The Future of Academic Computing in the University
Following a quiescent period, academic
This service includes a software library and
computing on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is being revitalized. A new position of Associate Provost has been established within the office
consulting service to aid novice and orperienced user alike in the proper selection of both software and hardware. In addition, a number of computer laboratories have been established throughout the campus for the use of students, staff, and faculty to provide work-
of the Provost with the primary duty to re organize and dired the University's efforts concerning all aspects of academic computing.
station areas for an ever-increasing number of individuals. As an indication of the enploding demand for the use of computational facilities
To assist the Associate Provost in this assignment a committee has been established to consider appropriate changes in the direction of academic computing within the
on the campus, user statistia indicate that such laboratories were used in approximately 5,000 individual sessions during the fall of 1985. During the spring semester 13,000
Unircrsity and to suggest procedures by which these proposed changes can be implemented. This committee, known as the Academic Computing Advisory Committeg was estab lished a little over a year ago and is composed of both faculty and staff drawn equally from the Divisions of Academic and Health Affairs. Its members represent all aspects of academic computing, i.e., micrq mini, and mainframe users. Because these members of the committee represent the multiple functions and/or factions of computing on campus, their participation
will
guide the
University in its effort to provide computational facilities for all aspects of computing. The first task of the ACAC has been to develop a campus-wide plan for computing and for the constructive and coordinated use of funds that may be allocated to computing in the future. An organized budget approach which addresses the needs of the campus in this area is an essential complement to the development of a comprehensive plan for academic computing. The committee has solicited the aid of all Deans and Directors in this matter in an attempt to forge a compre hensive document. Parallel to this approach, the ACAC has begun to dorelop a planning document concerning the long and short range academic computing goals for the
l\
John H. Haninn Associate PnNost and protessor in the Departnent of Chenistry
University. The first version of this plan, 'A Plan for Campus-wide Academic Computing and Digital Communicationg' was recently distributed to all Deans and Directors. This
planning document will be under constant revision as technology and the desires of the users of computer facilities change. As a means to assist faculty, staff, and students to become computer literate, a new organization has been established within the University. The new Microcomputing Support Center is charged with a fourfold mission: coursâ‚Źnrvare dwelopment, user service, training, and support. The courseware derelopment plan arose out of a previously established
effort to assist faculty in the development of courserelated software. That enterprise is beginning to reach maturity as the first products are hing completed and nearing release into the educational market. There is also in place a responsira, reliable, user service, directed exclusively to all aspects of the use of microcomputers including their interaction with mini and mainframe computers.
sessions hara been recorded with three weels of school remaining. The selection of a permanent director for the Computation Center has been another
high priority of the fusociate Provost's office. That process is nearing completion, with interviews of candidates for the position presently underway. It is expeded that with the selection of a permanent director, a reorganization of the Center can proceed which, when coupled with the establishment of an operating data communications system for the campus, will open new and even more exciting aspects of computing to this academic community. The ptential to communicate electronically, both within this university community and to other campuses,
should expand our intellectual horizons in a manner not even imagined by the vast majority of our faculty at this time. As indicated above the ACAC has dweloped a preliminary plan for campus.wide computing along with an updated budget program for the 1987-89 budget period. Presently, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks approximately 47th among major universities
in
budgets allocated
to academic
Continued on inside back cowr
D.E
A.Y
O.N
Innovative Services for Autistic Children Division TEACCH research provides impetus for new approaches
as the National Institute of Mental Health; the Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service; the N.C. Department of
Human Resources, N.C. Developmental Disabilities Council; and the U.S. Department
of
Education.
Teaching basic skills goes a long way toward achieving the division's primary aim: to help children with autism liw and work more effectively at home, at school, and in the community and to prepare them to live
as independently as possible as adults. To this end, the program starts at an early age and
on key areas in order to have the most benefit in later life. "You always have to have your eyes focused on the future, on what happens to them as adultsl'says Dr. J. Gregory Olley, TEACCH's director of training focuses
Dr. Eric Schopler, director of
TEACCH
Learning how to greet another person or how to play with a toy may seem simple. But for children with autism, acquiring such skills is a lot like climbing ML Everest. Division TEACCH of the UNC-CH School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry offers these children the same approach a mountain climber would take-one step at a time, foothold after foot-
hold-with eventual success. "What
we
promise the parents is that we can help their child improve through the results of the most uptodate researchi' says Dr. Eric Schopler, director of TEACCH and professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry "We can also offer the child support and better understanding and can help with family adjustmentl' These services are made possible by funding from agencies and foundations such
and clinical associate profesor of psychology in Psychiatry. Without social and communica' tion skills, it is difficult to find and keep a job, he points out. And without a iob, a person with autism is more likely to be institutionalized. TEACCH s great success is most easily grasped through the program's low rate of institutionalization. Studies have shown that on average 46 percent of persons with autism
in institutions, Schopler says. ln 8 percent of TEACCH placement in state instihave required clients are placed
comparison, only
tutions, including even those with the most significant handicaps. Division TEACCH, or TYeatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren, was created in 1971 when the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation requiring that ten classrooms for children with autism and related handicaps be established in the public
schools. Under that mandate, TEACCH developed a model program that has been imple mented in the classrooms in consultation with TEACCH staff. In legislating the first ten classrooms for
children with autism in public schools, the state accepted a new way of looking at the disorder, Schopler says. Before the days of TEACCH, autism was thought to be caused by the parents' emotional reiection of the child, rather than by one of a number of biological abnormalities. Because chil&en with autism were considered the product of defective child rearing, they were regarded as the exclusive province of psychiatry and were excluded from public schools. This unavailability of school services added greatly to the difficulties faced
by families. Since its inception, the innovative community-based program has been expanded. It is now administered by five regional centers that are located in Ashevillq Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Wilmington, and Greenville. The centers are affiliated with over sixty classrooms in public schools, and the program's model has been used by many other states developing similar programs. Also, the TEACCH program has provided consultation and training in foreign countries such as Japan, Venezuela, Denmark, France, Spain, and lsrael, and, under the direction of Dr. Gary B. Mesibov, associate director of TEACCH and associate professor of psychology in Psychiatry, has provided teacher training in other states and Belgium.
Through its regional centers, TEACCH provides consultation, training, and research as well as direct services, including diagnostic evaluation, individualized treatment, and parent training. Children treated by TEACCH
IID
YOR
exhibit characteristics such as unresponsive ness to parents and others; excessive clinging
to or
avoidance
of people; delayed, absent, or
peculiar speech; repetition of meaningless words or phrases; unusual physical move ments; and intense resistance to change or excessive attachment
to routine. Tleatment
on improving the clients' enjoyment of and interaction with family and other people, increasing their interest in learning focuses
about the world around them, developing their intellectual and motor skills, increasing their adjustment to school, and reducing family stress related to living with the handicapped child.
Innovationc in lleating Autism TEACCH emphasizes collaboration with parents and involves them as cotherapists (see back cover). Iladitionally, doctors have
maintained a professional authority over patients and their families. 'Accepting the notion that the doctor isn't a godlike authority has in the past been considered absolute heresy by many in the medical schoolsl' Schopler explains. At TEACCH psychoeducational therapists and parents together assess the child's skills through clinical observation and information about the child's home environment and behavior. With consultation, the parents also set objectives
for the child and develop a program based on the family's priorities that coordinates clinical and home treatment. The benefits of this collaboration are multiple, notes Dr. Linda Watson, project coordinator for
s preschool project. It motivates the families, sets reasonable expectations, encourages consistency in the child's normal activities, and leads to greater effectiveness. Developing tailored treatment programs for each child is another innovative aspect of TEACCH. "We don't insist on a single scienTEACCH
tific answer on how to treat these childrenl' Schopler says. Watson adds that the children are highly individual in their strengths and weaknesses and "very idiosyncratic in what kinds of things interest theml' Instead of prescribing a set treatment plan, the therapists offer the parents different ways of working out a problem and leave it to them to find the one that worls best. "We find that
this approach makes a big difference with these childrenj' Schopler comments. Working in a structured environment, concentrating on one dimension at a time,
Janet Martin, a psychoeducational therapist in the Piednont TEACCH center, denonstrates a new learning activity that can be tried at home.
and working in small steps are similarly essential. "We find out what spontaneous skills the children have and try to build on those in small increments to make learning new skills easierj' Watson explains. For instance, if a child is more social during mealtimes, that strength is enlarged upon. While reinforcing the social behavior, parents and teachers work with the child to build new skills in that setting. Later, when the skills are learned, the focus is shifted to another context, such as playtime. Interaction with nonhandicapped children also facilitates leaming. TEACCH researchers have noted, for instance, that the play of chil-
dren with autism is more spontaneous and interactive with nonhandicapped agemates
than with autistic peers. The play is also more reciprocal. Besides helping the children with autism, bringing other children into the classroom frees the teacher to take a supervisory role and gives the normal children a leadership role that they enjoy. "The experience teaches the children with autism some social skills that they don't get otherwise and teaches normal kids about handicapsl' SchopIer says. For this reason, the TEACCH staff think it is important that the classrooms for children with autism be located in the public schools.
Soctat and Communication
Gurricula The divisions research activities are intrinsically linked with their applications, and implementation is part of the research process. For instance, social and communication curricula, which have been developed by TEACCH staff over the past six years, have gone through several cycles of implementation and revision. After drafts were developed by TEACCH staff, including Watson, 0lley, Patricia Fullagar, and Dr. Catherine Lord, now 0n the faculty at the University of Alberta in Canada, the curricula were tested in two Wake County classrooms. At the end of the school year, they were revised on the basis of teacher elaluations and changes in behavior that could be linked to the curricula, Watson says. The following year they were tested in two Winston-Salem schools and revised again. Further revision followed the training of other teachers and psychoeducational therapists in the regional centers. In keeping with the division's approach, the curricula are strategies rather than a set of activities to be implemented with every child. They also complement each other. "The purpose of the social curriculum is to arrange an environment in which the children have to
AY
intensive proqram, parental involvement, and a locus on social and communication skills. Therefore, the preschool project is modeled after the school-aged program. The class is
Dr. Linda Watson discusses a student's eduutional objectives with assistant teacher Paula Howard and lead teacher Kym Lake of the preschool classroom.
limited to six children, supervised by a teacher and an assistant, and presents a structured daily program that is developed jointly by the teacher and each child's parents. The parents meet with the teacher to assess the child's skills, decide on oblectives, and coordinate the plan with the child's home life. The program will also look at the effectiveness of using normal children as peer tutors and more socially competent playmates. The project emphasizes normal preschool skills, but with an added social component. For instance, a chitd will be learning to get materials, use them properly, and put them away-skills that are taught in normal preschools. But the child will have to get the materials from another child or an adult, which adds a social skill to the activity. "We will be looking for times of the day in which to introduce these kinds of activities," Olley says.
interact with othersl' Olley says. "0nce they are interacting, the communication curriculum provides strategies for teaching effective
communicationl' The curricula will be pub Iished by lrvington Press early in 1987.
The Precchool Project More recently, TEACCH has been setting up
a demonstration classroom for preschoolers with autism and adapting the curricula for the younger children. After the initial growth of classrooms for school-aged children, the pro gram's focus shifted to group homes and employment opportunities t0 meet the needs of the children when they are older. Now the emphasis is expanding again to address the needs of children at the opposite end of the
when these four-year-olds are 24 years old, the next twenty years will have made as many more opportunities possiblel' he comments. But those opportunities will be wasted unless the children are prepared for and able to take advantage of them. Therefore, the preschool proiect is focusing on skills such as working independently and following routine No public school services for preschoolers with autism have been mandated in North Carolina. Even though the state has been at the forefront in developing services for schoolaged children, it has been slower to focus on the preschool age, Olley notes. However, Watson adds, a state comprehensive preschool planning committee, which has been funded by a State Planning Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, intends to ask the General Assembly to fund 24 pilot preschool
age spectrum. "Children are identified as having autism at three or four, and then they go to school at sixl' Olley notes. "There's a gap in betweenl' Also, TEACCH has received
classrooms acros the state. The TEACCH demonstration classroom will serve as a model for the preschool autism classrooms.
many requests for teacher training and consultation at the preschool lwel. Working with children at as early an age as possible helps them get a head start that may have a great impact later in life Services for people with autism have improvtd tremendously in the last twenty years, and, corre spondingly, autistic people are functioning much better, Olley says. "l'm hoping that
of the U.S. Department of Education, the classroom opened in March 1986 at Millbrook
Funded by the Special Education Programs
Elementary School in Raleigh. Wake County, Watson explains, was willing to provide facilities at Millbrook, which now houses three of the county's seven classrooms for autistic children. Past research indicates that the most important factors in preschool training are an
Difficulty arises in identifying where to
start with a child. Because the children are younger, Olley explains, they d0 not have as many skills as the school-aged children. This makes it harder to tell where a child's
lie and thus to deter' point for enlarging skills. mine a starting ln setting up the proiect, Watson has had trouble finding transportation for the children. "When you talk about handicapped children, that's a recurring theme," she says. "Transportation is a problem everywhere." State law does not allow state fund expenditures to transport children under age five, but three of the five presently in the class could not participate unless transportation were available. Until a better solution is found, project staff have been using a state car and spending several hours a day driving the children to and from
strengths and interests
school.
For the future, Schopler has his eye on developing different options for how to live with the handicapped. One proposed proiect is a learning community for older autistic near UNC-CH people. The facility would
h
and would provide a residential setting with different degrees of supervision, depending on a person's degree of disability. Eventually, Schopler adds, he would like to expand the project and e$abtish similar learning communities in the other "*'ont-rrrr, a J. pinner
D.E
A
The Black Family in Colonial Mexico Historian Seeks a Reinterpretation of the Impact of Slavery The historiography of slavery has made tremendous strides
in
recent )ears. Historians
know much more than they did two decades ago about the responses of black slaves to their condition, about their belief systems, the ethos of their societies, and the social organi zations they created. Yet considerable gaps
remain in our knowledge. Dr. Colin A. Palmer, professor and past chairman of the African and AfroAmerican Studies Curriculum and current chairman of the Department of History is conducting a detailed study on the black family during the formative perid of the black presence in the Americas, specifically in Mexico City from 1550-1700. He points out that there is no existing book-length study of the black family during the sixteenth, seventeenth, or eighteenth centuries for any of the slave societies of this hemisphere. Buiilding on a previous work, Slaves of the White God: Blacks in Mexico, 1570-1650, which was broader in scope, Palmer's present
Dr. Colin A. Palner, professor and chairnan of the Depaftnent ol History
study focuses on an urban area with a pop ulation of about 10,000 by 1550 that increased considerably thereafter. The capital city of Mexico boasted the largest concentration of Africans and their progeny in any single rural or urban area of Spanish America throughout the swenteenth century. A central question posed by his study ash "to what extent did the black family survive under slavery and what were its principal characteristics?" Underlying the question is the traditional view that there existed no such entity as a black family, and that slave societies represented a kind of "moral chaosj' notes
families during that period. "l have pushed Gutman's study back further to look at another society. It occurred to me that since Mexicans were predominantly Roman Catho lic, there might be records of baptisms, marriages, and deathsl' says Palmer. Indeed, much information has survived. Palmer has collected literally thousands of records over the past two years. "Slave marriages were recorded in the Roman Catho lic Church, and to my surprise, many of those records still existl' he says. Because the Spaniards werc very conscious of race, a
Palmer.
documents.
Palmer's study aims to reevaluate traditional scholarship that asumes the absence of fami-
Data collected from nine parish (panoquia) and cathedral registers has helped Palmer establish the numhr of marriages that were solemnized in the Church and the degree to which Africans married other Africans or sought their partners from other racial groups.
lies in black history. He notes that Herbert Gutman's book lhe Black Fanily under Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925, published in the 1970s, was the first treatment of black
person's race was always noted on legal
He notes that such questions as the extent to which AfroAmericans married Indians, mestizos, and Spaniards are of great importance to his study, as ruell as the likelihood of free blacks marrying slaves, the age at which marriage was likely t0 occur, literacy levels and occupations of the slaves, residences in the city, and the continuities and variation over time and from parish to parish. Since baptismal records include the names
of the parents, their race, and their civil status, Palmer can determine the number of children born to married couples, the rate of illegitimacy, the spacing of births, and sex ratios. "The baptismal records also allow us to study the naming patterns utilized by the slaves and freedpersons-were the children
more likely to be named after their parents says Palmer. He notes that
or their masters?"
to these questions will indicate the of personal autonomy and social iden-
answers degree
o
R.s
tity that AfroMexicans were able to maintain. Compadrazgo a fictive kinship system,
r?
godparents constituted a part of an extended family network, an investigation of the ethnic, social, and occupational backgrounds of those who were chosen for this role will provide clues to the nature of this extended familism and the significance the peoples of African
to itl' he sap. Death records are also analyzed in order to acquire information about infant mortality rates and the causes of death among children and adults, as well as to help answer questions about the life expectancy of the descent attached
OL
t
operated among black in early colonial Mexicq and Palmer is studying the names of godparents sho$,n on marriage registers in order to understand this system better. "Since
t
i
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il
-.snfis.^a>61e-. * 2* x*+ zo /r- tr{t-'"A-et1* &- *,%.S(tl$-n->e- een^lr^ i(/o-i nh,fr->q-rr.a&&>k i)^ii t- n&<.*.'t-. ^, se^"iiLw ;.r;r*--e-^lJd an ^".
Z*:41^J-l J-t>'"c >...,-f,"^$t zc-1c" Y{t>'o-. eti^i^;-. !.*h-f,i F-g-ffi '^;.;'"-"6'a1ar1rS"ri' xQ I9;*;-rO.* .s * cs.e4w i-t-7x7m-o--s6 t;p43{ *q71'-c*1â&#x201A;Ź
7';X;6&Ad-vg;@
AfroMexican population.
<prhsaf'4-t -//)@r.vg^ >+23.*2oIh.*Jrlcg.r^o l-c-a^)*c-g-. â&#x201A;Źer*ng," q ".tApq-3-eS4tP*
Further Sourccr
-*"::Pz-*;x=-3ra"-s1ffi Uffi (-' p-x!:.orr+x_Je .+:K;72y*vge-n<,r$^i.J f
Data contained
in parish
records has been
supplemented by information derived from
c**{/-$vA-
a
study of other kinds of colonial records. The MM0S (sections oI the Archivo General de la Nacion in Mexico City) ertitled Historia, Hospilal de Jesfrs, Bienes Nacionala, and Civil and lnquisiciin include observations on Afro Mexican family patterns written by colonial bureaucrats, religious authorities, and individ-
"--6-:(71-e4--9<-.
r.-
*
32.,-
ual Spaniards. The voluminous trial records of the Holy 0ffice of the Inquisition contain cases dealing
with bigamy; concubinage, or
emancebados,
where two people would live together without
the benefit of maniage; and attempts by slaves to prevent the separation of their families through sale. Palmer says that he is looking at the bigamy records to understand the meaning colo nial blacla placed on marriage. "The testimony made by the slaves and others before the Inquisitors reveals much about the belief systems of AfroMexicansi' says Palmer. He ask if the apparent incidence of bigamy represented a surviml of the polygamous mating patterns practiced in many of the African societies from which the slaves came, or if AfroMexicans were more likely to commit bigamy only after they had been separated from their spouses through sale. Interestingly, the lnquisition records also include cases of slaves trying to put marriages back together after they had been separated. "Studying these records is quite slow and tediousl' he says. The quality of manuscripts is frequently poor, and they are sometimes
The work of rading and tnnscribittg manuscripts sample, dated /601, dealing
wtti an emancebado
is
slow and difficu]t, as can
be
seen
in
this
case of a nulatto couple living together without
the benefit of narriaQe.
difficult, if not impossible, to rcad.
Dr. Palmer hopes to derive a fuller understanding of the adaptive capacities of African slaves and of their ability to preserve the fundamental core
of human organization, the
family, under diflicult circumstances. "The implications of this study extend beyond the confines of colonial Mexicol' he notes. "lf it can be demonstrated that the institution of slavery did not destroy the immediate black family or prerrnt its dwelopment in early
colonial Mexico, scholars will be challenged to test the applicability 0f these findings to other societies and other timesl' Such a project as Dr. Palmer's may force a reexamination of the impact of slavery on the black family in the Americas, and a reassessment of the reasons for the apparent disorganization of black families in many of these societies after emancipation.
-Ann
F. Stanford
Performing Literature An Embodiment of the Written
Word
public, individual or ensemblel'she says. Long's current interest focuses on the performance of literature as it relates to a performer's literary competence; how students, or any performer, can enrich that performing
with specific texts, for example, those of twentieth-century poets like Elizabeth process
Bishop, Linda Pastan, and Mary Oliver. "Per-
Dr. Bwerly Whitakq Long, professor of speech comnunication
Department of Speech Communication. The study of performed literature, once confined to drama, now includes poetry short stories, novels, and nonfiction as well. Dr. Long's research and that of her students manifests the breadth of what she likes to call the
projects involving historical research
and evaluation are in process. Long is studying the life and work of Ruth Draper, a woman who performed her own monologues from l9l9-57. In another study, Long is looking at the evolution of the Edinburgh Festival Fringg a performance phenomenon that began in the 1940s and continues to flourish today.
A Woman on Stage Alone
of literaturei'
The immediate past president of the national Speech Communication Association, Dr. Long also founded and edited for three years the jotmal Literature
in
Performance: A
Journal of Literary and Perfoming Art, published on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. "ln the journal, ue view literature as verbal art, completed or fulfilled by performers, a provisional completion that may be private or
I
I/ g,
ll ,1
,'; l.a. ,'...,,
/&,.,.1?.r,/.y't..
. ...y'
Reproduction of a drawing
texts.
fuo
'Although records about literature in performance date back at least to ancient Greek societies, the scholarly study of performed literature is largely a twentiethtentury developmentl' says Beverly Whitaker Long, pro fessor and former chairperson of the
"performance
forming a literary text is a form of communication. When students perform literary texts, a kind of embodiment can occur, a communion involving the student, the text, and the audiencel' she says. Another concern of Long's is performance theory. "l am looking at theories of performance-how performances occur, how they are framed, and how they are emluated and describedl' sap Dr. Long. She speals of "performance" in its broadest sense: dance, music, storytelling, and even performance in everyday life. hng notes that a performance does not supplant a text, but enriches both the reading of terts and the writing about
While Ruth Draper is relatively well known, her monologues have never been treated seriously as drama or stories. In the 1950s, recordings of them appeared. A reviewer for the Saturday Review called the monologues "short stories-remarkable and vividl' "Draper performed her monologues before she ever wrote them downl' says Long. She created 54 monologues with 330 unseen
by
lohn
of
Ruth Draper
Singer Sargent
characters who were so lifelike that reviewers would on occasion write about the "rest of the castl' Dr. Long points out the remarkable staying power of Draper's monologues
in
perfor-
mance. At the time Draper was traveling all over the world there were hundreds of women performing monologues on the circuit, especially in the 1930s, but Draper's are among the few monologues remembered. "What was she
doing that kept these monologues alive for so many years and continued to draw large crowds? She performed the same monologues over and over again for 38 years. What was her staying power?" Ruth Draper's early apprenticeship was unusual because she did not g0 t0 acting school but performed in society circles of Nar York and in camps during World War I. As an artist, Draper was, in very real sense, caught between two worlds. She played in the theater, but was not "of" the theater; she
il
wrote monologues, but not the "serious" literature of tnditional academic standards. Several years ago, Dr. Long ran an ad in the ilew York Tinu asking for people who had seen Ruth Dnper in performance to respond with information and eialuations, and received over 150 responses. Using these and her own evaluations of tapes and written material, Long will be closer to an overall
saluation of Draper's performance. "There are any numhr of sources of standards for
D.E
A
v.o
and the effect it had and continues to have. The bulk of her research has taken place at the Edinburgh Public Library which has a complete clipping file, along with files on all performances of the Festival Fringe.
An attorney in Edinburgh who has been
a
part of the group and has kept its financial records since
its inception in
1947 has been
quite helpful, Long notes. Dr. Long has also maintained correspondence with a psychiatrist who volunteered with the group in its earliest
emluation: public response, historical evaluation, and my own study of the film and tapesl' she sap. More difficult than evaluation is the actual description of the performances, notes Long. "l will use close linguistic analysis, but my description will not be limited to a micro scopic look-l want to examine the broader picturel'
Ihe Edinburgh [ectival fringe Serreral years ago
Dr. Long began a research
project on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Founded in 1947, the official and highly popular Edinburgh Festival, which has served as a model for festivals throughout Europe, was seen as a way for the country to move ahead after the de'rastation of the War. "Concerts, dramas, exhibits, and all kinds of artis' tic events were brought into what quickly became the major arts festival in Europel' says Long.
The first year of the Festival, however, a group of people who knew they would not be invited to join the official festival independently offered a variety of events, using halls, tents, outdoor stages, whatever places were available to them, and drew an audience of
their own. Very soon these satellite groups were dubbed "the fringe groupl' a name that has stuck. The Festival Fringe was run entirely by volunteers who helped with publicity, finding space for performances, and even finding performers. After about twenty years, the Festival Fringe secured central office space and some real assistance in planning, Long notes. "They have nertr had an artistic director, but they were finally able to hire an administrator. The range in performances is incredibly broad. It is truly a colorful mixture of people, forces, and materiall' she says. Long is working 0n the first decade of the Fringes existence, especially the first five years, examining the evolution of the Fringe,
first three chapters of Calvinos novel. He says, "This project very nicely brings in two of my long-term interests-literature (especially Calvinos) and performance. lt gives me a chance to spend a lot of time with Calvino's book and to try out different performance techniquesi' Capecci notes that the structure of Calvinos novel is complex and the book is written entirely in the second person. "How does one
go about performing such a book? Who is 'you'? Is it the reader? The audience? The variety of ways the performance can go is orcitingl' he says. Examining which aspects of the novel can be most clearly shown by a solo performance and which by a group performance, Capecci is analyzing the chapters, the production concept, and audience response ln addition, he is recording both performances on video tape. Dr. Long comments, "We have lacked the visual record in the history of performance. Even though our descriptions and evaluations can be very vivid, they are not the thing itself. We now have the technological means t0 preserve performances and have not done an entirely satisfactory job in academia. The university is the ideal place to build a library of performance that all kinds of people can usel'
Araduale student John Capecci perforning lf on a Winter's
segnents of ltalo Calvino's novel, Night a Traveller
years. "Many people who still live in Edinburgh have had first-hand experience with the
Fringel' she
says.
Dr. Long points out that performers and artists in the Festival Fringe sometimes went on to perform at the larger Fe$ival. 'Anyone was welcome in the Fringe, no matter what the level of expertise. For as many awful things that were in the Fringe's performances and exhibits, that many wonderful things, and more, came out of itl' says Long.
Contemporary Pcrformance Research Innovative and exciting research is being conducted by graduate students. John Capecci, a master's student working with ltalo Calvinos novel lf on a Winter's Night A havel/er, has created a project in which he compares solo and group performances of the
Also using video as a tool, Charlotte Stewart, a master's student, has taken her research idea from an article written by 0ctavio Paz in a recent New York Times Book Review. "Paz challenged poets to use the medium of televisionl' Stewart says Paz suggests that with the advent of video, students have the opportunity t0 restore poetry to what it once was, a performed art-something kinetic rather than static, visual in addition to aural. Stewart,
a poet herself, is creating a forty-
minute video using several of her own poems, as well as those of other writers. She notes that every performance of a poem makes it a new work. "l am working in collaboration with an excellent video photographerl' she
Dr. Long adds, "ln some ways, what Charlotte is attempting to create is comparable to the earliest art form when music, dance, and poetry were coioined, if not says.
altogether of a single piecei' It is fitting that UNC-CH was the first home of Literature in Performance, as students and faculty here continue to explore with skill
and innovation what Dr. Long calls, "the simple, mysterious, and always human aspects of performance and literaturel'
-Ann
F. Stanford
into Tennessee, through Arlonsas and Texas, and ending in Southern California. They are, Lienesch explains, a new generation who live in a world where traditional religion is no longer taken for granted. What confronts them instead is a largely secular society which is appealing in many ways, but which also contains values that they regard as
contrary to their own. Separatd from their past, and uneasy with the world around them, Christian conserratives are people who are struggling to find "a common language
allowing them to think of themselves as connected to something besides their TV
setsi' Ironically a new-style telwision erange list has emerged to fill that need, "a smooth, dapper preacher with a blor+dried hairdo and
Dr. Michael Lienesch
Chrictian Goncer-Yativer in Iodaytr Plolitics
a talk-show format, who interviews Christian
An interest in the history of American constitutional thought led Dr. Michael Lienesch, associate professor of political science, into his current work on Christian conseryatives
quite of it. As such, it must grapple with the world. Hence, its involvement in politics. Lienesch points out that the politics of the Christian consenratives are heavily infl uenced by their religion. For instance, there is a strong strain of millennialism in their thinking about world events. Millennialists such as Hal Lindsey believe that Biblical prophecies about the end of the world point to the present day as the time of their fulfillment. The Soviet Union and, to a lesser degree, China are viewed as evil empires, embodiments of the Antichrist, which are to be eliminated in a nuclear holocaust that will destroy most 0f the Earth, while the community of true believers escapes bodily into Heaven or survives as a remnant here on Earth to repopulate the planet. "Many of
in the
presentday political sy$em. "There is
a long tradition of religious and political issues influencing one another
in this
country" he sap, "but what rc're seeing today is a brand of new-style, non-sectarian, emngelists who use television and direct mailings very skillfully to reach a nen, middle class constituencyl' Lienesch mentions
ministers such as Jerry Falnell, Pat Robertson, Jimmy Swaggart, and Jim Bakker, as well as politicians such as Jesse Helms,
"the godfather of what we've come to call the religious rightl' as prominent figures in a new social movement which has already influenced politics in a variety of ways and
will continue to do so. ln the past, conservative Christianity
was
usually found in a rural setting. The new Christian conservatives, according to Lienesch, have been off the farms and in the cities for a generation. They tend to relatively well educated and in mid-level service jobs. Living in areas which are seeing a great deal of economic growth, Christian conseryatives form part of what has come to be known as the "New Southl'a fertile crescent which extends westward from Virginia Beach, through Lynchburg, Virginia (the home of Jerry Falwell), taking in North Carolina, moving on
h
beauty queens and born-again athletesl' The result is a religion of traditional values in a new package, a religion in this world but not
these people are happy fatalists, eager t0 greet the promised endj' says Lienesch. "By and large they don't desire a nuclear war, but see today's international turmoil as working tounrd the good of ushering in God's king-
Lienesch teaches classes on Christian
consenativism. He is impressed with how deeply involved his students beome with the topic. Some have ioined business organizations connected to the morement, like Amway or Mary Kay Cosmetics, in order to carry out research. Others have examined Christian broadcasting. One student watched hundreds
of hours of oangelical television while keep ing meticulous records of what he saw. While the response to the subject is very mixed, clearly no one in these classes is indifferent. A good deal of Lienesch's work invohres examining the burgeoning amount of material from the religious presses. Christian publish-
ing has become an important and lucrative part of the book industry and new titles appear almost daily on topics ranging from sex to financial investments. In addition, there is a wide rariety of newsletters, pamphlets, transcripts from television programs, and other documents. "lt's more than enough just to keep up with the written workl' Lienesch says. However, he also watches a good deal of wangelical television, scrutinizing the methods used to reach a mass audience. He does little personal interviewing. "My training predisposes me to the written sourceg' he says. "l want to see these people's thought at its best, and generally that means focusing on what they writel' Lienesch is writing a book based on his research. The Christian Conseruatives will be published by the UNC Press
-Tin
Jenkins
UtG hofossor ls ilational f,umanlfier Gcnter fellow Townsend Ludington, UNC-CH professor of English and American studies, has had plenty of time for study and writing this past year.
dom on Earth. ThE aren't gloomyi' While Lienesch views the potential inlluence of millennialist thought on foreign policy as "terribly dangerousl' he sees value in some of their thinking on isues closer to home, like the future of the family. "For erery crackpot in the movement, there are scores of deeply concerned, articulate, thoughtful people
As a Fellow at the National Humanities Center in the Research Tliangle Park, chosen as one of the year's forty or so Fellows from among a natiornvide pool of over 600 applicants, he has been able to work nearly full-time on a single project. Pursuing a
who are seriously considering many very
longstanding interest
complicated problemsi'
Ludington has hen writing a biography of
in American
art,
&5
I
-:.
"B!r
&
Dr. Townsend Ludington exanines slides of Marsden Hartley's work.
the late nineteenth- and early twentiethcentury American artist Marsden Hartley. Hartley was a modernist painter and thinker who traveled widely and experimented with a wide range of painting styles, chiefly expressionism. A 1980 flew York Tines review of a Hartley exhibition at the Whitney Museum which concluded with the statement that he was an interesting individual about whom a biography should be written piqued Ludington's curiosity and lured him to Nar York to speak with the reviewer, Hilton Kramer. His conversations with Kramer led Ludington to the conclusion that writing Hartley's story would be a worthwhile enterprise under the
right circumstances. The right circumstances for Ludington have been those that he has encountered as a Fellow at the National Humanities Center. The focus of the center is stridly on the study of the humanities. In this serene setting, scholars have the opportunity to carry out proiects unfetered by most of the pressures and interruptions of the normal academic environment. There is opportunity to study, to write, and to exchange ideas with other scholars without involvement in teach-
ing, advising, attending meetings, and the other duties of an ontampus professor. Bools and research materials from any of the three lliangle university libnries are
a computer hookup. Though he was born and died in Maine, Hartley was well-traveled in America and
accessible through
Europe. His life was, according to Ludington, "very much in the expatriot pattern of American writers and painters of that timei' A poet
and essayist in addition to hing a painter, Hartley "could talk about what he was doingi' His ideas and the circumstances of his life bring some insight into the legacy that the artist has left on canvas. A homosexual and a shy individual, Hartley seems to have had difficulty dealing with the attitudes and prejudices of American society, and so sought refuge in European countries where he felt greater acceptance. Poverty was a constant problem, and he did not begin t0 reap any financial rewards until the last two years of
-e
his life.
L
Ludingon hlieves that Hartley's life and ideas are important because they reveal much about the time in which he lived and worked and enhance our understanding of the development of twentieth*entury American art. The opportunity to work at the National Humanities Center has made it possible for Ludington to examine and document a period
of American cultural history. -Suzanne Appelbaun
New lllarketing Analysic Recearch f,Iethodr The development of new approaches for data analysis in statistical research has been the focus of recent work conducted by Dr.
William Perreault, Hanes Professor at the UNC School of Business. According to Perreault, traditional research in statistics relies heavily on assumptions that seldom hold with actual problems and data. As a
result, researchers often rely on subjective "rules of thumb" in their analyses. Yet hundreds of possible rules might apply in any given situation, and they may contradict one another. If, as is often the case, a researcher applies only one or a few of the guidelines available, the results can be very misleading. Perreault has dweloped procdures to attack this problem diredly. All of the common rules that experts might use in analyzing a certain type of problem are programmed on a computer. When the data are analyzed the program applies
all of these
strategies, and
d
q0
Dr. William Perreaull
for results that are consistent. Essentially, Perreault's idea is to develop computerized "expert" systems that can be searches
applied to the decisions inrolved in data analysis even when the expert is absent. Some of the work in this area targets the analysis of relationships in purchase data collected by scanners at retail checkout counters. Scanners are now being used to track mi[lions of consumer purchases orer a given
period of time. The resulting data can then be merged with other information about the consumer and about promotions to which the consumer has been exposed. Manufacturers spend millions of dollars on coupons, advertising, and other promotions to get consumers
to buy their products. Ultimately, the cost of these promotions is passed along to consumers in the pricei they pay. However, it has been difficult for companies to pinpoint the long{erm relationship between promotions and repeat purchasing of the brands being promoted.
Perreault's procedure not only determines which promotions are actually related to repeated purchases of a brand, but at the same time identifies characteristics of certain segments of the consumer ppulation which respond to the promotion, as well as those segments which do not. This makes it possible for companies to make better promo
tional decisions, and protects the consumer Continued on inside back cover
ENDEA
10
Computer Frontiers An Interdisciplinary Team Develops New Systems for Writing, Reading, and Analyzing Texts printed output. We're asking what happens when you begin to consider the computer as a medium in its orun rightl' Smith and associates also believe that the traditional, print-bound view of a document as linear is not the most effective approach for writing or reading. 'A document is not a linear sequence of wordsl' Smith says. "lnstead, it's composed of small logical unitsl' But the only tools widely available-the standard outline and word processing systemsforce a writer to make a document's ideas linear immediately, adds Weiss.
Drs. Stephen F. Weiss, John B.
The tools being developed will offer what the team thinks is a more appropriate and effective method of creating and using a document, one which exploits the computer's qualities of fluibility and interactivity. The document and its structure will be repre sented spatially rather than linguistically, which will permit flexibility instead of forcing linearity. While organizing a document, a
Snith, and David Beard
writer will be able to see his ideas repre-
In a melding of science, social
science, and
humanities, an interdisciplinary team of UNCCH researchers is developing innovative computer systems for writing, reading, and analyzing text through two complementary projects. With funding from the National Science Foundation and IBM, the team is developing a graphics-based structure editor,
a
sophisticated system for writing and reading that allows the user to build and manipulate the structure of a text through a graphical
rather than linguistic representation. Part of the team is also redesigning a text retrieral and analysis system that will offer expanded capabilities for analysis of technical and expository as well as literary texts. The latter project, known as MicroARRAS, is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Northern Telecom. Varied backgrounds and a shared interest in computer applications for writing and textual analysis brought the team together. After developing text retrieval systems for literary purposes such as building a concordance or conducting thematic studies, Dr. John B. Smith, associate professor of computer science, began working 0n concepts underly-
ing MicToARRAS with Dr. Stephen F. Weiss,
professor of computer science. Smith later became interested in the other side of the process, namely writing, and joined forces with Dr. Jay David Bolter, assistant professor of classics, and Dr. Marcy Lansman, assistant professor of psychology.
Bolter was developing a reading and writing program called Storyspace with novelist Michael Joyce, and Lansman was also interested in how the cognitive processes involved in planning and reading a document could be facilitated by uell-designed computer tools. Dr. David Beard, assistant profesor of computer science, and Gordon Ferguson, a research associate in computer science, also joined the team. Together thry combine expertise in natural language analysis, technical and scientific writing, human-computer interaction, cognitive psychology, humanities applications,
sented as boxes that he can move around, changing the relationships among them until he finds the most appropriate structure. "Our purpose is to create a computer system that puts emphasis 0n structure so the author and reader have the ability to take adlantage of the computer's interactivityj' Bolter says. "lt's
a freeing from the notion of text as a fixed, final version that all readers have to adapt themselves tol'
The tools will also be based on the cognitive processes involved in composing and using a document, as determined by a series
of experiments conducted by Lansman. The team will study factors such as how writers actually organize and compose a document, what strategies are most effective and lead to greater comprehension, and what visual representations are most efficient.
information retrieml, and database construction. The team realized that the computer as a medium offerd many possibilities for writing
and analysis that had not been explored. "The word processor is really only the first step in making use of the computerl' Bolter says. "lt still uses the computer in an ancillary role: its goal is to provide a perfect
The Writing ProjectBuilding a Shucture Editor The prototype structure editor for the writing project is an extension of Bolter's Storyspace, with a larger screen and greater capacity.
E
Storyspace represents structure in a visual format that combines nested boxes with an
image similar to a family tree. The user crs ates a rectangular cell (or box), labels it, and writes text into it. Boxes may be stacked
inside others to create hieruchical relationships. They also may be positioned near others and connected with $raight lines to indicate associatirre relationships. Among the program's uses are critical reading, not*taking, and composition. A reader can input a text, use the system to break it down into cells, and create a hierarchical and associative structure that repre
' a tlle tdlt lurltc
III.D
E
sents his reading of the text. Storyspace can also be used like a card file with notes written into cells. Because of the nesting structure of the program, cells containing notes 0n the same topic can be stacked inside another cell that functions like a drawer. The prognm can be used similarly to compose one's or,vn te,\t. After creating a conceptual structure of boxes representing hienrchical and associative relationships, the writer can attach text to each unit. The result
is text that can be printed out in a linear form or left as a network of boxes to be read
in any order one finds most Locote Rlter Uleu, Faoturer Tool.
fffino'lifs-l [@
n.s
A
useful.
frenlofr-l
lEEl ls"l I""l fTurnil-l rrffi'e-l +@ l" I lB"l IEEEI
Apart from Storyspace, there is not much help for a writer in the prewriting stage. A number of tools, such as spelling and grammar checking programs, har,e been developed for the postwriting stage, Weiss says, but their benefit is limited at that point. Smith concurs. Noting that organization is essential to writing success, Smith adds that he thinls there are more efficient walr of conceptualizing and organizing ideas in the prewriting stage. The goal of the project is to discover what they are and to dmelop a tool to guide the writer. To this end, the team has designed the structure editor to record the steps writers take in producing a document. "We want to use the system as an observational and measurement tool to discover the strategies people use in writingl' Smith says. Using the editor, the team is conducting a series of operi ments that focus on various aspects of the writing process. The experiments are designed to explore how people use and perceive structure in visual versus linguistic fashions and to determine whether it is indeed more effective to use spatial repraentation. As results are gathered from each experiment, the information will be used to refine the structure editor.
fhe Gognitive ExperimentsDeveloplng the Urer
Interface This screen Boxes of
Storyspace illustntes a box fornat that may be used in the structure editot. may be nested inside other boxa that reprcsent a higher conceptual level of the topic
fron
tut
Cut afl
Copg AC Po3tc tU Cle6r Reset
febvre cnd ]tartln, The Comlng of ths Book: The lmpact of prlntlng l45O-t60O, translcted from the Fronch L'ADoarltlon du llvrs Du
structures facilitated comprehension of the article bestl' says cognitive psychologist Lans-
Fred Schrelbsr, The Estlennes: An Annotated Cotalogue of 300
Hlghllghts of thelr Yorloua presses. lntro Du illcolos Eorter. E.K.
This Storyspace screen illustntes how uarious levels ol structure may be displayed sinultaneously. The
werall hienrchial $ructure is repruented at the top of the screen, with functions for editing it shown to the left, while tut at the lowest lwel of the structure is displayed at the bottom
ol the
scrcen.
The first experiment tested whether people could comprehend spatial stucture better than linguistic strudure. Subjects read a set of articles, studid the structure of eachpresented in the standard outline format, in a tree format, or in a box format-and then answered questions about the structure of the article. "We wantd to see which of those
man, who conduded the experiment. "The other operiments are progressively more dependent on the development of the structure editorl' Lansman notes. The second experiment will repeat the first, using the prototype structure editor instead of paper materials.
A third experiment will determine
how long it takes people to learn to use the structure editor in the tree and box formats and how easily they can switch between the two. Subjects will be assigned to one of the formats, given a set of exercises to teach them to use the structure editor in that format, timed as they work, and then tested on
E,
how well they have mastered the system. After they har,r learned one format, they will learn the other, and any difficulties in switching formats will be recorded. The fourth experiment will study three questions: to what extent pmple organize before they write; what kinds of patterns they use in organizing and composing; and how expert writers compare with novices. "ln this experiment people will actually be using the structure editor to write articleq' Lansman explains. "We'll record their steps as they write so we can look at the process of writing and look at that organizational process in experienced tchnical writers versus graduate students who haven't had as much experiencel' After reading several articles, subjects will write a short paper summarizing the material. The papers will then be evaluated 0n content, coherence of structure, and overall clarity and style. Although the experiment can provide information only about how people write while using the tool, it is a nonintrusive method of collecting the information and, therefore, a
A.Y.O.R
Dr. Marcy Lansman interprets the paper repraentations of the tree and box formats fitst cognitive experinent.
A Data lllanagement System for the Shcture Edltor
great improvement over prwious methods. Before, finding out about the writing process required that subjects talk aloud while work-
Beard, who is designing the database for the structure editor, says database design is critical because it affects how easily data can be
ing, describing their steps. This method can be very disruptive to the subjects' train of thought and thus does not accurately reflect the process. The nonintrusive structure editor will avoid this problem and prwide more reliable data. ln particular, the team hopes to learn whether writers create a hierarchical organizational structure and, if so, to what extent they use a "topdown" stratqy, starting with major concepts that are broken down into increasingly subordinate units, versus a "bottom-uy'' strategy, gathering details into
entered, retrieved, and manipulated. "Ease becomes especially important when you have millions of pieces of informationj' he observes. One of the problems with data management that must be considered in designing the database is huu to make the
increasingly larger logical units. The team also wants to find out whether writers concentrate on one branch of the hierarchy at a time while organizing, whether they combine composing with organizing and, if so, how much time is allocated to each and what patterns are used.
A final experiment will evaluate the structure editor as a tool. One group of subjects will write a short article using a word processor without the structure editor, another group will use both, and a third group will use both plus a strategic method of writing developed by Smith that combines bottom-up and top-down strategies. Judges will emluate the structure of the articles, which will also be read by another set of subjects to determine how well they comprehend the articles.
system as fast as the mind using it. "We're trying to keep the system as flexible as possible because it's for research purposesl' Beard explains "At the same time, it has to be quick. If someone is thinking, you don't want the system t0 interrupt the train of thoughtl'
But there is an inherent conflict between quick and flexiblq he adds. If the database is designed for a specific task, it can be honed and made fast. The writing project's system, however, must remain flexible so it can be modified during the project and adapted for future uses. Beard's engineering compromise will be to design a general purpose system that will be modified later hsed on the results of the experiments. Despite the difficulties of designing the database, it will be highly efficient for retrieving text. Because a writer using the graphicsbased structure editor will create a hierarchy of logical units that are each labeled, the labels can be used when searching and retrieving blocls of text associated with the units. This feature avoids problems related to
used
in the
other systems such as LEXIS, which is based on syntactic relations and must be searched by individual words rather than logical units. Because different words can be used to describe the same concept, it is easy to miss items when searching the text.
[IicroARRAS MicToARRAS will be a second-generation rrersion of ARRAS (ARchive Retrieral and Analysis System), an earlier system developed by Smith. ARRAS allows a user to break down a text that has hen entered into the system and to examine it in a number of ways. The program can list individual words and the number of times they occur, give their contexts at a variety of levels from phrases to whole chapters or volumes, and show their distribution throughout the text on a bar
graph (see back cover). ARRAS can also work
with categories of words, such as synonyms for a given concept, as well as categories of categories and patterns of categories. In developing the newer rcrsion, the Micro ARRAS team is rethinking the whole design
of the system. Major alterations include creating a formal division between the user interface and the retrieval program that will be bridged by a connecting language called ['LANGE, expanding the system's capabilities, and shifting from a text- to a graphics-based interface that will allow for a greater range of graphics input and output. Separating the interface and retrieyal program
will
create new directions for the
Eil
activities of the projects, graduate students in computer science and psychology are providing technical support. 'A lot of the actual building is being done by the studentsl' Ferguson says. "Ttrey're taking innovative pro grams and making them runl' Scott Southard is writing code for the MicToARRAS project, while Robert Stam and Richard Potter are working on the microcomputer interface. Candee Ellis, now graduated, also worked on the early stages of MicroARMS. For the writing proiect, Katherine Clapp is helping with design and researching implications of the sptem for information science. Valerie Kierulf is developing a language for the system based on Smalltalk, a highly sophisticated language that until recently has exceeded the capabilities of the most advanced machinery. John Q. Walker, Gregory Berg, and undergraduate Kim Campbell, all of the Psychology Department, are assisting in all phases of the cognitive experiments. Gordon Ferguson and Robert
Sbn explore ways to structurc the
MicToARRAS user interface.
system, says Weiss, who with Ferguson is designing FLANGE. Different interfaces and
communicate with a central mainframe computer containing the retrieral program and a
Ihe Future of the Projecte
kinds of editors can be plugged into the system as long as they can communicate with the intermediary FLANGE. For instance, a user can shift from a text editor to a graphics or music editor, depending on the type of text in a given segment of the document. Another advantage of the division is that the system can be run on multiple machines in different locations. Users, working at micro
set of texts. "The purpose of these projects is to make tools alailable 0n one's own deskl'
Eventually, the team plans to combine Micro ARRAS and the structure editor. Ferguson is
adds Ferguson.
currently trying to find a language that can handle both. If he can translate each pra gram's language into a third, the common language can be used to merge the systems. "Having ARRAS kinds of tools available in the writing proces would be very valuablel' Weiss comments. One could then use the system to read a text 0r set 0f texts, analyze and take notes on the information, organize one's own thoughts, write up one's analysis, and
computers
in their homes or offices,
can
Students Get f,ande-on Eryrerience While the faculty members are concentrating on design and Ferguson is managing the daily
make global as well as single revisions in the analysis. Similarly, groups of writers could have access to a joint text, $eatly increasing ease and speed of revisions.
With information from the eryeriments, the team also hopes
to provide functions
at
higher conceptual levels for experts. For instance, a text searching function based on network of concepts rather than on Boolean operations would be a much more efficient tool for advanced searchers, and professional writers might benefit from functions that
a
combine various organizational steps. Apptications extend to the computer scientist as well. Beard proposes, "lf we learn how people design a paper, we can apply that to other things like databases and computer programsl'
Kierulf shows Dr. Jay hlter one idea for transferring Storyspace to the larger screen of the Sun conputer. This version divides the screen into nultiple windows for the various functions, taking advantage of the expanded space.
Valerie
-Diantha J. Pinner
EIID
Chemical Separations in
Capillary Ttrbes New Developments
in
Separations Science Allow for Analyses of Complex Mixtures
morc through a device that detects each individual component and charts it on a graph called an elecropherogram, which shows the time at which a particular component (imaged as a peak) appears and can indicate its identity. Further, the height of each peak on the graph can be used to determine the quantity
of each component. Conventional methods of electrophoresis have involved a much slower process using gel slabs, protein spotting, and a significantly lower voltage (les than one thousand volts). The final produd, a spotted gel, must be analyzed visually. While there are machines that will scan the gels, results are not as sharp and accurate as they might be. "The traditional approach is much more artistic than ours, but it takes a significantly longer amount of time to do it conectly," Dr. Dr. Janes Jorgenson, associate professor of chenistry
Recent work in the laboratory of Dr. James Jorgenson, associate professor of chemistry has yielded trc novel methods of chemical separation using tiny capillary tubes smaller
in diameter than a human hair. "We are interested in being able to separate and analyze very complicated mixtures in incredibly tiny samples; mixtures from a single human cell, for examplej' says Jorgenson. One method of separation, capillary electrophorcsis, works best with larger charged molecules, while the second, capillary zone liquid chromatography,
is most effective with molecules smaller in size.
GapilIary TnllLe Elechophoreric Jorgenson has developed an instrument which can automatically separate molecules
of high molecular weight, such as
proteins.
Begun several years ago with graduate student Krynn Lukacs, who is now an instructor at Swarthmore, this novel elec[ophoretic separation process takes place inside a capillary tube, typically one meter long with an inner diameter of 50 microns (50 onemillionths of a meter, or two onethousandths of an inch).
The capillary tube is filled with a buffer, a solution that maintains a constant pH. Each end of the buffer-filled capillary tube is then dipped into a reservoir of the same buffer. A sample measuring about a billionth of a liter in volume is introduced into the inlet end of the tube, after which researchers apply a very high voltage to the capillary in the range of ten to thirty thousand volts. The voltage causes molecular components to migrate through the tube. Just before these components leave the capillary tube, they
Jorgenson says Jorgenson points to sweral unique features of capillary zone electrophoresis. It can be hooked to computers, yielding precise quantitative data; it has extremely hi$ separating power; and it is wry rapid, taking tnenty
minutes instead of the one to two hours, or even an entire day, required by the conventional method. Many students have
workd with
Jorgenson,
and have contibuted significantly to the project. Doctoral $udent Yvonne Walbroehl has been uploring the mathematical theory of the electrophoretic process as well as experiment-
ing with carrying out the proces with solvents other than water. Another student, Jon Green, in his fourth year of Ph.D. work, has studied separation and detection of proteins. Green says, "l think that over the next several years we will see a phenomenal increase in
of this technique in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; we are already receiving calls about itl' awareness and use
15
Next, a second liquid is pumped through the tube, or column. This second liquid, because it moves through the tube, is called a "mobile phasei'The mobile phase is usually buffered water, and often has a certain percentage of organic solvent added
to it-methyl
alcohol,
for example. "We iniect the sample into the end of the capillary tube, and each compo nent of the sample has a different affinity for
Students
Don
Rose
and Jon Grcen with Dr. Jorqenson, at the autlmated sampling station
ln the future, Jorgenson hopes to apply this to highly complex entities, such as
process
human blood serum, in order to analyze the protein components. He notes that determination of different levels of protein in human blood can help indicate certain types of disease. Jorgenson's goal
meter that is in the neighborhood of l0 microns, or 4fl0,000 of an inch. "These capillaries are a little fancierl' says Jorgenson. Researchers coat the inner wall of the tube with a "stationary phasel' an oily substance that will not dissolve in water.
of a fully automated
separation and analysis process carries with it great potential for diagnostic endeavors. Indeed, a recently designd automated
trons to the elec[ode) then it will be detected by measuring the electric current flowing into the electrode. Not all compounds give up electrons easily, however. The electrode itself must be so small that it can be inserted into the capillary about 8 microns, or 3/10,000 inch, in diameter. "This method is so sensitive that we can detect l0
Capillary Liquid Chromatog;raphy
2-3 meters in length, but with an
inside dia-
vaporized. High energy photons are then used to ionize the analyte, or sample, molecules. The energy of the photons is chosen so that only the sample molecules will ionize and not the mobile phase solvent used. "Study of
Jorgenson points out that electrochemical detection, where a voltage is applied to an electrode, is still the most effedive means. If a compound can be oxidized (giving up elec-
Jorgenson.
extremely high resolving power. Begun six years ago by former graduate student Ed Guthrie, and further refined by graduate student Bob St. Claire, the process involves a longer but smaller capillary tube; one that is
developing another method of detection, photoionization. & Wit explains that in this process the column effluent first has to be
this method of detection is almost completed now, and we will soon have a good working devicel' de Wit says.
sampling station promises to achieve Jorgenson's goal of full computer control. Currently, the system is in the process of development and testing; doctoral student Don Rose is working on this prolect, in which samples are inserted into capillaries automatically and the separations carried out under computer control. "This process allows us to lay out 25 samples, hit a key on the computer and walk off. When we come back, all the analyses are stored in the computer's memoryl' says
Separation of very complicated mixtures into individual components occurs with capillary liquid chromatogaphy, the goal of which is
dissolving in the stationary phasel' says Jorgenson. Sample components that would rather dissolve in water than oil will stay in the water and come through the column more quickly, while samples that would rather dissolve in oit will take longer to wash through the column. Jorgenson says that it is simply a case of "like dissolving likei' As the components leave the outlet of this column, they are detected by one of several different methods, the two most frequently used being flourescence (under ultraviolet light), and electrochemical detedion. Jos de Wit, in his third par of doctoral work, is
H 50 pm Photonicrograph ol a capillary tufu. The white area represents the bulk of the tufu itself, while the tiny black dot is the opening. This photograph was taken with an electron nicroxope in the Dental School by Doug Wilson.
million molecules coming out of the columnl' says Dr. Jorgenson. At its simplest, electro chemical detection is done with a constant voltage on the electrode and measures the passage of components in the mixture. Graduate student Jackie White, who holds a research fellowship from the American Chemical Society, has worked on voltage scanning, a more sophisticated approach to electro chemical detedion in which voltage is varied
in a constant scan. "ln this case, we can generate plots that look threedimensional,
o.R
E.A
l6
called chromatovoltammogramsl' says Jorgenson. Not only can researchers observe when each individual component comes through the column (time of peak) and how much (height
tion, the Sloan Foundation, the University
of peak), but how difficult it is to oxidize the particular component. This is determined by the location along the voltap axis that the peak occurs. If the peak occurs at a lower voltage, the component is easier to oxidize; if at a higher voltage, the component is more difficult to oxidize. "This process is beneficial
The ucitement in Jorgensons lab is palpable as nsr and more efficient ways to
probe the intricacies of a wide variety of materials, ranging from industrial products to exceedingly complex biological samples, are
Research Council, and many priuate sources,
among them DuPont, Hewlett-hckard, UpJohn, and Dow Chemical.
developed and uplored.
-Ann F. Stanford
Ascorbic Acid
\
it gives us another dimension in which to separate and identify each compo nent. Normally vlle separate in terms of time; now we can also look at it in terms of voltage,'says Jorgenson. because
/
Ultra-f,Ilcroeampllng and Analynlr Another ongoing project in Jorgenson's busy laboratory has as its goal obtaining a portion of the contents of a single cell and analyzing
it for its chemical
constituents.
46
In principle,
this technique will work with both electro phoresis and liquid chromatography, but at this point, experiments have been confined to liquid chromatognphy. "The idea is that we make tiny glass pipettes which have a tip diameter of about eight microns (3/10,000 inch), which we insert, under a microscopg into an individual cell, withdrawing some of the cellular fluid and introducing it into the inlet end of the capillar/' explains Jorgenson. From this point, analpis is carried out. Already Jorgenson and doctonl student Bobby Ktnnedy, who holds a Board of Governors' Fellowship, are looking at some of the cellular contents in individual neurons in snail brains (see back cover photograph), which have unusually large neurons. The cells are about 100 microns in diameter (about 4/1,000 inch). "Eventually r+e hope to work
TIME (minules) Single voltage chrcnatogram of standards nixture, consisting of atechol, hydroquinone, ilopanine, epinephrine, tyrosine, and ascorbic acid
DOPAMINE
/ \
EPINEPHRINE
HYOHOOUINONE
/ TYFIOSINE
I
with erren smaller cellsl' sap Jorgenson. Capillary separations harre potentially important applications in biotechnology. "Pharmaceutical mmpanies want to market drugs that are based on peptides and proteins, but the methods for protein analysis are fre quently inaccurate. FDA demands quantitative data about specific kinds and amounts of impurities in any potentially marketable drug. This method muld prove very useful for that
probleml' explains Jorgenson. Funding for this research has been made arailable from the National Science Founda-
eq/ ASCOBBIC ACID
Chronatovoltammognn ol lhe sane standards mifiure as abwe
Continued from inside hont
cwr
computing. The current request for additional funding in this area is vienrl"d by the commit-
tee as the minimum first step in addressing the neglected area of academic computing at all levels on this campus. The future of academic computing at UNC-CH and its ability as a research and educational tool to
Appllcefionr up for l9t6
and an allocation from the profits from the Student Stores har,e provided the Craduate
Applications for admission to the Graduate School for all terms in 1986 are running about 1,000 ahead of comparable numbers for 1984 and 1985. Based on projections from previous yearq about 11,000 applications will harre been received prior to the beginning of the fall semester 1986, a number which challenges the record of 11,325 receircd in 1976.
School with about $1.4 million in 1986 to award as fellounhips and limited service assistantships to graduate students. We try to
assist UNC-CH in remaining among the educational leaders of the state and nation may well rest upon the responses to this budget request as it passes through the various administrative leryels of the University
use these funds to attract outstanding students
and state. The preliminary planning work
to Chapel Hill. Committees of faculty
necessary
mem-
bers from the seven administrative divisions of the Graduate School pour orrer hundreds of application folders of the most promising applicants nominated by their programs to
Programs which have recorded notable increases this par are Business Administration (M.B.A.), Computer Science, and Dentistry
(post D.D.S. specialty M.S.). The Graduate Office has observed parallel increases in
establish nnkings from which aurards are made. The hard uork of these faculty committees is an essential part of the selection process and is greatly appreciated by the
requests for catalogues and application
Graduate School staff and by
packets.
of the General
all the
-John H. Harrinn IV
members
Faculty.
A partial li$ing of fellowships and
f,rdorvorr assis-
tantships being offered is shown below along with the stipends for 1986-87.
Greduete $chool Followrhlpl end Asdrtertrhlpr
to rcinstate UNC-CH as a leader in this area rather than a follorer has been done. The future of this campus as a modern research institution may well depend upon a rapid and complete revitalization of this area.
Research and Gnduate Education
North Carolina Fall
Endowment income, state appropriations, gifts,
a
a
the University of
Chapel Hill
1986
Volume
lV
Number I
Endeawrs is a magazine published three times a year by
Appmximate Number Period
of
Awards
Pogue Fellowship
of Annual
Awards
the 0ffice of Research Services, a division of the Graduate School of the Uniwnity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Each issue of fndeaucrs describes only a fevi of the many research projecs undertaken by faculty and students of the Unircrsity.
Stipend
3
years
$8,500
3
years
$8,400
Board of Governors Fellowship in
l5
Science and Technolory W. R. Iranan, Whitaker, Lewis, W N. REnolds, and other en-
doned fellonships
20
Limited Service Assistantship
83
Minority Doctoral
37
I year
I year I year
Requests for permission to reprint material, readen'
comments, and requests for extn copies should be sent to Editor, fndearors, Oflice of Research Senices, 300 Bynum Hall 008A, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapd Hin, NC 27514 (telephone 919/966-
$8,000
5625).
$7,500
$6,000
+
Chancellor: Christopher C. Fordham, III Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Graduate School:
$500
summer supplement
G Philip
Manire
Director: Office of Research Services: Tom K. Scott Editor: Suzanne Appelbaum
fusistant Editon: Tim Jenkins Diantha J. Pinner
Ann F. Stanford Photographer: Will Owens Continued
fnn
Designer:
page 9
from indirectly paying the costs resulting from poor decisions. Recognition has been accordd Perreault in the area of research methods. Most recently an article he coauthored with Forrest Young of the UNC Psychometric Laboratory receirad the O'Dell Award hom the American Market-
Donna S. Slade
ing Association. The article was cited as having made "the most significant longrun contribution to marketing research theory methods, and practice' of any article
Cover: Teacher Kym Lake worh with autistic children during a strudurcd play session in the TEACCH preschool pmgram. Photognph by Rhh Bckman. Story
published in the preceeding firc years.
@ 1986 by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States. All rights reserrred. No part of
-Tin
Jenkins
on page l.
this publication may be reproduced without the consent of The Unirersity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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