Victor J. DeNoble, a former research scientist at Philip Morris Co. and a key witness in the case against tobacco companies, will be on the Pullman campus Nov. 3 to discuss the addictive nature of nicotine. The free event will be at 5:30 p.m. in Todd Hall Auditorium and is open to the public. DeNoble will give a personal account of the research within the tobacco industry, including the amount of money spent by the industry to study why smokers smoke and how to keep them smoking. For more information, check https://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4177
As part of WSU’s enhanced home football weekends, free classes will be offered from 10 a.m.-noon, Nov. 8, during Cougar Conversations Face to Face with World Class Faculty. The nine one-hour classes, taught during 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. sessions by nine faculty members, are open to everyone on campus for the WSU-UCLA Armed Forces Day football game on the same day. For details, see https://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4159
In the news
Employees and free speech: Last week’s story about a Microsoft employee who lost his job after posting what company officials felt was improper information on his personal Weblog shows that limits on an employee’s free speech rights can extend into cyberspace. Susan Ross, associate professor in the Murrow School of Communication, said this case is an example of a company’s right to impose restrictions on its employees to maintain its legitimate interests in protecting the security and privacy of its operations. The First Amendment does not limit the actions of private individuals or corporations, Ross says. The Constitution is a contract between the people and their government that outlines and limits the powers of government. To a great extent, corporations are part of “the people” and retain the freedoms associated with members of this society. Ross is available at suross@wsu.edu or 509.335.5842.
Solar flare fears: Astronauts should stay inside their spaceships; fans of the northern lights, even those living in the more southern latitudes, might be well advised to go out and scan the night skies. That’s the advice of Guy Worthey, assistant professor of physics at Washington State University, regarding the impacts of the solar storms that have been unleashed in recent weeks. But despite the spectacular nature of the solar flares and some of the more extreme concerns expressed about their possible effects on technologies here on Earth, the impact of this phenomenon on us earthlings has been quite minimal. Worthey can be reached at 509.335.4994 or gworthey@wsu.edu.
Rising health care costs: A “perfect storm”: Health care premiums are skyrocketing in the aftermath of the backlash against managed care. And while we’re spending more, we’re not getting any healthier. Melissa Ahern, a health care economist and associate professor of health policy and administration at WSU Spokane, cites some of the driving forces: Consumers who want it all, from free choice of physician and loaded benefit packages to unlimited services. Increasing numbers of uninsured, with associated costs for care delivered in hospital emergency rooms. Increased direct-to-consumer marketing of pharmaceuticals. Lack of personal responsibility for health, with more obesity, diabetes, heart disease and so forth. Last, but not least, the huge number of baby boomers moving rapidly toward being Medicare recipients. Contact Ahern at 509.358.7982, ahernm@wsu.edu. For assistance in contacting Ahern, contact Barb Chamberlain, WSU Spokane Communications, 509.358.7527, 509.869.2949, chamberlain@wsu.edu.
