218 March 2001
ROSIE THE RIVETER On December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and shortly thereafter America's men went to war. The some women went to war too. In the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps they were WACs, in the Naval Reserve, they were WAVES and the WACs and WAVES had the military desk and non-combatant duties. As Women's Airforce Service Pilots, women ferried planes around the country or became test pilots. But, most well known was the "woman" who went into the airplane factories as a riveter; she was "Rosie the Riveter". Rosie holding a riveting gun that is fastening rivets into an airplane fuselage, is the classic picture representing the more than 3 million female workers in America's 1941-1945 war production. Women became pipe fitters, munitions loaders, heavy equipment operators. Women in factories, 1939-45, estimated number of women wage earners employed in manufacturing industries, 1945. (L 2.2:W84/3/939-45) and Women in factories, Oct. 1939-Dec. 1947, estimated number of women production workers employed in manufacturing industries, 1946-1947. (L 2.2:W84/3/939-947) provide the statistics behind Stephen Altman’s "WPB, WMC, OPA, OWI, OSS, OSRD, ODT, Etc." in 200 Years of American Worklife, pages 163-166 issued in 1977 by the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (L37.2: W89). It is a brief but informative discussion of the women’s role in World War II.
ARCHIBALD WILLARD & YANKEE DOODLE In 1942, James Cagney, in an "Uncle Sam" costume, first performed a famous patriotic song and dance number "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in the Broadway Musical. He was the Yankee Doodle Dandy. Do you know what a Yankee Doodle Dandy is? In 1876, Archibald Willard, an American artist painted the "Spirit of ‘76", in commemoration of the United States’ Centennial. The "Spirit of '76"which is a picture of three Colonial men, one playing a fife and two playing drums, followed by someone carrying the American (colonial) flag and a parade of colonial patriots. This picture, used for the United States Bicentennial Postage Stamp in 1976, represents the "vital and ever-living spirit of American Patriotism". As a sketch on an envelope, Willard first called this picture "The Fourth of July Musicians" or "Yankee Doodle" but later named it the "Spirit of ‘76". In "At First He Called It Yankee Doodle" pages 115-119 in 200 Years of American Worklife, issued in 1977 by the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (L37.2:W89) Belmont Faries gives us a little bit of American art history discussing how and why Willard created this classic American portrait.
E-COMMERCE BUSINESS MEASUREMENT E-Stats is the new Census Bureau website which is dedicated to "Measuring the Electronic Economy" http://www.census.gov/econ/www/ebusiness614.htm . E-Commerce 1999 is the title of the textual 8- page report that is the "first official snapshot of e-commerce for key sectors of the economy". Covering Manufacturing Shipments, Wholesale sales, Selected Service Industries, and Retail Trade (per NAICS categories), this survey covered 125,000 plants/firms. The survey covered the eMarketplace, electronic shopping and Mail Order Houses of U.S. and Foreign Customers and affiliates. This survey did not cover agriculture, mining, utilities, construction, merchant wholesalers, and about one-third of the service-related industries. A quick review of the 8-page report, which is in a pdf file and the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) web page will answer many questions about this new census product. The NAICS page will explain the e-commerce categories, and this E-Stats home page http://www.census.gov/estats will identify existing text reports, statistics, and research reports, and future publications.
THE REUSE (ISSUE) OF SINGLE-USE (MEDICAL) DEVICES (SUDs) The examination/treatment rooms in many doctors' offices and hospitals have a hazardous waste receptacle where disposable hypodermic needles or syringes are placed after being used. The hospital bed and the electronic equipment represent medical devices that are reusable. In between these two ends of the spectrum, there are 209 medical devices that are labeled by the Food and Drug Administration as Single Use Devices (SUDs). They are used in the treatments and procedures in 13 different medical specialty services that utilize SUDs. The FDA "REUSE HOME" (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/reuse/index.shtml ) home page provides background information and details, and a link to (FDA) "Documents" (page) of sources of FDA information on this topic. The SUDs are found in "Appendix A: List of SUDs known to be reprocessed" (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/reuse/1168a.html also available as a PDF file) which is par of Guidance for Industry for FDA Staff: Enforcement Priorities for Single-Use Devices Reprocessed by Third Parties and Hospitals, August 14, 2000 ( http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/reuse/1168.html ). Now, with the Reuse homepage, SUDs list, and the Guidance report, one last major item is the FDA April 23, 2001 policy, FDA and the Reuse of Single Use Devices: Policy Now Established as presented by Larry Kessler, Sc. D., Director of the Office of Surveillance and Biometrics found at (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/reuse/L_Kessler_NJ_042301 ).
MEDICAL MILESTONE: GRANITE AND DIAMONDS The new medical product Viagra, with its granite qualities, has solved the sexual problems of many people, and received a lot of commercial publicity. There is another new drug, Zyvox, with diamond qualities, which can save lives. However, it did not receive the same commercial publicity. There is a brief news note in Updates Department, "First Antibiotic in New Class of Drugs Fights Resistant Infections" FDA Consumer V. 34, No. 4, July-August, 2000, page 4 (HE 20.4010:42/4 and http://www.fda.gov/fdac/departs/2000/400_upd.html ). "Zyvox treats infections, including bloodstream infections, associated with Vancomycin-resitant Enterococcus faecium (VREF). Zyvox is the first in a new class of synthetic drugs -- the oxazolidinone class -- approved for use in the United States and the world. It is the first drug in over 40 years to be introduced in the United States market for treatment of MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) infections."
AIRPORTS What is the "status quo" with our nation's airports? The General Accounting Office conducted a survey of America's airports from July 1999-February 2000. The survey was limited to the 50 listed in the Appendix IV on pages 71-72, because they account for 80% of all carrier operations in 1998. The GAO's analysis of the responses to these 43 questions does not rank the airports but just finds out what issues, problems, and concerns are viewed by each facility. 13 airports stated they are at or above capacity and 11airports reported they have ten or more years growth. The primary concerns of most are air, water, and noise pollution, but they vary as to how easily each can fit these concerns into everyday management operations. This is a very good question-by-question analysis of the responses (100% return rate) of all fifty airports. This 76 page report Aviation and the Environment, Results From a Survey of the Nation's Busiest Commercial Service Airports which is full of questions, answers, analysis, graphs, charts, and tables is found as a pdf file at http://www.gao/cgi-bin/fetchrpt?RCED-00-222
DIGITAL DIVIDE: NEW VERSION In 1995, the initial or basic "digital divide" of the narrowband connection first appeared. Some people had a computer with a modem, and some people did not. Some people could not afford a computer and modem and some people did not even have the required telephone line need to transmit the data. The digital divide of the "narrowband connection" was based primarily on who could afford a computer and modem. Now, in 2001 about 88 percent of Internet users use this slow transmission narrowband technology. The new version of the digital divide is still based on economics. Who can afford the fees of the Broadband Internet Server? As of the late 1990s, the Broadband connection comes through cable modem service providers or telephone technology known as digital subscriber line (DSL), which has greater capacity, faster data transmission, and "bandwidth-intensive" content. Sophisticated and expensive "Broadband" transmission and fiber optic technology is used in schools, universities, business, and commercial institutions but is still beyond the reach of many rural and urban internet users who have just crossed the narrowband digital divide from "have-not" to have. Telecommunications: Characteristics and Choices of Internet Users, issued in February 2001 by the General Accounting Office is a recent survey of Internet users where Broadband is currently available. This GAO Report (GAO-01-345), (found as a pdf file at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/fetchrpt?GAO-01-345 ) is 64 pages of facts and figures which present a current picture of the "Broadband digital-divide".
YOU ARE A(N ABUSED) NUMBER In 1935, the Social Security Number (SSN) was created and assigned to American workers to track their earnings and eligibility for Social Security Benefits. Today, the law requires that a newborn be given a SSN, and any deductible dependent on the 1040 Income tax form must have a SSN. Everyone must have a SSN to exist in any governmental or business information system. There are federal laws and regulations that limit all federal agencies use of the SSN. However, State and Local government offices and businesses are not subject to federal laws and regulations in any non-federal use of SSNs. In non-federally related operations, private businesses and state and local governments can use and even misuse SSN information without federal limitations. If there were Federal laws limiting the use and abuse of SSNs by businesses and state governments, what would happen? Barbara D. Bovbjerg, recently presented to Congress her 1999 study of current SSN uses and abuses (Social Security: Government and Commercial Use of the Social Security Number is Widespread, February 1999 GAO Report GAO/HEHS-99-28 found at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/fetchrpt?HEHS-99-28 ). You are a (SSN) number! Do you know how you (and your number) are being used and abused (as in identity theft, mailing list sales, and records loss and mix-up)? How can this abuse be remedied? Another GAO Testimony Report (GAO/T-HEHS-00-111) of Barbara Bovbjerg, entitled Social Security: Use of the Social Number is Widespread, issued May 2000 (a pdf file at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/fetchrpt?T-HEHS-00-111 ) should shed some light on this topic.
WOMEN IN PRISON MOVIES The Stephen King movie, The Shawshank Redemption centers upon the problems of male convicts and prison life. It presents the convict's ethical, social, and psychological problems and issues in prison such as adjusting to prison life; and, for some people, the inability to readjust to the outside world after release. How many similar movies have been made about women in prisons? Stephen King should write the woman's version of his Shawshank Redemption using Women in Prison, Issues and Challenges Confronting the U.S. Correctional Systems for content. This 92 page December 1999 GAO report (GAO/GGD-00-22) covers such topics as women as a minority group, female-specific health problems and issues, child visitation, mother and infants residential programs, and women’s parental responsibilities issues/problems, The testimony also includes citations to related publications. This GAO Report ( http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/fetchrpt?GGD-00-22 ) and those cited are available as PDF files at the GAO website ( http://www.gao.gov ).
June 21, 2001
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