Montana water storage : status report

DNRC would also like to acknowledge the input provided by the Soil Conservation Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. PURPOSE Some river basins in Montana have experienced chronic water shortages affecting aquatic habitats, irrigators, municipalities, recreationists , and hydro power generators. These water shortages have reduced crop revenues, degraded valuable fisheries, increased domestic water supply costs, reduced recreational opportunities, and decreased hydropower generation. Preceded by a series of dry years, the severe drought of 1988 has increased public interest in the development of additional water storage in Montana. Many see new storage as the best answer to irrigation, municipal, industrial, and instream water shortages. Others view water storage as too expensive and environmentally damaging. To resolve this issue in the best interests of all concerned, the director of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) , at the request of the governor, created a public advisory task force. The task force assisted DNRC with the preparation of this water storage status report and made recommendations for further evaluation of the issues surrounding water storage. This report does not address the specific needs of the many river basins in Montana or the viability of water storage as a solution to specific water shortage problems. Such an effort would require a more detailed water planning study. Rather, the intent of this report is to provide general information that will serve as a foundation for the governor, legislature, and the State Water Plan Advisory Council to continue discussions about the need for and viability of additional water storage and its possible role in Montana water management. Such discussions will require detailed knowledge of the financial, economic, safety, social, and environmental aspects of additional water storage development. Managing the state's water resources should take into account the unique blend of natural surroundings, geologic features, economic needs, and social priorities of each river basin.


Montana water storage : status report

Dams inundate prime agricultural land and wildlife habitat, damage fisheries, and alter unique landscapes and historical sites. Clearly, the effects of water storage are many, varied, and unique (site-specific) to each reservoir. This complexity, coupled with differing social needs and priorities, suggests that the net effect of water storage is not easily understood or characterized. Water resources development has primarily been directed by the needs and priorities of the general public. In Montana's early days, water development consisted of short ditches and small reservoirs to meet the needs of miners and small farms. With the coming of electricity in the 1880' s, the demand for Montana's copper accelerated and hydroelectric power was developed near the state's copper smelters to meet this demand. Simultaneously, the coming of the railroads expanded agricultural markets and associated irrigation. As agriculture grew, there was a need for larger systems that were often beyond local development capabilities. About that time the federal government was interested in settling the west, and the Bureau of Reclamation was created to develop irrigation in the arid west. Many of Montana's early water storage projects were built by the Bureau under this mandate. The depression era represents a unique period for water resources development in Montana. The federal government created work programs to relieve unemployment. Montana was the only state able to put these programs to work developing water resource projects. To do this, a special legislative session created the State Water Conservation Board in 1935 for the purpose of using federal work program funds to relieve unemployment and develop water. After the depression, the federal work programs were eliminated and board activities slowly diminished to the point of maintenance and rehabilitation of state-owned projects. The board's successor, the Water Resources Division of the DNRC, continues to perform this maintenance and rehabilitation function.


Montana water storage : status report

As the country expanded to the west, there was public need for improved navigation for interstate commerce and additional electric power for economic development. This, coupled with the need for flood control and the ancillary benefit of flatwater recreation, fueled the drive for water storage development. Accordingly, water storage development was pursued by the federal government and typically was supported by the general public. This public support slowly eroded in the late 1950s and 1960s due to the great expense of water storage development and the less obvious need for additional storage in consideration of the existing benefits of storage. In the 1970s, federal water policy shifted markedly from water development toward preservation and enhancement of water quality. Development was no longer seen as a necessary or inevitable response to growing demand. In addition, a string of federal laws was passed to protect the nation's land and water resources, and these greatly complicated the prospects of new development. Consequently, Montana has not seen large-scale development since the construction of Libby Dam in 1972. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Soil Conservation Service have been the most active federal water development agencies in Montana and have generally offered the best opportunity for federal development in the past. Because of budget limitations, the SCS currently does not place a priority on water storage development, and the Bureau of Reclamation requires 50-percent cost share for planning and engineering and a negotiated cost share for construction, a significant departure from the 100-percent Bureau funding of the past. In addition, a recent executive order established a policy of no new federal construction starts. Considering the large national debt, the absence of past incentives, and an expanded national water resources agenda that includes pollution abatement, groundwater management, and other less traditional concerns, it is not likely that the federal role in water storage development will expand, and it may even diminish.


Montana water storage : status report

Currently, the biggest limitation to additional water storage development is the high cost of development and the lack of public (state or federal) funding due to changes in the social needs and priorities that drive public policy. In recent years the nation has placed a priority on other water issues such as water pollution control and groundwater management, which tend to divert resources away from water storage development. The result is a reduced availability of federal funds for storage development. Accordingly, water storage development in Montana might require resourceful financing methods and cooperation among local, state, and federal parties, and may also require considerable state expenditures. Environmental considerations in certain cases may also limit storage development. Past efforts to mitigate environmental impacts have allowed development to occur, though some have argued that the effectiveness of mitigation needs to be reexamined. The uncertainty of legal water availability also may tend to restrict water storage or delay it until water rights issues are resolved. The first step in the process of determining the role water storage might play in Montana water management should be to reach a consensus on the social objectives of water storage (e.g., irrigation, enhanced streamflow, etc.). Such consensus-building would be a considerable challenge and could require innovative approaches. Expenditure of state funds would be justifiable upon the establishment of common objectives for water storage that mutually benefit all Montanans. Such a scenario would require establishment of water storage criteria that control the decision-making process. When evaluating water storage, consideration should be given to all of the effects of water storage and to the many technical details associated with project feasibility. The site-specific and incremental nature of the effects of water storage suggest that the role of additional storage be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, subject to the relative merits of the project being considered.


Montana water storage : status report

Water storage projects were often built to regulate placer stream flow. Park Lake south of Helena is an example of early, mine-related storage. Homesteaders soon followed the miners, creating an agricultural industry around mining communities. To thrive in Montana's semi-arid climate, the homesteaders relied on small irrigation systems . Groyth of irrigation In the 1880s the railroads linked Montana to large markets for crops and cattle, and agriculture began to dominate water development. The development of short ditches from rivers was common, and the census of 1890 shows that 66 percent of the farms and stock ranches were irrigated. Early irrigation in the valleys largely exhausted opportunities for cheap development. Cooperative ventures and private ditch companies were formed in an effort to pool capital and labor. More ambitious projects were pursued, such as the Big Ditch, designed in 1883 to irrigate the Billings area. The Big Ditch Company is still in operation today. In fact, about half of the privately developed irrigation systems operated by canal companies today were built before 1900. But the capital required for larger projects exceeded local capability, and the state and federal governments were brought into the picture. A state convention was called in Helena in 1892, and a resolution was passed to demand that the federal government use the revenue from the sale of public lands for reclamation purposes through water development. In 1903, the state legislature formed the Carey Land Act Board to promote project development, and the Billings, Big Timber, and Valier projects were completed. The Valier project is still operated today by the Pondera Canal Company. Growth of private hYdropower Non-federal hydropower storage development followed the industrial, commercial, and residential demand for electricity that arose after the introduction of electric lighting in 1880. The electricity boom created a demand for copper (used as wire), and the copper industry grew rapidly, in turn requiring more electric power development to run mining and smelting operations .


Montana water storage : status report

Targeting unemployment During the Great Depression, the federal government sought to alleviate unemployment by establishing public works programs. Though these programs were not specifically aimed at resource management, Montana legislators saw them as an opportunity to continue water development in the state. Several states attempted to take advantage of these public works programs to develop water resources, but Montana was the only one to endure the many federal requirements and successfully build water resource projects through the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) . To do so, a special legislative session was called in 1933 to create the State Water Conservation Board. The State Water Conservation Board worked with the PWA, WPA, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1934 to 1933, trying to develop water resource projects and reduce unemployment. The selection of a project for development was based not only on technical and economic issues, but also on maximizing the effect on unemployment. Thus, projects were more often built in areas of high unemployment, and the most economically viable sites were not always the ones selected. In all, 181 water projects were built in Montana by the board. One hundred and forty-one of these were reservoirs capable of storing, at that time, 438,017 acre-feet. The PWA received applications for 67 projects from the State Water Conservation Board and provided loans and grants for 18 projects. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation provided a loan for one project. Most of these projects are still in existence and include most of the larger state-owned projects. In addition, an agreement was reached with the WPA in 1935 to provide loans and grants to Montana for water conservation projects that relieved unemployment. One hundred and twenty-eight small projects were built using these funds. Some of these projects were not serviceable, and others have been turned over to the water users associations. 8 The Water Conservation Board also received cooperation from the CCC in building two other projects.


Montana water storage : status report

Serving many purposes These basin-wide plans tried to address most of the concerns associated with water development, and it was often necessary (and advantageous) to design projects that served more than one function. By the 1960s, the federal government was also paying more attention to state and local interests, scientific research, and water resources education. The creation of the National Water Commission in 1968 signaled a major turn in the direction of federal water management. The commission forecast a shift in priorities away from water development toward the preservation and enhancement of water quality. Development was no longer seen as a necessary or inevitable response to growing demand. Storage projects continued to be built, but resource managers began to rely more upon water conservation practices to meet demands. By the 1970s, concern over declining water quality and other environmental issues had nearly stopped the development of water projects. Economic viability was no longer the sole concern in deciding whether to build a project. A string of federal laws had been passed to protect the nation's water and land resources, and these greatly complicated the prospects of developing new sites. Federal funding was, and continues to be, in short supply, further limiting development opportunities. The passage of the Water Resources Development Act in 1986 required non-federal cost sharing and up- front, non-federal financing during construction. This is a significant departure from past policies of federally funding nearly 100 percent of project costs. In addition, the federal government has issued a recent executive order asserting a policy of no new water development construction starts. It is uncertain how long this policy will prevail, but it is likely to remain in place until most federal projects already under construction are completed. Federal projects have also been restricted recently by concern over double 10 subsidies; that is, providing irrigation cost share for projects that irrigate surplus, government-subsidized crops.


Montana water storage : status report

It should be noted that Montana produces a very small quantity of surplus, subsidized, irrigated crops. THE FEDERAL ROLE TODAY This brief history of water storage development in Montana has clearly illustrated the strong influence exerted by federal activities and policies on development in our state. With the exception of private hydropower development and small, scattered storage projects, essentially all of the state's water storage projects have been built or largely financed by the federal government. The federal role in water storage development is likely to diminish in the foreseeable future, as suggested by the constraints of a large national debt, the absence of past incentives, and an expanded national water resources agenda that includes pollution abatement, groundwater management, and other less traditional concerns. Presently, five federal agencies are involved in water resource development in Montana. They are the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Soil Conservation Service, the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A discussion of the present status of these agencies follows, and Appendix A contains an inventory of existing water storage projects in Montana, including federally owned sites. Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation was created to facilitate the reclamation of the semi-arid regions in 17 western states. Its original mission was primarily irrigation development, but with time the agency was incorporated into the basin-wide planning process that evolved after World War II. Cooperating with the Corps of Engineers, the bureau developed multipurpose storage projects that were part of an overall basin plan. The Missouri River Pick-Sloan plan is an example of such a basin-wide plan. The bureau provides planning, engineering, contract administration, construction inspection services and, in many cases, operates and maintains the development. Large bureau projects are developed in stages (planning, engineering, and construction), with each stage receiving separate congressional authorization through specific acts.


Montana water storage : status report

Grants may be made for nonreimbursable portions of the project when the purposes are for public benefits, including flood control, outdoor recreation, and fish and wildlife purposes. Project proposals may be solely for irrigation or drainage of irrigated lands or may be for multipurpose projects eligible for authorization under federal reclamation laws. Multipurpose projects may include irrigation; drainage; domestic, industrial, or municipal water supply; hydropower; flood control; fish and wildlife enhancement; or outdoor recreation. The limit of federal funds that may be provided by loan or grant or combination thereof is $28.6 million (effective through December 1988). Corps of Engineers The Corps of Engineers is a regularly constituted branch of the United States Army with extensive military engineering and construction responsibilities. The Corps is also actively engaged in developing and implementing plans for flood control, navigation, and water conservation as primary civil functions under federal law. The Corps involvement in civil projects was initiated when Congress, in 1824, directed the Corps to work on waterways so that improved transportation could encourage settlement of the West. Since that time, the Corps has expanded its efforts into flood control, water supply, hydroelectric power, and recreation. The Corps planned, designed, built, and operates two large reservoirs in Montana--Libby Dam and Fort Peck. The Corps has also been involved in numerous flood control projects around the state. Corps projects are funded by direct congressional appropriations in specific water development acts, similar in many instances to how Bureau of Reclamation projects are funded. Soil Conservatiog Service The Soil Conservation Service offers water resource technical and financial assistance through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 (P.L. 566) and the Resource Conservation and Development Program. These programs differ from the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of 12 Engineers in how the financial and technical assistance is budgeted.


Montana water storage : status report

One of the most striking examples of the adverse effect of water storage development is the blockage of spawning runs of migratory fish in the Columbia River Basin. Hydroelectric development in the Columbia, Snake, Kootenai and Clark Fork basins nearly destroyed a valuable and unique fishery resource in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and severely altered resident fisheries in Montana. Today, millions of dollars are being spent to mitigate this damage by retrofitting existing dams to improve salmon migration and water temperature regimes and enhance spawning tributaries. Although mitigation efforts have greatly improved the situation, they cannot recreate the uniqueness of the original fishery and the associated recreational opportunities . Many dams in the state in addition to those in the Clark Fork River Basin also disrupt spawning runs. Physically blocking spawning runs adversely impacts fish populations in streams or lakes where the migrating fish originate . Storage reservoirs are designed to catch most of the high spring flows that typically shape a stream channel. Consequently, the channel becomes smaller, and there is a tendency for vegetation to encroach on the channel. This reduces the carrying capacity of the channel and promotes overland flooding when large runoff events do occur. In addition, high spring flows reduce sediment accumulation that enhances aquatic habitat and fish populations. The reduced spring runoff (flushing) associated with reservoirs allows sediment to accumulate, which alters habitat for food organisms, degrades spawning habitat, and accordingly reduces fish populations and associated recreational opportunities. Reduced spring flows also inhibit upstream passage of spawning fish. Nevada Creek and Newlan Creek downstream of their respective dams are examples of streams that have been • adversely impacted by reduced flushing flows. It is important to note that reduced spring runoff can also enhance a downstream fishery, depending on the original sediment load of the stream and magnitude of the reduction in flushing flows.


Microcomputer Implementation of SANTA: A Personnel Management Model : Final Report

Egly The focus of this research was the implementation of the computer-based personnel management model known as SANTA; for Systematic Analysis of Noninferlor Transfer Assignments. The model is a multiobjective integer program that can generate the complete and precise tradeoff curve between the objectives of minimizing total distance that the reassigned workforce must travel from their respective homes to one of many site locations, and minimizing the maximum distance that any one worker must travel. System constraints include demand requirements for workers at each site and the limited availability of state-owned vehicles that may be issued to workers assigned to remote sites. Details of the model structure and solution procedure are presented together with the results of an actual application. A complete users guide for model operation is provided as an appendix to this report. The quality of services provided by public institutions is often very difficult to quantify. In contrast to the private sector where engineering management objectives are usually specified in terms of economic efficiency, government agencies strive to provide the "best" level of service possible as measured by public well-being and safety. These performance criteria are generally difficult to quantify for most public service activities. The removal of snow and ice from the intrastate highway system is a good case in point. In developing a strategy for winter season snow and ice control, the goal is to provide efficient service within the constraints on available resources, plowing and abrasive spreading equipment, sand and salt supplies, and maintenance personnel. While holding down overall cost is a primary consideration, the safety of the public is the major objective.1 Public safety in this context has two distinct, but related components: 1) the condition of the road surface, and 2) the performance of the snow removal fleet during the operation.


While other decompositions of the problem A ft have been proposed, *° they tend to focus on the optimal design of service routes and the location of storage sites, neglecting the importance of personnel management in general, and fleet mobilization in particular. In contrast, the present work looks at the problem of assigning individual workers (drivers and radio operators) to worksites in such a way that when a snow emergency occurs, service may be initiated as efficiently and as rapidly as possible. The Problem It is the responsibility of the Indiana Department of Highways (IDoH) to provide for the removal of snow and ice from the Indiana intrastate highway system during the winter months. The goal is to conduct snow removal as efficiently as possible while holding cost to a minimum. Efficiency is a function of the rapid and orderly mobilization of a fleet of snow removal vehicles (snowplows) and a force of trained drivers and radio operators. Snow removal is administered through the maintenance division of each of the six district offices of IDoH. Prior to the start of each snow season, available personnel are assigned to one of many unit locations for the duration of the winter months. Each unit location houses snow removal equipment and supplies necessary to maintain one or more snow routes. The number of workers required at each unit location depends on the number, length and priority of the snow routes maintained by that site and does not fluctuate dramatically from season to season. The maintenance departments do not have a sufficient work force to provide drivers and radio operators to adequately staff all site locations. However, other IDoH divisions, such as the construction division, do not have sufficient work during the winter months for their employees. PAGE 3 Consequently, to avoid costly seasonal hirings and firings, IDoH reassigns summer construction workers to winter snow removal teams; a worker assigned to Unit No. 14 for construction during the summer may be assigned to unit No. 5 for snow removal during the winter.


The distance saved by assigning one worker to his/her closest site (thus avoiding issuance of a vehicle) is likely to be less than the added distance another person will have to travel to cover the original assignment. The objectives of minimizing total one-way travel distance and minimizing total vehicles issued to workers do not address one important aspect of public-sector engineering management; that of equity in the provision of services. The solution that minimizes total or average travel distance may have a great variation in assigned travel distances. If the average travel distance is, say 45 miles, a solution that assigns Worker A to a site 5 miles away and worker B to a site 85 miles away would be just as "good" as one that assigns both workers to sites 45 miles away from their homes. And yet these two solutions are clearly not identical in their impact on overall level of service. One approach to the specification of an equity objective is to seek that reassignment strategy that makes the deviation in travel distance about the mean travel distance as small as possible. Alternately, one might try to minimize absolute deviation in travel distance. While both of these objectives would result in solutions that may be more equitable than that which minimizes total travel distance, they would tend to promote assignment strategies that are inherently inefficient; workers might be assigned in such a manner that, in order to balance travel distances, they would pass each other as they drive to work. A more acceptable equity objective would be one that minimizes the travel distance of the person who must travel the greatest distance to work; minimize maximum travel distance. While this objective is also likely to be in "conflict" with that which minimizes total distance, it is also likely to be much more acceptable to both workers and management.


Note also that it is possible for the problem to terminate infeasible if, for example, not enough workers are available to meet total demand, or if there are insufficient vehicles available for assignment, or if the distance restriction D is too small. However, if a feasible solution exists, an optimal assignment of workers to sites will be provided by the model. For the case where the constraint on available vehicles (Equation 4) is not binding, this solution represents that strategy requiring the largest number of vehicles; the utilization of one additional vehicle will not result in a strategy having a lower total distance measure. Mr nOCOMPUTER IMPLEMENTATION OF SANTA Wright & Egly PAGE 10 The second objective imbeded in the snow removal personnel reassignment problem as stated in the previous section is to keep the maximum distance traveled by any worker as small as possible. This problem may also be formulated as a single-objective model. Let DMAX be that distance traveled by the worker who must travel the greatest distance to work. The objective is to find that reassignment strategy that makes this distance as small as possible within system constraints. Equation 1 is replaced by a new objective function: Minimize Z = DMAX (5) In order to define DMAX as the maximum travel distance assigned to workers, the following set of constraints must be included: X d^ Xjj ss DMAX v i (6) jeN, No assigned travel distance dy will be larger than the value of DMAX which is being minimized. The rest of the model is identical to the formulation presented as Table 1. The complete formulation for minimizing maximum assigned travel distance is presented as Table 2. The solution provided by solving the model presented in Table 2 would result in an assignment strategy where the distance traveled by the person traveling the greatest distance to work is as small as possible.


First, the model formulation presented in Table 1 - the formulation for minimizing maximum distance traveled - is solved as a single objective linear program. Experience has shown that the solution to this problem is integer (xjj=0,1) in excess of 97 percent of the times it was solved. In fact, fractional solutions occurred only when the constraint on available vehicles (Equation 4) was binding at optimality; removing this restriction from the formulation yields the classic transportation problem of operations research. In cases where fractional solutions were encountered, only a few branch-and-bound iterations were needed to secure an integer solution. This solution corresponds to point A on the graph, and represents the solution with the smallest possible total distance measure. For this example, the smallest possible total distance of any assignment strategy would be 2,133 miles. Provided there does not exist an alternate optimal solution where the maximum distance traveled by any one individual is less than 45 miles, this solution is the true endpoint of the tradeoff curve. Because there does not exist a solution where the total travel distance is less than this amount, we need not consider solutions having a maximum distance in excess of 45 miles; any such solution would be dominated by this solution. Next, the model presented in Table 2 - formulation for minimizing maximum travel distance - is solved, again, as a single objective problem. This solution for the sample problem is shown as point B on Figure 2. The smallest maximum travel distance possible for any feasible solution is 32 miles, and results from an assignment strategy requiring the workforce as a whole to travel a total of 2,212 miles to their work stations. Because there are no solutions with a shorter maximum distance measure (again, assuming there are no alternate optima with a lower total distance measure), we need not search for solutions having a longer total travel distance than that provided by this solution.


Line three of the data file is called the "Demand Line" for obvious reasons. As with the Names Line, the Demand Line allows the use of the first 23 columns for a label. The five-column blocks under individual unit headings specify the person-power requirement at each of the units. It is recommended that demand numbers be right justified in these fields and that zero demand should be explicit (place a "0" in the demand field). These numbers may require annual adjustment and it is important to remember that SANTA will NOT perform unless total demand is equal to the number of people available. MICROCOMPUTER IMPLEMENTATION OF SANTA Wright & Egly PAGE 21 The fourth and last class of data line is called the "Employee Line" and will be used for all the employee information. The first eighteen columns of an Employee Line contain the individual's name. Upper case, lower case or mixed case names are at the discretion of the user. The names need not be in any particular order: SANTA will alphabetize all output lists. However, the user should be warned that SANTA will arrange these lists using characters from the beginning of the name field. Therefore, names should be in "Last, First" format to avoid lists which start with "Abby" and end with "Zeke". Columns 19 through 23 of Employee Lines can be used to "fix" individual personnel to specific units. The five character string within these columns must match a unit name precisely for a proper fix to occur. If unit names begin with a blank, the fix string must also begin with a blank. A fix will be attempted when ANY non-blank character appears in column 20. Currently, all faulted fixes (non-blank column 20 but SANTA unable to match with a unit name) are reported to the user during the execution of SANTA and subsequently ignored to allow a solution attempt.


Pnlu PAGE 24 user should bear in mind that this number (15) is hard coded, and not calculated from the size of the problem. Actual run time will generally be a bit longer. After the first few local runs, the user should have a fairly good idea of the actual delay time. Once the number crunching is completed, SANTA will report to the user's monitor again. If a solution could not be found, SANTA will announce the difficulty and add a suggestion for improving the chances of finding a solution ("increase mileage standard", etc.). Otherwise, SANTA will present the Report Selection menu and the user will be asked to select a reporting "depth" by entering a number between one and six. Entries outside this range will produce and error message and bring the Report Selection menu up again. If selection six is chosen ("save no output"), SANTA will terminate and return the user to MS-DOS. After the report level has been specified, SANTA will prompt the user for a format selection. Format type two is suitable for the IBM Quietwriter, Proprinter, and other IBM compatible printers (double width lines, graphics characters, etc.). Format type one is more appropriate for viewing on the monitor or printing on incompatible printers, although type two is "monitor acceptable". Any user entry other than "2" will default to format type one. If the user has come this far, SANTA will remark that output is being written to the file "output" before returning the user to DOS. This is an important point: the current version of SANTA ALWAYS writes any pertinent output to this file. Therefore, the user should carefully archive solutions by moving or copying the "output" file (different directory, different name, etc.). Subsequent SANTA runs will overwrite any file called "output" in the local directory. This is the primary reason for Report Selection item number six, to allow the user a "graceful" exit without destroying the results of a prior run.


Microcosm

Eliot, in his poem, "Journey of the Magi," presents his ideas of the wise men's thoughts and feelings on their trip to Bethlehem, thoughts and feelings still common among people today. Who were these men who traveled so far, with only a star to guide them, to give gifts to a child born in an obscure Judean village? "And opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh." (Matt. 2:11, New American Standard) The Magi were, according to the Peloubet's Bible Dictionary, a Median race who acted as priests of the Persians, but whose persistence as a race is frequently attested and occa- sionally causes violent conflicts. They were priests of Zoroaster, giving their time largely to astrology, the interpretation of dreams, natural science, and medicine, (pp. 378-379) Eliot begins his poem with a stark description of the weather and terrain through which the wise men traveled on their journey. He describes it as being ". . . the worst time of the year/The very dead of winter." Their caravan must have been very large, for these Magi were noble men, probably with many slaves and servants. It must have been extremely trying for an entourage of its size, probably 100 to 150 peo- ple, to travel the great distance they came, in the dead of winter, through the hazardous Judean wilderness. How many times did these sages want to turn back and return home? But a compulsion they did not understand led them on and they persevered, finally arriving at Bethlehem. Eliot begins the second stanza of the poem by saying that when the wise men get to Bethlehem, it is warm, as Eliot puts it "... a temperate valley." The Magi find this Christ child in a warm, dry, easily accessible place. Perhaps his descriptions of the changes in climate reflect some of Eliot's feelings and some of ours.


Microcosm

Eliot had undergone a religious ex- perience, converting to Anglo-Catholicism in 1927, before writing this poem (Pierce, 16). Perhaps, Eliot is showing one's feelings toward God in his descriptions of the weather and terrain. When the Magi were far from Bethlehem, the weather was horrendous and the traveling hard. With Bethlehem symbolizing one's relationship to God, Eliot could be showing that away from God, in the wilderness, the way is rough go- ing. But, as the Magi are approaching Bethlehem, getting closer to God. —5— the traveling becomes easier, more pleasant. How close does this parallel one's personal life. When one is away from God, the "travel- ing" is hard. When one draws near to God, the going becomes easier. You will hear this idea brought out many times when a person gives a Christian testimony. The worst times of that person's life were the times he felt isolated from God. But, as the person came closer to God, his life became more peaceful and everything just seemed to work itself out. Next, Eliot describes the scene the Magi view as they descend in- to the valley. As they descend, the Magi see ". . . three trees on the low sky/And an old white horse galloped away into the meadow . . ." The three trees are apparently a reference to the three crosses which stood on Golgotha the day of Christ's crucifixion. But what of the old white horse? Some critics have thought that perhaps this is an allusion to the white horse Christ rides upon Revelation. "And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." (Revelation 6:2, King James Version) But, Eliot's horse is riderless, while the horse in Revelation has a rider.


Microcosm

Maybe, he also realiz- ed that for this new birth to take place, part of himself must die. That part of himself that wants to control his life, make all the decisions, look out for number one, and be self-centered must die. Many people today, when they receive the new birth of Christ, do not want to die to self. They want to keep just a little part of their life to themselves, instead of turning their life totally over to Christ. Maybe this is why so many Chris- tians are apt to turn their backs to God. Without Christ in total control, the tiny bit of their own life gradually becomes more and more, until Christ is pushed out of the way and the person is back in control of his life. Not until persons relinquish every part of their life to Christ's con- trol will those persons be truly happy and content. The last stanza also says that when the Magi returned to his native land, he was ill at ease "...with an alien people clutching their gods..." After this journey, the kinship which the Magi had once felt for his native people no longer exists. The significant word in this line is the their before gods. These were the pagan gods the Magi had worshipped all his life; but, after the experience of meeting the Christ child and feeling the presence of the One True God, his return to his homeland was mark- ed by a reluctance to participate in the worship of the old gods. This wise man now views them as alien, as the gods of the people, but no longer his gods. This wise man had an experience with God that chang- ed his life. People today also have these kinds of experiences and peo- ple today still worship other gods.


Microcosm

Tom Martin First Place, Formal Essay —8— Numerical Symbolism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Throughout the ages, numbers have been thought of by people to hold mystical powers. Seven was considered by the Greeks as a lucky number, eight was considered in many ancient lands as the symbol for magic, and nine and five became known in some countries as the numbers of truth. For several members of the medieval Christian church, these superstitions were reinforced, rather than abolished, by the various rituals and symbols which were used by their priests and which were held to be sacred. Even today, many are preoccupied with recurring Biblical numbers such as seven and forty-nine and with the mysterious six hundred sixty-six of The Revelation. The unknown author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was aware of the enjoyment procured from the symbolic use of numbers in literature. In his poem, he set out to please his Christian readers by delicately weav- ing the mysticism of the number five within a section of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The author tells of a "pentangle portrayed in purest of gold" which hung from Sir Gawain's neck before he started his death ride to the Green Chapel. Drawn from five connecting lines, the pentangle, a five- pointed star, was also known as the endless knot. Although a mental exercise, to the medieval Christian, reading the passage of the pentangle would be both a joy and a pleasure. The pure gold of Sir Gawain's pentangle would have been seen to the readers as representing the purity of knighthood and of Sir Gawain himself, while the endless knot could be seen as representing, among other things, the courteousness of Gawain and the infinity of God. Just as love knots bind lovers, so does the endless knot bind Gawain to his Holy Father.


Microcosm

The sun was just beginning to rise as the ship made its way into New York Harbor Bay. The ship was a melting pot full of immigrants from far away lands filled with high hopes for a new life in a land they called America. As the sky lightens up with its first rays of sunlight you could hear the excitement in the voices of the people on board. A silent hush went through the crowd when they saw for the first time "The Statue of Liber- ty." She was standing there with open arms, welcoming them to America. It was as if she were crying with silent lips: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, Yearning to be free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these the homeless tempest tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. The Statue of Liberty has lightened the pathway to America for ninety-eight years. But now she has a different cry, a cry for help, for elements of time have taken their toll on Miss Liberty. She is in serious need of reconstruction, and she is turning once again to America for help. On close inspection you will find her brow is pockmarked with holes. The iron bars that support the statue's copper skin have deteriorated. The iron's contact with copper has resulted in electrolysis, a process that dissolves metal.1 Miss Liberty's arm holding the torch seems to sag a bit; it has been swaying since 1916. Her arm and torch are the most badly damaged sections of the statue. Architects have found out that the arm was im- properly connected at the shoulder, when Miss Liberty was built.2 "Liberty Enlightening the World," was the name Frederic Auguste Bartholdi first gave to the statue while he was designing and building her.


Microcosm

Houpt pointed out that all race cars supported by his company bear the Miss Liberty emblem.8 The Nestle Corporation has designed a commemorative statue of solid milk chocolate to help raise money for our Lady. The statue is richly detailed and richly delicious: she's sure to melt hearts. For every unit mat is sold the people at Nestle will contribute twenty-five cents to the statue.9 Because of all these efforts, Miss Liberty has taken on a new look. Scaffolds are weaving their way around her allowing workmen to heal her ailing skin. It will take two years to complete the project, working from the inside out. The inside will be changed completely with the most striking change being the hollowing out of much of the colossal 154 foot high base; this will return the interior to its original vast proportions.10 Also, on the list of improvements is a new emergency elevator. Surveying for the new elevator was very important, engineers relied on a special application of laser beam technology. The elevator will travel a vertical distance of 250 feet from one shoulder to the statue's base, between her skeleton and her gown.11 The most badly damaged section is the arm holding the torch. The torch, itself, will be completely reconstructed with the original one be- ing placed in a museum. The arm which is unstable will be worked on in place. The statue was originally reddish brown. When copper corrodes, it forms a protective green film called patina or corroding.12 The washing off of the patina on the 300 copper plates that form the 151 -foot statue's outer skin and the placing of a protective coating that will protect her from further pollution will be the final task in her reconstruction. Almost half of all living Americans can trace their family histories to the arrival of a ship at nearby Ellis Island.


Microcosm

James Joyce, the author, uses the young boy's infatuation with a girl to illustrate the reality that reveals the uselessness of many childhood dreams. The boy, who remains nameless throughout the story, is very much a boy. He has a group of friends in his neighborhood, and they take part in their boyish games. He looks at the world through the eyes of a child— naive, not seeing the possibility of failure in anything. This quali- ty causes him a lot of grief, and yet it teaches him a valuable lesson about life. Although the boy is still very much like a child, he is experiencing something characteristic of an older person. He is obsessed with the older sister of one of his friends. The boy is so infatuated with this girl that she dominates his every thought. His life really comes to revolve around the girl. Every morning he would watch for her to leave for school, and when she left, he always followed her. He often found himself say- ing prayers about the girl. When the boy and his aunt go to the rough, noisy market, he imagines that he "bore his chalice safely through a throng of foes." This signifies that the thought of her remained cons- tant in his mind and nothing could take it away. The boy's main problem is not being in love, but the fact that he is scared to talk to the girl. One day, though, he overcomes his shyness and has a conversation with her. During the conversation she brings up Araby, an oriental bazaar. She says she had wanted to go to it, but she couldn't. The boy says he might go, and if he does he would bring her something. This makes his situation worse because he becomes worthless in the days before the bazaar.


Microcosm

He thinks of nothing but the bazaar and what he will get for the girl. The day of the bazaar finally comes. Delayed by his uncle's com- ing home late, the boy is late for the bazaar. As he arrives it is closing. At this point a very painful truth is revealed to the boy. He finally sees himself "as a creature driven and derided by vanity." All that time the boy had been so madly in love with the girl that he had overlooked the fact that his cause was utterly hopeless. He had failed to see that all his thoughts, all his emotions, and all his time were being spent in vain. Joyce treats this character as if he had gone through the same ex- perience himself. Although the story is not about Joyce, there are some details in the story which were a part of his own life. He treats the events in the story as if he knew of them first-hand. This first-hand approach plays a major role in bringing the character and his situation to life. Jay Holliday Copiah Academy Second Place, Formal Essay —17— The Hemingway Code Hero Ernest Hemingway's writing contains many concepts, but the most characteristic of his work is the concept of the Hemingway man or code hero. Hemingway's writings were enthusiastically received by the readers of his day. The concept of the code hero was largely responsi- ble for this phenomena because the character's life-style appealed strongly to the people of the Nineteen Twenties. These people were disillusioned with traditional Western society and were searching for new concepts and attitudes. The code hero was a character who was involved in various ac- tivities in which the typical American male did not participate. He was a character who was involved in a great deal of drinking and who mov- ed from one love affair to another.


Microcosm

He was often a bullfighter, a soldier, or a wild game hunter, each of whom faced death daily. Underlying the concept of the code hero is the disillusionment of the general public brought about by World War I. The people of this day realized that the traditional values inherent in Christianity and other ethical systems had not saved mankind from the atrocities of the First World War. The writers of this period began looking for a new set of values to replace the traditional Christian values that they believed had failed. Hemingway was at the forefront of this movement as he search- ed for a new set of rules and values based on order and discipline that would endure in any situation. The concept of death is the foundation for the actions of the Hem- ingway code hero. This concept lies behind all of the hero's actions. It is an extension of Hemingway's belief that "when you are dead you are dead." There is no afterlife— nothing else. This means that man must emphasize obtaining or doing or performing something while he is still alive. Hemingway referred to this as "carpe diem" which means "seize the day." Consequently, the code hero devotes himself to the gratifica- tion of carnal desires because these are the rewards offered in this life. This allows the code hero to live life at the fullest, attaining as much happiness and satisfaction as possible. Since death is the end of all things, the code hero must avoid death at almost any cost. It may seem strange, considering this view, that the code hero often confronts death. These confrontations serve as a showcase of the code hero's disciplined set of rules toward death. The code hero must not fear dying, but he realizes that death is the end and that it must be avoided if possible.


Microcosm

By this stance, the code hero shows the coolness, the grace, the courage, and the discipline that make him Hemingway's ideal man. The Hemingway code hero is a character shaped largely by chang- ing philosophies in the Nineteen Twenties. He is a character who adheres to a strict set of rules concerning death, but who lives life freely. He seeks to get the most from life while he is here while retaining at all times "grace under pressure." For the character to become the code hero he must confront death and defeat it, while not fearing it. Art Kergosien Brookhaven High School Third Place, Formal Essay —19- A Pair of Trousers Seemingly unimportant events in our childhood sometimes make such impressions on us that we remember them always. A pair of long trousers, when considered in isolation, seems to be a totally insignifi- cant object, but when I see a young boy dressed for church or school in long trousers, I invariably recall my own boyhood problems with them. I must have been about seven or eight years old when I first realiz- ed that I was different — all of my friends wore long trousers to school, but I didn't. The most popular type of trousers at the time was made out of khaki material and was worn with a wide belt and a brightly col- ored shirt which never seemed to match. My grandmother, for reasons that I did not discover until several years later, thought that all young boys should wear knickers or shorts in public, with a matching shirt and socks. Consequently, I owned several pairs of knickers in every conceivable color, each with its very own mat- ching shirt and long socks. The knickers, when worn "properly" bagg- ed just over the knee, hiding the tops of their matching socks inside the elastic legs.


What Is Happening in the Area? And Whither?

The vital point in the whole issue is the manner of facing the imperialist, the Zionist aggression against our Nation and our land — that chronic aggression which assumed on June 1967 a very dangerous and humiliating form. While circumstances in the past years had provided many opportunities for some people to postpone the adoption of decisions, and try to alleviate the anxiety and anger of the masses, it is now certain and obvious that the forthcoming phase will not have room for such a game. A clear-cut and definite decision must be taken. In such a matter as this, there can be only two alternatives: either struggle against aggression, and achievement of complete victory, or at least a certain and acceptable amount of victory over the aggressors; or acceptance of aggression and compromise with the aggressors in one form or another. In fact, these two alternatives are entirely divergent and contradic- tory. There have been attempts in the past, and still are, at working out a formula combining the two solutions : a bit of struggle, or pretension of struggle, together with the search for a settlement formula amounting in essence to acceptance of, and capitulation to aggres- sion. There has been, in. many of these attempts a great deal of skill and subtlety, and they have been actually able to lull substantial sections of the masses. But the glaring actual facts, and the experience of the past years, have weakened these attempts, alth- ough we do not think that they have been finally done with. There is still a great illusion, dominating the minds of many people, and a hope to which they have clung in order to extricate themselves from the deadly impasse. But the major problems in the lives of nations are not solved by illusions, nor by illusioned people.


The special association between the Jews scat- tered over numerous communities, had been an age- old phenomenon. Their negative attitude to those professing other religions, as well as the attitude of the latter towards them, had been a well known fact. But Zionism as a creed and a movement arose only in the nineteenth century, which represents the begin- ning of the era of imperialism. Hence, it was a move- ment which arose in the era of imperialism. This is not just a striking historical coincidence, but a fact of 10 grave significance. Zionism could only have arisen in such an era, with its political, economic and ideolo- gical conditions. All events and experience have proved that it is EXISTENTIALLY LINKED UP with imperialism, and that its course has been shifting with the shift of imperialist centres, and have been practically follow- ing the same path. As to the differences or contradictions between the methods and interests of Zionism and those of one or another imperialist state, they are only natural. The experience of mankind has proved that imperialism and all the movements and trends deriving from it, have had a common essence, but with various forms and methods. Contradictions between imperialist states may reach a dangerous point, such as war, as was the case in the First and Second World Wars, but they are all agreed on the same objective, namely, domination over peoples and plunder of their resources. The racist Zionist movement aspiring to usurp foreign territory and build a special state, was viewed by imperialism as a useful instrument for carrying out part of its policy and ensuring some of its interests. Had it not been for this fact, it would have been abso- lutely impossible for a “Jewish” movement to obtain the help of “Christian” communities in the establish- ment of a Jewish home, at the same time when Chris- tianity views itself as a transcendence and abolition of Judaism !


During the nineteenth century, and at the outset of the twentieth century, Britain and France had the greatest colonial empires in the world. They had the greediest designs on the Arab Homeland and occupied important positions there, as well as, the whole Arab Maghreb — Egypt — the Sudan — the Gulf — South of the Arab Peninsula —, and looked forward to the occupation of the remaining parts in the grip of the tottering Ottoman Sultanate. The establishment of a ‘Jewish State” allied to the West in Palestine, did not run counter to the interests and plans of imperialist 11 Britain and France, but in fact accorded fully with them. This state could become a secure base for them in an area which was not absolutely secure; and could also be employed as an instrument for guarding their interests and a spearhead for suppressing any moves endangering these interests. On the other hand, there is gold, oil and large territories for cotton planting in Palestine, and Britain and France had nothing to lose by turning it over to the Jews. Meanwhile, these two powers would get rid of the Jewish troubles inside them, and throughout the whole of Europe, and the careerist bourgeois poli- ticians would obtain material, electoral, moral, and other gains out of the Jews living there. It was really an integral compact, concluded between the Zionist offspring a land which they did not own and from which they extracted no profits, while the Zionist offspring pledged to serve their parents perpetually. The only negative outcome of this whole compact would be the Arabs ineffective anger'... The compact had retained its validity for both sides, and only trivial problems arose between some fanatic and impatient Zionists; on the one hand, and the British administration on the other, during the British Mandate on Palestine.


The Zionist entity, as we have repeatedly said, constitutes an aggressive military base for achieving the objective of imperialism in the area. At the same time, it is an expansionist, seitler-colonialist, racist structure having special objectives which are essen- tially inseparable from those of imperialism, although not always coinciding with them one hundred per cent. As we have already said in a previous article, U.S. imperialism did not find the Arab area affairs completely reassuring for its interests in the future, although the Arab official affairs did not constitute any direct threat to those interests. The Arab liberation movement despite what it had sustained, and obstacles it had faced, had not met with a major defeat at the hands of imperialism. It was stubbornly looking for the possibility of a real growth and rise. Imperialism had been viewing the situation in a clearer manner, and analysing affairs and consequences more accurately oz than did the Arab regimes and many political forces in the Arab area. It felt the urgent need for directing a powerful blow to the Arab liberation movement to force it many years back paralyse its capacity for affairs of the area in a manner considerably ensuring its interests. The land-hungry Zionist enemy, espe- cially since the long-awaited opportunity came at last for imperialism and the Zionist entity. The imperialist-Zionist aggression has achieved many of its objectives. On one hand, it has resulted in enlarging the area of Zionist usurpation of Arab land and consequently its further consolidation, militarily and geographically, in face of the struggle, of the Arab people. On the other hand, this aggression has weak- ened Egypt and Syria which had, for many years, greately influenced the affairs of the area, placed them in a position of self defence, and made them subject to influences of other countries of the area.


Electronic Arts Mail Order Monsters

Do not attempt to fight against the Horde with a morph that is both unarmed and slow. -1 ■V;; ■ : GREETINGS, SHREWD CUSTOMER. Welcome to Mail Order Monsters, Inc. Let these pages be your guide to the fantasies which can be yours through our services. Our Mail ORder Psychon Heroes (affectionately known as "morphs" for short) are the finest in the galaxy. Your wish is our command. Look on page 2 for information about how to take morphs out for a Free Trial (the Beginner option), so you can learn how combat works, and so you can get a feel for the different morph and weapon capabilities. When you're ready for something more complex, move on to our Rental Option (Intermediate) described on page 4. Spend 1000 psychons to put together your own combinations of morphs and weapons. Then choose the battlefield and the contest. Our Tournament competition, described on page 5, is for experts. The results of each contest are saved on your Owner Disk. Winners receive psychons and victory points which their owners can spend on better weapons and traits, or on new morphs. Begin with 500 psychons and earn your way to the top. For general information about morph traits, extras and weapons and the importance of each, turn to page 6. Important Note: For information about how to proceed as you use the Mail Order Monsters program, watch the top of the screen as you work. FREE TRIAL (BEGINNER) Select Free Trial to go straight to the morph vats to pick from our twelve basic morph stocks. Then use your joystick to move the highlight from morph to morph and press the button when you have the one you want. A Morph Summary screen will appear, and you must type in a name for the morph you have chosen. If you choose the one player option, you will be spirited to the battle¬ field as soon as you press Return (after typing in the name).


Electronic Arts Mail Order Monsters

Mail Order Monsters Inc. strongly urges that you practice selecting options - particularly weapons - while on the big map. It can be fatal to fumble with your options while your morph is being pursued by a determined enemy. Each morph comes equipped with differing strengths and weaknesses and with different extras, weapons and defenses. In the Intermediate and Tournament games, all extras (beyond the basic ones a morph stock comes with) and all weapons, rounds, energy, food, defenses and other devices must be purchased. Turn to page 6 for a description of the various traits, weapons, defenses and devices so that you might think about how to use each as you play. Even though you cannot change these items during Free Trial games, studying the information on those pages in combination with your trial contests will help you get ready for games in which you must make your own choices in these matters. RENTAL (INTERMEDIATE LEVEL) As in the Free Trial game, after each contest you will be given the opportunity to fight again, and if you're playing against the computer you may ask for a different opponent (which the computer will pick randomly) for the replay. There are two important differences between the Free Trial and Rental options. 1* In Morph Meadow - When the program finishes loading (after you make your choice of level and respond to the computer's prompt to type in a name for your owner), youll find your owner standing on Morph Meadow. Walk your owner (with your joystick) over the Vats to pick out a morph. Then lead the morph to the Weapon Shop to buy weapons and sundries (described on page 7). Finally lead it down to the Transmat (matter transmission) Booth for transmission to a battlefield. Youll have a total of 1000 psychons to spend on a morph plus any trait upgrades, extras and equipment you may want to purchase.


Electronic Arts Mail Order Monsters

The maximum you may add on any one trip is 3 for the first four traits and 30 for life. Armor - The natural defense against attacks. A tough hide proves very useful in Beastfu (i.e. hand to claw to tentacle to jaw, etc.) bang-ups! Muscle - Your morph's ability to duke it out, to kick sand in other morphs' faces and live to tell about it. Also important for carrying heavy weapons and devices. Speed - Crucial for zipping around the terrain and the competition. Slow morphs are soon no morphs, if they aren't careful. Mind - Your morph's ability to solve philosophical problems. Perhaps more importantly, though, the ability to reload quickly after firing. Dumb morphs get nailed while fumbling with the ammunition. life- The longer, the better. life points are zapped every time an opponent scores a hit. MORPH EXTRAS There are eleven extras to choose among for each morph in the Intermediate and Tournament games - a total of 20 in all. They belong to 4 groups. 1) Means of movement. Burrow and Gills enable morphs to move at normal speeds through mountains and water respectively. Teleport brings normal speed in all terrain. 2) Means of attack. Spit and Sting (projectile attacks), Web (a chemical attack which freezes the opponent in place for a period of time) and Psi-blast (a psi, or mind, attack which robs your opponent of his mind force) are all effective at a distance. The other natural attacks—fiery Breath (chemical), the shocking Electrotouch (energy), i and Claws and Fangs (Beastfu aids) - must be delivered at close range. 3) Defenses. Each of the five available reduces the damage to your morph from a specific type of attack. Anti-thump protects against physical attacks, Anti-e against energy attacks, Anti-chem against chemical attacks, Anti-proj against projectile attacks and Anti-psi against psionic (mind) attacks. 4) Natural aids.


Electronic Arts Mail Order Monsters

Hands and Tentacles are required to operate certain weapons. Healing insures a slow regeneration of life energy. Photosynthesis guarantees its owner a small but steady supply of the energy needed for energy attacks and to operate certain defenses and devices. (But don't forget to buy an E-Pack.) WEAPONS Our weapons shop inventory is second to none in variety, power and reliability. Use our Rental option (Intermediate level) to learn what each weapon offers in the trade-offs between power, weight and ammunition consumption. Then, when you move on to ownership in the Tournament game, choose and use weapons appropriate to the strength and abilities of each morph in your stable. Here are some tips gleaned from successful owners: 1) If weight is a concern (because your morph isn't very strong and is already pretty slow), go for the Autorifle or the Boorang (always guaranteed to return to its sender) on a modest budget. Go for the Needier or Sword if you're all but broke, and for the Lapistol - a spiffy little laser number - if money is no object. (Lapistols, like all energy weapons, require their users to own and carry an Energy pack to hold the energy they need to fire. But in return for the extra weight and cost, they deliver a mighty wallop.) 2) If you'd like to be able to launch attacks on the big map, buy yourself some missiles or a bomb. But don't expect them to be light or to be a modest drain on your ammunition supply. (Note: If you're worried about weight, choose the Summary option for another look at your morph's basic traits. If you're trying to carry too much, that fact will be reflected in a decline in your Speed trait.) 3) The E-stealer is a handy little device which sucks the energy from your opponent's E-pack.


Fallen Angel: A Magic: The Gathering Legend #1

Above, series artist Dennis Calero, captures another of these wretched creatures, trapped i in the unearthly form of.a Fallen Angel. veil what would beco Ss graphic novel id by Madeleine Robins There is something intriguing about hoods and thugs and minions of evil, from Captain Hook to Hannibal Lecter; they're fascinating, albeit uncom- fortable, characters to hang out with. Because of that discomfort, humans confront evil by trying to figure out the how, the why: Hitler’s bad toilet-training, Jeffrey Dahmer’s separation anxiety. The tension, when we can’t find a reason, can lead to extraordi- nary drama (check out the current film version of Richard III for an example). On the other hand, the strictly, purely, virtuous and good tend also to be uncomfortable, for different reasons (my bedside reading table is not stacked high with biographies of Mother Teresa, how about yours?). As story-tellers and consumers, humans like our good guys to choose good after a struggle: we root for Han Solo because he’s a good guy in spite of himself. So the very bad are gripping; the very good are uncomfort- able; it’s the good gone bad who are, perhaps, the most fascinating of all. Human-kind loves tales of fallen angels. Why are fallen angels so compelling? They bridge the space between good and evil: they represent, in macrocosm, the struggle every human being has not to succumb to the Dark Side. We all experience the tension between doing the right thing and the wrong—on the microscopic personal level of “must I give up my comfortable subway seat to that little old lady over there?” Io see moral dilemma played out in heroic scale is not simply good dramatic: it vali- dates our small, and not so small, struggles.


And who leads the fallen? Lucifer, the Morning Star, the angel who had shone most brightly at God’s side. A powerful tale needs that — the glamour and magnificence of the fallen one. Would we really care about a ne’er-do-well, kinda slipshod angel who'd already had a couple of warn- ings from God’s personnel office? As I said earlier, humanity tends to like its ne’er-do-wells rehab- ilitated (ike Han Solo) and its saints and angels fallen—or struggling against the temptation to fall (as Luke Skywalker does over the course of the Star Wars trilogy). That struggle relies on the crucial notion of free will. Lucifer and his hordes fall from grace (as Adam did) by choosing wrongly. But what about the fallen Serra Angel Trine? She has the attributes of a tragic heroine, the fierce righteousness, the beauty, but her fall from grace comes through the trickery of Xarl, the wizard. If Trine has a flaw that drives her to her fall, it might be pride: a faith in her own power which never acknowledges that mortal man could be a threat, and therefore leaves her open to Xarl’s wiz- ardry. And what of repentance and redemption? Trine does her vampiric evil with only a faint, amne- siac longing for the time when she was first among her sisters of glory. She longs for her former self but is powerless to choose good, to end her suffering, even to feel remorse for the carnage she causes. In fact, when she is released from her bondage by Xarl’s death, she does not cease to do evil: Trine lays waste to Xarl’s castle, and poises to destroy a human city— perhaps all of humanity. Whatever dim and poignant recollection she may have of her days of good, Trine does not have the power to change.


NIDA Research Monograph Series #166: Treatment for Drug-Exposed Women and Children: Advances in Research Methodology

Strantz, James Farrow, and Shoni Davis INTRODUCTION Substance abuse during pregnancy continues to affect the lives of families across the United States. Most communities arc not organized to deal with the multiple problems that must be addressed when developing intervention and treatment programs for pregnant women. At the same time, many citizens and community organizations may be suspicious of outside investigators stepping in to design outreach and treatment programs within existing structures and organizations. These difficulties are multiplied if the community regards the research as an opportunity to take advantage of the community without providing any long-term benefit to the community members. There is little debate about the need for a wide-ranging assortment of services for indigent women who are involved with alcohol or other drugs. Rather, the debate revolves around how best to provide and assess comprehensive drug treatment services. The predominant issues of cost, convenience, and effectiveness inevitably have an effect on research. Centralized programs conducted at comprehensive health care facilities, such as a university medical center, provide a congenial environment wherein to conduct treatment services research but provide relatively little access to the populations at highest risk. By contrast, community-based providers with direct access to a sufficient number of clients have little or no experience in conducting or participating in clinical research projects and are less apt to buy into the values of the research culture or appreciate the need for objectivity and experimental control. Nevertheless, overcoming the many difficulties associated with conducting research in a community setting is important—even essential—because the majority of service providers and consumers are found in the community. It is here that empirical evidence of program effectiveness must be found. For this reason, there are strong incentives to identify and overcome the obstacles to conducting a research project in the community milieu.


This chapter identifies some potential banders to implementation of a community-based treatment research program. The issues described are derived from the experiences of four treatment research programs located 6 in four different parts of the country (i.e., Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California, Landover, Maryland, and Seattle, Washington). Each project was established to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a substance abuse treatment program for pregnant and postpartum women within a community setting in conjunction with a variety of services provided through State and local agencies. PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION The NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) syndrome is not unique to any one social, ethnic, racial, or economic group. In spite of the devastation wreaked on some communities by substance abuse, many neighborhoods are reluctant to allow drug treatment programs into the community. Although residents often view the substance abuser as a threat to community safety and as a harbinger of the deterioration of local values, the promise of the availability of treatment facilities does not alleviate these fears, and many community-based programs face an uphill battle in trying to find an appropriate location for service delivery. The Chicago program, operated by the National Association for Perinatal Addiction Research and Education (NAPARE), is a community partnership that includes treatment providers, health care agencies, and community hospitals in an inner-city neighborhood on the near west side of the city. This community has some of the highest rates of substance abuse, murder, infant and child mortality, and violence in the metropolitan area; drug deals are openly consummated on most street corners. However, many residents banded together to protest the opening of a treatment program in the neighborhood and worked to block changes in zoning restrictions that would allow the facility to operate. It took several months of attending community meetings and working with local leaders even to open the doors of the building.


Negotiations with the gangs to declare the area a “gang-free zone” took up more precious time before the program could be implemented fully. These delays caused the late startup of recruitment and service provision and affected the number of patients recruited into the study in the first year of funding. 7 BUDGET CONSTRAINTS Startup problems are the bane of treatment research programs, which typically have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years. Therefore, the design and management of a budget for treatment research often demand more care and scrutiny than a budget for service provision only. Reallocating funds from staff positions to facility or operating costs can have a critical effect on the number of research participants who can be enrolled in the study and exposed to the intervention. If the overall number of participants in the final database is too small, apparent changes occurring in certain study variables may fail to achieve statistical significance. Also, if the number of participants involved concurrently with the program is too small, with artificially low counselor caseloads and peer group memberships, any benefits derived from the treatment milieu may be impossible to replicate in other treatment settings. A treatment research program’s budget can be affected by the seemingly simple task of ensuring the safety of staff members and program participants. A treatment research project is almost always a large investment in terms of carefully selected and trained staff members, and rapid turnover is an anathema. Therefore, to secure staff members for a long period, obtaining an attractive and safe facility is a major priority. In addition, research participants, particularly mothers with infants and toddlers, are not likely to participate in a treatment program where the setting is dangerous. In recent months, new concerns for the safety of research participants and staff members in inner-city research projects have been caused by escalating violence in the communities.


The researcher must deal with this new reality and include safety precautions (e.g., bulletproof windows, iron fences and gates, security guards, alarm systems) in the budget. In the original plan for the Los Angeles program, the community-based agency was to house both the experimental and control groups at two leased sites in south-central Los Angeles. However, after the grant was funded, it was necessary to modify the budget to provide for more costly leased space, especially for the experimental group, and an armed security guard at each site. Because of these budget changes, counselor positions were lost, which greatly reduced the ongoing treatment capacity at each site. However, it was concluded that research participants could be enrolled and tracked, in both the experimental and control groups, in sufficient numbers to provide for outcome comparisons that could reach statistical significance. Also, although the number of treatment slots at each site was reduced, the low counselor-to-client ratios and small therapy group sizes in the enhanced intervention program were preserved. (Nevertheless, it was decided to seek supplementary funding to restore lost treatment capacity.) Finally, as the demonstration treatment research grant nears its end, a transition for financial support for the treatment services must be made to State and local sources. This requires a realistic look at the budget with close attention to obtaining funding from a variety of agencies. The community will have come to expect the wide range of services made available by the large infusion of Federal funds that supported the treatment research, but few States or communities will be able to support that level of commitment over the long term. If the program ends at the conclusion of Federal funding, the community will have an even greater reluctance to welcoming the next treatment research program.


IMPLEMENTING THE RESEARCH PROTOCOL When a study protocol is to be made paid of a service delivery program at an existing community agency, its introduction can be facilitated if it is not viewed as a special case or as an activity of no lasting value to the organization’s mission. For any new treatment program to be effective, the management and clinical staff members must understand and endorse its goals and philosophy and feel comfortable with their respective roles. Also, when a change in program content is being considered, there must be opportunities for staff members to provide input on the change to encourage a feeling of ownership and commitment. Therefore, all components of the program (e.g., relapse prevention, psychosocial and parenting education, mother-infant bonding activities), as well as the research instruments and schedule, should be developed or reviewed and accepted by a committee that includes members of the agency’s drug treatment clinical and management staffs. By involving key drug treatment management and clinical staff members in each step of this process, some stereotypical, negative attitudes toward the research participants and the rich program of services and activities planned for them can be neutralized. From the outset, the Los Angeles researchers felt that there must be an underlying consistency with the existing community treatment system so that staff members in the new program would not be placed under great stress in the work environment. The community agency involved in the research project had used three of the components of the experimental treatment program (i.e., Rawson’s relapse prevention model [Rawson et al. 1990] for cocaine abusers, parent education, 12-step Narcotics Anonymous groups) at two other treatment sites. However, staff members with the most experience with and understanding of these approaches were 9 not available to help implement the new program because they had been transferred to other positions.


In every human services system, experienced clinical staff members are routinely transferred or promoted in support of organization priorities. Therefore, it was determined that new personnel would be recruited and trained specifically for the day treatment program. INFORMATION OWNERSHIP Community-based treatment programs operate under a different set of priorities than those for university-based programs, especially with regard to the acquisition and use of information. From a research perspective, data are collected over a long period with only occasional delving into the database to evaluate progress and assess preliminary information. Treatment program personnel often want a more rapid turnaround of information, which may result in overinterpretation or premature use of data. In addition, if a research team uncovers information that could have implications for the treatment approach for a specific research participant, the question arises whether the researchers are responsible for reporting that information to the woman’s therapist. This is an issue that frequently arose during the intensive individual interviews that were conducted as part of the research assessment of the women in the Chicago program. Clear guidelines for communication between the research and clinical teams were explained at the beginning of the project, and the working relationship between the two teams was under constant scrutiny throughout the term of the project. TREATMENT SITE STAFFING There are many benefits in collaborating with an established agency for the treatment intervention aspect of the study. In the Los Angeles study, as provided for by the grant, the University of Southern California contracted with a community-based agency to provide the specified drug treatment services to research participants. The agency, which was established soon after the 1965 Watts riot, provides a range of medical, public health, and substance abuse services to residents of south-central Los Angeles. At least three benefits resulted from the involvement of this agency in the collaborative treatment research effort. 1.


Among key agency staff members, there existed a body of knowledge and experience in the delivery of drug treatment services, including those that target pregnant and parenting women; thus, program implementation was not a trial-and-error activity. 10 2. Through the community-based agency, a variety of medical, public health, and mental health services were made readily accessible to the research participants and their infants and families. 3. African-American community leaders and agency staff members were involved in treatment research in a way that was positive and brought new services to the community. Furthermore, the agency was known and accepted by the research participants, which avoided any potential biases related to client refusal to participate because of suspicion regarding the motives of the treatment provider. However, established agencies have standardized job descriptions, salary schedules, hiring policies, and procedures, and various management reviews and approvals must be obtained before any personnel action can be taken. On the one hand, when many systems are already in place, it is easier to implement a new program in collaboration with an established agency. On the other hand, if the research program has personnel requirements that differ from the agency standard, much time can be lost in the review and approval process. For example, it often was found by all four research teams that although the counselor positions in the research protocol had duties and caseload standards different from those of the regular positions, it seemed easier to use existing personnel than hire new employees. A frequent difficulty in staffing treatment research programs is retention of staff. It is well known that supervisory and line staff workers are seriously underpaid in most publicly funded drug treatment programs. Even if a research grant budget can support higher salaries for supervisory and line staff workers at research sites, the community agency’s salary schedule for drug treatment personnel usually cannot.


Therefore, the researcher needs to have “friends in high places,” such as one or more key managers of the agency who support the research goals and will keep the researcher apprised of any organizational changes that might affect the research. The importance of this connection was demonstrated vividly in the Los Angeles study, where researchers depended on a collaborating agency for client referrals; they unexpectedly lost key manager support at the agency together with the promised flow of referrals. Unlike research in which investigators recruit research participants from a large pool of their service recipients, the women in the Los Angeles drug treatment study were drawn from the child protective services agency’s caseloads. After being identified and reported to the agency at the time of delivery as probable drug abusers because of certain behavioral and physical indicators that they and their newborns exhibited, including a positive toxicology screen, the mothers were assessed further by agency workers. It was first determined whether there was endangerment to the infant if he or she was not placed with a relative or in foster care and then whether the mother would agree to complete a drug treatment program. If treatment was indicated, the worker referred the mother to this treatment research project or to another treatment program. Soon after being notified about the funding of this research proposal, the investigators in Los Angeles learned that there had been certain organizational changes in the child protective services agency. The clinical policy and management staff members who had helped design the program had been transferred to other positions within the agency, and their firsthand knowledge of study objectives and special commitment to the project were lost. The agency also hired a new director who reorganized the agency and established new regions, with the result that many new teams were handling the south-central Los Angeles target area.


Under this peculiar policy, the mother would have to initiate a telephone call to project personnel. This was an impossible way to form a sample, but it was an easy barrier to erect and to justify in the interest of patient confidentiality. This clash seemed related more to a turf problem or concerns about hospital image than to protection of confidentiality, but the motive never became completely clear. One neonatologist explained that any publicity that associated the hospital with area drug problems would have made it more difficult for operations personnel to implement their plans to build a new thoracic surgery center. On the other hand, the hospital had an ethical responsibility (and legal incentive) to protect patient confidentiality, and the operations department may have been genuinely motivated by such concerns. If this was the true motive, this particular type of barrier may have represented a case where assiduous risk control led to greater risk for mothers and their children (preventing access to remedial services) than would have occurred from a more measured degree of protection. This barrier was eventually circumvented by repeated visits with direct services providers in the hospital. Caregivers (social workers, midwives, nurses), who have a more personal understanding of this population and are the key personnel who can make or break a referral process, must be convinced of the value of a research program. Administrative and operations personnel have to be involved in setting up the program, but their agendas should not be allowed to become barriers to the project goals. It is also important to have multiple referral sources so that difficulty with any one source does not have the potential to shut down a project. RANDOM ASSIGNMENT AND COMPARISON GROUPS Caregivers are often hesitant to make referrals to treatment research programs that plan to randomly assign some referrals to comparison groups, 13 so this topic should be approached with care.


In the Landover project, it did not matter that the women in the comparison group were informed explicitly that they were free to take advantage of any public remediation services that would ordinarily be available to them independent of the research program. A great deal of “sales and marketing” by researchers was required to overcome resistance from referring providers. This involved chatting, informing, and yielding when necessary. Some tactics included hosting an open house for caregivers, soliciting their advice about gifts to be included in “goodies” bags provided to women (e.g., diapers, thermometers, coupons, etc.), providing inservice presentations, and sending periodic newsletters to keep the referral community informed. In addition, any evidence of the investigator’s humanity that can be shown while engaging interest in and attention to the research project can help. The investigator should make it clear that even the comparison group of women will be better off in some way for having been involved in the project. In Landover the investigators conceded the need to provide case management services (but not direct treatment) to the comparison group as an incentive for cooperation, and this concession helped overcome the reluctance of caregivers to make referrals. Comparison groups should be studied carefully to log the extent of their involvement with nonproject-related supportive or treatment services and with outside resource people who play a role during the project period. This is always important in treatment research but may be particularly important with indigent mothers whose initial needs are often more basic than their need for drug treatment. Mothers often benefit as much from help with the practical aspects of living as from targeted drug treatment. In many cases, treatment may be premature because a sizable proportion of mothers will have little incentive to value treatment. That is, for many (or most) there are no expectations of a better life, no employer threats, no spousal threats, no legal threats, and surprisingly, only a rare possibility of action by child protective services (likely because of system overload [Ashery 1992, pp. 383-394]).


Ecofeminism : sacred matter/sacred mother

Ecofeminism: Sacred Matter/Sacred Mother Bernice Marie-Daly Ecofeminism involves the intersecting concerns of the women’s movement and the ecology movement. Since the primary vision of both share much in common, it is striking that feminists need to state a position at all. In light of the fact that women have historically provided a sig¬ nificant impetus for religious and social movements, from Buddhism to Marxism, and yet still remain subservient in a patriarchal culture , 1 there is reason to believe that “saving the earth,” for which women were committed long before it became fashionable, could easily repeat past patterns. Thus, articulation of an ecofeminist position becomes mandatory. While recognizing that patriarchy continues to reflect the normative cultural paradigm and current world view of our society, I will focus my comments primarily on the historical, scientific, and psychological con¬ ditions that have influenced our understanding of women and nature. On the wall of my office hangs the now familiar picture of our blue planet surrounded in blackness. For more than two decades, we humans have viewed this marvelous sight, and it has impacted our psyches with deep images of interconnection and beauty. This picture has become for many of us a mandala of spiritual renewal and hope, an image of our evolution toward oneness and global awareness that Teilhard foresaw. Two aspects are of particular importance to me: the healing I have always felt in the presence of water and secondly, confirmation of the notion of nation¬ states, or for that matter, “private property” as unrealistic and obsolete. However, for all its beauty, stillness, and simplicity, this earth portrait does not convey the existence of the particulars: the varied racial, ethnic, religious, economic, and cultural diversities among humans, as well as the variety and splendor of myriad species of our planet.


In our efforts to return to the earth as sacred, it is of utmost importance that the impact of a privileged scientific methodology and resultant world view be clearly stated. This paradigm, initiated through the work of Bacon and others of the seventeenth century, champions a mechanistic approach to nature in general and women in particular. The confluence of nature and women as treated by the reigning patriarchy is crucial to an ecofeminist critique of the present ecological program. MOTHER EARTH Although our modem cosmology and physics 8 has displaced "man” 9 from the center of the universe and of creation, I believe man continues to tenaciously assert his own self-importance which leads to all manner of domination, the most fundamental of which is misogyny, and the most catastrophic, planetary devastation. While the significance of the fear of women is important unto itself, it is particularly so for environmentalists because of the strong association of women with a nature typically depicted as mother earth. Now this connection between women and nature has been much cel¬ ebrated within the ecology movement. The association, however, is both problematic and conflictual. “Mother Earth” suggests an integral rela¬ tionship between mater and matter, women being considered the “mother of matter.” However, since matter has been perceived as corruptible, so has woman. Thus, the sacredness of matter can be realized only to the degree that mater is recognized as sacred. Since “feminine” energy has been abstracted from the life of real women and analyzed dualistically through androcentric values, 10 the celebration of mother earth is largely an embrace of “the feminine” qualities of nurturance and life-giving energies without having to deal with the reality of women as the primary carriers of feminine energy. Embracing the stereotypical feminine and maternal qualities of nature is reminiscent of pastoral depictions of nature as passive and benevolent, nonassertive, always accessible and supportive of man’s needs. 11 3 While historically nature has typically been depicted as feminine 12 this has never been to women’s advantage because we have continued to be socialized in a patriarchal culture.


With any recognition of difference, as noted by Elizabeth Dodson Gray, “we are looking to ascertain rankings of power, moral or economic value, and aesthetic preference. We do this whether it is a different animal, a different culture, 9 resources. Since humans are not the children of women alone, there is no reason to assume women are the only resources for parental wisdom or responsibility . 36 Furthermore, women, as persons, have needs of their own which cannot be adequately described or fulfilled in maternal terms . 37 Second, the earth exercises elemental, impersonal power which cannot be adequately described in maternal terms. The earth itself, as a finite biosphere, is but one planet in a solar system in one galaxy among billions in the cosmos. While the womb/tomb analogy for both women and the earth is significant, it might be more appropriate to consider our earth home as a surrogate mother since we, humans and earth alike, are creations of a vast, mysterious, evolving universe. In light of the complexity and urgency of our personal and planetary dilemmas, it is paramount that we all do the inner and outer work necessary to come to terms with our conflicting messages about women and nature. Perhaps then we will be able to embrace a new level of imagination and creative energy that will enable us to act together differently. And perhaps then for the very first time we will discover who we really ate. PLANETARY CONSCIOUSNESS While the feminist and ecological movements share the same concerns , 38 in the minds of many the agenda of the ecology movement deserves top priority because its goal is to save the earth itself. Obviously, none of us, of whatever species or gender, will survive without a healthy biosphere. However, it would be shortsighted to diminish the role of feminism in creating the total revolution of consciousness so necessary if ecological goals are, in fact, to be fulfilled.


Yet the interrelation among all facets, as Starhawk reminds us, is clear: it is the poor who are forced to work directly with unsafe chemicals, in whose neighborhoods toxic waste incinerators are planned, who cannot afford to buy bottled water and organic vegetables or pay for medical care.... And environmental issues are women’s issues, for women sicken, starve, and die from toxics, droughts, and famines, their capacity to bear new life is threatened by pollution, and they bear the brunt of care for the sick and the dying, as well as for the next generation.... (Furthermore) we cannot responsibly approach questions of overpopulation without facing questions of women’s power to make decisions about their own reproduction, to challenge traditional roles and restrictions . 40 In a truly interconnected world, in the “creative union” of person, community and planet that Teilhard advocated, global issues and social justice issues would be mutually related. Patriarchy has become so ingrained in our lives that such an obvious reciprocity is overlooked. An ecofeminist perspective, however, offers a deep critique that reveals our dominant assumptions and an indispensible vision for reaching this alternative ecological age. CONCLUSION The task is formidable, even overwhelming. Yet there is wisdom. Let us remember that the day we are aching to create must indeed be built on justice. The making of justice simply means bringing about the natural balance inherent in the world in the first place . 41 A just society upon a sacred earth will become manifest when we commit ourselves to peace with the same vigor that we have committed ourselves to war and injustice. The implications are immediate. Personally and collectively we would share, conserve, and renew the vital resources; we would design edu¬ cational learning experiences that respect diversity and creativity; we would encourage imagination and the arts.