LOOKOUT
"Everything about Texas seems larger than life, from their beauty pageants to the Chinati Foundation, the complex of gigantic installation art near Marfa," notes Irma Zandl about the powerful pull of Texas on the country's imagination. The president of the New York City-based trends and research firm The Zandl Group says that like most trends, this one is broadly based and the result of a congruence of forces: a new President with Texas roots from his ranch to his love of Mexican food; the increasing influence of conservative Christians; the growth of the Mexican population in this country; and the popular perception of Texas as the last frontier unencumbered by political correctness." And, she adds, "the Texas story has several chapters, which is why it's going to be around for a while."
The mall is not dead. Despite the multiple threats posed by the internet, the softening economy, declining consumer confidence and sluggish retail sales, America's malls remain defiantly alive. Witness the recent announcement that Target and May Department Stores would buy 48 former Montgomery Ward stores, many of which are in malls. "Discount stores have been stealing market share from regional malls' anchor department stores," says Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Matthew Ostrower. "Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl's are leading the industry; it's not the department stores anymore," says Malachy Kavanagh of the International Council of Shopping Centers. At a recent conference on the retail sector, there was not a single question about e-tailing or the internet. "Just 18 months ago, people were saying the mall is dead. Now it is clear e-commerce will just be another retail distribution channel," said Richard Sokolov, president of Simon Property, an Indianapolis mall real estate investment trust.
With applications for top colleges, and particularly the traditional Ivy League universities, at an all-time high, Dow Jones has created a Safety School Index that reflects the broadening out of selective colleges for top students to consider. As reported in the Wall Street Journal and based on interviews with guidance counselors, college officials and students, the fifty schools on the list are broken into four groups: the so-called "new Ivies" such as Duke, Northwestern and Williams; the first-tier alternatives that feature Colgate, Hamilton, Emory, and Washington University; the next tier of safe schools, such as Boston University, Reed and Vanderbilt; and the safest of the still very good colleges, that includes RIT, Rollins and University of Wisconsin.
In a move to increase sales and market share of its software products, IBM is boosting its advertising budget by 17%, or $110 million. In a much needed show of support for internet advertising, the company expects to spend 15% or more of the budget online — about double its norm. "It's a sign of optimism," says Steven A. Mills, senior vp, software. IBM earlier indicated it would spend $650 million this year on advertising, about the same as in 2000.
Whatever happened to dressing for success, wonder an increasing number of corporate executives. According to a survey of 3,500 executives in 20 industries by Management Recruiters International of Cleveland, 34% of executives think that business casual dress has gone too far. A similar survey conducted two years ago revealed that 40% thought the suit and tie would eventually vanish from the workplace. "But all sorts of dress are showing up in corporate America today," said Allen Salikof, the company's ceo, adding that there are signs of a backlash against the wearing of open-toed shoes, sweat suits or shorts. The biggest complaints came from the real estate and financial services industries. Salikof predicts a dressier business casual in some places.
In the biggest surprise yet to emerge from the 2000 census, Hispanics in the U.S. are on the verge of surpassing blacks as the largest minority group in the nation. The explanations: a surge in undocumented immigrants that eluded previous estimates; a Spanish language media blitz that encouraged undocumented immigrants and others to fill out census forms; and a growing sense of pride in the Latino community. The Census Bureau said the Hispanic population grew by 58% over the 1990s to reach 35.3 million. The surge in the Latino population could have an impact on political redistricting, as well as on business. "We believe that these new census figures will send a clear signal to all of corporate America that this group simply can't be ignored," stated Univision Communications, the nation's largest Spanish language tv network.
Shoppers like Kohl's for its low prices and national brands, but a key part of the success formula is its unique store design. Modeled after a racetrack, the Kohl's store layout is smaller and simpler than those of most department stores. Its design is geared to smoothly lead shoppers past all the merchandise, in what the retailer hopes is a continuous circuit of temptation. Strategies: the wide aisle that forms the track provides room for shoppers with carts or parents with children in tow; a middle aisle divides the track, serving as a shortcut for shoppers who don't need to finish a whole lap; during clearance periods, Kohl's lines the track with markdown merchandise to get shoppers' attention; cash registers mark the start and finish point of the track; single-story layout helps shoppers get in and out of the store quickly.
While white male managers make substantially more money job hopping than by staying put, the payoff isn't so great for women. A recent study of 700 master's graduates in midcareer concludes that minorities don't benefit from job hopping, either. The study was done by Indiana University professor George F. Dreher and University of Michigan professor Taylor H. Cox Jr.
In a suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Random House has accused e-book startup RosettaBooks of illegally selling electronic versions of books by three well-known Random House authors, touching off a fierce debate over who owns the rights to sell e-books. The suit goes to the heart of a battle between publishers and authors over whether publishers have an automatic right to publish electronic versions of books, especially backlist, or already published, titles. Authors argue the right has to be specified in a contract, much like foreign rights. Publishers have long worried about how the web may affect their copyrights, especially in light of the music industry's legal struggles with the Napster online music service.
Meat is back on the menu. After two decades of steep decline, U.S. consumer demand for red meat has firmly reversed course, rising 6.27% in the past two years. At the same time, demand for chicken slipped 2.59%, according to the University of Missouri. While nutritionists 10 or 20 years ago talked about "bad" and "good" diets, leading many among the health conscious to go to unhealthy extremes with an all-or-nothing regimen, today, nutritionists and doctors generally tolerate an "anything in moderation" approach. The American Heart Association cautions against a diet with excess fat, but "we don't exclude beef from the diet, so long as it's consumed in moderation as part of a well-balanced diet," says Ronald Krauss, a physician and spokesman for the association. Nutritionists generally see no connection between the advent of drugs to lower cholesterol and increased meat consumption. A more likely reason, they say, is that the public was tiring of the high fiber, low fat diet embraced in the 1980s and early 90s. And, by the way, 77% of respondents in a Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll said knowing about mad-cow disease had not affected their consumption of beef.
Since many colleges believe a close male-female ratio can create a livelier intellectual atmosphere and make a school more attractive socially to applicants, small colleges around the country are discussing how to keep men interested in their schools. The growing percentage of women at the nation's colleges and universities isn't a recent phenomenon. Women have outnumbered men on U.S. campuses since 1978. Women now make up 55% of college enrollment — about 6.8 million women to 5.5 million men. The gender gap is more pronounced at liberal arts colleges, where women make up 61% of enrollment, according to the American Council on Education. That may be because some liberal arts colleges lack the engineering and business programs that tend to attract men.
Manufacturers sold just 2% of their products on the internet in 1999 and as late as last fall less than 1% of manufacturers were deeply involved in e-commerce. This from a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers and the manufacturing industry consulting arm of Ernst & Young. Only one-third of the 528 respondents were using the internet either to sell or procure products and services. Most users were restricting their activities to providing or exchanging information. "Despite the intense hype surrounding e-commerce, right now it's still just a small fraction of most business and manufacturing operations," said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the trade association, based in Washington. The survey also suggested the numbers could jump fairly rapidly, with over 70% of respondents planning investments aimed at finding customers or business opportunities on the internet and 30% planning to use the internet to find new suppliers.
Late last year, 10 gas stations in the Atlanta area participated in a pilot program in which customers could view coupons on internet-wired pumps while filling their gas tanks. By touching the screen, they could select and print a coupon to redeem for a free soft drink inside the convenience store or choose coupons offered by local merchants. San Jose, CA-based Ten Square, which uses the internet to deliver ads and promotions to point-of-sale devices, initiated the program. So far 20 major cities are participating. The company may expand its network to other p-o-s devices such as cell phones, vending machines, pay phones and ATMs.
Microsoft is trying to defuse privacy and security concerns about its new .Net internet strategy by saying the new technology would let computer users control how much personal information they make available for commercial use. The company has also stated that in contrast to the current generation of the internet, in which services are largely provided free of charge, customers will be charged for most of its new services.
With tuition alone at the average four-year college expected to more than double over the next two decades, to $15,879 from $7,472, families are looking to corporate-sponsored programs to help them save. A new savings program by UPromise Inc. of Brookline, MA, rewards users whenever they buy certain products and services, with rebate dollars going into a state-sponsored college savings account, known as a 529 plan. An increasing number of states offer savings and tuition plans with a wider range of investment opportunities and tax benefits. In a prepaid tuition plan, state residents pay a set fee that guarantees the full amount of tuition will be paid by the time a child enters college. Unlike the prepaid plans, which may not allow investors to transfer the full value of their contract to private or out-of-state schools, the investment plans can usually be used at any accredited college or university, and contributions to the plans can be used for school expenses other than tuition.
A step up from voice recognition software: thought recognition. What is known as adaptive brain interface technology was developed by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission. Originally designed to make the internet more accessible for people with severe handicaps, such brain-interfacing could also be used to control a wheelchair or change channels on a tv set. Commercial potentials include keeping truck drivers from falling asleep at the wheel, determining what parts of the brain are stimulated by certain perfumes, playing computer games. MIT's Technology Review magazine recently listed brain-machine interfaces as one of the 10 emerging technologies that will "soon have a profound impact on the economy and how we live and work."
A survey of 25,000 information technology professionals conducted by Dice.com, Des Moines, IA, reveals the difference in salary between male and female IT professionals by industry. From smallest percent difference to largest: computer hardware, -3.3%; entertainment, 0.2%; internet services, 8.5%; non-profit, 9%; telecommunications, 11.4%; government, 12.9%; manufacturing, 13%; banking/financial services/insurance, 14.6%; publishing, 19.6%; medical/pharmaceutical, 23.1%.
A repetitive stress injury prompted computer programmer Ron Goodman to write his own software to help computer users remember to take regular breaks and stretch while at the computer. His program, RSIGuard, and ErgoSentry, by Magnitude Information Systems, measure both the amount of time and the intensity with which someone uses a mouse and a keyboard and suggest times for the user to take a break. Hand therapist Debora Rosett of San Francisco recommends RSIGuard to her clients: "A major way to reduce strain to the arm is to take sufficient breaks. People get engrossed in their work, and in the pressure to get the job done, they forget about their bodies." Goodman spent time observing people at their computers. "The first thing I noticed is that people go into a completely different state of obsessive movement. They have no concept of what they're doing, and no recollection of it. As they slip into using a computer, they lose consciousness." His software reminds people every 10 to 15 minutes (on the default setting) to take 15-second "microbreaks," prompted by messages such as "Close your eyes and breathe."
Economists and management consultants are warning corporate America that the growing use of pink slips could backfire for some companies in the years ahead. Executives see layoffs as a fast way to fight sagging profits by cutting costs, repositioning their businesses and improving productivity. The recent waves of termination notices have come from companies as diverse as auto maker DaimlerChrysler AG to internet highflier Amazon.com to technology leader Dell Computer Corp. Economists and consultants who studied the relationship between layoffs and corporate performance during and after the 1990-91 economic recession say that downsizing sometimes damaged customer relationships and slammed the morale of the surviving workers.
From biotechnology to telecommunications, startups are still attracting investment: Some $700 million in early-stage financing poured into information technology startups in January alone. For good ideas, the climate is no worse than it was a year ago. What has changed is that venture capitalists are now more judicious about half-baked business plans and copycat companies. But they are as eager as ever to find the next big thing.
Women who ate seafood two to four times a week had about half the risk of strokes caused by thrombosis (blood clots) compared to women who ate seafood less than once a month, report researchers at Harvard Medical School. And seafood didn't increase the risk of hemorrhagic strokes, as some researchers had suspected. In earlier studies, roughly three grams of omega-3 fats a day increased bleeding times. But in this study, even the women who ate seafood five or more times a week consumed only about 0.5 grams of fish oils a day. Eating seafood several times a week is recommended to cut the risks of heart attacks and strokes.
More than one-fourth (28%) of advertising and marketing executives surveyed recently said including inappropriate materials is the biggest mistake creative professionals make when assembling their portfolios. Providing too many samples was the second most common answer, cited by 24% of respondents. The survey was developed by specialized staffing service The Creative Group. Other responses included: lack of organization, 18%; dated materials, 16%; too few samples, 4%; lack of quality samples, 3%; don't know/other, 7%. "When developing a creative portfolio for a potential client or employer, focus on how each sample relates to the specific project or position," said Lynn Taylor, vp of strategic marketing at The Creative Group. "Irrelevant items can detract attention from your strongest, most compelling pieces." She adds, "A range of 10-12 items enables design professionals to showcase their talent without overwhelming hiring managers."
The E-Sign Act, which became law last year, makes legally binding everything from signing e-mails to the online closing of mortgages. This boon to e-commerce and way to cut back on paperwork has companies scrambling to release e-signature technology to consumers and businesses. There are security concerns about e-mail, but the ability to authenticate electronic transactions will soon allay those concerns. OnSign offers free downloadable software that allows a digital signature to be attached to a Microsoft Word document or an Outlook/Outlook Express e-mail. Other companies with different methods and more advanced paid services include VeriSign and iLumin.
Erik Loyer is publishing his science fiction novella "Chroma" on the internet, where it will unfold in 16 installments over the course of this year. But this is not a basic e-book, with black text digitally displayed on a white field. Instead, readers participate in the telling of the tale by entering an interactive world of animated images. For artists involved in electronic literature, the first medium of choice was hypertext fiction, where readers advance through a story by pointing and clicking on highlighted words, and their choices lead to different viewpoints or endings. As the graphics capabilities of computers increased, so did the multimedia elements of electronic literature. Hypertext stories were augmented with photographs and illustrations, with electronic keyboard noodlings sometimes added in the background for atmosphere. Then video and animation joined the mix, reflecting the pervasive influence of television, film and computer games on the culture.
The names of businesses are showing up on all kinds of non-profit facades, including the Please Touch Museum Presented by McDonald's in Philadelphia, the General Motors Center for African American Art in Detroit, the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA, the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, and the Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, RI. Corporations consider this a barometer of their good citizenship, and the non-profit beneficiaries say the donations are an increasingly important element of their long-term financial security. But consumer advocates worry that the money, and the strings attached, represent a new type of commercialism.
Wall decor sales have increased by double-digit percentages in the last three years. Prices for 90% of the purchases remain under $1,000. Wall decor (the stuff that goes over the sofa) is art for the American Everyman. Botanicals, European doorways and Art Deco skylines portray the national mood and picture popular taste. But a new visually sophisticated customer is entering the market, who wants art to go with stylish design at home. He or she is shopping on a budget below the level of a collector but demanding recognizable names or images, with a quality and cachet above the standard reproduction. Crate & Barrel is, for the first time, producing numbered works signed by the artists; customers are asking for the rarefying hallmarks of art. Now the art world itself wants a piece of the action. New dealerships, including Eyestorm and Artland, are going after a low-end art market with large editions and new reproduction technologies, like digital printing. This could be a new high-end for wall decor.
Orbital Sciences Corp., a maker of mass transit tracking systems, is teaming up with Itec Entertainment Corp., a small theme park design company, to target the ultimate captive audience: riders of city buses, who are typically confined in the vehicle for 10 to 20 minutes. The joint venture partners want to plant television screens inside municipal buses to broadcast a package of news, weather and advertisements. A pilot program has been running on about a dozen buses in Orlando, Florida.