Lyoto Machida: $200,000 (no win bonus) def. Dan Henderson: $250,000

Urijah Faber: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) def. Ivan Menjivar: $17,000

Court McGee: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Josh Neer: $16,000

Robbie Lawler: $105,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Josh Koscheck: $78,000

It may stand out to the casual fan that Rousey and Carmouche made much less money on paper than Henderson and Machida. But there are a few things to consider as the money disclosed here is only what promoters are required to report by law.

It does not include money the fighters make of pay-per-view sales. Quite often, fighters at the top of the card will make a percentage of the pay-per-view profits. Early reports have UFC 157 with 400-500,000 pay-per-views, so it could mean a good payday for the headliners.

The UFC also is known to give out "locker room bonuses," or extra money because of a good performance that they are not required to report to the athletic commissions.

During the run-up to UFC 157, Carmouche talked about how she didn't have much furniture in her home and drove a rundown car. UFC president Dana White promised after the fights that her furniture-less days are over.

"She going to have a kitchen table, and a couch, and whatever else the [expletive] she wants," White said.

Also, Henderson and Machida are UFC veterans whose payouts are decided by their contracts well in advance of their fights. Rousey and Carmouche were the main event because the UFC standard is to put the championship fight as the main event. Henderson and Machida taking home more listed money is akin to Mike Trout making $480,000 and Vernon Wells making $21 million for the Los Angeles Angels. Trout finished second in American League MVP voting but makes much less because he's a rookie and not a veteran like Wells.

To use another example, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made much less money than backup Alex Smith. Kaepernick will eventually get paid as his star blossoms but it doesn't change the paycheck he took home from the Super Bowl.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/dan-henderson-gets-biggest-pay-day-ufc-157-215628008--mma.html

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Huawei Ascend W1 launching March 7th in UK on O2: free from ?13.50 per month or ?120 on PAYG

We're starting to think Microsoft is onto something with Windows Phone 8, an OS that's capable of delivering a solid user experience on mediocre handset specs. UK network provider O2 seems to feel the same, and in addition to pushing Nokia's Lumia 620 at an attractively low price, has bagged exclusivity for Huawei's Ascend W1. We originally heard the device would be available sometime in Q1, but now we have a specific date: March 7th. Well, that's when you can pick up the "Electric Blue" model, anyway, with an "Electric Pink" option arriving March 18th. It'll cost £120 (around $182 dollars) if you opt for PAYG (SIM-locked, no doubt), or free on contracts starting at £13.50 per month. Sold on those wallet-friendly numbers? Then head past the break and pick out your color.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/tG3gFuGo4LY/

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Afterschool programs evaluated for community support, resources

Public release date: 26-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Victoria M. Indivero
vmi1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Afterschool programs seem to be most effective when their organization and implementation is supported by both organizational and community resources, according to Penn State human development researchers.

Using a tool to help bridge the gap between research and real life, the researchers evaluated an afterschool program called the Good Behavior Game.

"The Interactive System Framework for Dissemination and Implementation is the tool that helps us to bridge research and practice by synthesizing the available research and figuring out what it will take to help real people and communities use that research," said Emilie Phillips Smith, professor of human development and family studies.

There are three aspects to the Interactive Systems Framework that evaluate the effectiveness of translating research into practice when it comes to preventing substance abuse and problem behavior in school-age children. Smith and colleagues focused specifically on the delivery of the Good Behavior Game, and used the Interactive Systems Framework as their guide. They reported their findings in a recent special issue of the American Journal of Community Psychology.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) was developed to help improve behavior in elementary school classrooms, and has been proven effective in reducing substance abuse in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In this study, the researchers introduced GBG in 12 school-based afterschool programs in both urban and rural areas in Pennsylvania and monitored the ability of each program to successfully implement the game.

Eight of the programs were randomly assigned to implement GBG, while the remaining four programs served as the control and continued without any changes.

The researchers assessed each organization's resources, such as staffing ratios, space, materials and regular internal communication, as well as its connectedness to community resources. To help determine afterschool organization resources, program directors completed surveys that asked questions about resource availability, organizational structure and management style. The same survey measured community collaboration using questions addressing the afterschool program's level of collaboration with community agencies, schools and parents; number of volunteers for programs; materials and supplies; funding; and the number of community collaborators that provided resources for children.

Implementation of GBG on the eight sites using the intervention was measured by those coaching the afterschool program staff on best practices. The coaches measured both quantity and quality of implementation.

The researchers found that afterschool programs that rated high for organizational ability, but low for community involvement were less likely to implement GBG effectively. Programs that had a lot of community involvement, but little organizational ability were less likely to implement GBG effectively. If a program had community involvement as well as organizational resources, it fared well.

"This study highlights the importance of considering interactions among multiple levels of general capacity in efforts to promote evidence-based practices in afterschool settings," the researchers wrote.

Good internal organization and the capacity to connect to the community in meaningful ways are trademarks of programs that implement best practices well.

Smith noted that these findings are based on phase one of their pilot study. She and her team have already expanded the implementation of GBG to 72 afterschool program sites, and are further exploring its influence and effect.

###

Other members of the research team were Linda C. Halgunseth, then a research associate at Penn State, now assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Connecticut; Chakema Carmack, then a prevention and methodology postdoctoral scholar; Sharon S. Childs, lecturer in applied linguistics at Penn State; Linda Caldwell, Distinguished Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management at Penn State; and Amanda Craig, a former Penn State undergraduate who now works for as a policy aide for a New Jersey congresswoman.

The William T. Grant Foundation, the Wallace Foundation and the National Institute for Drug Abuse supported this research.

**vmi**

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 26-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Victoria M. Indivero
vmi1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Afterschool programs seem to be most effective when their organization and implementation is supported by both organizational and community resources, according to Penn State human development researchers.

Using a tool to help bridge the gap between research and real life, the researchers evaluated an afterschool program called the Good Behavior Game.

"The Interactive System Framework for Dissemination and Implementation is the tool that helps us to bridge research and practice by synthesizing the available research and figuring out what it will take to help real people and communities use that research," said Emilie Phillips Smith, professor of human development and family studies.

There are three aspects to the Interactive Systems Framework that evaluate the effectiveness of translating research into practice when it comes to preventing substance abuse and problem behavior in school-age children. Smith and colleagues focused specifically on the delivery of the Good Behavior Game, and used the Interactive Systems Framework as their guide. They reported their findings in a recent special issue of the American Journal of Community Psychology.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) was developed to help improve behavior in elementary school classrooms, and has been proven effective in reducing substance abuse in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In this study, the researchers introduced GBG in 12 school-based afterschool programs in both urban and rural areas in Pennsylvania and monitored the ability of each program to successfully implement the game.

Eight of the programs were randomly assigned to implement GBG, while the remaining four programs served as the control and continued without any changes.

The researchers assessed each organization's resources, such as staffing ratios, space, materials and regular internal communication, as well as its connectedness to community resources. To help determine afterschool organization resources, program directors completed surveys that asked questions about resource availability, organizational structure and management style. The same survey measured community collaboration using questions addressing the afterschool program's level of collaboration with community agencies, schools and parents; number of volunteers for programs; materials and supplies; funding; and the number of community collaborators that provided resources for children.

Implementation of GBG on the eight sites using the intervention was measured by those coaching the afterschool program staff on best practices. The coaches measured both quantity and quality of implementation.

The researchers found that afterschool programs that rated high for organizational ability, but low for community involvement were less likely to implement GBG effectively. Programs that had a lot of community involvement, but little organizational ability were less likely to implement GBG effectively. If a program had community involvement as well as organizational resources, it fared well.

"This study highlights the importance of considering interactions among multiple levels of general capacity in efforts to promote evidence-based practices in afterschool settings," the researchers wrote.

Good internal organization and the capacity to connect to the community in meaningful ways are trademarks of programs that implement best practices well.

Smith noted that these findings are based on phase one of their pilot study. She and her team have already expanded the implementation of GBG to 72 afterschool program sites, and are further exploring its influence and effect.

###

Other members of the research team were Linda C. Halgunseth, then a research associate at Penn State, now assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Connecticut; Chakema Carmack, then a prevention and methodology postdoctoral scholar; Sharon S. Childs, lecturer in applied linguistics at Penn State; Linda Caldwell, Distinguished Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management at Penn State; and Amanda Craig, a former Penn State undergraduate who now works for as a policy aide for a New Jersey congresswoman.

The William T. Grant Foundation, the Wallace Foundation and the National Institute for Drug Abuse supported this research.

**vmi**

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/ps-ape022613.php

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Landmark civil rights law faces critical Supreme Court test

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images, file

U.S. Supreme Court members (first row L-R) Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (back row L-R) Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Samuel Alito and Associate Justice Elena Kagan.

?

By Pete Williams, NBC News Justice Correspondent

The U.S. Supreme Court this week will consider whether a landmark civil rights law, the Voting Rights Act, remains constitutionally valid, given the growth in the political power of minority voters and candidates.

Civil rights groups fear the court's conservatives are prepared to gut what the ACLU calls "the most important piece of civil rights legislation Congress has ever enacted."

The justices will hear oral arguments in the case Wednesday and rule sometime before the current court term ends in late June.

Passed by Congress in 1965 and renewed four times since then, most recently in 2006, a key provision of the law requires states with a history of discrimination at the polls to get federal permission before making any changes to their election procedures ? from congressional redistricting to changing the locations of polling places.

The law was at the core of last year's successful efforts to block strict voter photo ID laws in Texas and South Carolina and to prevent Texas from redrawing its legislative and congressional boundaries in a manner that challengers claimed would have discriminated against minority voters.

"The last election vividly showed that voter suppression and voting discrimination are not just problems of the past. They continue to undermine our democratic process," says the ACLU's Steve Shapiro.

The challenge to the law comes from Shelby County, Alabama, a mostly white suburb south of Birmingham.? It argues that the pre-clearance requirement ? which covers nine entire states and 66 counties or townships in seven others ? is unconstitutional.

The areas covered by the law, it says, include some localities that have made substantial reforms but leave out other parts of the country that have failed to root out discrimination at the polls.

"Florida has been forced into pre-clearance litigation to prove that reducing early voting from 14 days to 8 is not discriminatory, when states such as Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania have no early voting at all," says Bert Rein of Washington, DC, the lawyer for the county.

While the history of blatant discrimination at the polls justified renewing the law in the past, Shelby County says, Congress failed to marshal enough evidence in 2006 to justify extending it for another 25 years.? "At most, the 2006 legislative record shows scattered and limited interference with voting rights, a level plainly insufficient" to sustain the pre-clearance requirement, Rein says.

Since 1990, adds Alabama?s Attorney General, Luther Strange, African Americans in the state have registered and voted in larger percentages than in states outside the South.

?African Americans hold seats in the legislature at percentages that are roughly commensurate with Alabama?s 26 percent African-American population,? Strange says.

But the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund says the current map is a close enough fit to cover the areas of greatest concern.? "Congress is not a surgeon with a scalpel when it acts to legislate across the fivty states, but it can reasonably attack discrimination where it finds it," the group says.

If the law were struck down, civil rights groups fear the areas covered by the law would revert to their old habits.

Warns the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human rights, ?There is a significant risk of backsliding and a likelihood that millions of minority voters will face new barriers to the exercise of their most fundamental human right.?

President Obama expressed a similar sentiment in a radio interview last week. If covered jurisdictions no longer had to defend their electoral changes in advance, Obama said, civil rights groups would be forced to file lawsuits after voting changes were already in place.

?There are some parts of the country where obviously folks have been trying to make it harder for people to vote. So generally speaking, you?d see less protection before an election with respect to voting rights,? Mr. Obama said.

The Justice Department, which is defending the law before the Supreme Court, argues that the coverage formula is flexible, allowing local governments to bail out of the pre-clearance requirement if they can demonstrate they have not discriminated against minority voters for at least ten years.

During the past three decades, 38 bailouts have been granted, freeing 196 local jurisdictions of the preclearance requirement, the Justice Department says.? They include the first ever granted from parts of Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia, four of the states that are otherwise covered by the law.

Four years ago, the Supreme Court strongly suggested that several justices had doubts about its constitutionality, given recent electoral reforms. "Things have changed in the South," the court said in 2009.? "Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare."

The court then went on to reject a constitutional challenge to the pre-clearance requirement, but it strongly suggested Congress should update the coverage formula.? Because, however, no changes have since made, the court may prepared to go the rest of the way this time.

Source: http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17077448-landmark-civil-rights-law-faces-critical-supreme-court-test?lite

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'Spider Sense' suit trades sight for touch

Devin Coldewey , NBC News ? ? ? 7 hrs.

A student project has resulted in a suit that mimics Spider-Man's famous "spider sense," allowing the wearer to sense obstacles and other people without the benefit of sight. It still has a ways to go, though, so using it to fight crime is not advised.

Victor Mateevisti at the University of Illinois, Chicago decided to investigate whether something like an enhanced sense of one's environment can be created with off-the-shelf sensors and hardware. The answer is: Not quite yet, but we're getting there.

The suit consists of ultrasonic rangefinders placed at various attitudes that feed into a central processor. That processor sends signals to small mechanical arms that put pressure on the body in the general region of the object detected.

The approach is similar to that of the Tacit, a hand-worn "sonar for the blind" that translates distance into pressure, but the SpiderSense suit detects its environment in several directions at once.

So, for example, if a person were to approach someone wearing this suit from behind, the sensor would detect that person when they came in range and pressure would be applied to the user's back. If they came from the left, pressure would be applied on the left.

Experiments with a blindfolded test subject had mixed results. In some situations, such as a simple hallway or open area with pedestrians coming and going, the test subject could accurately detect the direction and distance of obstacles (and even hit them with cardboard throwing stars made for that purpose).

On the other hand, navigating the aisles of the library proved impractical: the narrow corridors and openings didn't produce intelligible information.

Mateevitsi told New Scientist that the goal isn't necessarily a whole suit. A limited version of the system could be used by a bicyclist to be better aware of traffic behind him, for instance.

The results and methodology of the project can be viewed in Mateevitsi's paper (PDF); The findings will also be presented next week at the Augmented Human conference in Stuttgart, Germany.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/spider-sense-suit-trades-sight-touch-1C8543844

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China takes steps to clean up 'cancer villages'

The Chinese government has acknowledged the existence of "cancer villages": areas where rates of cancer are unusually high, probably because of industrial and agricultural contamination of drinking and irrigation water.

The reference to the cancer clusters was in China's first ever five-year plan for environmental management of chemicals, released on 20 February. The Chinese media, translating parts of the report, said it links water pollution to "serious cases of health and social problems like the emergence of cancer villages in individual regions".

The term has caught on over the past few years as the media in China and elsewhere reported on apparent cancer hotspots. It gained prominence in 2009 when a journalist plotted 40 of them on a Google Map. Some reports have suggested there might be more than 450 such clusters.

According to recent data, deaths from cancer in China increased by 80 per cent between 1970 and 2004. The disease now accounts for 25 per cent of deaths in cities and 21 per cent in rural areas. However, people in China have an 18.9 per cent risk of getting cancer before the age of 75, compared with 29.9 per cent for people in the US and 26.3 per cent in the UK.

One "typical cancer village", as it was called by researchers from Dezhou University in Shandong province who studied it in 2008, had between 80 and 100 deaths from cancer over five years in a population of only 1200.

But proving a link between pollution and cancer requires more detailed evidence, says Tim Driscoll, an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney and science adviser to Cancer Council Australia. However, Driscoll also says it doesn't really matter ? if there is dangerous pollution anywhere, it should be cleaned up.

And that is the plan. China's Ministry for Environmental Protection has drawn up a list of 58 chemicals that will be tracked with a registry, including known and suspected carcinogens and endocrine disrupters. Before the end of the 2015, they will subdivide the list into chemicals to be eliminated and those to be reduced.

Big shift

Creating a plan to eliminate some chemicals is a big shift, says Yixiu Wu, a Greenpeace East Asia campaigner based in Beijing, who says even committing to controlling these chemicals would have been a step forward.

The ministry's acknowledgement of the problem is "really important and it is another reflection of the government's shift towards more transparency in pollution information," says Sabrina Orlins from the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a non-profit body in Beijing.

"Increased environmental information leads to increased public awareness where people can have the chance to exert pressure on big water polluters to adopt clean-up measures and be more accountable," she says.

That accountability is where the five-year plan is lacking, says Wu. "It is still a question whether the government is willing to release all the information about the factory locations and their environmental risk," she says. "It is very important for people who are living nearby."

Wu says the motivation to develop the plan comes from an increasing awareness of the human cost of pollution as well as the country signing up to several international conventions designed to curb pollution.

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Pain from the brain: Diseases formerly known as 'hysterical' illnesses

Feb. 24, 2013 ? Psychogenic diseases, formerly known as 'hysterical' illnesses, can have many severe symptoms such as painful cramps or paralysis but without any physical explanation. However, new research from the University of Cambridge and UCL (University College London) suggests that individuals with psychogenic disease, that is to say physical illness that stems from emotional or mental stresses, do have brains that function differently. The research was published February 25, in the journal Brain.

Psychogenic diseases may look very similar to illnesses caused by damage to nerves, the brain or the muscles, or similar to genetic diseases of the nervous system. However, unlike organic diseases, psychogenic diseases do not have any apparent physical cause, making them difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat.

"The processes leading to these disorders are poorly understood, complex and highly variable. As a result, treatments are also complex, often lengthy and in many cases there is poor recovery. In order to improve treatment of these disorders, it is important to first understand the underlying mechanism," said Dr James Rowe from the University of Cambridge.

The study looked at people with either psychogenic or organic dystonia, as well as healthy people with no dystonia. Both types of dystonia caused painful and disabling muscle contractions affecting the leg. The organic patient group had a gene mutation (the DYT1 gene) that caused their dystonia. The psychogenic patients had the symptoms of dystonia but did not have any physical explanation for the disease, even after extensive investigations.

The scientists performed PET brain scans on the volunteers at UCL, to measure the blood flow and brain activity of both of the groups, and healthy volunteers. The participants were scanned with three different foot positions: resting, moving their foot, and holding their leg in a dystonic position. The electrical activity of the leg muscles was measured at the same time to determine which muscles were engaged during the scans.

The researchers found that the brain function of individuals with the psychogenic illness was not normal. The changes were, however, very different from the brains of individuals with the organic (genetic) disease.

Dr Anette Schrag, from UCL, said: "Finding abnormalities of brain function that are very different from those in the organic form of dystonia opens up a way for researchers to learn how psychological factors can, by changing brain function, lead to physical problems."

Dr Rowe added: "What struck me was just how very different the abnormal brain function was in patients with the genetic and the psychogenic dystonia. Even more striking was that the differences were there all the time, whether the patients were resting or trying to move."

Additionally, the researchers found that one part of the brain previously thought to indicate psychogenic disease is unreliable: abnormal activity of the prefrontal cortex was thought to be the hallmark of psychogenic diseases. In this study, the scientists showed that this abnormality is not unique to psychogenic disease, since activity was also present in the patients with the genetic cause of dystonia when they tried to move their foot.

Dr Arpan Mehta, from the University of Cambridge, said: "It is interesting that, despite the differences, both types of patient had one thing in common -- a problem at the front of the brain. This area controls attention to our movements and although the abnormality is not unique to psychogenic dystonia, it is part of the problem."

This type of illness is very common. Dr Schrag said: "One in six patients that see a neurologist has a psychogenic illness. They are as ill as someone with organic disease, but with a different cause and different treatment needs. Understanding these disorders, diagnosing them early and finding the right treatment are all clearly very important. We are hopeful that these results might help doctors and patients understand the mechanism leading to this disorder, and guide better treatments."

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/1FMDTf7Ajyk/130225092250.htm

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Is Homeschooling An Effective Educational Option? Look At These ...

Lots of people don't have the funds for for his or her children to visit individual colleges, nevertheless they would like them to get the best schooling possible. For them, home schooling is a great alternative. When you know the very best property-education strategies, you will see on it your children have the education they are entitled to. Please read on for some guidance which will help.

Routine is extremely important when you are home schooling. This can retain the family prepared and you will be able to ensure that you get every thing completed. Locate a schedule that really works for all. It might really just indicate targets to accomplish issues prior to establish periods.

While you are looking to teach your young ones, repetition is key. Because of this , countless teachers and training ideas recommend vocabularly lists, spelling exams, and descriptions worksheets. You can do this via rhymes, tracks and other resources, for example flash greeting cards.

Artwork needs to be used in studying record, British and even math concepts. Have your children do an art form project about every thing you find out about. Permit them to use their imagination to the full. They can sing, work, develop and much more! By pushing them to contemplate a topic in new methods, you may make sure that they are finding out how to the max magnitude probable.

Home schooling has a sizeable part of your time and efforts and might leave you feeling emphasized about other house work. The whole family must be responsible for maintaining the housework done, but you may also want to hire a maid assistance as needed.

Think about strategies to give your youngster the opportunity to make friends. You require to create different methods of doing points because they do not check out a standard school. Take a discipline getaway with other homeschool families. The kids can enjoy on the crew within the geographic area. Becoming a boy look or lady search is another technique for here your kids to get odds to make friends when studying beneficial skills.

List all the pros and cons you can think of about public institution, and then develop a list about home schooling. Utilize your list to draft your plans for home schooling, making sure that your kids receives the very best education achievable. It can become a useful listing of things you can do and steer clear of. Put this collection apart and reference it when building a fresh lesson.

Will not be shy concerning your commitment to homeschooling. A lot of people may possibly appear on you for homeschooling your young ones. Hear them, but don't be injured by what they say. Create a list of reasons why you picked homeschooling, and go over this list if judgments manufactured you are feeling poor about your determination. You can not be successful in home schooling should you enable you to ultimately be impacted by what other individuals say regarding this.

Since you have gained much more information about home schooling, you most likely know that it's something that you can do also. Furnished with good information, it is much more achievable than you might have thought. Just placed all you discovered using this post to good use so that you can give your kids the best trainer possible: oneself!

Source: http://colnotion.com/index.php?do=/blog/150004/is-homeschooling-an-effective-educational-option-look-at-these-guidelines/

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Dem Whip Hoyer To GOP: Polling Proves You Better Cave To Obama On Sequestration

Feb 23, 2013 Spit Stixx

Excerpted from The Hill: The No. 2 House Democrat is citing new polling to pressure his GOP colleagues on scheduled automatic spending cuts, as both parties continue to blame the other for sequestration.

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) pointed to a new Bloomberg poll that said that close to 60 percent of people want to turn off the $85 billion in cuts, which are scheduled to start going into effect on Friday, with a mix of other cuts and new revenues.

President Obama and top congressional Democrats are pushing for that approach. But Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP lawmakers say they are not willing to discuss the tax side after the ?fiscal cliff? deal, still less than two months old, raised $600 billion in new revenues.

?So, the American people get it: the only way to responsibly reduce the deficit while protecting our recovering economy is through a balanced approach of both spending cuts and revenues,? Hoyer said in a statement about the looming sequester cuts.

?Republicans, are you listening? Speaker Boehner, in case you lost your copy, here?s House Democrats? alternative to the sequester. We?re ready when you are to take action.?

Hoyer is far from the only prominent Washington official to brandish poll numbers in recent days to make their case on the sequester.

Few around D.C. expect the two sides to come together and find a way to replace the sequester next week, and both parties are looking to ensure that the other takes the blame if the cuts aren?t averted.

Republicans have started citing a new op-ed from Bob Woodward of The Washington Post, in which Woodward claims that Obama has moved the goalposts on the sequester.

GOP officials have cited their own polling that they say shows voters want only spending cuts to replace the sequester cuts, and top lawmakers like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have discussed a laundry list of what they say is wasteful government spending.

?President Obama has said that unless he gets a second tax hike in eight weeks, he will be forced to let criminals loose on the streets, the meat at your grocery store won?t be inspected and emergency responders will be unable to do their jobs,? Cantor said in a statement this week. ?These are false choices.?

The White House, meanwhile, has talked up a recent Pew poll that found that about three in four wanted both taxes and spending cuts in the mix on the sequester.

?When you look at polling, 75 percent of the American people agree with me, that the way to reduce deficit sensibly is through a combination of spending cuts and tax revenue,? Obama said this week.

Source: http://patdollard.com/2013/02/dem-whip-hoyer-to-gop-polling-proves-you-better-cave-to-obama-on-sequestration/

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Rodeo Parade takes over downtown Houston

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Samsung?s New 8-Inch Tablet Takes on the iPad Mini

Samsung Electronics is taking yet another swipe at its longtime partner, Apple. The South Korean manufacturer on Saturday introduced a new 8-inch tablet, intended to compete directly with Apple?s 7.9-inch iPad Mini.

Like Samsung?s other tablets (and unlike the iPad), the Galaxy Tab 8.0 includes a stylus, runs Android software and is capable of showing multiple apps on the screen at the same time. Samsung?s previous tablets came in 7 inches and 10 inches, measured diagonally.

The Galaxy Tab 8.0 will be available for purchase in the second quarter of this year, Samsung said. The company did not list a price. The iPad Mini costs $330.

Apple?s iPad still dominates the tablet market, but tablets from Samsung and Amazon have been gaining traction. Over the last holiday season, Apple sold 22.9 million iPads, Amazon shipped 4.6 million tablets, and Samsung shipped 7.6 million tablets, according to Canalys, a research firm.

Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/samsungs-new-8-inch-tablet-takes-on-the-ipad-mini/

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Tennessee outlasts Texas A&M 93-85 in 4 OTs

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Trae Golden scored a career-high 32 points to lead Tennessee to its fifth straight win, a 93-85 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday in a marathon four-overtime game.

The Volunteers were up by one point in the fourth overtime when Golden made four straight points to make it 85-80. Elston Turner missed a shot for A&M before Skylar McBee's 3-pointer pushed Tennessee's lead to 88-80. McBee made a pair of free throws with less than a minute left to pad the lead, and the Volunteers held on for the win.

It was the first four-overtime game for Tennessee (16-10, 8-6 Southeastern Conference), and the most extra periods the Aggies (16-11, 6-8) have played since dropping a 116-110 five-overtime game to Baylor on Jan. 23, 2008.

Turner had 38 points to lead the Aggies.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.kwes.com/story/21316538/tennessee-outlasts-texas-am-93-85-in-4-ots

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3 political sisters in Pa. convicted of corruption

FILE--These are file photos of former state senator Jane Orie, right, from Feb. 29, 2012, her sister Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, center, from May 18, 2012, and their sister Janine Orie, left, from April 7, 2010. All three sisters were found guilty in campaign corruption crimes. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic/Gene Puskar, FILE)

FILE--These are file photos of former state senator Jane Orie, right, from Feb. 29, 2012, her sister Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, center, from May 18, 2012, and their sister Janine Orie, left, from April 7, 2010. All three sisters were found guilty in campaign corruption crimes. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic/Gene Puskar, FILE)

FILE - In this April 7, 2010 file photo, former Pennsylvania state Sen. Jane Orie, left, her sisters Janine Orie, right, and Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, center right, listen as their brother Jack Orie, center, reads a statement to the press outside a magistrate's office in Pittsburgh. With the conviction of Melvin and Janine Orie on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, and Jane Orie's 2012 conviction, all three sisters were found guilty in campaign related in campaign corruption crimes. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 29, 2012 file photo, former Pennsylvania state Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, walks to the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh. Orie was found guilty and is serving 2? to 10 years in prison for misusing her state-funded staffers on her own campaigns. With the conviction of her sisters, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, and Janine Orie on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, all three sisters were found guilty in campaign corruption crimes. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE--In this April 7, 2010 file photo, Janine Orie leaves a magistrate's office in Pittsburgh after turning herself in. With her conviction along with sister Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, and the 2012 conviction of third sister, former state senator Jane Orie, all three sisters were found guilty in campaign corruption crimes. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, FILE)

FILE - In this May 18, 2012 file photo Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, speaks to reporters outside Pittsburgh Municipal Court in Pittsburgh. With her conviction along with sister Janine Orie on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, and the 2012 conviction of third sister, former state senator Jane Orie, all three sisters were found guilty in campaign corruption crimes. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? The story has more irony than a Greek tragedy. Three sisters from a devoutly Catholic family have seen their personal and political careers ruined by a scandal that began with, of all things, a letter to some nuns.

Thursday's conviction of suspended state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin along with her aide and sister, Janine Orie, on campaign corruption charges mean they might join a third sister ? former state Sen. Jane Orie ? in state prison. No sentencing date has been set.

The former senator was sentenced last year to 2? to 10 years for using her state-paid staff to run her campaigns, though she was acquitted of having them campaign for Melvin, then a lower appellate court judge, who was running for the Supreme Court in 2003 and 2009. Joan Orie Melvin and Janine Orie were convicted in a spinoff investigation and found guilty of similarly misusing Melvin's former staff and the senator's.

Even before the convictions, their careers ? and the family from which they sprang ? were extraordinary.

Dr. John Orie, now 90, and his late wife, Jean, raised nine children including five attorneys, Joan and Jane among them; two cardiologists; a teacher; and a human resources manager, Janine, who worked for her sister Joan Orie Melvin in the lower Superior Court before moving up with her to the Supreme Court.

"It's all pretty unbelievable," said John Burkoff, a university of Pittsburgh law professor who has closely followed the cases. "Whatever you thought about the Orie sisters, whether you liked or didn't like them, you have to look at all of this as tragic."

Jim Roddey is a prominent businessman who heads the Republican Party in Allegheny County, where Republicans are outnumbered more than 2 to 1 by Democrats and where Pittsburgh, the county seat, hasn't elected a GOP mayor since the Great Depression.

Before 2010, when Republican Tom Corbett was elected governor, Jane Orie was the state Senate majority whip ? the highest-ranking elected Republican politician not just in Pennsylvania, but also of several states in the Northeast, Roddey said. And Melvin, elected in November 2009, was one of seven members of the state's highest court.

And now? Jane Orie resigned her Senate seat in May, and Melvin's status on the state's highest court figures to change, one way or another.

State lawmakers have already asked her to resign or face articles of impeachment. If those are approved by the state House, Melvin would be tried by the Senate, which could remove her from office if she hasn't already been removed by the state's Court of Judicial Discipline.

Now that she has been convicted, Melvin has 30 days to respond to charges of misconduct filed with that court by the state's Judicial Conduct Board. If it is determined Melvin has violated professional conduct rules or the state Constitution, or brought disrepute to the judiciary, the court can remove her from office.

Melvin's criminal defense attorneys and her disciplinary court attorney didn't return calls Friday.

The Ories have argued the prosecution is the result of a political vendetta by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr., a Democrat, who has repeatedly denied ulterior motives.

When the investigation first became public in late 2009, the sisters claimed they were being targeted because Zappala's family has interests in legalized gambling, which the Ories opposed expanding in Pennsylvania.

The allegations grew uglier, when Melvin ? after it was known Sen. Orie was being investigated but before the justice was charged ? called for an audit of two child care centers that paid kickbacks to two judges in northeastern Pennsylvania's Luzerne County who sent troubled youths to the facilities. The facilities were co-owned by Gregory Zappala, the prosecutor's brother, who was never charged in the scheme and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

To this day, some Orie supporters still believe those politics ? not justice ? drove the prosecution.

Roddey acknowledges the sisters' success in a politically hostile environment has something to do with that chatter.

"That's part of it," Roddey said. "But the other half of the equation is that her prosecutor was Stephen Zappala, and Joan's biggest public battle was she chastised the Supreme Court for what happened in Luzerne County."

Whatever the motivations, two juries have now found enough evidence to bring the overachieving siblings from triumph to tragedy despite a raft of supporters ? Sen. Orie spent $420 on a chartered bus to bring 50 character witnesses to her trial ? and, even, efforts to seek divine intervention.

During the investigation, which centered on the sisters' emails, prosecutors stumbled onto messages Sen. Orie and Melvin sent to the "angel lady," a Philadelphia psychic who read her client's written questions aloud before claiming to receive a whispered answer from an angel.

The senator and justice sought assurances from the $85-an-hour medium that Zappala's investigation wouldn't result in criminal charges.

But rather than being touched by an angel, the sisters were undone by some nuns.

That happened in late October 2009 ? days before Melvin won her Supreme Court seat ? when a Senate intern complained to Zappala that Sen. Orie's staff was doing campaign work for Melvin.

The complaint centered on a letter Sen. Orie wrote on Melvin's campaign stationery asking Pittsburgh-area nuns to vote for Melvin.

When Orie and Melvin learned of the whistleblowing intern, the senator had a staffer prepare another letter ? a "cover-up" letter, according to prosecutors. This time, Sen. Orie ? on her own stationery ? spoke about civic events of interest to nuns but didn't mention Melvin.

Prosecutors contend the letter was created to make it appear the intern was simply mistaken about what she saw and was never mailed. Eventually, Sen. Orie's and Melvin's staffs told a grand jury about other illegal campaign work done in Orie's Senate offices and Melvin's chambers.

"Frankly, it's a smart group of people. How could they put themselves in this kind of situation?" Burkoff said. "This is the kind of thing we'll be puzzling about for years."

___

Jackson reported from Harrisburg, Pa.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-22-Pennsylvania%20Judge-Corruption/id-2a3093dd252b4c72b10089e4238c2187

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