No. 223 August 2001
ARCHEOLOGISTS AT WORK: KENNEWICK MAN The human skeletal remains that have come to be referred to as the "Kennewick Man", or the "Ancient One", were found in July, 1996, below the surface of Lake Wallula, in Kennewick, Washington. Almost immediately controversy developed regarding who was responsible for determining what would be done with the remains. Indian tribes, local officials, and some members of the scientific community made claims. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the agency responsible for the land where the remains were recovered, took possession, but the claims for these remains by Indian tribes under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), were challenged in Federal court. Per NAGPRA, if the skeletal remains were found to be Indian, the Kennewick Man would belong to the Indians. In 1998, after two years of archeological investigation and research, the Kennewick Man was found to be almost 9500 years old. Further scientific archeological and cultural research, which was not finished until 2000, determined that the Kennewick Man was an Indian and his remains go Five Indian Tribes. The Kennewick Man web site http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/kennewick/ contains all the all the relevant publications in this 4-year archeological research study. For background information, The Department of Interior (DOI), Archeology and Ethnology Program’s website http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/kennewick/press.htm has a chronology of 13 Kennewick Man Press Releases dated October 29, 1996 to September 25, 2000 and a link to the Kennewick Man site.
PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING: UPDATE "Wana Bet!" is the retort of the person who likes to challenge others and take chances. Winning is the goal, but the challenge "wana bet" is fun part. Some "wana bet" people just want to win a beer but some others can't resist the impulse to gamble. Pathological gambling was first diagnosed in 1980 as a recognized mental impulse-control disorder. The person who has an "inability to resist the impulse to gamble" is a pathological gambler. Historically, America’s 19th century habitual gamblers lost their money in riverboats and saloons. Later, there were (horse) racetracks, and the legalized gambling in Nevada that dates back to the 1930's. Currently, gambling in some form(s) is legal in 47 states as horse racing, state lotteries, casinos, or cruises-to-nowhere. American Indian Tribes operate gambling casinos and gambling is available via the Internet. In a single year, Americans collectively wagered more than half a trillion dollars. The negative social and economic effects outweigh the benefits of gambling. Answers to: “Why Study Pathological Gambling?,” “A Mental Health Problem,” “Casino Gambling: Burden or Boom?” are all found in Charles Wellford, “When Its No Longer A Game: Pathological Gambling in the United States” National Institute of Justice Journal No. 247, April 2001 pages 14-18 (J 28.14/2-2:247) http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/jr000247.htm . This article is a summary of the full 1999, 340 page report Pathological Gambling: A Critical Review, by the National Research Council’s Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of Pathological Gambling which is available online at http://books.nap.edu/books/0309065712/html/R1.html#pagetop.
TRUCK FACTS Semi-trailer trucks are tractors/cabs linked to one, two, or three trailers (combinations). The tractors/cabs can vary in size, shape, and color. The trailers measure about 65 feet long, 8 ˝ feet wide, and can weigh up to 80,000 pounds (maximum) when loaded. Single unit trucks, 65 ft long, are seen most often, but Arizona and Alaska allow trucks with three trailers that total 95 feet. Trucks carry all kinds of both safe and hazardous commodities; the industry employs about 11 million people, and accounts for 78% of the nations freight bill (http://www.trafficsafety.org/library/share/facts.cfm). Over 7 million commercial drivers licenses (CDL) have been issued to truck drivers, under federal regulations which guide almost all aspects of their professional life, including the truck, the load, paperwork, driving schedule, and the highway routes he can or cannot use. (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 23, Part 658, “Truck Size and Weight, Route Designations - Length, Width, and Weight Limitations; and Title 49, Chapter III, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Parts 301-399.) Regulations to provide for a safe driver, a safe truck, a safe trip, and the driver earning a living. http://www.trafficsafety.org/library/share/facts.cfm. Having a CDL requires truck drivers to know every inch of their vehicle and be able to skillfully handle it. The truck driver’s expertise is obvious as he/she navigates the narrow streets and parking lots in the urban areas. However, the safe truck driver shares the highways with automobile drivers whose main concern is not safety. In 1995, there were more than 300,000 crashes that involved at least one passenger vehicle and one large truck. A semi-trailer truck may be intimidating when moving at a high rate of speed, but “police reported that more than 70% of all fatal crashes involving autos and trucks are caused by the passenger vehicle driver.” http://www.trafficsafety.org/library/share/stats.cfm. How’s your driving in truck traffic?
YOUR DRIVING IMAGE This is a "two-sided concept". What is the image that you would like to have? What is your opinion of your driving self? How do you see yourself as a driver? What “driver image” do you project, as seen by other drivers? Aggressive Driving: Help Get the Word Out—is a test. It is a two-page July 1998 publication, (DOT HS 808 729) issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (TD 8.2:C 15/2 and http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outreach/safesobr/16qp/wordout.html) as part of its Safe & Sober Campaign Program. The first page defines the Aggressive Drivers as those who carelessly: Express frustration, Lack attention to driving, Tailgate, Make frequent, unnecessary lane changes, Rubberneck, Run red lights, and Speed. The reverse side of the publication is a test "Are you an Aggressive Driver or a Smooth Operator? Do You..." which consists of 37 questions which require a "Yes" or "No" answer. It could be hard to answer the questions honestly and still pass this test. I disagree with "Lack of attention to driving" (i.e. cell phone, eating, drinking, primping, etc.) as a type of aggressive driving. I think "Lack of attention" shows the driver is not concentrating on driving and does not show any "aggressiveness". (NHTSA identifies aggressiveness with competitiveness, see next article.) People, who drive while on their cell phone or drinking coffee, are road hazards. I think their hazardous driving makes the non-aggressive driver become defensive and possibly aggressive as defined by the NHTSA test. Read this NHTSA publication, take the test, see what you think, and read about the “Aggressive Driver”.
THE WASHINGTON, D. C. AGGRESSIVE DRIVER: SELF IMAGE In the Summer of 1997, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, contracted with the Preusser Research Group to ask the eight groups of drivers who regularly use the Washington Capital Beltway some questions about aggressive driving behaviors of themselves and the other drivers on the Beltway. It seems that aggressive driving was the number one concern and ranked as one of the top three causes of crashes on the Beltway. Most aggressive drivers admitted they thought of themselves as aggressive, at least sometimes. 75 per cent of the aggressive drivers are competitive; they always or often compete with other cars for lanes and position. All drivers, whether they think of themselves as aggressive or not, blame the other driver as the unsafe driver. Aggressive drivers also go faster and the aggressive drivers interviewed admitted to going faster than the slower drivers who drive the 55 mph speed limit. The aggressive drivers think the 55mph drivers should be in the slow lanes. This brief 3-page description/summary of the aggressive driver research report is found in Aggressive Drivers View Traffic Differently Capital Beltway Focus Groups Find, April 1998, NHTSA Traffic Tech No. 175 is at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outreach/traftech/pub/tt175.html. The full 55+ page report Capital Beltway Update: Beltway User Focus Groups, NHTSA Report, DOT HS 808 705, April, 1998 http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/aggressive/final.rpt.html
KIDS STUFF—GOVERNMENT WEB PAGES Educators K-12, do you know how much is out there on the Internet for Kids grades K to 12? There is history, civics, political science, the lawmaking process, agriculture, medicine, tombs of the unknown soldiers, Uncle Sam, congress, citizenship, and other information about our nation, our government, and our neighborhood. There are educational games and activities, curricula links for parents and teachers, and ABC’s for whomever needs them. A lot can be learned at “About this site”, and the “Site Map” which is a list all the topics A to Z is 5 pages long. Each is assigned grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12…or some combination thereof. The Capital, Washington, D.C. has information for all 4 grade groupings, while “Ben’s ABC’s is K-2. Benjamin Franklin’s “Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids” page http://bensguide.gpo.gov/index.html allows for the selection for materials by each grade grouping K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The "Parents & Teachers" Curriculum link (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/pt/curriculum/index.html) is for other Federal Agencies' online educational materials. There is also a GPO ACCESS link to the depository libraries where Ben's publications can be found, and to the Government Printing Office that sells many of Ben's publications. Statistical pages designed for kids can be found at "FedStats Kids Pages" http://www.fedstats.gov/kids.html and the Ingram Library at the State University of West Georgia http://www.westga.edu/~library/depts/govdoc/kids.shtml lists all the Federal Government Kids pages.
NTDB: A SAD STORY… A SOMEWHAT HAPPY ENDING Once upon a time, the Department of Commerce published a monthly information tool named the National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). NTDB was a full-text CD-ROM for the narrative text and statistical data of 72 titles/publications which provided almost any type of information about every country including topics for marketing, trade, exporting, importing, population, labor, travel, foreign service information, energy…most any topic. Topics could be found in such titles/publications as Army Area Handbooks Series, Background Notes, CIA World Factbook, Foreign Labor Trends, Minerals Yearbook, and Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, to name 6 of the 72. October 2000 was the date when the last CD-ROM was sent to depository libraries. NTDB was a full-text CD-ROM with issues dated October 1990 through September 2000, then it stopped as a CD-ROM and was available only on the Dept. of Commerce website. When the monthly NTDB died, so did easy access for many people. Access was limited to STAT-USA http://www.stat-usa.gov/, a U.S. Department of Commerce online subscription web site information service. The CD service died, but there are 22 titles of Department of Commerce and other agencies publications, that are still accessible without a STAT-USA subscription. Now for a happy ending: Amy E. West, Page Coordinator and the University of Minnesota –Twin Cities and University Libraries have created a web page “National Trade Data Bank (NTDB)” (http://govpubs.lib.umn.edu/stat/tool_ntdb.phtml) which provides links to all these publications. Thanks to Amy West and the people at the U. of Minnesota Libraries for this “limited happy ending”.
KIDS PAGES: FEDERAL, STATE, MILITARY, EDUCATIONAL, ORGANIZATIONS, ETC. Kid pages, "hundreds of them" can be found through the "FirstGov for Kids" web site which is maintained by the Pueblo Colorado Federal Consumer Information Center (CIC). The CIC you may recognize as the agency responsible for the Consumer Information Catalog of free and inexpensive publications that have been around for many years and are available for "pick-up" in many libraries. To paraphrase the "About Our Site" page http://www.kids.gov/aboutsite.htm the "FirstGov for Kids" site is divided into 20 educational subjects that you might have in your school. Within each subject, we have also divided the sites into these categories: Government, Organizations, Education, and Commercial. The Government sites could be Federal, State, or Military sites. Government sites generally do not sell anything. They are simply sharing information with visitors. Organization sites are developed by groups that have an interest in a special topic and they want to share their information. Sometimes these sites do sell products. Schools develop education sites. They can be developed by colleges/universities or high, middle, or elementary schools. These sites usually do not have products to sell. Commercial sites are developed by businesses. Commercial sites share information, but they also have products to sell. This website is not just for Kids!!! Those high school graduates who missed biology and frog dissection can go to the Plants and Animals link on the "FirstGov for Kids" homepage http://www.kids.gov/. The Plants and Animals selection led me to "Virtual Frog Dissection Kit" which is an award-winning interactive program within the "Whole Frog" Project at http://www-itg.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/dissect/info.html. Are you interested in the US Geological Survey Biological Resources Division Frogwatch USA Program at http://www-itg.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/dissect/frogwatch.html?
December 3, 2001
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0108.html