Topic: University of Massachusetts Amherst

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20 non-fiction books to watch for in 2012

Here’s a sampling of some of the more promising early 2012 nonfiction titles.
In Pictures: Real-life wonder women
Financial aid: One of six tools to graduate debt-free

Financial aid dwindling. Rising tuition. College debt over $20,000. Financing a college education can be as hard as paying off a McMansion on an adjustable-rate mortgage. Here are six ways you can trim or eliminate college debt.
4 recent cases of plagiarism charges in the headlines

Plagiarism charges regularly plague the book world, often resulting in tarnished reputations. For those accused, the allegations are humiliating, while the writers plagiarized often feel themselves to be the victims of a theft for which they are never fully compensated. In recent cases, plagiarism charges have swirled around a variety of different kinds of publications: an award-wining French novel, a 2006 congressional report, the memoir of former President George W. Bush, and the "Harry Potter" series.
Résumé writing 101: Keywords can make you stand out

Employers need quick ways to sort through the thousands of résumés they receive. One favorite method is the keyword search. If you use the keywords companies are looking for, your résumé has a better chance of standing out, job-search advisers say. Here are five résumé-writing tips to take advantage of keywords:

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Elbowing our way to better writing

A new book argues that people would write better if they connected better with their true 'mother tongue': spoken language.
NCAA Tournament: 16 remain, with some 'Sweet' matchups

A selective preview of some of the more intriguing matchups in the so-called 'Sweet 16' - the round of sixteen remaining teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament - taking place on Thursday, March 22 and Friday, March 23.
Minimum wage milestone: Why Washington State surpassed $9 an hour

Minimum wage laws raised the wage floor in eight states as of Jan. 1. Washington now tops all states, at $9.04 an hour. Economic effects of raising the minimum wage are in hot dispute.
20 non-fiction books to watch for in 2012

Here’s a sampling of some of the more promising early 2012 nonfiction titles.
Is the EPA really a 'jobs killer'?

For Republicans, the EPA ranks up there with the IRS as one of the most-reviled agencies in Washington, calling it a 'jobs killer.' The record of the Obama EPA, though, is more nuanced.
Difference Maker
Ned Eames uses tennis to boost inner-city reading skills and graduation rates

Tennis helped Ned Eames thrive during his childhood – now he uses it to help Boston kids improve their reading skills and stay in school.
Feds warn colleges: handle sexual assault reports properly

The Obama administration has taken a tougher stance after federal officials saw problems at a number of schools. But some say the administration is taking things too far.
EPA tells coal-fired plants to reduce pollution. Some may just shut down.

The details of new EPA regulations, released Thursday, mandate reductions in power-plant emissions. 'Old, decrepit plants' without pollution controls may be just too costly to retrofit and be shut down by their owners, say analysts.
Whitey Bulger caught: why he topped FBI most-wanted list

Who is Whitey Bulger, and why does Wednesday's arrest of this aging crime boss matter so much to the FBI?
Whitey Bulger, ruthless Boston mob boss, caught by FBI in California

Whitey Bulger: After an international manhunt, the FBI finally caught the 81-year-old Bulger at an apartment in Santa Monica along with longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig on Wednesday.
Does prayer exist, in Washington's eyes?

Despite a big leap in the use of prayer for health among Americans, the government has decided not to study it as a complement or alternative to medicine.
NCAA Tournament: Boston University loads its slingshot for Goliath Kansas

Boston University, 16th seed and victor of the America East conference championship, faces the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks in an opening round West Regional NCAA tournament basketball game tonight at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (6:50 p.m. Eastern time, TBS).
Are brothels and bikinis signs of progress for Arab women?

No. So why has the Western media used them as a gauge of social freedoms? Sexual exploitation isn't sexual liberation. Women in the emerging democratic movements in the Middle East stand between the twin dangers of Islamist and secular fundamentalism. They deserve better.
In Pictures: Real-life wonder women
Financial aid: One of six tools to graduate debt-free

Financial aid dwindling. Rising tuition. College debt over $20,000. Financing a college education can be as hard as paying off a McMansion on an adjustable-rate mortgage. Here are six ways you can trim or eliminate college debt.
Toxic toy recalls: an opening for US 'green' toys

Because of recalls of toxic toys in recent years, small US firms are pushing nontoxic, organic toys for Christmas.
Melting Arctic ice heralds new polar hybrids: Pizzlies and more

A pizzlie is a cross between a polar bear and a grizzly bear, and this new hybrid animal may foreshadow as many as 34 hybrids to come as Arctic ice melts, say scientists.
4 recent cases of plagiarism charges in the headlines

Plagiarism charges regularly plague the book world, often resulting in tarnished reputations. For those accused, the allegations are humiliating, while the writers plagiarized often feel themselves to be the victims of a theft for which they are never fully compensated. In recent cases, plagiarism charges have swirled around a variety of different kinds of publications: an award-wining French novel, a 2006 congressional report, the memoir of former President George W. Bush, and the "Harry Potter" series.
Beyond the scary Christmas list: the full parenting price tag

The parenting price tag has soared to about $220,000 per child. If you think the kids' Christmas list is hefty, there's no end in sight to the add-ons Americans can think of in the cultivation of kids.
Midnight madness: 'Deathly Hallows, Part 1' sets a Harry Potter record

Midnight screenings bring home $24 million for 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1,' as costumed and spell-chanting fans throng movie theaters across the country.
Chapter & Verse
Getting out of college debt-free

Zac Bissonnette, author of “Debt-Free U," hopes to change the way that you think about college.
Résumé writing 101: Keywords can make you stand out

Employers need quick ways to sort through the thousands of résumés they receive. One favorite method is the keyword search. If you use the keywords companies are looking for, your résumé has a better chance of standing out, job-search advisers say. Here are five résumé-writing tips to take advantage of keywords:
Top Bing and Google search tip: Cut to the chase

When using Bing and Google, eliminate words that search engines will regard as noise, or that introduce ambiguity.
Sex for sale: Why Sweden punishes buyers

To combat prostitution and sex trafficking, Sweden made it illegal to buy sexual services in 1999. Its record since then stands out amid the failures of legalized prostitution elsewhere in Europe.
New research explains the physics of wrinkles

A new study of the physics of wrinkles – on our clothes or skin – helps iron out some of the uncertainty.