The Uncertainty of the STOCK Act

Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama), who frequently buys stock options while overseeing the nation’s banking and financial service industries, is currently under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics for possible violations of insider trading laws.   

Insider trading becomes illegal when there is a breach of fiduciary duty, trust or confidence while in possession of nonpublic trading information about stocks or securities. These acts threaten the reliability and authenticity of the stock market and deprive investors from trading on a level playing field.    

Illegal insider trading has long been a top priority of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to a testimony given on December 1, 2011, by Robert Khuzami, the director of the Division of Enforcement of the SEC, “in the fiscal year of 2010, the SEC brought 53 insider trading cases against 138 individuals and entities, a 43 percent increase in the number of filed cases from the prior fiscal year”. Moreover, according to Mr. Khuzami, the SEC is using aggressive investigative approaches while working closely with the FBI and the Justice Department in bringing charges against perpetrators. Such was the case of Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam who the SEC brought charges against for rampant insider trading, including a $92.8 million civil penalty against him personally.

Insider trading is not only an issue on Wall Street; it is also a big issue on Capitol Hill. This is because of the abundance of financial information available to members of Congress which they take advantage of. A study by Ziobrowski A. L et al., (2011) on abnormal returns from stock investment by House members shows that members of the House beat the market performance by 55 bases point each month, approximately 6% better than market average.

During last month’s State of the Union address President Obama stated, “Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow.” Then on February 2, 2012, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act was passed in the Senate with 96-3 votes and a few days later in the House with 417-2 votes. Thus, it is now prohibited for members and employees of Congress and the Executive Branch to engage in insider trading or use of nonpublic information obtained through their employment for personal benefit.

With such bill in place, members of Congress will no longer be exempt from the federal securities laws. In addition to the Act, the Ethics Manual of the US House of Representative states that, “members and employees should never use any information received confidentially in the performance of governmental duties as a means for making private profit”. Furthermore, the Senate Ethics Manual, under Conflict of Interest Rule 37(4) “prohibits individuals from using their legislative power to advance their personal financial interests”.  Evidently, the STOCK Act is cracking down on members of Congress for insider trading, and mandating the disclosure of financial transactions involving stock and other securities.

However, to date there have been no known arrests or prosecutions for insider trading involving any member of Congress, and the SEC regulation remains ambiguous on whether insider trading by governmental officials is illegal or where the fiduciary duty lies in regards to members of Congress. Moreover, although the regulation is clear that the misappropriate use of information gained from employment to make profit is illegal, there is no clarity as to whether the information used by members of Congress is indeed nonpublic, and whether the members of Congress are considered federal employees.

Regardless of the ambiguity of the regulation, the main purpose of the STOCK Act is to make the SEC regulation apply to Capitol Hill. Furthermore, the Act is attempting to rebuild the notion of ethical conduct and transparency in Washington, making it easier for Congressional members to be investigated.

Nevertheless, there are some dishonest members who will find a way to trade on inside information. Thus, the uncertainty still remains on whether the Act can solve the issue of insider trading in Congress. Moreover, there seems to be an underlying motive in passing the STOCK Act. Is it only to address the issue of Congress using privy information to make personal profit from the very institutions it resides over? Or is it an attempt to address the American people’s outrage by the fact that their trusted representatives are involved in the ponzi scheme of insider trading? Whatever the motive, members of Congress need to stop using privilege information to make personal profit because of the adverse effect it has on the nation’s financial institutions, the market, and the trust of the American people.

The Homework Quandry

Whether you teach elementary school or graduate school, the effectiveness and purpose of homework has long been debated. Should you ask, most people would probably tell you that homework is important and promotes learning and mastery of course material and in fact, research can be cited to support this intuitive assertion. For example, a study at Penn State noted that students who complete a 30-90 minutes of homework each night outperform students who do no homework (Penn State. “Benefits Of More Homework Vary Across Nations, Grades.” ScienceDaily, 27 Feb. 2007. Web. 22 Feb. 2012).

Unfortunately, there is a confusing lack of consensus regarding the effectiveness of giving students work to do at home. The above Penn State study also concludes that more study time does not translate into higher academic achievement. Studies such as one conducted at Boston College report that the correlation between homework and academic achievement is not strong. (Ina V.S. Millis, Michael O. Martin, Albert E. Newton, Eugenio J. Gonzalez, Dana L. Kelly, and Theresa A. Smith. Mathematics and Science Achievement in the Final Years of Secondary School: IES’S Third International Mathematics and Science Report, Boston: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement,  Lynch School of Education,  Boston College, 1998). A national survey (University of Michigan) discovered that studying at home is not as valuable a contributor to success as family meal time (Bennett, Sara and Nancy Kalish. “The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It”. Crown Publishers New York: 2006).

As a community college professor of management, my understanding of the role of homework in my classes comes from my experiences and observations of my students. I began, as many do, under the assumption that homework was an expectation. I quickly realized, however, that for my students, homework was low on the list of priorities. They work, go to school, take care of families, and deal with life’s ups and downs. There are often more important issues in their lives than turning in an assignment: Getting to work, feeding their families, taking care of a sick child, etc. Homework seemed to be a burden more than a benefit for them, and I did not see a relationship between completed assignments and attained grades. Consequently, I changed my approach.

Rather than expect students to toil night after night with additional assignments, I fill my classes with interactive, stimulating activities which offer students opportunities to engage with the course material. My support and guidance is a key component in helping students learn the environment of business, and to apply critical thinking skills as they examine and solve real business problems. I see a clear relationship between engagement in class and achievement.

Of course, there is still work for students to do beyond the classroom. Reading course materials, completing a capstone project or paper, and reviewing for exams contains a helpful and reasonable quantity of work for students to do at home. A Southern Illinois University study supports this position, concluding that homework turned in for points did not significantly raise quiz grades (Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, Brooke Walker, Yors Garcia, Sadie Lovette, and Stephen Filipiak, “A Point contingency for Homework Submission in the Graduate School Classroom”, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 2010,, 499-502).

Whether to require homework or not merely scratches the surface of the debate. Other concerns include determining quantity, and deciding what constitutes a meaningful assignment rather than “busy work”. At the end of the day, teachers are required to resolve the homework quandary and its myriad issues without clear guidance from the literature or policy and of course, in the spirit of academic freedom. What is the role of homework in your classroom?

The Tale of Two Tunnels

Worlds apart, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and a major California newspaper, spent last Sunday polishing headline stories on proposals to move water from north to south.

In California these stories typically pre-sage the next battle in the on-going Water Wars.  The United Kingdom may not be far behind.  Much of south and eastern England is in an official drought.  The BBC story, tied to this week’s Drought Summit, led with London Mayor Boris Johnson professing, “The rain it raineth on the just and the unjust, says the Bible, but frankly it raineth a lot more in Scotland and Wales than it doth in England.”

The California story leads with “Audacious Delta tunnel plan weighed” and goes on to explain a proposal for what may be the largest water tunnel ever contemplated in North America.  The tunnel would flow deep under the California Delta on a 37-mile path to the California Aqueduct.

In England, according to the BBC, “Piping water from wet north to dry south has seemed like a good idea to a long line of people, most significantly the Water Resources Board, the government agency that used to look after what was then regarded as a national resource.”  In 1973, the Board proposed just such a project. A year later, it was disbanded and replaced by regional agencies designed to manage water locally.  The separation was further accelerated by privatization in the 1980s.  This set-up has created a situation in England where, according to John Rodda, former director of hydrology and water resources with the World Meteorological Organization and now a UK-based consultant, “there is no attempt to consider the national resources in a holistic way.” He explains this is because there is no national plan.

Just ‘No’

Even so, the British proposal recycles regardless of forces against it. In 2006 the British Environment Agency issued a report titled, “”Do we need large-scale water transfers for south-east England?” and the conclusions were simple – No.

The report acknowledged it could be done, but estimated cost at between five and eight times more than developing extra infrastructure and instituting water conservation measures in the southeast.

Maybe Yes

In California, official reports lean the opposite direction.  The Bay Delta Conservation Plan, scheduled for release in just weeks, will outline the proposed approach, including the tunnel, for moving water to the south. An existing system conveys water there now but most view the current approach as unsustainable.   A collection of opponents suggest the ambitious engineering solution is not the best approach and recommend measures involving water conservation and infrastructure improvements in Southern California.

The massive proposals come with big price tags and questions of who will pay them.  Although the United Kingdom and the State of California ranked 8^th and 9^th respectively as the world’s largest economies, cash for government projects is hardly plentiful.

Add that to the fact the very people actually know where their water comes from.  In fact, recent public opinion research found the majority of Californians have never heard of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the location of the proposed tunnel and the core of California’s water delivery system.  The findings were worse in Southern California, the primary water recipient.  A stunning 86 percent of Southern Californians did not know about the Delta.

The situation will only get worse.  Climate change, aging infrastructure, and a fragile ecosystem continue to wreck havoc with water supplies.    It is just a matter of time before something gives. The question is, will something be done before disaster strikes?

Meanwhile, you may want to ask yourself these questions: Do you know where your water comes from?  Have you complained about your water bill?  What happens if water is no longer available to the economic engine of your State or Nation?

In the coming decade, water management will be a topic no public administrator or policy maker can ignore.

Need for a Meatier Message

By Elaine Orr

I lived for many years in an Iowa town that had a large pork meatpacking plant (Cargill Meat Solutions), a good employer and active participant in the community.  I toured it once and took note of the cleanliness — and the cold workplace temperature.  In a later conversation about the visit, a couple employees joked that being taken through the sections that made bacon and cut large slabs of meat was one thing.  Had I gone to an area that puts together sausage, I’d have a better sense of how many diverse pieces of a hog could be put together and packed into a casing.

Communication in government is kind of like sausage.  You have a final product, but the components are incredibly diverse and you might not be impressed with all of them.

Often it’s not how to get the word out that is complicated or contentious, it’s reaching the decisions that will be crafted in a message.  Who you bring into the process, perhaps even the alliances you form in so doing, affects what you decide and how you convey it.

I just finished In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, which is a well researched account of the life of U.S. Ambassador William E. Dodd and his family when he served in Berlin from 1933-37.  It seems incredible today that the U.S. and other nations took such great pains to placate Hitler and his Nazi Party.  As Larson brings various diaries, memoirs and State Department correspondence into focus, you get a clearer picture.  There is the “surely he will be ousted” component, and the “don’t do anything to imperil getting repayment on the German debt from World War I” element.  There is also a clear depiction of prejudice against Jews within the U.S., and you are left to wonder if the U.S. government would have acted faster if Hitler had continually limited the freedoms of, for example, Germans who worked in the Dresden glass industry.

All that aside — and it is incredibly important — what stands out in reading the book is how ineffectual Ambassador Dodd was in communicating with others in the Department of State and elsewhere.  Initially, he did not want to believe Hitler capable of the atrocities to follow (probably could not have contemplated them), so he talked to Hitler about the need for peace and thought they had might have similar broad goals.  However, long before others at State were willing to see the evil for what it was, Dodd became convinced.  After Roosevelt fired Dodd in 1937, he dedicated the rest of his life to conveying the truth about Nazi Germany.

Dodd marginalized his message through his reticent nature, inability to employ traditional practices within the diplomatic environment, and his constant correspondence to Washington about the need for frugality in embassy expenditures and others’ lack of interest in this important (to him) issue.  He found his voice after he left office, and you could postulate that the firing by his friend Franklin Roosevelt may have stimulated courage in a way nothing else could.

Had Dodd conveyed his opinions more forcefully, maybe he would have been fired in 1935.  We’ll never know.  However, the impression I took from the book was that if he had been able to work within the State Department mechanisms more effectively he would have been taken more seriously, and so might his message.

As public managers in 2012, most of us outside the military or law enforcement aren’t called upon to convey information that has life or death implications.  We may not even feel able to say what we think, certainly we cannot talk to the media unless directed by a very senior official.

Even so, what we say and how we say it can make a difference.  If we focus on minor points or simply spend too much time getting to the point, we risk making sausage with lots of pieces, not so much meat.  And a lot of people are turned off by it.

The Impact of Technology on the Federal Government

By Daniel Eisen

This is the first in a blog series focusing on the impact of technology on the federal government. In future posts I will discuss the growth of Information Technology (IT) contracting, emerging technologies, and the challenges faced by federal agencies and federal IT contractors resulting from the recent federal budget crisis.

So, where do we begin? The impact of technology on the federal government operations and the delivery of citizen-centric services are undeniable. Developing and implementing any technology is a complex undertaking. Developing and implementing technology for the federal government, can and usually does, increase this level of complexity. These efforts usually involve multiple stakeholders and interests such as the prime contractor, subcontractor(s), consultants (technical and/or management), other federal agencies, federal budgeting constraints, cumbersome procurement processes, state, local, tribal ,or federal laws and statutes, Congress, and citizens. These efforts are also well-known for their size, complexity, staggering budgets, mismanagement, poor planning, and failures. A 2008 Government Accountability Office report stated:

OMB and federal agencies have identified around 413 IT projects—totaling at least $25.2 billion in spending for fiscal year 2008—as being poorly planned, poorly performing, or both. Specifically, through the Management Watch List process, OMB determined that 352 projects (totaling about $23.4 billion) are poorly planned. In addition, agencies reported that 87 of their high risk projects (totaling about $4.8 billion) were poorly performing. Twenty-six projects (totaling about $3 billion) are considered both poorly planned and poorly performing.

Since it is no fun to lead with the bad news, let’s look at “the good” of one federal government IT effort with the goal of increasing agency efficiency and effectiveness in delivering citizen-centric services.

In 1986 the IRS piloted its electronic tax filing program (e-file).  In 1990, e-file became nationally available.  By June 2011, a Treasury Press Releases (Issue Number: IR-2011-64) touted individual e-file tax returns had surpassed the one billion mark since 1986. Also, reported was more than “100 million individual tax returns were e-filed during the 2011 filing season”. And, in a December 2010 report (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11111.pdf), the GAO stated for fiscal year 2009, the IRS reported an e-file return cost 19 cents to process compared to $3.29 for a paper return. The report cited in 2005, the IRS processed 62 million paper fillings and 68 million electronic fillings and in 2010, only 40 million fillings were paper compared with 94 million electronic fillings.

However, the e-file program has not been all wine and roses. The IRS began a program to modernize the original e-file system in 2004. Now called, Modernized e-File (MeF), the December 2010 GAO report also suggested “although IRS began using MeF to accept individual returns for the first time in 2010, the system was underutilized.” The report states IRS officials cited several reasons such as the system is “unproven compared to the current legacy e-file system” and “the legacy e-file system had a lower rejection rate than MeF and return filers may have stopped using MeF after encountering performance problems.”

Here’s where things get complicated. Congress has set an 80% e-file adoption goal for major returns. So, how might the issues and challenges faced by the MeF modernization effort impact e-file adoption? A July 2010 study in Computers in Human Behavior discussing a model of e-file adoption suggested adoption of electronic filing is significantly influenced by factors such as “trust in the internet and trust in the e-file provider”. Also, a 2011 study in Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, highlighted factors such as level of effort, social influence, security and an individual’s belief in their own competence to successfully use the e-file system all played a role in “predicting taxpayers’ e-filing intentions.” And, a 2011 report by The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) discussed the following five groups of recommendations on issues in electronic tax administration:

• Standards for security and accuracy for the electronic tax community
• 1040 Modernized e-file (MeF) platform
• Barriers to e-filing employment tax returns
• Tax filing simplification
• Collaboration and partnership with the electronic filing community

What does all of this mean? Like I said, IT development efforts are complex and Federal IT efforts only add to this complexity. And, in reality, most technologies are not completely perfect. With all of this complexity and imperfection, I like to think in all of the confusion, things will somehow work themselves out.

I need to stop writing and get working on my 2012 taxes. In my next post…the growth of federal IT contracting.

Cyber Bullying – A Question of Punishment

Thirteen- year- old Megan Meier from Missouri struck up an online relationship with a sixteen- year- old named Josh who claimed to live in a nearby town.

The two communicated for several weeks through MySpace. Megan developed a strong connection to Josh; several weeks later, Josh posted that he no longer wanted to be friends with Megan because he had heard she was not a nice person and said that “the world would be a better place” without her.

On October 17, 2006, Megan hung herself. Shockingly, several weeks later, authorities revealed that Josh did not exist; he was a fictitious person created by Lori Drew, the mother of one of Megan’s former friends. 

Bullying, a widespread and serious problem is no longer limited to the schoolyard. In today’s society which is so technologically advanced, cyber-bullying, which consists of posting offensive posts on social networks, sending harassing emails or text messages, or revealing personal information about a victim without their consent, is now the new form of bullying.

Moreover, cyber-bullying often occurs under the cover of anonymity, since cyber bullies usually have aliases which make it easy to hide one’s true identity.

In recent years, cyber-bulling has lead to tragic and heartrending outcomes such as the victims committing suicide or suffering from severe depression. In schools particularly, cyber-bullying is on the rise.

According to a report of the 2006-07 school year, the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) revealed that:

• 8,166,000 students or 31.7 % of students between the ages 12 – 18 reported they were bullied at school
• 940,000, or about 3.7 %, reported they were the victims of cyber-bullying on or off school property

Also in recent years, cyber-bulling has increased in terms of tragedies and awareness. As a result, most states have implemented cyber-bulling laws, like California which makes it a misdemeanor to impersonate someone through a website or other electronic means with the intent to harm, intimidate, or threaten. However, the question presented is should cyber-bullying be made a federal crime, thereby invoking a harsher punishment?

In the case of Megan, Lori was convicted of computer fraud in 2008 but the court’s decision was overturned in 2009. In the case of Tyler Clementi, a freshman of Rutgers University who died and was the victim of an internet hate crime, his roommates faced charges of invasion of privacy. These punishments lead to a public outcry for more severe punishment for cyber-bullying.

In an attempt to put an end to the outcry, in 2009 California U.S. Representative Linda Sanchez introduced the Megan Meier Cyber-bulling Prevention Act which makes it a federal crime to use electronic devices to “coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person” or to “support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior”. However, the bill never became law.

Making cyber-bullying a federal crime will be a difficult task, since our legal system is based on a retributivist system where the punishment must fit the crime. Moreover, punishment should not be implemented based on the public outrage. Although cyber-bullying has serious consequences, which in some cases ends in suicide, this should not influence or cloud the judgment of a prosecutor.

Also, there is the question of society’s role in cyber-bullying. We live in a virtually connected society, in which we are encouraged by social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to post our every thought and whereabouts online, at the same time sacrificing our own privacy for connectedness. Therefore, society needs to be mindful of the level of responsibility required when posting on these social media sites.

Cyber-bullying is a dangerous act that has serious consequences, and living in a society that is ruled by social media, i.e., Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., gives us an immense amount of publishing power. However, with such an increase in power there also comes an increase in responsibilty, a thought that may not be on the minds of the current and upcoming social media generation.

In terms of making cyber-bullying a federal crime or having a harsher punishment for cyber-bullies, in the words of the great philosophers John Mills and Jeremy Bentham, “the punishment must fit the crime.” However, if cyber-bulling leads a victim to commit suicide, a question society needs to answer before public outrage is “what is the actual level of influence of these cyber-bullies?”

ASPA Promotes Good Governance Worldwide

By Warren Master

Over the last few years, ASPA has been expanding its reach internationally. We created an international chapter and ASPA established several Memorandum of Understanding with international organizations that are focused on public administration in other countries. The association also has a number of sections who focus on global issues such as comparative governance, international administration as well as area specific interests in the Middle East, Korea and China.

The newest effort by ASPA’s International Chapter and Section on Certified Public Management is the launch of the Good Governance Worldwide website. The new site, just launched this week, is aimed at building connections between scholars and practitioners in the U.S. and across the globe.  Its goal: to “promote good governance worldwide, particularly in modernizing and emerging democracies.”

We hope that the web presence over time, will offer a wide array of best practice content – through e-articles, commentaries, book reviews, interviews, blogs, podcasts, videos, topical forums, wikis, etc. – and open up networking opportunities for practitioners, applied researchers, PA students, trainers, and technical consultants, among others. Also, we believe many of ASPA’s sections and chapters have additional content relevant to this worldwide community of practice – proven tools, techniques, strategies and field-tested experience that can be shared through such a global online vehicle.

This work is already in progress. For example, ASPA’s South Florida Chapter has been looking critically at the work that continues in response to the many challenges facing Haiti. Similarly, the Section on Emergency & Crisis Management has been very active in response to such events overseas as well as its continuing involvement in natural disasters here at home. While the budgeting and financial management community is looking at how accounting innovations can and should have a positive impact in emerging democracies.

Meanwhile, others both in ASPA and beyond are working on such professional public management challenges as:

•     Building Border Control Capacity between the U.S. & Mexico (drugs, guns & money-laundering)
•     Raising the Bar on E-Governance in Central & Eastern Europe
•     Standing up a Judiciary Branch in Indonesia
•     Entrepreneurial Bureaucracy in Slovenia
•     Public Sector Reform in Liberia
•     Citizen Engagement of Ethnic & Religious Minorities in Kosovo

Navigating the Site

You will find the site easy to navigate. On the “About” page, you‘ll find the usual suspects that explain and describe the site’s purpose, affiliates, structure, steering group and editorial board.

The “Interact” page is devoted to many of the networking vehicles we’re looking to put in play; and the “Contact” page lets you weigh in singularly – by submitting article ideas, questions and responding to calls for content and our editorial guidance.

What I suspect is the pull-down that will get the most action is the “Content” tab, which even at this nascent stage includes all sorts of hidden treasures from near and far. For example, in addition to original, featured works, we have lots of “must read or watch” contributions from The Public Manager’s 40+ years of archival material, Harvard Kennedy School’s Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe (rich in videos of interviews and seminars), The Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange (one of our many links to the world of international exchange programs), Global Connections TV, The International Monetary Fund (IMF), The United Nations, Washington International, The World Bank, among others.

Featured Content

Not only is our focus worldwide, but it aims to move laterally across the many bureaucratic silos that impede efforts to operate collaboratively. Some of the featured works include:

Curbing Health Care Fraud in the US Medicare Program – article by Linda Min that emphasizes collaboration within the federal government and with state and local officials as well

Diplomacy & Genocide in Burundi – video-interview by Warren Master of former U.S. Senator & Ambassador Robert Krueger and his wife, Kathleen Tobin Krueger

Mexico’s Perfect Storm: Using the Narcotrafico Threat to Build Governance Capacity in the U.S. and Mexico – commentary by Don Klingner emphasizing the critically collaborative nature of this highly-charged challenge

Managing Effectively in a Networked World – article by Muhittin Acar, Chao Guo & Gregory D. Saxton, with new insight into 21st century collaboration

Promoting Minority Rights in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina – article by Sarah Ringler that examines collaborative techniques in the still-dicey Balkans

Engaging the Global Community through Exchange Programs – article by David Simpson that shares a tapestry of efforts underway requiring broad, international collaboration and cooperation

The UN’s Response on Behalf of Children in Armed Conflict – video-interview by Bill Miller of Radhika Coomaraswamy, U.N. Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict

Entrepreneurial Municipal Governance in Slovenia – article by Miro Hacek on the challenges and innovations of inter-governmental and public-private collaboration in the former Yugoslav republic

Better Government, Better Services in Liberia – article by Oblayon B. Nyemah on a road map to reduce poverty and place the country on a path of positive socio-economic growth and development

Looking Ahead

We expect to refresh the online site regularly and anticipate that as it becomes better known – within ASPA’s Sections and Chapters and other globally-oriented circles – we’ll be well on our way to building a robust, searchable collection that users can tap and contribute to for some time to come. Moreover, as the International Chapter begins reaching out and generates more interaction, we anticipate site visitors will weigh in through forums and other tools to open up dialogues on a wide variety of topics. For example, the first forum posted at present concerns “Governance Challenges in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Region” – a dialogue already underway within ASPA generated by an internal survey (See recent PA Times article). Four questions posed by the forum moderator focus on lessons learned from the world of practice, applied research and training, education & development.

Please contact me directly at wciwmaster@aol.com if you have practice-oriented content to propose or other questions or suggestions to help make the new site a success.