March 8, 1998

Article on some of New York City's increasing number of alternative schools; most are small, but curriculums and teaching methods vary from traditional to countercultural and in-between; reading scores show wide variety of results, and no magic formula: alternative schools doiminated both top and bottom tiers; photos; list and tables on performance (M)

Growing number of people who use Internet say they feel free to engage in more frank discussion of racial issues they might otherwise be reluctant to take up face-to-face with someone of another race on the job, at social events, even on telephone; a dialogue on race has sprung up spontaneously on Internet, in bulletin boards, chat rooms and other venues; excerpts from some random postings on racial issues, as they appeared recently; photos (L)

Article on Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu is causing major concern among New York Yankees for both his inconsistent pitching and temper tantrums; photo (M)

America's 'treadmill economy' is creating more than 300,000 jobs a month as companies spend furiously to hang onto demanding, flightly customers, but without significant gains in productivity; result is that wages and living standards remain stagnant, despite low unemployment; examples include AT&T, which hires many low-paid directory-assistance customers, and UPS, which finds it cheaper to maintain high staffing levels at distribution centers rather than to boost productivity through automation; photos; Prof Paul David explains that company strategies pay off in added revenue and high profits, but not in greter productivity for nation (L)

Habitat Magazine will hold leadership conference for New York apartment owners, board members and management personnel; plans seminars on such subjects as sponsors, loans, annual meetings and owner occupancy (S)