Dataset Viewer
filename
stringlengths 13
13
| text
stringlengths 579
25.1k
|
|---|---|
W1B-024-0.txt
|
MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY
For the Year Ended December 31, 1993
Item 1. Business.
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1929 under the laws of the State of Delaware to continue operations, begun in 1902, of a Minnesota corporation of the same name. As used herein, the term "3M" includes Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company and subsidiaries unless the context otherwise indicates. 3M employs 86,168 persons.
3M is an integrated enterprise characterized by substantial interdivision and intersector cooperation in research, manufacturing and marketing of products incorporating similar component materials manufactured at common internal sources. Its business has developed from its research and technology in coating and bonding for coated abrasives, its only product in its early years. Coating and bonding is the process of applying one material to another, such as adhesives to a backing (pressure-sensitive tapes), abrasive granules to paper or cloth (coated abrasives), ceramic coating to granular mineral(roofing granules), heat- or light- sensitive materials to paper, film and metal (dry silver paper, photographic film and lithographic plates), iron oxide to plastic backing (magnetic recording tape), glass beads to plastic backing (reflective sheeting), and low tack adhesives to paper(repositionable notes).
3M believes that it is among the leading producers of products for many of the markets it serves. In all cases, 3M products are subject to direct or indirect competition. Generally speaking, most 3M products involve technical competence in development, manufacturing and marketing and are subject to competition with products manufactured and sold by other technically-oriented companies.
3M's three business sectors are: Industrial and Consumer; Information, Imaging and Electronic; and Life Sciences. Each sector brings together common or related 3M technologies and thus provides greater opportunity for the future development of products and services and a more efficient sharing of business strengths.
The notes to the financial statements on page 25 and 26 of this Form 10-K provide financial information concerning 3M's three industry segments and 3M's operations in various geographic areas of the world.
Industry Segments
3M's operations are organized into three business sectors. These sectors have worldwide responsibility for virtually all 3M product lines. A few miscellaneous and staff-sponsored new products, still in development, are not assigned to the sectors.
Major products in the Abrasive, Chemical and Film Products Group include coated abrasives (such as sandpaper) for grinding, conditioning and finishing a wide range of surfaces; natural and color-coated mineral granules for asphalt shingles; finishing compounds; and flame-retardant materials. This group also markets products for maintaining and repairing vehicles. Major chemical products include protective chemicals for furniture, fabrics and paper products; fire-fighting agents; fluoroelastomers for seals, tubes and gaskets in engines; engineering fluids; and high performance fluids used in the manufacture of computer chips and for electronic cooling and lubricating of computer hard disk drives. This group also serves as a major resource for other 3M divisions, supplying specialty chemicals, adhesives and films used in the manufacture of many 3M products.
Products include body side-molding and trim; functional and decorative graphics; corrosion- and abrasion- resistant films; tapes for attaching nameplates, trim and moldings; and fasteners for attaching interior panels and carpeting.
Major products in the Consumer and Office Market businesses include Scotch brand tapes; Post-it brand note products including memo pads, labels, stickers, pop-up notes and dispensers; home cleaning products including Scotch-Brite brand scouring products, O-Cel-O brand sponges and Scotchgard brand fabric protectors; energy control products such as window insulation kits; nonwoven abrasive materials for floor maintenance and commercial cleaning; floor matting; and a full range of do-it-yourself products including surface preparation and wood finishing materials, and filters for furnaces and air conditioners.
The Tape Group manufactures and markets a wide variety of high- performance and general-use pressure-sensitive tapes and specialty products. Major product categories include industrial application tapes made from a wide variety of materials such as foil, film, vinyl and polyester; specialty tapes and adhesives for industrial applications including Scotch brand VHB brand tapes, lithographic tapes, joining systems, specialty additives, vibration control materials, liquid adhesives, and reclosable fasteners; general-use tapes such as masking, box-sealing and filament; and labels and other materials for identifying and marking durable goods.
Information, Imaging and Electronic Sector: This sector serves rapidly changing markets in audio, video and data recording; graphic communications; information storage, output and transfer; telecommunications; electronics and electrical products. The sector has the leading technologies for certain electrical, electronic and fiber-optic applications and a wide variety of graphic imaging technologies. Having these related areas in one operating unit fosters efficient product development and innovation. The sector is also strong in worldwide distribution and service. The sector is organized into three groups: Electro and Communications Systems; Imaging Systems; and Memory Technologies.
The Electro and Communication Systems Group includes products in the electronic, electrical, telecommunication and visual communication fields. The electronic and electrical products include packaging and inter-connection devices; insulating materials, including pressure-sensitive tapes and resins; and other related equipment. These products are used extensively by manufacturers of electronic and electrical equipment, as well as the construction and maintenance segments of the electric utility, telephone and other industries. The telecommunication products serve the world's telephone companies with a wide array of products for fiber-optic and copper-based telephone systems. These include many innovative connecting, closure and splicing systems, maintenance products and test equipment. The visual communication products serve the world's office and education markets with overhead projectors and transparency films and materials plus equipment and accessories for computer-based presentations.
The Imaging Systems Group offers a complete line of products for printers and graphic arts firms, from the largest commercial printer to the smallest instant printer or in-house facility. These products include a broad line of presensitized lithographic plates and related supplies; a complete line of duplicator press plates and automated imaging systems and related supplies; copy and art preparation materials; pre-press proofing systems; carbonless paper sheets for multiple-part business forms; and a line of light-sensitive dry silver papers and films for electronically recorded images. This group's imaging technologies are used in producing photographic products, including medical X-ray films, graphic arts films and amateur color films. It also is a major supplier of laser imagers and supplies and computerized medical diagnostic systems. This group also offers an array of micrographic systems including readers and printers for engineering graphics and office applications. Related products include dry silver imaging papers and microfilm in aperture card and roll formats.
The Memory Technologies Group manufactures and markets a complete line of magnetic and optical recording products for many applications that meet the requirements for complex applications in computers, instrumentation, automation and other fields. Memory Technologies is the world's largest supplier of removable memory media for computers. Products range from computer diskettes, cartridges and tapes to CD-ROM and rewritable optical media. The group markets a wide array of recording products which are used for home video recording, in professional radio and television markets, as well as for commercial and industrial uses. These include reel-to-reel, cartridge and cassette tapes for audio and video recording.
Life Sciences contributes to better health and safety for people around the world. The Life Sciences Sector's major technologies include pressure-sensitive adhesives, substrates, extrusion/coating, nonwoven materials, specialty polymers and resins, optical systems, drug delivery, and electro-mechanical devices. The sector has strong distribution channels in all its major markets. The sector is organized into three groups: Medical Products; Pharmaceuticals, Dental and Disposable Products; and Traffic and Personal Safety Products.
The Medical Products Group produces a broad range of medical supplies, devices and equipment. Medical supplies include tapes, dressings, surgical drapes and masks, biological indicators, orthopedic casting materials and electrodes. Medical devices and equipment include stethoscopes, heart-lung machines, sterilization equipment, blood gas monitors, powered orthopedic instruments, skin staplers, and intravenous infusion pumps. The Medical Products Group also develops hospital information systems.
The Pharmaceuticals, Dental and Disposable Products Group serves pharmaceutical and dental markets, as well as manufacturers of disposable diapers. Pharmaceuticals include ethical drugs and drug-delivery systems. Among ethical pharmaceuticals are analgesics, anti-inflammatories and cardiovascular and respiratory products. Drug-delivery systems include metered-dose inhalers, as well as transdermal skin patches and related components. Dental products include dental restoratives, adhesives, impression materials, temporary crowns, infection control products and orthodontic brackets and wires. This group also produces a broad line of tape closures for disposable diapers.
The Traffic and Personal Safety Products Group is a leader in the following markets: traffic control materials, commercial graphics, occupational health and safety, and out-of-home advertising. In traffic control materials, 3M is the worldwide leader in reflective sheetings. These materials are used on highway signs, vehicle license plates, construction workzone devices, and trucks and other vehicles. In commercial graphics, 3M supplies a broad line of films, inks and related products used to produce graphics for trucks and signs. Major occupational health and safety products include maintenance-free and reusable respirators plus personal monitoring systems. Out-of-home advertising includes outdoor advertising, advertising displays in shopping centers and local advertising in national magazines. This product group also markets a variety of other products. These include spill-control sorbents, Thinsulate brand and Lite Loft brand insulations, traffic control devices, filtration products, electronic surveillance products, reflective sheetings for personal safety, and films for protection against counterfeiting.
Distribution
3M products are sold directly to users and through numerous wholesalers, retailers, jobbers, distributors and dealers in a wide variety of trades in many countries of the world. Management believes that the confidence of wholesalers, retailers, jobbers, distributors and dealers in 3M and its products, developed through long association with trained marketing and sales representatives, has contributed significantly to 3M's position in the marketplace and to its growth. 3M has 322 sales offices and distribution centers worldwide, including 9 major branch offices and warehouses that are located in principal cities throughout the United States. There are 99 sales offices and distribution centers located in the United States. The remaining 223 sales offices and distribution centers are located in 52 countries outside the United States.
Research and product development constitute an important part of 3M's activities, and products resulting from such research and product development have contributed in large measure to its growth. The total amount spent for all research and development activities was $1.030 billion, $1.007 billion, and $914 million in 1993, 1992 and 1991, respectively.
The corporate research laboratories are engaged in research which does not relate directly to 3M's existing product lines. They also support the research efforts of division and sector laboratories. Most major operating divisions and domestic subsidiaries, as well as several international subsidiaries, have their own laboratories for improvement of existing products and development of related new products. Engineering research staff groups provide specialized services in instrumentation, engineering and process development. An organization is maintained for technological development not sponsored by other units of the company.
3M is the owner of many domestic and foreign patents derived primarily from its own research activities. 3M does not consider that its business as a whole is materially dependent upon any one patent, license or trade secret or any group of related patents, licenses or trade secrets.
The company experienced no significant or unusual problems in the purchase of raw materials during 1993. While 3M has successfully met its demands to date, it is impossible to predict future shortages or their impact.
The following is a list of the executive officers of 3M as of March 1, 1994, their present position, their current age, the year first elected to their position and other positions held within 3M during the previous five years. All of these persons have been employed full time by 3M or a subsidiary of 3M for more than five years. All officers are elected by the Board of Directors at its annual meeting, with vacancies and new positions being filled at interim meetings. There are no family relationships between any of the executive officers named, nor is there any arrangement or understanding pursuant to which any person was selected as an officer.
|
W2C-018-1.txt
|
Bank of Montana bought out: Acquisition by Norwest Corp. would create state's largest bank
Norwest Corp. said Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Bank of Montana System, a move that would result in the state's largest banking organization.
If the acquisition is approved by state and federal regulators, the combined companies would control about $ 1.6 billion in assets and $ 1.4 billion in deposits. The two organizations currently operate 37 locations across the state. The two banking companies would have a combined 18.7 percent market share in Montana's banking industry.
Great Falls-based Bank of Montana System has 29 banking locations in 25 communities, with total assets of $ 793 million. Norwest Banks in Montana have assets of $ 855 million and eight locations.
Norwest also operates five locations in Wyoming. With the proposed acquisition, Norwest's Montana-Wyoming region would have $ 2 billion in assets. Norwest banks in Montana and Wyoming are subsidiaries of the $ 47.8 billion Norwest Corp., based in Minneapolis.
First Bank System currently is the state's banking leader, with deposits of $1.1 billion and a 14.8 percent market share.
The terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed, and officials from the two banking companies said the regulatory approval of the acquisition could take at least six months.
Bob Worth, president of Norwest Bank Billings, said no decisions have been made regarding how many offices would remain open, nor have there been any decisions regarding employment of the two combined companies.
" The combination of Bank of Montana System and Norwest Banks will bring together two Montana institutions with strong local traditions," Worth said.
" We are confident that Norwest, one of the nation's most successful financial services companies, will provide our communities throughout Montana with a broader array of services and products and a high level of community involvement," said Ed Lamb, executive vice president of Bank of Montana System.
A new state banking law, which allows some out-of-state bank holding companies to buy Montana banks, goes into effect Oct. 1. Norwest's proposed acquisition of Bank of Montana System is seen as one of several possible mergers that could result from the new interstate banking law.
In late July, Bank of Montana announced that it was discussing the possible merger with another banking company. Norwest then conducted a due diligence review of Bank of Montana's operations.
Earlier this year, federal regulators approved the merger of Bank of Montana and Billings-based Montana Bancsystem Inc. Some analysts considered the earlier merger a way for Bank of Montana to groom itself for a merger with a larger company.
Norwest Corp. is involved in banking, insurance, investments and other financial services in all 50 states, all 10 Canadian provinces and other countries.
|
W2A-037-0.txt
|
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of an empirical study into two organizations' experiences with the adoption and use of CASE tools over time. Using a grounded theory research approach, the study characterizes the organizations' experiences in terms of processes of incremental or radical organizational change. These findings are used to develop a theoretical framework for conceptualizing the organizational issues around the adoption and use of these tools--issues that have been largely missing from contemporary discussions of CASE tools. The paper thus has important implications for research and practice. Specifically, the framework and findings suggest that in order to account for the experiences and outcomes associated with CASE tools, researchers should consider the social context of systems development, the intentions and actions of key players, and the implementation process followed by the organization. Similarly, the paper suggests that practitioners will be better able to manage their organizations' experiences with CASE tools, if they understand that such implementations involve a process of organizational change over time, and not merely the installation of a new technology.
Introduction
CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tools have generated much interest among researchers and practitioners as potential means for easing the software development and maintenance burden threatening to overwhelm information systems (IS) departments. While interest and investment in CASE tools has been rising steadily, actual experiences with tools have exhibited more ambiguity. For example, while some studies report improvements in productivity from the use of CASE tools (Banker and Kauffman, 1991; Necco, Tsai and Holgeson, 1989; Norman and Nunamaker, 1988; Swanson, McComb, Smith, and McCubbrey, 1991), others find that the expected productivity gains are elusive (Card, McGarry, and Page, 1987; Yellen,1990) or eclipsed by lack of adequate training and experience, developer resistance, and increased design and testing time (Norman, Corbitt, Butler, and McElroy, 1989; Orlikowski, 1988b, 1989; Vessey, Jarvenpaa, and Tractinsky, 1992).
While these contradictory experiences with CASE tools appear puzzling and difficult to interpret, the research presented here suggests that by shifting the focus from specific outcome expectations, we may be able to make some sense of the apparently inconsistent findings. This paper argues that the adoption and use of CASE tools should be conceptualized as a form of organizational change, and that such a perspective allows us to anticipate, explain, and evaluate different experiences and consequences following the introduction of CASE tools in organizations. To date, there has been no systematic examination or formulation of the organizational changes around CASE tools. Much of the literature on CASE tools has tended to focus on discrete outcomes, such as productivity, systems quality, and development costs, while neglecting the intentions and actions of key players, the process by which CASE tools are adopted and used, and the organizational context within which such events occur. Issues of intentions, actions, process, and context around information technology are not new to the IS field. For example, implementation research has looked at the process through which technology is introduced (Ginzberg, 1981; Rogers, 1983), the interactionist (Markus, 1983) and reinforcement politics (George and King, 1991) approaches have examined the role of social context in shaping the introduction and use of technology, and the structuration perspective (DeSanctis and Poole, forthcoming; Orlikowski and Robey, 1991) has emphasized the centrality of players' deliberate, knowledgeable, and reflective action in shaping and appropriating technology. Yet, contemporary discussions around CASE tools in research, education, and practice tend to gloss over these issues. In this paper, the implementation of CASE tools is understood as a specific case of technology-based organizational change. As such, the core research question is: What are the critical elements that shape the organizational changes associated with the adoption and use of CASE tools? In answering this question, I first describe the empirical findings that emerged from my grounded theory study of two organizations that implemented CASE tools in their systems development operations. I then develop a theoretical framework that conceptualizes the findings in terms of three central categories: strategic conduct, institutional context, and change process.
The grounded theory approach was useful here because it allows a focus on contextual and processual elements as well as the action of key players associated with organizational change--elements that are often omitted in IS studies that rely on variance models and cross-sectional, quantitative data (Markus and Robey, 1988; Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991). While the findings of this grounded theory study are detailed and particularistic, a more general explanation can also be produced from the results (Eisenhardt, 1989; Dutton and Dukerich, 1991; Leonard-Barton, 1990). Yin (1989a) refers to this technique as "analytic generalization" to distinguish it from the more typical statistical generalization that generalizes from a sample to a population. Here the generalization is of theoretical concepts and patterns. I further extend this generalization by combining the inductive concepts generated by the field study with insights from existing formal theory, in this case, from the innovation literature (a strategy recommended by Glaser and Strauss, 1967). The outcome is a general conceptualization of the organizational changes associated with adopting and using CASE tools that both contributes to our research knowledge and informs IS practice.
The paper makes three principal contributions. First, drawing on the rich data of two organizations' experiences, the paper generates a grounded understanding of the changes associated with implementing CASE tools in systems development. This grounded theory is valid empirically "because the theory-building process is so intimately tied with evidence that it is very likely that the resultant theory will be consistent with empirical observation" (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 547). While many believe that building theory from a limited number of cases is susceptible to researchers' preconceptions, Eisenhardt (1988) argues persuasively that the opposite is true. The iterative comparison across sites, methods, evidence, and literature that characterizes such research leads to a "constant juxtaposition of conflicting realities [that] tends to "unfreeze" thinking, and so the process has the potential to generate theory with less researcher bias than theory built from incremental studies or armchair, axiomatic deduction" (p. 546). Second, the grounded theory developed in this paper adds substantive content to our understanding of the central role played by individual actors, their institutional context, and the processes they enact in adopting and using CASE tools. Such an understanding has been absent from the research and practice discourses on CASE tools. The approach followed here focuses specifically on developing such an understanding, thus bringing a fresh set of issues to the already-researched topic of CASE tools (Eisenhardt, 1989). Third, the paper integrates a specific grounded theory with the more formal insights available from the innovation literature, developing a more general framework that will allow researchers and practitioners to explain, anticipate, and evaluate various organizational changes associated with the adoption and use of CASE tools.
The paper is structured as follows. The first section describes the research methodology and the two research sites. The next section presents the research findings, describing the experiences of each organization in turn. The discussion section follows, integrating the specific concepts and findings of the field research with insights from the innovation literature into an analytic framework for conceptualizing CASE tools adoption and use in organizations. The conclusion then assesses the contribution of the research framework and findings, both for future research and for the management of CASE tools in organizations.
Research Methodology
The research methodology followed was that of grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Martin and Turner, 1986; Turner, 1983), with an aim of generating a descriptive and explanatory theory of the organizational changes associated with CASE tools rooted in the experiences of specific systems development operations. This approach has been effectively used in organizational research (Ancona, 1990; Elsbach and Sutton, 1992; Isabella, 1990; Kahn, 1990; Pettigrew, 1990; Sutton, 1987), and was adopted here for three primary reasons.
First, grounded theory "is an inductive, theory discovery methodology that allows the researcher to develop a theoretical account of the general features of a topic while simultaneously grounding the account in empirical observations or data" (Martin and Turner, 1986, p. 141). This generative approach seemed particularly useful here given that no change theory of CASE tools adoption and use has been established to date. While models of information technology implementation do exist (Ginzberg, 1981; Lucas, 1978; Markus, 1983) these deal largely with the development stages of IS implementation and focus extensively on user involvement and user relations. As a result, they are less applicable to the issue of organizational change in general, and to the case of CASE tools adoption and use in particular.
Second, a major premise of grounded theory is that to produce accurate and useful results, the complexities of the organizational context have to be incorporated into an understanding of the phenomenon, rather than be simplified or ignored (Martin and Turner, 1986; Pettigrew, 1990). As indicated above, a number of theoretical approaches emphasize the criticality of organizational context in shaping technology use in organizations. Such a conviction also informs this research, and the use of a grounded theory methodology allowed the inclusion and investigation of this key organizational element.
Third, grounded theory facilitates "the generation of theories of process, sequence, and change pertaining to organizations, positions, and social interaction" (Glaser and Strauss, 1967, p. 114). As indicated above, the change an organization undergoes in adopting and assimilating CASE tools, and the processes of appropriation and use that system developers engage in to incorporate the tools in their work lives have tended to be neglected in the CASE tools literature. A research approach that specifically includes elements of process and change was thus particularly appropriate here.
These three characteristics of grounded theory--inductive, contextual, and processual--fit with the interpretive rather than positivist orientation of this research. The focus here is on developing a context-based, process-oriented description and explanation of the phenomenon, rather than an objective, static description expressed strictly in terms of causality (Boland, 1979, 1985; Chua, 1986; Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991). In the language of Markus and Robey (1988) and Mohr (1982), the paper develops a process not a variance theory. Such a theory describes and explains the process of adopting and using CASE tools in terms of an interaction of contextual conditions, actions, and consequences, rather than explaining variance using independent and dependent variables (Elsbach and Sutton, 1992). This orientation "gives primacy to realism of context and theoretical and conceptual development as research goals" (Pettigrew, 1990, p. 283).
The methodology of grounded theory is iterative, requiring a steady movement between concept and data, as well as comparative, requiring a constant comparison across types of evidence to control the conceptual level and scope of the emerging theory. As Pettigrew (1989) notes, this "provides an opportunity to examine continuous processes in context in order to draw out the significance of various levels of analysis and thereby reveal the multiple sources of loops of causation and connectivity so crucial to identifying and explaining patterns in the process of change" (p. 14). To facilitate this iteration and comparison, two field sites were studied and analyzed in turn, a strategy also adopted by Kahn (1990). The initial concepts thus emerged in one organizational context, and were then contrasted, elaborated, and qualified in the other.
Site Selection
Following Glaser and Strauss' (1967) technique of theoretical sampling, the two organizations were selected for their similarities as well as their differences. Theoretical sampling requires paying attention to theoretical relevance and purpose. With respect to relevance, this selection process ensures that the substantive area addressed--here, the adoption and use of CASE tools--is kept similar, or as Eisenhardt (1988) notes, "is likely to replicate or extend the emergent theory" (p. 537). Thus, both organizations chosen for this study had within the past few years implemented CASE tools into their systems development operations, and mandated their use on all new systems development work. In addition, the CASE tools themselves, while not identical, were compatible across the two organizations in that both were life-cycle tools that integrate the phases of analysis, design, coding, and testing.1 Both sets of tools provide similar capabilities such as design aids (e.g., data flow diagrams), data modeling facilities (e.g., entity-relationship modeling), screen and report design utilities, data repositories, code generators, test data generation, and version control. While the one set of CASE tools are based on the Structured Systems Design approach (Yourdon and Constantine, 1978), the other is based on Information Engineering (Martin, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c). Thus, the two sets of CASE tools are philosophically similar, drawing on the same basic software engineering tenets of functional decomposition, separation of process and data, and sequential development phases.
Because the purpose of the research was to generate theory applicable to various organizational contexts and distinguishing different change processes, differences were sought in organizational conditions such as the nature and scope of systems development activity and the method of CASE tools acquisition. As a result, the two companies selected also differ on other organizational dimensions such as industry, location, size, structure, and culture. The consulting firm (SCC) 3 is in the software business, developing information systems for external clients. In 1987, it employed 13,000 consultants and earned $600 million in revenues. SCC acquired its CASE tools by developing them in-house. The petro-chemical firm (PCC) is in the petroleum products business, having earned $6.3 billion in revenues in 1987. It has an internal information systems division, which employs 320 people and which develops and maintains information systems for internal business units. PCC acquired its CASE tools by purchasing them from an outside vendor. These differences in organizational conditions allowed useful contrasts to be made during data analysis, which challenged and elaborated the emerging concepts.
|
W2A-016-0.txt
|
ABSTRACT:
This paper argues that postmodernism represents a contemporary manifestation of a long-standing political despair among Western intellectuals. It shows commonality with various "Power-conflict" perspectives of the past, as well as associated connections with well-known theses of "Post- industrialism." The strength of the postmodernism partly rests on gaps in Marxist historical theory. In its identification of several g stance of postmodernism the end, however, the fundamental fails because of its dematerialization of symbols and their exchange. Postmodern social theory is thus understood as no more than a mode of Idealist philosophy, a status that renders it essentially useless as a basis for social change and that places it in the camp of political reaction.
Much of the Marxist critique of postmodernism has been refutory in its intent. The remainder has searched for emancipatory sub-texts within the largely reactionary text of its major proponents (see Rosenau [19921 for a comprehensive, ordered list of various Marxist responses to the encounter with postmodernism). Both these approaches are limited in their ability to generate an adequate understanding of postmodernism as a phenomenon per se and, yet more problematic for Marxist theory, are insufficient as an analysis of the changing social and political reality from which this complex ideational outcropping has emerged. Although there have been a number of attempts to situate postmodernism in a class-historical conjuncture (see Norris [19901 for an interesting exam le), these have tended to cede the home-court advantage to postmodernism. That is, the conceptual assertions of postmodernism have been parsed for their internal consistency and thus have been treated as linguistic events exhibiting legitimacy from the outset, rather than being examined as ideological outcroppings of an underlying social reality that may or may not function as postmodernism portrays it. More simply and in the main, Marxists have evaluated postmodernism textually, not scientifically. While this is perfectly acceptable and consistent from the deconstructive, text-centered stance of postmodernism, it is unacceptable and inconsistent from a materialist position. It is thus a recapitulation of the error of the Young Hegelian criticism of religion and theology as modes of Idealism that Marx criticized in Toward a Critique of Hegel's "Philosophy of Right" - i.e., the concentration on the "aroma" of the socially problematic, rather than social contradictions themselves. Unless one posits that the word precedes reality, which neither Marxism nor any other form of materialism does, the referential meaning of words must be subject to intense scrutiny. Indeed, the primary vulnerability of postmodernism is to materialism in general, and only secondarily and by inheritance to Marxism, as its most developed incarnation. As Baudrillard (1975) clearly understood in ideological practice in The Mirror of Production, the levers by which Marxism can most effectively be "deprivileged" as a universal mode of discourse are not philosophical, but rather anthropological and psychological. However, by agreeing to join the battle on this terrain, Baudrillard-and by extension postmodernism in general- exposes its own concepts to empirical evaluation.
Postmodernism, at its root, contains an ontological base with embedded arguments about the nature of reality, even though it chooses to proceed mostly by means of epistemological critique. Although this realization may be difficult to draw out in the humanities, and especially in aesthetics (and while the dichotomy between the philosophically reconstructed antinomies of ontology and epistemology is itself arguably false and ideological in nature), penetration of the conceptual and terminological fog behind which postmodernism maneuvers should not be as daunting in the domain of the analysis of social relations. However these relations are organized, they exist as objects beyond systems of self-reference, even if their perception is hopelessly recurved on their existence, as postmodernists of the orthodox literary persuasion seem to believe. In sum, rather than seeking internal contradictions in the carefully crafted, terminologically crenelated conceptual edifice of postmodernism-that is, instead of deconstructing deconstructionism- materialist criticism should question whether postmodernism's conceptual basis is empirically true. Further, in this context, truth should be construed in its commonsensical meaning of a direct correspondence between utterance and referent. It is only after addressing such empirical questions that the matter of the "class" truth of postmodernism can be confronted, i.e., its significance for political practice.
It will also be illuminating to note at subsequent points in this discussion that Marx's own text anticipates just such developments as postmodernism, as it will be to note the evolution of Althusser's "philosophical" interventions as they emerged co-temporally with the formative texts of postmodernism. After this contextual grounding, it will be possible to place postmodernism in a larger paradigmatic genealogy and then understand its meaning for materialist political practice. This analysis will end with the assignment of postmodernism to an ideological nexus situated at the juncture of hypermature imperialism and the total alienation of "actually-existing" human beings of the present. Perhaps ironically, both the structure of Baudrillard's arguments, as well as his empirical observations, will facilitate this operation.
Contextualizing Postmodernism
In an earlier paper (Wenger, 1991), I argued that the essence of postmodernism was located in its socio-political origin: the despairing post- 1968 leftist North Atlantic intelligentsia denied its allegedly rightful turn at the levers of history. This resentment was enlarged by-and festered as a result of-its attribution to the perceived fecklessness of that class that had formerly been held by most "revolutionary" intellectuals to be the emancipatory subject of history: the proletariat of the advanced capitalist societies. Both Wakefield (1990) and Bauman (1988) agree-with different sentiments-that contemporary postmortem social theory, particularly that of Baudrillard, has its ideological taproot in the rebuff of the political leadership of leftist intellectuals by the proletariat during and after the Events of May 1968. The obvious implication is that this theoretical outcropping represents a retaliatory political response by means of theoretical explanation. In any event, it is not, nor should it have been, surprising that the political denouement of the aborted "eruption of Eros" of 1968, to use Katsiaficas' (1987) construction, would produce theoretical disarray of prodigious dimensions at the Sorbonne, and in similar venues in Europe and North America. Over the following decade, which Elliott (Althusser, 1990:xx) brackets in French political history with the defeat of the French Union of the Left in 1978, but which also included on a broader front Nixon, Chile, Kent/Jackson State, and myriad other disasters for the international proletariat and its sympathizers, the postmortem project unfolded and established itself where formerly only almost-communards and near-communists held theoretical sway. However, to plumb the conjunctural origins of a theoretical tendency, and even to assign it its proper political valence, is not necessarily to negate its errors, nor to learn from them. In the present instance, postmodernism will be seen not only in its historical uniqueness, but as a mode of a much longer-standing reactionary project, with which it shares scientific defects, as well as having developed its own.
Having stated the above. some cautionary notes are in order. One difficulty is that it is somewhat dubious to make assertions about postmodernism in general. Although the nature of postmortem analysis makes it difficult to find a seminal text in the tradition that does not make aesthetics, philosophy, and social theory a unified endeavor, and while the common source of this tradition goes back to Nietzsche and even beyond, there are at least two different citation "streams" that seem to have appeared in recent years and flow by different paths through the fine arts and humanities on the one hand, and the social sciences on the other. As evidence of this, in Lash's (1990) Sociology of Postmodernism there is no mention at all of Paul De Man, and in Rosenau's (1992:156-57) reader's guide, Post-modernism and the Social Sciences, other than in De Man's role as an importer of Derrida's concepts, it is only the controversy around his politics that is discussed. Therefore, in its current state, postmodernism's intervention in social theory/science should be seen as drawing on a limited wellspring, mostly composed of the work of Foucault, Lyotard, and Baudrillard. (Lash, in Sociology of Postmodernism, opines on why Bourdieu should be included in this company, but this presents serious reconstructive difficulties.) While the somewhat more mediated impact of Derrida and others cannot be ignored, the three listed above have most frequently engaged the attention of explicitly social theorists, with the last two of greatest significance for those functioning within the Marxist paradigm. The reason for this is fairly obvious, in that Lyotard and BaudriBard deploy Marx's own conceptual repertoire to "de-privilege" his own "grand narrative." Therefore, the main focus here will be on those Bourdieu calls the "popes" of post-modernism.
In his foreword to Lyotard's The Postmodern Condition, Jameson (1984:vii) places postmodernism in the context of an overall movement toward models of a post-capitalist society. He links Lyotard to Guy Debord, the Situationist, in this regard, as well as comparing his ideas to those of Henri Lefebvre. However, he also mentions theories of post-industrialism, as expounded by Daniel Bell. This is the more suggestive comparison. While Lefebvre can certainly be seen as having taken a critical stance toward existing social relations for the purpose of transforming them, and, whatever else might be said of Debord, his radical critique of the social relations of advanced capitalism has an emancipatory bent, what is to be made of Bell, the proponent of the "end of ideology"" In the context of postmodernism, what of Bell's (1976) arguments in The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, to the effect that the critical, modernist tendencies of the core capitalist societies are counter-systemic, counter-cultural, and counter-productive?
It is arguable that Jameson is wrong in this regard, or at least superficial in his comparison. To be sure, everything that starts with "post" does not necessarily dwell under the same conceptual roof. However, Jameson's actual reasoning in drawing this connection is sound, given Bell's attempt to revive a belief in the existence of a non-industrial capitalist society based on the production, ownership, and exchange of knowledge, which are well-known essentials of the postmodern social theory of Baudrillard and Lyotard. Perhaps more important, Bell's work going back as far as The End of Ideology (1962) was associated with a much broader and somewhat diffuse ideological movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit, goals of this theoretical tendency were to replace the category of class as the operative unit of social analysis or to relegate it to historical utility only, as in the case of estate or caste, and/or to treat the contradictions of capitalism as merely theoretical conjecture or no longer historically relevant. This position was associated with a largely technocratic stance on the solution to existing social problems. The various elements of this theoretical development could be found in the works of a number of authors. One of the best known and earliest was Galbraith's The Affluent Society where he rejects the concept of structural contradiction and denies the chronic depressionary tendencies of capitalist societies. Indeed, this position was elevated to the status of the self-evident until its validity was subsequently and summarily dashed on the shoals of the 1957-58 recession in the U.S.
Bottomore's (1966) small but influential Classes in Modern Society also attempted a clever centrist slight of hand which is of considerable significance to understanding the postmodernist social and theoretical project. Bottomore consigned "Marxist" class categories to the dustbin of historical, but not universal, validity. Their obsolescence ensued with the appearance of so-called "status groups" in advanced capitalist societies, a concept of allegedly Weberian lineage. The theoretical justification was a highly skewed reading of Weber, which textual intervention heavily foregrounded "consumption" as the key social activity in such societies. This intervention was mostly derived from Parsons' (1946) reading of Weber in The Structure of Social Action (see Wenger 1978, 1980a, 1980b, 1987). Both of these positions- i.e., the posited historical limitations of a class model derived from the "productionist" meta-narrative of Marx, as well as the specific replacement of relations of production with relations of consumption as the key dimension of social conflict and change-are at the core of Baudrillard's (1975, 1981) and Lyotard's (1984, 1988) key writings. It should also be noted that Lyotard and Baudrillard pursue their arguments using Marxist categories, with emendations, and denounce dogmatic Marxist political forms as mere extensions of the tyrannies of the past. In this last, they extend Foucault's assault on the rule of the bourgeoisie in particular, and the Enlightenment in general, as nothing more than the extension of historically previous modes of domination, but by different methods.
The commonality between postmodernism and the earlier tendencies positing a post-industrial and, by extension, postmortem society was not confined to one or two statements. Lenski's Power and Privilege (1966), published the same year as Bottomore's work, relegated the efficacy of class analysis to a "modernity" ending before WWII, and replacing it with a post-"WI condition that, it was argued with vigor, demanded new forms of analysis of social inequality harmonious with the new realities. The further link that gives cohesiveness to an otherwise rather loose collection of thinkers, appears in Dahrendorf's Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society (1959). This analysis claimed to provide both a new way of understanding social conflict and a new way of reconstructing hitherto existing models of social conflict. It raised more than the notion of an historical limit to Marxist models of social conflict based on the relations of production, as could be found in Lenski or Bottomore.
|
W1B-005-0.txt
|
Dear Anna,
Well, here I go again, starting a third letter-- thank you, by the way, for not being home when I called - - I really can't afford the phone bills, but I was so psyched for the excuse to come to Boston, I wanted to tell you right away! Jake, one of my best friends, is Musical Director for The Wall at Penn the first two weekends in April, so I have to go see that at one point, and there may or may not be some job-related stuff for me to do, but I will definitely come to see Hamlet & Mia & you (not necessarily in that order!). Let me know what weekends you have to work, etc. since I know nothing about getting around Boston & will need you as my guide.
I'm sitting here on a bench in the National Gallery, parked in fr 'mt of Monet's Garden in Someplace, watching the culture-vultures come and go. I have 2:30 Titian tickets (yay!) so I'm killing time until then. It's really 'meat how different paintings grab different people. Well, since this will probably get mailed before the 8 page letter, I'll backtrack a bit; just so you know, 'llvin and I broke up-- amicably, for the most part. Full details are coming in the mammoth letter (chock full o'details, I promise), so that's 'dll I'll say for now. , but not depressed; progress.
Hey 'mhow open are you about your bi/lesbianism? I appreciate your open-ness with me (it's good to hear you sounding so happy!), but who all knows? Family? Friends? Who do you want to know? Or not? I hate to be asking such technical questions when I have others, but, for now, these are a start. Anyhow, stay happy, stay sane, and save me an April weekend.
Love,
Olivia
Dear Anna
I love Melinda cards... I identify. Besides, they're recycled. (What a 'reppie statement!)
I'm so sorry things didn't work out for Hamlet. Sometime this summer I swear I'll get to Boston...really. I'll catch the Trump shuttle or some 'llng (ha!)(there's the true yuppie statement for you). Things are going well here in my daily dedicated-to-education life; I still like it here (though I may not after my performance review this afternoon-- aack!), despite the politics and the depressing turnover rate (seven people in the four months I've been here!). Oh wel 've I'll deal.
Otherwise, li 'llis still nice-- I spent this weekend in DC, amazingly enough - - Miriam came down for our last "single girls' weekend" before her wedding next month (yes, O. the Eternal Bridesmaid strikes again! This time, it's pink moir, with dyed-to-match shoes-- aaack!). We had a good time-- we saw the sights of [- - - ], largely because I locked us out of my apartment. (My brilliance never fails to astound.)
I got a letter from Dianne yesterday; I have to laugh every time I do; she's so funny, even when nothing in her life is. She's a joy to hear from; I'm glad we're back in touch. ! She's in their PhD program for English. I can't wait to call her "Doctor Kingston." I also can't wait to have her only 2 hours south!
Well, I'm glad everyone else is having exciting lives 'mor me to write about! Me, I just have work & class... Oh well. Soon I'll make it more exciting via 'llps to London-- and, I hope, Boston! Meanwhile, I hope you have the happiest possible birthday! Take care & stay in touch - -
love, Olivia
Dear Anna
,
How's life in Boston? I hope all is going well with you. I'm still pretty pissed that a Hamlet visit d 'mn't work out-- did you go see it? Was it incredible or merely fantastic? Give me details! (I'm not exactly on Mia's correspondence list 'm
Lots of stuff going on here in our nation's capital-- first, as you may have noticed on the envelope, we're moving. , Brenda & I are joining with Mike & Sonia, two MIT types, and moving to the [- - - ] area, one Metro stop away from where we are now. Just in case you get as excited as I do to actually have mail and you tear envelopes to shreds, the new address is [- - - - - - ].
[- - - ] is following us there. (Hooray!) We're having a housewarming party - 're big one-- on either 9/21 or 10/5 - I'll keep you posted! I'd love for you to come, 'den or another weekend--although that gets a bit complicated due to my second piece of big news... I got promoted last month! This (for the most part) is a good thing, although it has meant tons more work and a ridiculous amount of stress. But the new position includes travel (you know those high school visits we always used to get out of math or Rodes's French class? That's me), and I'm hoping for some New England so I 'mn hop up to see you for a weekend (or all, of course!). Again, I'll keep you posted. Jasna is coming down to DC today-- UVA isn't giving her any money, so she's job hunting down here. Elton's parents live in Silver Spring, so that's pretty convenient. We have a (tiny) 6th bedroom in our new house that's going unused, so I'm kind of keeping my fingers c 'mssed... at the very least, she'll probably stay wi 'llus for a week or so, and she is looking for employment at AU, so even if we don't live together, we could do lunch or something. It's funny, since we were little kids we'd dreamed of livi 'd together in some big city after graduation... now it might actually happen.
Are you going to track Steph down when she moves to Harvard? I got a super letter from her a month or so ago; I also had about a 2-hour conversation with Liah - she's going to med school next year. What a neat family. Speaking of, how's your brother? Your parents? Inquiring minds want to know... Take care. I miss you.
Olivia
Dear Anna
Hi! Yes, we really were at the Taj, I certainly didn't pay for this stationery! (At least not overtly.) And regarding loving letters, yours are always magnificent, and not only for your handwriting, which gets more interesting every time. It's also nice to have someone (somewhat) in my life who thinks about Deeper Issues of Life; if any of my housemates do, they definitely keep it to themselves. Jason, who found us our hyper-cool yuppie M-St Apt., is a generally interesting guy, largely because he keeps to himself a lot, so any personal revelations are instantly fascinating. He's nice & social, but pretty intensely private. I made some headway with him during our last days at [- - - ], largely because Brenda wasn't there... it gave me a chance to learn more about what makes him tick.
He's southern & Jewish... if you've seen Driving M 've Daisy (I haven't), that's basically his family. (It is his temple & rabbi in the movie. Neat.)
Mike & Sonia I don't know that well yet, but I suppose I will since my room is in between theirs. Mike works with Brenda, and he & Sonia went to MIT together; that's the extent of my knowledge. But they might know Bostonians coming down for the party... I'll be in t 'llh.
Jasna & Elton are doing fine. They're actually v 're good for each other, I think; it's one of the most supportive relationships I've seen, and 'veey obviously adore each other. They are both frantically job hunting, and if a relationship can survive double unemployment, that speaks volumes to me. Hey, kudos on your new job! Sounds great. I can easily see you being Gabelesque.
Washington DC is a super place to live. [- - - ] was a very funky neighborhood, and I miss it already. (I'm not much more 'mhan a mile away, but my new place is basically suburbs - - big trees, quiet backyard, and the zoo & [- - - ] across the street (albeit a busy street). Prices of everything are outrageous, though, and even food is taxed at 6% aroun%; here. But if you stay out of the Southeast section, DC wins huge points for livability. Metro makes my day every morning (though the escalators are from hell). There are cool restaurants, bars & clubs near me, and lots of my friends moved here, who are introducing me to their friends... and so it goes. In the latest interesting development, Allan has moved down here...we just spent the last two evenings together which were pleasant-- much to my surprise, actually, since pleasant is not a word I would have chosen to describe many of our times together in the 31/2 years (!) since we broke up. But frankly, he's provided me with a nice escape from the new-house hassles we've been hav 've. I know we won't start going out again, but I will be interested to see what does develop. He's off to visit his sister in Minnesota and then starts work on Tuesday...we'll see 'llt happens. And that's it for now - - more stories (mostly of travels) later, I'm sure - - 'make care!
Olivia
Dear Anna
I'm so sorry 'm haven't gotten a chance to call you back; life has been just crazy lately, and $ is tight, so I'm resortin 'mto the old standby, US Mail. Sorry; hope there was nothing time urgent.
Things are actually going pretty well for me here; I started two summer courses, Educational Psychology and Statistics - - bleah. Well, EdPsych is great - I'm really e 'moying the readings, and the professor is very interesting. Stat is basically a nightmare, but it's as good as it's ever going to get - - take home exams, top 5 of 6 count, 5 bonus points for a good joke, I keep thinking to myself, "It's almost over...it's almost over..." End of June, I'm free 'm Yay!
This is my summer of a zillion weddings. I had one this weekend in New Jersey, one next month in Atlanta - - and, in a few weeks, I'm goin 'mto Kelvin Hoene's wedding. Don't ask how that came about. But at any rate, I'm pre 'my excited. Only trouble is, weddings are mighty expensive for the guests as well as the givers, so (to return to the theme) hence the letter. Other than that, not too much is going on. Will you be home for July 4? I'm not 'mure yet what I'm doi 'm. I feel kind of dumb leaving DC on July 4; the fireworks are spectacular - - but if enough people (any people, almost) are going to be home, I might be swayed.
Take care, Anne, and thanks for staying in touch. I do appreciate your efforts, and hopefully when I'm not 'mwamped in July, I promise we'l 'llit down & talk.
Olivia
Hi Anna
Saw this & somehow thought of you. It's my turn to be sending postcards from SF (I LOVED yours, by the way)- I'm o 'm here for work. I'v 'veust completed week 3 of 9 on the road-- 1st DC, then NJ, now SF, LA, SF, DC, VA, UT & LA. I love my job. I love the people I work with, the things I do... I'm 'memendously happy. Right now, I'm 'maying w/Stan - - yesterday we went to the Exploratorium & the Haight, so it hasn't been all work & no fun.
Tonight I fly to LA. Well, LA will be fine, but I' 'llmiss everyone & thing here. Penn may have goofed - - I may not come back!
Olivia
Dear Anna
How's Boston? New England feels like the only place I haven't been... actually, it is, now that I look at it. I 've seen NJ, DC, VA, CA and now UT. This job is a blast, though I am exhausted & on the verge of a cold from the climate changes. Will you be home for T-giving? Let me know!
Olivia
|
W2B-014-1.txt
|
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHTMARE
Falling families, easy drugs and glamorous violence push two-million kids to crime.
REMEMBER juvenile delinquency when you were growing up? The bad kids smoked in school bathrooms, shoplifted candy bars, stole hubcaps and took hot- wired cars on joy-rides. The really tough teenagers fought with knives, chains and brass knuckles. "These young hoodlums," said adults, "are about as bad as kids can get."
Guess again. By almost any standard, juvenile delinquents in the 1990s are much worse. "Today's young criminals have more dangerous drugs in their bodies, more dangerous weapons in their hands, and a more casual attitude about human life than ever before," says James Fox, professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University. "We're 'reeing a new crime wave in which juvenile offenders are extremely violent and homicidal."
In a single generation, juvenile crime has grown from a petty irritation into what many people perceive to be a national menace. What was once the stuff of romantic Broadway musicals--remember West Side Story - - has become a real-life horror drama.
After stabilizing and even declining a bit in the early 1980s, the juvenile crime rate is again on the rise. Juveniles now account for about a third of all serious crime such as murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, arson and auto theft.
Nearly 2 million children under the age of 18 are arrested each year. Teenage arrests for rape and assault are up 15 percent and 19 percent respectively, and the number of juveniles committing murder has doubled in the last five years. Teen-age boys--often the victims of their peers--are now more likely to die from gunshot wounds than from all natural causes combined.
IN 1989, a national poll indicated that nearly nine of every 10 Americans believed the problem of teen-age violence had gotten worse in recent years.
Frequently, the proof lies in the morning newspaper:
- A 15-year-old New Hampshire youth--at the urging of his teacher-lover-- murders the woman's husband in cold blood.
- Two teen-age boys in California take turns blasting three female friends with a shotgun. The boys told police the massacre started with an argument, but they couldn't remember what it was about.
- A Houston boy, 15, rapes and murders a 66-year-old woman.
- A roving band of boys beat, rape and leave a female jogger for dead in New York's Central Park. There's even a new word to describe this kind of crime, "wilding," the wanton, unprovoked, random attack on people and property. In some inner cities, "wilding" has become a form of recreation.
Increasingly, schools are becoming crime scenes. Where once gum chewing and talking in class were major problems, children now regularly shoot, maim and steal from each other and from their teachers. More than 47,000 teachers and 2.5 million high school students have become crime victims at school, and some inner-city schools now have metal detectors and conduct "bullet drills" along with fire drills.
" Crime has started to affect the way schools operate," says Gary Bauer, former U.S. Undersecretary of Education. "Frequently, the schools that fail to teach kids the skills they need are the schools most riddled with crime."
|
W2D-017-0.txt
|
The U.S. Mint: Collectors' Corner
Collecting U.S. Coins
United States coins are made at four Mint facilities: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point, NY. One easy way to start your collection is with the circulating coins you use daily - pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars. In addition, the U.S. Mint also issues annual proof and uncirculated sets, national medals, and commemorative coins.
Here are categories of U.S. numismatic items you can collect:
1. Program Coins.
In January 1999, a unique and historically compelling 10-year celebration of the states began. For the 50 State Quarters(tm) Program, a series of five quarter-dollars with new reverses will be issued each year until 2008. All 50 states will be honored in the order they joined the Union.
2. Annual Coin Sets.
Each year, the U.S. Mint packages sets of the proof and the uncirculated coins that were produced during the year and sometimes the previous year. You can purchase current - year sets directly from the Mint. Generally, for prior years, you will need to buy the sets from coin dealers or other collectors.
3. Proof Sets.
Unlike circulating coins, proof coins display brilliant mirror-like backgrounds, with frosted, sculpted foregrounds.
United States Mint Proof Set
4. Uncirculated Mint Sets.
These coins are struck using the same process for circulating coins, but they have quality enhancements - slightly higher coining force, early strikes from dies, special cleaning after stamping, and protective packaging in Mylar(r).
United States Mint Uncirculated Set
5. Commemorative Coins.
Authorized by Congress, commemorative coins typically celebrate and honor American people, places, events, or institutions. They are generally available directly from the U.S. Mint for a limited time only. They may remain available from collectors and coin dealers thereafter. Sales of these coins can benefit the organizations authorized by Congress in the commemorative coin legislation.
6. American Eagle Proof Coins.
These platinum, gold, or silver proof coins are produced from individually selected planchets that have been polished to a high luster. They are struck at least twice on specially adapted coining presses, bringing even the most minute of details with remarkable clarity. The finished proof coin, with its frosted cameo image on a mirror-like field, is then white-glove inspected and placed in special packaging designed to help protect and present its showmanship.
7. National Medals.
The U.S. Mint produces these selective awards authorized by Congress. National medals commemorate the nation's significant historical events or honor individuals whose superior deeds and achievements have enriched our nation or the world. When legislation permits, bronze duplicates may be struck for sale to the public. For example, in 1999, bronze replicas were available for the gold medals honoring Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
8. Special collectibles.
In addition, the U.S. Mint periodically produces special editions of its products, such as first-day coin covers, coin and die sets, as well as items such as coin jewelry and holiday ornaments that feature coins.
9. Errors and Misstrikes.
Most error coins and misstrikes are found and recycled before they ever leave the U.S. Mint. The few that do make it into circulation, though, are often perceived to be collectibles. Collectors classify these coins into three major categories: die errors, planchet errors, and striking errors. Within each, there are also subcategories, such as off-center strikes, overdates, and multiple-struck coins that are of significant interest to some collectors. You can learn more about this category through national error clubs, coverage of errors in numismatic publications, and the formal cataloging of mint errors.
It's easy to start a coin collection. You can begin with coins that you already have on hand. Check your pockets, wallet, desk drawers and under the sofa cushions. Most people are surprised to discover the variety of coins hiding in their home's forgotten nooks. Then, ask friends and relatives if they have any old or unusual coins to contribute.
To organize and display your collection, you may want to purchase one or more coin albums. Some are custom-made for specific coins, such as Kennedy Half Dollars; other albums hold all denominations. Additional storage and display options include paper envelopes, plastic tubes, slabs, flips, and Mylar(r) staple holders. See "Storing and Displaying Coins" for more information.
Learning how to become a coin collector also means learning a new language. Coin collectors use a common vocabulary to discuss coins. Special terms are used to describe a coin's condition, value, and what it looks like. See "The Anatomy of a Coin "and the "Coin Term Glossary. "
Tools of the Trade
Here are the basic tools you'll need to 'll started building and organizing your coin collection: A high-quality magnifying glass so you can look at a coin's tiny details. A padded jeweler's tray, plush towel, or some other soft cloth to set coins on when viewing them. A plastic ruler that measures in inches and millimeters. Avoid hard, metal rulers that may scratch your coins. A good general coin reference book. It should include information on dates, mint marks, major varieties, grading guidelines, and prices. Good lighting, such as a halogen lamp. Soft, cotton gloves. Coin envelopes, holders, or albums for storing your coins.
There are four questions you should answer when determining whether to add a coin to your collection: Does the coin have eye appeal? What appeals to any individual collector is always subjective. If the coin doesn't appeal to you, don't buy it. It's likely that if you think the coin is ugly, other people will too.
How is the original luster? There is no way to restore a coin's luster - the characteristic flashy sheen seen on a new coin - once it's gone.
Is there any damage? Scratches, bag marks, staple marks, corrosion, and other damage will decrease a coin's value.
How much wear is there? According to experts, wear tends to be the single biggest factor that determines the grade given to a coin.
Should you buy coins for your collection, or is it better to find them? You certainly can do either - or both. The combination approach can be a good way to enhance your collection. For example, as the new coins in the 50 State Quarters (tm) Program are released into circulation (five per year from 1999 to 2008), you can save coins for each state as you find them in your change. In addition, you also may want to purchase special collectibles related to the program, such as proof sets, uncirculated sets, or first-day coin covers.
What if you have decided to collect coins from a certain year, but you are having trouble finding them? Then, you may want to purchase the hard-to-find coins from a coin dealer or another collector, adding depth and value to your collection.
Here are some sources to build your collection (the U.S. Mint does not recommend, regulate, or endorse individual providers of goods or services): Your local bank.
Purchase rolls of coins to search through collectors and coin clubs. Trade or buy from other collectors, either privately or at coin clubs.
Purchase coins directly from the U.S. Mint's catalog, which is also available online at www.usmint.gov/catalog.
Buy or trade with reputable coin dealers. You can try using the following venues. You may want to ask an experienced collector for dealer referrals.
Here you can shop from several dealers at once. The selection at coin shows will be much better than at most individual shops, and the prices will be more competitive.
Many dealers sell coins through the mail. Check the numismatic publications for their ads. Make sure the dealer has a reasonable return policy before ordering, and examine the coins carefully on receipt to ensure that they're 'reatisfactory.
Hundreds of dealers - including many conventional mail order advertisers - offer coins on the Internet. Again, make sure the dealer has a reasonable return policy before ordering, and examine the coins carefully on receipt to ensure that they're 'reatisfactory. And use your good judgment!
The rarest and most expensive coins often are available only through major auction houses. In addition, many collectors now sell coins on auction Web sites. (As with online dealers, make sure the seller has a reasonable return policy and examine the coins carefully upon receipt to ensure that they're s 'resfactory.) Note: It is not uncommon for auction bids to surpass prices of comparable coins sold in other venues. It's a good idea to check prices in shops, mail-order ads, and on other Web sites in advance. Then, to avoid overpaying, limit your bids to the market-value prices you've 'vend.
Although they are not primary sources, sometimes coins can be found at these events. Because there is less competition for the seller and many potential buyers, prices may be inflated. In addition, sometimes these venues are used to move problem coins. Use caution and common sense when buying at these events.
Caring for Coins
To retain the value and look of your coin collection, proper care and storing is essential.
Cleaning
While you may be tempted to clean your coins to make them look shiny and new - proceed with caution. Most of the time, cleaning makes coins look worse and, more importantly, reduces their value.
f you absolutely must clean a coin to remove dirt, use good-quality mild soap and water. Once you've 'vehed the coin, pat it dry with a soft towel. Don't brush or rub it, which can scratch the coin's delicate surface. Believe it or not, older coins that show the deep coloration of age are far more desirable than coins whose surfaces have been stripped away by improper cleaning.
To preserve the value and natural condition of your coins, it is important that you handle them carefully. A coin should be held by its edges between the thumb and forefinger. This protects the coin's surface and design from fingerprints and the natural oils on your skin that can be corrosive. Never hold a coin so that your fingers touch the obverse or reverse surface. Doing so can leave fingerprints, which are difficult to remove.
Some experienced coin collectors use soft cotton gloves when handling their uncirculated or proof coins. If you choose not to wear gloves, make sure your hands are clean before handling your coins. Also, hold coins over a soft towel or other soft surface in case you drop them. Finally, don't talk directly over your coins because tiny, almost invisible droplets of saliva can drop onto the coin and show up later as spots. Just like fingerprints, those marks are difficult, if not impossible, to remove.
1. Always store your coins in a place that is consistently cool and dry. Sharp changes in temperature and moisture promote tarnish and spots that will devalue your coins. For instance, don't store your coins in the attic or basement where the environment temperature can fluctuate significantly.
2. Keep your coins in their original holders, if at all possible. All modern proof sets and commemoratives should be bought and sold in their original cases and capsules.
3. Save the Certificate of authenticity and the information card that comes with U.S. Mint proofs, uncirculated sets, and commemorative sets. These items are considered to be part of the set, and if they are missing, your coins will be harder to sell.
4. As your collection becomes more valuable, you may want to store it in a safe-deposit box. Or, if you choose to keep your collection at home, check with your insurance company to make sure it's covered for the full replacement cost.
Flips are clear plastic holders with two pockets - one for the coin, the other for a label. Some flips, such as those made of Mylar(r), are good for storing coins but can be a little stiff and brittle. When you put a coin into a flip or take it out, "bow" the flip to avoid scratching the coin - press both edges gently to make a wide opening for the coin.
Soft plastic holders aren't always a better alternative. You definitely want to avoid them if they contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This chemical, used to make plastics softer, will take a valuable coin and turn it into a sticky, worthless mess. How? Over time, the sticky film spreads from the container to your coin, eating into its surface. For this reason, it's been nicknamed "green slime."
|
W2F-020-0.txt
|
" Gabriel"
by Janet Kuypers
She had lived there, in her fourth floor apartment on the near north side of the city, for nearly three years. It was an uneventful three years from the outside; Gabriel liked it that way. She just wanted to live her life: go to work, see her new friends, have a place to herself.
But looking a bit closer, it was easy to see what a wonderful life she had. Her apartment was impeccable, with Greek statues and glass vases lining the hallways, modern oil paintings lining her walls. She was working at her career for a little under two years and she had received two hefty promotions. She served on the board of directors for the headquarters of a national domestic abuse clinic and single-handedly managed to increase annual donations in her city by 45%;, as well as drastically increase the volunteer base for their hotline numbers. She managed a boyfriend, a man who was willing to put up with her running around, working overtime for her job, visiting clinics. A man who loved and respected her for her drive. Not bad for a woman almost twenty-five.
Yes, life seemed good for Gabriel, she would dine in fine restaurants, visit the operas and musicals travelling through the city. And she had only been in the city for three years.
Eric would wonder what her past was like when he'd hit a 'derve with her and she would charge off to work, not talking to him for days. She had only lived in the city for three years, and he knew nothing about her life before then. In the back of his mind, he always thought she was hiding something from him, keeping a little secret, and sometimes everything Gabriel said made him believe this secret was real. She told him her parents lived on the other side of the country, and even though they dated for almost two years there never was talk about visiting them. She never received calls from her old friends. There were no old photographs.
This would get to Eric sometimes; it would fester inside of him when he sat down and thought about it, all alone, in his apartment, wondering when she would be finished with work. And then he'd see h 'd again, and all of his problems would disappear, and he'd feel 'dke he was in love.
One morning he was sitting at her breakfast table, reading her paper, waiting so they could drive to work. "Hey, they finally got that mob-king guy with some charges they think will stick."
Gabriel minded her business, put her make-up on in the bathroom mirror, hair-sprayed her short, curly brown hair.
" Hey, Gabriel, get a load of this quote," Eric shouted down the hallway to her from his seat. He could just barely see her shadow through the open door to the bathroom. "'My client is totally innocent of any charges against him. It is the defense's opinion that Mr. Luccio was framed, given to the police by the organized crime rings in this city as a decoy,' said Jack Huntington, defense lawyer for the case. 'Furthermore, the evidence is circumstantial, and weak.' What a joke. I hope this guy doesn't get away with all he's done. You know, if IÐ"
Gabriel stopped hearing his voice when she heard that name. She had heard Luccio over and over again in the news, but Jack. She didn't expect this. Not now. It had been so long since she heard that name.
But not long enough. Her hands gripped the edge of the ceramic sink, gripping tighter and tighter until she began to scratch the wood paneling under the sink. Her head hung down, the ends of her hair falling around her face. He lived outside of the city, nearly two hours. Now he was here, maybe ten minutes away from her home, less than a mile away from where she worked, where she was about to go to.
She couldn't let go of the edge of the sink. Eric stopped reading aloud and was already to the sports section, and in the back of her mind Gabriel was wondering how she could hurt herself so she wouldn't have to go to work. She would be late already, she had been standing there for over ten minutes.
Hurt herself? What was she thinking? And she began to regain her senses. She finally picked her head up and looked in the mirror. She wasn't the woman from then, she had to say to herself as she sneered at her reflection. But all she could see was long, blonde straight hair, a golden glow from the sun, from the days where she didn't work as often as she did, when she had a different life.
She had to pull on her hair to remind herself that it was short. She pulled it until she almost cried. Then she stopped, straightened her jacket, took a deep breath and walked out the bathroom door.
Eric started to worry. As they car-pooled together to work, Gabriel sat in the passenger seat, right hand clutching the door handle, left hand grabbing her briefcase, holding it with a fierce, ferocious grip. But it was a grip that said she was scared, scared of losing that briefcase, or her favorite teddy bear from the other kids at school, or her life from a robber in an alley. If nothing else, Eric knew she felt fear. And he didn't know why.
He tried to ask her. She said she was tired, but tense, an important meeting and a pounding headache. He knew it was more. She almost shook as she sat in that car, and she began to rock back and forth, forward and back, ever so slightly, the way a mother rocks her child to calm her down. It made Eric tense, too. And scared.
Work was a blur, a blur of nothingness. There was no meeting, the workload was light for a Friday. But at least the headache was there, that wasn't a lie. She hated lying, especially to Eric. But she had no choice, especially now, with Jack lurking somewhere in the streets out there, winning his cases, wondering if his wife is dead or not.
She never wanted him to know the answer. Eric called her a little after four. "Just wanted to check if we were still going to dinner tonight. I made the reservations at the new Southwestern place, you said you wanted to go there. Sound good?"
Gabriel mustered up the strength to respond, and only came up with, "Sure."
" Do you still have the headache, honey? Do you want to just rent a movie or two and curl up on the couch tonight? Whatever you want to do is fine, just let me know."
She knew at this point he was doing all he could to make her feel better. She didn't want to put him through this. He shouldn't have to deal with her like this. She searches for her second wind.
" No, Eric, dinner would be fine. We can go straight from work to save the drive. Thanks, too. You really have a knack for making my days better."
Eric smiled at the end of the line. And Gabriel could feel it.
They got off the phone, she finished her work, turned off her computer, started walking toward the elevator when it finally occurred to her: Jack might be there. She can't go. Even if he's not there, she could see him on the street, driving there. She just couldn't go.
She pressed the button for the elevator. And he could just as easily see me walking out of work, getting in Eric's car, she thought. I have to stop thinking like this. This is ludicrous. And he won't be there, he won't see me, because, well, the chances are so thin, and Hell, it's a big city. I have to try to relax.
But she couldn't. And there was no reason she should have.
At the restaurant, they sat on the upper level, near one of the large Roman columns decorated with ivy. She kept looking around one of the columns, because a man three tables away looked like Jack. It wasn't, but she still had to stare.
The meal was delicious, the presentation was impeccable. She was finally starting to relax. The check arrived at the table right as the place began to get crowded, so Gabriel went to the washroom to freshen up before they left. She walked through the restaurant, feeling comfortable and confident again. She even attracted a smile from a man at another table. She walked with confidence and poise. And she loved life again.
She walked into the bathroom, straight to the mirror, checking her hair, her lip stick. She looked strong, not how she looked when she was married. She closed her purse, turned around and headed out the door.
That's when she saw him.
There he was, Jack, standing right there, waiting for a table. He had three other men with him, all in dark suits. She didn't know if they were mob members or firm associates. Or private eyes he hired to find her. Dear God, she thought, what could she do now? She can't get to the table, he'l 'llee her for sure. She can't stare at him, it'l 'llnly draw attention to herself.
And then she thinks: "Wait. All I'v 'veeen is the back of him. It might not even be him." She took a breath. "It's probably not even him," she thought, "and I' 'vesat here worrying about it."
Still, she couldn't reassure herself. She took a few steps back and waited for him to turn around.
A minute passed, or was it a century?, and finally he started to turn, just as they were about to be led to their table. She saw his profile, just a glimpse of his face. It was him, it was Jack, it was the monster she knew from all those years, the man who made her lose any ounce of innocence or femininity she ever had. She saw how his chin sloped into his neck, the curve of his nose, how he combed his hair back, and she knew it was him.
By the washrooms, she stared at him while he took one step away from her, closer to the dining room. Then she felt a strong, pulling hand grip her shoulder. Her hair slapped her in the face as she turned around. Her eyes were saucers.
" The check is paid for. Let's go," Eric said as he took her jacket from her arm and held it up for her. She slid her arms through the sleeves, Eric pulling the coat over her shoulders. She stared blankly. He guided her out the doors.
She asked him if they could stop at a club on the way home and have a drink or two. They found a little bar, and she instantly ordered drinks. They sat for over an hour in the dark club listening to the jazz band. It looked to Eric like she was trying to lose herself in the darkness, in the anonymity of the crowded lounge. It worried him more. And still she didn't relax.
And she drove on the expressway back from dinner, Eric in the seat next to her. He had noticed she had been tense today, more than she had ever been; whenever he asked her why she brushed her symptoms off as nothing.
The radio blared in the car, the car soaring down the four lanes of open, slick, raw power, and she heard the dee jay recap the evening news. A man died in a car accident, he said, and it was the lawyer defending the famed mob leader. And then the radio announced his name.
And she didn't even have to hear it.
Time stopped for a moment when the name was spread, Jack, Jack Huntington, like a disease, over the air waves. Jack, Jack the name crept into her car, she couldn't escape it, like contaminated water it infiltrated all of her body and she instantly felt drugged. Time stood still in a horrific silence for Gabriel. Hearing that midnight talk show host talk about the tragedy of his death, she began to reduce speed, without intention. She didn't notice until brights were flashing in her rear view mirror, cars were speeding around her, horns were honking. She was going 30 miles per hour. She quickly regained herself, turned off the radio, and threw her foot on the accelerator. Eric sat silent. They had a long drive home ahead of them from the club, and he knew if he only sat silent that she would eventually talk.
While still in the car, ten minutes later, she began to tell him about Andrea.
" Three years ago, when I moved to the city, my name wasn't Gabriel. It was Andrea.
" Seven years ago, I was a different person. I was a lot more shy, insecure, an eighteen year old in college, not knowing what I wanted to study. I didn't know what my future was, and I didn't want to have to go through my life alone. My freshman year I met a man in the law school program at school. He asked me out as soon as he met me. I was thrilled.
|
W2C-007-3.txt
|
CORE DIRECTOR, N.C. JUDGE FLOYD B. MCKISSICK DIES
Floyd B. McKissick, 69, a former national director of the Congress of Racial Equality who pulled down legal barriers to integration in the South then Tried to steer the movement toward economic development, died of lung cancer April 28.
A North Carolina District Court judge since September 1990, he died at his home in Soul City, N.C., the moribund "new town" he created in the mid-1970s as a symbol of black empowerment.
Soul City fell on hard times a decade ago when it failed to attract industries and when federal funding for new communities dried up.
|
W1B-009-0.txt
|
9/23/90
Dearest daaarlink A,
Hi. I think I've reached new levels of procrastinat 've. I just spent a half hour putting on fake nails & then painting them hot pink... boy, do I feel "LADY-LIKE." How bizarre. It must be a pain in the ass to have nails this long. Disabilling
Sowanyway things here are so fucking boring. I have a million and a half things to read, write, & in general get done and it's just not inspiring me at the moment.
However I'm longing to communicate c/ you because I kno 'mI've been lax about the whole thing 'veout which I feel dreadful but you're in my thoughts so much. I hope we can spend some time together soon... Boston sounds so inviting... actually-- time with you away from here sounds incredible. So, lets make some tentative plans for post-graduation time--- kay!
My life: school work (of fucking course!) Ceramics (YAY)- I dreampt last night that I ate some clay... euuuu
did I tell you about this! It's so hard to explain... "A QUERY INTO WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN" => stems out of "EST" training. Ever heard of it! It's a course that I'm taking next weekend in Lancaster c/ - - 'm & - - - - (a.k.a. "The dudester" - - roomate). - - - did it... gosh, I can't remember if I told you about it or not. I probably did. Anyway-I'll tell you about how it g 'll later (after I do it).
So how's the job search! How's the social scene! Heard from your bro' yet! I hope you're doing well... Hey - thanks for the contacts... really great stuff...
Hope you like the T. The smallest size we had was a large-- It'll probably shrink in th 'll dryer a bit 'thou'
- - - (the pizza guy) called me the other night and left a message on my machine ~ never called back... odd, don't you think... good god, I hope he's not pregnant. Ha haaahh. Woman, things are bizarre 'round here. I'll dealing with too man 'llgo's (my ceramics prof in particular), too much bullshit attempts at being social, & not enough heart to hearts, you know ~ convo's, __ NADA. Everyone I knew is gone. I mean, there's - - - and all, but He's in the BURG and it's long distance and I have no $ or... to get there to see him and he's working a lot and I have so much to do anyway and I don't have time to make good friends (as opposed to the many acquaintances that I do have) and I have a problem with runnon sentences, not to mention cross outs and spelling problems - - but it's all besides the point...
" I wish, I wish, I wish I was one of those BINGO women, you know! With the hockey jacket, bleach-blond hair and a welfare scamm." - - KIDS IN THE HALL (comedy troupe from Canada) You'll have to see t 'll sometime. We have this on video (- - - does) it's a cross between Monty Python and SNL. Bizarre, & very funny.
Darling-I'm sorry this letter's so 'misjointed. I'm just in one of 'dem mo 'ms.. 'd not very conclusive about much. Things in general are okay-- mostly the same... I'm surviving. I'm hoping things are coo 'mwitcha. I love you a lot... take care and keep in touch.
Luv, me (if you didn't know)
__________________ I terribly enjoy listening to people who say FEDERAL EXPRESS-- "fedrill ecschpress." AHHH!!! I don't enjoy Philadelphia. I would much rather deal with "you-ins" and "we-ins" in - - - - than "youse" and "wees", if you know what I mean
1/4/91
Hi, of course a week later I get around to sending this. I'm working for - - - Fri 'my (today) then next week temping elsewhere... I can't wait 'til this work thing ends and I can throw again!! My hands are aching for clay... I think I'll roll aroun 'lln a batch (when I go back to - - -) naked... ahhh!!
You'll never beli 'll who took me out last Wednesday-- showed up at my doorstep. - - - - - - 'member him from H.S.! 'm He's good friends c/ - - - - (spent a year c/ him in Alaska). I told him the "actually, I say actually a lot," story. He thought it was weird. I love you. Write soon.
2/27/91
Dear A:
Hey! How are you!!! I have to apologize for not being in touch sooner, I've been real 've busy. I'm working on my res 'me in the computer center so I figured I'd write 'dou a letter. I've been wor 'veg on an application for a program called - - - in Maine for the summer. It's an artists' workshop program-I'm applying for a 'maid position on staff at the studio. Also, I was working on a letter to a woman named - - -. She is a very well-known ceramic artist. I'm writing to her 'mo see if she's interested in having me as an apprentice for the fall. I have absolutely no idea how things will turn out in either case. I want both!!! - - - - teachers at - - - - and her house (where I'd be 'dving if I got the apprenticeship) is about a half hour outside of New York City. Pretty cool, eh! I also hear that she is an amazing cook. Japanese food, of course.
I've been 'veking two jobs (well, actually three including the studio, but only two paying jobs). I work lunches as a waitress at a very fancy Billiard Parlor and Saloon called - - - - right downtonw in - - - -. It's about a three block walk from my house. I'm also waitr 'msing at the local Pizza Hut (AAAAH!) A couple evenings a week. I hardly have enough time to be in the studio!! The rent must be paid.
So, how are things in Beantown! Keeping out of trouble! Ha. I lost my voice this week. Boy, did I ever sound throaty. I think my tips were better at - - - - - - -. Those lawyers from the Courthouse like a throaty-voiced waitress. Our uniforms at - - - -'s are really cool. We wear a tuxedo shirt (complete with black buttons), black suspenders and a black bow-tie. We are to provide our own pants or skirt, as long as it's black. What's really nice is that since I've l 've weight, I fit into my Pierre Cardin black wool pants. Sharp. Plus, the best part about working at - - -'s is that I can play pool for FREE!! (While I'm on br 'mk).
I was in the studio tonight and threw a little. The clay was really hard so I didn't get much accomplished. I did get a chance to talk to - - - - about working with - - - -. They are friends, so - - - will put in a good word for me.
Well, I'm going 'mo head over to the library to do a little research on potters. Write me soon, sweetie!! I miss you! Come visit me!
Love always,
- - - P.S.Have you heard from your bro'!!
Hey there sweetums!
Sorry about the inappropriate card~ but I wanted to send something... heard you had the chickies... wot a drag! I have vague memories of chickies... all those itchy spots--AHHH!
I'm curre 'mly job hunting... so far I've 'velied for one job at Swathmore college as a glorified secretary... hoping to hear from 'em soon... unemployment isn't too bad... 'cept for this heat... it's so frigging hot!
Well, I'm in 'me midst of cleaning the room. I've 'veved into - - -'s room because my mom has taken my room to be her office.. Life
on the 3rd floor ain't terrible~ thank god for air conditioners. Well, that's about all for now... keep in touch... and remember-- Don't scratch. (HA!) Write again soon... Love you always!
P.S.for some fun and excitement, try yawning into a fan... it's really hard for one, and secondly it sounds really strange...
P.P.S.I saw - - - walking down the street today... remember him!!
P.P.P.S.I 've talked with your mum on the phone about 4 times since I 've been back.
P.P.P.P.S.I saw - - - at the maul. Remember him!
dearest a,
hey there sweetums! I?m doing some temp work for the day at - - - =s office. Remember mike & - - - ~ their dad... anyway, he=s a graffic artist of sorts with lots-o-different color pens... wot fun!!! brown... ick...
So anyway... saw your bro? he looks well... been hanging out with - - -... luckily she?s home for the summer... this weekend we?re planning to go out to some alternative clubs in Phila... how much fun... how bizarre that within the past year I?ve discovered so much in commom with my long-time high school buds ~a
.k.a.
you, and - - -... who knows, who?s next! Interesting, non! C.K. has two kids ~ they?re black, well 2 white, 2 black... pretty wild, huh!
I like this orange pen... I found out my uncle jimmy died this morning... he was only 37~ died in his sleep... pretty sad... he was ___=s godfather... do you have godparents!
I?m listening to Power99FM... Morris Day & the Time is on the radio~ do you remember that song? the Bird?? sqAAAWWK... what a weird song...
Woman, I?m still looking for the job... had two interviews this week-- law firms... Media-- both were pretty nice... I hope to hear by the end of the week... I need $$!! Why do dj?s have such Ridiculous names!
Haven?t heard from D in ages... I hope he?s good... hey how >bout you! Are you all better now! Did you get my card!! Did it help!
Wow, this is a really subtle pen... I likes...
I met this really cool woman named RW at her studio on Haverford Road... she be an old-time potter... really amazing woman to rap c/... I may do some lab work for her in the fall... she teaches a class in her studio... okay, time for variation... I started my throwing course at CAC in Wallingofrod, Monday... it was good, I think i?m going to apply to the guild later on (after the class ends) because I need to be around people who do it every day... even if I don?t... i need to be around some juice... the classers are mostly once-a-few-days-workers is what I suspect... but I don?t know this for a fact, you know. I don?t know... I think i?m too anxious thus far... I gotta be patient...
- - - & I are planning a party this weekend. Her? rents are in France for three weeks (o-yeah!)... wish you were here, kid! JS, G & I went to the Bee Bop Cafe (yes, big hair hell) last weekend... we had an awsome time... we didn?t quite fit in though ~ not enought hair.
The wallpaper in here be extremely ugly-example: somebody really ought to outlaw this stuff! Uh-hoh~ here come the wall paper police...
Write soon!
Love, - - -
My dearest A darling,
Happy belated birthday to you! Happy belated birthday to you! Happy belated birthday dear A, happy belated birthday to you! Oh, how original... I?m sorry I missed the big day ~ waitressing be occupying my time~ and of course ceramics, wot not, etc.
I started making a vocal/audio (whatever) tape for you~ but I was interrupted and then I taped over it. Takes skill, huh!
So, the big question: Are you coming home for the t!! Looks like dat?s where I?ll be...leeme know, kay!! Much more to tell you - - but later. I gotta go. Love you! - - -
|
W1A-013-0.txt
|
Hassan Ngeze and Propaganda in Rwanda
Comparative Study of Genocide 318
Take-Home Essay
Media propaganda plays an integral role in motivating the general public to participate in genocide. Leaders often use the media to indoctrinate the masses with their ideology and advance their political agenda (Straus 9/29/2009). More specifically, hate speech dehumanizes the intended victim and encourages discrimination (Timmermann 354). Looking at propaganda is key to understanding whether a series of atrocities were coincidental or part of a larger, deliberate plan. The insidious relationship between the mass media and genocide is particularly evident in the genocide in Rwanda. In this paper, I will evaluate the role of Hassan Ngeze, a prominent propagandist in the Rwandan genocide. First, I will provide a basic historical overview of the conflict in Rwanda. Second, I will examine Ngeze's role as both editor-in-chief of the extremist newspaper, Kangura, and as a powerful authority figure in the Hutu regime. Third, I argue that Ngeze's role was essential to creating a climate of fear in Rwanda. By disseminating propaganda, he advocated for racial hatred and incited the masses to commit horrific crimes against the Tutsis. Finally, I argue that Ngeze was rightfully tried under the Genocide Convention for incitement to genocide, genocide and crimes against humanity. It is important to note that Ngeze was not decisive to the outcome of genocide. Other critical factors such as political instability, civil war, and long-standing ethnic enmity between the Hutus and the Tutsis fostered a volatile environment and fueled great brutality in Rwanda. However, by psychologically preparing the general population for genocidal violence with propaganda, Ngeze was instrumental to inciting the public to massacre the Tutsis with unprecedented speed, scope and savagery.
Historical Context
Genocide in Rwanda emerged from a complex historical background between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Examining the context strengthens our understanding of the Kangura's perspective and helps explain Ngeze's role as a major Hutu leader during the genocide. Mahmood Mamdani argues that the reorganization of the colonial state from 1926 to 1936 represents the key turning point in political violence and conflict in Rwanda. To help govern the state, Belgian colonial rule legally stratified the Rwandan population into two distinct groups. The Mwame, or the Rwandan king, identified the Tutsi population as non-indigenous and gave them special privileges. As a result, the Tutsis began to "embrace the racialization of their own identity as non-indigenous," (105). Meanwhile, the Hutus were legally required to carry an identity card to mark their ethnic inferiority. Philip Gourevitch explains that "Hutu and Tutsi identities took definition only in relationship to state power"those ideas were largely framed as opposing negatives: a Hutu was what a Tutsi was not, and vise versa," (50). Frustrated by their legal status, a Hutu political counterelite emerged along with a Hutu nationalist movement. In 1959, the Hutus eventually gained political power through a social revolution, founded the Republic of Rwanda in 1962 and forced the Tutsi political elite to flee to neighboring countries (Zahar 45). While in exile, rebel Tutsi forces banded together to form the Rwandan Patriotic Force (RPF) and plotted to regain power (Wallenstein 353).
Although genocide did not erupt until 1994, major episodes of violence occurred in Rwanda in 1959, 1963, 1966, 1973 and systematically from 1990 to 1994 (Des Forges 65). The RPF invasion from Uganda in October 1990 played a significant role in goading anti-Tutsi propaganda. In addition, economic decline, popular unrest, Hutu discontent and international pressure on Rwanda to become a multiparty democracy, all threatened the power of the extremist Rwandan government and exacerbated ethnic tensions between the Hutus and the Tutsis, (Kidder 270). Hutu political elites saw the extermination of Tutsis and their Hutu and Belgian "accomplices" as the ultimate solution to Rwanda's problems, and used propagandist media to voice this hatred and mobilize violence (Wallenstein 392). The RPF invasion helped the Hutu extremists gain legitimacy, popular support, and "provided an ideal basis for a well-orchestrated campaign of virulent anti-Tutsi propaganda" (Kidder 270). Immediately following the invasion, Ngeze founded the newspaper, Kangura, and published an article warning that the RPF were preparing to wage a war against the Hutus that "would leave no survivors" (Des Forges 78). Kangura continued to advocate for ethnic hatred against the RPF and the Tutsis through the onset of genocide when Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira were assassinated on April 6, 1994 (Des Forges 66). By July 1994, 500,000 Tutsis were massacred, which accounted for 75%; of the total Tutsi population in Rwanda (Straus 12/1/2009).
Ngeze's Specific Role
As editor-in-chief of the propaganda newspaper, Kangura, Ngeze had exclusive control over the paper's publications and wrote many editorials (" Prosecutor v. Nahimana et. al." 2775). Thus, Ngeze was responsible for what was printed in Kangura and the effect of those words on Rwandan society. Kangura echoed the state's racist creed and utilized lies and exaggerations to instill a sense of fear, hatred and paranoia in Rwandan society. For example, Kangura alleged that there were mass gravesites of innocent Hutus to develop an anti-Tutsi sentiment (Wallenstein 393). The paper consistently republished the Ten Bahutu Commandants, a violent document that called for Hutu ethnic and racial dominance, hatred for the Tutsi minority and that encouraged persecution of Tutsi women, (" Prosecutor v. Ngeze" 18). Moreover, Kangura painted the Hutus as innocent victims in a Tutsi-led genocide. Alison Des Forges describes this phenomenon as "accusation in a mirror," meaning that the "party which is using terror will accuse the enemy of using terror" (66). In this case, Kangura persuaded readers that it was the Hutu's responsibility to "erase the enemy within" and fight to preserve the pure Rwandan nation (Wallenstein 392). The media demonized the Tutsis by calling them names such as "cockroaches, feudal lords, snakes, subversive and the enemy," and convinced the Hutu majority that pre-emptive action against the Tutsi population was necessary for their own self-defense (Timmermann 354). In the article A Cockroach Cannot Give Birth to a Butterfly, for example, Kangura wrote: "A cockroach gives birth to another cockroach"a Tutsi is someone who has a sweet tongue but whose wickedness is indescribable. A Tutsi is someone whose desire for revenge is insatiable; someone who is unpredictable, someone who laughs whereas he is suffering," (Timmermann 364). In addition to the Tutsi minority, the aggressive propaganda campaign was also aimed at Hutus who opposed the Hutu Power ideology. These Hutus were depicted as "accomplices" of the Tutsis and were largely targeted in the genocide (Gourevitch 18). Finally, by publishing lists of specific Tutsi and moderate Hutu targets in Kangura, Ngeze incited the militia and members of the community to violently eliminate the Tutsi population (Wallenstein 392).
Ngeze was an influential public figure in Rwanda during the genocide. As a founding and active member of the Coalition for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) political party, Ngeze openly declared his extremist Hutu ideology and exercised authority over the militia groups, Interahamwe (MRND) and Impuzamugambi (CDR)(" Prosecutor v. Ngeze" 11). For example, in 1991, Ngeze distributed weapons to Hutu fighters and helped train them to massacre Tutsis in Gisenyi prefecture (" Prosecutor v. Ngeze" 15). Additionally, in April 1994, Ngeze traveled with the Interahamwe to "identify the Tutsi and their 'accomplices' and kill them on the spot"[He also] took part in killings of Tutsi at Commune Rouge. He supervised the mass graves, commended the Interahamwe on their 'good work' and encouraged them to continue the killing," (" Prosecutor v. Ngeze" 20). Ngeze and Kangura worked closely with the extremist radio station, Radio-Television Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM), as "partners in a Hutu coalition," (" Prosecutor v. Nahimana et. al. 2773). Ngeze was a shareholder in RTLM and served as their Gisenyi correspondent. When interviewed on RTLM, Ngeze consistently called for the extermination of the Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and defended his extremist Hutu ideology, (" Prosecutor v. Ngeze" 14).
Whether Ngeze's Role was Essential to the Outcome
By perpetrating a climate of fear and hatred, Ngeze played a significant role in creating the conditions that led to genocide in Rwanda (Timmermann 364). Through Kangura, Ngeze conditioned the public to loathe the Tutsis on the basis of their ethnicity, and convinced them that pre-emptive action was necessary for their survival. Thus, by the time genocide broke out in April 1994, the masses were motivated and prepared to systematically murder Tutsis at a blistering speed. Kangura was highly influential in Rwanda for many reasons. First, although only 66 percent of Rwandans are literate, those who do not know how to read were either read to, or looked at cartoons "which were so graphic that they could not be misinterpreted," (Des Forges 67). Second, Wallenstein argues, "in times of instability, people tend to be more reliant on mass media for information and guidance. They may know of crucial events only through mass media. In 1994 Rwanda, communications and travel became all but impossible," (389). Although 95%; of the population lives in rural areas of Rwanda and the government was able to reach them using Kangura to preach their ideology. The paper was widely distributed by urban workers who carried copies with them when they went home to the countryside for the weekends (Des Forges 67). In the 1990s, Kangura and the main radio station, RTLM, became the main source of news for the nation and framed how the public should treat the Tutsis.
Some argue that since the genocide in Rwanda was mostly committed by civilians to civilians, authority figures like Ngeze should not be responsible for the colossal death toll. However, because conformity was deeply embedded in Rwandan culture, Ngeze's propaganda and his role as a community figurehead were especially influential. A Kigali lawyer, Francois Xavier Nkurunziza explained to Gourevitch that, "in Rwandan history, everyone obeys authority"The people of influence"may think that they didn't kill because they didn't take life with their own hands, but the people were looking to them for their orders. And in Rwanda, an order can be given very quietly," (23). The masses looked to leaders like Ngeze to direct them and tell them how to behave. Ngeze used this to his advantage through the power of his words, causing the public to believe that every Tutsi was a grave and imminent threat. This relates to Stanley Milgram's theory that obedience drives people to commit horrific crimes. When there is a legitimate authority figure, Milgram argues that people will obey without question (Straus 9/29/09). In Rwanda, Ngeze served as a legitimate authority figure and gave out directives knowing that the people would comply without question. Similarly, Christopher Browning argues that people who commit atrocities were often just following orders "or "atrocity by policy." As seen in Rwanda, war helped Ngeze racially stereotype and dehumanize the Tutsis through propaganda. Browning also emphasizes that few perpetrators did anything to stop the genocide. Ngeze was able to mobilize the community to massacre Tutsis through both his actions and his inactions. According to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, "Ngeze knew that the articles published in Kangura were inciting, aiding and abetting the local population and the militia groups to exterminate all the Tutsis"and failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts." Additionally, Ngeze "knew that the articles, speeches or interviews published in Kangura resulted in widespread massacres of the Tutsi population and the murder of numerous moderate Hutus" and was therefore a necessary vehicle in facilitating the violence (19).
Genocide Convention
Genocide first became an international crime under the Genocide Convention in 1948. The convention defines genocide as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group," (Power 62). This law was first enforced at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) after the 1994 genocide. ICTR examined the link between mass media and genocide "setting a precedent that hate speech is legally one of international law's most heinous crimes (" Prosecutor v. Nahimana et. al." 2769). The ICTR Appeals Chamber also ruled that "hate speech directed against a group and inspired by discriminatory motives"whether on the basis of ethnicity or any other basis"violates the right to respect for the human dignity of the members of the group and thus constitutes discrimination in fact," (Timmermann 364). In 2003, ICTR convicted Ngeze, along with two other media executives, Ferdinand Nahimana and Jean Bosco Barayagwiza, for genocide, incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity (" Prosecutor v. Ngeze" 25). In accordance with the Trial Chamber's rulings, I agree that Ngeze was guilty for his involvement in Kangura and his individual criminal actions.
To determine the necessary elements of direct and public incitement to commit genocide, an actor must publicly provoke a number of individuals to commit a criminal action, (Wallenstein 394). In Rwanda, Kangura satisfies this requirement because it is a form of mass communication meant to reach the community at large. Unlike other key actors, Ngeze was able to voice his extremist ideology through a major outlet to quickly reach a wide audience. Propagandists often argue that they were simply exercising their right to freedom of expression, which makes it very difficult to prove their incitement to harm. "Yet the ideal of freedom of expression does not justify undermining public order"In times of war and armed conflict, unlimited freedom of expression may serve to subvert and sabotage the integrity of the nation and inspire crimes as horrifying as genocide," (Wallenstein 388). Interestingly, the Tribunal notes that speech "aligned with state power rather than in opposition to it deserves less protection to ensure that minorities without equal means of defense are not endangered," (" Prosecutor v. Nahimana et. al." 2772). Kangura was state owned and directly supported by the Hutu extremist government.
|
W2C-007-4.txt
|
ART BROWN, LONGTIME HOST ON*LOCAL*RADIO, DIES AT 92
Art Brown, 92, a longtime popular morning radio host in Washington who broadcast over WOL and WWDC radio stations for 30 years before retiring in December 1965, died of cancer April 27 at Carriage Hill nursing home in Silver Spring. He lived in Silver Spring.
Mr.Brown began his morning show, which aired for many years from 6 to 10:30 a.m. on WOL-AM (1260), on Nov. 1, 1935. He continued the show when the station became WWDC.
Although it featured a traditional sampling of news, sports, weather and music, it also boasted a popular host of genial wit with an easy, informal style and occasional crotchety comments.
|
W2F-001-0.txt
|
THE DOGS OF CARRBORO
Looking at the freshly painted white wall of her apartment, she wonders what it would be like just to leave the few remaining cardboard boxes on the floor and never finish unpacking. That way she could savor the newness of her new life, the excitement of not quite remembering what's around the corner. She pushes a plastic fork through the salad she got at the deli she discovered today. An elegant salad, a seductive salad of avocado, crumbled feta, red pepper, black olives. She holds an olive on her tongue for a long second before swallowing it. Yes, she loves the place, she loves Berkeley, the job at the agency has started well. At the moment she knows with mathematical certitude that she's made the right choice. And that's even without taking into account the view from the balcony: over spikes of bottlebrush to a discreet blue wedge of the bay. She's saving that for now, not the salad and the view at the same time, not yet. Who needs any more than this? The phone. Which is a surprise. His voice, which she hasn't heard in months. She feels herself stiffening, looks toward the door as if to assure herself that it's locked, and sees her yellow jacket hanging on the knob. "How did you get my number?" She's conscious of holding the receiver a half-inch further away than usual. "I've got my sources," he says airily. For a while she doesn't answer but maintains what she thinks is a chilly silence. It's part instinct and part conscious signal. Still, she has to admire his resourcefulness. Of course, he was always resourceful, and with the way he lived, he had to be. That's all in the past, she reminds herself. It makes him less of a threat and she feels better. After all, he's across the continent in Virginia. "So how's it going out there"" he asks. "Terrific. Couldn't be better," it's like a strong forehand whacked smartly across the net. Only maybe it's a little too strong. It sounds overdone. Maybe she should have toned it down just a little.
For a while there's a silence and she remembers his tall silhouette, the long topcoat, wide shoulders. Just when she's beginning to wonder if he's still there she hears him again: "Tell me what you're seeing." 're laughs to herself. One of his little photographer's games. Strangely, though, she doesn't mind acquiescing: it's like the old times without being the old times. "I see a room," she says. "White walls, a sliding glass door leading to a balcony. The curtains are white too, there's a green wall-to-wall carpet-- avocado. There are a few boxes on the floor." She talks slowly, expecting him to break in at any moment with a clicking sound like a man snapping a picture but all he says is "Yeah," as if he's suddenly lost interest, and she stops describing the apartment. It's different out here, she wants to tell him, the air is sharp and dry, not like the South. Here when you step into the shade the heat doesn't follow you. But all at once she feels disoriented: for the moment she's been pulled back into his world, or rather, he's re-interpreted hers, framing it. Something has gone out of her elation, like a wind dying down. "I'm going to get wind-chimes," she 'mys, apropos of nothing. "There's always a breeze in the evening." He doesn't respond. "Hey," she asks, "are you still there?" "Yeah." The slow Carolina drawl makes the word seem longer than it is and hearing it she sees again that thin face with two distinctly different halves, remembers the blond hair and green eyes that change color like the sea. She tries to gauge from the sound how much his life is under control now. "How are you doing?" she asks. "Good. Real good. I got a teaching gig for the fall. At the community college." "That's great." Maybe he does have it together, after all, though with him the question is always: for how long? "You meet any nice new people out there?" he asks. "Uh-huh."
There's no need to tell him that she isn't interested in new people right now, she just wants to start life clean, a tabula rasa, like this apartment; and she wishes she could keep it that way for a while: innocence, learning something new each day about the city, like the names of TV anchorpeople, the best places for Mexican food (she can hear him on that subject). She's done her duty, paid her dues, her life with him is over. "Think of it as four years in the Peace Corps," a friend in Chicago said, "working in an undeveloped nation." "Isn't the current term developing nations?" she asked, going along with the joke; but the friend answered, "No, with this one there's no possibility-- we're not talking Third Wor 'rehere, more like Seventh or Eighth.? They laughed, drank wine. There were wildflowers on the bright orange tablecloth, the big lake heaved softly on the horizon-- everything seemed to float. It felt so good to be able to talk about all that from a distance, no longer tied up in it, in the pain, in his mood swings, the sudden onset of long silences, vodka before noon, suicidal glooms. "Developing nations." Only later did she recognize the photographic pun. Now she looks around the empty white room: her canary yellow jacket slumps over the doorknob, her discarded shoes a few feet from the door. Home. She feels like the heroine at the end of a horror movie: after the dark corridors, the ominous sounds at the bottom of the stairs, mysterious shapes; after her own panting, heart pounding in her throat, she's safe at last, in her favorite chair, and the thud she hears in the distance is only the plop of the folded newspaper on the porch. "I want a normal life," she says. "And I've got one now." "Heh-heh," he cackles stagily, as if reading her thoughts. Aren't you just a little nostalgic, the laugh seems to ask, for those terrors" "How can you be sure I can't reach you even in that white apartment with the green rug and the sliding glass door? You know, if you think bad thoughts about me you'll get cold sores." 'llICE-USA:W2F-001#80:1> Relieved that he's joking, she answers, "I don't...
" She wants to say she doesn't think any thoughts of him at all but that wouldn't be true. "I don't want cold sores," she says. "How vain you are, my dear," comes the voice from across the country. "Isn't that a little like the pot calling the kettle black?" she says, remembering his swaggering dramatic poses, the costumes, his staged entrances. But she loved it once, didn't she, their bohemian life, when she thought of herself as a serious painter? On one of their anniversaries they colored each other's faces: savage streaks of yellow under one of his eyes, a peaceful blue under the other; he put a tiny rainbow on her brow. "Every time you get a cold sore you'll think of me," 'llsays. "Aren't you sweet?" "Hey, sweetie, I don't use my magic powers on just anyone. You should feel flattered." Can they really be talking like this, in a harmless enough way? Last spring on that hot whispery street in Virginia her throat burned as if she'd swallowed l 'd, the scent of honeysuckle and mimosa pressing down on her through the humid air while he stood a few feet away, holding the hand he'd hurt when h 'dpunched a tree. Now here they are at different ends of the country, bantering lightly, a regular stir fry of a conversation. She smiles, looking at the salad's bright colors before her. Is it possible that a call from him can be just a parenthesis, pleasant, funny, nostalgic, in her life? Still, she doesn't quite trust the feeling. Looking at the sunlight on her white walls in California she feels protected from that other side of him, hungry and demanding. She remembers a night in Carolina when he looked at her across a table. It was in a roadhouse on Route 29, heavy with tobacco smoke. As the band played something slow and melancholy he sat there, hunched over for the longest time, silent as a stone, until he suddenly drew himself erect. All the features on his pale face were the same but he'd become a 'dstranger. "I do not understand the person I am," he declared with great formality his eyes looking beyond her, beyond the fake log cabin walls of the roadhouse. It scared her. Silently she assented: he wasn't the man she thought she knew, that was clear, that had been becoming clearer all the time. Days later they acted as though none of it had ever happened, as if it were a matter of washing the paint from their faces; but that night in the roadhouse was the first time she admitted to herself they weren't likely to stay together. Sometimes his pictures could achieve the same kind of readjustment of vision: a familiar object suddenly became mysterious, menacing; an ordinary scene was transformed into a magical revelation. It was uncanny how he'd caught som 'dhing in their homely doorway in Chapel Hill: the tall, thin shape-- like him, in a way-- the frame not quite in line, the peeling paint and that worn, once elegant knob. His camera turned it into an ambiguous omen. Remembering that doorway to their apartment in Chapel Hill she's suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of loss. Yes, if you looked at it the right way you could glimpse things that hadn't yet gone on behind that door, you could believe that doorway could somehow foretell her being alone here in California. Life opens up, her friend in Chicago told her, tomorrow can always be better than today. There are times, though, when she believes that all there is is memory. 'Hey, sweetie," his voice breaks in on her thoughts. "I was thinking-" - - "Yeah?" "In a couple of years we're both going 're be middle-aged." She says nothing. "Isn't that weird, though?" He sounds genuinely bemused. It's not an idea she finds particularly appealing. "Well," she says, "you'll be ther 'llirst." It's their joke, since he's three weeks older than she is. "I'll tell 'll how it feels."
They're both 'reent for a while trying to fathom how it will feel. It's a step forward, she told herself this morning, giving up those ideas about painting-- it's seeing things clearly, and that feels good. Her job at the agency is challenging, her work helps people, at the end of the day she feels satisfied, she's contributed. "I was down at the coast last week," he says. "I remembered that bird we saw." "What bird?" "The one in the marsh that day with its wings up." "Oh. Yeah." The memory comes distantly, as though she's watching someone else's home video. It was a quiet place with soft contours, where the marsh grass bent under its own weight, green willows drooped beside a sluggish tidal stream. She was the first to notice the black shape a hundred yards away, on a piling in the water near a weatherbeaten dock. It was a large seabird that was facing them, its wings extended, like an eagle on a coin, but it was so motionless that at first she thought it had to be sculpture or a carving. For a long time it remained perfectly still and then a wing moved slightly, like a guarded gesture of welcome, just enough to indicate that this was a living creature. But it didn't move any further, it just stayed there, frozen. "Look at that," he said, taking her hand. "That means something, doesn't it? It's got to mean something." The two of them stood there a long time, contemplating this world of grass and water that was breathing slowly with the tide while one creature stayed mysteriously still. "Yeah," she says again, realizing by the time she's remembered it fully that she's moved by the wonder of that moment, no longer distant. "So strange," she says, looking at the white walls of her apartment, her jacket hanging on the door, the discarded shoes. After a while he asks, "Don't you get lonely sometimes?" "No,"- she answers. An absurd response but she's leaving him no opening. "Oh, I do," he says matter-of-factly and it seems as though he has no intention of pushing the subject any further.
But how can you know about him, how can you ever know?
He always had something up his sleeve. That last year in Virginia she went through the days clenched, ready for the explosions that were sure to come. Yet even then there were times like the night he drove her with great mystery across the back roads to a bridge over the railroad tracks. The sky above them was black and starless, dark heat moved through the hissing leaves and tree frogs shrieked. Under the smell of ripe vegetation there was a faint trace of oil coming up from the tracks. What was he doing, she wondered, why had he dragged her out here?
|
W2C-014-1.txt
|
Engineering college makes changes to involve, excite students early
Engineering students who think they are required to take too many Courses to get a Cornell degree, take note:
Beginning with the incoming freshman class (' 98), the number of hours required for an engineering degree will decrease, and students will have a more flexible, comprehensive curriculum.
" The faculty have made the first significant undergraduate engineering curriculum changes since the current requirements were adopted almost 15 years ago," said John E. Hopcroft, the Joseph Silbert Dean of the College of Engineering.
Engineering faculty approved the changes Feb. 28, after more than three years of study. The College Curriculum Governing Board started to look at the curriculum in 1991, as an ad-hoc committee examining the freshman-sophomore engineering experience. It blossomed into a full-fledged committee examining teaching and curriculum, and led to the new undergraduate requirements.
Among the changes
Among the changes: Students need fewer credits for an engineering degree, 38 courses instead of 40; they will be able to affiliate with a field within engineering earlier in their college experience; they have more flexibility in taking courses outside of engineering; and they must take a hands-on introduction-to-engineering course freshman year, exposing them to the "excitement and process of engineering" early in their college careers.
The changes are an example of the importance the college puts on undergraduate education, and they reflect changes in engineering education across the nation, Hopcroft says.
" The old curriculum put tremendous burden on you your junior year," the dean said. "It's extraordinarily demanding, because you're just dec 'reing your major in the college and have to take a difficult load of courses."
The new curriculum is less rigid in the later years and more complete and integrated.
Current curriculum
For example, the current curriculum requires students to take a heavy dose of basic courses, such as physics, math and computer science, during their freshman and sophomore years. It is not until their junior year that they take field-specific engineering classes, such as those in electrical, materials, civil, mechanical and aerospace engineering or applied physics.
One of the problems with that, the dean said, is that historically students transfer out of the college before the junior year.
In fact, almost 90 percent of students entering the engineering college between 1983 and 1989 graduated from Cornell, but only 75 percent or so graduated from the engineering college.
But the new curriculum requires an introductory course in a field, hands-on learning lab, during freshman year. That will expose them to engineering early in their college careers. Then, the student must affiliate with a specific engineering field, such as civil and environmental, or mechanical and aerospace, for example, in the sophomore year. By the end of their fourth semester, they will already have taken three or more engineering courses, one or two of them in their specific field.
Additionally, "Industry demands that engineers have a more well-rounded education," said Hopcroft, who took over as dean Jan. 1, replacing William Streett, who has returned to teaching in the chemical engineering department. "The new curriculum will give*them an opportunity to take more courses outside their field."
The curriculum also will make it easier for a student to study abroad. The college has an engineering program in Hamburg, Germany, for 22 students and is considering starting one in Asia.
Hopcroft also said he wants faculty to involve undergraduates in their research projects. "We're committe 'reo getting students involved in the research experience. This is a research university. Every faculty member in the college is involved in research and teaching. It's at the heart of what we do. The college encourages faculty to employ undergraduates in their labs. We have more interest in that than we can finance," Hopcroft said. Last year, the college spent $62,000 from its general fund and alumni donations to finance undergraduate research positions, with another $75,000 from the General Electric Foundation.
" At some institutions, teaching is simply conveying a body of knowledge. But here, we want them to learn how that knowledge is created. We want students to understand how engineering research is done, how it's funded. We want to foster teamwork and give them an actual design experience. Such experiences may include, for example, designing and building an SAE Formula race car or hybrid electric vehicle, a concrete canoe or a pedestrian bridge to be constructed locally.
Another curriculum innovation: The college will offer a bioengineering option for its students. Students who major in an engineering field can take a number of courses related to bioengineering - the engineering of biological systems - and will have an official note of this on their transcripts.
Dual degrees
Hopcroft also sees cross-departmental, even cross-college, courses being offered at Cornell. In engineering, students will be able to double-major in, say, electrical engineering and materials science for dual degrees. "We're going 'rehave to do more, but with less resources," Hopcroft said. "We have 215 faculty now, but in five years we'll have 'll. As a result, there will be a lot of cross-college offerings. For example, a student can take a hydrology course, but if it's offered in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, why should we duplicate it?"
The curriculum is not all that's new in the engineering college. The dean points to several initiatives as a priority. For example, the college has hired Gloria Gilford to coordinate recruitment of minority students and "to encourage them to choose Cornell," Hopcroft said. "What we want to do is attract the best minority students out there and to create a campus environment that encourages success."
Concurrent with that, the college has hired Claude Poux as director of the Engineering Minority Programs Office. Said Hopcroft: "We must get the faculty to accept responsibility for enabling the success of the minority student. It's not enough just to retain them in the college - and this is true of every student, not just minorities, not just women - we need to launch them on successful careers."
Although the college enrollment is about 24 percent women - compared with the national average of about 17 percent - the engineering college still must make special efforts to keep women in the field.
Interaction
" We need to continue to show that engineering is an area where you do interact with people, a field that is important to many national problems, and there is value to it. We have a quarter of our enrollment women, but we'd li 'd to get that to one-third. Of the faculty, about 7 percent, or 14, are women.
" Really, it's a commitment to excellence that is important," Hopcroft said. "In that sense, it doesn't matter if it's a man, woman, minority, as long as they are excellent at what they do. And that's the driving force of the college."
A member of the National Academy of Engineering since 1989, Hopcroft, 54, earned a Ph.D. in 1964 and an M.S. in 1962, both from Stanford University, and a B.S. in 1961 from Seattle University, all in electrical engineering. He also is a member of the National Science Board, the governing board of the National Science Foundation.
Hopcroft was associate dean for college affairs since 1992, chairman of the computer science department from 1987 to 1992, and a professor of computer science since 1972, when he came to Cornell from Stanford.
About the college
Dean: John E. Hopcroft was named dean of the College of Engineering on Jan. 1. He formerly was associate dean and chairman of the Computer Science department.
<
Agenda: Undergraduate curriculum changes designed to engage Students early in their college careers; focus on recruiting and retaining Minority students.
|
W1B-028-0.txt
|
Item 1. BUSINESS
The Home Depot, Inc., including its subsidiaries (" The Home Depot" or "Company") is the leading retailer in the home improvement industry. It operates "warehouse style" stores which sell a wide assortment of building materials and home improvement products. At fiscal year end, the Company had 340 stores in 28 states and 3 Canadian provinces, with an aggregate total of approximately 35,133,000 square feet of selling space. Such stores average approximately 103,000 square feet of enclosed space per store, with an additional 20,000 to 28,000 square feet of garden center and storage space. The Company's corporate offices are located at 2727 Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30339-4089, telephone number (404) 433-8211.
The Home Depot's operating strategy stresses providing a broad range of merchandise at competitive prices and utilizing highly knowledgeable service oriented personnel and aggressive advertising. Company-employed shoppers regularly check prices at competitors' operations to ensure that The Home Depot's low "Day-In, Day-Out" warehouse prices are competitive within each market.
Since a majority of the Company's customers are individual homeowners, many of whom may have limited experience in do-it-yourself (" D-I-Y") projects, management considers its employees' knowledge of products and home improvement techniques and applications to be very important to its marketing approach and its ability to maintain customer satisfaction. Many D-I-Y customers take advantage of "how-to" classes offered in The Home Depot stores.
Another segment of the Company's business activity is the buy-it-yourself (" B-I-Y") customers. The B-I-Y customer chooses products, makes the purchase and contracts with others to complete or install the project. The Home Depot also devotes significant marketing, advertising and service efforts toward attracting professional remodelers and commercial users.
Products
Management estimates that during the course of a year, a typical store stocks approximately 40,000 to 50,000 product items, including variations in color and size. Each store carries a wide selection of quality and nationally advertised brand name merchandise. The table below shows the percentage of sales of each major product group for each of the last three fiscal years. However, these percentages may not necessarily be representative of the Company's future product mix due, among other things, to the effects of promotional activities associated with opening additional stores. Also, newly opened stores did not operate through a complete seasonal product cycle for all periods presented.
The Company sources its merchandise from approximately 8,000 vendors worldwide, of which no single vendor accounts for as much as 10 percent of purchases. The Company is not dependent on any single vendor. A substantial majority of merchandise is purchased directly from manufacturers, thereby eliminating costs of intermediaries. Management believes that competitive sources of supply are readily available for substantially all its products.
Marketing and Sales
Management believes a number of the Company's existing stores are operating at or above their optimum capacity. In order to enhance market penetration over time, the Company has adopted a strategy of adding new stores near the edge of the market areas served by existing stores. While such a strategy may initially have a negative impact on the rate of growth of comparable store-for-store sales, management believes this "cannibalization" strategy increases customer satisfaction and overall market share by reducing delays in shopping, increasing utilization by existing customers and attracting new customers to more convenient locations.
The Home Depot has continued to introduce or refine a number of merchandising programs during fiscal 1994. Key among them is the Company's ongoing commitment to becoming the supplier of first choice to an assortment of professional customers, primarily small- scale remodelers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians and building maintenance professionals. The Company has reacted to the needs of this group by emphasizing commercial credit programs, delivery services, new merchandising programs and more efficient shopping through the Company's Store Productivity Improvement program.
The Company continued a Company-wide roll-out of an enlarged garden center prototype. These centers which are as large as 28,000 square feet, feature 6,000 to 8,000 square foot house plant enclosures (" HPE") or covered selling areas providing year round selling opportunities as well as a significantly expanded product assortment. By the end of fiscal 1994, the prototype was in place in at least 244 stores. By the end of fiscal 1995, these enlarged centers should be in most of the Company's stores.
The organization of the merchandising group was revamped during fiscal 1994 to be more efficient and responsive to customers' needs. Under the new structure, both product line merchandisers and regional merchandisers report to division merchandise managers who have responsibility for broad product categories, such as construction, decor, repair and season- lawn/garden.
The Company's installed sales program is available in 332 stores in 70 markets and is planned to be in all of the Company's stores over the next year. There are approximately 3,400 installed sales vendors who, as independent, licensed contractors, are authorized to provide services to customers. This program targets the B-I-Y customer, who will purchase an item but either does not have the desire or ability to install the item.
During the past year, the Company has continued its marketing effort to support its sponsorship of the 1994 and 1996 Olympic Games and the U.S. Olympic teams' participation at those games. In fiscal 1994, the Company unveiled a program to help pave the Olympic Park in Atlanta with engraved bricks, and hired athletes to work in its stores and offices while they train for the Olympic Games. The Company's growing partnership with 29 key suppliers in the United States and 26 in Canada is providing significant financial support for the sponsorship.
During fiscal 1994, the Company also announced its sponsorship of the Paralympic Games, which will follow the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. Support of the Paralympic Games is symbolic of the Company's commitment to better serve those of its associates and customers with disabilities.
In January 1994, the Company opened its second Expo(R) Design Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Expo stores, located in San Diego and Atlanta, enabled the regional merchandising staff to test a variety of upscale interior design products and services. Due to strong customer acceptance of its Expo stores, the Company plans to add Expo stores in Westbury, New York, and in Dallas, Texas, during 1995. The Expo stores offer approximately 125,000 square feet of selling space plus 5,000 square feet of climate controlled garden centers.
During 1994, the Company also opened additional food service facilities in certain stores. These facilities are an extension of the Company's commitment to total customer satisfaction, and are designed to provide customers and employees with a convenient place to eat. The Company believes customers with limited amounts of time to complete their shopping, especially customers with small children, may spend more time in the store if fast food is available on site. The food service providers vary by market.
On February 28, 1994, the Company acquired a 75 percent interest in the Aikenhead's Home Improvement Warehouse (" Aikenhead's") chain in Canada. This 75 percent interest was purchased from the Molson Companies Limited (" Molson"). The Company has the right to acquire Molson's remaining 25 percent interest beginning in 2000. The Company is the managing partner of this partnership which operates as The Home Depot Canada.
During fiscal 1994, the Company began developing plans to open stores in Mexico. Although the Company has begun building relationships with key suppliers in Mexico, entry into this market will be cautious and slow. On a long-term basis, however, it is anticipated that success in Mexico could lead to more opportunities throughout Central and South America.
The CrossRoads(tm) store format, announced during fiscal 1994, will carry building and home improvement supplies sold at traditional Home Depot stores, as well as a broad assortment of products and services for farmers and ranchers. By combining its traditional customer base with the markets in farming and ranching communities, the Company anticipates being able to penetrate hundreds of smaller markets that might not otherwise have supported Home Depot stores.
The first CrossRoads store is expected to open in Quincy, Illinois during the summer of 1995, with stores in Waterloo, Iowa and Columbia, Missouri expected to also open during the year. The average CrossRoads store is expected to encompass more that 100,000 square feet, plus additional outside selling space of approximately 100,000 square feet.
" The Home Depot", the "Homer" advertising symbol and various private label brand names under which the Company sells a limited range of products are service marks, trademarks or trade names of the Company and are considered to be important assets of the Company.
Information Systems
Each store is equipped with a computerized point of sale system, electronic bar code scanning system, and a mini-computer. These systems provide efficient customer check-out with an approximate 90 percent of scannable products, store-based inventory management, rapid order replenishment, labor planning support, and item movement information. In fiscal 1994 faster registers were introduced as well as a new check approval system and a new receipt format to expedite credit card transactions. Store information is communicated to home office and divisional office computers via a satellite and land-based communications network. These computers provide corporate financial and merchandising support systems.
The Company is constantly assessing and upgrading its information systems to support its growth, reduce and control costs, and enable better decision-making. The Company continues to see greater efficiency as a result of its electronic data interchange (EDI) program. Currently, over 400 of the Company's highest volume vendors are participating in the EDI program. A paperless system, EDI electronically processes orders from stores to vendors, alerts the store when the merchandise is to arrive and transmits vendor invoice data.
In fiscal 1994, the Company introduced phone centers to serve its customers who call to inquire about pricing and availability of merchandise. By adding experienced sales associates to a phone bank to answer calls quickly and efficiently, weekly phone sales have increased. Without the necessity of responding to phone calls, the sales associates can better concentrate on serving in- store customers.
In fiscal 1994, stores were outfitted with Electronic Article Surveillance (" EAS") detectors that trigger an alarm if a person exits the store with merchandise that has been affixed with an EAS label that has not been desensitized at the cash register. The system is proving to be a deterrent to theft, with many stores reporting reductions in shoplifting offenses.
The Company also operates its own television network and produces training and informational programs that are transmitted to stores via the communications network.
Employees
As of fiscal year end, The Home Depot employed approximately 67,000 persons, of whom approximately 4,800 were salaried and the remainder were compensated on an hourly basis. Approximately 83 percent of the Company's employees are employed on a full-time basis. In order to attract and retain qualified personnel, the Company seeks to maintain salary and wage levels above those of its competitors in its market areas. The Company's policy is to hire and train additional personnel in anticipation of future store expansion. The Company has never experienced a strike or any work stoppage, and management believes that its employee relations are satisfactory. There are no collective bargaining agreements covering any of the Company's employees.
Competition
The business of the Company is highly competitive, based in part on price, location of store, customer service and depth of merchandise. In each of the markets served by the Company, there are several other chains of building supply houses, lumber yards and home improvement stores. In addition, the Company must compete, with respect to some of its products, with discount stores, local, regional and national hardware stores, warehouse clubs, independent building supply stores and to a lesser extent, other retailers.
Due to the variety of competition faced by the Company, management is unable to precisely measure the Company's market share in its existing market areas. Management, however, believes that the Company is an effective and significant competitor in these markets.
Executive Officers
The following provides information concerning the executive officers holding positions in the Company and/or its subsidiaries.
BERNARD MARCUS, age 65, has been Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (" CEO") of The Home Depot since its inception in 1978; and is, together with Mr. Arthur M. Blank and Mr. Kenneth G. Langone (a director of the Company), a co-founder of the Company. Mr. Marcus serves on the Board of Directors of Wachovia Bank of Georgia, N.A., National Service Industries, Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Mr. Marcus is a member of the Advisory Board and Board of Directors of the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta, as well as a Vice President and member of the Board of The City of Hope, a charitable organization in Duarte, California. Mr. Marcus is also a member of Emory University's Board of Visitors.
|
W2B-021-0.txt
|
Tour ten advanced house designs from our neighbor to the north. Their technologies may appear in U.S. homes soon.
Probably because of its cold climate, Canada is a world leader in energy-efficient housing. The United States is five to ten years behind its neighbor, most housing experts agree. So POPULAR SCIENCE went to Canada to learn about a group of state-of-the-art homes, dubbed Advanced Houses.
Ten Advanced Houses, winners of a nationwide competition, have been constructed across Canada. Entrants met stringent requirements: The houses will use half as much energy as those in the well-regarded R-2000 program that Canada has been pushing for a decade, and one-fourth the energy and half the water of conventional homes. Builders also focused on indoor air quality and resource-conserving materials choices.
These targets were met in different ways. "Each house is not the archetypical house of the future, but one set of solutions," explains Tim Mayo of Canada's energy department. Intended as benchmarks for the Canadian building industry, the houses are the proving ground for new technologies and products that should drive future housing development. Seven of eight windows that were prototyped for the project are now on the market, for example. "We're trying t 'reush the mainstream industry as far as it can go, and then just a bit further," says Mayo. Looking at the group of Advanced Houses as a whole, it is easy to identify some emerging trends:
* Builders are using more engineered-wood products. Premanufactured truss walls comprised of inner and outer wood studs separated by plywood webs or metal spacers were used in three houses, for example. This allows for wall cavities up to 12 inches deep, but uses only small-dimension lumber. Only three houses have a traditional 2x6 wall-framing system.
* Six houses are insulated with recycled materials such as cellulose, which is made from waste newsprint. Two houses use newer, high-density fiberglass batts that contain some recycled glass.
* Three houses feature quadruple-glazed windows with gas fills, non-metal spacers, and low-emissivity coatings that reflect heat but transmit visible light. Five houses have triple-glazed windows.
* The houses integrate space heating, cooling, ventilation, and water heating. Ground-source heat pumps provide heating and cooling in three houses. Another four use high-efficiency systems that integrate gas heating and domestic-hot-water requirements.
* Occupancy sensors control ventilation in seven houses.
* Renewable energy sources are gaining a foothold. Solar panels heat water for six houses; five of the six also have photovoltaic-powered pumps. Solar energy generates electricity for two houses; another one has wind power.
* All but two of the houses incorporate some type of home-automation system to control lighting, security, heating and cooling, and more.
The Advanced Houses will be open to the public for a year, then sold, and finally monitored for a year under normal occupancy. Although the houses rely on a variety of experimental technology, they don't look out of place in neighborhoods of conventional homes. Each house's total project cost was about $700,000 to $800,000 (Canadian); much of the expense comes from designing and installing prototypes, which can be more costly than off-the-shelf products. The houses will sell for prices typical in their neighborhoods; the three that have already sold went for $185,000 to $250,000 (Canadian). Here are some innovative features a visitor might see on a quick tour of the houses.
BREATHING EASIER
Indoor air quality received special attention in the design of the Manitoba Advanced House in Winnipeg. The hobby room, which could also serve as a home office or smoker's room, has its own ventilation system. Other "healthy house" touches include a special bag filter to capture particles, floors made from natural cork, a basement floor sealed to prevent the entry of radon (a naturally occurring soil gas that may be implicated in some lung cancers), and return air vents located in the closets to remove dry-cleaning fumes and other pollutants.
The Manitoba House needs no air conditioning. During the summer, overhangs help keep sunlight from penetrating windows. The windows also have clip-on solar screens that look similar to regular screens but reduce heat gain by about 30 percent.
Although temperatures in Winnipeg can drop to - 40 [degrees] F in the winter, the house's windows gain more energy than they lose--even on the colder north side. To find the best windows for the job, the team that built the house held a competition. The winner: quadruple-glazed Willmar windows with two Heat Mirror polyester films, an additional low-emissivity coating on the inner pane of glass, insulative spacer bars, and a gas fill that is 80 percent krypton and 20 percent argon. The windows have an insulative value of R-12, which is as good as some conventional walls, says project manager John Hockman of Appin Associates. Now on the market, they cost about 40 percent more than triple-glazed windows, which are standard in new Winnipeg homes.
Other details include a natural-gas refueling station next to the garage, an under-sink compost handler that is kept under negative air pressure to prevent odors from escaping, and an energy-use meter that helps reduce consumption by telling occupants how much electricity they're using 're dollars.
SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
The four-bedroom Saskatchewan Advanced House in Saskatoon makes ample use of solar energy. A photovoltaic panel on the roof generates 1.9 kilowatts, about 10 percent of the electricity used in the house. The panel provides enough juice to run a Photocom refrigerator, which uses about one-third the electricity of an average fridge (typically the biggest energy gobbler in a house). The photovoltaics also power the heating and cooling systems. Surplus electricity is stored in batteries.
Evacuated heat-pipe solar collectors on the roof capture heat and transfer it to a 750-gallon insulated water-storage tank in the basement. From there, the heat passively rises into a pair of domestic hot-water tanks mounted on top of the storage tank. These two tanks provide hot water for the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry. Via a heat exchanger, they also transfer heat to water circulating through a radiant-floor-heating system. The two hot-water tanks provide backup heat when the solar storage tank in the basement can't meet the demand. "This is a very simple system," claims designer John Carroll. "The three pumps are the only moving parts."
The Saskatchewan House also has radiant cooling, which, unlike conventional air conditioners, requires no CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons. Water is pumped through 2,300 feet of tubing in the ceilings of the main and upstairs levels, where it picks up heat from aluminum collector plates. The water then flows through another 1,600 feet of tubing buried in the ground beneath the floor slab and in the backfill. Cooled to about 50 [degrees] F by the soil, the water recirculates to the ceilings.
To conserve water, the backyard's concave shape channels the flow toward the grass to water the yard.
PANELS: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
Located in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, the British Columbia Advanced House uses a variety of prefabricated components. The second-floor walls and the roof are made from stress-skin panels, which are stronger than conventional double-stud walls, require less lumber, and can be mass-produced. "What we're real 'redoing is moving the construction off site and into the factory, where there's better quality control and more efficient materials use," explains architect Richard Kadulski.
Each stress-skin panel has a layer of HCFC-blown polyurethane sandwiched between two sheets of plywood. Because they are manufactured using HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) instead of CFCs, the panels are potentially less damaging to Earth's ozone layer.
Strolling around the house, an informed visitor can spot many recycled materials. The foundation and landscaping contain crushed glass, the rubber pavers are made from old tires, and the deck is recycled plastic. The roof tiles, developed by Vancouver-based C-Max Technologies, are particularly noteworthy. They look like slate, but are made from a fire-retardant weather-resistant combination of two waste products: pulp sludge produced by local mills, and a cementlike material made from a fertilizer byproduct.
Local inventors devised two other products. The Touch Tap in the shower allows occupants to preset the temperature and flow rate for each person in the house, says Kadulski. And the Ventex toilet, with a fan that vents odors from the bowl through a pipe to the outside, removes about 85 percent less air than a bathroom ceiling fan. Homeowners turn on another fan when they take a bath or shower.
Household waste goes into a tank buried under the front lawn, where microorganisms break down the solid materials. Only the liquids continue on to the city sewer system, reducing the need for municipal waste treatment.
The most sophisticated element of the house is its home-automation system. The house is prewired so that appliances can "talk" to each other. If the doorbell or telephone rings, for example, the vacuum cleaner automatically stops.
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
The Waterloo Region Green Home, located an hour west of Toronto in Waterloo, Ontario, takes what some have called a "low-tech" approach to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. "We consider that a compliment," says project manager John Kokko of Enermodal Engineering Ltd.
The project team used no CFCs in the house, and selected a variety of recycled materials including: siding made from sawdust, a steel roof made from junked cars, carpeting made from plastic soda bottles, and a refurbished bathtub and sink.
One of the team's goals was to virtually eliminate construction waste. "We never had a dumpster on site," says Stephen Carpenter of Enermodal. While builders typically send about 2.5 tons of waste to the landfill for every house they erect, the Waterloo team generated just two garbage bags weighing about ten pounds apiece.
The team used only half the concrete that would be required for a poured-in-place foundation by adapting engineered concrete wall panels for the foundation. Flat on one side, the precast panels have steel reinforcing on the other, wafflelike side to give them the strength of a conventional foundation.
The house's heating system, developed with the Canadian Gas Research Institute, uses a conventional natural-gas furnace joined to a heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) with two briefcase-size containers of gravel. Furnace flue gases and ventilation exhaust from the bathrooms heat one set of rocks, while the second set of rocks heats incoming fresh air. Every five minutes, a pair of valves reverses the airflow to the two compartments, so the heated rocks are cooled, and the cooled rocks are heated. Because the rocks are cheaper than a stainless-steel heat exchanger, the furnace/HRV system could be manufactured less expensively than its competitors. It will be field-tested in 20 other Canadian houses this year.
One innovation Kokko and Carpenter can't resist pointing out is a "toilet with a twist.? Made by Control Fluidics of Greenwich, Conn., the Fluidizer toilet contains a blenderlike device that liquefies solid waste and toilet paper. The patented toilet uses just two quarts of water for each flush; other low-flush toilets use one and a half gallons, and standard models use three gallons. The Fluidizer could become commercially available as early as June.
ALL TRUSSED UP AND READY TO GO
Metal-web trusses are premanufactured units commonly used in floors. "Stand that floor system on its side, and you've go 've wall," says Paul Duffy, an engineer at Buchan, Lawton, Parent Ltd. in Toronto, and project manager of The Novel Environmental Advanced Technology Home, or NEAT Home, in Hamilton, Ontario.
Truss walls provide high levels of insulation without requiring increasingly scarce and expensive large-dimension lumber. "There's nothing bigger than a 2x5 in the whole house," says Duffy.
The NEAT Home's 11-inch-thick walls consist of 2x3 studs separated by a metal web. They'r 'reovered with insulative foam sheathing on the outside, and drywall on the inside. The wall cavities are filled with a poured-in-place non-CFC foam. "It expands up to 60 times its volume," says Duffy. Specially formulated for this project by Icynene Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario, the foam flows easily around the framing materials but does not build up enough pressure to force off the drywall or sheathing. It shrinks less than three percent as it dries, to prevent insulative gaps. Builders put scraps of excess foam into the attic before blowing recycled fiberglass insulation into place.
For the foundation, the project team adapted a technology commonly used in high-rise construction. "It's never been tried in a residential foundation application," says Duffy. To build the foundation walls, workers used tie rods to position rigid insulation and a fiberglass drainage layer between concrete forms. They then poured two layers of concrete to form a sandwich around the insulation. The outer concrete layer supports above-grade masonry finish, and the inside layer supports the house framing. There's no need for any exterior or interior finishing of the foundation walls. "When you strip the forms, you 're done," says Duffy.
To accommodate changing family needs, the NEAT Home has an oversize garage door that allows the owner to add a roll-in suite to the house. This suite, which arrives on the site completed like a manufactured home, contains a bedroom, kitchenette, and bathroom. Plumbing and mechanical hookups on the garage wall ease installation.
|
W1B-013-0.txt
|
Dear Jim,
Im writing to you, finally, on my 32nd birthday, after so much time passing between my last letter to you. Its not for lack of want that Ive been silent on this end; rather, I seem to easily find ways to get myself involved in every kind of time-consuming opportunity. Its in my nature, I guess, since I never seem to be able to pass up the change to learn, to grow, to try on a new hat.
Ive been thinking a lot about the last time we spoke--- December 24th if memory serves me rightand I have to say that there has been more than enough food for thought given the circumstances.
You said that it has been years since youve spoken to your oldest son, or that he has repeatedly ignored your attempts to make peace (which Im sure, knowing you as well as I do, were sincere. I hope you can understand my point when I say that his behavior towards you may have been warranted when he was a teenager, but it is disconcertingly inappropriate at this point in his life. If I understand correctly, your son was 18 when you ran away, as you put it, which means he was, at least legally, an adult. I do not have any doubt that he felt the pain of your sudden divorce. I dont imagine that that would be an easy situation for any person to deal with--- his being the oldest of your kids and being the one who felt like he was forced to be the replacement for you. And this may be conjecture on my part, and if it is a gross misrepresentation of the facts, Ill ask you to forgive me, but during the time of your divorce, I believe your ex-wife spoke of you in the most diabolical of terms. This was, at least, the impression I got from my parents, who have pretty clear memories respectively as to how the circumstances had been related to them via your ex-wifes friends. There is no way your son was immune to that type of indoctrination, for lack of a better term. Those were formative years for him, and he was impressionable to a degree that was perhaps even greater than the average 18 year old, given the idyllic childhood he experienced out on the little farm. He was really removed from any hardships, I think, without a job, etc.
I know that you have taken an interest in the life of Buddha, who also lived a life totally removed from the more negative sides of life, namely, sickness, poverty, and death. And he too was shocked almost to the point of depression by what he saw when he finally left his bubble. I think this is partly reminiscent of your sons situation, which is why the smack of divorce hit him so hard.
Anyway, forgive me for delving into a sore topic.Let me just say that if you are ever in need of an ear, a friend, a sounding-board, a sailing-partner, a pal to drink martinis with"as Leonard Cohen would say, - - Im youre man.
I thought I would write a little more to you about that book I had mentioned over Christmas. I hate to put it like this, but it was a real pain to try to explain the books contents to Doctor and Mrs. Naleburn, mainly because they were only interested in hearing what they wanted to hear, if that makes sense. For example, I am always nervous around people who tell me that they are excellent writers, who are the grammar police, who correct [him] all the time, and who cant stand to listen to the way people speak nowadays. Jim, let me tell you, Ive studied the English language, and language in general, to a degree that is much, much greater than most of the people in the world. Everything I have learned has taught me that the only people who say those things are people who were born into a kind of privilege that they themselves dont recognize, think they earned, and would never acknowledge. Language, in many ways, is like music as a form of expression: One would never tell Chopin to change the tempo of his nocturne, or tell Mozart to stop writing for the winds, right" When people become self-proclaimed grammar police, I have to wonder what is behind their interest in, often erroneously, pointing out mistakes in the language of others. Language is so closely related to personal identity that when people are criticized for their way of communicating, it can be expected that they will lose a deal of self-esteem. And Jim, Im not saying that this is the case with Mrs. Naleburn entirely (although I suspect it does come into play), but it seems to me that so many of these arguments about language are really arguments against non-white ethnic minorities.
Im sure that you would disagree with me on that latter point, and I wouldnt blame you for doing so, but I hear the same types of arguments being used all the time by people when they want to criticize anyone who is not white. For instance, I was taking a break from teaching the other morning and standing outside for one of our first spring days. There were three women from the building standing outside smoking and I overheard them talking about health insurance in Massachusetts. Now, as you know, that is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, having basically gone broke paying for the reconstruction of the broken bones in my foot (hey?.shouldnt all good American teachers face starvation as a result of criminally high insurance and medical bills?). So, somehow, these woman get to talking about how annoyed they are about some illegal immigrants in Massachusetts who approached the Governor in hopes of getting some of the Commonwealths insurance coverage. Boy, did these women have a lot of nasty, ignorant things to say! And since Im going to hell anyway, I might as well stereotype here: These were the South Shores trashiest of Irish white people. So I saw my chance to get in on the conversation by telling them, Oh yeah, I have a story for you guys! At this point, I related the following story with a straight face:
So my dad owns a small restaurant outside the city and hes been working himself to the bones for the past twenty years to raise six kids. He has been getting up in age and so after all that time, he finally decides to look for a little help in the kitchen. One day, these two people come in, a guy and girl, who was pregnant, and they tell my dad they are looking for a job. My dad asks them what they can do and they say that they are willing to do anything because they dont have a lot of money and they want to send money back home to their families. So, of course my father starts to suspect that they are illegal immigrants when he asks them about paperwork. They start to explain that they have no papers and that they will work extremely hard even without papers. So my dad is someone who already hates illegal immigrants, so he grabs the guy by his shirt and he says, Listen to me you dirty bastard why dont you and this welfare collecting baby machine get back on the boat and go right back to Ireland where you came from!?
Needless to say, Jim, they had no idea what to make of that little story. <3> It would have been pointless to lie so blatantly about my dad, but when I saw how they were just barely hiding their racism by using the word illegal to mean Hispanic, I couldnt help but use the Irish example. You never hear people talk about the Canadians or the Irish when they talk about immigration?.and that really bothers me! I actually felt badly about duping these three brainiacs, but it was really worth the laugh!
So do you think this will be another year for us to get out on the boat? Id really love to get out to Misery Island this summer, but this time, just the two of us. Of course, I really loved having Aunt Bard and my wife with us, but when its just the two of us, we can really say what we want and make the rules as we go. We both know that when the ladies are there, we immediately lose our right to captain ourselves!! I know you sort of enjoy the fact that Barb acts like the boss even in a context in which she is entirely clueless (i.e. the sailboat), but getting the lecture about the gin and tonics was too much. Even if one didnt know that your wife and my mother were sisters, you would know it intuitively by the way they demand adherence to their hilarious world-view. What did Barb say when we were finally back and tied up to the mooring? "do you think its safe to have a drink while were still on the boat, Jim? How are you going to row us back to the shore?" Boy, Jim, Ill never know how you lived without my aunt for so many years, and how you practiced medicine without her for most of your adult life!!
Ha! I cant believe I got distracted and forget to tell you about the book. Well, what I would say, to finish the point I was trying to make a few months backs, is that there are really a handful of revolutionary things happening in the field of linguistics. One of them is the creation of a new theory of language proposed by a Professor over at Tufts University, who was actually a student of Noam Chomskys many year ago. And believe it or not, this man, whom I believe to be the greatest linguist in the world, live not three block away from my house. The book itself is worth reading if you think you wont be bored by looking so closely at language in such scientific terms, but it is quite an accomplishment as far as academic works go. Truth be told, I am hesitant to recommend this guys book to other linguists, though, because I have found the Professor to be somewhat off-putting and unapproachable. I recently met with him to discuss PhD study under his guidance or under his partial supervision, and he was not even willing to take a look at the 150 page masters thesis I produced using his research---- and I can assure you, a the time I published it, there were very, very few publications available in which his views were being advanced by people who were not either his grad students or his colleagues. In short, I felt he was just an arrogant person and I actually feel stupid for putting so much faith into his work. Why should I support someone who couldnt even take a few minutes to see what I had to offer? I think it was a pedigree issue, too, since my MA degree is from UMass and not MIT or Harvard. An in a bizarre twist of fate, I actually got rejected from the PhD program at Tufts (after being wait-listed) only to find that the folks at MIT are pushing me to apply!
Jim, youll have to forgive me for cutting this note short, but I have got to go to sleep. I love you and cant wait to see you again!
Your old chum
Darrell
|
W1A-009-0.txt
|
Elementary Education: Action through Nutrition and Physical Health
Although physical activity is proves to academically benefit students, good nutrition has also been linked to an improvement in math and reading scores as well as overall behavior. For this reason it is unfortunate that 80 percent of children do not obtain the proper amount of fruits and vegetables or breakfast before school (School Breakfast Program, para. 4). A School Breakfast Program began in 1966 and was finalized in 1975 to provide "federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions" with the intention of increasing the amount of students who consumed breakfast in the morning (School Breakfast Program, para. 1).
After ten years of this program's existence, observations were made regarding any correlation between breakfast consumption and improved test scores. From 1992-1993, only half of the nation's elementary school ate breakfast; whereas, from 1998-1999 more than three quarters of the students in elementary school ate prior to school. Not only were math and reading scores improved during this time, but also anxiety and stress levels were lowered (Fox and Cole, 2004, pg. 9). A study was conducted by observing nineteen students, between age six and seven, who had to eat breakfast every day consistently for one month. It was found that a couple hours after the students consumed a full meal in the morning, their "performance on the tests of memory and the ability to sustain attention were better, fewer signs of frustration were displayed and initially more time was spent on task when working individually in class" (Benton, 2007, pg. 720). These positive behaviors show how proper nutrition can, indeed, assist academic progress. Thus, elementary school should focus their attention on students' nutrition to yield high scores in various subjects. Both the nutritional discrepancies—from a lack of fruits, vegetables, and going without breakfast—impair students' academic excellence, which explains why students who eat breakfast overall have significant higher scores than others (Ehrlich, 2008, slide 7).
Many elementary schools who are financially restricted cannot make changes in their curriculum to better student's nutritional and physical health, which forces them to prioritize their educational goals. A school's mission statement first and foremost emphasizes the importance of students' academic achievement and promotes empowered learners to continuously challenge themselves. Additionally, schools would like to achieve the aforementioned goals in a respectful environment to create well-behaved and healthy US citizens with strong relationships. Although schools recognize the importance of encouraging good health, for example, it is not their primary goal as educational institutions. Nutritional and physical health are often cut when prioritizing core classes if the school has limited funding. However, these schools often do not incorporate important everyday habits that could be easily attainable without spending a cent. Some examples of this could include choosing reading materials related to health or incorporating nutritional facts in science lessons.
Part of the problem is that limited action can be taken to ensure good health in school due to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This act is used to assess whether schools are successful or not, evaluate a school's ability to make effective changes, and measure students' achievements through standardized tests. NCLB has caused public schools to narrow their focus on testing in order to have a 100 percent student-passing rate (Illinois State Board of Education, para. 1). When schools meet the expectation of having each student pass, the government deems them successful and provides them significantly more funding than to other failing schools (Illinois State Board of Education, para. 6). Although this act has great intentions, it is implemented poorly and therefore it negatively affects students' health.
Because of the No Child Left Behind Act, many physical and nutritional health classes are removed from the school curriculum. Additionally, there is a reduction in the instructional time of Physical Education classes (Noffsinger, 2005, para. 3). These changes are made because schools feel pressured to allocate more of their money to academic classes in order to maintain their "passing school" status and keep the standards high for students. Without maintaining that status, their funding will be even more limited and harmful to the school's future success. Rather than dramatically changing the curriculum to yield more academic excelling results, often there is a decline academically.
One experiment that depicts the harm threatened above was conducted at the Salk Institute in California where two groups of mice where observed. Mice were used in place of humans for obvious ethical purposes. One group was inactive and the other ran a few miles each day. As we can see from this experiment, the brain of the active mice displayed more growth, especially in the hippocampus. The hippocampus, "[the] brain region associated with learning and memory, was twice as large" as compared with the inactive mice (Dewar, 2008, para. 3). After using these results to relate to overweight children in America, it was discovered "that overweight kids found that 40 minutes a day of aerobic exercise … helps us pay attention, plan, and resist distractions" (Dewar, 2008, para. 14). When gym classes are cut and students are not given a period to run around and let off energy, students' ability to retain a long attention and memory span are impaired. Schools are so interested in shifting their focus to academic classes, that they not only end up harming their students' health but also their academic success. For this reason, cutting gym and other wellness classes can be an unnecessary evil.
The biggest problem is that many parents expect schools to take full responsibility for their child's nutrition and physical health. Schools do encourage students to get more involved with sports and exercise, but it is not enough. The school's ability to maintain healthy students is a goal in addition to other academic ones. When kids go home and eat meals lacking in nutrition from their parents, it defeats all the efforts that the schools put in. These empty calories, provided by parents, do not combat nor help the childhood obesity problem. If parents took more responsibility for their children's extracurricular activities and healthy eating habits, then schools would not face this dilemma of cutting classes, and this would help to alleviate the funding crisis schools face today.
There are many ways that parents can encourage healthy living and eating at home. Parents should advocate healthy dieting at home, specifically during meals. At home, it is common to have the television on during dinner. It is a bad habit to keep the TV during meals, however, because "people are less likely to overeat if the TV is off and the family is focused on family time" (Hellmich, 2006, pg. 08d). Therefore, TVs that are on throughout dinner harm children's health because they are often unaware of how much they consume and are not paying attention to their body's signs of satiety. As a response, it is important to make dinner a TV-less environment where the family can focus on their relationships and protect their children's overall health.
Parents should also get children involved with exercising or involved with a team sport. Televisions, once again, impair this practice as it has been observed that, "decreasing the time they are allowed to watch TV or use the computer will increase their physical activity" (Hellmich, 2006, pg. 08d). Often parents struggle to reduce TV use among children once they have already become accustomed to watching it several hours a day. In order to get children to want to be active over watching TV, parents can "build physical activity into a child's day by doing things like walking to school with [their] child - - in neighborhoods that are safe and free of traffic congestion. [Or they can] ask [their] children what they want to do that's fun" (Hellmich, 2006, pg. 08d). These suggestions are ways that parents could help their children without the school's help. This is because it is both the school and parent's responsibility to improve students' health, which ultimately could prevent the difficult, life-long condition of obesity.
Another way that parents can help is by becoming more consistent to their requests of their children. It has been found that kids often imitate parents' actions as long as the parents are consistent with their own demand. Similarly, children do not follow directions if the parents request something without acting upon it themselves. It is imperative for parents, in addition to schools, to provide the knowledge, skill, and attitude for food choice for children in order to make good choices and live healthy lifestyles. Seeing as 2 percent of school-age kids do not consume the recommended daily intake from the five major food groups, it is especially important for parents to encourage better nutrition consumption for their children and for themselves (Forgac, 1999, pg. 49).
The New York Times covered a study relating to this debate that analyzed whether or not vending machines and their unhealthy contents contributed to the overarching obesity issue that is present among grade school students. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention conducted an interesting study from 1999- 2006 on the removal of vending machines in several elementary schools in Arkansas. This study concluded that over four years the average BMI rates of students remained steady despite the removal of unhealthy snacks (Carroll, 2006, para. 9). This article shows that the presence of vending machine in schools do not inhibit students' health or contribute to the obesity epidemic among US children today.
Although this study does not show a direct cause of obesity, by having children select from high-calorie and high-fat food they are at higher risk for other health risks, such as high blood pressure. It is important for schools to remove or completely revamp vending machines to indirectly make children healthier. Even though schools often need the funding that popular, brand name products provide, the school should invest in healthier snacks and sign contracts with them. Although for schools severing contracts will initially create a tight budget, it allows new contracts to be signed with healthier companies that will over time offer the same benefits of the unhealthy companies, in addition to advancing student academic achievement.
It is primarily difficult to develop a wellness program in a grade school struggling to get funded by the state government. This struggle is due to the pressure of meeting NCLB's Adequate Yearly Progress requirements. As a result, schools often have to focus on academic classes and teach students towards various high-stake tests. However, minor changes can always be made to reinforce good health habits. When a school is pressured to cut physical and nutritional health, the school needs parental support and cooperation to help reinforce these healthy lifestyles. School boards spend a lot of their time discussing where they should invest their limited money, and overall schools prefer to buy new books and fund new programs than purchase slightly healthier snacks. Instead of having educational programs sponsored by fast-food restaurants, like McDonald's, the community libraries or bowling allies could sponsor them to increase their budget.
As educators, we could personally influence elementary students and impact their lifestyles. We need to implement and enforce laws that currently exist and add informational classes about the importance of nutritional and physical health into our schools' curriculums. It cannot be assumed that children will understand why we have health class; rather, the benefits that their choice will have in the future must be explicitly explained to them. By emphasizing the importance of nutrition and physical activity, we will see improvement in academic performance. Our efforts may in turn not only affect our school, but also all schools in the district. This passion can easily spread throughout the nation and finally put an end to the national obesity issue that exists in the United States of America.
6
|
End of preview. Expand
in Data Studio
README.md exists but content is empty.
- Downloads last month
- 204