As the conflict heightens between the United States and Iraq, the University of California, Irvine offers experts available for comment and perspectives on the following issues: POLITICS AND POLICY Inside National Security and Terrorism
Richard Matthew is an expert in unconventional security and transnational security issues such as terrorism, global environmental change and landmines. He can provide perspective on U.S. security policy and countries suspected of sponsoring terrorism. An associate professor of international and environmental politics, Matthew has worked with the Foreign Services Training Center, NATO, the Defense and State Departments on projects related to unconventional security. His fieldwork has been undertaken principally in the developing world, including northern Pakistan, Cambodia, Russia, South Africa and Jordan. Matthew directs the Global Environmental Change and Human Security Research Office at UCI (www.gechs.uci.edu) and an initiative to establish a Center for Unconventional Security Affairs. Contact: Richard Matthew, (949) 824-4852, rmatthew@uci.edu. For additional assistance from our media relations office, please contact Lori Brandt at (949) 824-5484. How Peace Movements Sway Foreign Policy
Cecelia Lynch can offer an in-depth and historic understanding of how today's peace movements may influence foreign policy. An associate professor in the School of Social Sciences, she teaches international relations and culture, religion and world politics, social movements and civil society. Her first book, Beyond Appeasement: Interpreting Interwar Peace Movements in World Politics, examines the role of peace movements and their influence in creating the United Nations. It won the Edgar S. Furniss Award from the Mershon Center at Ohio State University. She has also published articles on the anti-globalization movement and religious humanitarian movements. Contact: Cecelia Lynch, (949) 824-2745, clynch@uci.edu. For additional assistance from our media relations office, please contact Lori Brandt at (949) 824-5484. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND HEALTH The Medical Response to Bioterrorism and Other Disasters
Dr. Carl Schultz, professor of emergency medicine, is a nationally recognized expert in bioterrorism and medical responses to disasters. He is a member of the State of California Disaster Advisory Group, serves on two national task forces on terrorism and is a member of the national ANSER Institute for Homeland Security. He has published several papers on hospital preparedness both for incidents of bioterrorism and earthquake preparedness. He has commented frequently on the similarities between responses to earthquakes and preparations for a bioterrorist attack. Contact: Carl Schultz, (714) 456-5239, schultzc@uci.edu. For additional assistance from our media relations office, please contact Andrew Porterfield at (949) 824-3969. Facing the Stress and Strong Emotions of War and Terrorism
James L. McGaugh is available to discuss the neurobiology behind the strong emotion and stress of war and terrorism. With perspective on citizens and troops, McGaugh is one of the world's leading authorities on the effect of drugs and stress on memory, in particular how fear can manipulate the brain's ability to consolidate memories. He is director of UCI's Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His latest book, "Memory and Emotion," will be published this summer. Contact: James L. McGaugh, (949) 824-5401, jlmcgaug@uci.edu. For additional assistance from our media relations office, please contact Tom Vasich at (949) 824-6455. ISLAMIC CULTURE Inside the Fundamentalist Mind
Lina Haddad Kreidie is an authority on what she calls the "collision" between the West and Islam, in particular the underlying causes of anti-Americanism in the Middle East. She has interviewed Islamic fundamentalists, studying their behavior and perceptions. Unlike many scholars who focus on religious and cultural divides, Kreidie studies how Islamic fundamentalists perceive themselves and, as a result, how they react to world events. A lecturer in political science, she studies issues dealing with the Middle East and religious fundamentalism, as well as ethnic conflict and collective violence. Contact: Lina Haddad Kreidie, (949) 370-1104, lkreidie@uci.edu. For additional assistance from our media relations office, please contact Lori Brandt at (949) 824-5484. Contemporary Islamic Thought and Life
Mark LeVine can offer insight into contemporary Middle Eastern culture and society. LeVine has lived and traveled throughout the Middle East and Europe and works in eight languages. His research interests include modern Islamic thought and practice, women in Islam, popular culture in the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy with the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian/Arab conflict, globalization studies, the history of terrorism, European colonialism and Islam and the West. LeVine is an assistant professor of modern Middle Eastern culture, history and Islamic studies. Contact: Mark LeVine, (949) 824-8304, mlevine@uci.edu. For additional assistance from our media relations office, please contact Lori Brandt at (949) 824-5484. CONFLICT AND THE ECONOMY What War Does to the Economy
Martin C. McGuire can discuss the impact of war on the international economy. He has served as a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he focused on the Israeli economy, among other issues, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where he consulted on nuclear safety. As the UCI Heinz Chair of Economics, Global Peace and Security, McGuire specializes in conflict resolution, international trade, peace and security, and the political economy of international conflict, economic development and strategic competition. McGuire is the recipient of a Fulbright fellowship and studied international economics and international security in Japan. Contact: Martin C. McGuire, (949) 824-6190, mcmcguir@uci.edu. For additional assistance from the school's media relations office, please contact Linda McCrerey at (949) 824-6286. Making the Transition to Peace
John Graham can comment on the relationship between trade and peace. An expert on international business, he says that global commerce thrives during peacetime, as evidenced by the economic boom in North America during the late 1990s when the Cold War ended and formerly Communist countries opened to the world trading system. Moreover, trade and international marketing play a key role in actually producing peace, he says. Successful international marketing helps traders understand the needs and wants of their customers in other lands, and prosperity and peace are promoted along the way. A professor of marketing at the Graduate School of Management, Graham is co-author of International Marketing, a standard book for graduate schools now in its 11th edition. Contact: John Graham, (949) 824-8468, jgraham@uci.edu. For additional assistance from the school's media relations office, please contact Linda McCrerey at (949) 824-6286. How War Affects Businesses and Business Recruitment
Jone L. Pearce can comment on the affect of war and war planning on MBA education. MBA applicants in uniform have already had to turn down school admissions offers because of the impending war with Iraq, she says. The impending war is also causing MBA recruiters to restrict hiring of graduates until the situation is more certain, she says. Dean of the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management and professor of organization and strategy, Pearce is a leading expert on human resource management and president of the Academy of Management. Contact: Jone L. Pearce, (949) 824-8470, jlpearce@uci.edu. For additional assistance from the school's media relations office, please contact Linda McCrerey at (949) 824-6286.