PUBLIC EVENTS TO FOCUS ON TERRORISTS ATTACKS
The September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States will be focused on in two upcoming public events for the University and local community. The Committee for Dialogue (consisting of Penn State faculty, students and members of local community organizations) is hosting “911: Forum on the Current Crisis” from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, in 121 Sparks Building. There will be three panels: “Islam” at 2 p.m., “Media and Civil Liberties” at 3:20 p.m., and “Politics” at 4:40 p.m. For more information on Saturday’s event, contact Ralph Rodriguez at mailto:rer11@psu.edu or (814) 865-3890; or Cathy Steblyk at mailto:cps6@psu.edu or (814) 863-4934. Also, Syedur Rahman, coordinator of Penn State’s Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, will lead a discussion on “Crusade for Understanding and a Jihad Towards Peace” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, in 101 Chambers Building to increase awareness of the global context of the attacks. For more information on Tuesday’s event, contact Amy Milgrub Marshall at (814) 863-2104 or mailto:alm157@psu.edu.
HERSHEY TEAM PROVIDES EMERGENCY WORKER SUPPORT
A team comprised mostly of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center employees has been called into service to provide peer-driven emotional and psychological support for emergency and recovery personnel who have been working at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93. The Boeing 757 crashed in Somerset County, Pa., on September 11 during a terrorist hijacking. All 44 people on board were killed. Lee Groff, coordinator of Penn State Hershey’s Critical Incident Stress Management Team, said the request for its services came through a representative of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. The terrorist-related events “have been traumatic for virtually every American,” said Groff. “But for emergency workers at the disaster sites, many of them volunteer firefighters, the sense of devastation and loss is intensified. When these people are finished with the vital work of removing wreckage and recovering bodies, they need to talk to someone about what they’ve seen and how it affects them. That’s our job.” For the full story, visit http://www.hmc.psu.edu/news/pr/2001/Sept/team.htm.
GROWING NEED FOR CARE AMONG AGING INMATES
With stricter sentencing policies, states are facing a growing prison population of aging inmates. A Penn State study that examined strategies to meet these needs suggests ways to deal with inmates’ long-term care needs at prisons nationwide. “Longer mandatory sentences and more life sentences without the possibility of parole have significantly helped to boost the prison population over two decades,” said study co-author Cynthia Massie Mara, associate professor of health care administration and policy at Penn State Harrisburg. Mara and Christopher K. McKenna, associate professor of management science, surveyed corrections health care administrators of all 25 state correctional institutions (SCIs) in Pennsylvania, and toured seven facilities for group interviews. They found that 22 SCIs reported having at least one inmate needing assistance with activities of daily living, and that 1.8 percent of Pennsylvania’s total state inmate population requires daily living help. Nearly 24 percent of inmates 65 years and older are affected. For the full story by Vicki Fong, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/aginginmates.html.
CONFERENCE TOUTS SELF-LOCATING WIRELESS DEVICES
Imagine having an emergency in an unfamiliar town, calling 911 on your cell phone, and the dispatcher knows automatically where to send help because your phone has a self-locating capability. The promises and issues related to that technological advance are the focus of WebGIS/GeoWireless 2001, to be held at Penn State’s University Park campus October 22 to 23. Sponsored in its third year by the University’s School of Information Sciences and Technology, the conference will feature keynote remarks by U.S. Congressman John Peterson and Mark Putterman, manager of business development, IBM Location-Based Services. As innovative as self-locating wireless devices may be, a significant infrastructure must be developed to support them--meaning at a minimum sophisticated electronic mapping, coordinated emergency dispatch systems, and funding to pay for these improvements. For further information, visit http://www.GoGeoSpatial.org or contact Carolyn Andersen at (814) 863-5143 or mailto:conferenceinfo1@outreach.psu.edu.
SHAVER'S CREEK A HAWK-WATCHING WEEK HOT SPOT
For decades, the Penn State Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center has provided exciting opportunities for the residents of central Pennsylvania to experience the beauty and wonder of hawks and other birds of prey. October 7 to 13 is Hawk-Watching Week in Pennsylvania, which coincides with the hawks’ spectacular yearly migration. Individuals who wish to view this season’s hawk migration are encouraged to visit Shaver’s Creek in the coming weeks. Those seeking to take an active role in the preservation of these birds can get involved with the Shaver’s Creek Raptor Center, a rare safe haven for injured birds of prey. Meanwhile, from September 30 to October 5, the center will host a Penn State elderhostel course on “Wonders of Bird-Watching and Migration in Autumn Splendor” for registrants of age 55 and over. For more information, call (814) 863-2000 or (814) 667-3424, or e-mail mailto:ShaversCreek@outreach.psu.edu. Shaver’s Creek is on the Web at http://www.outreach.psu.edu/ShaversCreek/.