Author Lee Gutkind comments on the Robot Recession in Japan and what’s to come in the U.S.

Published November 17, 2009

The Sun Spot

On October 27, 2009 I interviewed my former creative nonfiction writing teacher, Lee Gutkind, Founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction Magazine, on his research with robots.

Lee, who is now at ASU, has a very long title behind his name: the Distinguished Writer in Residence, Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes Professor, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University.

Gutkind’s book “Almost Human: Making Robots Think”, has just been released in paperback.  Enamored with all things robot, I asked him to comment on a recent New York Times visual article on the robot recession currently underway in Japan.  His initial response was ” It goes to show the way in which interest in robots goes far beyond technology and into public understanding, consumption and acceptance that the ‘idea’ of AI (artificial intelligence) is no longer the stuff of science fiction.”  I agreed.

LG: The robot recession in Japan is a reflection of the economic recession in Japan and isn’t impacting us in a big way since robots are more a part of life in Japan.  In the U.S., robots are seen as of  part of pop culture and they’re involved in industry and medicine but we’re not used to interacting with them daily like the Japanese.

MLS: Why do you think that’s the case since we’re so technology dependent it seems in the West?

LG: The Japanese look at robots as answers to problems in life- like who will take care of the elderly.  In the U.S. we don’t want to think about a robot taking care of us. Although if you look at it, there is a decrease in funding in certain areas of research that robot technology is getting, like with aerospace.

MLS: Do you mean with space travel and lunar landings, etc?

LG: Yes, if you look at what has been going on with NASA in the past four or five years, the idea that was taking hold was that we didn’t need manned space travel because robots could do the job because the focus was on places where man couldn’t travel like Mars.  Mars was more important with the Clinton and Bush administration but now we’re focusing on going to the moon again and not Mars so robots are becoming less significant because men have been and can be on the moon and walk around.  Do you remember the two robots are on Mars?

MLS: You mean Spirit and Opportunity?

LG: Yes..they were supposed to be there for 3 months and now they’ve been there for three years.  We couldn’t do that with humans.  In that sense, we don’t know where space exploration will go let alone robots…Although the only place robots are still finding job security is in military applications.

MLS: That seems clear with predator drones and computer guided technology. It reminds me of the movie Transformers.

LG: Robots can go around the corner and look for the enemy…and it’s really not far from Sci Fi when robots control the weapons.  In 25 years or less, robots will be fighting the wars…until robots turn against their controllers.  That’s something that is difficult to balance in whole world of science.

MLS: If they take over?

LG:  Well, sometimes research gallops ahead of scientists ability to understand and control it.  We don’t want to stop research however and turn into a police state although I don’t know of any conferences that have taken place where these issues are being discussed.

MLS: What do you make of smart homes, smart cars and phones that do just about everything for you.  I keep thinking of the old cartoon show, the Jetsons.  Would you consider those things robots, except for Rosie who was a robot?

LG: People in the robotics world say smart cars and phones are robots.  What about robo calls? Artificial voices sometimes, not all the time, allow for no human connection.  Could they become dangerous? I don’t know.  What about the robot nurses that skulk around a patients room giving them medicine or a surgeon doing a procedure from one city on a patient in another by means of robotics?  What if there is a glitch in the system?

ML: Doesn’t that speak to the difference between a robot and a machine?

LG: Robotics people make a distinction between robots and machines.  Machines don’t think.  Robotics people also have trouble establishing a distance between the robots they create and themselves because they get attached. They give their robot creations a name and sexual orientation and they treat them like they treat a pet.

MLS: It reminds me of a Star Trek Next Generation episode with Data called The Measure of A Man.  They actually have to take the issue to council to determine if Data can think and feel independently and beyond being a programmed machine or creation.

LG: Scientists do become so involved in what they do that the moral and ethical issues aren’t considered until afterward.  There aren’t science policy scholars who devote time to thinking about these issues.

MLS: Any last words?

LG:  I still have an interest in following robots although I’m currently working on a book on personalized medicine.  That should be of great interest to Arizona.

Lee Gutkind conducted most of his research on robots at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, the NASA research center in California and in the Atacama desert in Chile- the place on planet earth said to be most like Mars.

For more information on Lee Gutkind’s work go to www.leegutkind.com or www.therobotbook.com

Bats Attract for Water Conservation Message

Published October 18, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
TNAZ Regional Correspondent

Participants in an earthworks workshop led by Emily Brott, of the Sonoran Institute, used ancient technologies to build a basin for rainwater capture at the Ward One Tucson City Council office.
Credit: Sonoran Institute

The late summer launch at dusk of 40,000 Mexican free-tail bats from under a Campbell Avenue bridge.

Two new water-harvesting ordinances to go into effect in January.

A group of volunteers working with landowners to repair the ecosystem in a 70,000-square-mile region of the Southwest known as Sky Island.

These three are faces of conservation science applied for Tucson’s future.

The Sky Island Alliance, for example, is working to bring water back to natural areas endangered by off-road recreation, development and inadequate agricultural practices, said Melanie Emerson, the group’s executive director.

“We’re primarily working with private landowners of large tracts in the region on simple, implementable methods,” she said. “That most definitely includes technology that has been used for millennia like one rock dams and gabions (sand-filled cages).”

The alliance melds the science of conservation biology with on-the-ground restoration done by volunteers.

Efforts to restore grasses and native vegetation have created natural habitat that attract insects, birds and mid- to larger-sized mammals and predators, which in turn Emerson said, has helped revive populations of endangered species like the Chiricahua leopard frog.

Sweat Tech hasn’t changed much since the Hohokam, but tools look different, certainly.
Credit: Sonoran Institute

Emerson said her group “connects the dots” between conservation planning and conservation action.

The City of Tucson is using the law to put conservation into action.

In January, 50 percent of the water used for landscaping commercial buildings must come from water harvesting. Currently, 40 percent of Tucson’s drinking water is being used on landscaping. Emily Brott, project manager for the Sun Corridor Legacy Program of the Sonoran Institute, described water harvesting in Tucson as a process based on the ancient engineering of the Hokoham and Anasazis, who used systems of dams, canals and terracing to ensure their crops had enough water.

“The first line of defense, if you will, is the application of earthworks,” she said. “That means going back to building berms and basins that use gravity to direct the rain where you want it to go.”

She pointed out that this methodology is cheaper than using more costly gutters and cisterns to gather water off roofs.

“If you do your calculations right, you can gather enough … to use only water harvested from monsoon season and rain to water landscaping that consists primarily of native plants,” Brott said.

Instead of watching water run through the streets — which have essentially functioned as gutters — the city is implementing curb cuts to ease flooding and accommodate landscaping in medians and sidewalk areas. As water gets redirected, it eases the buildup of oil, trash and grim that ends up in washes and overloads the ecosystem.

Additionally a second new ordinance calls on all new residential construction to have a gray water stub-out. “Your washing machine, for example, has to be plumbed to bring the water outside, if the homeowner chooses to do so,” Brott said.

Last month, the dusk launch of 40,000 free-tail bats attracted hundreds in Tucson to the banks of the Rillito River. Hosted by the Rillito River Project, water conservation and diversity were the themes, and large, white balloons helped to depict changing water levels.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Gray water is wastewater that can be used for irrigation of gardens and other landscaping.

Now, about those bats.

The Rillito River Project, an arts organization, has had at least four presentations to increase awareness of the vanishing rivers of the Southwest, and this September used the summer flight of the bats to draw attention to the region’s water issues.

Before the 40,000 bats took off from under the bridge that spans the Rillito for their nightly feeding of mosquitoes and other insects, local actor Sean Dupont spoke to the crowd gathered in the dry riverbed of the river’s history, offering a sort of water timeline.

“1775, when the Spanish Presidio was established in downtown Tucson, the Rillito River flowed four feet deep,” Dupont said. “There was water in the river where Saint Xavier Mission stands. “

The water table has risen and fallen during the past several hundred years, starting with how the Hohokam harvested water to grow beans, corn and squash, cholla buds and mesquite beans, Dupont said.

With the increase in Anglo settlers and agricultural development, he said, Tucson established a municipal water system in the 1900s — initially through tapping a spring and directing it through gravity feeds that eventually required pump technology to supply volume.

By the 1950s, the water table sunk from 20 feet underground to 75 feet underground.

For more information:
Sonoran Institute (520) 290-0828 www.sonoraninstitute.org
Sky Island Alliance (520) 624-7080 www.skyislandalliance.org
Rillito River Project (520) 955-3429 www.rillitoriverproject.org

Sports Drink Founder says the Secret is All in the Mix

Published October 9, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
Regional Correspondent, TNAZ

Drs. Lou Lancero and Sal Tirrito
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

When two driven medical students met, they might have foreseen becoming well respected cardiologists. But even given their shared commitment to endurance sports like competitive cycling and triathlon, for Tucson-based physicians Sal Tirrito and Lou Lancero, it was unlikely that they could have foreseen the success of what together they would create, XOOD, a sports endurance drink. But once they started, their intense competitive spirits wanted to blow any other product out of the water.

“Being in the sport (of triathlon) I’ve tried all the endurance drink products out there. As physicians, Lou and I looked at the ingredients and said we could do better. It didn’t have to be artificially neon blue or orange. We wanted to make a product that was pure and not full of empty calories,” says Tirrito, who took the lead in developing XOOD.

According to Tirrito, manufacturers, attempting to keep their costs and resale prices down, add inexpensive and largely ineffective ingredients like artificial preservatives and emulsifying agents. Even when some so-called ‘natural’ ingredients are added like stevia, sourced from a South American herb and used as a sugar substitute for its sweetness, the nutritional value is up for question.

However, including certain kinds of proteins and carbohydrates and finding the right ratio of protein to carbs was what Tirrito was shooting for in his formulation of XOOD. While supplying nutrition, Tirrito sought to make a drink that would convert efficiently to useable energy. Like any good scientist, he conducted his own experiment, followed by a field test to establish the validity of his claims.

” I went shopping at GNC and bought all the raw ingredients of what I thought would benefit athletes the most in their performance — vitamins, minerals, herbs, flavors, carbs and specific kind of proteins. For six months I tested the basic formula out on my friends who were athletes and got feedback. I started asking myself what if it also had health benefits in addition to performance?” he recalled. Tirrito then took the rough product to a nutritional chemist to refine the mix that would become XOOD.

At the Asheville, NC, half marathon in September 2009, Marcus Hille, 36, placed 6th at 1:28. He credits XOOD for his kick performances.
Credit: Marcus Hille

In his first attempts at marketing the product, Tirrito met with resistance. Manufacturers suggested he add certain chemicals, preservatives, colors and artificial sweeteners. They didn’t seem to understand why he’d want to use ingredients that were more costly than what was common in more standard energy drinks.

Tirrito found success in refining the mix when Arthur Winegrad became involved. Winegrad is a chemist and vice-president for research and development with Arizona Nutritional Supplements in Chandler. Winegrad was able to deliver the ingredients and end product Tirrito had envisioned.

“I’ve worked in this field for 13 years and with a lot of sports drink clients,” says Winegrad. “Dr Tirrito’s formula was really different. He wanted the product to be easy on the stomach, water soluble and have a specific carb-to-protein ratio along with very specific amounts of electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals per serving. Anytime you have an all natural formula, you’re going to pay more. Right down to the flavors, there’s no synthetics in XOOD which is very different from what’s on the market,” says Winegrad. If synthetics were used, it would reduce the retail cost of XOOD by one half to two thirds.

The real role Winegrad says he played was helping Tirrito get the active ingredients and amounts right. There are no FDC colors or flavors. Instead, the three different flavors that XOOD comes in — Pomegranate, Mangosteen and Green Tea with Lemon — are actually sourced from those ingredients. The subtle, pink color of the powdered mix comes from beet root and not a synthetic dye. When the final product was ready, Tirrito launched it at sporting events like marathons and triathlons, which attracted athletes like 36-year-old Marcus Hille, at six-foot eight inches tall, a competitive distance runner from Sedona.

“It is important to me as an endurance athlete to know that what I am putting into my body is going to provide me with the energy I need to sustain the intensity I desire, and that it’s also good for me with no extra junk that may be harmful in the long term. I will often slam a Green Tea XOOD before hitting the road to give me an energy boost and Pomegranate is good for long runs of up to three hours or more,” says Hille.

In addition to sponsoring both pro and amateur athletes and launching a XOOD cycling and triathlon team, Tirrito and Lancero have headed back to the labs to work on yet another new product – a readymade drink in the XOOD line geared toward the health club market.

This Beer is Crafted! Old World Technology, New Tastes Brewing

Published September 3, 2009

Tech News Arizona

By Mae Lee Sun
TNAZ Regional Correspondent

Dennis Arnold of Barrio Brewing and Gentle Ben’s in Tucson is here “metering-in” beer through a stainless filter chamber.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Brew master Dennis Arnold is really a chemist seeking to clone his creations.

If a craft brewer doesn’t understand the intricacies of balancing ingredients, Arnold, co-owner of Tucson’s Barrio Brewing Co., said, “You’ve got nothing.”

“Every beer style has its parameters in a dozen different objective and subjective tastes, aromas and mouth-feel observations,” he said. “The beauty about any given beer style is that you will end up with thousands of different beers crafted even when every brewer is looking at the same definition of a given style.”

Skilled brewers recognize the variables and how to counteract combinations so one’s beer is as close to a clone as possible to the last batch, Arnold said.

“Not even Budweiser can brew the exact beer every time, so they as a practice, blend 10 different batches every time to homogenize the end product,” he explained.

Arnold said he has been blending and brewing various lambics, ales, lagers and stouts since he graduated from college in the early ‘80s and visited brewpubs in San Francisco.

The craft-beer “movement,” as he called it, was on the fringe and considered a tradition of the past, relegated to the basements of European homes and monasteries.

Beer connoisseurs, though, who felt the quality of beer suffered in mass production, started to go back to the basics by either investing in or opening their own breweries, according to the Brewers Association, based in Boulder, Colo.

Julie Herz, the association’s craft beer program director, said the American palate is changing and craft brew masters have the flexibility to experiment.

“Americans now want different style beers for different occasions and not just the standard lager for everything,” she said. “If you look at what’s going on with wines, chocolate and coffee, it’s the same thing, right?”

For example, Papago Brewing Co. in Scottsdale, which sells brews made for them by Oak Creek Brewing in Sedona and Sonora Brewing Co. in Scottsdale, sells “Coconut Joe” milk stout with desserts and Hawaiian-style pizza. Old World Brewery in Phoenix crafts its own Summer Saguaro Wheat Ale, which has fresh saguaro fruit pulp added, to pair with fish, Italian food, burgers and hot dogs.

During University of Arizona Wildcat’s basketball season, Barrio Brewing offers NCAALE, an English double-strong ale with a full-bodied malt flavor.

Stainless fermentation tanks at Old World Brewery in Phoenix.
Credit: Perry Parmely, Old World Brewery

Again, it’s all in the chemistry.

Is that sudsy, golden, slightly bitter taste of your favorite ale on tap from the malt? Is it the proportion of hops and measure of bitterness? Live cultures and morphing bacteria?

Considered an old-world technology, aging beer in used, wooden barrels is the newest development, Herz said, in the craft-brewing arena because of the fermentation process that takes place in wooden barrels.

The barrels are inoculated with wild bacteria to impart additional flavors that may already be present in the wood, like the rum or chardonnay previously stored in some.

“It’s taken awhile for beer quality to get to this level, but it’s a good example of the way in which the allied trade and suppliers have adjusted to smaller, craft brewers becoming players in what’s available in varieties of beer,” Herz said.

“We don’t have any beer under wood right now,” says Barrio’s Arnold. “Barrels make a great brew, and we’d been making one we really liked from bourbon casks. But as soon as casking got popular, barrel prices have gone way up, and the good ones are tough to get now,” he adds.

And as the quality of ingredients – the main three always yeast, barley and hops — has changed through more advanced farming techniques and the addition of spices and exotic flavors, so too has the available quantity of these.

Vermont, widely known for its rich, agricultural land, has the greatest number of breweries per capita and an article in the summer 2009 edition of Local Banquet magazine reported that many of the ingredients in those beers, like barley, hops, wheat, raspberries, pumpkin and honey are now being sourced within the state by encouraging local farms to become more sustainable.

The number of U.S. breweries is the highest it’s been in 100 years. Although 56 breweries closed throughout the country last year, another 122 opened. The microbrew sector in general has grown to approximately 1,500 breweries in the U.S., generating close to $6 billion a year.

There are approximately 30 craft breweries across Arizona.

In this state, breweries have suffered a bit by the global increase in pricing and shortage of hops and barley. Electric Brewing Company, a boutique brewery in Bisbee, closed after seven years of doing business.

“Survival depends on thinking globally and drinking locally,” Arnold said.

For more information on Arizona craft breweries, brewpubs and seasonal beers:
www.seasonalbeerandfood.org
www.beertown.org

Tri’ing Is Good For Tech & Business: pt 2

Published August 20, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
TNAZ Regional Correspondent

Training Bible coach, Tom Manzi, of Tubac & New Jersey, conducts an open water swim clinic for Tucson TriGirls triathlon club, at Lake Patagonia.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Floyd Landis, (seated far left) and his cycling team, Team Ouch, visited TriSports.com earlier this year to market the team products the store carries.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Nutritional performance products like XOOD and Clif are continually tested in the field by competitive triathletes like Tom Manzi (smiling), sponsored by both companies.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Tri’ing Is Good For Tech & Business pt 1 of 2

Published August 11, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
TNAZ Regional Correspondent

VP of Sales for G-technology, Ian Andes, cut his race time down at this year’s Vineman half Ironman event, by over an hour, crediting it to the ‘toys’ and tech he’s invested in.
Credit: LA Tri Club

Twenty thousand, give or take a few dollars over the past two years. That’s only the financial investment that’s come out of the pockets of Ian Andes, Vice President of Sales for G-Technology (a Hitachi company) in Los Angeles, California.

He drove to Tucson this past spring with his brother to spend some of that cash, which every few months or so, is par for the course. He’s even lost sleep and shed nearly 20 pounds over it. Luckily, he has a supportive spouse.

We’re not talking about plunging stocks. Andes, along with a million other people, are putting their money where their body is and competing in the growing sport of triathlon. The buzz has inspired a flurry of new retail businesses, personal coaching, performance technology and a multitude of products and nutritional supplements geared toward an expanding demographic.

When Andes first became interested in triathlon, he said he had no idea what it would cost, what the entry fees were. He did not have the disposable income he has now.

He was a competitive long distance swimmer throughout his teenage years and it was that competitive drive and a desire to get back in shape, now that he’s in his early 30’s, that led to his entry into the Los Angeles, Wildflower and Vineman triathlon competitions. Andes is currently training for the inaugural 2010 IronMan St-George in Utah.

“I had the swim trunks and the goggles, no bike, and running was my weakness,” Andes recalls.

“I ran in whatever I had at the time, which was a pair of Nikes,” he says about starting out. But soon, he was spending dollars to compete.

“I went to a triathlon event sponsored by the LA Tri Club and they had a cool tent with all this gear. I saw a cool bike and got excited,” Andes remembers.

What’s the motivation for Andes?

“On my deathbed, I want to say that I did and not that I ‘should’ have tried,” he says. And he’s seen older triathletes, who are ambitious and driven. They have the disposable income to support success in the form of clothing, gadgets, nutritional supplements and private coaching.

Tucson-based OB/GYN physician, Carol DeHasse, has “the right gear” for competing in triathlons across Arizona in the past year. “Technology matters,” she says.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

After he started buying into the triathlon gear, Andes went from a six hour and forty minute half Ironman to a five hour seven minute full Ironman at Vineman this year.

According to Tim Yount, Sr. Vice President of marketing and communications for the USA Triathlon organization (USAT) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the national sanctioning authority for the sport, estimated revenues triathlons generate in goods and services each year is currently more than $4 billion. Yount attributes much of that to the support of clubs like the one Andes belongs to, which promote competition in more ways than one.

Andes joined the Los Angeles Tri Club for $60 and has attended numerous clinics, trainings and presentations organized by them. Members get exposed to technology and brands that they might not otherwise know about, says Andes, as many clubs sell their own gear and have product sponsorship.

“The biggest demographic is actually Gen Y and Baby Boomers,” says Yount, who takes full advantage of the social and business networking opportunities. The culture, he asserts, is conducive to growth.

“Along with a community feel of triathlon and peers who work together on what to expect when they participate, there are numerous events giving more opportunities to compete,” says Yount. “Clubs also have a number of websites that have general training and racing information and club gear,” he adds.

Debbie Clagget, vice president and co-owner of TriSports, a superstore for triathlon equipment in South Tucson, sees a braod range of competitors at the retail and on-line store she owns with her business partner and husband, Seton.

According to Clagget’s estimates, the average age of TriSports customers is 41 years old but extends into the 80’s. The majority she says, are college graduates with a yearly income level of more than $130,000. Men make up 76%. while professions run the gamut from attorney to Olympic gold medalist and the stalwart weekend warrior.

“Our revenues have grown by over 400 percent over the last five years,” says Clagget.

“We have sponsored many different entities within the sport and believe in giving back to the sport that supports us,” she adds.

Over the last year, Clagett has provided sponsorships of individuals, teams, clubs and races. And she believes that triathlons have been growing in popularity during the current economy, because people are more aware of their health. “People have a desire to improve,” she says. “But the economy is spurring the growth with people dropping gym memberships in favor of using the free outdoors,” Clagett notes. “What better to do outside than swim, run and bike?” she adds.

Part II coming soon…Read more…link goes to Tech News AZ

Freedom is From the Tech-side Out

Published August 6, 2009

Women in orange make calls on some of the most notable C-Suites in world tech.

Craig Burbidge, Vice President of Microsoft Global Practices at Hitachi Consulting in Irvine, California has high praise for the Televerde methodology.

The Metamorphosis of Rebecca Morgan

“Set the bar of excellence high and incrementally raise it from there,” is Televerde CEO Jim Hooker’s motto regarding the program. In place since 1995, the bar he is talking about leads to freedom. This ‘workforce development initiative’ has proven that by getting inmates to think about the future through learning interpersonal skills, building self confidence and being mentored by professionals, their entire lives change.

Rebecca Morgan, 34, is one stellar example of how that is so. With shoulder length brownish-black hair, parted on the side and green eyes, wearing a pink sweater and brown pin striped slacks, no one would guess that such a charming, articulate woman once “did time” at Perryville. More than three years, she tells a visitor.

Rebecca could have walked into any corporate office unnoticed except perhaps for the tattoo on her upper right arm. Still, a band of colorful ink circling a bicep is no giveaway these days to a previous life behind bars. With an air of confidence and enthusiasm, she describes the journey that led from a bad choice that landed her in prison to a dream job inside the corporate headquarters of Televerde.

“I made some poor choices,” Morgan says. “But we don’t identify with our crimes anymore and we don’t ask or talk about others crimes who are employed here. It doesn’t serve any purpose and it’s not who we are,” she adds.

“I’ll only share that I did 3 ½ years at Perryville and was released in July 2005. I started with Televerde in 2003 while still in. When I got in, I’m thinking to myself, ‘You’ve done it now. Now what are you going to do.’ It was interesting because I didn’t come from the same background that a lot of the women in here do. I had a pretty stable home and good family. My father was in the military and we had good values. So when I went in (to prison), I was going in with the idea of taking full advantage of using the time to change,” she recalls.

“It was the first time in my life I can remember where my focus was entirely on me,” Morgan says.

Rebecca Morgan, human resources assistant for Televerde, and a success story for the company’s B2B programs.

Morgan attributes that focus to the way that prison time is structured. Typically, there aren’t many opportunities to do much with one’s time and all daily responsibilities like getting to work, paying bills, raising kids and other obligations are taken away – there is little left to worry about. For those who want to keep busy however, Morgan feels the door at Perryville, and in particular the Televerde program, is open if someone has the desire to walk through it.

“If we could figure out the difference between people who don’t use the time well,” says Morgan, “and those who do, and bottle it, there’d be a lot of change. But you have to be ready to change yourself. Some aren’t ready to do that yet but the ones who are, look at the reasons that got them into prison and are done with it. If they really get that they don’t belong there, they do well.”

As a former inmate and now a human resources assistant for Televerde, Morgan believes that the Televerde program inspires change not just because it’s a job. Jobs exist throughout the prison system that don’t lead to such positive transformation in one’s life. The women change she asserts because the pieces previously missing from their lives are put back into place: self esteem; feeling one can actually do something constructive with life; and experiencing some small success in business activity.

“These women never thought they could get on phone and talk to high-level execs, who don’t know by the way that they’re calling from in prison,” Morgan points out.

“Interacting with people who respect and listen to you is a very empowering feeling,” she adds. Many in the Televerde program don’t have much to begin with. “But they come to these jobs and put their heart and soul into it,” Morgan says.

Taking stacks of technical documentation, Televerde’s teams learn the material, and make calls in marketing campaigns that get results.

“It sure makes them feel they’ve achieved something,” says Morgan. “You want to keep that going and that is what Televerde does. So, by taking on more responsibility you feel like a person again,” Morgan concludes.

Apparently, working for Televerde is the most coveted job on the yard. There are four different call centers with 50 to 80 seats each. The day starts early, usually at six o’clock in the morning, to service clients based on the East coast. Other shifts may begin at eight and end at five in the afternoon to service the West coast. Morgan notes that most other jobs available at the prison pay between ten and fifty cents per hour while Televerde pays minimum wage. It adds up when thirty percent of wages earned is retained for spending money with the remainder going into a retention fund the inmate gets back when they are released.

If they’ve been incarcerated for any length of time, some see upwards of $20,000. A portion is also taken out as rent to the state which lessens taxpayer dollars to fund prisons. Restitution is also deducted. Money remaining is released directly to the women’s families which, Morgan notes, is “another way to empower because it offers support to your family when you’re not there.”

“Everyone wins,” she says.

Morgan has completed an associate’s degree and is pursuing the education necessary to become an HR manager. She dreams of moving to Denver should the Televerde prison program expand to other states. Yet she’s also been able to live the American dream of having just closed on a “tiny little house on a great big piece of dirt”, the place Morgan, her 10-year-old daughter, a dog, a cat and a frog, can call their own.

“Prison is the best thing that ever happened to me,” Morgan says.

Fantasy Game-Ware Helps Heart, Parkinson’s Patients

Photo by Mae Lee Sun UA professor Ann Linda Baldwin is using a biofeedback video game to help people with Parkinsons disease

Tucson company leads bio-surveillance, disease tracking tech

Dr. Xiaohui Zhang, Chief Scientist for Scientific Technologies Credit: Mae Lee Sun