NEWSWIRE PLUS: HEARD ON CAMPUS --ERIK PETERSON
-- DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CENTER
"We’ve reached a point that I think can be called a crisis of governance -- a point at which the petrified organizational structure and practices of the government lag far behind the private sector. The dot-com/ dot-gov gap is becoming wider still with profound implications I believe for the way that government can and will conduct itself in the years ahead both domestically and abroad," he said. Citing numerous challenges facing government, Peterson suggested that government could learn a great deal from the technology sector in improving its operations. Erik R. Peterson spoke at the Penn State Forum yesterday, Thursday, Oct. 26, on the impact of technology on U.S. international engagement.

At the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Peterson oversees the development and implementation of the Center's research and publications programs and is co-director of the Seven Revolutions Project, an initiative to forecast key trends to the year 2025. Peterson is editor of the CSIS Watch and serves as co-chair of the Board of Editors of The Washington Quarterly, and holds the CSIS William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis at Penn State. For a photo, biographic information and audio clips of his speech, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/stories/Forum-Peterson/index.html  

PROFESSORS’ WEBSITE TEACHES STOCK VALUATION 101
A group of professors of finance in the Smeal College of Business Administration have developed a new Internet website that helps investors calculate a stock’s value. Valuepro.net offers a free sophisticated calculator that allows investors to work through their own valuation of any stock. Valuepro.net (http://www.valuepro.net) was created by J. Randall Woolridge, professor of finance and visiting professors of finance, Gary Gray, a former manager director of a major Wall Street investment bank; and Patrick J. Cusatis a vice president of Tucker, Anthony & Co., an investment bank. The valuepro.net approach uses a discounted cash flow (DCF) technique to value common stock. DCF techniques are used by investment bankers for merger and acquisition analysis, Wall Street traders to value all types of debt obligations, and Wall Street analysts to value stock. "At the website, all you do is enter the stock symbol for the stock in which you are interested, click on the "Get Baseline Valuation Button," and we do the rest.. "Our goal," says Woolridge, "is to demystify the stock valuation process, make stock valuation easier to understand, and show investors how to make money in the stock market by purchasing ‘undervalued' stocks and selling ‘overvalued' stocks." For the full story by Steve Infanti, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/valuepro.html 

IST, WORLD CAMPUS AWARD FIRST WEBMASTER CERTIFICATE
An employee of the South Carolina Department of Education is the first person to complete the on-line Penn State Webmaster Certificate Program. Betty Campbell, a self-described life-long learning advocate who lives and works in Columbia, S.C., recently completed the program and was awarded her certificate by Penn State’s School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and Penn State World Campus. Campbell is associated with the Office of School Food Services and Nutrition and works with schools throughout the state of South Carolina. The Webmaster Certificate, a course of 12 modules, is the first on-line certificate program developed by IST. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/istgraduate.html 

YUKELSON NAMED PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
David Yukelson, sport psychologist With the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes and affiliate associate professor of Kinesiology, was elected president of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology at its annual meeting in Nashville last week. Yukelson has conducted research on motivation and goal setting, group cohesion and team building, psychosocial factors influencing student-athlete welfare, and teaches courses on mental training and performance excellence, the psychology of coaching; and psychology of injury, among others. He is the author of "Principles of effective team building interventions in sport: A direct services approach at Penn State University", "Parent-Athlete issues in Sport," and co-author of "Psychological Considerations in Working with Injured Athletes." For more information, go to http://www.mascsa.psu.edu/bios/yukelson.html 

TIME FOR ALUMNI AWARD NOMINATIONS
Nomination forms for the 2001 Alumni Recognition Awards, sponsored by the Alumni Association, are on the Web this year. The awards acknowledge individuals and groups for outstanding service and programming. Honorary Alumni and Alumni Fellow nominations are due Dec. 15. Nominations for individual that include: Volunteer of the Year, Recent Alumnus/Alumna, and Philip Philip Mitchell Alumni Service awards are due Feb. 1. For nomination forms and more on the awards, go to http://www.alumni.psu.edu 

HANIF KUREISHI ON CAMPUS TO SCREEN NEW FILM, NOV. 7
University Park, Pa. -- British writer and film-maker, Hanif Kureishi, who won an Oscar nomination for his film, My Beautiful Laundrette, will speak about his work and introduce the film, My Son the Fanatic at, 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 7, in Pattee Library’s Foster Auditorium. My Son the Fanatic is based on a short story from Kureishiís collection, Love in a Blue Time. After the screening, Kureishi will discuss the film with the audience and also sign books. Hanif Kureishi, also director of Sammy and Rosie Get Laid and author of The Buddha of Suburbia, is recognized as one of the most talented and provocative voices in British writing today. His talk is sponsored by: the College of the Liberal Arts, the English Department, the University Libraries, and the Women's Studies Program. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/kureishi.html and more on Kureishi, go to http://www.hanifkureishi.com/ and http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/11/09/home/kureishi.html 

WORLD CAMPUS OPEN HOUSE NOV. 15
The World Campus will hold an open house on Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 1:30-5 p.m. at the Penn Stater. The event is open to those interested in finding out more about Penn State's virtual university. The World Campus, which began in January 1998, is a way for adult learners to achieve their educational goals via the World Wide Web. World Campus faculty and staff members will be demonstrating on-line courses and offering information on the technical support environment designed to aid both faculty and students in a World Campus course. There is no fee for the event, but registration is required. For more information or to register, go to https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/welcome/openhouse/ 

QUESTION FOR DR. SPANIER:
--- DICK MALLARY ON TEACHING CAREERS
Editor's Note: In each Beaver Stadium program this season, we will publish a conversation in which distinguished individuals pose questions about Penn State to President Graham Spanier. This week's conversation is with Dick Mallary ('64 Journ), senior vice president for Gannett Broadcasting and a member of the College of Communications Board of Directors.

MALLARY: Forty-plus years ago lots of my fellow students planned careers in teaching, but I don't hear much about today's high school grads wanting to become teachers. Is there an adequate supply of teachers coming out of our colleges, and in particular, what's the health of our College of Education?

SPANIER: We have more applicants to our teacher education programs than we can possibly handle, so admission is rather selective. Students are still interested in becoming teachers, even though salaries aren't as generous as they are in many other fields. Penn State's College of Education is ranked among the top twenty in the country. We have been fortunate to have a College of Education that serves society well.

Teacher shortages and teacher oversupply vary widely from one part of the country to the next. There is currently a shortage nationally, but an adequate supply in Pennsylvania except in a few key fields. Penn State's College of Education plays an important role with its balance of undergraduate and graduate students. And I think its research and service components have helped give it an important role nationally in teacher education. 

SMALL TALK: NOT WORTH WORRYING ABOUT
1. WATER FOUNTAINS They've never been a big source of infection. You should avoid fountains with standing water; these can harbor various environmental organisms that you wouldn't want to splash back into your child's face.

2. URINE-SPLATTERED TOILET SEATS Although it's disgusting, urine is nearly sterile and won't harbor many germs, even hours later.

3. DROPPED GUM OR CANDY Of course, your kid will pick it up and pop it back into his mouth. Distasteful as it seems to you, it probably won't hurt your child.

4. PLAYGROUNDS Crawling with germs, right? Nope. Things that are outside tend to be safer, especially when the temperature is cooler and there is an exchange of air, so the chances of transmitting infection are less. Also, the sun is good at drying out secretions and killing bacteria.

5. MONEY Metal coins and paper bills are generally too dry to harbor organisms for very long.

6. SHARED UTENSILS Respiratory infections are more likely to be a result of sharing close quarters during lunch rather than sharing bites. The front of your mouth is not really a route of infection. Respiratory viruses are much more likely to make your child sick if they go into her nose or her eye. Of course, with gastrointestinal pathogens, such as rotovirus, all bets are off. If your kid shares a bite with another child who has one, she'll get sick too, with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Small Talk is a weekly column of safety and health information for parents and other caregivers for children. It is a community service of the Penn State Children’s Hospital, located at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa. Please direct any comments or questions to Patricia Millner, director of nursing at the Penn State Children’s Hospital, at .