Winter, 2013 Volume #13, Issue #2-3 ISPS-US P.O. Box 491 Narberth, PA 19072
[email protected] Editor’s note—Dec. 2013 Ross Tappen President’s Column Brian Koehler PhD This is the first ISPS newsletter New York University since last Winter – your editor apolo- gizes for the delay! Hence we have a As I sat down to write this column as president for our ISPS-US Newsletter, the double issue containing abstracts from words of Charles Dickens from “A Tale of Two Cities” (1859) came to mind: “It both the recent New Jersey confer- was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” In regard to the latter, the daily ence and the Chicago conference. national, local and international news are heartbreaking. It is so sad to see so Both the Chicago and New Brunswick many people around the world dying from wars, civil unrest, famine, poverty, conferences represented the depth and poor medical care, etc.In the United States, despite the improving economy, the breadth of our organization. There gap between rich and poor is significantly widening. There are people living in the were in depth panels and papers on NYC shelter system who despite working one or two full time jobs cannot afford theoretical issues from a variety of housing. There is a startling rate of poverty in NYC in our children (around theoretical frameworks; there were 30%!). Every day on my walk to my office in downtown Manhattan, I see an ever familiar faces from previous confer- growing number of young people camped out on the city sidewalks holding signs ences; yet there were also a number of asking for donations for needed expenses.