Moving Newsletters From Print to Web
Digital Headaches, Possible Solutions
Feng Shui: Decorate For Success?
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Michele Alperin, Lynn Robbins, and Vivian
Fransen were prepared for the November 8, 2000 edition of
U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Disabilities Compliance: Does It Work?
Passed 10 years ago in the face of pervasive
discrimination
against people with disabilities, the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) requires employers, state and local governments, and public
businesses and institutions to provide reasonable accommodation for
disabled persons. Although there are some lapses in compliance, John
Sarno, president of the Employers Association of New Jersey,
believes
that “the ADA is a truly great civil rights law that is a
reflection
of how far we have come as a society in integrating people with
disabilities
into the mainstream.”
The ADA covers anyone with a disability that limits one or more major
life functions, such as walking, seeing, hearing, working, or caring
for oneself. The law also covers persons who are considered by others
to have a disability, explains David Lazarus of the Community
Health Law Project, “for example, persons who have been mentally
ill and have recovered, but whom peers now perceive as having a
disability.”
Sarno and Lazarus will speak at a free conference entitled “Civil
Rights for Persons with Disabilities: 10 Years After-Reality or
Illusion?”
This discussion of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its real
impact takes place on Friday, November 10, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m., at the Community Health Law Project, New Jersey Law Center,
1 Constitution Square, New Brunswick. For information, call
973-275-1175.
Register by fax only to 732-828-0034.
Employers are required by Title 1 of the ADA to act in particular
ways in order to prevent discrimination against disabled persons:
Inquiries into a job applicant’s disability areprohibited.Employers may not ask about medical or disability information in ajob interview, although job applicants themselves may disclose theexistence of a disability. Employers may require a medical examinationonly after they make a “real job offer” but may not withdrawan offer simply because a disability is revealed by the examination.Reasonable accommodation must be provided to a disabledperson, unless it imposes “undue hardship” on the employer.Says Sarno: “The employer has to consider ways to help theemployeewith a disability perform the essential functions of the job.”The employer is released from the obligation to reasonably accommodateonly if there is undue hardship, meaning that an accommodation wouldbe too costly, disruptive, or onerous. For example, says Sarno,whereastransferring a disabled employee to a vacant job for which he or sheis qualified would be reasonable, creating a whole new position forthe person would impose undue hardship.Employer and employee must engage in an “interactiveprocess,” a conversation in which, says Sarno, “theemployerand employee discuss alternatives and options and the best way tomeet the needs of the disabled employee.”Sarno, whose organization advises member employers on complying withthe ADA, is very enthusiastic about the effects of the mandate forinteractive process: “The great untold story about the ADA isthe thousands of conversations that take place on a daily basis inworkplaces around the country between employees and employers on thebest way to accommodate the employee with a disability.” As aresult of these mandated conversations, he says, “only a tinypercentage of disputes arising out of the ADA ever reach the pointof litigation.”Employers may not withdraw a job offer from a disabledperson unless they can demonstrate there is a “businessnecessity.”A business necessity is when the disabled person is unable to meetthe physical requirements of the job or poses a threat to him orherself.For example, suppose an employer offers someone a job to work in awarehouse, where requirements include lifting heavy packages andclimbingladders to stock shelves. If the medical examination reveals severeheart or pulmonary disease, the employer can withdraw the offer asa business necessity.Employers may not discriminate in terms of healthinsurancecoverage, but an insurer may offer different insurance to differentclassifications of disabilities, for example physical versuspsychiatric.Under Title 2 of the ADA, state and local governmentsmust assure that all of their programs and services are accessible.They are required to have self-evaluation and transition plans,explainsLazarus, “meaning that you take a look in the mirror and see whatyou are delivering and whether it is accessible to persons withdisabilities.”Lazarus claims that compliance of municipal governments in New Jerseyhas been wanting, particularly in terms of the self-evaluation andtransition plan requirements. In a survey of about 50 municipalitiesin Bergen County, the Community Health Law Project found that theywere very sparsely compliant; most did not have self-evaluation ortransition plans. ADA regulations for state and local governmentsalso require all new public buses and commuter trains to beaccessible.Title 3 of the ADA mandates that public accommodations, like shoppingmalls, hotels and motels, and sports arenas, cannot deny goods orservices because a person has a disability, cannot offer only unequalor separate benefits, and must offer services in the most integratedsetting possible. Compliance to Title 3 in the state of New Jerseyvaries, depending on whether a facility is new or already existing:All new facilities must comply with both the ADA and with New Jersey’slonger-standing barrier free sub-code to its Uniform ConstructionCode. The barrier-free sub-code covers architectural and accessrequirements,for example, accessible routes of travel, handicapped parking,appropriatesidewalk grades, cut curves, restroom access, and necessary turningradiuses. “Before a store or commercial facility can beopened,”says Lazarus, “a local inspector inspects the premises.”For existing facilities where physical barriers to disabled personsneed to be removed, compliance is entirely complaint-driven. “Theproblem is that no government entity exists that requires compliancefor facilities built before the ADA and the barrier-free subcode,”says Lazarus. “For example, if a place was built before theselaws, but could be made accessible with a ramp, there is no one toask whether this can be accomplished without exceptional cost andexpense.”Lazarus has been involved in public interest law since hegraduatedfrom Brooklyn Law School in 1969. After law school he worked for theLegal Aid Society of the City of New York, then moved to the LegalServices Corporation in New Jersey, and, finally, in 1976, to theCommunity Health Law Project, which serves primarily the disabledand the elderly. Lazarus received a bachelor’s in business from PennState University in 1966.Sarno became involved with the disabled through the helpingprofessions.He graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Ramapo College in 1977and received a master’s in counseling and a law degree, both fromSeton Hall University. Sarno spent nearly 10 years working as acounselorto people with disabilities and then practiced general law for about10 years. Since 1995 he has been using his expertise in disabilitiesas president of the Employers Association of New Jersey.Sarno believes that “the ADA has been an unequivocal success andthat it will continue to evolve.” As evidence of possible futuredirections for the ADA, he cites a national committee that is studyingwhether the use of genetic information is something the ADA shouldcover or whether a new law is required.Lazarus raises a potentially less positive development for the ADA:a major case on disability law that is now before the U.S. SupremeCourt, which, he says, “will directly impact whether states arebound by the ADA.” Although the course of the ADA’s evolutioncannot be predicted, its effects on disabled Americans living todayare measurable and clear, he says: They are living more normal andproductive lives and contributing more effectively to their familiesand communities.— Michele AlperinTop Of PageMath + Biology@BIG LETTER = Scientists and researchers working in central NewJersey’spharmaceutical labs might pass over notice of an upcoming lectureby a professor whose credentials combine mathematics and biology.But people with a passion for science are apt to be challenged andperhaps enlightened by a topic that draws upon the latest advancesin mathematics, biology, and physics.Arthur T. Winfree of the University of Arizona comes to PrincetonUniversity to give a lecture entitled “Total Eclipse of the Heart:Electrical Vortices and Fatal Heart Attacks.” Sponsored byPrincetonUniversity’s Graduate School Centennial Series, which featuresdistinguishedalumni of the graduate school, this lecture is open to the publicat no charge on Sunday, November 12, at 4 p.m. at the Frist CampusCenter. A reception follows the lecture. For more information, call609-258-2742.”My presentation has a catchy title, but it is not going to beabout human interest topics so much as about the mathematical physicsof waves in heart muscle,” says Winfree during a telephoneinterviewfrom Tucson, Arizona, where he is completing a sabbatical year. Headds that anyone looking for practical tips, such as what changesin diet promote heart health, will not find such information as partof his remarks.”I’m not a medical doctor,” says Winfree, who has worked withsome of today’s most brilliant cardiologists and medical researchers.”My focus is on basic biology and mathematical constructs tobetterunderstand the peculiar dynamics of electrical waves.”Highly regarded as both an experimental mathematician and theoreticalbiologist, Winfree has a reputation for looking deeply into aphysical,chemical, or biological phenomenon and extracting a mathematical gem.For example, his work on the three-dimensional waves of electricalpotential that control the timing of heart muscles has shown thatthey can have a mathematical shape that leads to cardiac arrhythmias.Winfree was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1945, and he had twobrothers and one sister. The family moved up and down the East Coastas his father pursued a career in life insurance. “I knew froman early age that mathematics would be an important part of my life’swork,” says Winfree, who speaks highly of the excellent teacherswho introduced him to the intellectual stimulation of geometry andbiology in the 10th grade.After completing his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics atCornellUniversity, he went on to earn a PhD in biology from PrincetonUniversity(Class of 1970). He taught at the University of Chicago and PurdueUniversity before arriving at the University of Arizona to serve asprofessor of ecology and evolutionary biology, teaching both graduateand undergraduate courses. He has done stints as a visiting scholarat such institutions as the University of Montreal, the Center forNonlinear Studies in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the Oxford UniversityMathematics Institute in England, Osaka University in Japan, and theUniversity of California.Winfree’s honors and awards are legion, including recognition aswinnerof the Norbert Wiener Prize of 2000 to 2004 for innovations relatedto biological rhythms and the Einthoven Award conferred by theNetherlandsRoyal Academy of Sciences InterUniversity Cardiology Institute. In1982 he received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, andin 1984 the coveted John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Prize.Winfree has generated scores of publications and journal articlessince 1970, as well as being the author of three books: “WhenTime Breaks Down: The Three-Dimensional Dynamics of ElectrochemicalWaves and Cardiac Arrhythmias” published in 1987, “The Timingof Biological Clocks” published in 1986. (Note: For those whowant background reading for the November 12th lecture, check yourlibrary or local bookstore selling used books for “The Timingof Biological Clocks” (published by Freeman and Sons in 1986),which is now out of print.)”The conceptual and factual advances in this field are enormousover the past 20 years,” says Winfree, who has devoted asignificantpart of his life during this sabbatical year to updating the thirdedition of “The Geometry of Biological Time,” originallypublishedin 1980 with a third edition due early next year. This book, accordingto promotional materials, “describes periodic processes in livingsystems, and in non-living analogs, in the abstract terms of systemstheory . . . emphasizing such topics as phase singularities, waves,and mutual synchronization” and is rich in technical graphics.For those who are left somewhat baffled with such scientific jargon,Winfree offers the following explanation on his work relating toelectricalvortices and the way the heart functions: The heart is an organ withmuscular walls that pumps blood through the circulatory system.Contractionsof the heart are triggered by moving electrical waves. Whenwell-behaved,the rate of this action is once per second. . . To understand therole of electrical vortices, it’s helpful to picture electricalactivationsthat spin on the surface of the heart, in a sense chasing their tailsin circles within a very short period. Complete rotations occur 10times each second. The use of the term vortices communicates therhythmsof these rotations, which are akin to the action occurring in theeye of a hurricane. Understanding these dynamics helps one begin tounravel the mysteries when an organism suffers a fatal heart attack.While a thorough appreciation for the complexities of Winfree’s workrequires solid knowledge of the fine points of mathematical theory,his work may help hold the key for researchers to better understandthe role of mathematics in leading us further down the road toenlightenmentabout the inherent rhythms of how our bodies work.— Vivian FransenTop Of PageMoving Newsletters From Print to Web@BIG LETTER = The key to creating an Internet-based newsletter isto give contributors ownership of their published content. “Getthe publishing team to make the E-newsletter theirs,” says LoriMartinsek, vice president of Publication Services in Champaign,Illinois.On Tuesday, November 14, at 11:30 a.m. at the Doral Forrestal,Martinsonwill show how to create a website that is easy for the publishingteam to launch and update, and inviting for clients to read. She willdiscuss the need for initial web planning sessions where you identifythe key content providers and create enthusiasm and confidence withinthe publishing team.The New Jersey Communications Advertising & Marketing Associationluncheon is entitled “Launching the E-Communications CenterSolution:Reinventing the Newsletter.” Cost: $40. Call 609-799-4900.Martinsekcan be reached at 217-398-2060, extension 230.With Martinsek’s approach, each content provider becomes a publisher.He or she defines his topic of focus and its title. This title becomesa hot button on the web site, which will link to his content. Youempower him by giving him ownership of the information that ispublished,and the software tools to post it on the date and time he decides.A graduate of Framingham State College of Massachusetts, Class of1977, Martinsek grew up in a family-owned printing business. She laterdeveloped the content, delivery, and database for Microsoft ComputerDictionary 3/e for print and Web use.”The problem with a lot of printed company newsletters andpoliciesis that they are out of date before they are published,” saysMartinsek.Another problem is that the E-newsletter does not enough information.The employee or client doesn’t have a way to get more in-depth contentspecific to his individual needs. The solution, says Martinsek, isto give him access to a website with hot links and an interface toa relevant database that can provide reports and statistics.To keep readers coming back, Martinsek suggests making theE-newsletterinteractive and personalized. Newsletter editors should encouragethe reader to identify his topics of interest. Then, whenever newinformation is published, that reader can receive an E-mail alert.Better yet, says Martinsek, include a link to the updated content.Another technique is to post a bulletin board on the website thatanswers frequently asked questions with E-mail access for readers’contributions.A good interactive web-based publication can, in some cases, do awaywith printed policy manuals and replace meetings, says Martinsek.At the CAMA meeting, Martinsek will introduce Publication Services’”E-Communications Center,” a tool for publishing and managinginformation on the web. With this system, says Martinsek, “a newwebsite can be posted within 48 hours with a splash screen and buttonlinks, as well as administration tools. The content providers do notneed programming experience. They will just type their materialdirectlyonto customized templates. The process is similar to using MicrosoftPower Point.”The CAMA presentation is geared for anyone looking to launch anelectronicnewsletter or website, or streamline the production process of acurrentpublication within a company.Says Martinsek: “Giving the members of your newsletter teamindependenceis the key.”— Lynn RobbinsTop Of PageDigital Headaches, Possible SolutionsYou will know we are truly in the digital age wheneverybodybelieves an image sent by E-mail is more dependable than an envelopesent by Federal Express. Until that time, the Art Directors Club ofNew Jersey has scheduled a technology expo entitled “Harness thePower of Digital Files” on Tuesday, November 14, 4 to 10 p.m.It will be at L’Affaire Hall, 1099 Route 22 East, in Mountainside.Cost: $60 including a buffet dinner and workshops. Register online(www.adcnj.org) or call 201-997-1212.Among the 20 exhibitors are Adobe Systems, Agfa, Epson America,GraytorPrinting Co., Gravity Systems, Polaroid Graphics Imaging, Fotocare,and Fujifilm.Educational seminars start at 6:45 p.m. Bruce Wade of InnovativeFolding Carton will discuss proofing, which he believes is the mostimportant issue between designers, clients, and printers. “Theability to convey expectations accurately is crucial to a successfulend product,” says Wade.Joe Zugcic, who has a commercial photography studio, will discussproducing digital job master files, the effect of Newton Rings, andhow to use channels to examine a raw scan. He will also show how toretouch large files.Glen Russen of ChromeWerk Graphics will identify effective waysto create images for direct-to-print or direct-to film reproduction.Brian Yeats, of Quality Graphics Center, will talk about theeffects of PDF files — their cost, speed, and color accuracy —and what effect this format will have on the printing industry.Look for a 36 percent increase in responses to direct mail ads, sayDavid Marfiewicz and Pam Conover of Digital Xpress. Theypresent the new generation of printing-on-demand digital offsetprintingwith variable data — inserting people’s names in direct mailletters,which produces the better response.Top Of PageFeng Shui: Decorate For Success?Position your furniture according to the ancient Chineseprinciples of Feng Shui and you will prosper, promises JadeDressler,who gives a seminar on the subject on Wednesday, November 15, from6 to 9:30 p.m.Dressler, owner of 108.OM Public Relations in Wrightstown,Pennsylvania,entitles her seminar, “Feng Shui in the Business Environment:Position Yourself for Success.” Her clients have included Macy’s,Aveda, and New Jersey state government division headquarters. The$50 seminar — included a take-away packet and a $40 giftcertificatetowards Dressler’s follow-up, onsite consult — will be atLambertvilleHouse, 32 Bridge Street in Lambertville. Call 215-598-9231.Use Feng Shui in your office, and your work space will work better,says Marion H. Zukas of MHZ Designs, on Main Street in Cranbury(609-655-5050). She will present a similar program, “Feng Shuion the Job: Work Spaces that Work,” for the Hightstown/EastWindsorBusiness & Professional Women on Tuesday, November 14, at 6:15 p.m.at the Coach & Four. Cost: $17.50 for dinner, but the program itselfis free. Call 609-426-4490.Though Feng Shui dates from 5,000 years ago, modern companies likeCoca Cola are turning to Feng Shui experts. The soda pop companyconsultedFeng Shui experts for the design of its Atlanta headquarters. Closerto home, the Holistic Health Association of Princeton had employedthe services of a Feng Shui consultant when it moved to its new spaceon Nassau Street.Some of the principles seem obvious: Unclutter your desk. Clean upthe trash at the entrance to your office. Put a green plant in justthe right spot. Who needs an expert to figure this out?Less intuitive is the rule saying that the top honcho in the officeshould have the office located as far away from the door as possible,in the left hand corner. And that you should put a spot of yellowin just the right place.Does it work? Maybe. But a Feng Shui-d space all by itself will notguarantee success, and it didn’t protect the Holistic HealthAssociationof Princeton. After moving to its Feng Shui-d office — forwhateverreason, and after more than 20 years in existence — the HHAP wentdefunct.Top Of PageInteractive MediaIs there one tried and true way to structure contentand write for interactive media? A panel will address that topic forMoving Images Professionals (ITVA) on Wednesday, November 15, at 6:30p.m. at the Olive Garden. Cost. $10. Call 609-987-9207.Panelists are John Loven, Victor Davis, Lena Lattanzi and RobertGengerke. Loven designed his first interactive program forStrawbridgeand Clothier stores in 1983. Davis is a veteran writer/producer whohas made the successful transition from video to interactive media;he has worked at NBC and NJN and been a corporate video producersfor such firms as GE and Lucent.Lattanzi is an interactive industry veteran who has workedsuccessfullywith writers to create engaging programs for many Fortune 500companiesincluding GE, Lockheed Martin Delta Airlines, Prudential andPricewaterhouseCoopers.Gengerke, a writer/producer/director, is owner of New York-based MagicBox Communications and co-produced Sperry’s first interactivevideodiscseries.Previous StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
