CONFERENCE SEEKS TO EXPAND PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA OUTREACH
Penn State Public Broadcasting has this week convened nearly 100 of the nation's leaders in public broadcasting, museums, libraries, education, philanthropy and public policy to develop an action plan for expanding the role of public service media through digital technology. The conference, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Evolving the Links, began yesterday (Oct. 16) and ends tomorrow at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel at the University Park campus. "Public television stands at the threshold of a new era that will not only redefine public broadcasting, but all forms of public service to our communities," said Ted Krichels, general manager of Penn State Public Broadcasting and assistant vice president for Outreach. "The time is right for higher education, museums, libraries and public broadcasting to develop systemic public service relationships." For the full story by Celena E. Kusch, visit http://www.outreach.psu.edu/News/HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING CLUSTER CONSOLIDATES RESOURCES
Penn State's Academic Services and Emerging Technologies unit has deployed its third-generation Linux cluster, Lion-XL, to help solve complex computational problems for research projects in such fields as biology, chemistry, meteorology and physics. Clusters (many computers networked together) allow standard equipment to offer computational speeds comparable to far more expensive proprietary computer systems. Lion-XL, the fastest and most powerful cluster Penn State has built to date, links 80 compute servers with fast ethernet and an additional high-speed network. It has a peak computing capacity that is roughly 400 times faster than an average desktop machine. Penn State's clusters represent a partnership between University faculty members spanning three colleges that consolidates and increases the resources available to each participant, as well as decreases duplication of efforts by smaller systems. For the full story in Intercom, click on the "Research" link at http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_2002/Oct17/index.htmlSURVEY WILL UPDATE HORSE INDUSTRY'S IMPACT ON STATE
The equine science program in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is conducting an economic-impact study of the Pennsylvania horse industry this fall in order to get the best snapshot of its scope and nature in a dozen years. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, through the State Horse and Harness Racing commissions, has contracted with the University's Department of Dairy and Animal Science to measure the industry's direct and indirect impacts on the state's economy through sales, employment, taxes and other indicators. Contributions to the quality of life of equine owners and participants in equine activities also will be assessed. A 1990 study showed that the equine industry generated $4 billion in annual economic activity, was responsible for 22,000 jobs and provided local and state governments with more than $66 million a year in tax revenue. Survey coordinators expect to mail 10,000 horse owners questionnaires. For the full story by Jeff Mulhollem, visit http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/october02/horse.htmlEXPERT: WORKPLACE CLIMATE IS KEY TO LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS
For companies that truly want to be a "learning organization" for their employees, the critical ingredients are commitment, trust and vision, according to a Penn State researcher. A workplace learning climate is only favorable when employers have taken specific, carefully planned steps to ensure that their employees learn, says William J. Rothwell, professor of workforce education and development in the College of Education. Rothwell enumerates these steps in his book, "The Workplace Learner: How to Align Training Initiatives with Individual Learning Competencies," recently published by AMACOM. He drew his conclusions from a five-year study of five industry categories: health and human services; office, financial services and government; accommodations and personal services; manufacturing, agribusiness, mining and construction; and trade, transportation and communications. For the full story by Paul Blaum, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2002/employeelearning.htmlLIMITED TICKETS REMAIN FOR HOMECOMING SCRAP WITH WILDCATS
The Penn State football squad returns to Beaver Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 19) to face Northwestern in the 83rd annual Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 12:10 p.m. and a limited number of tickets returned by Northwestern remain for the contest. The Nittany Lions lead the series with the Wildcats, 6-1, winning the last four meetings. Penn State has an all-time record of 59-18-5 on Homecoming, winning 33 of 36 such games under Coach Joe Paterno. For the full story, including information on how to obtain tickets, visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/pressreleases/pressrelease.cfm?anncid=3257