The College of Agriculture Newsletter
Iowa State University
February 3, 1995 No. 11

C O N T E N T S

COLLEGE NEWS
- Faculty-staff workshop Feb. 28
- Odor lawsuit appeal
- New Ag Council officers

COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK

- Pocketful of ISU facts

INFOGRAZING

- Plant Health Clinic '94
- Agriculture, aerospace, copyrights

EXTERNAL VOICES

- Tomorrow's jobs . . .
- . . . Jobs tomorrow?

MARGINALIA

- Licking a problem
- Whistleblower


C O L L E G E N E W S

FACULTY-STAFF WORKSHOP FEB. 28
More details on the upcoming College of Agriculture professional development workshop: Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend "Human Resources: Enhancing the Professional Work Environment in the College of Agriculture," Tuesday, Feb. 28, Scheman Building, 5:00-8:30 p.m. with a light supper at 6:30. The workshop focuses on sexual harassment and diversity issues. Participation will satisfy the university requirement that all faculty and staff receive training in these areas. Note: Managers and supervisors are welcome, but they'll also be required to attend a special workshop on these issues. Reservation forms (return deadline, Feb. 17) have been sent to departments. Questions? Contact Robert Martin, 294-0896.

ODOR LAWSUIT APPEAL
Last week the Iowa Court of Appeals rejected four Boone County residents' appeal of a 1993 district court decision involving ISU. The district court had ordered ISU to pay the residents $5,000 each for damages resulting from odors from the Swine Nutrition and Management Center. The residents appealed, seeking the more than $1 million in damages they had asked for in their original lawsuit.

NEW AG COUNCIL OFFICERS
College of Agriculture Student Council officers serving this semester and the next are Colby Entriken, horticulture, president; Ryan Bailey, agronomy, vice president; Deanne Dennison, ag education, treasurer; and Brian Eipers, ag engineering, secretary.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K

POCKETFUL OF ISU FACTS
Need quick, concise information about ISU for visiting groups or as a personal reference? "How It Works, 1994-95" is a pocket-size brochure of current facts and figures, important phone numbers, undergrad academic costs and more. Copies are available by calling ISU's News Service, 294-4777, with the quantity you need and how they will be used.

I N F O G R A Z I N G

PLANT DISEASE CLINIC '94
In 1994, the Plant Disease Clinic in the Department of Plant Pathology received 2,843 plant samples and 1,055 phone inquiries. The clinic diagnoses plant problems and suggests management strategies for homeowners, commercial growers and Extension personnel. Trees accounted for 49 percent of the samples. The clinic also received 553 soil samples for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) testing. Four counties were added to the list of those known to have SCN infestations; the total is now 64. Specialists in several departments routinely contribute to diagnoses of problems submitted to the clinic.

AGRICULTURE, AEROSPACE, COPYRIGHTS
U.S. copyright industries have foreign sales of $36 billion annually -- a figure exceeded only by the agricultural and aerospace industries. Copyright industries account for nearly 6 percent of the nation's GNP and are creating new jobs at three times the national average, says the International Intellectual Property Alliance. (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 25)

E X T E R N A L V O I C E S

TOMORROW'S JOBS . . .
Reengineering (radical redesign of a company's processes, organization and culture to dramatically improve performance) squeezes out work that's nonvalue-adding, say "Reengineering the Corporation" authors Michael Hammer and James Champy. "If you can't do real work, I'd get real nervous . . . A successful career will . . . be about mastery," says Hammer. They add that the few remaining managerial jobs will be the process planner, who figures out how; the coach, who teaches and helps people improve; and the leader, who creates an environment where people get work done. (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 24)

. . . JOBS TOMORROW?
Skill requirements of the emerging workplace are more general than specific, crossing traditional disciplinary lines and leaning much more towards flexibility and resiliency than to the rigid norms of the traditional "job," says William Bridges, author of "JobShift." He says the job is poorly adapted to the needs of a fast-moving, information-based economy and has outlived its usefulness. Many organizations are moving toward being "dejobbed" -- meaning job definitions go out the window and workers' tasks and responsibilities evolve as projects evolve. (Fortune, Sept. 19, 1994)

M A R G I N A L I A

LICKING A PROBLEM
Canada spreads 4 million tons of salt a year on snowy roads, creating a big salt lick for moose and, in turn, a moose hazard for drivers. To keep moose off roads, researchers tested repellents redolent of wolf urine or rotten eggs. But moose got used to the odors. Digging drainage ditches to divert salty water reduced accidents, but is costly and time-consuming. Bumper whistles claiming to alert moose of approaching vehicles are popular, but "after people finished picking the moose hair out of their car grill, they realized they didn't work very well." (Wall Street Journal)

GAME OVER, MAN
Now there's a software program that literally blows the whistle when it senses an employee playing a computer game on company time. GameCop can be programmed to recognize more than 100 games. (Information Week, Jan. 30)

AG ONLINE

Ag Online is a bimonthly electronic newsletter for ISU College of Agriculture faculty and staff. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to bmeyer@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe: Send "Ag Online unsubscribe" to same address. Comments? Call, write, e-mail or fax editors Brian Meyer (bmeyer@iastate.edu) and Ed Adcock (edadcock@iastate.edu), Agriculture Information Services, 304 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011. Phone: 515-294-5616. Fax: 515-294-8662.

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