Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.trends,americast.usa-today.trends From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: trends Fri, Sep 18 1992 Date: Fri, 18 Sep 92 04:43:57 EDT Message-ID: 09-18 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update Sept. 18-20, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network POLL SHOWS SUPPORT FOR CHOICE: A Gallup poll shows many parents support a choice of schools for their children. The poll shows 70% of adults endorse a voucher system to allow tax dollars to send children to any public or private school. Only 50% of pollsters liked the idea when they were asked a similar question two years ago. The poll was commissioned by the National Catholic Education Association. COMPUTERS HOLD PERSONAL INFO: Forget flesh and blood: Today people are their computer profiles and many people have access to them. Says Beth Givens, of the University of San Diego: "We're on the verge of being a surveillance society." Fueling the debate is the new Robert Redford "Sneakers." The movie's body tackles global power, its soul has a more personal point: Beware our computer-driven times. (For more, see special Computers package below.) BUSINESSES CUT TRAVEL COSTS: Saving a buck on the road is a motto around businesses today as the economy continues to struggle. Some businesses have temporarily frozen travel. Others have greatly reduced it. And those that have seen how much can be saved from cutting travel have no plans to increase spending anytime soon. Business travelers say their priority is a contrast to the free-spending era of the 1980s. `EARTH TRAIN' TRAVELS AMERICA: More than 150 high school student leaders are going on a journey across America. The journey is called "Earth Train" and was developed by the people behind Hands Across American and USA for Africa. The youth leaders will host educational youth forums in cities across the country. They are trying to help create a national youth agenda for change. TRAVEL BEGINS SEPT. 21: The 150 high school student leaders on the "Earth Train" leave Los Angeles Sept. 21, headed for Washington, D.C. The train is scheduled to arrive in the capitol Oct. 2. The Earth Train will travel across the U.S. every year for 10 years, as well as in Japan and Taiwan in 1993, Europe in 1994 and India in 1995. HARVARD, WILLIAMS ARE TOPS: Harvard University and Williams College are tops in higher education, according to the U.S. News and World Report issue out Monday. Harvard is rated the top national university and Williams, in Williamstown, Mass., is the best liberal arts school. The rankings are based on items such as selectivity of schools, financial resources and reputation among other college officials. STARS FLOCK TO RELIEF EFFORT: More stars are signing up to help the victims of Hurricane Andrew in Florida. Jimmy Buffett, Sinbad, Weird Al Yankovic, Clarence Clemmons and Asia have all volunteered their services. They will take part in the Hurricane Relief benefit Sept. 26 in Miami. SCHOOL LUNCHES TOO FATTY: The Public Voice for Food and Health Policy says the government is dumping too much fatty milk, cheese and meat in the national school lunch program. The result is political support for important farm groups. The group says the Agriculture Department is not providing enough fresh fruits and vegetables and lunches are not nutritious enough. The program serves about 24 million students. WAL-MART LOOKS TO INNER CITY: Wal-Mart is making a trek out of the suburbs. The company says it is actively looking for a site in the inner city area of Kansas City. The discount retail giant is traditionally based in rural and suburban markets. Plans call for a Wal-Mart, a Sam's Club warehouse store and a grocery store run by another company to be built in the same area in Kansas City. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON COMPUTERS: TECHNOLOGY HAS NO CONSCIENCE: By all accounts, the privacy rights realm is a murky world that reminds us technology doesn't come with a conscience. People ultimately are at the helm, and sometimes they include folks who either hack into systems illegally, dip into classified information knowingly, or simply make mistakes. That can produce crimes ranging from the exotic to the easy. INFORMATION CONTROL IS KEY: It seems a speech by "Sneaker" Cosmo (played by Ben Kingsley) in the movie "Sneakers" is more than drama: "There's a war out there. ... And it's not about who's got the most bullets, it's about who controls the information!" People who can't control it - and most of us can't - there's no telling what could happen, notes Jeffrey Rothfeder in "Privacy For Sale" (Simon & Schuster, $22). PREVENTION IS BY CREDIT REPORT: "One way to prevent errors is to regularly check your credit report," says Rothfeder. They're available from firms such as TRW, Trans Union and Equifax. But even these companies can blunder: A 1991 Consumer Reports survey of 161 credit reports found 19% had errors damning enough to deny a loan. Next month, Californians will get an 800 number dubbed the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. `BLACK BOX' HOLDS THE POWER: The movie "Sneakers" finds Robert Redford chasing a "black box" capable of accessing any computer network. With one keystroke, anyone can empty the Republican Party's bank account or down planes. "I don't think a box like that could exist per se," says Paul McOwen of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. "But given existing technology, you can't say anything is fail-safe." (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Kate Coughlin. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM