DEMOCRACY & HUMAN RIGHTS - Current / Archive

ECONOMIC SECURITY - Current

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POLITICAL SECURITY - Current

U.S. SOCIETY & VALUES - Current

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Annotations of Current Articles on Democracy and Human Rights

AA99120 -- Kennedy, Paul WILL THE NEXT CENTURY BE AMERICAN TOO? (New Perspectives Quarterly, Vol. 16. No. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 53-57)

Kennedy makes the point that, although America has been a world economic leader during this century, prior to World War II it was an extremely reluctant political leader. It became engaged after World War II largely because of the Soviet threat. Although America's economic power seemed to wane relatively during the 1970s, during the last two decades it has become ascendant again due to the country's leadership in the communications and information revolution. But Kennedy also says that whether U.S. leadership will predominate in the next century is open to question. The pace of change is so rapid and uncertain, he argues, that no prediction is for sure. [DHR;DP -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99119 -- Dilulio, John J. FEDERAL CRIME POLICY: TIME FOR A MORATORIUM (Brookings Review, vol. 17, no. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 17-21)

Since the late 1960s, crime has been a top public concern, and elected leaders at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue have campaigned and governed accordingly. This public worry prevails even in light of the fact that crime rates have been falling by almost every reputable measure. In spite of the public concern, the author encourages federal officials to reverse the trend to federalize crime control, and turn more control over to state and local authorities, where the problems are understood most clearly. [DHR;CKN -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99118 -- Carney, Eliza Newlin WINNER TAKE ALL (National Journal, No. 12, March 20, 1999, pp. 734-740)

The author sets the scene for the 2000 House of Representatives elections. In previewing what promises to be a tight and hotly contested struggle for control of the House, Ms. Carney focuses on the two House Members chosen by their respective parties to head the Democratic and Republican Congressional Campaign Committees. Thomas M. Davis, 50, chair of the Republican Committee, represents a northern Virginia district adjacent to Washington, D.C. Carney describes him as a "moderate pragmatist disinclined to pick a fight". The Democratic Committee chairman, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, the 31-year-old son of the late Senator Robert Kennedy, is characterized by the author as a "pugnacious partisan who is the House Democrats' youngest leader". Carney describes how the very different styles of the two chairmen are likely to influence their campaigns to win control of the House. [DHR;JT -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99096 -- Taylor, Paul CAMPAIGN REFORM: A WAY FORWARD (The Washington Monthly, vol. 31, no. 3, March 1999, pp. 34-39)

The 1998 midterm elections set a record for non-participation of voters, with sixty-four percent of the eligible electorate staying away from the polling booths, according to Taylor. At the same time, political spending in the 1997-98 election by candidates, parties, and interest groups was about $4 billion, by far the most ever in a non-presidential campaign year. While proposed campaign finance reform measures, if passed, may clean up some of the worst abuses in the current system, Taylor contends that it is unlikely that any proposed reforms will substantially change the dynamics of modern campaigns. [DHR;MOE -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99095 -- Peterson, Linda OPRAH: SHE CAME, SHE TALKED, SHE CONQUERED (Biography, March 1999, vol. 3, no. 3, pp 36-44, 120-121)

Oprah Winfrey "is the most powerful person in the entertainment industry, the queen of talk, and a tycoon worth more than half a billion dollars." Each day, 15 to 20 million viewers watch her TV show -- the most popular talk show in the world, the highest-rated in TV history, and winner of 32 Emmys. Oprah was nominated for an acting Oscar in 1985 in a film based on an African- American novel, and she is producing and starring in a current film based on a slave-era novel. She is one of only three women in U.S. history to own a film production studio, and her annual income is over $100 million. She is considered the most influential person in book publishing, because titles she recommends become overnight bestsellers. She was sued for libel by Texas cattlemen after cattle market futures fell in value when she questioned the safety of meat on her show, but she won the case on behalf of free speech. "I think my greatest gift has been the freedom to feel I could be myself on television; and I think people connect to my vulnerability." Having been raised on a small pig farm without indoor plumbing and earning money performing for church groups as a child, she is now considered a generous philanthropist. [DHR;JAM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99094 -- Lutz, Donald S., THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERATION: AN ANALYSIS (Publius, vol. 28, no. 2, Spring 1998, pp. 99-127)

North America's oldest surviving constitution is that of the Iroquois, a Native American confederation of five Northeastern tribes. This is a richly drawn portrait of a society that blended democratic, aristocratic and monarchic principles to produce the world's first constitution that included an amendment process. The Iroquois constitution, promulgated as the Great Binding Law, or Great Law of Peace, around 1570, did not provide for sovereignty, however, and therein lay the seeds for the confederation's eventual demise. This article provides not only a balanced examination of the transition from traditional to political in the Iroquois nation, but it also gives a fascinating account of the tribes' famed principles of consensus and unanimity, their matrilineality, and their widespread use of adoption. [DHR;CH -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99093 -- Koszczuk, Jackie HASTERT GENTLY GAVELS IN AN ERA OF 'ORDER' IN THE HOUSE (CQ Weekly, vol. 57, no. 9, February 27, 1999, pp. 458-465)

Dennis Hastert, the new U.S. Speaker of the House, worked in the shadows of the impeachment hearings to set a modest agenda for 1999, says CQ senior writer Koszczuk, who also notes that lobbyists lament that the speaker's office is no longer a place to appeal committee chairs' plans. According to Koszczuk, Hastert wants the committees to work their will and bipartisanship to be his byword. However, the article points out, Democrats remain wary, remembering the previous Republican regime. [DHR;SG -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99092 -- Harmon, Melissa Burdick ALONE AGAINST THE ARCTIC (Biography, March 1999, vol. 3, no. 3, pp 96-101, 116)

Susan Butcher is a four-time winner of the Iditarod, the 1000-mile Alaskan sled dog race. At 15 years she left home and in her early 20's she decided, "I'm moving to Alaska, and I'm gonna go live out in the bush and use my dogs as transportation." She picked berries, hunted for meat in winter, gathered and split wood for fuel and lumber, and hauled in water from a mile away. Alone in the mountains, she trained her dog team "with no trail and no nothing, and nobody knew where I was or was expecting me or anything else. I was truly on my own." She ran the famous Iditarod race many times, gradually working up to be a consistent winner. She and her dog team were once stomped by an enraged moose, killing two dogs and injuring 13. [DHR;JAM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99074 -- Wallis, Alan SOCIAL CAPITAL AND COMMUNITY BUILDING: PART TWO (National Civic Review, vol. 87, no. 4, Winter 1998, pp. 317-336)

In Part One, Wallis explored social capital from the point of view of academicians, advocates and grant-makers. Part Two looks at the subject from the perspective of practitioners working in the communities. The article cites the evaluation process of social capital and community-building as integral for gauging the effectiveness of programs. The author looks at the differences between participatory and funder-driven evaluations. Policy evaluation is the tool which translates practitioners' ideas of social capital into society-transforming actions. [DHR;TAB -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99073 -- Strauss, David A. THE SOLICITOR GENERAL AND THE INTERESTS OF THE UNITED STATES (Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 61, nos. 1&2, Winter & Spring 1998, pp. 165-177)

As the government's lawyer "on high-visibility issues" in the "most visible" Supreme Court, the Solicitor General must choose between, or try to reconcile, the often nebulous institutional interests of the federal government with the policies and views of the current Administration. From his experience as Assistant to the Solicitor General from 1981 to 1985, University of Chicago law professor David A. Strauss explains and critiques the limitations of both the institutional and administration approaches to the job. Despite the separation-of-powers doctrine, the Solicitor General can also serve in limited instances as a "tenth Justice," trying to provide an impartial understanding of the law or his view of "the effects of legal rules and decisions." This essay and others in this just-published double-issue symposium on Government Lawyering are available at http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/lcp/index.htm. [DHR;BS -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99072 -- Spar, Debora FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS (Challenge, vol. 42, no. 1, January-February 1999, pp. 55-60)

The relationship between foreign investments of multinational corporations and human rights has always been controversial. Big international firms are accused of taking advantage of low-cost labor pools and of undermining countries' self-direction. However the author, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, argues that both human-rights proponents and multinational businesses actually have much in common. They are both interested i the rule of law, and in the promotion of open markets and economic freedom. They both support freedom of the press and a stable societal infrastructure. Improved human rights are good for business, and businesses may help to accelerate the pursuit of human rights in the developing world. [DHR;CKN -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99071 -- Shlaes, Amity FIXING SOCIAL SECURITY (Commentary, vol. 107, no. 2, February 1999, pp. 38-43)

Shlaes describes the politically volatile Social Security conundrum, arguing that sustaining the "right" to Social Security is America's most significant domestic public policy challenge. Shlaes provides a brief history of Social Security, tracing its evolution from New Deal initiative to America's most popular government program. The author outlines the demographic trends -- more elderly annuitants, fewer young contributors -- that threaten Social Security's future. Shlaes suggests four possible solutions, while dismissing two of them -- increasing payroll taxes or reducing benefits -- as politically unacceptable. Shlaes writes of her own radical free-market solution -- a drastic reduction in taxes that would dramatically spur economic growth and delay the onset of the crisis for a few decades. While recognizing this as politically unfeasible, she believes that policymakers will eventually opt for a modified form of Social Security "privatization" in which at least some funds will be invested in equities under close government supervision. [DHR;JT -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99070 -- Murray, Mark AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ON THE MEND (National Journal, vol. 31, no. 8, February 20, 1999, pp. 478-479)

Murray documents a little-known news story -- the Clinton administration's changes to affirmative action in one government department to at least partially fulfill the President's famous 1995 dictum concerning the program, "mend it, but don't end it." The changes have occurred in the Transportation Department's important Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program (DBE). Signed into law in 1983, the DBE established a goal that 10 percent of all highway and transit construction be given to firms owned by minorities and women. The program has been a success, says Murray. But last January, "significant changes" were made, including prohibiting DBE from using quotas, and transforming the 10 percent goal into an "aspirational" objective that no longer requires states and localities to reach it. Similar reforms were made at the Small Business Administration and may occur elsewhere in the Federal government, says Murray. [DHR;DP -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99069 -- Curry, George E. BALLOT POWER: BLACK VOTERS SET THE STAGE FOR THE NEXT ELECTIONS (Emerge, vol. 10, no. 4, February 1999, pp. 40-46)

Editor-in-Chief Curry conducted a dialogue with a panel of five African-American political experts who said the African-American vote played a major role in shaking up the nation's political scene in the November 1998 midterm elections. In addition to noting the significance of that vote, the panelists also discussed the strategies and tactics that African-Americans will need to gain political empowerment and influence for the 2000 Presidential race. [DHR;SG -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99068 -- Cawley, Janet HEART, SOUL AND SURVIVAL (Biography, March 1999, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 88-91)

A U.S. television program showed a starving, handicapped African child for 18 seconds. An American family saw the program, searched for the child and brought him to the United States. After 14 years and five major medical operations, he is graduating from an American university. His new mother has since helped place hundreds of other children with American families. [DHR;JAM -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99067 -- Braude, Lee PROMISE DEFERRED: SOCIOLOGY SINCE 1930 (Choice, vol. 36, no. 9, February 1999, pp. 999-1009)

The study of the individual in society was the concern of artists and philosophers at the dawn of the 20th century. This scholarly essay describes "the dynamism and tension" in the field of sociology as it evolved into a scientific discipline in the United States following World War I and became a "global phenomenon" by mid-century. The theories reviewed include: industrialization as an agent of social change; behavior as performance in a social drama, reflecting the norms and stereotypes of society; personality as the internalized reflection of the perception of the self by others; and shared perspectives, which can unify groups by increasing internal cohesion and defining group boundaries. Early in the century, harmonious social relations was a goal appropriate to a nation emerging from a frontier life, but U.S. society eventually absorbed European influences of conflict, confrontation, dialectic and activist political change which culminated in the turmoil of the 1960s. The extensive bibliography is a particular strength of this article. [DHR;JAM -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99048 Walzer, Michael RESCUING CIVIL SOCIETY (Dissent, vol. 46, no. 1, Winter 99, pp.62-67)

Walzer comments on the need for the American state and civil society to work in tandem to achieve "full flowering of civil society." The author believes that private citizen groups must organize and empower their members to participate in the decision making process of the public sector. Walzer argues both that citizen groups need state benefits, and the state needs the grassroots efforts of civic groups to restore confidence and participation in democratic activities. [DHR;TAB -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99047 Slade, David "LIGHTS, CAMERAS, ARREST!" (The World & I, February 1999, pp. 90-91)

U.S. Supreme Court bar member David Slade discusses two controversial constitutional cases recently argued before the 209th session of the U.S. Supreme Court. Both cases examine whether law enforcement officers violated the Fourth Amendment by allowing members of the news media to accompany them on their execution of warrants to enter and search the private property of persons connected with suspected crimes. Members of the law enforcement community and the media are particularly interested in the outcomes of both cases. The U.S. Supreme Court will render the decisions in June 1999. [DHR;EB -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99046 Mattson, Kevin DOING DEMOCRACY: AN EXPLORATION OF PROGRESSIVE-ERA REFORM AND ITS LEGACY FOR AMERICAN POLITICS (National Civic Review, Vol. 87, No. 4, Winter 1998, pp. 337-346)

"American history is marked by a long, steady tradition of social and political reform," notes Kevin Mattson, research director of Rutgers University's Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy. Today's reformers ignore history at their peril, he says, and sites the "community centers" movement of the early 20th century as an example of an effective democratic response to political corruption and inordinate influence over policy by big money and special interests. Reform cannot be achieved solely through better laws or more powerful government, he observes, concluding that "only by nurturing democratic public forums and deliberative meetings among ordinary citizens and politicians will we improve the status of American democracy." [DHR;MOE -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99045 Easterbrook, Gregg AMERICA THE O.K. (The New Republic, Vol. 22, No. 1/2, Jan. 4, 1999, pp. 19-25)

"The steady betterment of American life" is how Easterbrook sums up improving statistics in health, standard of living, public safety, environmental health, and workplace equity. Liberals hesitate to give up their doomsday prognostications, conservatives hesitate to admit progress during recent decades of strong central government, and public optimism is conspicuously lacking. Undeterred, Easterbrook concludes, "What the good news unequivocally tells us is that it's never too late to change the world....It is no coincidence that the aspects of life that have gotten better are those that people have dedicated themselves to improving." What about the global challenge of providing the basics of life for everyone on the planet? "All that's stopping us from attempting reform of this noble magnitude is the false belief that life is rolling irrevocably downhill." [DHR;CH -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99044 Barrett, Katherine and Richard Greene GRADING THE STATES (Governing, vol. 12, no. 5, February 1999, pp. 17-90)

In early 1998, the editors of Governing Magazine evaluated the 50 states in five areas of management: financial, capital, human resources, results and information technology. Herewith is the final report, consisting of an overview of how the research went and "report cards" for all the states. You may be surprised at some of the results: Kentucky, which may not strike you as cutting-edge, received a final grade of B in overall management. On the other hand, you might expect California to come out on top with its high-tech know-how. Wrong again. The state averaged a C minus. [DHR;DB -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99025 -- Hibbing, John and Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING: MORE REPRESENTATION IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER (Political Science and Politics, Vol XXX, No. 1, March 1998, pp 28-31)

The authors argue that just because the people may be disenchanted with their elected leaders and seemingly want reform doesn't mean that enacted reforms will lead to an improvement. That is why the framers of the Constitution made significant reforms hard to pass, they add. Moreover, people may not be happy with reforms they appear to want once they see how they work out in practice, the authors say. [DHR;DP -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99024 -- Evans, Lawrence and Oleszek, Walter IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT A LOT (Political Science and Politics, Vol. XXX, No. 1, March 1998, pp 24-28)

The authors argue that the House of Representatives is a dynamic institution that regularly updates its rules and reforms itself. So large reforms, particularly those that try to fix something that is not broken, or which are pushed by special interests, should be viewed with skepticism, they add. Among the large reforms they discourage are the introduction of proportional representation, increasing the number of members in the House, and increasing their terms from two to four years. [DHR;DP -- doe: 01/28/99 -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99005 -- Wolffe, Richard SOFTWARE BARON (The New Republic, November 16, 1998, pp. 22-25)

Wolffe summarizes the U.S. Government's case against Microsoft, which is based on allegations of unfair competition. In particular, he focuses on Microsoft's war with Netscape Communications. However, Wolfe also presents the argument in favor of Microsoft, which is based on the argument that technological innovoation should be rewarded and the fact that the computer industry in unique, spawning scores of new companies and prodcuts every year. [DHR; MOE -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99004 -- Wernick, Robert CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL TAKES THE LAW IN HAND (Smithsonian, vol. 29, no. 8, November 1998, pp. 156-173)

The rulings of the fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall, have set precedents that still are used today. His frequent run-ins with President Thomas Jefferson, who despised Marshall as someone who "kept whittling away at the theory of states' rights," were the fuel to interpret the words of the Constitution to best define a case, rather than take each word at face value, as Jefferson advocated. In 1807 when Aaron Burr was charged with treason, he claimed that Jefferson had in his papers evidence that would prove Burr's innocence. Using what modern-day presidents call "executive privilege," Jefferson refused to hand over his papers. But Marshall issued a subpoena declaring that "under the Constitution, the President of the United States is a citizen and not above the law." [DHR; DB -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99003 -- Roman, Nancy WAITING FOR 2000 (The World & I, January 1999, pp.42-47)

"Washington Times" correspondent Nancy Roman speculates on possible U.S. presidential bidders for the 2000 election. According to the author, "the unexpected 1998 November election results gave boosts to Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Richard Gephardt" as possible contenders for the 2000 race. Governor Bush's victory in Texas is attributed partly to his support from both African Americans and Hispanics. Garnering support from these traditionally Democratic electorates will be key to any Republican challenge for the White House. On the Democratic side, Minority Leader Gephardt is quietly positioning himself to challenge Vice President Gore for his party's nomination. Mr. Gephardt is "pulling off a remarkable balancing act, eclipsing rival Gore to the right while holding fast to his leftist base." Whatever the outcome, the races for the Democratic and Republican tickets promise to be exciting ones. [DHR; EB -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99002 -- Flower, Joe A TOOLKIT FOR BUILDING A HEALTHY CITY (National Civic Review, Vol. 87, No. 4, Winter 1998, pp. 293-310)

Most efforts at change fail, says the author, because people lack the right tools, materials and plans. Here he provides a "toolkit" of essentials: six prerequisite conditions for successful change; five fundamental attributes of a community or organization capable of profound, ongoing change; three screens for analyzing the environment, the capacity for change, and the likely speed of change; and eighteen skills to master change. Flowers weaves the theoretical into his presentation of the step-by-step to create a masterful blueprint for change. [DHR; CH -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99001 -- A Symposium: CLINTON, THE COUNTRY AND THE POLITICAL CULTURE (Commentary, Vol. 107, No. 1, January 1999, pp. 20-42)

Seventeen distinguished writers present a range of views on the moral disposition of the American people and the future of conservatism in light of President Clinton's impeachment. Among them, William Bennett suggests the peril of the moment is to state not simply what conservatives stand for, but also what they stand against. Appealing to morality is a "fearful thing," says William Kristol, who adds that many want to put the scandal "all behind us." And Norman Podhoretz opines that liberalism is not doing so well in the moral/cultural realm as many believe. [DHR; SG -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA98687 -- Barone, Michael IT'S A WET, WET, WET WORLD (National Journal, Vol. 30, No. 49, December 5, 1998, pp. 2836-2841)

The difference in the 1998 midterm election was not between liberal and conservative, but rather between "crunchy" and "soggy," says "Almanac of American Politics" author Barone. He writes that voters generally were displeased with candidates who confronted them with stark, or "crunchy," choices and pleased with those who presented them with soothing, or "soggy," consensus. Blaming it all on the economy, Barone says "sogginess comes naturally to a country that is fat and happy and optimistic, as America is today." [DHR; SG -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98686 -- Schlosser, Eric THE PRISON-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX (Atlantic Monthly, vol. 282, no. 6, December 1998, pp. 51-77)

The number of Americans behind bars continues to grow, and where correctional authorities see dangerous overcrowding, others see opportunity. Prison construction is at an all-time high, an entire industry has built up around incarceration, and the economy of many communities is dependent on the prison- industrial complex. Schlosser makes a compelling case for the corruption of the criminal justice system due to profits, privatization, and political cowardice. [DHR; CN -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98685 -- Whicker, Marcia Lynn THE CLINTON CRISIS AND THE DOUBLE STANDARD FOR PRESIDENTS (Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 873-880)

Prof. Whicker, chair and professor of public administration at Rutgers University, applies her research on American national politics and leadership to the "Clinton Presidency in Crisis," the theme of this issue. Her analysis of the application of a double standard for the private behavior of Presidents provides a context for the current situation, as well as encouraging changes in societal behavior. [DHR; BS -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98655 -- Taylor, Andrew IS LIVINGSTON THE MANAGER THE HOUSE NEEDS? (Congressional Quarterly Weekly, vol. 56, no. 45, November 14, 1998, pp. 3050-3054)

Robert Livingston, speaker-elect of the House of Representatives, benefited from a desire for new leadership. With his Southern courtliness and legislative mastery, he is poised to bring civility back to an institution poisoned by angry partisanship, says reporter Taylor. Members of Congress predict that Livingston will reduce tensions and de-emphasize social issues, Taylor says, but he also notes that trying to run the House with just a six-vote majority could prove all but impossible. [DHR; SG -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98654 -- Slade, David "THE FIRST MONDAY IN OCTOBER" (The World & I, November 1998, pp. 88-89)

U.S. Supreme Court bar member David Slade discusses two controversial constitutional cases recently argued before the 209th session of the U.S. Supreme Court. Minnesota v. Carter challenges the constitutionality of the Fourth Amendment regarding "unreasonable searches" by government agencies. West Covina, California v. Perkins questions the constitutional right of government authorities to seize private property under the Fourteenth Amendment which provides that no state "shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law." Members of the U.S. law enforcement community particularly are interested in the outcomes of both cases. The U.S. Supreme Court will render the decisions in June 1999. [DHR; EB -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98653 -- Mahtesian, Charles GRASSROOTS CHARADE (Governing, vol. 12, no. 2, November 1998, pp. 38-42)

At one time, voter initiatives, where citizens use grassroots methods to prevent elected officials from drafting policies that would be negative or counter-productive, were the leverage that gave the man in the street some power over what went on in government. Mahtesian shows that today, politicians have turned the tables by using an issue to further their own agendas (and campaign treasuries) by propelling themselves into the spotlight, through lending their names to a cause. [DHR; DB -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98652 -- Jost, Kenneth HUMAN RIGHTS (Congressional Quarterly Researcher, Vol. 8, No. 42, Nov. 13, 1998, pp. 977-999)

As with all CQ Researcher reports, this document is a tour de force of the issue. It offers a succinct introduction to human rights, background, a chronology of key events, an overview of the current situation, a debate on the U.S. joining the proposed International Criminal Court, a look at the outlook for universal rights, a bibliography and citations for additional printed material. [DHR; CH -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98651 -- Chait, Jonathan THE SLIPPERY CENTER (New Republic, November 16, 1998, pp. 19-21)

Chait says that intellectuals around Bill Clinton are moving to institutionalize the kind of politics he represents, which the president has characterized as the "third way," a kind of centrism that he believes is a winning platform politically. Clintonism has been successful, Chait says, but it is not yet a coherent ideology. Some believe it is nothing more than responding to public opinion at any particular time, he adds. More profoundly, Chait says Clinton's third way has now, in effect, become the left since it replaced old-style liberalism. Ironically, that means the third way must now move further right to remain centrist, he concludes. [DHR; MOE -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98632 -- Wallis, Allan; Jarle P. Crocker; Bill Schneider. SOCIAL CAPITAL AND COMMUNITY BUILDING: PART ONE (National Civic Review, vol. 87, no. 3, Fall 1998, pp. 253-271)

The authors concentrate on the importance of social capital in community building and in fighting poverty. They specify, in particular, four particular types of individuals who they deem essential to this process: academicians engaged in empirical investigations into what does and doesn't work; advocates who often spell out the implications of new ideas; grantmakers who are responsible for developing and monitoring programs; and, practitioners who do the direct work of community building. [DHR; DP -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98631 -- Tyler, Tom R. BEYOND SELF-INTEREST: WHY PEOPLE OBEY LAWS AND ACCEPT JUDICIAL DECISIONS (The Responsive Community, vol. 8, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 44-52)

For the successful maintenance of a `rule of law,' a society needs to have a populace that voluntarily complies with its laws and accepts its judicial decisions when problems arise. New York University psychology professor Tom R. Tyler reports on motivational research beyond the self-interest argument, the `fear of being caught.' Understanding the variety of factors affecting individual perceptions on the 'fairness' of the procedures and its judgments should help legal authorities create an environment that encourages public compliance with the laws and judicial decisions. [DHR; BS -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98630 -- Cook, Charles E. 2000 GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES (Washington Quarterly, vol 21, no. 4, Autumn 1998, pp. 231-241)

No one doubts that the strongest potential Democratic candidate for the upcoming presidential election is Vice President Al Gore. Far more interesting according to Cook, publisher of the "Cook Political Report," and political analyst for CNN, is the emerging lineup for the Republican bid. There is no lack of interest among potential candidates, and Cook assesses in balanced and analytical fashion, the advantages and drawbacks of some two dozen Republican presidential hopefuls, in these admittedly early days. He breaks out the candidates into front runner, retreads (candidates who have made an earlier bid for the nomination), Hill people (members of Congress), governors, and `wild cards'. Both this article, as well as Cook's earlier assessment of Democratic possibilities, provide an excellent framework for the ever increasing media scrutiny that this race will start to receive even two years away from the election. [DHR; CN -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98623 -- Conde, Carlos; Terry-Azios, Diana A.; Radelat, Ana. HISPANIC SPECIAL REPORT, PART 1 -- POLITICS: LEADERSHIP AND POWER (Hispanic, vol. 11, no. 9, September 1998, pp. 46-52, 61-66)

In three separate articles comprising this look at factors affecting Hispanic political participation in the United States, the authors examine voter registration, redistricting, and independent parties. They highlight the enormous political potential of this fast-growing group of voters. Among their conclusions: "Issues, not party politics, impress Hispanic voters." [DHR; CH -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98610 -- Rehnquist, William H. WHEN THE LAWS WERE SILENT (American Heritage, vol. 49, no. 6, October 1998, pp. 77-89)

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William H. Rehnquist examines the history of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the removal of ethnic Japanese from the West Coast of the United States during World War II, and the three subsequent controversial Supreme Court cases that challenged the law. The author describes the ideological composition of the Supreme Court at the time and the rationale employed by several of the justices in rendering their decisions. Would today's Supreme Court decide these questions differently from their predecessors? According to Chief Justice Rehnquist, today "it is both desirable and likely that the courts will pay more careful attention to the basis for the government's claims of necessity as a reason for curtailing civil liberty." [DHR; EB -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98609 -- Molyneux, Guy. DEMOCRATS' LAMENT IN 1998: "WE COULDA BEEN CONTENDERS" (The Public Perspective, vol. 9, no. 6, October/November 1998, pp. 41-43)

Molyneux takes a look at the 1998 elections from the democratic side, noting that "a good election outcome for Democrats seems increasingly remote." He points out that, although Democrats have a clear issue advantage over the Republicans, it does not appear to be translating into electoral support. Molyneux feels that "Democrats will be left wondering about the election that might have been" due mostly to lost media attention that concentrated on Presidential scandal rather than key election issues. [DHR; JB -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98608 -- Kettl, Donald F. 10TH AMENDMENT TURF WAR (Governing, vol. 12, no. 1, October 1998, p. 13)

In a thoughtful and provocative essay, Kettl gives examples of the federal government's encroachment on individual states' power. He says that the 10th Amendment -- often considered the "states'-rights" amendment -- is more often being circumvented by the bureaucracy in Washington, which oversteps its boundaries by passing legislation that limits the states' powers. Case in point: the federal government's ruling that the states had to make the impotence drug Viagra available to Medicaid recipients at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to the states. [DHR; DB -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98607 -- Garrow, David J. THE SYMBOLIC JUSTICE (The Washington Monthly, vol. 30, no. 11, November 1998, pp. 42-44)

In a recently published biography, "Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary," author Juan Williams suggests Thurgood Marshall should be remembered more for his twenty-three years of work as director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (1938-1961) than for his twenty-four years of service as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Williams contends that Marshall's record as a justice was highly disappointing, and the reclusive strictures of judicial life transformed the once happy lawyer into a depressed and eventually angry jurist. David J. Garrow, Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory University's School of Law, suggests academic historians will take exception to Williams' assertion that "it was Marshall who ended legal segregation in the United States," but says while not definitive, the biography is an admirable portrait of a superb litigator whose undistinguished judicial record should not be allowed to eclipse his remarkable earlier achievements. [DHR; MOE -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98606 -- Briand, Michael K. FIVE PRINCIPLES FOR A COMMUNITY THAT WORKS (National Civic Review, vol. 87, no. 3, Fall 1998, pp. 237-251)

The common characteristic shared by America's 100 "best" small towns is that they know how to deal with problems, says Briand, director of a community self-leadership project in Colorado. Communities that work, he says, are ones in which there's a well-established practice of participation and cooperation. The author details five principles for making sound decisions that lead to effective action: inclusion, comprehension, deliberation, cooperation and realism. [DHR; SG -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98595 -- Galston, William A.; Kamarck, Elaine C. FIVE REALITIES THAT WILL SHAPE 21st CENTURY POLITICS (Blueprint: Ideas for a New Century, vol. 1, Fall 1998, pp. 1-22)

On the threshold of the 21st century, American politics is unsettled. One of the reasons for this is that the United States is changing -- "more profoundly and rapidly than most politicians and political institutions have thus far been able to adapt." Politicians will increasingly have to consider new realities, among them a changing work force that must seek education and lifelong learning as a means to greater economic success. Also, America's changing ethnic makeup will accelerate in the 21stcentury, presenting the danger of conflict among competing ethnic groups, but also the opportunity to move beyond these groups to a new national identity. The next 50 years will no longer be dominated by the New Deal generation, but by a generation whose experiences have made it more skeptical of centralized government solutions, while remaining receptive to a more modest government that encourages individual opportunities and fosters the common good. Mr. Galston, a professor of public affairs at the University of Maryland, and Ms. Kamarck, a scholar at Harvard University's JFK School of Government, have provided a provocative glimpse of future political realities that will pose extraordinary challenges for leaders and parties who seek to govern the United States in the next century. This article is currently available on the Internet at http://www.dlc.org/blueprint . [DHR; CN -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98587 -- Taylor, Clifford; Cohn, Avern. DEBATE: ARE JUDGES TOO "ACTIVIST"? (Judicature, vol. 82, no. 1, July/August 1998, pp. 28-34)

A perennial issue regarding "the proper scope of judicial authority and the role of judges" is once again debated. Michigan Supreme Court Justice Taylor, in "The Judiciary is too Powerful," argues for judicial restraint, by which courts only determine if a disputed law is in conflict with the Constitution. Taylor supports keeping all policy-making in the hands of the elected officials, subject to the voters. The judicial activist view is expressed by Cohn, a federal district judge, in "Judicial Review is Exercised Properly." Cohn disputes Taylor's contentions that judicial activism is a recent development that needs to be restrained. He cites numerous opinions from throughout American history that contend Constitutional interpretation must draw from both legal precedent and the current world of affairs. [DHR; BS -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98581 -- Pilon, Juliana Geran. DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN CENTRAL ASIA: AN ASSESSMENT (SAIS Review, vol. 18, no. 2, Summer/Fall 1998, pp. 89-103)

The author examines the results of recent political and economic attitudinal surveys conducted in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan by the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), where she is Program Director for Europe and Asia. She reports that "though conclusions need to be approached cautiously ... one can easily see a pattern of pro-democratic attitudes, which is surprising in light of the generally static political landscape and background of authoritarianism." The single biggest need revealed by the surveys, she notes, is for the knowledge to govern themselves democratically. [DHR; CH -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98577 -- Newlin Carney, Eliza. POWER GRAB (National Journal, vol. 30, no. 15, April 11, 1988, pp. 798-801)

Eliza Newlin Carney takes a critical look at the "devolution" revolution promised by Congressional Republicans four years ago. She asserts that instead of handing over authority to state and local governments, the Congressional Republicans appear to be taking it away. An example is the Senate's wrangling over national testing standards for suspected drunk drivers, with a threat to withhold transportation funding if states don't comply by lowering blood alcohol levels to .08. This is just one of many congressional proposals moving through the House and Senate that have state and local government groups fighting back. The National League of Cities, and other like-minded organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the State Legislatures' Conference, and the National Governors' Association, are working together more closely than ever. Their purpose is to resist what they see as unfair federal mandates. [DHR; MOE -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98569 -- Gizzi, John. SPLITS IN THE POLITICAL PARTIES (The World & I, vol. 13, no. 10, October 1998, pp. 74-79)

John Gizzi, a political correspondent for the weekly newspaper HUMAN EVENTS, examines the widening ideological divisions within the Republican as well as Democratic parties. According to the Gizzi, the November elections will not only be a battle between the traditional two parties but one between a number of growing factions within each party. Inside the Republican Party, the schism between the cultural conservatives and economic conservatives grows wider every day. Within the Democratic Party, the factions tend to form around specific issues, for example, more or less government. One thing is for sure, the November elections will not only be telling in respect to which party is more successful in getting its message out, but which faction within each party is most influential. [DHR; EB -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98560 -- Cook, Charles E., Jr. 2000 GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES (The Washington Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 4, Autumn 1998, pp. 231-241)

Most political observers agree that the early front-runner for the year 2000 Republican presidential nomination is Texas Governor George W. Bush, son of the former president, but Cook notes that this will be the most wide-open contest for the nomination in several generations. He says there are two dozen candidates looking at running, and there could be some moderately well-financed alternatives within striking distance if Bush stumbles early. Still, Cook adds, the number of potential candidates is likely to be much smaller when the campaign actually begins. [DHR; SG -- doe: 10/09/98]

To Democracy and Human Rights Archive

Annotations of Current Articles on Economic Security

AA99124 -- Helfer, Ricki Tigert WHAT DEPOSIT INSURANCE CAN AND CANNOT DO (Finance & Development, vol. 36, no. 1, March 1999, pp. 22-25)

Helfer, a Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution, and Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 1994 to 1997, examines the role of the deposit insurance system in maintaining a country's financial stability. She emphasizes that this system, which assures depositors of immediate access to their insured funds in the event of a bank failure, is only one element of a country's financial safety net. Helfer discusses the necessity of designing and operating national safety nets that minimize the problem of moral hazard -- the belief by large creditors that deposit insurance guarantees they will benefit from risky investing. She notes that during the height of the 1980's U.S. banking and thrift crises, Congress sought to limit moral hazard by passing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act. To Helfer, the lesson for developing countries is: "Without a sound system of banking supervision ... deposit insurance and other elements of the financial safety net will be ineffective and will increase the costs and pain of resolving a financial crisis." [ES;EGD -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99123 -- Grover, Mary Beth LOST IN CYBERSPACE (Forbes, vol. 163, no. 5, March 8, 1999, pp. 124-128)

Retailers and manufacturers have dreamed of using the Internet to cut rent, payroll and inventory costs, and to increase sales. According to Forbes senior editor Mary Beth Grover, because of electronic commerce's hidden costs, this dream is not yet a reality. In taking stock of the 90,000 online merchants and the forty percent of traditional retailers operating commercial websites, she remarks, "the Web is both the problem and the opportunity." For companies like Borders and Amazon.com, these problems include high distribution, marketing and customer-service costs, and keen competitive pressure to discount their merchandise. She reports that in the past three years, Amazon.com lost a cumulative $162 million on sales of $774 million. Grover notes that while online retailers continue searching for profitable business strategies, others are pessimistic about electronic commerce's prospects. As one veteran tech investor remarked to the author, profit margins, "if they ever materialize, will always be crummy." [ES;KP -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99122 -- Fox, Justin WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO ECONOMICS? (Fortune, vol. 139, no. 5, March 15, 1999, pp. 90-92, 94, 96, 100, 102)

Two warring schools of economic thought, founded by John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman, have collapsed, Fox writes, and have been replaced by what he calls "peaceful confusion" among leading American economists. The writer filters his economic history lesson through the careers of Deputy Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, MIT's Paul Krugman and others who have arrived at a consensus about the ingredients of long-term growth: transparent financial markets; well-capitalized, well-run banks; free trade; educated workers; a reliable but not inflexible legal system; and taxes and welfare benefits low enough to avoid disincentives to work. Fox observes that in modern economics, "the trouble comes when there's trouble." He contends that, during the recent financial crises and business-cycle downturns, the prevailing models came up short. To illustrate, Fox discusses Krugman's former view that currency crises were rational, inevitable reactions to untenable government policies. He contrasts that with Krugman's present-day position that "currency collapses can also result from self-fulfilling investor panics that overrun even countries with sensible economic policies." [ES;PK -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99121-- WHAT ECONOMISTS DON'T KNOW ABOUT GROWTH: INTERVIEW WITH MOSES ABRAMOVITZ (Challenge, vol. 42, no. 1, January-February 1999, pp. 81-91)

Moses Abramovitz, professor of economics emeritus at Stanford University, says that economists have never understood adequately what controls the rate at which technological progress is incorporated into production. He addresses the so-called "productivity paradox," in which the computer and information technology revolution has resulted in a productivity decline, rather than growth. Part of the answer, he suggests, may lie in time -- time to develop all subsidiary innovations that could make the original innovation practical. Additionally, Abramovitz says, the answer lies in the failure of American business to persist long enough with a line of research that does not promise immediate returns. He argues that the pursuit of the bottom line in American business may have blinded it to the real potential of innovation. To raise the rate of productivity growth, the author recommends organized research and development, and a high level of education for as much of the population as possible. [ES;MDK -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99100 -- Ramo, Joshua Cooper THE THREE MARKETEERS (Time, vol. 153, no. 6, February 15, 1999, pp. 34-42)

In his profile of Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Deputy Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Senior Editor Joshua Ramo dubs this influential trio "the committee to save the world," for their work in fighting off economic collapse. He describes how their passion for analysis and their inextinguishable curiosity has united these three men of diverse backgrounds into an indispensable policy team. Ramos observes: "Their faith is in the markets and in their own ability to analyze them." Furthermore, they believe that trying to defy global market forces is ultimately futile. The author notes that this market-driven policy has been criticized by some nations that have been devastated by the global financial crisis. However, Rubin, Summers and Greenspan view the collapse as a kind of object lesson in the risks of the new economics, and they urge the adoption of international banking and market reforms. [ES;KP -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99099 -- O'Keefe, Matt EMERGING AFRICA (Harvard Magazine, vol. 101, no. 4, March-April 1999, pp. 54-62)

vard scholars are representative of the new way the world is examining Africa, not as a homogenous continent, but as a diverse group of nations. O'Keefe, a freelance writer, emphasizes that these emerging countries need the same level of assistance and support their Asian counterparts received in the last decade. The Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID), under the direction of Jeffrey Sachs since 1995, has been conducting decades-long research projects. The author outlines the wealth of information HIID has compiled including the paper "A New Partnership for Growth in Africa" and "The Africa Competitiveness Report, 1998". [ES;PDN -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99098 -- Kosterlitz, Julie TEXAS SON WILTS FLOWER CHILD (National Journal, vol. 31, no. 9, February 27, 1999, pp. 540-544)

Kosterlitz, the National Journal's business and economics correspondent, examines how Senator Phil Gramm's opposition to provisions of the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) killed the Congressional banking reform bill in 1998. The CRA, she writes, "essentially requires banks to make loans in low-income neighborhoods within their service areas." According to Kosterlitz, Gramm, the new chairman of the Senate's Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, perceives the CRA as crony capitalism, and the CRA's use by community activists to challenge banks' merger and expansion applications as akin to bribery and extortion. She notes that, in contrast, President Clinton touted the CRA's virtues in a January speech. Moreover, "even those who are less than fond of the CRA" are puzzled by Gramm's "apparent intention to hold banking reform hostage to the CRA changes he wants." [ES;EGD -- doe: 03/12/99]

99097 Block, Richard N. REFORMING LABOR LAW (USA Today Magazine, vol. 127, no. 2646, March 1999, pp. 54-56)

The author, a professor of labor and industrial relations at Michigan State University, discusses the relationship between U.S. labor law's evolution under the National Labor Relations Act and the long-term decline in union membership. He argues that the U.S. is facing an unprecedented and anomalous situation in which both management and labor are dissatisfied with the country's arcane labor law. Block criticizes the labyrinthine, politicized structure of the National Labor Relations Board, and proposes its reorganization into a tripartite national body consisting of labor, management and neutral representatives. He also advocates the creation of a separate National Labor Law Commission to advise Congress on changes in doctrine. [ES;MJM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99078 -- Lindsey, Brink FAST-TRACK IMPASSE (Reason, vol. 30, no. 9, February 1999, pp. 42-48)

The author, director of the Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies, argues that "fast- track" trade negotiating authority has become anything but fast. He writes: "Nearly five years have passed since the last grant of authority expired -- years of wrangling, posturing, and ultimately stalemate." Brink observes that without fast track, current trade policy is limited to negotiating agreements in which the United States swaps reductions in trade barriers with other countries. This predicament, the author believes, is the fault of free traders and "progressive internationalists" like Congressman Richard Gephardt, who miscarried their opportunity to get fast-track legislation passed. Their staunch belief that in American trade policy, "a component of free markets is free labor markets," is opposed by the protectionists and so-called "economic nationalists" like Patrick Buchanan. Brink says the latter want to isolate the U.S. market behind protectionist barriers and that their hostility to trade liberalization is as much political as it is economic. [ES;MJM -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99077 -- Krugman, Paul THE RETURN OF DEPRESSION ECONOMICS (Foreign Affairs, vol. 78, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 56-74)

In assessing the past two years' economic and financial crises, Krugman, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor, detects alarming echos of the 1930s. He emphasizes that the most disturbing aspect of the world's current situation is that "for the first time since the 1930s, we cannot be sure that governments can or will increase demand when we need it." Krugman examines the recent problems of developing countries threatened with hot money flows and of mature economies facing a liquidity trap, and the impact of freely floating exchange rates on these problems. Citing Mexico's catastrophic experience with currency devaluation, he observes that "developing countries cannot play the same game" of depreciation in which such advanced economies as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia participate. Turning to Japan's liquidity-trap problem, Krugman finds evidence that the "easy assumption that fiscal policy can get an economy out of that trap is far too optimistic." To resolve these and related financial crises, he urges policymakers to heed the lessons of Depression economics. [ES;EGD -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99076 -- Fox, Justin FORECAST FOR THE U.S. ECONOMY: STILL MOSTLY SUNNY (Fortune, vol. 139, no. 3, February 15, 1999, pp. 92-94, 96, 98)

According to senior writer Justin Fox, the risk that the eighteen-month-old Asian financial crisis will bring on a global economic implosion is fading. The reason, he contends, lies in the advantages the rich, stable, emerged countries have built up, compared with the obstacles facing the emerging-market countries. Fox explains that countries such as the United States, Japan and Germany can take care of their investment needs in their own currencies, and possess exclusive tools for controlling panics. In summarizing the emerging countries' situation, he quotes economist Milton Friedman: "It's very easy being an emerging market; it's not easy being a successful one." Fox notes that none of the forecasters polled by Blue Chip Economic Indicators is projecting a downturn in either 1999 or 2000. He writes: "That doesn't mean there won't be a recession.... It does mean that something now unforeseen will have to come along for that to happen." [ES;KP -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99075 -- Enoch, Charles; Gulde, Anne-Marie ARE CURRENCY BOARDS A CURE FOR ALL MONETARY PROBLEMS? (Finance & Development, vol. 35, no. 4, December 1998, pp. 40-43)

Enoch and Gulde, officials in the International Monetary Fund's Monetary and Exchange Affairs Department, report an increase in the number of countries that are successfully using currency board arrangements, including Argentina, Estonia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria. The authors explain that currency boards, adopted by countries pursuing a visible anti-inflation policy, consist of three elements: an exchange rate that is pegged to an "anchor currency" like the dollar; the right to exchange domestic currency at this fixed rate whenever desired; and a long-term commitment to the system. They write: "Even if economic arguments favor a currency board arrangement, its operational feasibility will depend on whether the attendant legal and institutional issues are effectively addressed." Enoch and Gulde warn that despite the impressive results achieved by many countries, national governments should not rush into currency-board arrangements. They argue that the successes in small countries may not apply to large countries; success requires adequate time for passing laws, and building consensus and institutions; and countries may have to rehabilitate weak banks before changing their monetary regimes. [ES;BO -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99052 Sassen, Saskia GLOBAL FINANCIAL CENTERS (Foreign Affairs, vol. 78, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 75-87)

Saskia Sassen, a University of Chicago sociology professor, has written an intriguing article on the development of global financial centers and their relationship to nationally based financial operations. She identifies London, New York and Tokyo as the big three, or most dominant, global financial centers, but she also outlines an emerging secondary financial network headed by Frankfurt that includes Hong Kong, Singapore, Zurich, and Sydney. Sassen describes two significant factors that are contributing to the growth of the global financial center -- the national consolidation of major institutional equity holdings in dominant cities, and the movement toward market liberalization in emerging economies. To illustrate the large degree of international concentration, she notes that by the end of 1997, 25 cities controlled 83 percent of the world's equities under institutional management and accounted for half of global market capitalization. Moreover, London, New York and Tokyo, combined, hold a third of the world's institutionally managed equities and account for 58 percent of the global foreign exchange market. She concludes that the "global financial system is here to stay" and that it is necessary to better understand the impact of global financial institutions and the international corporate agenda on national emerging markets. [ES;MDK -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99051 Munk, Nina FINISHED AT FORTY (Fortune, vol. 139, no. 2, February 1, 1999, pp. 50-54, 58, 60, 64, 66)

Munk, a senior writer, explains why the career skills that come with age and experience mean less and less in the new U.S. economy. A corporate trend is starting to emerge whereby traditions respecting seniority and hierarchy are giving way to the belief that it is more efficient, for example, to replace one 50-year-old manager with two 25-year-olds. The author writes that "for many people over 40, it's getting harder to hold on to jobs that let them maintain their standard of living." She notes that more "fortysomethings" are filing age-discrimination lawsuits under the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and describes the experiences of several plaintiffs. Munk discusses alternatives to companies' methods of saving money by discarding those older workers who are overpaid relative to their productivity. These include implementing performance-based compensation plans that pay employees for their ideas and contributions rather than for tenure and hierarchy, and cash-balance pension plans that are not based on length of service. [ES;PN -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99050 Kaltenheuser, Skip A LITTLE DAB WILL DO YOU? (World Trade, vol.12, no.1, January 1999, pp 58-62)

Last November, the twenty-nine member countries of OECD and five non-members signed the breakthrough treaty, the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. According to Kaltenheuser, an attorney who writes about international legal issues, "only a few years ago, most would have considered this development hallucinatory." He surveys changes in Latin American and Asian government attitudes toward corruption that have resulted from democratization, free markets, and the global financial crisis. Kaltenheuser also discusses the transformation of the U.S. business community from opponents of the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to vocal supporters of the OECD treaty. He notes the "grand irony" of how the FCPA's ban on bribery "forced U.S. firms to be tougher competitors, improving productivity and product quality," while many foreign competitors were weakened because of their reliance on bribery. [ES;KP -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99049 Helms, Jesse WHAT SANCTIONS EPIDEMIC?: U.S. BUSINESS' CURIOUS CRUSADE (Foreign Affairs, vol. 78, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 2-8)

Helms, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, challenges allegations by American business lobbyists that the White House and Congress have engaged in a "sanctions frenzy," causing hardship to billions of people and damaging American business interests without achieving U.S. foreign policy objectives. He dissects a contention by USA Engage, a group backed by the National Association of Manufacturers, that the United States imposed sanctions 61 times, burdening 2.3 billion people, or 42 percent of the world, from 1993 through 1996. The senator declares that most of what USA Engage called sanctions were, in fact, narrowly focused restrictions on foreign aid and trade. Paraphrasing Thomas Jefferson, Helms says sanctions, along with diplomacy and war, are the three tools of foreign policy. By his analysis, unilateral sanctions are the linchpin of the U.S. nonproliferation policy and have played a crucial role in trade disputes. Helms denounces the Sanctions Reform Act, which, if enacted, would mandate a 45-day waiting period before sanctions are imposed. He argues: "While the United States 'cools off' for six weeks, terrorists, proliferators, and dictators will take evasive measures -- quietly divesting assets, concealing evidence, and finding safe haven for fugitives." [ES;PK -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99029 -- Yoffie, David B.; Cusumano, Michael A. JUDO STRATEGY: THE COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS OF INTERNET TIME (Harvard Business Review, vol. 77, no.1, January-February 1999, pp 71-81)

Yoffie and Cusumano, professors at the Harvard Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Management, respectively, compare the competitive approach employed by fast-moving, Internet-based companies to the strategies used in the martial art of judo. Just as judo combatants use the weight and strength of their opponents to their own advantage, "smart Internet start-ups aim to turn their opponents' resources, strength, and size against them." The authors illustrate the three major principles of corporate judo strategy by detailing the battles between Netscape and Microsoft for Internet control. Yoffie and Cusumano write that their research on these companies indicates that the Internet has rendered some traditional forms of business practice much less useful. At the same time, the professors found that several core elements of competitive advantage remain critical for creating a successful company. They conclude that "judo strategy is the perfect complement for this 'new, but not new' world." [ES;PN -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99028 -- Weidenbaum, Murray PROMOTING ECONOMIC PROSPERITY (USA Today Magazine, vol. 127, no. 2644, January 1999, pp. 14-16)

Weidenbaum, professor and chairman of Washington University's Center for the Study of American Business, argues that government over-regulation of U.S. domestic businesses severely reduces their competitiveness in the global marketplace. While acknowledging regulation's potential social benefits, this former Council of Economic Advisers' chairman questions whether its results are worth the costs to taxpayers, consumers, workers, and the economy. Weidenbaum points to the deregulated U.S. transportation industry as evidence that marketplace competition can effectively protect the consumer. He discusses the rise of newer regulatory agencies concerned with achieving such social improvements as safer products and healthier workplaces, and urges their policymakers to make the maximum use of economic incentives. Weidenbaum writes, "government decision-makers often overlook a fundamental fact in their rush to intervene in the private sector: individuals and private organizations have tremendous ability to deal on their own with the shortcomings of a modern economy." [ES;EGD -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99027 -- Soros, George CAPITALISM'S LAST CHANCE? (Foreign Policy, no. 113, Winter 1998-99, pp. 55-66)

George Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management and an expert on global finance, suggests that the world is facing an acute financial and political crisis beyond the financial crises that have plagued Asia, Russia, and portions of Latin America. The choices facing policymakers, Soros says, are whether to regulate global financial markets internationally to ascertain if they perform their prescribed functions in the global circulatory system, or leave it to each country to act on its own. Soros fears that the latter course would lead to a complete breakdown of global capitalism. His advice is to revive the flow of capital, including private capital, from the center to the periphery and to stabilize the system. He endorses a plan proposed by President Clinton and Treasury Secretary Rubin for a special fund to be established that would enable peripheral countries to regain access to international markets if they follow sound economic policies. He also proposes a needed form of international credit insurance. [ES;MDK -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99026 -- Aaron, Henry J.; Reischauer, Robert D. SHOULD WE RETIRE SOCIAL SECURITY? (Brookings Review, vol. 17, no. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 6-11)

Aaron and Reischauer, senior fellows in the Brookings Economic Studies program, critique six proposals, and present one of their own, for reforming Social Security. They write that in addition to restoring fiscal health, a successful Social Security rescue plan should "ensure adequate benefits that are equitably distributed to maintain protection for low earners and other vulnerable people." Aaron's and Reischauer's proposed plan features a Social Security Reserve Board, modeled on the Federal Reserve Board, which would be insulated from political pressure and would invest excess trust-fund reserves in a broad mix of private securities. They also give high marks to former Social Security Administration commissioner Robert Ball's proposal which would tie pensions exclusively to each worker's past earnings and years of work, not to fluctuating asset prices. Aaron and Reischauer oppose reforms centered on the creation of personal retirement accounts, because such systems would put workers at undue risk of market fluctuations and would raise administrative costs. [ES;PK -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99009 -- Stopford, John THINK AGAIN: MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS (Foreign Policy, no. 113, Winter 1998-1999, pp. 12-24)

To illustrate how "today's multinationals (MNCs) bear little resemblance to their forebears," Stopford, a London Business School professor of international business, examines ten traditional assumptions about MNCs. He rates as completely inaccurate the widespread perceptions that all multinationals are large corporations, are creations of wealthy countries, have markets that are impenetrable to rival companies, and are beyond government control. Stopford counters that the surge in MNC growth is being driven by new, small firms, many of which are based in developing countries. He discusses how innovative multinationals have won market share and remarks: "The message of today's competitive environment is that David can beat Goliath and does so with increasing frequency." Rather than operating outside of host-government control, Stopford contends that MNCs are locked into commitments to develop local operations and provide job training. Nevertheless, he warns that consumers and governments can no longer rely exclusively on market mechanisms to rein in multinationals. [ES; EGD -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99008 -- Robin, Donald P.; Sawyer, W. Charles THE ETHICS OF ANTIDUMPING PETITIONS (Journal of World Business, vol. 33, no. 3, Fall 1998, pp. 315-328)

Robin, a Wake Forest University professor of business ethics, and Sawyer, a University of Southern Mississippi professor of economics and international business, assert that U.S. businesses file antidumping petitions (ADPs) for ethical as well as unethical reasons. The authors emphasize that gradual revisions in U.S. antidumping laws have allowed more ethically questionable actions to occur. Robin and Sawyer detail the two-pronged test they have devised to judge the ethicality of a petition, and apply it to the 1982 Harley Davidson and 1993 Union Camp cases. Their test questions whether the companies filed the ADP to improve their competitive position (an ethical motive), or to avoid competition and control prices (an unethical motive). The test also analyzes the relative impact of the filing on the companies' stakeholders. Robin and Sawyer also describe several typical outcomes that result from filing ADPs, including price increases for U.S. consumers and reductions in imported goods. The authors note concern that "the rest of the world is catching up with the U.S. on the use of ADPs. [ES; MJM -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99007 -- Destler, I. M. TRADE POLICY AT A CROSSROADS (Brookings Review, vol. 17, no. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 26-30)

Destler, director of the Center for International and Security Studies at the Maryland School of Public Affairs and an Institute for International Economics visiting fellow, urges the Clinton Administration to renew efforts to secure congressional passage of fast-track negotiating authority legislation. He asserts that while "U.S. producers and consumers are exceptionally well positioned to gain from global trade," President Clinton and his successor will be unable to negotiate significant new trade agreements without fast track. Destler proposes a new strategy for winning some significant negotiating authority in 1999, with prospects of more thereafter. He says the president's goal should be to enact fast-track legislation by the beginning of the U.S.- hosted WTO Ministerial Conference in late 1999. To make that deadline, Destler advises the president to launch a dialogue with congressional and private-organization leaders on both sides of the ideological divide, and to establish three working groups to examine specific trade negotiations, labor and environmental side agreements, and the costs of globalization. [ES; BEO -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99006 -- Hardy, Daniel C. ARE BANKING CRISES PREDICTABLE? (Finance & Development, vol. 35, no. 4, December 1998, pp 32-35)

There is increasing evidence that certain indicators may provide advance warning of impending bank crises, according to research conducted by Daniel Hardy, a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund. Hardy argues that both the level of, and change in, bank capitalization -- the amount by which a bank's assets exceed its liabilities -- may signal banking system distress. Other indicators include the share of loans that are nonperforming, shifts in the structure of banks' balance sheets (a buildup in loans to particular sectors), and changes in the maturity structure of a bank's assets and liabilities. Hardy reports that recent studies have found that while macroeconomic variables such as inflation, consumption, interest and exchange rates are less reliable indicators of banking difficulties, they are nevertheless worth watching closely. "Still harder to predict is the exact timing of the onset of a crisis," he concludes. [ES; JS -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA98692 -- Carroll, Archie B THE FOUR FACES OF CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP (Business and Society Review, no. 100/101, September 1998, pp. 1-7)

To qualify as good corporate citizens, companies have to go beyond making money, writes Archie Carroll, a professor of business at the University of Georgia. They also have to obey the law, behave according to high ethical standards, and engage in philanthropy. The author says the Clinton Administration has made a start at promoting corporate citizenship by creating the Ron Brown Award in honor of the late commerce secretary who died in a 1996 plane crash while leading a trade mission to the Balkans. The 1997 recipients of the award were IBM in recognition of its diversity programs, and Levi Strauss & Co. for its anti-racism initiatives. Carroll notes that the Ron Brown Award winners are selected for their family-friendly policies which involve the relationship between companies and their employees. He suggests that this notion of good corporate citizenship needs to be broadened to take into consideration the interests of the investors, consumers, and communities in which the companies operate. [ES; PK -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98691 -- Zider, Bob HOW VENTURE CAPITAL WORKS (Harvard Business Review, vol. 76, no. 6, November-December 1998, pp. 131-139)

Zider, president of a firm that raises money for developing new technology for commercial use, aims to correct what he views as mistaken impressions about the venture capital industry. First, he notes, venture capitalists spend very little money investing in basic research and development, which is funded primarily by government and industry. When some new company begins to commercialize its innovation, venture capitalists step in and provide short-term, high-interest loans for manufacturing, marketing, and selling the product. Zider writes, "In essence, the venture capitalist buys a stake in an entrepreneur's idea, nurtures it for a short period of time, and then exits with the help of an investment banker." The author debunks the myth that these investors pursue good people and good ideas. Rather, they look for good industries on the rise. While they expect most of their investments to barely break even or to fail, venture capitalists anticipate earning high returns from the handful of investments that really take off. [ES; BEO -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98690 -- Wieler, Susan CONSUMPTION TAXES: DO THEY SPUR GROWTH? (Challenge, vol. 41, no. 6, November-December 1998, pp. 60-74)

According to economist Susan Wieler, advocates of replacing the current income tax system with a consumption tax claim it would provide a substantial boost to the U.S. economy by exempting all savings from taxation. However, her research indicates that the increase in economic growth may be rather small, "and even these modest gains depend heavily on the questionable assumption that saving and work effort will increase significantly." Wieler says those that support such a tax system believe it would be simpler for taxpayers, less troublesome to administer, and less intrusive on taxpayers. The author examines four consumption-tax variations -- the retail sales tax, the VAT, the flat tax, and the personal consumption tax and discusses the impact of each tax on growth, tax-burden distribution, and enforceability. Wieler concludes that reforming the current U.S. income tax system would produce the kind of simplification attributed to the consumption-tax system. [ES; MDK -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98689 -- De Long, J. Bradford WHAT 'NEW' ECONOMY? (The Wilson Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 4, Autumn 1998, pp. 14-26)

De Long, a University of California economics professor and former deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, disputes several prevailing convictions about Silicon Valley's "new economy." Drawing parallels with Manchester, England's industrial revolution, and with Henry Ford's mass- production automotive revolution, he argues that today's celebrated microelectronics industries exhibit the standard economic dynamics of a "leading sector." He defines the latter as the "relatively narrow set of industries that happen to be at the center of a particular decade's or a particular generation's technological advance." According to De Long, the novelty of the information age's new economy is not its rapid and revolutionary technological progress. "What is new," he writes, "is the potential of information goods to defy the very principles of scarcity and control over commodities that have convinced economists that the market is the one best system for guiding the production and distribution of goods." [ES; EGD -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98688 -- Morici, Peter MANAGING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY'S MANAGERS (Current History, vol. 97, no. 622, November 1998, pp. 374-379)

Morici, a University of Maryland international-business professor and the former United States International Trade Commission economics director, calls for extending and redirecting the mandates of the WTO and IMF. He contends that "WTO rules do not address many unfair foreign trade practices that exacerbate competitive pressures on American businesses to cut staff and limit wages, and IMF bailouts of troubled economies appear to increase the likelihood of more financial crises in the future." Morici identifies major shortcomings of the WTO system that pertain to the enforcement of new agreements, and to both the application of WTO rules and the mechanism for insuring their compliance. He discusses the rules' loopholes concerning antitrust, environmental and labor laws, and foreign-investment regulations, and proposes that the United States initiate new agreements at the next round of multilateral trade negotiations to close these loopholes. [ES; EGD -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98658 -- Wade, Robert; Veneroso, Frank THE GATHERING SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL CONTROLS (Challenge, vol. 41, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 14-26)

The judicious application of controls on the flow of capital closer to the outset, say two international financial specialists, may well have mitigated the current East Asian financial crisis and its subsequent fallout. Professor Robert Wade of Brown University and Frank Veneroso, an international investment advisor and head of Veneroso Associates, argue quite well that spending in East Asia on education, health care, and social welfare is shrinking rapidly, which in turn is generating major social deficits. They add that in addition to an abrupt shift to negative growth in the region, commodity prices have fallen to their lowest levels in more than 20 years. Wade and Veneroso write that the response from the lead agency in the crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been to impose "dogged repayment over a long period accompanied by a painful squeeze of the real economy." The authors contend that exchange controls or other forms of capital controls are needed in Asia, both to avoid creating this type of crisis again, and to protect the region's economies from the markets' whims and stampedes. Specifically, they argue that a proposal by the Japanese to begin instituting capital controls will have the desired effect as long as it focuses on control of capital inflows, which are easier to regulate than capital outflows. [ES; MDK -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98657 -- Porter, Michael E. CLUSTERS AND THE NEW ECONOMICS OF COMPETITION (Harvard Business Review, vol. 76, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp 77-90)

Porter, a business administration professor at Harvard University, examines a modern corporate paradox: The enduring competitive advantages in a global economy lie increasingly in local things -- knowledge, relationships, motivation -- that distant rivals cannot match. He identifies "clusters" as a salient feature of today's successful enterprises. Clusters, he writes, are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies and institutions in a particular field, such as the California wine and Italian leather-fashion industries. To Porter, "clusters represent a new way of thinking about location, challenging much of the conventional wisdom about how companies should be configured, how institutions such as universities can contribute to competitive success, and how governments can promote economic development and prosperity." He details how clusters are critical to competition, as they increase corporate productivity, drive the direction and pace of innovation, and stimulate new-business formation. Porter advocates that national and local governments promote cluster formation and upgrading, and the buildup of public or quasi-public goods that have a significant impact on many linked businesses. Also included in the article is a sidebar about establishing clusters in developing economies. [ES; MJM -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98656 -- Kapstein, Ethan B. GLOBAL RULES FOR GLOBAL FINANCE (Current History, vol. 97, no. 622, November 1998, pp. 355-360)

According to Kapstein, a University of Minnesota professor, former OECD official and international banker, risk assessment figures prominently in the current global financial crisis. His diagnosis of the international financial condition finds that the dominant money-center and investment banks have "failed to master the assessment of risk in a world economy characterized by floating exchange rates, differing political economies, and a diversity of business practices." Likewise, Kapstein notes that the success of such proposed cures as greater access to economic data, depends on the quality of investors' understanding about financial risk. In surveying the predominant economic-stabilization institutions and policies, he advocates a return by all countries to the basic governing principles of the global economy. Kapsten calls for rules that would restrict individual countries' international banking and investment activity to banks, companies and stock exchanges that are supervised by the Basel Committee of Bank Supervisors and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. [ES; EGD -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98636 -- Wolffe, Richard. SOFTWARE BARON (The New Republic, vol. 219, no. 20, November 16, 1998, pp. 22-25)

Wolffe, who covers the Microsoft case for the "Financial Times," outlines the U.S. government's and the computer company's legal arguments at the start of the biggest anti-trust trial in a generation. "At its heart," he writes, "the Microsoft monopoly trial will determine who writes the business rules of cyberspace -- the government or Microsoft." Wolffe traces the major events in Microsoft's browser war with Netscape Communications, beginning with the companies' 1995 meeting at which Microsoft allegedly proposed carving up the Internet software market. Describing more recent developments, the author notes the implicit support Alan Greenspan and other prominent officials have given Microsoft, as well as the company's U.S. appeals-court victory in June. In Wolfe's estimation, the Justice Department's case against Microsoft is unlikely to be resolved swiftly. "Both sides expect the case to end in the same place -- the Supreme Court." [ES; EGD -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98635 -- Rubach, Michael J.; Sebora, Terrence C. COMPARATIVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: COMPETITIVE IMPLICATIONS OF AN EMERGING CONVERGENCE (Journal of World Business, vol. 33, no. 2, Summer 1998, pp. 167-184)

Some international corporations that have embraced different corporate governance systems are beginning to see gains in competitive advantage, according to Rubach and Sebora, management professors at the universities of Central Arkansas and Nebraska. Basically, corporate governance has been determined to affect a company's competitive advantage, which directly affects its bottom line. Rubach and Sebora examine the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the U.S., Japanese, and German corporate governance, or management, systems. They suggest that the prevalent systems of these three countries have similarities that are based on the use of external financing, which separates ownership from control. The professors contend that this structure is important to any corporation, whether it is operating in a developing or an established economy. As more corporations move into the global economy, the authors say, the more they will have to confront the methods they employ in corporate governance in seeking market advantage. [ES; MDK -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98634 -- Michaels, James W. WORLD MONEY: AN INTERVIEW WITH STEVE HANKE (Forbes, vol. 162, no. 11, November 16, 1998, pp. 64, 66, 70)

In an interview with "Forbes" editor James W. Michaels, economist Steve Hanke, a well known advocate and architect of currency boards, debates the need for 175 "silly little currencies" which play havoc with world markets and international business. With more small countries considering adopting currency boards to unify their currencies with a strong anchor currency, Hanke sees a world movement toward significantly fewer currencies. He envisions the evolution of three competitive currency blocs: the dollar, the euro, and perhaps the yen, and he advocates a system whereby smaller countries could choose one of these three anchor currencies to tie their own currency to. Under specified rules, countries could change their anchor currencies, switching from the euro to the dollar and vice versa, for example. Hanke observes that currency unification would benefit poorer countries and remarks: "Money will flow in response to investment opportunities and not in response to rumors of devaluation and speculative flows." [ES; MJM -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98633 -- Bernhardt, Annette; Thomas Bailey. IMPROVING WORKER WELFARE IN THE AGE OF FLEXIBILITY (Challenge, vol. 41, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 16-44)

Bernhardt and Bailey, senior research associate and director, respectively, of the Institute on Education and the Economy, contend that the growing inequality in wages, job stability, and upward mobility signals changes in the very character of the American employment relationship. With its emphasis on restoring profitability by reducing labor costs, the authors assess today's employment system as a benefit to employers and a detriment to a large and growing number of workers. In analyzing the policy challenges presented by this new employment relationship they ask: What kinds of institutions, laws, and regulations are required to improve worker welfare and at the same time maintain the flexibility that employers are demanding? To answer this, Bernhardt and Bailey identify four goals that a comprehensive national policy on the postindustrial labor market should achieve: constructing external career ladders, strengthening internal career ladders, improving low-wage jobs, and improving labor market coordination. In addition, they describe several U.S. programs and initiatives that address these four goals. The authors conclude that the necessary institutional changes "will occur only when there is much stronger political support for them." [ES; EGD -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98629 -- Friedman, Milton. A PRIMER ON EXCHANGE RATES (Forbes, vol. 162, no. 10, November 2, 1998, pp. 53-55)

Reflecting on the Asian economic crisis, the famous economist blames the pegged exchange rate systems that have prevailed, with the encouragement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in East Asian countries other than Japan. He explains that in such systems, a central bank maintains the price of the domestic currency at a fixed number of U.S. dollars. Under a pegged exchange rate, the central bank need not reduce the money supply when a current account deficit arises, but can draw down dollar reserves or borrow dollars from abroad. Friedman argues that these measures allow a country to postpone action on fixing minor deficit problems, until they become major problems that result in the collapse of a currency's dollar value. Preferable to pegged systems, he advises, are two other exchange rate regimes: a fixed rate with no intervention by a central bank, and a floating rate managed by a central bank. By adopting one of the two preferred regimes, an economy should not suffer a foreign exchange crisis. Friedman writes that under floating rate regimes, "changes in exchange rates absorb the pressures that in a pegged regime lead to crises." [ES; BO -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98628 -- Dryden, John. REALISING THE POTENTIAL OF GLOBAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE (The OECD Observer, no. 214, October/November 1998, pp. 20-24)

Dryden, of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology, and Industry, asserts that the real news about global economic commerce is both its swift expansion and the extent to which it has captured the imaginations of business, consumers, governments, and the media. While experts predict a ten-fold volume growth in electronic commerce by 2000, the author points out the problems of low public confidence in electronic transactions and marketplace access constraints, that must first be overcome. Moreover, Dryden emphasizes the importance of international cooperation in giving direction and order to electronic commerce's expansion, and he summarizes OECD's work towards building that cooperation. An accompanying article by Vladimir Lopez-Bassols, "Y2K," discusses the economic effects of the Millennium Bug and calls for international initiatives to "coordinate remediation, testing, and contingency planning, especially for developing countries where awareness of the issue remains low, and action is lagging." [ES; PN -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98627 -- Cassidy, John. THE NEW WORLD DISORDER (The New Yorker, vol. 74, no. 33, October 26 & November 2, 1998, pp. 198- 207)

The author finds strong similarities between today's global economic crisis and the quandary of insuring growth in an increasingly interconnected world, and the international financial problems that beset the world during the 1944 Bretton Woods conference. Cassidy notes that many contemporary ideas for reforming the international system resemble proposals that John Maynard Keynes promoted as head of the historic conference's British delegation. These included establishing a global central bank with its own currency, which he called the International Clearing Union; regulating the movement of capital funds; and mandating that the IMF serve as an effective lender of last resort. The author contends that while President Clinton's proposal to provide prearranged IMF credit lines for countries following sound policies is a start, the IMF's mission, management structure, and capital base must also be reconceived. In summing up Keynes' legacy, Cassidy writes: "One of the invaluable lessons Keynes taught is that it is a lot easier for makers of policy to prevent an economy from falling into a deep recession than it is for them to get an economy out of a slump." [TES; EGD -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98626 -- Brooker, Katrina. THE SCARY RISE OF INTERNET STOCK SCAMS (Fortune, vol. 138, no. 8, October 26, 1998, pp. 187-202)

Brooker reports on the explosive increase in Internet stock scams and describes prominent cases the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has investigated since establishing its online investor hotline in 1996. The author explains that while the types of cyber stock scams, such as Ponzi and "pump and dump" schemes are neither particularly new or clever, the Internet's speed, low cost, and anonymity have "definitely made the business of fraud far more efficient." According to John Stark, the head of the SEC's Internet Enforcement unit, the Internet is a "double-edged sword" for cyberscamsters because it allows regulators to search for and find these criminals just as easily as online investors can. Brooker writes that stemming from the growing rise of scams and ease of investigating via the Web, numerous cybervigilantes have sprung up to expose these investment scam artists. [ES; EGD -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98605 -- Malone, Thomas W.; Laubacher, Robert J. THE DAWN OF THE E-LANCE ECONOMY (Harvard Business Review, vol. 76, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 145-152)

Thomas Malone and Robert Laubacher, codirector and research associate, respectively, for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's initiative on Inventing the Organizations of the 21stCentury, speculate that today's large, permanent corporations will devolve into temporary companies composed of flexible networks of individuals. The authors dub these individual, electronically connected freelancers, "e-lancers," and predict they will constitute the fundamental unit of a new "e-lance" economy. Malone and Laubacher discuss how the business manager's role would be transformed in a shift to an e-lance economy. Rather than providing centralized direction or control, managers would establish rules, standards and cultures that help decentralized network organizations operate efficiently. Malone and Laubacher conclude that most of the necessary, technological building blocks for an e-lance economy are either in place or are under development. They observe: "What is lagging behind technology is our imagination." [ES; EGD -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98604 -- Kosterlitz, Julie. BETTING THE BANK (National Journal, vol. 30, no. 42, October 17, 1998, pp. 2434-2437)

Business and economics correspondent Julie Kosterlitz details the growing use of derivatives and their potential threat to American banks. She explains that derivatives are, in essence, "bets between two parties -- typically, financial institutions and businesses -- about what will happen to the value of a particular financial instrument." Kosterlitz notes the paradox of derivatives' popularity with banks, despite the considerable credit risk they pose. In contrast, derivatives' complicated array of risks has proven to be unpopular with the banks' regulators. According to Kosterlitz, with derivatives, regulators "can't be sure whether a bank that appears to meet the government's capital requirements truly has a cushion commensurate with its risks." She reports that because banks are not required to disclose on their balance sheets the derivatives they hold, the banks' investors and creditors lack adequate knowledge that would enable them to serve as watchdogs. Kosterlitz writes: "Vigilance and transparency are issues not only for banks in developing countries but for those on the cutting edge of finance as well." [ES; EGD -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98603 -- Kahn, Jeremy. THE WORLD'S MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES (Fortune, vol. 138, no. 8, October 26, 1998, pp. 206-226)

In summarizing the results of the 1998 FORTUNE and Hay Group survey of the world's most admired companies, international reporter Jeremy Kahn writes that this year's winners are in the forefront of creating truly multinational corporations with workforces and corporate cultures that reflect the diversity of the markets in which they operate. He highlights several of the long-term business strategies that have enabled these corporations to weather the global economic crisis. Kahn also notes that these all-star companies have achieved the right management focus by selecting senior executives from international divisions and diverse national backgrounds. Citing the research of University of Michigan professor C.K. Prahalad, he concludes that the next challenge for these firms is to engage emerging markets as cradles of innovation. In an article sidebar, "What Makes a Company Great?," Kahn underlines what he terms "perhaps the most compelling insight of the study -- the most admired companies all have consensus at the top regarding cultural priorities." The article includes tables showing where the survey's 278 companies rank within their industries, and a table listing the 25 most-admired companies. [ES; EGD -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98602 -- Brademas, John; Heimann, Fritz. TACKLING INTERNATIONAL CORRUPTION: NO LONGER TABOO (Foreign Affairs, vol. 77, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 17-22)

According to the authors, although there is widespread support for programs to combat bribery and corruption in international trade and commerce, entrenched groups oppose reforms. Brademas, who is president emeritus of New York University, National Endowment for Democracy chairman, and a member of Transparency International's International Advisory Committee, and Heimann, a counselor at General Electric Company and a founding member and director of Transparency International, identify the powerful beneficiaries of corruption -- officials in high places, companies with large resources, and a legion of influential middlemen. They write: "Wherever corruption has become a way of life, wholesale change is necessary." Brademas and Heimann observe that during the last half-dozen years, intolerance of corruption has grown, and the problem is becoming a target of international action. They point to the 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, and the programs developed by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Transparency International to battle demand-side abuses, as the reform movement's significant achievements. Finally, Brademas and Heimann argue for new incentives and controls to reinforce integrity and punish corruption. [ES; MDK -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98585 -- Winston, Clifford. U.S. INDUSTRY ADJUSTMENT TO ECONOMIC DEREGULATION (Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 12, no. 3, Summer 1998, pp. 89-110)

When industries are deregulated after decades of government controls, the benefits of the new conditions take some time to appear, even decades, according to Clifford Winston, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. The author examines how deregulation's long-run efficiency benefits are achieved, and presents empirical evidence illustrating the U.S. airline, trucking, railroad, banking, and natural gas industries' successful adjustment to deregulation. Winston concludes that the U.S. experience of the past 20 years suggests that "industries are likely to behave quite similarly when it comes to adjusting to deregulation, and that their adjustment, while time-consuming, will raise consumer welfare -- significantly even at first, and increasingly over time." Furthermore, the evidence indicates that markets will become more competitive and firms will develop efficient innovations. As deregulatory reform takes place in telecommunications, electricity, cable TV, and potentially in ocean transportation, Winston calls on policymakers and economists to broaden their vision of where markets can replace governments in determining the most efficient way to create and sell products and services. [ES; WR -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98584 -- Stanfield, Rochelle L. ONE-STOP JOBBING (National Journal, vol. 30, no. 38, September 19, 1998, pp. 2162-2165)

Author Rochelle L. Stanfield outlines the new 1998 Workforce Investment Act which consolidates the nearly 70 federal jobs programs into three block grants administered largely by state and local governments. She writes that the law establishes one-stop career centers offering a full panoply of career services and supports through the collaboration of federal, state and local governments, businesses, labor unions, and non-profit organizations. Moreover, the local boards of directors running these centers must be dominated by business representatives -- a requirement that Labor Secretary Alexis Herman says "will give us the ability to tie training more directly to where the jobs of the future are going to be." Another major innovation, Stanfield points out, is the statute's provision of a voucher system allowing low-income people to pay for private-sector job training, instead of taking the traditional government-run classes. [ES; EGD -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98583 -- Karczmar, Mieczyslaw. HOW AMERICANS VIEW THE EURO: AN ANALYSIS OF THE MAJOR PLAYERS (The International Economy, vol. 12, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 50-53, 61-63)

In surveying American policymakers' and business leaders' attitudes toward the euro, Karczmar, a New York based economic advisor for the Deutsche Bank, finds a welcome recognition that this single currency will soon become a fact of life, and that U.S. businesses are relatively well- prepared for the event. However, despite this major attitudinal change, he detects vast differences in experts' opinions regarding the European Monetary Union's (EMU's) possible implications for the U.S. economy. Among the contentious issues Karczmar discusses are the euro/dollar exchange rate; the euro's challenge to the dollar as the globe's key transaction, investment, and reserve currency; and European competition to the U.S. capital market. The author concludes that American policymakers, businesspersons, journalists, and scholars are united in the belief that EMU's success or failure depends on two questions: "Can monetary policy in the new European Central Bank keep from being politicized? Will EMU gain the support of the general public in its respective countries?" [ES; EGD -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98582 -- Drucker, Peter F. IN DEFENSE OF JAPANESE BUREAUCRACY (Foreign Affairs, vol. 77, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 68-80)

According to Peter F. Drucker, the Clarke Professor of Social Science at Claremont Graduate University, the Japanese bureaucracy has been blamed incorrectly for exerting entirely too much influence over Japanese businesses and the economy. In his enlightening analysis, this noted authority on management and social systems argues that bureaucracies effectively dominate most developed countries -- with some exceptions being the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. His assessment of the modern Japanese bureaucracy indicates that it continues to play a critical role in policymaking and will continue to do so as a ruling elite, whether or not there is deregulation. As such, he says that American policy toward Japan must be based on that assumption. Moreover, Drucker discusses the paramount importance of understanding the Japanese bureaucracy's priorities. He writes that Americans assume that the economy takes primacy in political decisions -- short of national security issues. However, in Japan -- and the bureaucracy is not alone on this -- society, not the economy, is primary. Drucker concludes: "If Americans understood this, especially in dealing with a Japan in trouble, they might cling less to myths about the uselessness of the Japanese bureaucracy." [ES; MDK -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98569 -- Gizzi, John. SPLITS IN THE POLITICAL PARTIES (The World & I, vol. 13, no. 10, October 1998, pp. 74-79)

John Gizzi, a political correspondent for the weekly newspaper HUMAN EVENTS, examines the widening ideological divisions within the Republican as well as Democratic parties. According to the Gizzi, the November elections will not only be a battle between the traditional two parties but one between a number of growing factions within each party. Inside the Republican Party, the schism between the cultural conservatives and economic conservatives grows wider every day. Within the Democratic Party, the factions tend to form around specific issues, for example, more or less government. One thing is for sure, the November elections will not only be telling in respect to which party is more successful in getting its message out, but which faction within each party is most influential. [DHR; EB -- doe: 10/09/98]

To Economic Security Archive

Annotations of Current Articles on Global Issues

AA99128 -- Standage, Tom EVERYONE COMPLAINS ABOUT THE WEATHER. PIERS CORBYN IS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT (Wired, vol. 7, no. 2, February 1999, pp. 100-107, 153-154)

Conventional science says it's impossible, but a British scientist claims to have developed a method for predicting the weather as much as a year in advance. Piers Corbyn believes that solar activity and terrestrial weather are linked, and he's developed a complex, but still-secret formula for using that correlation to form the basis of a long-range forecast. Critics say that the complexity of events that form weather is too great to allow for long-term prediction. Some other specialists in meteorology call Corbyn's methods scientific mumbo-jumbo, but the British physicist does have clients willing to pay for his advice. His record of success so far can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The economic potential of a long-range-forecasting methodology would be enormous; the World Meteorological Organization calculates that accurate weather forecasts already reap a $40,000 million benefit for the world economy. [GIC;CP -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99127 -- Easterbrook, Gregg SUBURBAN MYTH: THE CASE FOR SPRAWL (The New Republic, Issue 4, March 15, 1999, pp 18-21)

The author acknowledges that suburban "sprawl," defined as unlimited, often thoughtless, development that consumes previously rural or open space, is an emerging issue of substantial importance to Americans. And "if suburbs are where Americans choose to live," and that is largely the case, "then brain power should be applied to making burbs as livable as possible." However well-intentioned our efforts, though, the author offers a series of cautions about what seem to be common assertions on the topic. The author says we should keep in mind that people fled city centers because they wanted to; sprawl has economic utility; sprawl is caused by affluence and population growth -- "and which of these, exactly, do we propose to prohibit?" He also asserts that "while everybody wants symbolic action against sprawl, real action would drive people crazy." This article is also available on the Internet at: [GIC;WTP -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99126 -- Cooper, Richard S.; Rotimi, Charles N.; Ward, Ryk THE PUZZLE OF HYPERTENSION IN AFRICAN-AMERICANS (The Scientific American, vol. 280, no. 2, February 1999, pp. 56-62)

Hypertension accounts for 20 percent of deaths among blacks in the United States -- twice the figure for whites. Genes are often invoked to account for why high blood pressure is so common among African-Americans, yet the authors write that the inhabitants of western Africa have among the lowest rates of hypertension anywhere. The article suggests that a more fruitful approach to understanding the high levels of hypertension among African-Americans would begin by abandoning conventional hypotheses about race, and acknowledging that hypertension arises through many different pathways, including external factors such as stress and diet, internal physiology, and the genes involved in controlling blood pressure. Only by teasing out the complex connections between these pathways can researchers successfully answer questions about why the disorder is so prevalent among African-Americans and how best to intervene for all patients. [GIC;JF -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99125 -- Bowdy, Matthew A. NEEDLE EXCHANGES: PREVENTION OR PROBLEM? (State Government News, vol. 42, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 26-28)

One way people spread HIV infection is through sharing tainted needles during drug use. This has created a demand for programs to supply clean needles to intravenous drug users. There are at least 113 needle exchange programs operating within 80 cities in 30 states. Some, however, see needle exchange programs as exacerbating illegal drug problems. States have to evaluate numerous studies and viewpoints that both support and refute the success of needle exchanges. Donna E. Shalala, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, stated on April 20, 1998 that "needle exchange programs can be an effective part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the incidence of HIV transmission and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs." [GIC;MTM -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99107 -- Tubessing, Carl; Wilson, Joy Johnson STATES SETTLE TOBACCO SUITS: SO WHO WON? (State Legislatures, vol. 25, no.2, February 1999, pp. 14-19)

The authors discuss the November 1998 tobacco settlement agreement in which states get large chunks of money and the companies get guaranteed immunity from state lawsuits. According to the agreement, tobacco companies have agreed to stop targeting young people in their advertising. The agreement also limits corporate sponsorship of sporting and other events, and bans billboard and transit advertising. However, the agreement does not address some important questions, such as how the states can spend the money. It does allow several opportunities for action by state legislatures and leaves open the possibility of Congressional action. [GIC;MTM - - doe: 03/12/99]

AA99106 -- Sindelar, Jody L. SOCIAL COSTS OF ALCOHOL (Journal of Drug Issues, vol. 28, no. 3, Summer 1998, pp. 763-780)

Because alcohol misuse can impose costs on others as well as the drinker, it is important to assess empirically the magnitude of the overall alcohol problem. The findings can be used to develop policies that mitigate alcohol-related costs. This article provides a framework for interpreting the literature on the social costs of alcohol by explaining several philosophical and practical perspectives. In general, the "public health perspective" has as a basic tenet that society should be as healthy as possible and should rid itself of the ills related to alcohol. This perspective emphasizes morbidity, mortality, and treatment costs. The "economic perspective" focuses on resource use, particularly productivity and trade-offs between the benefits and costs of alcohol. Some proponents of this perspective place consumer sovereignty and individual liberty in very high regard. [GIC;GK -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99105 -- Motavalli, Jim TOXIC TARGETS (E Magazine, vol. 9, no. 4, July-August 1998, pp. 28-41)

The author criticizes chemical industries in the United States that are selecting sites to install their plants and deposit their hazardous wastes based primarily on the race of a community. African-American communities are the most affected by what has been called environmental racism. To make matters worse, state environmental agencies seem to be collaborating more with industries -- helping them to establish their plants -- than they are advocating for clean and healthy communities. Cities that already host chemical plants are becoming targets to other toxic industries, fulfilling the principle that "waste follows waste," the author says. Communities of color started to fight back by organizing themselves and suing the polluter industries. Teamwork is thought to be the best approach for dealing with the problem, so citizens and environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, are joining efforts to fight this new form of institutionalized discrimination. [GIC;AS -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99104 -- Mestel, Rosie DRUGS FROM THE SEA (Discover, vol. 20, no. 3, March 1999, pp. 70-74)

With disease resistance going up and drug discovery going down, scientists are turning to the sea's resources for new compounds to use in the fight against disease. Biologist William Fenical and colleagues from the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography are studying organisms for biologically active molecules having medicinal potential. Already they have identified molecules from a species of sea fan that have anti-inflammatory effects, a compound from a yellow soft coral that disrupts cancer cell division, and virus-killing proteins from molds living on sea grasses. Today more than 30 drugs from the ocean are in preclinical investigation by drug companies, universities, and the National Cancer Institute. (Note: article contains colloquial language which might be offensive to some audiences.) [GIC;JRT -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99103 -- Hooper, Judith A NEW GERM THEORY (The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 283, no. 2, February 1999, pp. 41-44, 46-50, 52-53)

A prominent evolutionary biologist, Dr. Paul Ewald of Amherst College in Massachusetts, argues that some of humanity's chronic and most baffling "noninfectious" diseases are actually caused by pathogens that are a perfect example of the Darwinian law of survival of the fittest. Ulcers were long thought to be a product of genetic predisposition and environmental factors, but recent discoveries have linked them to a spiral bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. There is increasing evidence that some heart disease is being linked to the presence of a bacterium that causes pneumonia and bronchitis. There are now even indications that some chronic mental diseases may be linked to germs. [GIC;WP -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99102 -- Greer, Colin WILL WE HELP THEM SAVE THE WORLD? (Parade Magazine, February 28, 1999, pp 4-6)

Global YouthConnect (GYC) is an international human-rights organization for youth formed in 1997. Their mission is "to support young people in action worldwide who are standing up to those who commit human rights abuses." Seven of the 16 core members grew up in nations scarred by war, and nine are Americans who have worked with them since. "For me, everything has been shaped by the war, especially my awareness of our human capacity for evil and for good," says a refugee from Africa. Other members are from Asia, the Americas and Europe. Every year more than 100,000 victims of political violence seek refuge in the United States. GYC plans to train young people from around the world in the U.S., and it even will focus on issues in U.S. society, because children here are also traumatized by neglect, abuse and violence. GYC is on the Internet at www.globalyouthconnect.org. [GIC;JAM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99101 -- Egan, Timothy THE PERSISTENCE OF POLYGAMY (The New York Times Magazine, February 28, 1999, pp 51-55)

In return for statehood, the western U.S. state of Utah, which will host the 2002 Winter Olympics, outlawed polygamy in the 19th century. However, polygamy remains there today, and two imminent court trials may reveal the reality of modern polygamy and its abuse of civil rights. This article describes the largest polygamous community in the United States, nurtured by religious claims and protected by a "hands-off " stance of legal authorities. Up to 60,000 people may be living in families with as many as 30 wives of a single husband. Tapestry of Polygamy is an advocacy organization formed by women from plural marriages, who have endured arranged marriages, "indentured barbarism," social claustrophobia and fear of the outside world. [GIC;JAM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99081 -- Rosenstiel, Tom; Gottlieb, Carl; Brady, Lee Ann LOCAL TV NEWS (Columbia Journalism Review, January-February 1999, pp. 65-80)

A special report from Columbia University's affiliate Project for Excellence in Journalism covers the state of TV news, offers criteria for judging a good newscast, grades newscasts in 20 cities, and relates workable approaches at four stations. The authors report that quality sells. Of the newscasts graded with an "A," 63 percent have ratings that are on the rise. But stations with tabloid news styles have rising ratings, too. The study finds that audiences are not schizophrenic -- stations can't mix serious with tabloid. The formula for a good newscast that is commercially successful seems to be: long stories, better sourcing, more stories about big ideas and issues, and inclusion of everyday people in the stories. The problems with local news, the study found, are sourcing, getting both sides of the story and thinking ahead. Forty six percent of all stories were about commonplace events, less than 10 percent originated from ideas in the newsroom, and 43 percent gave only one side. Approaches that work: making public policy come to life by "laying out the issues before they get mired in legislative polemics;" looking to other communities to bring context to local issues; giving a sense of scale to problems; and offering answers, not just creating fear. [GIC;ET -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99080 -- Leibowitz, Ed BAR CODES: READING BETWEEN THE LINES (Smithsonian, vol. 29, no. 1, February 1999, pp.130-146)

The Universal Product Code, also known as the bar code, has changed retailing around the world, but it arose from desperation in U.S. supermarket chains. With razor-thin profit margins, food retailers across the country sought a technology that could help save labor costs. Mr. Leibowitz explains how inventors developed the bar code and its scanners, and how the bar code became the technology of choice. Benign as it may seem today, the bar code also became the target for a virtual consumer uprising in the turbulent 1970s. That was short-lived, however, and Mr. Leibowitz also describes how the bar code has become a significant tool of retailing, marketing and production of consumer goods. [GIC;CP -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99079 -- Bullock, Mark A.; Grinspoon, David H. GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ON VENUS (Scientific American, vol. 280, no. 3, March 1999, pp. 50-57)

Roughly 800 million years ago, volcanoes repaved the surface of Venus with lava and released gases that ultimately triggered a powerful greenhouse effect that doomed the planet's climate. The volcanoes likely are still active. Now new computer models that indicate the climate of Venus has changed radically in its relatively recent past may prove valuable to scientists tracking Earth's changing climate, according to two University of Colorado researchers. Despite the recent interest in Mars shown by the public, Venus actually is more Earth-like because it's the only other planet with a complex, evolving climate. Given the dynamic, rapid climate change that has occurred in Earth's history and the current impact of human activity, such computer models of the changing Venusian climate system may hold clues to Earth's future. [GIC;JF -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99055 Saltus, Richard THE ANSWER FOR CANCER? (Popular Science, vol. 254, no.1, January 1999, pp. 52-55)

Blocking blood vessel growth around cancer tumors might be effective in fighting the disease, said Dr. Judah Folkman of the Boston's Children's Hospital. After more than thirty years of research, Folkman is obtaining positive results on tumor-shrinking in mice. Drugs that prevent the sprouting new blood vessels, known as angiogenesis inhibitors, are probably the most exciting anticancer therapy in study today, researchers said. However, scientists are very cautious because they still do not know if the drug will work in humans as well as it did in mice. Human trials are expected sometime this year. Targeting blood vessel cells instead of the cancer tumor itself might be more efficient because those cells have much less opportunity to evolve drug-resistant traits, researchers said. [GIC;AS -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99054 Dold, Catherine THE CHOLERA LESSON (Discover, Vol. 20, No. 2, February 1999, pp. 70-75)

Microbiologist Dr. Rita Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation, studied the bacterium that causes cholera for several decades while at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. She discovered that between outbreaks the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, lies dormant in a spore-like state in association with a copepod (a tiny crustacean). The exact water conditions needed to cause the bacterium to start reproducing are still being researched, building on her discovery of a correlation between seasonal peaks in sea-surface temperatures in the Bay of Bengal and near-by hospital admissions for cholera. The warming of waters off Peru by El Nino may have triggered the cholera outbreaks which began there in 1991 and 1997. Thousands of families in Bangladesh are testing a low-cost sari-cloth filter developed by Dr. Colwell to remove nearly all of V. cholerae from water, and research continues to develop an early-warning system for cholera outbreaks. [GIC;JRT -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99053 Benson, Bruce L. and Rasmussen, David W. THE CONTEXT OF DRUG POLICY: AN ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION (Journal of Drug Issues, vol. 28, no.3, Summer 1998, pp. 681-699)

Police agencies in the U.S. tend to allocate more resources to drug enforcement due to factors that determine police budgets. Understanding drug policy requires an examination of the incentives and constraints affecting those responsible for policy development. When taxpayers are reluctant to fund law-enforcement agencies at a level to combat all types of crime, police agencies will often pursue drug asset seizures -- in part to expand their budgets because asset forfeiture laws reward agencies for making such arrests. The best anti-drug policy options are not always adopted because they do not coincide with the interests of policy makers. Therefore, the economic context of policy debates is crucial if cost-effective policy alternatives are to receive serious consideration. [GIC;GK -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99033 -- Perkowitz, Sidney THE RAREST ELEMENT (The Sciences, vol. 39, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 34-38)

Among earthly liquids, water is the most prevalent, covering more than 70 percent of the planetary surface, and it is by far the most important because the presence of water is essential for all the ongoing chemical processes of life. With so much at stake, you would think that modern science would understand water inside and out. But instead, water -- a relative anomaly in the universe -- harbors an ocean of mysteries. For example, unlike other substances, water does not expand but contracts as it is warmed from solid to liquid, making ice less dense than water -- a peculiarity whose consequences touch a surprisingly broad slice of human life (it is, for instance, the reason the Titanic sank, since it is the reason icebergs float). According to the author, the Holy Grail of modern research into water is to explain such peculiarities. So far, however, there is no universal theory of water, nor does anyone know a master equation for all its properties. [GIC;JF -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99032 -- Groopman, Jerome HEART SURGERY, UNPLUGGED: MAKING THE CORONARY BYPASS SAFER, CHEAPER, AND EASIER (The New Yorker, January 11, 1999, pp. 43-46, 50-51)

The standard techniques for coronary bypass surgery require that the patient's heart be stopped while surgery is conducted. A heart-lung machine is used to keep the patient alive, but it can introduce various side effects including bleeding, retinal damage, and memory loss. The article describes the techniques of young cardiac surgeons who are now operating on the heart while it is still beating, using specially designed devices to stabilize the organ while an incision is made. A technique used by only about 100 young surgeons around the country, it can eliminate some of the side effects of the surgery, and make the bypass operation cheaper, safer, and more widely available to those who need it. [GIC;CP -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99031 -- Euwald, Paul W.; Cochran, Gregory; Gorbach, Sherwood L.; and others IT'S A GERM'S WORLD, AFTER ALL (Natural History, vol. 108, no. 1, February 1999, pp. 32-54)

This special section comprises seven articles examining various aspects of the latest findings on infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, protozoa and fungi. It coincides with the American Museum of Natural History exhibition, "Epidemic! The World of Infectious Disease." Each year, 17 million people die from diseases caused by these germs, and that number is likely to grow as researchers link increasingly more ailments to infectious organisms. Recently discovered evidence also proves that some female infertility, peptic ulcers and kidney stones can be tied to germs. [GIC;CP -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99030 -- Babbage, Robert A., Jr. WAYS TO FIGHT DRUGS (State Government News, vol. 41, no. 10, December 1998, pp. 24-27)

A survey of all states and territories by the Council of State Governments shows effective programs are promoting unprecedented cooperation among states in combating illegal drugs. The author describes various programs, such as the High Intensity Drug Traffic Area (HIDTA), which encourages cooperative intergovernmental efforts to tackle the drug trade in geographic areas where it is a major problem. States are finding the workable components of a comprehensive anti-drug strategy, including supply reduction, making drug dealing less profitable, and promoting prevention. [GIC;MTM -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99013 -- Mann, Charles C. PROGRAMS TO THE PEOPLE (Technology Review, vol. 102, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 36-42)

Volunteer computer programmers worldwide are collaborating on Project GNOME to develop a point-and-click interface that will be faster, more powerful, and less likely to crash than Microsoft's Windows interface. Working in a "free-software" environment where the software and its source code are not copyrighted or controlled by a single company, any programmer can modify it and readily share it with others. Designed to work with the Linux operating system, which is used by millions of computer systems worldwide, the graphical interface software will make Linux available to the consumer market to compete directly with Windows. Version 1.0 is expected to be available for downloading free from the Internet in early 1999. (Article is available on the Internet at http://www.techreview.com/articles/jan99/mann.htm) [GIC; JRT -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99012 -- Deneen, Sally PARADISE LOST: AMERICA'S DISAPPEARING WETLANDS (E Magazine, vol. IX, no. 6, November-December 1998, pp. 36-41)

Freshwater and saltwater wetlands are disappearing from America's land mass at the rate of an acre a minute. Yet wetlands give so many benefits: they store water for times of drought, help to prevent flooding, and act as filters to sediment and fertilizers, as well as their most-known use, providing a home for at least part of the life cycle of a diverse population of plants, insects, fish, frogs, and migratory birds. But even with their benefits acknowledged, they vanish to homes, shopping centers, farms, ranches and other development, and may do so even faster under a new permit system being proposed. America's environmental NGOs are rising up in protest, and this article is part of how that's happening. [GIC; JF -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99011 -- Judd, Lewis L.; and others EFFECTIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT OF OPIATE ADDICTION (The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 280, no. 22, December 9, 1998, pp. 1936-1943)

The article presents the conclusions of the National Consensus Development Panel on Effective Medical Treatment of Opiate Addiction. The 12-member panel was nonfederal, nonadvocate, and represented the fields of psychology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, family medicine, drug abuse, epidemiology, and the public. Having assessed scientific evidence and scientific literature, the panel concluded that opiate dependence is a brain-related medical disorder that can be effectively treated with significant benefits for the patient and society, and society must offer treatment to all who need it. All opiate dependents should have access to methadone hydrochloride maintenance therapy under legal supervision. Unnecessary regulations of methadone maintenance therapy should be reduced, and coverage for such therapy should be required in public and private insurance programs. [GIC; GK -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99010 -- Wiley, John P. Jr. AILING? JUST ADD CELLS (Smithsonian, vol. 29, no. 10, January 1999, pp 22, 24).

This short article provides an excellent layman's summary of the state of science and moral considerations of the rapidly expanding capabilities in human cell generation. This fall two separate teams in the United States announced they had succeeded in producing stem cells, the undifferentiated form of cell from which specialized cells subsequently develop. The potential for repairing a wide range of disease is enormous. Balanced against this opportunity are a range of ethical considerations of the most fundamental variety. President Clinton's charge to the National Bioethics Advisory Commission for reports "as soon as possible" is one example of the voices raised in caution as science proceeds with these extraordinary explorations. [GIC; WP -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA98679 -- Austin, Jay and Bruch, Carl THE GREENING OF WARFARE (The Environmental Forum, Vol. 15, No. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 32-42)

This scholarly, comprehensive article traces the short history of legal concern for environmental damage caused by war. The authors describe a number of legal mechanisms now in use in the U.S. that could be used to strengthen weaknesses in war conventions and international environmental law. They conclude: "In international law as in domestic law, complex problems may require a multiplicity of legal solutions. Moreover, the usefulness of specific legal tools will depend on the policy goals they are intended to serve...." [GIC; TB -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98678 -- Tenner, Edward CHRONOLOGICALLY INCORRECT (Wilson Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 4, Autumn 1998, pp. 27-37)

Tenner discusses the Year 2000 computer problem, increasingly abbreviated as Y2K. "Y2Kologists" share no consensus on how severe Y2K dislocations are likely to be. However, Tenner points out that the apprehension is real and will have global consequences. He thinks that the diversity of systems and business rivalries discouraged public and private business authorities from taking firm and early action to cope with emerging problems. Tenner analyses the Year 2000 problem over the past four decades, showing that even where Year 2000 compliance was feasible and economical, it wasn't always in demand. [GIC; MTM -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98677 -- Phillips, William G. THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM: WILL THE BUG BITE BACK? (Popular Science, vol. 253, no. 4, October 1998, pp. 88-93)

The Y2K problem is worse than you think. First of all, where are the parts of the program that will tell your computer that the year 2000 is really 1900? Programmers gave all kinds of different names to the date-related functions in their programs, making it difficult to find many of them. January 1, 1900, was a Monday. January 1, 2000, will be a Saturday. This could play havoc with such equipment as elevators and air handling systems that turn off on Thursday, mistaking it for Saturday. Some programmers used "9999" to signal the end of a file, which could trigger complications early, say on September 9, 1999, known to the computer as "9/9/99," or on April 9, 1999, the 99th day of 1999. The author lays out many other looming problems and discusses various solutions. "Year 2000 will be remembered as technology's coming of age," says one programmer. [GIC; CL -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98676 -- Mullin, Sue THE CRUEL LEGACY OF A KILLER STORM (U.S. News & World Report, vol. 125, no. 19, November 16, 1998, pp. 46-47)

Hurricane Mitch pummeled Central America, leaving death and devastation in its wake. The author notes the staggering economic toll on the affected nations, and stresses the dire need of impoverished villagers for clean water and good food. "No one knows where the money will come from" for aid, says Mullin, and despite aid packages from several countries, it is not enough. Thousands of people are dead and missing, and more are expected to die as the days pass. "After the dead are buried will come the hard work of rebuilding -- a task many of those who experienced the wrath of Mitch will not see completed in their lifetime," Mullin says. [GIC; JB -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98675 -- Wilmut, Ian CLONING FOR MEDICINE (Scientific American, vol. 279, no. 6, December 1998, pp. 58-63)

The creator of Dolly the cloned sheep writes that the real benefits of cloning will come from the speedy production of genetically engineered animals useful for drug manufacture, transplants, and basic research. Cloned animals with precise genetic modifications that minimize the human immune response might provide a plentiful supply of cells that could be used in therapies for treating illnesses such as Parkinson's disease or diabetes. Cloning could also be a way to produce herds of cattle that lack the prion protein gene that makes cattle susceptible to mad cow disease. Because many medicines contain products derived from cattle, such herds would be a source of ingredients for certifiable prion-free medicines. [GIC; JF -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98662 -- Taubes, Gary VIRUS HUNTING ON THE WEB (Technology Review, vol. 101, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 50-55)

The speed, coverage and flexibility of the Internet are being used to share information about outbreaks of emerging viral and other infectious diseases. The Outbreak web site, ProMED-Mail, and the World Health Organization's Global Public Health Information Network inform public health experts, epidemiologists, medical personnel and others about occurrences of these diseases. The information helps to improve delivery of medical treatment and limit the spread of the diseases. [GIC; JRT -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98661 -- Kirkpatrick, David THE SECOND COMING OF APPLE (Fortune, vol. 138, no. 9, November 9, 1998, pp. 86-104)

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, its founder, and a "world-class" executive team have managed to turn around the computer company that many had written off for dead. This article details how the company's changed methodology, under Job's leadership, has put the purveyors of Macintosh and the new IMac back in the black. [GIC; EFT -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98660 -- Deneen, Sally PARADISE LOST: AMERICA'S DISAPPEARING WETLANDS (E Magazine, vol. IX, no. 6, November-December 1998, pp. 37-41)

Wetlands, the boundary area where water and land meet, are critical parts of our environment. Whether they are the swamps that often border lakes and rivers or the estuaries of bays on the ocean's coastline, these areas of shallow water and water plants are the nurseries for much of the world's fish and shellfish. They are critical for many birds. And wetlands are critical to the quality of water itself, providing for filtration of harmful materials and control of flooding and run-off. Yet wetlands are also disappearing rapidly in countries around the world. In the United States, the Clinton administration is seeking to develop policies that preserve these vital areas. [GIC; WTP -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98659 -- Byman, Daniel THE LOGIC OF ETHNIC TERRORISM (Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, vol. 21, no. 2, 1998, pp. 149-169)

Ethnic terrorism is deliberate violence by a subnational ethnic group to advance its cause -- usually the creation of a separate state or the elevation of one communal group's status over others. Ethnic terrorism differs from violence committed for ideological, religious or financial motives in that it seeks to forge ethnic communal identity, in contrast to an identity proposed by the state. Ethnic terrorists often try to influence and mobilize their own constituency more than the country as a whole, and they often target potential intermediaries who might compromise on identity issues. Such terrorism poses a dilemma to the state, as conventional countermeasures may foster broader support for a separatist movement or insurgency. An effective strategy is to compel "in group" policing -- providing incentives to ethnic moderates to restrain radical activity. [GIC; GK -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98638 -- Nunberg, Geofrey. WILL LIBRARIES SURVIVE? (The American Prospect, no. 41, November-December 1998, pp. 16-23)

The author, principal scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, points out that the library should be both a repository of print culture and the chief agent in providing public access to digital information. Library users need librarians to evaluate Web content. It will be a very long time before most library collections are available online, cost being just one factor. The printed book will probably remain the primary form for sustained reading of complex texts. Mr. Nunberg makes a case for a greatly expanded program of library subsidies to reinvigorate the public library system. [GIC; MTM -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98637 -- Norell, Elizabeth. "Y2K and You" (Foundation News and Commentary, Vol. 39, No. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 30-35)

The article notes the recent proliferation of interest in the Year 2000 computer problem, known popularly as Y2K. After quickly defining the problem -- many computers may stop working properly when their internal clocks turn to year "00" instead of the year 2000 -- Norell outlines six key issues that seem to be receiving the most attention. These are "interdependcy," "embedded chips," "timelines," "investment," and "liability," and describes how these issues might effect the operations of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and foundations. [GIC; TB -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98625 -- Garfinkel, Simson L. THE WEB'S UNELECTED GOVERNMENT (Technology Review, vol. 101, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 38-47)

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) of 275 member organizations, including companies, nonprofit organizations, industry groups and government agencies from throughout the world, is considered the Web's unelected government. Founded in 1994, the consortium undertakes technical and policy activities and issues recommendations. Technical work has included standardizing HyperText Markup Language (HTML), while policy issues under consideration concern privacy and censorship. Critics charge that W3C has become a policy-making body and should open its membership and meetings to broader, more democratic participation in deciding these technology-and-society issues. W3C replies that it consults outside constituencies and experts and it has no enforcement powers to force adoption of its recommendations. [GIC; JT -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98624 -- Barnes, Edward. SLAVES OF NEW YORK (Time, vol. 152, November 2, 1998, pp. 72-75)

Waves of illegal immigrants from China's coastal Fujian province settled in New York City hoping for a better life. Instead, as author Edward Barnes points out, most now wish they had never left China. Barnes writes about the horrid conditions these people live in and even worse working conditions in sweatshops and restaurants. "Each night the sounds of aching and loneliness drift down to the streets of Chinatown," he writes. Immigrants pay gangsters thousands of dollars in order to get to America and become virtual slaves; getting paid whenever the boss deems it necessary -- which sometimes can be weeks -- and working 12 to 17 hour days. New York is a "magnet" for Chinese illegals because of the lack of labor laws, but there is also a lack of protection for an unknown number of Chinese flocking to the city. [GIC; JB -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98598 -- Pollack, Henry N.; Huang, Shaopeng; Shen, Po-Yu. CLIMATE CHANGE RECORD IN SUBSURFACE TEMPERATURES: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE (Science, vol. 282, October 9, 1998, pp. 279-281)

The article reports that the average surface temperature of the Earth in the 20th century is warmer than it has been in the past five centuries. The first globally-focused study of its kind compiled temperature measurements from 358 boreholes in North America, Europe, Africa and Australia to find that the average surface temperature increased about 0.5 degree Centigrade during this century, and about 1 degree Centigrade over the past five centuries. The scientists who authored the study said the data confirm earlier research that there is indeed global warming, a position still disputed by some scientists and industrialists. "This data should lay to rest the debate over whether the Earth is warming," said Henry Pollack, professor of geophysics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a co-author of the study. [GIC; JF -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98597 -- Jacobson, Jon L.; Rieser, Alison. THE EVOLUTION OF OCEAN LAW (Scientific American Presents, vol. 9, no. 3, Fall 1998, pp. 100-105)

The article is a lay person's guide to the development and current status of international oceans law. Beginning with the question "who owns the oceans," the authors trace the evolution of the concept of "free seas," the growth of 200-mile territorial coastal limits, and the long-running process that culminated in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The article concludes with a straightforward explanation of why the United States has not signed the Law of the Sea convention. [GIC; TJB -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98596 -- Green, Heather; Himelstein, Linda. A CYBER REVOLT IN HEALTH CARE (Business Week, no. 3600, October 19, 1998, pp. 154-156)

Doctors are seeing fewer patients and more consumers in their offices as shopping on the Internet has widened -- from shopping for books to shopping for health care. Web sites are being developed to bring consumers the latest medical information from around the world. Says one searcher, "The Net has so much more information than any one physician could ever know." As one consultant says, "It's a fundamental shift of knowledge ... from physicians to patients." And with that shift has come the risk of getting bad information. Yet other Web sites attempt to validate that information for consumers interested in participating intelligently in their own health decisions. [GIC; CL -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98594 -- Petersen, John L.; Wheatley, Margaret; Kellner-Rogers, Myron. THE Y2K PROBLEM: SOCIAL CHAOS OR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION? (The Futurist, vol. 32, no. 7, October 1998, pp. 21-28)

The authors point out that we are networked together for economic and political purposes. This interconnectivity means that no one system can protect itself from Y2K failures by just attending to its own internal systems. Collaboration is our only choice -- among leaders, communities, organizations. Y2K must be understood as a world-wide event that can only be resolved by new social relationships. [GIC; MTM -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98588 -- Kiernan, Vincent. USE OF 'COOKIES' IN RESEARCH SPARKS A DEBATE OVER PRIVACY (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 45, no. 5, September 25, 1998, pp. A31-A32, A34)

Just as the information age continues to bring us new ways to do new things, it challenges us to make moral and ethical judgements about how we use the new capabilities. A relatively new software option is generating substantial discussion in the commercial and academic communities about our expanded ability to gather ever more specific details about the kind of information people access and how the information is used. By including a small program, called a cookie, in the file of material which is down-loaded to someone's computer when they access a web page, content providers can subsequently gather valuable information. The potential value of this information for researchers is largely unchallenged, but is this ethical? How much privacy should Net users expect? Should this be done only with the knowledge of the cookie "host?" Is consent required before electronic information is gathered? How is this consent documented? The article explores the views of a variety of experts on these and associated questions. [GIC; WP -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98580 -- Parfit, Michael. HUMAN MIGRATION (National Geographic, vol. 194, no. 4, October 1998, pp. 6-36)

Human migration has always been "the great adventure of human life," writes author Michael Parfit. "Everyone's solution; everyone's conflict." Every day, the global movement of people from one place to another shapes our societies and influences our population changes -- from airports, railway stations and seaports to barbed-wire borders and battlefields. Parfit cites examples of African refugees fleeing bloody conflicts in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He writes about economic desperation in Mexico and the dogged attempts to make it across the border into America. And the Philippine dancers/entertainers who support their families, bringing an estimated $8,000 million a year into the country, nearly three times the amount received annually in foreign aid. These people don't make much noise, stresses Parfit, "but they change the world." [GIC; JB -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98568 -- Robbins, Elaine. WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE (E: The Environmental Magazine, vol. 9, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 28-35)

The planet has an abundance of fresh water, but since it is unevenly distributed, many parts of the globe have limited amounts. One billion people lack access to clean water, and that number is expected to double in 30 years. Competition is escalating between countries, between different users within an area, and between man and nature. Some 90 percent of wastewater is discharged untreated into local rivers and streams. Increased demand is due in large part to the Green Revolution in agriculture and the rising living standards for many people. Agriculture claims 69 percent of fresh water use worldwide. In some countries more than 50 percent of irrigation water is lost to runoff and evaporation, but conservation technology exists that could eliminate much of that waste. According to the author, the market trading of water rights could serve as an incentive to conserve this valuable resource; and tourism will provide an incentive to protect natural areas, too. [GIC; GK -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98567 -- Milius, Susan. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (Science News, vol. 154, no. 6, August 8, 1998, pp. 92-94)

When conservation scientists stake out an area to study that is inhabited by indigenous people, they may, with all good intent and purposes, step on the very toes they are trying to help. Scientists, as others, bring to their experiences their own preconceptions and prejudices on what problems they will find and what the solutions should be, and frequently as well their own cultural stereotypes of how to go about administering the project. Their linear thinking, organization, and hierarchical decision-making may be foreign and offensive to native peoples. Without input from the local community, involving them in the project's development, collaborating with and informing them in ways that make sense within their own culture, many conservation efforts may not succeed more because of human-to-human interactions rather than human-to-environment interactions. [GIC; CL -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98566 -- Kleber, Herbert D.; Rosenthal, Mitchell S. DRUG MYTHS FROM ABROAD: LENIENCY IS DANGEROUS, NOT COMPASSIONATE (Foreign Affairs, vol. 77, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 141-144)

In response to Ethan Nadelmann's article "Commonsense Drug Policy" (FOREIGN AFFAIRS, January/February 1998), the authors contend his analysis disseminates myths about overseas "successes," such as those in Switzerland and the Netherlands. There is no evidence that liberalizing drug policies and accommodating drug use will reduce its harmful effects. However, there is proof that consistent exercise of restrictive policies can minimize damage. Widespread drug use need not be a fixture of modern life. Nadelmann's arguments for reducing the harm to drug users would shield abusers from the penalties of their abuse while exacerbating the harm they do their families, their communities, and society itself. A policy that promotes child abuse, domestic violence, the destruction of families, and the devastation of neighborhoods is hardly compassionate. Without the cant of foreign "successes," U.S. citizens should ask why their country has never mounted an all-out, all-front assault on illegal drug use. U.S. anti-drug policy requires serious federal investment in drug treatment with a focus on hard-core users. The U.S. has not yet begun a real war on drugs, but that is no reason to surrender. [GIC; GK -- doe: 10/09/98]

To Global Issues Archive

Annotations of Current Articles on Political Security

AA99135 -- Podlesny, Robert E. INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS ARE KEY VULNERABILITIES (U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 125, no. 2, February 1999, pp. 51-53)

As the U.S. military becomes increasingly dependent upon interwoven networks -- e.g., transportation, energy and telecommunications -- both within the U.S. and in host countries overseas -- its vulnerability is also increased. This article examines those infrastructure networks that are key to national security. The best methods for the U.S. armed forces to respond to existing vulnerabilities in infrastructure networks are also explored. The author believes that this response must be strong and should include input not only from the military, but also civilian and private sectors. [PS;VS -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99134 -- Maynes, Charles W. SQUANDERING TRIUMPH (Foreign Affairs, vol. 78, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 15-22)

The author believes that the United States, and thus the West, failed in the post-Cold War era by being overoptimistic about the power of markets, misunderstanding ethnic problems, and operating with outmoded military doctrine. Maynes suggests that the United States believed economic reform would bring political reform, while free trade would democratize every country in the world. Additionally, he writes, the West assumed that that all people wanted to live together but were thwarted only "by bad leaders or meddling foreign governments." Finally, he points out that the United States continues to rely on a doctrine of military deterrence. Maynes believes the U.S. should quit trying to deter countries from doing bad things outside their borders and instead compel them to do good things inside their borders. He concludes that the U.S. and its allies have a great opportunity to succeed in the next millenium if they display a larger vision of the future. [PS;JL -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99133 -- Malcolm, Noel KOSOVO: ONLY INDEPENDENCE WILL WORK (The National Interest, no. 54, Winter 1998/99, pp. 23-26)

"Some serious thinking is needed about the possibility of independence as a long-term solution for Kosovo," says Malcolm, who is the author of "Kosovo: A Short History" (New York University Press, 1998). He points to historic evidence to debunk what he terms "the accepted arguments on autonomy and independence." The solution, he says, requires "something along the lines of the settlement that ended the war in Chechnya, with a long interim period of autonomy leading finally to full self-determination." The continuation of the West's present policy, on the other hand, will make Kosovo's problems "far more lethally insoluble in the future." [PS;PMK -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99132 -- Henderson, Donald A. THE LOOMING THREAT OF BIOTERRORISM (Science, vol. 283, February 26, 1999, pp. 1279-1282)

The author describes the growing public awareness of the threat of bioterrorism, and explains why microbial agents such as smallpox and anthrax pose the greatest threat. The author calls for greater involvement of the civilian medical and public health communities and a strengthening of the "public health and infectious disease infrastructure." The author believes that teams with bioweapons expertise should be developed at the state and local levels, as a counterpart to existing National Guard chemical-weapons detection teams. He concludes that the federal government should increase funding to train primary-care and emergency-room doctors and nurses, and state and local health officers in the "detection, surveillance and management of epidemic disease." [PS;MS -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99131 -- Flynn, Michael POLITICAL MINEFIELD (The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, vol. 55, no. 2, March/April 1999, pp. 49-53)

The author airs the tensions between the deminers in the field and those who lobby to ban anti-personnel landmines. He writes, for example, that deminers believe that funds generated by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines "would be better spent actually clearing mines", and that the "banners" are devoting too much effort and money on international conferences and public-education campaigns. Flynn also notes that many believe the publicized numbers of landmines worldwide to be inflated. Deminers say that the widely-used 110 million figure, instead of a more realistic 60 to 70 million, makes their job look too much like "Mission Impossible." In his view, progress "should be measured by how much land is cleared, not by how many mines are removed." This article may be viewed on the Web at: http://www.bullatomsci.org/issues/1999/ma99/ma99flynn.html. [PS;JSP -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99130 -- Dunn, Michael Collins, Ph.D. SHIFTING SANDS: EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE, EROSION OF U.S. INFLUENCE (Armed Forces Journal International, March 1999, vol. 136, no. 8, pp. 42-51)

The author contends that U.S. policy in the Gulf region has been "in a quandary" since Operation Desert Fox, suffering open criticism from France, Egypt, and other 1991 coalition allies for failing in its objectives. While the U.S. military claims it destroyed more Iraqi targets than first estimated, the political results, he says, "were much harder to call a success." The criticism, he maintains, has helped undermine U.S. efforts to maintain a united front to contain Saddam Hussein and makes it likely that sanctions will erode further as more countries disregard them. Moreover, there are more facets to the politics of the Gulf region than the confrontation with Iraq, including the Middle East peace process, the power struggle in Iran, and security problems in Sudan and Afghanistan. The author plumbs the reasons for eroding U.S. influence in the region, including the widespread perception that America is "no longer an honest broker." Old policies need to be re-evaluated to respond to new challenges, he says. [PS;SE -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99112 -- Wyllie, James H. NATO'S BLEAK FUTURE (Parameters, Winter 1998-99, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 113-23)

Contending that NATO should not have agreed to enlarge, Wyllie foresees NATO's future as "a declining collective defense organization succumbing to the political pressures and temptations of a collective security." He contends that the formal NATO membership of at least 19, and "the legitimization of deep Russian penetration into the heart of NATO affairs, will jeopardize effective NATO decision-making." Wyllie predicts that NATO appears "set to become a loose political association within which ad hoc, shifting coalitions will compete over a variety of issues not commensurate with the security of all the members." [PS;DJM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99111 -- Walt, Stephen M. THE TIES THAT FRAY (The National Interest, no. 54, Winter 1998/99, pp. 3-11)

Walt examines what he terms the "deep structural forces" that are beginning to pull Europe and America apart, including the disappearance of the Soviet threat, the weakening of U.S.-European economic ties, the decline in ethnic and cultural affinity, and generational change. "A gradual parting of the ways is virtually inevitable," he notes. "It is time for Europe and the United States to begin a slow and gradual process of disengagement. This is going to happen anyway, and wise statecraft anticipates and exploits the tides of history rather than engaging in a fruitless struggle to hold them back." [PS;PMK -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99110 -- Rubin, Barnett AFGHANISTAN UNDER THE TALIBAN (Current History, vol. 98, no. 625, February 1999, pp. 79-91)

Rubin provides a comprehensive, understandable background to the current situation in Afghanistan, including the changing geopolitical interests of outside players such as the United States, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and the related evolution of the Islamic ideology by which its Taliban-ruled government is structured. He writes, "Afghanistan has moved from one stage to another of civil war and political disintegration without seeming to get any closer to peace, political order, or sustainable development." The article is pessimistic about the future of that country -- particularly since the August 1998 missile attacks by the U.S. against terrorist training camps there, the retaliatory killing of an Italian United Nations official and the subsequent withdrawal of all UN personnel, all on the eve of the Taliban's campaign for international diplomatic recognition. Rubin spreads the blame around evenly and urges all intervening countries to look at their role in the continuation of this conflict. [PS;RFM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99109 -- Norton, Augustus Richard RETHINKING UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD THE MUSLIM WORLD (Current History, vol. 98, no. 625, February 1999, pp. 51-58)

While noting that "it is unrealistic to expect that the United States will jettison its desire for stability and predictable diplomatic relationships," Norton suggests that the U.S. should demonstrate its expressed commitment to such foreign policy themes as democracy and human rights to areas within the Middle East. "If the United States is prepared to subordinate the rights of Muslims to the flow of cheap oil from the Persian Gulf or to pursue a policy that is effectively blind to Israeli misbehavior, as many Muslim writers allege, it is frequently only a short leap to argue that the U.S. is anti-Islam," he writes. Norton argues that, when given a chance to participate in democratic processes, Muslim nations and Islamic opposition groups have shown they will adhere to the rules. However, U.S. support for policies that exclude Islamist opposition from politics within repressive regimes provokes distrust, charges of hypocrisy, and contributes to the fragility, not stability, of the region. By providing a three-level refraction of Muslim politics, Norton provides an alternative view to the "Clash of Civilizations" model. [PS;RFM -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99108 -- Kaufman, Chaim D. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS: ETHNIC POPULATION TRANSFERS AND PARTITIONS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (International Security, vol. 23, no. 2, Fall 1998, pp. 120-156)

Kaufman examines the benefits and dilemmas of population transfers in ethnic conflict management. He says that while traditional policy has been to encourage multiculturalism, the increasing outbreak of ethnic violence may point toward the separation of populations as a new possible solution. The author examines four cases of partition and population transfers: Ireland, India, Palestine, and Cyprus. Using these case studies, he addresses the question: "If the logic of demographic separation is correct, why were the partitions and population transfers in these four cases so violent?" [PS;TC -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99086 -- (Staff Report) MILLENNIUM BUG (Armed Forces Journal International, January 1999, vol. 136, no. 6, pp. 22-29)

In part of a series on the global Year 2000 problem, the Armed Forces Journal International staff describes the crises that could occur with emergency response and other systems if computers are not made Y2K-compliant. They illuminate the problem from the viewpoint of how governments and armed forces of other countries are meeting the challenge, and provide a look at the Defense Department's plans. The article highlights recent tests at White Sands Missile Range (New Mexico) to preview the possible effect on the utilities and telecommunications infrastructures. The impact of Y2K on computer systems will be felt in both the civilian and military domains, the authors write, and will affect everything from air traffic control and telecommunications to the navigation of ships and the functioning of military equipment. [PS;SE -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99085 -- Tirpak, John STRATEGIC CONTROL (Air Force Magazine, vol. 82, no. 2, February, 1999, pp. 20-27)

This article discuss a new concept to rationalize and transform the U.S. military by using aerospace assets "to find, track, target, and engage anything of significance on the surface of the Earth." Tirpak defines Strategic Control as "rapidly seizing the initiative...controlling the adversary's ability to act, minimizing...violence as a political tool, and giving national leaders the greatest number of options for resolving conflict." It also employs the technologies and concepts associated with the Revolution in Military Affairs "to swiftly control an aggressor through precision strike rather than through the firepower and attrition of massed armies." With the nature of conflict undergoing profound change, the author quotes retired Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Dugan's vision for "smaller (forward) footprints (and) leaner logistics" with more emphasis on "knowledge-based" force and less on "brute force." This article may be viewed on the Web at: http://www.afa.org/magazine/0299strategic.html. [PS;JSP -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99084 -- Powell, Stuart BELL AT THE WHITE HOUSE (Air Force Magazine, vol. 82, no. 2, February 1999, pp. 40-43)

Robert Bell, the President's special assistant for national security affairs, says that the United States will need to add outer space to its list of vital national interests because of its increasing reliance on satellite communications. Bell affirms the U.S. leadership position in space development. According to Bell, U.S. space policy includes developing a full range of space-based capabilities to enable the U.S. to deter threats to its interests in space and if deterrence fails to "defeat hostile efforts against the U.S. access to and use of space." The article includes background outlining congressional criticism of Executive Branch actions that have eliminated legislation on space defense measures, such as the vetoing of a $10 million allocation for studying the spaceplane the Air Force is developing. [TPS;TC -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99083 -- Goodman, Glenn W., Jr. GLOBAL SCOUTS WITH A UBIQUITOUS PRESENCE (Armed Forces Journal International, February 1999, vol. 136, no. 7, pp. 46-48)

Modern warfare is "less Clausewitz and more Sun Tzu," says General Peter J. Schoomaker, Commander in Chief of the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM). "Sun Tzu said the acme of military victory is to defeat your enemy without having to fight. A lot of that comes from the ability to use information -- deception, psychological warfare, electronic warfare." SOF (Special Operations Forces), he says, are "particularly suited for that." Schoomaker goes on to explain how he aspires to give the future SOF greater strategic agility, including the ability "to go to 100 percent of the places on this earth, whether adversaries want us to be there or not" -- in some cases without their knowledge, or "where they try to stop us but can't." He says his troops are highly motivated individuals who are really "leaning forward in the harness," and that his command has exceeded the service averages in retention. [PS;SE -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99082 -- David, Stephen R. SAVING AMERICA FROM THE COMING CIVIL WARS (Foreign Affairs, vol. 78, no. 1, January/February 1999, pp. 103-116)

In this article, David discusses the effect of foreign internal conflicts on the United States. The likelihood of a civil war and the impact of such a conflict on the U.S. are the two criteria he uses to determine whether U.S. involvement is warranted in these conflicts. According to David, only three states meet both criteria: Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. David looks at these threats using a case-study format. He says that foreign civil wars could unintentionally create threats to U.S. security and that prevention of these internal conflicts should become a high priority of the U.S. [PS;TC -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99061 Lunn, Simon NATO's PARLIAMENTARY ARM HELPS FURTHER THE AIMS OF THE ALLIANCE (NATO Review, Vol. 46, No. 4, Winter 1998, pp. 8-11)

Simon Lunn, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Assembly, believes the North Atlantic Assembly (NAA) provides a critical service by building consensus as NATO adjusts to the changing security environment. The NAA brings together parliamentarians from member countries, partner countries, and the Mediterranean and thus facilitates broader awareness, trust, and cooperation in Europe. He asserts that encouraging and consolidating democratic norms are at the center of NATO's mission to project stability through enlargement, cooperation, and the diffusion of a common security culture. He concludes the April 1999 Washington Summit celebrating NATO's 50th Anniversary is an appropriate setting to give recognition to the increasing role and relevancy of the Assembly. [PS;JL -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99060 Heaton, Erin; Caires, Greg Alan EUROPE ON THE MOVE: THE TRANSATLANTIC ALLIANCE IN 1998 (Seapower, vol. 42, no.1, January 1999, pp. 59-64)

Despite forecasts of decline, the authors contend, "NATO will remain central to transatlantic security," They believe that future NATO operations will be successful "only if its constituent members agree to the coalition-warfare concept of operations, in which each participant's strengths are matched to the missions most suitable." NATO will not "remain robust unless the new European governments agree to develop interoperable weapons, systems, and platforms that are both compatible with coalition warfare and able to keep indigenous defense industrial bases reasonably healthy," they write. "If Europe continues to work toward equal partnership with the United States elsewhere on the world stage, collaboration is one way to ensure that growing European strength does not adversely affect U.S. interests." [PS;DJM -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99059 Grey, Robert T. U.S. INTERESTS AND PRIORITIES AT THE CD (Arms Control Today, vol. 28, no. 7, October 1998, pp. 3-8)

In an interview conducted by research analyst Wade Boese, Ambassador Robert Grey, permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD), explores issues confronting the CD in the 1999 session. He discusses the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) in the context of the CD, the proposed scope of the treaty, and where the Western states and the non-aligned states stand on it. He also comments on a proposed ban on transferring anti-personnel landmines (APLs), suggesting that it could be a necessary interim step between a complete ban on APLs and continued exportation. Concerning the role of nuclear disarmament in the CD, Grey says the U.S. does not think it is helpful or useful to discuss nuclear disarmament or negotiate nuclear disarmament in a multilateral context. This article may be viewed on the web at: http://www.armscontrol.org/ACT/oct98/rgoc98.htm [PS;TC -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99058 Finnegan, William THE INVISIBLE WAR (The New Yorker, vol.74, No. 43, January 25, 1999, pp. 50-73)

This comprehensive account of present-day Sudan where disease, total lack of infrastructure, famine, drought, landmines, inhumane treatment by oppressors in their own country and obliviousness of the outside world -- is extremely depressing, but also should awaken a sense of urgency for what the southern Sudanese hope for, "an American-sponsored, all-parties peace conference for Sudan," Africa's largest country. Finnegan writes of the hundreds of civilian targets in Southern Sudan that have been bombed deliberately by government forces: "If Milosevic were to unleash similar air attacks on Kosovo...the outside world would probably be outraged to the point of action. In southern Sudan, it might as well be happening on the dark side of the moon." [PS;SE -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99057 De Santis, Hugh MUTUALISM: AN AMERICAN STRATEGY FOR THE NEXT CENTURY (World Policy Journal, vol. 15, no. 4, Winter 1998/99, pp. 41-52)

Author Hugh De Santis, who was a State Department officer and is currently professor of international security policy at the National War College, feels that our most recent presidents have failed to come up with a coherent blueprint for the future in the post-Cold War world. Therefore, in this article, he details an interest-based, non-American-centered framework for international relations called "mutualism". This framework is offered because De Santis argues that it is unrealistic to believe that we are headed for a second American century. In the first place, the U.S. no longer possesses the resources to fix the world's problems. Secondly, the image of global sheriff is viewed with disfavor by the American public. Finally, the U.S. is likely to find it increasingly difficult to marshal international support for its policies. [PS;VS -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99056 Byman, Daniel; Pollack, Kenneth; and Rose, Gideon THE ROLLBACK FANTASY (Foreign Affairs, vol. 78, no.1, January/February 1999, pp. 24-42)

The idea of abandoning the U.S. policy of containment in Iraq in favor of using the Iraqi opposition to overthrow Saddam Hussein "would be a terrible mistake that could easily lead to thousands of unnecessary deaths," the authors say. Noting that such a "rollback" doctrine "would have to be militarily feasible, amenable to American allies...and acceptable to the American public, the authors assess three such plans -- the airpower approach, the enclave approach, and the Afghan approach -- which, they say, all "come up short." The United States "really has only one option left -- the much-maligned existing policy of containment," they conclude. [PS;PMK -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99038 -- Ruhle, Michael TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT NATO'S ROLE IN EUROPEAN SECURITY (NATO Review, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 20-23)

Michael Ruhle, a senior planning officer at NATO, suggests that the way to define NATO's post- Cold War role is not to search for a single purpose but to show how NATO contributes to "the emerging Euro-Atlantic security architecture." He sees this "architecture" as consisting of several political processes that affect the strategic environment and the successful management of these processes by NATO and other institutions. NATO's contribution to European integration, for example, has included the development of a European Security and Defense Identity and the enlargement of NATO to welcome fledgling democracies in central Europe. Aiding the development of Russia, strengthening transatlantic relations and participating in crisis management, says Ruhle, are other areas in which NATO is demonstrating its new role as a "catalyst for a broader security order." [PS;LH -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99037 -- Robb, Charles THE REVOLUTION IN MILITARY AFFAIRS; BALANCING THE TACTICAL BATTLEFIELD AND GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGY (National Security Studies Quarterly, vol. IV, Issue I, Winter 1998, pp. 113-122)

Robb urges dropping the term RMA (Revolution in Military Affairs) for the phrase "hyperintegrated military (HIM)" which he believes focuses "on complete integration of sensors and shooters across all services and platforms." And, since the U.S. does not yet "know whether a true peer competitor will arise in the next few decades," the senator says it should not rush to implement new military technologies that could spawn an arms race. China might be pushed into "militarizing toward superpower status much faster than...otherwise," he warns," due to fears of an "intolerably large" gap in military capabilities. He ends by listing 11 guidelines for investing in RMA-type weapons, concepts or architecture. [PS;JSP -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99036 -- Robb, Charles S. STAR WARS II (The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 22, Number 1, Winter 1999, pp. 81-86)

The Virginia Senator, a member of the U.S. Senate committees on armed services, foreign relations, and intelligence, discusses the potential weaponization of space, including a variety of concepts from the defunct "Brilliant Pebbles" to potential projects such as space "mines" -- and the reasons development of such breakthroughs in weapons technology would be "a mistake of historic proportions." Robb says counterdevelopments by competing powers invariably follow such advents, and also posits that new weapons (for example, multiple warheads on missiles) would serve to feed the arms race and lead to "a hair-trigger environment" where poor nations, unable to match expensive U.S. weapons, would use cheaper chemical and biological weapons. Monitoring weapons in space would also be a formidable task and would defeat the START treaties, Robb argues. [TPS;SE -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99035 -- Cooke, Thomas NATO CJTF DOCTRINE (Parameters, vol. 28, no. 4, Winter 1998-99, pp. 124-36)

The mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has changed significantly during its fifty year existence. With the demise of the Soviet Union, Bosnia has provided a new mission for NATO. To conduct this deployment NATO has relied upon the concept of a Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF). Fundamental problems with the CJTF concept include national concerns, the consensus nature of NATO decisionmaking and the requirement to retain a strong collective defense capability in Western Europe. Alternatives to the CJTF concept include a "lead-nation" idea as well as a rapid response headquarters for NATO. This article is currently available on the Internet at: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/98winter/cooke.htm [PS;VS -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99034 -- Cirincione, Joseph NUCLEAR FREE-FALL (The Washington Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 17-22)

Russia's economic chaos "threatens to weaken the already fragile security of its nuclear weapons," says Cirincione, who is director of the nonproliferation project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Thousands of Russia's strategic systems are still on hair-trigger alert," he warns. "Meanwhile," he says, "Russia's nuclear command and control is deteriorating as budget cuts prevent maintenance and replacement of key systems," and "tens of thousands of Russian scientists are seriously underpaid and increasingly desperate." The author outlines several steps the United States should take "that could avert the worst-case scenarios." [PS;PMK -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99018 -- Staff, AFJI SEEKING STABILITY FOR USAF'S WARRIORS (An Interview with General Michael E. Ryan, Chief of Staff, US Air Force), Armed Forces International, Vol. 136, No.4, November 1998, pp. 28-32)

The number-one issue plaguing the Air Force is pilot retention. Ryan explains that the Air Force is "a forward-stationed force" with little of the stability from a family standpoint that other services afford. He says steps have been taken to minimize the impact of the high (operational tempo) burden by reducing the length of time pilots are gone and giving them time off when they return. He also lists other measures being taken to retain pilots and other flight crew members from increasing pay to lengthening the active-duty service commitment and strengthening family support systems. [PS; SE -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99017 -- Kamp, Karl-Heinz A GLOBAL ROLE FOR NATO? (The Washington Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 7-11)

"From a German standpoint, a globalized NATO is not a workable strategy," the author says. Pointing to several "unresolved questions" about such a role for NATO, he warns that an "insensitive debate" on the subject may endanger Germany's success in adjusting politically to the new requirements of the post-Cold War era. Talk of globalization, he says, "actually distracts attention from the need to be able to undertake sufficient military action outside of Europe in a limited number of defined cases" such as those involving the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or a crisis in the Gulf. [PS; PMK -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99016 -- O'Hanlon, Michael CAN HIGH TECHNOLOGY BRING U.S. TROOPS HOME? (Foreign Policy, no. 113, Winter 1998-99, pp. 72-85)

The author discusses the so-called Revolution in Military Affairs and predictions that advances in technology will allow U.S. armed forces in the not-too-distant future to lash out against potential enemies swiftly and intercontinentally from U.S. soil. However high technology will not permit the United States to be an "isolationist global power," he contends. "The image of future warfare depicted by high technology's most enthusiastic champions ignores a number of stubborn technical realities, ranging from the limitations of sensors to the modest rate of advances in most types of engines. Any future reductions in American military deployments and overseas bases are more likely to result from new uses of existing technologies and changes in the geopolitical landscape than from a revolution in military affairs." [PS; DJM -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99015 -- Davis, Lois, M., Ph.D. GROWING PAINS: THE CHALLENGES OF MEDICAL SUPPORT FOR OPERATIONS OTHER THAN WAR (Armed Forces Journal International, Vol.136, No.4, December 1998, pp.22-26)

Operations Other Than War (OOTW) missions may require the United States to provide medical support not only to U.S. forces but to multinational forces and civilian populations often with a range of acute and chronic medical conditions from countries where adequate treatment is unavailable. Recent examples cited by the author are U.S. operations in the Balkans, Somalia and Haiti. She examines other unique challenges of OOTW including balancing excess capacity (i.e. keeping critical medical specialties, such as surgeons, in Somalia before actual combat broke out) against speed of response and other crucial military concerns. Davis proposes "focused planning" for future OOTW needs and sets out steps the Army, the Department of Defense and the U.S government should take to make such missions successful. [PS; SE -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99014 -- Boutwell, Jeffrey; Klare, Michael SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS: CONTROLLING THE REAL INSTRUMENTS OF WAR (Arms Control Today, vol. 28, no. 6, August/September 1998, pp. 18-23)

The authors write that the global proliferation of assault rifles, machine guns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and other small and light arms "has increased both the frequency and intensity of modern conflict" and further complicated peace restoration efforts. According to their analysis, light weapons have been used exclusively in 46 of 49 major conflicts that have erupted since 1990. Conflict this decade has caused an estimated four million deaths, 20 million refugees and 24 million displaced persons. Boutwell and Klare suggest that besides developing effective controls on these weapons at a national level, oversight systems should be created at the regional and international levels, especially through strengthened import and export regulations. This article may be viewed on the Web at: http://www.armscontrol.org/ACT/augsep98/mkas98.htm. [PS; JP -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA98684 -- Dalton, Toby F TOWARD NUCLEAR ROLLBACK IN SOUTH ASIA (Current History, vol.97, no. 623, December 1998, pp. 412-417)

Looking to lessons learned in the termination of a nuclear arms race between Argentina and Brazil in the 1980's and in South Africa's decision to destroy its own existing nuclear weapons in the 1990's, Dalton offers an optimistic blue-print for ending the dangerous nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan. He urges the international community to facilitate scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries in order to catalyze political cooperation, the formation of an India- Pakistan joint committee on all aspects of nuclear policy which would, among other things, develop an inspection regime to foster trust, and the institution of a public opinion campaign to debunk the pro-nuclear theology currently being espoused. In addition, Dalton suggests that incentives be developed such as the lifting of U.S. sanctions and the offer of expert help in areas like agricultural and computer technology to prod these nations toward nonproliferation, and that satellite surveillance and independent observers be provided to monitor the possible deployment of each side's weaponry. Most importantly, the U.N. should, Dalton says, propose a plan to lower the immediate tensions existing between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and engender talks between India and China on bilateral security concerns.[PS; RFM -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98683 -- Bahgat, Gawdat OIL SECURITY IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: GEO-ECONOMY VS. GEO-STRATEGY (Strategic Review, vol. 26, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp.22-30)

The author notes that oil is central to the prosperity of the world economy and that the Persian Gulf is central to the world's energy market. He then posits that Iran is pivotal in obtaining oil from the Gulf and the Caspian Basin and, therefore, urges the Clinton administration to change its Iranian policy of dual containment through sanctions. Rather, Bahgat maintains, Washington should adopt an approach of engagement, as it has with the former Soviet Union and China, if it truly wants to influence Iran's behavior and ensure America's future energy security. [PS; RFM -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98682 -- Bracken, Paul AMERICA'S MAGINOT LINE (The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 282, no. 6, December 1998, pp. 85-93)

Yale Professor Paul Bracken examines the vulnerability of American bases in Asia to ballistic missile attacks. The U.S. superior military position in Asia has traditionally rested upon technological advantage. That advantage is now shifting toward East Asia and America must adapt or lose its self-image as the world's sole superpower. This article is currently available on the Internet at: http://www.theatlantic.com/atlantic/issues/98dec/maginot.htm [PS; VS -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98681 -- Smith, George AN ELECTRONIC PEARL HARBOR? NOT LIKELY (Issues in Science and Technology, vol. 15, no. 1, Fall 1998, pp. 68-73)

Smith contends that it is "far from proven" that the United States is "at the mercy of possible devastating computerized attacks." He believes that "the time and effort expended on dreaming up potentially catastrophic information warfare scenarios could be better spent implementing consistent and widespread policies and practices in basic computer security." Computer security "is still practiced half-heartedly throughout much of the military, the government, and corporate America," Smith says. "If organizations don't intend to be serious about security, they simply should not be hooking their computers to the Internet." [PS; DJM -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98680 -- Schifter, Richard THE SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COOPERATIVE INITIATIVE: ITS ORIGINS AND ITS DEVELOPMENT (Mediterranean Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 1-13)

Noting the "genuine desire" among participating states in the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative to find "solutions to shared problems," the author says the SECI effort to inhibit illegal cross-border transactions, typically smuggling, "demonstrates that if the right topic is chosen, it is indeed possible to enlist the enthusiastic support of the countries of the region and move toward concrete, meaningful goals." Ultimately, he notes, "SECI's programs of economic and environmental cooperation are designed to help achieve regional peace and stability. The spirit in which the eleven SECI participating states have worked with each other since December 1996 offers hope in that regard." [PS; PMK -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98666 -- Thompson, Loren HEAVY SEAS: THE U.S. NAVAL SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY STRUGGLES TO STAY ON COURSE (Armed Forces Journal International, vol. 136, no. 4, November 1998, pp. 34-38)

Naval shipyards around the world are feeling the pinch of greatly reduced orders. Amongst the hardest hit by this pinch are American warship builders, who are heavily dependent upon the U.S. Navy's bare-bones shipbuilding budget. As their principal customer, the Navy's long-term spending plans will ultimately determine the fate of American shipbuilding. [PS; VS -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98665 -- Kier, Elizabeth HOMOSEXUALS IN THE U.S. MILITARY: OPEN INTEGRATION AND COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS (International Security, vol. 23, no. 2, Fall 1998, pp. 5-39)

Kier says quantitative social science research does not support the contention that the open integration of gays and lesbians undermines primary group cohesion, nor does existing research support a causal link between cohesion and performance. Kier claims DoD dismissed the validity of two studies it commissioned (the 1957 Crittenden report and the 1988 PERSEREC report) because they concluded the open integration of gays and lesbians would have little or no effect on unit cohesion. Kier compares the effects on unit cohesion of the proposed integration of gays and lesbians with the integration of African Americans and women. Kier concludes that the armed services have the ability to be at the leading edge of civil rights, and that by doing so, they can enhance military effectiveness. [PS; TJS -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98664 -- Boyer, Peter J. SCOTT RITTER'S PRIVATE WAR (The New Yorker, vol. 74, Nov. 9, 1998, pp. 56-73)

Ritter, until his recent resignation, led the UNSCOM inspectors who attempted to find Saddam Hussein's hidden illegal biological and chemical arms arsenal. Ritter's genius, Boyer writes, is his ability to "think outside the box." One result was his tactic of conducting "inspections of discovery" -- surprise checks at sites of UNSCOM's choosing. Ritter's confrontational approach made UNSCOM's inspections more like military missions than traditional arms verification exercises, the writer says. Ritter's philosophy evolved that UNSCOM had to prove Iraqi declarations untrue about its illegal weapons development in an active, rather than passive manner. He decided that if Iraq was going to wage the arms control equivalent of war, UNSCOM would do the same. Ritter's story and the history of his life would make an exciting film. It has everything: competition between UNSCOM and the CIA, the Israeli intelligence connection, domestic conflict within the U.S. administration, and so on. The only thing it lacks is an ending, which has not yet been written. [PS; SE -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98663 -- Barletta, Michael CYPRUS: MEDITERRANEAN COUNTDOWN (The Bulletin of American Scientists, vol. 54, no.6, November/December 1998, pp. 12-14)

"The pattern of reciprocal provocation, belligerent rhetoric, and military brinksmanship" in the current standoff between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities over the impending delivery of Russian S-300PMU-1 air defense missile batteries to Cyprus "could possibly lead to military conflict," the author warns. Barletta, who is a senior research associate at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California, says avoiding conflict "should be an imperative for the international community," while noting that "the intransigence of the parties and the lack of restraint" by Russian and American military suppliers "have undermined the prospects for peace." Offering a series of possible of scenarios which could result in the Mediterranean, he describes the most desirable, but least likely as being "a comprehensive agreement on the demilitarization of Cyprus, which would include cancellation of the missile sale." This article may be read on the Web at: http://www.bullatomsci.org/issues/1998/nd98/nd98barletta.html. [PS; JP -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98644 -- Zakaria, Fareed. OUR HOLLOW HEGEMONY (The New York Times Magazine, November 1, 1998, section 6, pp. 44-80)

As the end of history comes to a close, America has given up on the world, says the author, managing editor of "Foreign Affairs." He bemoans America's failure to make the necessary commitments to transform Russia, the Balkans, and East Asia in the post-Cold War era as it did to remake Germany and Japan after World War II. He contrasts the timid foreign-policy initiatives of the Bush and Clinton administrations with the bold and sustained ones of the Truman administration, which overcame the natural reluctance of Americans to engage internationally. "Historians will surely look back on this decade and be struck that at America's greatest global triumph ... Americans became uncharacteristically small-minded in their ambitions." [PS; GO -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98643 -- Pipes, Daniel. THE REAL "NEW MIDDLE EAST" (Commentary, vol.106, no. 5, November 1998, pp. 25-30)

Pipes' thesis is that the Middle East is sorting itself into two regional power blocks -- one with Turkey and Israel at its center, the other with Syria and Iran. He notes that very few neighboring states are able to maintain political neutrality in the face of this alignment, often based on little more than the old standard of "my enemy's enemy is my friend." Pipes warns, however, that these alliances are extending themselves far beyond the Middle East. For example, closer Israeli ties with India are drawing Pakistan into the other camp. Should war break out in the region, he claims, it could spread rapidly "as local crises intermesh and stakes are raised all along the line." He urges the U.S. to forge a Middle East policy firmly on the side of those who share its values. [PS; RFM -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98642 -- Kristof, Nicholas D. THE PROBLEM OF MEMORY (Foreign Affairs, vol. 77, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 37-49)

The current peace in Asia "is a fragile one, concealing dormant antagonisms and disputes that could still erupt," says Kristof, and at the heart of the tension lies "Japan's failure to apologize meaningfully" to China and Korea for its behavior before and during World War II. The author, who is Tokyo Bureau Chief of the New York Times, says the United States "should encourage Japan to confront its responsibility, apologize, and provide some redress to its former sex slaves and other victims who are still alive." From the United States, he says, the region needs "patient, good-faith counseling more than U.S. marines, so as to resolve future conflicts and not just today's crisis. Mutual trust will help far more than American aircraft carriers." [PS; PMK -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98641 -- Gaffney, Frank J., Jr. MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR VX (Commentary, vol. 106, no. 4, October 1999, pp.19-24)

"(T)he CWC (Chemical Weapons Convention) is inherently unverifiable and fatally inadequate to the job of detecting or proving the existence of covert activity ... At the same time (it) openly enhances the opportunities for signatories to acquire the very weapons the CWC ostensibly exists to deny them," writes Gaffney. After outlining the effectiveness of chemical and biological weapons against numerically superior forces and defense systems built around rapid response or high-tech weaponry and then detailing the stockpiles of these weapons in various countries, Gaffney attacks the CWC as a misguided and foolish defense policy. He is equally alarmed about a Clinton proposal to update a 1972 convention on biological weapons along the same lines. The author proposes other options for dealing with this threat including ensuring the safety of the U.S. food supply, modifying the Navy's air-defense system to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, and making known a will to use formidable military retaliation against those who initiate the use of chemical and biological weapons. [PS; RFM -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98640 -- Funabashi, Yoichi. TOKYO'S DEPRESSION DIPLOMACY (Foreign Affairs, vol. 77, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 26-36)

"Japan is in a deep funk," the author says, and unless "the psychological slump reverses," that nation's "deflationary cycle will cripple Asian hopes for recovery and destabilize the global economy." The author urges Tokyo to define its priorities and policies more clearly and to strengthen security ties with the United States. Japan also should push for "more dynamic trilateral dialogues" with Beijing and Washington on a number of issues, including trade, the environment, and nuclear reduction measures. "If Japan's economic and foreign policy edifices are to be restored, new ideas and human resources are urgently needed -- these will not come from the bureaucracy but from the burgeoning civil society," Funabashi says. "Japan's leaders must harness these forces and embrace change." [PS; DJM -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98639 -- Carter, Ashton; Deutch, John; Zelikow, Philip. CATASTROPHIC TERRORISM, TACKLING THE NEW DANGER (Foreign Affairs, vol. 77, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 80-94)

The United States "is not yet prepared for the new threat of catastrophic terrorism," the authors warn, but "the good news is that more can be done." In this article -- which is a distillation of the complete report of the Universities Study Group on Catastrophic Terrorism, published by Stanford University -- the authors outline a proposed U.S. government counter-terrorism strategy that has four elements: intelligence and warning, prevention and deterrence, crisis and consequence management, and coordinated acquisition of equipment and technology. The strategy brings together national security and law enforcement agencies in a common effort to anticipate and prevent terrorist attacks. [PS; PMK -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98622 -- Albright, Madeleine K. THE TESTING OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY (Foreign Affairs, vol. 77, no. 6, November/December 1998, pp. 50-64)

Albright bases her piece on a Dean Acheson quote about the continuous dangers U.S. diplomacy faces over the long term and the need to anticipate and confront them. After the Cold War, the demands on American leadership are no less stern than they were in Dean Acheson's day; the Communist threat has simply been replaced by far more complicated and diverse threats. U.S. diplomacy must pass a series of tests -- of vision, pragmatism, spine and principle -- to build a foundation for a peaceful and prosperous world. This will mean encouraging democracy, stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction, working to shore up the international financial system, and standing up to nations who refuse to comply with global standards and obligations. However, American foreign policy needs resources to lead and is currently leading a hand-to-mouth existence due to severe cuts in budgets, facilities and personnel. [PS; SF -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98615 -- Weisberger, Bernard A. NATO's NATIVITY (American Heritage, vol. 49, no. 6, October 1998, pp. 18-20)

The U.S. Senate vote to expand NATO in 1998 (80-19) was ironically similar to its vote to establish NATO in 1949 (82-13, with four fewer members). The early part of the debate also involved a Republican Senate and a Democratic Administration. Weisberger says "the 1940s were more intense times," and that NATO "was born of a slew of compromises." He describes the political maneuvering -- the United States "was taking a giant step away from a powerful tradition of 'no entangling alliances'" -- and reminds us of the international tensions then extant. [PS; JAM -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98614 -- Selden, Zachary. MICROCHIPS AND THE MILLENNIUM: THE NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM (National Security Studies Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 3, Summer 1998, pp. 71-77)

Selden predicts that most computer software associated with the Year 2000 problem will be fixed or discarded while most problematic embedded computer chips will be replaced by January 1, 2000. What remains could cause unpredictable failures or sow sufficient confusion allowing states or terrorists to conduct covert disruptions or intrusions. Civil unrest could occur or international actors may seek "to take advantage of a distracted United States" at the turn of the millennium, the author warns. Some current regional flashpoints might erupt "into a spiral of conflict because of failed systems." Y2K may only cause inconvenience or the ripple effects "from systems over which we have no control could damage global financial markets and hamper trade," he says. From a national security perspective the problem "is the perception that Y2K presents a window of vulnerability." [PS; JSP -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98613 -- Rizopoulos, Nicholas X. AN INDEPENDENT KOSOVO (World Policy Journal, vol. 15, no. 3, Fall 1998, pp. 13-16)

Former Director of Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Nicholas Rizopoulos argues for the inevitable emergence of an independent Kosovo. Rizopoulos also criticizes Washington's chronic reluctance to come to terms with the legitimacy of numerous independence movements that have arisen during the past decade. In the case of Kosovo, he argues, Western policymakers must be realistic by encouraging and assisting, rather than obstructing, independence efforts. This article is currently available on the Internet at: http://worldpolicy.org/rizo.txt. [PS; VS -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98612 -- Kupchan, Charles A. AFTER PAX AMERICANA: BENIGN POWER, REGIONAL INTEGRATION, AND THE SOURCES OF A STABLE MULTIPOLARITY (International Security, vol. 23, no. 2, Fall 1998, pp. 40-79)

Charles Kupchan, former NSC director for Europe, currently at Georgetown University and the Council on Foreign Relations, asks the reader to look ahead to the time when American power has waned and the world is moving once again toward multipolarity. He suggests that the United States should prepare for this inevitability "by encouraging the emergence of regional unipolarity in each of the world's three areas of industrial and military power -- North America, Europe and East Asia." He then analyzes the power structure that exists in these areas and proposes policies through which the United States can help shape a future in which peace and stability can be maintained in the absence of American hegemony. [PS; LH -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98611 -- Hersh, Seymour M. THE MISSILES OF AUGUST (The New Yorker, vol. 74, no. 31, October 1998, pp. 34-41)

The efficacy and motives for the U.S. Tomahawk missile raids in August against a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan suspected of producing a precursor chemical and the so-called terrorist training camps in Afghanistan -- carried out as retaliation for bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa -- are being severely questioned in Washington's military and intelligence circles. This article maintains that motive involves a President seen as weakened by scandal who may have needed to "do something presidential." One military source says "To do nothing ... requires political strength and a weakened President thinks he can't get away with it." Other criticism concerns "very remote" linkage between the targets and Saudi extremist Usama bin Ladin's activities; and questionable procedure in obtaining and testing the suspected precursor agent Empta. Some also dispute the actions of National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who, they say, "are too quick to advocate force as a solution to diplomatic problems." While there are no definitive answers, Hersh offers fascinating insights on intelligence activities and much grist for thought. [PS; SE -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98601 -- Wolfowitz, Paul. THE MAN WHO SAVED THE DAY -- SORT OF ... (The National Interest, no. 53, Fall 1998, pp. 102-108)

Wolfowitz, former undersecretary of defense during the Bush administration, both reviews Richard Holbrooke's new book about Bosnia, "To End a War," and uses its publication to revisit and critique the events leading up to the Dayton Accords. He describes Dayton as "a flawed agreement," born of a flawed policy. The author, who is now dean of Johns Hopkins' Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, attributes policy failures in Bosnia to both the Bush and Clinton administrations and "the European countries who claimed they were ready to lead." With Holbrooke now serving as special envoy to Kosovo, Wolfowitz writes that "one of Dayton's lost opportunities was the failure to get any commitment" from "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" President Slobodan Milosevic "on autonomy for the Kosovars." [PS; JSP -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98600 -- Sprinzak, Ehud. THE GREAT SUPERTERRORISM SCARE (Foreign Policy, no. 112, Fall 1998, pp. 110-123)

The author contends that there is "neither empirical evidence nor logical support for the growing belief that a new 'postmodern' age of terrorism is about to dawn, an era afflicted by a large number of anonymous mass murderers toting chemical and biological weapons." While the threat of chemical and biological terrorism should be considered seriously, says Sprinzak, "the public must know that the risk of a major catastrophe is extremely minimal." A measured U.S. reaction "to the new threat may have a sobering effect on CBW mania worldwide," says the author, who is professor of political science at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His article was written under the auspices of the U.S. Peace Institute where he spent the past year as a senior scholar. [PS; DJM -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98599 -- Schlesinger, James. RAISE THE ANCHOR OR LOWER THE SHIP: DEFENSE BUDGETING AND PLANNING (The National Interest, no. 53, Fall 1998, pp. 3-12)

Schlesinger warns that, while the United States "now regards itself as the single universal power," the resources it is prepared to devote to defense "are, at best, only marginally adequate for our mission." Noting that the public is insisting on "low casualties in intervention," the author says "the inference is quite clear....First, it is essential that the United States remains ahead of other nations, not only in the exploitation of Information Warfare, but also in defensive measures....Second, we must continuously examine whether our growing dependence on new technologies may result in over-dependence and thus create a critical vulnerability." [PS; PMK - - doe: 10/27/98]

AA98579 -- Laqueur, Walter. THE NEW FACE OF TERRORISM (The Washington Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 4, Autumn 1998, pp. 169-178)

Terrorism must be analyzed not only in terms of increased access to weapons of mass destruction but also in the harder to quantify area of the growth of fanaticism, argues Laqueur. He notes that it is the confluence of high technology -- allowing an individual or small group to cause great destruction with a single act -- with an increase in aggression, lack of restraint, and sociopathic behaviors that make modern terrorists so formidable. Laqueur examines the possible motivations behind the blind rage which justifies the killing of innocents, which seeks not concessions from perceived oppressors but, rather, their annihilation. [PS; RFM -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98578 -- Gentry, John A. MILITARY FORCE IN AN AGE OF NATIONAL COWARDICE (The Washington Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 4, Autumn 1998, pp. 179-191)

"We crow about being the world's only superpower and claim the perquisites of that status, including the world's obeisance under the threat of sanctions, but we radiate fear about using power if our people are likely to be hurt. We thus appear ... like international bullies who throw their technological weight around while lacking the moral courage of their purported convictions." So begins a thought-provoking and controversial article by Gentry, a recently retired Army Reserve officer. He criticizes a foreign policy in which "our aversion to taking casualties is so obvious" that he believes it makes Americans overseas more, not less, open to being targeted, our opponents knowing that U.S. deaths will lead to the retreat of unwanted forces from their countries. Gentry faults the trend to concentrate on countering capabilities of others rather than "expend(ing) intelligence and diplomatic resources to understand the real and imagined grievances of potential adversaries ...." He sees the purported casualty-lowering "gee-whiz gizmos" of the Army's modernization effort as being of little use in less-than-conventional conflicts such as peacekeeping, peacemaking and counterinsurgency operations and writes, "Thus we may find ourselves with a small force ... splendidly equipped for operations that rarely occur but unable to handle a variety of mundane chores." [PS; RFM -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98570 -- Graham, Thomas, Jr. SOUTH ASIA AND THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION (Arms Control Today, vol. 28, no. 4, May 1998, pp. 3-6)

Ambassador Graham says the May 1998 nuclear tests in South Asia "dealt a serious blow to international efforts to prevent the further spread of weapons of mass destruction." India and Pakistan's demand to be identified as nuclear weapon states challenges the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in which the international community agreed that the number of nuclear weapon states would be limited to the five nuclear powers. Graham, a former acting director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, indicates that these two nations "are unlikely to be able to develop a stable deterrent relationship" as previously existed between the United States and the former Soviet Union. He urges the international community to show India and Pakistan that their prestige is not enhanced by building nuclear weapons and that there will be negative consequences for any other countries that follow their example. He also stresses the importance of bringing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty into force as soon as possible. This article currently available on the Internet at: "http://www.armscontrol.org/ACT/may98/grmy98.htm" on the Arms Control Association's Web site. [PS; JSP -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98565 -- Gupta, Amit. SOUTH ASIAN NUCLEAR CHOICES: WHAT TYPE OF FORCE STRUCTURES MAY EMERGE? (Armed Forces Journal International, vol. 136, no. 2, September 1998, pp. 24-30)

Gupta, a visiting scholar at the Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, and professor of political science, looks at the force capabilities and objectives of India and Pakistan following their May 1998 nuclear tests. The nuclearization of South Asia has not met with the type of crisis diplomacy as has the Middle East, he says, because "the region is still peripheral to major power interests." He notes both countries want the United States to lift sanctions and therefore would probably agree to engage in negotiations. They also have to face dire economic consequences from the cost of a nuclear buildup -- a factor favoring stabilization of relations. A potential arms race might be prevented, he concludes, by bringing the two countries "into the (nuclear) club," thereby enticing them to follow its rules and work with the major nuclear powers to prevent future proliferation. [PS; SE -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98564 -- Johnson, R. W. DESTROYING SOUTH AFRICA'S DEMOCRACY: USAID, THE FORD FOUNDATION, AND CIVIL SOCIETY (The National Interest, no. 53, Fall 1998, pp. 19-28)

The threats to South Africa's democracy, according to Johnson, include Nelson Mandela's African National Congress, the South African Communist Party (SACP), the National Democratic Institute (the U.S. Democratic Party's international arm), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ford Foundation, all to varying degrees. He sites actions taken by the ANC and its cohorts which are "clear threat(s) to a pluralist civil society." The American groups had been sent in to promote voter education and in doing so, the author declares, they acquiesced to and abetted various undemocratic procedures, apparently in "the general cause of political correctness." No matter how just the cause, he cautions, the drift toward a one-party state in South Africa could have disastrous results all over Africa where many leaders seek to emulate that country's example. Johnson says a two-thirds ANC majority in 1999 could spell the end to multi-party democracy in South Africa "and could ... capsize the entire transition process." Johnson is director of the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg "which aims to perpetuate the liberal, democratic spirit" exemplified by Mrs. Suzman, the sole anti-apartheid parliamentarian from 1959-74. [PS; SE -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98563 -- Henry, Ryan; Peartree, C. Edward. MILITARY THEORY AND INFORMATION WARFARE (Parameters, vol. 28, no. 3, Autumn 1998, pp. 121-135)

The authors examine the limited influence that technologies have had on warfare. The airplane is cited as an example, which, though adding an unprecedented technological breakthrough to the battlespace, repeatedly has been shown to be insufficient in and of itself to transform war. Old weapons will never go out of style -- new tools, such as air power and information warfare, must just be added to the box. This article is currently on the Internet at: "http://carlisle- www.army.mil/usawc/parameters/98autumn/henry.htm" [PS; VS -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98562 -- Brzezinski, Zbigniew. NATO: THE DILEMMAS OF EXPANSION (The National Interest, no. 53, Fall 1998, pp. 13-17)

Noting that NATO's 50th anniversary in April 1999 is "certain to give rise to a new debate as to whether the Alliance should continue to expand," Brzezinski says it is "not too early to ponder" the issue. He warns that by seeking to take on too much, "one could run the risk of undermining the magnetic core of the Alliance. Hence, gradual and measured expansion ... is both desirable and even necessary." The author reviews "when, where, and how much" expansion should be considered. He also stresses that Russia must be given "time to digest the new realities and to learn from them that enhanced security breeds more genuine reconciliation." The key issue, he concludes, "is to keep the historical process of growth open." [PS; PMK -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98561 -- Bennett, Robert; and others. THE Y2K CRISIS: A GLOBAL TICKING TIME BOMB? (The Washington Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 4, Autumn 1998, pp. 147-166)

Five respected management consultants, financial planners, and Year 2000 experts, in individual essays, warn that the Y2K problem deserves to be taken seriously -- and soon, before it is too late to prepare a better response than the one now in place. In the first essay, Senator Robert Bennett, who chairs a Senate Special Committee on Y2K issues, says the "biggest challenge" is "to get people thinking ... across the individual lines of our own organizations, indeed across the individual lines of our own country's borders." And "we must ... recognize that this is not an IT problem; ... this is a management challenge that must be addressed by the highest (officers) immediately .... Don't panic, but don't spend a lot of time sleeping either." [PS; PMK -- doe: 10/09/98]

To Political Security Archive

Annotations of Current Articles on U.S. Society and Values

AA99140 -- Zehr, Mary Ann GUARDIANS OF THE FAITH (Education Week, vol. 18, no. 19, January 20, 1999, pp. 1, 26-31)

Muslim parents living in the United States are increasingly turning to private Islamic schools to help them sort out what they would like their children to absorb from Western culture. In 1989 there were just 49 full-time Islamic schools in the United States; today it is estimated there are over 180, most of them kindergarten-to-8th grade. The author discusses the rise of Islamic schools, both those established by Muslim immigrants and those established by African- American Muslims. Although funding levels may vary widely among schools, she notes that there are similarities in how they weave together academic and religious instruction, uphold high standards for discipline, and integrate religious practice into the school day. [SV;SD -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99139 -- Miller, D.W. SCHOLARS OF IMMIGRATION FOCUS ON THE CHILDREN (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. XLV, no. 22, February 5, 1999, pp. A19-A20)

A recent focus on the second generation of immigrants to the United States is assisting scholars in this field to confront the crucial issues posed by their presence: whether they succeed economically, are accepted socially and participate politically. Thus far, data on this subject suggest that most widespread fears about threats to economic prosperity or cultural unity are ill- founded. Yet challenges do exist to assimilation in today's knowledge-based economy and the growing significance of "human capital" -- education and skills. At the same time, children of immigrants are adapting to their new surroundings and culture faster than ever before, raising concerns as to how well they are acculturating. Nonetheless, one of the greatest achievements of the United States over the past two centuries has been its capacity to absorb wave after wave of immigrants. [SV;MB -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99138 -- Lahr, John REVOLUTIONARY RAG (The New Yorker, March 8, 1999, pp. 77-78, 80-83)

U.S. composer Irving Berlin, who died ten years ago at the age of 101, wrote jaunty, impertinent songs that reflected a society increasingly on the move as the twentieth century arrived. An emigre from Siberia, Berlin rose from the masses, understood the masses, and wanted to create a form of mass communication through his music. And he did so -- in songs that became and remain emblematic of the great ceremonial constructs of American public life, including the two world wars, holidays such as Christmas and Easter, Broadway and political campaigning. This profile focuses on an improbable prodigy -- a man who could neither read nor write music, played only the black keys on the piano, yet had a genius for poeticizing the colloquial and finding exquisite pleasure in simple things, like "dancing cheek to cheek." [SV;MB -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99137 -- Dubner, Stephen J. STEVEN THE GOOD (New York Times Magazine, February 14, 1999. pp. 38-75)

Steven Spielberg is arguably the most popular filmmaker in the world, an American icon whose adventurous, moral, good-triumphing-over-evil storytelling oeuvre has permeated the cultural landscape. In a series of running interviews, the author reveals the billionaire film magnate as almost disingenuously sincere about his desire to please people, "the reverent grown-up who knows when to say the right thing and the exuberant kid who loves a good yuk." The common thread running through all his films, from "E.T." to "Schindler's List", is a plea for tolerance, born of Spielberg's childhood as a "scrawny Jewish kid in Gentile suburbia". According to actor Tom Cruise, Spielberg "hasn't let go of a decency I've seen so many others lose." [SV;HS -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99136 -- Angell, Roger BASEBALL'S QUIET MAN (The New Yorker, March 22, 1999, pp. 41-42, 44)

Joe DiMaggio's suave departure from this world was exactly as fans had expected of the classic player of the century. Always making baseball look easy -- which it is not and never was -- he brought unmatched presence and quiet command to the hard parts of the game. Having accomplished in the 1941 season an enviable record -- as yet untied or surpassed -- of hitting safely in 56 consecutive games, he also made fielding appear effortless. Throughout the long years of retirement since leaving the game in 1951, including his brief marriage to actress Marilyn Monroe, DiMaggio kept his fame in check -- never trading on his ethnicity or cashing in grossly on his sports image. Class was his line. He was an American noble. [SV;MB -- doe: 03/26/99]

AA99117 -- Wilson, Robin, Ph.D. PROGRAMS IN WOMEN'S STUDIES PROLIFERATE ON THE CAMPUSES (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. XIV, no. 14, November 27, 1998, pp. A10-A12)

Doctorates were offered in women's studies by mainstream institutions beginning in the early 1990s, but a new, interdisciplinary program at the University of Minnesota is the only one to be called "feminist studies"; it emphasizes the "interaction of social conditions such as class, ethnicity, race, sexualities, and national identity with gender." The doctoral program has revitalized the women's studies department and attracted new faculty members. The field is still subject to controversy, however, as many observers believe that a doctorate in women's studies will still not qualify its holder for most academic openings, and some doubters still question the field's academic legitimacy. [TSV;MC -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99116 -- Field, David PROGRAM AIMS TO MAKE TEACHERS MASTERS OF TECHNOLOGY (Education Week, vol. xviii, no. 10, pp. 6-7)

Vermont's Marlboro College, once known for its rural, laid-back atmosphere, has become a leader in developing programs to help integrate Internet and telecommunications technology with education. Marlboro is offering 3 new graduate programs -- an M.S. in Internet strategy-management, designed to help business students use the World Wide Web effectively in the corporate world; an M.S. in Internet engineering; and an M.A. in teaching with Internet technologies. The program's first nine students -- mostly teachers -- come from a 100-mile radius and meet two weekends a month. Virtually all teaching and discussion is done on-line, through BBS discussion groups, e-mail, and Internet research. [TSV;MC -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99115 --Cowen, Tyler IS OUR CULTURE IN DECLINE? (CATO Policy Report, vol. 20, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 9-12)

"The 'culture wars' and recent debates over the National Endowment for the Arts reflect deep disagreements about the health of contemporary culture. The current wave of cultural pessimism...suggests that our culture is experiencing corruption and decline." But Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of "In Praise of Commercial Culture" (Harvard University Press, 1998) notes in this report that a review of the evidence offers "strong reasons for cultural optimism and confidence that modern commercial society will stimulate artistic creativity and diversity." For instance, he finds that the average American buys more than twice as many books today as in 1947; that from 1965 to 1990, the number of symphony orchestras in the U.S. grew from 58 to nearly 300; and that art museum attendance is booming. Cowen argues that wealthy societies sustain cultural movements, that capitalism increases the independence of the artist, and that a thriving market economy funds alternative sources of financial support for the arts. [SV;SD -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99114 -- Brown, Timothy A. DOES RELIGION PROMOTE -- OR SUBVERT -- CIVIL SOCIETY? (Civnet, vol. 3, no. 1, January/February 1999, 8 pp.)

Events around the world -- such as in Kosovo, where ethnic Albanian Muslims desire independence from a predominantly Christian Serbia; the Middle East, where Muslim and Jewish fundamentalist groups have helped sabotage the peace process; or the United States, where conservative religious coalitions exert pressure in the political arena -- make it appear that religion may be posing an ever-increasing threat to the proliferation of civil society. However, the author, a professor of religion at Pace University in New York City, argues that religion's relationship to civil society is more complex. The real problem, he argues, is religious fundamentalism. Although globalism may have inadvertently promoted religious fundamentalism, he posits that it also may be promoting religious tolerance, a key requirement to civil society. [SV;SD -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99113 -- Banner-Haley, Charles Pete; and others BLACK AND AFFLUENT: SPECIAL REPORT (The World & I, vol. 14, no. 2, February 1999, pp. 32-53)

This four-part "special report" examines the emergence of a strong, vibrant black middle class in the United States, focusing on the remarkable progress of the past 5 years. In "The Hopes and Fears of the Black Middle Class," Banner-Haley of Colgate University reports on the size, visibility and influence of the black middle class, emphasizing that black middle-class values can make a difference. In "The Rise of the Black Middle Class," Robert L. Harris, Jr., of Cornell University discusses rising black economic power, cautioning that black wealth may be difficult to sustain because it is based on income rather than assets. In "How to Appeal to Under-30 Black Americans," Charles Ellison, a former Republican Party speech writer, argues progress can be made through "creative economic solutions rather than antiquated 'civil rights' proposals." Syndicated columnist Armstrong Williams agrees with Ellison, challenging whites and blacks to move beyond rhetoric and engage in rational and reasonable discourse about the right direction for America in "Reach Out: Recognize the Genuine Diversity of Black Americans." [SV;SD -- doe: 03/12/99]

AA99091 -- Voss, Zannie Giraud; and others THEATRE FACTS 1997 (American Theatre, vol. 15, no. 9, November 1998, pp. 1-12)

This report on performance activity and financial conditions in the American nonprofit theater is based on the Theatre Communication Group's annual fiscal survey. "Theatre Facts 1997" examines statistical changes between the 1997 theatrical season and the previous year and provides a 3-year trend analysis. Among its findings, the report reveals an economically sound industry, with increases in net assets, performances, attendance, theaters, and outreach. Although a downturn in the economy could rapidly affect the industry's health, the economic impact of theaters on their communities is "undeniable," the report concludes, and theater managers "should be commended for making the finest art possible available to the greatest number of people while continually justifying the importance of their work to funders." [SV;MG -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99090 -- Meisler, Stanley JOHN SINGER SARGENT (Smithsonian Features, vol. 2, no. 11, February, 1999, pp. 62-76, 151)

John Singer Sargent, best known for his high-society portraits, is the subject of a major exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washingon, D.C. from February 21 - May 30 and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on June 23 - September 26. The exhibit "offers a broad spectrum of Sargent's works, from the portraits to the landscapes to the sketches for the murals." [SV;HS -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99089 -- Fishman, Joshua A. THE NEW LINGUISTIC ORDER (Foreign Policy, no. 113, Winter 1998/99, pp. 26-40)

"Never before in human history has one language been spoken (let alone semi-spoken) so widely and by so many" as English, says the author, a professor emeritus of social sciences at Yeshiva University and a visiting professor at Stanford and New York Universities. Fishman attributes the English language's hold on the world to its far-reaching influence as the language of U.S. popular culture, business, and politics. However, he notes that linguists hesitate to predict the future globalization of English, and that there are reasons to believe that English will eventually wane in influence. He asserts that increased communication, informal market interaction, and migration are driving the spread of regional languages around the world, and that local cultures are not replacing their native tongues with English, but instead opting "to maintain their own languages in the face of globalization." "Ultimately," he writes, "democracy, international trade, and economic development can flourish in any tongue." [SV;SD -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99088 -- Bennett, Lerone, Jr. FATHER OF BLACK HISTORY: STILL ON THE CASE, CARTER G. WOODSON (Ebony, vol. 54, no. 4, February, 1999, pp. 156-160)

It is impossible to deal with the history of Black people without touching, at some point, the personal history of Carter G. Woodson, who taught the teachers, transformed the vision of the masses and became, almost despite himself, an institution, a cause, and a month. One could go further and say that the systematic and scientific study of Black history began with Woodson, who almost single-handedly created the (now-called) Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, and the prestigious JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY, writes Bennett. The author traces the story of Woodson, the "father of Black history," from his impoverished childhood in the coal mines of West Virginia to the summit of academic achievement, when he became the second Black to receive a doctorate in history from Harvard University. [SV;SD -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99087 -- BLACK HISTORY TRAILS (Ebony, vol. 54, no. 4, February, 1999, pp. 58-67)

In the early days of the United States, Black pioneers and founders were traveling across the country, leaving markers and trails that would become a part of the texture of the nation. Among the founders of these trails were Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, who founded Chicago before the Revolutionary War, and William Alexander Leidesdorf, one of the first citizens of San Francisco. Later, trails and markers that would help define 20th-century America were created, including jazz, blues, gospel and civil-rights trails. In recent years, local, state and federal agencies have been focusing attention on these trails as tourist attractions and highways to the American past and future. One of the most important programs is the White House Millennium Trails Program which, in association with the Department of Transportation, is highlighting a number of African-American trails. "The White House Millennium Council's Millennium Trails project reinforces the connection between people, their land, and their history and culture," said First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a speech announcing the Program. [SV;SD -- doe: 03/02/99]

AA99066 Wolkomir, Richard PROTECT & SERVE (Smithsonian, vol. 29, no. 8, November 1998, pp. 64-76)

Montpelier, the tiny capital of the state of Vermont, boasts a population of 8,500 people and a police force committed to community policing. When his interest was piqued by his jogging partner, Montpelier policeman John Martin, the author decided to patrol with Montpelier's officers for three months. Here he writes about the small-town police force's work -- fitting together many small incidents he experienced to form a many-faceted mosaic of "how it is, in a small American town, on patrol." A typical shift might include chasing a couple of car thieves, counseling a troubled child or contending with drug dealers. [SV;SD -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99065 Tuchman, Phyllis JACKSON POLLOCK: MODERNISM'S SHOOTING STAR (Smithsonian, vol. 29, no. 8, November 1998, pp. 96-106)

In 1956, just months after Jackson Pollock's death in a car accident, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York held a spectacular exhibition of 35 of his paintings and nine drawings and watercolors -- honoring the "most important abstractionist in American art history, then as well as now." For the first time since 1967, MOMA has launched a rare Pollock retrospective, which runs through February 2, 1999, and features over 150 of Pollock's works. The author discusses the exhibit, and recounts the influences that shaped Jackson Pollock's life and his work. [SV;SD -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99064 Giles, Paul VIRTUAL AMERICAS: THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF AMERICAN STUDIES AND THE IDEOLOGY OF EXCHANGE (American Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 3, September 1998, pp. 523-547)

Giles, a reader in American studies at the University of Nottingham, in Britain, discusses the current condition of American studies within an international context, noting that in recent years, "the quest for some essential 'American' identity has been remorselessly deconstructed and shown to be as impossible as the old chimera of the 'Great American Novel.'" He also examines the American model of "liberty," asserting that it "may become reconfigured with a virtual mode" as technology advances the reach of American influence. He argues that this virtual mode of "liberty" is extending beyond the United States as the Internet increasingly allows for "the dissemination of readily-accessible hypertext across borders and statutory limitations of every kind." In conclusion, he calls for American studies to incorporate more analysis of how the United States "interferes" and interacts with other cultures. [SV;SD -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99063 Fox, Daniel M.; Ludden, John M. LIVING BUT NOT DYING BY THE MARKET: RECENT CHANGES IN HEALTH CARE (Daedalus, vol. 127, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 137-158)

"The (United States) health-care industry, long dominated by its suppliers, has changed in the past decade as a result of demand exerted by business and government purchasers. Because of this demand, health-care markets have become more competitive, enabling purchasers, insurers, and investors to benefit from gains in efficiency and productivity," write Daniel Fox, president of the Milbank Memorial Fund, and John Ludden, senior vice president of Medical Affairs of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. They explore the causes and some of the consequences of rising competitive markets in U.S. health care, concluding that competition in health care is a partial solution to extraordinarily complicated problems. This discussion of health care is meant to provide a comparative context for considering contemporary reform issues in education, the larger subject of the Fall issue of DAEDALUS. However, the authors find little similarity between the U.S. health-care industry and its educational system. [SV;SD -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99062 Archer, Jeff THE LINK TO HIGHER TEST SCORES (Education Week, vol. 18, no. 5, October 1, 1998, pp. 10-15, 18, 20-21)

The author reports on a new study, "Does it Compute? The Relationship between Educational Technology and Student Achievement in Mathematics" by Harold Wenglinsky, of the Educational Testing Service. The report investigates the effectiveness of computer technology in U.S. schools, especially on standardized test scores, taking a look at ten schools that have integrated technology to achieve educational goals. It also recommends policies that might help schools implement educational technology wisely. Critics have argued that computers add nothing to the educational process, while technology's proponents portray computers as a potential savior of American education. Wenglinsky's research finds elements of truth in both views. "What matters most, it suggests, are not the machines and the wiring themselves, but what teachers and students do with them." The report is available on the Internet at: http://www.ets.org/research/pic. [SV;SD -- doe: 02/12/99]

AA99043 -- Wilson, Kenneth G; Barsky, Constance K. APPLIED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: SUPPORT FOR CONTINUING IMPROVEMENT IN EDUCATION (Daedalus, vol. 127, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 233-258)

While recognizing the significance of educational reforms in providing better educational instruction, Professor Wilson and Professor Barsky, both of Ohio State University, believe more is needed than what is currently being provided by today's educational reformers. "In their view, the R&D [Research & Development -- doe: 01/28/99] that has made possible major changes in other very large and complex systems in this century simply does not exist in education." Thus, they ask whether studying certain of these other major American systems, such as health care, agriculture, and communications, might provide models that could be used in education. They call for the creation of a new academic discipline, which they call "Change Science." Note that this entire issue of DAEDALUS, "Education Yesterday, Education Tomorrow," is devoted to assessing America's educational system. [SV;SD -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99042 -- Louis, Karen Seashore "A LIGHT FEELING OF CHAOS": EDUCATIONAL REFORM AND POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES (Daedalus, vol. 127, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 13-40)

In her analysis of how effective American educational reform has been, Professor Karen Louis Seashore, of the University of Minnesota, notes that most recent reform proposals have been dominated by 3 concerns: to meet the changing needs of students and their families; to make the educational system more accountable for its performance; and to prepare the nation for the "global economy." She examines the call for systemic reform in the last decade, which, she says, is "typically defined as higher, mandatory standards linked to new curricula and better methods of assessing students achievement." In her discussion of the recent "waves of reform," she argues that a major problem lies in the "low professionalization of teachers, who are poorly prepared and insufficiently supported to carry out the complex tasks demanded of them...." She concludes that educational reform will always and necessarily be slow, but sees many reasons for being optimistic. Note that this entire issue of DAEDALUS, "Education Yesterday, Education Tomorrow," is devoted to assessing America's educational system. [SV;SD -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99041 -- Jencks, Christopher; Phillips, Meredith AMERICA'S NEXT ACHIEVEMENT TEST: CLOSING THE BLACK-WHITE TEST SCORE GAP (The American Prospect, no. 40, September/October 1998, pp. 44-53)

The median standardized-test scores of black students in the United States remain lower than those of white students, despite the political changes of the past 30 years, note Christopher Jencks, of Harvard University's Kennedy school of Government, and Meredith Phillips, of the University of California at Los Angeles. Jencks and Phillips believe that improving the test scores of black students would substantially reduce racial inequality in educational attainment and earnings, and allow colleges, professional schools, and employers to phase out controversial preferences. They analyze the factors traditionally attributed to the test-score gap, arguing that they can and should be changed. Suggesting that the gap can be attributed to students' social and educational environments, they suggest how state and local efforts could help close the black- white gap. [SV;SD -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99040 -- Hirsch, Eric; Lays, Julie BILINGUAL EDUCATION: SI O NO? (State Legislatures, vol. 24, no. 10, December 1998, pp. 24-27)

The debate continues in the United States about the best way to get immigrant children who speak little English, approximately 3.2 million students, to achieve academic excellence. Proponents of modern bilingual education, which has been around since the 1970s, argue that students need to study core academic subjects in their native languages to grasp the subject matter and learn the material. In bilingual programs, children are placed in classes where at least half the instruction is in the child's native language (usually Spanish). But last year California, which has approximately 1.3 million students who do not speak English, ended its bilingual programs with the passage of Proposition 227, which requires that students be placed in structured English language immersion programs for one year without native language support and then be mainstreamed into regular classrooms. The authors take a close look at the bilingual-education debate, and why most states are expected to stay with their existing bilingual-education programs. [SV;SD -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99039 -- Bromley, Daniel W. EXPECTATIONS, INCENTIVES, AND PERFORMANCE IN AMERICA'S SCHOOLS (Daedalus, vol. 127, no. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 41-66)

"Recent evidence from the U.S. Department of Education seems to support those who are dismayed by American schools," says Daniel Bromley, professor of applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He contends that recent educational reforms, including those based on the idea of "the school as a corporate firm in need of better management and economic incentives," may be overly simplistic. Bromley contends a core problem lies in the fact that "few schools ... seem to believe that a relentless commitment to excellence and hard work is an essential of schooling in America." He argues that much greater attention should be give by American universities and their schools of education to professionalize those choosing teaching as a career. Note that this entire issue of DAEDALUS, "Education Yesterday, Education Tomorrow," is devoted to assessing America's educational system. [SV;SD -- doe: 01/28/99]

AA99023 -- McCorkle, Susannah ALWAYS (American Heritage, November 1998, pp. 74-84)

The author, a well-known pop vocalist and cabaret performer, takes the measure of the late U.S. songwriter Irving Berlin in this personal portrait, tracing how she decided after avoiding his music for many years to devote an entire program to his work. Ambling through his life story, McCorkle demonstrates the influences on the composer from singer Ethel Waters to Hollywood performers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as well as patriotism, the driving moral force that consumed him through most of his life. A difficult man in his later years, he was, nonetheless, buoyed by a spirit of survival. Today, the author writes, Berlin's songs God Bless America, White Christmas, There's No Business Like Show Business, and so many others "still accompany our daily lives." [SV; MB -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99022 -- Lichtman, Wendy A PLACE AT THE TABLE (The Washington Post Magazine, November 22, 1998, pp. 14-18, 26-27)

The day the author and her husband learned their 17-month old daughter, Bekah, was deaf, they enrolled in her in a deaf preschool and enrolled themselves in sign language classes. There were five other deaf children Bekah's age in their school system, and they formed a natural support group with the families. Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) in 1990, when Bekah was 6, brought much needed relief, with its major emphasis on accessability and safety issues. But "having a deaf child brings with it many problems that I never would have known to think about," writes the author. Here she discusses the challenge of raising her daughter, noting the differences between the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf -- and the bridges between them. [SV; SD -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99021 -- Johnson, Susan FROM WOUNDED KNEE TO CAPITOL HILL (State Legislatures, vol. 24, no. 9, October/November 1998, pp. 14-19)

Today, the federal government has endorsed a policy of "self-determination" -- a push toward autonomous tribal governments -- in dealing with Native Americans. Tribes are at a "convergence of economic strength, legal muscle and political will," says NEW YORK TIMES reporter Timothy Egan. But states are uneasy with this convergence. Increasingly, tribal authority is the source of significant tension between states and tribes. Differences over environmental regulation, water rights and quality standards abound. In this discussion of the changing, often contentious, relationship between states and tribes, the author concludes that "as Native Americans gain more and more clout, state leaders are learning that it is more productive and mutually beneficial to work with, not against, the tribes." [SV; SD -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99020 -- Goldberg, Mark HOW GOVERNMENT CAN HELP PEOPLE: AN INTERVIEW WITH MARK GEARAN (Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 80, no. 3, November 1998, pp. 237-239)

In this interview Mark Gearan, director of the Peace Corps since 1995, notes it is a tremendous honor and privilege for him, "an Irish Catholic son of Massachusetts, to have the chance to be part of the Peace Corps, President Kennedy's greatest legacy...." Early in his career Gearan learned from former Congressman Fr. Robert Drinan "what government could do and the difference it could make in people's lives." With virtually all his working life dedicated to government service, it was no surprise he actively sought the directorship of the Peace Corps. Since its inception in 1961, the Peace Corps has sent more than 160,000 volunteers to 132 countries. "The eradication of Guinea worm disease in several African countries, the work in education and health related to HIV and AIDS, and the construction of roads and bridges in many nations are representative examples of the accomplishments of the Peace Corps," says Gearan. He discusses the worldwide impact of the Corps, the dedication of its volunteers, and its future direction, including its new "Crisis Corps." [SV; SD -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA99019 -- Drukman, Steven WON'T YOU COME HOME, EDWARD ALBEE? (American Theatre, vol. 15, no. 10, December 1998, pp. 16-20)

U.S. playwright Edward Albee has been on the scene for four decades, but for some time, had been treated like one of the unwelcome guests that populate so many of his plays. Praised extensively at the outset of his career, then denounced and even excoriated, he is enjoying a "comeback" of sorts, and, through a series of new plays and timely revivals, indirectly is asserting himself as one of the greatest living American dramatists. A prime influence on many writers of the recent past, he has refashioned his style so much that his imprint kept disappearing. And the critics could not keep up with him. His latest work, The Play About the Baby, may finally force critics and audiences to acknowledge his presence pristine and even Beckettian that he may be. [SV; MB -- doe: 1/15/99]

AA98697 -- Warrick, Pamela AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE (Los Angeles Times Magazine, October 18, 1998, 14-16, 34-36)

When she was quite small, Octavia Butler learned that as a poor, shy black child, she could always escape from the world's torments by making up a story. From the earliest tales she fashioned at the age of four standard fantasies about the adventures of a magical horse to the novels she writes today, ranging from the biologically bizarre to the socially profound, this African American fabulist has become one of the preeminent authors in science fiction, or what her fans call "fantastic realism." Butler is a winner of a prestigious MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant as well as Hugo and Nebula awards in her field of storytelling. This article describes the writer's struggles to gain a place for herself in American fiction, and the acclaim with which peers such as Ray Bradbury and Walter Mosley salute her. [SV; MB -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98696 -- Guernsey, Lisa ADMISSIONS IN CYBERSPACE: WEB SITES BRING COMPLICATIONS FOR COLLEGES (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. xlv, no. 7, October 9, 1998, pp. A27-A29)

College admissions officials don't quite know what to make of such commercial "one-stop shops" such as College Board Online, College Quest, and Kaplan, that provide Internet-based information to students and conduct searches based on databases of thousands of colleges. The new tools have created new problems for colleges and students alike. Colleges have to decide whether to maintain their Websites and e-mail systems, or hire one of the many companies offering such services. Students need to get accurate information from reliable spokespersons, which is not always guaranteed through database searches or blind e-mail queries. Two sidebar articles offer an in-depth perspective: THE NEW PLAYERS IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: ONE STOP SHOPS FOR STUDENTS and SOME COLLEGES TRY ATTRACTING STUDENTS WITH THEIR OWN ON-LINE INNOVATIONS. [SV; MC -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98695 -- Roszak, Theodore BIRTH OF AN OLD GENERATION (Civilization, vol. 5, no. 5, October/November 1998, pp. 90-93)

Roszak, a noted social commentator, examines the increasing political influence and economic power of America's aging population. Yet, he claims, American business has not kept pace with the demographic changes that have shifted 50% of America's buying power and 75% of its assets into the hands of the seniors. The over-50 population has also become a major political force, although in their concern for entitlements, they will become the ever-heavier anchor of the welfare state. The author observes that an increasing seriousness about the purpose of life has prompted many of the aging 60s generation to rededicate themselves to the ideals and moral passions of their youth. [SV; MC -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98694 -- Desruisseaux, Paul 2-YEAR COLLEGES AT CREST OF WAVE IN U.S. ENROLLMENT BY FOREIGN STUDENTS (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. xlv, no. 13, December 11, 1998, pp. A66-A68)

"Open Doors 1997-98" is the Institute for International Education's latest report, funded by USIA, on current trends in the education of foreign students in the U.S. The report's big news is the 13% increase in foreign students attending two-year community colleges, which are often chosen with an eye to a future transfer into four-year institutions. Another big story is the overall increase in foreign student enrollment, despite the economic turmoil in Asia and increased competition from other countries. The report presents statistics analyzing enrollment by country, gender, academic concentration, and institution. [SV; MC -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98693 -- Blumenstyk, Goldie A PHILANTHROPY PUTS MILLIONS INTO ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. Xlv, no. 12, November 13, 1998, pp. A23-A24)

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is not only funding but also playing a major role in initiating and developing ground-breaking programs in distance education. Over the past 5 years, the Foundation's Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) has made grants totaling nearly $27-million for on-line programs that create a sense of community. For example, State University of New York (SUNY) received $2.8-million to establish an ALN using Lotus Notes to connect students in over 200 courses from 37 campuses. One of the most innovative programs uses distance education to deal with a dire shortage of nurses in a rural region. [SV; MC -- doe: 12/18/98]

AA98674 -- Rothstein, Richard CHARTER CONUNDRUM (The American Prospect, no.39, July-August 1998, pp. 46-60)

The growth of "charter schools" has changed the face of public education in America. Giving a succinct definition and broadly tracing the history of this movement, Rothstein moves quickly to a pointed analysis of the problems in assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of these experimental schools, which purport to serve the targeted needs of students with minimal government regulation but a great deal of voluntary input from teachers and parents. Rothstein argues that formal charter status will not likely become a dominant trend in public education, as incentives are not strong for rapid growth of alternatives to regular public schools. [SV; MC -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98673 -- Poole, Robert M. WINSLOW HOMER: AMERICAN ORIGINAL (National Geographic, vol. 194, no. 6, December 1998, pp. 72-101)

Although largely self-taught, renowned American artist Winslow Homer became a "master of etchings, oils, and watercolors. On his own he developed Impressionist techniques like those Monet and Renoir perfected years later. He changed the way Americans saw watercolor, elevating an amateur form to a serious art," writes Robert Poole. Born in Boston in 1836, Homer started work for a Boston lithographer at 19, then moved to New York City as a freelance magazine illustrator. In 1880 he suddenly left New York, and in 1883 settled on the secluded coast of Maine with a terrier named Sam. He lived there for the rest of his life except for seasonal trips to the Adirondacks, Quebec, and the tropics, focusing his art on "the place of humans in a hostile natural world...." Here Robert Poole and photographer Sam Abell examine the life and work of this intensely private man. [SV; SD - - doe: 12/04/98]

AA98672 -- McIlnay, Dennis FOUR MOMENTS IN TIME (Foundation News & Commentary, vol. 39, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 30-36)

The relationship between foundations and the U.S. Congress began with the Revenue Act of 1913, which "exempted from taxation foundations and other organizations that operate exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific or educational purposes." Since then, the federal government has shown remarkable restraint in regulating foundations, says McIlnay, professor of management at Saint Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Despite four major Congressional investigations of foundations, and a few hearings about them, he notes that only the Tax Reform Act of 1969 subjected foundations to considerable regulation. In an article based on his study, "Foundations as Citizens: A Study of the Public Accountability of Foundations," to be released next year on the 30th anniversary of the Tax Reform act of 1969, Professor McIlnay examines in historical context the four major Congressional investigations of foundations, and the record of federal regulation of foundations thus far this century. [SV; SD - - doe: 12/04/98]

AA98671 -- Hoff, David J. HANDS-ON LEARNING (Education Week, vol. 17, no.36, May 20, 1998, pp. 32-35)

A charter school is in the making in the nation's capital, but this one has an unusual location, teachers, and students. Classes take place in the U.S. Department of Education office building; students are drawn from the African-American community nearby, and nearly all have a criminal background. The two award-winning teachers have come from successful charter schools in New York and the Midwest to advise the federal government on improving the educational system through the charter school movement. To keep in touch with the realities of the classroom, they continue teaching. The article gives anecdotal examples of student-teacher interactions. [SV; MC -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98670 -- Heller, Scott EMERGING FIELDS OF FORGIVENESS STUDIES EXPLORES HOW WE LET GO OF GRUDGES (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 44, no. 45, pp. A18-A20)

The power of forgiveness is what Robert D. Enright, professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin, seeks to validate through his academic "forgiveness studies." He and other researchers are testing the hypothesis that "forgiveness heals" in couples, families, and even in nations wracked by ethnic or religious divisions. The author surveys recent research in the field and its growing acceptance. It looks at the John Templeton Foundation, which has just awarded $5 million for 29 projects that are summarized in a companion piece. Another related piece gives Enright's suggestions on how to create the internal psychological environment that will permit one to forgive. [SV; MC -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98669 -- Heartney, Eleanor DISTILLATIONS OF LANDSCAPE (Art in America, vol. 86, no. 9, September 1998, pp. 86-89, 137)

Maya Lin is best known as the designer of the Vietnam War memorial in Washington, D.C. In this appreciation of "Topologies," an exhibition of sculptures, installations, models, and drawings, she is compared to Frank Lloyd Wright in that she "is seeking the soul of nature." Lin uses computer-enhanced imagining, fluid dynamics, and satellite photography to develop contours and volumes; yet her reliance on science and technology is tempered by her intuitive approach. Her pieces "present a vision of nature and a sensual appeal, which embraces the landscape's variable forms, while incorporating the underlying physical and mathematical laws that bring them into being." [SV; MC -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98668 -- Ferris, William "I HEARD THE VOICES ... OF MY LOUISIANA PEOPLE": A CONVERSATION WITH ERNEST GAINES (Humanities, vol. 19, no. 4, July/August 1998, pp. 5-7, 46-51)

In writing his acclaimed The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Gaines did extensive research into slave narratives and biographies and histories written by both blacks and whites; he listened to the music of rural blues and sermons by ministers. The result is a work of fiction so true that many readers believe it is a real autobiography. Gaines reflects in this revealing interview: "When I am writing a book, I never think about who the characters are going to be and how they will react to one another. If I have white characters, I try to make them as real as I possibly can, and if there are black characters I just try to make them as true as I possibly can.... We all have much more in common than we have differences." [SV; MC -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98667 -- Falk, John H. A FRAMEWORK FOR DIVERSIFYING MUSEUM AUDIENCES: PUTTING HEART AND HEAD IN THE RIGHT PLACE (Museum News, vol. 77, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 36-39, 61)

For more than a decade, museums have been actively attempting to broaden and diversify the audiences that come to their institutions. This represents the sincere wish of museums to reach out to underserved audiences, but it is also due to the fiscal and political reality that the traditional audience base of museums is shrinking, says Falk. Noting that museum-going is a very complex behavior, Falk presents strategies museums can use to more reliably and effectively diversify and broaden their audiences. His strategies recognize four important variables that are central to understanding the complexities of museum-going: demographic variables (such as age and educational attainment); psychographic variables (such as attitudes towards leisure and learning); personal and cultural history variables (such as individual interests); and environmental variables (such as word-of-mouth recommendations and advertising). [SV; SD -- doe: 12/04/98]

AA98650 -- Viera, Joseph M. EXILE AMONG EXILES: CRISTINA GARCIA (Poets & Writers, vol. 26, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 40-45)

Emigrating from Cuba when she was two and settling in a non-Cuban community in New York, Christina Garcia did not experience a "typical" Cuban-American childhood. In fact, she says she did not fully cultivate her "Cubanness" until years after college and graduate school, when she began to write creative fiction, and found that by telling the truth through "lying," it allowed her to "address her identity as an ethnic American in her work." Her first novel, "Dreaming in Cuban" (Knopf, 1992) established Garcia as a significant, contemporary Cuban-American writer. "Possibly more than any other Cuban-American writer," writes Viera in this insightful portrayal, "Garcia allows us to understand the complexities of the political debate that circumscribes Cubans' lives, both on the island and in the United States." [SV; SD -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98649 -- Smith, Roff. NEBRASKA: STANDING TALL AGAIN (National Geographic, vol. 194, no. 5, November 1998, pp. 114-139)

The Midwestern U.S. plains state of Nebraska, known for its farms, ranches, and love of University of Nebraska "Cornhuskers" football, "remains a vestige of gold-standard America, where folks leave their doors unlocked and everybody is `sir' or `ma'am', " says businessman John Calk, who moved to Omaha from Connecticut. However, Nebraska is a place of change. Today, Nebraska produces more corn than any country except China and Brazil, but three-fourths of Nebraskans live in towns, with over half residing in Omaha, where street gangs have sprung up in some of the tougher neighborhoods. Recovering from an economic downturn during the 1980s, Nebraska has become a computing and telecommunications hub -- part of a burgeoning "silicon prairie." In this snapshot of the state, its history and its people, Roff Smith and photographer Joel Sartore reveal that, despite these changes, "heartland values hold firm in a land where neighbors are quick to lend a hand." [SV; SD -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98648 -- Pierpont, Claudia Roth. A PERFECT LADY (The New Yorker, vol. 74, no. 30, October 5, 1998, pp. 93-104)

Since her first story was published in 1936, when she was 26, Eudora Welty has become a monument, the Pallas Athena of Jackson, Mississippi. Her wildly daring fictions limning her ingrown, post-historic, Coca-Cola-sodden South have produced a melange of uncertainly educated characters who are akin to monsters -- albeit, at Welty's disarming best, entirely guileless and extremely funny ones. Tracing Welty's literature and her life, Pierpont observes that we know little about Welty beyond what the legendary writer has chosen to tell us. Everything that matters is in the foreground -- in her stories, novels, and literary and autobiographical essays. Still, this fall welcomes the first biography of the 89-year-old writer ever produced -- Ann Waldron's Eudora: A Writer's Life (Doubleday, $25.95). Ultimately, we find, Welty -- a born outsider in a stifling, hypocritical, yet tantalizingly charming society -- discovered she could write her way into acceptance. Year by year, book by book, she came to be wholly embraced. [SV; MB -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98647 -- Klepper; Michael, Robert Gunther; John Steele Gordon. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE 40 (American Heritage, vol. 49, no.6, October 1998, pp. 56-74)

Brief summaries of the careers of the wealthiest Americans from the earliest days of the Republic to today. How they amassed the largest fortunes relative to the nation's wealth at the time of their careers and what they did with their gains. Some supported the nation during war or depression; some provided for the cultural, educational or physical development of the country; a few stole from others or the public and gave little in return. [SV; JAM -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98646 -- Ford, Richard. GOOD RAYMOND (The New Yorker, vol. 74, no. 30, October 5, 1998, pp. 69-79)

In this intensely personal reflection on a literary friendship, novelist Richard Ford reminisces about his relationship with the late writer of fiction Raymond Carver, a man who, in Ford's words, "was good will's very soul," who "beckoned good will from almost all around him." The most arresting quality of Carver's fiction was "how unswerving was his election of art -- stories -- to be life's consoling, beautifying agent." The stories written from the mid-1970s on appealed to readers because Carver shared with his fans an understanding that the good and the bad of life had to be reconciled. Good fortune came to him primarily in the mid-1980s, when he was far along in his lifelong devotion to writing. Glimpsing Carver retrospectively, Ford analyzes the broader aspects of one writer's influence on another, and, more particularly, what Carver and his works meant to Ford. [SV; MB -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98645 -- Desruisseaux, Paul. INTENSE COMPETITION FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS SPARKS CONCERNS ABOUT U.S. STANDING (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 45, no.7, October 9, 1998, pp. A56-A57)

Desruisseaux reports that "While U.S. colleges and universities continue to be the top choice of foreigners who go abroad to study, the American share of the international-education market has been shrinking, from 40 percent in the 1980s to about 32 percent today." This decline in international competition for foreign students has U.S. educators and government officials worried, and prompted the United States Information Agency (USIA), which overseas the administration of many U.S.-sponsored academic-exchange and fellowship programs, and the Educational Testing Service, which develops the standardized tests that most foreign students take to enroll at an American institutions, to sponsor a summit that brought together leaders of business, government, and higher education to examine the issue. The author discusses the substance of the meeting, which was held in September of 1998, noting that USIA is expected to swiftly issue a report with recommendations. [SV; SD -- doe: 11/20/98]

AA98621 -- Rothstein, Richard. CHARTER CONUNDRUM (The American Prospect, no. 39, July/August 1998, pp. 46-60)

The growth of "charter schools" has changed the face of public education in America. Giving a succinct definition and broadly tracing the history of this movement, Rothstein moves quickly to a pointed analysis of the problems in assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of these experimental schools, which purport to serve the targeted needs of students with minimal government regulation but a great deal of voluntary input from teachers and parents. Rothstein argues that formal charter status will not likely become a dominant trend in public education, as incentives are not strong for rapid growth of alternatives to regular public schools. [SV; MC -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98620 -- Hoff, David J. HANDS-ON LEARNING (Education Week, vol. 17, no. 36, May 20, 1998, pp. 32-35)

A charter school is in the making in the nation's capital, but this one has an unusual location, teachers, and students. Classes take place in the U.S. Department of Education office building; students are drawn from the African-American community nearby, and nearly all have a criminal background. The two award-winning teachers have come from successful charter schools in New York and the Midwest to advise the federal government on improving the educational system through the charter school movement. To keep in touch with the realities of the classroom, they continue teaching. The article gives anecdotal examples of student-teacher interactions. [SV; MC -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98619 -- Heller, Scott. EMERGING FIELDS OF FORGIVENESS STUDIES EXPLORES HOW WE LET GO OF GRUDGES (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 44, no. 45, July 17, 1998, pp. A18-A20)

The power of forgiveness is what Robert D. Enright, professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin seeks to validate through his academic "forgiveness studies." He and other researchers are testing the hypothesis that "forgiveness heals" in couples, families, and even in nations wracked by ethnic or religious divisions. The author surveys recent research in the field and its growing acceptance. It looks at the John Templeton Foundation, which has just awarded $5 million for 29 projects that are summarized in a companion piece. Another related piece gives Enright's suggestions on how to create the internal psychological environment that will permit one to forgive. [SV; MC -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98618 -- Gould, Stephen Jay. THE ATHLETE OF THE CENTURY (American Heritage, vol. 49, no. 6, October 1998, pp. 14-17)

For most of the 20th Century, Jim Thorpe has been regarded as the best American athlete and probably the world's best -- even in 1950, he received three times as many votes as Babe Ruth in an AP poll. Thorpe, a Native American, made his mark early in the century (1912-1929), and his successes were varied and exceptional. He won both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics, achievements that were subsequently voided, was a competent professional baseball player and an outstanding professional football star. [SV; JAM -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98617 -- Childers, Thomas. MEMPHIS (American Heritage, vol. 49, no. 6, October 1998, pp. 97-115)

Memphis, Tennessee, is an old river city with an unsettling and irresistible air of mystery, of haunted memory. It is the place where diverse musical currents converged to create that uniquely American expression, rock 'n' roll. Drawing not only on the Mississippi River Delta's vast agrarian richness but on its potent cultural heritage as well, it exerted an almost magical pull on Southern blacks and whites alike. Steeped in the Deep South, it has looked upriver as well as down, attracting an array of musicians and writers ranging from W.C. Handy and B.B. King to Alex Haley and John Grisham. Standing at this cultural and social crossroads, it is the place where rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural, Northern and Southern, did not so much converge as collide. In this profile of an idiosyncratic U.S. metropolis, the author observes that today, the city is once again prosperous and thriving, despite that uneasy air about it. Above all else, though, is the unmistakable sound of Memphis music, in all its myriad forms and phases, casting its luxuriant, disturbing spell. A sidebar guides readers as to lodging, restaurants and culture. [SV; MB -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98616 -- Charters, Mallay. EDWIDGE DANTICAT: A BITTER LEGACY REVISITED (Publishers Weekly, vol. 245, no. 33, August 17, 1998, pp. 42-43)

Haitian-American novelist Edwidge Danticat's second novel, "The Farming of Bones," following a collection of short stories, focuses on a 1937 case of genocide in her native Haiti on the border of the Dominican Republic -- an episode that still haunts the Haitian community. The writer, the first African Haitian female author to write in English and be published by a major U.S. publishing house, is the product of a turbulent childhood that brought her to the United States at the age of 12. From girlhood on, she wrote, taking wing as a serious creative writer during graduate school at Brown University. The article reviews the unique personal and historical legacy that fuels her writings. [SV; MB -- doe: 11/06/98]

AA98593 -- Winkler, Karen J. CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY WITH A DIFFERENCE: STUDYING WOMEN'S CIVIC OBLIGATIONS (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 45, no. 4, September 18, 1998, pp. A17-A18)

According to Linda K. Kerber, a renowned U.S. historian, while women have never had a "right" to different treatment by the United States, they have long experienced the "obligations" of citizenship differently from men. In "No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies" (Hill and Wang), a major study that should fuel today's lively scholarly discussions of citizenship, Kerber -- one of the most visible women in the humanities in the United States today -- harks back to a legal principle known as "coverture," inherited from British law, which held that the duties of married women to family and spouse substituted for their civic duties. Kerber focuses principally on five obligations that U.S. men and women have shouldered differently -- avoiding treason, avoiding vagrancy, paying taxes, performing jury service and serving in the military. None of the five have been resolved, Kerber maintains. Fellow scholars believe that Kerber's research has helped advance women's history beyond the now-dominant social history of women's everyday lives, to seek out how political and intellectual frameworks affect women's experiences. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98592 - Schiff, David. MISUNDERSTANDING GERSHWIN (The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 282, no. 4, October 1998, pp. 100-105)

U.S. composer George Gershwin, one of the most misunderstood composers of modern times, will remain unique specifically because of the way he combined classical and popular music. His classical compositions could have been written only by a composer whose primary form of expression was the 32-bar popular song, and his songs owe their distinctive character to his early study of and abiding love of the classics. His talents were not innate, but rather the result of his perpetual studies of classical music, of which he made the most. His music was rooted in the American vernacular, but he treated those elements in a way sanctioned by European traditions going back to Haydn. In his seemingly naive way, Gershwin challenges the common wisdom about music. His popular songs sound fresh because they are constantly reinterpreted. His classical music can sound ponderous because classical musicians are often respectful of the score to a fault, and beholden to textual authenticity. Gershwin wrote with a sense of freedom. Thus his music comes to life -- and demolishes the distinction between serious and trivial -- when performers forget about its period trappings and make it sound contemporary. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98591 -- Remnick, David. AMERICAN HUNGER (The New Yorker, vol. 74, no. 31, October 12, 1998, pp. 54-67)

Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight champion of the world, has lived all his life in the moment, thrilling to its comedy and battle. Only now, in late middle age, in the grip of illness, has he had the time and the patience to make sense of what he was and what he has left behind. In this excerpt from a new study of Ali, the author reflects on how a gangly youth from segregated Louisville, Kentucky, willed himself to become "one of the great improvisers in American history, a brother to Davy Crockett, Walt Whitman, Duke Ellington." Remnick traces the boxer's origins as Cassius Clay, and the landmark prizefights that brought him to the pinnacle of his sport. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98590 -- May, Stephen. ROTHKO: EMOTION IN THE ABSTRACT (The World & I, vol. 13, no. 7, July 1998, pp. 110-117)

Mark Rothko's powerful, emotional paintings were crucial to the development of abstract art in the United States. Rothko wanted "to raise paintings to the level of the poignancy of music and poetry." He achieved veils of color and luminosity which seemed to engulf the viewer, by applying thin layers of paint to massive canvases. Rothko was born 1903 in Dvinsk, Russia and emigrated with his family to Portland, Oregon. Established as a major figure by the 1950's, Rothko sustained his production with no diminution of creativity despite failing health, until his suicide in 1970. A "Mark Rothko" retrospective of 115 works concluded at the National Gallery in Washington this summer -- it is presently at the Whitney Museum, New York before a final stop at the Musee d'Art Moderne, Paris in 1999. [SV; ASH -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98589 -- Gose, Ben. A SWEEPING NEW DEFENSE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 45, no. 4, September 18, 1998, pp. A46-A48)

In a new book that is the most comprehensive glimpse thus far at how students who benefitted from racial preferences have fared both during and after college, the former presidents of Princeton and Harvard Universities find that race-sensitive admissions policies have achieved the goals of providing promising careers for African American students and promoting interracial interaction on elite campuses. The book, "The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions" (Princeton University Press), by William G. Bowen and Derek Bok, is based on a study of more than 45,000 students who entered selective colleges at the beginning of the 1976-77 or 1989-90 academic years. Bowen and Bok maintain that those students who might have been turned away by selective colleges if race had not been a factor have accomplished much in life. In addition, the authors say that the findings disprove the claim by some opponents of affirmative action that black students with low test scores would be better off at less-selective colleges, where their scores would more closely parallel the average. Several conservative scholars, however, question the objectivity of the authors with regard to the queries posed. It is anticipated that the data in the book will be seized upon by both advocates and opponents of affirmative action. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98586 -- O'Connell, John F. FROM WELFARE TO WORKFARE: WELFARE, JUSTICE AND WORK (Choice, vol. 36, no. 2, October 1998, pp. 245-257)

The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was meant to reform welfare legislation as it had evolved since the Social Security Act of 1935. Political liberalism in the 1960s greatly increased welfare programs, while neither "the justification nor the expected consequences were ever fully addressed." This bibliographic essay reviews "the economic, philosophic, theoretical and empirical literature that has shaped the discussion of welfare reform." It weighs the rights and responsibilities involved, the concepts of work and wage determination, implications for the distribution of income, and programs for income redistribution and the effects on equality and work incentives. [SV; JAM -- doe: 10/27/98]

AA98576 -- Teachout, Terry. GERSHWIN AT 100 (Commentary, vol. 106, no. 3, September 1998, pp. 46-51)

George Gershwin's place in American popular culture, one hundred years after his birth, is as, in Irving Berlin's words, "the only songwriter I know who became a composer." As a songwriter, his historical significance lies in his use of jazz-derived techniques -- specifically the flattened thirds and sevens known as "blue" notes. But his frame of reference continued to expand, which resulted in his Concerto in F and the tone poem "An American In Paris" -- quantum leaps from the less-developed segments that formed "Rhapsody in Blue." Ultimately, his broad comprehension of the classical repertoire led him to create an opera, "Porgy and Bess," now regarded as the composer's masterpiece. Indeed, however one regards Gershwin in terms of his stature among his peers -- and the subject continues to spark controversy -- he left behind three of the most effective concert scores ever written by an American composer, and the only American opera that truly has entered the global repertory. He was, in short, the product of an immigrant family who became an internationally celebrated composer who made the whole world of music his own. "Nothing could be more American," the author writes. A discography of Gershwin works accompanies the article. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98575 -- Singer, Mark. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? (The New Yorker, vol. 74, no. 26, September 7, 1998, pp. 56-67)

For the past quarter-century, best-selling novelist Stephen King has published what and when he pleases -- novels, novellas, short stories, some nonfiction -- in becoming what fellow writer Joyce Carol Oates has referred to as a great writer, "both a storyteller and an inventor of startling images and metaphors." What makes King's horror stories so seductive is his skill at rendering scenes and places that reassure the reader with their bland familiarity. Despite the frightening events that inevitably occur, until those moments we're lulled by characters not unlike ourselves, recognizable by their diction, mundane concerns and old-shoe habits. This extended profile places King and his images against the backdrop of his own Maine boyhood and maturation, his professional routine, his marriage to a woman who has become a successful novelist in her own right, and the Maine landscape and sensibilities themselves. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98574 -- Shea, Renee H. PIDGIN POLITICS AND PARADISE REVISED (Poets & Writers, vol. 26, no. 5, September/October 1998, pp. 32- 39)

The writings of Hawaiian novelist and poet Lois-Ann Yamanaka have earned her an audience that reaches far beyond her island boundaries. The language of her fiction -- Hawaiian Creole English, or pidgin -- is the one she grew up with, still speaks and chooses to write, because she is devoted to telling her stories "the way I have experienced them -- cultural identity and linguistic identity being skin and flesh to my body." Yamanaka, a third-generation descendant of Japanese immigrants to the Hawaiian Islands, once was a teacher of at-risk youth in Hawaii's public school system. Impressed with the way writing helped her students release pain and make sense of the world, she began taking writing classes herself. In her work, she explores issues of race, gender, sexuality, class and culture because she sees them as the effects of colonialism that permeate every level of society. Tackling these subjects, she is controversial, but her humor that shows up in her novels in many ways tends to defuse the tension. Ultimately, it is, perhaps, the honesty of her struggle for an authentic self that makes her work so powerful. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98573 -- Ozick, Cynthia. SHE: PORTRAIT OF THE ESSAY AS A WARM BODY (The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 282, no. 3, September 1998, pp. 114-118)

An essay is a thing of the imagination, the movement of a free mind at play. Unlike an article, which often has the temporary advantage of social heat, an essay's heat is interior. It defies its date of birth, and often endures. The essay strikes the reader with its power, the author argues -- the capacity to coerce assent. A genuine essay is not doctrinaire or propagandistic, or meant for the barricades, but rather "a stroll through someone's mazy mind." In this diverting essay on the essay, Ozick describes how this literary form goes about its work to achieve its potency, and the elements that captivate its readers. She contrasts fiction with the essay form, and, ironically, notes that one can regard the essay as a character in a novel or play, with human properties and unpredictability. The essay, Ozick submits, is a "she," and though privately indifferent, is anything but unwelcoming -- a living voice that "takes us in." [SV; MB -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98572 -- Blades, John. LORRIE MOORE: FLIPPING DEATH THE BIRD (Publishers Weekly, vol. 245, no. 34, August 24, 1998, pp. 31-32)

Thirteen years after the publication of her first collection of short stories, Lorrie Moore insists that her precocious success as a writer of fiction is as much the result of hard work as good luck. She liberally transmits her distinctly carefree, way-it-is attitude to the characters in her tales, which are largely populated by materially and spiritually discontented singles, fractious couples and people whose lives are shadowed by misfortune, illness and tragedy. Still, these individuals invariably respond with wisecracks and jokes, mirroring the author's most distinguishing feature -- a resilient humor that regularly asserts itself in the most odd and irregular places in her stories. This, coupled with the lyric grace and poetic agility of her prose, has made her a quite accessible writer. Her latest collection, due to be published in October, is "Birds of America," and bird imagery runs through the book. [SV; MB -- doe: 10/09/98]

AA98571 -- Solomon, Deborah. BUT IS IT ART? (The New York Times Magazine, October 4, 1998, pp. 62-66)

Photography may be the most democratic art medium today -- it not only records reality, it portrays an inner reality as the photographer sees it. In 1928, the renowned American photographer Alfred Stieglitz gave his photos to New York's August Metropolitan Museum of Art to begin their photo collection. This article tells how the Met has developed its international collection to become a "superpower in photography" and the collection's curator as one of the most influential people in photography. [SV; JAM -- doe: 10/09/98]

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