Human communication needs and organizational productivity: the potential impact of office automation.

Much of what white collar workers do in offices is communication-related. White collar workers make up the majority of the labor force in the United States today and the majority of current labor costs. Because office automation represents more productive structured techniques for handling both written and oral communication, office automation therefore offers the potential to make organizations more productive by improving organizational communication. This article: (1) defines communication, (2) identifies the potential benefits to be realized from implementing office automation, and (3) offers caveats related to the implementation of office automation systems. Realization of the benefits of office automation depends upon the degree to which new modes of communication may be successfully substituted for traditional modes.     

Teaching computer literacy: helping patrons to help themselves.

Teaching computer literacy to library patrons is an entirely appropriate activity for librarians in their role as liaisons between information and those who are seeking it. At the Norris Medical Library of the University of Southern California there are four main computer activities: information management workshops, provision of a microcomputer laboratory and classroom, formation of user groups, and installation of a campus-wide electronic bulletin board. Benefits to the library include: increased computer knowledge for librarians, better understanding of the information needs of the campus community, mutual respect and friendship between librarians and patrons, and introduction to the library of patrons who may otherwise never have come.     

Influence of single-leg training on muscle metabolism and endurance during exercise with the trained limb and the untrained limb

We have previously shown that single-leg training results in improved endurance for exercise with the untrained leg (UTL) as well as for exercise with the trained leg (TL). The purpose of this study was to see whether the improved endurance of the untrained leg could be explained on the basis of changes in muscle metabolism. Exercise time to exhaustion at 80% of maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) was determined for each leg separately, pre- and post-training. Muscle metabolite concentrations were measured pre- and post-training in biopsy samples obtained immediately before this endurance test and at the pre-training point of exhaustion (END1). After six weeks of single-leg training endurance time was increased for both the UTL and the TL (UTL 34.0 +/- 16.4 min vs 97.9 +/- 26.3 min, P less than 0.01; TL 28.3 +/- 10.1 min vs 169.0 +/- 32.6 min, P less than 0.01). No changes in muscle metabolite concentrations were found in resting muscle. Training increased muscle ATP (P less than 0.05) and glycogen (P less than 0.01) concentrations and decreased muscle lactate concentration (P less than 0.05) in the TL at END1. No significant changes in muscle metabolite concentrations were found for the UTL. The improved endurance of the contralateral limb after single-leg training could not be explained on the basis of changes in muscle metabolism.