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 Tue, Oct 13 1992 Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 05:19:04 EDT Message-ID: 10-13 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update Oct. 13, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network MORE FAMILIES DON'T HAVE KIDS: New Census figures show more families are now without kids at home under 18 than with them - 51.1% in 1991. And the Census Bureau's Martin O'Connell, who studies fertility patterns, projects 16% of baby boom women born through the late '50s won't have kids; in their parents' generation, it was just 8.2%. COUPLES ARE IN TWO CATEGORIES: Couples who choose no kids fall into two categories, says Mary-Joan Gerson, New York University: Those who make a deliberate decision and those who feel ambivalent and put it off. Her studies show "couples who want to be childless are more concerned about creating things in the world, leaving other kinds of memorials." BUSINESS TRAVEL IS UP AND AWAY: Business travel spending remains healthy despite a weak economy, says an American Express survey out Monday. Of the 1,550 U.S. companies, governments and academic institutions that participated, 67% say they have increased or at least maintained their business travel budgets since 1990. About 28% reported increases of 10% or more since 1990 - the time of the last American Express survey. (For more, see special Travel package below.) PARENTS ARE LOSING PRIVACY: Courts increasingly are perusing records of past therapy sessions to determine a parent's mental fitness before making child custody decisions, especially when sexual abuse is alleged. Fueling the trend is a growing view that "so-called objective expert" psychologists, hired by parents, provide the court with little, if any, reliable insights. NATIVE AMERICAN ART IS HOT: From intricately beaded leather moccasins to wooden totem poles to books of legends and fables, Native American artwork is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Native American craft shops can now be found in almost every city, from small boutiques in shopping malls to large galleries in art centers. Some political activists say the trend could advance Native American rights. MOTOWN JOINS CHRISTMAS RUSH: Motown is joining the Christmas box set competition. It's coming out with a 104-song collection by 36 artists from 1959 to 1971. "Hitsville USA - The Motown Singles Collection" will be in stores Nov. 3. Performers include The Jackson Five, Diana Ross and the Supremes and Marvin Gaye. FAT-FREE PIZZA BEING SOLD: Pizza Free, the first fat-free frozen cheese pizza on the market, has 253 calories and virtually no fat or cholesterol. It is now available in Ohio, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania supermarkets. Thousands of new reduced-fat products are on the market, says Lynn Dornblaser, publisher of New Product News, Chicago. Her tally: 1,024 in 1990; 1,198 in 1991. VACCINES WIPING OUT INFECTION: New infant vaccines could virtually wipe out meningitis, say doctors at the University of Virginia. The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control figures show up to a 10-fold drop in the childhood infection. Doctors say the vaccine will eliminate a major cause of meningitis if used properly in the USA. ANIMAL TRANSPLANTS ARE UP: Doctors have successfully transplanted a pig's liver into a human. The transplant holds out hope for thousands of ill people who worry a human organ may not be found in time. Last year, 529 people died awaiting liver transplants, says Mary Ann Wirtz of the United Network for Organ Sharing. A baboon liver was transplanted into a 35-year-old man in June in Pittsburgh. He lived 10 weeks. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON TRAVEL: BUSINESS TRAVEL REMAINS STRONG: An American Express survey finds business travel spending is still strong. One reason: More companies are going overseas in search of new markets. The average percentage of travel and entertainment budgets spent on international travel rose from 8% in 1990 to 10%. AmEx Travel Group officials say the trend toward globalization of the economy has kept business spending up. MORE ARE FLYING OVERSEAS: The biggest companies - those that spend more than $5 million a year on travel and entertainment - spend 20% of those budgets on international travel. That's up from 17% two years ago. However, thousands of layoffs during the past two years have affected who travels and how much. Corporate spending per employee on travel and entertainment rose sharply, from 28% to 34%. TRAVEL IS BEING MONITORED: Companies also are exercising more control over travel and entertainment spending - continuing a steady and widely reported trend of the past several years. Examples: 64% of those surveyed have a formal, written policy, up from 56% in 1990; 26% treat senior executives differently than other employees, down from 37%; And 78% don't give employees permanent cash advances for expenses. (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Michele Coleman. (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