T E M P L E TIPSHEETA LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD August 31 - September 7, 2001OFFICE OF NEWS AND MEDIA RELATIONS (215) 204-7476 Fax: (215) 204-4403 E mail:[email protected]
LABOR DAY POOL SAFETY -- Millions of families will say goodbye to summer this weekend while lounging in backyard pools. But as Marcella Ridenour, a Temple University professor and researcher in the Biokinetics Research Lab, points out, just a few minutes of inattentiveness can turn weekend fun into tragedy.
"Almost 400 children under the age of five drown in pools each year," says Ridenour, who recently completed a study of the ability of a four-year-old to climb into a four feet-high above- ground swimming pool. In addition to a bare wall, the study also looked at the ability of kids to climb into a pool with an outside filter pump and one with a safety ladder frame.
"The above-ground pool wall is clearly not a barrier that prevents children from entering a swimming pool," says Ridenour, who reports that some of the children in the study scaled the wall in less than two minutes. "Safety ladder frames and filters just make it easier for the kids to climb over these walls."
Ridenour recommends that parents with pools keep a "safety zone" around the pool that is free of items such as tables, pool filters, chairs, and storage boxes that kids could use to climb into a pool more easily and quickly. She also urges pool owners to construct additional barriers, such as high fencing to isolate the pool and restrict entry. "However, no barrier replaces constant supervision of young children." Reach Dr. Ridenour through the Office of News and Media Relations, 215-204-7476.
NOW'S THE TIME FOR STUDENTS TO THINK OF LIFE AFTER GRADUATION -- The school year may be just getting started, but it's never to early for college students to start thinking about what they're going to do after graduation, says Chet Rispoli, director of Temple's Career Development Services (CDS).
"Career counseling is not just for seniors," he says. "Students should get involved early to make informed decisions and find out their options." For those students who still haven't decided on a major, CDS offers a computerized program created to match up a person's skills to careers and majors.
And just because a student has picked a major, doesn't mean they can't benefit from career counseling, says Rispoli. "Most people don't have any idea of all the career possibilities a major offers," he says. Besides assessment and advising, CDS also helps students get jobs through recruiting, resume assistance, and mock interviews.
To reach Rispoli or for more information about CDS, contact the Office of News and Media Relations.
IT'S THE ECONOMY, ACTING STUPID -- So far, the Fed's lower interest rate policy has not delivered the kick that was anticipated by both the market and most economists, notes finance professor Kenneth Kopecky of Temple's Fox School of Business and Management.
"With the current increase in layoffs that seems to be affecting more and more sectors across the economy, the stock market's taken a nosedive," he says. "With investment down, the foreign sector dying and consumers poised to put their cash back in their wallet, we may need strong government stimulus, whether it's spending on social programs like education or on national defense.
"With the 2002 elections looming, no politician wants to be saddled with a tanked economy, Kopecky adds. "I predict Bush and the Democrats will kiss and make up and work together on getting the economy moving again."
Reach Dr. Kopecky through the Office of News and Media Relations.
This Week at Temple. . .
Friday-Saturday, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 7 and 8: 30 p.m.: COSINE and VOICEBOX -- A multimedia performance combining dance, music, video, theater, digital media, architecture and physics marks the debut of Temple's New Media Performance Laboratory--part of a new interdisciplinary concentration in the School of Communications and Theater.
"Cosine is about understanding modern physics with your senses," says producer-director Heather Raikes. Performers and observers activate Voicebox, a sound and video installation, with their own voices. (Television Studios #1 and #2, Annenberg Hall, 2020 N. 13th St.)
nb-442 *** August 31, 2001
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