In the wake of the recent financial crisis, what many perceive as excessive executive salaries have grown as a target of popular outrage and Washington lawmakers. However, according to forthcoming research coauthored by a professor at the Penn State Smeal College of Business, overpaying CEOs as compared to their peers may actually benefit shareholders, while underpaying them could have negative consequences. (more)
The stereotypical school bully of past generations was easy to identify -- the playground brute victimizing those weaker and vulnerable. But today's typical bully is a far cry from that tough guy or girl who made life miserable for others. Two Penn State Harrisburg faculty researchers argue adolescent bullying and youth violence can be confronted in America through in-school programs that integrate "kindness -- the antithesis of victimization." (more)
The Miami Dolphins selected Penn State defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) Thursday (April 22) night in the first round of the National Football League Draft. One of two Big Ten Conference players invited to the attend the NFL Draft, Odrick was the No. 28 overall selection. A 2009 first team All-American, the 6-5, 304-pound Odrick is the 36th Nittany Lion to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, 33 of whom have played for Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno. (more)
The Big Ten announced today that the Nittany Lions' Oct. 2 contest at Iowa and Oct. 30 home game with the Wolverines will kick at 8 p.m. and air on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. A determination on which network will nationally televise the games may not be made until 12 days before the contests. Penn State will open Big Ten play in prime time for the third consecutive year, having hosted Illinois in 2008 and the Hawkeyes last year. The Nittany Lions will be playing at least one regular season night game for the 11th consecutive season. (more)
Kit Kinports, Polisher family distinguished faculty scholar and professor of law in Penn State's Dickinson School of Law, served as a clerk on the Supreme Court for a year during Justice John Paul Stevens' tenure. She recently shared some thoughts on his legacy and what to expect moving forward following Stevens' retirement this summer. To watch a short video clip, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5g3bx81obA. (more)
For the fourth year in a row, Penn State leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation among colleges and universities in the amount of green power it uses, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Challenge. Green power sources avoid environmental impacts and produce no human-caused greenhouse gases. At present, Penn State purchases almost 84 million kilowatt hours of green power -- about 20 percent of the electricity the University consumes -- generated by biomass, small hydroelectric sources and wind. (more)
NASA's Swift satellite, whose science and flight operations are controlled from Penn State's Mission Operations Center in State College, Pa., has detected its 500th gamma-ray burst -- a type of explosion that is the biggest and most mysterious in the cosmos. Swift's X-ray telescope and ultraviolet/optical telescope were developed and built by international teams led by Penn State. (more)
Disease statistics buried within patient records or detailed in newspaper clippings can be sorted and organized to depict geographic patterns, allowing the discovery of trends that were previously overlooked, according to a Penn State geographer. "The use of interactive maps and graphs, combined with word search interfaces, can lead to greater insight into complex events such as the spread of Swine flu," said Frank Hardisty, research associate, Penn State GeoVISTA Center. (more)
A team of food scientists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has shown that an edible film can be used for wrapping ready-to-eat meat products to deliver a slow release of a naturally occurring antimicrobial agent capable of killing a foodborne pathogen. In the study, which was published in the March issue of the Journal of Food Safety, the researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of pullulan films containing antimicrobial sakacin A to control Listeria monocytogenes growth. (more)
A new consensus statement on adult malnutrition suggests classifying patients in three categories related to the cause of malnutrition, according to an international committee of nutrition researchers. This approach could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition. "Depending upon the criteria that are used, up to 50 percent of patients in hospitals or skilled nursing facilities have been estimated to be malnourished," said Gordon Jensen, professor and head of nutritional sciences, Penn State. (more)
