A new article in The New York Times discusses research on the decision-making process we all go through. Citing the work of Dr. Dan Ariely, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the article points to how eliminating some options from our lives can limit the opportunity costs we may face and thus reduces the anguish associated with making an important decision. Dr. Ariely uses a novel research method which tests a subject’s capacity to “let go” despite the emotional loss related to diminished future flexibility. The study portrays how such research can be applied to our every day lives and the choices that we make (or frequently take too long in making). To read more, please click here
February 27th, 2008
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opia |
News |
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A new initiative is spearheading the fight to protect our veterans. The Veterans Rights Project, led by Rachel Natelson of New York’s Urban Justice Center, seeks to address the plight of our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Natelson wants to fight “the unjust and abuse-ridden claims application process, the lack of accountability for recruiting irregularities and sexual harassment and the persistence of the ill-conceived ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.”
While broad in its goals, the fledgling initiative has company such as the NYC Bar Association’s Veterans Legal Clinic. In part, the initiatives want to provide veterans with the advice and legal counsel which they currently can’t get until its too late, due to Federal restrictions.
And it looks like these programs are not a minute too soon. With the U.S. Army reporting current veterans’ levels of “severe stress, emotional, alcohol or family problems” at a rate 85 percent higher than that of 2005, it seems as if our returning soldiers need all the aid they can get.
Despite the necessity of fund raising and the current unpopularity of the Administration’s war policy, Ms. Natelson is firmly committed to “human rights and worker rights” as it relates to our troops. To learn more, please click here.
February 25th, 2008
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For a minority of law school graduates, the legal profession isn’t quite what they’re looking for. Those such as Jason Luros graduate from law school and simply find more available work in fields such as financial planning. Others, however, know the intrinsic value of an advanced degree in law when working with corporate legal departments and getting ahead in their various businesses. Molly Claflin uses her legal education as a stepping stone into politics. Utilizing both the connections she has made and her new-found skills, she has avoided the big-firm jobs in favor of a working for lower-pay but very rewarding position on the Barack Obama campaign.
The idea is that law degrees can be used for a variety of purposes having nothing to do with law and for many graduates, this is an appealing notion. Rachel Knight wants to further her own goals of helping the poor through legal means but at the same time realizes the pressures of having to pay off student loans. As she sees it:
Work in a firm for three years, pay all your debts, then go do what you want. … We’re our own biggest obstacles.
February 6th, 2008
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Jobs, News |
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