Teens and Weapons

Rashmi Shetgiri, MD is , Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center



Dr. Shetgiri led a study of what factors influence teens to get involved with weapons. She said emotional distress and substance abuse both increase the odds for white, black and Hispanic youth to carry or use a gun or knife. She also discussed the importance of parents and positive role models in the prevention of youth violence.

A Simple Approach to Personal Finance

Harold Pollack, PhD, is co-author of The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated Dr. Pollack believes that everything Americans need to know about managing their money could fit on a single index card. He explained why his nine simple rules outperform more complicated financial strategies. He also discussed the most responsible way to select a financial advisor and why he felt one of his most important rules should be to support the nation’s social safety net.

Improving the Vocabulary of Teens

Recent studies have found that since 1950, the average teenager’s vocabulary has dropped from 25,000 words to only 10,000. Reading Specialist Maria Corkern said that a limited vocabulary translates into a reduced ability to think critically and communicate effectively, which results poor educational performance. She offered suggestions for parents on how to help a child improve his vocabulary.

Harold Pollack

Harold Pollack teaches at the University of Chicago, where he is the Helen Ross Professor of Social Service Administration, co-director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, and holds other affiliate appointments in biological sciences and public health.



Past president of the Health Politics and Policy section of the American Political Science Association, he received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University. He holds a doctorate degree in Public Policy from Harvard University.



His writings regularly appear in Washington Post, the Nation, the New York Times, New Republic, Atlantic, and other popular publications. His American Prospect essay, \"Lessons from an Emergency Room, Nightmare\" was selected for the collection Best American Medical Writing, 2009.



Professor Pollack is best-known to the general public as the originator of the index card guide to personal finance. This is now a book, co-authored with Helaine Olen.

Harold\'s Book

Maria Corkern

Maria L. Corkern is an elementary school teacher in Alpharetta, Georgia. With the release of Doris TheSaurus, she is now a children\'s book author, too. Reading to her children and students over the years instilled in her a love of children\'s literature. Formerly Maria L. Ross, she was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington and has family ties to South Dakota, as well. She earned a BA from Western Washington University and an M.Ed from University of Alabama, Birmingham. Formally trained in classical, vocal performance, Corkern changed careers to public relations, and later, education. She became an author after discovering the need for children\'s literature that would enhance certain educational curricula.

Doris theSaurus