emerald
Vol 83, No 46
Eugene. Oregon 97403
Friday, November 6,1981
Emerald graphic
Computer resources offer
shortcut to reference file
By STEPHEN CRAKER
Of th» Emareld
Despite its isolation, Room 151 of
the library is the control center for
the University Computer Search
System, connecting students, faculty,
staff and the public with reference
materials
Inside is a terminal which is tied
into resource computers from areas
as distant as New York and
California These sources, when
called upon by the terminal, can send
back reference information
immediately
The system has been at the
University since 1975," says
coordinator Rod Slade Both this
one and the one at the Science
Library cost $1,700 apiece With
them we are able to provide a service
we couldn't provide before "
That service is finding research
materials for interested solicitors very
quickly
"We buy services from vendors of
data bases, and have access to four
major systems What used to take 50
hours can now be done in one, and it
also finds things you can't find by
hand "
Data bases are the 160 subject
areas available for request Journal
articles are the primary source of
references, though technical reports,
books, newspapers, proceedings and
dissertations are used as well
"There are over 40 million
references available, everything from
Avon to collective bargaining."
To retrieve information from distant
computer sources, the operator
compares key words of the specific
subject requested with words in
titles, subject headings and abstracts
of bibliographic citations
"For instance, if you used the word
dog,' the computer would construct
a table and compare that word with
what it has and send back the
information If you wanted to use the
word rabies with dog as well, the
computer would check that too
against its table and send back the
information.' says Slade
The information is sent back in the
form of abstracts which Slade
describes as a short narration of
what the reference is about."
Obviously you can’t represent
everything you can find in a
reference on an abstract, but its real
value is in referring you to the
original document in the library The
abstract gives you something to
judge."
Costs largely depend on the data
base The more expensive data
bases are mainly for private
companies who can afford that price
and benefit from the exclusive
references, Slade says
"In the last three years, the
average price for a session has been
abound $17 50 for two data bases ”
The computer time plus the
amount of references printed are
also factors in determining cost
"It is a little on the expensive side,
but if you're used to going about it
manually, it is remarkable what it can
do in an hour," says law student
Roger Mellem
"If we screw up, and it is an
obvious error, we are not going to
charge student or faculty for our
mistakes," says Slade
The fee covers the costs spent on
the program Salaries and
administrative costs come from the
University budget
Around 110 people use the system
each month, or about 900 users a
year, mostly doctoral or master's
candidates "who are getting ready
for a major writing project," says
Slade
Olum says cuts likely
due to lack of debate
By HARRY ESTEVE
04 the Emerald
Across-the-board budget cuts to
University programs, schools and
departments probably will be
recommended without much public
argument from faculty or students, Pres
Paul Olum said at a Thursday press
conference
At a Wednesday faculty meeting, Olum
asked for further comments on cuts he
will recommend to the State Board of
Higher Education, but "no one said
anything,” he said
"Faculty and students have no better
suggestions ”
On Dec 11, Olum will submit the list of
budget reductions to the board for final
approval The cuts include suspending
the international education program for
a year, freezing searches to fill a number
of vacant administrative positions and
closing the natural history museum.
A total of about $2.15 million will be cut
from the University's 1982-83 budget, if
the board approves the recom
mendations
At past faculty meetings, professors
and department heads opposed cuts to
their own programs But at Wednesday’s
meeting the small turnout and lack of
discussion suggested most have
resigned themselves to the proposed
cuts
Conspicuously absent from
discussions on the budget cuts have
been students and student
representatives ASUO Pres Rich
Wilkins says this is partly because
students don't have enough information
“It's really hard to come up with
alternative cuts," Wilkins says. “We
don't have all the information.
“It's not a fault of anyone. It's just the
way it is.”
ASUO representatives opposed
increases in admissions standards and
remedial education cuts, Wilkins says
“There's nothing I disagree with," he
says about Olum’s proposed budget
package “We need to preserve the
main, core programs.”
Student response to the cuts has been
“kind of slow,” Wilkins says, but it has
been improving.
Response should reach its peak next
year “when the big crunch comes,” he
says
At his press conference, Olum also
stated the conflict between FBI
employment recruiters and the law
school probably would not affect current
affirmative action guidelines at the
University.
FBI recruiters last month postponed
their interviews at the law school after
dean Derrick Bell sent a letter asking
them to explain their policies pn hiring
homosexuals.
Olum said FBI recruiters still could set
up sessions through the Career Planning
and Placement Office on campus to
interview potential lawyers.
In other business, Olum said no further
progress has been made concerning the
status of the Pacific Northwest Resource
Center on campus, and Richard Hill,
acting provost for academic affairs, was
appointed permanently to that position.
Speaker raps nuke policy
By BRAD BARTON
Of »h* Emsrald
Considering the present intensity of
the arms race, civilization's chance of
preventing a nuclear holocaust is less
than 50-50, an investigative reporter said
Thursday
Norman Solomon, who has written on
nuclear-related topics for several major
American newspapers and periodicals,
spoke to an audience of about 50 at
Emerald Baptist Church
Solomon identified several instances
where the U S government has been
less-than-honest with the public in
nuclear-related matters
He stated that arguments presented
during the debate over the hydrogen
bomb were not made public until after
the decision to deploy the bomb had
been made He also said that former
Pres Dwight Eisenhower ordered the
commissioner of the Atomic Energy
Commission to “confuse the public”
about the differences between nuclear
fission and fusion
Between 1946 and 1962 over 250,000
U S troops, without their consent, were
deliberately exposed to dangerous levels
of radiation, Solomon claimed These
“experiments" were more psychological
than physiological in that the intent was
to test the ability of troops to assemble a
rifle just after a nearby atomic explosion,
he added
An average of one dozen nuclear
explosions took place at testing facilities
nm
Photo by Mark Pynes
Norman Solomon
in Nevada and Texas during the 1950s,
Solomon said, adding that the AEC
claimed that the public was in "no
danger” from the fallout clouds that
drifted over those states as well as
Arizona and Utah The unusually high
levels of cancer and leukemia in those
areas tend to prove the AEC wrong
He went on to say that underground
tests are currently taking place every
three weeks in Nevada While radiation
leaks have been detected, the
government hangs on to the "no
danger” stance, he said