Word: insistence
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...many scientists have warned that cars and factories are spewing enough gases into the atmosphere to heat up the earth in a greenhouse effect that could eventually produce disastrous climate changes. But until recently, the prophets of global warming garnered about as much attention as the religious zealots who insist that Armageddon is near. When Colorado Senator Timothy Wirth held congressional hearings on the greenhouse effect in the fall of 1987, the topic generated no heat at all. "We had a very, very distinguished panel," Wirth recalled at the TIME Environment Conference, "and who was in the cavernous hearing room...
Shop-till-you-drop types tend to draw more scorn than sympathy. Visions of Imelda Marcos and 2,400 pairs of shoes dance in people's heads. But therapists insist that compulsive shopping can be as ruinous as gambling, disrupting families and plunging sufferers into debt. Many people enjoy the occasional spree, but shopaholics' lives are consumed by buying. Says psychologist Georgia Witkin of New York City, author of a recently published book on compulsive behavior, Quick Fixes & Small Comforts (Villard; $17.95): "The day shapes up around getting to stores...
Boeing officials insist that they have tightened quality controls. Says Richard Albrecht, Boeing vice president for sales: "You can make mistakes when you try to send out a lot of jets." In response to the complaints, he adds, "we have done a lot more training of new people than we used...
Many cyclists insist the decision to wear a helmet is a matter of personal freedom. "A motorcyclist should be able to feel the wind through his hair if that's what he wants," says Wayne Thomas of the California Motorcyclists Association. But the price of such freedom can be high not only for the individual cyclist but for society at large. A study of 105 bike-accident victims hospitalized in Seattle during 1985 found that of the $2.7 million they incurred in medical bills, 63% was paid for out of public funds. Says John Cook of the Insurance Institute...
...Admissions staffers insist they are not swayed by come-ons. Yet most admit they are amused by the gimmicks, particularly if they are creative. Last year, in an attempt to get off the waiting list at his top-choice college, Scott Hart of Pleasantville, N.Y., sent the admissions staff a brochure with pictures of his life and a witty summary of his high school career. He got in. And even unabashed pandering can sometimes have a positive effect. Robert Voss, director of admissions at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, received two giant chocolate-chip cookies, his favorite, from an applicant. The cookies...