6A
NEWS / TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
NATIONAL
KU research funding may decrease
BY CHRISTINE CURTIN ccurtin@kansan.com
ccurtin@kansan.com
The University is one of the 50 highest-ranked public research universities in the country. But with the U.S. House of Representatives' approval of H.R.1, research funding will take a hit, and those cuts could hit close to home.
could fit close to his head. The federal budget deficit is skyrocketting, and government officials are making changes to ensure the country doesn't fall even deeper into a black hole of spending. H.R. 1 is a bill that lists the federal government's funding for 2011.
Kevin Boatright, director of communications for the University's Office of Research and Graduate Studies, said the
discretionary portions of the budget which include science and research are oftentimes what take the most hits when budget difficulties happen.
"There is support for increasing research but we're in a budget environment where something has to go." Boatright said. "Unfortunately, that's an easy place to cut, even if it will have negative effects somewhere down the road."
While the cuts may affect the U.S.'s stance as a leading science and research developer, they also may impact researchers here on campus.
"KU has perfectly good people and great facilities, it's just tougher and tougher to obtain grant funding because competition is increasing. More people need the grants and the federal government's support for that has been relatively flat," Boatright said.
Not only is the federal funding important to research, but it's also important to the overall education of university students, as well.
"Federal research grants not only provide the funding for test tubes, lab equipment, or chemicals, but they provide the financial support for graduate students to continue their education as well as learning critical research skills in labs," Keith Yehle, director of federal relations for the University, said.
Boatright also said that a lot of the University's grant funding winds up as salaries for researchers or pays for research equipment.
ment. President Obama has been pushing for an increase in research
budgets, even highlighting innovation in his State of the Union address earlier this year. However Senate Democrats are proposing research cuts as well, just in lesser amounts.
With debates rising over the cuts and decreased funding imminent, an uncertainty is rising about what faculty and student can expect in terms of research money at the university.
"The funded research that comes from the federal government is the life-blood of research on this campus." Boatright said. "The prospect that that level of funding may reduce has serious repercussions for the future of our country and quality of our universities."
Edited by Sean Tokarz
A Tale of Two Budgets
Research and Development: Non-defense
Research and Development: Defense
Graphic by Ben Sullivan
ENTERTAINMENT
Sheen dismissed from CBS show
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
LOS ANGELES — CBS is down to one and a half men.
The move to fire Sheen follows several weeks of highly public battling by the actor against CBS, Warner Bros. and "Two and a Half Men" co-creator Chuck Lorre.
Charlie Sheen, star of the network's hit show "Two and a Half Men", was thrown off the show Monday by Warner Bros., the studio that produces the situation comedy.
In a letter to Sheen's lawyer outlining its reasons for his dismissal, Warner Bros. charged that the actor's "erratic behavior" undermined production and said his tabloid lifestyle — which has included brushes with the law, accusations of violence toward women including two of his former wives and hospital trips — has put him in breach of his contract.
"There is ample evidence supporting Warner Bros. reasonable good faith opinion that Mr. Sheen has committed felony offenses involving moral turpitude...that have interfered with his ability to fully and completely render all material services required" under his contract, noted the letter.
his contract.
Sheen's "self-destructive conduct resulted in his hospitalization, his inability to work at all for a period and the rapid erosion of the cooperative and creative process necessary to produce the show," lawyers representing the studio said in its letter to Sheen's lawyer, Martin Singer. The letter goes on to say that Sheen's admitted drug use and "furishing of cocaine" to others puts him in violation of his contract.
Neither Sheen's manager nor lawyer responded to requests for comment.
rehab treatment at home instead of at a facility, CBS, Warner Bros. and Lorre began to question if he was taking the process seriously according to the letter. Tensions then flared once the actor took to radio and TV interviews proclaiming he was ready to return to work a view the network and studio did not share.
not share. After Sheen disparaged Lorre Warner Bros, and CBS in numerous interviews, the plug was pulled on the show for the remainder of the season.
Neither CBS nor Warner Bros would say if they would attempt to keep "Two and a Half Men" on the air without Sheen. The part Sheen plays — his character, Charlie, is a wealthy jingle writer who blows his money on girls and booze — could be recast. But without its longtime star, the sitcom may not stay on the top of the Nielsen ratings chart.
top of the Nexus. "I think it would be difficult to replace Chai'ie Shen. People associate him so closely with the show and with that character," said Jason Malty, a media buyer with Mindshare, whose clients include American Express, Ford and IBM.
For CBS and Warner Bros. the loss of the show would be a big financial blow. "Two and a Half Men" anchors the network's Monday night schedule and advertisers pay more than $200,000 per commercial to be on the show.
Warner Bros. also has a lot at stake in keeping the show on the air. Reruns of the show generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the studio, and lost episodes mean lost revenue.
For years, Sheen's personal life seemed to have no impact on his ability to get work. Trips to rehab messy divorces and even testifying about his penchant for prostitutes during the trial of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss didn't stop the actor from raking in millions. His current deal for "Two and a Half Men" pays him about $2 million an episode when revenue from reruns is included.
BUSINESS
Skype to use advertisements
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNF
is our first priority, which is why we we've taken a lot of time working through and testing what kind of advertising would work best in the Skype environment."
LOS ANGELES — Skype said Monday that it will include advertisements in its products.
Skype has run test ads from
"Today we announce something new — the launch of advertising in Skype, which will appear in the Home tab in Skype starting this week." Doug Bewser, Skypes chief marketing officer, said in a company blog post. "The Skype experience
"As we roll out ads on a wider basis, we expect to continue to test and learn a lot more, and make any necessary adjustments along the way," he said. "We believe that advertising, when done in the right way, will help us continue to invest in developing great products."
The first ads purchased in the Luxembourg-based company's Internet calling service will come from Groupon, Universal Pictures
DOUG BEWSHER chief marketing officer
"We believe that advertising...will help us continue to invest in developing great projects."
test ads from
Rdio over the past "month or two",
and the first official advertisements
inside of Skype will start running
sometimes this week, Bewsher said.
"Ads will appear in the U.S.,U.K. and Germany, and advertising sales for Skype are initially focused in those markets." Bewshar said. "You may only see ads
and Visa Bewsher said.
occasionally. Our initial plan is to show an ad from one brand per day in each of the markets where advertising is being sold."
Skype, which has about 145 million monthly users, told the Associated Press that ads in its applications can be purchased through companies such as Meebo in the U.S., Ad2One in Britain and Stroer Interactive in Germany.
Users can also opt out of allowing Skype to share such demographic data with its advertisers, which can be done in the Windows apps' Privacy tab under Tools and then Options, he said.
As of now, ads will only show up in the home tab in Skype's application on Microsoft Windows, though the company will be experimenting with ads in other areas and versions of its apps as well, he said.
Skype is promising no "annoying pop-up ads or flashy banner ads in middle of conversations," and it will use "non-personally identifiable demographic data," such as a caller's location, gender and age, to target ads to users who are more likely to find them to be relevant, Bewsher said.
BUSINESS
Boeing wins air tanker contract
WASHINGTON—Boeing's victory in the 10-year aerial tanker saga will stand.
The company's competitor for the $35 billion aerial tanker contract announced Friday that it won't appeal last week's decision by the Air Force to accept Boeing's bid.
The contract calls for 179 new tankers; the deal eventually could be worth more than $100 billion as the Air Force replaces its fleet of 600 or so Eisenhower-era tankers.
The Boeing tanker will be built at its factory in Everett, Wash., and converted to military use at its Wichita, Kan., facilities.
Associated Press